Shakespeare was familiar with all beautiful forms and images, with all that is sweet or majestic in the simple aspects of nature and human life, of that indestructible love, and clear waters, and soft airs and sounds, and bright skies and woodland solitudes, and moon-light bowers. The writings of Shakespeare have been justly termed the richest, the purest, the fairest, that genius uninspired ever penned. This collection of Shakespeare love tales includes: Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Pericles. These timeless stories are retold in modern English retaining all key elements of Shakespeare's original storyline, characters and wisdoms.

Shakespeare instructed by delighting. His comedies and tragedies contain more actual wisdom than the whole body of English learning. He is the teacher of all good – pity, generosity, true courage, love. His bright wit is cut out into little stars. This collection of Shakespeare tales includes: The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, Cymbeline. These timeless stories are retold in modern English retaining all key elements of Shakespeare's original storyline, characters and wisdoms.

WANT TO LEARN THE INS AND OUTS OF VERTICAL GARDENING? Here Is A Preview Of What You'll Learn... Setting Up the Base You Need in Your Garden Working on the Maintenance of Your Vertical Garden Making Room for the Plants Picking Out the Right Plants Some Tips for Your Vertical Garden Much, Much, More!

A singular fatality has ruled the destiny of nearly all the most famous of Leonardo da Vinci's works. Two of the three most important were never completed, obstacles having arisen during his life-time, which obliged him to leave them unfinished; namely the Sforza Monument and the Wall-painting of the Battle of Anghiari, while the third—the picture of the Last Supper at Milan—has suffered irremediable injury from decay and the repeated restorations to which it was recklessly subjected during the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries. Nevertheless, no other picture of the Renaissance has become so wellknown and popular through copies of every description.

Leviathan is one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory. A classic western work on statecraft comparable to Machiavelli's The Prince. Written during the English Civil War (1642–1651), Leviathan argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign.

Societatea deschis? contra societ??ii deschise. Societatea rom?neasc? ?ntre utopie ?i realitate este o carte de analiz? profund? ?i complex?, ce ?i-a ales ca obiect de studiu cea mai important? paradigm? sociopolitic? a postmodernit??ii, ?mpreun? cu realit??ile concrete ce se configureaz? ?n jurul acesteia. O paradigm? care ?i-a propus s? schimbe fa?a lumii, sens ?n care, de mai bine de 25 de ani o putem observa manifest?ndu-se pe multiple coordonate ?i ?n planul realit??ilor sociale ?i politice autohtone, pe care, de altfel, autorul le radiografiaz? extrem de atent, cu ochiul, mintea ?i bagajul de cuno?tin?e proprii specialistului, dar ?i cu sufletul ?i con?tiin?a celui care apar?ine societ??ii rom?ne?ti. Cartea de fa?? este, ?n acela?i timp, ?i despre societatea deschis?, dar ?i despre trecutul, prezentul ?i viitorul prefigurat lumii ?n aceast? paradigm?, c?t ?i despre evolu?ia societ??ii rom?ne?ti ca parte integrant? a acestei lumi. Ea surprinde ?i problematizeaz? o multitudine de aspecte ?in?nd at?t de natura intrinsec? a conceptului de societate deschis?, c?t ?i de schimb?rile pe care implementarea acestui concept ca realitate social? le presupune ?i le antreneaz? ?n societ??ile contemporane. Prin aceasta, ea se recomand? ca o lectur? util?, provocatoare ?i, totodat?, revelatoare tuturor celor preocupa?i de c?mpul ?tiin?elor sociale ?i politice, dar ?i celor interesa?i s? ?n?eleag? ceva ?n plus din sistemul cauzalit??ilor profunde care influen?eaz? mersul lumii, ?n general, ?i al societ??ii rom?ne?ti, ?n particular. (Maria Voinea)

