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Christopher Marlowe wrote this spectacularly subversive play in 1589/1590. The setting is the island of Malta as a bone of contention between Spain and the Ottoman Empire in their struggle for supremacy in the Mediterranean. The ghost of Machiavelli appropriately introduces this tale of murder and mayhem which unfolds in flamboyant episodes of blackmail, betrayal, revenge, scheming, theft, and poisoning on a breathtaking scale.

Leo Tolstoy, best known for the novels Anna Karenina and War and Peace, also wrote short stories that expound on Christianity. The Godson is a moving parable about a man finding a way to understand himself, the events around him, and his purpose in life. The story is about a son who was born to a poor peasant who rejoiced and went to a neighbour to ask him to become godfather to the boy.

"On Duty with Inspector Field" is a nonfiction article by Charles Dickens (1812-1870), first published in 1851 in the magazine Household Words. Dickens authored 15 novels, five novellas, and countless short stories and articles. In this one, Inspector Charles Frederick Field and his men are accompanied by the narrator on an all-night journey through the most dangerous establishments of London’s underworld.

A Scrap of Curious History is an essay by Mark Twain dealing with the fictional history of abolitionism in a Missouri town. It was originally published as part of the What Is Man? And Other Essays collection.

This novel, set in 1920s California, tells the tale of Linda Strong who shares her father’s love for the beauty of nature in California. When her parents suddenly pass away, she is left with her sister Eileen, a huge house, and much wealth. Eileen goes on a spending spree, dissipating the inheritance at an alarming pace. When Linda eventually finds out, she meets with their banker and finds a way to earn money in a manner that she enjoys. The narrative includes romance, murder, and delightful descriptions of the state’s fauna and flora.

Choephori, or The Libation Bearers, is the second in the Oresteian trilogy on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. It deals with the reunion of Agamemnon‘s children, Electra and Orestes, and their revenge upon their mother Clytemnestra for the murder of Agamemnon, which takes place in the first play, Agamemnon. The title refers to the chorus of libation bearers who supports and encourages Electra and Orestes in their quest for justice. The Oresteia is the only extant example of an ancient Greek theatre trilogy.

The third and final play of the Oresteia by Aeschylus called Eumenides recounts the fate of Orestes after he had killed Clytemnestra to avenge the murder of his father, Agamemnon. He is relentlessly harassed by the Furies and pleads with the goddess Athena, who sets up a trial and casts the deciding vote to spare his life. This enrages the Furies, but Athena persuades them to pursue justice in a different way and changes their name to Eumenidis, the Kindly Ones.

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is a satirical novel by the English author Edwin Abbott Abbott, first published in 1884. The book used the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland to comment on Victorian culture, but the novella's enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions.

Sappho ( c. 630-c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from the island of Lesbos. In ancient times, Sappho was widely considered one of the greatest lyric poets and was given titles such as the "Tenth Muse" and "The Poetess". Her estimated date of birth places her sometime after the composition of the works of the Homeric poets, which are preserved in the epics known as the Iliad and the Odyssey. It is claimed that her work filled nine papyrus rolls in the famous library of Alexandria some 500 years after her death.

Allan Quartermain ventures to King Solomon's mines with Sir Henry to find his brother Neville. The journey is long and ardeous, but thankfully they have Captain John Good to ensure their safety.

The short story, "An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving" by Louisa May Alcott first appeared in the collection Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag. Set in New Hampshire in the 1800s, it is a simple, yet charming story of a family Thanksgiving in an earlier, more innocent time. When their parents are called away to visit a sick relative, the girls try to put together a Thanksgiving dinner all on their own. Of course a few things go wrong, as this is the first time the children cook such a big dinner, but ultimately, all turns out well, and there’s much to be thankful for.

The Phaedrus by Plato, is a dialogue between Plato's protagonist, Socrates, and Phaedrus, an interlocutor in several dialogues. It was probably written around 370 BC, at about the same time as Plato's Republic and Symposium. Ostensibly about love, the discussion in the dialogue focuses on the art of rhetoric and how it ought to be practiced. The dialogue appears in the direct words of Socrates and Phaedrus, without an introduction.

Robert Benjamin Lewis (1802 - 1858) was an African American and Native American author, inventor, and entrepreneur. In the ethnological work Light and Truth, Lewis claims that Adam and Eve were people of color, as were the Egyptians and many great figures of the ancient world, including Julius Caesar and Plato. Denouncing notions of white superiority, he asserts that all humans have a common origin, and pointed to a shared cultural history between Africans and Native Americans.

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, or a Brief Relation of the Exceeding Mercy of God in Christ to his Poor Servant John Bunyan, is a Puritan spiritual autobiography written by John Bunyan. It was composed while Bunyan was serving a 12-year prison sentence in Bedford prison for preaching without a license, and was first published in 1666.

The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise by the Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513, after he was forced to leave Florence as a political exile. Dedicated to Lorenzo de’ Medici, the work is Machiavelli’s advice to the ruler of Florence on how to stay in power.

The poem "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman first appeared in his 1855 volume Leaves of Grass. "Song of Myself" is written in Whitman’s signature free verse style. The "I" of the narrator should not be confused with the person of the historical Walt Whitman, as the first-person persona is portrayed as having transcended the conventional boundaries of self. Most critics consider "Song of Myself" as the core of Whitman’s poetic vision, and it remains one of the most acclaimed of all American poems.

"The Mansion" by the author, educator, and clergyman Henry Jackson van Dyke Jr. (1852-1933) tells of the life of John Weightman and his reward in heaven. Weightman is a wealthy man who does good deeds like funding a school, a church, and a hospital wing. However, his giving is calculated to bring him a benefit. In a near-death experience, he goes to heaven and is shown the heavenly mansion which was prepared for him. It was nothing more than a little shack!

Ostensibly written by an English knight, The Book of Marvels and Travels claim to recount his experiences in Egypt, the Levant, India, and China. It describes a journey from Europe to Jerusalem and further into Asia, and the many weird and wonderful peoples and practices of the East. The author claims to have traveled in land populated by Amazons, dog-headed people, cannibals, one-footed tribes, and Pygmies.

The Three Impostors (1895) by Arthur Machen is a combination of horror story and mystery novel. It features the likable detective, Dyson, who is somewhat pretentious and mostly ineffectual. The work is separated into a number of episodes, from "The Adventure of the Gold Tiberius" to "The Adventure of the Deserted Residence".

The Lesson of the Master is a novella by Henry James about life and art, the choice that an artist must make, and the life that art makes. It’s the story of a young writer, Paul Overt, who becomes friends with Henry St. George, a famous author, at about the same time that he meets the love of his life. St. George tells Paul that he ought to dedicate himself to writing, and warns him against the distraction of a wife and family; he goes out of his way to persuade the young writer that marriage would destroy his creativity.