Journey through Harvard University president Charles Eliot’s “five-foot shelf” of classics. This collection, first published in the early 1900s, remains one of the most comprehensive and well-researched anthologies of all time. Making good on earlier claims that he could fit the elements of a liberal education on a five-foot shelf, Eliot gathered this collection of key works, together with English professor William Neilson—who selected editions and wrote introductions. The massive collection covers major literary figures, philosophers, theologians, folklore, and historical subjects through the end of the nineteenth century. Originally published as a 51-volume collection of classics, the rise of modernism prompted Dr. Eliot to create an additional 20-volume collection of fiction—“The Shelf of Fiction”—to supplement his first collection. These two collections come together to create The Harvard Classics and Fiction Collection (71 vols.). Among...

Enrich your study of early English history with over 25,000 historical documents and literary works. Spanning from the first works mass produced in English to the end of the seventeenth century, this collection provides insight into sixteenth and seventeenth century English literature, politics, and culture.

Teach and train the next generation with this library of resources devoted to helping young people become better grounded in Scripture and the classics. Build on the foundation laid by those who came before using digital tools that enhance the great deposit of the past.

Explore important essays from English, Scottish, and Irish writers such as Sir Philip Sidney, Jonathan Swift, Samuel Johnson, Daniel Defoe, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and David Hume. The Harvard Classics Journey through “Dr. Eliot’s Five Foot Shelf.” This massive collection, designed to provide the elements of a liberal education, was compiled by distinguished Harvard University president Charles Eliot in the early 1900s. Packed with the essential works of the Western classical tradition, the Harvard Classics collection remains one of the most comprehensive and well-researched anthologies of all time—a must-have library for students and lovers of the classics. Check out the complete The Harvard Classics and Fiction Collection. Keep reading with Harvard Classics, vol. 29: Voyage of the Beagle. Contents Include The Defence of Poesy, by Sir Philip Sidney Of Agriculture, by Abraham Cowley The Vision of Mirza and Westminster Abbey, by Joseph Addison ...

The Renaissance was a period of time known for its intellectual rise in literature, philosophy, politics, science, religion, and art. It is credited as a time where new ideas, perspectives, and theories evolved. The Perseus Renaissance Collection (22 vols.) is a compilation of the history and literature of the British Isles during the English Renaissance period.