La fel ca ?i precedentele romane ale lui Emil Ra?iu – reactualiz?ri ale marilor noastre mituri – romanul Turnul col?ei... are o tem? major?, anume existen?a problematic? a omului ca fiin?? situat? ?ntre timp ?i eternitate, ?ntre clip? ?i ve?nicie. Dilema major? a vie?ii este ?ndoita fa?? a realit??ii, perceput? prin sim?uri ca etern? trecere ?i fragmentare ?n lucruri, ?n timp ce prin cuget – prin filosofia eleat? a lui Parmenide, Pitagora, Platon ?i a altora – ea este unitate ve?nic? a Fiin?ei, trecerea fiind doar o iluzie a sim?urilor noastre. Omul este prins la mijloc, ?ntre vreme ?i ve?nicie, o soart? pu?in de invidiat...Aceast? existen?? a omului ?ntre clip? ?i ve?nicie, ?n permanent? confruntare cu eternitatea, este nodul central al ontologiei, reflectat? ?n romanul de fa?? prin eroii acestuia, ?ncep?nd cu dasc?lul de la Academia de la Sf?ntul Sava, Mihai Ciubo?el, cu ipostazele sale, adev?rate avataruri, care sintetizeaz? contrariile, ajung?nd p?n? ?n timpurile noastre (secolul XXI), definite ale neo-fanariotismului ?i ale supu?eniei servile la noi centre de putere.Romanul str?bate prin eroii s?i trei sute de ani de istorie, de la Sf?ntul Martir Constantin Br?ncoveanu la Eminescu p?n? ?n vremurile noastre, ?ncheindu-se cu optimism ?i m?rturisind, ?n ciuda tuturor greut??ilor, credin?a ?n victoria final? a luminii ?i adev?rului neamului rom?nesc.

“THE TEMPEST” is Shakespeare's last book. The story Prospero relates is that he is the rightful Duke of Milan and that his younger brother, Antonio, betrayed him, seizing his title and property. Twelve years earlier, Prospero and Miranda were put out to sea in little more than a raft. Miraculously, they both survived and arrived safely on this island, where Prospero learned to control the magic that he now uses to manipulate everyone on the island. Upon his arrival, Prospero rescued a sprite, Ariel, who had been imprisoned by the witch Sycorax. Ariel wishes to be free and his freedom has been promised within two days.??The last inhabitant of the island is the child of Sycorax and the devil: Caliban, whom Prospero has enslaved. Caliban is a natural man, uncivilized and wishing only to have his island returned to him to that he can live alone in peace.??Soon the royal party from the ship is cast ashore and separated into three groups. The king's son, Ferdinand, is brought to Prospero, where he sees Miranda, and the two fall instantly in love. Meanwhile, Alonso, the king of Naples, and the rest of his party have come ashore on another part of the island. Alonso fears that Ferdinand is dead and grieves for the loss of his son. Antonio, Prospero's younger brother, has also been washed ashore with the king's younger brother, Sebastian. ??Antonio easily convinces Sebastian that Sebastian should murder his brother and seize the throne for himself. This plot to murder Alonso is similar to Antonio's plot against his own brother, Prospero, 12 years earlier.??Another part of the royal party — the court jester and the butler — has also come ashore. Trinculo and Stefano each stumble upon Caliban, and each immediately sees a way to make money by exhibiting Caliban as a monster recovered from this uninhabited island. Stefano has come ashore in a wine cask, and soon Caliban, Trinculo, and Stefano are drunk. While drinking, Caliban hatches a plot to murder Prospero and enrolls his two new acquaintances as accomplices. Ariel is listening, however, and reports the plot to Prospero.??Next, Prospero stages a masque to celebrate the young couple's betrothal, with goddesses and nymphs entertaining the couple with singing and dancing. While Ferdinand and Miranda have been celebrating their love, Alonso and the rest of the royal party have been searching for the king's son. Exhausted from the search and with the king despairing of ever seeing his son alive, Prospero has ghosts and an imaginary banquet brought before the king's party. A god-like voice accuses Antonio, Alonso, and Sebastian of their sins, and the banquet vanishes. The men are all frightened, and Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian run away.??Prospero punishes Caliban, Trinculo, and Stefano with a run through a briar patch and swim in a scummy pond. Having accomplished what he set out to do, Prospero has the king's party brought in. Prospero is clothed as the rightful Duke of Milan, and when the spell has been removed, Alonso rejects all claims to Prospero's dukedom and apologizes for his mistakes. Within moments, Prospero reunites the king with his son, Ferdinand. Alonso is especially pleased to learn of Miranda's existence and that Ferdinand will marry her.?Prospero then turns to his brother, Antonio, who offers no regrets or apology for his perfidy. ??Nevertheless, Prospero promises not to punish Antonio as a traitor. When Caliban is brought in, Caliban tells Prospero that he has learned his lesson. His two co-conspirators, Trinculo and Stefano, will be punished by the king. Soon, the entire party retires to Prospero's cell to celebrate and await their departure home. Only Prospero is left on stage.??In a final speech, Prospero tells the audience that only with their applause will he be able to leave the island with the rest of the party. Prospero leaves the stage to the audience's applause.

