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  1. An Account, Much Abbreviated, of the Destruction of the Indies

    Bartolomé De Las Casas
    Edited, with Introduction, by Franklin W. Knight,
    Translated by Andrew Hurley

    “This is a splendid new translation of Brevísima Relación, the famous denunciation of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, written by Dominican friar Bartolomé de Las Casas (1483-1566). . . . The Hackett edition of Brevísima Relación . . . has a lot to offer to undergraduates. . . . Knight’s introduction to the text makes in fact for a compelling read. . . . Together with Knight’s ample annotations, which refer students to the most up-to-date secondary literature, it makes for a wonderful introduction to the history of Europe’s expansion into the Western Hemisphere.”
         —Martine van Ittersum, Journal of Early Modern History

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  2. Confessions (Sheed, Second Edition)

    Augustine
    Translated by F. J. Sheed
    Introduction by Peter Brown, Notes by Michael Foley

    "This translation is already a classic. It is the translation that has guided three generations of students and readers into a renewed appreciation of the beauty and urgency of a masterpiece of Christian autobiography. This is largely because the translator has caught not only the meaning of Augustine’s Confessions, but a large measure of its poetry.  It makes the Latin sing in English as it did when it came from the pen of Augustine, some sixteen hundred years ago. Deeply rooted in the tradition of which Augustine was himself a principal founder, this translation is not only modern: it is a faithful echo, in a language that has carried throughout the ages, of its author’s original passion and disquiet."  —Peter Brown

    "To my ears, Sheed’s translation is the most beautiful English translation available. The same electric current that runs through Augustine’s original can be felt in this translation, which combines a slightly elevated style (more elevated in direct prayers) combined with the immediacy and transparency of a street preacher (not that different from Augustine’s own style). The latest edition includes an introduction by Peter Brown, the best biographer of Augustine, and notes and commentary by Michael Foley, a truly excellent reader of Augustine." —Jared Ortiz, Hope College, in Catholic World Report

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  3. Consolation of Philosophy

    Boethius
    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Joel C. Relihan

    "Entirely faithful to Boethius' Latin; Relihan's translation makes the philosophy of the Consolation intelligible to readers; it gives equal weight to the poetry—in fact, Relihan's metrical translation of Boethius' metra are themselves contributions of the first moment to Boethian studies. Boethius finally has a translator equal to his prodigious talents and his manifold vision."
         —Joseph Pucci, Brown University

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  4. Doctor Faustus (Lake & Ribner Edition)

    Christopher Marlowe
    Edited by James H. Lake and Irving Ribner

    An annotated version of Doctor Faustus, with modernized spelling and punctuation, of the 1616 B-text. James H. Lake's Introduction discusses the play’s historical and dramatic contexts, but focuses on its performance history from the Elizabethan era to our own, including film productions. Textual notes discuss variations between the A and B texts. Interviews with Ralph Alan Cohen of Shenandoah Shakespeare and Andreas Teuber (Mephistopheles in the Richard Burton production) as well as illustrations from theatre and film performances included.

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  5. NEW
    Doctor Faustus

    Christopher Marlowe
    Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by Stephen J. Lynch

    This new edition of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus offers the complete 1604 A-text with embedded selections from the 1616 B-text. Its innovative format will make it easier for readers to note differences between these texts and to consider what is gained and lost in viewing them both separately and together. A full Introduction to the play, notes, and a rich selection of related texts further enhance the value of this edition to students of Renaissance drama, Reformation theology, magic, and occult philosophy.

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  6. Doctor Faustus: With The English Faust Book

    Christopher Marlowe
    Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by David Wootton

    "This is an excellent edition; I really appreciate the clear Introduction and the exceptionally useful notes.  I look forward to using this text with a freshman literature class who will really benefit from the helpful textual apparatus." —Charlotte England, Department of English, Salisbury University

    "The inexpensive paperback will allow this student-friendly text to be added to the reading list of a variety of high-school and college courses. Teachers as well as students will find the Introduction here very useful." —Bibliothèque d'Humanisme et Renaissance

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  7. Don Quixote

    Cervantes
    Translated by James H. Montgomery
    Introduction by David Quint

    "James Montgomery's new translation of Don Quixote is the fourth already in the twenty-first century, and it stands with the best of them. It pays particular attention to what may be the hardest aspect of Cervantes's novel to render into English: the humorous passages, particularly those that feature a comic and original use of language. Cervantes would be proud." —Howard Mancing, Professor of Spanish, Purdue University and Vice President, Cervantes Society of America

    "Fluent, unobtrusively modern, and attractively priced. Excellent notes add to the attractiveness of this very competent translation." —Alison Weber, University of Virginia, in Sixteenth Century Journal

