Pollyanna (1913) by Eleanor H Porter (1868-1920) is a classic childrens novel based on a young orphan named Pollyanna who is sent to live with her strict aunty in New England town. Pollyanna transforms the lives of the people in the town by lifting their spirits by following her game called The Glad Game which her father had taught her one Christmas where she was expecting to receive a doll in a barrel but instead she found crutches. A disappointed Pollyanna quickly absorbed her fathers comment to be glad about the crutches because we didnt need to use them. A cheerful Pollyanna viewed life from this angle and taught the locals how to be grateful and happy with what they have until one day tragedy strikes where Pollyanna loses the use of her legs and she no longer wants to play her game. The entire town gather to help cheer little Pollyanna.Mermaids Classics, an imprint of Mermaids Publishing brings the very best of old classic literature to a modern era of digital reading by producing high quality books in ebook format. All of the Mermaids Classics epublications are reproductions of classic antique books that were originally published in print format, mostly over a century ago and are now republished in digital format as ebooks. Begin to build your collection of digital books by looking for more literary gems from Mermaids Classics.

Mad Men Carousel is an episode-by-episode guide to all seven seasons of AMC'sA Mad Men. This book collects TV and movie critic Matt Zoller Seitzs celebrated Mad Men recapsaas featured onA New YorkA magazine'sA VultureA blogafor the first time, including never-before-published essays on the shows first three seasons. Seitzs writing digs deep into the shows themes, performances, and filmmaking, examining complex and sometimes confounding aspects of the series. The complete seriesaall seven seasons and ninety-two episodesais covered. A Each episode review also includes brief explanations of locations, events, consumer products, and scientific advancements that are important to the characters, such as P.J. Clarkes restaurant and the old Penn Station; the inventions of the birth control pill, the Xerox machine, and the Apollo Lunar Module; the release of the Beatles Revolver and the Beach Boys Pet Sounds; and all the wars, protests, assassinations, and murders that cast a bloody pall over a chaotic decade.A A Mad Men Carousel is named after an iconic moment from the shows first-season finale, aThe Wheel,a wherein Don delivers an unforgettable pitch for a new slide projector thats centered on the idea of nostalgia: athe pain from an old wound.a This book will soothe the most ardent Mad Men fans nostalgia for the show. New viewers, who will want to binge-watch their way through one of the most popular TV shows in recent memory, will discover a spoiler-friendly companion to one of the most multilayered and mercurial TV shows of all time.A It's the perfect gift for Mad MenA fans and obsessives. Also available from Matt Zoller Seitz: The Oliver Stone Experience, The Wes Anderson Collection: Bad Dads, The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel, and The Wes Anderson Collection. A

One boy, one boat, one tiger . . . After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan -- and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and best-loved works of fiction in recent years.

Is any superhero cooler than Batman? He s a crime-fighting vigilante with a tragic past, a lawless attitude, and a seemingly endless supply of high-tech gadgetry. In this fully illustrated memoir, author Michael Uslan recalls his journey from early childhood fandom through to the decades he spent on a caped crusade of his own: to bring Batman to the silver screen as the dark, serious character he was at heart. Uslan's story traces his path from the wilds of New Jersey to the limelight of Hollywood, following his work as Executive Producer on every Batman film from Tim Burton s 1989 re-envisioning to 2012's The Dark Knight Rises. Through it all, he helped to create one of the most successful pop culture franchises of all time.

In Monsters, Inc. (2001), Pixar Animation Studios introduced audiences to the #1 scaring team, Mike and Sulley, and the monstrous world behind our bedroom closet doors. In this prequel to the much-loved classic, Mike and Sulley meet for the first time at Monsters Universitywhere they are joined by a few familiar faces and a host of delightful new charactersas they seek to attain degrees in scaring. Author Karen Paik goes behind the scenes to interview the film's many artists for the ultimate inside look at the conception and production of this highly anticipated film. Featuring full-color concept art including character sculpts, color scripts, storyboards, and more, The Art of Monsters University fully explores the process of creating this new and expanded Monsters universe.

