Henry Carter Hull

First performed in 1882, "Ghosts" is the controversial and tragic play by the famed Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It is the story of Helen Alving, a wealthy widow who was unhappily married to her unfaithful husband. Helen has tried to shelter her son, Oswald, from the corrupting influence of his father's immoral behavior and has sent him away only to discover that he is suffering from syphilis inherited from his father. Oswald has also unfortunately...

"The lions of Carthage, though they bear the gorgeous bonds and trappings of captivity, and eat the food that is given them by hand, and though they fear their harsh master with his lash they know so well; yet if once blood has touched their bristling jaws, their old, their latent wills return; with deep roaring they remember their old selves; they loose their bands and free their necks, and their tamer is the first torn by their cruel teeth, and...

Karsten Bernick is the dominant businessman in a small coastal town in Norway, with interests in shipping and shipbuilding in a long-established family firm. Now he is planning his most ambitious project yet, backing a railway which will connect the town to the main line and open a fertile valley which he has been secretly buying up.

Suddenly his past explodes on him. Johan Tønnesen, his wife's younger brother, comes back from

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Confessions of a Young Man (1888) is a memoir by George Moore. Originally written in French, it is a record of his life in Paris as a young man with money and dreams to spare. Controversial for its depictions of bohemianism and pointed critique of Victorian morality, Confessions of a Young Man has been recognized as an invaluable portrait of nineteenth century Paris and the geniuses who struggled to reshape art in their image. Degas. Renoir. Monet....

Women and Economics (1898) is a sociological and economic study by American author and feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Inspired by her work as a social reformer and advocate for women's suffrage, Gilman sought to write a work of nonfiction that explained the need to introduce women into the workforce while alleviating their responsibilities as wives and mothers. Women and Economics, arguably Gilman's most important work, employs the theories of...

When W.B. Yeats discovered Rabindranath Tagore's work in translation, he felt an intense kinship with a man, whose work was similarly grounded in spirituality and opposition to the British Empire. For the Irish poet, Tagore's poems were at once deeply personal and essentially universal, like a secret kept by all and shared regardless: "I have carried the manuscript of these translations about with me for days, reading it in railway trains, or on the...

The Memoirs of Victor Hugo (1899) is an autobiographical work by Victor Hugo. Assembled from diaries and manuscripts left behind by the author following his death in 1895, the Memoirs are as much a record of a life as they are a portrait of nineteenth century France. Told from the perspective of a supremely gifted artist whose command of language is matched only by his commitment to morality, The Memoirs of Victor Hugo is an invaluable text for scholars...

Indian Home Rule (1909) is a book by Mahatma Gandhi. Originally written in Gujarati, while the author was traveling from London to South Africa, Indian Home Rule or Hind Swaraj is a groundbreaking text that laid out some of Gandhi's core beliefs as an activist and political thinker. Banned in 1910 by the British government in India as a seditious text, Indian Home Rule remains essential to Gandhi's legacy in his native country and around the world....

The Book of Tea, one of the great English tea classics, is a long essay about the connection between teaism, Taoism, and the aesthetics of Japanese culture. It was written by Okakura Kakuzō in English and was published in the United States in 1906.

The essay targets a Western audience and seeks to explain the importance of tea in Japanese culture, not just as a beverage,

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Suffrage Songs and Verses (1911) is a collection of political poems by American author and feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Inspired by her work as a social reformer and advocate for women's suffrage, Gilman turned to poetry as a means of supporting the cause of suffragists everywhere. Although she is widely recognized for her novels, short stories, and nonfiction, Gilman's poetry showcases her command of language and fiery passion for the political...