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  8. Exemplary Novellas

    Cervantes
    Edited and Translated, with an Introduction, by Michael Harney

    "Michael Harney's translation of Cervantes's Novelas ejemplares is the most authoritative and accurate rendering of Cervantes's classic tales to date and promises to be the translation against which future translations will be measured. Harney skillfully portrays the nuanced and complex world of the Exemplary Novellas in a translation that is faithful to the letter and spirit of the original. An erudite and informative Introduction presents a general overview of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spain, the life of Cervantes, and a detailed analysis of the Exemplary Novellas. Before each story, Harney provides a brief synopsis, an analysis of the novella’s themes, motifs, and generic affinities, and a bibliography for further reading. In addition, numerous footnotes complement the background information Harney provides in the Introduction and prior to each novella."
         —Michael J. McGrath, Georgia Southern University

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  9. Haft Paykar

    Nizami
    Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Julie Scott Meisami

    "The Haft Paykar—Nizami's twelfth-century masterpiece, written in the Persian verse couplet form known as masnavi—has waited a long time for a translation like this: one that simultaneously captures its lightness and charm and plumbs its wealth of cultural detail. Julie Meisami's deft, accurate, seemingly effortless version (rendered in English tetrameter, an inspired choice) is a rare accomplishment."
         —Michael Beard, University of North Dakota

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  10. Inferno (Lombardo Edition)

    Dante
    Translated by Stanley Lombardo
    Introduction by Steven Botterill
    Notes by Anthony Oldcorn

    "This new Inferno is very quickly going to become a favorite. The translation itself is unusually dynamic and returns to the poem a register of daily speech that increases clarity and energy. It never loses sight of the fact that the Inferno tells an intensely involving story. This volume also offers real help to the novice reader. The synopsis printed at the beginning of each canto; the detailed commentary on each canto, at the end of the book; and, most importantly, a really excellent Introduction—all these give the reader constant and multileveled guides to the journey."
         —F. Regina Psaki, The Giustina Family Professor of Italian Language and Literature, University of Oregon

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  11. Inferno (Simone Edition)

    Dante
    Translated and Illustrated, with Notes and an Introductory Essay, by Tom Simone

    "Tom Simone's translation is simply superb. Of all the translations with which I am familiar, this is the one that is the most faithful to what's there in the Italian: no frills, no poetic sallies, no choosing a word because it brings the line closer to iambic pentameter—just unadulterated Dante with good old Anglo-Saxon words and in highly readable prose."
        —Peter Kalkavage, St. John's University

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  12. Jackson Crawford Three-Book Boxed Set

    Translated and Edited, with Introductions, by Jackson Crawford

    Second (Nov. 2022) & final third (June 2023) printings -- NOW SHIPPING and available to order on the Hackett website for customers in the U.S. & Canada, while supplies last. The reprint copies are unnumbered, but otherwise identical to the first printing, including the bookplate in The Poetic Edda personally signed by Dr. Crawford.

    First printing (August 2022, 400 numbered copies worldwide -- SOLD OUT)

    Customers in the U.K. & Europe -- a limited number of reprint copies are available for sale from Gazelle Book Services

    Since the 2015 publication of The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes, Old Norse specialist Dr. Jackson Crawford has delighted readers with his English-language translations of Old Norse sagas and poems that tell the tales of Odin, Thor, Loki, dragon-slayer Sigurd, Brynhild the Valkyrie, Hrólf Kraki, and many more. This limited-edition set collects three of Dr. Crawford's Hackett Publishing books, The Poetic Edda (2015), The Saga of the Volsungs (2017), and Two Sagas of Mythical Heroes (2021) in a beautifully designed hand-crafted slipcase box. Each book in the set features smyth-sewn hardcover bindings with new custom artwork for the front covers. The Poetic Edda features a medallion of the wolf Fenrir, The Saga of the Volsungs a medallion of the dragon/serpent Fafnir, and Two Sagas of Mythical Heroes a medallion of a bear.

    Each volume in the set begins with a phrase hand-written by Dr. Crawford that best exemplifies the text to follow or Dr. Crawford's favorite passage from the book. The quotes in The Poetic Edda and Two Sagas of Mythical Heroes also contain the runic "originals." The Poetic Edda also includes a bookplate personally signed by Dr. Crawford and hand-tipped into the front of the book.

