King Arthur and the Kinghts of the Round Table Complete Works World's Best Collection This is the best King Arthur Collection available, including the most complete set of the Arthurian legends plus many extra free bonus materials. The Most Complete Collection Available In this irresistible collection we include all 11 complete Books (more than 130 chapters) from Thomas Malory (published by William Caxton) of the legendary epic ‘Le Morte D’ Arthur’. We also give you all the other, rare stories of the other famous Knights of the Round Table. Plus, we include additional bonuses covering Arthur related mythologies, including Celtic Mythology and other British and European Legends. Everything Arthur related in one, amazing comprehensive compilation. Works Included: Le Morte D’ Arthur -The legendary, famous compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of romance? tales about the legendary King Arthur. One of the best-known works of the English language and Arthurian literature. It coves the grand adventures and complete stories of the beloved characters, from Arthur himself, to Merlin, to Tristram, Launcelot and Guinevere, Morgan le Fay, Arthur’s sister, and even Mordred, Arthur’s villainous son. Who was the Real King Arthur? -?A special analysis of the 'suspects', written specifically for this collection. Additional Sir Gawayne Stories -?Additional stories of the popular Sir Gawayne, including the well known fairy tale: ‘Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight’ The Mabinogion -?11 classic stories from Welsh and Celtic mythology, known as prime examples of folktales, and early medieval and Iron age narratives, even including more stories of King Arthur. Myths And Legends Of The Celtic Race -?Devoted to explaining the fascinating and expansive Celtic mythology, as well as chapters on Celtic history and information on the Druids. Hero-Myths Of The British Race And Legends Of The Middle Ages -?A rich exploration into more British, as well as European and Middle Age mythology. It includes chapters about many Heroic Sagas, such as Charlemagne, Beowulf, and Robin Hood. Get This Collection Right Now This is the best King Arthur and Arthurian Legends collection you can get, so get it now and start enjoying and being drawn into the magnificent world of myth and legend like never before!

John Donne Complete Works World's Best Collection This is the world’s best John Donne collection, including the most complete set of Donne’s works available plus many free bonus materials. John Donne John Donne was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England. He is considered the pre-eminent representative of the metaphysical poets, his works noted for their strong, sensual style. Vibrancy of language and inventiveness of metaphor, and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs, satires and sermons The ‘Must-Have’ Complete Collection In this irresistible collection you get Donne’s work, with more than 400 works - All his poems, All his poetry, All his Letters, All his Sermons, All his Devotions, All his Satires and Elegies, with notes and annotation, plus several full length biographies so you can experience the life of the man behind the words. With extra Bonus Material. Works Included: Holy Sonnets -?Full set of Donne’s sonnets, including among others: Holy Sonnet I: Thou Hast Made Me Holy Sonnet Iv: Oh my black soul! Holy Sonnet V: I Am A Little World Made Cunningly Elegies -?Full set of Donne’s elegies, including among others: Elegy Xii - Come Fates ; I fear you not ! All whom I owe Elegy Xvi. The Expostulation Elegy Xx (Alternate) Love’s War An Anatomy Of The World -?Including: The First Anniversary The Second Anniversary Satires -?Full Set of Donne’s satires Epicedes And Obsequies Upon The Death Of Sundry Personages Juvenilia: Or Certain Paradoxes And Problems Letters To Several Personages -?Known as other poems, these are letter Donne wrote to historical figures of the time.? Other Poetical Works -?Full set of Donne’s Poems in alphabetical order, including among many others: Death Be Not Proud The Canonization Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions -?Full set of Donne’s Devotions, Meditations and Expostulations Notes To Poems Sermons Of John Donne - Comlpete set of Donne’s 148 Sermons, including Donne’s famous final sermon: Death’s Duel Your Free Special BonusesBiographies Historical and Literary Context Notes on Metaphysical Poetry -?written specially for this collection Life Of John Donne By Izaak Walton Life Of John Donne By Augustus Jessopp Life Of Dr. Donne By Henry Alford Three biographies from different perspectives, the first being the famous Walton bio, Walton being closely connected with Donne and being one of those Donne wrote to often. Letters Of John Donne And Notes -?Rare additional letters Donne wrote. Doubtful Poems And Notes -?A set of poems attributed to Donne, but not always collected or known with certainty to have come from him, including: On a Flea on his Mistress’s Bosom Dr. Donne’s Farewell to the World Get This Collection Right Now This is the best John Donne collection you can get, so get it now and start enjoying and being inspired by his world like never before!

