Weiss, Peter

The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat As Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of The Marquis de Sade (or Marat Sade)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • One of the most haunting plays of all time.
The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat As Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of The Marquis de Sade (or Marat Sade)
Peter Weiss
Manufacturer: Waveland Pr Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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  1. Marat / Sade
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ASIN: 1577662318

Book Description

This extraordinary play, which swept Europe before coming to America, is based on two historical truths: the infamous Marquis de Sade was confined in the lunatic asylum of Charenton, where he staged plays; and the revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat was stabbed in a bathtub by Charlotte Corday at the height of the Terror during the French Revolution. But this play-within-a-play is not historical drama. Its thought is as modern as today's police states and The Bomb; its theatrical impact has everywhere been called a major innovation. It is total theatre: philosophically problematic, visually terrifying. It engages the eye, the ear, and the mind with every imaginable dramatic device, technique, and stage picture, even including song and dance. All the forces and elements possible to the stage are fused in one overwhelming experience. This is theatre such as has rarely been seen before. The play is basically concerned with the problem of revolution. Are the same things true for the masses and for their leaders? And where, in modern times, lie the borderlines of sanity?

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars One of the most haunting plays of all time........1996-07-16

Written in the early sixties, the play frequently abbreviated as Marat/Sade is set in 1808, yet many of the comments are distinctly directed toward current events, notably the upheavals in Eastern Europe. Now, with the fall of the Soviet Union behind us, the play takes on even greater significance. Despite the reassurances of the asylum director, whether a mere fifteen years or well over two hundred years have passed, the nature of revolutions, and the fanatics who cause them, has not changed. Combining historical events with modern theatrics, Weiss has produced what has been and will continue to be one of the most disturbing, as well as one of the most important works ever to be performed on stage.
Hand Surgery. 2 Volume Set
Average customer rating: 1 out of 5 stars
  • Hand Surgery
Hand Surgery. 2 Volume Set
Richard A Berger , and Arnold-Peter C Weiss
Manufacturer: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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  1. Green's Operative Hand Surgery e-dition: Text with Continually Updated Online Reference, 2-Volume Set

ASIN: 0781728746

Book Description

Edited by rising stars in orthopaedic surgery, this book is written by internationally recognized experts in hand surgery. The book begins with a basic science section on pathophysiology of the hand, wrist and forearm. The rest of the two-volume book then follows a progressive organization from the most common problems to the least common problems of the hand. Implements a practical approach by containing a chapter on the principles of portal placement, and features over 700 full-color illustrations. Section topics covered include radiographic imaging of the hand, wrist and forearm, avascular necrosis of the carpus, forearm injuries, tumors, and much more.

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Hand Surgery.......2007-01-26

I am sure I will rate the book higher than 1 star when I actually receive the 2nd volume- it has been over one month and I still don't have it. Can you help?
Jeff Husband
The Last Picture Show: Artists Using Photography 1960-1982
Average customer rating: Not rated
    The Last Picture Show: Artists Using Photography 1960-1982
    Giovanni Anselmo , Stefan Gronnert , Pamela Lee , Geoffrey Batchen , Richard Flood , Peter Fischli , David Weiss , Mel Bochner , Sarah Charlesworth , Jan Dibbets , Valie Export , Vito Acconci , Bas Jan Ader , John Baldessari , Joseph Beuys , Christian Boltanski , Marcel Broodthaers , Dan Graham , Barbara Kruger , Sol Lewitt , Douglas Fogle , and Kathy Halbreich
    Manufacturer: Walker Art Center
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 0935640762
    Release Date: 2003-11-02

