An assassination attempt is made on the Burghermeister of Werpenstad, leaving the city stunned and in shock. As the atrocities continue it is up to Vice-mayor Karl Kreigel to take the reins of the Stad, but can the rumours of inhuman monsters stalking the sewers be believed, or are they simply the fears of a frightened populace and the ravings of a madman? A fantasy novella.Karl Kreigel is Vice-mayor of Werpenstad, an important trading town in Bergen, the westernmost Province of the Empire. When an assassination attempt is made against the Burghermeister, it is up to him to lead the investigation and take control of the town.With the killer still at large and rumours flying around about man-sized rats stalking the sewers, Karl knows that whoever - or whatever - he is, it is only a matter of time before the assassin returns to strike again...

This fifth collection of Tom Stoppard's plays brings together five classic plays by one of the most celebrated dramatists writing in the English language.The collection includes The Real Thing, Night & Day, Hapgood, Indian Ink and Arcadia, about which the reviewer for the Daily Telegraph said 'I have never left a new play more convinced that I'd just witnessed a masterpiece'.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

** *“They do not love that do not show their love.”* ** **—Two Gentlemen of Verona** ** * * ** Eminent Shakespearean scholars Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen provide a fresh new edition of the classic comedy of courtship and delicious rivalry. **THIS VOLUME ALSO INCLUDES MORE THAN A HUNDRED PAGES OF EXCLUSIVE FEATURES:** • an original Introduction to *Two Gentlemen of Verona* • incisive scene-by-scene synopsis and analysis with vital facts about the work • commentary on past and current productions based on interviews with leading directors, actors, and designers • photographs of key RSC productions • an overview of Shakespeare’s theatrical career and chronology of his plays Ideal for students, theater professionals, and general readers, these modern and accessible editions from the Royal Shakespeare Company set a new standard in Shakespearean literature for the twenty-first century.

A witty comedy that subverts the harsh social codes of Victorian England.

Beckett's second last prose text, Worstward Ho, is a novella written in 1983, shortly after the largely autobiographical Company and an ironic theological speculation, both previously published as the first two parts of a late trilogy of short novels. The concentration of language and precision of description in the current work is revolutionary, even for Beckett, the great reshaper of literary expression, and its theme is the creation of life, as if by a malignant God or Demiurge. Life, against all possibility, finally exists, and man becomes a painful presence. It is one of the supreme poetic texts of the 20th century.

*Much Ado About Nothing* boasts one of Shakespeare's most delightful heroines, most dancing wordplay, and the endearing spectacle of intellectual and social self-importance bested by the desire to love and be loved in return. It offers both the dancing wit of the "merry war" between the sexes, and a sobering vision of the costs of that combat for both men and women. Shakespeare dramatizes a social world in all of its vibrant particulars, in which characters are shaped by the relations between social convention and individual choice. This edition of the play offers in its introduction and commentary an extensive discussion of the materials that informed Shakespeare's compositional choices, both those conventional sources and other contexts, from cuckold jokes to conduct books, which inform the ideas and identities of this play. Particular attention is devoted to Renaissance understandings of gender identity and social rank, as well as to the social valences of Shakespeare's stylistic choices. Among the elements of structure and style discussed are the two concurrent plots, the recurrence of verbal handshakes, and the use of music.  A treatment of staging possibilities offers illustrations drawn from the earliest and recent theatrical practices, and a critical history examines the fate of the play in the changing trends of academic scholarship. A casting chart and a list of abbreviations and references are includes as appendices.  **The Arden Shakespeare** has developed a reputation as the pre-eminent critical edition of Shakespeare for its exceptional scholarship, reflected in the thoroughness of each volume. An introduction comprehensively contextualizes the play, chronicling the history and culture that surrounded and influenced Shakespeare at the time of its writing and performance, and closely surveying critical approaches to the work. Detailed appendices address problems like dating and casting, and analyze the differing Quarto and Folio sources. A full commentary by one or more of the play’s foremost contemporary scholars illuminates the text, glossing unfamiliar terms and drawing from an abundance of research and expertise to explain allusions and significant background information. Highly informative and accessible, Arden offers the fullest experience of Shakespeare available to a reader. **

