Language and Litterature

And what difference is there in the colour of the soul? In 1841, Solomon Northrup was kidnapped in Washington DC and sold into slavery. Separated from his family, he was forced to endure countless injustices and brutalities until he finally managed to escape in 1853. Twelve Years a Slave is his harrowing memoir about the realities of slavery in the years before the civil war. Vividly portrayed

A good fit of illness proves the value of health; real danger tries one's mettle; and self-sacrifice sweetens character. Through a series of letters sent home while serving as a volunteer nurse for the Union Army, Louisa May Alcott created a raw and honest story of battlefield medicine during the American Civil War. Featuring a series of compassionate portraits of the soldiers she encountered,

Since the city was not adorned as the dignity of the empire demanded ... [Augustus] so beautified it that he could justly boast that he had found it built of brick and left it in marble. Over the course of the 1st century AD,the Roman Empire achieved never before seen glories. In Lives of the Caesars, the Roman historian Suetonius recounts the story of the rise of the Roman Empire through the c

We should treat all trivial things in life very seriously, and all serious things of life with a sincere and studied triviality. - Oscar Wilde First performed in 1895, The Importance of Being Earnest is a play in three acts full of mix-ups, unexpected plot twists, mistaken identities and extraordinary quickfire wit. Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax both fall in love with a man called Ernes

The most famous work of spiritual fiction of the twentieth century, The Prophet is rooted in Kahlil Gibran's own experience as an immigrant and provides inspiration to anyone feeling adrift in a world in flux.

'The mass of the rich and the poor are differentiated by their incomes and nothing else, and the average millionaire is only the average dishwasher dressed in a new suit.' In 1928 the young George Orwell arrived in Paris, a city known as a thriving art scene and home to some of literature's most esteemed figures. It was not long before the money ran out, and Orwell, now destitute, was forced to

'Above all, there was a belief in the revolution and the future, a feeling of having suddenly emerged into an era of equality and freedom.' In late 1936, the idealistic young George Orwell set out for Spain to join the Republican Army in its battle against the fascists. There he encountered a country in chaos. From the heady promises of revolutionary Barcelona to the betrayals, logistical night

'There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in our philosophy.' Arguably Shakespeare's greatest play and certainly his most performed, Hamlet tells the impassioned story of the grief-stricken Danish prince's revenge against his uncle, Claudius, for murdering his father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet's mother. A thought-provoking study of the human

'Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee: I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.' Often referred to superstitiously as 'the Scottish play', Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's best-loved works. As a general in the army of the Scottish king, Macbeth meets three witches who prophesy that he will one day take his master's place. A tumultuous

'Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.' Set in Athens, A Midsummer Night's Dream is a sparkling comedy centred on the theme of love and delightfully peopled with some of Shakespeare's best-loved characters such as the unintentionally comical weaver Bottom and the mischievous fairy, Puck. Perfectly combining a fantastical fairyland w

'But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun.' Written between 1591 and 1595, Romeo & Juliet is one of Shakespeare's greatest and most popular plays. Set in Verona, Italy, it has been performed across the world and inspired numerous other artistic works - from music to ballet and film - as well as entertaining countless generations of theatre-goers.

Othello was probably written in 1603, some years after the Ottoman-Venetian War (1570-1573) fought for control of Cyprus, a possession of the Venetian Republic since 1489. The story revolves around two characters, Othello and Iago. Othello is a Moorish military commander serving as a general of the Venetian army in defence of Cyprus against invasion by Ottoman Turks. He has recently married Desd

Set on a remote island, where the sorcerer Prospero, lives with his daughter Miranda, and his two servants: Caliban, a savage monster figure, and Ariel, an airy spirit, The Tempest was written c. 1610-11 and is believed to be one of the last plays that Shakespeare wrote alone. With music and songs that evoke the spirit of enchantment on the island, The Tempest explores many themes, including mag

From the author of million-copy bestseller, Flowers for Algernon, the shocking true story of a troubled young man and his splintered, terrifying world. Inspiration for the new TV series THE CROWDED ROOM starring Tom Holland 'An absorbing, often heart-rending exploration of the human mind' Cosmopolitan 'Fascinating' LA Times '[Keyes] has carried it off brilliantly, bringing not only a fine c

The legendary poet of Greek antiquity Homer is surrounded by almost as much myth as the characters of his two epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey. As two of the oldest extant works of Western literature they formed the foundations for Ancient Greek culture, and have been read, translated, adapted and enjoyed across the globe since the 8th century BC. The Iliad takes place in the final weeks of

The Merchant of Venice tells of a Venetian merchant called Antonio who defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender. The man, Shylock, then takes the opportunity to hit back at the racism and general discrimination that he has encountered by demanding a pound of flesh from Antonio. Although classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's oth

King Lear is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters, having cut off the third for speaking her truth. As a result of his poor judgement he becomes destitute and insane yet at the crux of political machinations. King Lear was first performed in 1606 and though it was often revised after the Engl

The genius behind Leonardo da Vinci's artwork is introduced in this deluxe silkbound guide with full-colour illustrations. Leonardo da Vinci's desire for accuracy and realism in his work drove him to take an almost forensic approach to recording the world around him, and to produce an enormous number of paintings, drawings, plans and diagrams. Selected from the entire range of Leonardo's fine

Autobiography of a Yogi is the compelling story of Paramahansa Yogananda, one of the most revered spiritual figures of our time. As a young man Paramahansa Yogananda embarked on a quest to find his spiritual master, which he did in the form of Swami Sri Yukteswar - together they achieved 'a oneness of silence, words seemed the rankest superfluities'. A mixture of biography and scholarly refl