LITMIR.BIZ

"Celestina," or the «Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea and the old prostitute Celestina,» is a late 15th century work by Fernando de Rojas that is considered one of the greatest works of Spanish literature, one which marks the transition from the late medieval period and the beginning of the literary renaissance in Spain. The story is concerned with the love affair of Calisto and Melibea. Upon meeting Melibea, Calisto falls madly in love with her. However at first she rejects his advances. Calisto's servant Sempronio introduces him to Celestina, a local procuress at a brothel, whom he says can help him win the love of Melibea. Unfortunately Sempronio and Celestina are primarily interested in just getting as much money out of Calisto as possible; a deception which will have tragic consequences for the two would be lovers. Described as a Spanish «Romeo and Juliet,» «Celestina» is a highly regarded work of Spanish literature that would be highly influential on the development of the picaresque novel as well as the work of future Spanish literary figures like Miguel de Cervantes.

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The first novel of Trollope's six-work Palliser series, also known as the Parliamentary Novels, «Can You Forgive Her?» revolves primarily around the young Alice Vavasor, a woman who cannot decide which of two men to marry. While the respectable gentleman John Grey seems the wiser choice, his lack of ambition pales to her virulent and aspiring cousin George. She alternately accepts and rejects each man, only increasing the confusion she feels concerning her emotions. Trollope's protagonist is most certainly breaching the moral code of the Victorian era, which he relates in a revealing description of the social sphere of his time. While Alice feels guilt for her indecision and wavering commitments, she is juxtaposed with the Lady Glencora, an affluent woman who sets her passion for a worthless man aside to marry the wealthy and successful politician Plantagenet Palliser. This character appears in every work of the series and provides a theme of English politics that binds the Parliamentary Novels together.

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Perhaps one of the greatest novels ever written, «Anna Karenina» follows the self-destructive path of a beautiful, popular, and sensual Russian aristocrat. The lovely Anna seems set in a respectable marriage with the powerful statesman Karenin, yet their lack of passion breeds the discontent she fully faces upon meeting the elegant and affluent officer Count Vronsky. Soon convinced that allowing herself to deeply love this man will enable her to find the meaning and truth of her life, Anna defies the conventions of Russian society and leaves her husband and children for her lover. Tolstoy juxtaposes this ill-fated couple with the melancholy Levin and his new wife Kitty. Levin is also searching for the fulfillment and happiness in his life, and he ultimately finds a happiness that Anna's love does not. A portrait of marriage and infidelity in imperial Russia, «Anna Karenina» explores love, life, and the depths of the human soul in a tale as illuminating as it is tragic.

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"Germinal" is Émile Zola's realistic depiction of the coalminers' strike in northern France in the 1860s. The story centers on Étienne Lantier, a young migrant worker who arrives at the coalmining town of Montsou in search of work as a coalminer. Set against a backdrop of extreme poverty and oppression, «Germinal» is the story of the idealistic but naive Étienne, who embraces the ideals of the socialistic movement and goes on to lead a strike of the coalminers with disastrous consequences. Recognized as one of Zola's undisputed masterpieces, «Germinal» would widely become associated with the struggle of the working class and the socialistic movement that dominated the political environment of Europe at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.

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An important work of Spain's Golden Age of literature as well as the first known picaresque novel, «The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and of His Fortunes and Adversities» portrays the clever ploys of a young Salamancan boy determined to outsmart his long string of masters. This Spanish novella was first published in 1554, during the Spanish Inquisition, by an author who wished to remain anonymous due to the work's heretical content. Scholars now attribute the authorship to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza. Young Lazarillo is an improbable hero of his time, for he comes from a poor and multiracial family who desperately apprentice him to a blind beggar after committing a crime. Lazarillo soon proves himself to be resourceful and resistant to the corrupt clergymen he must serve. Banned for heresy due to its highly critical portrayal of both the aristocracy and Catholic Church of the 16th century, this work came to provide a model for Cervantes and many future authors, like Twain, who explored the picaresque genre. Though originally published at great risk to the author, «Lazarillo de Tormes» is today an entertaining story of a boy who ingenuously survives his own childhood and makes something of himself despite the corruption that he must continually overcome.

