Books published by publisher Signet

For nearly two decades before Mark Twain published his finest novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he was refining his craft and winning tremendous popularity with his short stories and sketches. This richly entertaining and comprehensive collection presents sixty-five of the very best of Mark Twain’s short pieces, from the classic frontier sketch “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” to the richly imaginative fable “Extract from Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven.” Compiled by Pulitzer Prize–winning Twain scholar and biographer, Justin Kaplan, this collection represents some of Mark Twain’s wittiest and most insightful writing.

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PITCURE! Opening the door into the innermost places of the heart, The Secret Garden is a timeless classic that has left generations of readers with warm, lifelong memories of its magical charms. When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle, everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen… So begins the famous opening of one of the world’s best-loved children’s stories. First published in 1911, this is the poignant tale of a lonely little girl, orphaned and sent to a Yorkshire mansion at the edge of a vast lonely moor. At first, she is frightened by this gloomy place, but with the help of the local boy Dickon, who earns the trust of the moor’s wild animals with his honesty and love, the invalid Colin, a spoiled, unhappy boy terrified of life, and a mysterious, abandoned garden, Mary is eventually overcome by the mystery of life itself—its birth and renewal, its love and joy. With an Afterword by Sandra M. Gilbert

The Signet Classics edition of William Shakespeare's fantastical play that combines elements of tragedy and comedy.Prospero, sorcerer and rightful Duke of Milan, along with his daughter Miranda, has lived on an island for many years since his position was usurped by his brother Antonio. Then, as Antonio's ship passes near the island one day, Prospero conjures up a terrible storm...This revised Signet Classics edition includes unique features such as:• An overview of Shakespeare's life, world, and theater• A special introduction to the play by the editor, Robert Langbaum• Selections from William Strachey, Sylvester Jourdain, Montaigne, and Ovid, sources from which Shakespeare derived The Tempest• Dramatic criticism from Samuel Taylor Coleridge, E.M.W. Tillyard, Lori Jerrell, and others• A comprehensive stage and screen history of notable actors, directors, and productions• Text, notes, and commentaries printed in the clearest, most readable text• And more...

A comprehensive and insightful compilation of Benjamin Franklin’s The Autobiography and other essays which offers an in-depth look into the life of America’s most fascinating Founding Father.Benjamin Franklin was a true Renaissance man: writer, publisher, scientist, inventor, diplomat, and politician. During his long life, he offered advice on attaining wealth, organized public institutions, contributed to the birth of a nation, and negotiated with foreign powers to ensure his country’s survival. Through the words of the elder statesman himself, The Autobiography and Other Writings presents a remarkable insight into the man and his accomplishments. Additional writings from Benjamin Franklin’s wife and son provide a more intimate portrait of the husband and father who became a legend in his own time. Edited by L. Jesse Lemich With an Introduction by Walter Isaacson and an Afterword by Carla Mulford

Louisa May Alcott shares the innocence of girlhood in this classic coming of age story about four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. In picturesque nineteenth-century New England, tomboyish Jo, beautiful Meg, fragile Beth, and romantic Amy are responsible for keeping a home while their father is off to war. At the same time, they must come to terms with their individual personalities—and make the transition from girlhood to womanhood. It can all be quite a challenge. But the March sisters, however different, are nurtured by their wise and beloved Marmee, bound by their love for each other and the feminine strength they share. Readers of all ages have fallen instantly in love with these Little Women. Their story transcends time—making this novel endure as a classic piece of American literature that has captivated generations of readers with their charm, innocence, and wistful insights.This Signet Classics edition contains Little Women in its entirety, including Parts I and II. With an Introduction by Regina Bareccaand an Afterword by Susan Straight

Magic, love spells, and an enchanted wood provide the materials for one of Shakespeare’s most delightful comedies. When four young lovers, fleeing the law and their own mismatched rivalries, take to the forest of Athens, their lives become entangled with a feud between the King and Queen of the Fairies, resulting in a marvelous mix-up of desire and enchantment, merriment and farce....This title in the Signet Classics Shakespeare series includes:• An overview of Shakespeare's life, world, and theater• A special introduction to the play by the editor, Wolfgang Clemen• A note on the sources from which Shakespeare derived A Midsummer Night’s Dream• Dramatic criticism from William Hazlitt, John Russell Brown, Frank Hermode, and others• A comprehensive stage and screen history of notable actors, directors, and productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream• Text, notes, and commentaries printed in the clearest, most readable format• Recommended readings

The Signet Classics edition of William Shakespeare's comedic play about two enduring human illusions—the dream of a simple life and the ideal of romantic love. Banished from her uncle's court, young princess Rosalind disguises herself as a farmer and encounters a memorable cast of characters—including her love Orlando—in the Forest of Arden in this witty, subversive comedy.This revised Signet Classics edition includes unique features such as: • An overview of Shakespeare's life, world, and theater • A special introduction to the play by the editor, Albert Gilman• Selections from Thomas Lodge's Rosalynd, the source from which Shakespeare derived As You Like It • Dramatic criticism from Arthur Colby Sprague, Helen Gardener, and others • A comprehensive stage and screen history of notable actors, directors, and productions • Text, notes, and commentaries printed in the clearest, most readable text • And more...

Invisible Man is a milestone in American literature, a book that has continued to engage readers since its appearance in 1952. A first novel by an unknown writer, it remained on the bestseller list for sixteen weeks, won the National Book Award for fiction, and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century. The nameless narrator of the novel describes growing up in a black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of "the Brotherhood", and retreating amid violence and confusion to the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be. The book is a passionate and witty tour de force of style, strongly influenced by T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, Joyce, and Dostoevsky.

The dramatic autobiographical account of Booker T. Washington’s unique American experience—a struggle against social and ideological bias that he began as a slave and never stopped. “Washington’s story of himself, as half-seen by himself, is one of America’s most revealing books.”—Langston HughesHistorically acknowledged as one of America’s most powerful and persuasive orators, Booker T. Washington consistently challenged the forces of racial prejudice at a time when such behavior from a black man was unheard of. While his stance on the separation of the races would become controversial, he worked tirelessly to convince blacks to work together as one people in order to improve their lives and the future of their race. Spanning from his fight for education through his founding of the world-renowned Tuskegee Institute, Washington’s Up from Slavery remains one of the most significant and defining works in American literature.

One of Rudyard Kipling’s most enduringly popular works, Captains Courageous is both a stirring tale of the sea and a classic coming-of-age story. Harvey Cheyne, the pampered fifteen-year-old son of an American millionaire, is sailing to Europe when he falls overboard. Saved from drowning by a New England fishing schooner, he finds his rough new companions unimpressed by his wealth and shocked by his ignorance. He will have to prove his worth in the only way the captain and crew will accept: through the slow and arduous mastery of skills upon which their common survival depends. With an Introduction by Marilyn Sides and an Afterword by Jane Yolen

Published in 1893, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets shocked a world unprepared for its grim and starkly realistic exploration of a pretty young girl’s fall on New York’s Bowery, and its critical depiction of the irresponsibility of men toward women. The five other stories in this collection are tales of quiet tension and raw intensity. From the local color of small-town life to the bustle of the city to war stories imbued with an ironic view of heroism, these stories are brilliantly constructed, extraordinarily lyrical, and psychologically penetrating. As a whole, this masterful collection demonstrates the unique and stunning genius of Stephen Crane and makes up an enduring testimony to one of America’s finest writers. Edited and with an Introduction by Alfred Kazin and an Afterword by Tom Wolfe