    Book Description

    "Photography has become an increasingly pervasive medium of choice in contemporary art practice and is even employed at times by artists who do not necessarily consider themselves to be photographers. How did this come to be? The Last Picture Show will address the emergence of this phenomenon of artists using photography by tracing the development of conceptual trends in postwar photographic practice from its first glimmerings in the 60s in the work of artists such as Bernd & Hilla Becher, Ed Ruscha and Bruce Nauman, to its rise to art-world prominence in the work of the artists of the late 70s and early 80s including Sherrie Levine, Richard Prince and Cindy Sherman. Intended as a major genealogy of the rise of a still-powerful and evolving photographic practice by artists, the checklist will include a wide array of works examining a range of issues: performativity and photographic practice; portraiture and cultural identity; the formal and social architectonics of the built environment; societal and individual interventions in the landscape; photography's relationship to sculpture and painting; the visual mediation of meaning in popular culture; and the poetic and conceptual investigation of visual non-sequiturs, disjunctions and humorous absurdities. Bringing together a newly commissioned body of scholarship with reprints of important historical texts, The Last Picture Show seeks to define the legacy that has produced a rich body of photographic practice in the art world today."
    The Aesthetics of Resistance, Volume 1: A Novel (Aesthetics of Resistance)
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • Author with Asperger's Disease?
    • it's about time this got translated
    • Overwhelming
    The Aesthetics of Resistance, Volume 1: A Novel (Aesthetics of Resistance)
    Peter Weiss
    Manufacturer: Duke University Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0822335468

    Book Description

    A major literary event, the publication of this masterly translation makes one of the towering works of twentieth-century German literature available to English-speaking readers for the first time. The three-volume novel The Aesthetics of Resistance is the crowning achievement of Peter Weiss, the internationally renowned dramatist best known for his play Marat/Sade. The first volume, presented here, was initially published in Germany in 1975; the third and final volume appeared in 1981, just six months before Weiss&rsquo;s death.<BR><BR>Spanning the period from the late 1930s to World War II, this historical novel dramatizes anti-fascist resistance and the rise and fall of proletarian political parties in Europe. Living in Berlin in 1937, the unnamed narrator and his peers—sixteen- and seventeen-year-old working-class students—seek ways to express their hatred for the Nazi regime. They meet in museums and galleries, and in their discussions they explore the affinity between political resistance and art, the connection at the heart of Weiss&rsquo;s novel. Weiss suggests that meaning lies in embracing resistance, no matter how intense the oppression, and that we must look to art for new models of political action and social understanding. The novel includes extended meditations on paintings, sculpture, and literature. Moving from the Berlin underground to the front lines of the Spanish Civil War and on to other parts of Europe, the story teems with characters, almost all of whom are based on historical figures. The Aesthetics of Resistance is one of the truly great works of postwar German literature and an essential resource for understanding twentieth-century German history.

    Customer Reviews:

    2 out of 5 stars Author with Asperger's Disease?.......2007-02-19

    This is not really a novel. It is 317 pages of endlessly detailed descriptions that prevent the development of any possible connection between reader and characters. There is no dialogue, all is narrative. There are no paragraphs, words simply run down every inch of every page like an ink spill. It reminds me of the writings of a very bright person with asperger's: he can give you a fantastic account of everything in the room, as well as everything that was in the room yesterday, 50 years ago and, quite possibly, during pre-history-- pausing midway only to tell you on which day of the week you were born. At first, you are thrilled and amazed by the exercise. But when all is said and done, you realize that you have no real sense of the people described. The experience leaves you feeling cold and empty.

    5 out of 5 stars it's about time this got translated.......2006-05-08

    I agree with the first reviewer: this is one of the great books of the 20th century. Also an excellent translator. As for the question about the other volumes: this one only took 30 years to get translated! It's not likely to be a big hit in the English-speaking market; too Marxist, I suppose. Thanks to Duke Univ. Press for making this volume available. I have to think that if they're going to go ahead and call this volume 1, then vols. 2 & 3 must be forthcoming.

