Reverend Septimus Harding is warden of the alms-house at Barchester providing charity for twelve of the town's neediest and an income for himself to the town's way of thinking. John Bold, even though he is in love with the Reverend's daughter, decides to look into this apparent misuse of church funds.

Retellings of twenty of Shakespeare's best known plays, using the playwright's own words when possible.

"After Mary Lennox's parents pass away, she is sent to a large, isolated house in Yorkshire to live with an uncle she has never met. Ill-tempered, obstinate Mary dislikes her new home, but when she finds the key to a locked garden she realises there are fascinating secrets waiting to be uncovered at Misselthwaite Manor. With the help of new friends, Mary resolves to bring the neglected garden back to life - and her own transformation begins. This...

When Emily Inglethorp, the elderly matriarch of Styles Court, an Essex country manor, is found poisoned with strychnine, a guest of the manor, Arthur Hastings calls upon his friend, famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, to solve the mystery that surrounds her death. Chief amongst the suspects is Emily’s husband Alfred Inglethorp, a much younger man whom she has recently married and has the most to gain from her death. Another potential suspect...

This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading. In the summer of 1899, Booker T. Washington visited Europe to rest from his demanding schedule. Yet everywhere he turned, he encountered French and American scholars, politicians, businessmen, abolitionists, and average citizens eager to hear him tell the story of his life. The former slave had earned a college degree, taught at the black freedman college Hampton...

This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading. Mexico's rich culture has long fascinated scholars, with stories of ancient civilizations and great conquerors. History of the Conquest of Mexico (1843) expounds upon the virtues of Mexico while seeking to explain the tragedy of the country's defeat in terms of its neighboring civilizations. The arrival of the Spaniards forever altered and in many ways curtailed indigenous...