Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: Printed for T. Cadell, Jun. and W. Davies, ... by W. Flint in 1802 in 198 pages; Subjects: Literary Criticism / Poetry; Poetry / General; Poetry / Anthologies; Poetry / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh; ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A haunting tale of love at first sight.
I have read many novels by Wilkie Collins including: The Woman in White,The Moonstone, No Name and Armadale. Most of these works involve some mystery surrounding a woman. This novel is no exception.

The novel begins years after a tragic event has changed the life of a young man named Basil. The readers learn that the doors of his home are forever closed to him. He will never see his father again. And he will never see his beloved sister, Clara, again.

Basil begins to recount the events that lead to a life changing event, which caused him to lose all that he once held dear. These events were set in motion the minute he met Margaret Sherwin.

Basil's enchantment with the dark and beautiful Margaret happened when they met by chance on an omnibus. Basil was so stricken by her beauty that he followed the beautiful stranger home and with the help of a family servant managed to coax his way into Margaret's life.

The Sherwin family were simple shop keepers. Mr Sherwin owned a linen draper's shop. When he learned that the son of a gentlemen with a family name dating back to Norman times expressed interest in his daughter, he was more than happy to encourage the union.

Basil's father, however, was extremely proud of his family lineage and expected his sons to follow and respect their family history. Margaret's beauty won over Basil's family obligations. Without the consent of his father he marries Margaret in secret.

After marrying Margaret, Basil realizes that something is not quite right in the Sherwin household. Margaret's moods change with the wind. Each and every person in the home seem to be keeping a secret.

I found the novel extraordinary! The readers are immediately aware that Basil's marriage to Margaret was his undoing, but the events unfold slowly and tragically.

I don't think I will ever hear the names Basil and Margaret and not think of his novel. It was absolutely haunting!

Basil review
I have read quite a few books by Wilkie Collins, and while this one wasn't the best, it was still great. It was written in a different style from his other books, but pulls you right into the story and keeps your interest throughout. Definitely recommended to anyone who is a fan of this genre.

Love is color blind
Basil is a naive sap that any woman wish would fall for her!He completely falls in love with a woman who is only interested in his money but of course, he is blind to that....sounds like a silly romance novel, which I loathe, BUT because it was written in the 1800's, there are descriptive characters, fabulous use of the English language.Collins makes me love mysteries and romance, neither of which type book I read ifwritten in "today's" time.Love every single book of his that I have read, six so far and counting.....

perhaps the best of Collins's earlier works..
Wilkie Collins came to fame with 'The Woman in White', followed by a succession of 'suspense' novels which are his trademark.'Basil' is an earlier yet surprisingly mature work, and it is not a suspense novel.'Basil' chronicles the life of a young, foolish man who falls in love (literally) at first sight with a young woman.He then discovers, too late, that this 'sweet young thing' is not as she first appeared.The author captures Basil's anguish perfectly.While some people might find the entire story to be a bit contrived, I found the emotional element of writing to greatly outweigh this 'love at first' kitsch.

So in conclusion, 'Basil' should have a wider appeal beyond the Wilkie Collins fan club.Folks who love mid-Victorian writing will find much to enjoy with 'Basil'.

Basil's Betrayal
After reading The Woman in White, A Rogue's Life, and attemting The Moonstone, I picked up Basil. Basil's story was more absorbing than any of the other books and my sympathies were entirely with him. I felt his betrayal and utter dejection. If only I could have been his friend! ... Read more

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This book fills a gaping hole in previous assessments of one of the nineteenth century's most loved novelists--Wilkie Collins. ... Read more

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This source book includes over 2000 of the famous quotations and speeches from Shakespeare's plays. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A must-have for Shakespear fans
Carry it in your pocket and enjoy the Bard when you're on the subway, standing in line at the groceries, or otherwise biding your time. This little pocket book is convenient and thorough. Reads like a "greatest hits and then some." I've already worn out two volumes and I'm about to buy a third. ... Read more

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In 1925 William Faulkner began his professional writing career in earnest while living in the French Quarter of New Orleans. He had published a volume of poetry (The Marble Faun), had written a few book reviews, and had contributed sketches to the University of Mississippi student newspaper. He had served a stint in the Royal Canadian Air Corps and while working in a New Haven bookstore had become acquainted with the wife of the writer Sherwood Anderson.

In his first six months in New Orleans, where the Andersons were living, Faulkner made his initial foray into serious fiction writing. Here in one volume are the pieces he wrote while in the French Quarter. These were published locally in the Times-Picayune and in the Double Dealer.

