LeviathanThomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign. Influenced by the English Civil War, Hobbes wrote that chaos or civil war-situations identified with a state of nature and the famous motto Bellum omnium contra omnes ("the war of all against all")-could only be averted by strong central... read more »
Lieutenant BonesEdgar Wallace
It is a time when the major world powers are vying for colonial honors, a time of juju, witch doctors, and an uneasy peace with Bosambo, the impressive chief of the Ochori. When Commissioner Sanders goes on leave, the trusty Lieutenant Hamilton takes over administration of the African territories. However, yet... read more »
Lieutenant HornblowerC. S. Forester
The nineteenth century dawns and the Napoleonic Wars rage as Horatio Hornblower is ordered to the Caribbean and dangerous waters. New Lieutenant Hornblower's latest ship is HMS Renown, a sound vessel whose captain is unfortunately of rather unsound mind. When ordered to attack a Spanish anchorage, the chain of... read more »
The Life, Adventures & Piracies of the Famous Captain SingletonDaniel Defoe
The narrative describes the life of an Englishman, stolen from a well-to-do family as a child and raised by Gypsies who eventually makes his way to sea. One half of the book concerns Singleton's crossing of Africa and the later half concerns his life as a pirate. Defoe's description of piracy focuses for the most... read more »
The Life and Adventures of Santa ClausL. Frank Baum
Draw close to the fire, all you who believe in the spirit of Christmas, whether you call it Santa Claus, or simply good will to men; and listen to the story of Nicholas the Wandering Orphan who became Nicholas the Wood-carver, a lover of little children. Follow him through his first years as a lonely little boy, who... read more »
Tristram ShandyLaurence Sterne
At once endlessly facetious and highly serious, Sterne's great comic novel contains some of the best-known and best-loved characters in English literature--including Uncle Toby, Corporal Trim, Parson Yorick, and Dr. Slop--and boasts one of the most innovative and whimsical narrative styles in all literature.
A... read more »
LigeiaEdgar Allan Poe
Ligeia is a book written by Edgar Allan Poe and widely considered to be one of the top 100 greatest books of all time. This great novel will surely attract a whole new generation of readers. For many, Ligeia is required reading for various courses and curriculum's. And for others who simply enjoy reading timeless... read more »
LightHenri Barbusse
Later novel by the French novelist, journalist and communist and author of Under Fire (Le Feu), which was based on his experiences during World War I and won the Prix Goncourt. read more »
The Lilac Fairy BookAndrew Lang
The twelfth in Andrew Lang's Fairy Book series containing 33 tales from Portugal, Ireland, Wales and points East and West, among them "The Brown Bear of Norway," "The Enchanted Deer," "The Story of a Very Bad Boy," and "The Brownie of the Lake". First published in 1910 and includes 51 illustrations. read more »
LilithGeorge MacDonald
"Equal if not superior to the best of Poe", raved poet W. H. Auden about this classic Victorian novel. A fantasy novel for adults that's rich with symbolism and suspense, and considered to be one of the most important visionary novels of the nineteenth century. A recent heir to his parents' English country manor... read more »
LimboAldous Huxley
Huxley's first collection of short stories contains seven visionary and satirical tales, which introduces themes that will go on to form the basis of his entire works. The events and the protagonists of these stories, with their personalities falling between the explicit and the elusive, are also rich in parallels... read more »
The Lion and the UnicornGeorge Orwell
Orwell's moving reflections on the English character and his passionate belief in the need for political change. The Lion and the Unicorn was written in London during the worst period of the blitz. It is vintage Orwell, a dynamic outline of his belief in socialism, patriotism and an English revolution. His fullest... read more »
The Lion and the UnicornRichard Harding Davis
A collection of early short stories that, along with the title story, include The Vagrant, On the Fever Ship, The Man With One Talent, and The Last Ride Together.
