February Series of the Month: The Five Foot Shelf of Classics

Celebrate the shortest month of the year by reading Cosimo's February Series of the Month: The Five Foot Shelf of Classics, collected by Charles William Eliot.

Originally published between 1909 and 1917 under the name "Harvard Classics," this stupendous 51-volume set (a collection of the greatest writings from literature, philosophy, history, and mythology) was assembled by American academic Charles William Eliot (1834-1926), Harvard University's longest-serving president. Also known as "Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf," it represented Eliot's belief that a basic liberal education could be gleaned by reading from an anthology of works that could fit on five feet of bookshelf.

Eliot compiled these titles to serve as a "home educator" -- for people who couldn't attend Harvard so they too could get a literary education with some of the best and most well-known classics around the world.

Eliot’s collection was even featured in the memoir: What the Great Books Taught Me About Life, Death, and Pretty Much Everything Else, in which author Christopher Beha details how he turned to these great works for comfort and inspiration during a time of personal struggle. Beha’s memoir illustrates what Eliot believed about The Five Foot Shelf: that the great works of literature are still worth consulting, as a source not just of education, but of edification in every sense of the word.

Cosimo offers this series by individual volume at leading online bookstores or as a full set in hardcover or paperback, especially of interest to historians, collectors, who like to expand their personal library, professional librarians, or for parents wanting their high school kids to learn more before going off to college. Actually it is a must for those of you who want to know the fundamentals of literature, philosophy and history without being muddled by a multitude of platitudes in social media, gaming and never-ending TV shows. If you are interested in purchasing the full set, please contact us.

The collection includes titles such as:

• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
• The Complete Poems of John Milton
• Ben-Hur
• The Origin of Species
• Don Quixote
• The Odyssey
• Beowulf
• Aeneid, and many more

The paperback retail list price for this series is: $1209.49, but now our price is: $969.99 (you save $239.50 or a 20 percent discount)

The hardcover retail list price for this series is: $1784.49, but now our price is: $1429.99 (you save $354.5 or a 20 percent discount)

Shakespeare Unauthorized at Boston Public Library

Ever wanted to find out more about the man behind the world-famous plays like The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Othello, and countless others? The Boston Public Library, through March 31, is showcasing 400 years of literary speculation, adaptations, works, celebrations, and history of William Shakespeare in an exhibit called Shakespeare Unauthorized.

Boston Public Library holds one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of Shakespeare's work, so visitors can learn more about his life, as well as his books, sonnets, and poems, all in his original language and spelling.

Before you plan your trip to Boston, pick up one of our wonderful Cosimo Classics by or about The Bard.

Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

He is the greatest writer in the English language — perhaps in any language — and here, in one compact volume is all the verse even many of those familiar with his plays have never read. In 1593 and 1594, while English theaters were closed in response to the plague, William Shakespeare turned from drama to narrative poems, and published the dyad "Venus and Adonis" and "The Rape of Lucrece," erotic meditations on lust and sexual power. Standing powerfully in opposition to each other, they also differ wildly from Shakespeare's romantic sonnets — all 154 of them are here. 

Life In Shakespeare's England: A Book of Elizabethan Prose by J.D. Wilson

British Shakespearean scholar J.D. Wilson is best remembered for his explications of the Bard, particularly his acclaimed 1935 work What Happens in Hamlet. Here, however, he takes a rather more oblique approach to enlightening us to the world of Shakespeare, gathering together in this 1913 volume writings by contemporaries of the playwright's — some famous, some not — that illuminate the artistic society and ordinary life of Elizabethan England.

Elizabethan Drama I: The Five Foot Shelf of Classics, Vol. XLVI by Christopher Marlowe 

Originally published between 1909-1917 under the name "Harvard Classics," this stupendous 51-volume set-a collection of the greatest writings from literature, philosophy, history, and mythology. Volume XLVI features four of the masterpiece tragedies by the greatest playwright in the English language — William Shakespeare's Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and The Tempest. Also included in this volume is Edward the Second, a 1592 drama of court intrigue, by Christopher Marlowe who greatly influenced Shakespeare's writing and who — some speculate — may actually have penned the plays credited to Shakespeare after faking his own death and taking on an assumed name.

