{"title":"French Classics","description":"\u003cp\u003eMasterpieces of French literature — Hugo, Dumas, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola, Maupassant, Molière, Stendhal, Voltaire, and Anatole France.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-necklace-and-other-short-stories","title":"The Necklace and Other Short Stories","description":"The French author Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) was a master of the short story, creating detailed character studies and brief but moving dramas well suited to the genre. The nine stories in this collection provide a vivid portrait gallery of his typical subjects — from simple peasants and prostitutes to soldiers, government clerks, and provincial bourgeois. Brilliantly naturalistic, these short works also reveal Maupassant's ability to observe the innumerable details of everyday life and reproduce them artfully and accurately, often with a caustic sense of humor. His literary talents are amply displayed in this volume, which includes these memorable tales: \"Ball-of-Fat,\" regarded by many as technically one of the finest short stories ever written, \"The Necklace,\" \"A Piece of String,\" \"Mme. Tellier's Establishment,\" \"Mademoiselle Fifi,\" \"Miss Harriet,\" \"A Way to Wealth,\" \"My Uncle Jules,\" and \"The Horla.\"","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44457484943457,"sku":"9780486112756","price":0.75,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_89d584ef-cfe2-454b-b5bb-321e1a14eaee.jpg?v=1778566793"},{"product_id":"tartuffe","title":"Tartuffe","description":"Renowned for his satirical works, Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, 1622–1673) delighted in lampooning the social pretensions and conceits of 17th-century French society. In this 1664 verse comedy with serious overtones, Tartuffe, a penniless scoundrel and religious poseur, is invited by a gullible benefactor to live in his home. Imposing a rigidly puritanical regimen on the formerly happy household, Tartuffe wreaks havoc among family members. He breaks off the daughter's engagement, attempts to seduce the wife of his host, acquires his patron's property, and eventually resorts to blackmail and extortion. But ultimately, his schemes and malicious deeds lead to his own downfall. Attacked by the Church and twice suppressed, Tartuffe opened to packed houses in 1669. Teeming with lively humor and satirical plot devices, this timeless comedy by one of France's greatest and most influential playwrights is essential reading for students of theater and literature.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44457537536097,"sku":"9780486112848","price":0.75,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_11ccd908-d1a9-4cb7-9927-a4bf7a68aee9.jpg?v=1778566862"},{"product_id":"the-misanthrope","title":"The Misanthrope","description":"Molière understood profoundly what makes us noble, pathetic, outrageous and funny, and in his splendid comedies satirized human folly to perfection. One of the best of his plays — and one of the greatest of all comedies — is The Misanthrope, first performed in 1666, when the King of France himself had assumed patronage of Molière's company, and the actor\/playwright was at the height of his career. Spotlighting the absurdities of social and literary pretension, The Misanthrope shows us a man who is quick to criticize the hypocrisies, inconsistencies and faults of others, yet remains blind to his own. As \"the misanthrope\" grows more and more irritable with others, the play becomes more and more entertaining, even as a happy ending for the hero seems less and less likely.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44457596452961,"sku":"9780486112954","price":0.5,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_2497bf1c-8fca-4402-ab43-ee7549cbdd5e.jpg?v=1778566925"},{"product_id":"the-hunchback-of-notre-dame","title":"The Hunchback of Notre Dame","description":"A mad priest, a vagabond playwright, a social-climbing soldier, and a deformed bell-ringer — all are captivated by a gypsy girl's beauty and charm. Two of them will betray her, but the others will remain loyal, even in the shadow of the gallows. These outlaws find sanctuary within the walls of medieval Paris' greatest monument, the grand Cathedral of Notre Dame. \"What a beautiful thing Notre-Dame is!\" declared Gustave Flaubert of Victor Hugo's 1837 novel. Originally published as Notre-Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris), it was conceived as a story of the cathedral itself, which functioned as the passionate heart of fifteenth-century city life. But Hugo's human drama rivals the Gothic masterpiece for dominance. Drawn with humor and compassion, his characters endure, both in literary history and in readers' imaginations: Frollo, the sinister archdeacon; Quasimodo, the hideous hunchback; and the enchanting outcast, Esmeralda.