    5 out of 5 stars Overwhelming.......2006-03-04

    This is a staggering, amazing novel -- I scarcely know what to say beyond that -- but i was hoping someone could help me find out when further volumes are to be expected.
    Douglas Gordon: Timeline
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      Douglas Gordon: Timeline
      Peter Fischli , David Weiss , and Douglas Gordon
      Manufacturer: The Museum of Modern Art, New York
      ProductGroup: Book
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      ASIN: 0870703900
      Release Date: 2006-06-01

      Book Description

      Throughout his career, Douglas Gordon has engaged in an ongoing reflection on the motion picture, examining the relationship between the movies and our common knowledge and perception of them. In altering, monumentalizing, and alienating our collective understanding of film, he visualizes, pictures, and "sculpts" time. Douglas Gordon, which was organized by MoMA curator Klaus Biesenbach, collects images and texts from the past 40 years (a nod to Gordon's birth date of 1966), all of which deal with ideas of visual memory, shared visual knowledge, and the interwoven texture of imagined and remembered sounds and images. It explores the relationship between film and psychoanalysis, and the way in which these systems of thought have affected the idea of individual biography: Gordon is acutely attuned to the relation of such deep experiences as love, longing, loss, and trauma to what one feels while watching film. He understands how films refer to other films, how they superimpose themselves upon each other and upon their viewers' memories, and how, through their ubiquity and accessibility, films express and represent the ideals and fears of their times. Essay by Klaus Biesenbach.
      Bits & Pieces Put Together To Present A Semblance Of A Whole
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        Bits & Pieces Put Together To Present A Semblance Of A Whole
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        One of the premier institutions of contemporary art in the country, the Walker Art Center also holds an important collection of over 11,000 objects from the early 20th century to the present. These holdings reflect the Center's renowned multidisciplinary program, and include paintings, sculpture, prints, photography, film, video, installations, and digital arts that range in date from classic early modernist to cutting edge contemporary.
        Hodgkin's Disease
        Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
        • The Gold Standard
        • A Difficult Read, but Worth the Effort
        • Hodgkins Information
        • an oncologist's view
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        Customer Reviews:

        5 out of 5 stars The Gold Standard.......2004-02-02

        This is still the book with the solid research one wants on Hodgkin's. Aimed more towards seasoned readers rather than the person who just found out a loved one may have lymphoma. Like said in previous reviews, well laid out with chapters on all pertinent subjects.

        4 out of 5 stars A Difficult Read, but Worth the Effort.......2000-09-01

        For a family member of a person recently diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, this book is a valuable resource for understanding this rare condition. It's a difficult read, but the book is organized into managable sections. For a lay person, it is probably best read in conjunction with less-technical material to provide definitions and context. Topics covered include historical perspectives of diagnosis and treatment, current research, and up-to-date treatment options.It provides in-depth explainations of the role of various diagnostic techniques in classification and staging. Additional topics include the relationship between Hodgkin's and the non-Hodgkin's lymphomas as well as the association with Epstein-Barr virus. The issues of pediatric Hodgkin's and long-term complications of treatment are also covered. The book's strongest recomendation is that it is one of the few available with current information specific to Hodgkin's, as opposed to the non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. It provides the lay person with requisite information to discuss Hodgkin's with the medical team, in sufficient detail to make informed decisions.

        4 out of 5 stars Hodgkins Information.......2000-04-13

        As a layperson not familiar with medical terms and theories I found the book hard to follow and understand at first. After a bit of slow reading and comprehension it became a wonderful source of knowledge about cancer and hodgkin's disease

        5 out of 5 stars an oncologist's view.......2000-04-13

        This timely review of the literature on Hodgkin's diseasereplaces the venerable work by Henry S. Kaplan and betters the master.The section written by Richard Hoppe, M.D. carries on the finest traditions of radiation oncology at Stanford. This is a very fine work and one anyone in the field of oncology should have on his/her book shelf.
        Marat/Sade, the Investigation, and the Shadow of the Body of the Coachman (German Library)
        Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
        • my opinion
        • Marat/Sade
        • A play where surrealism and disenchantment clash
        • good play
        Marat/Sade, the Investigation, and the Shadow of the Body of the Coachman (German Library)
        Peter Weiss , and Robert Cohen
        Manufacturer: Continuum International Publishing Group
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback

        Continental EuropeanContinental European | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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        ASIN: 0826409636

        Customer Reviews:

        3 out of 5 stars my opinion.......2001-02-02

        The Marat Sade is truly misery made beautiful, where else can the hero be made to suffer as much as Marat does. Through the course of the reading one can not help but desire to emulate the characteristics of Marat, this and the conflict between Marat and Sade are the elements of the story that keeps interests and stimulates thoughts. Weiss argues both the points of view of Marat and Sade well and ultimately delivers an interesting message.

