Orlando is a character liberated from the restraints of time and sex. Born in the Elizabethan Age to wealth and position, he is a young male aristocrat at the beginning of the story--and a modern woman four centuries later. The hero-heorine sees monarchs come and go, hobnobs with great literary figures, and slips in and out of each new fashion. Woolf presents a brilliant pageant of history, society, and literature as well as a subtle appreciation...

The Montessori Method (1912) is a work on pedagogy by Maria Montessori. Originally written in her native Italian to describe the work she carried out at the Casa dei Bambini in Rome, the book was translated into English during a period of increasing popularity for Montessori and her educational method in the United States. By 1913, over 100 Montessori schools had been opened in the United States, prompting the educator to travel to the country on...

When she was 19 months old, Helen Keller (1880–1968) suffered a severe illness that left her blind and deaf. Not long after, she also became mute. Her tenacious struggle to overcome these handicaps - with the help of her inspired and inspiring teacher, Anne Sullivan - is one of the great stories of human courage and dedication. The Story of My Life, first published in 1903, is Helen Keller's classic autobiography detailing the first 22 years of...

When it seems that Julius Caesar may assume supreme power, a plot to destroy him is hatched by those determined to preserve the threatened republic. But the different motives of the conspirators soon become apparent when high principles clash with malice and political realism.

The Cherry Orchard (1903) is Russian playwright and short story writer Anton Chekhov's final play. It was first performed at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1904, directed by acclaimed actor Konstantin Stanislavski-who also played the role of Leonid Gayev, the bizarre and uninspired brother of Madame Ranevskaya. It has since become one of twentieth century theater's most important-and most frequently staged-dramatic works. After five years of living in...

Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of Elizabethan theater with William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". This bewitching comedy whisks you away into a whirlwind of love, fantasy, and magic. Follow the complicated loves of four young lovers lost in a mysterious forest, where mischievous fairies play tricks on them. Amidst misunderstandings, confusions, and magical spells, this summer night promises twists as amusing as they are surprising. Meanwhile,...

Six Characters in Search of an Author (1921) is a metatheatrical drama by Luigi Pirandello. Viewed as an important work of absurdist literature, the play was a critical failure when it was first, staged in Rome. Revised by its author and bolstered by successful performances in New York City, Six Characters in Search of an Author has been, recognized as a pioneering examination of the nature of creativity, the relationship of the director and actors...

Arrowsmith tells the story of bright and scientifically minded Martin Arrowsmith of Elk Mills, Winnemac (the same fictional state in which several of Lewis's other novels are set), as he makes his way from a small town in the Midwest to the upper echelons of the scientific community at a prestigious foundation in New York City. Along the way he begins medical school. He becomes engaged to one woman, cheats on her with another woman, becomes engaged...

"For two thousand years, the epic tale of Aeneas's dramatic flight from Troy, his doomed love affair with Dido, his descent into the underworld, and the bloody story behind the establishment of Rome has electrified audiences around the world. In Vergil's telling, Aeneas's heroic journey not only gave Romans and Italians a thrilling origin story, it established many of the fundamental themes of Western life and literature-the role of duty and self-sacrifice,...

All's Well That Ends Well (1607) is a comedy by William Shakespeare. All's Well That Ends Well was likely inspired by the tale of Giletta di Narbona from Boccaccio's Decameron. Unpopular during Shakespeare's lifetime, the play remains one of his least staged works to this day. Despite this, scholars praise All's Well That Ends Well for its moral ambiguity. "The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together, our virtues would be proud...