There were four rails around the ship's sides, the three lower ones of iron and the one on top of wood, and as he looked between them from the canvas... read more »
Little BrotherCory Doctorow
Marcus, a.k.a "w1n5t0n," is only seventeen years old, but he figures he already knows how the system works–and how to work the system. Smart, fast, and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting his high school’s intrusive but clumsy surveillance systems. But his whole world changes... read more »
Little DorritCharles Dickens
As for many of Dickens' novels, highlighting social injustices is at the heart of Little Dorrit. His father was imprisoned for debt, and Dickens' shines a spotlight on the fate of many who are unable to repay a debt when the ability to seek work is denied. Amy Dorrit is the youngest daughter of a man imprisoned for... read more »
Little FuzzyH. Beam Piper
The planet Zarathustra is listed as uninhabited -- which means that the entire planet can be owned by a corporation. That owner is the rich and happy Zarathustra Company -- rich and happy, that is, until a prospector named Jack Holloway comes across undocumented species -- a tiny, golden-furred little biped that he... read more »
Little House in the Big WoodsLaura Ingalls Wilder
Wolves and panthers and bears roamed the deep Wisconsin woods. Still, Laura Ingalls' father preferred to live miles away from the nearest neighbors. So Pa built a snug cabin for Ma, Laura, Mary and Baby Carrie. He hunted and trapped and farmed. Ma made her own cheese and sugar. All night long, the wind howled... read more »
Little House on the PrairieLaura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingalls and her family are heading to Kansas! Leaving behind their home in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, they travel by covered wagon until they find the perfect spot to build a little house on the prairie. Laura and her sister Mary love exploring the rolling hills around their new home, but the family must soon... read more »
Little Lord FauntleroyFrances Hodgson Burnett
Young Cedric Errol lives in poverty in New York with his mother. When his father, who was disinherited for marrying an American, dies, Cedric is summoned to his grandfather's English estate. While the crotchety old Earl planned to transform the boy into a docile, traditional lording, it is Little Lord Fauntleroy who... read more »
Little Maid MarianAmy Ella Blanchard
Maid Marian, an orphaned heiress, struggles against scheming, duplicitous relatives for the right to her own lands. A medieval romance featuring Robin Hood, Maid Marian, Friar Tuck, and Prince John. Lampoons institutions such as the monarchy and the church in the post-Napoleonic era. read more »
Little MenLouisa May Alcott
This sparkling sequel to the beloved Little Women follows the grown-up and married Jo, mistress of Plumfield, a school for boys (and a few girls, too). The fun begins with a new arrival, Nat Blake; it is through his eyes that we first meet Plumfield’s lively residents and experience the cheerful confusion that... read more »
The Little SisterRaymond Chandler
Philip Marlowe heads to Hollywood exploring the underworld of glitter capital, trying to find a sweet young thing's missing brother; a movie starlet with a gangster boyfriend and a pair of siblings with a shared secret. Her name is Orfamay Quest and she's come all the way from Manhattan, Kansas, to find her missing... read more »
Little Town on the PrairieLaura Ingalls Wilder
The young town of De Smet has survived the long, harsh winter of 1880-1881. With the arrival of spring comes invitations to socials, parties, and “literaries.-” Laura, who is now fifteen years old, attends her first evening social. In her spare time, she sews shirts to help earn money to send Mary to a college... read more »
The Little White BirdJ. M. Barrie
The Little White Bird is a series of short episodes with tones ranging from fantasy and whimsy to social comedy with dark aggressive undertonesm. It accounts the narrator's day to day activities in London of its day, and fanciful tales set in Kensington Gardens and elsewhere. This book also includes the very first... read more »
Little WomenLouisa May Alcott
Little Women is an American classic, adored for Louisa May Alcott's lively and vivid portraits of the endearing March sisters: talented tomboy Jo, pretty Meg, shy Beth, temperamental Amy. Millions have shared in their joys, hardships, and adventures as they grow up in Civil War New England, separated by the war from... read more »
Live and Let DieIan Fleming
Her hair was black and fell to her shoulders. She had high cheekbones and a sensual mouth, and wore a dress of white silk. Her eyes were blue, alight and disdainful, but, as they gazed into his with a touch of humour, Bond realized that they contained a message. Solitaire watched his eyes on her and nonchalantly... read more »
Liza of LambethW. Somerset Maugham
Liza of Lambeth narrates Liza's last four months alive. She lives in a working-class area of London, and as the youngest of thirteen siblings she is left to look after their incompetent mother. She rejects a local suitor, but finds herself attracted to a mysterious stranger on a site-seeing trip. The novel gives... read more »
Llana of GatholEdgar Rice Burroughs
Llano of Gathol is a collection of four novellas written in the Martian series of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Llano, the daughter of Gahan of Gothol, is the perfect damsel in distress. The first story, The Ancient Dead (originally The City of Mummies) followed by The Black Pirates of Barsoom, Escape on Mars and finally... read more »
Lonely RoadNevil Shute
Malcolm Stevenson, a wealthy ex-naval officer haunted by his memories of the war, finds his lonely life turned upside down one night when he runs into trouble on a road near the coast. What at first appears to be an accident leads him to discover an international conspiracy against his country—and to fall in love... read more »
Lone Star PlanetH. Beam Piper
When the whole ornery state of Texas took off for a new planet more to their liking, New Texas was the result: a rough-and-tumble world where everyone packs a gun and it's legal to shoot politicians (if they deserve it)! But now these rugged and independent space pioneers are the targets of an expansive race of... read more »