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Often rated as important as the Bible as a Christian document, this famous story of man's progress through life in search of salvation remains one of the most entertaining allegories of faith ever written. Set against realistic backdrops of town and country, the powerful drama of the pilgrim's trials and temptations follows him in his harrowing journey to the Celestial City.Along a road filled with monsters and spiritual terrors, Christian confronts such emblematic characters as Worldly Wiseman, Giant Despair, Talkative, Ignorance, and the demons of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. But he is also joined by Hopeful and Faithful.An enormously influential 17th-century classic, universally known for its simplicity, vigor, and beauty of language, The Pilgrim's Progress remains one of the most widely read books in the English language.

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Four prized selections by one of America's greatest writers: «The Open Boat,» based on a harrowing incident in the author's life: the 1897 sinking of a ship on which he was a passenger; «The Blue Hotel» and «The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky,» reflecting Crane's early travels in Mexico and the American Southwest; and the novella Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, a galvanizing portrait of life in the slums of New York City.

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Regarded by many as the most luminous example of Mark Twain's work, this fictional biography of Joan of Arc was purportedly written by Joan's page and secretary — Sieur Louis de Conté. (Twain's alter ego even shared the author's same initials — S. L. C.) Told from the viewpoint of this lifelong friend, the historical novel is a panorama of stirring scenes and marvel of pageantry — from Joan's early childhood in Domremy and her touching story of the voices, to the fight for Orleans, the taking of Tourelles and Jargeau, and the splendid march to Rheims.But above all, the work is an amazing record that disclosed Twain's unrestrained admiration of the French heroine's nobility of character. Throughout his life, she remained his favorite historical figure — «the most innocent, the most lovely, the most adorable child the ages have produced.»Completed when the author was nearly sixty, the book reveals a splendidly expressive side of Twain, who wrote, «I like the Joan of Arc best of all my books; & it is the best; I know it perfectly well. And besides, it furnished me seven times the pleasure afforded me by any of the others: 12 years of preparation & 2 years of writing. The others needed no preparation, & got none.»Matchless in its workmanship, this lesser work will charm — and delightfully surprise — admirers and devotees of the great American author.

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When Poor Folk was first published in 1846, Dostoyevsky — one of nineteenth-century Russia's most important authors — was just twenty-four years old. The novel brought him immediate critical and public acclaim. A poignant societal and physiological sketch, Dostoyevsky's masterpiece is written in the form of letters of correspondence between two characters, both trapped within the poverty and circumstance of St. Petersburg's slums. Makar is a writer struggling to survive; Varvara, a low-paid seamstress. The two are in love, but too poor to marry. They long for respect, but can't even muster enough for themselves.Written during the initial stirrings of the Russian realism movement, Poor Folk is a vivid portrait of society's «everyman.» A work that is both beautiful and tragic, it unravels an unforgettable tale of the human condition.

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Starved and mistreated, empty bowl in hand, the young hero musters the courage to approach his master, saying, «Please, sir, I want some more.» Oliver Twist's famous cry of the heart has resounded with readers since the novel's initial appearance in 1837, and the book remains a popular favorite with fans of all ages.Dickens was no stranger to the pain of hunger and the degradation of poverty. He poured his own youthful experience of Victorian London's unspeakable squalor into this realistic depiction of the link between destitution and crime. Oliver escapes his miserable servitude by running away to London, where he unwillingly but inevitably joins a scabrous gang of thieves. Masterminded by the loathsome Fagin, the underworld crew features some of Dickens' most memorable characters, including the juvenile pickpocket known as the Artful Dodger, the vicious Bill Sikes, and gentle Nancy, an angel of self-sacrifice.A profound social critic, Dickens introduced genteel readers to the problems of the poor in a way that had rarely been attempted before. This tale of the struggle between hope and cruelty continues to speak to modern audiences.

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In this celebrated work, his only novel, Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind.

