Books in the Mint Editions series

What does it mean to live a life of completeness? And how far must one go to understand the pain of others? Is change truly possible? This is the story that proves that it is. In what could be described as equal parts self-help book and a novelistic guide to spiritual awakening, Siddhartha has been hailed as prolific and unlike any other.Growing up, Siddhartha never experienced true pain. He was sheltered, as many are, turning a blind eye when the hardships of daily life made itself visible to the peasantry around him. Awakening from a hazy reverie that has shielded Siddhartha from the inevitable, he vows to make a change. With the hope of finding a deeper and resounding life's purpose, Siddhartha, a young man living in the ancient Indian kingdom of Kapilavastu, embarks on a journey of self-discovery and actualization. Accompanied by his best friend Govinda, the pair abandon the comfort of their old life by trading their material possessions for what they hope will be eternal enlightenment. Ridding themselves completely of the comforts of their previous life, the duo vow to a life of attempted purity. In a world where suffering is inevitable, Siddhartha hopes that by experiencing the pain so many face, only then will he find the true meaning of life. Siddhartha, written by German author Hermann Hessein 1951, is a tale of self-discovery and spiritual awakening. The novel as a whole explores the totality of the human experience, of what it means to abandon the parameters of comfort and routine in search for a higher calling.

Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905) is a novel by English author E.M. Forster. The work was Forster's first novel, and its success helped launch his lengthy and critically acclaimed career as a writer of literary fiction. Where Angels Fear to Tread--the title is drawn from Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism (1711)--is a moving meditation on class, gender, social convention, and the grieving process. Following the death of her husband, a widow named Lilia Herriton travels to Tuscany with her friend Caroline Abbott. In Italy, Lilia falls in love with a young Italian named Gino, with whom she decides to remain. This prompts a fierce backlash among members of her deceased husband's family, who privilege their honor and name over Lilia's happiness. Although they send Philip, her brother-in-law, to Italy in order to retrieve her, Lilia has already married Gino, and is pregnant with their child. When she dies in childbirth, however, a fight ensues over the care of the boy, whom the Herritons want to be raised as an Englishman in their midst. Philip returns to Italy with his sister Harriet, meeting Caroline and devising a plan to wrest control of the boy from Gino, a loving and caring father. Where Angels Fear to Tread is a novel that traces the consequences of selfish decisions, the politics of family life, and the social conventions which hold women prisoner to those who claim to support them. The novel was an immensely successful debut for Forster, who would go on to become one of England's most popular and critically acclaimed novelists of the twentieth century. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of E.M. Forster's Where Angels Fear to Tread is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.

The Flowers of Evil (1857) is a collection of poems by Charles Baudelaire. Translated into English by Cyril Scott in 1909, Baudelaire¿s poems remain lively and idiosyncratic nearly two centuries after they came into existence. Comprised mostly of sonnets and short lyrics, The Flowers of Evil captures Baudelaire¿s sense of the changing role of the poet in modern life. Rather than focus on beauty and other ideals, Baudelaire explores the totality of human experience¿the good, bad, and ugly of life on earth. ¿When by the changeless Power of a Supreme Decree / The poet issues forth upon this sorry sphere, / His mother, horrified, and full of blasphemy, / Uplifts her voice to God, who takes compassion on her.¿ In his opening benediction, Baudelaire reverses the typical trope of invoking the muses or celebrating poetry as a divine gift. Instead, he depicts the poet as a being cursed, a ¿hideous Child of Doom.¿ Childhood for Baudelaire is a subject of particular interest, a time described, in his poem ¿The Enemy,¿ as ¿a ravaging storm, / Enlivened at times by a brilliant sun¿¿ The youthful experience of melancholy clearly informs the poet¿s outlook as an adult: ¿Time devours our lives, / And the enemy black, which consumeth our hearts / On the blood of our bodies, increases and thrives!¿ While much of Baudelaire¿s work deals with darkness and despair, his poems can rise to the heights of celebration and ecstasy, his voice soft and sweet as he invites his sister on a journey to an imagined land of ¿order and loveliness, / Luxury, calm and voluptuousness.¿ Ultimately, Baudelaire¿s vision¿however irreverent¿is guided by truth and morality, which drive him on a torturous path from good to evil, beauty to death, and back. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Flowers of Evil is a classic of French literature reimagined for modern readers.

