Howards End is a novel by E. M. Forster about social conventions, codes of conduct, and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. A strong-willed and intelligent woman refuses to allow the pretensions of her husband's smug English family to ruin her life. Howards End is considered by some to be Forster's masterpiece.

Janey lived in the locked room. Twice a day the Persian slave trader came in and taught her to be a whore. Otherwise, there was nothing. One day she found a pencil stub and scrap of paper in a forgotten corner of the room. She began to write down her life, starting with "Parents stink" (her father, who is also her boyfriend, has fallen in love with another woman and is about to leave her).

With Blood and Guts in High School, Kathy Acker, whose work has been labeled everything from post-punk porn to post-punk feminism, has created a brilliantly subversive narrative built from conversation, description, conjecture, and moments snatched from history and literature.

Plumb is a profound exploration of the melancholic and desolate landscapes of the human psyche, masterfully penned by George Bacovia. This work embodies the essence of Romanian Symbolism, transcending the boundaries of literary currents to reach a universal appeal.

Bacovia's poetry serves as an exquisite lesson in the relationship between reality and transformation, between mimesis and representation. He ingeniously theatricalizes not only suffering and tragic sentiment but also the world in its apparent unfolding.

The real is de-natured, projecting the internal landscape of the self and a dominant feeling of desolation onto the canvas of reality. The world becomes a cemetery, the landscape a tableau of death, the psyche a screen of terrifying evanescences, and the social environment a theater of perpetual poverty and unhappiness.

Everything functions as a whole; one exits depression only to enter another variant of it. The relationship between the interior and exterior deepens the sense of insecurity that dominates the subject.

Anthony Hope's swashbuckling romance transports his English gentleman hero, Rudolf Rassendyll, from a comfortable life in London to fast-moving adventures in Ruritania, a mythical land steeped in political intrigue.

Rassendyll bears a striking resemblance to Rudolf Elphberg, who is about to be crowned King of Ruritania. When the rival to the throne, Black Michael of Strelsau, attempts to seize power by imprisoning Elphberg in the Castle of Zenda, Rassendyll is obliged to impersonate the King to uphold the rightful sovereignty and ensure political stability.

Rassendyll endures a trial of strength in his encounters with the notorious Rupert of Hentzau, and a test of a different sort as he grows to love the Princess Flavia.

The Broken Wings is the exquisitely tender story of love that beats desperately against the taboos of Oriental tradition. With great sensitivity, Kahlil Gibran describes his passion as a youth for Selma Karamy, the girl of Beirut who first unfolded to him the secrets of love. But it is a love that is doomed by a social convention which forces Selma into marriage with another man.

Portraying the happiness and infinite sorrow of his relationship with Selma, Gibran at the same time probes the spiritual meaning of human existence with profound compassion. The novel highlights many of the social issues of the time in the Eastern Mediterranean, including religious corruption, the rights of women, and the weighing up of wealth and happiness.

Auto da Barca do Inferno é uma alegoria dramática onde duas barcas estão à espera das almas: a do Inferno, conduzida pelo Diabo, e a da Glória, guiada pelo Anjo. Neste cenário, ocorre o julgamento das almas, a maioria das quais se destina à primeira barca.

Os personagens, que incluem um agiota, um sapateiro rico, um tolo, uma alcoviteira, um usurário, quatro cavaleiros e um frade corrupto, são representações dos vícios humanos. Mais do que uma sátira da sociedade lisboeta do início do século 16, esta obra é uma crítica mordaz e humorística aos vícios que corroem o mundo e à organização social dos homens.

Gil Vicente, considerado o primeiro dramaturgo da língua portuguesa, oferece uma peça que transcende o tempo com sua crítica social e reflexão sobre moralidade e religião. A linguagem rica e poética de Vicente cativa e provoca o pensamento, tornando a leitura uma experiência enriquecedora.

Ideal para estudantes, professores e amantes da literatura, esta obra-prima continua a ser relevante nos dias de hoje, inspirando e provocando discussões significativas sobre a vida e a morte.

The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke offers a breathtaking collection of poems by the renowned German poet, Rainer Maria Rilke. This bilingual edition features the original German text alongside its English translation, allowing readers to immerse themselves in Rilke's lyrical world.

Rilke's poetry is celebrated for its romantic transformation and spiritual quest, capturing the essence of the twentieth century's most compelling poet. His works resonate with an ecstatic identification with the world, offering readers an endless fascination.

