"First published in 1886 as a 'shilling shocker, ' 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' takes the basic struggle between good and evil and adds to the mix bourgeois respectability, urban violence, and class conflict. The result is a tale that has taken on the force of myth in the popular imagination. This Broadview edition provides a selection of contextual material, including contemporary reviews of the novel, Stevenson's essay 'A Chapter on Dreams, ' and excerpts...

"In this lively, intimate portrayal of county society Trollope introduces two of his most endearing heroines. Lilian and Bell Dale live with their mother at the Small house in Allington, near their uncle, who inhabits the adjoining Great house. Pretty, spirited and warm-hearted, they are not short of suitors. Before long Lily has succumbed to the charms of the dashing young swell Alphonse Crosbie, while their cousin Bernard, spurred on by their uncle,...

Anthony Trollope was a masterful satirist with an unerring eye for the most intrinsic details of human behavior and an imaginative grasp of the preoccupations of nineteenth-century English novels. In The Last Chronicle of Barset, Mr. Crawley, curate of Hogglestock, falls deeply into debt, bringing suffering to himself and his family. To make matters worse, he is accused of theft, can't remember where he got the counterfeit check he is alleged to have...

"Vathek, the ninth caliph of the Abassides in Arabia, ascends to the throne at an early age and reigns with an iron fist, inspiring terror and unrest among his people. His intense thirst for knowledge (which makes him feel more powerful) and his constant desire for pleasures of the flesh will ultimately lead to his downfall. When he purchases mysterious glowing swords from a strange merchant, he learns the swords have inscriptions and powers he cannot...