Titles starting with M from Midwest Book Company

Food writer M. F. K. Fisher's letters, from her life as a young married woman in France to shortly before her death at the age of 84. Fisher's letters are an intriguing guide to her complex and witty personality, but the quality of the writing doesn't compare to her autobiographical works. However, the letters are a valuable adjunct, and they do shed light on a most unusual life. A New York Times Notable Book for 1998.

Mac and his younger sister Marie eagerly anticipate the arrival of the Seaboard Florida Limited train that will soon by passing through their Baltimore neighborhood. The siblings are excited because their Uncle Clem, who is working in the dining car of the train, has promised to throw them a special gift from the moving train. This picture book, illustrated with watercolor and pencil drawings, is based on a true incident from the author's father's childhood.

Shakespeare's dark portrait of ambition begins when the eponymous hero, a Scottish soldier, encounters three witches, who mysteriously refer to him as the future king. As, step by step, their prophecy begins to be fulfilled, the seeds of ambition are planted not only in Macbeth but in his scheming wife, who soon is plotting the murder of Duncan, King of Scotland. This murder--and the string of killings that inevitably follow--sets in motion a series of dark deeds that torment Macbeth and Lady Macbeth with guilt, which manifests itself most pointedly when a sleepwalking Lady Macbeth attempts to wash the blood from her hands, famously uttering "Out, damn'd spot!" MACBETH was probably written between 1603 and 1606; it is the last of Shakespeare's major tragedies and is peculiarly concise, perhaps because Shakespeare had learned of King James's penchant for shorter works. The plot was inspired by the Chronicles of Holinshed's narrative of the reigns of Duncan and Macbeth in Scotland. Richard Burbage, one of the most prominent actors of the Elizabethan stage, is said to have originated the title role.