The Prince is a treatise of advice for rulers written by Niccolo Machiavelli in the 16th century. The Prince discusses different forms of government and different strategies for gaining power and controlling people. Machiavelli also describes character traits that are useful to rulers, such as being fearsome, strong and merciless towards one's enemies and competitors. The book takes a practical approach to maintaining political control and does not insist on being moralistic.
The Black Prince is the story of London author Bradley Pearson's affair with rival and friend Arnold Baffin's daughter, Julian. The affair ends in disaster and in Arnold's murder at Bradley's hands. The narrative then progresses into a postscript in which the characters themselves reflect on the novel. The novel's name is an allusion to Hamlet, which is itself featured prominently during the course of the novel and discussed at length by the characters.
The Princess Bride is the story of the beautiful maiden Buttercup and of her poor peasant lover, Westley. The two have a youthful chaste affair, then are separated by poverty. Buttercup is uncomfortably betrothed to a local prince, Humperdink, while Westley vanishes. What follows is a tongue-in-cheek deconstruction of fantasy novels with Westley and Buttercup reconnecting during a series of misadventures involving gentle giant Fezik and the vengeful Spaniard Inigo Montoya.
The Little Prince is a book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery about a man who crashes his plane in the Sahara desert and meets a little prince from a faraway asteroid. Over the eight days the man is stranded in the desert, the prince tells him about his life, his love for a rose, his travels to various asteroids inhabited by absurd and unimaginative adults, and finally his travels on earth. In the end, the prince has a snake bite him, supposedly bringing him back to his home.
A Little Princess is the story of Sara Crewe, the daughter of a rich young man who enrolls her at boarding school in England after her happy childhood in India. The intelligent and well-mannered Sara finds herself under the thumb of the cruel headmistress Miss Minchin, who makes her work as a scullery maid after Captain Crewe loses his fortune in diamond mines and dies of brain fever. Greed, the power of imagination, and the theme of good behavior being rewarded are all explored in this children's tale.