A collection of both philosophical and pragmatic musings divided into 28 prose poetry fables, The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran has become an emblem of spiritual awakening and inspiration for readers everywhere. Speaking to the multi-dimensional facets of everyday life, Gibran has managed to write a manifesto of human existence, tackling issues central to any reader.

Fantastic and Horrific Stories is a collection of short fiction by Arthur Machen. Condemned as decadent and obscene upon publication, Machen's writing earned praise from Oscar Wilde and H. P. Lovecraft. Throughout the years, Machen's work has been referenced and adapted by such figures as Stephen King, Guillermo del Toro, and Josh Malerman for its masterfully unsettling blend of science, myth, and magic. The Great God Pan, perhaps Machen's most celebrated work, is the story of an occult experiment gone horribly wrong. Clarke has always taken an interest in occult matters, so when a friend offers him a chance to witness an experimental procedure intended to access the spirit realm, he cannot refuse. When the young patient Mary awakens, she shows signs of terror and soon falls into a catatonic state. Convinced of their success in discovering the world of "the great god Pan," Clarke and Raymond agree to keep their discovery a secret. Years later, a nearby town begins reporting the mysterious disappearances of young children, all of whom have been seen in the forest with a young woman named Helen Vaughn.In ?The White People,? originally published in Horlick's Magazine in 1904, a Welshman receives the diary of a young girl introduced to witchcraft. Surprisingly well-kept for its age, the green book accompanies Cotgrave on a journey through the lush countryside. Its pages contain the diary of a young girl who, encouraged by her nurse, immerses herself in the world of magic. As she grows adept in the ways of witchcraft, the girl begins referring to strange beings and unknown places, all while doing her best to conceal her secret life from friends and family.The Hill of Dreams is a semi-autobiographical novel about a young man who begins having strange visions after visiting an ancient Roman fort near his rural Welsh home. Published alongside ?The Inmost Light,? ?The Shining Pyramid,? The Terror, ?Out of the Earth,? and Ornaments in Jade, these tales by Arthur Machen showcase his gift for illuminating the presence of the supernatural in everyday life.With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Arthur Machen's Fantastic and Horrific Stories is a classic of British horror fiction reimagined for modern readers.

Fanny Hill: or, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (1749) is an erotic novel and early work of pornography by English author John Cleland. Written while Cleland was in prison, the novel was both successful and controversial, banned from publication but widely distributed in pirated and heavily edited copies. Fanny Hill: or, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure was the subject of numerous court cases, including a prominent United States Supreme Court decision in 1966 which found that the book did not violate obscenity laws.Using extensive euphemism, Cleland¿s novel is the story of Frances ¿Fanny¿ Hill. Narrated in two letters to a friend known only as ¿Madam,¿ the book traces Fanny¿s early life as an orphan-turned-prostitute. After the death of her parents from smallpox, Fanny moves from Lancashire to London to work at a brothel, where she witnesses and participates in numerous sexual acts with women and men of all ages. When her lover Charles is sent abroad, Fanny becomes the mistress of a wealthy merchant who later abandons her. While earning a living working for wealthy clients in a high-end brothel, Fanny witnesses wilder and increasingly dangerous sexual encounters, eventually retiring to a life as the lover of an older intellectual. Recognized as an early and controversial pornographic novel, Fanny Hill: or, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure is important for its groundbreaking depictions of queer sex and fetish and continues to be read and studied to this day.With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of John Cleland¿s Fanny Hill: or, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure is a classic of pornographic and erotic literature reimagined for modern readers.