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  13. Kalila and Dimna

    Nasrullah Munshi
    Translated from the Persian by Wheeler Thackston

    "This masterful translation of one of the most popular books of world literature makes available to an English readership the animal tales known collectively as Kalila and Dimna. Named after the two jackals of Pancatantra fame, this collection of stories is based on a 12th-century Persian translation of an 8th-century original Arabic rendition by Ibn al-Muqaffa‘. Set within a frame narrative of counsels given to the Raja of India by his Brahmin minister, the engaging tales about cats and mice, storks and crabs, tortoises and geese, owls and crows, and princes and ascetics, function as cautionary illustrations of human predicaments and all-too-human vices and virtues. Far from being a collection of children’s fables, Kalila and Dimna is a Machiavellian mirror for princes containing advice on how to preserve oneself from one’s enemies and get ahead at court and in life. The dialogues that constitute the bulk of the narrative harbor a dramatic immediacy, exerting a powerful effect even on a modern-day reader." —Maria Subtelny, University of Toronto

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  14. Le Morte Darthur: The Seventh & Eighth Tales

    Sir Thomas Malory
    Edited, with an Introduction and Commentary, by P. J. C. Field

     "P. J. C. Field, the world's preeminent Malory specialist, has wisely chosen to offer here Malory's seventh and eighth tales, recounting the decline and end of Camelot.  The authoritative text is accompanied by indispensable notes and preceded by a remarkably thorough and learned—but never obscure—Introduction sufficient to prepare students and other readers to profit fully from the texts. This book is ideal for those coming to Malory for the first time and a distinct pleasure for those who already know him well."
         —Norris J. Lacy, E. E. Sparks Professor of French and Medieval Studies, Penn State University

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  15. Machiavelli: Selected Political Writings

    Niccolo Machiavelli
    Edited and Translated by David Wootton

    “The Introduction is vibrant, comprehensive and persuasive. Manages to address the needs of undergraduates while constituting an original contribution to contemporary scholarship. Bravo!” —Alan Houston, University of California, San Diego

    “Wootton’s Introduction is an excellent piece of work that offers both scholars and students a valuable guide to Machiavelli’s texts.”  —Maurizio Viroli, Princeton University 

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  16. Medieval Drama

    Edited by David Bevington

    This reprint (with updated 'Suggestions for Further Reading') of the Houghton Mifflin edition makes David Bevington's classic anthology of medieval drama available again at an affordable price.

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  17. Middle English Poetry in Modern Verse

    Translated and Edited by Joseph Glaser

    This rich and lively anthology offers a broad selection of Middle English poetry from about 1200 to 1500 C.E., including more than 150 secular and religious lyrics and nine complete or extracted longer works, all translated into Modern English verse that closely resembles the original forms.  Five complete satires and narratives illustrate important conventions of the period: Athelston, a historical romance; The Cock and the Fox, a beast fable by Robert Henryson; Sir Orfeo, a Breton lai; Saint Erkenwald, an alliterative saint's life; and The Land of Cockayne, a fantasy. The book concludes with substantial excerpts from longer narratives such as Piers Plowman and Confessio Amantis.

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  18. On the Dignity of Man

    Pico Della Mirandola
    Translations by Charles Glenn Wallis, Paul J. W. Miller, and Douglas Carmichael
    Introduction by Paul J. W. Miller

    Reflecting the broad range of interests of a major Renaissance philosopher and his distinctive brand of syncretism, this anthology offers in their entirety three central works of Pico’s. On the Dignity of Man, the quintessential expression of Renaissance humanism, appears in the context of two lesser known but equally representative mature works: On Being and the One, a treatise defending what Pico held to be the agreement between Aristotle and Plato on the relation between unity and being, and Heptaplus, an interpretation, influenced by a blend of cabalism and Christian doctrine, of the first verses of Genesis. New Selected Bibliography.

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  19. Paradiso (Simone Edition)

    Dante
    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Tom Simone

    "The Paradiso concludes Simone's excellent translation of Dante's Commedia. Consistent with the previous two volumes, the translation is accurate and graceful, and Simone’s introductions and apparatus provide a helpful entrée to the text, especially for first-time readers who are one of its primary audiences." —William Stephany, Professor Emeritus, University of Vermont

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  20. Purgatorio (Simone Edition)

    Dante
    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by Tom Simone

    Designed to provide the modern student with access to this important work, Tom Simone's Purgatorio translation offers a text that is as close to Dante's meter and style as possible using modern English. It provides students with a feel for the structure and impact of the original, and it could also provide an easy segue to the original Italian. Also included is an extensive introduction, ample footnotes for references that may not be clear to the reader, and each Canto is preceded by a prose overview of the poetry.

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  21. The Book of Her Life

    Teresa of Avila
    Translated, with Notes, by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD & Otilio Rodriguez, OCD; Introduction by Jodi Bilinkoff

    The Hackett edition of Teresa of Avila's spiritual autobiography features Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez's authoritative translation of The Book of Her Life with a new Introduction by Jodi Bilinkoff that will prove especially valuable to students of Early Modern Spain, the history of Christian spirituality, and classic women writers.  A map, chronology, and index are also included.

