In the woods, in the deep woods, was an open glade in which stood the house of the forester Stephan. The house was built of logs packed with moss, and the roof was thatched with straw; hard by the house stood two outbuildings; in front of it was a piece of fenced-in ground, and an old well with a long, crooked sweep; the water in the well was covered with a green vegetation at the edges. Opposite the windows grew sunflowers and wild hollyhocks, high, stately, and covered with blossoms as if with a swarm of gorgeous butterflies; between the sunflowers there peeped the red heads of the poppy; around the hollyhocks entwined sweet peas with pink blossoms and morning-glories; close to the ground grew nasturtiums, marigolds, primroses, and asters, pale because they were shaded from the sunlight by the leaves of the hollyhocks and sunflowers. The fenced ground on either side of the pathway leading to the house was planted with vegetables—carrots, beets, and cabbage; further off in a separate fenced-in lot there waved with each breath of wind the tender blue flower of the flax; still beyond could be seen the dark green of the potato patch; the rest of the clearing was checkered with the variegated shades of the different cereals that ran to the edge of the lake which touched the glade on one side. Near to the house a few trees were growing. Some were cherry trees, and one was a birch, with long, slender branches which swayed in the wind, and with every breeze its leaves touched the dilapidated moss-covered straw thatch of the roof; when the stronger gusts of wind bent its boughs to the wall, and pressed its twigs and the waves of leaves against the roof, it would seem as if the tree loved the house and embraced it. In this tree the sparrows made their home; the rustling of the leaves and twigs commingled with the chirp and joyous noise of the birds; in the eaves of the house the doves had built their nests, and the place was filled with their speech, cooing and calling to each other, entreating and discussing as is customary between doves, these noisy and talkative people. At times it happened that they were startled by some unknown cause; then around the house was heard a loud flapping, the air was filled with the whirl of wings and a multitude of white-feathered breasts; you could hear tumult, noise and excited cries—the whole flock flew out suddenly, circled round the house, now near, now far off. Sometimes they melted in the blue, sometimes their white feathers reflected the sunlight, again they hung over the house, undulating in the air, and alighting at last like a downfall of snowflakes on the gray straw of the roof. If this occurred in the rosy morning or in the splendor of the red setting sun, then in the glory of the air these doves were not white, but tinted pink, and settled on the roof and birch tree as flames or scattered rose leaves. At twilight, when the sun had hidden itself beyond the woods, this cooing under the roof and chirping in the birch tree became gradually quiet. The sparrows and the doves shook the dew from their wings and prepared to sleep; sometimes one of them gave voice once more, but more rarely, more softly, more drowsily, and then all was silent—the dusk was falling from the heavens upon the earth. The house, cherry trees, and birch were losing their form, mingling together, melting, and veiled in a mist which rose from the lake. Around the glade, as far as the eye could reach, there stretched the wall of dark pine trees and thick undergrowth. This wall was broken in one place by a wide dividing line, which reached to the edge of the lake. The lake was a very large one, the opposite side was nearly lost to view, and in the mist could be hardly discerned the red roof and steeple of a church, and the black line of the woods closing the horizon beyond the church.

Originally published in 1971, this book outlines the period of Germany’s belated industrial revolution and suggests why German literature does not, before the 1880s, contribute to the tradition of European realism. It considers the alternatives to realism offered in three genres of drama, poetry and prose fiction. The book closely analyses specific texts, both in the original and in translation, with comparisons with non-German works.

This is a new annotated translation of the Greek poems of Theocritus of Syracuse (first half of the third century BC), the inventor of "bucolic" or "pastoral" poetry, the principal model for Virgil in the Eclogues, and hence a major figure in the literary traditions that antiquity bequeathed to Western literature.

An American Idyll: The Life of Carleton H. Parker, by Cornelia Stratton Parker, is a heartfelt and intimate biography of Carleton H. Parker, a prominent American economist and labor reformer whose life was dedicated to understanding and improving the conditions of the working class. Written by his wife, Cornelia, this book provides a deeply personal and insightful look into Parker's life, his passionate commitment to social justice, and his groundbreaking work in the field of industrial relations. Cornelia Stratton Parker offers readers a glimpse into the private and professional life of her husband, highlighting his innovative ideas and the profound impact he had on American labor policies. The biography is not only a tribute to Carleton H. Parker's achievements but also a reflection on the ideals and challenges of early 20th-century America. Through personal anecdotes, letters, and reflections, Cornelia creates a vivid portrait of a man whose vision and dedication helped shape a more equitable society. An American Idyll: The Life of Carleton H. Parker is celebrated for its emotional depth and its exploration of the intersection between personal and social ideals. Cornelia Stratton Parker’s eloquent writing and candid storytelling make this book a significant contribution to the understanding of American history and social reform. Readers are drawn to An American Idyll: The Life of Carleton H. Parker for its honest portrayal of a remarkable life and its exploration of themes of love, loss, and social change. This book is a must-read for those interested in biographies and the history of social movements. Owning a copy of An American Idyll is to own a piece of American history that continues to inspire.

Resonating with contemporary ecological and queer theory, this book pioneers the theorization of the Victorian idyll, establishing its nature, lineaments, and significance as a formal mode widely practised in nineteenth-century British culture across media and genre. Chapters trace the Victorian idyll’s emergence in the 1830s, its flourishing in the 1860s, and its evolution up to the century’s close, drawing attention to the radicalism of idyllic experiments with pictorial, photographic, dramatic, literary, and poetic form in the work of canonical and lesser-known figures. Approaching the idyll through three intersecting categories—subject, ecology, and form—this book remaps Victorian culture, reshaping thinking about artistic form in the nineteenth century, and recalibrating accepted chronologies. In the representations by a host of Victorian artists and writers engaging with other-than-human forms, and in the natures of the subjectivities animated by these encounters, we find versions of Victorian ecology providing provocative imaginative material for ecocritics, scholars, writers, and artists today. This book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, English literature, Victorian studies, British history, queer and trans* theory, musicology, and ecocriticism, and will enliven debates pertaining to the environmental across periods.

A Vermont Idyll By: Laurence Grey A Vermont Idyll is a collection of memoirs of a rather unfeeling, coldhearted professor who, for many years, leads what he considers to be a charmed life. He is successful, reasonably happy, and totally unconcerned with the feelings of others. Even a series of misfortunes can hardly dent his feeling of invulnerability. But then he undergoes a revolutionary transformation of his entire being when he encounters the one great, and seemingly hopeless, love of his life—at the age of eighty-four! This unusual tale of torment and love is also in an extremely unusual memoir, which even makes use of a short two-act play to vividly portray the emotional undercurrents at work, as the secrets of a terrible past are revealed and a pledge ushers in a new life. There is, however, more to this story than meets the eye as the reader, confronted with a surprising revelation in the epilogue, will finally discover.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1869.