Stephen Mitchell's translations are noted for their lyric intensity and fluency, capturing the complexity of Rilke's thoughts with remarkable accuracy and originality. This edition stands as a testament to the delicate balance of fidelity and innovation, making it a must-read for poetry enthusiasts.

Originally published by Random House in 1982, this Vintage edition continues to inspire and captivate readers with its timeless beauty.

Sixteen when a baby is brought to her to raise, Sybel has grown up on Eld Mountain. Her only playmates are the creatures of a fantastic menagerie called there by wizardry. Sybel has cared nothing for humans, until the baby awakens emotions previously unknown to her.

When Coren—the man who brought this child—returns, Sybel's world is again turned upside down. In her exquisite stone mansion, she is attended by exotic, magical beasts: Riddle-master Cyrin the boar; the treasure-starved dragon Gyld; Gules the Lyon, tawny master of the Southern Deserts; Ter, the fiercely vengeful falcon; Moriah, feline Lady of the Night. Sybel only lacks the exquisite and mysterious Liralen, which continues to elude her most powerful enchantments.

But when a soldier bearing an infant arrives, Sybel discovers that the world of man and magic is full of both love and deceit—and the possibility of more power than she can possibly imagine.

Mohun Biswas has spent his 46 years of life striving for independence. Shuttled from one residence to another after the drowning of his father, he yearns for a place he can call home. He marries into the Tulsi family, on whom he becomes dependent, but rebels and takes on a succession of occupations in a struggle to weaken their hold over him.

This is a story of a man's relentless quest for a sense of autonomy and belonging, set against the backdrop of a culturally rich yet oppressive environment.

The Second Treatise of Government is one of the most important political treatises ever written and one of the most far-reaching in its influence. In this profound work, John Locke explores the principles of limited, conditional government, the concept of private property, and the right of revolution. These ideas have resonated through time, providing a foundation for modern political thought.

In his provocative introduction to this edition, the eminent political theorist C. B. Macpherson examines Locke's arguments and suggests reasons for their enduring appeal. The text remains a cornerstone in understanding the development of political liberalism and continues to influence contemporary discussions on governance and individual rights.

Fernando Pessoa was many writers in one. He attributed his prolific writings to a wide range of alternate selves, each of which had a distinct biography, ideology, and horoscope. When he died in 1935, Pessoa left behind a trunk filled with unfinished and unpublished writings, among which were the remarkable pages that make up his posthumous masterpiece, The Book of Disquiet, an astonishing work that, in George Steiner's words, "gives to Lisbon the haunting spell of Joyce's Dublin or Kafka's Prague."

Published for the first time some fifty years after his death, this unique collection of short, aphoristic paragraphs comprises the "autobiography" of Bernardo Soares, one of Pessoa's alternate selves. Part intimate diary, part prose poetry, part descriptive narrative, captivatingly translated by Richard Zenith, The Book of Disquiet is one of the greatest works of the twentieth century.

Banned in Russia, Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God Is Within You was deemed a threat to church and state. This work is the culmination of a lifetime's thought, espousing a commitment to Jesus's message of turning the other cheek. In a bold and original manner, Tolstoy shows his readers clearly why they must reject violence of any sort—even that sanctioned by the state or the church—and urges them to look within themselves to find the answers to questions of morality.

In 1894, one of the first English translations of this book found its way into the hands of a young Gandhi. Inspired by its message of nonresistance to evil, the Mahatma declared it a source of independent thinking, profound morality, and truthfulness.

Much of this work's emotional and moral appeal lies in its emphasis on fair treatment of the poor and working class. Its view of Christianity, not as a mystic religion but as a workable philosophy originating from the words of a remarkable teacher, extends its appeal to secular and religious readers alike.

When her father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the north of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice. This is intensified by her tempestuous relationship with the mill-owner and self-made man, John Thornton, as their fierce opposition over his treatment of his employees masks a deeper attraction.

In North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell skillfully fuses individual feeling with social concern, and in Margaret Hale creates one of the most original heroines of Victorian literature.

Venus in Furs describes the obsessions of Severin von Kusiemski, a European nobleman who desires to be enslaved to a woman. Severin finds his ideal of voluptuous cruelty in the merciless Wanda von Dunajew. This is a passionate and powerful portrayal of one man's struggle to enlighten and instruct himself and others in the realm of desire.