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  22. The Book of John Mandeville

    Edited and Translated, with an Introduction, by Iain Macleod Higgins

    "The Book of John Mandeville, one of the most important medieval travel books, has been translated into English from the original Anglo-Norman French for the first time since the late fourteenth century. Iain Macleod Higgins's accurate, readable, and judiciously edited rendering now supersedes the modernizations of Middle English versions that have hitherto been the English-speaking world's chief access to a work second only to Marco Polo's Travels in its influence and the duration of its popularity. Higgins's copious annotation, detailed index, and inclusion of translated excerpts from Mandeville's sources and other relevant texts make this a historically important contribution to our knowledge of medieval travel literature and of Western perceptions of non-Western peoples. Impressive scholarship combines with skillful translation of a medieval work with great modern relevance." —Modern Language Association

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  23. The Book of the City of Ladies and Other Writings

    Christine de Pizan
    Edited, with an Introduction, by Rebecca Kingston and Sophie Bourgault; Translated by Ineke Hardy

    "Fresh, accurate, and engaging, this new translation of the Book of the City of Ladies helps us to understand what made Christine de Pizan so popular with her fifteenth-century contemporaries. The editors provide a rich historical and philosophical context that will be very useful to both students and scholars of the history of political ideas. The translations themselves gracefully navigate the fine line between accuracy and readability with considerable charm. Rounding out this portrait of the turmoil of fifteenth-century France, the volume is enriched by excerpts from other works, Christine's Vision, the Book of the Body Politic, and the Lamentation on France's Ills." Kate Forhan, Emeritus, Siena College

    "I am thrilled with the quality of this volume. Translator Hardy has created a splendid modern translation of Christine’s difficult French, and editors Bourgault and Kingston offer readers an outstandingly comprehensive and helpful introduction. The notes and other critical apparatus have also been judiciously crafted. . . . I can’t think of any other single edition of Christine’s work that offers readers such a concise point of entry to women’s history, late-medieval political thought, and for that matter the turmoil, both economic and political, in fourteenth- and early fifteenth-century France." —Sarah Gwyneth Ross, Boston College

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  24. The Book of the Courtier

    Baldesar Castiglione
    Edited and Translated by, with an Introduction, by Peter Hainsworth

    Peter Hainsworth’s sparkling, eminently readable new English translation of The Book of the Courtier, Baldesar Castiglione’s (1478–1529) literary and philosophical masterpiece, captures all the nuance, stylistic flair, and humor of this foundational work of Renaissance humanism.

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  25. The Canterbury Tales in Modern Verse

    Geoffrey Chaucer
    Translated and Edited, with Introduction, by Joseph Glaser

    "This version of The Canterbury Tales is indeed 'fast-paced and entertaining'.  It includes translations of most of the tales (certainly all of the most popular ones) and abridgments and summaries of a few others.  Glaser's main innovation in this translation is a rather striking decision to render Chaucer's standard iambic pentameter line in iambic tetrameter. . . . Those who read his translation of The Canterbury Tales will likely be motivated to tackle a linguistically more challenging, yet more rewarding Middle English edition.  Those who lack the time for such a task will still be able to appreciate the humor and variety of one of Chaucer's greatest works and will, through the basic and clear Introduction, get a sense of the historical and literary background of Chaucer, his times, and his works.  The near conversational tone of the Introduction, furthermore, makes for an unintimidating encounter with a period of literature that, for many, is foreign and remote.  As a kind of gateway text, therefore, Glaser's new translation of The Canterbury Tales will be much appreciated and valued by a non-specialist audience." —Jennifer A. Smith, Comitatus

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  26. The Comedies of Machiavelli (Bilingual Edition)

    Niccolo Machiavelli
    Edited and Translated by David Sices and James B. Atkinson

    Though better known today as a political theorist than as a dramatist, Machiavelli secured his fame as a giant in the history of Italian comedy more than fifty years before Shakespeare's comedies delighted English-speaking audiences.  This bilingual edition includes all three examples of Machiavelli's comedic art: sparkling translations of his farcical masterpiece, The Mandrake; of his version of Terence's The Woman From Andros; and of his Plautus-inspired Clizia—works whose genre afforded Machiavelli a unique vehicle not only for entertaining audiences but for examining virtù amid the twists and turns of fortuna.

