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The Lilac Fairy Book is a collection of fairy tales by compiled by Andrew Lang. This collection includes more than twenty classic stories sure to enchant children and adult readers alike.
This anthology of poetry, published in 1904, contains such favorites as The Raven, My Shadow, and The Village Blacksmith, as well as many lovely poems that may be unfamiliar. Most of the poems in this collection are short enough for children to memorize.
Robin Hood is the archetypal English folk hero; a courteous, pious and swashbuckling outlaw of the mediæval era who, in modern versions of the legend, is famous for robbing the rich to feed the poor and fighting against injustice and tyranny. He operates with his "seven score" (140 strong) group of fellow outlawed yeomen – named the Merry Men. He and his band are usually associated with Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire.
The Wind in the Willows is a children's novel by Kenneth Grahame. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animals in a pastoral version of Edwardian England. The novel is notable for its mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality and camaraderie, and celebrated for its evocation of the nature of the Thames Valley.
The Marvelous Land of Oz is the second of the Oz books. It follows the adventures of the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and Tip. The Emerald City has been taken over by the Army of Revolt, and our adventurous friends need the help of Glinda the Good to return it to its rightful ruler.
The Magic City is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, first published in 1910. It initially appeared as a serial in The Strand Magazine, with illustrations by Spencer Pryse.
The Lost Princess of Oz is the eleventh canonical Oz book written by L. Frank Baum. Published on June 5, 1917, it begins with the disappearance of Princess Ozma, the ruler of Oz and covers Dorothy and the Wizard's efforts to find her. The introduction to the book states that its inspiration was a letter a little girl had written to Baum:
Published in 1915, The Scarecrow of Oz is the ninth book in the Oz book series and focuses on the adventures of Cap’n Bill, Trot, and the Scarecrow, who find themselves entangled in the politics of Jinxland and must work against formidable odds to overthrow its despot and restore rule to its rightful successor. By: L. Frank Baum (1856-1919)
Tanglewood Tales for Boys and Girls is a book by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, a sequel to A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. It is a re-writing of well-known Greek myths in a volume for children.
The Tin Woodman of Oz: A Faithful Story of the Astonishing Adventure Undertaken by the Tin Woodman, Assisted by Woot the Wanderer, the Scarecrow of Oz, and Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter is the twelfth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum and was originally published on May 13, 1918.
This is the thirteenth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum. Published on June 7, 1919, one month after the author's death, The Magic of Oz relates the unsuccessful attempt of the Munchkin boy Kiki Aru and former Nome King Ruggedo to conquer Oz.
A story about a boy who befriends a cat and then sets off on an adventure to rescue a dragon.By: Ruth Stiles Gannett (1923-)
Echoing Homer’s epic poem The Iliad, Church offers a simplified rendering of the classic siege of Troy, as he retells the story which is regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces of Western literature. The Iliad for Boys and Girls is written in an easy to follow style that is certain to provide clarity to the otherwise perplexing tale presented in Homer’s original.By: Alfred J. Church (1829-1912)
Disagreeable old Miss Terry spends her Christmas Eve getting rid of toys from her childhood toy box. One by one she tosses them onto the sidewalk in front of her house, then secretly watches the little scenes that occur, which seem to confirm her belief that true Christmas spirit does not exist. Then the Angel from her childhood Christmas tree appears to show Miss Terry that she has not yet witnessed the final act of each of those little dramas...By: Abbie Farwell Brown
E. Nesbit, as usual, transports us back to the hazy summer days of a well-to-do Edwardian childhood, liberally spiced with magic, humour and lessons learned. Published exactly 100 years ago, this is one of her least-known children's books, out of print for many years, and with no text available online at the time of recording.
This is the tenth book in the Land of Oz series written by L. Frank Baum. Published on June 20, 1916, with full-color and black-and-white illustrations by artist John R. Neill, it is significant that no one from Oz appears in the book until its climax; this is due to Baum's having originally written most of the book as an original fantasy novel over ten years earlier, in 1905.
A collection of works that explore the rich and evocative legend of King Arthur. The exploits of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table have been a staple of British literature through the centuries, drawing together themes of pagan wizardry, the search for the Holy Grail, chivalry and of course romance.
“Toad” Brown, his brother, and their friends have a jolly time at the Christmas holidays. They daydream at a toyshop window, chop down a Christmas tree in the woods, have a grand snowball fight, and plan a surprise for a friend in this tale of early 20th-century small-town life. Published in 1916, this short book is perfect for younger readers and listeners. By: Alice Hale Burnett
The Palace in the Garden is the engaging story of three orphans sent to live in the mysterious country cottage of Rosebuds. The inquisitive children piece together the unexpected mystery of the Palace in the garden & all that goes with it.By: Mary Louisa Molesworth (1839-1921)
When Jenny goes to stay with her Aunt Abby, a caretaker in a grand old manor-house, she discovers a wonderful twisting passage on the second floor with an array of colourful characters living in the rooms along it – each of them with a story to tell.By: Marion St. John Webb
The Story Girl is a 1911 novel by Canadian author L. M. Montgomery. It narrates the adventures of a group of young cousins and their friends who live in a rural community on Prince Edward Island, Canada.
“Max Brand”, the most used pseudonym of Frederick Schiller Faust (1892-1944), is best known today for his western fiction. Faust began in the early twentieth century selling his stories to the pulp magazines, writing in many genres under numerous pseudonyms. He is probably best known as the creator of the character Destry. His novel Destry Rides Again has been filmed several times, most notably the 1939 version starring James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich.
Adventures of a Brownie follows the life of a brownie who lives in a family’s coal cellar and the adventures he gets into with the members of the household.By: Miss Mulock
Tom Playfair; Or Making a Start is a book by a Roman Catholic priest, Fr. Francis J. Finn S.J., originally published in 1890, and written for youths ages 9–12. Translated into many languages, it is a constant favourite among children of all countries.
Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888), which was originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. Alcott wrote the books rapidly over several months at the request of her publisher.
The title of the novella is almost an adequate summary in itself. The “boy-meets-girl-then-loses-her” story is universal but not, I think, banal – despite a surprise ending which notoriously turns out to be very little of a surprise. “First Love” is given its originality and poignancy by Turgenev’s mastery of the piercing turning-point (akin to Joyce’s “epiphanies”) that transforms the character’s whole being, making a tragic outcome inevitable. By: Ivan S. Turgenev
In this story, it is spring time and a young chuck’s fancy turns to thoughts of … traveling, protecting one’s turf, finding a new home, and yes, love. Along the way, we learn little lessons about life such as there are good and bad kinds of pride, the importance of keeping secrets and that, even in the animal world, the three most important factors in determining the desirability of property are “location, location, location.”By: Thornton W. Burgess (1874-1965)
Three children sent to stay the night with their Aunt Jane find themselves sharing an enormous bed. So enormous is it, that when they make a tent of the bedsheets and crawl in, they never make it to the foot of the bed, crawling instead into a dreamworld of caves and pirates and adventures.By: Gertrude Knevels (1881-1962)
Aunt Jane's Nieces at Millville is a 1908 young adult novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz. It is the third volume in "the successful Aunt Jane Series,"following Aunt Jane's Nieces and Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad.
Carroll Watson Rankin's best known novel is Dandelion Cottage, published in 1904 by Henry Holt and Company. She first wrote the story serially for her own children. Considered a regional classic in the midwest, it tells of four young girls who negotiate the use of a derelict cottage as a playhouse by pulling dandelions for the owner, prosperous Mr. Black.
Frederick Schiller Faust (1892-1944), is best known today for his western fiction. Faust was born in Seattle, Washington and at an early age moved with his parents to the San Joaquin Valley in California where he worked as a ranchhand. After a failed attempt to enlist in the Great War in 1917 and with the help of Mark Twain’s sister he met Robert Hobart Davis, editor of All-Story Weekly and became a regular contributor writting under his most used pseudonym “Max Brand”.
Written in the late 1890s, it was first published in 1904 in Horlick's Magazine—of which Machen's friend A. E. Waite was editor—then reprinted in Machen's collection The House of Souls (1906).
Tanglewood Tales for Boys and Girls (1853) is a book by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, a sequel to A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. It is a re-writing of well-known Greek myths in a volume for children.
For purposes of propriety and general historical authenticity there are of course parents in the story. And one or two other oldish persons. But they all go away just as early in the narrative as I can manage it.—Are obliged to go away! Yet lest you find in this general combination of circumstances some sinister threat of audacity, let me conventionalize the story at once by opening it at that most conventional of all conventional Christmas-story hours.By: Eleanor Hallowell Abbott (1872-1958)
A story for children about a little bear with no name, “there were not enough names to go round,” and his adventures in finding one. By: Laura Rountree Smith (1876-1924)
In this sixth volume of “The Little Colonel Series” for girls, Lloyd is surprised with a gift for her twelfth birthday, of a summer trip to Europe. In Geneva she becomes friends with an old Prussian major and his Red Cross dog, a St. Bernard named Hero. Through many adventures, in the end the Little Colonel learns the true meaning of selfless duty.By: Annie F. Johnston (1863-1931)
“You can’t fool old Mother Nature. No, Sir, you can’t fool old Mother Nature, and it’s of no use to try.” The animals of the Green Meadows and Green Forest have little adventures while Grandfather Frog tells stories to Mother West Wind’s children, the Merry Little Breezes.By: Thornton W. Burgess (1874-1965)
This is the story of Joyce, an American girl who has been sent abroad to France to study, and of her adventures in France, - the wonderful house with the gate of The Giant Scissors, Jules, her little playmate, Sister Denis, the cruel Brossard, and her dear Aunt Kate.By: Annie F. Johnston (1863-1931)
Afterward is a short story by Edith Wharton. It was first published in the 1910 edition of The Century Magazine and in her books, The Collected Short Stories of Edith Wharton and Tales of Men and Ghosts, 1910. It is an ironic ghost story about greed and retribution.
How to maintain a tranquil mind amongst social upheaval and turmoil, addressed to Serenus. (Introduction by Jonathan Hockey)
The Road to Oz: In Which Is Related How Dorothy Gale of Kansas, The Shaggy Man, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter Met on an Enchanted Road and Followed it All the Way to the Marvelous Land of Oz. is the fifth of L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz books. It was originally published on July 10, 1909 and documents the adventures of Dorothy Gale's' fourth visit to the Land of Oz.
Fifteen Thousand Useful Phrases is a practical handbook written by Grenville Kleiser. Grenville is known for his writings on humor, positive thinking and inspirational thought. This serves as a handbook of pertinent expressions, striking similes and terms for embellishing speech and literature.
Written in 1910, this “cyclopedia” is full of information that was quite useful at the time. A hundred years later, its text is more humorous than practical — although some advice never goes out of style.By: Joseph Trienens (b. 1863)
I am pleased to say that my relationship with the scribe who has put down my story in the following pages has been of the most friendly description.By: Charles R. Gibson (1870-1931)
In this volume of adventure the author depicts the lives of certain humble modern heroes whose unconscious courage ordinarily goes unnoticed. Mr. Moffett has chosen unusual and picturesque careers, and has offered dramatic scenes from the lives of the steeple climber, the diver, the balloonist,the pilot, the bridge builder, the fireman, the aerial acrobat, the wild animal trainer, the dynamite worker and lastly the locomotive driver.By: Cleveland Moffett (1863-1926)
The World I Live In by Helen Keller is a collection of essays that poignantly tells of her impressions of the world, through her sense of touch, smell, her imagination and dreams.
A short memoir about the author's school days, serialised in The Girl's Own Paper from October 1896 to September 1897. It includes stories about teachers, fellow pupils, the things that scared her most as a child (and even as an adult) and a vivid account of the best summer of her childhood.By: Edith Nesbit (1858-1924)
An adorable picture book with 29 little lessons in German. Learn many simple and useful phrases, such as "How big the sea is!" and "Have you ever been to the farm?" The English parts of the book are read by Kara, and the German parts by Elli.
In 1907 Wallace wrote the short book Is Mars Habitable? to criticize the claims made by Percival Lowell that there were Martian canals built by intelligent beings. Wallace did months of research, consulted various experts, and produced his own scientific analysis of the Martian climate and atmospheric conditions.
Interpretation (Greek Peri Hermeneias) or De Interpretatione (the Latin title) is the second of Aristotle's six texts on logic which are collectively known as the Organon. On Interpretation is one of the earliest surviving philosophical works in the Western tradition to deal with the relationship between language and logic in a comprehensive, explicit, and formal way.
A cross between guidebook and social commentary, The Spinster Book gives clever and humorous insights on topics such as courting, handling men and women, love letters, marriage and spinsterhood.
"Naturalis Historia" (Latin for "Natural History") is an encyclopedia published circa AD 77-79 by Pliny the Elder. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny.
William Walker Atkinson (December 5, 1862 – November 22, 1932) was an attorney, merchant, publisher, and author, as well as an occultist and an American pioneer of the New Thought movement. Atkinson was a prolific writer, and his many books achieved wide circulation among New Thought devotees and occult practitioners.
Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting. He is a doctor who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in their own languages. He later becomes a naturalist, using his abilities to speak with animals to better understand nature and the history of the world.
The Adventures of Pinocchio is a novel for children by Italian author Carlo Collodi, written in Pescia.It is about the mischievous adventures of an animated marionette named Pinocchio and his father, a poor woodcarver named Geppetto. It is considered a canonical piece of children's literature.
Sailing Alone Around the World is a sailing memoir by Joshua Slocum in 1900 about his single-handed global circumnavigation aboard the sloop Spray. Slocum was the first person to sail around the world alone. The book was an immediate success and highly influential in inspiring later travelers.
Glinda of Oz is the fourteenth Land of Oz book written by children's author L. Frank Baum, published on July 10, 1920. It is the last book of the original Oz series, which was later continued by other authors.
A wonderful book in which we meet the lucky little bunny who becomes Mrs. Peter Rabbit! This is one of many delightful animal books written by Thornton W. Burgess. I grew up reading and enjoying these tales of talking animals with fun and varied personalities. Peter Rabbit is a character loved by all, and this charming tale recounts the adventures of meeting, wooing, and marrying Mrs. Peter Rabbit. (Introduction by CLW Rollins)
"The Reluctant Dragon" is an 1898 children's story by Kenneth Grahame (originally published as a chapter in his book Dream Days), which served as the key element to the 1941 feature film with the same name, from Walt Disney Productions.
What Katy Did is an 1872 children's book written by Sarah Chauncey Woolsey under her pen name Susan Coolidge. It follows the adventures of a twelve-year-old American girl, Katy Carr, and her family who live in the fictional lakeside Ohio town of Burnet in the 1860s.
The 13th century Icelandic Volsungasaga is usually read by people sutdying the Poetic Edda or Wagner's Ring - which obscures the fact it is a much better story than practically everyting derived from it.By;William Morris
Bruno and Waldo Gillespie are orphaned brothers living with the extremely eccentric Professor Phaeton Featherwit. One day they set off in one of the professor’s machines to investigate a tornado at close range and accidentally get sucked into it! They are then transported by the tornado and find themselves in a barren, uncharted wasteland wherein lies a city– a long lost Aztec city!By: Joseph E. Badger, Jr (1848-1909)
First published in 1719, Robinson Crusoe is a book that marks the beginning of realistic fiction writing in English. Its simple, linear narrative style and the semblance of being a true account and autobiographical in nature led to its great popularity when it first came out.By: Daniel Defoe (1659/1661-1731)
This exciting historical adventure depicts the last stand of the Gordons - God's "outlaws" - fighting for their Catholic Faith in the early days of the Protestant Revolution in seventeenth-century Scotland. Written for the children but enjoyed by young and old alike, this intriguing novel is filled with courageous heroes, cowardly villains, secrets and even secret passages!By: Sister M. Imelda Wallace, S.L.
An inside look into the wild world of silent movie cowboy William S. Hart... as narrated by his horse! This is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look into the wild, action-packed world of a Hollywood cowboy and stuntman. By: Bill Hart's Pinto Pony, William S. Hart (1864-1946)
This is a collection of public domain science fiction stories which were turned into half-hour plays for the classic mid-1950's American radio series, X Minus One. All of these stories were added to Project Gutenberg via Greg Weeks and crew at Distributed Proofreaders.
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is a satirical novella by the English schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott, first published in 1884 by Seeley & Co. of London.
By: Henry Kuttner (1915—1958).A lone space traveler arrives on Earth seeking a new planet to colonize, his own world dead. At the same time a mysterious plague has infected Earth that will wipe out all life.
The Variable Man is a novella written and sold by Philip K. Dick before he had an agent. It was first published in Space Science Fiction (British), Vol. 2 No. 2, July 1953 and Space Science Fiction, September 1953 with the US publication illustrated by Alex Ebel.
The Green Odyssey is an American science fiction novel written by Philip José Farmer. It was Farmer's first book-length publication, originally released by Ballantine in 1957. Unlike Farmer's most prolific earlier short story work, this book contains no sexual themes, though his next book Flesh returned to these motifs. The novel also appeared in the back ground of the first episode of The Twilight Zone.
"Second Variety" is a short story by Philip K. Dick first published in Space Science Fiction magazine, in May 1953. A nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the West has reduced much of the world to a barren wasteland.
"The Machine Stops" is a science fiction short story (12,300 words) by E. M. Forster. After initial publication in The Oxford and Cambridge Review (November 1909), the story was republished in Forster's The Eternal Moment and Other Stories in 1928.
A classic collection of oral German folklore, brought together for posterity by the scholarly brothers Grimm in the 1800s, this epitome of fairy tales includes many of the world’s best known stories. In these dark foreboding woods, you will find: Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, Lily and the Lion (better known as Beauty and the Beast), and Snow White and Rose Red, among other timeless works.
Compiled by an American missionary, West African Folk Tales by William H Barker is a delightful collection of folk tales from Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania and other countries along the west coast of Africa. These stories spread in various forms to other countries like the West Indies, Suriname, the Netherland Antilles, etc and can be still heard today among the people of these countries.
Published in 1889, The Blue Fairy Book is the first book in the series of story collections known as Andrew Lang's “Coloured” Fairy Books, which bring to life the classic fairytales by Grimm, Madame d'Aulnoy and Perrault among other folklore sources. Most captivating is the fact that the collection features the stories in pristine an unaltered conditions, therefore they contain a darker side than the polished versions most are familiar with from childhood memories.
Ozma of Oz: A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of Kansas, Billina the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, Tik-Tok, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger; Besides Other Good People too Numerous to Mention Faithfully Recorded Herein published on July 30, 1907, was the third book of L. Frank Baum's Oz series. It was the first in which Baum was clearly intending a series of Oz books.
Since this series of books is intended for all young people from one to one hundred, it opens with about eighty of the old MOTHER GOOSE RHYMES. Nothing better was ever invented to tell to little folks who are young enough for lullabies. Their rhythm, their humor, and their pith will always cause us to prize them as the Babies’ Classics. Editors: Hamilton Wright Mabie, Edward Everett Hale, William Byron Forbush.By: Various
Published in 1903 entitled the Japanese Fairy Book, the title was changed in the 1908 edition to Japanese Fairy Tales. Theodora Ozaki was the daughter of a wealthy Japanese aristocrat Baron Ozaki, the first Japanese man to study in the West, and his wife, an American schoolteacher's daughter. The couple separated after a brief marriage and Theodora lived with her father in Japan.
Old Peter's Russian Tales is a collection of Russian folk-tales by Arthur Ransome, published in Britain in 1916.Arthur Ransome is best known for his ‘Swallows and Amazons’ series of children’s books. This is the only example of his fiction in the public domain. These stories are all from Russian folklore, some comparatively well-known, others less so.
The flint heart is a stone of heart shape, forged in prehistoric times, that changes whoever owns it into a wicked person. The story of the flint heart's ultimate defeat involves multiple trips into fairyland by Charles and Unity, children of one of the heart's victims.By: Eden Phillpotts (1862-1960)
The Princess and the Goblin is a children's fantasy novel by George MacDonald. It was published in 1872 by Strahan & Co.Anne Thaxter Eaton writes in A Critical History of Children's Literature that The Princess and the Goblin and its sequel
The Day Boy and Night Girl, also referred to as The Romance of Photogen and Nycteris, is an 1882 fairy tale novel by George MacDonald. A version of this story appeared in Harper's Young People as a series beginning on 2 December 1879 and completing on 6 January 1880.
The Royal Book of Oz (1921) is the fifteenth in the series of Oz books, and the first by Ruth Plumly Thompson, to be written after L. Frank Baum's death. Although Baum was credited as the author, it was written entirely by Thompson.
Kottō contains 20 Japanese stories, collected from different sources and translated by Lafcadio Hearn. The types of stories in this collection are widespread: There are old ghost stories Hearn is best known for (The Legend of Yurei-Daki), his own observations and musings (Pathological), as well as the translation of 'A Woman's Diary', a touching account of the life of the poorer classes in Tokyo, written at the end of the 19th century. By: Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904)
Mother Goose in Prose is a collection of twenty-two children's stories based on Mother Goose nursery rhymes. It was the first children's book written by L. Frank Baum, and the first book illustrated by Maxfield Parrish. It was originally published in 1897 by Way and Williams of Chicago, and re-released by the George M. Hill Company in 1901.
"Andrew Lang's Fairy Books or Andrew Lang's "Coloured" Fairy Books are a twelve-book series of fairy tale collections. Although Andrew Lang did not collect the stories himself from the oral tradition, the extent of his sources (who had collected them originally), made them an immensely influential collection, especially as he used foreign-language sources, giving many of these tales their first appearance in English.
Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott. The novel follows the lives of four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March—detailing their passage from childhood to womanhood, and is loosely based on the author and her three sisters. The novel addressed three major themes: "domesticity, work, and true love, all of them interdependent and each necessary to the achievement of its heroine's individual identity.
Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. Widely regarded as a pinnacle in realist fiction, Anna Karenina recounts St. Petersburg aristocrat Anna Karenina's life story at the backdrop of the late-19th-century feudal Russian society. Tolstoy considered Anna Karenina his first true novel.
Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott. The novel follows the lives of four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March—detailing their passage from childhood to womanhood, and is loosely based on the author and her three sisters. The novel addressed three major themes: "domesticity, work, and true love, all of them interdependent and each necessary to the achievement of its heroine's individual identity.
The Kama Sutra (Sanskrit: कामसूत्र About this sound pronunciation , Kāmasūtra) is an ancient Indian Hindutext written by Vātsyāyana. It is widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behaviour in Sanskrit literature.
Adele Garrison was the nom de plume of Nana Springer White, an American writer. Her career included time as a schoolteacher in Milwaukee. She later worked as an editor for the Milwaukee Sentinel and then a reporter and writer for the Chicago Examiner and Chicago American.
Fanny Hill is a 1964 American comedy film directed by Russ Meyer and starring Letícia Román, Miriam Hopkins and Ulli Lommel.[1] Filmed in Berlin, the film is an adaptation of the 1748 John Cleland novel of the same name.
The Money Moon is a light-hearted romance. Jilted in love, our American millionaire hero, George Bellow, takes a walking tour of the Kent countryside to overcome the “Haunting Spectre of the Might Have Been”. Along the way he makes friends with a young boy out to discover a fortune to save his Aunt Anthea from having to sell the family estate and George discovers his ideal “Arcadia” and true love.By: Jeffery Farnol (1878-1952)
Heart of the World is a 1895 book by H Rider Haggard about a lost Mayan city in Mexico.
This is a rags to riches romance about an exceedingly beautiful, poor, young girl (Thurley Ruxton) who is mentored by one of New York’s elite hostesses. In order to draw them into her social circle, she allows all the famous and moneyed populous of Gothem to believe that Thurley is the princess Thurvinia hiding in New York to escape an arranged marriage. This causes all manner of high drama and romance with a suitable ending.By: Philip Verrill Mighels (1869-1911)
Shakespeare was a man who seemed to know everything about human nature and as Orson Welles said ‘he speaks to everyone and we all claim him’. I know that it has been said that ‘it is impossible to be a great Shakespearian actor without an idiosyncratic and extraordinary voice’ and this may be so, but that does not preclude ordinary mortals from reading, hearing and enjoying Shakespeare. By: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Heloise was a strong-willed and gifted woman who was fluent in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and came from a lower social standing than Abelard.By: Peter Abelard
A reputedly wealthy and eccentric old man dies in Vermont. His home, the House of a Thousand Candles, so called for the owner's preference to candle light, is left empty save a faithful servant -- his fortune mysteriously vanished, though rumored to still have been hidden in the house somewhere.By: Meredith Nicholson (1866-1947)
The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by the Scottish author John Buchan. It first appeared as a serial in Blackwood's Magazine in August and September 1915 before being published in book form in October that year by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh.
William Le Queux was a British novelist and prolific writer of mysteries. Indeed, mystery surrounds the author himself as to whether he was a spy or rather just a self-promoter. Regardless of which is true, Le Queux brings us a story of intrigue and espionage that travels across Europe in the true spirit of a good mystery.
The Case of Jennie Brice is a crime novel by the American writer Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876–1956) set in 1904 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which has been a part of the city of Pittsburgh since 1907.
The Black Star was a master criminal who took great care to never be identifiable, always wore a mask so nobody knew what he looked like, rarely spoke to keep his voice from being recognized, and the only mark left at the scenes of the crimes which he and his gang committed were small black stars which were tacked as a sign of their presence, and an occasional sarcastic note to signify his presence and responsibility. By: Johnston McCulley (1883-1958)
When fourteen year old Sally Carter decides to share the secret she has discovered on Slipper Point with her new friend Doris Craig, she couldn’t possibly imagine where the solution to this intriguing mystery will lead them! Augusta Huiell Seaman is the author of over 40 historical fiction and mystery novels for older children most of which are currently out of print. The Slipper Point Mystery was originally published in 1919.
What is the secret of the old boarded up house? And what is the answer to the mystery of the long lost letter that is found in it? Best friends Joyce and Cynthia - along with their dog "Goliath", are determined to find out in this pre-Nancy Drew juvenile mystery for girls.By: Augusta Huiell Seaman (1879-1950)
Well-known mystery writer John Lexman is charged with murder and sent to Broadmoor Prison. His friend T.X., head of a special branch of Scotland Yard, tries to prove his innocence.
The Short Mystery Story Collection by Various is a real treat for intrigue enthusiasts! This volume features such greats as Ambrose Bierce, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Anton Chekov. Some unexpected names like P G Wodehouse and Kate Chopin also crop up, bending their prodigious talents to the genre.
Andersen's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well.