The pieces in New Orleans Sketches broadcast seeds that would take root in later works. In their themes and motifs these sketches and stories foreshadow the intense personal vision and style that would characterize Faulkner's mature fiction. As his sketches take on parallels with Christian liturgy and as they portray such characters as an idiot boy similar to Benjy Compson, they reveal evidence of his early literary sophistication.

In praise of New Orleans Sketches, Alfred Kazin wrote in the New York Times Book Review that "the interesting thing for us now, who can see in this book the outline of the writer Faulkner was to become, is that before he had published his first novel he had already determined certain main themes in his work."

In his trail-blazing introduction, Carvel Collins often called "Faulkner's best-informed critic," illuminates the period when the sketches were written as the time that Faulkner was making the transition from poet to novelist.

"For the reader of Faulkner," Paul Engle wrote in the Chicago Tribune, "the book is indispensable. Its brilliant introduction . . . is full both of helpful information . . . and of fine insights." "We gain something more than a glimpse of the mind of a young genius asserting his power against a partially indifferent environment," states the Book Exchange (London). "The long introduction . . . must rank as a major literary contribution to our knowledge of an outstanding writer: perhaps the greatest of our times." ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (7)

Am I going to read this?
I purchased this with the full and ardent intention of reading through the entire corpus of Shakespeare, in the order the plays and poems appear, in this seminal volume.
I've already quit, and I didn't even begin.
I just hate Shakespeare, and you can't make me like him.
I may try to come back to this, though. I don't know.

Notes on the volume itself: the font is smaller than I wish it were, but this is what you have to have if you want a manageable volume in terms of size (as this is). Also, I wished the volume would have footnotes defining difficult terms on each page; instead, we get a dictionary in the back--wish is very useful, but requires a lot of flipping.

Good luck.

"The Complete Works Of Shakespeare",a book by professor Peter Alexander.
This is a very reputable one-volume Shakespeare edited by the late professor Peter Alexander, chosen by the BBC as the basis for its major production of the complete Shakespearian plays. The book has an excellent introduction on William Shakespeare (who he was, his family, his writings & performance of his plays in his life time including the cast in some of his plays)! The book contains all his 36 Plays (catalogued) & 6 Poems (including all his Sonnets), appendix & glossary with 2 500 items (giving meaning to obsolete & difficult words and phrases). Footnote glossary would have been better than the glossary being at the back of the book! The book has been a "gold standard" since its first publication in 1951, highly recommended reading.

Tales of the bard
Shakespeare requires no introduction -- he is "the Bard," the most imposing playwright and storyteller in the English language. And "William Shakespeare: The Complete Works" brings together every one of his 39 plays, ranging from harrowing tragedies to airy little puffs of comedy -- and even the lesser plays are still brilliant.

The plays basically are divided into comedies, histories and tragedies. The tragedies are pretty much... tragic, the comedies are not always funny but end semi-happily, and the histories... well, dramatizations of history.

And everybody has heard of the greats here -- the Scottish lord who murders his way to kingship, young lovers divided by a feud, a Moorish general who is driven mad with jealousy, an elderly king whose arrogance rips his life apart, a very cleaned-up version of Henry VIII's split from his first wife, the goofy Prince Hal and his growth into a great king. There are feuding fairies, bickering lovers, romantic tangles, Julius Caesar's demise, gender-bending, an exiled duke/magician on his island, and the infamous "pound of flesh" bargain.

But Shakespeare also wrote a bunch of lesser-known plays that often can't be so neatly categorized -- a rotten love affair during the siege of Troy, a Roman general attacking his own city, an Athenian gentleman embittered by humanity, Richard III's Machiavellian plot to become king, two sets of twins separated at birth, a corrupt judge obsessed with a lovely nun, Falstaff's doomed efforts to make money, and so on. Some of these ("Troilus and Cressida") aren't nearly as good as his "main" body of work, but they're still excellent.

For all Shakespeare's plays, it's best to read them AFTER you've seen a good performance. Otherwise, it's like reading a movie script to a movie you haven't seen -- easy to get lost, and the dramatic effects aren't easy to connect to. But if you've seen performances of any/all of Shakespeare's plays, then his vibrant stories and poetry leap off the page.

There are long eloquent speeches, puns, clever linguistic twists, and evocative language that soaks the play in atmosphere ("With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine/There sleeps Titania sometime of the night/Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight..."). In fact, his plays are diamond mines of quotations -- some are infamous ("To be or not to be") and some of which have floated into public knowledge without labels ("Cowards die many times before their deaths/The valiant never taste of death but once").

And while some of his plays are basically fluff, he manages to weave in moral questions, criticism and explorations of the human soul. And his characters range as far as his plots -- kings and princes, teenage lovers, proud but doomed men, bratty queens, the witty but combative Beatrice and Benedick, and even the puppet-master mage Prospero.

