The mummy!

Set in 2126, The Mummy!: A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century explores a society led by advanced technology but driven by ego, greed and self-preservation. It’s a vivid clash of genres featuring an old tale with a new twist. In the distant future, society has become enthralled by technology. It’...

The worm ouroboros

The Worm Ouroboros (1922) is a high fantasy novel by E. R. Eddison. Inspired by the Norse sagas and medieval history, Eddison crafted an epic story of magic, adventure, romance, and war. Praised by New York Times critic Edwin Clark as a novel that “transcends all ordinary life,” The Worm Ouroboro...

Chance

Young Flora de Barral, is the daughter of a man whose sudden bankruptcy and conviction, have forced her to face a harsh and uncertain reality. Chance is a clever examination of risk and the impact of unforeseen circumstance. Chance features Conrad’s signature narration as it describes the ex...

The magic city

The Magic City (1910) is a children’s fantasy novel by English writer Edith Nesbit. Using elements of magic and mystery familiar to readers of her beloved Bastable and Psammead Trilogies, Nesbit crafts a tale of wonder and adventure for children and adults alike. Orphaned as a boy, Philip is car...

Poems

Poems (1920) is a collection of poems and plays by W.B. Yeats. Containing many of the poet’s early important works, Poems illuminates Yeats’ influence on the Celtic Twilight, a late-nineteenth century movement to revive the myths and traditions of Ancient Ireland. The collection opens with Yeats...

Sarrasine

Sarrasine (1831) is a novella by French author Honoré de Balzac. Written as part of his La Comédie humaine sequence, Sarrasine is one of Balzac’s earliest works published without a pseudonym and helped to establish his reputation as a serious writer and distinguished member of Parisian high socie...

The marriage of heaven and hell

Written in the form of biblical prophecy, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell presents philosophical ideas about God, humanity and the complex nature of ethics. It’s a bold yet humorous examination of binary belief systems and their conflicting principles. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is a remark...

Ivanov

Ivanov (1889) is a drama in four acts by Russian writer Anton Chekhov. Written in ten days, the play premiered in 1887 at Moscow’s Korsh Theatre and was initially a failure due to its rushed composition, production issues, and significant changes made to Chekhov’s script. Disappointed but far fro...

Fairy and folk tales of the irish peasantry

Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (1888) is a collection of stories edited by W.B. Yeats. Compiled at the height of the Celtic Twilight, a movement to revive the myths and traditions of Ancient Ireland, Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry captures a wide range of stories, songs,...

The red record

Ida B. Wells exposes a series of racially-motivated acts that disproportionately affect African Americans and is overwhelmingly ignored by a majority white criminal justice system. It’s crucial documentation of a brutal practice that tormented a community. In the late nineteenth century, Ida B....

The schoolmistress and other stories

The Schoolmistress and Other Stories (1920) is a collection of short stories by Russian writer Anton Chekhov. “The Schoolmistress” was written in 1897 and published in an issue of Moscow’s daily newspaper Russkiye Vedomosti. Even for Chekhov, whose work is characteristically bleak and noted for i...

The book of dragons

The Book of Dragons (1899) is a collection of children’s stories by English writer Edith Nesbit. Comprising eight stories originally published in 1899 in The Strand Magazine, The Book of Dragons is a work that explores the magic and wonder of mythical beasts for children and adults alike.In “The ...

Troilus and criseyde

Troilus and Criseyde (c.1385) is an epic poem written by English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. Composed in Middle English, Troilus and Criseyde is the story of two lovers forced apart by the Greek siege of Troy. Often considered Chaucer’s finest work for its structural consistency and completeness, the ...

The bishop and other stories

The adventures of sally

Sally Nicholas is a pretty and popular American woman working as dance partner for hire. Orphaned, she and her brother, Fillmore, has been on their own for years. However, on Sally’s twenty-first birthday, her life is changed when she learns that she and her brother have inherited a fortune, whic...

Daniel deronda

Daniel Deronda is a goodhearted man who’s often occupied with the struggles of others including the selfish Gwendolen Harleth and the young runaway, Mirah Lapidoth. In an effort to help Mirah, Daniel is exposed to a different culture and experiences that challenge everything he knows. Daniel Der...

