In her childhood at the beginning of the twentieth century, Ayn Rand became familiar with a wealth of great romantic literature that is little known and hard to find in America at the end of the century. This talk will present a description of Ayn Rand's first encounter with the great plays of Schiller and her comments on such plays as The Conspiracy of Fiesco and The Robbers. Essential aspects of each play will be summarized and translations provided. Little-known works of Dumas and Scott that present important heroic characters will also be discussed. Presentation includes:

• The reasons Ayn Rand greatly preferred Schiller to Shakespeare.

• Why Ayn Rand did not admire Hugo's plays, despite her admiration of his novels.

• Importanttransitional influences on Schiller. A discussion of Lessing's plays, induding Nathan the Wse, and their importance as a step toward Romantic literature based on solid foundations in Enlightenment philosophy.

• How to find out-of-print and in-print editions of these works. 

Discover great and rewarding Romantic literature that you may never have known existed.