Brave is Pixar's thirteenth feature film, but it marks two big firsts for the award-winning animation studio. It's Pixar's first feature film driven by a female lead and its first set in an ancient historical period. Against a backdrop of castles, forests, and highlands, Brave follows the fiery Merida as she clashes with the duty of her royal life and embarks on a journey through the rugged landscape of the dark ages of Scotland. At once epic and intimate, the latest Pixar masterpiece weaves a story of magic, danger, and adventure and the fierce bonds of family. Featuring behind-the-scenes interviews with the film's many artists and filmmakers, The Art of Brave showcases the gorgeous concept art that went into the making of this movie, including color scripts, storyboards, character studies, environment art, sculpts, and more. A Foreword by Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews, the film's directors, and a preface by Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter shed light on the creation of this landmark film.

This book is the first of the Forbidden Knowledge series. Where did the power of Viking seeresses, dazzling goddesses, the Nornir, or Fates and the formidable Valkyries come from? To find the answer to this question the authors first examine the Old Norse mythology in order to decipher the ancient wisdom of women. Following this survey, the second part of the book explores what became of these mighty female figures, how their powers were transformed over time. The book is closing with a look at several questions related to the modern day: “How is ‘feminine lore’ understood today?” “What are its roots and how do they still affect humankind?” “How is what this book terms ‘the legacy of sight’ still useful?” The responses will both pinpoint what it is that the Norse women left behind them, and demonstrate how that legacy is still woven into the fabric of the present.This non-fiction book provides an outstanding analysis and a careful reinterpretation of Icelandic sagas and poems for properly understand the nature and power of the first mistresses of the Icy North. The research presented here goes deep to unveil the real meaning of the medieval chroniclers’ handiwork. Every detail of every Icelandic saga and poem cited in this book has been translated by the authors uniquely from the original manuscripts. The book contains more than 60 colourful illustrations, an Appendix with nearly 70 separate encyclopaedia articles and hyperlinks to 21 original Icelandic manuscripts and 17 referred websites.

Jean is a headstrong nineteen-year-old girl that knows what she wants, and that is to marry Joe the Blacksmith, he keeps saying he is too old for her that he is old enough to be her father. But his age doesn’t worry Jean especially after she had wormed her way into his bed and found out what a good lover he was. Jean finds loads of other men to satisfy her lust as she tells Joe about them just to tease him. Joe had promised Jean’s father he would bring Jean up as best as he could when he and his wife were handed Jean to them as a baby. Joe’s wife died and Joe struggled to bring Jean up on his own as a travelling blacksmith going from village to village in a caravan, he tried not to fall in love with Jean but he failed all too easily. Joe has a big secret to tell Jean, and he was sure she would hate him when she finds out, and the king would have him hanged for his relationship with Jean. Tale of the Abducted Princess is an Adult Romance set in England in the 1060s when there was a lot of unrest in England. Jean has been brought up more like a boy as Joe taught her to hunt with the bow and arrow, he taught her so well that she became a huntress. Follow Jean as she hops in and out of bed with the king’s soldiers and discovers a plot to kill a member of the royal family. Will, she catches the two assassins in time and will she forgive Joe.

Facing fear of your own dreams coming true.Longing to hold on to a beloved best friend.Wishing to repair a life gone off the tracks.A lifelong feeling that you never belong.The secret life of a gorgeous black cat. Functioning as signposts along the rich and often twisted road of Kari Kilgore’s imagination, each story in this collection explores a different area of fantasy fiction. Ranging from Appalachia to Atlanta, from love to loss, they all touch on emotions or experiences readers recognize. The (mostly) women in Fantastic Shorts: Volume 1 may start out in familiar territory. But in the hands of this talented storyteller, readers quickly learn to always expect the strange. Included in this collection: IntentionsAngela Garcia builds websites to help make other people’s dreams come true. Now one of her childhood dreams waits, ready to come to life. Sometimes your intentions make all the difference. ReflectionsA beloved family home, abandoned and broken. A so-called adult life, not much better off. Jessica’s hopes of finding her joy fade as soon as she steps through the door. Can facing her fears, and her memories, make Jessica’s life right at last? The Seeds of LoveVirginia Evans and her best friend Maggie grew up together. From shy girl and wriggly puppy to confident woman and gentle old soul. A touching tale of woman’s best friend. TerminaliaWhen you live a double life, you never take anything for granted. Kelly Webb finally feels safe. Until nighttime, when all but Kelly’s name changes. An enchanting tale of the crossroads between science and magic. Wicked BonePashmina knows which humans to trust. She shows her trust like all cats. With offerings from her hunts. And like all cats, Pashmina keeps her secrets to herself. Find out what happens when Katie learns Pashmina’s favorite secret.

