Burton Raffel Libros

The best of American short fiction Spanning over 100 years of literary history, here are 33 of the finest short stories by Washington Irving * Nathaniel Hawthorne * Edgar Allan Poe * Herman Melville * Harriet Beecher Stowe * Bret Harte * Bayard Taylor * Rose Terry Cooke * Ambrose Bierce * Hamlin Garland * Mary E. Wilkens Freeman * Henry James * Charlotte Perkins Gilman * Sarah Orne Jewett * Grace Elizabeth King * Harold Frederic * Kate Chopin * Stephen Crane * Edith Wharton * Mark Twain * Jack London * F. Hopkinson Smith * Zona Gale * O. Henry * Sherwood Anderson * Ernest Hemingway * John Dos Passos * Stephen Vincent Benet * Willa Cather * William Faulkner * James Thurber * F. Scott Fitzgerald * William Saroyan

George P. Elliott, Bobbie Ann Mason, Blanche McCrary Boyd, Jayne Anne Phillips, Peter J. Taylor, Ann Beattie, Jean Stafford, Richard Ellman, Purdy James, Donald Barthelme, Stanley Elkin, Philip Roth, Richard Yates, John Updike, Grace Paley, Flannery O'Connor, John Cheever, Alice Walker, Mark Helprin, Wright Morris, Robert Greenwood, Leonard Michaels, Susan Fromberg Schaeffer, Joyce Carol Oates, Layle Silbert, Bernard Malamud, Saul Bellow, Ivi Goodman, Walter Mosley Jr.

Romeo and Juliet (1597) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, inspired by an Italian tale adapted for an English audience in the 16th century. Written between 1591 and 1595, it is one of Shakespeare's most performed plays and has influenced countless film and television adaptations. The story begins with two noble families in Verona, the Montagues and the Capulets, whose ancient feud leads to new conflicts and bloodshed. Shakespeare's genius lies in his portrayal of complex human emotions and their impact on relationships, politics, culture, and religion. In this tale, a pair of star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, defy their families' enmity to pursue their love, risking everything for one another. Their passionate romance ultimately leads to a tragic and unforgettable conclusion, illustrating the power of love against the constraints of history and fate.

England of the Dark Ages, both its literature and its history are mirrored in the epic of Beowulf. The story of the mythical warrior-prince Beowulf tells us much about England, ca 500-1000 A.D., its people, its neighbors and the conditions.