Viking tales are tales from Iceland, featuring the king Halfdan and his son Harald. By: Jennie Hall (1875-1921)
One Thousand and One Nights (Arabic: كِتَاب أَلْف لَيْلَة وَلَيْلَة kitāb ʾalf layla wa-layla) is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the Arabian Nights, from the first English language edition (1706), which rendered the title as The Arabian Nights' Entertainment.
Henry Beam Piper’s book “Five Sci-Fi Short Stories“ is a collection of: The Answer, Temple Trouble, Flight From Tomorrow, Police Operation and Graveyard of Dreams. “The Answer” is about two nuclear scientists who have successfully made a very powerful weapon and are planning to drop it from space on un-expecting earthlings. The story is set in 1984, many years after a supposed nuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union had ended.By: H. Beam Piper (1904-1964)
This book features a series of short stories collected by renowned ethnologist Henry R. Schoolcraft. The stories are adapted from old Native American legends with the aim to protect their authenticity from future contamination. Schoolcraft made it his duty to learn the Native American folklore, after living among them in the Great Lakes region and experiencing their culture firsthand.
All people in the world tell nursery tales to their children, and the stories are apt to be like each other everywhere. A child who has read the Blue and Red and Yellow Fairy Books will find some old friends with new faces in the Pink Fairy Book. By: Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
This is a collection of folk tales originating in Canada, some from aboriginal oral tradition and others due to early French, Scottish, Irish and British colonists. They are presented as “fables” though many are without obvious moral. By: Cyrus Macmillan
Selected Short Stories by F Scott Fitzgerald is a superb collection of stories that symbolize the Jazz Age (a term he coined himself) of the 1920s. He wrote more than 43 stories, some of which were adapted successfully for film, stage and television.
A charming little book full of the most gorgeous illustrations. We see a number of stories in which kindness is rewarded and selfishness is punished but Brooke squeezes a number of intriguing and quite bizarre twists and turns into the story so it is not nearly so predictable as you might imagine. Victorian moral fairy tales from a delightfully inventive mind.By: L. Leslie Brooke (1862-1940)
Castles in the Air, a short novel or perhaps more like a collection of short stories with memories of a French rogue in the early 19th century Paris, was published in 1921 and about it I quote from the foreword: In very truth my good friend Ratichon is an unblushing liar, thief, a forger–anything you will; his vanity is past belief, his scruples are non-existent.By: Baroness Emmuska Orczy (1865-1947)
This is a selection of short stories recounting, with gentle satire and tolerant good humour, the small town provincial life at the end of the nineteenth century, based around the six towns in the county of Staffordshire, England, known as the Potteries. Arnold Bennett chose to fictionalize these towns by changing their names and omitting one (Fenton) as he apparently felt that “Five Towns” was more euphonious than “Six Towns”.
Little Wizard Stories of Oz is a set of six short stories written for young children by L. Frank Baum, the creator of the Oz books. The six tales were published in separate small booklets,
Set in Nevada during the late 1800’s, this collection of stories is a great rollicking romp through the American frontier as seen through the eyes of one of the most enjoyable characters created in the history of tall tales. By: Robert E. Howard (1906-1936)
The purpose of The Junior Classics is to provide, in ten volumes containing about five thousand pages, a classified collection of tales, stories, and poems, both ancient and modern, suitable for boys and girls of from six to sixteen years of age.By: William Patten (1868-1946)
Nine original and, yes, unlikely fairy-tales, which include stories of the arithmetic fairy, the king who became a charming villa-residence and the dreadful automatic nagging machine. All are classic-Nesbit: charming, novel and not afraid to squeeze in a moral or two — told with proper fairy-tale style.By: Edith Nesbit (1858-1924)
This is an intriguing collection of folklore from the Santal Parganas, a district in India located about 150 miles from Calcutta. As its Preface implies, this collection is intended to give an unadulterated view of a culture through its folklore. It contains a variety of stories about different aspects of life, including family and marriage, religion, and work. By: Cecil Henry Bompas
The three charming stories contained in The Frog Prince and Other Tales include a less-known fairy-tale called Princess Belle-Etoile besides the title story and Alladin and the Wonderful Lamp. Published in 1874, the tales are re-told by the famous illustrator Walter Crane, who has also provided some of the most lovely illustrations in the book.By: Walter Crane (1845-1915)
George MacDonald (December 10, 1824 – September 18, 1905) was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister. Though no longer well known, his works (particularly his fairy tales and fantasy novels) have inspired admiration in such notables as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Madeleine L’Engle. The Shadows is one such fairy tale.
The Goody-Naughty Book was originally published as two books back to back. Opening the book from one end, the reader experiences “The Goody Side” where the children are polite and thoughtful.
The fable is a small narrative, in prose or verse, which has as its main characteristic the aim of conveying a moral lesson (the “moral”), implicitly or, more normally, explicitly expressed. Even though the modern concept of fable is that it should have animals or inanimated objects as characters – an idea supported by the works of famous fabulists such as Aesop and La Fontaine – Phaedrus, the most important Latin fabulist, is innovative in his writing.
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to modern times through a number of sources and continue to be reinterpreted in different verbal registers and in popular as well as artistic media.
As a Man Thinketh is a literary essay and book by James Allen. This book illustrates the use of the power of thought to increase personal capabilities. It was also described by Allen as "A book that will help you to help yourself", "A pocket companion for thoughtful people", and "A book on the power and right application of thought."
The Prince is a political treatise by the Florentine writer Niccolò Machiavelli. It was written around 1513, but not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli’s death. The treatise is not actually representative of his published work during his lifetime, but it is certainly the best remembered one.
Genevieve Behrend was a teacher of Mental Science, a New Thought discipline created by Thomas Troward (1847- 1916). Your Invisible Power, published in 1921, is her first and most famous book. It is a guide to the use of visualization and other mental processes in life enhancement and the achievement of personal goals.
The Republic (Greek: Πολιτεία, Politeia; Latin: De Re Publica) is a Socratic dialogue, written by Plato around 380 BC, concerning the definition of justice (δικαιοσύνη), the order and character of the just city-state and the just man—for this reason, ancient readers used the name On Justice as an alternative title (not to be confused with the spurious dialogue also titled On Justice).
How to Live on 24 Hours a Day (1910), written by Arnold Bennett, is part of a larger work entitled How to Live. In this volume, he offers practical advice on how one might live (as opposed to just existing) within the confines of 24 hours a day.
Bennett asks us to consider our brains as the most wonderful machine, a machine which is the only thing in this world that we can control. As he writes:
The Kybalion: Hermetic Philosophy, originally published in 1908 by a person or persons under the pseudonym of
The Communist Manifesto (originally Manifesto of the Communist Party) is an 1848 political pamphlet by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Commissioned by the Communist League and originally published in London (in German as Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei) just as the revolutions of 1848 began to erupt, the Manifesto was later recognised as one of the world's most influential political manuscripts.
Yoga sutras by Patanjali is a seminal work in yoga, this book is more about control of mind and the true goal of yoga. The sutras are extremely brief, and the translation in neat English makes it very easy for people to understand the ancient Sanskrit text. It starts with the birth and growth of spiritual man through the control of mind. In all, this is a
For the work by Boethius written c. 524, see Consolation of Philosophy. The Consolations of Philosophy (ISBN 0-140-27661-0) is a nonfiction book by Alain de Botton. First published by Hamish Hamilton in 2000, subsequent publications (2001 onwards) have been by Penguin Books.
Karl Marx’s Capital: A Critical Analysis of Capitalist Production is a critical analysis of the political economy or the capitalist system. In this 3 volume work, he says that a capitalist economy can only survive by exploiting the working class. The concepts discussed in this book laid the foundations of the political doctrine that would later be known as communism.
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding is a book by the Scottish empiricist philosopher David Hume, published in English in 1748.It was a revision of an earlier effort, Hume's A Treatise of Human Nature, published anonymously in London in 1739–40.
Thomas Troward was a divisional Judge in British-administered India. His avocation was the study of comparative religion. Influences on his thinking, as well as his later writing, included the teachings of Christ, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. After his retirement from the judiciary in 1896, Troward set out to apply logic and a judicial weighing of evidence in the study of matters of cause and effect.
Arthur Schopenhauer, an early 19th century philosopher, made significant contributions to metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics. His work also informed theories of evolution and psychology, largely through his theory of the will to power – a concept which Nietzsche famously adopted and developed. Despite this, he is today, as he was during his life, overshadowed by his contemporary, Hegel.
The Apology of Socrates by Plato was thought to have been written following Socrates trial and death in 399 BC. It is one of many such accounts of this infamous trial.
The Critique of Pure Reason (German: Kritik der reinen Vernunft, KrV) by Immanuel Kant, (first published in 1781, second edition 1787), is one of the most influential works in the history of philosophy.
Resistance to Civil Government (Civil Disobedience) is an essay by American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau that was first published in 1849.
Twilight of the Idols, or, How to Philosophize with a Hammer (German: Götzen-Dämmerung, oder, Wie man mit dem Hammer philosophirt) is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche, written in 1888, and published in 1889.
After a number of deaths in his close family, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle turned to spiritualism in hope of finding proof of the afterlife. Being open in this way, he wanted to believe that spirits and other supernatural being including fairies were real. Because of this he believed the photographs of fairies taken by the Cottingley girls were proof of the existence of such beings. In this book he presents his stance on the issue. Eventually it was proven that the photographs were indeed a hoax.
On Liberty is a philosophical work by English philosopher John Stuart Mill, originally intended as a short essay. The work, published in 1859, applies Mill's ethical system of utilitarianism to society and the state.
The Ethics is a philosophical book written by Baruch Spinoza. It was written in Latin. Although it was published posthumously in 1677, it is his most famous work, and is considered his magnum opus.
A collection of ten short essays or other short nonfiction works in the public domain.By: Various
The Monadology (French: La Monadologie, 1714) is one of Gottfried Leibniz’s best known works representing his later philosophy. It is a short text which sketches in some 90 paragraphs a metaphysics of simple substances, or monads.
Awaiting his trial on charges of impiety and heresy, Socrates encounters Euthyphro, a self-proclaimed authority on matters of piety and the will of the gods. Socrates, desiring instruction in these matters, converses with Euthyphro, but as usual, the man who professes to know nothing fares better than the man who claims to be an expert. By: Plato (427BC - 347BC)
A young New-Yorker of twelve heard an appeal for the Fatherless Children of France and his heart was touched. He had no money, but he resolved to give his spare time and his utmost energy to support a
Beyond Good and Evil, by Friedrich Nietzsche A searing indictment of concepts like “truth” and “language” Beyond Good and Evil, by Friedrich Nietzsche is a deeply thought provoking book that forms one of the keystones of modern thought and politics. In this book, Nietzsche takes the position that our subservience to fixed perspectives that are forced on us by our language and our ideals make us incapable of perceiving reality. He propounds the theory that ideals are not fixed but change over time, often dramatically, and end up becoming the exact opposite of what they originally were. For instance an abstraction like “good” could mean anything depending on who is using it. Wars have been fought, people have been silenced, disease and destruction have been let loose based on what is considered “good” by certain countries and people in power. Hence, the meaning and interpretation of words really depend on the will that chooses to man...
On the Heavens (Greek: Περί ουρανού, Latin: De Caelo or De Caelo et Mundo) is Aristotle's chief cosmological treatise. In it Aristotle argues that the Earth is a sphere by pointing to the evidence of lunar eclipses. Aristotle also provides a detailed explanation of his theory of 'gravity' arguing that things which contain 'earth' fall towards the centre of the Universe because 'earth' is naturally attracted to the centre of the Universe.
Categories is the first of Aristotle's six texts on logic which are collectively known as the Organon. In Categories, Aristotle enumerates all the possible kinds of things that can be the subject or the predicate of a proposition. Aristotle places every object of human apprehension under one of ten categories (known to medieval writers as the praedicamenta).
Howards End is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct, and personal relationships in turn-of-the-century England. Howards End is considered by some to be Forster's masterpiece.[1] In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Howards End 38th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
Great Expectations is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel; a bildungsroman which depicts the personal growth and personal development of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens's second novel after David Copperfield to be fully narrated in the first person.
This Side of Paradise is the debut novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Published in 1920 and taking its title from a line of Rupert Brooke's poem Tiare Tahiti, the book examines the lives and morality of post–World War I youth. Its protagonist, Amory Blaine, is an attractive Princeton University student who dabbles in literature. The novel explores the theme of love warped by greed and status seeking.
The Man Who Was Thursday includes Chesterton's favorite theme of Christianity with touches of delightful humor to enliven the twists and turns that abound throughout the book.
A Princess of Mars is a science fiction novel following the adventures of the heroic John Carter, after he is mysteriously transported to the planet Mars where he meets its divided inhabitants. The novel is considered to be a seminal for the planetary romance, which is a sub-genre of science fantasy. Burroughs’ book has also inspired a number of well known science fiction writers during the beginning of the 20th century.
It is a novel by Arthur Conan Doyle concerning an expedition to a plateau in South America where prehistoric animals still survive. The character of Professor Challenger was introduced in this book. Interestingly, for a seminal work of dinosaur-related fiction, the reptiles only occupy a small portion of the narrative. Much more time is devoted to a war between early human hominids and a vicious tribe of ape-like creatures.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his famous detective. The title character was named after famous American poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Pride and Prejudice is the most famous of Jane Austen’s novels, and its opening is one of the most famous lines in English literature - “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
H. G. Wells wrote The War of the Worlds in 1898, when there was much speculation about life on the planet Mars. The book is considered to be one of the first science fiction novels. In the story, an English gentleman narrates the events of a violent and fast paced Martian invasion.
The Leavenworth Case (1878), subtitled A Lawyer's Story, is an American detective novel and the first novel by Anna Katharine Green. Set in New York City, it concerns the murder of a retired merchant, Horatio Leavenworth, in his New York mansion. The popular[1] novel introduced the detective Ebenezer Gryce, and was influential in the development of the detective novel. In her autobiography, Agatha Christie cited it as an influence on her own fiction.
Pride and Prejudice is the most famous of Jane Austen’s novels, and its opening is one of the most famous lines in English literature - “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It is a story of a woman who struggles with a world in which she doesn't quite fit. Primarily of the Bildungsroman genre, Jane Eyre follows the emotions and experiences of its eponymous heroine, including her growth to adulthood and her love for Mr. Rochester, the Byronic master of fictitious Thornfield Hall.
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a classic science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne published in 1870. The book was highly acclaimed when released and still is now; it is regarded as one of the premiere adventure novels and one of Verne's greatest works
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is a novel by American writer Herman Melville, published in 1851 during the period of the American Renaissance. During the 20th century, its reputation as a Great American Novel was established. William Faulkner confessed he wished he had written it himself, and D. H. Lawrence called it
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is an American children’s novel written by author L. Frank Baum. The story chronicles the adventures of a young farm girl named Dorothy in the magical Land of Oz, after she and her pet dog Toto are swept away from their Kansas home by a cyclone. The Library of Congress has declared it “America’s greatest and best-loved homegrown fairytale”.
White Fang is a novel by American author Jack London (1876–1916) — and the name of the book's eponymous character, a wild wolfdog. It is a companion novel to London's best-known work, The Call of the Wild, which is about a kidnapped, domesticated dog embracing his wild ancestry to survive and thrive in the wild.
Persuasion is the last novel fully completed by Jane Austen. Anne Elliott has devoted her life to caring for her financially irresponsible family. Just when she is growing content with her uneventful lifestyle, a long-lost flame re-enters the picture -- now as the beau of her significantly younger cousin. Anne is now faced with a choice: will she watch Captain Wentworth settle into life with another woman, or will she strive to win back his love and escape her family?
A historical manuscript penned by a medieval Norse poet. A mysterious code. Three intrepid explorers. A subterranean world filled with prehistoric creatures and proto-humans. These are some of the brilliant ideas that are superbly blended in A Journey to the Interior of the Earth by Jules Verne.
Don Quixote is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Don Quixote is considered the most influential work of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and the entire Spanish literary canon. As a founding work of modern Western literature and one of the earliest canonical novels, it regularly appears high on lists of the greatest works of fiction ever published.
Crime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, an impoverished St. Petersburg student who formulates and executes a plan to kill a hated, unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money, thereby solving his financial problems and at the same time, he argues, ridding the world of evil.
Sense and Sensibility is a novel by Jane Austen, published in 1811. It tells the story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, both of age to marry. The novel follows the young women to their new home with their widowed mother, a meagre cottage on the property of a distant relative, where they experience love, romance and heartbreak.
Tess of the d'Urbervilles is a novel by Thomas Hardy, considered as a major nineteenth-century English novel and possibly Hardy's fictional masterpiece. One of the greatest English tragic novels, TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES is the story of a “pure woman” who is victimized both by conventional morality and its antithesis.
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. Treasure Island is an adventure novel, a thrilling tale of “buccaneers and buried gold.” Traditionally considered a coming of age story, it is an adventure tale of superb atmosphere, character and action, and also a wry commentary on the ambiguity of morality—as seen in Long John Silver—unusual for children’s literature then and now
The Fortieth Door is a 1924 American adventure film serial directed by George B. Seitz. The film is considered to be lost.
Wuthering Heights is Emily Brontë's only novel. A tale of passion set in the bleak Yorkshire moors in mid 19thC, far from the Victorian uprightness, Wuthering Heights depicts the mutual love of Catherine and Heathcliff till destruction rends the narration; yet cruelty is only to be met with forgiveness in the following generations. Romantic, impassioned and wild, it is also a dark journey in the human soul.
Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian–Regency England; she also creates a lively comedy of manners among her characters. This novel has been adapted for several films, many television programs, and a long list of stage plays.
Mary Elizabeth Braddon's first novel, Lady Audley's Secret, was one of the most popular English novels of its day. Published serially in 1862, it tells the story of the lovely Lucy Graham, who becomes Lady Audley at the beginning of the novel, and who conceals a scandalous secret from her new husband and his family.
The Railway Children is a children's book by Edith Nesbit. Edith Nesbit’s classic story, in which three children, pulled suddenly from their comfortable suburban life, move to the country with their mother, where they come to know and love the ways of the railways.
For more than a century and a quarter, fans of detective fiction have enjoyed the doings of the iconic sleuth, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. In the company of his faithful companion, Dr Watson, Holmes has consistently delighted generations of readers.
Mansfield Park is the third published novel by Jane Austen and was completed between February 1811 and 1813 while Austen was living at Chawton Cottage. The novel tells the story of Fanny Price starting when her overburdened family sends her at age 10 to live in the household of her wealthy aunt and uncle, through to her marriage.
Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. It was published under the full title The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver'd by Pyrates.
The highlight of the book for serious readers is the elaborate footnotes which provide a great deal of information about different variants of these stories that are told in other parts of the world. One of the most attractive features in the book are the charming illustrations that accompany each tale.
A fantasy novel first published in 1895, Lilith follows a young man on his inter-dimensional journey of spiritual discovery, as he acquaints himself with his family’s past and unearths a life-changing secret. Moreover, it deals with the introspection of its protagonist, as he is hurled into a mysterious setting where he encounters bizarre creatures that challenge the validity of his temporal values.
Set in the affluent town of Hamilton, Austin’s classic presents a whodunit mystery focusing on a crime involving a young woman who has been murdered under mysterious circumstances during a game of Bridge, with no hard evidence pointing to the perpetrator.
Around the World in Eighty Days is a classic adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in 1873. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly-employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days on a £20,000 wager set by his friends at the Reform Club. It is one of Verne's most acclaimed works.
The Invisible Man (1897) is one of the most famous science fiction novels of all time. Written by H.G. Wells (1866-1946), it tells the story of a scientist who discovers the secret of invisibility and uses it on himself. The story begins as the Invisible Man, with a bandaged face and a heavy coat and gloves, takes a train to lodge in a country inn whilst he tries to discover the antidote and make himself visible again.
The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims' Progress is a travel book by American author Mark Twain, published in 1869, which humorously chronicles what Twain called his
H. G. Wells wrote The War of the Worlds in 1898, when there was much speculation about life on the planet Mars. The novel is the first-person narrative of both an unnamed protagonist in Surrey and of his younger brother in London as southern England is invaded by Martians. The book is considered to be one of the first science fiction novels.
Oliver Twist is a novel by Charles Dickens. The story is of the orphan Oliver Twist, who starts his life in a workhouse and is then sold into apprenticeship with an undertaker. He escapes from there and travels to London, where he meets the Artful Dodger, a member of a gang of juvenile pickpockets led by the elderly criminal, Fagin. The novel is full of sarcasm and dark humour, even as it treats its serious subject, revealing the hypocrisies of the time.
A science fiction novella depicting a thrilling cat-and-mouse game which plays out between a credulous young man and an interstellar safari leader, as the two take up an unanticipated adventure on the mysterious planet Jumala. Norton combines mind control, cunning schemes, interstellar travel, and alien intelligence in an action-packed adventure.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice falling through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre.
Deathworld is the name of a series of science fiction novels by Harry Harrison including the books Deathworld (first published 1960, serialized in Astounding Science Fiction), Deathworld 2 (1964, initially titled The Ethical Engineer and serialized in Analog) and Deathworld 3 (1968, serialized in Analog as The Horse Barbarians), plus the short story
The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of the crime novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country and tells the story of an attempted murder inspired by the legend of a fearsome, diabolical hound of supernatural origin. Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. Watson investigate the case.
Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White tells the story of two half-sisters, Laura Fairlie and Marian Halcombe who were embroiled in the sinister plot of Sir Percival Glyde and Count Fosco to take over their family’s wealth. It’s considered to be one of the first “sensation novels” to be published. Like most novels that fall into this category, the protagonists here are pushed to their limits by the villains before they finally got the justice they deserved.
David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens. Many elements of the novel follow events in Dickens' own life, and it is often considered as his veiled autobiography. It was Dickens' favorite among his own novels.
The Scarlet Pimpernel is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Emma Orczy set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution, first published in 1905.
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is an 1850 work of fiction in a historical setting, written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. The book is considered to be his "masterwork". Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. Treasure Island is an adventure novel, a thrilling tale of “buccaneers and buried gold.” Traditionally considered a coming of age story, it is an adventure tale of superb atmosphere, character and action, and also a wry commentary on the ambiguity of morality—as seen in Long John Silver—unusual for children’s literature then and now
Madame Bovary (1856) is the French writer Gustave Flaubert's debut novel. The story focuses on a doctor's wife, Emma Bovary, who has adulterous affairs and lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life.
Wuthering Heights is Emily Brontë's only novel. A tale of passion set in the bleak Yorkshire moors in mid 19thC, far from the Victorian uprightness, Wuthering Heights depicts the mutual love of Catherine and Heathcliff till destruction rends the narration; yet cruelty is only to be met with forgiveness in the following generations. Romantic, impassioned and wild, it is also a dark journey in the human soul.
Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It is a story of a woman who struggles with a world in which she doesn't quite fit. Primarily of the Bildungsroman genre, Jane Eyre follows the emotions and experiences of its eponymous heroine, including her growth to adulthood and her love for Mr. Rochester, the Byronic master of fictitious Thornfield Hall.
The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux, is one of the first locked-room mystery crime fiction novels. It is the first novel starring fictional reporter Joseph Rouletabille and concerns a complex, and seemingly impossible, crime in which the criminal appears to disappear from a locked room.
Storm Over Warlock is a science fiction novel written by Andre Norton and published in 1960 by the World Publishing Company. The story combines science fiction with fantasy, technology with witchcraft, in a way typical of Norton’s works.
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare at an uncertain date between 1599 and 1602. Hamlet is commonly regarded as one of the greatest plays ever written.
Whether you're a parent or a child, a young reader or an older one, the Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter is indeed just that – a treasure chest of delightful, charming little stories full of animals and people. Beatrix Potter today has spawned a whole industry of merchandise, games and theme parks, but the stories remain as fresh and sparkling as they were when they first came out in 1901.
The Metamorphosis is a novella by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed into a giant
Written in 1922, The Middle of Things is one of the more than 100 whodunits penned by the prolific writer Joseph Smith Fletcher, a British journalist. His body of work consists of more than two hundred novels in many different genres including historical fiction, poetry and non-fiction.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is an American children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum. The story chronicles the adventures of a young farm girl named Dorothy in the magical Land of Oz, after she and her pet dog Toto are swept away from their Kansas home by a cyclone. The Library of Congress has declared it
32 Caliber by Donald McGibney certainly falls into this category.The recent interest that's being generated in the pulp fiction writers of the 1920s has lead to many of the books of that genre being resurrected and read once again.
Candide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire by Voltaire. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow, painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire concludes with Candide, if not rejecting optimism outright, advocating a deeply practical precept,
Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur sleuth created in the early 20th century by English novelist G. K. Chesterton. Father Brown is featured in a series of short stories where he solves mysteries and crimes using his intuition and keen understanding of human nature. The character was loosely based by Chesterton on Father John O'Connor (1870–1952), a parish priest in Bradford, who was involved in Chesterton's conversion to Catholicism in 1922.
The Middle Temple Murder by Joseph Smith Fletcher was first published in 1919 and is a great example of the classical English detective story. Joseph Smith Fletcher initially embarked on a career in law but soon switched to journalism. He was also a gifted poet and his first published work was a book of poetry. He went on to write some very notable books of historical fiction and history. This led to his becoming a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Published in 1920, Thuvia, Maid of Mars is the fourth book in the Barsoom series and concentrates on Carthoris, the son of infamous John Carter, and Thuvia, the princess of Ptarth, as they find themselves entangled in a complex web of love and strict traditions of Barsoom. A typical Burroughs piece, the installment contains all the required elements of an effective pulp fiction, including a hero, a damsel in distress, unforeseen complications, and a generous supply of action.
The Survivors is a science fiction novel by author Tom Godwin. It was published in 1958 by Gnome Press in an edition of 5,000 copies, of which 1,084 were never bound. The novel was published in paperback by Pyramid Books in 1960 under the title Space Prison.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an 1889 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The book was originally titled A Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Some early editions are titled A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur.
If you're a sci-fi fan, then you've probably heard of Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous Barsoom series of science fiction fantasy novels. Set in the “dying planet” Mars, the ten books in the series portray an Earthman, John Carter and his astral journey to the Red Planet, his marriage with a native princess and his descendants.
Mansfield Park is the third published novel by Jane Austen and was completed between February 1811 and 1813 while Austen was living at Chawton Cottage. The novel tells the story of Fanny Price starting when her overburdened family sends her at age 10 to live in the household of her wealthy aunt and uncle, through to her marriage.
Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur sleuth created in the early 20th century by English novelist G. K. Chesterton. Father Brown is featured in a series of short stories where he solves mysteries and crimes using his intuition and keen understanding of human nature. The character was loosely based by Chesterton on Father John O'Connor (1870–1952), a parish priest in Bradford, who was involved in Chesterton's conversion to Catholicism in 1922.
