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Contained within this volume are some of the best of O'Neill's early one-act plays, which foreshadowed the longer plays that have given this dramatist his most enduring fame. "Beyond the Horizon" was the first of O'Neill's three Pulitzer Prize-winning plays. It follows the disappointed dreams of two brothers on their family farm. "The Emperor Jones" is an expressionistic transformation of a black man named Brutus Jones. In fleeing from his rebelling subjects in the West Indies, Jones is taken back to his racial past and undergoes a night of personal destruction. In "Anna Christie", we find a drama focusing on the relationship of a young woman and her sailor father, who has not seen her for twenty years. As their story unfolds, Anna's troubled romantic past comes to light, and the hardships of women during that time period become as apparent as the power of forgiveness and love. In the final play in this collection, "The Hairy Ape", a ship's fireman becomes disillusioned concerning the work he performs in a society that is quickly industrializing and taking a heavy human toll. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

"The Ballad of Reading Gaol and De Profundis" collects together some of Oscar Wilde's most important writings during and concerning his two-year-long incarceration for "gross indecency". In the words of Oscar Wilde, we see his recognition for the part that he plays in his own downfall. While he never directly admits to his crimes, numerous contemporary witnesses seem to validate the charges against him. Yet Wilde could have avoided his fate if he had not chosen to sue the Marquess of Queensberry for libel. The harsh experience of prison life is recounted in these works with sensitivity towards reform. As a person of a weaker constitution, it is believed that Wilde's prison infirmities may have contributed to his decline and death just a few years after his release. In "The Ballad of Reading Gaol", the last work published before Wilde's death, we have an eloquent and sensitive concern for the insufferable conditions of prison life juxtaposed with the execution of a man convicted of killing his wife. The 1926 edition of "De Profundis" is presented here with introductory matter by Wilde's literary executor, Robbie Ross, and several of Wilde's letters from prison that were collected in that edition. Together these works give the reader an intimate picture of the writer at the most trying point of his life and the spiritual awakening that it produced. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

"Death Comes for the Archbishop" is the critically acclaimed novel of the settlement of the American Southwest by celebrated author Willa Cather. First published in 1927, it is widely regarded as one of the best American books of the 20th century and masterfully captures this pivotal time of America's westward expansion. The story is based on the real-life struggles of Catholic clergy members as they attempt to establish a regular diocese in the lawless and vast New Mexico Territory in the late 19th century. Cather's main characters, the French Bishop Jean Marie Latour and American vicar Joseph Vaillant, are based upon the real-life Jean-Baptiste Lamy and Joseph Projectus Machebeuf. The fictional pair encounters many of the same dangers and obstacles as their rel-life counterparts as they bring the Roman Catholic Church and its politics to the native people of the desert of the Southwest. While many of the clergy members are good and honorable people dedicated to spreading the Word of God, others are greedy and corrupt, making Latour and Vaillant's work all the more difficult. Beautifully written with complex characters struggling to conquer a stunning and brutal land, "Death Comes for the Archbishop" is one of Cather's most accomplished and thoughtful works. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

The third and final book in Lucy M. Montgomery's "Emily" series of books, "Emily's Quest" was first published in 1927. At the outset of the novel we find a seventeen year old Emily having just graduated from high school as she faces the departure of one of her dearest childhood friends, Teddy Kent, who is preparing to leave for two years to study art. Emily aspires to be a writer but difficulties in getting her writing career going give her apprehension as to whether or not she can be successful at it. As she pines away for her distant love Teddy, Emily engages in a number of romantic courtships, including an engagement to the much older Dean Priest. When she entrusts the critique of her first novel to Dean his disapproval sends her into a craze that results in an accidental injury which threatens her health. What follows is a series of personal, romantic, and career challenges that ultimately lead to the happy conclusion of the novel. Fans of Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" series of books will find the "Emily" series of books equally satisfying additions to the author's oeuvre. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

First published in English in 1927, "The Cross" is the final book in the "Kristin Lavransdatter" trilogy, which depicts the life of a Norwegian woman from her childhood to her death in the 14th century. The first book in the series, "The Wreath", follows the young Kristin as she clashes with her family, who are religious and prosperous farmers, while she falls in love with, and eventually marries, a man that her parents do not approve of. In the second book, "The Wife", Kristin finally faces adult responsibilities and concerns as she makes a life with her husband. She atones for the sins of her youth and rises to the challenges of raising a large family and running an estate while married to an irresponsible and impulsive man. In the final installment of the trilogy, "The Cross", we find Kristin and her family returning to her childhood farm, which is the only property left to them given the loss of her husband's inheritance. There she struggles to gain the respect of her community while dealing with a sequence of family and personal conflicts as the work advances towards its tragic conclusion. Recognized for its realistic portrayal of 14th century Norwegian life, the "Kristin Lavransdatter" trilogy is the principal body of work that would win Sigrid Undset the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

