In 1828 a young man in rags appeared in the German city of Nurnberg, saying that he'd been kept isolated in a dungeon all of his life. Was he the bastard offshoot of some noble or royal family, secreted away to preserve the honor of the house? Within a few months he was dead under mysterious circumstances, his mystery still unsolved. CASPER HAUSER uses the uproar caused by Hauser's emergence to focus the white heat of the authors' indignation on the systematic maltreatment of individuals solely to spare the feelings of the rich and powerful elements of society. The anger of the playwrights permeates this straightforward, exceptionally powerful tale of a young man who never had a chance of living a normal life. The drama still plays well to a modern audience

This historical play follows a group of young Frenchmen from 1796-1814, as they're swept up in the Napoleonic Wars. Italy, Egypt, Austria, Russia, and France are mere signposts along the way in this epic drama, with the single unifying element being a flag woven by a group of French women in the mid-1790s, and carried by the soldiers throughout the entire length of their almost twenty-year service to the French nation. Adolphe d'Ennery was a master of theatrical spectacle who had a talent for epic and spectacle that only Alexandre Dumas could equal. He's not interested in high literature, but only in the pathos of the theatre. In Scene IX he depicts the stragglers of the defeated French Army returning from Moscow through a bare, frozen landscape, separated from their loved ones on the Russian steppes. First they pass each other, but fail to recognize their comrades-in-arms. Finally they meet, with great emotion, and just as they do...the Cossacks appear This is grand theatrical entertainment, with the same sweep as Tolstoy's War and Peace.

French dramatist Adolphe d'Ennery (1811-1899) follows the Faust story originally developed by Goethe, but with a leavening of humor that the German playwright lacked. Especially entertaining is the character of the female demon Sulphurine, who's created by Faust's servant Wagner to be his slave. Needless to say, this she-devil is no one's mistress Faust initially repels the advances of Mephistopheles, but suddenly finds himself in love with the young woman Marguerite, whom the devil has dangled in front of him. Now he wants the youth and vigor that Old Nibs has offered, and is willing to do whatever's necessary to gain the girl's love. But "love" is not part of the equation, as he discovers to his ultimate dismay. A marvelous--and highly entertaining--version of the Faust legend.

Jules Verne's most famous novel was originally conceived as a play-and had its greatest 19th century success as a stage hit the author himself adapted. Running for thousands of performances in many different countries, including the United States, here is the original playscript, translated directly from the French by the producers of the original Broadway presentation, not published since 1874. Like filmmakers after him, Verne understood the need to make changes for the stage, and in collaboration with Adolphe d'Ennery created a distinct variation, a play with many different characters and episodes than are in the novel. Included in this volume is an introduction about how the play was created and staged, together with the first translation of Verne's essay, "The Meridians and the Calendar," explaining how Phileas Fogg accomplished his feat.

This race-against-the-clock adventure features a mutiny, castaways on a remote island, earthquakes, whale hunting, dastardly villains, man against the elements, a rescue mission, and offbeat humor. There's never a dull moment as "The Children of Captain Grant" search the globe for their long-lost father and brother.

The authors combine elements of Jules Verne's science fiction novels, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, A Journey to the Center of the Earth, and From the Earth to the Moon into a breathtaking work of imagination. First translation into English.

Michael Strogoff, a courier of the Russian Czar, is sent on a perilous mission to deliver a vital message to the Grand Duke, defending Siberia against a Tartar attack. But when Michael is captured and blinded, all appears to be lost. French playwright Adolphe d'Ennery has adapted Jules Verne's classic novel of suspense, and Frank J. Morlock has once again translated this wonderful work into modern English.

Music By Jules Massenet And Translated From The Original French By Frederic Lyster.