Published in 1870, the novel gained notoriety and a degree of immortality for its author when the word "masochism"—derived from his name—entered the vocabulary of psychiatry. This remains a classic literary statement on sexual submission and control.

Tobacco Road is the classic novel of a Georgia family undone by the Great Depression. Even before the Depression struck, Jeeter Lester and his family were desperately poor sharecroppers. But when hard times begin to affect the families that once helped support them, the Lesters slip completely into the abyss.

Rather than hold on to each other for support, Jeeter, his wife Ada, and their twelve children are overcome by the fractured and violent society around them. Banned and burned when first released in 1932, Tobacco Road is a brutal examination of poverty’s dehumanizing influence by one of America’s great masters of political fiction.

The archetypal Victorian melodrama, as heartfelt and moving today as when it was first published, Charles Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop is edited with notes and an introduction by Norman Page in Penguin Classics.

Little Nell Trent lives in the quiet gloom of the old curiosity shop with her ailing grandfather, for whom she cares with selfless devotion. But when they are unable to pay their debts to the stunted, lecherous and demonic money-lender Daniel Quilp, the shop is seized and they are forced to flee, thrown into a shadowy world in which there seems to be no safe haven.

Dickens's portrayal of the innocent, tragic Nell made The Old Curiosity Shop an instant bestseller that captured the hearts of the nation. Yet alongside the story's pathos are some of Dickens's greatest comic and grotesque creations: the ne'er-do-well Dick Swiveller, the mannish lawyer Sally Brass, the half-starved 'Marchioness' and the lustful, loathsome Quilp himself.

This edition, based on the original text of 1841, contains an introduction by Norman Page discussing the various contrasting themes of the novel and its roots in Dickens's own personal tragedy, with prefaces to the 1841 and 1848 editions, a chronology, notes and original illustrations produced for the serial version.

Thérèse Raquin is one of Zola's most famous realist novels, a clinically observed, sinister tale of adultery and murder among the lower classes in nineteenth-century Parisian society.

Set in the claustrophobic atmosphere of a dingy haberdasher's shop in the passage du Pont-Neuf in Paris, this powerful novel tells how the heroine and her lover, Laurent, kill her husband, Camille, but are subsequently haunted by visions of the dead man, and prevented from enjoying the fruits of their crime.

Zola's shocking tale dispassionately dissects the motivations of his characters—mere "human beasts", who kill in order to satisfy their lust—and stands as a key manifesto of the French Naturalist movement, of which the author was the founding father. Published in 1867, this is Zola's most important work before the Rougon-Macquart series and introduces many of the themes that can be traced through the later novel cycle.

Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time is one of the most entertaining reading experiences in any language and arguably the finest novel of the twentieth century. But since its original prewar translation, there has been no completely new version in English. Now, Penguin Classics brings Proust’s masterpiece to new audiences throughout the world, beginning with Lydia Davis’s internationally acclaimed translation of the first volume, Swann's Way.

Swann's Way is one of the preeminent novels of childhood: a sensitive boy's impressions of his family and neighbors, all brought dazzlingly back to life years later by the taste of a madeleine. It also enfolds the short novel "Swann in Love," an incomparable study of sexual jealousy that becomes a crucial part of the vast, unfolding structure of In Search of Lost Time. The first volume of the work that established Proust as one of the finest voices of the modern age — satirical, skeptical, confiding, and endlessly varied in its response to the human condition — Swann's Way also stands on its own as a perfect rendering of a life in art, of the past recreated through memory.

On a sweltering ocean-liner traveling from India to Europe, a passenger recounts his story—a tale of a doctor in the Dutch East Indies torn between his duty and the pull of his emotions. It's a tale of power and maddening desire, of pride, shame, and a headlong flight into folly.

'Amok' is one of the most intense and incisive of the tales that brought Stefan Zweig to worldwide fame.

Tehlikeli Oyunlar is a striking and jarring novel that calls upon the individual to perceive the struggle and triumph over one's self as a vital issue. The main character, Hikmet Benol, delves into the underlying realities of the intense turmoil in society. He senses that genuinely engaging with these truths is seen as dangerous by those in power.

As a result, Hikmet explores ways to engage with life as if playing a game. He embarks on a journey filled with both danger and play, pushing himself to the limits of where this path can lead.