Classic Essays

In 1915, Puerto Rican activist Luisa Capetillo was arrested and acquitted for being the first woman to wear men's trousers publicly. While this act of gender-nonconforming rebellion elevated her to feminist icon status in modern pop culture, it also overshadowed the significant contributions she made to the women's movement and anarchist labor movements of the early 20th century - both in her native Puerto Rico and in the migrant labor belt in the eastern United States.

Bringing together Susan Sontag's most fearless and incisive writing, On Women examines the oppression of women and the tools necessary for liberation. First written in the 1970s during the height of second-wave feminism, Sontag's essays examine the 'biological division of labour', the double standard for ageing and the struggle for real power, topics which are strikingly relevant to our contemporary conversations. For any Sontag fan, this collection of lost essays is a revelation into her achievements as an essayist.

The Souls of Black Folk is a classic work by W. E. B. Du Bois. Originally published in 1903, it contains many essays on race and equality, but is also a piece of seminal history, laying the groundwork for the field of sociology. Some of the essays in the book were even previously published by the Atlantic Monthly magazine. When writing, Du Bois drew from his personal experiences as an African-American in America to highlight the issues of prejudice that were still going on into the 20th century.

The first book in the essays of Seneca deals with good and evil. The dialogue is opened by Lucilius complaining with his friend Seneca that adversities and misfortunes can happen to good men too. How can this fit with the goodness connected with the design of providence? Seneca answers according to the Stoic point of view.

A selection from the John Updike audio collection. These extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful.

Walden or, "Life in the Woods", is, primarily, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings. Henry David Thoreau kept a journal during his stay in a cabin beside Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, for two years, two months, and two days, from July 1845 to Sept 1847. The book is based on that journal.

Is karma just another word for fate? Is karma subject to time? Do animals have karma? These are just some of the questions posed in this collection of seven short essays by Theosophist writer William Q. Judge, while exploring the topic of karma. The essays are: "Karma", "Aphorisms on Karma", "Karma in the Desatir", "Thoughts on Karma", "Men Karmic Agents", "Is Karma Only Punishment?" and "Is Poverty Bad Karma?"

E. L. Doctorow is acclaimed internationally for such novels as Ragtime, Billy Bathgate, and The March. Now here are Doctorow's rich, revelatory essays on the nature of imaginative thought. In Creationists, Doctorow considers creativity in its many forms: from the literary to the comic to the cosmic. As he wrestles with the subjects that have teased and fired his own imagination, Doctorow affirms the idea that "we know by what we create".

This collection gathers James Salter's thoughts on writing and profiles of famous writers, observations of the changing American military life, evocations of Aspen winters, musings on mountain climbing and skiing, and tales of travels to Europe and Asia which first appeared in the New Yorker, Esquire, People magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, the Aspen Times, and many other publications.

"In wilderness is the preservation of the world. Life consists with wilderness. The most alive is the wildest. Not yet subdued to man, its presence refreshes him." Philosopher and writer Henry David Thoreau preferred to contemplate the nature of man and his environment while walking.

The Virginia Woolf Complete Collection brings together 6 of her most iconic novels, a selection of her best short stories, as well as some of her most influential non-fiction writing. From the enduring importance of her ideas of female independence in A Room of One's Own to the modern masterpieces of Mrs Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, alongside much more, this collection takes you across the broad breadth of Woolf's ever-inventive and timeless writings.

This recording is of the 11 essays and stories contained in Volume Five and includes two examples of Poe’s activity as a literary critic. Poe’s dry wit is laced through many of these tales and will bring a wry smile to your lips even as you shiver at the consequences of “betting the devil your head”.

A selection from the John Updike audio collection.

This Yuletide collection of stories, poems, and essays has been rescued from obscurity by the editor, who has also edited and annotated them to make these wonderful classics more easily accessible to modern listeners. While some of these authors may be unknown to you, their works have been included in this collection because of their capacity to instantly intrigue and delight. Give them a try, and don't be surprised if a few of them make their way onto your list of all-time personal Christmas favorites!

A selection from the John Updike audio collection. These extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful.

A selection from the John Updike audio collection. These extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful.

Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous, or simply Three Dialogues, is a 1713 book on metaphysics and idealism by George Berkeley. The book was written as a response to the criticism of his work A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge. Berkeley faced opposition from many philosophers who held to the Platonic view. He argues that sensible qualities like color, sound, temperature and even shape are not inherent in matter, but are ascribed and understood by the mind.

Xenophon of Athens (c. 430 BC - 354 BC) was an Athenian historian, philosopher, and soldier. "Hiero", one of Xenophon’s minor works, is a dialogue between Hiero, tyrant of Syracuse, and the lyric poet Simonides, as a response to the assumption that a tyrant's life is more pleasant than that of a commoner. "On Horsemanship" is one of his two treatises on horsemanship. Military training and the duties of the cavalry commander are dealt with in the other, "Hipparchicus", while "On Horsemanship" deals with the selection, care, and training of horses in general.

Delve into the satirical and thought-provoking world of "Christian Science" by Mark Twain, a collection of essays and writings that offer a humorous yet critical examination of Christian Science and its founder, Mary Baker Eddy. This audiobook presents Twain's signature wit and incisive commentary as he explores the tenets of Christian Science, its practices, and its impact on society.

Florence Farr was an actress, writer, and first-wave feminist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as an active member of the British occult community who regularly worked with her male counterparts in the fields of esoterica, being an initiate of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Collected here are seven of her magical essays: "Magic of a Symbol", "On the Play of the Image-Maker", "The Tetrad or Structure of the Mind", "Egyptian Use of Symbols", "The Philosophy Called Vedanta", "On the Kabbalah", and "The Rosicrucians and the Alchemists".