Critically acclaimed as one of the most important books of the 20th century, "To the Lighthouse" is the modern and thought-provoking work by American author Virginia Woolf. Published in 1927 and inspired by the events of her own life and the stream-of-consciousness style of James Joyce and Marcel Proust, "To the Lighthouse" follows the Ramsey family as they visit their summer home in the Hebrides, on the Isle of Skye, over the course of a decade. The physical location and activities of the family members take a backseat to their internal thoughts and observations in this introspective and philosophical novel. The reader is given a peek inside the minds of Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey and their children as they grapple with loss, disappointment, resentment, and the passage of time. While the summer home and its nearby isolated lighthouse change little over the years, the Ramseys are deeply affected by war, death, and loneliness. A fascinating novel that shows how deeply people live inside their own minds and emotions, "To the Lighthouse" explores the characters' inner lives through seemingly small and mundane moments, as their perceptions of their everyday lives slowly reveal who they truly are. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

First published in English in 1927, "Giants in the Earth" is the Norwegian novel by Norwegian-American author Ole Edvart Rolvaag which relates the struggles of a group of Norwegian immigrants to the Great Plains of America in the 1870s. A Norwegian fisherman, Per Hansa convinces his wife Beret to move with their three children to the Dakota Territory in order to build a homestead on the American frontier. Accompanied by several other Norwegian immigrants, Per Hansa is excited by the opportunity to build a life for himself in this new land while his wife longs for her homeland. What follows is a series of struggles and misfortunes which ultimately prove to be tragic for Hansa. "Giants in the Earth" is the classic story of the pioneering spirit of America and the American dream, which brought so many European immigrants to America during the 19th century, and the often harsh realities that they faced when they arrived. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

First published in French in 1921 and 1922, "Sodom and Gomorrah" is the fourth volume in Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" or "Remembrance of Things Past" cycle of novels. The novel begins with a continuation of the previous volume, "The Guermantes Way", where we find the narrator socializing in the high society world of the Princess de Guermantes. Later the narrator opts for a change of social scene when he travels to the seaside town of Balbec where he socializes with the Verdurins, a livelier yet somewhat lower class set, compared to his previous companions. On full display in the novel is the narrator's ever tempestuous relationship with his lover Albertine, as well as the constant contrast of public and private lives of the members of high society, as the novel begins to tackle the themes of homosexuality and the Jewish question. Taken together, the novels of the "In Search of Lost Time" cycle present a fascinating portrait of early 20th century France and continue to stand as one of the most epic examples of modernist prose. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper and follows the translation of C. K. Scott Moncrieff.

The writer of several hundred stories and novels, English author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle began his writing career in 1879. While he introduced the world to his most famous character, Sherlock Holmes, in the 1887 novel "A Study in Scarlet", it would not be until the 1891 publication of "A Scandal in Bohemia" that his illustrative career in writing would truly begin. With this Sherlock Holmes short story, the imagination of the reading public was instantly captured and would propel Doyle forever into the annals of English literature. Of the fifty-six Sherlock Holmes stories that Doyle would end up writing the final twelve were collected in a volume entitled "The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes". First published in 1927, "The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes" collects together stories that were originally published in "Strand Magazine" between October of 1921 and March 1927. While some critics have labeled these additions as lesser entries in the canon of Sherlock Holmes, others have viewed them as evidence of a writer struggling to find a new narrative style. Regardless of any critic's opinion, no collection of Sherlock Holmes stories would be complete without these final contributions by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

First published in English in 1927, "Elmer Gantry" is Sinclair Lewis' novel which satirizes the Christian fundamentalist and evangelistic movements of the early part of the 20th century. From the 17th century onward there have been a number of efforts to reassert the influence of Christianity on social, cultural, and political life. In America, Christian Revivalism, as it is often referred to, has come in four waves, or "Great Awakenings" starting with the movement of Jonathan Edwards in the 1730s and 1740s and continuing through to the present day. With these attempts to revive the spirit of Christianity in American life have often come charlatans who seek to profit through evangelism. "Elmer Gantry" is a story of just such a charlatan. At the outset of the novel, we find a young, alcoholic, womanizing college student who abandons his ambition for a legal career to pursue a place in the ministry. After some initial failures, Gantry eventually rises to a prominent position in the Methodist church. Lewis's novel brilliantly juxtaposes the hypocritically moralizing sermons of Gantry with the character's actions, which cause the ruin of many around him. A commercial success that was viewed scornfully by the community it satirized, "Elmer Gantry" remains a captivating portrait of early 20th century America. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

American writer and professor of literature at the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in New York City, Clement C. Moore is best remembered today for his timeless poem "'Twas the Night Before Christmas". Born in New York City in 1779, Moore would achieve considerable wealth by developing his large inherited estate into what is known today as the residential neighborhood of Chelsea in New York City. Having originally published these verses as "A Visit from St. Nicholas", anonymously on December 23, 1823, Clement C. Moore would acknowledge his authorship of the poem several years later in 1837. This work, arguably one of the most famous poems ever written by an American, would prove to be a profound influence on establishing the legend of Santa Claus in America and his association with gift giving at Christmas time. "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" is presented here in its entirety along with the famous illustrations by Jessie Willcox Smith that were first published in 1912 in an edition printed on premium acid-free paper.