Trollope was a master of the domestic situation. There is a scarcity of dialogue in Orley Farm, but the detailed explanations of the emotions, surroundings, and background of each character offers so much more than dialogue ever could. Anthony Trollope's Orley Farm is by far the best fictionalized trial drama that I have ever read. One would be hard-pressed to find another like it.

I would offer the warning to those who dislike long, tedious readings that this work would not be for them. It is nearly 850 pages with very little action/dialogue. It more a study into the human psyche as it relates to guilt, pity, law, and the moral implications of all these things.

Orley is simply timeless. Just as in the Palliser series, the characters are the people all around you, in the office, in the news, and on the tube. Trollope's ability to understand the subtle differences that shape the mind of men and women is simply uncanny. If you are a truth seeker, this is a book for you. Anyone with exposure to a legal system with its basis in the English common law will understand the perceptive analysis it is subjected to in Orley Farm. The distinction between evil deeds and the often sympathetic humans that are their authors is one that modern American culture often forgets to make. Orley Farm is here to remind us. As a trusts and estates lawyer, I can not believe that I practiced for fifteen years before someone told me about this gem.

Orley Farm is Trollope at his most profound, and his most entertaining. It is difficult to ascertain what is best in this novel: the subtle, incisive examination of how legal systems cannot be impartial and, more fundamentally, how humankind looks after its own regardless of right and wrong; or the episodic journey with some of Trollope's most memorable (and always three dimensional) characters - the 'wrong' but completely empathic Lady Mason, the fiercely honourable Sir Peregrine Orme, the virile young Peregrine Orme and, most memorably, the gentle overwhelmed but staunchly loyal Mrs Orme - undergoing the pangs of Trollope's drama amidst ancient piles, undulating hedgerows and sequestered English fields.

EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! Once I began reading "The Return" I couldn't stop! My eyes were having difficulty keeping up with the "movie" version that was playing out in my mind's eye. Three times I cried. I'm not one to speculate the next turn of a story--good thing because everytime I thought I knew what to expect next, the story went in a different direction. The male characters displayed wisdom and compassion; the female characters were strong and admirable. Who says that only sex and violence sell books--WRONG! EXCELLENT read--when is the movie verison coming out and when is the sequel being printed?

I really enjoyed this book, it was a fast read and I couldn't put it down. The Return is a little history, family, suspense, romance, betrayal, power, royalty, Queens, Kings, and exciting. I enjoyed the telling of a story within a story. I visulized my grandfather telling this story giving me history of my roots. The richness of the characters were well developed. ITCOMS book club has selected The Return for the New Millennium. We look forward to David's next book. As a new author the book is well written. Thank you David. In the Spirit!

Bravo! Indeed I did find "The Return" not only refreshing and exciting, but so much more. The words exhilarating, exciting, riveting and heartstopping suspense immediately come to mind. "The Return" has all the components of a bestseller by any standard. I was especially impressed by the tasteful romanticism intertwined throughout the intriguing and riveting action. I was so engrossed in this book that I got behind in my housework! And that's rare for me. I really appreciated the positive image portrayed of Africa, the African-American as well as that of women. "The Return" also gives insight into the author's personality (Iron that does not fear fire). He is a man who obviously has deep respect for God, women, family and roots. I join my voice in demanding a sequel!

Hare refers to the chamber pieces written after his monumental trilogy as "Jim and Tim" plays--theatre with few techincal marvels, conflicts based on personal relationships and not external struggles, and, most importantly, a sense of character specificity not found in the archetypes of Susan Traherne and Isobel Glass. "Amy's View" is his second of these smaller plays, and it is the best of the three he has written so far.

As in his first Jim and Tim play, "Skylight", the characters are not politicians and public figures but ordinary Britons with neighbors, lovers and family. But unlike "Skylight", which examined only one theme, "Amy's View" uses its smallness to raise big issues. The piece is a play about grief and happiness, familial relations, and the price of compassion. It's about the role of the theatre, both as an artform and in modern life. It's about having money and not wanting it, wanting money and not having it, and the ultimate inability to know your life.

And, of course, the play resonates with Hare's exquisite dialogue, making "Amy's View" a masterpiece of langauge and well as of stagecraft. It is without question Hare's greatest chamber play, and in parts it even reaches the heights of his two seminal works, "Plenty" and "The Secret Rapture".

