Modern Classics Literature

The turn of the 20th century saw radical developments in all art forms and particularly in poetry. The first volume of this series features the work of nine significant poets whose careers cover the period from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.

Loosely inspired by the legend of Camelot, Dark Sexy Knight tells the story of dinner theater knight Colt Lane, who meets down-on-her-luck Verity Gwynn on the worst day of her life. Evicted from their home, Verity and her special-needs brother, Ryan, must find jobs or risk being separated. Colt, who is the furthest-possible thing from a white knight in real life, comes to their unlikely rescue, quickly cementing his place in Verity's heart.

Following the framework of a tale within a tale, Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, which features the subtitle The Modern Prometheus follows the scientific - and at times horrific - exploits of Victor Frankenstein. Victor studied alchemy in college, and after a mere two years he figures out that he can put human body pieces back together and restore the entire corpse to life.

Intimidated by her father, the rector of Knype Hill, Dorothy performs her submissive roles of dutiful daughter and bullied housekeeper. Her thoughts are taken up with the costumes she is making for the church school play, by the hopelessness of preaching to the poor and by debts she cannot pay in 1930s Depression England. Suddenly her routine shatters and Dorothy finds herself down and out in London. She is wearing silk stockings, has money in her pocket and cannot remember her name.

This was the book that launched a genre. Modern fantasy collections trace their lineage back to Lord Dunsany, and this was his first work that today's listeners would recognise in tone and settings.

Savushun chronicles the life of a Persian family during the Allied occupation of Iran during World War II. It is set in Shiraz, a town which evokes images of Persepolis and pre-Islamic monuments, the great poets, the shrines, Sufis, and nomadic tribes within a historical web of the interests, privilege, and influence of foreign powers; corruption, incompetence, and arrogance of persons in authority; the paternalistic landowner-peasant relationship; tribalism; and the fear of famine.

The Life and Death of Mr. Badman by John Bunyan can be a bit challenging, even for the best of listeners. Not so with this new, easy-to-understand version that translates the original archaic language into simple conversational English, allowing listeners of all ages to easily navigate this popular Christian story considered by many to be the third part of The Pilgrim’s Progress series. This story depicts the stages of life—from cradle to grave—of a very wicked man in an evil age and the miserable consequences that undoubtedly follow such wretched living.

Jagua Nana, no longer young but still irresistible, lives a life of hedonism in Lagos: men, parties, fights, wild nights in the Tropicana with her handsome young boyfriend, Freddie. Rushing from one experience to the next in search of something she can't quite grasp, Jagua finds herself embroiled in shady politics, caught up in village feuds and the source of drama wherever she goes. In this vivid depiction of 1960s Nigeria, everyone is hustling and everyone is on the make - and a woman like Jagua must find her own unconventional path to fulfilment.

Lady Charlotte French-McGrath has successfully ruled over her family with a rod of iron until the arrival of Cynthia: beautiful, young, talented, selfish - and engaged to her son, Desmond. When Cynthia enters the Jazz Age, on the surface her life passes in a whirl of hunting, drinking and romance. But the ghosts of Garonlea are only biding their time: they know the source of their power, a secret handed on from one generation to the next.

In this modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel, 13-year-old foster children Griselda and Holden escape from their abductor after three years of brutal captivity and try to cross the Shenandoah River on foot. Tragically, one of them makes it to safety, but the other is left behind. Ten years later, Griselda's boyfriend drags her to a fight club grudge match, and her world is turned upside down when she watches Holden step into the ring.

Step into the mind of James Allen, a pioneer in personal development. The Complete James Allen Collection: A Modern Translation brings together all his works, adapted for today’s readers.

Together with the Iliad, the Odyssey, The Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost, the Aeneid is one of the true monuments of world literature. Like all these great classics, over the centuries it has become stultified by academic formalism, and its true glory as a narrative of thrilling power and richness has become very much obscured. This new translation seeks to highlight the vigor and immediacy of Virgil's epic while still respecting the grandeur of the original language.

This is a story from the Canterbury Tales II: Modern Verse Translation collection.

This volume pays tribute to the work of 20 poets whose careers were profoundly influenced by the First World War - "the war to end all wars".

Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition was published anonymously in London on January 1, 1818, when she was 20. Her name first appeared in the second edition, which was published in Paris in 1821.

First published in 1924, A Summer on the Test remains an essential read for fly fishermen. No author has surpassed the Right Honourable John Waller Hills' description of classic chalk stream fishing, or indeed knew more about the history of the sport. The Test is a river much affected by decline and deterioration, with the days of crystal clear waters and plentiful brown trout seemingly impossible to recover. A Summer on the Test reflects on the golden age giving an estimation of what it was once like and what we have lost.

The First World War shook loose the foundations not only of political structures, but also artistic conventions. New styles of poetry emerged which challenged not just the traditional presentation of poetry, but even the structure and function of language itself. This volume pays tribute to the pioneers who redefined the poetic landscape in this challenging period.

In the frozen wastes north of Russia, a lone seaward vessel seeks the elusive Northwest Passage. Suddenly they sight a dog sled with a gargantuan figure in the shape of a man, driving the dogs northward to sure oblivion. The following day, they find another sled. This sled is filled with a European near death, and when asked what he is chasing, he simply replies, "to seek one who fled from me."

This is a story from the Canterbury Tales I: Modern Verse Translation collection. Chaucer's greatest work, written towards the end of the fourteenth century, paints a brilliant picture of medieval life, society and values. The stories range from the romantic, courtly idealism of "The Knight's Tale" to the joyous bawdy of the Miller's; all are told with a freshness and vigor in this modern verse translation that make them a delight to hear.

The nuns who enter a medieval Norfolk convent are told to renounce the world, but the world still finds ways to trouble them, whether it is through fire, floods, pestilence, a collapsing spire, jealous rivalries, a priest with a secret or a plague of caterpillars. As we follow their daily lives over three centuries, this masterpiece of historical fiction recreates a world run by women.