The book Little Women is truley a literature classic. This book reflects on the lives of the fictional March family as Yankees during the Civil War. While Mr. March is away fighting in the war, Mrs. March and her four daughters Margaret, 16, Josephine, 15, Elizabeth, 13, and Amy, 12 (Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy)must learn to cope while their nation is at war. The four girls must learn many lessons in life and grow up to be fine women even during hard times. The girls have many adventures and meet Laurie, a true friend for life,and share many good times together. The girls begin to marry when they face the loss of one of their sisters and their aunt. However, in true March fashion, they get through the difficult times and focus on the successes in life. This book is truley inspirational and makes you think about how you can become a better person through sharing the experiences of these girls. At times this book could run on, so that is why i rated it 4 stars, not 5. However, this book still is great and a timeless classic and Louisa May Alcott did a fine job with the book. I enjoyed the book alot.

Little Women, being one of the classics of American literature, is not surprising to be said one of the best books I have ever read. The story revolves around the home life of four close sisters and two strong, moral parents. As Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy grow up, their adventures and mishaps provide examples for any reader of all ages. As they grow up, they struggle with many ideas. First, they are constantly troubled by the necessity of being good, even when they want to be bad. Second, as they grow up, they confront different types of relationships with boys. Friendship turns into love and vice versa, making a strong theme of gender relations. The girls also struggle with the ideas of motherhood, sisterhood, pride, education, and marraige. Finally, two of the most important ideas in the novel are dreams and work. The girls spend their childhoods and adult lives trying to balance the two and fulfill both necessities. Also, throughout the book, society is explained, the harsh winters are described, and the profound work ethic of the people is portrayed to give the reader a strong sense of what it was like to be living during the 19th century. The book gives the reader some mportant guidance to people in similar circumstances in their adolescent years. The novel motivates positive decision making, looks past materialism, teaches morales, and shows us the importance of real happiness.

A timeless tale of four sisters struggling their way through life during the Civil War. I have read this book more times than I can count, and I still love it. Once I pick it up I can't put it down, lost in this seemingly fantasy world, which was actually quite true more than 100 years ago.

My favorite thing about Little Women has to be the characters. Jo, the day-dreaming tomboy, Meg, pretty and proper, Beth, the quiet sweetheart, and little Amy, our artist, who always tried to grow up too fast. Then of course there's Laurie, the tall fun-loving boy-next-door, and so many other fabulous personalities (Aunt March, Fredrick Bauer, Hannah, Marmie, etc.) that I couldn't possibly name them all.

This book is one that I think everyone absolutely MUST read some time in their life, for it teaches moral values that should be used by people of all ages. I also reccommend Little Men and Jo's Boys to follow it up.

"You will be haunted by Three Spirits." So forewarns Jacob Marley's ghost to Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge, a miser of stingy, unfavorable traits. And so begins the enduring Christmas classic distinguished by almost everyone. Come along on an erratic journey with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, all of whom attempt to point Scrooge onto a virtuous path. Meet the most notable characters ever introduced in literature: Bob Cratchit, angelic Tiny Tim, and good-natured Fred. With vivid descriptions of Victorian England and enlightening dialogue, 'A Christmas Carol' will enrapture both the young and old throughout the year with a vital lesson on hope and benevolence for humanity. This, I find, is treasured most of all in this brief story marvelously crafted by the creative Charles Dickens. No matter how many adaptations of the book one has seen on television or as films, the real source is highly recommended and should not be missed. For if you do pass the book up, you are being just a Scrooge (metamorphically speaking, of course!).

Master storyteller and social critic, Charles Dickens, turns this social treatise on shortcomings of Victorian society into an entertaining and heartwarming Christmas ghost story which has charmed generations and become an icon of Christmas traditions. Who, in the Western world has not heard, "Bah, Humbug!" And who can forget the now almost hackneyed line of Tiny Tim, "God bless us, every one!" or his cheerfully poignant observation, that he did not mind the stares of strangers in church, for he might thus serve as a reminder of He who made the lame, walk and the blind, see. Several movie versions: musical, animated, updated, or standard; as well as stage productions (I recall the Cleveland Playhouse and McCarter Theatre`s with fondess.) have brought the wonderful characterizations to the screen, as well as to life. This story of the redemption of the bitter and spiritually poor miser, and the book itself; however, is a timeless treasure whose richness, like Mrs Cratchit`s Christmas pudding, is one that no production can hope to fully capture.

Well, I finally read it (instead of just watching it on the TV screen).