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44458004971617,"sku":"9780486114507","price":2.25,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_dac986ac-3621-4fd2-b8c4-40ad714f1d73.jpg?v=1778567400"},{"product_id":"the-three-musketeers-1","title":"The Three Musketeers","description":"With its rousing cry of \"One for all, and all for one,\" Alexandre Dumas's thrilling adventure novel has captivated generations of readers since its initial publication in 1844. Action, intrigue, and romance abound in this swashbuckling epic, which traces a country lad's path to the French court of the early 1600s and the glorious fraternity of the king's men, the Musketeers. A son of impoverished nobility, D'Artagnan arrives in Paris to find the Musketeers disbanded by the cunning Cardinal Richelieu, who hopes to seize power from the weak-willed Louis XIII. The daring and ambitious youth proves his mettle in the company of the famous Musketeers — Porthos, Athos, and Aramis — and joins them in a heroic struggle to defend the king and his lovely queen, Anne of Austria. Dumas transformed the concept of the historical novel by writing in a modern, conversational style. His accessible, fast-paced narratives combine real and fictional characters to recapture the events, manners, and mood of seventeenth-century France. Emerging in the chaotic aftermath of the Revolution, Dumas's novels provided his contemporaries with a welcome sense of identity and national pride. His most popular work, The Three Musketeers, continues to charm modern readers with its timeless tales of romantic valor.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44458005004385,"sku":"9780486114521","price":0.5,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_12fd7bce-fff1-4498-983b-b8f0831609a8.jpg?v=1778567408"},{"product_id":"the-red-and-the-black","title":"The Red and the Black","description":"A landmark in the development of psychological realism, Stendhal's masterpiece chronicles a young man's struggles with the dualities of his nature. Julien Sorel, a young dreamer from the provinces whose imagination is afire with Napoleonic ideals, sets off to make his fortune in Parisian society of Restoration France. His encounters and experiences along the way incite constant inner conflict, drawing him back and forth between sincerity and hypocrisy, idealism and cynicism, humility and pride, love and ambition.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44458138796129,"sku":"9780486114743","price":2.0,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_f2bfe69f-6c6b-4d89-9f89-2bc5693278f1.jpg?v=1778567563"},{"product_id":"sentimental-education","title":"Sentimental Education","description":"\"I want to write the moral history of the men of my generation—or, more accurately, the history of their feelings,\" declared Gustave Flaubert, who envisioned \"a book about love, about passion; but passion such as can exist nowadays—that is to say, inactive.\" First published in 1869, this novel fulfills Flaubert's conception with a realistic, ironic portrait of bourgeois lives played out against France's tumultuous revolution of 1848 and the founding of its Second Empire. Frédéric Moreau, a law student in Paris, dreams of achieving success in art, business, journalism, and politics. His aspirations take a romantic turn upon a chance encounter with a married woman, who inspires a lifelong obsession. Frédéric befriends his idol's husband, an influential art dealer, and quickly finds himself seduced by society life—and bedeviled by financial problems, ideological conflicts, and betrayals of trust. Blending romance, historical authenticity, and satire, Flaubert's Sentimental Education ranks among the nineteenth century's great novels.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44458148593761,"sku":"9780486114781","price":2.0,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_7d358abf-23ea-492b-9bca-0d1606266c6c.jpg?v=1778567578"},{"product_id":"nana","title":"Nana","description":"We first meet Nana in the Variety Theatre, where the captivating eighteen-year-old is appearing in the lead role of a musical—even though she can't act or sing. \"Nana has something that makes up for everything else,\" the theater owner explains, and he's right. Instead of booing her off the stage, the crowd howls with admiration. She has disrobed by the third act, and her career as a femme fatale is off to a sensational start. Nana crawls out of the gutter to ascend the heights of Parisian society, devouring men and squandering fortunes along the way. Zola begins the story of French realism's most beguiling siren in 1867, amid the decadence and moral decay of France's Gilded Age. Nana's corruption reflects the spirit of her era, her prostitution symbolizing the degenerate state of Second Empire politics and society. Hailed as one of the first modern novels, Nana addresses contemporary subjects with realistic observations, dialogue, and scenarios. Its publication sparked a heated controversy that made it an overnight bestseller, and it has long since reigned as a classic of French literature.