The Light That FailedRudyard Kipling
The Light That Failed is a haunting and powerful novel of human suffering, love and loss. In Dick Heldar, artist and journalist, we see a man struggling to rise above his cruel beginnings and neglected childhood to grasp at a chance for happiness in later life. However as his hopes slowly turn to dust, his... read more »
The Lion's SkinRafael Sabatini
Since childhood and his mother's cruel death, young Caryll had been bred in France by his guardians for one purpose—to wreak their vengeance on the father who had never known him. But Caryll did not complete his mission. Instead, he sailed for England and plunged into a maelsrom of dissension and revolt that... read more »
The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeC. S. Lewis
Narnia...the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy...the place where the adventure begins. Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first, no one believes her when she tells of her adventures in the land of... read more »
The Little Lady of the Big HouseJack London
A triangle romance provides the basis for a questioning of the meaning of masculinity, as well as an examination of agribusiness in California. Jack London said of this novel: 'It is all sex from start to finish -- in which no sexual adventure is actually achieved or comes within a million miles of being achieved... read more »
The Little MinisterJ. M. Barrie
When published, J.M. Barrie's The Little Minister was quickly identified, along with Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, as one of the two great literary events of the year. Within the space of two years the book had sold in excess of 35,000 copies. Set in 'Thrums', the fictional name for the author's native... 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 »
ThelmaMarie Corelli
A sweet and tender love story, that must have thrilled the closet Victoria readers of the time. Thelma is loved by many men including her fathers right-hand man, who sacrifices his life for her. However it is not him who marry's her and sweeps her away from Norway. read more »
The Lone Star RangerZane Grey
A cowpoke tried to beat Buck Duane to the draw, so Buck shot him dead. From that moment on, he lived life on the run, killing to survive. Then he met a woman who changed him and a Texas Ranger who offered him a pardon if he rode out alone to stop the notorious Cheseldine Gang. read more »
The Long GoodbyeRaymond Chandler
When Philip Marlowe befriends down-on-his-luck veteran Terry Lennox he gets more than he bargained for. With Lennox’s wife dead and Lennox himself on the lam, Marlowe becomes the target for the local cops and a crazy gangster, while getting mixed up with alcoholic writer Roger Wade and his wife Eileen. Nothing is... read more »
The Lost Princess of OzL. Frank Baum
You expect Button-Bright to get lost, but not Ozma! As soon as it is discovered that not only is the ruler of Oz lost but so are all of the kingdom's important magical instruments, The Wizard of Oz And Glenda the Good Witch spring into action. Search parties are sent to all four countries of Oz to find her or any... read more »
The Lost StradivariusJ. Meade Falkner
Chilling in the extreme, The Lost Stradivarius is a classic tale of the supernatural. While practicing in his rooms in Oxford, gifted violinist John Maltravers notices a strange phenomenon: whenever a certain air is played, a mysterious presence seems to enter. Unable to rationalize this away, Maltravers becomes... read more »
Barry LyndonW. M. Thackeray
Set in late 18th century Europe the adventures and mis-adventures of a minor member of the Irish gentry trying to better himself. Redmond Barry of Bally Barry is a clever young man, who learns the manners of a gentleman. This serves him well, for the next few decades he meanders through Europe, as a soldier... 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 Lust of HateGuy Boothby
In this the third of Boothby's Dr. Nikola novels, Nikola applies his almost hypnotic persuasion to convince an out-of-luck Australian, formerly from England, named Gilbert Pennethorne to assist Nikola unwittingly in an evil scheme. Nikola takes advantage of Pennethorne's intense desire for revenge against a former... read more »
The Machine StopsE. M. Forster
In this short science fiction story, Forster describes a world in which almost all humans have lost the ability to live on the surface of the Earth. Each individual lives in isolation in a 'cell', with all bodily and spiritual needs met by the omnipotent, global Machine. Most humans welcome this development, as they... read more »
Machine That Saved The WorldMurray Leinster
They were broadcasts from nowhere -- sinister emanations flooding in from space -- smashing any receiver that picked them up. What possible defence could Earth devise against science such as this? read more »
The Madman and the PirateR. M. Ballantyne