This is what you can call a simple idea, well told. A lonely, bitter old gaffer needs redemption, and thus is visited by three spirits who wish to give him a push in the right direction. You have then a ghost story, a timeslip adventure, and the slow defrosting of old Scrooge's soul. There are certain additions in the more famous filmed versions that help tweak the bare essentials as laid down by Dickens, but really, all the emotional impact and plot development necessary to make it believable that Scrooge is redeemable--and worth redeeming--is brilliantly cozied into place by the great novelist.

The scenes that choke me up the most are in the book; they may not be your favourites. I react very strongly to our very first look at the young Scrooge, sitting alone at school, emotionally abandoned by his father, waiting for his sister to come tell him there may be a happy Christmas. Then there are the various Cratchit scenes, but it is not so much Tiny Tim's appearances or absence that get to me--it's Bob Cratchit's dedication to his ailing son, and his various bits of small talk that either reveal how much he really listens to Tim, or else hide the pain Cratchit is feeling after we witness the family coming to grips with an empty place at the table. Scrooge as Tim's saviour is grandly set up, if only Scrooge can remember the little boy he once was, and start empathizing with the world once again. I especially like all Scrooge's minor epiphanies along his mystical journey; he stops a few times and realizes when he has said the wrong thing to Cratchit, having belittled Bob's low wages and position in life, and only later realizing that he is the miser with his bootheel on Cratchit's back. Plus, he must confront his opposite in business, Fezziwig, who treated his workers so wonderfully, and he watches as true love slips through his fingers again.

It all makes up the perfect Christmas tale, and if anyone can find happiness after having true love slip through his fingers many years ago, surprisingly, it's Scrooge. With the help of several supporting players borrowed from the horror arena, and put to splendid use here.

This book is a children's classic, containing all the elements of a fairy tale. There's a villain, a good person, a magician, a princess in disguise, and a "happily ever after" ending. Except, unlike a fairy tale, it could have happened.

Sara Crewe's officer father sent her to an English boarding school when she was seven. Because she was rich, the ambitious headmistress of the school, Miss Minchin, spoiled her. Then Sara's father lost all his money and died, leaving Sara a pauper in Miss Minchin's care. Miss Minchin put her to work at what was essentially slave labor, scrubbing floors and shoveling coal from dawn to dusk at no pay and very little in the way of food and other necessities of life. Sara was about to despair, when mysterious things started showing up in her room. Hot meals laid out for her in the morning and evening. Then a rug for the bare floor. Then a warm nightgown to wear, and a new blanket for the bed. She didn't know what was happening, and assumed it was magic.

It was a fine book, very good for children I think. My only problem is that Sara, like most of Frances Hodgson Burnett's characters, seemed too good to be true. She was never angry at Miss Minchin for treating her cruelly. When she found fourpence in the street, she bought food and gave almost all of it to a beggar girl even though she herself was starving. And so on. But other than that it was great.

This book has familiar fairy tale figures, such as a wicked stepmother-like Miss Minchin, a fairy godfather, and an orphan protagonist who is a princess in disguise. It's the story of a little girl who endures some setbacks but reaches a happy ending not only for herself, but for those around her whom she helps even when she's pretty downtrodden.

The writing is charming and Sara comes through as a person who is determined to maintain her values, through good times and bad. She has a definite personality and that is a good role model for any child. She stays true to her beliefs in being kind, mannerly, charitable and above all, herself.

The magic in this book is unsurpassed in children's literature. When Sara comes home, wet and cold and neglected, to find that a magician has transformed her world, you can't help but be enchanted. I will admit to reading it again now and then as an adult. The charm is still there.

Just a fun factoid; A Little Princess was originally a shorter story titled Sara Crewe, in a volume of children's novelettes by Burnett.

If you remember seeing Shirley Temple in the 1939 "The Little Princess," this is the same basic plot with a wonderful new twist. The story is based on the beloved classic by the same author of The Secret Garden.

The movie opens with some stunningly beautiful scenes from India and all too suddenly Sara Crewe must leave with her father who is being called away for military duties. Sara has to go live in a New York boarding school. Through her experiences she learns to survive in the world and takes each day as it comes. Her vivid imagination is a pure delight and when she tells her magical stories, they are played out in a fairy tale like way onscreen. This contrasts with her real life at the school.

Sara's fun-loving spirit does get her into trouble from time to time. Overall, she is just used to living with her father and being free to do mostly what she likes. In her new school she has to follow many rules. She draws strength from her father's words to help her believe in herself. He tells her that she will always be his little princess.