The enchanted castle

Three children on holiday from school discover an old, seemingly abandoned estate set in the rural landscape of southwestern England. Convinced they’ve stumbled upon a castle, they embark on a fairy tale adventure, exploring its grounds and discovering, at the heart of its garden maze, a mystery ...

The canterbury tales

A knight, a monk, a merchant, a summoner, and a wife all walk into an inn, and realize they are in the company of many others who intend to make the same pilgrimage to Canterbury. As a group of English people all gather at the Tabard inn, they learn that they will be travelling together. Usually...

The prince

With a mix of both respectable and immoral advice, The Prince is a frank analysis on political power. Separated into four sections, The Prince is both a guide to obtain power and an explanation on the aspects that affect it. The first section discusses the types of principalities. According ...

A damsel in distress

When Lady Maud Marsh, a passionate young woman, admits to her affluent family that she is in love with a poor man, they forbid her from leaving the house. Having met the man, Geoffrey, the previous summer in Wales, Maud is set on marrying him, but will not tell her family who he is. George Bevan...

Sara crewe

Prior to the publication of A Little Princess, Francis Burnett’s classic tale appeared in a serialized novella called Sara Crewe, or What Happened at Miss Minchin’s. It’s the brilliant heartwarming story of a young girl who’s driven by love, compassion and an unwavering resilience that leads to a...

The story of doctor dolittle

The Story of Doctor Dolittle (1920) is a children’s fantasy novel by Hugh Lofting. The novel is the first in a series of fifteen books featuring Doctor Dolittle, a character created by Lofting in letters written to his wife and children at home while he served in the Great War. Beloved by generat...

The story of the treasure seekers

The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1899) is a children’s novel by English writer Edith Nesbit. The first book in Nesbit’s beloved Bastable trilogy—which also includes The Wouldbegoods (1901) and The New Treasure Seekers (1904)—The Story of the Treasure Seekers is a story of family, adventure, and...

The woman's bible

The Woman’s Bible (1895-1898) is a work of religious and political nonfiction by American women’s rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Despite its popular success, The Woman’s Bible caused a rift in the movement between Stanton and her supporters and those who believed that to wade into religi...

The journals of captain cook

Depicted by the man himself, The Journals of James Cook is an intimate first-hand account, providing an uncensored and reliable narrative of adventures spanning across the globe. The Journals of James Cook depict three of Captain James Cook’s most glorious expeditions, starting in 1768 and lea...

The libation bearers

After receiving an ultimatum from Apollo, Orestes must decide if he’d rather face the wrath of the gods, or the earthly consequences for his actions When Orestes returns home to Agos after hearing of his father’s death, he has a quest and a secret. Since he had been banished from the kingdom by ...

Ethan frome

The classic short novel of love, deceit, and tragedy, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton has been breaking hearts and shocking readers for over a century. Ethan Frome is a ruin of a man, aged and limping. Alienated from the other residents of desolate Starkfield, Massachusetts, he can barely draw a liv...

Before adam

With dramatic and detailed first person narration, Jack London’s Before Adam follows the dreams of a young boy who has a genetically imprinted memory and knowledge of an ancestor who lived in prehistoric times. Big Tooth is a pre-human ape and is the protagonist of the young boy’s dreams. He live...

The bounty mutiny

A trip across the Pacific turns into a life or death scenario when the crew of the HMS Bounty stages a revolt against their commander. The Bounty Mutiny tells the controversial story of the mutineers and the acting lieutenant who sparked a movement. Commanding Lieutenant William Bligh was instru...

Martin eden

“[Jack London was] a great gobbler-up of the world, physically and intellectually, the kind of writer who went to a place and wrote his dreams into it, the kind of writer who found an Idea and spun his psyche around it.”—E.L. DoctorowMartin Eden (1909) is a novel by American writer Jack London. T...

The decameron

While the plague ravishes major cities, a group of Italian men and women seek shelter at a countryside estate telling stories to pass the time. Giovanni Boccaccio’s imaginative writing style elevates the multilayered novellas ranging from romance to satire.Seven young women and three men have iso...

The countess cathleen

The Countess Cathleen (1892) is a verse drama by W.B. Yeats. Dedicated to Maud Gonne, an actress and revolutionary whom Yeats unsuccessfully courted for years, The Countess Cathleen underwent several editions before being performed in its final version at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre in 1911. Based on ...