Shakespeare's "Complete Works" is a must-have for anyone who loves the English language -- his writing was unparalleled, and even his lesser plays are a cut above the rest.

Shakepeare
The book took a little time to come.However, it is perfect for my daughter who is a Shakespeare fan.

Good, but incomplete
While the Harper-Collins edition is nicely laid out and a comfortable size, it is incorrectly called a "complete" collection. It is based on the 1951 Alexander text, which does not include either Edward III or The Two Noble Kinsmen. This edition contains the orthodox canon of yesteryear. With a limited selection of support material included, the reader will have to choose whether it's not worth spending the extra for a more comprehensive edition with expanded notes, glossary and supporting descriptions. ... Read more

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Data Structures and the Java Collections Framework, 2/e by William Collins teaches the fundamentals of data structures using java. This student-friendly book focuses on teaching students how to apply the concepts presented.To that end many applications and examples are included throughout the book. Collins also provides programming projects at the end of each chapter, which get students hands on with code.

In the second edition, Collins has increased his coverage on teaching students to build data structures from scratch. He also continues to use the Java Collections Framework where appropriate.His goal is give students an excellent background in creating data structures themselves, as well as make them comfortable using the standard library.

On-line Labs accompany this book and make it easy to have students start practice what they are learning. These labs can be used as open-labs, closed labs, or homework assignments and are designed to give students hands-on experience in programming. .Key Handles:• Teaches the fundamentals of data structures using JAVA• Applications and examples are included throughout the text• New!! On-Line labs make it easy for the students to apply what they are learning• Emphasis is on building structures from scratch Increased coverage on teaching students to build data structures from scratch• Goal of text is to give students background in creating data structures themselves and then making them comfortable using the standard library ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Excellent book
I found this book to be very helpful in learning data structures. I read it on my own, without help from a teacher and was able to understand everything thanks to the thorough and step-wise coverage of the material. The only exception was the chapter on algorithm analysis, which I agree is not easy to grasp. But I was more interested in the structures themselves and what each one was efficient at, so the math analysis wasn't that important to me. The math isn't as important as understanding what makes one function faster than another.

One of the previous reviewers complained that this book focused too much on object-oriented programming and the Java language. I think that criticism is poor, since the title states the book is about Java. I really like the author's approach of covering the Collections framework while discussing data structures because a lot of introductory programming courses in Java don't cover Collections very well, or at all. He introduces the framework at the beginning of the book and as he goes through each kind of data structure he creates his own simple implementation that the student can follow along with. Once that it is understood he describes the way that the Collections framework officially implements it and points out how the differences will affect programmers who use it.

That step-wise approach to each topic is very effective. I recommend this book. Just skip chapter 3.

Great introduction to data structures
Almost three years ago I read a data structures book which used Java for implementation of the topics covered.Perhaps I did not have a solid grasp of the Java language back then, but the book was one of the worst I have come across - I don't even remember the name."Data Structures and the Java Collections Framework" on the other hand is one of the most up-to-date books available and certainly one that I will remember for quite some time.

Not only does it cover the theory behind many of the fundamental data structures such as arrays, stacks, queues, trees, graphs, maps, etc. but it also illustrates common algorithms required by those data structures.For a book covering this kind of material that would have been enough, but this book excels in showing implementations with the latest version of Java.

Furthermore, this book's purpose is not to teach Object Oriented programming with Java, or the latest features of version 1.5 (Generics, foreach loop, boxing, vararg).The author assumes those were taught in an introductory Java course.Thus, the book does accomplish its goal to teach data structures using Java, and taking advantage of OO design and the latest features of the language.And for those who need a quick refresher two review chapters are included that quickly cover the most commonly used features of Java, as well as javadoc and packages.

As many other technical books, this one contains its share of typos and errors - nothing major though.Later in the book, only parts of the entire implementation of certain data structures are presented, but yet there is no mention that the book's website contains that and more.Also, an introduction to JUnit could have made this book better.

The part that readers will find most useful about Mr. Collins' book is the future applicability of the Java Collections Framework.There are many poorly written books that deal with data structures and books about the Collections Framework.And yet this book does an outstanding job with the two subjects. A great book to learn data structures from - Highly recommended.

Professors:do not use this book for your classes
The intro chapters (including a preview of the new edition) are amongst the worst intro to java.Typos, use of deprecated methods abound and several key areas (complexity analysis) are awkward at best.