An innovative new edition of nine classic short stories from one of the greatest writers of the Victorian era."I cannot think other than in stories," Oscar Wilde once confessed to his friend André Gide. In this new selection of his short fiction, Wilde's gifts as a storyteller are on full display, accompanied by informative facing-page annotations from Wilde biographer and scholar Nicholas Frankel. A wide-ranging introduction brings readers into the world from which the author drew inspiration.Each story in the collection brims with Wilde's trademark wit, style, and sharp social criticism. Many are reputed to have been written for children, although Wilde insisted this was not true and that his stories would appeal to all "those who have kept the childlike faculties of wonder and joy." "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime" stands alongside Wilde's comic masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest, while other stories—including "The Happy Prince," the tale of a...

This No Fear Shakespeare ebook gives you the complete text of the Sonnets and an easy-to-understand translation.Each No Fear Shakespeare containsThe complete text of the original playA line-by-line translation that puts Shakespeare into everyday languageA complete list of characters with descriptionsPlenty of helpful commentary

In this celebrated work, his only novel, Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde\'s most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind.

It was as a poet that Samuel Beckett launched himself in the little reviews of 1930s Paris, and as a poet that he ended his career. This new selection, from Whoroscope (1930) to 'what is the word' (1988), describes a lifetime's arc of writing. It was as a poet moreover that Beckett made his first breakthrough into writing in French, and the Selected Poems represents work in both languages, including the sequence of brief but highly crafted mirlitonnades, which did so much to usher in the style of his late prose, and come as close as anything he wrote to honouring the ambition to 'bore one hole after another in language, until what lurks behind it - be it something or nothing - begins to seep through.' Also included are several of Beckett's translations from contemporaries - Apollinaire, Eluard, Michaux, Montale - in versions which count among his own poetic achievements. **** Edited by David Wheatley

The Frogs (Ancient Greek: Βάτραχοι, Bátrachoi) is a comedy written by the Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in Athens, in 405 BC, receiving first place.

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) is deservedly famous for the brilliant plays and other works he wrote for adults. But he also was a wonderful writer for children, the author of two charming volumes of fairy tales. In this captivating collection you will find every one of the nine sensitive, unforgettable stories he wrote for young readers. Included here are "The Happy Prince," a tale of a young nobleman who in his lifetime sought only pleasure, but in death, as a gold-encrusted statue, provides aid to the needy; "The Selfish Giant," in which children are prohibited from playing in the garden of an unfeeling colossus; and "The Star-Child," the tale of a beautiful boy whose ugly spirit causes his physical appearance to become equally grotesque. Also here are such favorites as "The Nightingale and the Rose," "The Birthday of Infants," "The Remarkable Rocket," "The Devoted Friend," "The Young King," and "The Fisherman and His Soul." Reprinted complete and unabridged, these enchanting tales...

A triumphant general returns to Rome from a war against the Goths and descends into a vicious circle of revenge by refusing to show mercy to his conquered enemy. Blood begets more blood in Titus Andronicus, a fictional drama drawn from a tale by Ovid. Shakespeare styled this early play in the manner of a "revenge tragedy," a genre rooted in classical theater and enormously successful with Elizabethan audiences. Enacting grotesque incidents of rape, murder, and mutilation, this daringly experimental play explores the nature of justice and vengeance.Critical judgment of the drama ranges from dismissal as a panderer's concession to a bloodthirsty mob to praise as a skillful treatment of theatrical violence that examines suffering through the experience of art. Shakespeare's memorable tragedy questions whether revenge is ever justifiable, and its analysis of moral and political issues ― betrayal, familial loyalties, sexual violence, nationalism,...