        The Marat Sade does have a captivating message, but much of the beauty in the delivery of the message may have been lost in the translation. Translations are difficult to accomplish, especially when many words do not translate from one language to another, and when verse or meter is concerned, especially verse or meter that rhyme it is nearly improbable. However, the story did have its moments of intrigue especially some of the monologues. To be truly understood The Marat Sade needs to be seen. This realization is probably what inspired someone to make the play into a film.

        The film about was not stimulating aside from a few moments of irony in the simplest form made out to be humorous. The story is meant to be seen on the stage. The time period that the film was made in was not equipped well enough with special effects ,not that there was need for this in the Marat Sade but it could have made some kind of impact. The Low budget appearance of the film added to the melancholy of the film that appeared worse than the disorder of the mental patient playing Charlotte Corday and defiantly makes the viewer experience moments of sudden and involuntary sleep. If done today and well budgeted as well as directed the play could be portrayed through cameras in a most pleasing manner. Still, the play is meant to be seen on stage, this is the true way for the audience to feel the experience that Weiss wanted otherwise he would have written a film script.

        I do not claim to be an expert on Marat Sade or some official critic or well read for that matter but neither is the general public and that is who an artiest should want to reach considering they are the majority, even though they fall to rule. This play is a product of the past. I feel that most American people would not be able to relate to it and they would fall to be lured into the story. The martyr roll has been over used - after all many people were force fed a similar story since birth.

        4 out of 5 stars Marat/Sade.......2001-02-02

        Marat/Sade, by Peter Weiss, is a play centering on the murder of Jean Paul Marat. Weiss sets the play in the Asylum of Charenton, where both Marat and the Marquis de Sade are inmates. Before reading this play, I did not have much knowledge of Marquis de Sade or Jean Paul Marat. The French Revolution was a topic that I had studied, however not these members specifically. For the reading of this work, not much understanding of these ideas is needed. Some knowledge of Modernism would be helpful for insight into the motivation and reasoning of the play, however that is not needed either. The plot of the play is very thin and does not do much for the reader. There does not seem to be much action involved in the play. The characters mainly discuss and wax philosophical about the French Revolution and whether or not it was successful. It is the characters themselves and the dialogue that are most intriguing. Characters that are patients in the asylum are the driving force of the work. Many off the wall topics and rants are shouted by any number of patients. Clever use of the director of the asylum gives the reader a better sense of how a play produced in an asylum might work out. The format of the work is what seems to be an extended poem. The rhyme scheme, which is at points non-existent, can be carried from one character to the next. This is at times confusing, however it does give the work a somewhat psychotic feel. The work is a relatively easy read, however it does at times get to be a bit confusing. Because the plot is so thin, the reader is bombarded with confusing dialogue, rather than constant flowing action. The work leaves something to desired, as the reader waits for some twist of fate or action that may create some interest. Personally, I was not impressed with the work as a whole from an entertainment aspect. However as a writer I could see the work is definitely that of a talented author. There is a political aspect to the work that focuses around Sade. The many conversations between Marat and Sade focus on the Revolution and its positives and negatives. Commentary is given on the state of affairs during this time, as well as the idea that revolutions do not work on a general basis. Other such ideals are discussed throughout the work, however Sade seems to be more of a reactionary and Marat seems to be more of an idealist. On a whole this work does accomplish its goals in discussing sadism and other such ideas. Modernistic works such as this, often do not have much entertainment value, however they are quite intellectual and original; the two best points of this work.

