John Wiley & Sons Inc. 09/01/1996. Set during five of the most intensely dramatic days ever portrayed, ROMEO AND JULIET was probably written in 1594 or 1595, and first published in a 1597 edition, as transcribed by actors who had performed it. Other editions appeared later, but even the more authoritative versions, such as that of 1599--probably drawn from Shakespeare's own manuscript copies--lack the detailed stage directions present in the actors' transcription; thus, modern editions incorporate several sources. ROMEO AND JULIET is among the most often performed of Shakespeare's works, and it has been among the most beloved since its earliest days. The story of ROMEO AND JULIET was derived by Shakespeare from many sources, including a 1562 poem "The Tragicall History of Romeus and Iuliet" by Arthur Brooke, which itself was an adaptation of a French piece by Pierre Boaistuau, which Boaistuau had adapted from an Italian source. Shakespeare accelerated the pace of the story by compressing the events into five days --a period in which much transpires at daybreak, including the famous balcony scene in which Romeo declares, "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?/It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." Romeo is forced to woo Juliet in secret because of the impassioned rivalry between his family, the Montagues, and Juliet's, the Capulets. Despite the intensity of their family's mutual disdain, the young lovers strive to marry. However, fate intervenes to keep them apart, and, when the Montagues and Capulets discover the folly of their ways, it's too late. Shakespeare's tragedy of young love has been adapted in every conceivable medium, including a "Little Rascals" short, the Broadway musical "West Side Story," and a 1968 Franco Zefferelli film. Originally published at $9.95 You save 80% off the cover price!

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J. Cape. 01/01/1982. Illustrated. 224 pgs. Sophie is kidnapped from the orphanage where she lives by the Big Friendly Giant (or, the B.F.G.) after she spots him performing his job of blowing good dreams into the minds of sleeping children. Sophie is happy with the giant, who takes her back to Giantland with him, but there are some not-so-very-nice giants who also live in Giantland, and all they want to do is race around the world and eat "human beans." Will Sophie and the B.F.G. be able to defeat the bad giants and protect the people of Earth? Illustrated with b&w drawings.

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Penguin USA. 10/01/1984. Reprint. Originally published at $11.00 You save 86% off the cover price!

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Tuttle Pub. 10/01/1995. Reprint. 194 pgs. Originally published at $5.50 You save 82% off the cover price!

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Penguin USA. 01/01/1988. Reprint. 78 pgs. Originally published at $9.00 You save 83% off the cover price!

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Penguin USA. 08/01/1992. Reissue. Originally published at $11.00 You save 90% off the cover price!

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Penguin USA. 08/01/2000. 88 pgs. The play takes place at the summer solstice, Midsummer Eve, in Athens, where everyone is pining away for the wrong person--except Theseus, the Duke, and his fiancée, Hippolyta, whose wedding day is fast approaching. Hermia, the Duke's daughter, is intent on marrying Lysander, although her father disapproves and threatens to force her into a nunnery if she refuses to marry his choice, Demetrius. But Demetrius loves Helena, and Lysander and Hermia plan to elope despite the Duke's orders. Meanwhile, in a subplot, the "rude mechanicals" (or artisans) Quince, Snug, Flute, Snout, Starveling, and Bottom, are hilariously rehearsing the play PYRAMUS AND THISBE to be performed at the Duke's wedding. As Hermia and Lysander head into the Forest of Arden to elope, with Helena and Demetrius following, the amateur acting troupe likewise takes cover in the forest to rehearse in privacy. This leads all the players into the realm of magic, presided over by the King and Queen of the Fairies, Oberon and Titania. When Oberon decides to play a trick on Titania with the aid of the juice of a magic flower that causes people to fall in love with the first person (or beast) they set eyes on, the real trouble starts. The magic is used liberally on both the humans and the fairies by the trouble-making sprite Puck, inspiring many incongruous entanglements. Unlike the other plays, there is in this case no known source for Shakespeare's fantastic plot, though the structure is classical, beginning in the court, moving to an "uncivilized" environment, and then returning to the newly ordered world of the court. Aspects of the imagery are drawn from classic works, such as Apuleius's THE GOLDEN ASS and Ovid's METAMORPHOSES. From evidence in the play, like Titania's remark about three unusually unpleasant summers in a row--documented elsewhere in England's records--composition seems to date from 1595 or 1596, and scholarship suggests that it was first performed in honor of a court wedding, though precisely whose remains unsubstantiated. Originally published at $5.00 You save 60% off the cover price!

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Penguin USA. 09/01/1999. 98 pgs. Originally published at $5.00 You save 60% off the cover price!