A wonderful movie which shows that if we make the best of our circumstances, we will be blessed in the end. Five stars for storytelling magic!

I very much enjoyed this book because it was full of pure fun reading. Some books drag from the very beginning, but this children's story didn't. There were surprises from the start. This book is an all original example of using your imagination. Lewis Carrol was gifted enough to let his imagination go wild, and to write it down on paper. This book inspires me to write any sort of crazy thing that is worth writing. This book is about Alices adventures from the time she saw the peculiar White Rabbit with a waistcoat and watch. She meets thrilling but very arguementive creatures and charectors such as the caterpiller who smokes, the Duchess and her baby which turns into a pig, a Mock Turtle, a gryphon, and the most famous the Chesire cat and the Queen of Hearts. This book is a bit different than the Disney movie. There are other charecters in the book that are not mentioned in the animated movie. and I think the book is more bizarre.

I, like almost every other kid I know, grew up with the Disney movie. Although a rather accurate depiction of Wonderland, it cannot compare to the book (plus it muddled things together, mixing Alice in Wonderland with things originally in Through the Looking Glass). I never really took much attention to this very strange movie, but one day decided to read the book.

Enter Wonderland.

Absolutely no plot, no direction, no point. Lot's of silly nonsense but in spite of, or maybe because of this, it is very enjoyable. You literally never know what's going to happen next. After reading this book, I realized just how much my own dreams... Unforgettable characters, who can ever forget the cheshire cat or the caterpillar, jokes, interesting supplementary drawings, and puns keep you on your toes.

This is really not for kiddies. Sure they can read it and maybe even enjoy it, but cannot fully appreciate it. A masterpiece, a classic, but more importantly, an enjoyable experience.

Don't forget to read Through the Looking Glass! Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum, the Walrus and the Carpenter, and "Jabberwocky" don't pop up in Alice in Wonderland but Through the Looking Glass. Although "Jabberwocky" didn't appear in the movie, it's still a classic. Finally, an explanation of this ever-puzzling poem! And of course, "I am the Walrus" is one of my favorite all-time songs...

One of those books that you can read over and over again and find something new each time. Definitely an essential. The most fun I have ever had with a book. If you've ever been cursed enough to watch the movie but never read the book, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK! (and for those of you who have read it, READ IT AGAIN! )

When I was assigned Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass to read for my Victorian Literature class, I was excited. Even though I had heard Alice's Adventures in Wonderland referred to countless times throughout my youth, I had never read the story or seen the movie. I had never heard of Through the Looking Glass, but while reading, I realized that many people who think they are talking about AAIW are actually referring to TTLG. The two texts seem to be conflated in a way that makes them indistinguishable from each other. It is for this reason that I enjoyed reading this edition of the texts. There is only a page separating the two stories, which allows the reader to easily make the transition between them. This small separation also allows the reader to recognize the undeniable connection between the texts and to understand why many people combine them in their minds.
AAIW is about a young girl named Alice whose boring day with her sister is interrupted when a white rabbit runs by her saying, "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" Alice's curiosity is aroused, but surprisingly not to a great degree. This is the first hint to the reader that Alice is not an average child, as she seems to believe that a talking rabbit is quite normal. She does become intrigued, though, when the rabbit produces a clock from his pocket, so she follows it down its hole and enters a world of wonder. I loved the story from this point on. It is filled with such unbelievable creatures and situations, but Carroll's writing style made me want to believe in a world that could be filled with so much magic and splendor. There was never a dull moment in the story, and each page was filled with more excitement. I will offer a warning, though. This story is not for those who like a neatly packaged plotline. It is written in a somewhat discontinuous nature and seems to follow some sort of dream logic where there are no rules. However, I enjoyed the nonsensical pattern. Without it, a dimension of the story would be lost. It offers some insight into the mind of a young, adventurous, fearless girl, and Carroll seems to be challenging his readers to be more like Alice.
The second text in this book, TTLG, is again a story about Alice. In this adventure, Alice travels through a wondrous world on the other side of her looking glass. As in AAIW, Alice again encounters absurd creatures, such as live chess pieces and talking flowers. The land she travels through is an oversized chessboard, which gives this story a more structured plot than AAIW. The chess theme provides Alice with sense of what she must accomplish in the looking- glass world, and it provides the reader with a sense of direction throughout the story. Alice's goal is to become a chess queen, so the reader knows that when she becomes queen, the story will be over. However, just because the story has some structure does not mean that it is not just as wild and marvelous as its predecessor. I enjoyed all of the characters. They seem to have an endless supply of advice that people in the 21st century can still learn from. My favorite example is when the Red Queen says, "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" Maybe what Carroll is suggesting is that if we read more nonsensical, unbelievable stories like his, we won't be so afraid to be adventurous and fearless like Alice; so that the next time a white rabbit runs by us, we might just see where it leads us.