David Hare's play is a wonderful look at relationships against the back drop of the 1980s and 1990s London art scene. The tensions of Mother-Daughter relationships forms the core of this play. Other family relationships crackle with the same intensity leaping off the page. The role of Esme is one of the few excellent female lead roles available today - strong, vibrant, sharp tongued and opinionated Esme showcases the broad spectrum of emotions women have between themselves, their children, in-laws, lovers and coworkers.

This book is a terrific reminder of an excellent theater production, reading it won't spoil the play a bit!

David Hare's Amy's View is a startling new play. Rich, funny, sad, absurd, and thought-provoking, Amy's View leaves the reader or audience member clamoring for more. Hare presents fascinating characters in Esme Allen, a famous West End actress; her daughter Amy, who's famous "view" is that love conquers all; her boyfriend and soon to be husband Dominic, a cultural monolith; and Frank, a devoted companion of Esme's who's actions have devastating consequences in all of their lives. This play meshes love and betrayal with the question of whether the theatre is relevant in society anymore. The reader will be astonished. But being lucky enough to see this play performed on Broadway with Judi Dench as Esme, I love this play that much more.

A good book that could have been better. It does not provide a Chinese text. Besides this, more extensive notes would have been useful. For example, in "Ch'ang-Kan Village Song," the wife says, "I'm not saying I'd go far to meet you, no further than Ch'ang-feng Sands." It would have been nice to know that Ch'ang-Kan was about two hundred miles downstream from Ch'ang-feng Sands. More serious is that note to the poem that states Ezra Pound "translated" this poem. Actually, Ezra Pound could not read Chinese when he wrote his version of the poem, but relied upon the writings of Ernest Fenollosa, who also could not read Chinese and relied upon Japanese scholars. Despite all this, the book does provide an enjoyable glimse of a Tang dynasty Dylan Thomas (at least as far as wine goes).

This review is meant for those who may not read a lot of poetry or are still wondering about this book after reading other reviews.

Simply put, Li Po was so good, that he was even thought of as god like. He and Tu Fu are thought of as the greatest eastern poets that have ever lived, and being that they both lived around 700 AD that is very high praise. His words are moving and deeply stirring, and though he lived in such an isolated area so very long ago, his words still have great meaning now, no matter where your from or what your culture.

Filled with Zen and philosophy, this book is a great way of spending the day.

"The birds have vanished from the sky, and now the last clouds slip away. We sit alone, the mountain and I, until only the mountain remains."

A great painter, that leaves you thinking. Get this book!

Li Po( a.k.a. Le Pih, Ly Pe, Li Tai-pe) brandishes a simple albeit powerful elegance with his gift of the written word.Bringing to mind the vast panoramic expanses and the soothing beauty of ancient China he will transport you to a splendid land of dreams.In his verse you will be reminded that mankind of all nationalities still relive the same emotions, the same issues over 1000 years later.Delicate and fragile as the cherry blossom in places, tainted and grotesque as a Foo dog in others. I don't own this particular copy. My copy was published in 1928 and translated by Shigeyoshi Obata. It also is more inclusive of Li Po's work. Reading from it always sends an electric thrill through my nerves. Truly one of the Earth's greatest poets ever to breath. "I saw the moonlight before my couch, And wondered if it were not the frost on the ground. I raised my head and looked out on the mountain moon; I bowed my head and thought of my far-off home."

Mason's work in Shadow is an excellent beginning to an author that possesses such a deep understanding of military manuvers, lingo, etc. The details are what captured me in this book, particularly the story of the team's sniper. I felt a little lost towards the middle of the book, but I suppose most book are that way. Overall, he is NO Clancy, however, his next book is still something I would like to take a look at.

GOOD JOB!

-Sunil James

Mason was good at making this premise work, even though he was working with the handicap that came with setting this a few years back. We know the history of the Gulf War aftermath, so where's the suspense in reading about this crack team headed to take Mr. Hussein down? It's there all right. Obviously this is the work of a sharp intelligence. If Mr. Mason were to write another novel, I'd be sure to at least take a look at it.

