M. R. Ridley Books

This tragedy of doomed lovers from warring families has inspired poetic expression from young lovers the world over. The 300-year-old drama is perhaps Shakespeare's best-known work. The CliffsComplete Romeo and Juliet is a revised and expanded study edition. It contains Shakespeare's original play, a glossary, and expert commentary in a unique, 2-column format. To enhance your learning, notes and definitions appear directly opposite the line in which they occur, and a review section follows the play. This edition also introduces you to the life, works, and times of William Shakespeare.

A comedy of Petruchio's determination to subdue the irascible Katherine and to make her his wife

Cranford is Elizabeth Gaskell's gently comic picture of life and manners in an English country village during the 1830s. It describes the small adventures in the lives of two middle-aged sisters in reduced circumstances, Matilda and Deborah Jenkyns, who do their best to maintain their standards of propriety, decency, and kindness. At the center of the novel is Miss Matty, whose warm heart and tender ways compel affection and regard from everyone around her. Also revealed are the foibles and attributes of the pompous Mrs. Jamieson and her awesome butler, the genial Captain Brown, the loyal housemaid Martha, and others. Using an intimate, gossipy voice that never turns sentimental, Gaskell skillfully conveys the old-fashioned habits, subtle class distinctions, and genteel poverty of the townspeople. Cranford is one of the author's best-loved works.