DH Lawrence's Sons and Lovers is a must-read classic that deals with family relations in a typical Freudian fashion. In fact, the book tells the story of the very strong attachment of two sons, William and Paul Morel, to their mother. As the boys grow older and start dating women, they both find difficulties to establish serious and lasting love relationships with their partners. They are never satisfied with the girls' personalities and often complain about their superficiality and ostensible nature while their affairs never reach beyond passion and mere physical gratification. Being often considered as an autobiographical novel in which Lawrence explores aspects of his own personal life, the narrative presents the boys' mother as their ultimate example of the perfect woman, an example that cannot be attained by the women they happen to meet. After William's sudden death, the mother's hold on Paul is further reinforced. She is now jealous of her second son's mistress and engages in a campaign to separate them. As expected, the son never succeeds in disentangling himself from his mother's apron strings. After the mother's death, the end of the novel depicts a lost and lonely Paul with no hopes or aspirations.

The English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I of England (James VI of Scotland, 1567-1625; in England he reigned from 1603).Beaumont & Fletcher began to collaborate as writers soon after they met. After notable failures of their solo works their first joint effort, Philaster, was a success and tragicomedy was the genre they explored and built upon. There would be many further successes to follow.There is an account that at the time the two men shared everything. They lived together in a house on the Bankside in Southwark, "e;they also lived together in Bankside, sharing clothes and having one wench in the house between them."e; Or as another account puts it "e;sharing everything in the closest intimacy."e;Whatever the truth of this they were now recognised as perhaps the best writing team of their generation, so much so, that their joint names was applied to all the works in which either, or both, had a pen including those with Philip Massinger, James Shirley and Nathan Field.The first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647 contained 35 plays; 53 plays were included in the second folio in 1679. Other works bring the total plays in the canon to about 55. However there appears here to have been some duplicity on the account of the publishers who seemed to attribute so many to the team. It is now thought that the work between solely by Beaumont and Fletcher amounts to approximately 15 plays, though of course further works by them were re-worked by others and the originals lost.After Beaumont's early death in 1616 Fletcher continued to write and, at his height was, by many standards, the equal of Shakespeare in popularity until his own death in 1625.

The Dark Lady of the Sonnets is a one-act play by the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw which centers around the character of the "e;Dark Lady"e; described in William Shakespeare's sonnets. In the preface to the play, Shaw introduces his own audience to the different theories about the actual person to whom the sonnets were devoted, but also if Shakespeare is the actual writer of his works. Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth themselves are characters in Shaw's rather witty, comic play. Generally, the Dark Lady of the Sonnets is supposed to be an unconventionally-beautiful woman with whom young Shakespeare falls madly in love. When one day he introduces the Lady to one of his favorite friends, a handsome young man of a high social rank, they both betray him by going to bed together. The feeling of being doubly betrayed has greatly affected the English playwright and marked a considerable transformation in his writing career. By and large, Bernard Shaw's work, with its relatively long explanatory preface, touches the interesting mystery of Shakespeare's person and plays which has been much debated by numerous critics throughout the centuries.