Tennyson Complete Works World's Best Collection This is the world’s best Alfred Lord Tennyson collection, including the most complete set of Tennyson’s works available plus many free bonus materials. Lord Tennyson Alfred Lord Tennyson was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria’s reign and remains one of the most popular British poets. He is the ninth most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations and responsible for many common phrases such as: ‘tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all’ and ‘to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield’ among many others The ‘Must-Have’ Complete Collection In this irresistible collection you get a full set of Tennyson’s works, both his well-known as well as his rare, with more than 400 different works - All Tennyson’s poetry, All his plays, All major and minor works, All his poetry collections, Plus his rare early poems. With a Biography and More Extra Bonus material. Works Included: The Plays Of Tennyson: Queen Mary: A Drama Harold: A Drama Becket The Cup - A Tragedy The Falcon The Promise Of May The Foresters The Poetry Collections: Maud, And Other Poems The Lady Of Shalott And Other Poems Demeter And Other Poems Idylls Of The King English Idyls, And Other Poems Ballads And Other Poems The Death Of ?none, And Other Poems Tiresias, And Other Poems Juvenilia - Tennyson’s Early Poems Enoch Arden, And Other Poems The Princess Your Free Special Bonuses Tennyson’s Life And Poetry - A biography of Tennyson’s intriguing life. Literary Essay On Tennyson – a comprehensive essay about Tennyson and his works Historical Context and Literary Context Notes?- Detailed explanations of the Victorian Era and Victorian Literature, written specially for this collection. Get This Collection Right Now This is the best Tennyson collection you can get, so get it now and start enjoying and being inspired by his world like never before!

William Blake Complete Works World's Best Collection This is the world’s best William Blake collection, including the most complete set of Blake’s works available plus many free bonus materials. William Blake William Blake was an English poet and painter. Although unrecognized during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry of the Romantic Age, and in 2002, Blake was placed at number 38 in the Bbc’s poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. During his lifetime, Blake was largely considered mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views, but he is held in high regard by later critics for his expressiveness and creativity, and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his work. The 19th-century scholar William Rossetti characterized him as a "glorious luminary” The ‘Must-Have’ Complete Collection In this irresistible collection you get a full set of Blake’s pieces, with more than 250 works - All his poems, All poetry, All his prose and the full length definitive biography. Plus Free Bonus material. There are countless must reads, ranging from the well-known pieces to fantastic and startling new works to discover. Including Among Many Others: Poetical Sketches Songs Of Innocence Tiriel All Religions Are One The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell The Gates Of Paradise America: A Prophecy Europe: A Prophecy Songs Of Experience The Book Of Ahania The Song Of Los Vala, Or The Four Zoas A Vision Of The Last Judgment. The Ghost Of Abel The Rossetti Manuscript The Pickering Manuscript Auguries of Innocence The Laocoon Satiric Verses And Epigrams Full Collection Of Blake’s Letters Your Free Special Bonuses Historical Context and Literary Context Notes?- Detailed explanations of the Regency Era and Romanticism, written specially for this collection. Annotations?- a collection of notes taken from hand written texts Blake made in the margins of his own favourite books. William Blake, A Critical Essay?- a intriguing essay from the famous literature scholar Algernon Charles Swinburne Life Of William Blake Pictor Ignotus?- Used in colleges worldwide,known as the definitive biography of Blake, from Alexander Gilchrist, a fascinating account of Blake’s colourful life, including chapters, amongst others, about his work, his changing views on the world and his trial for sedition. Get This Collection Right Now This is the best William Blake collection you can get, so get it now and start enjoying and being inspired by the words inside like never before!

