by William Shakespeare
Book Synopsis
"Plagued by royal treachery, vengeful scheming, and an unsettled ghost, Denmark is ripe for destruction. Directly following King Hamlet's recent death, the widowed Queen Gertrude has hastily remarried Claudius, King Hamlet's own brother. Young Prince Hamlet is galled by his mother's disloyalty and sulks darkly in Elsinore castle. At midnight, the rambling ghost of King Hamlet exposes a hidden treachery to Prince Hamlet: Claudius fatally poisoned the slumbering King Hamlet in order to steal his crown and his queen. The phantom king begs Hamlet to avenge his foul murder. Prince Hamlet agrees and feigns insanity to disguise his bloody motive."
MacBeth
by William Shakespeare
Book Synopsis
"Macbeth captures the timeless nature of the human experience....There is greed for power, murderous evil scheming, and the nobility of the fight for good and evil. The tortuous guilty self-flagellation that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth succumb to is such a base human emotion. Without realizing it they are both lost in the depth of the chasm they willingly stepped into. Those are elements of "a classic" and of course no one questions that Shakespeare's Macbeth, written in 1606, still plays well today."
Julius Caesar
by William Shakespeare
Book Synopsis
"In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Brutus and Cassius plot to assassinate Rome's most famous emperor, Julius Caesar. After they accomplish this in perhaps the most famous death scene ever written — "Et tu, Bruté?" — Antony and Octavius pursue the conspirators across Italy, climaxing in one final, epic battle. Julius Caesar is Shakespeare's fascinating tale of political intrigue, betrayal, and vengeance — set against the rich tapestry of ancient Rome."
Twelfth Night
by William Shakespeare
Book Synopsis
Brother and sister Viola and Sebastian, who are not only very close but look a great deal alike, are in a shipwreck, and both think the other dead. When she lands in a foreign country, Viola dresses as her brother and adopts the name Cesario, becoming a trusted friend and confidante to the Count Orsino. Orsino is madly in love with the lady Olivia, who is in mourning due to her brother's recent death, which she uses as an excuse to avoid seeing the count, whom she does not love. He sends Cesario to do his wooing, and Olivia falls in love with the disguised maiden. Things get more complicated in this bittersweet Shakespeare comedy when a moronic nobleman, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and a self-important servant, Malvolio, get caught up in the schemes of Olivia's cousin, the obese, alcoholic Sir Toby, who leads each to believe Olivia loves him. As well, Sebastian surfaces in the area, and of course there is Feste, the wise fool, around to keep everything in perspective and to marvel, like we the audience, at the amazing things happening all around.
Of Mice & Men
by John Steinbeck
Book Synopsis
"In the story “Of Mice and Men” John Steinbeck, an American twentieth century writer, described an attempt of a man to realize his dream. The book had a striking success: ruin of George and Lennie’s hopes to have their own little farm touched hundred of thousands people and resulted in numerous critic essays. Written with humor, it is filled with pain for the people, noble, faithful and honest, who couldn’t’ find place in life. Everyone will understand it in one’s own way, and everyone will see here one’s own life."