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44458158424161,"sku":"9780486114804","price":2.0,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_408cd8ef-6dd6-4a1e-a503-db97e4c88b4c.jpg?v=1778567594"},{"product_id":"madame-bovary","title":"Madame Bovary","description":"At convent school, a girl acquires romantic notions of a lover who will live for her alone. She marries a kind but dull country doctor and discovers that \"This life of hers was as cold as an attic that looks north; and boredom, quiet as the spider, was spinning its web in the shadowy places of her heart.\" Emma Bovary's quest for escape from the emptiness of her bourgeois existence leads to infidelity and financial extravagance, and Gustave Flaubert's powerful and deeply moving examination of her moral degeneration is universally regarded as a landmark of nineteenth-century fiction. Flaubert was brought to trial by the French government on the grounds of this novel's alleged immorality but narrowly escaped conviction. Madame Bovary remains a touchstone for literary discussions of provincial life and adultery as well as a summit of prose art, a pioneering work of realism that forever changed the way novels are written. This complete and unabridged edition features the classic translation by Eleanor Marx-Aveling.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44458305585249,"sku":"9780486115160","price":1.5,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_3ea4f849-2252-4eb1-b4c7-c8e5dee994f5.jpg?v=1778567768"},{"product_id":"pere-goriot","title":"Père Goriot","description":"A kindhearted and idealistic youth enters the grasping Parisian society of the 1820s, starting at a shabby but respectable boardinghouse, the Pension Vauquer. Eugène de Rastignac has arrived in the glittering capital to make his fortune, and his friendships with the pension's other residents introduce him to the realities and costs of city life. Père Goriot — one of the outstanding novels in The Human Comedy, Balzac's panoramic study of Parisian life — features richly detailed settings, a skillfully related plot, and a vibrant cast of characters. Young Rastignac's acquaintance with the elderly widower Goriot, a formerly wealthy merchant impoverished by the demands of his fashionable daughters, lies at the heart of this story of love and greed. Acclaimed by critic Leslie Stephen as \"the modern King Lear,\" Père Goriot offers a timeless view of the tragedies behind the prosaic details of everyday life.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44458413293665,"sku":"9780486115375","price":1.5,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_668f5881-79d6-4354-bd27-21029a14396e.jpg?v=1778567890"},{"product_id":"the-count-of-monte-cristo-2","title":"The Count of Monte Cristo","description":"\"A piece of perfect storytelling.\" — Robert Louis Stevenson. First published in 1844, The Count of Monte Cristo remains one of literature's greatest adventures. Based on actual events, this sweeping historical romance, considered to be Dumas' finest work, recounts the story of Edmond Dantès, a gallant young sailor whose life takes a bitter turn when, during the final days of Napoleon's reign, he is falsely accused of treason and condemned to lifelong imprisonment. After languishing for many years in a fetid dungeon, he makes his dramatic escape. In a labyrinthine tale plump with themes of justice, vengeance, lost love, and mercy and forgiveness, Dantès is now free to play out his elaborate plans of revenge on those who betrayed him.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44458550591585,"sku":"9780486116822","price":3.0,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_e0fd4299-e119-4866-b7f2-cb14d3ea7007.jpg?v=1778568043"},{"product_id":"candide","title":"Candide","description":"Evergreen in its appeal, Candide makes us laugh at human folly and marvel at our reluctance to face reality and the truth. Voltaire's brilliant satire, first published in Paris in 1759, is relentless and unsparing. Virtue and vice, religion and romance, philosophy and science — all are fair game. Through the adventures of young Candide, his love Cunégonde, and his mentor Dr. Pangloss, we experience life's most crushing misfortunes. And we see the redeeming wisdom those misfortunes can bring — all the while enjoying Voltaire's witty burlesque of human excess. In this unique volume, readers who wish to follow every nuance of Voltaire's classic tale in the original French can do so with the aid of a new and exacting English translation on facing pages. Shane Weller's critical introduction illuminates the satire of Candide and the reasons for its enduring appeal.