Bronte Sisters Complete Works World's Best Collection This is the world’s best Bronte Sisters collection, including the most complete set of Bronte’s works available plus many free bonus materials. Bronte Sisters The Bront?s were a nineteenth-century literary family consisting of Charlotte, Emily and Anne, all well known as poets and novelists. They originally published their poems and novels under masculine pseudonyms, following the custom of the times. Their stories immediately attracted attention for their passion and originality The ‘Must-Have’ Complete Collection In this irresistible collection you get the complete collection of all three Bronte’s work, with All of Charlotte Bronte, All of Anne Bronte and All of Emily Bronte, including All their novels and poetry. Plus Bonus Materials. Works Included:By Anne Bronte (as Acton Bell) Agnes Grey The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall By Charlotte Bronte (as Currer Bell) Jane Eyre Shirley Villette Professor By Emily Bronte (as Ellis Bell) Wuthering Heights Your Free Special Bonuses Historical Context and Literary Context Notes?- Detailed explanations of the Victorian Era and Victorian Literature written specially for this collection. Life Of Charlotte Bronte?By Elizabeth Gaskell Poetry Of All Three Bronte Sisters Scraps And Literary Remains?of Charlotte, Anne and Emily Bronte Get This Collection Right Now This is the best Bronte Sisters collection you can get, so get it now and start enjoying and being inspired by their world like never before!

Classic mystery/detective novel. According to Wikipedia: "Ernest William Hornung (June 7, 1866 – March 22, 1921)... was an English author, most famous for writing the Raffles series of novels about a gentleman thief in late Victorian London. Hornung was the third son of John Peter Hornung, a Hungarian, and was born in Middlesbrough, England. He was educated at Uppingham School during some of the later years of its great headmaster, Edward Thring. He spent most of his life in England and France, but in 1884 left for Australia and stayed for two years where he working as a tutor at Mossgiel station. Although his Australian experience had been so short, it coloured most of his literary work from A Bride from the Bush published in 1899, to Old Offenders and a few Old Scores, which appeared after his death. He returned from Australia in 1886, and married Constance ("Connie") Doyle (1868-1924), the sister of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1893. Hornung published the poems Bond and Free and Wooden Crosses in The Times. The character of A. J. Raffles, a "gentleman thief", first appeared in Cassell's Magazine in 1898 and the stories were later collected as The Amateur Cracksman (1899). Other titles in the series include The Black Mask (1901), A Thief in the Night (1905), and the full-length novel Mr. Justice Raffles (1909). He also co-wrote the play Raffles, The Amateur Cracksman with Eugene Presbrey in 1903."

Classic mystery/detective novel. According to Wikipedia: "Ernest William Hornung (June 7, 1866 – March 22, 1921)... was an English author, most famous for writing the Raffles series of novels about a gentleman thief in late Victorian London. Hornung was the third son of John Peter Hornung, a Hungarian, and was born in Middlesbrough, England. He was educated at Uppingham School during some of the later years of its great headmaster, Edward Thring. He spent most of his life in England and France, but in 1884 left for Australia and stayed for two years where he working as a tutor at Mossgiel station. Although his Australian experience had been so short, it coloured most of his literary work from A Bride from the Bush published in 1899, to Old Offenders and a few Old Scores, which appeared after his death. He returned from Australia in 1886, and married Constance ("Connie") Doyle (1868-1924), the sister of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1893. Hornung published the poems Bond and Free and Wooden Crosses in The Times. The character of A. J. Raffles, a "gentleman thief", first appeared in Cassell's Magazine in 1898 and the stories were later collected as The Amateur Cracksman (1899). Other titles in the series include The Black Mask (1901), A Thief in the Night (1905), and the full-length novel Mr. Justice Raffles (1909). He also co-wrote the play Raffles, The Amateur Cracksman with Eugene Presbrey in 1903."

Classic naturalist novel about a prostitute in Paris, in English translation. First published in 1880. According to Wikipedia: "Nana is a novel by the French naturalist author ?mile Zola. Completed in 1880, Nana is the ninth installment in the 20-volume Les Rougon-Macquart series, the object of which was to tell "The Natural and Social History of a Family under the Second Empire", the subtitle of the series....Nana tells the story of Nana Coupeau's rise from streetwalker to high-class cocotte during the last three years of the French Second Empire. Nana first appears in the end of L'Assommoir (1877), another of Zola's Rougon-Macquart series, in which she is portrayed as the daughter of an abusive drunk; in the end, she is living in the streets and just beginning a life of prostitution.... Emile Zola (2 April 1840 - 29 September 1902) was an influential French writer, the most important example of the literary school of naturalism, and a major figure in the political liberalization of France..."