Shakespeare Lexicon, Vol. 1 by Alexander Schmidt

Still often used today, German schoolmaster and philologist Alexander Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon is the source for elucidating the sometimes cryptic language of Shakespeare and tracking down quotations. Volume 1 covers A through L, from "a: the first letter of the alphabet" to "Lysimachus," a proper name. Every word from every play and poem is cataloged, referenced, and defined in this exhaustive two-volume work, the result of arduous research and stalwart dedication. Serious scholars and zealous fans will find the Lexicon the ultimate guide to reading and decoding the Bard.

Shakespeare Lexicon, Vol. 2 by Alexander Schmidt

Still often used today, German schoolmaster and philologist Alexander Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon is the source for elucidating the sometimes cryptic language of Shakespeare and tracking down quotations. Volume 2 covers M through Z, from "Mab: the queen of the fairies" to "Zounds: an oath contracted from God's wounds," and features numerous appendices and supplements on grammar and usage. Every word from every play and poem is cataloged, referenced, and defined in this exhaustive two-volume work, the result of arduous research and stalwart dedication. Serious scholars and zealous fans will find the Lexicon the ultimate guide to reading and decoding the Bard.

September Series of the Month: Five Foot Shelf

Get back into the swing of the school year by reading our September Series of the Month, The Five Foot Shelf of Classics, collected by Charles William Eliot.

Originally published between 1909 and 1917 under the name "Harvard Classics," this stupendous 51-volume set (a collection of the greatest writings from literature, philosophy, history, and mythology) was assembled by American academic Charles William Eliot (1834-1926), Harvard University's longest-serving president. Also known as "Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf," it represented Eliot's belief that a basic liberal education could be gleaned by reading from an anthology of works that could fit on five feet of bookshelf.

Eliot compiled these titles to serve as a "home educator" -- for people who couldn't attend Harvard so they too could get a literary education with some of the best and most well-known classics around the world.

Eliot’s collection was even featured in the memoir: What the Great Books Taught Me About Life, Death, and Pretty Much Everything Else, in which author Christopher Beha details how he turned to these great works for comfort and inspiration during a time of personal struggle. Beha’s memoir illustrates what Eliot believed about The Five Foot Shelf: that the great works of literature are still worth consulting, as a source not just of education, but of edification in every sense of the word.

Cosimo offers this series by individual volume at leading online bookstores or as a full set in hardcover or paperback, especially of interest to historians, collectors, who like to expand their personal library, professional librarians, or for parents wanting their high school kids to learn more before going off to college. Actually it is a must for those of you who want to know the fundamentals of literature, philosophy and history without being muddled by a multitude of platitudes in social media, gaming and never-ending TV shows. If you are interested in purchasing the full set, please contact us.

The collection includes titles such as:

• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
• The Complete Poems of John Milton
• Ben-Hur
• The Origin of Species
• Don Quixote
• The Odyssey
• Beowulf
• Aeneid, and many more

The paperback retail list price for this series is: $1209.49, but now our price is: $969.99 (you save $239.50 or a 20 percent discount)

The hardcover retail list price for this series is: $1784.49, but now our price is: $1429.99 (you save $354.5 or a 20 percent discount)

September Series of the Month: The Five Foot Shelf of Classics

Our bookshelves are overflowing with the fantastic range of titles in our September Series of the Month, The Five Foot Shelf of Classics, collected by Charles William Eliot.

Originally published between 1909 and 1917 under the name "Harvard Classics," this stupendous 51-volume set (a collection of the greatest writings from literature, philosophy, history, and mythology) was assembled by American academic Charles William Eliot (1834-1926), Harvard University's longest-serving president. Also known as "Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf," it represented Eliot's belief that a basic liberal education could be gleaned by reading from an anthology of works that could fit on five feet of bookshelf.

Eliot compiled these titles to serve as a "home educator" -- for people who couldn't attend Harvard so they too could get a literary education with some of the best and most well-known classics around the world. 

Eliot’s collection was even featured in the memoir: What the Great Books Taught Me About Life, Death, and Pretty Much Everything Else, in which author Christopher Beha details how he turned to these great works for comfort and inspiration during a time of personal struggle. Beha’s memoir illustrates what Eliot believed about The Five Foot Shelf: that the great works of literature are still worth consulting, as a source not just of education, but of edification in every sense of the word.

Cosimo offers this series by individual volume at leading online bookstores or as a full set in hardcover or paperback, especially of interest to historians, collectors, who like to expand their personal library, professional librarians, or for parents wanting their high school kids to learn more before going off to college. Actually it is a must for those of you who want to know the fundamentals of literature, philosophy and history without being muddled by a multitude of platitudes in social media, gaming and neverending TV shows. If you are interested in purchasing the full set, please contact us.