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A young beauty defies bigotry to marry a heroic warrior of a different race, but a false friend poisons her husband's mind with jealousy, «the green-eyed monster.» This gripping drama of romance and treachery unfolds amid the Renaissance splendor of Venice and Cyprus, centering on a soldier's plot to exact revenge by exploiting the weaknesses of others. An eloquent tale of betrayal and racism, Shakespeare's seventeenth-century tragedy continues to resonate for today's audiences. A definitive survey, this Dover Thrift Study Edition offers the drama's complete and unabridged text, plus a comprehensive study guide. Created to help readers gain a thorough understanding of Othello's content and context, the guide includes: • Scene-by-scene summaries• Explanations and discussions of the plot• Question-and-answer sections• Shakespeare biography• List of characters and more Dover Thrift Study Editions feature everything that students need to undertake a confident reading of a classic text, as well as to prepare themselves for class discussions, essays, and exams.

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Gogol's stories are admired for their skillful mingling of fantasy and reality, quiet good humor and use of mundane details — as Gogol put it — «to extract the extraordinary from the ordinary.» Imaginative and timeless, they remain as fresh and significant today as they were to readers generations ago.This rich selection of four short stories by the great 19th-century Russian author of Dead Souls includes «The Nose,» a savage satire of incompetent bureaucrats and the snobbery and complacency of the Russian upper classes; «Old-Fashioned Farmers,» a sketch depicting an elderly couple who live a happy but simple life in rustic seclusion; «The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarrelled with Ivan Nikiforovich,» and of Gogol's most famous comic stories; and «The Overcoat,» an exceptionally moving tale — considered a masterpiece of the form — about a poor and much-ridiculed St. Petersburg official. Includes a selection from the Common Core State Standards Initiative: «The Nose.»

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First published in 1818, Persuasion was Jane Austen's last work. Its mellow character and autumnal tone have long made it a favorite with Austen readers. Set in Somersetshire and Bath, the novel revolves around the lives and love affair of Sir Walter Elliot, his daughters Elizabeth, Anne, and Mary, and various in-laws, friends, suitors, and other characters, In Anne Elliot, the author created perhaps her sweetest, most appealing heroine.At the center of the novel is Anne's thwarted romance with Captain Frederick Wentworth, a navy man Anne met and fell in love with when she was 19. At the time, Wentworth was deemed an unsuitable match and Anne was forced to break off the relationship. Eight years later, however, they meet again. By this time Captain Wentworth has made his fortune in the navy and is an attractive «catch.» However, Anne is now uncertain about his feelings for her. But after various twists and turns of fortune, the novel ends on a happy note.In Persuasion, as in such novels as Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma, Austen limned the plight of young women who could escape the constraints of family life only by marrying, and suggest the foolishness of women who believed they were free and not dependent on the financial and social resources of men. At the same time, Persuasion offers an ironic and subtle paean to the true love that enables one woman to rise above straitened economic circumstances and the stifling social conventions that restricted women to narrowly circumscribed lives in the common sitting room.Sure to appeal to admirers of Jane Austen, Persuasion will delight any reader with its finely drawn characters, gentle satire, and charming re-creation of the genteel world of the 19th-century English countryside.

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"Absolutely absorbing, fascinating, and indispensable.–Alice Walker"A work so fine, sensitive, and distinguished that it rises above race categories and becomes that rare object, a good novel."–The Saturday Review of LiteratureMarried to a successful physician and prominently ensconced in Harlem's vibrant society of the 1920s, Irene Redfield leads a charmed existence-until she is shaken out of it by a chance encounter with a childhood friend who has been «passing for white.» An important figure in the Harlem Renaissance, Nella Larsen was the first African-American woman to be awarded a Guggenheim fellowship. Her fictional portraits of women seeking their identities through a fog of racial confusion were informed by her own Danish-West Indian parentage, and Passing offers fascinating psychological insights into issues of race and gender.

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