This BBC/A&E production is one of the most well made films my wife and I have ever seen - superb acting, costumes, sets and location, music, directing, editing!! Like others here, we have watched the A&E VHS edition over and over. (It is a 'chick flick', but I enjoy romantic movies, too.)

Our excitement over getting the DVD faded upon loading both the VHS tape and DVD and comparing the images and sound. The widescreen image on the DVD is definitely more clear on our 50" high res screen, and it is a pleasure to see the full images framed as the Director intended.

HOWEVER, the colors are not just washed out. The digital remastering has changed the color tone of the film as if someone used a Photoshop/Premier digital filter without knowing what they were doing. The VHS and original not only had rich color saturation, but also had a warm tone that felt 'right' with the period film. The DVD is not only washed out, but has a strong blue-white tone to it that gives a cold modern feel to the scenes.

To get the image to look close to decent on our TV, I had to turn the color saturation up as far as it would go, bring the contrast down and the brightness up. It then almost matched the VHS images except for the blue-ish rather than warm overall cast.

The sound is tinny, much of the lower frequencies that are on the VHS sound track being chopped off.

There are no subtitles at all (we frequently turn them on for other DVDs when we cannot quite make out the dialog) - much less alternative language tracks.

So, why is this edition 'Special'? The only additions, other than the abysmal digital remastering (digital destruction) are:
(1) an 8-page booklet (that mentions only 3 of the actors)
(2) some text-only biography screens, that mention only 2 of the actors
(3) a 20-some minute 'making of' feature that gives the producer most of the credit (and she did of course put the team together, but the director/editor/actors/choreographer/costumers/etc produced the art) - and which still only visits with 4 of the actors - out of this tremendously talented cast.

What was supposed to be a 'special' Christmas gift, ended up being a tremendous disappointment. We can only hope that A&E and BBC will produce an 'Extra Special' edition that gets the color and sound back to the director's intention (did he even get to review this DVD?). That, and a rebate for all of us who bought this defective edition, would make us happy enough. Adding subtitles, profiles of everyone else involved in the production, and stills of the various homes, heritage buildings and towns used would be (delicious, but optional) gravy.

This A&E/BBC miniseries is a true masterpiece, bringing Jane Austen's most popular novel to life in a near perfect production. It has everything: authentic Regency Period atmosphere, costumes, settings, a beautiful musical score, excellent performances by a well-chosen cast. Andrew Davis's script does full justice to Austen's original. Colin Firth is excellent as Mr. Darcy, but Jennifer Ehle just takes my breath away with her magnificent performance, which catches every nuance of Elizabeth Bennet's character exactly right in every scene. It is a pleasure to watch all 4 1/2 hours straight through again and again. As a longtime devoted admirer of Jane Austen's works, I am very critical of any movies based upon her novels, but this has to be one of the very best adaptations of any major literary work.

This is the most perfect adaptation of a novel I have seen and a wonderful movie. The characters from the novel come to life, just as Jane Austen wrote them. I greatly admire Jane Austen's novels--she is a really terrific writer and Pride & Prejudice is tied with Emma for my favorite. Trying to read a modern-day romance novel after reading Jane Austen is impossible, as the writing and characterizations are so horrid in comparison. The Austen movies I had seen previously, such as Emma (with Gwyneth Paltrow), are good but due to their shortness, can't totally follow the book. This movie faithfully displays almost every scene in the book and uses a lot of dialog directly from the book. That makes it really delightful because Jane Austen wrote such witty dialogue. And it means that the movie has the same high quality as the novel. There are a few scenes added that are not in the book but they are a minor part of the movie. The scenery is lush and gorgeous--makes one want to travel to England. The DVD makes the colors look wonderful in the scenery. The casting was great. Colin Firth is wonderful as Darcy--brooding, haughty and incredibly sexy. I saw him first in Bridget Jone's Diary (which was inspired by this) and that made me want to see this. Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth is also very good, though occasionally it's hard to tell her emotions. For instance, she doesn't look astonished by Darcy's proposal, which is how she is described in the book. But otherwise she is excellent--she conveys the wit, strength and sweetness of Elizabeth. Mr. Collins is just as disgusting, obsequious and funny as in the book.

