Books in Courage Classics series

At the beginning of PUDD'NHEAD WILSON, a young slave woman, fearing for her infant son!s life, exohangesthe light-skinned child with her master's. From this rather simple premise, Mark Twain fashioned one of his most entertaining, funny yet biting novels. On its surface, PUDD'NHEAD WILSON possesses all the elements of an engrossing nineteenth-century mystery: reversed identities, a horrible crime, an eccentric detective, a suspenseful courtroom drama and a surprising, unusual solution. Yet it is not a mystery novel. Seething with the undercurrents of antebellum Southern culture, the book is a'savage indictment in which the real criminal is society, and racial prejudice and slavery are the crimes. Written in 1894, PUDD'NHEAD WILSON glistens with characteristic Twain humor, with suspense, and with pointed irony:a gem among the author's later works.

Webster's edition of this classic is organized to expose the reader to a maximum number of synonyms and antonyms for difficult and often ambiguous English words that are encountered in other works of literature, conversation, or academic examinations. Extremely rare or idiosyncratic words and expressions are given lower priority in the notes compared to words which are ¿difficult, and often encountered¿ in examinations. Rather than supply a single synonym, many are provided for a variety of meanings, allowing readers to better grasp the ambiguity of the English language, and avoid using the notes as a pure crutch. Having the reader decipher a word's meaning within context serves to improve vocabulary retention and understanding. Each page covers words not already highlighted on previous pages. If a difficult word is not noted on a page, chances are that it has been highlighted on a previous page. A more complete thesaurus is supplied at the end of the book; synonyms and antonyms are extracted from Webster's Online Dictionary. PSAT¿ is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT¿ is a registered trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE¿, AP¿ and Advanced Placement¿ are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT¿ is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT¿ is a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved.

An Outcast of the Islands is Joseph Conrad's second novel, first published in 1896 and inspired by Conrad's time as mate of the steamer The Vigar. Fleeing from scandal in Singapore, the disreputable Peter Willems hides out in a native village, only to betray his protectors in his lust for the daughter of the chief. The story features Tom Lingard and other characters who are also in Conrad's Almayer's Folly of 1895 and The Rescue of 1920.

Plain Tales from the Hills contains 40 stories written by Rudyard Kipling, the author of The Jungle Book and Kim. Published in 1888, this was the first short story collection by Kipling. With the geographical meaning of "Plain" contrasted with "Hills", the title's pun hints at both the cleverly simple narrative style of the stories, and that many of the them are situated in the Hill Station of Simla, which served as the British Raj's capital during the hot months.