Popular American essayist, novelist, and journalist CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER (1829-1900) was renowned for the warmth and intimacy of his writing, which encompassed travelogue, biography and autobiography, fiction, and more, and influenced entire generations of his fellow writers. Here, the prolific writer turned editor for his final grand work, a splendid survey of global literature, classic and modern, and it's not too much to suggest that if his friend and colleague Mark Twain-who stole Warner's quip about how "everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it"-had assembled this set, it would still be hailed today as one of the great achievements of the book world. Highlights from Volume 24 include: . the histories of Thomas Babington Macaulay . excerpts from Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince . selections from James Madison's Federalist papers . the plays of Maurice Maeterlinck . excerpts from Sir Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur . the writings of Sir John Manderville and Christopher Marlowe . the poetry of Martial and Andrew Marvell . and much, much more.