didactic fiction

The Fountainhead is an unprecedented phenomenon in modern literature. Arguably the century's most challenging novel of ideas, The Fountainhead is the story of a gifted young architect, his violent battle with conventional standards, and his explosive love affair with the beautiful woman who struggles to defeat him. In his fight for success, he first discovers, then rejects, the seductive power of fame and money, finding that in the end, creative genius must triumph. His battle against mediocrity gives a gripping new dimension to the concept of evil.

Tess Durbeyfield attempts to restore her family's fortunes by claiming their connection with the the aristocratic d'Urbervilles. After Alec d'Urberville seduces her and makes her life miserable, she meets and falls in love with Angel Clare.

When a young girl uses kind words on the school bus to defend another child from teasing, the good deed is multiplied and a bad day becomes an extraordinary one.

The story of American slavery and Uncle Tom, an African-American man who never lost his dignity under the most inhumane circumstances.

Presents Dickens's 1853 novel which tells the story of several generations of the Jarndyce family who wait in vain to inherit money that is tied up in a legal dispute in England's notoriously slow moving Court of Chancery.

Uses the life of a schoolgirl, Sophie, as a backdrop for a discussion of the meaning of life and the history of philosophy.

Rhyming text describes how difficult life can be for a child with Attention deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and how parents, teachers, and doctors can help.

Oscar Wilde's novel in which an exquisitely beautiful young man in Victorian England retains his youthful and innocent appearance over the years while his portrait reflects both his age and evil soul as he pursues a life of decadence and corruption.

The story of a young woman from Wisconsin who goes to Chicago, becomes an actress, marries and goes to New York, and when her husband loses his job, goes onstage again; and includes historical context, explanatory notes, excerpts of criticism, discussion questions, and other study tools.

A collection of writings by Wilde including the classic story of a young man whose portrait ages with time while he remains youthful; and contains chronology of the author's life and work, explanatory and textual notes, and critical analysis.