First published in 1726, this classic work of satire presents a world gone haywire, where humans, despite their pomposity and grandiose illusions, are no better than weak and helpless fools. Lemuel Gulliver's journeys take him to Lilliput, a country whose inhabitants are no more than six inches tall; to Brobdingnag, a land of giants; to Laputa, a flying island inhabited by absent-minded people; and to the land of Houyhnhnms, where horselike creatures rule with intelligence and courtesy over repulsive humanlike Yahoos. One of literature's lasting legacies, Swift's trenchant cautionary tale is a witty, allegorical depiction of people at their worst; yet it may also be read as an enchanting, playful children's story with universal appeal. 　　Shipwrecked and cast adrift, Lemuel Gulliver wakes to find himself in Lilliput, an island inhabited by little people, whose six-inch height makes their quarrels over fashion and fame seem ridiculous. His subsequent encounters - with the crude giants of Brobdingnag, the abstracted scientists of Laputa, the philosophical Houyhnhnms and brutish Yahoos - give Gulliver new, bitter insights into human behaviour. Although Gulliver's journeys take us to strange and wonderful places, it is impossible to ignore the reflections of ourselves with which Swift peoples his realms, where humankind is seen in a satirical hall of mirrors as a diminished, magnified and finally bestial species. With its wild distortions, optical illusions and undertones of madness and the grotesque, Gulliver's Travels defies our expectations of a conventional traveller's tale. It is in fact a brillantly and rudelly subversive book.

Book Description The Wordsworth Classics covers a huge list of beloved works of literature in English and translations. This growing series is rigorously updated, with scholarly introductions and notes added to new titles. This novel is the deeply disturbing story of a monstrous creation which has terrified and chilled readers ever since its first publication in 1818. The novel is the outcome of reflection on Gothic horror, galvanism, the then theories concerning the origin of life and the myth of Prometheus. Amazon.com Frankenstein, loved by many decades of readers and praised by such eminent literary critics as Harold Bloom, seems hardly to need a recommendation. If you haven't read it recently, though, you may not remember the sweeping force of the prose, the grotesque, surreal imagery, and the multilayered doppelg?nger themes of Mary Shelley's masterpiece. As fantasy writer Jane Yolen writes of this (the reviewer's favorite) edition, "The strong black and whites of the main text [illustrations] are dark and brooding, with unremitting shadows and stark contrasts. But the central conversation with the monster--who owes nothing to the overused movie image … but is rather the novel's charnel-house composite--is where [Barry] Moser's illustrations show their greatest power ... The viewer can all but smell the powerful stench of the monster's breath as its words spill out across the page. Strong book-making for one of the world's strongest and most remarkable books." Includes an illuminating afterword by Joyce Carol Oates. From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Jesse Larsen After being rescued from an iceberg, Dr. Frankenstein relates his autobiography to the ship's captain, complete with vivid descriptions of his idyllic childhood and passionate cries of regret that not even his love for Elizabeth could control his fanatic ambition. Dr. Frankenstein has been consumed by his desire to create a fully-grown living creature. When he reaches his goal, he perceives his creation as a monster, immediately regrets his work, and promptly abandons it. We also hear the poignant voice of the monster as he describes the spurning and physical attacks he has endured because of his ugliness; his desolate pain and loneliness; how he learns to love; how he finally finds and tries, unsuccessfully, to make peace with his maker; how he learns to hate. A story within a story, Frankenstein is a subtle and ironic prophecy that raises the question of who exactly is the real monster in this story. From Booklist Part of the Whole Story series, this is the full text of Mary Shelley's classic gothic story, which was first published in 1818 and has been a wild success ever since. Philippe Munch's illustrations have none of the power of Barry Moser's unforgettable woodcuts that evoke the loneliness of the grotesque outsider (in the Pennyroyal edition published by the University of California Press in 1984). The design here is crowded, and the type is small. However, the many period prints and maps in color and in black and white, with long, detailed captions, do provide the historical setting for the story, its geography, customs, and ideas. Teens enthralled by pop versions of the myth as well as science fiction fans will be interested in going back to the full version of what has been called the first science fiction novel and learning about the circumstances under which it was written by a woman, just 18 years old, 170 years ago. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Hazel Rochman From School Library Journal Grade 9 Up-Full-color drawings, photographs, and reproductions with extended captions have been added to the unedited text of Shelley's novel, thus placing the work in the context of the era in which it was written. The artwork faithfully represents the text and makes this edition appealing to reluctant readers. Unfortunately, many of the captions provide tangential information that, although interesting, interrupts the flow of the story. However, readers will quickly learn that it is not necessary to read every caption and appreciate this volume for its many quality illustrations. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Michele Snyder, Chappaqua Public Library, NY From AudioFile With so many poor adaptations of Mary Shelley's classic work in all forms of media, it's refreshing to come across a production that retains the quality, premise, and themes of the original book. As the title and principal character, Dr. Frankenstein has an affected voice that suits his tragically ambitious character. The supporting cast works well in a full range of emotions. The script and vocal characterizations de-emphasize Shelley's vision of an intelligent and cunning monster, but this is a quibble. This production is a boon for students new to the book, teachers looking for supplemental classroom materials, and fans of classic literature. A.F. About Author Mary Shelley was born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin on August 30, 1797 in London, the daughter of William Godwin--a radical philosopher and novelist, and Mary Wollstonecraft--a renowned feminist and the author of Vindication of the Rights of Woman. She eloped to France with Shelley in 1814, although they were not married until 1816, after the suicide of his first wife. She began work on Frankenstein in 1816 in Switzerland, while they were staying with Lord Byron, and it was published in 1818 to immediate acclaim. She died in London in 1851. Book Dimension : length: (cm)19.8 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　　 width:(cm)12.6

吉卜林的《丛林之书》和它的续篇一共包括一十五篇故事，其中七篇是互不相关的动物故事，如《白海豹》和《“里基——蒂基——塔维”》就属于这一类。另八篇则是以少年莫格里为中心人物的系列动物故事。我手头中的这本书只有其中的六篇故事，分别是： 《莫格里的兄弟们》 《老虎！老虎！》 《白海豹》 《“里基——蒂基——塔维”》 《国王的象叉》 《在丛林里》

《简·爱》问世将近一个半世纪以来，世界各国到底有多少痴心的女读者在这个相貌平平、过早饱尝人生辛酸、但终末失去与生活搏斗勇气的简·爱身上找寻自己的影子，寄予同情，其人数当然无法统计，但肯定是大有人在。然而，若要问有多少女读者对简·爱追求幸福的苦难历程上的障碍——幽禁在顶楼上的疯女人感到一丝一毫同情，甚或对她产生一点儿好感的，那倒大概可以说为数不多吧。但就在为数不多的人中，却有一位对疯女人产生了浓烈的兴趣，她就是英国当代女作家简·里斯(Jean Rhys，1894—1979)。凭她对《简·爱》一书的深刻研究，对疯女人出生时代背景和社会环境——十九世纪英国在西半球的殖民地——的充分了解，再加自己对这一人物的理解和同情，经过多次修订再全部推翻重写的痛苦创作过程，终于完成定稿，并于1966年出版，书名《藻海无边》(Wide Sargasso Sea)，而且于同年获得英国皇家文学会奖，1967年又获W．H．史密斯奖，还被接纳为英国皇家文学会会员。

本书系美国文艺理论家安妮特·T·鲁宾斯坦所著《英国文学的伟大传统》之下册，着重介绍和评述了从司各特到肖伯纳约一百多年间英国文学的历史。