Overview. Macdonald. The Iliad of the East: The Ramayana

Title: The Iliad of the East: The Ramayana
Author: Frederika Richardson Macdonald
Year: 1870

Comments: This book contains selected portions from Valmiki's Ramayana retold in very literary prose.

Free Online: See all the links at Freebookapalooza. The links below are to the Hathi Trust presentation of the book.

Length: four weeks. I've divided the reading into eight parts: A - B (one week of reading), C - D (another week of reading), E - F (a third week), and G - H (final week of reading). You do not need to read this in order, and you can use it just for a half-week of reading or one or two or three or four weeks of reading; it's up to you based on what part(s) you are most interested in.

Reading A
Section 1: How Valmiki Received the Gift of Poesy
Section 2: The Story of Rishyasringa

Reading B
Section 3: The Descent of the Ganga
Section 4: The Penance of Visvamitra

Reading C
Section 5: Dasharatha's Fault
Section 6: Sita and Anasuya
Section 7: Surpanakha

Reading D
Section 8: Ravana's Crime
Section 9: The Death of Jatayu

Reading E
Section 10: Rama Allies Himself with Sugriva
Section 11: The Love of Indra
Section 12: The Ancient Vulture Sampati

Reading F
Section 13: The Adventures of Hanuman

Reading G
Section 14: Nala Builds a Mole Across the Sea
Section 15: Rama and Lakshmana
Section 16: The Death of Kumbhakarna

Reading H
Section 17: The Last Combat
Section 18: Death of Ravana
Section 19: Reunion of Sita and Rama