Mein Kampf ist eine politisch-ideologische Programmschrift Adolf Hitlers. Sie erschien in zwei Teilen. Hitler stellte darin seinen Werdegang zum Politiker und seine Weltanschauung dar. Das Buch enthalt Hitlers Autobiografie, ist in der Hauptsache aber eine zweckgerichtete Kampf- und Propagandaschrift, die zum Neuaufbau der NSDAP als zentral gelenkter Partei unter Hitlers Fuhrung dienen sollte.??Der erste Band entstand in Hitlers Haftzeit 1924 und wurde erstmals am 18. Juli 1925, der zweite am 11. Dezember 1926 veroffentlicht. Vor allem der erste Band wurde bis 1932 in der Weimarer Republik zu einem viel diskutierten Bestseller.??Hitler schrieb 1924 den ersten Teil von Mein Kampf wahrend seiner Festungshaft in der Haftanstalt Landsberg in Landsberg am Lech. Er soll den Text seinem spateren Stellvertreter Rudolf HeB diktiert haben. Neuere Erkenntnisse weisen darauf hin, dass Hitler den Text selbst auf einer Reiseschreibmaschine tippte. Winifred Wagner berichtete, Hitler "massenhaft Schreibpapier" nach Landsberg geschickt zu haben.??Ursprunglich sollte das Buch Viereinhalb Jahre [des Kampfes] gegen Luge, Dummheit und Feigheit heiBen. Nach der vorzeitigen Haftentlassung im Dezember 1924 diktierte Hitler den starker programmatisch ausgelegten zweiten Teil von Mein Kampf seinem Gefolgsmann Max Amann, Direktor des Franz-Eher-Verlags. Amann und Hitler zogen sich im Sommer 1925 in das (daher spater so genannte) Kampfhausl des Pensionswirts Bruno Buchner auf dem Obersalzberg (nahe dem spateren Berghof) zuruck, um das Manuskript zu tippen.??Im Juli 1925 erschien der erste Band, im Dezember 1926 der zweite. Bis 1930 vertrieb der Verlag Mein Kampf in zwei groBformatigen Banden zum Preis von zunachst je 12, ab 1928 14 Reichsmark.??Der Originaltext erlebte in seiner zwanzigjahrigen Editionsgeschichte von 1925 bis 1945 zahlreiche Anderungen und Erweiterungen. Der Text der spaten Ausgaben aus den 1940er Jahren ist nur bedingt in direkten Bezug zu setzen mit Hitlers publizistischer und politischer Positionierung Mitte der 1920er. ??Im Herbst 2006 tauchten in Munchen funf Manuskript- und achtzehn Entwurfsseiten zu Hitlers Buch auf, die er vor dessen Veroffentlichung im Fruhjahr und im Sommer 1924 wahrend seiner Festungshaft in Landsberg verfasst hatte. Der Vergleich mit der spateren Endfassung ermoglichte der Hitlerforschung Ruckschlusse zur Entwicklung von Hitlers Weltbild und Agitationsweise.??Der erste und der zweite Band erschienen in einer Erstauflage von je 10.000 Exemplaren. Die NSDAP finanzierte sich ganz wesentlich uber den eigenen Parteiverlag, an dem auch Hitler personlich beteiligt war. Von der einbandigen Volksausgabe wurden bis Januar 1933 287.000 Exemplare zum Preis von je 12 RM durch den Zentralverlag der NSDAP (Franz Eher Nachfolger) verkauft. ??Hitler erhielt pro verkauftem Buch 10 Prozent Tantiemen. Die folgende einbandige Ausgabe kostete 8 RM ("Volksausgabe", ab 1930)...