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  27. The Epic of The Cid

    Translated and Edited, with an Introduction, by Michael Harney

    "Harney’s translation and literary panorama will become a standard reference for students and scholars throughout the English-speaking world for decades to come. Harney’s profound knowledge of the cultural and creative ferment that surrounded the birth of this masterpiece is unchallenged. . . . The complementary medieval texts that Harney assembles—all the bright fragments that make up this mosaic of a ferocious warrior, clan chieftain, family man, and hero—have never before been brought together in one place with reliable translations from the Arabic, Latin, and Spanish."  —George Greenia, College of William & Mary

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  28. The Faerie Queene, Book Five

    Edmund Spenser
    Edited, with Introduction, by Abraham Stoll
    Series General Editor: Abraham Stoll

    "This edition of book 5 of The Faerie Queene is a welcome contribution. Stoll presents a text that will be very useful in the classroom. The decision to make available individual (or in two cases, paired) books of the romance will make it possible for instructors to teach their preferred books of the romance; Stoll's edition of book 5 will certainly increase the likelihood that the Legend of Justice will reappear in undergraduate classrooms, introducing students to a text in which Spenser scholars are increasingly interested.  We will all benefit from that."
         —Andrew Fleck, Sixteenth Century Journal

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  29. The Faerie Queene, Book One

    Edmund Spenser
    Edited, with Introduction, by Carol Kaske
    Series General Editor: Abraham Stoll

    Framed in Spenser's distinctive, opulent stanza and in some of the trappings of epic, Book One of Spenser's The Faerie Queene consists of a chivalric romance that has been made to a typical recipe—"fierce warres and faithfull loves"—but that has been Christianized in both overt and subtle ways. The physical and moral wanderings of the Redcrosse Knight dramatize his effort to find the proper proportion of human to divine contributions to salvation—a key issue between Protestants and Catholics. Fantastic elements like alien humans, humanoids, and monsters and their respective dwelling places are vividly described.

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  30. The Faerie Queene, Book Six and the Mutabilitie Cantos

    Edmund Spenser
    Edited by Andrew Hadfield and Abraham Stoll
    Introduction by Andrew Hadfield
    Series General Editor: Abraham Stoll

    Book Six and the incomplete Book Seven of The Faerie Queene are the last sections of the unfinished poem to have been published.  They show Spenser inflecting his narrative with an ever more personal note, and becoming an ever more desperate and anxious author, worried that things were falling apart as Queen Elizabeth failed in health and the Irish crisis became ever more terrifying.  The moral confusion and uncertainty that Calidore, the Knight of Courtesy, has to confront are symptomatic of the lack of control that Spenser saw everywhere around him.  Yet, within such a troubling and disturbing work there are moments of great beauty and harmony, such as the famous dance of the Graces that Colin Clout, the rustic alter ego of the poet himself, conjures up with his pipe.  Book Seven, the "Two Cantos of Mutabilitie," is among the finest of Spenser's poetic works, in which he explains the mythical origins of his world, as the gods debate on the hill opposite his Irish house.  Whether order or chaos triumphs in the end has been the subject of most subsequent critical debate.

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  31. The Faerie Queene, Book Two

    Edmund Spenser
    Edited, with Introduction, by Erik Gray
    Series General Editor: Abraham Stoll

    "Teachers of Spenser will also welcome two more installments of the Hackett editions of separate books of The Faerie Queene under the general editorship of Abraham Stoll, this time on books 2 and on books 3 and 4.  In my view, these are the most attractive, inexpensive, but also comprehensive editions to date, with far better (and easy to read) notes on mythology and name symbolism (matters increasingly foreign to our undergraduates) than almost all previous versions."
         —Catherine Gimelli Martin, Studies in English Literature 1500-1900

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  32. The Faerie Queene, Books Three and Four

    Edmund Spenser
    Edited, with Introduction, by Dorothy Stephens
    Series General Editor: Abraham Stoll

    "Stephens's introduction to books 3 and 4 [offers] a guide to approaching the poem's grammar and syntax, meter, and significant theme's as well as a list of possible questions for discussion based on issues addressed in recent criticism. . . . Stephens addresses the nature and content of Spenser's poem from a modern perspective backward, rather than from a medieval or early modern perspective forward—an orientation that may be more comfortable for less sophisticated readership and which helps to ground The Faerie Queene in a broader literary tradition."
         —Rachel E. Frier, Sixteenth Century Journal

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  33. The Jew of Malta

    Christopher Marlowe
    Edited, with Introduction, by Stephen J. Lynch

    "A provocative edition, one which belongs on the shelves of student and scholar alike."
         —Martha Oberle, Frederick Community College, Maryland, in The Sixteenth Century Journal

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  34. The Journey of the Mind to God

    Bonaventure
    Translated by Philotheus Boehner, O.F.M.
    Edited, with Introduction, by Stephen F. Brown

    The Hackett edition of this classic of medieval philosophy and mysticism—a plan of pilgrimage for the learned Franciscan wishing to reach the apex of the mystical experience—combines the highly regarded Boehner translation with a new introduction by Stephen Brown focusing on St. Francis as a model of the contemplative life, the meaning of the Itinerarium, its place in Bonaventure’s mystical theology, and the plan of the work. Boehner’s Latin Notes, as well as Latin texts from other works of Bonaventure included in the Franciscan Institute Edition, are rendered here in English, making this the edition of choice for the beginning student.