The secret garden is a good and loved book. This book shows that nature would change human's personality how much.
The main characters in this book ware Mary and Collin. They are cousin and always cross and nervous. They have a point of sameness. They have lost his mother in child. The reason of their nervous character was affected their environment. In early, Mary's mother was not care of her daughter and Collin lost his mother in his one year. Mary changed his mind more and more because Martha concerned to her at first time. One day, Mary found the secret garden, which was not opened for ten years. Mary and Collin worked hard for recovery garden. They effort to garden's live, to have keep the secret.
I would you read this book what secret is. When you read the end of story, you would experience miracle. And then you will think about your family and your life. Through this book we will recognize what we love, how we love and whom we love at first. Furthermore, when you are lonely,read this book.

I am EAD a fifth grade student at Wadron Mercy Academy.
A sour nine year old, Mistress Mary, has just moved to her uncle's mansion in a far lonely place. She has moved here because Mary made a nasty wish that her parents and maids would die, and it came true! Now, Mary is lonly and unwanted by everyone. Mary's uncle is a widower who has one son named Colin.
Soon, Mary becomes used to this place and explores all of the gardens. She has an Irish friend named Deacon. Deacon and Mary explore all of the gardens. Does Mary, Deacon, and Colin find the magic garden that their aunt had locked up? Find out what happens to Mary, Deacon, a krippled boy Colin, Mary's mysterious uncle, and the magic garden. ... I think this book was a real page turner. I could not put this exciting book down. I highly recommend this book. It is a classic of all times! I rate this book #1 of all the books I have read. I also recommend the movie.

The Secret Garden (book review)

Soon Kim
June 18, 2002

Do you believe in magic? If you read The Secret Garden you will experience the amazing magic, I am sure.
Mistress Mary Lennox was born in India. Her parents paid no attention to her. Mary is not loved by all, she is spoiled, gloomy, sullen, and selfish in India. Suddenly, her parents die and she goes to live with her uncle on the Yorkshire moors of England. But also her uncle is an apathetic person.
When she arrived in Yorkshire she found another person who looked like herself. He is her selfish sickly cousin Colin. Mary and Colin discover his mother's garden. They take care of flowers and trees together, and they have a great deal of fun together. Mary learns to accept that there are other people in the world, and she helps Colin. The garden's magic makes the two children's characters normal and happy through good people and the beautiful secret garden.
I wish that you would read this book; if you need to love, if your mind has been devastated, if your life is dry and boring, if you lose interest in everything, then read The Secret Garden and your mind will sprout " The word is so beautiful." I still smell many kinds of sour smelling blushful roses in the secret garden. The sweet roses are coloring my mind still ......... I love them so.

Having read this book roughly 4 times now,I can fully back the review of 5 stars. It is by far the best tale of Revolutionary France that I've ever read. Sir Percy's foppish tendencies keep the reader entertained while Chauvelin chases after him,adding much suspense. Percy's love, Marguerite, is who every girl would like to be. She is famed, beautiful,and wife to the swashbuckley and elusive Scarlet Pimpernel. Of course,one cannot forget the abundance of run-ins with Madame la Guillotine! I highly recommend reading this book, no matter what your usual preference of literature may be. It's amazing! "They seek him here,they seek him there. Those Frenchies seek him everywhere. Is he in heaven? or is he in hell? That demmed elusive Pimpernel." ~*

Before there was Batman, Superman, and Spiderman, there was the Scarlet Pimpernel, the greatest of all masked heroes, a man who uses his great intelligence and bravery to save French aristocrats from certain death at the guillotine. He, with the help of his band of brave English gentleman, risk their lives time and time again for this "sport." He's famous throughout England, infamous throughout France - and yet no one knows his true identity.

Enter Marguerite Blackenly, nicknamed "the cleverest woman in Europe" yet married to the inane fop, Sir Percy. In an effort to save her brother from the clutches of the new dangerous French government, she consents to help her old friend, and new enemy, to discover the identity of the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel. But with the knowledge she gains, she becomes more deeply involved than she bargained for.

An adventure, a history, and a romance all rolled into one, The Scarlet Pimpernel is a book you'll never forget.

This note is mostly for people who are surprised at the wonderful reviews this book gets then find the first few chapters rather gruesome. I want to say, keep reading.

The first few chapters only set the scene. After you wade through them, the story picks up marvelously.

A college friend begged me to read this book when I was in college. I picked it up but couldn't stomach the first few chapters. I put it down. When I was studying for my master's degree, I picked it back up and loved it once I got past that stuff in the beginning.