It was a winter night, and the ground around Paris was covered with snow, although the flakes had ceased to fall since some hours.?Spite of the cold and the darkness, a young man, wrapped in a mantle so voluminous as to hide a babe in his arms, strode over the white fields out of the town of Villers Cotterets, in the woods, eighteen leagues from the capital, which he had reached by the stage-coach, towards a hamlet called Haramont. His assured step seemed to indicate that he had previously gone this road.?Soon above him streaked the leafless boughs upon the grey sky. The sharp air, the odor of the oaks, the icicles and beads on the tips of branches, all appealed to the poetry in the wanderer.??Through the clumps he looked for the village spire and the blue smoke of the chimneys, filtering from the cottages through the natural trellis of the limbs.?It was dawn when he crossed a brook, bordered with yellow cress and frozen vines, and at the first hovel asked for the laborer's boy to take him to Madeline Pi-tou's home.??Mute and attentive, not so dull as most of their kind, the children sprang up and staring at the stranger, led him by the hand to a rather large and good-looking cottage, on the bank of the rivulet running by most of the dwellings.?A plank served as a bridge.?"There," said one of the guides nodding his head to-wards it.?Gilbert gave them a coin, which made their eyes open still more widely, and crossed the board to the door which he pushed open, while the children, taking one another's hand, started with all their might at the handsome gentleman in a brown cloth coat, buckled shoes and large cloak, who wanted to find Madeline Pitou.?Apart from them, Gilbert, for such was the young man's name, simply so for he had no other, saw no liv-ing things: Haramont was the deserted village he was seeking.??As soon as the door was open, his sight was struck by a scene full of charm, for almost anybody, and par-ticularly for a young philosopher like our roamer.?A robust peasant woman was suckling a baby, while another child, a sturdy boy of four or five, was saying a prayer in a loud voice.?In the chimney corner, near a window or rather a hole in the wall in which was stuck a pane of glass, an-other woman, going on for thirty-five or six, was spin-ning, with a stool under her feet, and a fat poodle on an end of this stool.?Catching sight of the visitor the dog barked in a civil and hospitable manner just to show that he had not been caught napping. The praying boy turned, cutting the devotional phrase in two, and both females uttered an exclamation between joy and surprise.?"I greet you, good mother Madeline," said Gilbert with a smile.

Volumul lui Leo Butnaru este tot o ncercare de sintez, de a a duce n faa cititorilor texte prea puin sau chiar deloc cunoscute i cred c, doar aa, n dialogul intercultural, se poate nelege i originalitatea avangardei romneti i ce se ntmpl cu ei dup restaurarea comunismului. La Leo Butnaru avem din nou de aface cu o perioad post 1917 i cu transformri.“ – Carmen Muat

Despre Europa s-a vorbit mult, ?n special din perspectiva social? ?i economic?, ?ns? tema nu a fost dezb?tut?, a?a cum s-ar fi cuvenit, de pe pozi?ia culturii. Cartea Mituri ?i legende ale antichit??ii propune studii eseistice referitoare la baza culturii europene. Eseurile ne invit? s? g?ndim ?mpreun? Europa din perspectiva singurului factor care une?te – cultura.

Cea dinti monografie care ofer o imagine cuprinztoare asupra receptrii literaturii romne n Cehia, cartea de fa este o incursiune n diversele etape ale totalitarismului comunist: stalinismul integral, perioada dezgheului, anii aizeci (cu transformrile din jurul Primverii de la Praga), urmai de perioada de normalizare care se ntinde pn la momentul Revoluiei de Catifea. Ineditul acestei lucrri este dat i de explorarea manifestrii unor opere i a unor personaliti literare romneti (precum Mircea Eliade, Constantin Virgil Gheorghiu sau Petru Dumitriu) n zona literar ceh prohibit din anii supui studiului, mai precis n publicaiile din exil i n revistele de tip samizdat. Cititorului i este oferit un tablou amplu asupra autorilor romni receptai cu predilecie de ctre cehi sub comunism i asupra tendinelor manifestate de romnitii cehi (coloana vertebral a procesului receptrii), de criticii literari i de recenzeni. Cartea definete o epoc n istoria raporturilor culturale dintre romni i cehi, dou popoare legate de un trecut adeseori comun i de o prietenie sincer.“ – Profesor dr. Mihai Mitu

