Books with title Pagan Passions: Classic literature

The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece and Rome had returned to Earth, with all their awesome powers intact, and Earth was transformed almost overnight. In this totally altered world, William Forrester was an acolyte of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, and therefore a teacher, in this case of a totally altered history, and Maya Wilson, girl student, evidently had a totally altered way of grading in mind; but what else would a worshiper of Venus, Goddess of Love, have in mind?Earth has transformed overnight: The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece and Rome have returned to Earth -- with all their awesome powers intact. War on any scale was outlawed, along with boom-and-bust economic cycles, and prudery -- but no change was more startling than the face of New York, where the Empire State Building has become the Tower of Zeus!In this altered world, William Forrester is an acolyte of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, and therefore a teacher in this case of a totally altered history . . . but the fate that awaits him is a thing even more fantastic than the circumstances we've described!

Pygmalion is a play by George Bernard Shaw, named after a Greek mythological character. It was first presented on stage to the public in 1912. Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of gentility, the most important element of which, he believes, is impeccable speech. The play is a sharp lampoon of the rigid British class system of the day and a commentary on women's independence. In ancient Greek mythology, Pygmalion fell in love with one of his sculptures, which then came to life. The general idea of that myth was a popular subject for Victorian era English playwrights, including one of Shaw's influences, W. S. Gilbert, who wrote a successful play based on the story called Pygmalion and Galatea first presented in 1871. Shaw also would have been familiar with the burlesque version, Galatea, or Pygmalion Reversed. Shaw's play has been adapted numerous times, most notably as the musical My Fair Lady and the film of that name.

In this thoroughly entertaining story collection, the renowned Dr. Percy travels the world searching for unique animal specimens -- and keeps an eye on attractive examples of the fairer sex, as well. Will his dedication to these dual quests ever pay the dividends he's looking for? Equal parts romantic farce and fantastical science fiction, Police!!! is a rollicking read with something for everyone.

Lilith is a fantasy novel written by Scottish writer George MacDonald and first published in 1895. Lilith is considered among the darkest of MacDonald's works, and among the most profound. It is a story concerning the nature of life, death and salvation. Many believe MacDonald is arguing for Christian universalism, or the idea that all will eventually be saved. Mr. Vane, the protagonist of Lilith, owns a library that seems to be haunted by the former librarian, who looks much like a raven from the brief glimpses he catches of the wraith. After finally encountering the supposed ghost, the mysterious Mr. Raven, Vane learns that Raven had known his father; indeed, Vane's father had visited the strange parallel universe from which Raven comes and goes and now resides therein. Vane follows Raven into the world through a mirror (this symbolistic realm is described as "the region of the seven dimensions", a term taken from Jacob Boehme)