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"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is a much loved and classic work of 19th century American literature. It is the story of Tom, a rambunctious young lad who lives with his Aunt Polly. Tom is a boy who doesn't much like going to school and throughout the book does everything he can to get out of it. Near the beginning of the novel Tom exhibits his keen wit by convincing some boys to paint his Aunt Polly's fence that he has been punished with having to paint on a Saturday for skipping school to go swimming. «The Adventures of Tom Sawyer» is a story of boyhood love. Tom falls for Becky Thatcher, the daughter of the town Judge, and tries to woe her throughout the novel. It is also the story of boyhood adventure and camaraderie. Tom and his friend Huckleberry Finn witness a murder, become pirates, are thought to be dead, and search for lost treasure. It is a novel rich with the regional dialect and depictions of the Mississippi River Valley in which Mark Twain grew up and is known for writing about. «The Adventures of Tom Sawyer» will delight readers young and old with its light-hearted comedic narrative.

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Widely acknowledged to be the masterpiece of Trollope's prolific Victorian career, «The Way We Live Now» is the scathing satire he wrote upon returning to England after traveling abroad. In seeking to discuss the deceit and dissipation he found, Trollope spared no iniquitous aspect he perceived in business, politics, social classes, literature, and various vice-related activities. The result of his efforts is an impressive array of characters, such as the old coquette Lady Carbury, her dissolute son Sir Felix, a spoiled and treacherously lovely heiress Marie, and her colossal figure of a father Augustus Melmotte, the great financier whose deceptive plots dupe countless wealthy individuals. Through the swindling, bribery, feuding, and shameless self-promotion of these characters, Trollope writes a sweeping panorama of vice for the sake of monetary greed that will cause readers to reflect on the morality of our own time.

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One of the most loved adventure stories of all time, «Treasure Island» is the swashbuckling tale of the search for hidden treasure. When an old sea captain by the name of Billy Bones dies at the inn of Jim Hawkins' parents, Jim and his mother discover a treasure map among his belongings. Jim shows the map to some local acquaintances, Dr. Livesey and Squire Trelawney and together they plan an expedition to find the treasure. Together they set sail aboard the Hispaniola led by a Captain Smollett in search of Treasure Island.

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The second work of the Palliser series, also called the Parliamentary Novels, «Phineas Finn» follows the unpredictable political career of a handsome young Irishman in London. Son of a doctor and himself an unsuccessful law student, the charming Finn becomes involved in both the elections of Parliament and a sequence of romantic struggles. Amidst the troughs and ridges of his chosen profession, Finn becomes involved in turn with first his patroness Lady Laura, then the lovely heiress Violet, then the urbane Madame Goesler, and then his enduring Irish sweetheart Mary Flood Jones. In setting his novel against the backdrop of the Reform Bill of 1867 and the rise of the politician Gladstone in England, Trollope paints a fictional narrative of life during the height of British prestige. In combining these historical circumstances with Finn's politics and romances, Trollope finds a perfect balance of public and personal life that is ultimately realistic and evocative of empathy.

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First published with great success in 1814, Scott’s first novel is set in the Scotland of 1745, amidst the Jacobite uprising. Widely considered the first English historical novel, this story of self-discovery follows the young Edward Waverley, an English soldier in the Hanoverian army. He is sent to Scotland, and there he visits both the Lowlands and the Highlands. Waverley meets both lairds and chieftains, and he is soon caught up in both the Jacobite cause and in romantic feelings for the lovely daughter of Baron Bradwardine, Rose, and the passionately political Flora Mac-Ivor, sister to Chieftain Fergus. Full of beautiful description of the natural scenery of Scotland, Scott drew on his childhood memories and talent as a writer to conserve a piece of history and a way of life threatened by civil war.

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