epic literature

A guide to understanding epics, featuring entries on thirteen works of epic world literature, including "Aeneid, " "Divine Comedy, " and "The Lord of the Rings, " each with an introduction to the story and its author, a plot summary, character sketches, discussion of themes and style, literary and historical background, criticism, and tools for further study.

Presents an English translation of the nineteenth-century French novel about Jean Valjean, a peasant who is released from prison, where he spent nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread for his starving family, only to find himself threatened by people and events from his past.

Tells the story of Rose Mannion, an Irish woman transplanted in western Kentucky, showing how her legacy of love and betrayal affected succeeding generations of her family.

Presents Victor Hugo's classic novel about convict Jean-Valjean who struggles to escape his past in a world of poverty and ignorance during the French Revolution; and includes explanatory notes, chronology of the author's life and work, critical analysis, timeline of important events, and an outline of key themes and plots.

Presents the classic story of Dr. Zhivago and Lara who fall in love in the midst of the turmoil of the Russian Revolution.

Tells the story of Rose Mannion, an Irish woman transplanted in western Kentucky, showing how her legacy of love and betrayal affected succeeding generations of her family.

The ambitious prior of Kingsbridge, England, dreams of building the greatest Gothic cathedral in the world, and the struggle to construct it leads to a battle between good and evil in twelfth century England.

Traces the life of Jean Valjean, a peasant who steals a loaf of bread to feed his starving children and thereby becomes a convict.

The rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendia family.