Classic novel by the author of "Little Women". According to Wikipedia: "Louisa May Alcott (1832 – 1888) was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women, published in 1868. This novel is loosely based on her childhood experiences with her three sisters."

Classic novel by the author of "Little Women". According to Wikipedia: "Louisa May Alcott (1832 – 1888) was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women, published in 1868. This novel is loosely based on her childhood experiences with her three sisters."

Roman classique d'abord publié en 1848, dans le fran?ais original. Selon Wikipédia: "La Tentation de Saint Antoine" est un livre que l'auteur fran?ais Gustave Flaubert a pratiquement travaillé toute sa vie, en trois versions qu'il a achevées en 1849, 1856 (extraits publiés au même temps) et 1872 avant de publier la version finale en 1874. Il prend comme sujet la fameuse tentation de Saint Antoine le Grand dans le désert égyptien, un thème souvent repris dans l'art médiéval et moderne. Il raconte une nuit dans la vie d'Anthony le Grand, où Anthony est confronté à de grandes tentations, et il a été inspiré par la peinture qu'il a vue au palais Balbi à Gênes. Madame Bovary, que Flaubert considérait son chef-d'?uvre.

Classic novel for children, one of Burnett's best known books. Sara Crewe, a pupil at Miss Minchin's London school, is left in poverty when her father dies, but is later rescued by a mysterious benefactor. According to Wikipedia: "Frances Hodgson Burnett, ( 1849 - 1924) was an English–American playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy. Born Frances Eliza Hodgson in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, her father died in 1854, and the family had to endure poverty and squalor in the Victorian slums of Manchester. Following the death of her mother in 1867, an 18-year-old Frances was now the head of a family of four younger siblings. She turned to writing to support them all, with a first story published in Godey's Lady's Book in 1868. Soon after she was being published regularly in Godey's, Scribner's Monthly, Peterson's Ladies' Magazine and Harper's Bazaar. Her main writing talent was combining realistic detail of working-class life with a romantic plot. Her first novel was published in 1877; That Lass o' Lowrie's was a story of Lancashire life. After moving with her husband to Washington, D.C., Burnett wrote the novels Haworth's (1879), Louisiana (1880), A Fair Barbarian (1881), and Through One Administration (1883), as well as a play, Esmeralda (1881), written with William Gillette...Her later works include Sara Crewe (1888) - later rewritten as A Little Princess (1905); The Lady of Quality (1896) - considered one of the best of her plays; and The Secret Garden (1909), the children's novel for which she is probably best known today. The Lost Prince was published in 1915..."

Classic novel for children. According to Wikipedia: "Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English author and poet whose children's works were published under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a precursor to the modern Labour Party.... Nesbit published approximately 40 books for children, both novels and collections of stories. Collaborating with others, she published almost as many more. According to her biographer Julia Briggs, Nesbit was "the first modern writer for children": "(Nesbit) helped to reverse the great tradition of children's literature inaugurated by [Lewis] Carroll, [George] MacDonald and Kenneth Grahame, in turning away from their secondary worlds to the tough truths to be won from encounters with things-as-they-are, previously the province of adult novels." Briggs also credits Nesbit with having invented the children's adventure story. Among Nesbit's best-known books are The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1898) and The Wouldbegoods (1899), which both recount stories about the Bastables, a middle class family that has fallen on relatively hard times. Her children's writing also included numerous plays and collections of verse. She created an innovative body of work that combined realistic, contemporary children in real-world settings with magical objects and adventures and sometimes travel to fantastic worlds."

Roman classique dans le fran?ais original. Selon Wikipédia: "Alexandre Dumas, père (fran?ais pour" père ", apparenté à" Senior "en anglais), né Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (24 juillet 1802 - 5 décembre 1870) était un écrivain fran?ais, mieux connu pour ses nombreux romans historiques de grande aventure qui ont fait de lui l'un des auteurs fran?ais les plus lus au monde, dont plusieurs de ses romans, dont Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, Les Trois Mousquetaires et Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, écrit des pièces de thé?tre et des articles de magazines et était un correspondant prolifique. "

Roman classique dans le fran?ais original. Selon Wikipédia: ?Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (5 ao?t 1850 - 6 juillet 1893) est un écrivain fran?ais populaire du XIXe siècle, l'un des pères de la nouvelle moderne, en tant que protégé de Flaubert. Ils sont caractérisés par leur économie de style et leur dénouement efficace et sans effort.Il a également écrit six courts romans.Un certain nombre de ses histoires dénotent souvent la futilité de la guerre et les civils innocents qui, pris, émergent changé - beaucoup sont mis en place pendant la période franco-prussienne Guerre des années 1870 ".