Un periplu documentat prin lumea artelor plastice contemporane, un model de analiz? a fenomenului plastic actual, extrem de viu ?i incitant, ba chiar provoc?tor, ?n ciuda multiplelor probleme ridicate de tranzi?ia autohton?.

Avangardismul rom?nesc r?m?ne a fi unul dintre curentele literare cele mai controversate ?i, ?n ultima instanta – ne demonstreaza aceasta monografie – cele mai putin cunoscute. Monografia abunda ?n informa?ii, aspecte, ?nt?mpl?ri, evenimente, mai pu?in sau deloc cunoscute. Cartea se adreseaz? elevilor, studen?ilor, precum ?i publicului larg de cititori.

Drag? cititorule,Dac? te-ai uitat ieri mai mult de dou? ore la televizor ?i nu po?i f?r? asta, las? cartea asta jos.Dac? vrei s? fii de acord cu cineva, cu oricine, nu e?ti omul meu.Dac? m? ?tii din tinere?e ?i crezi c? sunt b?iatul care se b?lb?ia la prompter, dai banii degeaba.Dac? vrei s? dai cadou cartea asta unui prieten, nu mai bine ?i iei o sticl? de vin? Eu nu ?tiu s? ame?esc a?a bine.?n general, recomand cartea doar c?torva oameni.Cei care vor s? afle cum am ajuns s? tr?im, iubim, alegem ?n social media.Dar mai ales celor care cred c? a scrie poate schimba ceva.P.S. Poate.Doar c? trebuie s? scriem cu to?ii ?n acela?i timp.Despre asta e Share! Despre for?a social media, cel mai bun amplificator de idei pe care ?l ?tiu.?ntr-un fel, dac? stai s? te g?nde?ti, ?i tu ai scris-o.

IN preparing a first book of American history, it is necessary to keep in mind the two purposed such a work is required to serve. There are children whose school life is brief; these must get all the instruction they are to receive in their country's history from a book of the grade of this.To another class of pupils the first book of American history is a preparation for the intelligent study of a textbook more advanced. It is a manifest waste of time and energy to require these to learn in a lower class the facts that must be re-studied in a higher grade. Moreover, primary histories which follow the order of larger books are likely to prove dry and unsatisfactory condensations. But a beginner's book ought before all things else to be interesting. A fact received with the attention raised to its highest power remains fixed in the memory; that which is learned listlessly is lost easily, and a lifelong aversion to history is often the main result produced by the use of an unsuitable textbook at the outset.The main peculiarity of the present book is that it aims to teach children the history of the country by making them acquainted with some of the most illustrious actors in it. A child is interested, above all, in persons. Biography is for him the natural door into history. The order of events in a nation's life is somewhat above the reach of younger pupils, but the course of human life and the personal achievements of an individual are intelligible and delightful. In teaching younger pupils by means of biography, which is the very alphabet of history, we are following a sound principle often forgotten, that primary education should be pursued along the line of the least resistance. Moreover, nothing is more important to the young American than an acquaintance with the careers of the great men of his country.

