AnticipationsH. G. Wells
In 1901, the great writer and social critic attempted to predict the future in this book, a fascinating mix of accurate forecasts — development of cars, buses and trucks, use of flying machines in combat, decline of permanent marriage — and wild misses, including the prediction that submarines will suffocate... read more »
Antony and CleopatraWilliam Shakespeare
A magnificent drama of love and war, this riveting tragedy presents one of Shakespeare's greatest female characters--the seductive, cunning Egyptian queen Cleopatra. The Roman leader Mark Antony, a virtual prisoner of his passion for her, is a man torn between pleasure and virtue, between sensual indolence and duty... read more »
An Unsocial SocialistGeorge Bernard Shaw
Sidney Trefusis is a proselytizing socialist. Armed with irony and paradox, he is determined to overthrow a society riddled with class and sexual exploitation. Henrietta, his adoring wife, 'loves' him: he must abandon her. Son of a millionaire, he gives up everything to pose as an 'umble peasant'. But when this... read more »
Apache DevilEdgar Rice Burroughs
Shoz-Dijiji, or Black Bear, kidnapped by the Apaches from his white pioneer family as an infant and raised by Geronimo, is now a brave and accomplished Apache War Chief. In addition to the skills of hunting and warfare he has learned to hate violently the pin-dah-lickoyee ('white eyes') from witnessing their... read more »
A Pair of Blue EyesThomas Hardy
Elfride finds herself caught in a battle between her heart, her mind and the expectations of her parents and society. The novel is notable for the strong parallels to Hardy and his first wife Emma Gifford. When Elfride's father finds that his guest and candidate for his daughter's hand, architect's assistant Stephen... read more »
A Passage to IndiaE. M. Forster
When Adela Quested and her elderly companion Mrs Moore arrive in the Indian town of Chandrapore, they quickly feel trapped by its insular and prejudiced 'Anglo-Indian' community. Determined to escape the parochial English enclave and explore the 'real India', they seek the guidance of the charming and mercurial Dr... read more »
A Place So ForeignCory Doctorow
A collection of exciting new stories from one of the young guns of modern science fiction encompasses a wide range of topics from pop culture to utopian future visions, nerd pride, and trash, in such works as Craphound, Shadow of the Mothaship, and Return to Pleasure Island.
1. Craphound
2. A Place So Foreign
... read more »
A Political RomanceLaurence Sterne
The first work written by Sterne might be labelled a roman à clef or a cronique scandaleuse, which were so popular at the beginning of the eighteenth century. However, even these more suitable names do not do justice to the richness and slipperiness of this text. It can certainly be considered a mock-epic allegory... read more »
ApologyPlato
The Apology is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he defended himself in 399 BCE against the charges of 'corrupting the young, & by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel' (24b). 'Apology' here has its earlier meaning (now usually expressed by the... read more »
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young ManJames Joyce
Perhaps Joyce's most personal work, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man depicts the intellectual awakening of one of literature's most memorable young heroes, Stephen Dedalus. Through a series of brilliant epiphanies that parallel the development of his own aesthetic consciousness, Joyce evokes Stephen's youth... read more »
A Prayer for my SonHugh Walpole
My homeward course led up a long ascent, Where the road's watery surface, to the top Of that sharp rising, glittered to the moon And bore the semblance of another stream Stealing with silent lapse to join the brook That murmured in the vale. All else was still: No living thing appeared in earth or air, And, save the... read more »
A Prefect's UncleP. G. Wodehouse
One of Wodehouse's early novels set in an English public school, a school story that revolves around cricket, stolen money, and an embarrassing uncle (who happens to be younger than his nephew) who enrolls in in his school. The arrival of Farnie at Beckford College brings much excitement and scandal to the school... read more »
A Prince Of SwindlersGuy Boothby
Introducing Simon Carne, a gentleman thief predating both E. W. Hornung's A. J. Raffles and Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin. The British Viceroy first meets Carne while traveling in India. Charmed, he invites the reclusive hunchbacked scholar to London, little suspecting that his guest is actually an adventurer and... read more »
A Prince of the CaptivityJohn Buchan
This is the epic story of one man's courage. Adam Melfort is an officer and a gentleman. A brilliant career lies ahead of him until he is imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Afterwards, Adam embarks on daring missions in the service of his country. Dangerous work behind enemy lines in World War I and espionage... read more »
A Princess of MarsEdgar Rice Burroughs
A Princess of Mars is the first of eleven thrilling novels that comprise Edgar Rice Burroughs' most exciting saga, known as The Martian Series. It's the beginning of an incredible odyssey in which John Carter, a gentleman from Virginia and a Civil War veteran, unexpectedly finds himself on to the red planet, scene... read more »
