Classic Literature

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Top 10 Books About "My Last Duchess"
"My Last Duchess," (1842) by Robert Browning, is a great example of dramatic dialogue, a poetic form used to narrate and dramatize Victorian concerns. In iambic pentameter couplets, the speaker of the poem, the Duke of Ferrara say: "That's my last Duchess painted on the wall, / Looking as if she were alive..."

Top 10 Books About Jewish American Literature
These books collect the voices from Jewish American writers like Tillie Olsen, Allen Ginsberg, and Cynthia Ozick. Find resources related to fiction, poetry, drama, essays, journals, autobiography, and more.

Top 2 Classics in Science Fiction
They are the stories about space, other worlds, the future, and ourselves. Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and other writers created the earliest works in science fiction.

Top 10 Books About Civil War Literature
Writers have used the Civil War as a backdrop for thier literary writings about American characters. Read "The Red Badge of Courage," and other works.

Top 10 Books About Native American Literature
These books collect the poems, short stories, essays, and memoirs from more than 200 years of Native American writing. Also find bibliographies and other critical resources.

Top 10 Books About The Plague
The Plague has been a subject for literary writings for centuries. Writers from Giovanni Boccaccio to Albert Camus have used plagues and other diseases for dramatic and literary effect. Here's a list of just a few books that use the subject of the Plague.

Top 10 Books About Vampire Literature
Vampires have appeared in mythology and legends from around the world. The focus of fear, foreboding and fascination, vampires continue to haunt our fiction.

Top 10 Books About Studying the Bible as Literature
It doesn't matter whether you believe the Bible to be "fact" or a fable... It remains an important reference source in the study of literature. These books should help you in your study of the Bible as literature.

Top 10 Ralph Waldo Emerson Writings
Ralph Waldo Emerson is known for essays, lectures, addresses, poetry, and other literature. Read these collections, which feature some of his most famous reflections.

Top 10 New York Literature Books
New York has been a place that has captured the imagination of some of our greatest writers. Walt Whitman, Henry James, and Edith Wharton were all born in New York... And many other classic writers made New York their home. Read these collections of classic New York Literature: poetry, fiction, and more.

Top 10 Sinclair Lewis Writings
Learn more about Sinclair Lewis and his status as a great American writer, with these collections of his works. "Main Street" was the work for which Lewis received the Pulitzer Prize (which he refused). In 1930, Lewis was also awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Top 10 Books on Reading
Do you want to read more, but you don't know where to start? Do you love reading, but can't quite understand why? These books talk about reading the great classics ... but they also talk about the experience of reading.

Top 10 Books About "The Scarlet Letter"
Considered by many to be a masterpiece of the period, Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter" is the classic tale about Hester Prynn and her public disgrace. Henry James called it "the finest piece of imaginative writing yet put forth in the country."

Top 10 Founding Fathers' Literature
Men like Ben Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson came from different backgrounds and experiences. They came together to found a new nation, based on the principles of liberty and justice.

Top 10 Great Writers Speak
If you've ever wanted to hear the voices of some of the greatest writers in literary history reading their works, these collections provide you with the opportunity you've been waiting for... Listen to Tolkien read from "The Lord of the Rings," or Joyce read from "Ulysses."

Top 10 Books About Dragon Mythology
Dragons have appeared in some of our most ancient pieces of literature. Some of the most memorable encounters are the Beowulf's dragon and Tolkien's Smaug, but there are many more in world mythology and literature.

Top 10 Books on Reading
Do you want to read more, but you don't know where to start? Do you love reading, but can't quite understand why? These books talk about reading the great classics ... but they also talk about the the experience of reading.

Top 10 Books About 16th-Century Literature
The sixteenth century brought us writers like Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe, Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Thomas More, and other figures in literary history. But what about the rest of the world? Read more about 16th-Century Literature.

Top 10 African-American Literature Anthologies
African American literature has a rich history of wonderful writers, including: Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, and others. These books collect some of the greatest works by African-American writers.

Top 10 Books About Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) is a British novelist and poet known for works like "The Return of the Native," "The Mayor of Casterbridge," "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," and other works. Often dark, his work influenced Dylan Thomas, Robert Frost and others. Read more about his life and works.

Top 10 Books About Word Origins
Where did the words in language come from? What do the origins of words say about our culture? And, how do the various meanings of words evolve over time. Read more about word origins: the stories they tell...

Top 10 Books About "Brave New World"
Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" was published in 1932. This Utopian/dystopian future offers soma and other carnal pleasures, while manipulating the people into mind-numbing dependance. Read more about books related to "Brave New World."

Top 10 Books About Literary Theory & Criticism
In your studies of literature, it's helpful to have some background in literary theory. These books should provide a starting point...

Top 10 Books About F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald defined the "jazz age" with his colorful prose. His works include: "This Side of Paradise" (1920), "The Beautiful and the Damned" (1922), "The Great Gatsby" (1925), "Tender is the Night" (1934), and "The Last Tycoon" (1941). Read more about Fitzgerald's life...

Top 10 Books About Jane Austen
Jane Austen (1775-1817) is one of the most celebrated British writers. She's known for books like "Mansfield Park," "Sense and Sensibility," "Pride and Prejudice," "Northanger Abbey," "Persuasion," and "Emma." Read more about the life and works of Jane Austen.

 
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