The collection includes titles such as:

• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

• The Complete Poems of John Milton

• Ben-Hur

• The Origin of Species

• Don Quixote,

• The Odyssey

• Beowulf

• Aeneid, and many more

The paperback retail list price for this series is: $1209.49, but now our price is: $969.99 (you save $239.50 or a 20 percent discount)

The hardcover retail list price for this series is: $1784.49, but now our price is: $1429.99 (you save $354.5 or a 20 percent discount)

September Series of the Month: Better than a Harvard Education - The Five Foot Shelf of Classics

Our bookshelves are overflowing with the fantastic range of titles in our September Series of the Month, The Five Foot Shelf of Classics, collected by Charles William Eliot.

Originally published between 1909 and 1917 under the name "Harvard Classics," this stupendous 51-volume set (a collection of the greatest writings from literature, philosophy, history, and mythology) was assembled by American academic Charles William Eliot (1834-1926), Harvard University's longest-serving president. Also known as "Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf," it represented Eliot's belief that a basic liberal education could be gleaned by reading from an anthology of works that could fit on five feet of bookshelf.

Eliot compiled these titles to serve as a "home educator" -- for people who couldn't attend Harvard so they too could get a literary education with some of the best and most well-known classics around the world. 

Eliot’s collection was even featured in the memoir: What the Great Books Taught Me About Life, Death, and Pretty Much Everything Else, in which author Christopher Beha details how he turned to these great works for comfort and inspiration during a time of personal struggle. Beha’s memoir illustrates what Eliot believed about The Five Foot Shelf: that the great works of literature are still worth consulting, as a source not just of education, but of edification in every sense of the word.

Cosimo offers this series by individual volume at leading online bookstores or as a full set in hardcover or paperback, especially of interest to historians, collectors, who like to expand their personal library, or professional librarians. Actually it is a must for those of you who want to know the fundamentals of literature, philosophy and history without being muddled by a multitude of platitudes in social media, gaming and neverending TV shows. If you are interested in purchasing the full set, please contact us.

The collection includes titles such as:

• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

• The Complete Poems of John Milton

• Ben-Hur

• The Origin of Species

• Don Quixote,

• The Odyssey

• Beowulf

• Aeneid, and many more

The paperback retail list price for this series is: $1209.49, but now our price is: $969.99 (you save $239.50 or a 20 percent discount)

The hardcover retail list price for this series is: $1784.49, but now our price is: $1429.99 (you save $354.5 or a 20 percent discount)

Special Offer! Cosimo Series and Collections on Sale for CYBER MONDAY!

Now that the turkey and stuffing has settled and Christmas shopping is in full swing, Cosimo invites you to take advantage of a special Cyber Monday (and Week After Thanksgiving) Special on our Classic Series and Collections.

In our bookstore, we offer a wide variety of discounted classic series, from Arabian Nights, to The Complete Works of Charles Dickens, The Works of Eugene Field, and even our Five Foot Shelf of Classics, a 51-volume set of Harvard Classics that ranges a variety of genres, time periods, and authors.

These collections, also available for purchase as individual titles, are already discounted at 20% off the list price. Starting Monday, November 26 through Friday, November 30, you can take advantage of our Week After Thanksgiving Special with a another 10% off the already discounted price, plus free shipping and handling in the continental U.S.! And if you call to order on Cyber Monday, you get free shipping and handling plus 20% off the already-discounted price! That's almost 40% savings off of the list price, and applies to ANY of the collections and series in our bookstore! Take advantage of this deal to buy presents for family and friends that can be shared and enjoyed for years to come. Hurry, it's only good for the week after Thanksgiving, so be sure to call and order on Monday!

And as you're looking at book collections that make great gifts, don't forget our cryptozoology set, The Curiosities of Natural History, along with all our other Loren Coleman presents cryptozoology titles. Loren Coleman is a world-renowned cryptozoologist, known for his investigations into Bigfoot, Mothman, and other modern legends. Cosimo offers a collection of classics titles about similar wonders, such as the Abominable Snowman, werewolves, sea serpents, and more. If you're looking for a gift this season for someone who's into myteries and myths, and might be a little hard to shop for, any of our Loren Coleman Presents titles is sure to satisfy their curiosity and urge to discover more about the unknown. To read more about Loren Coleman and his work, visit his website at cryptomundo.com.