WOWIO New Releases - Literature & Poetry

Alice’s Adventures Under Ground (Original Manuscript Edition)

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 05:38:43 CST

Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll (a pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) presented “Alice’s Adventures Under Ground” to his young friend, Alice Liddell, in November 1864. Dodgson handwrote and illustrated the story and this WOWIO version is a high-resolution reproduction of that original manuscript. Later, the story was expanded by Dodgson, re-illustrated by Sir John Tenniel and published in 1865 as “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

Alice’s Adventures Under Ground

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 05:21:57 CST

Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll (a pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) presented “Alice’s Adventures Under Ground” to his young friend, Alice Liddell, in November 1864. Dodgson handwrote and illustrated the original manuscript. This WOWIO version has been typeset but includes all of Dogson’s original illustrations. Later, the story was expanded by Dodgson, re-illustrated by Sir John Tenniel and published in 1865 as “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

The Wind in the Willows

Sun, 11 May 2008 21:46:15 CST

Kenneth Grahame

British writer Kenneth Grahame originally wove this layered tale of fantasy for his own son, but it went on to charm generations of children and adults alike. “The Wind in the Willows” tells the adventures of Mole, Ratty, Toad and Badger, animal friends in an idyllic English countryside who find themselves battling both circumstance and Toad’s own reckless behavior.

First published over a hundred years ago, the book grew increasingly popular and has emerged as a classic for all ages...

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:43:20 CST

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Written in just four months between 1797 and 1798, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is regarded as one of the greatest narrative poems in the English language. Rich in symbolism and open to myriad interpretations, it conveys with haunting clarity the suffering of a man who commits a terrible crime against nature. From the Mariner's fall from grace to his eventual redemption, Coleridge's poem is a magnificent evocation of the complexity of our relationship with the divine.

Beautifully...

Cat Lover's Treasury

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:21:55 CST

Charlotte Gerlings

This book is a tribute to cats everywhere and a gift to their owners who love them unconditionally.

For centuries, the domestic cat has been a source of curiosity, mystery and wonder for cat lovers all over the world. In fact, it is this enigmatic quality that irresistibly attracts us to these captivating, elusive creatures.

In The Cat Lover's Treasury,Charlotte Gerlings reaches back in time to compile this stunning collection of quotations, poems, proverbs and legends, inspired by the...

Poetry of the Civil War

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:25:21 CST

Edited by John Boyes

On January 17, 1861, a few weeks after South Carolina became the first state to formally secede from the Union, Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier's A Word for the Hour was published in the Boston Evening Transcript. It was to herald the birth of a new era of American poetry — one that expressed the hopes and fears, and the hatred and hostility, of a nation torn in two.

The only conflict to be fought on American soil by Americans, the Civil War pitched brother against brother, father...

Dog Lover's Treasury

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:47:20 CST

Caroline Foley

It is difficult to put into words just how important dogs are to us. They are our most steadfast and affectionate companions, bringing us endless joy, pleasure and comfort.

In The Dog Lover's Treasury, Caroline Foley portrays the powerful influence of the dog on many of our greatest writers, artists and poets. Within this collection are a number of remarkable stories and legends exalting some of the heroic roles dogs have played throughout history. These works beautifully capture the...

Mansfield Park

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:14:02 CST

Jane Austen

Austen's third published novel, Mansfield Park, chronicles the life of the main character, Fanny Price, a poor relation sent to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle, Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram. A tale of character and sensibility, Fanny, sensitive and shy, is torn between her duty to her family at Mansfield Park and her duty to her own conscience. In this work, Austen continues her exploration of the themes of money and marriage, of choices and consequences, of appearance and reality.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:34:19 CST

Mark Twain

"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" is a satirical tale of contrast between eras. In this perennial work, Connecticut Yankee Hank Morgan, a modern man of the late 19th century, is transported back to the sixth century world of King Arthur. Morgan discovers the social stratification and very different norms of feudal society as he encounters King Arthur, Merlin and numerous other characters of legend. Morgan uses his 19th century rational knowledge and his Yankee ingenuity to spark...

On Literature

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:51:15 CST

J. Hillis Miller

Debates rage over what kind of literature we ought to read, what is good and bad literature, and whether in the digital age, literature even has a future. But what exactly is literature? How do we know when we have a piece of literature in our hand? Why we should read literature? And how do we read literature? These are some of the big questions tackled by Hillis Miller in this fascinating and reflective little book. Well known for his work on ethics and literature, he goes back to some of the...

Meaning by Shakespeare

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:50:54 CST

Terence Hawkes

Terence Hawkes looks at King Lear, Measure for Measure, A Midsmmer Night's Dream and Coriolanus, as examples from this century of how Shakespeare's plays function as a language through which we generate meaning.

An Introduction to Literary Studies

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:47:08 CST

Mario Klarer

An Introduction to Literary Studies provides the begining student with an accessible and clear general survey of literature. Klarer provides easy to understand descriptions of a variety of approaches to texts.

Imagination: A Study in the History of Ideas

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:50:14 CST

J.M. Cocking

Many writers have paid tribute to its power: Shakespeare urged his audiences to use it to create a setting; Hobbes asserted that "imagination and memory are but one thing;" for Wordsworth it was "the mightiest leveler known to moral world;" and to Baudelaire it represented "the queen of truth."

