First published in 1688, Oroonoko follows the tragic love story of a charismatic African prince and his beloved Imoinda. The eponymous hero is tricked into slavery and sold to European colonists in Surinam. Behn's moving and deeply empathetic tale is structured as a first-person account of Oroonoko's life, love, rebellion, and execution.This Warbler Classics edition includes an historically illuminating article by George Jay Smith from 1925 and an essay that provides conte...

A journey to fantastical worlds that reveals the truth about our own. First published in 1726, Gulliver's Travels follows the extraordinary adventures of Lemuel Gulliver, an English ship's surgeon whose voyages lead him to astonishing lands—from the miniature citizens of Lilliput to the towering giants of Brobdingnag, the floating island of Laputa, and the noble horse-like Houyhnhnms. Beneath the thrilling tales and imaginative settings lies Jonathan Swift's brilliant satire, offering a sh...

Classic Shakespearean history play. According to Wikipedia: "Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591, depicting the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England.[1]The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified as such. Occasionally, however, as in the quarto edition, it is termed a tragedy. Richard III concludes Shakespeare's first tetralogy (also ...

In "Waverley; Or, 'Tis Sixty Years Since," Walter Scott masterfully blends historical fiction with a rich narrative steeped in the social and political turmoil of 18th-century Scotland. The novel follows Edward Waverley, a young Englishman drawn into the Jacobite rising of 1745, as he navigates the complexities of loyalty, heritage, and identity. Scott employs a vivid, romantic style imbued with detailed descriptions and a keen sense of place, highlighting the cultural conflicts between th...

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare is a 1907 collection published by E. Nesbit with the intention of entertaining the young readers and telling the pieces of William Shakespeare so that they can be easily understood. It included a brief biography of Shakespeare, a pronunciation guide for some of the most difficult names, and a list of famous quotes arranged by subject.The dream of a summer nightThe stormHow do you likeThe Tale of WinterKing LearTw...

Dominating the literary life of Restoration England, Dryden produced a large oeuvre of poetry, plays, essays and translations that were without their equal, inspiring later critics to refer to his era simply as the 'Age of Dryden'. The Delphi Poets Series offers readers the works of literature's finest poets, with superior formatting. This volume presents the complete poetical works and plays of John Dryden for the first time in digital publishing history, with beautiful illustrations and the...

Phaedra by Jean Racine is a classic tragedy that explores the destructive power of passion, fate, and moral conflict. Inspired by Greek mythology and the works of Euripides and Seneca, the play follows Phaedra, the wife of King Theseus, who is consumed by an illicit and uncontrollable love for her stepson, Hippolytus. As she struggles with her forbidden desires, deception and miscommunication lead to tragic consequences, highlighting the inevitabi...

When Prince Oroonoko’s passion for the virtuous Imoinda arouses the jealousy of his grandfather, the lovers are cast into slavery and transported from Africa to the colony of Surinam. Oroonoko’s noble bearing soon wins the respect of his English captors, but his struggle for freedom brings about his destruction. Inspired by Aphra Behn’s visit to Surinam, Oroonoko (1688) reflects the author’s romantic view of Native Americans as simple, superior peoples ‘in the first state of innoc...

'I value fame almost as much as if I had been born a hero'. (Preface to The Lucky Chance). Aphra Behn (1640-89) achieved both fame and notoriety in her own time, enjoying considerable success for her plays and for her short novel Oroonoko, the story of a noble slave who loves a princess. Acclaimed by Virginia Woolf as the first English woman to earn her living by the pen, Behn's achievements as a writer are now acknowledged less equivocally than i...

In "The Battle of the Books, and Other Short Pieces," Jonathan Swift artfully merges satire, allegory, and literary criticism to explore the tensions between ancient and modern literature. Comprising a series of essays and fables, this collection reflects the contentious literary debates of 18th-century England, particularly the significance of classical texts in a progressively modern world. Swift employs his characteristic wit and incisive humor, engaging readers with playful narratives ...

Ancient Rome had no shortage of great writers and poets, including Plutarch, Virgil, Ovid, Catullus, Tacitus, and countless others. One of the great Roman poets who is usually part of the conversation is Quintus Horatius Flaccus, known simply as Horace (65-8 B.C.). In fact, Horace was the preeminent Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus. Horace may have had his greatest influence on the Middle Ages and Renaissance. While people today still echo his Carpe Diem, its clear that his poe...