Also, if you saw the movie first (any version), you won't find the movie ending in the book. The movie ending comes from a SP sequel.

I catorgize this book as a romance. Yes, there is adventure, but the conflict is that the Scarlet Pimpernel married the love of his life only to lose trust in her on their wedding day when he discovers that she was responsible for a dasterdly deed that cost a French family their lives. His secret life must be hid from his wife as well as the rest of England and France. As the story unfolds, the wife must learn to depend on her husband, whom she comes to regard as a complete idiot, and he must learn to forgive her.

Once you get past the gorey beginning, the story is great.
So, hang in there and read, read, read, and enjoy.

Anna Sewell's novel Black Beauty is a timeless classic for readers of all ages, but has a main demographic of females from the age 9 to 16.
The story takes place in 19th century England. IT follows the life and experience of a horse named Black Beauty. The horse is born on a farm and sold at the age of four. His first owner Squire Gordon is a great loving man. Black Beauty is treated with respect and dignity. The story follows the horse as he is then sold from owner to owner. He becomes neglected and abused by carriage owners. A loving and gentle man finally purchases Black Beauty. He cares about the horses and treats them well. Black Beauty is finally happy as a carriage horse when tragedy strikes. His owner is struck with illness and is forced to sell the horse. Black Beauty is sold to a poor owner and is neglected. He longs to go back home to squire Gordon's farm and live a happy life once again.

The book is uniquely enough from the horse's point of view. This helps children connect with the horse, and makes the book more interesting and easy to follow along with. The heart breaking tale of a horse's life that will readers leave on the edge of their seat wanting to keep reading, dying to find out what happens next. The book goes into detail about how animal abuse used to be in the early 1900's. Older children have and will continue to enjoy this book for generations to come.

"Black Beauty," written by author Anna Sewell, is one of the most famous horse books during the nineteenth century. Part of its achievement consists that the novel is a classic for people with many different characteristics. First published in 1877, "Black Beauty" continues to enjoy people for new generations of American citizens around the world. Anna Sewell's brilliant account of animal treatment became a historic breakthrough because it was the first book that described a horse's experience in England. "An autobiography of a young stallion," this book follows the life of Black Beauty. Throughout the novel, it is told in a creative first person form, as if Beauty was describing and narrating his life. Ms. Sewell chose to write this book from the "horses point of view," and she remarkably was able to succeed with her novel. Since Sewell intended on writing this novel in Beauty's point of view, the reader begins to understand the impact of good and treatment towards the horse and his loyal friends. Starter of the Humane Society, the author truly captivates readers with this autobiography of a beautiful, friendly, loving black stallion. In a letter to her friend, Sewell expresses that she hopes "Black Beauty will induce kindness, sympathy, and understanding treatment towards horses." From Beauty's happy, enjoyable youth to his pleasant retirement, Anna Sewell ingeniously wrote the book to remind the cruel treatment in the 1800's. Most importantly, Sewell wrote the book in a time where horses were not given the same respect today, and "Black Beauty" helped to open the eyes of many to the cruelty horses had to suffer. Although Anna Sewell's classic paints a clear picture of the society in London, England, its message is universal and timeless: animals will serve humans well if they are treated with consideration and kindness.

Since pictures & illustrations are as much a part of a child's imagination as the written word, then this book beautifully combines both, with the abundant B&W line illustrations by illustrator Lucy Kemp-Welch, in addition to the 12 colour plates included - all in keeping with the time period this novel is set in. A wonderful edition to any child's library. I've been reading horse-topic related books for as long as I can remember; but the very 1st horse story that left an indelible impression on me was ANNA SEWELL's " BLACK BEAUTY ".

It really openend my eyes as to the abuse and cruelty - and majestic fraility - that these wonderful creatures suffer at the hands of their human counterparts.

Ms Sewell opted to write this book from " the horse's point of view " and she was one of the very few authors that was able to pull this off with such great success.

This book also, laid the cornerstone for the ASPCA aims and goals, and brought to light the conditions and treatment of working horses in 20th century London, England ( and elsewhere ).

The story is such a wonderful tale of a horse's life from start to finish; told with a quiet dignity and warmth - and serves as a successful analogy also, as to how humans should interact with one another.

This book also laid the cornerstone for my interest and love of horses, and further spurred my interest in reading about all things Equine.

