A retelling of the medieval poem about a group of travelers on a pilgrimage to Canterbury and the tales they tell each other. With their astonishing diversity of tone and subject matter, The Canterbury Tales have become one of the touchstones of medieval literature. Translated here into modern English, these tales of a motley crowd of pilgrims drawn from all walks of life-from knight to nun, miller to monk-reveal a picture of English life in the fourteenth...

A portrait of the author of "Alice in Wonderland" analyzes contradictory aspects of his character, tapping recently discovered sources to set Carroll's life in the context of Victorian England, and assesses his financial difficulties and his relationship with the real Alice

The stories we read as children shape us for the rest of our lives-- but it's never too late to discover that transformative spark of hope that children's classics can ignite within us. Perkins invites us to explore the promise of seven timeless children's novels, and shows how they provide mirrors to our innermost selves, and open windows to other world. She shows that reading (or re-reading) these books as adults can help us build virtue, unmask...

"From the kidnapping of Einstein's brain to the horrifying end of Louis XIV's heart, the mysteries surrounding some of history's most famous body parts range from medical to macabre. Carlyn Beccia explores the misadventures of noteworthy body parts through history and uses them as springboards for exploring topics such as forensics, DNA testing, brain science, organ donation, and cloning. The engaging, conversational tone of the text, the wonderfully...