Richard IIIWilliam Shakespeare
An account of the brutal and bloody rise of King Richard III to the throne, Shakespeare’s play depicts the short-lived monarch’s ruthless campaign for power, which resulted in the deaths of two of his brothers. Disfigured, hunchbacked, and cruel, King Richard’s unpopularity with the nobility crippled his... read more »
Rico and WiseliJohanna Spyri
Rico was almost nine years old, and had been to school for two winters. Up there in the mountains there was no school in the summer-time; for then the teacher had his field to cultivate, and his hay and wood to cut, like everybody else, and nobody had time to think of going to school. This was not a great sorrow for... read more »
Ride Proud, Rebel!Andre Norton
Civil war buffs and historical fiction fans alike will enjoy Andre Norton's Ride Proud, Rebel! This detailed and emotionally resonant account focuses on the personal sacrifices and astounding courage of rebel soldiers in the waning days of the Confederacy. read more »
Riders of the Purple SageZane Grey
Riders of the Purple Sage is a classic of the Western genre. There had long been a feud between the gentiles and the Mormons in Utah, a feud that Jane Withersteen, daughter of a prominent Mormon leader, chooses to ignore. When Elder Tull discovers that the woman he meant to make one of his wives has offered... read more »
Right Ho, JeevesP. G. Wodehouse
When Jeeves suggests dreamy, soulful Gussie Fink-Nottle don scarlet tights and false beard to win over soppy Madeline Bassett, Bertie Wooster doubts this is the way to get his friend hitched. Meanwhile, Bertie's eccentric Aunt Dahlia asks him to hand out prizes at the Market Snodsbury Grammar School, which he's sure... read more »
Rights of ManThomas Paine
The authorities in power in England during Thomas Paine’s lifetime saw him as an agent provocateur who used his seditious eloquence to support the emancipation of slaves and women, the demands of working people, and the rebels of the French and American Revolutions. History, on the other hand, has come to regard... read more »
Rilla of InglesideL. M. Montgomery
Anne's children were almost grown up, except for pretty, high-spirited Rilla. No one could resist her bright hazel eyes and dazzling smile. Rilla, almost fifteen, can't think any further ahead than going to her very first dance at the Four Winds lighthouse and getting her first kiss from handsome Kenneth Ford. But... read more »
Rinkitink in OzL. Frank Baum
Prince Inga of Pingaree and King Rinkitink and their companions have adventures that lead to the land of the Nomes and, eventually, Oz. When all the inhabitants of Pingaree are kidnapped by the mongrel hordes of twin island kingdoms, Prince Inga and his friend King Rinkitink decide to go to the rescue. Baum... read more »
The Road to OzL. Frank Baum
Dorothy and her friend, Polychrome, find themselves on a road through some strange places, to the Land of the Winkies, and on to beautiful Emerald City. But why are they there, and how did they get there? Princess Ozma of Oz sent for them, and the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow, of course, to take part in her... read more »
Robbers' RoostZane Grey
While a battle rages between two outlaw gangs in a remote Utah canyon, Jim struggles to rescue Helen Herrick, who has been captured and held for ransom. Robbers’ Roost tells the story of their personal struggle to escape the clutches of the murderous outlaws while simultaneously safeguarding their passion, one... read more »
Robert BrowningG. K. Chesterton
Chesterton declares that it is fashionable to boast that one cannot understand Browning but he reveals in this fascinating literary biography how Browning 'combines the greatest brain with the simplest temperament'. This is a multi-faceted biography and critique of Browning's work. Chesterton takes us from his early... read more »
Robinson CrusoeDaniel Defoe
This classic story of a shipwrecked mariner on a deserted island is perhaps the greatest adventure in all of English literature. Fleeing from pirates, Robinson Crusoe is swept ashore in a storm possessing only a knife, a box of tobacco, a pipe-and the will to survive. His is the saga of a man alone: a man who... read more »
Rob RoyWalter Scott
Rob Roy is set in 1715-16, yet it concerns not the conduct of the Jacobite Rising, but the economic and social conditions which gave rise to it. It celebrates the freebooting capitalism of the hero's father in the City of London, and the actual freebooting of Rob Roy, the "Robin Hood of Scotland, the dread of the... read more »
Robur the ConquerorJules Verne
At the Weldon Institute in Philadelphia, a mob of zealous balloon enthusiasts plans to conquer the sky in a state-of-the-art dirigible. When a stranger, the mysterious Robur, declares that the future belongs not to balloons but to heavier-than-air flying machines, the Institute scornfully dismisses the idea. But... read more »
Rogue HerriesHugh Walpole
Described on its first publication by John Buchan as the finest English novel since Jude the Obscure, Rogue Herries tells the story of the larger than life Francis Herries who uproots his family from Yorkshire and brings them to live in Borrowdale where their life is as dramatic as the landscape surrounding them... read more »