Erewhon, an anagram for "nowhere," is a faraway land where citizens follow a unique set of rules disregarding conventional beliefs about money, health and science. Beneath the surface, Erewhon is fueled by hypocrisy and inhabitants are riddled with fear.A traveler stumbles across a remote country that appears to be a peaceful paradise. It's a utopian society that doesn't use or value money in a traditional way. Criminals are considered sick and treated as patients, while the ill are imprisoned and labeled as criminals. There's also an overwhelming distrust of machines, which are outlawed due to their potential to evolve and overthrow their masters. Erewhon's superficial qualities grow to become a source of contempt and distrust. Erewhon illustrates a world where an attempt to correct the ills of society causes more harm than good. It's a profound examination of Victorian ethics, benefiting a minority over the majority. Butler's groundbreaking novel has significantly influenced multiple writers in literature and beyond.With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Erewhon is both modern and readable.

Uncovering a governmental conspiracy to frame a friend for murder puts David Balfour on the run and striving to protect the woman he's come to love.Released with the title David Balfour when originally released in the United States, Catriona is Robert Louis Stevenson's follow-up to Kidnapped. David Balfour, hero of both books, is made a target by his willingness to testify in favor of a friend falsely accused of murder. His stubborn sense of justice will get him challenged to a duel in which he is clearly overmatched, plotted against, pursued and kidnapped once again. In the midst of the action a fledgling romance appears, as David meets the endearing Catriona, a woman more than a few readers have also been smitten with. Misunderstandings, conniving family members and outright villains combine to keep them from one another and their romance seems doomed before it begins. The story rolls along against a richly depicted historical backdrop of the 18th century, with the author stirring many historical characters, places, and even ships into his tale of adventure and long-suffering love rewarded at last. First published in 1893, Catriona was the last novel the author completed on his own before his untimely death at 44 years of age.With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Catriona is both modern and readable.

The Beach of Dreams (1919) is a novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole. Although he is more widely known for his novel The Blue Lagoon (1908), which inspired the 1980 hit drama starring Brooke Shields, Stacpoole was a prolific bestselling author whose dozens of literary works allow the reader to enter the world of nautical adventure. "It was as though deep in his being lay a blazing hatred born of injustice through ages and only coming to light when upborne by balloon-juice. On these occasions a saloon bar with its glitter and phantom show of mirth and prosperity sometimes called on him to dispense and destroy it, the passion to fight the crowd seized him, a passion that has its origin, perhaps, in sources other than alcohol." In his youth, Henry De Vere Stacpoole sailed across the South Pacific as a ship's doctor, gathering the raw imaginative materials that would inspire dozens of romance and adventure novels. In The Beach of Dreams, a yacht collides with a fishing vessel in the middle of the South Pacific, leaving few alive. The survivors-a rich woman and a pair of weathered sailors-attempt to survive on a nearby island, but soon the men prove impossible to trust. In her darkest hour, Cléo de Bromsart encounters Raft, a brash and brave fisherman with striking red hair and a hatred of injustice. Together, they form an alliance against the elements and await their day of rescue. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Henry De Vere Stacpoole's The Beach of Dreams is a classic of British literature reimagined for modern readers.

Hamlet (1601) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Inspired by Danish historian Saxo Grammatica's legend of Amleth, which Shakespeare likely encountered in a retelling by French scholar Francois de Belleforest, Hamlet was written sometime between 1599 and 1601. Alongside Romeo and Juliet, it is one of Shakespeare's most performed plays and has served as source material for countless film and television adaptations. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." For his wit and wordplay alone, William Shakespeare is often considered the greatest writer to ever work in the English language. Where he truly triumphs, however, is in his ability to portray complex human emotions, how these emotions contribute to relationships, and how these relationships interact with politics, culture, and religion. Hamlet is a story of things seen and unseen. Ghosts, assassins, shadowy plots, a play within a play, lengthy asides-its universe swirls with paranoia and fear, allowing us to enter the mind of its troubled protagonist. When the ghost of his father appears on the castle rampart, Danish prince Hamlet grows increasingly suspicious of his uncle Polonius' role in the former king's death. As his relationships with Ophelia, his lover, and Gertrude, his mother, begin to sour, Hamlet loses sight of his duties as a leader. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of William Shakespeare's Hamlet is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.

Two cousins are stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific. Their only hope is the ship¿s galley cook, the lone crewman to survive of the shipwreck. The gregarious Paddy teaches Dick and Emmeline the necessary skills to thrive in a hostile environment, forming them into capable young adults. The Blue Lagoon is a novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole.