The physiology of taste

Originally published in 1825, Physiology of Taste is a culinary masterpiece that gives insight into the history and practice of eating, both together and alone. The author uses a unique storytelling style to detail the sensual art of fine dining. Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin believes that what...

Persuasion

Persuasion (1817) is the final novel written by English author Jane Austen—and the first to be attributed to her name. Persuasion was published posthumously to widespread critical acclaim, and has since been recognized as an understated and mature work of fiction from one of history’s finest writ...

Lady audley's secret

Originally published in Robin Goodfellow magazine, Lady Audley's Secret is the essential work of Mary Elizabeth Braddon and is considered a staple of sensation fiction. The story centers on a mysterious woman, whose dark past slowly comes to light. Lady Audley is a former governess who marries t...

Winesburg, ohio

Winesburg, Ohio (1919) is a collection of interrelated short stories about small-town life in the American Midwest by author Sherwood Anderson. No doubt inspired by his own decision to leave Ohio for Chicago in order to launch his career as a professional writer, these stories relate a firsthand ...

Kilmeny of the orchard

A single young man is visiting Prince Edward Island on a teaching assignment, and becomes captivated by a sweet, endearing mute woman called Kilmeny Gordon. The teacher becomes enchanted by her natural beauty and musical talent, leading him to fall hopelessly in love.Eric Marshall is a young, att...

Sonnets from the portuguese

Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850) is a collection of sonnets by English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Written between 1845 and 1846, Sonnets from the Portuguese is a series of love poems written by Browning to her husband, the prominent Victorian poet Robert Browning. Although Elizabeth was i...

The story girl

An imaginative young girl captures the attention of friends and family with her wonderous tales. The Story Girl, by L.M. Montgomery, follows Sara Stanley, a 14-year-old living on Prince Edward Island. She is a natural storyteller who spends her free time detailing elaborate adventures, sweet roma...

The gentle grafter

The Gentle Grafter (1907) is a collection of fourteen short stories by American writer O. Henry. Inspired by his experiences as a fugitive and prisoner, these tales follow the escapades of two professional con artists whose humor and storytelling ability illuminate the nature of wealth and crime ...

Waifs and strays

Originally published in 1917, Waifs and Strays is a premier selection of short stories released seven years after the author’s untimely death at age 47. The book contains 12 memorable tales including “Confessions of a Humorist," "The Detective Detector," and "The Sparrows in Madison Square." In W...

The jungle book

These tales of the man-cub, Mowgli, and fables of the clever creatures of the wild, like the mongoose Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, still brim with the adventure, camaraderie, and beloved characters that have endeared them to readers for more than 125 years.Rudyard Kipling’s elegantly written short tales alt...

The sea-wolf

The Sea-Wolf (1904) is an adventure novel by American writer Jack London. Inspired by his acquaintance Captain Alex MacLean, a sailor from the Pacific Northwest, London sought to write a novel of the high seas with psychological and philosophical underpinnings. An intelligent scholar named Humph...

The underground railroad

While working for the Underground Railroad and helped escaped slaves to safety, William Still kept meticulous records. These notes originally were used to help reconnect families and document history, but Still later used these records to create The Underground Railroad, telling the stories of ...

The age of innocence

Young and aristocratic Newland Archer is engaged to the sheltered and beautiful May Welland. But when May's disgraced cousin Ellen arrives from Europe, she turns their high-society New York world upside down. The young, successful Newland Archer and sweet socialite May Welland are the high societ...

The blind mother and the last confession

The Blind Mother and The Last Confession (1893) is a collection of two novellas by British master of fiction Hall Caine. In the Lake District of northwest England, a young blind woman named Mercy lives with her son and elderly father on land passed down through generations. After failing both as ...

White-jacket

White-Jacket (1850) is an adventure novel by American writer Herman Melville. Based on the author’s personal experience as a seaman in the United States Navy—Melville spent fourteen months aboard the USS United States—the novel was both commercially successful and influential for reforming US Nav...

Three men in a boat

While they are discussing the possible illnesses they may have, Jerome, Harris, and George all realize they suffer from the same thing—working too much. Upon the realization, the three best friends decide that they must go on a vacation. After rejecting the ideas of a sea trip or country stay, be...

A tale of a tub

From the author responsible for the satirical work of genius, A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift’s A Tale of a Tub is an allegorical work that follows three brothers after the event of their father’s death. When their father, who meant to be God, dies, the three brothers, Peter, Martin and Jack,...