By: U. Waldo Cutler.First published January 1905 by GEORGE G. HARRAP & COMPANY 39 41 Parker Street, Kingsway, London, W.C.
The Moonstone (1868) by Wilkie Collins is a 19th-century British epistolary novel, generally considered the first detective novel in the English language. The story was originally serialised in Charles Dickens' magazine All the Year Round. The Moonstone and The Woman in White are widely considered Wilkie Collins' best novels.
The Phantom of the Opera (French: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialisation in Le Gaulois from September 23, 1909, to January 8, 1910. It was published in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierre Lafitte.
The Sign of the Four (1890), also called The Sign of Four, is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 stories starring the fictional detective.
Just as the adopted Juliet Byrne finds out the truth about her family, her father is murdered. Luckily the brilliant chocolate-munching Detective Gimblet takes up the case to solve the 'Ashiel Mystery'By: Mrs Charles Bryce (1839-1920)
Wives and Daughters is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in the Cornhill Magazine as a serial from August 1864 to January 1866. It was partly written whilst Gaskell was staying with the salon hostess Mary Elizabeth Mohl at her home on the Rue de Bac in Paris.
The Cinema Murder is a 1919 American silent drama film starring Marion Davies, adapted from the 1917 novel by E. Phillips Oppenheim. [1] The Cinema Murder is considered to be a lost film.[2]
Also known as “The Children’s Homer,” this is Irish writer Padraic Colum’s retelling of the events of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey for young people. Colum’s rich, evocative prose narrates the travails of Odysseus, King of Ithaca: his experiences fighting the Trojan War, and his ten years’ journey home to his faithful wife Penelope and his son Telemachus.
First published in 1885, After London, or Wild England is considered to be one of the earliest instances of post-apocalyptic fiction, describing the effects of an unspecified catastrophe that dramatically changes the face of England and its population.By: Richard Jefferies (1848-1887)
Twenty Years After (French: Vingt ans après) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized from January to August 1845. A book of the D'Artagnan Romances, it is a sequel to The Three Musketeers and precedes The Vicomte de Bragelonne (which includes the sub-plot Man in the Iron Mask).
King Solomon's Mines (1885) is a popular novel[1] by the Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the missing brother of one of the party. It is the first English adventure novel set in Africa, and is considered to be the genesis of the Lost World literary genre.
Fenris isn't a hell planet, but it's nobody's bargain. With 2,000-hour days and an 8,000-hour year, it alternates blazing heat with killing cold. A planet like that tends to breed a special kind of person: tough enough to stay alive and smart enough to make the best of it. When that kind of person discovers he's being cheated of wealth he's risked his life for, that kind of planet is ripe for revolution. By: H. Beam Piper (1904-1961)
This is the first book in the Pellucidar series. Pellucidar is a fictional Hollow Earth milieu invented by Edgar Rice Burroughs for a series of action adventure stories. The stories initially involve the adventures of mining heir David Innes and his inventor friend Abner Perry after they use an “iron mole” to burrow 500 miles into the earth’s crust.
Starman's Quest is a science fiction novel by author Robert Silverberg. It was published in 1958 by Gnome Press in an edition of 5,000 copies, of which only 3,000 were bound. It was reprinted as a second edition in hardcover by Meredith Press in 1969.
The Scarlet Pimpernel is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Emma Orczy set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution, first published in 1905.
Far from the Madding Crowd (1874) is Thomas Hardy's fourth novel and his first major literary success. It originally appeared anonymously as a monthly serial in Cornhill Magazine, where it gained a wide readership.
The Land That Time Forgot is a fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first of his Caspak trilogy. His working title for the story was
Antony Gillingham arrives at the Red House moments after a gunshot is heard. The room is locked, the murderer has disappeared and, in Antony's opinion, the police are going about it the wrong way. Antony, who was looking for a new profession anyway, decides to solve the murder himself, with a little help from his friend Bill.
Allan Quatermain is the protagonist of H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines and its sequels. Allan Quatermain was also the title of a book in this sequence.
A Little Princess is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, first published as a book in 1905. It is an expanded version of the short story Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's, which was serialized in St. Nicholas Magazine from December 1887.
Triplanetary is a science fiction novel and space opera by E. E. Smith. It was first serialized in the magazine Amazing Stories in 1934. After the original four novels of the Lensman series were published, Smith expanded and reworked Triplanetary into the first of two prequels for the series. The expanded Triplanetary was published in book form in 1948 by Fantasy Press.
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is a mystery fiction novel by English writer Fergus Hume. The book was first published in Australia, in 1886. Set in Melbourne, the story focuses on the investigation of a homicide involving a body discovered in a hansom cab, as well as an exploration into the social class divide in the city.
A perplexing mystery novel published in 1897, That Affair Next Door focuses on a mysterious murder that has occurred in a quiet neighborhood, incidentally in the house next door to the home of the curious Miss Butterworth. Consequently, the middle-aged spinster becomes directly involved in the unraveling of the gruesome crime, instigated by her inquisitive and resolute nature.By: Anna Katharine Green
Space Viking is a science fiction novel written by H. Beam Piper and is set in his Terro-Human future history. It tells the story of one man's search for his wife's murderer and its unexpected consequences. The story was originally serialized in Analog magazine (November 1962 – February 1963), then published by Ace Books in 1963.
Siddhartha is a 1922 novel by Hermann Hesse that deals with the spiritual journey of self-discovery of a man named Siddhartha during the time of the Gautama Buddha.
The Eye of Osiris is an early example from the Dr. Thorndyke series of detective stories written by R. Austin Freeman. In these stories, the author drew on his extensive medical and scientific knowledge for his main character, a medico-legal expert who relies on forensic evidence and logical deduction in solving cases.
Set in England at the turn of the 20th century, Wallace’s crime novel The Daffodil Mystery follows the mysterious circumstances under which shop owner Lyne has been murdered. Accordingly, it is up to detective Jack Tarling and his trusted Chinese assistant to solve the case and reach an appropriate and just resolution.
A quiet cathedral town in England, full of gossips and people who are not quite who they seem to be, is the setting for this murder mystery.By: Joseph Smith Fletcher (1863-1935)
The Poison Belt was the second story, a novella, that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about Professor Challenger. Written in 1913, roughly a year before the outbreak of World War I, much of it takes place in a single room in Challenger's house in Sussex – rather oddly, given that it follows The Lost World, a story set largely outdoors in the wilds of South America.
The Haunted Bookshop is the 1919 novel by Christopher Morley, now in the public domain in the United States.
This is a collection of short science fiction stories by various writers, circa 1930. Writers include Paul Ernst, Miles Breuer, Ray Cummings, Sewell Wright, and others.
Star Surgeon is a 1963 science-fiction book by Northern Iriah author James White, part of his Sector General series.
An entertaining selection of “modern” ghost stories selected “to include specimens of a few of the distinctive types of modern ghosts, as well as to show the art of individual stories.”
Pellucidar is a fictional Hollow Earth invented by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs for a series of action adventure stories. In a crossover event between Burroughs' series, there is a Tarzan story in which the Ape Man travels into Pellucidar.
The Man Who Knew Too Much and other stories (1922) is a book of detective stories by English writer G. K. Chesterton, published by Cassell and Company in 1922.[1][2][3][4] The book contains twelve stories, the first eight of which are about The Man Who Knew Too Much, while the final four are individual stories featuring separate heroes/detectives.
The Valley of Fear is the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is loosely based on the Molly Maguires and Pinkerton agent James McParland. The story was first published in the Strand Magazine between September 1914 and May 1915. The first book edition was copyrighted in 1914, and it was first published by George H. Doran Company in New York on 27 February 1915, and illustrated by Arthur I. Keller.
Pollyanna Grows Up is a 1915 children's novel by Eleanor H. Porter. It is the first of many sequels to Porter's best-selling Pollyanna (1913), but is the only one written by Porter herself; the numerous later additions to the Pollyanna franchise were the work of other authors.
Originally published in the May, 1960 issue of Amazing Science Fiction Stories. Jack Odin has returned to the world of Opal, the world inside our own world, only to find it in ruins. Many of his friends are gone, the world is flooded, and the woman he swore to protect has been taken by Grim Hagen to the stars. Jack must save her, but the difficulties are great and his allies are few.
This is the first book in the Pellucidar series. Pellucidar is a fictional Hollow Earth milieu invented by Edgar Rice Burroughs for a series of action adventure stories. The stories initially involve the adventures of mining heir David Innes and his inventor friend Abner Perry after they use an “iron mole” to burrow 500 miles into the earth’s crust.
Excellent murder mystery. On September 9, 1905, the NY Times Saturday Review of Books described this book as follows: “That painstakingly ingenious person, Fergus Hume, has devised another of his hide-and-seek, jack-o’-lantern murder mysteries.
Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar (French: Arsène Lupin, gentleman-cambrioleur) is the first collection of stories by Maurice Leblanc recounting the adventures of Arsène Lupin, released on 10 June 1907. Containing the first eight stories depicting the character, each was first published in the French magazine Je sais tout following the first on 15 July 1905.
This story starts with space ships scouring the universe in an interplanetary game of tag. The humans know there are “Aliens” out there. But so do the Aliens. As each tries desperately to make the phenomenal discovery, they secretly hope that the other will not turn out to be the enemy. By: Murray Leinster (1896-1975)
Robert Bloch was a prolific writer in many genres. As a young man he was encouraged by his mentor H. P. Lovecraft, and was a close friend of Stanley G. Weinbaum. Besides hundreds of short stories and novels he wrote a number of television and film scripts including several for the original Star Trek. In 1959 Bloch wrote the novel Psycho which Alfred Hitchcock adapted to film a year later.
Sky Island: Being the Further Adventures of Trot and Cap'n Bill after Their Visit to the Sea Fairies is a children's fantasy novel written by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by John R. Neill, and published in 1912 by the Reilly & Britton Company—the same constellation of forces that produced the Oz books in the first decades of the twentieth century.
The Old Man in the Corner is an unnamed armchair detective who appears in a series of short stories written by Baroness Orczy. He examines and solves crimes while sitting in the corner of a genteel London tea-room in conversation with a female journalist.
Tristan and Iseult is a tale made popular during the 12th century through French medieval poetry, inspired by Celtic legend. It has become an influential romance and tragedy, retold in numerous sources with many variations.
The Lane Fleming collection of early pistols and revolvers was one of the best in the country. When Fleming was found dead on the floor of his locked gunroom, a Confederate-made Colt-type percussion .36 revolver in his hand, the coroner’s verdict was “death by accident.” But Gladys Fleming had her doubts.By: H. Beam Piper
"2 B R 0 2 B" is a science fiction short story by Kurt Vonnegut. The title is pronounced "2 B R naught 2 B", referencing the famous phrase "to be, or not to be" from William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.
First published in 1863, The Water Babies by Rev Charles Kingsley became a Victorian children's classic along with J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan and Lewis Caroll's Alice books. It is an endearing and entertaining novel that can equally be enjoyed by adult readers as well. However, it fell out of favor in later years since it contained many ideas that are considered politically incorrect and offensive today from a humanitarian perspective.
Dark Kensington had been dead for twenty-five years. It was a fact; everyone knew it. Then suddenly he reappeared, youthful, brilliant, ready to take over the Phoenix, the rebel group that worked to overthrow the tyranny that gripped the settlers on Mars.By: Charles L. Fontenay
Women in Love is a novel by British author D. H. Lawrence, published in 1920. It is a sequel to his earlier novel The Rainbow (1915), and follows the continuing loves and lives of the Brangwen sisters, Gudrun and Ursula. Gudrun Brangwen, an artist, pursues a destructive relationship with Gerald Crich, an industrialist.
The Brothers Karamazov (Russian: Бра́тья Карама́зовы, Brat'ya Karamazovy, pronounced [ˈbratʲjə kərɐˈmazəvɨ]), also translated as The Karamazov Brothers, is the final novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Dostoyevsky spent nearly two years writing The Brothers Karamazov, which was published as a serial in The Russian Messenger from January 1879 to November 1880.
Dyke Darrel investigates an audacious train robbery that included the murder of a friend, and embarks on a man-hunt. High Victorian serial melodrama at its best!By: Frank Pinkerton
Earth is threatened with destruction by a deadly alien plague. The planet’s only hope: Get help from the long-lost Omega Colony, somewhere in space. The fate of the Earth is in the hands of Lieutenant Commander Greylorn in charge of the search for Omega, and every decision he will make during Man’s first contact with an alien race…By: Keith Laumer (1925-1993)
A collection of Arthurian tales retold for children.By: Mary MacGregor
Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fifth in his series of books about the title character Tarzan. It first appeared in the November and December issues of All-Story Cavalier Weekly in 1916, and the first book publication was by McClurg in 1918.
The Son of Tarzan is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fourth in his series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was written between January 21 and May 11, 1915, and first published in the magazine All-Story Weekly as a six-part serial from December 4, 1915 – January 8, 1916. It was first published in book form by A. C. McClurg & Co. in March, 1917 and has been reprinted numerous times since by various publishers.
The Iron Heel is a dystopian novel by American writer Jack London, first published in 1908. Generally considered to be "the earliest of the modern Dystopian",it chronicles the rise of an oligarchic tyranny in the United States. It is arguably the novel in which Jack London's socialist views are most explicitly on display.
Uller Uprising is the story of a confrontation between a human overlord and alien servants, with an ironic twist at the end. Like most of Piper’s best work, Uller Uprising is modeled after an actual event in human history; in this case the Sepoy Mutiny (a Bengal uprising in British-held India brought about when rumors were spread to native soldiers that cartridges being issued by the British were coated with animal fat.
An enthralling locked room mystery, The Abandoned Room focuses on the mysterious circumstances under which Silas Blackburn has been murdered at The Cedars, an eerie and isolated country estate. The most obvious suspect to the murder is Bobby Blackburn, the victim’s grandson who seems to have the best motive for the murder, although he has no recollection of the fateful night.
A Murder Whodunit! Location: Hampstead, England. Victim: Sir Horace Fewbanks, a distinguished High Court judge. Cause of death: gun shot wound.
Israel Zangwill efficiently combines an absorbing plot, a witty selection of characters, a list of Dickensian names, humor, and a puzzling murder waiting to be solved, to create a piece renowned for its sardonic style and satirical portrayal of Victorian London. Certain to keep one guessing to the very end, the novel offers many clues, however, only to meticulous observers.
The Angel of Terror by Edgar Wallace was published in 1922. Like almost all of Wallace's novels, it was an immediate bestseller. The exciting plot, impeccable writing style and memorable characters make his books timeless classics that are still enjoyed by modern readers the world over. Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace came from an extremely deprived background, but rose to become one of the richest and most widely read English writers of his time.
The People That Time Forgot is a fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the second of his Caspak trilogy. The sequence was first published in Blue Book Magazine as a three-part serial in the issues for September, October and November 1918, with The People That Time Forgot forming the second installment.
The Scarlet Plague is a post-apocalyptic fiction novel written by Jack London and originally published in London Magazine in 1912.
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.
As wealthy financier, Hugh Mainwaring dictates his last will and testament to his private secretary, it would be impossible for him to imagine the shocking chain of events that he is about to set into motion. This best-selling mystery novel was first published in 1901 and remains an entertaining mix of detective work, courtroom drama and family intrigue.By: Anna Maynard Barbour (d. 1941)
Villette /viːˈlɛt/ is an 1853 novel written by English author Charlotte Brontë. After an unspecified family disaster, the protagonist Lucy Snowe travels from her native England to the fictional French-speaking city of Villette to teach at a girls' school, where she is drawn into adventure and romance.
Beyond Thirty is a short science fiction novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was written in 1915 and first published in All Around Magazine in February 1916, but did not appear in book form in Burroughs' lifetime. The first book edition was issued by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach's Fantasy Press fanzine in 1955; it then appeared in the collection Beyond Thirty and The Man-Eater, published by Science-Fiction & Fantasy Publications in 1957.
Authored by the man who is credited with having invented the essay form in English, The Essays of Francis Bacon was written over an extended period, ranging from the mid sixteenth century. They were compiled in a single edition in 1597 and later re-written, enlarged and added to in other editions in 1612 and 1625. However, their compelling and insightful quality still appears fresh and appealing to modern day readers.
An unidentified space ship lands in a Colorado lake. Equipped with a paralyzing ray weapon, the creatures begin taking human prisoners. A loan land surveyor and a journalist are trapped inside the Army cordon, which is helpless against the mysterious enemy. By: Murray Leinster (1896—1975)
The Enchanted April is a 1922 novel by British-American writer Elizabeth von Arnim. The work was inspired by a month-long holiday to the Italian Riviera, probably the most widely read (as an English and American best seller in 1923) and perhaps the lightest and most ebullient of her novels.
The Valley of Silent Men is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Frank Borzage and written by John Lynch based upon the novel of the same name by James Oliver Curwood.
A great civilization’s fate lay in Dick Barrow’s hands as he led his courageous fellow engineers into a strange and unknown land. None of them knew what lay ahead–what dangers awaited them–or what rewards. But they did not hesitate because the first question asked them had been: “Are you a brave man?”
The Light Princess is a Scottish fairy tale by George MacDonald. It was published in 1864. Drawing on inspiration from Sleeping Beauty, it tells the story of a princess afflicted by a constant weightlessness, unable to get her feet on the ground, both literally and metaphorically, until she finds a love that brings her down to earth.
When Kate Chopin's 1899 novel The Awakening, originally titled A Solitary Soul, was first released, it evoked a storm of controversy. Though it was not actually banned, it received public censure across the United States.
Edison's Conquest of Mars is an 1898 science fiction novel by American astronomer and writer Garrett P. Serviss. It was written as a sequel to Fighters from Mars, an unauthorized and heavily altered version of H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds. It has a place in the history of science fiction for its early employment of themes and motifs that later became staples of the genre.
Do remember reading a panic-mongering news story a while back about genetically engineered “Frankengrass” “escaping” from the golf course where it had been planted? That news story was foreshadowed decades previously in the form of prophetic fiction wherein a pushy salesman, a cash-strapped scientist, and a clump of crabgrass accidentally merge forces with apocalyptic consequences.
A tale of mystery, romance, and honor, as David Carrigan must choose between his duty as an officer of the law and a girl who holds him captive; a girl who Carrigan thinks he may have fallen in love with no less!By: James Oliver Curwood (1878-1927)
This is a collection of short stories by Bram Stoker, first published in 1914, two years after Stoker's death. The same collection has been issued under short titles including simply Dracula's Guest. Meanwhile collections published under Dracula's Guest and longer titles contain different selections of stories.
Harrington Strong was a pseudonym used by author Johnston McCulley, creator of the character Zorro and many others. The Brand of Silence – A Detective Story finds Sidney Prale returning to New York after ten years during which he sought his fortune. But he finds New York a very changed place, and even more distressing, he finds that his old friends are now turning their backs on him, his old haunts no longer welcome him, and there seems to be a conspiracy against him.
The Eight Strokes of the Clock is a collection of eight short stories by Maurice Leblanc. The stories have his most famous creation, Arsène Lupin, gentleman-thief, as main character. The eight stories, even though independent, have a leading thread: Lupin, under the name of Serge Rénine, trying to conquer the heart of a young lady, travels with her, solving eight mysteries on the way.
The Ethical Engineer also known as Deathworld II finds our hero Jason dinAlt captured to face justice for his crimes, but the ever-wily gambler crashes his transport on a primitive planet populated by clans that hoard knowledge. It’s a difficult situation for a guy who just wants to get back to Pyrrus. – The Ethical Engineer was first published in the July and August 1963 issues of Analog Science Fact & Fiction.By: Harry Harrison (1925-)
Carmilla is a Gothic novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and one of the early works of vampire fiction, predating Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) by 26 years. First published as a serial in The Dark Blue (1871–72), the story is narrated by a young woman preyed upon by a female vampire named Carmilla, later revealed to be Mircalla, Countess Karnstein (Carmilla is an anagram of Mircalla).
The Club of Queer Trades is a collection of stories by G. K. Chesterton first published in 1905.Each story in the collection is centered on a person who is making his living by some novel and extraordinary means (a
Considered to mark the emergence of a new literary form, the unvarnished autobiography, Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau was first published in 1782, four years after his death.
Greenmantle is the second of five Richard Hannay novels by John Buchan, first published in 1916 by Hodder & Stoughton, London. It is one of two Hannay novels set during the First World War, the other being Mr Standfast (1919); Hannay’s first and best-known adventure, The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915), is set in the period immediately before the war started.
Jungle Tales of Tarzan is a collection of twelve loosely connected short stories written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, comprising the sixth book in order of publication in his series about the title character Tarzan.
Shifting between Earth and Mars, Badge of Infamy focuses on the gripping tale of a former doctor who becomes a pariah due to being temporarily governed by emotion and compassion, rather than complying with the highly regarded rules established by the Medical Lobby. Furthermore, the novel covers numerous topics including justice, brutality, betrayal, ethics, political control, and lobbying.By: Lester Del Rey (1915-1993)
Stanley G. Weinbaum is best known for his short story “A Martian Odyssey” which has been influencing Science Fiction since it was first published in 1934. Weinbaum is considered the first writer to contrive an alien who thought as well as a human, but not like a human.
The House of the Vampire is a 1907 novella that is a very unusual vampire story. A young writer comes under the powerful influence of a mysterious older master, who seems to have left a trail of ruined proteges in his wake. The story is as much about the nature of artistic creation as it is a chilling vampire tale.By: George Sylvester Viereck (1884-1962)
Little Dorrit is a novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in serial form between 1855 and 1857. It satirises the shortcomings of both government and society, including the institution of debtors' prisons, where debtors were imprisoned, unable to work, until they repaid their debts.
Jewelry thefts, society parties, clairvoyance, and romance marks this mystery, which is set in England and the US in the early 20th century. By: Charles Norris Williamson (1859-1920)
The Gods of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the second of his Barsoom series. It was first published in All-Story as a five-part serial in the issues for January–May 1913.[1] It was later published as a complete novel by A. C. McClurg in September, 1918.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood is the final novel by Charles Dickens.The novel was unfinished at the time of Dickens's death (9 June 1870) and his ending for it is unknown.
Out of Time’s Abyss is a fantasy-science fiction novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the third of his Caspak trilogy. The sequence was first published in Blue Book Magazine as a three-part serial in the issues for September, October and November 1918, with Out of Time's Abyss forming the third installment.
Jimmie Dale is a fictional character created by Frank L. Packard in 1914.Frank Lucius Packard (February 2, 1877 – February 17, 1942) was a Canadian novelist born in Montreal, Quebec. He worked as a civil engineer on the Canadian Pacific Railway. He later wrote a series of mystery novels, the most famous of which featured a character called Jimmie Dale.
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is a 1902 children's book, written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by Mary Cowles Clark.
Flower of the North finds Philip Whittemore on an adventure which takes him up the Churchill River of northern Canada to a land which he thought he knew. However, tucked in among the rocks and hills lies an unfamiliar outpost which he’s been told is called Fort o’ God whose inhabitants and history are shrouded in mystery.By: James Oliver Curwood (1879-1927)
The Country Beyond, subtitled A Romance In the Wilderness, is a story of “Jolly” Roger McKay, an outcast on the run from the law; Nada, the girl he falls in love with; and Peter, the devoted mixed-breed dog who links the two together as no human could, as action, adventure, and romance take them through the Northwest Canadian wilderness in search of The Country Beyond. By: James Oliver Curwood
Bleak House is the ninth novel by Charles Dickens. It is widely held to be one of Dickens' finest and most complete novels, containing one of the most vast, complex and engaging arrays of minor characters and sub-plots in his entire canon.
Trent's Last Case is a detective novel written by E.C. Bentley and first published in 1913. Its central character reappeared subsequently in the novel Trent's Own Case (1936) and the short-story collection Trent Intervenes (1938).
Kilmeny of the Orchard is a novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery. It is the story of a young man named Eric Marshall who goes to teach a school on Prince Edward Island and meets Kilmeny, a mute girl who has perfect hearing.
The Virginian (otherwise titled The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains) is a 1902 novel set in the Wild West by the American author Owen Wister. It describes the life of a cowboy on a cattle ranch in Wyoming and was the first true western ever written, aside from short stories and pulp dime novels.
The Hollow Needle is a novel by Maurice Leblanc featuring the adventures of the gentleman thief, Arsène Lupin. As with the preceding two volumes of the Arsène Lupin stories, this was first serialized in the French magazine Je sais tout from November 1908 to May 1909. The novel was released, with a few modifications, in June 1909.
The Book of Wonder is the seventh book and fifth original short story collection of Irish fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, considered a major influence on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula K. Le Guin and others. It was first published in hardcover by William Heinemann in November, 1912, and has been reprinted a number of times since.
“For there is no light of justice or temperance, or any of the higher ideas which are precious to souls, in the earthly copies of them: they are seen through a glass, dimly…” Socrates and his earnest friend Phaedrus, enjoying the Athenian equivalent of a lunchtime stroll in the park, exchange views on love and on the power of words, spoken and written.By: Plato (428/427 BC - 348/347 BC)
Daniel Deronda is a novel by George Eliot, first published in 1876. It was the last novel she completed and the only one set in the contemporary Victorian society of her day.
Heart of Darkness (1899) is a novella by Polish-British novelist Joseph Conrad, about a voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State, in the heart of Africa, by the story's narrator Marlow. Marlow tells his story to friends aboard a boat anchored on the River Thames, London, England.
This is one of the oldest written collections of fairy tales. Although the names are different, listeners should recognise many of the stories as the basis of modern fairy tales. Be warned however, that these stories are a lot more violent and gruesome then the Disney versions you may be familiar with. Parents should listen to the files to gauge their suitability before allowing children to listen to them.By: Giambattista Basile (1566 or 1575-1632)
English romantic adventure starring a young American in London and inspired by the personal ads (agony columns) in the London papers. In this treacherous tale of murder and intrigue young American Geoffrey West tracks a killer from the posh dining room of the Carlton Hotel to the opium dens of London’s Limehouse district in search of the truth and the heart of his true love only to find the culprit all too close to home.By: Earl Derr Biggers (1884-1933)
The Burgess Bird Book for Children is a zoology book written in the form of a story featuring Peter Rabbit. Peter learns from his friend Jenny Wren all about the birds of North America, and we meet many of them in the Old Orchard, the Green Meadow, and the Green Forest. By: Thornton W. Burgess (1874-1965)
A “Bluebeard” story in which a young woman marries a man whom she discovers has killed his previous wives and is trying to kill her as well. By: Elizabeth Gaskell
The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (orig. Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige, Nils Holgersson's wonderful journey across Sweden) is a work of fiction by the Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf. It was published in two books, The Wonderful Adventures of Nils in 1906 and Further Adventures of Nils in 1907.