Shadow over Babylon was given to me by a friend, he said that the book was impossible to put down. I thought that this might be a bit of an exageration, so i decided to read it. I ended up reading the book in 4 days while during my summer holidays. I can honestly say that this is the best book that i have ever read. My favourite author may be Wilbur Smith but this book eclipses anything that he has ever written. David Mason's second book Little Brother is also worth reading.

I remember my teacher reading this book to me in second grade and I loved it, I read it many times following that. I now have a two year old child of my own and I have bought the book for her. THis is a book you will always remember and love. There is no other like it.

This is an adaptation of the BFG by accomplished children's theatre playwright David Wood. David has adapted many of Roald Dahl's works for the stage, several of which Mr. Dahl granted him exclusive adaptation rights...so that's who this David Wood character is, my friend

Hi, kids. The B.F.G, written by Mr. RAHL DAHL, ranks among the all-time coolest and craziest, not to mention funnest, books a person could indulge in. I loved it when I was 12 and I love it now (ok, ok. i'm only 16). It is all about this nutty, lovely, kind giant (he's huge, but he's still the runt of the pack of giants he shares a cool country with) who is forced to kidnap a really happening, brave little girl called Sophie, who is actually miserable before he has to kidnap her, since she lives in a totally miserable orphanage. When I say "kids", I mean kids, plus anyone who was ever a kid and remembers it. By the by, who is this DAVID WOOD figure? I am shocked that whoever presently has the rights on Mr. Dahl's The B.F.G. hasn't contacted you furiously to correct this error. Rahl Dahl deserves to be credited as the author of his own book. I have a copy of his masterpiece sitting on my bedroom bookshelf downstairs, and it's author is clearly printed on the front cover. Ye Gad.

My son really liked this colorful book. Especially the diverse group of characters like the rabbit in a wheelchair, the brother and sister cats, and of course BOPO the turtle. He is looking forward to future adventures with these characters.

Que lindo! What a beautiful book. My son loves it. Ever since the debut of bilingual singer Ricky Martin, my son has been interested in learning Spanish (he tries to mimic him). I read the book to my son in English and he reads the Spanish to me. This book also has a nice story and really bright pictures.

My sister gave this book to my daughter as a birthday present last week and my daughter can't seem to put it down. It has beautiful illustrations and a storyline that warms parents' hearts. I especially recommend it if you have ever heard your child say "I want to join the circus". I highly recommend this book.

This was a play first published in 1593, with the theme of King Edward's struggle against the Welsh prince Llewelyn ap Gruffudd, otherwise known as Llewelyn the Last. Llewelyn was a prince of Gwynedd who adopted the style Prince of Wales in 1258 and was formally recognised in this role by King Henry III at the Treaty of Montgomery in 1267. Edward I became King of England in 1272 but it was only on his return from the Crusades in 1274 that he had to confront the problem of Wales. In 1277 he invaded Wales and Llewelyn was forced to pay homage. Several years of comparative peace followed but hatred of English laws and settlers caused the Welsh to rise again in 1282. The king crushed the revolt and Llewelyn was killed. These events prompted a Welsh bard to ask "Is this the end of the world?" and another to yearn "Ah God, that the sea would drown the land!".

Llewelyn is rarely mentioned in English literature so I read the play with interest. This edition is edited by the late G. K Dreher who wrote an interesting introduction and modernized the spelling and punctuation. I did not expect to find new historical insights into Llewelyn but was interested to see how he was portrayed to an Elizabethan audience. In fact, George Peele is surprisingly sympathetic in his presentation of the man who posed such a threat to the English crown. As Dreher points out, the play was written for an audience of people who "under Elizabeth were enjoying health, expansion, new knowledge, relish and hope". They were citizens of a country in the midst of becoming a great power and enjoying a cultural renaissance. Peele knew that they would sympathize with King Edward's desire to unite Britain under one monarch but would also respect the motives of the Welshman who fought for the rights and dignity of his own people.

Although practically unknown today, George Peele was highly respected by his literary contemporaries. He was an Oxford "Maister of Artes" and the play contains a sprinkling of the Latin tags and classical allusions that we expect from an educated writer of his time but my own favourite passage is a homely one:

(The Friar's novice responds to his master's command to visit town in order to buy food and wine)
"Now, master as I am true wag,
I will be neither late nor lag,
But go and come with gossip's cheer
Ere Gib our cat can lick her ear ."