Roman classique, d'abord publié en 1832, dans le fran?ais original. Selon Wikipedia: "Victor-Marie Hugo (26 février 1802 - 22 mai 1885) était un poète, dramaturge, romancier, essayiste, artiste visuel, homme d'?tat, militant des droits de l'homme et représentant du mouvement romantique en France. La renommée littéraire vient d'abord de sa poésie, mais repose aussi sur ses romans et ses réalisations dramatiques Parmi les nombreux volumes de poésie, Les Contemplations et La Légende des siècles sont particulièrement estimés et Hugo est parfois identifié comme le plus grand poète fran?ais. La France, ses ?uvres les plus connues sont les romans Les Misérables et Notre-Dame de Paris (connu aussi en anglais sous le titre de Le Bossu de Notre-Dame), bien que conservateur conservateur dans sa jeunesse, Hugo devint plus libéral au fil des décennies. il est devenu un partisan passionné du républicanisme et son travail touche à la plupart des questions politiques et sociales et aux tendances artistiques de son temps: il est enterré au Panthéon.

Roman classique, d'abord publié en 1869, dans le fran?ais original. Selon Wikipédia: "The Man Who Laughs" est un roman de Victor Hugo, publié en avril 1869 sous le titre fran?ais L'Homme qui rit, bien que, parmi les ?uvres les plus obscures d'Hugo, il fut adapté en un film populaire de 1928, réalisé par Paul Leni, avec Conrad Veidt, Mary Philbin et Olga Baclanova, a écrit The Man Who Laughs, ou l'homme qui rit, pendant une période de quinze mois alors qu'il vivait dans les ?les Anglo-Normandes, exilé de sa France natale en raison des controverses. Le titre de travail de Hugo pour ce livre était Sur le commandement du roi, mais un ami suggérait L'homme qui rit ... Victor-Marie Hugo (26 février 1802 - 22 mai 1885) était un poète, dramaturge fran?ais, romancier, essayiste, plasticien, homme d'?tat, militant des droits de l'homme et représentant du mouvement romantique en France, la renommée littéraire de Hugo vient en premier lieu de sa poésie, mais aussi de ses romans et de ses réalisations dramatiques. La poésie, Les Contemplations et La Légende des siècles sont particulièrement estimées et Hugo est parfois considéré comme le plus grand poète fran?ais. Hors de France, ses ?uvres les plus connues sont les romans Les Misérables et Notre-Dame de Paris (connus aussi en anglais sous le titre de Le Bossu de Notre-Dame). Bien que royaliste conservateur engagé lorsqu'il était jeune, Hugo devint plus libéral au fil des décennies; il est devenu un partisan passionné du républicanisme et son travail touche à la plupart des questions politiques et sociales et aux tendances artistiques de son temps. Il est enterré au Panthéon. "

Roman classique, en fran?ais original. Selon Wikipédia: ?Jules Gabriel Verne (8 février 1828 - 24 mars 1905) est un auteur fran?ais qui a été le pionnier du genre de la science-fiction, notamment des romans comme Voyage au centre de la terre (1864), Vingt mille lieues sous la mer (1870) et autour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (1873) Verne a écrit sur l'espace, l'air et les voyages sous-marins avant que les voyages aériens et les sous-marins pratiques soient inventés. Selon Index Translationum, il est le troisième auteur le plus traduit au monde, certains de ses livres ont été transformés en films ... Verne, avec HG Wells, est souvent surnommé le ?père de la science-fiction?

