Many contemporary editions of St. Augustine's "Confessions" end with Chapter Ten on the grounds that what follows is uninteresting; uninteresting, publishers contend, because 'Confessions' is supposed to be juicy biography, not philosophy. The sins -- the thieving (in one scene, he even pilfers fruit

Classical & biblical literature, Contemplative, Elegant, Religious, Sincere

The period between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, though a time of cultural ferment in the former colonies, was marked by an identity crisis. It was a time when the country was young and the influence of European art and philosophy was strong. The most praised writers were sycophants: Cooper wrote

Ecstatic, Elegant, Pathos, Pioneering, Sincere, Transcendentalism, Witty

Dark, Gritty, Pathos, Political, Realist fiction, Sincere, Urban, Victorian

E.M. Forster once said that if he had to choose between betraying his country and his friends, he hoped he'd have the courage to betray the former. This preference for personal loyalty over patriotism reveals the core of Forster's values, the liberalism that he brought to his fictional explorations o

Bloomsbury, Elegant, Homoerotic, Political, Sincere, Witty