This new edition of the play published by the Iron Horse Free Press in Texas.

George Peele's King Edward the First Modernized & Illustrated

Peele, George. King Edward the First. Ed. G. K. Dreher. Midland, TX: Iron Horse Free Press, 1999;
ISBN: 0-9601000-7-5 (hardcover, 224 pages with illustrations).

The publication history of George Peele's chronicle play, Edward I, begins in 1593, as the Stationers' Company register tells us:

Die Octobris./. [1593] Entred for his Copie vnder thandes of bothe the wardens an enterlude entituled the Chronicle of Kinge Edward the firste surnamed Longeshank with his Retourne out of the Holye Lande, with the lyfe of Leublen Rebell in Wales with the sinkinge of Quene Elinour [.]

Alternately called Longshank, Longshanks, and Prince Longshank, Peele's Edward I was performed fourteen times by the Lord Admiral's Men between August 29, 1595, and July 14, 1596. The play's successful stage history occasioned the printing of a second edition, which appeared in 1599.

At least eleven modern editions have been published since R. Dodsley's 1827 text, the most recent of which is: King Edward the First, a retroform edited by G. K. Dreher, published by Iron Horse Free Press. Publisher George R. Dreher, son of G. K. Dreher, notes that the "aim of this edition is to provide . . . a few unriddles in the text, modern spelling and punctuation, and an introduction for readers who are not familiar with the play." Partly a celebration of Peele's life and works and partly a tribute to Dreher's father's scholarship, the volume brings together G. K. Dreher's previous editions of Peele's Edward I (Adams Press, 1974) and David and Bethsabe (Adams Press, 1980). The new edition also includes an introduction, a commentary, and 23 images: 8 medieval illustrations from the British Library, plus 1 each from the Public Records Office, Eton College, and the Beinecke Rare Book Collection (featured in Edward I); 12 illustrations from museums around the world by the artists Raphael, Michelangelo, Salviati, Rembrandt, Chapron, Berton, Beckmann, Picasso, and Chagall (featured in David and Bethsabe). Together these components fashion a useful volume for a general reading audience; indeed, this text does more than any previous edition to popularize Peele's work. Although not a critical edition, the book will perhaps be most valuable as a teaching text for undergraduate studies.

George Peele (1556-96), born in London, was one of the principal writers of chronicle history plays in the Elizabethan literary movement, which culminated in Shakespeare's Henry IV plays and Henry V. Peele was educated at Christ's Hospital, Broadgates Hall (Pembroke College), and Christ Church, Oxford where he won praise as a translator of one of the Iphigenias of Euripides. In 1580 Peele married Anne Cooke, daughter of an Oxford merchant. With Ann he returned to the environs of London in 1581 where he pursued an active literary career in association with the "University Wits", a group of playwrights that included John Lyly, Robert Greene, Thomas Lodge, Thomas Nashe, Christopher Marlowe, and Thomas Watson. Peele's works concern courtly and patriotic themes and can be classified according to three main categories: plays, pageants, and miscellaneous verse. In 1589, in a vitriolic preface to Greene's Menaphon, Nashe suspends his condemnation of most late-sixteenth-century English writers to praise Peele as the "chiefe supporter of pleasance now living, the Atlas of Poetrie, and primus verborum Artifex" who "goeth a steppe beyond all that write." In 1592 Greene considered him "no lesse deserving" than Marlowe and Nashe; "in some things rarer, in nothing inferiour." Peele's surviving plays are: The Araygnement of Paris (1584); Edward I (1593); The Battle of Alcazar (1594); The Old Wives' Tale (1595); and David and Fair Bethsabe (1599). His miscellaneous verse includes The Tale of Troy (1589), Polyhymnia (1590) and The Honour of the Garter (1593), an epideictic poem to the Earl of Northumberland. Excerpts from Peele's writings were first anthologized in 1600 in Englands Helicon and Englands Parnassus.

