Quality poetry and literature from the
1000 Good
Books List
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me!
IN ASSOCIATION
WITH
Bulfinch’s Age of Fable
Thomas Bulfinch
Our children last read Greek and
Roman myths in 2nd grade, so now it is high time for them
to reacquaint themselves with classical myths with the master mythology of the English
language - Bulfinch’s. For almost a century and a half, Bulfinch’s Age of Fable
has been the text by which the great tales of the gods and goddesses, and of Greek and
Roman antiquity, have been known. For the Greek myths, Bulfinch drew on Ovid and Virgil,
and so provides lively versions of the myths of Zeus and Hera, Venus and Adonis, Daphne
and Apollo, and their cohorts on Mount Olympus; the love story of Pygmalion and Galatea;
the legends of the Trojan War and the epic wanderings of Ulysses and Aeneas, in an
eminently readable style. Norse and Celtic mythology is also included in this volume,
although the vast majority of the text is devoted to classical myth. As Bulfinch wrote,
“Without a knowledge of mythology much of the elegant literature of our own language
cannot be understood and appreciated.” Another edition of Bulfinch’s Mythology,
which contains The Age of Fable along with The Age of Chivalry and Legends of Charlemagne,
may be preferable to some, and is available in both paperback
and hardcover.
The Last Days of Pompeii
Lord Edward Bulwer-Lytton
This epic novel has been a classic
since it was first published in the 19th century. Lord Lytton visited the ruins of Pompeii
shortly after their discovery and crafted this tale about what might have been, against
the backdrop of the simmering volcano, unbeknown to the inhabitants of Pompeii in 79 A.D.
that it was a ticking time bomb. The heroes of the story are Glaucus and Julia, in love
with each other though kept apart by circumstances beyond their control, amid the base
treachery of normal life in the wealthy Roman city. In the course of their trials they
meet messengers of the new faith, that sect of the Nazarene, but when the volcano erupts
and Pompeii dissolves into a morass of panic and destruction, what will become of them?
Spell-binding classic historical fiction. Both the paperback
and hardcover
in-print editions of this classic novel are rather expensive; a book search at AddAll.com
turns up used editions in good condition for a bit less.
The Robe
Lloyd C. Douglas
“And they crucified him, and parted his garments,
casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my
garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.” Matthew 27:35. This is
the story of the Roman soldier that won the robe of Christ. Marcellus is ordered to put a
man he knows is not guilty to death by crucifixion, and the horror and guilt of this one
act drives him insane. But he is healed from his insanity miraculously, which sets him
forth on a quest to find the truth about the Nazarene’s robe -- a quest that leads
him to the truth about the Nazarene Himself -- that He is not dead at all. The characters
are richly drawn and three dimensional, the attention to historical detail is impeccable,
and the resulting portrait of the early church immediately following the death and
resurrection of Jesus is compelling, and reaches to the very roots and heart of
Christianity. This novel has remained a particular favorite throughout the years.
Poetry for a Lifetime
Samuel Norfleet Etheredge, editor
Why yet another poetry anthology? This one
is an exceptional addition to your family library. The editor, retired Navy doctor Samuel
Norfleet Etheredge, writes, “When I discovered that my grandkids had not even heard
of Casey at the Bat or The Wreck of the Hesperus, I felt that I would surely like to do
something about it. I spent years carefully searching out and selecting poems for their
beauty, rhyme, information and general interest. To add a little touch, I have annotated
almost all of them to try to increase their charm and interest.” Being a poetry lover
all his life, he reviewed thousands of poems and selected those that he felt best
expressed “Music is the Poetry of Expression. Poetry is the Music of
Literature,” including those poems of which a knowledge is considered essential in
every educated person’s acquaintance. Besides the careful selection, his annotation
makes the book stand out from many other anthologies, as it gives the impression of
reading together with a favorite uncle by the fireside. Our children have been listening
to and reading poetry since they were little, and while surely some of these poems will
have already been encountered in the grammar stage anthologies, the ones that haven’t
will enrich our children throughout the dialectic stage, and the collection will guide
parents as to which must be included in our children’s literary education.
The Lost Queen of Egypt
Lucile Morrison
The book is set in the Armarna court of
Ankhenaton, the Pharoah that worshipped only one god. The story is that of the Princess
Ankesenpaaten, daughter of Ankhenaton and Nefertiti, and wife of Tutankhamon. The famous
names of the period step living from the page: Horemhab - unhappily constrained; Ay -
untrustworthy minister; Nefertiti - the beautiful, loving wife and mother; Ankhenaton, the
troubled visionary. But this is Ankesenpaaten’s story. We watch her grow from an
intelligent, adventurous child into a beautiful, strong woman - a hostage to this most
troubled time in Egyptian history - who ultimately finds she must make her own destiny.