Philip Massinger was baptized at St. Thomas's in Salisbury on November 24th, 1583.Massinger is described in his matriculation entry at St. Alban Hall, Oxford (1602), as the son of a gentleman. His father, who had also been educated there, was a member of parliament, and attached to the household of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. The Earl was later seen as a potential patron for Massinger.He left Oxford in 1606 without a degree. His father had died in 1603, and accounts suggest that Massinger was left with no financial support this, together with rumours that he had converted to Catholicism, meant the next stage of his career needed to provide an income.Massinger went to London to make his living as a dramatist, but he is only recorded as author some fifteen years later, when The Virgin Martyr (1621) is given as the work of Massinger and Thomas Dekker.During those early years as a playwright he wrote for the Elizabethan stage entrepreneur, Philip Henslowe. It was a difficult existence. Poverty was always close and there was constant pleading for advance payments on forthcoming works merely to survive.After Henslowe died in 1616 Massinger and John Fletcher began to write primarily for the King's Men and Massinger would write regularly for them until his death.The tone of the dedications in later plays suggests evidence of his continued poverty. In the preface of The Maid of Honour (1632) he wrote, addressing Sir Francis Foljambe and Sir Thomas Bland: "e;I had not to this time subsisted, but that I was supported by your frequent courtesies and favours."e;The prologue to The Guardian (1633) refers to two unsuccessful plays and two years of silence, when the author feared he had lost popular favour although, from the little evidence that survives, it also seems he had involved some of his plays with political characters which would have cast shadows upon England's alliances.Philip Massinger died suddenly at his house near the Globe Theatre on March 17th, 1640. He was buried the next day in the churchyard of St. Saviour's, Southwark, on March 18th, 1640. In the entry in the parish register he is described as a "e;stranger,"e; which, however, implies nothing more than that he belonged to another parish.

George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, but more commonly known as just Byron was a leading English poet in the Romantic Movement along with Keats and Shelley. Byron was born on January 22nd, 1788. He was a great traveller across Europe, spending many years in Italy and much time in Greece. With his aristocratic indulgences, flamboyant style along with his debts, and a string of lovers he was the constant talk of society. In 1823 he joined the Greeks in their war of Independence against the Ottoman Empire, both helping to fund and advise on the war's conduct. It was an extraordinary adventure, even by his own standards. But, for us, it is his poetry for which he is mainly remembered even though it is difficult to see where he had time to write his works of immense beauty. But write them he did. He died on April 19th 1824 after having contracted a cold which, on the advice of his doctors, was treated with blood-letting. This cause complications and a violent fever set in. Byron died like his fellow romantics, tragically young and on some foreign field.

The life of William Shakespeare, arguably the most significant figure in the Western literary canon, is relatively unknown. Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1565, possibly on the 23rd April, St. George's Day, and baptised there on 26th April. Little is known of his education and the first firm facts to his life relate to his marriage, aged 18, to Anne Hathaway, who was 26 and from the nearby village of Shottery. Anne gave birth to their first son six months later. Shakespeare's first play, The Comedy of Errors began a procession of real heavyweights that were to emanate from his pen in a career of just over twenty years in which 37 plays were written and his reputation forever established. This early skill was recognised by many and by 1594 the Lord Chamberlain's Men were performing his works. With the advantage of Shakespeare's progressive writing they rapidly became London's leading company of players, affording him more exposure and, following the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, a royal patent by the new king, James I, at which point they changed their name to the King's Men. By 1598, and despite efforts to pirate his work, Shakespeare's name was well known and had become a selling point in its own right on title pages. No plays are attributed to Shakespeare after 1613, and the last few plays he wrote before this time were in collaboration with other writers, one of whom is likely to be John Fletcher who succeeded him as the house playwright for the King's Men. William Shakespeare died two months later on April 23rd, 1616, survived by his wife, two daughters and a legacy of writing that none have since yet eclipsed.

Thomas Middleton was born in London in April 1580 and baptised on 18th April. Middleton was aged only five when his father died. His mother remarried but this unfortunately fell apart into a fifteen year legal dispute regarding the inheritance due Thomas and his younger sister. By the time he left Oxford, at the turn of the Century, Middleton had and published Microcynicon: Six Snarling Satirese which was denounced by the Archbishop of Canterbury and publicly burned. In the early years of the 17th century, Middleton wrote topical pamphlets. One - Penniless Parliament of Threadbare Poets was reprinted several times and the subject of a parliamentary inquiry. These early years writing plays continued to attract controversy. His writing partnership with Thomas Dekker brought him into conflict with Ben Jonson and George Chapman in the so-called War of the Theatres. His finest work with Dekker was undoubtedly The Roaring Girl, a biography of the notorious Mary Frith. In the 1610s, Middleton began another playwriting partnership, this time with the actor William Rowley, producing another slew of plays including Wit at Several Weapons and A Fair Quarrel. The ever adaptable Middleton seemed at ease working with others or by himself. His solo writing credits include the comic masterpiece, A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, in 1613. In 1620 he was officially appointed as chronologer of the City of London, a post he held until his death. The 1620s saw the production of his and Rowley's tragedy, and continual favourite, The Changeling, and of several other tragicomedies. However in 1624, he reached a peak of notoriety when his dramatic allegory A Game at Chess was staged by the King's Men. Though Middleton's approach was strongly patriotic, the Privy Council silenced the play after only nine performances at the Globe theatre, having received a complaint from the Spanish ambassador. What happened next is a mystery. It is the last play recorded as having being written by Middleton. Thomas Middleton died at his home at Newington Butts in Southwark in the summer of 1627, and was buried on July 4th, in St Mary's churchyard which today survives as a public park in Elephant and Castle.