Peele's Edward I combines three narratives, each announced by the original text's full title: the Chronicle of Kinge Edward the firste surnamed Longeshank with his Retourne out of the Holye Lande, with the lyfe of Leublen Rebell in Wales with the sinkinge of Quene Elinour. Peele derives the first story, the return from the Holy Land of King Edward I (1272-1307), from at least four different chronicles, but chiefly those of Grafton and Holinshed. Peele shapes his account of the life of Llywelyn (?-1282) from popular tales of Robin Hood. The third story is an unhistorical account of Queen Elinor portrayed as a divinely judged murderess. Peele subordinates the second and third narratives under the first in order to frame the play's central plot of Edward's glorious military victories over the Scots and Welsh, especially his devastating campaigns of 1277 and 1282-83 in which he conquered the Welsh principality of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd.

Edward I resounds with nationalistic pride at a time when England's victory, in 1588, over the Spanish Armada continued to fuel public celebrations. Edward's first speech in the play, for example, invokes a providential design for England's history:

O God my God, the brightnes of my daye,

How oft haft thou preferu'd thy feruant fafe, By fea and land, yea in the gates of death, O God to thee how highly am I bound, For fetting me with thefe on Englifh ground?

G. K. Dreher's modern edition standardizes the text's spelling, punctuation, and stage directions, thus achieving a very readable version:

O God, my God, the brightness of my day, How oft hast thou preserved thy servant safe, By sea and land, yea in the gates of death. O God, to thee how highly am I bound For setting me with these on English ground.

This latest return of Longeshank will certainly contribute to George Peele's popular reputation as one of the most important chronicle playwrights in Elizabethan England. In addition to Peele's Edward I, Iron Horse Free Press currently offers three other books by G. K. Dreher: Samuel Huntington, Longer Than Expected (an illustrated essay on the Presidency of Samuel Huntington, first president of The United States in Congress Assembled); Now the Dog is Quiet (a novella written in opposition to world hunger); and Ourselves & One Other (a collection of Christian devotional meditations).

Author George Peele was in a group of London playwrights, precursory to Shakespeare, known as the "university wits" as were Marlowe, Lyly, Nashe, and Greene. In 1587 Thomas Nashe called Peele "The chief supporter of pleasance now living, the Atlas of poetry, and primum verborum artifex (most excellent artist of words)," and "one who goeth a step beyond all that write." Editor George Kelsey, through extensive research of primary sources at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, has provided a retroform of KING EDWARD I, solving several riddles in the text that he discusses in the 43 page introduction covering Chronicle History Plays, Sources, Structure, Theme, Characterization, and Diction. In the special insert of DAVID AND BETHSABE (SAMPLES) Dreher juxtaposes Peele's verse with parallel Bible passages from the 1525 translation by Miles Coverdale and demonstrates that Peele worked directly from the Latin and used as sources the Psalms as well as Samuel II. Dreher offers a 35 page discussion of Peele's viewpoint, emotional involvement, and style. The book is 6 x 9, 224 pp., with color printed case, 20 illustrations from the finest museums around the world, a Foreword, Introduction, Comments, and Bibliography.

This book contains all seven of Aeschylus' remaining plays. "Agamemnon," "The Libation Bearers," and "The Eumenides," (altogether, the Oresteia) are the most well-known, and, along with "Prometheus Bound," they are the best plays in this collection. The other three, in comparison, are frankly boring, so it might be worth your money to buy the Oresteia separately. But if you are curious about Aeschylus, or interested in Greek tragedy, then this book gives you all seven plays, and has introductions to each which explain the historical context and the content. Read your Homer too.

Physically, this is a nice book. It's volume one of a four volume collection, _The Complete Greek Tragedies_ (volume two is Sophocles and volumes three and four are Euripides), and all four volumes are lovely hardcovers, printed on nice paper, with handsome Greekish designs on the front and interspersed throughout. Maybe not so attractive as to go on your mantel, but their prominence in your library will not be an embarassment.

The contents are lovely to match. The translations (by Lattimore, Grene and Bernadete) are readable and flowing. The book has almost no footnotes (only Grene's translations of "Seven Against Thebes" and "Prometheus Bound" have any at all, and there they are sparse), but each play (or collection of plays, in the case of the Oresteia) is introduced by a brief explanatory essay. If you know nothing about the Greeks or Greek tragedy, these essays will not be enough to get you through (and you should check out Rose's _Handbook of Greek Literature_), but if you have a little background information already, the essays are helpful (especially the introductory essay to the Oresteia, which is the most fulsome).