A Pushcart at the CurbJohn Dos Passos
Passos' only collection of poetry, many of these poems were published in periodicals in 1921/22, though some were composed as early as 1916. George H. Doran published A Pushcart at the Curb on October 11, 1922. There was no subsequent edition. read more »
A Quiet RevolutionVarious
The past few years have seen a quiet, relatively well behaved, and entirely legal revolution in Aotearoa: the growth of a thriving Commons of works made available under Creative Commons open copyright licences. A Quiet Revolution tells Kiwi stories as diverse as open source houses, teachers banding together to share... read more »
The Arabian NightsAnonymous
Full of mischief, valor, ribaldry, and romance, The Arabian Nights has enthralled readers for centuries. These are the tales that saved the life of Shahrazad, whose husband, the king, executed each of his wives after a single night of marriage. Beginning an enchanting story each evening, Shahrazad always withheld... read more »
The Arabian Nights EntertainmentsAnonymous
The Sultan Schahriar's misguided resolution to shelter himself from the possible infidelities on his wives leads to an outbreak of barbarity in his kingdoms and a reign of terror in his court, stopped only by the resourceful Scheherazade. The tales with which Scheherazade nightly postpones the muderous intent of the... read more »
AreopagiticaJohn Milton
Areopagitica: A speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing to the Parliament of England is John Milton's famous tract against censorship. Named after a speech by Isocrates, a fifth century BC Athenian orator, the work is counted as one of the most influential and inspired defenses of the right to freedom of... read more »
Arizona AmesZane Grey
Not all outlaws are bad mend. Rich Ames didn’t set out to be a gunslinger--it was forced on him. When two men roughed up his sweet sister, Rich reached for his trusty Colt and let loose on them. When the smoke cleared, Rich was the only one standing, now a fugitive of the law and forced to abandon his quaint home... read more »
ArmadaleWilkie Collins
Can a dream foretell the future? That is one of the central questions of Armadale, one of Wilkie Collins’ lesser-known novels. But even though it is not as famous as The Woman in White or The Moonstone, it is still written with the psychological awareness and piercing character studies of the best of Collins’ work. read more »
ArmanceStendhal
Stendhal's first novel is a romance novel set during the Bourbon Restoration and published anonymously in 1827. Octave de Malivert, a taciturn but brilliant young man barely out of the Ecole Polytechnique is attracted to Armance Zohiloff, who shares his feelings. The novel describes how a series of misunderstandings... read more »
Arm of the LawHarry Harrison
In the mood for a thought-provoking read from the golden age of science fiction? Dip into Arm of the Law from mid-century SF virtuoso Harry Harrison. In this tale, Harrison recounts an experiment in robotic law enforcement that goes awry -- with an array of horrifying unforeseen consequences. read more »
Armour Wherein He TrustedMary Webb
Webb's unfinished novel, published posthumously, together with ten short stories, this is a medieval romance. It is the story of Sir Gilbert and his love for Nesta. Whilst delighting in love's pleasures, he strives to renounce earthly passion, seeking instead spiritual perfection. read more »
Arms and the ManGeorge Bernard Shaw
Arms and the Man was George Bernard Shaw's first commercially successful play. It is a comedy about idealized love versus true love. A young Serbian woman idealizes her war-hero fiance and thinks the Swiss soldier who begs her to hide him a terrible coward. After the war she reverses her opinions, though the tangle... read more »
A Romance of Two WorldsMarie Corelli
When the female narrator is asked by a painter to pose for a portrait, she has a supernatural experience in his studio. When she is near the painter she feels better. The painter is responsible for her improved health, but he must send her to Heliobas, the man who helped him achieve so much, both in health and in... read more »
A Room of One's OwnVirginia Woolf
In A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf imagines that Shakespeare had a sister. A sister equal to Shakespeare in talent, and equal in genius, but whose legacy is radically different. This imaginary woman never writes a word and dies by her own hand, her genius unexpressed. If only she had found the means to create... read more »
A Room With A ViewE. M. Forster
This Edwardian social comedy explores love and prim propriety among an eccentric cast of characters assembled in an Italian pensione and in a corner of Surrey, England. A charming young English woman, Lucy Honeychurch, faints into the arms of a fellow Britisher when she witnesses a murder in a Florentine piazza... read more »
A Round DozenSusan Coolidge
19th century fairy tales with elves and magic doors. Contains the following 12 stories; The Little White Door, Little Karen and her Baby, Helen's Thanksgiving, At Fiesole, Queen Blossom, A Small Beginning, The Secret Door, The Two Wishes, Blue and Pink, A Fortunate Misfortune, Toinette and the Elves, Jean's Money... read more »