Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in World Literature

In this classic, romantic ghost story, a governess on a remote country estate begins to believe her charges are possessed by the spirits of 2 dead former servants. Are her perceptions simply the fruit of her neuroses - or could they possibly be valid? A foray into the very heart of evil, Henry James's masterful novel is also remarkable for its psychological acuity and evocation of mood.

Amidst the upheaval of the French Revolution, former aristocrat Charles Darnay becomes wrongly tangled in unfortunate events, endangering his freedom and family. Sidney Carton, a cynical lawyer who squandered his life away, seeks to redress his unhappiness through Darnay's beautiful wife, Lucie. A work of historical fiction by one of the world's greatest writers, A Tale of Two Cities is a story about love, chaos, sacrifice, and redemption.

This profound portrait of family life takes listeners inside the hearts and minds of members of the Quick family, whose raw-edged emotions are stirred up by a visit home. An inexplicably violent death and painful confrontations leave every family member forever changed. Rich in insight and psychological entanglements, A Southern Family is a masterful tale of anger and pain, of love and hatred, and ultimately of healing, understanding, and wisdom.

Jean Valjean is one of society's victims. A poor but honest peasant, he is caught stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving family and is sent to prison. By the time of his eventual release, he has become a hardened criminal, but his friendship with the saintly Monseigneur Bienvenu gives him another chance at life. This new, respectable life is precarious, for Valjean is still sought by the law, in the person of the implacable Inspector Javert.

The welfare of children—a theme of many novels by Charles Dickens—is central to Nicholas Nickleby, the story of a fatherless young man, his mother, and his sister who find themselves at the mercy of a greedy and unscrupulous relative. Nicholas Nickleby is both a vivid indictment of the exploitive, brutal boarding schools of the late 19th century and a celebration of a little family's resilient generosity of spirit. Actor Paul Scofield's performance captures the warmth and charm of this story and its array of colorful characters.

Falsely accused of a crime and betrayed by his closest friend, the weaver Silas Marner has been hoarding his earnings for 15 years. Distanced from his religious community, he has devoted himself to his work and taken pleasure only in counting his coins. Then in a single day, his gold is stolen and a lovely child appears on his doorstep. As he changes his life to meet the irresistible needs of the child, Marner accepts that the loss of the gold was a necessary exchange for the child.

William Butler Yeats's early poetry is suffused with the radiant lyricism of Irish folklore and myth; the yearning romance and distinctly Irish voice of these first works of the Nobel laureate have inspired scores of poets. This splendid selection offers a distinctive sampling of the Yeatsian voice.

These passages from the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson on religion and spiritual philosophy reveal a metaphysical thought that is quintessentially American and universally relevant to the spiritual needs of today's world. It is seldom that an American philosopher is found among the gurus, mystics, and masters present in the spiritual milieu. Emerson combined the spiritual intuition of the East with the philosophical acumen of the West.

Lisa Kron invites her audience on a roller coaster ride through the Kron family album in 2.5 Minute Ride. Rising and falling between high hilarity and deep disquiet, Kron demonstrates with disarming simplicity that humor and horror can share the same human moment. Kron's' performance switches back and forth between her journey to Auschwitz with her septuagenarian father, a Holocaust survivor; her Michigan family's annual pilgrimage to a Sandusky, Ohio amusement park, and more.

In this treasury of passionate and humorous encounters with the vibrant world of animals, Stephen Mitchell has collected animal poems from many ages and many cultures. He includes excerpts from ancient masterpieces like, The Hymn to the Sun by Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, The Book of Job, and The Book of Psalms; haiku by Basho, Buson, and Issa; poems by Milton and Smart, Blake and Burns, Whitman and Emily Dickenson, Hardy and Hopkins.

Fourth in the new study guide series featuring engaging commentary by writer / lecturer Dr. Elizabeth McNamer on great literary classics. Dr. McNamer now concentrates on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Chaucer’s merry charm and Milton’s high seriousness become accessible to modern minds when explored by Dr. McNamer.

Perhaps the first great and truly "American" poet, Walt Whitman's writing reflected the idealism and turbulence of the mid-19th century. His poetry broke new stylistic ground with its unconventional meter and rhyme schemes, yet celebrated democratic values, the beauty of nature, and the complex variety and vitality of American life.

Although she is most famous for her bestselling fiction, Erica Jong started her publishing career as a poet and has an international reputation for her verse. Becoming Light includes early poems previously uncollected in book form, selections from her previous books and many new poems. Erica Jong's poetry exhibits her rare gifts for inventiveness, wit, vigor, honesty and accessibility.

Bad Dogs Have More Fun is an unforgettable collection of more that 75 newspaper columns by John Grogan, the number-one New York Times best-selling author of Marley & Me. Combining humor, wit, poignancy and affection, these columns provide insight into the intriguing and wonderful world we live in.

Subtitled "512 boorish, insensitive, and socially obnoxious pointers for leading a simple, self-centered life," this little book is a hilarious parody of the best seller with a similar name. Here are just a few of the gems contained within. Number 24: Give little kids clothes for their birthdays. Number 101: Argue with everybody. Number 326: Leave the alarm on when he doesn't have to get up. This guide is bound to bring at least 512 laughs.

When Abe Ringel takes the case of Joe Campbell, the "White Knight" of the New York Knicks who stands accused of rape, he thinks he's found the perfect easy victory to get his career on track. But when Ringel's investigations suggest that Campbell is guilty and dangerous, the defense attorney must confront the conflict between his courtroom responsibilities and his ethics as a human being.

Nuala Anne McGrail has twice before amazed her faithful suitor, Dermot Coyne, with her psychic ability to "reach back" to the past and discover a wrong that needs righting. With their wedding only a few weeks away, Dermot's not a bit surprised when, while paying respects to his grandparents in Chicago's Mount Carmel Cemetery, Nuala points to the grave of the famous bootlegger Jimmy "Sweet Rolls" Sullivan .

Here, in their own words, are seven children who confronted life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, sickle cell anemia, disability, and AIDS. Ranging in age from 7 to 17, these children from different backgrounds and with different personalities, share uncommon courage, a vibrant spirit, and piercing candor and eloquence about how to seize life, to glorify it, and be grateful for its gifts. Through poems written at Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp and conversations with loved ones, they reveal their attitudes towards life, illness, remission, religion, family, and friends.

In 1832, 18-year-old Frankie Silver was charged with murdering her young husband. In 1833, she became the first woman in the state of North Carolina to be hanged for murder. But was she guilty? More than 100 years later, Tennessee sheriff Spencer Arrowood is determined to reveal the truth behind this unanswered question. A spellbinding story that sweeps from the drawing rooms of early aristocracy to the ruins of a one-room cabin deep in the Appalachian wilderness, The Ballad of Frankie Silver flawlessly weaves past and present, truth and fiction, folklore and legend.

Fresh from solving the mystery of who killed Michael Collins in Irish Gold, Dermot Michael Coyne and Nuala Anne McGrail are reunited in Chicago. An accountant by day, Nuala sings in a local pub at night, while dreaming of making it big. Dermot compares Nuala to Irish lace-"thin and delicate and pretty, and just a little bit complicated."But their courtship in once again interrupted, this time by one of Nuala's "spells". Nuala is fey, as they say in the Old Country, and she occasionally has visions from the past.