Les miserables volume i

Les Misérables Volume One: Fantine is the introduction to Victor Hugo’s acclaimed historical novel centering a weary hero and heroine torn by poverty and politics. It’s a captivating story marked by love, betrayal and ultimately, loss.The story follows former convict, Jean Valjean, who spent near...

A dateless bargain

A Dateless Bargain (1887) is a novel by Catherine Louis Pirkis. Known for her contribution of Victorian detective fiction, Pirkis wrote over a dozen novels and countless stories throughout her brief career as a professional writer. Among them, A Dateless Bargain is an undervalued study of family,...

The white company

“The White Companyis a lively romance, and very good reading for boys and friends of old times and tall knights.” -Andrew Lang “Start a story by Conan Doyle and you cannot stop reading, whether you are ten or sixty.”-Michael Dirda “The immense talent, passion and literary brilliance that Conan ...

Capt'n davy's honeymoon

Capt’n Davy’s Honeymoon (1893) is a novella by British author Hall Caine. Set on the Isle of Man—the proud British island where Caine’s father was born—the story begins with the separation of Capt’n Davy from his wife Nelly after only ten days of marriage following a heated argument over money. W...

The people of the abyss

The People of the Abyss (1903) is a work of nonfiction by American writer Jack London. Written after the author spent three months living in London’s poverty-stricken East End, The People of the Abyss bears witness to the difficulties faced by hundreds and thousands of people every day in one of ...

Anne of green gables

A classic coming-of-age story, Anne Shirley is a little orphan girl who brings the whole town of Avonlea together. Sacrificing her own desires for the well-being of her new family, Anne comes to learn that family means more than blood. Matthew Cuthbert is painfully shy and devoted to his siste...

Cranford

Set in a small English town during the 19th century, Cranford depicts the lives of women, centering on the elderly, the widowed, and the unmarried. The social expectations and customs of Cranford are mostly enforced by three older women. Rowena Fowler is a wealthy woman who takes pride in her lux...

The phoenix and the carpet

The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904) is a children’s fantasy novel by English writer Edith Nesbit. The second book in Nesbit’s beloved Psammead Trilogy—which also includes Five Children and It (1902) and The Story of the Amulet (1906)—The Phoenix and the Carpet is a tale of curiosity, adventure, and...

The house of the seven gables

A brother and sister occupy their family home, which has been linked to a series of unfortune events including the death of its original owner. They attempt to avoid their ancestor’s fate and escape their looming legacy. Hepzibah and Clifford Pyncheon live in a historic manor that has been in t...

Suffrage songs and verses

Suffrage Songs and Verses (1911) is a collection of political poems by American author and feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Inspired by her work as a social reformer and advocate for women’s suffrage, Gilman turned to poetry as a means of supporting the cause of suffragists everywhere. Although...

Poetics

The Poetics is a fundamental text that examines the development, production and effectiveness of poetry as it pertains to a writer and their intended audience. The author uses notable works to educate the reader on specific themes and methodology. The Poetics gives a basic definition of poetry ...

The family business

The first book to tell the story of one of the world’s most influential media businesses, The Family Business draws on more than 70 interviews with company insiders as well as book-industry luminaries to present the Ingram story and how a little-known Nashville-based company grew to play a pivota...

A passage to india

A Passage to India (1924) is a novel by English author E.M. Forster. Written during the rise of the Indian independence movement against the British Raj, A Passage to India is considered one of the greatest novels of twentieth century English literature. The novel has also been an important work ...

The wonderful wizard of oz

When a wild tornado hits Dorothy’s home in Kansas, she and her sidekick pup, Toto, wake up a very long way from home. Suddenly in a new and mysterious land, Dorothy and Toto must find their way through the enchanted land of Oz with the hopes of making it to the famous Emerald City. There, it is r...

Peter pan

The eternally youthful Peter Pan encounters Wendy and her brothers, who decide to join him in Neverland and never grow old. Their plans do not reckon with either the sinister Captain Hook or the unsuspected dark side of perpetual childhood.Peter Pan’s story began as a play in 1904 and met with i...

Up from slavery

From a child slave put to hard labor to a college president and advisor to presidents, Booker T. Washington’s autobiography powerfully describes his journey and what it taught him about the possible future of Blacks in the United States.This autobiography is a cornerstone work of African-American...