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44458563862625,"sku":"9780486117638","price":5.0,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_43fae851-d565-4c46-80f3-3423907bfe70.jpg?v=1778568058"},{"product_id":"two-stories-deux-nouvelles","title":"Two Stories\/Deux nouvelles","description":"In writing these two ardently romantic and turbulent tales, Stendhal delved deep into old Italian narratives and into his own impassioned heart. “Vanina Vanini” and “L’abbesse de Castro” abound in the qualities for which the French author remains enduringly popular: his strong-willed, impulsive characters; his dry wit and keen irony; and the sweeping drama of his historical settings. Originally published in the Revue de Paris in 1829, “Vanina Vanini” traces the fortunes of an aristocrat’s daughter who falls in love with a wounded soldier, and prefigures Stendhal’s superb novel, The Red and the Black, which appeared two years later. “L’abbesse de Castro,” published in 1839 under a pseudonym in the prestigious Revue des Deux Mondes, was reputedly derived from Roman and Florentine source manuscripts. Consisting chiefly of Stendhal’s own invention, it recounts the illicit liaison and subsequent trial of an abbess. The only dual-language edition of these stories, this book features an informative introduction and ample footnotes, making it not only a pleasure to read but also a valuable learning and teaching aid for students and teachers of French literature.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44458612752481,"sku":"9780486120638","price":5.0,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_7bd2e07d-8b2b-4242-9311-b6f8d482a6c5.jpg?v=1778568111"},{"product_id":"the-last-day-of-a-condemned-man","title":"The Last Day of a Condemned Man","description":"\"Before hearing my death sentence I was aware that my lungs breathed, that my heart beat, and that my body lived in the community of other men; now, I plainly saw that a barrier had sprung up between them and me. Nothing was the same as before.\" The imprisoned narrator of this profoundly moving novel awaits execution — and waits, and waits. Although his guilt is undeniable, his essential humanity emerges as he struggles with the certainty of impending death. Victor Hugo's impassioned early work carries the same power and universality as Les Misérables. A vocal opponent to the barbarity of the guillotine, Hugo attempted to arouse compassion in the service of justice. This tale distills his beliefs and offers a highly significant contribution to the ongoing debate over the death penalty. A new Foreword by activist David Dow examines the message and relevance of Hugo's story to modern society.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44458638868577,"sku":"9780486120966","price":3.0,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_228a2e07-6c4c-44e6-87ed-aab030afd38a.jpg?v=1778568142"},{"product_id":"les-miserables-2","title":"Les Misérables","description":"A monumental classic and one of the most widely read novels in history, Les Misérables portrays the epic struggle between good and evil in the soul of one man: Jean Valjean. In a world brutalized by poverty and ignorance, the ex-convict struggles to renew his life and reaffirm his humanity. But he is haunted, both by his seemingly inescapable past and the malignant shadow of the infamous police detective Javert. Rich in detail, packed with adventure, and filled with the sweep of human passions, Les Misérables is more than a literary masterpiece — it remains a powerful social document. Dedicated to the poor, the oppressed, and the misunderstood, this captivating novel captures the impossible societal layers — and the essence of life — as it truly existed in nineteenth-century France. This fine edition features the renowned original translation and a sensitive abridgment.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44458665017441,"sku":"9780486122601","price":3.75,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_8e51f990-00b1-40d2-9182-1279527d7692.jpg?v=1778568189"},{"product_id":"candide-1","title":"Candide","description":"Caustic and hilarious, Candide has ranked as one of the world's great satires since its first publication in 1759. It concerns the adventures of the youthful Candide, disciple of Dr. Pangloss, who was himself a disciple of Leibniz. In the course of his travels and adventures in Europe and South America, Candide saw and suffered such misfortune that it was difficult for him to believe this was \"the best of all possible worlds\" as Dr. Pangloss had assured him. Indeed, it seemed to be quite the opposite. In brilliantly skewering such naïveté, Voltaire mercilessly exposes and satirizes romance, science, philosophy, religion, and government — the ideas and forces that permeate and control the lives of men. After many trials and travails, Candide is reunited with Cunegonde, his sweetheart. He then buys a little farm in Turkey where he and Cunegonde, Dr. Pangloss and others all retire. In the end, Candide decides that the best thing in the world is to cultivate one's own garden. A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44458668359777,"sku":"9780486129129","price":0.5,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_cbaf34b9-ed46-4939-be4a-5455cba0a858.jpg?v=1778568212"},{"product_id":"three-tales","title":"Three Tales","description":"This trio of short stories by the author of Madame Bovary were the last of Flaubert's works published in his lifetime, and their ambitious range reaches from the 19th century back to the Middle Ages and to ancient Israel. \"A Simple Heart,\" in Flaubert's own words, \"is just the account of an obscure life, that of Félicité a poor country girl, pious but mystical, quietly devoted, and as tender as fresh bread.