Imagination as artistic, poetic, and cultural predicate remains one of the most influential ideas in the history of Western thought. It has been simultaneously feared as a dangerous, uncontrollable...

Greek Tragic Theatre

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:49:54 CST

Rush Rehm

Emphasizing the political nature of Greek tragedy, as theatre of, by and for the polis, Rush Rehm Characterizes Athens as a performance culture, one in which the theatre stood alongside other public forums as a place to confront matters of import and moment. In treating the various social, religious and practical aspects of tragic production, he shows how these elements promoted a vision of the theatre as integral to the life of the city -- a theatre whose focus was on the audience.

About...

Greek Tragedy: A Literary Study

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:49:52 CST

H.D.F. Kitto

Provides illuminating answers to many questions: why did Sophocles develop character-drawing? How and why does it differ from that of Aeschylus? Why are some of Euripides' plots so bad and others so good?

Cognitive Poetics: An Introduction

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:48:47 CST

Peter Stockwell

Cognitive poetics is a new way of thinking about literature, involving the application of cognitive linguistics and psychology to literary texts. This book is the first introductory text to this growing field.

In Cognitive Poetics: An Introduction, the reader is encouraged to re-evaluate the categories used to understand literary reading and analysis. Covering a wide range of literary genres and historical periods, the book encompasses both American and European approaches. Each chapter...

Baudrillard's Bestiary: Baudrillard and Culture

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:48:17 CST

Mike Gane

This book provides an introduction to Baudrillard's cultural theory: the conception of modernity and the complex process of simulation. It examines his literary essays: his confrontation with Calvino, Styron, Ballard, and Borges. It offers a coherent account of Baudrillard's theory of cultural ambience, and the culture of consumer society. It also provides an introduction to Baudrillard's fiction-theory, and the analysis of transpolitical figures.

The book also includes an interesting and...

Who's Who in Dickens

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:54:16 CST

Donald Hawes

They are all here -- Scrooge, Uriah Heep, Oliver Twist, Mr Gradgrind, Martin Chuzzlewit and Miss Havisham. This one-stop reference is the ultimate reference on all things Dickens.

About the Author
Donald Hawes is the editor of Barnaby Rudge and of Thackeray's the History of Henry Esmond, Esq.

Wax Tablets of the Mind: Cognitive Studies of Memory and Literacy in Classical Antiquity

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:54:13 CST

Jocelyn Penny Small

Wax Tablets of the Mind explores the relationship between literacy, orality and memory in classical antiquity, not only from the point of view of antiquity, but also from that of modern cognitive psychology. Jocelyn Penny Small examines how ancient techniques for improving memory continued well into the era of print. This volume represents a timely insight into the topical areas of literacy and memory, and provides a controversial and challenging analysis of the cognitive processes and their...

The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:53:39 CST

Christopher Marlowe

The most famous of all 'deals with the Devil', "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" tells the tale of the original Faustian bargain. This perplexing, challenging and mordantly funny work is both a morality play about one man's fall from spiritual grace, as well as a telling satire of the vanity of all humankind. As well as a fascinating chronology of Marlowe's life and works and extensive notes on the text, this edition includes a substantial and authoritative historical introduction to the...

The Songs of Robert Burns

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:53:33 CST

Donald Low (Ed.)

Robert Burns's songs were, in their author's eyes, the crown to his achievement as a poet. After years of study and investigation, many hours spent listening to old airs, as he recalled the living, daily song-life of the people of Scotland, and through the creation of some of the finest lyric poetry of the British Isles, Burns's success is beyond doubt. Yet, until this volume, there has been no complete edition of his songs.

Donald Low, the leading expert on Burns's songs, brings together in...

The Rape of the Lock

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:53:23 CST

Alexander Pope, Edited by Geoffrey Tillotson

This seminal edition includes comprehensive annotation, the 1712 version of the poem as well as the 1714 version, and substantial critical material in appendices. No student of Pope can afford to be without this classic edition.

Susan Sontag: An Annotated Bibliography

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:52:41 CST

Leland Poague and Kathy A. Parsons (Eds.)

Susan Sontag is one of America's most prolific and important 20th century authors. Known for her philosophical writings on American culture, this volume is an exhaustive collection with each entry accompanied by an annotated bibliography.

Shakespeare in the Present

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:52:25 CST

Terence Hawkes

Shakespeare in the Present is an outstanding collection of essays by Terence Hawkes, which engage with, explain, and explore 'presentism.' Presentism is a critical maneuver which uses relevant aspects of the contemporary as a crucial trigger for its investigations. It deliberately begins with the material present and lets that set the interrogative agenda. This book suggests ways in which its principles may be applied to aspects of Shakespeare's plays.

Hawkes concentrates on two main areas...

Shakespeare and the Young Writer

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:52:22 CST

Fred Sedgwick

Fred Sedgwick's new book presents case studies of children in primary schools writing in the grip of studying Shakespeare. It follows his earlier book for Routledge, Read my Mind, which has a similar focus on creativity, but here Shakespeare is the basis for inspiration.

Teachers will find the book useful in teaching literacy, whether within the confines of current educational policy or in the richer context of understanding the language of poetry and drama. There is ample evidence of...