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Penguin USA. 09/01/1999. 84 pgs. Generally agreed to be Shakespeare's last play, THE TEMPEST was most likely written in 1610. Twelve years before the action begins, Prospero--Duke of Milan--and his daughter, Miranda, were stranded by Prospero's brother, Antonio, on a remote and idyllic island where Miranda has grown up happily among the beasts and flowers, never seeing any man but her father. Many years later, Prospero uses his powers and the help of Ariel, the sprite, to effect a shipwreck--hence the play's title--that brings Antonio to the island, along with the king of Naples and his son, Ferdinand, who promptly falls in love with Miranda. Their love story, juxtaposed with Prospero's revenge on his brother and his final act of mercy, form the basis of a simple plot. A combination of tragedy and romantic comedy, the play includes a happy ending that, finally, leans toward the latter. Unlike Shakespeare's other plays, THE TEMPEST is full of magic and exoticism and what we now think of as special effects, using evocative music and extravagant imagery to create a mood of enchantment that, nonetheless, confronts serious questions about reality and illusion. Some interpretations of the play see Prospero--who, in his dazzling last speech, renounces his magic powers--as the aging Shakespeare bidding farewell to the theater. THE TEMPEST is also interesting because its events take place in a 24-hour period. And it is, of course, the source of a famous phrase: when the sheltered Miranda first lays eyes on Ferdinand, she exclaims, "Oh brave new world, that has such people in it!" Originally published at $5.00 You save 80% off the cover price!

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Oxford Univ Pr. 03/01/1999. 296 pgs. While King Henry IV rightly laments that his heir, the young Prince Hal, has not distinguished himself in battle, Hal is up to no good at the Boar's Head Tavern with his rotund cohort, Falstaff. With a rebellion rising against the throne at home, Hal lives it up in the ale houses of London, associating with petty schemers and masterminding practical jokes instead of military strategies. When his father sends a messenger to fetch his delinquent son, will Hal rally to the call? Written prior to 1596, this much-loved play is referred to in multiple memoirs and documents of the day and in subsequent decades, including Samuel Pepys's diary, attesting to its impact and popularity. Blending action that takes place at court with scenes of city life, HENRY IV PART 1 marks a turning-point in Shakespeare's oeuvre, as action unfolds simultaneously in diverse locations, lending texture and variety to the drama, and involving characters drawn not only from the ranks of court, but from London's seedier byways. The sway of chaos and order, the perennial theme of Shakespeare's histories, is present here in the juxtaposition of the political realm with the Epicurean. Originally published at $10.95 You save 89% off the cover price!

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Lightning Source Inc. 06/30/1985. Revised. 84 pgs. A play about Virginia Woolf and her relationships with her husband, Leonard Woolf, and her lover, Vita Sackville-West. Originally published at $20.00 You save 95% off the cover price!

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Lightning Source Inc. 06/01/1964. Written in 1959, "The Elder Statesman" is a contemporary poetic drama that puts into practice the critical principles Eliot articulated in his 1919 "Rhetoric and Dramatic Poetry". As in his other plays, Eliot displays a great gift for blank verse that sounds conversational when spoken. Originally published at $14.00 You save 93% off the cover price!

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Oxford Univ Pr. 03/01/1985. As might be expected, Jane Austen was a sharp and witty letter-writer. Fortunately, she was also a prolific correspondent. This collection of her letters illuminates the brilliantly clever young woman who wrote some of the world's greatest novels. Originally published at $13.95 You save 93% off the cover price!

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Oxford Univ Pr. 06/01/1998. 436 pgs. Originally published at $11.95 You save 90% off the cover price!

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Oxford Univ Pr. 06/01/1998. Originally published at $9.95 You save 80% off the cover price!

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St Martins Pr. 06/01/1997. While King Henry IV rightly laments that his heir, the young Prince Hal, has not distinguished himself in battle, Hal is up to no good at the Boar's Head Tavern with his rotund cohort, Falstaff. With a rebellion rising against the throne at home, Hal lives it up in the ale houses of London, associating with petty schemers and masterminding practical jokes instead of military strategies. When his father sends a messenger to fetch his delinquent son, will Hal rally to the call? Written prior to 1596, this much-loved play is referred to in multiple memoirs and documents of the day and in subsequent decades, including Samuel Pepys's diary, attesting to its impact and popularity. Blending action that takes place at court with scenes of city life, HENRY IV PART 1 marks a turning-point in Shakespeare's oeuvre, as action unfolds simultaneously in diverse locations, lending texture and variety to the drama, and involving characters drawn not only from the ranks of court, but from London's seedier byways. The sway of chaos and order, the perennial theme of Shakespeare's histories, is present here in the juxtaposition of the political realm with the Epicurean. Originally published at $13.95 You save 88% off the cover price!

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