The lifted veil

Latimer is cursed with psychic abilities that allow him to see the future, yet he’s unable to avoid the dark turn of his own life. What many consider a gift, he sees as a curse that has destroyed his ability to have normal relationships. Latimer can hear people’s deepest thoughts and has visions...

Grimms fairy tales

This collection of Grimms' Fairy Tales features the original stories by which many popular books, movies, and plays were inspired. With stories such as Snow White, The Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretel, and many more, Grimms' Fairy Tales were among the first collections of stories and have since be...

The coquette

The Coquette (1797) is a novel by American author Hannah Webster Foster. Published anonymously, The Coquette was one of eighteenth-century America’s bestselling books. Based on the story of Elizabeth Whitman, a New England socialite whose death during the birth of her illegitimate child was a sen...

The boy scout's book of campfire stories

The Boy Scout’s Book of Campfire Stories (1921) is a collection of stories for children by some of twentieth-century America’s most popular authors. Published for the Boy Scouts of America, the book was intended to entertain Boy Scouts and their leaders on camping trips as well as to instill in t...

The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano

A first-person narrative of Olaudah Equiano’s journey from his native Africa to the New World, that follows his capture, introduction to Christianity and eventual release. His story is an eye-opening depiction of personal resilience in the face of structural oppression.Olaudah Equiano’s origins a...

Votes for women

Votes for Women! (1907) is a play by American actress, writer, and suffragette Elizabeth Robins. Having established herself as one of England’s leading actresses with her productions of Henrik Ibsen’s dramas, Robins retired from the stage to pursue a writing career. Votes for Women!, inspired by ...

Incidents in the life of a slave girl

“This may be the most important story ever written by a slave woman, capturing as it does the gross indignities as well as the subtler social arrangements of the time.”-Kirkus Review “Of female slave narratives, Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself is the cr...

The trimmed lamp and other stories of the four million

The Trimmed Lamp (1907) is a collection of twenty-five short stories by American writer O. Henry. Inspired by his experiences as a fugitive and prisoner, these stories address themes of poverty and city life with humor and abundant empathy. Its focus on the regular, working class people of New Yo...

The lost prince

A 12-year-old boy called Marco Loristan, is sent on a secret mission by his father, a Samavian patriot, to deliver an important message across Europe. The young man is joined by his neighborhood friend, The Rat, to embark on a history making journey. In Samavian legend, there was a kind and belov...

Aurora leigh

Aurora Leigh (1856) is an epic poem by English Romantic poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Described by Browning as “a novel in verse,” Aurora Leigh is primarily the story of its titular heroine, an intelligent woman and ambitious poet whose talent is matched only by her skill for self-doubt. Altho...

The frogs

The Frogs follows interpersonal conflicts between men and women, Greek gods, and the natural and supernatural. Using extraordinary circumstances, the author provides commentary on multiple public figures spanning religion, politics and literature. The Frogs is one of Aristophanes’ most notable...

The wanderer

The Wanderer or Female Difficulties follows a woman fleeing France to escape a painful past, only to be met with new obstacles along the way. It’s an honest depiction of eighteenth-century life without the presence of political or familial support. A wandering woman emigrates to England to esc...

Selected poems

Selected Poems (1923) is a collection of poems by American poet Robert Frost. Dedicated to Edward Thomas, a friend of Frost’s and an important English poet who died toward the end of the First World War, Selected Poems is a wonderful sampling of poems from Frost’s early collections, including A B...

The golden ass

Eager to learn the rules of magic, Lucius agrees to participate in a shapeshifting spell that suddenly goes awry, transforming the man into a donkey. His life is abruptly upended as he is attacked, stolen and sold multiple times before finding relief through divine intervention. Lucius is ena...

Beyond good and evil

In Beyond Good and Evil, Friedrich Nietzsche gives an impassioned analysis of Western religion, specifically Christianity, that confronts its authoritative view of humans and nature. Nietzsche introduces a counterargument that dismisses groupthink or herd mentality and emphasizes a person’s “will...

The bickerstaff-partridge papers

When the famed 18th century astrologer, John Partridge, publicly discredited the Christian church, Jonathan Swift developed an immense distaste for the man. Feeling insulted and malicious, Swift decided to celebrate his favorite holiday, All Fools Day, more commonly known as April Fools, while al...