Oxford World's Classics

'can we doubt ...that individuals having any advantage, however slight, over others, would have the best chance of surviving and of procreating their kind?' In the Origin of Species (1859) Darwin challenged many of the most deeply held beliefs of... Ler mais

This volume continues the masterly unabridged reading of the short stories. It contains the last five stories from the collection: A Painful Case, Ivy Day in the Committee Room, A Mother, Grace, and perhaps the most welt-known of all the stories... Ler mais

With the publication of "Utopia" (1516), Thomas More introduced into the English language not only a new word, but a new way of thinking about the gulf between what ought to be and what is. His "Utopia" is at once a scathing analysis of the... Ler mais

The ancient civilization of Mesopotamia thrived between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates over 4,000 years ago. The myths collected here, originally written in cuneiform on clay tablets, include parallels with the biblical stories of the Creation and... Ler mais

«And low, stole o'er the stillness the heartbeats of sleep.» In Chapelizod, a suburb of Dublin, an innkeeper and his family are sleeping. Around them and their dreams there swirls a vortex of world history, of ambition and failure, desire and... Ler mais

The new Oxford World's Classics edition of "Oliver Twist" is based on the authoritative Clarendon edition, which uses Dickens's revised text of 1846. It includes his preface of 1841 in which he defended himself against hostile criticism, and... Ler mais

Of all the classical poets Gaius Valerius Catullus (c. 84-54 BC) is the most accessible to the modern reader. Presented alongside the original Latin text, this new translation reflects Catullus' mastery of poetic forms as diverse as the lyric, the... Ler mais

Most of what we know about Leonardo da Vinci, we know because of his notebooks. Some 6,000 sheets of notes and drawings survive, which represent perhaps one-fifth of what he actually produced. In them he recorded everything that interested him in... Ler mais

The "Meditations" of Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) is a private notebook of philosophical reflections, written by a Roman emperor probably on military campaign in Germany. In short, highly charged comments, Marcus draws on Stoic philosophy to... Ler mais

«No man is crushed by misfortune unless he has first been deceived by prosperity.» In these dialogues and essays the Stoic philosopher Seneca outlines his thoughts on how to live in a troubled world. Tutor to the young emperor Nero, Seneca wrote... Ler mais

Edith Wharton's satiric anatomy of American society in the first decade of the twentieth century appeared in 1913; it both appalled and fascinated its first reviewers, and established her as a major novelist. The Saturday Review wrote that she had... Ler mais

This volume brings together extracts of the major political writings of Mary Wollstonecraft in the order in which they appeared in the revolutionary 1790s. It traces her passionate and indignant response to the excitement of the early days of the... Ler mais

«She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older - the natural sequel of an unnatural beginning.» Anne Elliot seems to have given up on present happiness and has resigned herself to living off her memories.... Ler mais

Aeschylus' "Oresteia" is the only trilogy to survive from Greek tragedy, and the religious and moral ideas it enacts afterwards influenced a great dramatic genre, as well as giving its three plays their lasting significance. In this family history,... Ler mais

"A Casement violently opened just over my Head, and a Woman gave three frightful Skreetches, and then cry'd, Oh! Death, Death, Death!" Purporting to be an eye-witness account, the "Journal of the Plague Year" is a record of the devastation wrought... Ler mais

«This perfect indifference, and your pointed dislike, make it so delightfully absurd!» "Pride and Prejudice" has delighted generations of readers with its unforgettable cast of characters, carefully choreographed plot, and a hugely entertaining... Ler mais

The Politics is one of the most influential texts in the history of political thought, and it raises issues which still confront anyone who wants to think seriously about the ways in which human societies are organized and governed. The work of... Ler mais

«He sat down and wept, to think that even the rams knew more about the deeds of love than he did.» Daphnis is fifteen years old, Chloe thirteen. They are drawn to each other and long to make love. But no one has told them what love is, nor do they... Ler mais

«War, the bringer of tears...» For 2,700 years the Iliad has gripped listeners and readers with the story of Achilles' anger and Hector's death. This tragic episode during the siege of Troy, sparked by a quarrel between the leader of the Greek... Ler mais

Three notebooks of Jane Austen's teenage writings survive. The earliest pieces probably date from 1786 or 1787, around the time that Jane, aged 11 or 12, and her older sister and collaborator Cassandra left school. By this point Austen was already... Ler mais