        3 out of 5 stars A play where surrealism and disenchantment clash.......2001-02-02

        When the character of Marquis de Sade shouts out at Marat, "Can't you see this patriotism is lunacy/Long ago I left heroics to the heroes/I turn my back on this nation/I turn my back on all the nations. . ." the reader can truly sense what the play of Marat/Sade is all about. As the reader gets lost in the production of a play within a play, the idea of surrealism presents itself almost at once. The reenactment of the killing of Jean-Paul Marat by Charlotte Corday seems to be a secondary plot alongside of the chanting and screaming of idealism concerning the revolution and liberty. A division of strategies regarding revolution develops between Marat and Sade. Marat advocates fast action, while Sade preaches that it is hopeless or fruitless to even bother to act. Of course, the cries of the asylum patients tend to distract, but it all adds to the surreal, bizarre nature of the play. I felt that one of the aspects the play touches on is how the revolution affects those living within it. The ideas of liberty, freedom, and revolution all make for interesting debate, but I felt one of the themes that struck me was the reality of revolution as it affects those who live around it day in and day out. One of the more striking scenes of the play, for me, came when Charlotte is in the middle of a monologue, describing children playing with toy-like guillotines. The very idea of children treating such a deathly object as a toy is disturbing, but also brings to life the desensitization that revolution brings about. The play reminds the reader that the death of masses makes the value of life and the impact of an individual death meaningless. That alone is a very somber and surreal thought. There are literary techniques throughout the play that seem to remind the reader that the dramatization depicts things which took place in the past, but threaten to become a part of our future. Marat/Sade attempts to mock the aristocratic classes that seem to catalyze such mass movements of revolution in the first place. The play seems to slap the hand of those in power through the action that takes place throughout. Every time that the characters in the play (the asylum patients) seem to become too excited or outspoken, when the truth behind their madness seems to get out of control, the "Herald" of the play speaks out to placate Coulmier, the director of the asylum. I believe that Weiss tries to make the play more socially acceptable by presenting it in a way that mocks and brings out the weakness of the debacle of government that followed, in this case, the French Revolution, but actually cuts across so many more layers than just one isolated revolution.

        Our society will always have people who have large amounts of material wealth, and those who do not. That is an injustice that we must rise above, and change ourselves. Whether our means of change is reached through violence and upheaval or through escape within oneself, this is the core dialectic that the play tackles. Although at times this play is a little hard to follow or even outlandish, the play offers a look at how society deals with its corruption and injustice once it escalates to what may seem to be a point of no return. The element that seems to be the most surreal in my mind is that the ranting of the characters within the play, although they are asylum patients, reveal more truth and brutal honesty than the audience would like to admit. I think Weiss is clever to choose some very clear and controversial themes and present them in a way that is socially appropriate. He does this by blatantly speaking out against established forms of government and rule, but discrediting the characters speaking by placing them in an insane asylum. It is true to say that there are many elements of the play that never seem to completely gel in the end, or come together nicely as in most plays. But to be honest, if the story had come together neatly in the end, the essence of the play would have been lost. I think the point of the play is to show that although people may have conflicting ideals of how to handle a revolution, whether of government or ideology, things do not always work out as we had hoped. People may preach liberty and justice, but when the reality is murder and riots, there are two conflicting messages being handled at once. I believe that is what this play shows rather well. In a very surreal and bizarre way, Weiss enables the reader to see that society hardly ever practices what they preach, and although our goal might be change, in the end, upheaval and disarray may be the only things truly achieved.

        5 out of 5 stars good play.......1999-09-28

        The world in which we live operates on systems of inequalities which are overtly justified by the minor inequalities of people's intellegence, motivation, appearance, etc. However, the relative personal inequalities among people are in no way commensurate with the unequal material conditions in which we live, to a degree which is often tragic and criminal in the truest sense of that word.