From there, and I went on to read all of Walter Farley's "The Black Stallion" series ( I used to collect the hardcover editions), and Marguerite Henry's books, and National Velvet(which really wasn't about a horse per se, but more about a little girl who's dreams come true), and anything else I could get my horsey-hungry hands on!

I now keep a copy of Anna Sewell's "Black Beauty" in my library at home, and have given a copy to my daughter to read.

This is a tale that sensitizes the reader to the plight of horses at the hands of their human caregivers, trainers, etc - all told from the horse's mouth ( so to speak )..!

And lest we think that the inhumane treatment of horses has abided since this book was written - one only has to follow the controversy surrounding the use of "Premarin", or abusive training methods of gaited horses, or the Thoroughbred racing industry, or rodeo...etc.

There is still much to be gleaned about the exploitation and abuse of animals from this book - which will always remain a timeless classic.

Kim C. Montreal, 05/2000

Let's begin with Nabokov's "Lectures on Literature," where he introduces "Madame Bovary" as follows: "The book is concerned with adultery and contains situations and allusions that shocked the prudish philistine government of Napoleon III. Indeed, the novel was actually tried in a court of justice for obscenity. Just imagine that. As if the work of an artist could ever be obscene." Written over a five-year period, "Madame Bovary" was published serially in a magazine in 1856 where, despite editorial attempts to purge it of offensive material, it was cited for "offenses against morality and religion." Fortunately, Flaubert won his case and "Madame Bovary" remains to this day one of the masterpieces of French and world literature. Indeed, in Nabokov's view, the novel's influence is notable: "Without Flaubert, there would have been no Marcel Proust in France, no James Joyce in Ireland. Chekhov in Russia would not have been quite Chekhov."

The story of Emma Bovary is well known and uncomplicated. Set in the provincial towns of Tostes and Yonville (it is subtitled "Patterns of Provincial Life"), with adulterous interludes in Rouen, "Madame Bovary" narrates the life of Charles Bovary and Emma Rouault. Charles, an "officier de sante"--a licensed medical practitioner without a medical degree--meets Emma while tending to her injured father. Charles is married at that time to the first Madame Bovary, also called Madame Dubuc, a widow and thin, ugly woman who dominates the mild-mannered Charles from the very beginning. "It was his wife [Madame Dubuc] who ruled: in front of company he had to say certain things and not others, he had to eat fish on Friday, dress the way she wanted, obey her when she ordered him to dun nonpaying patients. She opened his mail, watched his every move, and listened through the thinness of the wall when there were women in his office."

When Madame Dubuc dies a few short years after their marriage, it appears that Charles is fortunate, for he is not only freed from the shrewish oppression of his wife, but enabled to court and marry the beautiful Emma. It is the eight-year marriage of Charles and Emma that embodies the tale of "Madame Bovary," a tale marked by Emma's ennui, her dissatisfaction with the unsatisfied yearnings of bourgeois marriage in a small provincial town, her steadily growing sensual insatiability, her adulteries with a series of men. It is this marriage, too, that gives us one of literature's great cuckolds, Charles Bovary.

"Madame Bovary" has often been described as a realistic novel and, insofar as it tells a seemingly ordinary tale of sensual longing and adultery while, at the same, time depicting characters and sensibilities typical of bourgeois, philistine rural France during the reign of Louis Phillipe, it is grimly realistic. It is also, however, a deeply psychological novel, one in which Flaubert brilliantly probes the feelings, the sensations, the romantic longings and dreamscapes of Emma Bovary. Above all, "Madame Bovary" is the apogee of the French novel prior to Proust's Parnassian achievement, a novel whose poetic language and artistic rendering transcend mere narrative and elevate Flaubert's work to that of high literary art, a novel for the ages. Read it in the original French if you can; if not, then read it in Frances Steegmuller's outstanding English translation.

It's amusing to read the few negative reviews of this book. One wonders what the readers would possibly consider GOOD literature!

As soon as I finished reading it the first time, I promptly started again from the beginning - something I've never done before. The bare plot is deliberately banal. It's Flaubert's execution, his insight into some of the more complex aspects of human nature and society, and the creation of Emma that mark this as one of the finest (and most engrossing) novels ever written.

What makes Emma tick is perhaps more relevant to our own culture and society - revolving, as it does, so entirely around consumerism, escapist entertainments and a credit-based economy - than it was even to Flaubert's. And I have to wonder about anyone who could get through this book and miss that point entirely.

To be sure, Emma is an extreme case - but there are plenty like her walking around. (I even saw myself in her, to some extent.) The syndrome is common, but seldom described as lucidly as here. I can see Emma, Mastercard in her hot little hand, fitting right into contemporary American society.

