This is the twelth anthology compiled by the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. It presents all the poetry and prose - exclusive of Shakespeare - set by this body for public examinations in the speaking of verse and prose. Like the examinations which it serves, the book is intended to stimulate an interest in literature and to introduce young people of all ages to a wide variety of good and great writing. In each section there is a wide variety of work: poems and prose, humorous, serious, lyric and drama tic.