Literary Criticism
Love Among the Artists
Love Among the Artists was published in the United States in 1900 and in England in 1914, but it was written in 1881. In the ambience of chi…
Electricity
1999 - Aston Somerfield, casual smoker and part-time alcoholic, has come to London to find himself. He knows who he's looking for, he's seen…
The Lost Art of Reading
Gerald Stanley Lee speaks here-in of books and self in the time of factories, tall buildings and industry and big city making, the effects o…
The Hero
James Parsons comes home to Little Primpton after serving in the Boer War. The whole town is proud of their new hero, who was awarded the Vi…
Under the Shadow of Etna
The short stories of Giovanni Verga, one of the leading authors of Italian verismo, or realism, tell mostly of working-class characters in r…
Mardi
Mardi is Melville's first purely fictional work. In it he contemplates man's beliefs, and questions whether or not one faith has value over …
The Autobiography of Goethe
A literary celebrity by the age of 25, Goethe was ennobled by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, Carl August in 1782 after first taking up residence t…
Confidence
This light and somewhat awkward comedy centers on artist Bernard Longueville, scientist Gordon Wright, and the sometimes inscrutable heroine…
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is a timeless tale that explores the transformative power of compassion and redemption. Follow the jour…
Pushing Leaves Towards the Sun
When Oso gets yanked off his motorcycle and killed by a closed parking lot chain, Billy feels guilty for having taught him to hop curbs and …
David Copperfield
David Copperfield is a rich and intricate tale that chronicles the life of its titular character from childhood to adulthood. Through a seri…
The Innerglow Effect
Drug companies continue to come out with powerful new medicines. Some produce wondrous responses while others have unforeseen side effects.…
Poor Folk
Known as Fyodor Dostoyevski's first novel, Poor Folk portrays the life of poor people and poverty in a general sense. This novel is short i…
Howards End
The Schlegels frequently encounter the Wilcoxes. The youngest, Helen, is rejected by the younger Wilcox brother, Paul. The eldest, Margaret,…
Camilla
Camilla is Frances Burney's third novel. It became very popular upon its publication in 1796. Jane Austen referred to it, among other novels…
Two Sides To Every Question
'Two Sides to Every Question’: From a South Australian Standpoint is a meditation on poverty, wealth, and social aspiration set in the free …
Nana
Excerpt from Introduction:"Nana" stands third in popularity among the Zola novels. It is a study of the prostitute type and it giv…
Germinal
This epic about French coal miners and the burgeoning labor movement is considered one of Zola's finest novels. - Summary by Matt Pierard
Demos
"Richard Mutimer is delighted to inherit a large fortune. As a socialist, he means to use it well: he will open a factory in which work…
A Long Way from Disney
It's the 1980s in Boston: the Celtics are rolling, the Patriots got crushed by the Bears, and the Sox are the Sox. Adam Berkman is learning …