Students of Egyptology will know that Ankesenpaaten disappeared dramatically from history,
and that Tutankhamon died very young - this book provides a satisfying explanation. This
has remained one of my children’s all-time favorite historical novels that we have
read in the dialectic stage; even my son devoured it in a few days, not being able to set
it down, and declared it one of the best books he had ever read. Tragically, it is out of
print, but I felt compelled to include this entry in the catalog because it was absolutely
the best book we have read on Ancient Egypt, bar none, and one of the very top books for
my children on this page.
Out of print. Search AddAll.com
via a title search using ‘lost queen of egypt,’ and an author search using
‘lucile morrison.’
The Last Days of Socrates
Plato, translated by Hugh Tredennick
The trial and condemnation of Socrates
(469-399 B.C.) on charges of heresy and corrupting the minds of the young forms one of the
most tragic episodes in the history of Athens in decline. The four works in this volume
are the four that Plato set in the context of the events leading up to Socrates’
death. The first two, Euthyphro and Crito are typical Socratic dialogues,
showing the pungency of his mind in addressing the question of man’s relationship
with the gods and with society. The Apology is Socrates’ speech in his own
defense at his trial -- “a brilliant and humorous manifesto for a life guided by
self-responsibility” -- although it ultimately fails as a legal defense. On his last
day in prison before he is brought the poison hemlock to drink, Socrates discusses with
his pupils the philosophy undergirding his calm confidence in the face of death, which
Plato records in Phaedo. Although Socrates is supposed to be “hard,” we
were pleasantly surprised at our ability to understand and enjoy Socrates’ humorous
and witty dialogue, certainly no harder than the Bible.
Julius Caesar
William Shakespeare
In this striking tragedy of
political conflict, Shakespeare turns to the ancient Roman world and to the famous
assassination of Julius Caesar in 50 B.C. by his republican opponents. The play is one of
tumultuous rivalry, of prophetic warnings--“Beware the ides of March”--and of
moving public oratory --“Friends, Romans, countrymen!” Ironies abound and most
of all for Brutus, whose fate it is to learn that his idealistic motives for joining the
conspiracy against a would-be dictator are not enough to sustain the movement once Caesar
is dead. Shakespeare relied heavily on Plutarch for source material in crafting one of his
finest plays. This edition is the Cliff’s Complete Study Edition of the play, which
contains Shakespeare’s original text unabridged, a glossary, and the Cliff Notes
famous expert commentary on the text to help in understanding archaic phrasing or
Elizabethan Age allusions.
Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Lew Wallace
We have all seen the movie; the book is so much better. In it Ben Hur, the prince of
Judah, is sold into slavery, endures a living death as a rower on a Roman war-galley and
saves the life of the ship’s commander, whereupon he goes to Rome his adopted son and
races in the great circus. He also becomes a Christian with his household, and when he is
restored to his home in Jerusalem, and his fortune grows large, he hears of the
persecution of the Christians in Rome under Nero, and decides to use his money to help
them in any way he can. The final paragraph of the book reads: “If any of my readers,
visiting Rome, will make the short journey to the Catacomb of San Calixto, which is more
ancient than that of San Sebastiano, he will see what became of the fortune of Ben-Hur,
and give him thanks. Out of that vast tomb Christianity issued to supersede the
Caesars.”
Carry On, Jeeves
P. G. Wodehouse
“P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) was an
English-born storyteller and journalist who came to America before World War I and sold a
serial to the Saturday Evening Post, where most of his books first appeared. Though
Wodehouse wrote more than 90 books and 20 film scripts, and collaborated on more than 30
plays and musical comedies, he is perhaps best known as the creator of the gentlemanly
character Jeeves, ‘that subtle master of prudence, good taste, and ineffable
composure,’ and this introduction is sure to delight newcomers to Wodehouse as well
as those already familiar with his ‘sunny universe and sparkling prose.’ Let the
reader beware: unless you are the kind of person who enjoys being stared at, do not
attempt to read anything by P. G. Wodehouse in public. If you do, you’ll soon find
yourself an object of interest on the bus, plane or train as you attempt to stifle guffaws
or end up accidentally swallowing your tongue in a useless effort to squash that
belly-laugh. Wodehouse is, quite simply, one of the funniest men on the planet. In Carry
On, Jeeves, the best introduction to the Jeeves and Wooster universe, you’ll find
Bertie Wooster, a complete gentleman, but the first to admit he’s a bit of a chump;
his valet, Jeeves, infinitely sagacious, the source of all solace; and a wild collection
of memorable characters, all bound up in plots as impossibly labyrinthine as they are
laugh-out-loud funny.” Other Jeeves and Wooster side-splitters include Very Good,
Jeeves, The
Code of the Woosters, Right Ho,
Jeeves, and others equally delightful.
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