        In Peter Weis's play "Marat/Sade", the character Marquis de Sade states that it was in trying to understand our criminal society, and personally disadvantaged by self-hatred, he became a criminal himself, and this outsider position forced him to focus on personal escape through brilliant, inventive, one-time sensual or artistic acts. The character Jean Paul Marat, more of an idealist, believed escape could only be successful if everyone escaped together, through the restructuring of all of society, by sudden powerful intervention. These two approaches are opposite. Everyone agrees that sure, the world could be better, but the question of "how" leads to conflict. This is the central conflict of "Marat Sade", one of the world's greatest conflicts, and I think it is fascinating.
        Marat/Sade
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          Marat/Sade
          Peter Weiss
          Manufacturer: Pocket Books
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Mass Market Paperback
          ASIN: B000GWVKFG
          The Investigation: Oratorio in 11 Cantos
          Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
          • The absolute best and absolute worst play I've ever done.
          • unforgettable
          The Investigation: Oratorio in 11 Cantos
          Peter Weiss , and Alexander Gross
          Manufacturer: Marion Boyars Publishers
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

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          ASIN: 0714503010

          Book Description

          The Investigation is a dramatic reconstruction of the Frankfurt War Crimes trials, based on the actual evidence given. This testimony, concerning Auschwitz and the atrocities which were enacted there, has been edited and extracted by Peter Weiss into a dramatic document that relies solely and completely on the facts for its effectiveness.<BR><BR>There is no artistic license, no manipulation of facts and figures, no rearrangement of events for theatrical effect. Nameless witnesses stand and recall their appalling memories of Auschwitz, allowing us to bear witness to their painful and painstaking search for truth and, ultimately, justice. What emerges is a chastening and purging documentary of deeply moving power.<BR><BR>Peter Weiss was born in 1916 and settled in Sweden before the outbreak of World War II. Apart from his writing, he was also well known as a painter, theatrical and operatic director, and a film maker. His magnificent play Marat/Sade, which is also available from Marion Boyars Publishers, established his reputation among English-speakling audiences as a revolutionary dramatist, and has continued to be a bestselling classic. He died in 1982.

          Customer Reviews:

          5 out of 5 stars The absolute best and absolute worst play I've ever done........2005-01-28

          Not meant for anyone younger than 18. But definitely a play that every single person on the planet should experience. If nothing else, it will remind you of how dangerous the world can be if we don't take care of each other, and what will happen again if we continue to turn our backs on the horrors that still go on today.
          As an actor who has had the opportunity to perform a production of 'The Investigation' I offer a word of warning. This play will upset you, anger you, and destroy you. Merely reading the words on the page is bad enough, performing them - trying to re-emulate what really happened turns you inside out. As my director said - 'You'll be glad you did this, you'll be even gladder when it's over'. What is contained within the pages of this play is the human condition at it's absolute worse. You read about the ones who survived - and what they had to do in order to survive, and you read about those who were just 'following orders'. And the question you ask yourself when you are finished reading this is not 'What would I have done?', but, 'Would I have survived?'

          5 out of 5 stars unforgettable.......2002-08-12

          One of the most powerful readings of my life. I'd never heard of Weiss though I knew about the holocaust. Thinking of the death of millions of jews, gypsies, communists, mentally retarded and other 'undesirables' is always hard. A Series of Cantos from the transcripts of trials of Nazis in Germany after WWII. Weiss focuses on inviduals from this mass of innocent victims producing a tale to chill the heart, make any human cry and fill up with rage at the same time. The monstrous nazis have no shame or sense of guilt. Those who have survived the butchery give their case to the derision of those in the dock. Prosiac in language, overwhelming in tragedy. The sadistic ... Nazis are exposed. The simple humanism of their victims is eloquent and the reading is unforgettable

          Authors:

          1. Welch, James
          2. Welch, Jane
          3. Weldon, Fay
          4. Welk, Mary
          5. Wells, H. G.
          6. Wells, Ken
          7. Wells, Martha
          8. Wells, Rebecca
          9. Welsh, Irvine
          10. Welty, Eudora

          Authors

          Authors