The Rosary is a novel by Florence L. Barclay. It was first published in 1909 by G.P. Putnam's Sons and was a bestselling novel for many years running, reaching the number one spot in 1910.
The Happy Prince and Other Tales (sometimes called The Happy Prince and Other Stories) is a collection of stories for children by Oscar Wilde first published in May 1888. It contains five stories:
Breaking Point in a 2002 young adult novel by Alex Flinn. It was an 'Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers' in 2003.Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books said that the book was
An exciting tale of gun play, brave deeds and romance as Jerry Lambert, the “Duke” tries to protect the ranch of the lovely and charming Vesta Philbrook from thieving neighbors and other evil doers.By: George W. Ogden (1871-1966)
Ann Veronica is a New Woman novel by H.G. Wells published in 1909. Ann Veronica describes the rebellion of Ann Veronica Stanley,
The Wood Beyond the World is a fantasy novel by William Morris, perhaps the first modern fantasy writer to unite an imaginary world with the element of the supernatural, and thus the precursor of much of present-day fantasy literature.
In “The Blonde Lady, being a record of the duel of wits between Arsène Lupin and the English detective” – original title “Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmes” – the gentleman-burglar once more meets his enemy, the English detective Herlock Sholmes. By: Maurice Leblanc (1864-1941)
A House to Let is a novella originally published in 1858 in the Christmas edition of Dickens’ Household Words magazine. Each of the contributors wrote a chapter (stories within a story, and in the case of Adelaide Anne Procter, as a story in verse) and the whole was edited by Dickens.
Ethan Frome is a novel published in 1911 by the Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Edith Wharton. It is set in the fictitious town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, New England, where an unnamed narrator tells the story of his encounter with Ethan Frome, a man with dreams and desires that end in an ironic turn of events.
Tales from Shakespeare is an English children's book written by Charles Lamb and his sister Mary Lamb in 1807.The book is designed to make the stories of Shakespeare's plays familiar to the young.
The fourth novel published by Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop was initially published in weekly installments between 1840 and 1841 and follows the poignant journey of the virtuous young girl Nell and her loving grandfather as they are forced to bear the hardships of life.
The novelization of the play of the same name that had an initial run of 867 shows on Broadway and has been performed all over the world and been made into three movies over a span from 1926 to 1959. An intricate mystery, with a wide cast of characters.By: Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876-1958)
The Lair of the White Worm is a horror novel by the Irish writer Bram Stoker. It was first published by Rider and Son of London in 1911– the year before Stoker's death – with colour illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith. The story is based on the legend of the Lambton Worm. It has also been issued as The Garden of Evil.
It is a short story by the American writer Herman Melville, first serialized anonymously in two parts in the November and December 1853 issues of Putnam's Magazine, and reprinted with minor textual alterations in his The Piazza Tales in 1856.
The book tells the story of a young man named William Crimsworth. It describes his maturation, his loves and his eventual career as a professor at an all-girls’ school. By: Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855)
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is a 1908 romance novel/western novel written by John Fox, Jr.. The novel became Fox's most successful, and was included among the top ten list of bestselling novels for 1908 and 1909. The novel has been adapted numerous times for both stage and screen.
Washington Square is a short novel by Henry James. Originally published in 1880 as a serial in Cornhill Magazine and Harper's New Monthly Magazine, it is a structurally simple tragicomedy that recounts the conflict between a dull but sweet daughter and her brilliant, unemotional father.
The Castle of Otranto is a 1764 novel by Horace Walpole. It is generally regarded as the first gothic novel, initiating a literary genre which would become extremely popular in the later 18th and early 19th century, with authors such as Charles Maturin, Ann Radcliffe, Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe and Daphne du Maurier.
Of Human Bondage (1915) is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It is generally agreed to be his masterpiece and to be strongly autobiographical in nature, although Maugham stated, "This is a novel, not an autobiography, though much in it is autobiographical, more is pure invention."
Rupert of Hentzau is an 1898 novel by Anthony Hope, the sequel to The Prisoner of Zenda.This is the sequel to ‘The Prisoner of Zenda‘. Five years have passed. The King has become jealous of Rudolf Rassendyll and suspicious of the queen (Flavia)’s feelings towards him.
The Prisoner of Zenda (1894), by Anthony Hope, is an adventure novel in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony.
The account of some adventures in the professional experience of a member of the Imperial Austrian Police. By: Augusta Groner (1850-1929)
Ambrose Bierce (1842 – 1914?), satirist, critic, poet, short story writer and journalist. His fiction showed a clean economical style often sprinkled with subtle cynical comments on human behaviour. Nothing is known of his death, as he went missing while an observer with Pancho Villa’s army in 1913/14.
The Way We Live Now is a satirical novel by Anthony Trollope, published in London in 1875 after first appearing in serialised form. It is one of the last significant Victorian novels to have been published in monthly parts.
It is a novella by Rudyard Kipling. It is about two British adventurers in British India who become kings of Kafiristan, a remote part of Afghanistan.
The House on the Borderland (1908) is a supernatural horror novel by British fantasist William Hope Hodgson. The novel is a hallucinatory account of a recluse's stay at a remote house, and his experiences of supernatural creatures and otherworldly dimensions.
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet (/ˈhæmlᵻt/), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare at an uncertain date between 1599 and 1602.
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders (commonly known simply as Moll Flanders) is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. It purports to be the true account of the life of the eponymous Moll, detailing her exploits from birth until old age.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the second and final novel by the English author Anne Brontë. It was first published in 1848 under the pseudonym Acton Bell. Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, it had an instant and phenomenal success, but after Anne's death her sister Charlotte prevented its re-publication.
Written by O.Henry,about a young married couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money.
She and Allan is a novel by H. Rider Haggard, first published in 1921. It brought together his two most popular characters, Ayesha from She (to which it serves as a prequel), and Allan Quatermain from King Solomon's Mines.
Further Chronicles of Avonlea is a collection of short stories by L. M. Montgomery and is a sequel to Chronicles of Avonlea. Published in 1920, it includes a number of stories relating to the inhabitants of the fictional Canadian village of Avonlea and its region, located on Prince Edward Island.
In this world of modern day spying, Joseph Conrad's spy story, The Secret Agent, is very pertinent. It deals with the over reaching influence of politics in everyday life, the sordid underbelly that lies beneath our civilization's sophisticated veneer, the strange persuasive power of anarchy, unbridled capitalism and its tragic consequences and the scourge of terrorism, exploitation and espionage.By: Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)
Agnes Grey is the debut novel of English author Anne Brontë (writing under the pen name of Acton Bell), first published in December 1847, and republished in a second edition in 1850.
The Five Jars is the only novel written by James, who is best known for his ghost stories. It is a peculiarly surreal fantasy apparently written for children. While he is out walking, the narrator is drawn to a remote pool, and finds a small box that has been hidden since Roman times. He gradually learns how to use its contents, fighting off a series of attempts to steal it, and becomes aware of a strange world hidden from our own.By: Montague R. James (1862-1936)
The House of Mirth (1905), a novel by Edith Wharton (1862–1937), tells the story of Lily Bart, a well-born but impoverished woman belonging to New York City’s high society around the turn of the last century.
Here is a collection of strikingly different pieces by Flaubert: a prose poem in the voices of Death, Satan and Nero; the trials and apotheosis of a medieval saint; and the life of a selfless maid in 19th century France. Each exhibits the vigorous exactness, and the mixture of realism and romanticism, for which Flaubert is renowned.By: Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880)
Allan's Wife and Other Tales is a collection of Allan Quatermain stories by H. Rider Haggard, first published in London by Spencer Blackett in December 1889.
Ayala's Angel is a novel written by English author Anthony Trollope, between 25 April and 24 September 1878, although it was not published for two years. It was written as a stand-alone novel rather than as part of a series, though several of the minor characters appear in other novels by Trollope.
Sister Carrie (1900) is a novel by Theodore Dreiser about a young country girl who moves to the big city where she starts realizing her own American Dream, first as a mistress to men that she perceives as superior, and later becoming a famous actress. It has been called the "greatest of all American urban novels."
Cranford is one of the better-known novels of the 19th-century English writer Elizabeth Gaskell. It was first published, irregularly, in eight instalments, between December 1851 and May 1853, in the magazine Household Words, which was edited by Charles Dickens. It was then published, with minor revision, in book form in 1853.
Barchester Towers, published in 1857, is the second novel in Anthony Trollope's series known as the "Chronicles of Barsetshire". Among other things it satirises the then raging antipathy in the Church of England between High Church and Evangelical adherents.
It is a wonderfully atmospheric piece that combines narrative, poetry, song, and descriptive writing to great effect. The character of Dick Turpin that we know today – the dashing highwaymen and unmatched horseman – can be said to stem directly from this novel, as the most famous part of the book (often published on its own in the past), Turpin’s Ride To York, is devoted to him. By: William Harrison Ainsworth (1805-1882)
The Vicar of Wakefield — subtitled A Tale, Supposed to be written by Himself — is a novel by Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774). It was written from 1761 to 1762 and published in 1766. It was one of the most popular and widely read 18th-century novels among Victorians.
Just David is a 1916 children's novel by Eleanor H. Porter. It was among the top six bestsellers in cities across the United States in 1916, and in July 1916 it was the second bestselling novel.
Hard Times – For These Times (commonly known as Hard Times) is the tenth novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1854. The book appraises English society and highlights the social and economic pressures of the times.
A Doll's House (Bokmål: Et dukkehjem; also translated as A Doll House) is a three-act play in prose by Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month.
The Old Wives' Tale is a novel by Arnold Bennett, first published in 1908. It deals with the lives of two very different sisters, Constance and Sophia Baines, following their stories from their youth, working in their mother's draper's shop, into old age.
Most Eugenists are Euphemists. I mean merely that short words startle them, while long words soothe them. And they are utterly incapable of translating the one into the other, however obviously they mean the same thing.By: G. K. Chesterton
The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1918 novel written by Booth Tarkington which won the 1919 Pulitzer Prize for the novel. It was the second novel in his Growth trilogy, which included The Turmoil (1915) and The Midlander (1923, retitled National Avenue in 1927). In 1925 the novel was first adapted for film under the title Pampered Youth.
Dick Sands, a youth of fifteen, must assume command of a ship after the disappearance of its captain. Nature’s forces combined with evil doings of men lead him and his companions to many dangerous adventures on sea and in Central Africa.By: Jules Verne
A wonderful coming together of two writers who wrote their books more than half a century apart. Neither of them had ever visited the remote islands they were writing about yet they provided inspiration for a couple of exciting adventure tales.By: Jules Verne (1828-1905)
A man, a dog, and a horse. The call of the wild geese. A very smart doctor from the east who finds there is a lot to learn from these desert people. A woman loved by three men. A gunslinger who has a debt to settle. Max Brand brings them all together in another one of his over three hundred exciting western tales. Brand is not your typical western writer.
Planet of the Damned is a 1962 Hugo Award nominated novel by the American science fiction writer Harry Harrison. It was serialised in 1961 under the title Sense of Obligation and published under that name in 1967.
Set against the backdrop of a rapidly industrializing England, the bewildering shift in social structure, the fading away of traditions and the advent of new ways of life, The Rainbow by DH Lawrence depicts how one family's story becomes the story of a society.
Sons and Lovers is a 1913 novel by the English writer D. H. Lawrence, originally published by B.W. Huebsch Publishers. The Modern Library placed it ninth on their list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.
Ambrose Bierce (1842 – 1914?), best known as journalist, satirist and short story writer. Cynical in outlook, economical in style; Bierce vanished while an observer with Pancho Villa’s army. Four grotesque short stories about murder within the family, seen through the gently innocent eyes of family members … usually the murderer himself.
The Jewel of Seven Stars is a horror novel by Bram Stoker, first published by Heinemann in 1903. The story is a first-person narrative of a young man pulled into an archaeologist's plot to revive Queen Tera, an ancient Egyptian mummy.
In the story, three wishes are granted to the owner of the monkey's paw, but the wishes come with an enormous price for interfering with fate.By: W. W. Jacobs (1863-1943)
Ada Cambridge (November 21, 1844 – July 19, 1926), later known as Ada Cross, was an English born Australian writer. While she gained recognition as Australia’s first woman poet of note, her longer term reputation rests on her novels. Overall she wrote more than twenty-five works of fiction, three volumes of poetry and two autobiographical works.[1] Many of her novels were serialised in Australian newspapers, and were never published in book form.
Thornton Waldo Burgess (January 14, 1874 – June 5, 1965) was a conservationist and author of children’s stories. He loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years.
Alice Adams is a 1922 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Booth Tarkington. It was adapted as a film in 1923 by Rowland V. Lee and, more famously, in 1935 by George Stevens.
If you've loved and cherished The Wind in The Willows, you'll be delighted to read The Golden Age. In this book of reminiscences by Kenneth Grahame, the much loved creator of Winnie The Pooh, readers are granted an insight into the writer's childhood.
The Beautiful and Damned, first published by Scribner's in 1922, is F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel. It explores and portrays New York café society and the American Eastern elite during the Jazz Age before and after "the Great War" and in the early 1920s.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th Century Middle English alliterative romance outlining an adventure of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table. In the tale, Sir Gawain accepts a challenge from a mysterious warrior who is completely green, from his clothes and hair to his beard and skin. The “Green Knight” offers to allow anyone to strike him with his axe if the challenger will take a return blow in a year and a day.
Zadig, ou La Destinée, (”Zadig, or The Book of Fate”) (1747) is a famous novel written by the French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire. It tells the story of Zadig, a philosopher in ancient Babylonia. The author does not attempt any historical accuracy, and some of the problems Zadig faces are thinly disguised references to social and political problems of Voltaire’s own day.
Fanny Herself is the story of Fanny Brandeis, a sensitive, young Jewish girl coming of age in the Midwest at the turn of the 20th century. It is generally considered to have been based on Ferber’s own experiences growing up in Appleton, Wisconsin. Fanny’s inner struggle between her compassionate, artistic side and her desire for financial independence as a successful young businesswoman is the recurring theme of the novel. By: Edna Ferber (1885-1968)
Riders of the Purple Sage is a Western novel by Zane Grey, first published by Harper & Brothers in 1912. Considered by many critics to have played a significant role in shaping the formula of the popular Western genre, the novel has been called "the most popular western novel of all time."
No Thoroughfare is a stage play and novel by Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, both released in December 1867.
Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks is a Bildungsroman by Horatio Alger Jr., which was serialized in Student and Schoolmate in 1867 and expanded for publication as a full-length novel in May 1868 by the publisher A. K. Loring. It was the first volume in the six-volume Ragged Dick Series and became Alger's best-selling work.
The White Feather is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published on 9 October 1907by Adam & Charles Black, London. It is set at Wrykyn school, scene of Wodehouse's earlier book The Gold Bat (1904), and the later Mike (1909).
In American Notes, Rudyard Kipling, the Nobel Prize-winning author of the Jungle Book, visits the USA. As the travel-diary of an Anglo-Indian Imperialist visiting the USA, these American Notes offer an interesting view of America in the 1880s.
Under the Greenwood Tree: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School is a novel by Thomas Hardy,published anonymously in 1872. It was Hardy's second published novel, the last to be printed without his name, and the first of his great series of Wessex novels.
Two men visting the US from London meet a pair of charming women who return the visit the following year in London. Romantic intrigues, miscommunication and cultural faux pas abound in this short but delightful novel.By: Henry James (1843-1916)
The Watsons is an unfinished novel by Jane Austen. She began writing it c. 1803 and probably abandoned it after her father's death in January 1805. It has five chapters, and is less than 18,000 words long.
This is a short story about a shy, quiet little girl living in a big city. When her parents are offered the opportunity to take care of a house in the suburbs for the summer she meets another little girl in the house and they become playmates.
The first significant published short story of French author Guy de Maupassant, and generally acknowledged as his greatest work, “Ball-of-Fat” (French title: Boule de Suif) is the touching story of an interrupted coach ride from Rouen to Le Havre during which occurs the corruption of a principled prostitute by immoral and hypocritical members of the upper class. The story is set during the occupation of Rouen at the time of the Franco-Prussian War.
Daisy Miller is an 1878 novella by Henry James. It portrays the confused courtship of the eponymous American girl by Winterbourne, a compatriot of hers with much more sophistication.
This multilingual Christmas Short Works Collection for 2010 contains public domain short stories, essays, poems and scripture passages recorded by a variety of LibriVox members in English, German and Portuguese.
William Blake’s volume of poetry entitled Songs of Innocence and Experience is the embodiment of his belief that innocence and experience were “the two contrary states of the human soul,” and that true innocence was impossible without experience. Songs of Innocence contains poems either written from the perspective of children or written about them. Many of the poems appearing in Songs of Innocence have a counterpart in Songs of Experience, with quite a different perspective of the world.
Happiness and laughter are two of the most beautiful things in the world, for they are of the few that are purely unselfish. When people are happy they present a cheerful spirit, which finds its reflection in every one they meet, for happiness is as contagious as a yawn. Of all the emotions, laughter is the most versatile, for it plays equally well the role of either parent or child to happiness. The can we say too much in praise of the men who make us laugh?
In this chilling short-story by a master of the craft, Kurt Vonnegut creates a fictional world of the future where life and death are no longer matters of individual choice or destiny. The title refers to the famous quote from Hamlet, “To be or not to be....” with “0” being pronounced as “naught.” It also refers to the eternal dilemma of life and death that face every human being at some point in their lives.
This was originally a lecture given by Thoreau in 1851 at the Concord lyceum titled “The Wild” . He revised it before his death and it was included as part of the June 1862 edition of Atlantic Monthly. This essay appears, on the surface, to be simply expounding the qualities of Nature and man’s place therein. Through this medium he not only touches those subjects, but with the implications of such a respect for nature, or lack thereof.
The Heroides, also known as the Heroines, the Letters of the Heroines or simply as Epistles are a very famous collection of poems by Ovid, not only for their interesting subject – letters by famous mythological characters addressed to their beloved ones – but also because it’s considered by some the first example of the Epistle as a literary genre – a statement made by Ovid himself in his Ars Amatoria.
Sample a moment of magic realism from the Red Book of Hergest: On one side of the river he saw a flock of white sheep, and on the other a flock of black sheep. And whenever one of the white sheep bleated, one of the black sheep would cross over, and become white; and when one of the black sheep bleated, one of the white sheep would cross over, and become black.
Madame Butterfly is the story of the young Japanese girl Cho-Cho San, who marries a flighty American naval officer, and is thenceforth outcast from her relatives. Anxiously she awaits the return of her beloved husband, but when he finally anchors in the harbour, Cho-Cho San does not get the happy ending she was hoping for. This short story by John Luther Long has inspired Giacomo Puccini to write the opera of the same name.
The Turn of the Screw, is a novella written by Henry James. Due to its original content, The Turn of the Screw became a favourite text of academics who subscribe to New Criticism. The novella has had differing interpretations, often mutually exclusive.
Published in 1838, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is Poe’s only complete novel and concentrates on several sea adventures gone awry. The novel follows Arthur Gordon Pym, who finds himself in the center of gloomy occurrences on board numerous vessels, as his anticipated sea adventure takes a drastic shift in the wind. Shipwreck, starvation, mutiny, near death experiences and cannibalism are just some of the issues endured in the gripping, and at times gruesome novel.
The Phantom of the Opera is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. The novel is partly inspired by historical events at the Paris Opera during the nineteenth century and an apocryphal tale concerning the use of a former ballet pupil's skeleton in Carl Maria von Weber's 1841 production of Der Freischütz.
Though Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for his detective stories, he also wrote other short stories which are masterpieces of mystery and suspense. In some of the stories in “Tales of Terror and Mystery”, a suppressed uneasiness gradually builds up and evolves into sheer terror. In others, the story line unexpectedly changes and comes to a horrific conclusion.
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a short story of speculative fiction by American author Washington Irving, contained in his collection of 34 essays and short stories entitled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Written while Irving was living abroad in Birmingham, England, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was first published in 1820.
As a gifted writer with a strong interest in supernatural phenomena, Charles Dickens produced a string of ghost stories with enduring charm. Three of them are presented here, of which The Signal Man is one of the best known. Though quite different from his most celebrated realistic and humorous critical novels, these ghost stories, Gothic and grotesque as they are, are of good portrayal, and worth a read/listen. Summary by Vivian Chan
Originally published as a penny dreadful from 1845 until 1847, when it first appeared in book form, Varney the Vampyre is a forerunner to vampire stories such as Dracula, which it heavily influenced.By: Thomas Preskett Prest (1810-1859)
The King in Yellow is a book of short stories by American writer Robert W. Chambers, first published by F. Tennyson Neely in 1895.[2] The book is named after a play with the same title which recurs as a motif through some of the stories.
To get away from city life periodically, New Yorker Roger Locke purchases an abandoned farm house in rural Connecticut, and with the assistance of his cousin Phillida and her beau Ethan Vere, he sets about fixing up the place.By: Eleanor M. Ingram (1886-1921)
A Christmas Carol is a novella by Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol tells the story of a bitter old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation into a gentler, kindlier man after visitations by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.
A Christmas Carol is a novella by Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol tells the story of a bitter old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation into a gentler, kindlier man after visitations by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a novella by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It is about a London lawyer named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde. The novella's impact is such that it has become a part of the language, with the very phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" coming to mean a person who is vastly different in moral character from one situation to the next.
The Divine Comedy, written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321, is widely considered the central epic poem of Italian literature, the last great work of literature of the Middle Ages and the first great work of the Renaissance.
The Waste Land is a highly influential 433-line modernist poem by T. S. Eliot. It is perhaps the most famous and most written-about long poem of the 20th century, dealing with the decline of civilization and the impossibility of recovering meaning in life.
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The Odyssey is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second oldest extant work of Western literature; the Iliad is the oldest.
The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to Homer. The Iliad, together with the Odyssey, is one of two ancient Greek epic poems traditionally attributed to Homer. The poem is commonly dated to the 8th or 7th century BC, and many scholars believe it is the oldest extant work of literature in the Greek language, making it the first work of European literature.
The Age of Innocence is Edith Wharton's twelfth novel, initially serialized in four parts in the Pictorial Review magazine in 1920, and later released by D. Appleton and Company as a book in New York and in London.
The Jungle Book (1894) is a collection of stories by English author Rudyard Kipling. The stories are fables, using animals in an anthropomorphic manner to give moral lessons.
A funny collection of poems about bad children.The Goops books, originally published between 1900 and 1950, were created by the artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist Gelett Burgess.
A heartwarming collection of nursery rhymes that will take you back to your childhood!
A collection to celebrate Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 200th birthday, on 27th February, 2007.
“The Chaos” is a poem which demonstrates the irregularity of English spelling and pronunciation, written by Gerard Nolst Trenité (1870-1946), also known under the pseudonym Charivarius. It first appeared in an appendix to the author’s 1920 textbook Drop Your Foreign Accent: engelsche uitspraakoefeningen.
Written in the first century b.C., On the Nature of Things (in Latin, "De Rerum Natura") is a poem in six books that aims at explaining the Epicurean philosophy to the Roman audience. Among digressions about the importance of philosophy in men's life and praises of Epicurus, Lucretius created a solid treatise on the atomic theory, the falseness of religion and many kinds of natural phenomena.
Jack and Jill is a traditional English nursery rhyme. The Roud Folk Song Index classifies this tune and its variations as number 10266. The rhyme dates back at least to the 18th century and exists with different numbers of verses each with a number of variations.
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. Peter Pan is the well-loved story of three children and their adventures in Neverland with the boy who refuses to grow up. Swashbuckling, fairy dust, and flight; mermaid lagoons, ticking crocodiles, and Princess Tiger Lily; second to the right and then straight on till morning.
Black Beauty is an 1877 novel by English author Anna Sewell. The novel became an immediate best-seller, with Sewell dying just five months after its publication, but having lived long enough to see her only novel become a success. With fifty million copies sold, Black Beauty is one of the best-selling books of all time.
Pollyanna is a best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that is now considered a classic of children’s literature, with the title character’s name becoming a popular term for someone with the same very optimistic outlook. Also, the subconscious bias towards the positive is often described as the Pollyanna principle.
Frankenstein is a novel fuming with imagination as it depicts a well known horror story. Shelly’s gothic fiction is written in epistolary form as a means of correspondence between the failed writer Robert Walton and his sister, while he is away on a dangerous expedition in search of fame. Some major themes explored in the gothic classic are the fallibility of ambition and knowledge, revenge, prejudice, isolation, and the imperfections of society.
The Adventures of Buster Bear is another set of children’s stories by the conservationist, Thornton W. Burgess. Buster Bear has many adventures and misadventures as he meets the different characters in the Green Forest near the Laughing Brook. Along the way, we learn about the habits of Buster and his friends and we learn little lessons about life such as the importance of sharing, not stealing, making friends and not sticking one's head into tin pails.
The Swiss Family Robinson is a novel by Johann David Wyss, about a Swiss family shipwrecked in the East Indies en route to Port Jackson, Australia. The novel was intended to teach his four sons about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the natural world and self-reliance.
An aristocratic English family is marooned off the coast of West Africa. They find their way into the interior of the dense jungle that lines the coast and here, Lord Greystoke is killed by a predatory ape. Lady Greystoke survives with her infant boy, but in a few months, she too succumbs to the perils of jungle life. The baby is adopted by a maternal she-ape who nurses him along with her own child. This marks the dawn of a legend – Tarzan of the Apes.
A classic collection of oral German folklore, brought together for posterity by the scholarly brothers Grimm in the 1800s, this epitome of fairy tales includes many of the world’s best known stories. In these dark foreboding woods, you will find: Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, Lily and the Lion, and Snow White and Rose Red, among other timeless works.
Gulliver's Travels (1726, amended 1735), officially Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, is a novel by Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of the
A dragon who flies out of a magical book; one whose purr quiets a fussy baby; another who eats an entire pack of tame hunting-hippopotomuses: These eight dragon tales are filled with the imaginative wit of children's author Edith Nesbit.
The Just So Stories for Little Children, first published in 1902, were written by British author Rudyard Kipling. They are a collection of fantastic stories, typically about how various animals came to be the way they are today.
The Time Machine is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1895, later made into two films of the same title. This novel is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel using a vehicle that allows an operator to travel purposefully and selectively.
