Mary Shelley’s tragic story of a scientist who created a monster is perhaps even more compelling and meaningful today than when it was written nearly two centuries ago. From the bits and pieces of dead bodies, and the power of electricity, the brilliant Victor Frankenstein fashions a new form of life—only to discover, too late, the irreparable damage he has caused
Dostoevsky’s most revolutionary novel, Notes from Underground marks the dividing line between nineteenth- and twentieth-century fiction, and between the visions of self each century embodied. One of the most remarkable characters in literature, the unnamed narrator is a former official who has defiantly withdrawn into an underground existence. In full retreat from society, he scrawls a passio…
For the Fourth Edition, the editor collated the 1847 text with the two modern texts (Norton s William J. Sale collation and the Clarendon), and found a great number of variants, including accidentals. This discovery led to changes in the body of the Norton Critical Edition text that are explained in the preface. New to "Backgrounds and Contexts" are additional letters, a compositional chronolog…
War, glory, despair, and mourning: for 2,700 years, the Iliad has gripped listeners and readers with the story of Achilles' anger and Hector's death. It is a tale of many truths, powerful emotions, the failures of leadership, the destructive power of beauty, the quest for fame, the plight of women, and the cold, callous laughter of the gods. Above all, it confronts us with war in all its brutal…
Hugo's grand medieval melodrama tells the story of the beautiful Esmeralda, a gypsy girl loved by three men: Archdeacon Frollo, his adoptive son Quasimodo, bell-ringer of Notre-Dame cathedral, and Captain Phoebus. Falsely accused of trying to murder Phoebus, who attempts to rape her, Esmeralda is sentenced to death and rescued from the gallows by Quasimodo who defends her to the last. The su…
"Sejak awal, perangaimu, keangkuhanmu, sikap acuh tak acuhmu, jadi landasan kebencianku padamu. Belum sebulan mengenalmu, aku sudah tahu bahwa kau adalah pria yang takkan mungkin kunikahi." Di mata Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy tidak pernah menjadi sosok yang memesona. Baginya, laki-laki itu angkuh, sombong, dan menyebalkan. Elizabeth membenci tatapannya yang merendahkan, cara bicaranya yang meremehk…
The Call of the Wild brought him international acclaim when it was published in 1903. His story of the dog Buck, who learns to survive in the bleak Yukon wilderness, is viewed by many as his symbolic autobiography. 'No other popular writer of his time did any better writing than you will find in The Call of the Wild, ' said H.L. Mencken. 'Here, indeed, are all the elements of sound fiction.' Wh…