The WavesVirginia Woolf
Considered Woolf's most experimental work, it consists of soliloquies spoken by the book's six characters: Bernard, Susan, Rhoda, Neville, Jinny, and Louis. Set on the coast of England against the vivid background of the sea, the novel introduces six characters—three men and three women—who are grappling with... read more »
Mary BartonElizabeth Gaskell
Set in Manchester in the 1840s, Mary Barton depicts the effects of economic and physical hardship upon the city's working-class community. Paralleling the novel's treatment of the relationship between masters and men, the suffering of the poor, and the workmen's angry response, is the story of Mary herself--a... read more »
Burmese DaysGeorge Orwell
Set in the days of the Empire, with the British ruling in Burma, Burmese Days describes both indigenous corruption and Imperial bigotry, when 'after all, natives were natives ? interesting, no doubt, but finally only a subject people, an inferior people with black faces'. Against the prevailing orthodoxy, Flory, a... read more »
The Plumed SerpentD. H. Lawrence
In this notorious late novel, Lawrence's pagan imaginings burgeon. Kate Leslie, an Irish widow touring Mexico, becomes gradually involved with a charismatic leader, and she enters a sexual relationship with his dark henchman. As the two men conspire to revive the old Aztec religion and seize power, Kate is... read more »
Busman's HoneymoonDorothy L. Sayers
Lord Peter Wimsey and his bride, mystery writer Harriet Vane, start their honeymoon with murder. The former owner of Tallboys estate is dead in the cellar with a misspelled "notise" to the milkman, not a spot of blood on his smashed skull, and £600 in his pocket. read more »
So Well RememberedJames Hilton
On the day that World War II ends in Europe, Mayor George Boswell recalls events of the previous 25 years in his home town of Browdley. George Boswell, a respected lawyer and civic leader, possesses the skill and charisma to shine on the national stage. But ambition is not without a cost. When he must choose between... read more »
Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His SisterAphra Behn
An epistolary novel - the first ever written - and an innovative and pioneering work. An exploration of the sexual politics of seventeenth century English society, the novel follows Sylvia's love for her brother-in-law, her sexual awakening and her inevitable downfall. read more »
Temple TroubleH. Beam Piper
Miracles to order was a fine way for the paratimers to get mining concessions--but Nature can sometimes pull counter-miracles. And so can men, for that matter... read more »
OverclockedCory Doctorow
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to get bitten by a zombie? To live through a bioweapon attack? To have every aspect of your life governed by invisible ants? In Cory Doctorow’s collection of novellas, he wields his formidable experience in technology and computing to give us mindbending sci-fi tales that... read more »
ChallengeSapper
When Colonel Henry Talbot summons Bulldog Drummond and Ronald Standish, it is to inform them of the mysterious death of one of their colleagues. There was no sign of any wound, no trace of any weapon when they found him. But why was millionaire, Charles Burton, near the scene? read more »
The Rainbow TrailZane Grey
John Shefford rode into Utah's valley in search of a new life and when he met Fay Larkin, he knew he had found it. Even when she was charged with murder, he did not care. She was worth life itself. Breaking her out of jail was the easy part. After that he has posses to worry about, violent bands of Indians to out... read more »
Beau BrocadeEmma Orczy
After their recent defeat, the hamlets and villages of Derbyshire are no longer ringing with the wild shouts of Bonny Prince Charlie's Highland Brigade; instead troops loyal to King George are looking for those accused of high treason and are offering a reward of twenty guineas for the death of any traitor or rebel... read more »
The Damned ThingAmbrose Bierce
This engrossing tale presents as its central theme the ultimately unknowable -- and untameable -- essence of nature and the natural world. Told from several different perspectives, the story focuses on a freak fatal accident that is written off as a wild animal attack. But does that description get at the truth of... read more »
HamletWilliam Shakespeare
Hamlet is the story of the Prince of Denmark who learns of the death of his father at the hands of his uncle, Claudius. Claudius murders Hamlet's father, his own brother, to take the throne of Denmark and to marry Hamlet's widowed mother. Hamlet is sunk into a state of great despair as a result of discovering the... read more »
The Graveyard RatsHenry Kuttner
One of Salem's oldest and most decrepit cemeteries was put in Old Masson's charge, but he didn't mind—he was more than sufficiently compensated by the treasures the newly departed wholeheartedly offered him. Unfortunately, he always seemed to have to work harder to earn his keep, for he had an unusual rival to... read more »