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  35. The Lays of Marie de France

    Marie de France
    Translated, with Introduction and Commentary, by Edward J. Gallagher

    "With admirable sensitivity to the meaning and style of the originals, Edward J. Gallagher has skillfully rendered these charming Old French verse narratives from the late twelfth century into engaging and readable modern English prose. Gallagher includes a detailed commentary on each of the twelve lays, two useful glossaries, and a selection of lays in Old French. Readers will appreciate his substantial and informative introduction to the works of Marie de France and to the illustrious literary and cultural context within which these masterpieces in miniature took shape." 
         —Donald Maddox, University of Massachusetts Amherst

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  36. The Letters and Other Writings

    Abelard & Heloise
    Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by William Levitan
    Selected Songs and Poems Translated by Stanley Lombardo and by Barbara Thorburn

    The most comprehensive compilation of the works of Abelard and Heloise ever presented in a single volume in English, The Letters and Other Writings features an accurate and stylistically faithful new translation of both The Calamities of Peter Abelard and the remarkable letters it sparked between the ill-fated twelfth-century philosopher and his brilliant former student and lover—an exchange whose intellectual passion, formal virtuosity, and psychological drama distinguish it as one of the most extraordinary correspondences in European history. Thanks to this edition, Latin-less readers will be better placed than ever to see why this undisputed milestone in the intellectual life of medieval France is also a masterpiece of Western literature.

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  37. The Middle Ages: The Formation of the Western Literary Tradition

    Edited, with Introductions and Notes, by Margaret L. King

    The Middle Ages: Formation of the Western Literary Tradition offers, in its entirety, the second section (chapters 5-7) of Margaret King's The  Western Literary Tradition: An Introduction in Texts, Volume 1. Available in eBook format only, it includes the general introduction and annotation to this section along with textual selections arranged chronologically from St. Augustine's Confessions (397) to Christine de Pizan's Book of the City of Ladies (1405). Contents covers selections from works by St. Augustine, Boethius, Hrotswitha of Gandersheim, Hildegard of Binge, Peter Abelard, Margery Kempe, Thomas à Kempis, Einhard, Marie de France, Andreas Capellanus, Marco Polo, Dante Alighieri, Boccaccio, Chaucer, Christine de Pizan, as well as selections from Beowulf, Song of Roland, and Song of My Cid.

    Table of Contents: Click here to view the Table of Contents for The Middle Ages: Formation of the Western Literary Tradition (PDF).

    For more information about the The  Western Literary Tradition anthology, including the Table of Contents for the complete volume 1 and all four eBook-only selects from volume  1, visit: hackettpublishing.com/literature/anthology.

    Ebook examination copies: To request a RedShelf or VitalSource eBook exam copy of this or other titles in The Western Literary Tradition anthology please complete this form.

    Student Purchase (eBook ISBN 9781624669651): Available now from RedShelfVitalSourceeBooks.com, and participating Follett and Barnes and Noble college bookstores that sell eBooks to students. 

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  38. The Nibelungenlied: with The Klage

    Edited and Translated, with an Introduction, by William T. Whobrey

    "Whobrey's masterful translation of this pair of thirteenth-century texts brings the entire Middle High German story to life for contemporary English-speaking audiences. His Introduction and notes guide the reader’s understanding of the texts and provide an overview of scholarly approaches to them. Scholars will be particularly grateful to Whobrey for providing manuscript variants from the three oldest manuscripts of the Nibelungenlied, allowing modern readers access to medieval interpretations of the story for the first time in English, and showcasing the dynamic nature of medieval storytelling." Kathryn Starkey, Stanford University

    "To say that the translations of both works read well is an understatement. . . . A very significant contribution to medieval literary studies in general and an essential addendum to Nibelungenlied studies in particular. . . . Deserves—and is likely destined—to become the standard translation into English of both the Nibelungenlied and the Klage for decades to come." —Winder McConnell, Emeritus, University of California, Davis

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  39. The Poetic Edda

    Translated and Edited, with Introduction, by Jackson Crawford

    "The poems of the Poetic Edda have waited a long time for a Modern English translation that would do them justice. Here it is at last (Odin be praised!) and well worth the wait. These amazing texts from a 13th-century Icelandic manuscript are of huge historical, mythological and literary importance, containing the lion's share of information that survives today about the gods and heroes of pre-Christian Scandinavians, their unique vision of the beginning and end of the world, etc. Jackson Crawford's modern versions of these poems are authoritative and fluent and often very gripping.  With their individual headnotes and complementary general introduction, they supply today's readers with most of what they need to know in order to understand and appreciate the beliefs, motivations, and values of the Vikings."  —Dick Ringler, Professor Emeritus of English and Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison

    Audiobook: An audiobook edition, narrated by Jackson Crawford, is also available from DownpourAudible, and other audiobook retailers.