The Secret Garden is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was initially published in serial form beginning in 1910, and first published in its entirety in 1911. It is now one of Burnett's most popular novels, and considered a classic of English children's literature. Several stage and film adaptations have been made.
This story begins after a long and devastating war that has left The Federation in shambles. The pressing mission for the remaining ships in Star Fleet is to travel the war-torn galaxy's and find old alleys to reunite under one federation. Many of the classic Star Trek races make an appearance in this series including the Klingons, Romulans and everyone's favorite the Borg!By: Eric L. Busby
The Call of the Wild is a short adventure novel by Jack London. In this novel the main protagonist Buck, a St. Bernard/Collie mix, is abducted and sold to a trainer of sled dogs in Alaska. He adapts to the brutal conditions and is finally acquired by a loving man. When this new owner is killed, Buck follows the ‘call of the wild’ and joins a pack of wolves.
The Island of Doctor Moreau is an 1896 science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells.The novel deals with a number of philosophical themes, including pain and cruelty, moral responsibility, human identity, and human interference with nature.
In the science fiction franchise Star Trek, Section 31 is an autonomous intelligence and defense organization. It is presented as a special security operation, manned by Federation citizens, that is not subject to the normal constraints of Starfleet ethical protocols.[1] The organization appears, or is mentioned, across nine episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise as well as the 2013 movie Star Trek Into Darkness.By: Eric L. Busby
The Sleeper Awakes is a dystopian science fiction novel by H. G. Wells about a man who sleeps for two hundred and three years, waking up in a completely transformed London, where, because of compound interest on his bank accounts, he has become the richest man in the world. The main character awakes to see his dreams realised, and the future revealed to him in all its horrors and malformities.
Plague Ship is a science fiction novel by author Andrew North. It was published in 1956 by Gnome Press in an edition of 5,000 copies. The book is the second volume of the author's Solar Queen series.
Science fiction is a genre encompassing imaginative works that take place in this world or that of the author’s creation where anything is possible. The only rules are those set forth by the author. The speculative nature of the genre inspires thought and plants seeds that have led to advances in science. It is a playing field to explore social perspectives, predictions of the future, and engage in adventures unbound into the richness of the human mind.
Anne's House of Dreams is a novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. It was first published in 1917 by McClelland, Goodchild and Stewart.
The Mysterious Island (French: L'Île mystérieuse) is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1874. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Jules Férat. The novel is a crossover sequel to Verne's famous Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and In Search of the Castaways, though its themes are vastly different from those books.
Young Bart Steele’s father is dead. A mysterious stranger tells him his life is in danger, and hands him a ticket aboard a Lhari star cruiser to an unknown destination. He gets on, not knowing where he is going, or why... A fantastic kid’s adventure from sci-fi master Marion Zimmer Bradley.
A Study in Scarlet is an 1887 detective novel by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Written in 1886, the story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become two of the most famous characters in popular fiction.
From the Earth to the Moon is a humorous science fantasy story written in 1865 by Jules Verne and is one of the earliest entries in that genre. It tells the story of three well-to-do members of a post-American Civil War gun club who build an enormous sky-facing columbiad and ride a spaceship fired from it to the moon.
Conn Maxwell returns from Terra to his poverty-stricken home planet of Poictesme, “The Junkyard Planet”, with news of the possible location of Merlin, a military super-computer rumored to have been abandoned there after the last war. The inhabitants hope to find Merlin, which they think will be their ticket to wealth and prosperity.By: H. Beam Piper (1904-1964)
The Door Through Space is a 1961 science fiction novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley. An expansion of Bradley's story "Bird of Prey" which first appeared in the May, 1957 issue of the magazine Venture, it is her first novel. Although it is not part of her Darkover book series, but Darkover is mentioned in passing in the book; and many Darkover elements appear in the book.
The evil gnome king plots to destroy Oz and enslave it's people; evil creatures from many places are enlisted in this dastardly plan that has every chance of success. Dorothy brings her Aunt and Uncle from Kansas where they have been evicted from the farm, to live in Oz and they are given a tour of parts of Oz that have never been visited before. A city of paper dolls, a city of jig saw people, a city of bunnies and many many more odd and wonderful people are visited and enjoyed.
The First Men in the Moon is a scientific romance published in 1901 by the English author H. G. Wells, who called it one of his
The Warlord of Mars is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the third of his Barsoom series. Burroughs began writing it in June, 1913, going through five working titles; Yellow Men of Barsoom, The Fighting Prince of Mars, Across Savage Mars, The Prince of Helium, and The War Lord of Mars.
Rilla of Ingleside (1921) is the eighth of nine books in the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery, but was the sixth
Voodoo Planet is a science fiction novel written by Andre Norton and first published in 1959 by Ace Books. This is a short novel that was usually published in a double-novel format.
Chronicles of Avonlea is a collection of short stories by L. M. Montgomery, related to the Anne of Green Gables series. It features an abundance of stories relating to the fictional Canadian village of Avonlea, and was first published in 1912.
If you haven't come across the 200-book series about Tom Swift Jr, this book would be an interesting one to start with. The series is aimed at the young adult readership, probably male, and the young adolescent hero, Tom Swift Jr is the son of Tom Swift Sr. The books portray the perennially 18-year-old Tom, a tall and angular youngster, possessed of a very high intelligence and presence of mind. By: Victor Appleton (1873-1962)
From the Earth to the Moon (French: De la terre à la lune) is an 1865 novel by Jules Verne. It tells the story of the Baltimore Gun Club, a post-American Civil War society of weapons enthusiasts, and their attempts to build an enormous Columbiad space gun and launch three people—the Gun Club's president, his Philadelphian armor-making rival, and a French poet—in a projectile with the goal of a moon landing.
The Beasts of Tarzan is the third book in the gripping Tarzan series. Shifting from London to the natural African scenery, the novel follows Tarzan as he finds himself in the wicked ploy of old enemies, which launches him into a mission to save his beloved wife and son, while also caring for his own welfare. Furthermore, he must go back to his previous life and reclaim his position as king of the jungle.
Stories from 1896 to 1901. Lucy Maud Montgomery was born at Clifton (now New London), Prince Edward Island, Canada, on November 30, 1874. She achieved international fame in her lifetime, putting Prince Edward Island and Canada on the world literary map. Best known for her
Daddy-Long-Legs is a 1912 epistolary novel by the American writer Jean Webster. It follows the protagonist, a young girl named Jerusha
Tom Swift is an inventor, and these are his adventures. The locale is the little town of Shopton in upstateNew York, near Lake Carlopa. While some of Tom’s inventions are not well-founded in a scientific sense, others elaborated developments in the news and in popular magazines aimed at young science and invention enthusiasts. By: Victor Appleton (1873-1962)
Augusta Huiell Seaman is the author of over 40 historical fiction and mystery novels for older children most of which are currently out of print. The Dragon’s Secret was originally published in 1921.
Tik-Tok of Oz is the eighth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum, published on June 19, 1914. The book actually has little to do with Tik-Tok and is primarily the quest of the Shaggy Man (introduced in The Road to Oz) to rescue his brother, and his resulting conflict with the Nome King. The endpapers of the first edition held maps: one of Oz itself, and one of the continent on which Oz and its neighboring countries belonged. These were the first maps printed of Oz.
She had not been brought up in America at all. She had been born in France, in a beautiful château, and she had been born heiress to a great fortune, but, nevertheless, just now she felt as if she was very poor, indeed. And yet her home was in one of the most splendid houses in New York.
Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates (full title: Hans Brinker; or, the Silver Skates: A Story of Life in Holland) is a novel by American author Mary Mapes Dodge, first published in 1865. The novel takes place in the Netherlands and is a colorful fictional portrait of early 19th-century Dutch life, as well as a tale of youthful honor.
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew is a 1939 American black and white children's comedy drama film, directed by Charles Barton, produced by Jack Fier and based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Sidney.
The Enchanted Island of Yew is a children's fantasy novel written by L. Frank Baum.The first edition contained eight color plates and many colored-ink illustrations stamped over the text, and was dedicated to Kenneth Gage Baum, the youngest of the author's four sons.
In Search of the Castaways (French: Les Enfants du capitaine Grant, lit. The Children of Captain Grant) is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne, published in 1867–1868.
Tom Swift enters an upcoming race with his specially-designed prototype electric race car. But as he makes the final preparations and adjustments, days before the race, he discovers a plot that would bankrupt not only his family, but also everyone else that relies on the local bank (which is the target of a nefarious bank-run scheme).By: Victor Appleton
Ernest Thompson Seton was a man with a concern for nature her creatures and an excellent story teller. We could almost feel Wahb, the great grizzly’s pain and frustration as he tried to avoid contact with humans and just be left alone to carry out his bear business. Listening to this audio book will be an hour and a half well spent.
This is a story of an adventure involving a young man, his dog, and two friends. Together they wander through the Western prairies on a mission to make peace between the “pale-faces” and the “Red men”.By: Robert Michael Ballantyne (1825-1894)
Ernest Ray is a young boy who sets out to reclaim the inheritance that was unjustly with held from his father and given to a cousin.By: Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832-1899)
Eight Cousins, or The Aunt-Hill was published in 1875 by American novelist Louisa May Alcott. It is the story of Rose Campbell, a lonely and sickly girl who has been recently orphaned and must now reside with her maiden great aunts, the matriarchs of her wealthy Boston family.
The Magic World is an influential collection of twelve short stories by E. Nesbit. It was first published in book form in 1912 by Macmillan and Co. Ltd., with illustrations by H. R. Millar and Gerald Spencer Pryse.
Dot and the Kangaroo is a children's book written by Ethel C. Pedley about a little girl named Dot who gets lost in the Australian outback and is eventually befriended by a kangaroo and several other marsupials. The book was adapted into a stage production in 1924, and a film in 1977.
This is a collection of short stories and fairy tales by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the author of The Secret Garden and A Little Princess. By: Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924)
The Getting of Wisdom is a novel by Australian novelist Henry Handel Richardson. It was first published in 1910, and has almost always been in print ever since.
Captains Courageous is an 1897 novel, by Rudyard Kipling, that follows the adventures of fifteen-year-old Harvey Cheyne Jr., the spoiled son of a railroad tycoon, after he is saved from drowning by a Portuguese fisherman in the north Atlantic.
The Door Through Space is a 1961 science fiction novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley. An expansion of Bradley's story "Bird of Prey" which first appeared in the May, 1957 issue of the magazine Venture, it is her first novel, and was published by Ace Books, bound tête-bêche with Rendezvous on a Lost World by A. Bertram Chandler.
The Five Little Peppers is a book series created by American author Margaret Sidney which was published 1881 to 1916. It covers the lives of the five children of Mamsie and the late Mister Pepper who are born into poverty in a rural "little brown house". The series begins with the Peppers in their native state and develops with their rescue by a wealthy gentleman who takes an interest in the family.
The Chicago Record-Herald of March 12, 1910 stated, “Let’s be glad for books like Mary Cary. It isn’t so much what Mary Cary does, however, as what she is, bless her! that warms the cockles of the chilliest, most snugly corseted heart.”By: Kate Langley Bosher (1865-1932)
A little boy, recuperating from a lengthy illness, is entertained by visits from the Counterpane Fairy, who treats him to stories associated with each of the squares in the counterpane (quilt) on his sickbed. She has him concentrate on one of the squares until it turns into something like a doorway into the story. Once inside the story, he becomes its lead character until it fades out as if he’s awakening from a dream.By: Katherine Pyle (1863-1938)
This is the story of a little girl from New York who moves with her family to Florida in the late 19th Century. Parental warning: as this book was first published in 1903 and set in the American South, and although the author tries to be open-minded, please be aware that there are slang words used for African Americans.By: Dorothy C. Paine
First of the famous Rover Boys books by future Hardy Boys creator Edward Stratemeyer (under the pseudonym Arthur M Winfield), this is an introduction to the fun-loving teenage Rover Brothers -- Dick, Tom & Sam. Virtual orphans, they are sent by their prudish Uncle Randolph to a military boarding school and their adventures soon begin!
The Bastable children, first met in The Treasure Seekers, are sent to stay in the countryside; is it large enough to contain their exuberant activities? They (and Pincher the dog) have every intention of being good…By: Edith Nesbit (1858-1924)
The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk is another in the long list children’s books by the conservationist, Thornton W. Burgess. In this book, Jimmy Skunk has encounters with Reddy Fox, Peter Rabbit, Unc’ Billy Possum and other acquaintances of his in the Green Meadows and Green Forest.By: Thornton W. Burgess (1874-1965)
Tom Swift is the young protagonist in a series of juvenile adventure novels which began in the early twentieth century and continue to the present. Tom Swift is a genius inventor whose breakthroughs in technology (especially transport technology) drive the plots of the novels, placing them in a genre sometimes called “invention fiction” or “Edisonade”.By: Victor Appleton (1873-1962)
The Phoenix and the Carpet is a fantasy novel for children, written by E. Nesbit and first published in 1904. It is the second in a trilogy of novels that begins with Five Children and It (1902), and follows the adventures of the same five children: Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane and the Lamb.
Kim by Rudyard Kipling is set against the background of the Great Game as it was called the tug-of-war between Britain and Russia for the control of Central Asia. The novel's action takes place during the Anglo-Afghan Wars of 1839-42. The novel's sweeping narrative, the depth of character and the sheer historical scale make it a first rate story.By: Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
In The Adventures of Ulysses, Charles Lamb re-tells the story of Ulysses’s journey from Troy to his own kingdom of Ithaca. The book uses Homer’s The Odyssey as the basis for the story, but it isn’t a direct translation of the Greek classic. The book is considered a modern version of the epic tale when it was published in 1808. In the preface of the book, Lamb said that he made the narration of the story faster so that more readers would be attracted to it.
Zane Grey (Pearl Zane Gray) born in 1872 in Zanesville, Ohio was best known for his western stories, most notably Riders Of The Purple Sage which has been filmed four times, the last in 1996 starring Ed Harris and Amy Madigan. Among his other interests was baseball. He attended the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship where he earned a degree in dentistry.
The Five Little Peppers is a book series created by American author Margaret Sidney which was published 1881 to 1916. It covers the lives of the five children of Mamsie and the late Mister Pepper who are born into poverty in a rural "little brown house". The series begins with the Peppers in their native state and develops with their rescue by a wealthy gentleman who takes an interest in the family.
An Old-Fashioned Girl is a novel by Louisa May Alcott. It was first serialised in the Merry's Museum magazine between July and August in 1869 and consisted of only six chapters. For the finished product, however, Alcott continued the story from the chapter "Six Years Afterwards" and so it ended up with nineteen chapters in all.
Dear Enemy is the sequel to Jean Webster's novel Daddy-Long-Legs. First published in 1915, it was among the top ten best sellers in the US in 1916.The story is presented in a series of letters written by Sallie McBride, Judy Abbott's classmate and best friend in Daddy-Long-Legs.
The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (1917) is a children's novel written by Thornton W. Burgess and illustrated by Harrison Cady.
This is a collection of ten short, entertaining, informative picture-book biographies of famous composers. Each book tells about the childhood and great achievements of a composer, and includes a short musical example.By: Thomas Tapper
The Harvester is one of Gene Stratton-Porter’s romantic novels which combine a love of nature, high moral ideals and a good plot. This is the story of a young man who lives in the country side with his dog and other animals and grows herbs to sell to medical drug supply houses.
The Bluebird Books is a series of novels popular with teenage girls in the 1910s and 1920s. The series was begun by L. Frank Baum using his Edith Van Dyne pseudonym, then continued by at least three others, all using the same pseudonym. Baum wrote the first four books in the series, possibly with help from his son, Harry Neal Baum, on the third.
Natives of the distant planet of Kwannon believe that their world is about to end, and in preparing for the apocalypse, may be unnecessarily bringing about their own demise. The planetary government can’t overcome its own bureaucracy to help them, and the military is overwhelmed. By: H. Beam Piper (1904-1964)
Join us as we follow Jerry Muskrat and his friends on an adventure to discover what is threatening their homeland; The Laughing Brook and The Smiling Pool.By: Thornton W. Burgess (1874-1965)
A Girl of the Limberlost, a novel by American writer and naturalist Gene Stratton-Porter, was published in August 1909. It is considered a classic of Indiana literature. It is the sequel to her earlier novel Freckles.
Stalky & Co. is a novel by Rudyard Kipling, about adolescent boys at a British boarding school. It was first published in 1899 (following serialisation in the Windsor Magazine). Reflecting its origins, the novel is episodic in nature, with self-contained chapters.
The Adventures of Sally is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse. It appeared as a serial in Collier's magazine in the United States from October 8 to December 31, 1921, and in The Grand Magazine in the United Kingdom from April to July 1922. It was first published in book form in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins on 17 October 1922, and in the U.S. by George H. Doran on March 23, 1923, under the title Mostly Sally.
Uncle Remus is the fictional title character and narrator of a collection of African-American folktales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris, published in book form in 1881. A journalist in post-Reconstruction Atlanta, Georgia, Harris produced seven Uncle Remus books.
Love & Friendship is a 2016 period comedy film written and directed by Whit Stillman. Based on Jane Austen's epistolary novel Lady Susan, written ca. 1794, the film stars Kate Beckinsale, Chloë Sevigny, Xavier Samuel, and Stephen Fry. The film follows the exploits of the wry and calculating Lady Susan as she pursues the wealthy and hapless Sir James for marriage originally intended for her daughter, though she eventually marries him as her own husband for purposes of wealth and profit.
This book with two titles, Three Men and a Maid in the USA and The Girl on the Boat in the UK is a typical P.G. Wodehouse romantic comedy, involving, at various times: a disastrous talent quest, a lawyer with a revolver, a bulldog with a mind of his own and a suit of armour!By: P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975)
The Diary of a Nobody is an English comic novel written by the brothers George and Weedon Grossmith, with illustrations by the latter. It originated as an intermittent serial in Punch magazine in 1888–89 and first appeared in book form, with extended text and added illustrations, in 1892. The Diary records the daily events in the lives of a London clerk, Charles Pooter, his wife Carrie, his son Lupin, and numerous friends and acquaintances over a period of 15 months.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is an 1876 novel about a young boy growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the fictional town of St. Petersburg, inspired by Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived.
This is the story of a boy, born in the humblest surroundings, reared almost without schooling, and amid benighted conditions such as to-day have no existence, yet who lived to achieve a world-wide fame; to attain honorary degrees from the greatest universities of America and Europe; to be sought by statesmen and kings; to be loved and honored by all men in all lands, and mourned by them when he died. It is the story of one of the world’s very great men–the story of Mark Twain.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is an 1876 novel about a young boy growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the fictional town of St. Petersburg, inspired by Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived.
A Room with a View is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the restrained culture of Edwardian era England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century. Merchant-Ivory produced an award-winning film adaptation in 1985.
American Fairy Tales is the title of a collection of twelve fantasy stories by L. Frank Baum, published in 1901 by the George M. Hill Company, the firm that issued The Wonderful Wizard of Oz the previous year. The cover, title page, and page borders were designed by Ralph Fletcher Seymour; each story was furnished with two full-page black-and-white illustrations, by either Harry Kennedy,Ike Morgan, or Norman P. Hall.
Bennett's essays always provide food for thought and bring a wry smile to the lips. Human nature, it appears, changes little over the ages, and Bennett's writing stands the test of time, though in the case of some of the essays in this eclectic collection, it is well to remember that they were written at the time of the First World War and the fight for women's suffrage.
Originally published as That Sweet Little Old Lady, Brain Twister follows the adventures of FBI agent Kenneth J. Malone as he attempts to unravel the machinations of a telepathic spy. His first problem: how do you find a telepath to catch the first telepath? The novella was nominated for the Hugo Award in 1960.By: Mark Phillips (Randall Garrett and Laurence M. Janifer)
The Mysterious Stranger is the final novel attempted by the American author Mark Twain. He worked on it periodically from 1897 through 1908. The body of work is a serious social commentary by Twain addressing his ideas of the Moral Sense and the
The Girl on the Boat is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. It first appeared in 1921 as a serial in the Woman's Home Companion in the United States under the title Three Men and a Maid. It was first published as a book in the United States on April 26, 1922, by George H. Doran, New York, and as The Girl on the Boat in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, on June 15, 1922.
A Damsel in Distress is a 1937 English-themed Hollywood musical comedy film starring Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine, George Burns, and Gracie Allen. With a screenplay by P. G. Wodehouse, loosely based on his novel of the same name, music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, it is directed by George Stevens. It is the second (and last) Astaire musical directed by Stevens; the first was Swing Time.
Brewster's Millions is a novel written by George Barr McCutcheon in 1902, originally under the pseudonym of Richard Greaves. It was adapted into a play in 1906, which opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway,[1] and the novel or play has been adapted into films ten times, three of which were produced in India.
Indiscretions of Archie is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 14 February 1921 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on 15 July 1921 by George H. Doran, New York.[1]
The consequences of letting your irritation get the better of you are humorously portrayed in this story of a self-important man who fires a shotgun at an annoying cat on his fence.. and hits a man skulking in the bushes.By: Charles Miner Thompson (1864-1941)
Short stories by a colleague of Jerome K. Jerome, and friend of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Barr probably wrote the first parody of Sherlock Holmes (included in this collection). He co-edited “The Idler” with Jerome.
This novel introduces the characters Mike Jackson and Psmith, who are featured in several of Wodehouse’s later works. It shows how the two characters first met each other as teenagers at boarding school. As Psmith doesn’t appear until about halfway through this book, it was later released as two separate books, Mike at Wrykyn and Mike and Psmith.
E. F. Benson (1867-1940) was born at Wellington College in Berkshire, where his father, who later went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury, was the first Headmaster. He wrote 105 books in all. Queen Lucia (first published in 1920) was the first of Benson’s ‘Mapp and Lucia’ novels of which there were six.
More William is the second William collection in the much acclaimed Just William series by Richmal Crompton. It is a sequel to the book Just William. The book was first published in 1922, with a current edition published in 2005 by Macmillan Children's books.
Lady Susan is a short epistolary novel by Jane Austen, possibly written in 1794 but not published until 1871.
This is the third collection of short stories by Saki, following on from “Reginald” and “Reginald in Russia”. Although some of the stories have characters that do not appear elsewhere in the collection, many of them are loosely centred round the young Clovis Sangrail (effectively a reincarnation of Reginald).By: Saki (1870-1916)
In 1846 Lear published A Book of Nonsense, a volume of limericks that went through three editions and helped popularize the form. This book contains 112 of these funny, imaginative verses that have been well loved by many generations of children
The Man With Two Left Feet, and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on March 8, 1917 by Methuen & Co., London, and in the United States in 1933 by A.L. Burt and Co., New York.
Helen's Babies is a humorous novel by American journalist and author John Habberton, first published in 1876. The book's full title is: Helen's Babies: With Some Account of Their Ways Innocent, Crafty, Angelic, Impish, Witching, and Repulsive, Also, a Partial Record of Their Actions During Ten Days of Their Existence.
The Wrong Box is a black comedy novel co-written by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne, first published in 1889. The story is about two brothers who are the last two surviving members of a tontine.
Once On A Time is a fairy tale created by A. A. Milne. Written in 1917, Milne's own introduction begins 'This is an odd book', and indeed it is very difficult to classify. Ostensibly a typical fairytale, it tells the story of the war between the kingdoms of Euralia and Barodia and the political shenanigans which take place in Euralia in the king's absence, all supposedly rewritten by Milne from the writings of the fictional historian
Penrod and Sam is a novel by Booth Tarkington that was first published in 1916. The book is the sequel to his 1914 work, Penrod, and focuses more on the relationship between the main character of the previous book, Penrod Schofield, and his best friend, Sam Williams. More of Penrod's adventures appear in the final book of the series Penrod Jashber (1929).
A Man of Means is a collection of six short stories written in collaboration by P. G. Wodehouse and C. H. Bovill. The stories first appeared in the United Kingdom in the Strand in 1914, and in the United States in Pictorial Review in 1916.
This was the last story published by Twain, a few months before he died. The story follows Captain Elias Stormfield on his extremely long cosmic journey to heaven. It deals with the obsession of souls with the
Cautionary tales of the transmigration of the souls of naughty boys and girls, as elucidated by the mysterious Bramin, Mr Wiseman: “Having been gifted with the faculty of distinguishing those animals which are now animated by the souls of such human beings as formerly degraded themselves to a level with the unthinking brutes, I have taken the pains to provide a collection of beasts, birds, &c.
Amoretti is a sonnet cycle written by Edmund Spenser in the 16th century. The cycle describes his courtship and eventual marriage to Elizabeth Boyle.
A selection of nonsense poems, songs (not sung!), stories, and miscellaneous strangeness. The work includes the
Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb (June 23, 1876–March 11, 1944) was an American author, humorist, and columnist who lived in New York and wrote over 60 books and 300 short stories. Cobb has been described as “having a round shape, bushy eyebrows, full lips, and a triple chin. He always had a cigar in his mouth.” This book is a hilarious account of Cobb’s attempts at weight-loss.
Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome by EM Berens was originally intended for young readers. Written in an easy and light style, the author attempts to bring the pantheon of gods into a comprehensible format. He organizes them into different dynasties and chronologies to make it easier for the reader to understand the labyrinthine relationships and connections between the various gods, heroes, minor divinities, mythical figures and legendary creatures.
The Pilgrim's Progress is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious English literature, has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been out of print
Paradise Lost is the first epic of English literature written in the classical style. John Milton saw himself as the intellectual heir of Homer, Virgil, and Dante, and sought to create a work of art which fully represented the most basic tenets of the Protestant faith. His work, which was dictated from memory and transcribed by his daughter, remains as one of the most powerful English poems.
This collection includes 40 different Christmas carols collected and read by Douglas D. Anderson, the creator of The Hymns and Carols of Christmas website, a public-domain collection of Christmas music containing over 2,600 hymns, carols and songs.
One of the world’s most valued scriptures, the Bhagavad Gita is a Hindu scripture which is a part of the Indian epic Mahabharata. Undeniably, it is also one of the most important texts in the history of literature and philosophy.By: Sir Edwin Arnold (Translator) (1832-1904)
The City of God Against the Pagans (Latin: De ciuitate Dei contra paganos), often called The City of God, is a book of Christian philosophy written in Latin by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century AD.
The Imitation of Christ (Latin: De Imitatione Christi) by Thomas à Kempis is a Christian devotional book. It was first composed in Latin ca. 1418–1427. It is a handbook for spiritual life arising from the Devotio Moderna movement, of which Kempis was a member.
The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology is a work written by English and American political activist Thomas Paine. It follows in the tradition of eighteenth-century British deism, and challenges institutionalized religion and the legitimacy of the Bible. Originally distributed as unbound pamphlets, it was published in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807.