The Singing SandsJosephine Tey
On sick leave from Scotland Yard, Inspector Alan Grant is planning a quiet holiday with an old school chum to recover from overwork and mental fatigue. Traveling on the night train to Scotland, however, Grant stumbles upon a dead man and a cryptic poem about 'the stones that walk' and 'the singing sand,' which send... read more »
The Broken WingsKahlil Gibran
An exquisitely tender story of love that beats desperately against the taboos of Oriental tradition. With great sensitivity, Gibran describes his passion as a youth for Selma Karamy, the girl of Beirut who first unfolded to him the secrets of love. But it is a love that is doomed by a social convention which forces... read more »
The AliensMurray Leinster
What will happen when we first encounter sentient beings from outer space? In this action-packed account of first contact between the human denizens of Earth and an alien species, Murray Leinster details the tense early interactions between clashing spaceships. Is long-term coexistence possible? Read The Aliens to... read more »
The Lucky ChanceAphra Behn
This is above all, an indictment of arranged marriages. Young Leticia Bredwell has been purchased as a bride for the revoltingly foppish old Sir Feeble Fainwood. Feeble's friend, Sir Cautious Fulbank, also bought himself a bride, Julia, who-like Leticia, is in love with another younger, poorer man. The women and... read more »
The Five Red HerringsDorothy L. Sayers
During a painting retreat, a killer takes a creative approach to the ancient art of murder. The majestic landscape of the Scottish coast has attracted artists and fishermen for centuries. In the idyllic village of Kirkcudbright, every resident and visitor has two things in common: They either fish or paint (or do... 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 »
An Occurrence at Owl Creek BridgeAmbrose Bierce
Peyton Farquhar, a confederate sympathizer, stands to be hanged for his role in a plot to demolish Owl Creek Bridge. As he awaits death, Farquhar considers the possibility of escape; the chances of slipping his bonds, swimming to safety, and returning to his family. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge recounts the... read more »
The ProphetKahlil Gibran
The prophet Almustafa who has lived in the foreign city of Orphalese for 12 years is about to board a ship which will carry him home. He is stopped by a group of people, with whom he discusses many issues of life and the human condition. The book is divided into chapters dealing with love, marriage, children... read more »
The Gods ArriveEdith Wharton
Halo Tarrant, abandoning her failed marriage, elopes to Europe with the brilliant young writer, Vance Weston. As they travel around, her only wish is to serve him and his genius. But, ignoring the pain her amiguous status brings, Vance takes her loving attentions for granted and rejects the critical advice he had... read more »
OroonokoAphra Behn
When Prince Oroonoko's passion for the virtuous Imoinda arouses the jealousy of his grandfather, the lovers are cast into slavery and transported from Africa to the colony of Surinam. Oroonoko's noble bearing soon wins the respect of his English captors, but his struggle for freedom brings about his destruction... read more »
And How She Came to CourtFord Madox Ford
Kat Howard--intelligent, beautiful, naively outspoken, and passionately idealistic--catches the eye of Henry VIII and improbably becomes his fifth wife. A teenager who has grown up far from court, she is wholly unused to the corruption and intrigue that now surround her. It is a time of great upheaval, as... read more »
Village WooingGeorge Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw combined ironic wit with weighty commentary on a variety of social issues, advocating for the working class, whom he felt was badly exploited. In Village Wooing Shaw portrays the relationship of a domineering woman with a man whom they are pursuing in marriage. Will she be happy with her conquest? read more »
The Bright PavilionsHugh Walpole
This fifth novel in the Herries Chronicle, set against the background of the turmoil and politics of Elizabethan England, tells the tale of one family's experiences of divided loyalties and thwarted love. Being the first part of the prequel to the Herries Chronicles. read more »
Clouds of WitnessDorothy L. Sayers
When blood stains his family name, Lord Peter fights to save what he holds most dear After three months in Corsica, Lord Peter Wimsey has begun to forget that the gray, dangerous moors of England ever existed. But traveling through Paris, he receives a shock that jolts him back to reality. He sees it in the... read more »
The Sweet Cheat GoneMarcel Proust
Albertine has finally escaped her 'imprisonment' from Marcel's Paris apartment... Not only is Marcel quite unprepared for the effect her flight has on him, but also soon he is devastated by news of an even more irreversible loss. read more »