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  40. The Prince (Atkinson Edition)

    Niccolo Machiavelli
    Edited and Translated by James B. Atkinson

    "This edition of the The Prince has three distinct and disparate objectives: to provide a fresh and accurate translation; to analyze and find the roots of Machiavelli's thought; and to collect relevant extracts from other works by Machiavelli and some contemporaries, to be used to illuminate and explicate the text. The objectives are all reached with considerable and admirable skill. The reader senses Professor Atkinson's empathy and feeling for even the tiniest movements in Machiavelli's mind. Professor Atkinson has done a great service to students and teachers of Machiavelli, who should certainly welcome this as the most useful edition of The Prince in English. "
         —Mario Domandi, Italica, 1978

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  41. The Prince (Wootton Edition)

    Niccolo Machiavelli
    Translated, with Introduction, by David Wootton

    "This is an excellent, readable and vigorous translation of The Prince, but it is much more than simply a translation. The map, notes and guide to further reading are crisp, to-the-point and yet nicely comprehensive. The inclusion of the letter to Vettori is most welcome. But, above all, the Introduction is so gripping and lively that it has convinced me to include The Prince in my syllabus for History of Western Civilization the next time that I teach it. . . . Great price, too! And lovely printing and layout."
         —Rachel Fulton, University of Chicago

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  42. The Romance of Tristan and Iseut

    Joseph Bédier
    Translated, with an Introduction, by Edward J. Gallagher

    "This edition stands out because it is not a reworking of Belloc's version but a translation of Bédier's actual text. Gone are archaic spellings ("The Little Fakry Bell" becomes "The Enchanted Bell") and abstruse terms (the "Tintagel Minster" now reads as "the church at Tintagel"). Gallagher provides a brief, informative introduction, useful glossaries of proper names and specialized terms, and five well-selected texts about the Tristan legend, including a haunting scene Bédier composed but chose not to use. Beautifully written, this modern English translation proves once again that the love of Tristan and Iseut endures beyond all limits of time and space. Summing up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above."
        —C. B. Kerr, Vassar College, in CHOICE

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  43. The Saga of the Volsungs

    Translated and Edited, with Introduction, by Jackson Crawford

    "This is a wonderfully supple and idiomatic modern translation of the most important account of the legendary Sigurd the Dragon-Slayer and his family in Old Norse-Icelandic literature. Crawford's version is vivid, clear, and exciting, tracing the intrigues, killings, battles, and magic that shape the lives of Sigurd’s kindred. Coupled with it is the brilliant sequel, the Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok. Rarely translated into English before, the saga tells of Sigurd's daughter and her husband, the unparalleled Viking king and hero, Ragnar, who is also a dragon-slayer. Lively and fresh, with gripping dialogue and intense scenes of action, the saga has long deserved to be better known. In Jackson Crawford it has found the perfect translator." —Carolyne Larrington, Professor of Medieval European Literature, University of Oxford

    Audiobook: An audiobook edition, narrated by Jackson Crawford, is available from Downpour, Audible, and other audiobook retailers. Learn more about the audiobook here.

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  44. The Song of Roland

    Translated by John DuVal
    Introduced by David Staines

    "The true poetry of the most well-known French epic springs vividly to life here in an entirely new way. DuVal's unique translation captures the meter and assonance of the original at the same time that it conveys the breathless pace, as simple as it is complex, of one of the most moving tales of all time. One can hear—and feel—the singer of tales speaking to us today. I cannot wait to teach this text in the classroom." —Jody Enders, University of California, Santa Barbara

    "This translation is a substantial improvement over what is otherwise available. . . . The editorial remarks provide a healthy perspective on the religious chauvinism of the poem. . . . I appreciate having the Old French version included. The narrative is clear and engaging and it effectively captures the fast-paced intensity of the original." —Linda Marie Zaerr, Boise State University 

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  45. The Trials of Persiles and Sigismunda

    Cervantes
    Translated by Celia Richmond Weller & Clark A. Colahan

    "[The Persiles] could be thought to stand in the same relation to the Quixote as The Winter's Tale stands to Measure for Measure. . . . The present version really offers the Persiles for the first time in proper English dress.  The translators have delicately balanced the formalities of its chronological age with the friskiness of its spirit: the finished version is just as much fun to read as it obviously was to make.  A fine display of fireworks."
         —Robert M. Adams, The New Republic

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  46. The Wanderer's Hávamál

    Translated and Edited, with Old Norse Text and Related Texts, by Jackson Crawford

