When their plane crashes in the jungles of South America, the explorers find a hidden civilization that is more advance than their own. They look for the male leaders of the society and discover a utopian, all-woman civilization. In Herland, Charlotte Perkins Gillman is able to explore her ideas about gender, motherhood, community and sexuality in a science-fiction story that transcended the boundaries of late 19th century society.
With his unique brilliance, G.K. Chesterton is on a mission in Heretics to disband the trends of the early 20th century. He dismisses the notion of ‘art for art’s sake’ and gives his opinion on many religious matters. He also covers at length the ‘heretics’ of his time like Rudyard Kipling, Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells. Is anybody safe from Chesterton’s scrutiny?
Although he later rose to prominence as an innovative and controversial philosopher whose ideas influenced everyone from existentialist thinkers to the Nazi movement, Friedrich Nietzsche was trained in philology and published his earliest works on that topic. This essay takes a look at the use of mythology and language in the ancient Greek poet's most important works, The Iliad and The Odyssey.
This existential novel by Norwegian author, Knut Hamsun, is often compared to works by Dostoevsky or Émile Zola, two of his main influences. Hunger has been called the "literary opening of the 20th century" and is a psychological narrative of a man whose interior is in a state of decay. Knut Hamsun won the Nobel Prize for literature and Hunger is one of his finest novels.
A brutal look at the human soul, this is a terrifying look at the savagery of human nature and a classic novel read in many high school and college English courses. In the novel, a young Englishman, Marlow, goes to Africa to seek his fortune and discovers horror in his journey both into the dark heart of Africa and the dark center of the human experience.
Friedrich Nietzsche viewed science as key to undercutting traditional metaphysics. In Human, All Too Human, the philosopher describes science as a crucial step in the emergence of free spirits who will be the avant-garde of culture.
Heidi is a classic novel for reading aloud or for independent readers. This novel by Johanna Spyri is about a girl named Heidi and her life with her grandfather in the mountains. Celebrating the way a child's love can transform a life, Heidi is a classic novel that should be a part of every childhood.
When a husband is stricken with grief over his wife's death, he kidnaps the twin children of the man he believes responsible. From the Valley of the Missing by Grace Miller White is a suspenseful and chilling story about the power of resentment and two children's drive to survive.
A formerly secret text known only to the Samurai, Hagakure is a classic text on Bushido--the Way of the Warrior. More than just a handbook for battle, Hagakure is a text that filled with teachings that still apply in business, political and social situations today.
Godfrey Morgan and Professor T. Artelett embark on a round-the-world ocean voyage. They cast away on a remote island, as their ship gets wrecked, and there they rescue and befriend Carefinotu, an African slave.
Gulliver's Travels might have once been thought of as a children's story, but there is much more going on beneath the surface tale of Gulliver's journeys to undiscovered islands. Written by Irish writer, Jonathan Swift, this story is both a satire and a parody that has become a classic of English literature.
The story is about a widow named Ms. Pepper and her loving five children. They are very poor but have a wonderful time together. The book shows that you don't have to have a lot of money to have love.
Faust is the classic tale of one man's deal with the devil. In this German play, translated into English for this edition, Mephistopheles makes a bet with God that he can tempt Faust. When devil offers to do anything Faust wishes on Earth, the man agrees to serve the devil when in hell.
Fifty Famous People isn’t a biographical book. It’s in fact a guide about life and how certain ‘famous’ people influenced the world we live in. Easy to read? Yes! Effective and transforming? No doubt!
When Rose Campbell is orphaned, she is forced to live with her wealthy great-aunts. Her legal guardian returns from living abroad, and she goes to live with her Uncle Alec finding health and joy in a family of 7 boy cousins and numerous aunts and uncles.
Machines with a self-consciousness in the 19th century? Erewhon is a satiric novel with the action set in a part utopian, part dystopian society where all our conventions are turned upside down. In this society, the ill are treated as criminals and criminals are treated like recoverable. There are no machines in the world, mainly because they are considered dangerous, capable of evolving into self-sufficient and self-conscious beings.
A collection of essays, lectures, poetry, reviews, private correspondence and aphorisms by Oscar Wilde.
After graduating from university, Arkady Kirsanov returns home with his friend, Bazarov. The young man is changed embracing the nihilistic philosophy not that popular among the older generation. But nihilism doesn’t believe in love…can Arkady and Bazarov neglect their feelings for the sake of their own beliefs?
Dubliners is James Joyce's first work and is an unflinching collection of 15 short stories depicting Dublin at the turn of the twentieth century. These stories give insight into middle class life in Ireland and introduce characters who appear in Joyce's Ulysses.
Upon looking at the bridegroom at the altar, Betty Stanhope realizes she’s on the verge of possibly making the biggest mistake of her life. So she takes advantage of a series of favorable situations and runs away. She meets Jane who helps her get out of town. But is this a wise decision?
Emma Woodhouse is a beautiful, privileged and headstrong young woman living in Regency England who constantly meddles in her friends' lives. Jane Austen's witty and powerful storytelling is at play in this masterful romance classic.
A visiting engineer meets on odd, limping man by the name of Ethan Frome. He wants to know more of him but nobody, not even Ethan is willing to cooperate. So the engineer hires Ethan as his driver for week. Unexpectedly, during a heavy winter storm, the truth about the limping man is revealed.
Ralph Waldo Emerson's Essays are an American classic. These essays explore Emerson's thoughts about transcendentalism and romanticism. Some of the most famous essays in this collection are Self-Reliance, Compensation, The Over-Soul, Circles, The Poet, Experience, and Politics.
In E.W. Hornung's Dead Men Tell No Tales, Mr. Cole falls in love with Eva Denison, a beautiful and accomplished young woman, while traveling to England. As the story takes a twisted turn, the events lead to the discovery of a horrible conspiracy and then to an adventure that may cost Cole his greatest love.
Cytherea Graye is left penniless with her younger brother, Owen, after her father died in a terrible accident. So she must look for work. She becomes the lady’s maid to Mrs. Aldclyffe and falls in love with the wrong person, Edward Springrove. She finds out Edward’s secret and decides to marry Aeneas Manston instead, Mrs. Aldclyffe’s steward. However, she soon learns Aeneas has a dark secret too.