An American Tragedy (1925) is a novel by Theodore Dreiser. Written and rewritten over a number of years, An American Tragedy is a weighty epic with a cleareyed vision of the decay at the heart of industrialized society. Based on the murder of Grace Brown in 1906, the novel proved controversial for its depiction of depravity and violence, but has endured as a classic of naturalist fiction and remains a powerful example of social critique nearly a century after its publication. A young Midwesterner bucks against his puritan upbringing, drinking with acquaintances and frequenting prostitutes when he isn¿t busy working any number of thankless jobs. As friends and lovers come and go, he fails to find footing in a society fueled by ambition and cunning. Forced to flee Kansas City after a deadly auto accident, Clyde moves to Chicago before settling in Lycurgus, New York, where he meets a young farmgirl named Roberta Allen. When she becomes pregnant, Clyde begins to feel his dreams of freedom fade, and longs for a way out of marriage. Desperate and confused, he turns to a beautiful socialite named Sondra Finchley, the daughter of a local factory owner. Clyde knows what he should dömarry Roberta, settle down, raise a family¿but his reckless ways refuse to remain in the past. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Theodore Dreiser¿s An American Tragedy is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.

The Stone Axe of Burkamukk (1922) is a collection of Aboriginal legends by Mary Grant Bruce. The product of extensive research on the Aboriginal peoples of Gippsland, Victoria, Bruce's collection was intended to educate Australian settlers regarding the traditions of those they had displaced. Despite drawing criticism for her use of racist stereotypes, Bruce's hope was that her work would force her fellow settlers to "see that they were boys and girls, men and women, not so unlike us in many ways, and that they could admire what we admire in each other." Recognizing her prejudices as a product of her time, one can appreciate The Stone Axe of Burkamukk as a record of Aboriginal tales as well as the writer's status in settler-colonial society. "The camp lay calm and peaceful under the spring sunlight. Burkamukk, the chief, had chosen its place well: the wurleys were built in a green glade well shaded with blackwood and boobyalla trees, and with a soft thick carpet of grass, on which the black babies loved to roll. Not a hundred yards away flowed a wide creek; a creek so excellent that it fed a swamp a little farther on." As the chief of a prosperous people, Burkamukk is both respected and feared by the inhabitants of the Australian bush. His stone axe, made with a sapling handle by the best craftsman of the tribe, is a symbol of his power and a useful tool for hunting. A generous leader, he often lends his axe to members of his tribe in return for a modest tribute. One day, when a hunting party comes back from a deadly encounter with a legendary kangaroo, Burkamukk swears an oath to avenge his lost tribesman. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Mary Grant Bruce's The Stone Axe of Burkamukk is a classic of Australian literature reimagined for modern readers.

Innocent (1914) is a novel by Marie Corelli. Published at the height of Corelli's career as one of the most successful writers of her generation, the novel combines fantasy and romance to tell a story of self-discovery, ambition, and the ideals of the early feminist movement. Due for reassessment by a modern audience, Innocent is a must read for fans of Victorian literature. Abandoned as a baby, Innocent is raised by Hugo Jocelyn on the ancestral farm of Sieur Amadis, a legendary French knight. Growing up in this idyllic setting, Innocent develops a love for medieval literature while constructing elaborate fantasies about her mysterious origins. When Jocelyn dies, he reveals the identity of her parents: Lady Blythe, a noblewoman; and Pierce Armitage, an artist. Forced to face reality for the first time in her life, Innocent makes her way to London, where she begins a promising career as a professional writer. Despite her early success, Innocent encounters a friend of her parents who, unbeknownst to her, reveals her whereabouts and sets the stage for their reconciliation. While Armitage, now in Italy, prepares to rekindle their relationship, Innocent falls for a vain, manipulative young man who promises her marriage while harboring his own secret motives. Innocent is a tale of a young woman true to her name, a talented and promising young artist who must learn fast in order to avoid disaster. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Marie Corelli's Innocent is a classic work of English literature reimagined for modern readers.