    "Hávamál, ‘Words of the High One’—purportedly delivering the wisdom of Odin in his own voice—is one of the most important mythological poems of the Poetic Edda and simply the most important witness to early Norse cultural ethics. Jackson Crawford has now given us a clean text and a new facing-page translation in contemporary idiom. A highly trained linguist, Crawford has already published with Hackett a complete translation of the whole of the famous ancient anthology, the Poetic Edda, and acquired many fans for his YouTube videos teaching Old Norse. Crawford is a poet in his own right with a recognizably Western voice. A scholarly commentary on the whole poem is an accomplishment made palatable for the general reader by Crawford’s informal style. All in all, a fresh start on the mysteries of this classic." —Joseph Harris, Francis Lee Higginson Professor of English Literature and Professor of Folklore, Emeritus, Harvard University

    "Jackson Crawford offers his readers an excellent entry into the world of Hávamál, where the high-god Óðinn from the Old Norse Pantheon mediates some age-old wisdom to his audience. Crawford provides a clear translation that points directly into the original text itself, while his extensive commentary emphasizes its nuances and ambiguity, strips away popular notions of paganism, and draws attention instead to the poem’s universal down-to-earth attitude. The humorous and entertaining cowboy-version that Crawford offers at the end serves as a tribute to the wisdom of his own grandfather, a fitting epilogue that updates this ancient poem which the Christian people of Iceland assembled from oral tradition into a book in the thirteenth century." —Gísli Sigurðsson, Research Professor and Head of the Folklore Department, Árni Magnússon Institute, University of Iceland

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  47. The Western Literary Tradition, Volume 1: The Hebrew Bible to John Milton

    Edited, with Introductions and Notes, by Margaret L. King

    This compact anthology provides a thorough introduction to the major works of the Western literary tradition from Antiquity to 1700 covering the Hebrew Bible to John Milton (see the full Table of Contents in the link below). It includes excerpts from seventy texts translated from eight ancient and modern languages in genres as diverse as epic, lyric, and dramatic verse; prose narrative including story, romance, and novel; and nonfiction prose including autobiography, biography, letter, speech, dialogue, and essay. Further distinguishing this collection is the inclusion of works by women writers often overlooked in other literary anthologies. Margaret L. King's clear, engaging introductions and notes support an informed reading of the texts while extending students’ knowledge of particular authors and problems of interest.

    Table of Contents: Click here to see the full Table of Contents for The Western Literary Tradition, Volume 1 (PDF)

    Ebook flexibility: Find the The Western Literary Tradition eBook solution that best fits your syllabus. In addition to being available as a complete volume in print and eBook formats The Western Literary Tradition: Volume 1 is also available in four affordable ($9.95 each) eBook-only selections: Antiquity: Foundations of Western LiteratureThe Middle Ages: The Formation of the Western Literary TraditionRenaissance Revisions: Recovery and Renewal, and Early Modern: New Horizons. Click here to learn more about the eBook-only selections, and to request instructor eBook exam copies.

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  48. Tristan and Isolde: with Ulrich von Türheim’s Continuation

    Gottfried von Strassburg
    Edited and Translated, with an Introduction, by William T. Whobrey

    "William T. Whobrey conducts Gottfried von Strassburg’s great medieval epic into the twenty-first century. The reader will come for the elegant translation and stay for the scholarship." Alexander Sager, University of Georgia

    "I believe this fluent, accurate, readable translation of Tristan and Isolde will become the standard English edition of Gottfried’s literary masterpiece. Wisely choosing not to recreate the end rhyme of the original, Whobrey has created a text that stays true to the original Middle High German while rendering it into modern English prose. The inclusion of Ulrich von Türheim's Continuation is a great strength of this book. For the first time, English speakers will be able to read Gottfried's work in tandem with Ulrich's and explore—via Whobrey’s discussion of Ulrich's sources—the rich Tristan literary tradition in the Middle Ages and the ways in which Gottfried’s achievement resonated well after his death. The footnotes provide helpful cultural, historical, and interpretive information, and Whobrey's Introduction offers a nice overview of Gottfried's biography, a discussion of Gottfried's important literary excursus, his place within the literature and genres of his time, and the source material for his Tristan. Particularly useful is Whobrey's discussion of the intricate and masterful structure of Gottfried’s text." Scott Pincikowski, Hood College

     

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  49. Troilus and Criseyde in Modern Verse

    Geoffrey Chaucer
    Translated, with notes, by Joseph Glaser
    Introduction by Christine Chism

    This fast-moving Modern English version of Chaucer's greatest tragic romance highlights the poem's rapid shifts in register and diction as well as its subtle and elusive characterizations, while preserving the enchanting rhyme-royal stanza of the Middle English original. Christine Chism's Introduction illuminates the work's historical context, poetic devices, first audiences, sources, and non-traditional re-conception of a traditional female protagonist "whose faults," as Criseyde says, "are rolled on every tongue."

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