\" \"The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitaller\" concerns a hunter and warrior whose attempts to escape dire prophecy ultimately lead to a state of grace. \"Herodias,\" based on the legends surrounding King Herod, Salome, and John the Baptist, served as the inspiration for later interpretations by Oscar Wilde and Jules Massenet. Translated by Arthur McDowall.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44458942759009,"sku":"9780486149387","price":2.0,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_988229f8-d2a8-415e-9142-ca148112921c.jpg?v=1778568546"},{"product_id":"the-imaginary-invalid","title":"The Imaginary Invalid","description":"The greatest writer of French classic comedy, the 17th-century playwright Molière was one of the most brilliant satirists in the history of literature. His keen observations and barbed wit deflated the pretensions of society in his day and focused a brilliant light on the universal frailties of humanity. The Imaginary Invalid, one of Molière's funniest and most incisive satires, is also among the most performed worldwide and perennially studied in world literature courses. In this entertaining gem, a hypochondriac, victimized by two pompous doctors, tests his daughter's loyalty and discovers the greed and contempt of his scheming wife.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44458998759521,"sku":"9780486153667","price":1.25,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_9ccddc63-38a5-4460-9a5f-309f459d6ec6.jpg?v=1778568615"},{"product_id":"droll-stories","title":"Droll Stories","description":"Balzac's Contes Drolatiques, published in three installments in the 1830s, offers a lively and lusty portrait of sixteenth-century French life and manners. These thirty stories in the tradition of Boccaccio, Chaucer, and Rabelais were claimed by the author to have originated in manuscripts from the abbeys of Touraine. Abounding in episodes of good-humored licentiousness, the tales scandalized Balzac's contemporaries and continue to delight modern readers. French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) was a founder of realism in European literature. An inspiration to Proust, Dickens, Faulkner, Dostoyevsky, and countless others, Balzac wrote works that were hailed for their multifaceted characters and exquisite attention to detail. This edition's excellent translation was the first to make Contes Drolatiques available to English-speaking readers.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44459588550753,"sku":"9780486799384","price":2.25,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_10e48cc7-f719-4c5b-989d-13a3b218c693.jpg?v=1778569355"},{"product_id":"the-revolt-of-the-angels","title":"The Revolt of the Angels","description":"Books are missing from the archbishop's shelves and the librarian is helpless to explain until the culprit is revealed: Arcade, the clergyman's guardian angel, has been educating himself. Immersion in works of philosophy and science has convinced Arcade that God is a cruel tyrant. Revolution is the only answer, and Arcade joins a host of fallen angels to mount a rebellion that proposes to install Satan on the throne of heaven. This 1914 novel by Nobel laureate Anatole France offers a brilliant satire of war, government, and religion. Published on the eve of World War I, the fable voices an ever-resonant protest against violence and despotism. The author's sense of humor brings a remarkably contemporary air to the Paradise Lost scenario, and stunning black-and-white illustrations by Frank C. Papé complement the tale's fantasy elements.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44459693244513,"sku":"9780486803067","price":1.5,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_b55932ed-fe73-4ae7-86c2-aff0a2d440c6.jpg?v=1778569493"},{"product_id":"penguin-island","title":"Penguin Island","description":"When a bumbling holy man mistakenly baptizes a colony of penguins, God endows the animals with souls and their formerly peaceful community declines into a maelstrom of violence and sin. This witty allegory lampoons French history from ancient to modern times, taking satirical swipes at socialists, royalists, industrialists, militarists, and even the Dreyfus affair, and concluding with a remarkably prescient view of the future. Indeed, more than a hundred years after its initial publication, the story's insights into politics and society remain enduringly relevant. Poet, novelist, and journalist Anatole France (1844–1924) received the Nobel Prize in 1921 in recognition of his literary achievements. His writings reflect an ironic and skeptical point of view, and many of his works were placed on the Roman Catholic Church's Index of Forbidden Books. This edition of Penguin Island is enhanced with the original black-and-white images by noted illustrator Frank C. Papé.