Roman classique, mis en place pendant la guerre civile américaine, dans le fran?ais original. Selon Wikipédia: ?Jules Gabriel Verne (8 février 1828 - 24 mars 1905) est un auteur fran?ais qui a été le pionnier du genre de la science-fiction, notamment des romans comme Voyage au centre de la terre (1864), Vingt mille lieues sous la mer (1870) et autour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (1873) Verne a écrit sur l'espace, l'air et les voyages sous-marins avant que les voyages aériens et les sous-marins pratiques soient inventés. Selon Index Translationum, il est le troisième auteur le plus traduit au monde, certains de ses livres ont été transformés en films ... Verne, avec HG Wells, est souvent surnommé le ?père de la science-fiction?

Classic novel. According to Wikipedia: "George Robert Gissing (November 22, 1857 – December 28, 1903) was an English novelist who wrote twenty-three novels between 1880 and 1903. From his early naturalistic works, he developed into one of the most accomplished realists of the late-Victorian era. ... In 1880 when his first novel, Workers in the Dawn, proved to be an abject failure, he became a private tutor to keep poverty from the door. In 1883, he separated from his wife, now an alcoholic, but gave her a weekly income on what little money he had until her death in 1888. In 1884 his second novel, The Unclassed, which saw a marked improvement in style and characterisation, met with moderate critical acclaim. After this Gissing published novels almost on a yearly basis, but so little money did they bring him, that for several more years he had to continue working as a tutor. Although notoriously exploited by his publishers, he was able to visit Italy in 1889 from the sale of the copyright of The Nether World, his most pessimistic book. Between 1891 and 1897 (his so-called middle period) Gissing produced his best works, which include New Grub Street, Born in Exile, The Odd Women, In the Year of Jubilee, and The Whirlpool. In advance of their time, they variously deal with the growing commercialism of the literary market, religious charlatanism, the situation of emancipated women in a male-dominated society, the poverty of the working classes, and marriage in a decadent world. During this period, having belatedly become aware of the financial rewards of writing short stories for the press, he produced almost seventy stories. As a result he was able to give up teaching. ... The middle years of the decade saw Gissing's reputation reach new heights: by some critics he is counted alongside George Meredith and Thomas Hardy as one of the best three novelists of his day. He also enjoyed new friendships with fellow writers such as Henry James, and H.G. Wells, and came into contact with many other up and coming writers such as Joseph Conrad and Stephen Crane. ... In 1903 Gissing published The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft, which brought him much acclaim. This is his most autobiographical work. It is the memoir of the last happy years of a writer who had struggled much like Gissing, but thanks to a late legacy had been able to give up writing to retire to the countryside."

Classic novel. According to Wikipedia: "George Robert Gissing (November 22, 1857 – December 28, 1903) was an English novelist who wrote twenty-three novels between 1880 and 1903. From his early naturalistic works, he developed into one of the most accomplished realists of the late-Victorian era. ... In 1880 when his first novel, Workers in the Dawn, proved to be an abject failure, he became a private tutor to keep poverty from the door. In 1883, he separated from his wife, now an alcoholic, but gave her a weekly income on what little money he had until her death in 1888. In 1884 his second novel, The Unclassed, which saw a marked improvement in style and characterisation, met with moderate critical acclaim. After this Gissing published novels almost on a yearly basis, but so little money did they bring him, that for several more years he had to continue working as a tutor. Although notoriously exploited by his publishers, he was able to visit Italy in 1889 from the sale of the copyright of The Nether World, his most pessimistic book. Between 1891 and 1897 (his so-called middle period) Gissing produced his best works, which include New Grub Street, Born in Exile, The Odd Women, In the Year of Jubilee, and The Whirlpool. In advance of their time, they variously deal with the growing commercialism of the literary market, religious charlatanism, the situation of emancipated women in a male-dominated society, the poverty of the working classes, and marriage in a decadent world. During this period, having belatedly become aware of the financial rewards of writing short stories for the press, he produced almost seventy stories. As a result he was able to give up teaching. ... The middle years of the decade saw Gissing's reputation reach new heights: by some critics he is counted alongside George Meredith and Thomas Hardy as one of the best three novelists of his day. He also enjoyed new friendships with fellow writers such as Henry James, and H.G. Wells, and came into contact with many other up and coming writers such as Joseph Conrad and Stephen Crane. ... In 1903 Gissing published The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft, which brought him much acclaim. This is his most autobiographical work. It is the memoir of the last happy years of a writer who had struggled much like Gissing, but thanks to a late legacy had been able to give up writing to retire to the countryside."