The Taming of the Shrew - Literary Touchstone


Book Description

'And kiss me, Kate. We will be married o?Sunday?Petruchio, seeking his fortune in Padua, seeks to marry the strong-willed Katherine, while Lucentio and Bianca steal a marriage from under a father's nose. The Taming of the Shrew offers a Shakespearean take on feminism and a humorous but, surprisingly modern, look at the age-old battle between the sexes.With its hilarious Induction, laughably believable characters, and skillfully intertwined plots and subplots, the play provides an excellent introduction to the range of Shakespeare's comedic talents.To make The Taming of the Shrew more accessible for the modern reader, our Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Edition includes a glossary of the more difficult words, as well as convenient sidebar notes to enlighten the reader on aspects that may be confusing or overlooked. In doing this, it is our intention that the reader may more fully enjoy the beauty of the verse, the wisdom of the insights, and the impact of thedrama.







The Time Machine - Literary Touchstone Edition


Book Description

This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Edition of The Time Machine includes a glossary and reader's notes to help the modern reader contend with Wells? vision of the future.As he approached the turn of the twentieth century, H.G. Wells explored the implications of the rising tide of Socialism and Darwin?s theory of evolution to envision a future?800,000 years from his own day?in which suffering, death, and human labor seem to have been replaced by beauty, peace, and innocent play. What Wells? unnamed Time Traveller ultimately comes to discover, however, are the horrific truths of a new Humanity, split and evolved into two separate races living in a false Paradise that actually fosters idiocy, weakness, and mortal terror. Originally written in 1898, The Time Machine examines the age-old questions of humankind?s ultimate destiny and the role we play in shaping it.







Silas Marner - Literary Touchstone Edition


Book Description

This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic? includes a glossary and reader's notes to help the modern reader contend with Eliot?s subtle themes and language.Silas Marner, which first appeared in 1861, is a tale about life, love, and the need to belong. Accused of a crime he didn?t commit and unjustly forced from his home town, Silas lives a reclusive and godless life, finding love and companionship only in material objects. It will take the theft of his gold and the discovery of an abandoned infant to remind him of the importance of human relationships and faith.Mary Ann Evans, writing under her pen name of George Eliot, carefully weaves the interaction of plot and character, and, in so doing, depicts Silas Marner?s redemption and rebirth through his love and protection of the orphaned girl and the possibility of losing her. Throughout the book, Eliot also takes the opportunity to voice her feelings about industrialization, religion, and social class distinctions.







Treasure Island - Literary Touchstone Edition


Book Description

This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Edition? includes a glossary and reader's notes to help readers unfamiliar with some of the vocabulary and nautical terms appreciate Stevenson's grand adventure.Everyone dreams of finding buried treasure, and that is why Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island is such an enduring classic. Treasure Island, published in 1883, gave Stevenson his first popular success, and it's easy to see why it remains a favorite of readers of all ages. The tale of young Jim Hawkins and his unlikely band of adventurers strikes at the very heart of our own desire to lose ourselves among hidden chests, cryptic maps, and treacherous companions. If you loved it when you read it earlier, you owe it to yourself to revisit the deceitful Long John Silver, the dull but reliable Dr. Livesey, and the pompously naive Squire Trelawney. If this is your first visit to the high seas, find yourself a comfortable chair, because you won't be putting the book down until the last mutineer is brought to justice and last gold coin counted.







Beowulf - Literary Touchstone Edition


Book Description

This enthralling new prose edition of Beowulf combines the clearest, best elements of two different classic translations, so readers will get both a feel for the language and an appreciation of the action of the story.




The Turn of the Screw - Literary Touchstone Classic


Book Description

This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic includes a glossary and reader's notes to help the modern reader more fully appreciate the rich complexity of James' language, images, and symbols.Before there was Alfred Hitchcock, there was Henry James, and before Psycho, there was The Turn of the Screw.Why is the young governess the only one who can see the ghosts?Are her young charges haunted or evil?Or is the governess herself mad?The book that claims to start out as a Christmas Eve ghost story quickly becomes a tale of psychological horror as the governess struggles-and ultimately fails-to protect the children from the "corruption" that only she can conceive of...but cannot name.Richly wrought in Late-Victorian prose, Henry James' most famous novel is both hauntingly beautiful and a shocking glimpse into the ultimate source of evil...the human mind.