Now, about the plays themselves. Of course, you have to read them. This is, effectively, the beginning of Western drama, and the combination of familiar and alien elements is fascinating. In some ways, Aeschylus's plays are like modern musicals, or like opera, with very few characters, a big role played by a chorus, and lots of long songs. Action happens all off-stage and is described by the characters.

In addition to being important as part of the history of drama, the plays are important primary sources of Greek mythology. In particular, the Oresteia is simply the most complete telling of the murder of Agammemnon and his children's revenge. In addition, "Prometheus Bound" is an important source for understanding the tale of the West's most famous fire-thief, and "Seven Against Thebes" gives detail and perspective about the tragedy of Oedipus not contained in Sophocles's retelling.

Finally, being the most ancient of the tragedians, Aeschylus gives narrative details that reflect a very ancient Greek culture, including, for instance, his ideas about justice and family and several descriptions of rites of aversion. Aeschylus is important -- read him.

Lattimore's translation, I will admit, is difficult to get into at first if you are not familiar with his style or with the Greek classics in general. I remember sitting with it in front of me, trying for about 45 minutes to get past the first page. But please, don't be scared! Once you get past the initial difficulty and really start to immerse yourself into Lattimore's style, this is probably the most rewarding and interesting translations available. It keeps the Greek alive, displaying beautifully the particulars of the original text. An excellent and literal translation.

Please remove the review that misattributes the Antigone to Euripides and misspells his name - nothing against the reviewer, but it's best not to continue to display such a misspelling. As for the Chicago translations, they are the most even and readable translations of Greek tragedy, albeit with lower highs than the Oxford translations and higher lows than the Penn translations.

This is Volume II of a four volume set "The Complete Greek Tragedies" (Volume I is Aeschylus, Volumes III and IV are Euripides). Like the other volumes, _Sophocles_ is a handsomely bound hardcover with stylized Greekish images interspersed throughout and one on the cover (in this case, a golden hoplite).

_Sophocles_ is light on interpretative materials -- no footnotes and only a brief essay introducing each play (a slightly longer essay introduces the Theban plays as a trilogy). However, since the tragedians are much simpler to translate than, say, Aristophanes (who throws in lots of puns and current event references and untranslateable jokes and therefore really requires some explanation), the lack of critical apparatus is not a problem.

Sophocles, of course, is a must-read. In his writings, drama has taken a step away from the choral Aeschylus and a step toward us by adding more actors and diminishing the role of the Chorus, so he is in some sense easier to read than Aeschylus. Sophocles is also more "tragic" than Aeschylus, less upbeat -- Sophocles's heroes are in some sense transformed and earn the respect of the gods by their subborn loyalty to their own natures, but from a human perspective they always destroy themselves. (A great introduction to Sophocles, while I'm at it, is Bernard Knox's book _The Heroic Temper_.) And, of course, you simply have to read the "Theban plays" ("Oedipus at Colonus" and "Antigone", but especially "Oedipus the King", sometimes also called "Oedipus Tyrannos" or "Oedipus Rex").

Sophocles is a beautiful, insightful writer, and an important part of the Western canon. This edition is a lovely and complete collection of his surviving plays.

I wrote the review of Aescylus below, which is a mistake. I was reviewing another part of the complete greek plays by L and G.

Greens translation and editing of Sophocles is as good as Lattimores Aesychlus(which is the best in the world of classical literature). It is often mistaken that these three plays are of the same trilogy. Actually they are parts of three unique trilogies. So don't be disturbed if you find some minor contradiction in the story lines each triology was ment to be played only once and never seen agains so the author often would be willing to use the same characters to convey different messages.

Antigone is a play about a sense of higher justice than the law. Doing what is right because it is right even if it means death. It is a great look into the greek view of justice. Still today this may be on my top ten play list of all time. I believe that this is the first of a trilogy on the King Creon and his down fall.

Oedipus Tyrannos (Oedipus the tyrant) is about hubris or man trying to rival the gods. Oedipus is also about self discovery and finding out things about yourself that lies just below the surface. It is also about stubborn pride and how it bind you and turns you against those tring to help you. As well it is about the tragedy that accompanies self discovery. Don't try to read to much Freud into this. Again one of the best playes ever written.

Oedipus at Colonus is about redemption of Oeidpus and the freedom that he achieves in admitting himself as human. This is a great play also.

This entire series is a jewel from the classics department of U of Chicago.