Daniel Defoe is most well-known for his classic novels Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders. Born around 1660, he was also a journalist, a pamphleteer, a businessman, a spy. His life was long and colourful, and the breadth of his work, still highly regarded, is infused with similar vigour. It is said that only the bible has been printed in more languages than Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is also noted for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel. He was extremely prolific and a very versatile writer, producing several hundred books, pamphlets, and journals on various topics including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology and the supernatural. He was also a pioneer of economic journalism though was made bankrupt on more on one occasion and usually mired in debt. In later life Defoe was often most seen on Sundays when bailiffs and the like could legally make no move on him. Allegedly it was whilst hiding from creditors that he died on April 24th, 1731. He was interred in Bunhill Fields, London.

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on the 16th October 1854 in Dublin Ireland. The son of Dublin intellectuals Oscar proved himself an outstanding classicist at Dublin, then at Oxford. With his education complete Wilde moved to London and its fashionable cultural and social circles. With his biting wit, flamboyant dress, and glittering conversation, Wilde became one of the most well-known personalities of his day. His only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1890 and he then moved on to writing for the stage with Salome in 1891. His society comedies produced enormous hits and turned him into one of the most successful writers of late Victorian London. Whilst his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest, was on stage in London, Wilde had the Marquess of Queensberry, the father of his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, prosecuted for libel. The trial unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and trial for gross indecency. He was convicted and imprisoned for two years' hard labour. It was to break him. On release he left for France, There he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol in 1898. He died destitute in Paris at the age of forty-six sipping champagne a friend had brought with the line 'Alas I am dying beyond my means'. Here we publish another of his classic plays 'An Ideal Husband'

John Fletcher was born in December, 1579 in Rye, Sussex. He was baptised on December 20th.As can be imagined details of much of his life and career have not survived and, accordingly, only a very brief indication of his life and works can be given.Young Fletcher appears at the very young age of eleven to have entered Corpus Christi College at Cambridge University in 1591. There are no records that he ever took a degree but there is some small evidence that he was being prepared for a career in the church.However what is clear is that this was soon abandoned as he joined the stream of people who would leave University and decamp to the more bohemian life of commercial theatre in London.The upbringing of the now teenage Fletcher and his seven siblings now passed to his paternal uncle, the poet and minor official Giles Fletcher. Giles, who had the patronage of the Earl of Essex may have been a liability rather than an advantage to the young Fletcher. With Essex involved in the failed rebellion against Elizabeth Giles was also tainted.By 1606 John Fletcher appears to have equipped himself with the talents to become a playwright. Initially this appears to have been for the Children of the Queen's Revels, then performing at the Blackfriars Theatre.Fletcher's early career was marked by one significant failure; The Faithful Shepherdess, his adaptation of Giovanni Battista Guarini's Il Pastor Fido, which was performed by the Blackfriars Children in 1608.By 1609, however, he had found his stride. With his collaborator John Beaumont, he wrote Philaster, which became a hit for the King's Men and began a profitable association between Fletcher and that company. Philaster appears also to have begun a trend for tragicomedy.By the middle of the 1610s, Fletcher's plays had achieved a popularity that rivalled Shakespeare's and cemented the pre-eminence of the King's Men in Jacobean London. After his frequent early collaborator John Beaumont's early death in 1616, Fletcher continued working, both singly and in collaboration, until his own death in 1625. By that time, he had produced, or had been credited with, close to fifty plays.William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in late April 1565 and baptised there on 26th April. He was one of eight children.Little is known about his life but what is evident is the enormous contribution he has made to world literature.His writing was progressive, magnificent in scope and breathtaking in execution.Shakespeare's plays and sonnets helped enable the English language to speak with a voice unmatched by any other.William Shakespeare died on April 23rd 1616, survived by his wife and two daughters. He was buried two days after his death in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church. The epitaph on the slab which covers his grave includes the following passage,Good friend, for Jesus's sake forbear, To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed me the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones.

