A nineteenth-century boy from a Mississippi River town recounts his adventures as he travels down the river with a runaway slave, encountering a family involved in a feud, two scoundrels pretending to be royalty, and Tom Sawyer's aunt who mistakes him for Tom.
An outwardly simple tale of a linen weaver, it is notable for its strong realism and its sophisticated treatment of a variety of issues ranging from religion to industrialisation to community.
Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party.
It's a classic rags-to-riches story about an orphan who has to find his way through a city full of criminals, and avoid being corrupted.
The autobiographical account of the life of Frederick Douglass, describing his life, his freedom, and how slavery effects slaves and slave owners.
T. S. Eliot's most famous drama, a retelling of the murder of the archbishop of Canterbury
A literary classic that wasn't recognized for its merits until decades after its publication, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick tells the tale of a whaling ship and its crew, who are carried progressively further out to sea by the fiery Captain Ahab. Obsessed with killing the massive whale, which had previously bitten off Ahab's leg, the seasoned seafarer steers his ship to confront the creature, while the rest of the shipmates, including the young narrator, Ishmael, and the harpoon expert, Queequeg, must contend with their increasingly dire journey.
Chronicles the joys and sorrows of the four March sisters as they grow into young women in nineteenth-century New England.
An adventurous geology professor chances upon a manuscript in which a 16th-century explorer claims to have found a route to the earth's core.
In Our Time is a collection of eighteen vignettes, presented as chapters, about the years prior to, during, and after the first world war.
Gulliver's Travels recounts the story of Lemuel Gulliver, a practical-minded Englishman trained as a surgeon who takes to the seas when his business fails.
Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens that follows the journey of an orphan named Pip. Growing up in Kent with his older sister and her husband, Joe, Pip aids an escaped convict. His life takes a turn when he meets the wealthy and eccentric Miss Havisham, falling in love with her adopted daughter, Estella. The novel explores themes of ambition, unrequited love, and the consequences of one’s actions.
A carefully curated selection of poetry by Marlowe, Shakespeare, Donne, Wheatley, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats, Longfellow, Emerson, Poe, Browning, Dickinson, Whitman, Dunbar, Kipling, and more.
An unusual dog, part Saint Bernard and part Scotch shepherd, is forcibly taken to the Klondike gold fields where he eventually becomes the leader of a wolf pack.
After 18 years of imprisonment in the Bastille, the devoted Doctor Manette is reunited with his daughter in England where a twisting plot of revenge, corruption, and love plays out under the shadow of the guillotine.
Pip is headed for an apprenticeship at the blacksmith's forge. Then an anonymous donor appears, and sends Pip to London to live as a gentleman. Pip is sure he knows the identity of his secret benefactor. He couldn't be more surprised when he finds that he's been mistaken all along.
Macbeth is amazed when three witches prophesy that he will be the next King of Scotland. Lady Macbeth can't wait! Without considering tragic consequences she takes matters into her own bloody hands.
Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, and his daughter, Miranda, were put out to sea in nothing more than a raft but were miraculously spared, arriving safely on an enchanted island. Using the island's magic, which the sorcerer Prospero has learned to control over many years, he conjures up a storm that envelopes a nearby ship containing his enemies. Each separate group of survivors is manipulated by Prospero. Will his marooned rivals apologize for their mistakes?
The terms of the loan are unusual, to say the least. If Antonio can't repay his debt on time, he will owe the grasping moneylender a pound of flesh! All seems hopeless- until a clever young named Portia dares to impersonate a judge at Antonio's trial.
Orlando makes his way to the court of Duke Frederick, and falls desperately in love with the Duke's niece, Rosalind. Meanwhile, in the Forest of Arden, the Old Duke is living peacefully after having his throne usurped by his brother, Frederick. Orlando learns about a threat on his life and flees to the forest. Shortly thereafter, Rosalind is banished by her uncle and also seeks safety there disguised as a boy. Will the Old Duke recognize his daughter? Will the lovers be reunited?
A beautiful love story turns to tragedy when jealousy takes root. The powerful general, Othello, finds himself hurting the one person he loves most in the world, his wife, Desdemona, when he misplaces his trust in Iago. Treacherous and vindictive, Iago is enraged at being passed over for a promotion and plots his revenge against Othello setting off a chain of events that ends in the ultimate sacrifice.
Although Bassanio owes his friend Antonio a great deal of money, he must borrow more to make a good impression when he courts his true love, Portia. However, Antonio is short of cash and must borrow from the lender, Shylock. More problems arise when Antonio's ships are wrecked, leaving him penniless when Shylock's loan is due. Bassanio must now find a way to save his friend's life, but help is on the way from an unexpected source!
Why are the Transylvanian peasants so fearful of Count Dracula's castle? When a young businessman discovers the truth, it is nearly too late. Will Jonathan have enough time to save his beloved fiancÂŽ from the vampire's deadly embrace?
As usual, Tom Sawyer and his pal Huck Finn were only out looking for fun. They never dreamed they'd witness a murder! And that isn't Tom's only problem. There's a new girl, Becky Thatcher, and the fence he's suppose to paint-- not to mention the hunt for Injun Joe's buried treasure!
Fearful of Caesar's growing popularity, a group of powerful Roman politicians begin to plot his death. Can a man remain loyal to Caesar and still be loyal to Rome? Caesar's noble friend Brutus is forced to make a terrible decision.