The Practice of the Presence of God is a book of collected teachings of Brother Lawrence (born Nicholas Herman), a 17th-century Carmelite monk, compiled by Father Joseph de Beaufort. The compilation includes letters, as well as records of his conversations kept by Brother Lawrence's interlocutors. The basic theme of the book is the development of an awareness of the presence of God.
This is a series of short messages written by the South African minister, Andrew Murray. They deal with the necessity and joy of surrendering our lives completely to God.
James Allen was a pioneer of the self-help movement. His books aimed to help people to help themselves. He did not believe in protectionism or copyright and allowed the free use of his works by anyone who cared to publish and benefit by them.
The Revelations of Divine Love (which also bears the title A Revelation of Love — in Sixteen Shewings above the first chapter) is a 14th-century book of Christian mystical devotions written by Julian of Norwich. It includes her sixteen mystical visions and contemplations on universal love and hope in a time of plague, religious schism, uprisings and war. Published in 1395, it is the first published book in the English language to be written by a woman.
Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe is the third novel by George Eliot, published in 1861. An outwardly simple tale of a linen weaver, it is notable for its strong realism and its sophisticated treatment of a variety of issues ranging from religion to industrialisation to community.
Written in classical Chinese some time during the sixth century BC, The Tao Teh King or The Tao and its Characteristics is a classical Chinese text that is one of the important keystones in understanding the thought systems of Asia.By: Laozi
The Dhammapada is is a Buddhist scripture, containing 423 verses in 26 categories. According to tradition, these are verses spoken by the Buddha on various occasions, most of which deal with ethics. It is is considered one of the most important pieces of Theravada literature. Despite this, the Dhammapada is read by many Mahayana Buddhists and remains a very popular text across all schools of Buddhism. – Excerpted from Wikipedia
Here are the matchless tales of All-Father Odin, who crosses the Rainbow Bridge to walk among men in Midgard and sacrifices his right eye to drink from the Well of Wisdom; of Thor, whose mighty hammer defends Asgard; of Loki, whose mischievous cunning leads him to treachery against the gods; of giants, dragons, dwarfs and Valkyries; and of the terrible last battle that destroyed their world.By: Padraic Colum (1881-1972)
Strauss was an early pioneer in the ongoing 'Quest of the Historical Jesus' held amongst New Testament scholars, and his Life of Jesus is one of the few landmarks in the field. The first edition of Strauss' book was published in Germany in 1835 when he was only 27 years old, and which by 1840 had gone through four editions.
A book on the all importance of humility, how Jesus was humble, and how we also can become humble. Murray wrote “Without humility, there can be no true abiding in God’s presence or experience of His favor and the power of His spirit. Without it there can be no abiding faith or love or joy or strength.”By: Andrew Murray (1828-1917)
The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930) is an explanatory translation of the Quran by Marmaduke Pickthall. In 1928, Pickthall took a two-year sabbatical to complete his translation of the meaning of the Quran, a work that he considered the summit of his achievement.It was the first translation by a Muslim whose native language was English, and remains among the two most popular translations, the other being the work of Abdullah Yusuf Ali.
The Holy War is perhaps John Bunyan’s second most popular work, after The Pilgrim’s Progress. It tells the story of afierce battle to take control of a city from its rightful ruler.
The Essence of Christianity (German: Das Wesen des Christentums; historical orthography: Das Weſen des Chriſtenthums) is a book by Ludwig Feuerbach first published in 1841. It explains Feuerbach's philosophy and critique of religion.
“Much has already been written of the visit of Abdul Baha, Abbas Effendi, to Europe,” writes Lady Blomfield in her Preface to Paris Talks, “During his stay at Paris at 4, Avenue de Comoens, he gave short “Talks” each morning to those who crowded, eager to hear His Teaching. These listeners were of many Nationalities and types of thought, learned and unlearned, members of various religious sects, Theosophists and Agnostics, Materialists and Spiritualists, etc., etc.
Saint Francis of Assisi (Italian: San Francesco d'Assisi), born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, informally named as Francesco (1181/1182 – 3 October 1226),[1][4] was an Italian Roman Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Order of Friars Minor, the women’s Order of Saint Clare, the Third Order of Saint Francis and the Custody of the Holy Land. Francis is one of the most venerated religious figures in history.
Sadhana is a collection of essays, most of which he gave before the Harvard University, describing Indian beliefs, philosophy and culture from different viewpoints, often making comparison with Western thought and culture.By: Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)
The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature is a book by Harvard University psychologist and philosopher William James. It comprises his edited Gifford Lectures on natural theology, which were delivered at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland in 1901 and 1902.
G.K. Chesterton and James Walsh join Hilaire Belloc in an energetic rollout of the means by which history becomes propaganda, to the damage, not only to truth, but to the human soul.
The Summa Theologiæ (written 1265–1274 and also known as the Summa Theologica or simply the Summa) is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274). Although unfinished, the Summa is
Good Books are wise counselors. They point out the right way in the devious paths of life. Have we not often stood at the juncture of two roads, the one of righteousness and the other of unfaithfulness, and was it not then that some golden little book acted the part of an opportune adviser and directed us down the highway of truth?By: Winfrid Herbst
This excellent book contains many great stories from the various mythologies of man throughout the ages.By: Logan Marshall
Colonel Robert Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) was a Civil War veteran, American political leader and orator during the Golden Age of Freethought, noted for his defense of atheism. This book is the first of two volumes collecting Ingersoll’s speeches.
A collection of short Christmas works by the author of The Story of the Fourth Wise Man.By: Henry van Dyke
HE WHO SPOKE and wrote this message will be greatly disappointed if it does not lead many to the Lord Jesus. It is sent forth in childlike dependence upon the power of God the Holy Ghost, to use it in the conversion of millions, if so He pleases. No doubt many poor men and women will take up this little volume, and the Lord will visit them with grace.By: Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion is a philosophical work by the Scottish philosopher David Hume. Through dialogue, three philosophers named Demea, Philo, and Cleanthes debate the nature of God's existence.
Thus begins the lifelong diary of young Katherine as she pours out her hopes, dreams, and spiritual journey on the pages of her dear, old journal. Whimsical and charming Katherine is engagingly candid about her character flaws and her desire to know God. As you listen to her share her heart through these journal entries, you will be amazed and delighted by the depth of her character and the womanly wisdom and godliness she develops over the years.By: Elizabeth Prentiss (1818-1878)
Israel Zangwill (1864-1926) was born in England of Russian parents. He was the author of “Children of the Ghetto,” a novel set in London’s heavily Jewish East End.
God and the State was written between February and March 1871. It was originally written as Part II of a greater work that was going to be called The Knouto-Germanic Empire and the Social Revolution.
This story surrounds a child waif, a young woman, a young gentleman doctor, and an elderly lady. This tale unfolds the story of a bond that brings these unlikely friends together and merges their separate paths of life into one common path. The bond is "Dumps", or "Pompey", the "doggie". With many twists, turns, and uncertainties, the ending may surprise the reader. All's well that ends well in this doggie "tail".By: Robert Michael Ballantyne (1825-1894)
Religio Medici (The Religion of a Doctor) sets out Sir Thomas Browne's spiritual testament as well as being an early psychological self-portrait. In its day, the book was a European best-seller. It was published in 1643 by the newly-qualified physician, and its unorthodox views placed it swiftly upon the Papal Index Librorum Prohibitorum in 1645.
George MacDonald was an influential Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister. MacDonald’s works (particularly his fairy tales and fantasy novels) claimed the admiration of such authors as J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and Madeleine L’Engle.The Wise Woman fairy tale was one of MacDonald’s more popular works.
Into the home of an interesting but self-centered family in old France comes Paula, a young orphaned cousin, from the little village of Villar, in the Waldensian Valley. Though living very simply, tending cows, goats, sheep and rabbits, Paula has been brought up to know and love the Lord Jesus and read the Scriptures. By: Eva Lecomte
A wealthy London business man takes a room in a poor part of the city. He is depressed and has decided to take his life by going the next day to purchase a hand gun he had seen in a pawnshop window. The morning comes with one of those 'memorable fogs' and the adventure he has in it alters his decisions and ultimately his life.By: Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924)
The ASV or the American Standard Version was first published in 1900. It's often referred to as the “Standard Bible” in the USA. There was an authorized version published in 1611 in America, but a need was felt for a new perspective. In 1871, a committee was formed of some two dozen noted Biblical scholars, linguists and historians under the aegis of Philip Schaff, a Protestant theologian.
King James VI ascended the English throne at the age of thirteen months after his mother Mary Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate in his favor. With his reign, the three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland came under the Crown. The Jacobean Age was famous for the flowering of literary and artistic movements. Shakespeare, Marlowe, John Donne and a host of poets, playwrights and writers contributed to the rich literary environment.
The Douay-Rheims Bible (abbreviated as DV) is a translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English made by members of the English College, Douai, in the service of the Catholic Church.
The World English Bible (also known as WEB) is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997. The New Testament is considered complete and is available in print.
By: Various A collection of classic Christian hymns spanning the centuries. Some of the hymns are read; others are sung.
Dhammapada ist eine Anthologie von Aussprüchen des Buddha. Dabei sind die Verse so ausgewählt, dass sie den Kern der Lehre des Buddha wiedergeben. Es ist einer der bekanntesten Texte dieser Lehre und findet seine weiteste Verbreitung im südlichen Buddhismus. Dort begleitet es die Schüler des Buddha vom Anfang bis zum Ende ihres Pfades. Darüber hinaus ist es ein Meisterwerk sowohl der frühen buddhistischen Literatur als auch der indischen Tradition des Karvya (Belle Lettre).
The ordering novelty in the New Testament is that it places the Gospel of John and the First Epistle of John at the beginning before the Gospel of Matthew, thus placing the Acts of the Apostles immediately after the Gospel of Luke.
Our Island Story: A Child's History of England is a book by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall. It covers the history of England from the time of the Roman occupation until Queen Victoria's death, using a mixture of traditional history and mythology to explain the story of British history in a way accessible to younger readers.
Anne of Avonlea is a novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Following Anne of Green Gables, the book covers the second chapter in the life of Anne Shirley. This book follows Anne from the age of 16 to 18, during the two years that she teaches at Avonlea school. It includes many of the characters from Anne of Green Gables, as well as new ones like Mr. Harrison, Miss Lavendar Lewis, Paul Irving, and the twins Dora and Davy.
The Story of Mankind was written and illustrated by Dutch-American journalist, professor, and author Hendrik Willem van Loon. Relates the story of western civilization from earliest times through the beginning of the twentieth century, with special emphasis on the people and events that changed the course of history.
The Federalist (later known as The Federalist Papers) is a collection of 85 articles and essays written (under the pseudonym Publius) by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution. Seventy-seven were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788.
The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is often considered, along with The Three Musketeers, as Dumas's most popular work. The writing of the work was completed in 1844.
he six Bastable children are plunged into grief when their mother dies and their father's business partner cheats him of all his money. As a result, he loses not only his fortune but also his good name. However, the children decide to lend a hand. Determined to restore both, the children set out to find some way of making money. A variety of amusing and exciting events follow as they plunge into a series of scrapes in search of a legendary lost treasure.
The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the 5th century BC. Attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu (
The Decameron (Italian: Decameron [deˈkaːmeron; dekameˈrɔn; dekameˈron] or Decamerone [dekameˈroːne]), subtitled Prince Galehaut (Old Italian: Prencipe Galeotto [ˈprentʃipe ɡaleˈɔtto; ˈprɛntʃipe]), is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375).
The Comic History of England was published posthumously in 1896 after the writer's tragic and untimely death half-way through the project. Hence it remains incomplete and covers the history of the island nation only up to the Tudor period.By: Bill Nye (1850-1896)
A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same period.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a philosophical novel by Oscar Wilde. Dorian Gray, a young man of wealth and stature in late 1800's London, meets Lord Henry Wotton while posing for a portrait by his friend Basil Hallward. Once the painting is complete, Dorian realizes that it will always be young and attractive, while he will be forced to age and wither with the years. What happens is a treatise on morals, self-indulgence and how crucial personal responsibility is towards one's self.
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is a book of history written by the English historian Edward Gibbon, which traces the trajectory of Western civilization (as well as the Islamic and Mongolian conquests) from the height of the Roman Empire to the fall of Byzantium. It was published in six volumes. Volume I was published in 1776 and went through six printings.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is the traditional name for the unfinished record of his own life written by Benjamin Franklin from 1771 to 1790; however, Franklin himself appears to have called the work his Memoirs.
The Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas. It recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to become a musketeer. D'Artagnan is not one of the musketeers of the title; those are his friends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis -- inseparable friends who live by the motto,
Anne of the Island is the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series, written by Lucy Maud Montgomery about Anne Shirley. Anne of the Island was published in 1915, seven years after the bestselling Anne of Green Gables. In the continuing story of Anne Shirley, Anne attends Redmond College in Kingsport, where she is studying for her BA.
Intended for children 11 to 14 years old, The Story of the Middle Ages relates a little known period of history in an interesting and entertaining way. The author terms the Middle Ages as that period in the history of Europe between the fifth and fifteenth centuries. Its beginning is marked by the decline and fall of the mighty Roman Empire and its end is generally thought to be the dawn of the Renaissance or the Age of Discovery.By: Samuel B. Harding (1866-1927)
First published in 1908, A Short History of The United States by Edward Channing aims to provide a compact and concise account of the events that went into the making of the United States of America.
The Souls of Black Folk is a classic work of American literature by W. E. B. Du Bois. It is a seminal work in the history of sociology, and a cornerstone of African-American literary history. The book, published in 1903, contains several essays on race, some of which the magazine Atlantic Monthly had previously published.
Roughing It is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature written by American humorist Mark Twain. He wrote it during 1870–71 and published in 1872, as a prequel to his first book The Innocents Abroad (1869). This book tells of Twain's adventures prior to his pleasure cruise related in Innocents Abroad.
Volume I of a series containing anecdotes and stories, some well-known, others less so, of particular countries. This first volume comprises the discovery, colonization, founding, and early years of the United States of America, describing history for children and young adults in an exiting and novel manner.By: Charles Morris (1833-1922)
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an 1845 memoir and treatise on abolition written by famous orator and former slave Frederick Douglass. It is generally held to be the most famous of a number of narratives written by former slaves during the same period. In factual detail, the text describes the events of his life and is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature to fuel the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century in the United States.
Jacob Abbott's Cleopatra is a work of historical biography, told in a highly dramatic and gripping style. It brings the characters and the circumstances to vivid life, making it an entertaining read for people of all ages. The authentic rendering of ancient Rome, Egypt and the famous characters who played their part in this ancient drama are wonderfully depicted.
Famous Men of Greece is a series of biographical sketches written for the purpose of making the study of history lively and interesting by giving insight into the men who lived during this time. By: John H. Haaren (1855-1916)
Gallipoli Diary by John Graham Gillam is one of the many personal narratives written by survivors of this bloody conflict. Published in 1918, when memories of the war were still fresh in the minds of those who had experienced it, it is indeed a slice of history for modern-day readers who encounter it nearly a hundred years later.
Old Indian Legends is a collection of Sioux stories retold by the Yankton Dakota writer Zitkala-Sa and published in 1901. Concerned about the effect of assimilation on the tribe's children, she wanted to preserve the traditional stories of her people.
The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service is a 1903 novel by Erskine Childers. The book, which enjoyed immense popularity in the years before World War I, is an early example of the espionage novel and was extremely influential in the genre of spy fiction.
Isabella Bird began travelling while in her early twenties to help alleviate illness that had plagued her since childhood. She was a single woman in her early forties when she made her treck through the Rocky Mountains.By: Isabella L. Bird (1831-1904)
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is a history of popular folly by Scottish journalist Charles Mackay, first published in 1841.
The Coral Island: A Tale of the Pacific Ocean (1858) is a novel written by Scottish author R. M. Ballantyne. One of the first works of juvenile fiction to feature exclusively juvenile heroes, the story relates the adventures of three boys marooned on a South Pacific island, the only survivors of a shipwreck.
Nat Love was born a slave, emancipated into abject poverty, grew up riding the range as a cowboy and spent his maturity riding the rails as a Pullman Porter.By: Nat Love (1854-1921)
There are certain names which are familiar, as names, to all mankind; and every person who seeks for any degree of mental cultivation, feels desirous of informing himself of the leading outlines of their history, that he may know, in brief, what it was in their characters or their doings which has given them so widely-extended a fame. By: Jacob Abbott
A Child's History of England is a book by Charles Dickens. It first appeared in serial form in Household Words, running from January 25, 1851 to December 10, 1853. Dickens also published the work in book form in three volumes: the first volume on December 20, 1851; the second, December 25, 1852; and the third, December 24, 1853.
History made interesting for young readers—This Country of Ours by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall(1867-1941) provides a simple and easy to comprehend way of looking at the history of the United States.
In every country there have been certain men and women whose busy lives have made the world better or wiser. The names of such are heard so often that every child should know a few facts about them. It is hoped the very short stories told here may make boys and girls eager to learn more about these famous people.
The Awakening of Europe by M. B. Synge is the third book in the series, Story of the World. Included in this history is a myriad of interesting men, women, and events that shaped Europe during the years 1520-1745.By: M. B. Synge (d.1939)
History is a story, a story of things that happened to real live people in our England years ago; and the things that are happening here and now, and that are put in the newspapers, will be history for little children one of these days.E. Nesbit writes about some of the people behind the names, dates and battles of English History in this lovely book for older children.
Our Mutual Friend, written in the years 1864–65, is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis.
This article is about the book written by Tocqueville. For the actual system of government of the United States, see Politics of the United States.De La Démocratie en Amérique (French pronunciation: [dəla demɔkʁasi ɑ̃n‿ameˈʁik]; published in two volumes, the first in 1835 and the second in 1840) is a classic French text by Alexis de Tocqueville.
A Thousand Miles up the Nile was first published in 1877. By: Amelia B. Edwards (1831-1892)The title refers to the approximate distance from Alexandria to the Second Cataract of the Nile river, a journey that the author undertook over the course of a year in Egypt.
A short travelogue of Egypt, this book was written as part of an early 20th century series of travelogues on exotic destinations.By: R. Talbot Kelly (1861-1934)
n 1921, Charles and Mary Beard published their History of the United States. A contemporaneous review stated: “The authors… assume enough maturity in high school students to justify a topical rather than a chronological treatment. They have dealt with movements, have sketched large backgrounds, have traced causes, and have discussed the interrelation of social and economic forces and politics.
Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection by the American poet Walt Whitman (1819–1892). Though the first edition was published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing and re-writing Leaves of Grass, revising it multiple times until his death. This resulted in vastly different editions over four decades—the first a small book of twelve poems and the last a compilation of over 400.
This account by Trotsky is of the events in Russia from the October Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd, to his signing of the Brest-Litovsk treaty with Germany on 3rd March 1918 which took Russia out of the First World War. The treaty exacted heavy losses for Russia in terms of annexations of land and financial indemnities to Germany. In this extended essay, Trotsky argues the reasons as to why he decided to sign what appears to be a disastrous agreement for Russia.
Notes from Underground (Russian: Записки из подполья, Zapiski iz podpol'ya), also translated as Notes from the Underground or Letters from the Underworld, is an 1864 novella by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Notes is considered by many to be one of the first existentialist novels.
Adrift in New York was published in 1900. It is one of the 135 novels written by Horatio Alger Jr., an extremely prolific writer of young adult literature. Most of his books were centered on boys in poor circumstances who rise above them through hard work, honesty, courage and determination.
The Brothers Orville (1871 - 1948) and Wilbur (1867 – 1912) Wright made the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight, on 17th December 1903. They were not the first to build and fly aircraft, but they invented the controls that were necessary for a pilot to steer the aircraft, which made fixed wing powered flight possible.
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, given November 19, 1863 on the battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation: conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
This speech was given March 23, 1775, at St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, and is credited with having singlehandedly convinced the Virginia House of Burgesses to pass a resolution delivering the Virginia troops to the Revolutionary War. In attendance were Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Reportedly, the crowd, upon hearing the speech, jumped up and shouted, “To Arms! To Arms!”
Little Lord Fauntleroy is a novel by the English-American writer Frances Hodgson Burnett, her first children's novel. It was published as a serial in St. Nicholas Magazine from November 1885 to October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's (the publisher of St. Nicholas) in 1886.
Phædo or Phaedo (/ˈfiːdoʊ/; Greek: Φαίδων, Phaidōn, Greek pronunciation: [pʰaídɔːn]), also known to ancient readers as On The Soul, is one of the best-known dialogues of Plato's middle period, along with the Republic and the Symposium. The Phaedo, which depicts the death of Socrates, is also Plato's fourth and last dialogue to detail the philosopher's final days, following Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito.
Little Men, or Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys, is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott, first published in 1871. The novel reprises characters from Little Women and is considered by some the second book in an unofficial Little Women trilogy, which is completed with Alcott's 1886 novel Jo's Boys, and How They Turned Out: A Sequel to
Seven Little Australians (1894) is a classic Australian children's novel by Ethel Turner. Set mainly in Sydney in the 1880s, it relates the adventures of the seven mischievous Woolcot children, their stern army father Captain Woolcot, and flighty stepmother Esther.
Puck of Pook’s Hill is a children’s book by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1906, containing a series of short stories set in different periods of history. The stories are all told to two children living near Pevensey by people magically plucked out of history by Puck.
The Catiline Conspiracy and The Jugurthine War are the two separate surviving works of the historian commonly known as “Sallust”. Nearly contemporary to the events he describes, he is supposed to have been a retired officer of Caesar’s army. “Catiline” contains the history of the memorable year 63.
Xenophon the Athenian was born 431 B.C. He was a pupil of Socrates. He marched with the Spartans, and was exiled from Athens. Sparta gave him land and property in Scillus, where he lived for many years before having to move once more, to settle in Corinth. He died in 354 B.C. “Anabasis” is a Greek work which meane “journey from the coast to the center of a country.”
The full title of this book is The Origins of Christianity with an Outline of Van Manen’s Analysis of The Pauline Literature. Willem Christiaan van Manen (1842-1905) was a Dutch theologian. The vast majority of van Manen’s radical criticism of the New Testament and Christian origins has never been translated into English.
A philippic is a fiery, damning speech delivered to condemn a particular political actor. The term originates with Demosthenes, who delivered an attack on Philip II of Macedon in the 4th century BCE.
This book is intended to give the reader an account of the origin and history of Hallowe’en, how it absorbed some customs belonging to other days in the year,—such as May Day, Midsummer, and Christmas.
The text used is the first version in the Gutenberg collection. – Magna Carta is the most significant early influence on the long historical process that has led to the rule of constitutional law today. Magna Carta was originally created because of disagreements between the Pope, King John and his English barons over the rights of the King. Magna Carta required the king to renounce certain rights and respect certain legal procedures and to accept that the will of the king could be bound by law.
Ecclesiastical History of England is a work in Latin by Bede on the history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict between Roman and Celtic Christianity. It is considered to be one of the most important original references on Anglo-Saxon history.
The Prince and the Pauper is a novel by American author Mark Twain. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. It tells the story of two young boys who are identical in appearance: Tom Canty, a pauper who lives with his abusive father in Offal Court off Pudding Lane in London, and Prince Edward, son of King Henry VIII.
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century. The tales, some of which are originals and others not, are contained inside a frame tale and told by a group of pilgrims on their way from Southwark to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.
Last Days of Pompeii is a novel written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1834. Once a very widely read book and now relatively neglected, it culminates in the cataclysmic destruction of the city of Pompeii by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Rainbow Valley (1919) is the seventh book in the chronology of the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery, although it was the fifth book published. In this book Anne Shirley is married with six children, but the book focuses more on her new neighbor, the new Presbyterian minister John Meredith, as well as the interactions between Anne's and John Meredith's children.
Lady Audley's Secret is a sensation novel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon published in 1862.[1] It was Braddon's most successful and well-known novel. Critic John Sutherland (1989) described the work as
Kidnapped is the story of a 16-year old young man who is searching for his true birthright and is determined to make a fortune after the death of his parents. This timeless tale by Robert Louis Stevenson follows the life of David Balfour who leaves his home in Scotland after the death of his parents. By: Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
The Alaskan is a lost[1] 1924 silent adventure drama based on a novel by James Oliver Curwood set in northwoods country as his novels tend to be. In this case Alaska. The film was produced and released by Paramount Pictures and directed by Herbert Brenon. The picture stars Thomas Meighan, Estelle Taylor and an early role by Anna May Wong.
An adventure novel with an unexpected hero, Captain Blood follows the unintended journey of chivalrous and well-educated gentleman Peter Blood, who without much choice was plunged into the world of piracy forcing him to leave his tranquil lifestyle behind. Sabatini first introduced his protagonist in a series of eight short stories published in magazine installments, until later weaving them together in 1922 as a novel.By: Rafael Sabatini (1875-1950)
Published in 1913, El Dorado was the fourth in the Pimpernel series of eleven books, numerous short stories and other related writings about her famous British adventurer. However, Orczy did not always follow a strict chronological sequence while publishing the novels and hence, there is plenty of overlap between the time frames of the stories. El Dorado is famous for its being the basis on which most of the film and stage adaptations of The Scarlet Pimpernel have been based.
Pudd'nhead Wilson is a novel by Mark Twain. It was serialized in The Century Magazine (1893–4), before being published as a novel in 1894.
Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905) is a novel by E. M. Forster, originally entitled Monteriano. The title comes from a line in Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism:
This article is about the novel. For other uses, see The Last of the Mohicans (disambiguation).The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757 (1826) is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper. It is the second book of the Leatherstocking Tales pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. The Pathfinder, published 14 years later in 1840, is its sequel.
The Northern Army has just be handed a great defeat at Bull Run and is headed back to Washington, DC. How will the North answer this defeat? Follow our hero, Dick Mason, into the Western campaign to find out. This is the second book in the Civil War Series by Joseph A. Altsheler.
Les Misérables (pronounced /leɪ ˌmɪzəˈrɑːb/ or /leɪ ˈmɪzəˌrɑːb/; French pronunciation: [le mizeʁabl(ə)]) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a novel by Lew Wallace published by Harper & Brothers on November 12, 1880, and considered
Robin Hood is a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for
The Lancashire Witches is the only one of William Harrison Ainsworth's forty novels that has remained continuously in print since its first publication.It was serialised in the Sunday Times newspaper in 1848; a book edition appeared the following year, published by Henry Colburn. The novel is based on the true story of the Pendle witches, who were executed in 1612 for causing harm by witchcraft.
