The Memoirs of Victor Hugo (1899) is an autobiographical work by Victor Hugo. Assembled from diaries and manuscripts left behind by the author following his death in 1895, the Memoirs are as much a record of a life as they are a portrait of nineteenth century France. Told from the perspective of a supremely gifted artist whose command of language is matched only by his commitment to morality, The Memoirs of Victor Hugo is an invaluable text for scholars...

Margaret Ogilvy (1897) is a biography by J. M. Barrie. Although he is more widely known as a popular storyteller whose Peter Pan books are filled with the wit and wonder of history's greatest fairytales, Barrie was also a gifted memoirist and biographer. Margaret Ogilvy is the story of his mother and their life as a family in Scotland. Written in tribute to her influence on his life as a professional writer, Margaret Ogilvy was a bestselling book...

THIS lyrical drama was written about twenty-five years ago. It is based on the following story from the Mahabharata. In the course of his wanderings, in fulfilment of a vow of penance, Arjuna came to Manipur. There he saw Chitrangada, the beautiful daughter of Chitravahana, the king of the country. Smitten with her charms, he asked the king for the hand of his daughter in marriage. Chitravahana asked him who he was, and learning that he was Arjuna...

While vacationing at a spa, a sculptor, who's unhappily married, encounters a former model whose love he rejected in favor of a more successful career. As the pair reconnects, they gradually rekindle their relationship, leading them down a dark and dangerous path. Arnold Rubek is a famous and wealthy sculptor who feels trapped in a mundane marriage. He and his wife Maia are visiting a spa, when he stumbles across a former model named Irena. She's...

Upton Sinclair's The Book of Life is a contains well founded advice and consists of two parts. The first part, Book of the Mind, covers spiritual topics such as faith, morality, and the subconscious. With intense conversations on the definition of each as well as their relationship and codependence on each other, Sinclair answers tough life questions and provides many thought-provoking ideas. While the first part of Sinclair's work concerns the intangibles...

Limbo (1920) is a collection of short fiction by English author Aldous Huxley. Mostly satirical, Huxley's novella, play, and four short stories show a promising writer at the very beginning of his career. In the novella "The Farcical History of Richard Greenow," Huxley satirizes the lives of his friends and acquaintances at Eton and Oxford. Richard Greenow, a young writer, spends his days as a politically engaged academic. At night, however, he writes...

A collection of narrative poems drawn from Greek mythology, Latin folklore, and legends, linked together by the common theme of transformation.

Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands (1857) is the autobiography of Mary Seacole. Recognized for her pioneering healthcare work for soldiers and citizens around the world, Seacole was also the first Black Briton to publish an autobiographical work. Although Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands underwent editing by an anonymous person, it is a first-person account of Seacole's experiences during outbreaks of cholera, malaria,...

The Devil's Dictionary (1906) is a work of satire by Ambrose Bierce. Although he is commonly remembered for his chilling short stories on the experiences of Civil War soldiers, Bierce was recognized in his day as a leading journalist and humorist who spent decades ruffling feathers and drawing laughter with his witty opinion columns, poems, and definitions. Toward the end of his career, he decided to compile these satirical definitions into a book,...

Lawyer Ralph Merritt buys a house in a white neighborhood bordering Harlem. In their reactions to Merritt and to one another, Fishers' characters--including the prejudiced Miss Cramp who 'takes on causes the way sticky tape picks up lint, ' Merritt's housekeeper Linda, and Shine, his piano mover--provide an invaluable view of the social and philosophical milieu of the times.Thematically, Fisher focuses on the idea of black unity and discovery of the...