The Road to UnderstandingEleanor H. Porter
How does being a lavishly spoiled child impact one's ability to function as an adult? It's an always-timely topic that Pollyanna author Eleanor H. Porter explores with insight and wit in the charming novel The Road to Understanding. As a boy, Burke Denby was showered with toys and sweets, and as a young man, his... read more »
The FinancierTheodore Dreiser
Based on the life of flamboyant financier C.T. Yerkes, Dreiser's portrayal of the unscrupulous magnate Cowperwood embodies the idea that behind every great fortune there is a crime. You don't read Dreiser for literary finesse, but his great intensity and keen journalistic eye give this portrait a powerful reality.
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Totem and TabooSigmund Freud
Widely acknowledged to be one of Freud's greatest works, when first published in 1913, this book caused outrage. It remains the fullest exploration of Freud's most famous themes. Family, society, religion - they're all put on the couch. read more »
Letters on Demonology and WitchcraftWalter Scott
The notion that witchcraft faded away with the onset of the scientific revolution is entirely mistaken. Sir Walter Scott wrote this volume for his son-in-law & biographer J. G. Lockhart. It stands in the grand tradition of writing on witchcraft & suggests that magic was alive & well in 19th-century Scotland, as... read more »
Glinda of OzL. Frank Baum
Peace, prosperity, and happiness are the rule in the marvelous Land of Oz, but in a faraway corner of this magical domain dwell two tribes--the Flatheads and the Skeezers--who have declared war on each other. Determined to keep her subjects from fighting, the Ruler of Oz, Princess Ozma, along with her dearest... read more »
OrientationsW. Somerset Maugham
This collection of short stories is sure to please fans of the eminently talented British author W. Somerset Maugham. With details drawn from Maugham's first extended period of living abroad, the stories offer a unique glimpse into the early stages of the author's artistic development. read more »
The TitanTheodore Dreiser
In this sequel to Dreiser's novel The Financier, the author continues his exploration of the social and economic forces at play in the rise of the new class of super-rich capitalists in early twentieth-century America. Protagonist Frank Cowperwood attempts to leave his shameful past behind and settles in Chicago... read more »
The Lady from the SeaHenrik Ibsen
When the lighthouse keeper's daughter Ellida meets the widower Dr Wangel, she tries to put her long-lost first love far behind her and begin a new life as a wife and stepmother. But the tide is turning, an English ship is coming down the fjord, and the undercurrents threaten to drag a whole family beneath the... read more »
Jewels of GwahlurRobert E. Howard
The Teeth of Gwahlur are legendary jewels, kept in an abandoned city in the country of Keshan. Conan, following legends of this treasure, has travelled to the lost city, where supernatural gives way to intrigue. In far Keshan, Conan has come to the abandoned city of Gwahlur in search of its famed riches. But the... read more »
Mary MarieEleanor H. Porter
Eleanor H. Porter's novel Mary Marie tackles an issue that is as relevant as ever: divorce and its impact on the children in the family that has been torn asunder. Groundbreaking at the time of its original publication, the novel tells the story of a young girl whose divorced parents can't agree on anything about... read more »
The Ivory ChildH. Rider Haggard
Get set for adventure with this rip-roaring tale from action-fantasy master H. Rider Haggard. The Ivory Child sees intrepid explorer Allan Quatermain venturing into unknown territory to rescue a kidnapping victim. Along the way, he inadvertently stumbles into an array of thorny situations, including a tribal civil... read more »
Actions and ReactionsRudyard Kipling
Imagine an alternate reality where the man who gave the world The Jungle Book and Gunga Din and The Phantom 'Rickshaw was a science fiction writer -- generations before Hugo Gernsbeck and Amazing; before the pulp SF that dominated the thirties; before intellectually prescient Astounding in the forties and... read more »
The Master BuilderHenrik Ibsen
One of the Norwegian playwright's most mysterious, symbolic, and lyrical dramas explores the life of architect Halvard Solness, once ruthlessly ambitious, but who, in his later years, not only feels threatened by the younger generation but also fears the decay of his own creativity. A tragic end for one of the most... read more »
Tam o' the ScootsEdgar Wallace
Action-adventure fans, you've come to the right place. In ten pulse-pounding episodes, intrepid pilot Tam manages to find his way into a series of increasingly high-stakes scrapes. In the figure of the hard-living but honorable Tam, author Edgar Wallace has created one of the most realistic and endearing... read more »
St. Martin's SummerRafael Sabatini
Martin Marie Rigobert de Ganache had far too many important things to do than worry about the plight of an endangered heiress. But as he and the unfortunate lady become more involved, he has no choice but to carry on with the situation until it is reaches its fitting conclusion. read more »