The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas is part of the novel The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years After, published in serial form between 1857-50. It is also the last of the D'Artagnan stories written by Dumas and the three musketeers are the real heroes of the story, though the title is given to the man in the iron mask.
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly, is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel
During the reign of King Alfred, Danish forces have invaded the English countryside. Although the English try to repulse these attacks, they are overrun by the savagery and sheer numbers of the Danes.By: George Alfred Henty (1832-1902)
The Log of a Cowboy is an account of a five-month drive of 3,000 cattle from Brownsville, Texas, to Montana during 1882 along the Great Western Cattle Trail. Although the book is fiction, it is based on Adams's own experiences, and it is considered by many to be literature's best account of cowboy life.By: Andy Adams
The Red Badge of Courage is a war novel by American author Stephen Crane (1871–1900). Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle.
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (French: Notre-Dame de Paris) is a French Romantic/Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. The original French title refers to Notre Dame Cathedral, on which the story is centered.
Natty Bumppo goes by many names: La Longue Carabine, Hawk Eye, Leatherstocking, and in this tale, The Pathfinder. Guide, scout, hunter, and when put to it, soldier, he also fills a lot of roles in pre-Revolution upstate New York. By: James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851)
Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty (commonly known as Barnaby Rudge) is a historical novel by British novelist Charles Dickens. Barnaby Rudge was one of two novels (the other was The Old Curiosity Shop) that Dickens published in his short-lived (1840–1841) weekly serial Master Humphrey's Clock.
Travel along as Mike Vendetti aka miketheauctioneer narrates an outstanding true account of a trip made in 1909 by Zane Grey and a plainsman, Buffalo Jones, through the Grand Canyon to lasso a cougar. That’s right lasso. Throw a rope around. That’s equivalent to catching one by the tail.
Scaramouche is an historical novel by Rafael Sabatini, originally published in 1921. A romantic adventure, Scaramouche tells the story of a young lawyer during the French Revolution.
The Children of the New Forest is a children's novel published in 1847 by Frederick Marryat. It is set in the time of the English Civil War and the Commonwealth. The story follows the fortunes of the four Beverley children who are orphaned during the war, and hide from their Roundhead oppressors in the shelter of the New Forest where they learn to live off the land.
Mark Twain’s work on Joan of Arc is titled in full “Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, by the Sieur Louis de Conte.” De Conte is identified as Joan’s page and secretary. For those who’ve always wanted to “get behind” the Joan of Arc story and to better understand just what happened, Twain’s narrative makes the story personal and very accessible.
The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses is an 1888 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. It is both an historical adventure novel and a romance novel. It first appeared as a serial in 1883 with the subtitle
James Curwood wrote many adventures of the far north. By 1909 he had saved enough money to travel to the Canadian northwest, a trip that provided the inspiration for his wilderness adventure stories. The success of his novels afforded him the opportunity to return to the Yukon and Alaska for several months each year that allowed him to write more than thirty such books.
The story begins in a grim feudal castle in Normandie. The times were troublous, and soon the king compelled Lady Margaret de Villeroy, with her children, to go to Paris as hostages. Guy Aylmer went with her.By: George Alfred Henty
O Pioneers! is a 1913 novel by American author Willa Cather, written while she was living in New York. It is the first novel of her Great Plains trilogy, followed by The Song of the Lark (1915) and My Ántonia (1918).
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, often known simply as Tom Jones, is a comic novel by the English playwright and novelist Henry Fielding. The novel is both a Bildungsroman and a picaresque novel. First published on 28 February 1749 in London, Tom Jones is among the earliest English prose works describable as a novel,and is the earliest novel mentioned by W. Somerset Maugham in his 1948 book Great Novelists and Their Novels among the ten best novels of the world.
Volume VI of a series containing anecdotes and stories, some well-known, others less so, of particular countries. This fifth volume covers the history of France from the Hun invasion of Europe in the 5th century up to the Prussian War, describing history for children and young adults in an exciting and novel manner. By: Charles Morris (1833-1922)
The Talisman is a 1984 fantasy novel by Stephen King and Peter Straub. The plot is not related to that of Walter Scott's 1825 novel of the same name, although there is one oblique reference to
Can You Forgive Her? is a novel by Anthony Trollope, first published in serial form in 1864 and 1865. It is the first of six novels in the
Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is a novel by English author Richard Doddridge Blackmore, published in 1869. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly around the East Lyn Valley area of Exmoor.
Although written from a child’s perspective, this is not a kids book but a series of funny, poignant, and sometimes disturbing stories about life in a late 19th-century Russian-Jewish village — the world of my grandparents. Sholem Rabinovich (1859-1916) was born in Pereiaslav, Ukraine and later immigrated to New York. His short stories about Tevye and his daughters were freely adapted into the musical FIDDLER ON THE ROOF.
G. A . Henty was a prolific writer of historical fiction for young adults. In this collection of shorter stories we visit Malay pirates, have a couple of tales of India, a shipwreck off the Channel Islands and a bursting dam in California, and finish off escaping from captivity in China
Michael Strogoff: The Courier of the Czar (French: Michel Strogoff) is a novel written by Jules Verne in 1876. Critics, including Leonard S. Davidow, writing from Reading, Pennsylvania, in his 1937 introduction to The Spencer Press reprint as a volume in its
In the Diary of a U Boat Commander, the author, Stephen King-Hall draws upon his vast personal experiences as a naval officer in World War I. Writing under the name of the fictitious narrator, Etienne, King-Hall presents the events in the story in the form of a diary that has been discovered aboard a captured German U boat.
First thought to have been performed in September 1599, William Shakespeare's original text or script have long vanished. What we have today is taken from a prompt script that must have been used by stage managers in Elizabethan times. Shakespeare probably used the historical facts found in Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Life of Brutus and Life of Caesar.
Return with us to those thrilling days of yesteryear as Mike Vendetti narrates this early Zane Grey novel of hardy pioneers taming the wild west. Yes, despite the difficult times, romance flourishes and the bad guys are eliminated almost single handedly as our heroes Jonathan Zane and his sidekick Lew “Deathwind” Wetzel fight their way through mud, blood, gore, savage Indians, and despicable outlaws, to make the land safe for pioneer families as they settle the wild west.
The Fur Country (French: Le Pays des fourrures) is an adventure novel by Jules Verne in The Extraordinary Voyages series, first published in 1873. The novel was serialized in Magasin d’Éducation et de Récréation from September 1872 to December 1873.
The House of the Seven Gables is a Gothic novel written beginning in mid-1850 by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in April 1851 by Ticknor and Fields of Boston. The novel follows a New England family and their ancestral home.
Colonel Quaritch, V.C.: A Tale of Country Life is a 1888 novel by H Rider Haggard.This is the tale of an ancient family’s struggles to survive, one woman’s selflessness and another’s evil schemes; Two Gentlemen, two scoundrels and one very underestimated, loyal servant.
The White Company is a historical adventure by Arthur Conan Doyle set during the Hundred Years' War. The story is set in England, France, and Spain, in the years 1366 and 1367, against the background of the campaign of Edward, the Black Prince to restore Peter of Castile to the throne of the Kingdom of Castile.
Here are tales of love and war, modesty and frivolity, laughter and tears. Louisa May Alcott wrote many, many short stories. This collection shares but 7 of them.By: Louisa May Alcott
The Swoop!, or How Clarence Saved England is a short comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom by Alston Rivers Ltd, London, on April 16, 1909.Its subtitle is A Tale of the Great Invasion.
James Otis wrote a series of books depicting life in the new colonies, written from a child’s point of view. Ruth of Boston is the story of 12 year old Ruth, coming from London to live in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It gives accounts of what a girl’s daily life might have been like during the beginnings of this colony.
This delightful novel begins when a family of five children moves from London to the English countryside. While playing in a gravel pit soon after the move, they discover an ancient and rather grumpy sand-fairy known as the Psammead, who agrees to grant one wish of theirs per day. The children’s wishes send them on adventure after adventure, but rarely turn out as expected.
In this book Robert Michael Ballantyne (1825-1894) details the lives of the crew as they must overwinter in the frozen north including their meetings with Eskimos and bears and their struggles with disease. This is a realistic account of what life was like for the explorers of the Arctic.
Spirit of the Border is an historical novel written by Zane Grey, first published in 1906. The novel is based on events occurring in the Ohio River Valley in the late eighteenth century.
Red Shadows is the first of a series of stories featuring Robert Ervin Howard’s puritan avenger, Solomon Kane. Kane tracks his prey over land and sea, enters the jungles of Africa, and even faces dark Gods and evil magic — all to avenge a woman he’d never met before.
The Little Duke by Charlotte M. Yonge is historical fiction based on the the life of Richard, Duke of Normandy. He assumes the title of Duke at only 8 years of age, after his father is murdered. The story first appeared in her magazine, The Monthly Packet, as a serial.
Written primarily for children, James Baikie’s ‘peep’ at ancient Egypt is a really well done, historical account of the ways of that fascinating land so many years ago. It has stood well the test of time, being both well researched and well written. It’s a fun book for everyone, and families especially will enjoy listening together.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written throughout in vernacular English, characterized by local color regionalism.
Anne of Green Gables is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Written for all ages, it has been considered a children's novel since the mid-twentieth century. The novel recounts how Anne makes her way with the Cuthberts, in school, and within the town.
Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first produced 22 February 1892 at the St James's Theatre in London. The play was first published in 1893. Like many of Wilde's comedies, it bitingly satirizes the morals of society.
Anne of Green Gables is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Written for all ages, it has been considered a children’s novel since the mid-twentieth century. The novel recounts how Anne makes her way with the Cuthberts, in school, and within the town.
Through the Looking Glass, the sequel to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was written in 1872 and it finds Alice in a land when she walks through a mirror into the Looking-Glass House. The land is full of mythological creatures and characters and nursery rhyme characters. Alice makes a guest appearance in a bizarre game of chess with Humpty Dumpty! A charming, witty story!
Right Ho, Jeeves is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, the second full-length novel featuring the popular characters Jeeves and Bertie Wooster, after Thank You, Jeeves. It was first published in the United Kingdom on 5 October 1934 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on 15 October 1934 by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, under the title Brinkley Manor.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was published in Collier's in 1927 and the idea came to Fitzgerald apparently from a quote of Mark Twain's in which he regretted that the best part of life came at the beginning and the worst at the end. Fitzgerald's concept of using this notion and turning the normal sequence of life on its head resulted in this delightful, thought provoking fantasy tale. The story was later incorporated in a Fitzgerald anthology, Tales of the Jazz Age.
My Man Jeeves is a collection of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom in May 1919 by George Newnes.[1] Of the eight stories in the collection, half feature the popular characters Jeeves and Bertie Wooster, while the others concern Reggie Pepper, an early prototype for Wooster.
Written in 1894, this was Wilde's last play. It went on stage on Valentine's Day 1895 and received the most whole hearted and fulsome applause that had ever greeted a contemporary play. Reviewers complained that there was hardly a moment where the audience could stop laughing!By: Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
The Canterville Ghost is a short story by Oscar Wilde, widely adapted for the screen and stage. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in two parts in The Court and Society Review, 23 February and 2 March 1887.[1] The story is about a family who moves to a castle haunted by the ghost of a dead nobleman, who killed his wife and was starved to death by his wife's brothers.
Love Among the Chickens is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published as a book in the United Kingdom in June 1906 by George Newnes, London, and in the United States by Circle Publishing, New York, on 11 May 1909. It had already appeared there as a serial in Circle magazine between September 1908 and March 1909. The English edition was dedicated
Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog),[Note 1] published in 1889, is a humorous account by English writer Jerome K. Jerome of a two-week boating holiday on the Thames from Kingston upon Thames to Oxford and back to Kingston. The book was initially intended to be a serious travel guide,[1] with accounts of local history along the route, but the humorous elements took over to the point where the serious and somewhat sentimental passages seem a distraction to the comic novel.
1601.Conversation, as it was by the Social Fireside, in the Time of the Tudors. or simply 1601 is the title of a short risqué squib by Mark Twain, first published anonymously in 1880, and finally acknowledged by the author in 1906. Written as an extract from the diary of one of Queen Elizabeth I's ladies-in-waiting, the pamphlet purports to record a conversation between Elizabeth and several famous writers of the day. The topics discussed are entirely scatological, notably flatulence and sex.
he Clicking of Cuthbert is a collection of ten short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, all with a golfing theme. It was first published in the United Kingdom on 3 February 1922 by Herbert Jenkins Ltd of London. It was later published in the United States by George H. Doran of New York on 28 May 1924 under the title Golf Without Tears.
Robert Benchley was a well-known humorist and newspaper columnist, radio and television presenter, actor, scriptwriter and broadcaster. He is also credited with creating the first ever television entertainment show and one of his iconic short films, How to Sleep won an Academy Award in 1936.
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences and critics.
Just William is the first book of children's short stories about the young school boy William Brown, written by Richmal Crompton, and published in 1922. The book was the first in the series of William Brown books which was the basis for numerous television series, films and radio adaptations.
"The Awful German Language" is an 1880 essay by Mark Twain published as Appendix D in A Tramp Abroad.[1] The essay is a humorous exploration of the frustrations a native English speaker has with learning German as a second language.
Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, published in 1886, is a collection of humorous essays by Jerome K. Jerome. It was the author’s second published book and it helped establish him as a leading English humorist. While widely considered one of Jerome’s better works, and in spite of using the same style as Three Men in a Boat, it was never as popular as the latter. A second
A Tramp Abroad is a work of travel literature, including a mixture of autobiography and fictional events, by American author Mark Twain, published in 1880. The book details a journey by the author, with his friend Harris (a character created for the book, and based on his closest friend, Joseph Twichell), through central and southern Europe.
The Coming of Bill is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published as Their Mutual Child in the United States on 5 August 1919 by Boni & Liveright, New York, and as The Coming of Bill in the United Kingdom on 1 July 1920 by Herbert Jenkins Ltd, London. The story first appeared in Munsey's Magazine in May 1914 under the title The White Hope.
A novel, The Dragon of Wantley, was written by Owen Wister (best known as the author of The Virginian) in 1892. Published by Lipincott Press, the story is a comic
Nicholas Nickleby; or, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is a novel by Charles Dickens. Originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839, it was Dickens' third novel. The novel centers on the life and adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, a young man who must support his mother and sister after his father dies.
A Short History of Scotland is a consise introduction to the history of Scotland from Roman times to the last Jacobite rebellion, written by the author of a much longer Scottish history.
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse was an English comic writer who enjoyed enormous popular success for more than seventy years. Best known today for the Jeeves and Blanding Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of fifteen plays and of 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies.By: P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975)
The Grand Babylon Hotel is a novel by Arnold Bennett, published in 1902, about the mysterious disappearance of a German prince. It originally appeared as a serial in the Daily Mail.
The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories (1906) is a collection of thirty comic short stories by the iconic American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The stories contained span the course of his career, from
"Eve's Diary" is a comic short story by Mark Twain. It was first published in the 1905 Christmas issue of the magazine Harper's Bazaar, and in book format in June 1906 by Harper and Brothers[1] publishing house.
If you're a Jane Austen fan, you'll enjoy Emily Eden's comic novels of manners, The Semi-Detached House (1859) and The Semi-Attached Couple (1860).
is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U.S. and is said to have "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War
Psmith in the City is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published on 23 September 1910 by Adam & Charles Black, London.[1] The story was originally released as a serial in The Captain magazine, between October 1908 and March 1909, under the title The New Fold.
Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations” gives an in-depth discussion of different economic principles like the productivity, division of labor and free markets. Although written and published more than 200 years ago, it’s still hailed as one of the most original works in the field of economics and is still used as a reference by many modern economists.
An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedic stage play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. The action is set in London, in
The Prince and Betty is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. It was originally published in Ainslee's Magazine in the United States in January 1912, and, in a slightly different form, as a serial in Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom between February and April 1912.
The Last Man is an early post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Mary Shelley, which was first published in 1826. The book tells of a future world that has been ravaged by a plague. The plague gradually kills off all people.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy written by William Shakespeare between 1590 and 1597. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta. These include the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors (the mechanicals) who are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set.
First performed on stage in 1912, Pygmalion takes its title from the Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. In the ancient story, a brilliant sculptor, Pygmalion falls in love with one of his own creations, a ravishingly beautiful sculpture whom he names Galatea. He propitiates Aphrodite, who grants his wish that his statue would come to life and that he could marry her. His wish is granted and the couple live happily ever after.By: George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Their Mutual Child (aka The Coming of Bill and The White Hope) is full of the loveable characters, preposterous situations, and opportunities to chuckle, if not outright laughs, that we expect from PG Wodehouse. It lacks the frantic slapstick of some Wodehouse comedy, but has a quieter more reflective humour.By: P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975)
Our Mr. Wrenn: The Romantic Adventures of a Gentle Man is a 1914 novel by Sinclair Lewis and the first to be published under his real name.
Three Men on the Bummel (also known as Three Men on Wheels) is a humorous novel by Jerome K. Jerome. It was published in 1900, eleven years after his most famous work, Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog).
Book 1: Thomas D’Arcy McGee was an Irish refugee and a father of the Canadian confederation. His work on Irish history is comprehensive, encompassing twelve books; Book 1 begins with the earliest modern settlement of Ireland and ends with the 8th century.
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio, 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility.
Teddy loves to tell the story of how his father heroically died on the battlefield and guards his button jealously. But this brings contention and strife when a new girl comes to town. Teddy begins to learn what it means to be a soldier under Christ, his Captain.By: Amy LeFeuvre (1861-1929)
The first novel in her renowned series of detective fiction, Sayers introduces Lord Peter Wimsey, a bon vivant gentleman, whose hobby of playing detective is put to the test, as he is launched into his first official crime investigation.
“The wrongdoing of one generation lives into the successive ones and… becomes a pure and uncontrollable mischief.” Hawthorne’s moral for “The House of the Seven Gables,” taken from the Preface, accurately presages his story.
Twelfth Night, or What You Will is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–02 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season.
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where the sorcerer Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place using illusion and skillful manipulation.
Princess Priscilla's Fortnight is a 1905 comedy-drama novel by the British writer Elizabeth von Arnim, known at the time as Elizabeth Russell. It was turned into a play The Cottage in the Air in 1909.
This is the first of three novels which Edith Somerville and her cousin Violet Martin wrote about the English Major Sinclair Yates who leaves the army to take up a position of Resident Magistrate in the West of Ireland in about 1895. The tales tell in a humorous way of his struggles with a new job, new culture, and with his landlord and neighbour Mr. ‘Flurry’ Knox whose prime, if not only, interest is in hunting, which forms the background to all the stories.
This is the official report, published nearly 11 months after the first and only atomic bombings in history (to date), of a group of military physicians and engineers who accompanied the initial contingent of U.S. soldiers into the destroyed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The Europeans: A sketch is a short novel by Henry James, published in 1878. It is essentially a comedy contrasting the behaviour and attitudes of two visitors from Europe with those of their relatives living in the 'new' world of New England. The novel first appeared as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly for July–October 1878. James made numerous minor revisions for the first book publication.
Mommsen (1817-1903) erhielt für die Römische Geschichte 1902 den Nobelpreis für Literatur. Erstes Buch: Bis zur Abschaffung des römischen Königtums
The Soul of Japan written by Inazo Nitobe was one of the first books on samurai ethics that was originally written in English for a Western audience, and has been subsequently translated into many other languages (also Japanese).
A children’s book detailing early American history from the Norsemen to the Revolution, meant for educational use. (Description by the reader)
Struwwelpeter (Slovenly Peter) is an illustrated collection of humorous children’s poems describing ludicrous and usually violent punishments for naughty behavior. Hoffmann, a Frankfurt physician, wanted to buy a picture book for his son for Christmas in 1844. Not impressed by what the stores had to offer, he instead bought a notebook and wrote his own stories and pictures.
The History of the Plague in London is a historical novel offering an account of the dismal events caused by the Great Plague, which mercilessly struck the city of London in 1665. First published in 1722, the novel illustrates the social disorder triggered by the outbreak, while focusing on human suffering and the mere devastation occupying London at the time.
That a secret society, based upon the lines of similar institutions so notorious on the Continent during the last century, could ever have existed in the London of our day may seem impossible. Such a society, however, not only did exist, but through the instrumentality of a woman of unparalleled capacity and genius, obtained a firm footing.
A jolly romp, which could be perhaps be described as Gulliver’s Travels Through Our Solar System and Beyond, as written by a great admirer of C. S. Lewis, on a rainy Sunday afternoon, after one too many mugs of cocoa. Includes some thought on alien philosophies and how to apply them to moral and social problems here on Planet Earth.
Jack London died at the age of forty. In this autobiographical work, London describes his life as seen through the eyes of John Barleycorn (alcohol). There is much controversy about the cause of his death just as there is about alcoholism and addiction. London’s brutally frank and honest analysis of his own struggles and bouts with alcohol was way before its time and more modern theories of addiction.
Piracy embodies the romance of the sea at its highest expression. It is a sad but inevitable commentary on our civilization, that, so far as the sea is concerned, it has developed from its infancy down to a century or so ago, under one phase or another of piracy.
Published in 1910, The Lilac Fairy Book is the last book in the series of fairytale collections known as Andrew Lang's “Coloured” Fairy Books and features stories from various folklores and cultures including Welsh, Portuguese, Scottish, Italian, and many other foreign literary branches. Moreover, the collection is a gem in the short story genre due to the fact that Lang collected some of the featured stories from foreign languages and made them available to English audiences.
he sequel to Plague Ship, Voodoo Planet finds the Solar Queen banned from trade and starting her supposed quiet two-year stint as an interstellar mail carrier. But instead her crew accepts a visit to the safari planet of Khatka, where they find themselves caught in a battle between the forces of reason and the powers of Khatka’s mind-controlling wizard.
First published in 1881, Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon is an adventure novel in two parts by Jules Verne, having a basis in codes and cryptography. Unlike many of his other stories, it is not a work of science fiction.
In the sequal to The Story Girl Sara Stanley returns to join the King children in publishing their own local magazine to entertain the town of Carlisle.
Merton of the Movies is a 1922 novel by Harry Leon Wilson.It is a comedy that centers around Merton Gill, an aspiring dramatic artist from Simsbury, Illinois who makes his way to Hollywood to become a serious actor.
Rabbi Louis Ginzberg was one of the outstanding Talmudists of the twentieth century. He was born on November 28, 1873, in Kovno, Lithuania; he died on November 11, 1953, in New York City. Ginzberg taught at the Jewish Theological seminary from 1903 to 1953. For 50 years, he trained two generations of Conservative Rabbis.
First published in 1917, The Glugs of Gosh satirizes Australian life at the start of the twentieth century – but the absurdities it catalogs seem just as prevalent at the start of the twenty-first.By: C. J. Dennis (1876-1938)
The writer is as earnest in recommending ladies who belong to the higher class of settlers to cultivate all the mental resources of a superior education, as she is to induce them to discard all irrational and artificial wants and mere useless pursuits.
This volume was originally written in Dutch by John Esquemeling, and first published in Amsterdam in 1678 under the title of De Americaeneche Zee Roovers.
Famous Men of Modern Times is a series of biographical sketches written for the purpose of making the study of history lively and interesting by giving insight into the men who lived during this time. Summary by Laura Caldwell
An epistolary novel written by renowned French novelist Balzac, who is regarded as one of the founders of realism and a significant influence to later novelists, the novel focuses on two young women who preserve their friendship through regular correspondence.
First collection of sung and spoken folk ballads (13 in collection).
One-Act Play Collection includes 6 one-act plays in the public domain.
In these seventeen short stories—or tales, as they are here called—, Guy de Maupassant depicts succinctly and pointedly persons and landscapes, and shows in an ironical, but sometimes also pessimistic way, without becoming moralistic, the weakness and baseness of the characters.
The historical works of Tacitus are a history of the period from A.D. 14 to 96 in thirty volumes. Although many of the works were lost (only books 1-5 of the Histories and 1-6 and 11-16 of the Annals survive), enough remains to provide a good sense of Tacitus’s political and moral philosophy.
The Proposal is a one act comic farce by Anton Chekhov. In Chekhov’s Russia, marriage was a means of economic stability for most people. They married to gain wealth and possessions. In this play, the concept of marriage is being satirized to show the real purpose of marriage – materialistic gain rather than true love.By: Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)
A collection of classic Christian hymns spanning the centuries. Some of the hymns are read; others are sung.
This is a collection of stories collected over thousands of years by various authors, translators and scholars. The are an amalgam of mythology and folk tales from the Indian sub-continent, Persia, and Arabia. No original manuscript has ever been found for the collection, but several versions date the collection’s genesis to somewhere between AD 800-900.
Landmark United States Supreme Court decisions focusing on civil rights and equal protection between 1856 and 1948.
John Kendrick Bangs (May 27, 1862 – January 21, 1922) was an American author and satirist, and the creator of modern Bangasian Fantasy, the school of fantasy writing that sets the plot wholly or partially in the afterlife.
The brave warrior, Beowulf, comes to the aid of King Hrothgar when he hears that Grendel, a horrible monster, is terrorizing the inhabitants of Hart Hall. Beowulf heroically battles Grendel, the Water Witch, and a fierce dragon.
D’amants qu’ils étaient, le Vicomte de Valmont et la Marquise de Merteuil sont restés complices dans leurs projets de liaisons et confidents dans leur correspondance, chacun préservant sa réputation aux yeux du monde : d’homme irrésistible pour l’un, de femme respectable pour l’autre.
Arms and the Man is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's Aeneid, in Latin: Arma virumque cano (
Tales of the brave and daring explorers that ventured into the unknown “Sea of Darkness” where it was thought monsters and angry gods lived. They dared to sail near the equator which was thought to have such intense heat that it would boil the ocean water.
Aurelius Ambrosius was a fourth century cleric who rose to become the Archbishop of Milan in 374 AD. His father was a powerful Roman general and the prefect of Gaul. His brother and sister were also consecrated as saints by the Catholic Church. As an infant, a swarm of bees settled over his face and flew away without harming the baby, but left behind a drop of honey and this was seen as a sign of his future eloquence and bees are often painted in his portraits as his symbols.
This is the first of five volumes. – Giacomo Casanova (1725 in Venice – 1798 in Dux, Bohemia, now Duchcov, Czech Republic) was a famous Venetian adventurer, writer, and womanizer.
A non-fiction work, comparing and collecting ghost stories by Classical Greek and Republican or Imperial Roman authors.
An expedition to Mars discovers the remains of an advanced civilization, which died out many thousands of years ago. They recovered books and documents left behind, and are puzzled by their contents. Would the team find their “Rosetta Stone” that would allow them to unlock the Martian language, and learn the secrets of this long-dead race?
