This work presents a series of novellas by the renowned Spanish novelist, playwright, and poet Miguel de Cervantes. It features The Lady Cornelia, Rinconete and Cortadillo, The Deceitful Marriage, The Force of Blood, The Little Gypsy Girl and many more.

*A 2019 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book* A dark, twisted, unforgettable fairy tale from Elana K. Arnold, author of the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: When the king dies, his son the prince must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been. When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon or what horrors she faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome young man, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny of sitting on a throne beside him. It’s all like a dream, like something from a fairy tale. As Ama follows Emory to the kingdom of Harding, however, she discovers that not all is as it seems. There is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows, and the greatest threats may not be behind her, but around her, now, and closing in.

A New York Times Notable Book of 2021 “The kind of book for which the word “rollicking” was invented.”—New York Times Book Review A prim and proper lady thief must save her aunt from a crazed pirate and his dangerously charming henchman in this fantastical historical romance. Cecilia Bassingwaite is the ideal Victorian lady. She's also a thief. Like the other members of the Wisteria Society crime sorority, she flies around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means. Sure, she has a dark and traumatic past and an overbearing aunt, but all things considered, it's a pleasant existence. Until the men show up. Ned Lightbourne is a sometimes assassin who is smitten with Cecilia from the moment they meet. Unfortunately, that happens to be while he's under direct orders to kill her. His employer, Captain Morvath, who possesses a gothic abbey bristling with cannons and an unbridled hate for the world, intends to rid England of all its presumptuous women, starting with the Wisteria Society. Ned has plans of his own. But both men have made one grave mistake. Never underestimate a woman. When Morvath imperils the Wisteria Society, Cecilia is forced to team up with her handsome would-be assassin to save the women who raised her--hopefully proving, once and for all, that she's as much of a scoundrel as the rest of them.

When faced with the danger of giants, ogres, and witches, other damsels might quake with fear . . . but not LillyBelle! At the School for Damsels, LillyBelle enjoys many damsel-in-training classes, like cake baking and vocal training, but the rule that a damsel must be in distress . . . not so much. When she's captured by one villain after another, LillyBelle will need to use her charm and her wit to save herself and prove once and for all that damsels don't have to be in distress--all in time for tea!

First published in 2004. These four classic masterpieces in esoteric research by the noted orientalist - M. Penzer explore customs and traditions from other cultures and periods of history which, for all their apparent strangeness, mask fundamental subjects of continuing interest. The first concerns the motif of the poison damsel -- the beauty who dealt death in many forms to her admirers - which originated in India, was prevalent in medieval Europe, and persists today in the belief of the femme fatale. The volume includes a study in the ancient Tate of the Two Thieves, an essay on sacred prostitution in India, the ancient East and West Africa, and an exhaustive treatment of the custom of chewing the betel or areca nut which is widespread in the far East from India through Indonesia to New Guinea. A natural stimulant and narcotic whose effects are similar to that of tobacco, betel is of growing interest to the medical world, and has, as the author shows here, a rich legacy of customs and belief.

Twenty-nine collected essays represent a critical history of Shakespeare's play as text and as theater, beginning with Samuel Johnson in 1765, and ending with a review of the Royal Shakespeare Company production in 1991. The criticism centers on three aspects of the play: the love/friendship debate.