Not a good book for a computer science course
As an undergraduate in computer science, I absolutely hate this book.It places way too much emphasis on object-oriented programming (OOP), instead of concentrating on its main topic, data structures.It makes an artificial distinction between what it calls the "user" of a class and the "developer" of the class, and tries to introduce pre-programmed data structures first from the "user's" point-of-view, and only later mentioning the real implementation of the data structures.The author apparently fails to grasp that students cannot truly understand data structures until they have programmed their own data structures from scratch.The book also makes excessive and superfluous use of things such as preconditions and postconditions.For example, how truly enlightening is the following postcondition for the IsEmpty() method of the ArrayList class?

// Postcondition: true has been returned if this ArrayList object has no elements.Otherwise, false has been returned.

If you want a good introduction to Data Structures, then you should look for a different book, preferably one that uses a better language than Java.Okay, I admit that C/C++ pointers are difficult to learn at first, but after you've used them for a while, it's fairly intuitive.Java's "references", on the other hand, are easy to use at first, but when you try to implement linked data structures, they become confusing and non-intuitive.

Dense book, Focuses on Linked Lists
This is a rather dense book and spents more time on Linked Lists than any other Data Structures in Java books I have seen on the market. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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The four volumes of The Public Face of Wilkie Collins bring into one continuous chronological sequence nearly 3,000 letters by Wilkie Collins, one of the most successful Victorian writers. They range from the short letter to his mother written in 1831 when Collins was just 7 years old to the last note to his doctor scrawled almost illegibly two days before his death at 65 in 1889. His letters are an essential research tool for anyone studying Victorian fiction whether from the point of view of its key role in literary development or its central place in publishing history, Victorian theatre or travel, or indeed anyone who just wants a window opened on Victorian England in nearly three quarters of a million wonderful words by one of its key writers. The editors have transcribed 2,500 letters, around 700 of them previously unidentified, and have given them all a full scholarly annotation and context. These letters are all published in full. The 460 letters which have already received modern scholarly publication Baker & Clarke (1999) are summarized in their correct place. ... Read more

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With an artistic appreciation for the world surrounding him that springs forth from each inspired brushstroke, realist painter William McCullough has produced a truly remarkable body of work in his celebrated forty-year career.From a stately stand of plantation oaks awash in the stark light of dusk to the weathered boards of a Charleston single house shaded by palmettos, McCullough captures as no one else the quiet grandeur of his diverse subjects.

This enthralling new book features an extraordinary selection of McCullough's work, coupled with a conversation between the artist and writer William Baldwin—two of the most creative contemporary Southern minds.Differing in medium but strikingly similar in perspective and approach, these two keepers of a region's artistic tradition offer unparalleled insight into the dynamic of the South. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Interesting introduction to the artist
I have met Bill, and found him to be a very interesting, down to earth guy.A great guy to know.I am not an art expert, but from my perspective,I like what he does.

The book is a good intro to Bill's work and well worth having if you are interested in Bill's art or his life.

William McCullough's "Southern Painter"
I am so happy with this recent purchase, it is a perfect addition to any coffee table.The paintings are beautiful and the conversation between Mr. McCullough and Mr. Badwin is both intriguing and witty. I recommend it for anyone, even those not particularly interested in art or southern culture. Those who are interested in those should definitely have a look into it though! ... Read more

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Originally published between 1909 and 1917 under the name "Harvard Classics," this stupendous 51-volume set-a collection of the greatest writings from literature, philosophy, history, and mythology-was assembled by American academic CHARLES WILLIAM ELIOT (1834-1926), Harvard University's longest-serving president. Also known as "Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf," it represented Eliot's belief that a basic liberal education could be gleaned by reading from an anthology of works that could fit on five feet of bookshelf.Volume XLI is the second of three volumes that ambitiously survey half a milliennium of poetry in the English language. More than 300 works by 60 authors in this volume alone span the 18th and 19th centuries, and include:• George Sewell: "The Dying Man in His Garden"• Alison Rutherford Cockburn: "The Flowers of the Forest"• Henry Fielding: "A Hunting Song"• Oliver Goldsmith: "The Traveller; or, A Prospect of Society"• Richard Brinsley Sheridan: "Drinking Song"• Carolina Oliphant, Lady Nairne: "The Auld House"• William Blake: "The Tiger"• William Wordsworth: "Nature and the Poet"• Samuel Taylor Coleridge: "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"• Sir Walter Scott: "To a Lock of Hair"• Thomas Campbell: "The Soldier's Dream"• George Gordon, Lord Byron: "She Walks in Beauty"• Percy Bysshe Shelley: "To a Skylark"• John Keats: "Ode on a Grecian Urn"• Elizabeth Barrett Browning: "Sonnets"• and much more. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more