When the World ScreamedArthur Conan Doyle
Professor Challenger drills into the earth until he reaches the mantle, convinced that it is a sentient being and that by doing so he will be the first person to alert it to mankind's presence. He awakens the giant creature, which then proceeds to destroy his machine. read more »
Maiwa's RevengeH. Rider Haggard
Allan Quatermain has determined to go farther afield than he had ever traveled before, into the depths of the African jungle -- on a march inland to the hills between lands controlled by the chiefs Wambe and Nala. Quatermain has heard of the elephants dwelling in the dense forests at the foot of the mountains edging... read more »
The Cruise of the SnarkJack London
The Snark had two masts and was 43 feet long at the waterline, and on it London claims to have spent thirty thousand dollars. The snark was primarily a sailboat, however, it also had an auxiliary 70-horsepower engine. It was further equipped with one lifeboat. In 1906, Author Jack London began to build a 45-foot... read more »
The HeroW. Somerset Maugham
Many war heroes return from battle to a world that has changed dramatically. In the case of James Parsons, the protagonist of W. Somerset Maugham's The Hero, his family and hometown have remained exactly as they were before he left to serve his country abroad -- it is his own outlook and values that have shifted... read more »
Red NailsRobert E. Howard
Can't get enough of Conan the Barbarian? Fans rank the tale Red Nails as one of the best stories in the series that ultimately inspired Arnold Schwarzenegger's star turn in the famed 1982 action-adventure classic. This tale unfolds deep in the jungles of what is now Mexico or South America, where Conan has traveled... read more »
Catriona / David BalfourRobert Louis Stevenson
Catriona (David Balfour) is the sequel to Kidnapped, and starts at the exact moment that Robert Louis Stevenson's more famous book ends - with Balfour in Edinburgh, standing cold and remorseful outside the offices of the British Linen Company. From there begins a rollicking series of adventures which sees our... read more »
Children of the SoilHenryk Sienkiewicz
For most readers this book will have a double interest, the interest attaching to a picture of Polish life, and the general human interest inseparable from characters like those presented in the narrative of Pan Stanislavs fortunes. The Poles form a part of the great Slav race, which has played so important a role... read more »
The PirateWalter Scott
Based on the life of notorious pirate John Gow, The Pirate takes place on the island of Shetland around the year 1700. The shipwrecked Captain Cleveland's arrival sets off a bitter conflict with the son of a reformed pirate, and their rivalry for the affection of two local woman sets off a series of tragic events. read more »
Travelling SketchesAnthony Trollope
A collection of short stories of travel, this is a great read for anyone and considered a classic by some; it captures the magic of the open road. read more »
The Color Out Of SpaceH. P. Lovecraft
Set in the fictional town of Arkham, Massachusetts, an unnamed narrator investigates a local area known as the 'blasted hearth.' After failing to extract any information from the Arkham locals, the narrator encounters an old man, Ammi Pierce, who relates the story of a farmer who once lived there. The hearth, he... read more »
The Keepers of the King's PeaceEdgar Wallace
Another entry in Edgar Wallace's eminently popular Sanders of the River series, The Keepers of the King's Peace is an unlikely but ultimately engaging combination of a classic action-adventure tale and broad slapstick comedy. An elite crew of officers is charged with getting to the bottom of a female shaman's... read more »
The Little NuggetP. G. Wodehouse
The Little Nugget is one of the novels in which Wodehouse found his feet, a light comic thriller set in an English prep school for the children of the nobility and gentry. Into their midst comes eleven-year-old Ogden Ford, the mouthy, overweight, chain-smoking son of an American millionaire. Ogden (whom we meet... read more »
The People of the Black CircleRobert E. Howard
Regarded by critics and fans alike as one of the most thrilling and tightly plotted of the Conan the Barbarian tales, The People of the Black Circle has the intrepid warrior absconding with a beautiful princess and desperately trying to foil a plot of world domination that has been hatched by a nefarious cabal of... read more »
DawnEleanor H. Porter
Though starkly different from Pollyanna, the book that propelled author Eleanor H. Porter to worldwide acclaim, the engrossing novel Dawn plumbs some of the same themes as its predecessor, including the importance of always maintaining an optimistic outlook on life, no matter how dire the circumstances you are... read more »
The Eustace DiamondsAnthony Trollope
The Eustace Diamonds is a social comedy of greed and deception that meticulously studies the Victorian society. The protagonist, Lizzie is a beautiful but wicked young woman who is underprivileged and her ambition drives her to unparalleled heights. The novel portrays the corrupting influence of money and the... read more »