Night and Day (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (U)

some include illustrations of historical interest. &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics &&L/I&&Rpulls together a constellation of influences―biographical, historical, and literary―to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&LP style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&&R &&L/P&&R&&LP style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&&RA long neglected masterpiece, &&LI&&RNight and Day&&L/I&&R reveals &&LB&&RVirginia Woolf&&L/B&&R’s mastery of the traditional English novel. With its classic comic structure, minutely observed characters, and delicate irony, Woolf’s second novel has invited comparison to the works of Shakespeare, Mozart, and Jane Austen.&&LBR&&R&&LBR&&RSet in Edwardian London, &&LI&&RNight and Day&&L/I&&R contrasts the lives of two friends, Katherine Hilbery and Mary Datchet. Katherine is the bored, frustrated granddaughter of an eminent English poet. She lives at her parents’ home and is engaged to a prig who exemplifies the stultifying life from which she wishes to be free, until she meets a possible avenue of escape in the person of Ralph Denham. Mary Datchet, on the other hand, represents an alternative to marriage―she has been to college, lives on her own, and finds fulfillment in working for the women’s rights movement.&&LBR&&R&&LBR&&RAs the story dances delightfully among the novel’s brilliantly drawn characters, serious questions about the nature of romance arise. Is love real or illusory? Can love and marriage coexist? Is love necessary for happiness? &&LBR&&R&&L/P&&R&&LP style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&&R&&LSTRONG&&RRachel Wetzsteon&&L/B&&R &&L/B&&Ris Assistant Professor of English at William Paterson University. She has published two books of poems, &&LI&&RThe Other Stars&&L/I&&R and &&LI&&RHome and Away&&L/I&&R.&&L/P&&R&&L/DIV&&R