Pour bien comprendre la portée de l'intervention et de l'influence de l'?uvre de Delacroix dans l'école fran?aise, il est nécessaire de se rappeler la situation exacte de la peinture au moment où il parut.??La Révolution avait brutalement traité les ma?tres du XVIIIème siècle finissant. ?prise d'un sévère idéal gréco-romain, dont déjà Vien avait donné des exemples et que David allait porter à son apogée, la génération jacobine avait considéré les peintres légers et délicieux du règne de Louis XVI comme les bénéficiaires de la corruption luxueuse des nobles et des fermiers généraux, et elle les avait rejetés dans le même mouvement d'injuste fureur. Fragonard mourait oublié, chassé de son logis des galeries du Louvre. Hubert Robert échappait gr?ce à une erreur à l'échafaud. Greuze mourait dans la misère noire. On ne parlait plus de Chardin. Un Latour se vendait quelques francs. ??L'?Embarquement pour Cythère?, peint par Watteau pour son entrée à l'Académie, y était criblé de boulettes de papier m?ché par les élèves de David, neveu de Boucher dont ils parlaient en de tels termes, qu'il était obligé, par pudeur, d'excuser à leurs yeux son oncle. Les gravures de Cochin, de Lépicié, de Choffard, de Lavreince, des Saint-Aubin, de Debucourt, de Gravelot, d'Eisen, allaient s'ensevelir dans les soupentes de quelques brocanteurs, et on attendrait quatrevingts ans avant de les rechercher pour les couvrir d'or. Un siècle s'effondrait. Son go?t exquis, sa morale profondément naturelle et humaine, son libéralisme sceptique, tout lui était imputé à vice et à crime. On rêvait d'un art moralisateur, que Greuze avait préparé aux applaudissements de Diderot par ses scènes familiales et son ingénuité bourgeoise, mêlée de libertinage hypocrite. ??On voulait un art héro?que, sévère, propre à élever les consciences. David apparut l'homme d'une telle ?uvre, et créa d'un seul effort la réaction d'une esthétique néo-romaine, d'une peinture con?ue d'après la statuaire antique, et toute consacrée à des expressions de sentiments cornéliens. La discipline de cette école fut plus dure encore que celle imposée, centvingtcinq années auparavant, par Louis XIV, Le Brun et l'école de Rome. Plus de recherches de la nature, plus de gr?ce, plus de vérité, plus de coloris, mais simplement un art allégorique, pompeux, aride, éloigné de la vie et tout entier construit sur des théories, un art aussi opposé que possible au tempérament fran?ais.

When his cartoons began to reach America toward the end of 1916 this country was neutral. It is with peculiar satisfaction, therefore, that I base this brief foreword upon press extracts published prior to America’s participation in the war. If it were possible to discover today an individual who was entirely ignorant as to the causes and conduct of the war, he would, after an inspection of a hundred or more of these cartoons, probably utter his conviction somewhat as follows: ?“I do not believe that these drawings have the slightest relation to the truth; I do not believe that it is possible for such things to happen in the twenti-eth century.” ??He would be quite justified, in his ignorance of what has happened in Europe, in expressing such an opinion, just as any of us, with the possible exception of the disciples of Bernhardi himself, would have been justified in expressing a similar view in July, 1914.??What is the view of all informed people today? “To Raemaekers the war is not a topic, or a subject for charity. It is a vivid heartrending reality,” says the New York “Evening Post,” “and you come away from the rooms where his cartoons now hang so aware of what war is that mental neutrality is for you a horror. If you have slackened in your determination to find out, these cartoons are a slap in the face. ??Raemaekers drives home a universal point that concerns not merely Germans, but every country where royal decrees have supreme power. Shall one man ever be given the power to seek his ends, using the people as his pawns? We cannot look at the cartoons and remain in ignorance of exactly what is the basis of truth on which they are built.”?The “Philadelphia American” likens Raemaekers to a sensitized plate upon which the spirit which brought on the war has imprinted itself forever, and adds: ?“What he gives out on that subject is as pitilessly true as a photograph. They look down upon us in their naked truth, those pictures which are to be, before the judgment-seat of history, the last indictment of the German nation. Of all impressions, there is one which will hold you in its inexorable grip: it is that Louis Raemaekers has told you the truth.”

Dintre toate scrierile Svetlanei Aleksievici, Ultimii martori este cea mai sf??ietoare. C?ci ce poate fi mai cumplit dec?t copil?ria ?n timp de r?zboi, mai tragic dec?t inocen?a supus? violen?ei ?i anihil?rii? Personajele acestei c?r?i, b?ie?i ?i fete, aveau, ?n perioada celui de al Doilea R?zboi Mondial – conflictul poate cel mai inuman din istorie –, ?ntre trei ?i doisprezece ani, dar r?nile c?p?tate atunci le s?ngereaz? p?n? ?n ziua de azi. ?i totu?i, ?n pofida suferin?elor descrise, textul dob?nde?te o extraordinar? for?? evocatoare pentru c? reu?e?te s? reconstituie poezia inerent? v?rstei copil?riei. Tulbur?tor prin ?nc?rc?tura sa de adev?r ?i r?v??itor suflete?te, Ultimii martori ne schimb? perspectiva asupra istoriei, a r?zboiului, a copil?riei ?i a vie?ii.