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44459862130785,"sku":"9780486813394","price":0.5,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_873d31b5-134a-485e-bc2c-0f6ff50d8d76.jpg?v=1778569703"},{"product_id":"the-black-tulip","title":"The Black Tulip","description":"A prize of 100,000 guilders awaits the gardener who can produce a black tulip, a rich reward that incites a bitter competition in 17th-century Holland. Cornelius von Baerle, a gifted and passionate florist, has dedicated himself to cultivating the elusive flower. But a ruthless rival, capitalizing on accusations that led to the assassination of Cornelius's godfather, falsely accuses the young horticulturist of treason. Sentenced to life imprisonment, Cornelius conspires with his jailer's daughter to grow the black tulip in secret. Alexandre Dumas sets his captivating tale in the 1670s, a generation after Holland was gripped by the economic madness of Tulip mania and shortly after the mob lynching of a pair of Dutch statesmen. His fictional treatment of these historic events forms a timeless political allegory in which the rare flower represents the triumph of justice, tolerance, and true love over greed, jealousy, and obsession.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44459976360033,"sku":"9780486821320","price":2.25,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_bb3a7e58-9aed-4ba3-913a-565b9e430689.jpg?v=1778569841"},{"product_id":"les-miserables-3","title":"Les Miserables","description":"A thrilling tale of narrow escapes, romance in the midst of a revolution, and battlefield heroism, Victor Hugo's sprawling 1862 novel focuses on the Parisian underworld. Ex-convict Jean Valjean, who served 19 years in prison for stealing bread, attempts to redeem his life by helping the downtrodden. But his every move is dogged by the implacable policeman, Inspector Javert, whose relentless pursuit of a reformed criminal reflects a morally empty state that values retribution rather than justice. One of the first modern novels, Les Misérables took the unprecedented step of featuring a working-class hero and examining society's role in fostering crime and criminal behavior. Its portrait of altruism in the face of misery, poverty, and injustice is memorable for its vivid characterizations and its gripping plot, which unfolds in the manner of a detective story. An instant success around the world upon its initial publication, the book has inspired countless dramatic adaptations, including one of the world's longest-running musicals, and is routinely ranked among the top 100 novels of all time.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44460152979553,"sku":"9780486829821","price":5.25,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_1f000fe6-0977-4c37-8063-cc778b7f4f95.jpg?v=1778570082"},{"product_id":"droll-stories-1","title":"Droll Stories","description":"These choice selections from Honoré de Balzac's Droll Stories offer a lively and lusty portrait of sixteenth-century French life and manners. Told in the tradition of Boccaccio, Chaucer, and Rabelais, they allegedly originated in manuscripts from the abbeys of Touraine. Originally published in three sets of ten tales in the 1830s, the stories abound in episodes of good-humored licentiousness that scandalized Balzac's contemporaries and continue to delight modern readers. French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) was a founder of realism in European literature. An inspiration to Proust, Dickens, Faulkner, Dostoyevsky, and countless others, Balzac wrote works that were hailed for their multifaceted characters and exquisite attention to detail. This edition's excellent translation was the first to make his Contes Drolatiques available to English-speaking readers.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44460247711841,"sku":"9780486836843","price":2.25,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_e2a72f1d-0347-48ec-8d1e-c32ab00a7196.jpg?v=1778570198"},{"product_id":"zadig-and-other-stories","title":"Zadig and Other Stories","description":"Best known as the author of the satirical novel Candide, Voltaire also wrote other highly regarded works of philosophical fiction. With the title tale of this original collection of short stories, the author addresses the social and political problems of his own day in an ancient Babylonian setting. First published in 1747, \"Zadig\" makes no attempt at historical accuracy. Instead, its thinly veiled references to contemporary issues challenge eighteenth-century religious orthodoxy by portraying life's vicissitudes as the product of destiny rather than individual choices. Additional selections of Voltaire's short fiction include \"Micromégas,\" \"The World Is Like That,\" \"Jeannot and Colin,\" \"The Story of a Good Brahams,\" and \"Memmon, the Philosopher.\" Taken as a whole, this compilation offers a splendid reflection of the Enlightenment–era writer's masterful gifts for social commentary and his witty critiques of love, vanity, science, and religion.","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"perpetual","offer_id":44460538167393,"sku":"9780486847818","price":2.25,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0268\/9869\/4241\/files\/480_9ffc7146-9243-4095-a125-cba478b0e3bd.jpg?v=1778570534"}],"url":"https:\/\/ebooks.aafaqeducation.com\/collections\/french-classics.oembed","provider":"ebook.aafaqeducation","version":"1.0","type":"link"}