The life of William Shakespeare, arguably the most significant figure in the Western literary canon, is relatively unknown. Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1565, possibly on the 23rd April, St. George's Day, and baptised there on 26th April. Little is known of his education and the first firm facts to his life relate to his marriage, aged 18, to Anne Hathaway, who was 26 and from the nearby village of Shottery. Anne gave birth to their first son six months later. Shakespeare's first play, The Comedy of Errors began a procession of real heavyweights that were to emanate from his pen in a career of just over twenty years in which 37 plays were written and his reputation forever established. This early skill was recognised by many and by 1594 the Lord Chamberlain's Men were performing his works. With the advantage of Shakespeare's progressive writing they rapidly became London's leading company of players, affording him more exposure and, following the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, a royal patent by the new king, James I, at which point they changed their name to the King's Men. By 1598, and despite efforts to pirate his work, Shakespeare's name was well known and had become a selling point in its own right on title pages. No plays are attributed to Shakespeare after 1613, and the last few plays he wrote before this time were in collaboration with other writers, one of whom is likely to be John Fletcher who succeeded him as the house playwright for the King's Men. William Shakespeare died two months later on April 23rd, 1616, survived by his wife, two daughters and a legacy of writing that none have since yet eclipsed.

Euripides is rightly lauded as one of the great dramatists of all time. In his lifetime, he wrote over 90 plays and although only 18 have survived they reveal the scope and reach of his genius. Euripides is identified with many theatrical innovations that have influenced drama all the way down to modern times, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. As would be expected from a life lived 2,500 years ago, details of it are few and far between. Accounts of his life, written down the ages, do exist but whether much is reliable or surmised is open to debate. Most accounts agree that he was born on Salamis Island around 480 BC, to mother Cleito and father Mnesarchus, a retailer who lived in a village near Athens. Upon the receipt of an oracle saying that his son was fated to win "e;crowns of victory"e;, Mnesarchus insisted that the boy should train for a career in athletics. However, what is clear is that athletics was not to be the way to win crowns of victory. Euripides had been lucky enough to have been born in the era as the other two masters of Greek Tragedy; Sophocles and schylus. It was in their footsteps that he was destined to follow. His first play was performed some thirteen years after the first of Socrates plays and a mere three years after schylus had written his classic The Oristria. Theatre was becoming a very important part of the Greek culture. The Dionysia, held annually, was the most important festival of theatre and second only to the fore-runner of the Olympic games, the Panathenia, held every four years, in appeal. Euripides first competed in the City Dionysia, in 455 BC, one year after the death of schylus, and, incredibly, it was not until 441 BC that he won first prize. His final competition in Athens was in 408 BC. The Bacchae and Iphigenia in Aulis were performed after his death in 405 BC and first prize was awarded posthumously. Altogether his plays won first prize only five times. Euripides was also a great lyric poet. In Medea, for example, he composed for his city, Athens, "e;the noblest of her songs of praise"e;. His lyric skills however are not just confined to individual poems: "e;A play of Euripides is a musical whole....one song echoes motifs from the preceding song, while introducing new ones."e; Much of his life and his whole career coincided with the struggle between Athens and Sparta for hegemony in Greece but he didn't live to see the final defeat of his city. Euripides fell out of favour with his fellow Athenian citizens and retired to the court of Archelaus, king of Macedon, who treated him with consideration and affection. At his death, in around 406BC, he was mourned by the king, who, refusing the request of the Athenians that his remains be carried back to the Greek city, buried him with much splendor within his own dominions. His tomb was placed at the confluence of two streams, near Arethusa in Macedonia, and a cenotaph was built to his memory on the road from Athens towards the Piraeus.