Dans ce roman, le scientifique français Pierre Aronnax, son fidèle domestique Conseil et le harponneur canadien Ned Land sont capturés par le capitaine Nemo qui navigue dans les océans du globe à bord du sous-marin Nautilus.
Aristotle’s Poetics from the 4th century B.C. aims to give a short study of storytelling. It discusses things like unity of plot, reversal of situation, and character in the context of Greek tragedy, comedy and epic poetry.
In einer Nordseegemeinde taucht vor drohenden Sturmfluten und Deichbrüchen eine gespenstische Gestalt auf dem Deich auf. Der Geist reitet auf seinem Schimmel lautlos in die Fluten um dort unterzugehen.
The Red Fairy Book is the second in a series of twelve books known as Andrew Lang’s Fairy Books or Andrew Lang’s “Coloured” Books. The series was immensely popular and proved of great influence in children’s literature, increasing the popularity of fairy tales over tales of real life.
From the cave man to Santa Claus; spies, know-it-alls, and journalists: all are fair game for Leacock’s special brand of humor. He touches on the changes time has brought about in the city, education, and work habits. Among the other topics in this work are nature, fishing, gardening, success, and spirits–both of the departed and of the variety Prohibition prohibited.
Warlord of Kor was originally published in 1963 as half of an Ace Double, selected by legendary editor Donald A. Wollheim. It is an interplanetary adventure, as humans probe the mysteries of the planet Hirlaj and the few remaining aliens who live there.
本書對於晚清的政治與社會民情有相當的描述,且非常寫實。這些都反映在老殘或夢或醒的遊歷過程中,事實上,他也藉由老殘的夢境來映射他對當時官場與社會現實的看法。
Williams spent his life as a doctor practicing pediatric medicine in northern New Jersey, a few miles west of New York City. During the work day, between seeing patients, he often dashed off poems on the backs of blank prescription pads that he kept in his pocket.
Als die Wissenschaftler Saltner, Grunthe und Thorm in einem Ballon aufbrechen, um den Nordpol zu erforschen, ahnen sie nicht, dass ihnen eine weit größere Entdeckung bevorsteht. Am Pol finden sie eine Station der Bewohner des Mars, die sich selbst Nume nennen.
Geschichte des Abfalls der vereinigten Niederlande von der spanischen Regierung von Friedrich von Schiller (1759 – 1805).
Known as the Canadian Mark Twain, Stephen Leacock was a humorist whose gentle parodies and spoofs still evoke a smile and a chuckle more than a hundred years after they were first published.
Effi Briest is a realist novel by Theodor Fontane. Published in book form in 1895, Effi Briest marks both a watershed and a climax in the poetic realism of literature. It can be thematically compared to other novels on 19th century marriage from a female perspective, such as Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary,[1] which are also adultery tragedies.
This work the author claims is indeed a true story of how he happened to be married seven times to seven different women and the rollicking, hilarious events that led (or stumbled) to the marriages and the ah–disassembling/failing/failures of each said marriage which happened oftentimes to land him in prison.
Summary text (Arthur Scott Bailey (1877 – 1949) was author of more than forty children’s books. He was born on November 15, 1877, in St. Albans, Vermont, United States, the second child of Winfield Scott Bailey and Harriet Sarah Goodhue.
A collection of stories and poems for children by British novelist, journalist, and playwright Lucy Lane Clifford, better known during her lifetime as Mrs W.K. Clifford. She was famous with her mathematician husband for Sunday salons which attracted both scientists and literati. She was born in 1846 and died in 1929.
This is a collection of three classic Chinese texts: the Hundred Surnames (百家姓), the Thousand Character Classic (千字文), and the Three Word Verse (三字經).
Northanger Abbey is a hilarious parody of 18th century gothic novels. The heroine, 17-year old Catherine, has been reading far too many “horrid” gothic novels and would love to encounter some gothic-style terror — but the superficial world of Bath proves hazardous enough.
I looked around upon the world, and saw that it was shadowed by sorrow and scorched by the fierce fires of suffering. And I looked for the cause. I looked around, but could not find it; I looked in books, but could not find it; I looked within, and found there both the cause and the self-made nature of that cause. I looked again, and deeper, and found the remedy.
Spanish Poetry Collection 001: a collection of 10 Spanish language public-domain poems.
El Evangelio según Juan es un libro de la Biblia en el Nuevo Testamento que contiene la historia de la vida de Jesucristo. El apóstol Juan el evangelista es considerado su autor.
Paralyzed in an accident while a baby, young Prince Dolor is imprisoned in a lonely tower by his usurping uncle. He is visited by his mysterious godmother who provides him with magical gifts, including a traveling cloak that allows him to fly across the land. He uses his gifts to return to his rightful place on the throne. Also included are several short stories by the author also featuring princes.
Charles Foster Kent was one of the premier scholars in Jewish Studies at the turn of the century. He was particularly well-known for his comparisons of early Christianity to its Jewish roots. He also wrote several distinguished histories of Israel, the Jewish people, Torah studies, and the development of oral Torah.
A comic rendering in verse of well-loved Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, each ending with a moral and full of puns. The titles of the tales themselves make another verse.
A tradução feita por João Ferreira de Almeida é considerada um marco na história da Bíblia em português pois foi a primeira tradução do Novo Testamento a partir das línguas originais.
The Twelve Caesars is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire. The work was written in 121 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, while Suetonius was Hadrian’s personal secretary.
Anyone, as Freud tells us in Reflections on War and Death, forced to react against his own impulses may be described as a hypocrite, whether he is conscious of it or not. One might even venture to assert—it is still Freud’s argument—that our contemporary civilisation favours this sort of hypocrisy and that there are more civilised hypocrites than truly cultured persons, and it is even a question whether a certain amount of hypocrisy is not indispensable to maintain civilisation.
St. Patrick’s Breastplate – This prayer is attributed to St. Patrick and his diciples. It is written with some celtic pagan elements, but is definitely a Christian prayer asking God for protection through daily life.
This version of the classic tale of the three bears has a heroine named Golden Hair. The jolly bears, instead of chasing her away from their home, come to live with her at Grandmother’s house. The recording can be enjoyed by itself, or you can read along.
A series of lectures on landscape painting delivered at Oxford in 1871, by artist, critic, and social commentator, John Ruskin.
This work has been previously published and carefully edited by humans to be read digitally on your eReader. Please enjoy this historical and classic work. All of our titles are only 99 cents and are formatted to work with the Nook. Also, if it is an illustrated work, you will be able to see all of the original images.
I propose to tell in non-technical and popular language the story of some of the most remarkable episodes in the history of sea power. I shall begin with the first sea-fight of which we have a detailed history—the Battle of Salamis (B.C. 480), the victory by which Themistocles the Athenian proved the soundness of his maxim that “he who commands the sea commands all.”
These nine files are miscellaneous short essays or stories from G. K. Chesterton. They were chosen for not only their brevity but also for being shining exemplars of Chesterton’s wit and whimsy. A fun but powerful introduction into the mind of the man that is G. K. Chesterton.
All of us have our own favorite parts of a book which we love to read and re-read. The nicest part of this is that each time you read, you find something new to savor and remember. For those of us who haven't read some of the classics, a teaser in the form of a single chapter would probably be intriguing enough to want us to take up the book and start reading.
Arthur Scott Bailey (1877 – 1949) was author of more than forty children’s books. Bailey’s writing has been described thusly by the Newark Evening News: “Mr. Bailey centered all his plots in the animal, bird and insect worlds, weaving natural history into the stories in a way that won educator’s approval without arousing the suspicions of his young readers.
Sprookjes van Hans Christiaan Andersen, naverteld door Simon Jacob Andriessen. Deze verzameling bevat een aantal overbekende sprookjes, zoals Het lelijke jonge eendje en De prinses op de erwt, maar ook veel minder bekende vertellingen.
Legend Land is a collection of some of the OLD TALES told in those Western Parts of Britain served by the GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY, now retold by LYONESSE
This book, a reprint of a successful English publication, has been so enlarged as to be to all intents and purposes new. It has been carefully revised by a Reverend gentleman, who for some time filled the chair of Physics and Chemistry in one of our colleges.
he Book of Tea was written by Okakura Kakuzo in the early 20th century. It was first published in 1906, and has since been republished many times. – In the book, Kakuzo introduces the term Teaism and how Tea has affected nearly every aspect of Japanese culture, thought, and life.
A young Englishman struck by Gold Fever! He is desperate to travel to California and become part of the great gold rush. He journeys to this remote and unfamiliar place and there he discovers the true value of gold, humanity and God.
This book with two titles, Three Men and a Maid in the USA and The Girl on the Boat in the UK is a typical P.G. Wodehouse romantic comedy, involving, at various times: a disastrous talent quest, a lawyer with a revolver, a bulldog with a mind of his own and a suit of armour!
An impoverished young nobleman, Leopold, has unexpectedly been left a large fortune at the death of a distant relative – under one condition: that he marry a young cousin of hers.
Childhood, published in 1852, is the first novel in Leo Tolstoy’s autobiographical trilogy, which also includes Boyhood, and Youth. Published when Tolstoy was twenty-three, the book gained immediate notice among Russian writers including Ivan Turgenev, and heralded the young
The Country of the Pointed Firs (1896) is considered Jewett’s finest work, described by Henry James as her “beautiful little quantum of achievement.” Despite James’s diminutives, the novel remains a classic. Because it is loosely structured, many critics view the book not as a novel, but a series of sketches; however, its structure is unified through both setting and theme.
THIS tells how once the King of Glory came from heaven to visit us here on earth and live amongst us; how He was born in Bethlehem and brought up in Nazareth.
Esopo é um lendário autor grego, que teria vivido na Antigüidade, ao qual se atribui a paternidade da fábula como gênero literário. As Fábulas de Esopo serviram como base para recriações de outros escritores ao longo dos séculos, como Fedro e La Fontaine.O local de seu nascimento é incerto — Trácia, Frígia, Etiópia, Samos, e Sardes todas clamam a honra.
John Charles Dent, the author of the following remarkable stories, was born in Kendal, Westmorland, England, in 1841. His parents emigrated to Canada shortly after that event, bringing with them, of course, the youth who was afterwards to become the Canadian author and historian.
Fem Uger i Ballon: Lydbog efter spændingsroman af Jules Verne. Oversættelse efter den 23. af det franske Akademi prisbelønnede udgave. Andreas Schous Forlag, 1883.
The continuing story of Katy Carr, recounting the time she spent at boarding school with her sister Clover.
Written for children, James Baldwin’s history of Washington, Franklin, Webster, and Lincoln brings these men to life in a way that will be interesting for adults as well. The stories touch on the little humanities of the great men, rather than dwelling on the great works and great events of their lifetimes, without ignoring the latter.
In diesem vielzitierten Essay aus dem Jahre 1851 ist Schopenhauers generell herablassende Einstellung zu Frauen zusammengefaßt.
“Från barnaår till silfverhår” (From childyears to silverhairs) by Anders Ramsay (1832-1910) is one of the most widely read autobiographies of Fenno-swedish literature.
Part of an initiative to develop a free language-learning resource. This book is old, but the basics haven’t changed too much. All the French content is spoken by native French speakers.
The story told in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic novel, A Little Princess, was first written as a serialized novella, Sara Crewe, or What Happened at Miss Minchin’s, and published in St. Nicholas Magazine, in 1888.
Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) was a German chemist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry and is known for his discovery of nitrogen as an essential plant nutrient.
Ernest Bramah is mainly known for his ‘Kai Lung’ books – Dorothy L Sayers often used quotes from them for her chapter headings. In his lifetime however he was equally well known for his detective stories.
As a parent, many of us would like our children to be familiar with our sacred books, no matter to which religion or faith we belong. However, very young children may find the language and the ideas quite difficult to assimilate. Yet the stories are so memorable and valuable that we want our children to know them as early as possible.
He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and the philosophies of pragmatism and Radical Empiricism.
“How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortunes of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it, except the pleasure of seeing it.”
“The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg” is a piece of short fiction by Mark Twain. It first appeared in Harper’s Monthly in December 1899, and was subsequently published by Harper Collins in the collection The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories and Sketches (1900).
Hyakunin isshu (百人一首) is a traditional style of compiling Japanese waka poetry where each contributor writes one poem for the anthology.
Sklepy cynamonowe to pierwszy, debiutancki cykl opowiadań Brunona Schulza, które pierwotnie były postscriptami w listach do Debory Vogel i Władysława Riffa.
Stephen Crane’s first novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets has been called “the first dark flower of American Naturalism” for its distinctive elements of naturalistic fiction. The chief character, Maggie, descends into prostitution after being led astray by her lover.
Fest gemauert in der Erden Steht die Form, aus Lehm gebrannt. Heute muß die Glocke werden. Frisch Gesellen, seid zur Hand. Von der Stirne heiß Rinnen muß der Schweiß, Soll das Werk den Meister loben, Doch der Segen kommt von oben.
Der Abentheuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch ist ein Schelmenroman von Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, erschienen 1668. Er wird gemeinhin als das wichtigste Werk seiner Art im 17.
Relates the details of a mystery that surrounded Tanglewood Park. There is a great snowstorm, and the young folks become snowbound, much to their dismay.
Born Robert Michael Ballantyne in Edinburgh, he was part of a famous family of printers and publishers. At the age of 16 he went to Canada and was six years in the service of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
rwin Cobb’s humorous Europe Revised is a travelogue and comedy almost in the style of Mark Twain. The dedication says it best, “To My Small Daughter Who bade me shed a tear at the tomb of Napoleon, which I was very glad to do, because when I got there my feet certainly were hurting me.”
Carl Sandburg is beloved by generations of children for his Rootabaga Stories and Rootabaga Pigeons (which is not in the public domain), a series of whimsical, sometimes melancholy stories he originally created for his own daughters.
Maese Alfredo L’Ambert, antes de recibir el golpe fatal que le obligó a cambiar de narices, era sin duda alguna el notario más notable de Francia. En la época aquella contaba treinta y dos años; era de elevada estatura, y poseía unos ojos grandes y rasgados, una frente despejada y olímpica, y su barba y sus cabellos eran de un rubio admirable.
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a sophisticated novell with extremely hard to comprehend philosophical ideas lying on the border of paranoia, orthodoxal believing of God and psychological researches on human nature. Every sentence sounds like a sort of revelation to an unprepared reader’s mind and causes a deep flashback thoughts which are impossible to get rid of, which also require an immediate solution.
Private Detective Crewe, a wealthy bachelor who has taken up crime detection as a hobby, because it provides intellectual challenges more satisfying even than playing twelve simultaneous boards against Russian chess champion Turgieff.
Obwohl Hoffmann selbst nicht sehr religiös war, war er dennoch bei einem Besuch in einem Bamberger Kapuzinerkloster so stark vom Leben der Ordensbrüder und der Atmosphäre beeindruckt, dass er beschloss, Die Elixiere des Teufels zu schreiben und in diese religiöse Umgebung zu setzen. Charakteristisch für Hoffmann ist, dass er dieses Buch in nur wenigen Wochen geradezu herunterschrieb. Das Werk kann in die Schwarze Romantik eingeordnet werden.
H Rider Haggard’s “She and Allan”, first published in 1921 is a gripping adventure about Allan Quatermain, who together with Hans, the Hottentot and, the Zulu-Chief Omslopogaas and at the bidding of the old Witch Doctor Zikali seeks out Ayesha, the daughter of Isis to find answers to their questions about life and death, and their many, sometimes strange, Adventures on their way. Written by Lars Rolander
If you've read Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace, the historical fiction novel that describes a gruesome double murder in Canada in 1843, you would be interested to know the sources that were used by Atwood during her research. Life in the Clearings by Susanna Moodie was one such reference book in which the author, Susanna Moodie recounts her meeting with the infamous murderess Grace Marks, a young house help who was convicted to life imprisonment for her role in the slaying of her employers.
Mark Phillips” is, or are, two writers: Randall Garrett and Laurence M. Janifer. Their joint pen-name, derived from their middle names (Philip and Mark), was coined soon after their original meeting, at a science-fiction convention. Both men were drunk at the time, which explains a good deal, and only one has ever sobered up.
Between 1865-73 the tumultuous American Revolution rages on in different battlefields. The air is thick with hatred and suspicion as the Continental and British armies clash in bloody warfare. In Westchester County, New York, an area is considered a neutral ground for both forces, Harvey Birch plies his dangerous mission.
Mr Robert Grell, millionaire and socialite, is found murdered in his study on a stormy evening. It’s up to Heldon Foyle, the detective, to unravel the mystery.
Two young children arrive in a small frontier settlement on the wild and desolate plains of Nebraska, on the same day and by the same train. Jim Burden is a ten year old orphan from Virginia who has come to live with his grandparents, while Antonia Shimerda who's the same age as Jim, arrives with her large, immigrant family from Eastern Europe to try and eke out a living in the New World.
A brief record of the fighting on the Eastern front in the great war by a participant in that great and terrible conflict
These pages record some of the adventures of the First South Carolina Volunteers, the first slave regiment mustered into the service of the United States during the late civil war.
Moralność pani Dulskiej – dramat naturalistyczny z 1906 r., jedno z najważniejszych dzieł Gabrieli Zapolskiej. Pełna nazwa utworu to: Moralność pani Dulskiej – tragifarsa kołtuńska. Moralność pani Dulskiej powstała w ciągu kilkunastu dni na przełomie października i listopada 1906 roku.
Mother Goose for Grownups is a delightfully silly collection of parodies on well-known Mother Goose tales by Guy Wetmore Carryl.
A collection of works that explore the rich and evocative legend of King Arthur. The exploits of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table have been a staple of British literature through the centuries, drawing together themes of pagan wizardry, the search for the Holy Grail, chivalry and of course romance.
Breckinridge Elkins is the roughest, toughest, fastest-shootin’, hardest-fightin’ feller in the Bear Creek settlement, and probably in the entire Humbolt Mountains. As he travels further from home, he single-handedly takes on outlaws, settles (and starts) feuds and tries his hand at romancing the girls.
Im Jahre 1880 im Perthes-Verlag, Gotha, erschienenen ersten Heidi-Roman wird erzählt, wie das Waisenmädchen Heidi zu seinem einsiedlerischen Grossvater auf eine Alp oberhalb von Maienfeld (Kanton Graubünden) gebracht wird, wo es in Zukunft leben soll.
First serialized in Punch magazine in 1845, and officially published in book form in 1846, Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures presents a collection of 37 lectures delivered by Mrs. Caudle to her husband as a means of reproach for his trivial infractions. Also, the author marvelously incorporates typical elements responsible for disagreements between spouses including the antipathetic mother-in-law, the ne’er-do-well friends, and the jealous outbursts
Helen Hunt Jackson is probably most famous for her work on behalf of Native Americans’ rights. However, this short volume presents a sonnet for each month of the year, devoted simply and beautifully to the shifting wonder of nature through the seasons.
Written by French author Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo follows the life of Edmond Dantes as he embarks on a journey of revenge after being wrongly imprisoned and set up by none other than his so-called friends. Set during the years after the fall of Napoleon’s empire, the story unwinds in several locations including Paris, Marseilles, Rome, Monte Cristo and Constantinople. A handsome young sailor and soon to be ship captain Edmond Dantes seems to have it all in life, as he returns to Marseilles to wed the love of his life and fiancée, the beautiful Mercedes. However, Edmond’s supposed friends have a hard time staying indifferent to his growing success, and their true jealous nature is revealed. Each has their own reason to envy Edmond. Danglers, who is a colleague of Edmonds, envies his career success, Fernand Mondego is in love with Edmonds fiancée, while his neighbor Caderousse is envious of his luck in life in general. Just as Edmond is a...
Gilbert Keith Chesterton was an influential English writer of the early 20th century. His prolific and diverse output included journalism, philosophy, poetry, biography, Christian apologetics, fantasy, and detective fiction.
Белые ночи (”White Nights”) by Fyodor Dostoevsky [read in Russian]. In this small 100kb story (though author states this is a sentimental novel) author describes in his traditional and particular way the internal world of one young lonely person.
Wilhelm Busch war einer der bedeutendsten humoristischen Zeichner und Dichter Deutschlands. Er gilt wegen seiner satirischen Bildergeschichten (u.a. Max und Moritz) in Versen als einer der Urväter des Comics.
Travis Fox and a band of fellow Apache AmerIndians have their racial memories and survival abilities enhanced by the Redax machine and are sent to the planet Topaz, one of the few worlds of the ancient star empire that the US has voyage tapes to.
In 1907 Wallace wrote the short book Is Mars Habitable? to criticize the claims made by Percival Lowell that there were Martian canals built by intelligent beings.
Dyke Darrel investigates an audacious train robbery that included the murder of a friend, and embarks on a man-hunt. High Victorian serial melodrama at its best!
The novel De vandrande djäknarne constitutes the former half of volume III of fourteen in Skrifter av Viktor Rydberg (”collected works”), which appeared in the decades following the author’s death.
Elizabeth Bancroft went to England with her husband, historian George Bancroft, for three of the most dynamicy years in European hstory. As Ambassador to England from the United States, George moved in the highest circles. In his wife’s letters to their sons, her uncle, her brother, and Mrs. Polk (the President’s wife), we see glimpses not only of early Victorian English life, but also of Queen Victoria herself!
Louis Segond, né le 3 octobre 1810 à Plainpalais (au centre de Genève) et mort le 18 juin 1885 à Genève, est un théologien suisse qui, à la demande de la Compagnie des Pasteurs de Genève, a traduit la Bible en français à partir des textes originaux hébreux et grecs.
A short, humorous biography of famous people from 5000 BC to 1914. — S. McGaughey
Eve's Diary is a comic short story by Mark Twain. It was first published in the 1905 Christmas issue of the magazine Harper's Bazaar, and in book format in June 1906 by Harper and Brothers publishing house.
Thomas H. Huxley, an English biologist and essayist, was an advocate of the theory of evolution and a self-proclaimed agnostic. A talented writer, his essays helped to popularize science in the 19th century, and he is credited with the quote, “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.”
Eve Edgarton is not who she seems she is. A short encounter with Mr. Barton show that first impressions are not always right or indicative of one’s seemingly obvious preference or one’s proclivity.
In honor of Kristin and Corey’s wedding (April 2006) we’ve recorded a selection of wedding-themed poems. Congratulations, you two!
How do you tell apart a parrot from a carrot? A plover from a clover? A bay from a jay? Although there are several ways of differentiating, R. W. Wood’s use of pun and rhyme is one of the most entertaining!
Saki was the pen name of the British author Hector Hugh Munro (1870 – 1916). His witty, biting and occasionally odd short stories satirised Edwardian culture. Saki is considered a master of the short story and has been compared to O. Henry and Dorothy Parker as well as Noel Coward and Oscar Wilde (who clearly influenced Saki).
Hvad nu om man kunne gøre sit liv om – eller i det mindste bare gennemleve sin ungdom en gang til? Måske kræver dette hverken mirakler, opstandelse eller genfødsel, men blot at man beslutter at gøre det – at man beslutter sig for at gå tilbage til hvor den svundne tid to sin begyndelse og starter forfra
Le roman raconte les aventures d'un gascon désargenté de 18 ans, d'Artagnan, monté à Paris faire carrière. Il se lie d'amitié avec Athos, Porthos et Aramis, mousquetaires du roi Louis XIII. Ces quatre hommes vont s'opposer au premier ministre, le Cardinal de Richelieu et à ses agents, dont la belle et mystérieuse Milady de Winter, pour sauver l'honneur de la reine de France Anne d'Autriche.
“Doc” E.E. Smith pretty much invented the space opera genre, and Triplanetary is a good and well-known example. Physics, time, and politics never stand in the way of a plot that gallops ahead without letup.
Miniature wargaming got its start with the publication in 1913 of this thoroughly entertaining little account of how H.G. Wells, with certain of his friends, took their childhood toys and turned play into acceptable middle-aged sport by subjecting the exercise to the civilizing influence of actual rules.
Thomas Huxley, known as “Darwin’s Bulldog” for his championing and development of Darwinism, was perhaps the most important Victorian biologist after Darwin himself. This speech to the Metaphysical Society in 1870 is one of Huxley’s best known texts outside the sphere of his specialism, and remains read today by students of philosophy. In it, Huxley argues from the results of vivisection to metaphysics.
Change your life by changing your thoughts. The Majesty of Calmness is your guide to attracting prosperity, manifesting opportunities, and managing stress–all while discovering the values most precious to you.
The whole history of Peter, as might be expected from the indications of character developed by this incident, forms a narrative that is full of interest and instruction for all.”
Charles King (1844 – 1933) was a United States soldier and a distinguished writer. He was the son of Civil War general Rufus King and great grandson of Rufus King, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Rufus Estes was born a slave in 1857 in Tennessee, and experienced first hand the turmoil of the Civil War. He began working in a Nashville restaurant at the age of 16, and in 1883 took up employment as a Pullman cook.
By conservative estimates, more than 6.8 million out of earth's population of 7 billion have access to cell phones. This has happened in just over 20 years. It's safe to assume that almost all these people would prefer to communicate via their phones rather than by snail-mail, post or courier. Which leads us to the question: “Does this mean the death of the love letter?”
Cattle Brands is a collection of 14 entertaining short stories depicting not only the life of cowboys in the wild, wild West, but also the harrowing skirmishes with banditos, thrilling shoot-outs, attempt at and the recapture of stolen chattel from fierce desperados, and much, much more exciting accounts that make one think it all actually happened.
Vrolijk Amerikaans gezinsverhaal over de vier zusjes March die zo verschillend zijn en toch eendrachtig hun moeder helpen terwijl vader in de oorlog is.
A young carpenter falls in love with the village beauty. She, however, has set her sights on a dashing army captain who's the son of the wealthy local squire. Meanwhile, a beautiful and virtuous young woman preacher arrives in the village. What happens to these people and the strange twists and turns that their lives take are described in the rest of the book.
Men of Iron by Howard Pyle is historical fiction that transports us back to the 1400’s, a time of knighthood and chivalry. Myles Falworth is eight years old when news comes they must flee their home. His blind father is accused of treason. We see Myles grow up, train as a knight, and with perseverance, clear his father of any wrong-doing and restore their family name.
First performed in classical Athens c. 411 B.C.E., Aristophanes’ Lysistrata is the original battle of the sexes. One woman, Lysistrata, brings together the women of all Greece, exhorting them to withhold sexual contact from all men in order that they negotiate a treaty. Double entendres abound as men of Greece attempt to keep Lysistrata and her prurient gang from putting an end to the Peloponnesian war. Notably risqué, this comic drama sheds light on gender relations in ancient Athens.