Ruth Robbins

When so much rain falls on Mt. Shasta that the Indians cannot gather seeds, they ask Coyote for a sign the rain will stop.

Oscar Wilde's reputation has shifted dramatically during the twentieth century from outcast in the wake of his trials for homosexual offences, to martyr to the gay cause in the 1980s and '90s, to important figure in the history of writing in English. Ruth Robbins introduces Wilde through a focus on his manipulations of genre and sets Wilde's life and work in its literary and cultural context.

Although his elegant neighbors do not appreciate his efforts, a kind old man transforms his rundown house and nurtures a small neglected pine tree, making them the best on the street.