The Madman, Antonio Zeppa, is abandoned on Ratinga, an island in the Pacific, where there later appears a miserable ex-pirate called Richard Rosco. The two start up a sort of love-hate relationship. The natives put Rosco on a fire to burn him at the stake, but he is rescued by Zeppa, who carries him up to his cave... read more »
The Magic CityEdith Nesbit
When young Philip Haldane builds a play city out of odds and ends, the fantastic creation comes to life, and he and new stepsister Lucy are magically transported into it. Now they must try to save the Magic City by fulfilling an ancient prophecy--despite a mysterious adversary determined to steal their glory for... read more »
The Magician's NephewC. S. Lewis
When Digory and Polly are tricked by Digory's peculiar Uncle Andrew into becoming part of an experiment, they set off on the adventure of a lifetime. What happens to the children when they touch Uncle Andrew's magic rings is far beyond anything even the old magician could have imagined. Hurtled into the Wood between... read more »
The Magic of OzL. Frank Baum
There's trouble once again in the land of Oz! A mischievous boy named Kiki Aru has discovered a magical word--Pyrxqzgl--that can transform him and anyone else into whatever Kiki demands. Worse yet, he has been recruited by the villainous Nome King in his latest attempt to get revenge on Princess Ozma and all her... read more »
The Magic SkinHonoré de Balzac
The Magic Skin (La Peau de chagrin) is set in early 19th-century Paris and tells the story of a young man who finds a magic piece of shagreen that fulfills his every desire. For each wish granted, however, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of his physical energy. Although the novel uses fantastic elements, its... read more »
The Magic Walking StickJohn Buchan
The Magic Walking Stick is a children's short story by John Buchan. It tells the story of a teenage boy who buys a walking stick from a beggar - a magic walking stick that allows the boy to visit many places at his command... read more »
The Magic WorldEdith Nesbit
A thoughtless boy learns a lesson from his cat; a magic telescope brings
two boys a fortune; a crow, a cat, a fish, all whisk away disgraced children to
castles; sensible princes and princesses outwit curses and many more tales.
1. The Cat-hood of Maurice
2. The Mixed Mine
3. Accidental Magic
4. The Princess... read more »
The Making of a SaintW. Somerset Maugham
Immerse yourself in the mystery and intrigue of medieval Italy in this engrossing novel from W. Somerset Maugham, the author of such timeless classics as Of Human Bondage and The Razor's Edge. Though the action of the narrative recounts the way that Filippo Bandolini came to be recognized as a saint, the ups and... read more »
The ManBram Stoker
"I would rather be an angel than God!" is the very first sentence in Stoker's fiction "The Man". It presents his sentimental ideals at the same time conveying his philosophical thoughts. Children have been presented as beacon of light from whom the elders should learn about honesty and innocence. A horror tale is... read more »
The Man in the QueueJosephine Tey
Inspector Alan Grant searches for the identity of a man killed in the line at a theater and for the identity of the killer—whom no one saw. A long line had formed for the standing-room-only section of the Woffington Theatre. London’s favorite musical comedy of the past two years was finishing its run at the end... read more »
The Man-Made WorldCharlotte Perkins Gilman
Here is a cry for feminist revolution. In this work, Charlotte Perkins Gilman details how male-dominated culture has, through the very social devices that keep it in place, conspired to produce greater human suffering than is truly necessary. In this landmark work she explains how economic status, mobility, and... read more »
The Man of BronzeLester Dent
High above the skyscrapers of New York, Doc Savage engages in deadly combat with the red-fingered survivors of an ancient, lost civilization. Then, with his amazing crew, he journeys to the mysterious "lost valley" to search for a fabulous treasure and to destroy the mysterious Red Death. read more »
The Man Of PropertyJohn Galsworthy
The most prized item in Soames Forsyte's collection of beautiful things is his wife, the enigmatic Irene. But when she falls in love with Bosinney, a penniless architect who utterly rejects the Forsyte values, their affair touches off a series of events which can only end in disgrace and disaster. John Galsworthy... read more »
The Man of the ForestZane Grey
Accidentally overhearing a plot to kidnap the niece of a prominent rancher as she arrives from the East, Milt Dale springs into action. He comes out of his splendid isolation to protect Helen and her kid sister, Bo. Leading them away from manmade danger, exposing them to unaccustomed rigor on mountain trails, Dale... read more »