The Sailor's Return (1925) is a novel by David Garnett. Published several years after Garnett was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Hawthornden Prize for Lady into Fox (1922), his fourth novel explores themes of race and empire while showcasing the author's original-and often controversial-literary style. "He was in no hurry to go ashore, and waited half an hour for the confusion to be straightened out on board, and the turmoil to subside on land, before he motioned to the young negro who accompanied him to bear a hand with a large basket of woven grass." Arriving home in Dorset, England aboard the Duke of Kent, mariner William Targett brings a young African woman and child with him. Soon, the hostile townspeople discover that the woman is not only William's wife, but that he is the father of her child. Despite their love, despite their attempts to live peacefully, the racist attitudes of Targett's countrymen make it impossible to live safely in England, and soon lead to unspeakable tragedy. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of David Garnett's The Sailor's Return is a classic work of British literature reimagined for modern readers.

The Haunted Bookshop (1919) is a novel by Christopher Morley. Although less popular than Kitty Foyle (1939), a novel adapted into an Academy Award-winning film, The Haunted Bookshop is a fast-paced thriller that deserves a modern audience. From unassuming beginnings as a tale about a lovelorn advertising salesman who visits a charming bookstore, The Haunted Bookshop quickly morphs into a story of paranoia, stalking, and kidnapping. ¿If you are ever in Brooklyn, that borough of superb sunsets and magnificent vistas of husband-propelled baby-carriages, it is to be hoped you may chance upon a quiet by-street where there is a very remarkable bookshop.¿ In need of a new client, Aubrey Gilbert steps into a bookstore on a quiet Brooklyn street. There, he meets Roger Mifflin, the store¿s owner, who inundates the adman with information on the value of books. Although he fails to get Mifflin¿s business, Gilbert is drawn to Titania Chapman, the man¿s beautiful young assistant who just so happens to be the daughter of Gilbert¿s most important client. As mysterious occurrences begin to pile up¿a valuable book is stolen, Gilbert is assaulted, and a strange man is found lurking in the alleyway behind the store¿it becomes clear that Titania is in grave danger. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Christopher Morley¿s The Haunted Bookshop is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Firecrackers: A Realistic Novel (1925) is a novel by Carl Van Vechten. Published in the same year as F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Anita Loos' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Van Vechten's novel has been recognized as an important document of the Jazz Age, a decade of bohemian excess and artistic experimentation that changed the shape of American and European culture. "You must think of a group of people in terms of a packet of firecrackers. You ignite the first cracker and the flash fires the fuse of the second, and so on, until, after a series of crackling detonations, the whole bunch has exploded, and nothing survives but a few torn and scattered bits of paper, blackened with powder." In Van Vechten's novel, an explosive group of friends welcomes a handsome young man into their midst. Gunnar O'Grady, an athlete and a jack of all trades, soon becomes an object of obsession for men and women alike. As he tries to satisfy their needs and desires while working to support himself, he begins to question the meaning of friendship itself. Firecrackers: A Realistic Novel, Van Vechten's fourth novel, is a fascinating work of fiction from a man who was always one step ahead of the rest. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Carl Van Vechten's Firecrackers: A Realistic Novel is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Peter Whiffle (1922) is a novel by Carl Van Vechten. Framing himself as his character's literary executor, Van Vechten provides a satirical self portrait of his unusual life in the arts through the lens of a man whose sole gift is to identify and move with the avant-garde. Peter Whiffle is a writer who never writes. Throughout his travels, he claims to be researching for an important work of literature but mostly provides humorous portraits of some of the greatest artists, dancers, and writers of his time. In this way, he proves himself much more of a mirror than a window--like Van Vechten likely sensed of his own writing, Whiffle is a man who reflects the success and genius of others much more than he offers his own. Travelling between New York City and Europe, Whiffle becomes a figure who defines his generation through keen wit and tongue-in-cheek wisdom, a tour guide to a vast land of cultural creation and bohemian excess. Peter Whiffle, Van Vechten's debut novel, is a fascinating work of fiction from a man who was always one step ahead of the rest. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Carl Van Vechten's Peter Whiffle is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.