It is fair to characterise the three suites of original water-colour drawings, as executed by our artist, as unique examples of the great George Cruikshank's special individual proficiency as an exponent of this branch of technical dexterity. More-over, it may be regarded as a fortunate circumstance that the three works, here reproduced with amazing fidelity in facsimile, represent happily the very chefs d'oeuvre of his wonderful productions; in their respective categories, preserving the best examples of his remarkable genius as an imaginative creator of vivid pictures, alike stirring and animated, and representing at one glance his vast dramatic powers, his mastery of the humorous side of life, and the intensity he was consistently able to infuse into terrible and tragic scenes. It is noteworthy that the inimitable artist George Cruikshank but rarely pro-duced finished water-colour drawings; the bulk of his prolific and familiarly rec-ognised designs for book illustrations were mostly dainty pencil sketches, occa-sionally finished in pen and ink. It is a problem difficult to solve satisfactorily whether, beyond the three memorable instances of the works here reproduced in facsimile, there are in existence any other complete suites of original illustrations by George Cruikshank—that is to say, fully executed by his master hand as finished water-colour drawings. Tinted sketches may be found in the prized possessions of Cruikshank collectors, and spirited studies for many of his favourite and most successful subjects have been cleverly touched in with watercolours; for instance, such as certain of his original drawings as designed for the illustrations of Harri-son Ainsworth's Tower of London, and the clever historical and picturesque series of Windsor Castle designs; these are, however, to be regarded as exceptional cases, for the bulk of these most successful and popular designs were carefully executed in pencil, or occasionally outlined with the pen, and highly finished with washes of warm sepia. It is worthy of recollection that Cruikshank was a most dexterous artist in this monochrome branch, his earlier artistic experiences having been al-most exclusively in the walk of aqua-tinted etchings; all his early book illustrations, his caricatures, and satirical plates—social or political—were uniformly etched by his hand in the most spirited fashion, after his ready sketches and rough studies, and when the outline etching was bitten in, Cruikshank elaborately worked out his colour suggestions, for light and shade, with a brush over the first-etched outline, in tones of sepia or Indian ink, for the guidance of the professional 'aquatinters'—the school of artists to whose trained skill was entrusted the task of completing these plates to produce the effect of highly finished washed drawings in mono-chrome. By this, his youthful practice, George Cruikshank had acquired remarka-ble dexterity, his original pen-and-ink designs, and the outline etchings, after his earlier book illustrations, being worked up in monochrome to the dainty finish of delicate miniatures, in which art both his father Isaac and his brother Isaac Robert were first-class proficients, as he himself has recorded with pride in describing the special gifts and qualifications which distinguished the Cruikshank family. ? ABOUT THE AUTHOR; George Cruikshank (1792 – 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached an international audience. Cruikshank was born in London. His father, Isaac Cruikshank, was one of the leading caricaturists of the late 1790s and Cruikshank started his career as his father's apprentice and assistant. His older brother, Isaac Robert, also followed in the family business as a caricaturist and illustrator. Cruikshank's early work was caricature; but in 1823, at the age of 31, he started to focus on book illustration. He illustrated the first, 1823 English translation (by Edgar Taylor and David Jardine) of Grimms' Fairy Tales, published in two volumes as German Popular Stories. On 16 October 1827, he married Mary Ann Walker (1807–1849). Two years after her death, on 7 March 1851, he married Eliza Widdison. The two lived at 263 Hampstead Road, North London.Upon his death, it was discovered that Cruikshank had fathered 11 illegitimate children with a mistress named Adelaide Attree, his former servant, who lived close to where he lived with his wife. Adelaide was ostensibly married and had taken the married surname 'Archibold'.