Rogues in the HouseRobert E. Howard
One of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in Weird Tales magazine January 1934. Set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age and concerns Conan inadvertently becoming involved in the power play... read more »
RomeÉmile Zola
Three years after his visit to Lourdes, Abbé Pierre Froment has written an ecumenical work, New Rome, that has been placed on the Index. In an attempt to have this veto lifted he travels to Rome, where he is subjected to a variety of subtle delaying tactics designed to bring him to contrition and resignation. His... read more »
Romeo and JulietWilliam Shakespeare
A tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young 'star-crossed lovers' whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are... read more »
RomolaGeorge Eliot
Set in late fifteenth-century Italy, in the Renaissance Florence of Machiavelli and the Medicis, Romola is the most exotic and adventurous of George Eliot's novels. It charts the career and martyrdom of the charismatic religious leader Savonarola, who rebelled against the humanistspirit of the age and burned books... read more »
Rose in BloomLouisa May Alcott
In this sequel to Eight Cousins, Rose Campbell returns to the "Aunt Hill" after two years of traveling around the world. Suddenly, she is surrounded by male admirers, all expecting her to marry them. But before she marries anyone, Rose is determined to establish herself as an independent young woman. Besides, she... read more »
Rosinante to the Road AgainJohn Dos Passos
Drawing on his own adventures in the Spanish countryside, Dos Passos writes a story of two nomads walking from Madrid to Toledo in the years after World War I. Their travel interweaves Spanish customs, literature, and art. For the author, the country never ceases to tease the imagination. read more »
Round the BendNevil Shute
When Tom Cutter hires Constantine Shaklin as an engineer in his air freight business, he little realises the extraordinary gifts of his new recruit. Shaklin possesses a religious power which inspires everyone he meets to a new faith and hope for humanity. As Cutter's business grows across Asia, so does Shaklin's... read more »
RudinIvan Turgenev
The story of a character typical to Turgenev -- a 'superfluous' man, weak of will, brimming with indecisive frustration -- and yet tormented by ideals. Rudin is made impotent by the dissonance of honoring the older generations while at the same time embracing the new bold epoch of pre-revolutionary Russia. The theme... read more »
Rudy and BabetteHans Christian Andersen
Written towards the end of Andersen’s career, Rudy and Babette tells the tale of Rudy, a boy who lost both his parents and goes to live with his uncle. Rudy had an 'encounter' with The Ice Maiden who continues to interact with him into adulthood. As the story goes forward Rudy meets and falls in love with a girl... read more »
Ruined CityNevil Shute
Through a series of mishaps, Henry Warren, a recently divorced City financier, ends up in hospital in a Northern town ruined by the closure of its shipyard. Moved by the fate of the town's inhabitants, Warren risks his fortune and reputation to save the shipyard and restore the town to its former prosperity. In... read more »
Rupert of HentzauAnthony Hope
Rupert of Hentzau is the dark sequel to The Prisoner of Zenda. Full of humor and swashbuckling feats of heroism, the tale is also a satire on the politics of 19th-century Europe. When honour is at stake, the fight is to the death. Rudolf Rassendyll, having heroically saved the kingdom of Ruritania and nobly given up... read more »
RuthElizabeth Gaskell
Ruth Hilton is an orphaned young seamstress who catches the eye of a gentleman, Henry Bellingham, who is captivated by her simplicity and beauty. When she loses her job and home, he offers her comfort and shelter, only to cruelly desert her soon after. Nearly dead with grief and shame, Ruth is offered the chance of... read more »
Ruth Fielding at Briarwood HallAlice B. Emerson
Ruth's greatest desire has come true—to attend Briarwood Hall with Helen Cameron. As soon as the girls arrive, they are accosted by Mary Cox, known as the Fox for her cunning. Mary wishes the girls to join her club, the Up and Doing Club. Helen, in particular, is enraptured by Mary's description of her club... read more »
Ruth Fielding at the War FrontAlice B. Emerson
Ruth continues her work for the Red Cross and is soon transferred to a hospital that is on the war front. Ruth faces the very real danger of possible death but soon has a greater concern. Ruth asks a friend whether there is any news of Tom Cameron and learns that he has disappeared in Germany—and is suspected of... read more »
Ruth Fielding Homeward BoundAlice B. Emerson
A bomb strikes the French hospital in which Ruth is working, and Ruth's shoulder is seriously injured. Ruth is forced to end her work with the Red Cross and head home to the United States. Just before Ruth boards the Admiral Pekhard, she learns that Tom Cameron is missing after a plane crash. Ruth fears that Tom may... read more »