Flaubert's Bovary is perpetual, pervasive. Through her eyes, we see the world as it is: filled with universal virtues and vices that lead to either happiness or self- destruction. Madame Bovary captures the crystallized essence of the human spirit: unpredictable and changing, yet tangible and real. Her passions are those that move the soul, but not the mind; she never considers,she simply acts. Beautiful and uncanny, Emma Bovary's view of the world eventually becomes the harbinger of her own destiny, one that she always fails to accept. But, her own actions never deviate from reality; her character is the very re- presentation of human life. Immersed into a world that affects her own personality, Emma conquers a realism that is always perceptible, that reflects the nature of her own fortune. In effect, she becomes the product of Tolstoi's Anna Karenina and Shakespeare's Juliet, for her own destiny is controlled by passions that are never satisfied, never fulfilled. With Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert presents the strange reality of life. He moves through her his own vision, his own perception. In the process, he joins Dickens,Tolstoi, and Dostoyevski, thus becoming not a writer, but a window that enables us to see face to face what lies behind the apparencies of life,a gateway that connects us with all that moves us to and from our ambitions, our own desires.

This is a stunning masterpiece of American literature. Wharton reaches the heights achieved by England's George Eliot in Middlemarch. Age of Innnocence is considered one of the top 100 novels in the English language and I heartily agree. The novel is set in the Golden Age of New York high society in the 1870's. Like Middlemarch, manners and rigid conformity assure success. Love is an anomaly.

Newland Archer, rich and well-connected, is poised to marry May Welland. She is beautiful, suitable and pure. In fact she is compared to a Diana, goddess of the hunt. This is the virgin archetype, untouchable, pure and only desirable from a distance. Archer meets her scandalous cousin, the Countess Olenska. Olenska has committed the unforgivable and left her husband for another man. She is taboo. She is also older, wiser and sexual (more taboos.) Archer is irrestibly drawn to her and thus forms the conflict for the rest of the novel.

No one of her era writes of toxic marriages better than Wharton; she had her own tragic marriage to a man who used her fortune to set up a house for his mistress. And don't forget Wharton's equally famous novel Ethan Frome, about another toxic marriage that ends in grief.

Good news,by the way; Wharton's home in Lennox, MA, the Mount, is being restored. It's home to a resident theater that does some brilliant Shakespeare. If you have a chance to go, do so. It's a wonderful experience.

Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence takes the reader into the fantastic world of New York in the late 1800s. Wharton shows an adept handling of her figurative language as she tells of the elite society in that great city. But more importantly, she draws the reader into the burning love triangle between Newland Archer, his fiancee, May Welland and her cousin, Countess Olenska. These characters each display a certain piece of society; with beautiful, innocent May the ideal society-girl, following all the conventions she had been moulded to follow; with Countess Olenska, the foreign, freedom loving, and sensuous member of one of the highest-ranking families of New York, who broke all the rules and never noticed they had been broken; with Newland Archer, the man who had been raised under the strict hand of society, yet longed to break free, torn between his fiancee and the woman he loved. This novel seduces the reader with its tale of betrayal and forbidden love, and astounds them with the outright hypocrisy that this old New York society displays. If you are someone who loves literary structure, hidden symbolism, and outstanding use of figurative language, this is a must-read novel.

This beautifully written book is definitely one of the best books of twentieth century as well as Edith Wharton's masterpiece. It is engrossing and exciting. The story is in Old New York, where life is so much different from our present life. The main charachter, Newland Archer, is engaged to marry his beautiful cousin May Welland. Then ,Countess Olenska , May's Europeanized cousin, steps into their life and stirs the educated sensivity of Newland Archer. Newland finds out his passion for the Countess, however it is too late now : the wedding is only a month off. The charachters are very interesting just like the plot!. May is identified with "Lilies -of -the-valley" , whereas Ellen Olenska is identified with more exotic flowers:Yellow Roses. Lilies of the valley symbolize May's innocence and purity while yellow roses symbolize Ellen's infidelity. As you travel through the pages of the book ,you'll visit another world: A world where women are wearing corsets, order their dresses from Paris and live in a world of velvet ,silk ,satin and finest cashmere. Where people go to Operas in carriages and watch them with their jewelled opera glasses.A world filled with balls and dinner parties.A world where people are unbelievably afraid of the smallest disgrace... Where society has rules as rigid as womens' corsets... The age of innocence will teach you that there is no age of innoscence.