The story concerns a young man who, although he does not have much money himself, is moved to pity by the sight of an elderly beggar who is posing as a model for his artist friend. Although he can barely afford to do so, the young man gives the beggar the largest denomination coin that he has in his pocket. The young man's act of kindness has unexpected positive consequences for him.

The story concerns a young man who, although he does not have much money himself, is moved to pity by the sight of an elderly beggar who is posing as a model for his artist friend. Although he can barely afford to do so, the young man gives the beggar the largest denomination coin that he has in his pocket. The young man's act of kindness has unexpected positive consequences for him.

This is Oscar Wilde's tale of the American family moved into a British mansion, Canterville Chase, much to the annoyance of its tired ghost. The family -- which refuses to believe in him -- is in Wilde's way a commentary on the British nobility of the day -- and on the Americans, too. The tale, like many of Wilde's, is rich with allusion, but ends as sentimental romance...

'He was not blind to the fact that murder, like the religions of the Pagan world, requires a victim as well as a priest...' Wilde's supremely witty tale of dandies, anarchists and a murderous prophecy in London high society. Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). Wilde's works available in Penguin Classics are De Profundis and Other Prison Writings, The Complete Short Fiction, The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Soul of Man Under Socialism and Selected Critical Prose.

For readers of Raising Hare and How to Catch a Mole comes a poetic exploration of life at the precarious edge of nature and human settlement.On a small acreage teeming with wild and domestic animals, buzzing with a half-million honeybees, and dotted with fruit trees—including one affectionately named Bill—lives beekeeper-poet Susan Cormier. Circling the farm, an aggressive tangle of forest and blackberry vines thrives, but beyond, the shadow of urban development creeps ever closer. Over five seasons Cormier takes readers through the rhythms of semi-agricultural life, reflecting on the dichotomy between beauty and grief, loss and renewal, and humor and the often heart-wrenching realities of animal existence in an agrarian landscape.Lyrical and poignant, Dead Bees Still Sting is a moving meditation on the cycles of nature, vulnerability, persistence, and survival. Above all, it is a celebration of what it means to belong to a place, to witness its changes, and to find beauty and meaning in the ongoing conversation between humans and nature.

For readers of Raising Hare and How to Catch a Mole comes a poetic exploration of life at the precarious edge of nature and human settlement.On a small acreage teeming with wild and domestic animals, buzzing with a half-million honeybees, and dotted with fruit trees—including one affectionately named Bill—lives beekeeper-poet Susan Cormier. Circling the farm, an aggressive tangle of forest and blackberry vines thrives, but beyond, the shadow of urban development creeps ever closer. Over five seasons Cormier takes readers through the rhythms of semi-agricultural life, reflecting on the dichotomy between beauty and grief, loss and renewal, and humor and the often heart-wrenching realities of animal existence in an agrarian landscape.Lyrical and poignant, Dead Bees Still Sting is a moving meditation on the cycles of nature, vulnerability, persistence, and survival. Above all, it is a celebration of what it means to belong to a place, to witness its changes, and to find beauty and meaning in the ongoing conversation between humans and nature.

A Chilean writer named Julio and his wife Gloria are beset by worries, constantly bickering about money, their writing, and their son (who may or may not be plying the oldest trade in Marrakesh). When Julio's boyhood best friend, now a famous artist, lends the couple his luxurious Madrid apartment for the summer, it is an escape for both — in particular for Julio, who fantasizes about the garden next door and the erotic life of the lovely young aristocrat who inhabits it. But Julio's life and career unravel in Madrid: he is rebuffed by a famous literary agent, who detests him and his novel; his son's friend from Marrakesh moves in and causes havoc; and Gloria begins to drink. In the face of pitiless adversity, Julio's talent inexorably begins to fade. With The Garden Next Door, Jose Donoso has rendered a carefully crafted and bitterly comic meditation on gardens, deceit, and the nature of a writer's muse.

A Chilean writer named Julio and his wife Gloria are beset by worries, constantly bickering about money, their writing, and their son (who may or may not be plying the oldest trade in Marrakesh). When Julio's boyhood best friend, now a famous artist, lends the couple his luxurious Madrid apartment for the summer, it is an escape for both — in particular for Julio, who fantasizes about the garden next door and the erotic life of the lovely young aristocrat who inhabits it. But Julio's life and career unravel in Madrid: he is rebuffed by a famous literary agent, who detests him and his novel; his son's friend from Marrakesh moves in and causes havoc; and Gloria begins to drink. In the face of pitiless adversity, Julio's talent inexorably begins to fade. With The Garden Next Door, Jose Donoso has rendered a carefully crafted and bitterly comic meditation on gardens, deceit, and the nature of a writer's muse.

The classic forerunner to The Fall of the Kings now with three bonus stories.A classic melodrama of manners, filled with remarkable plot twists and unexpected humor, takes fantasy to an unprecedented level of elegant writing and scintillating wit. Award-winning author Ellen Kushner has created a world of unforgettable characters whose political ambitions, passionate love affairs, and age-old rivalries collide with deadly results.SwordspointOn the treacherous streets of Riverside, a man lives and dies by the sword. Even the nobles on the Hill turn to duels to settle their disputes. Within this elite, dangerous world, Richard St. Vier is the undisputed master, as skilled as he is ruthless--until a death by the sword is met with outrage instead of awe, and the city discovers that the line between hero and villain can be altered in the blink of an eye.