Classics

Pride and Prejudice is the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet (minor gentry), their five daughters, and the various romantic adventures at their Hertfordshire residence of Longbourn. The parents' characters are greatly contrasted: Mr Bennet being a wise and witty gentleman; while Mrs Bennet is permanently distracted by the issue of marrying off her daughters at any cost. The reason for Mrs Bennet's obsession is that their estate will pass by law after Mr Bennet's death to his closest blood relative: his... more info>>

Jane Austen's classic romance story in which the young Anne Elliott is persuaded by her plotting family to reject the man she loves, and her attempt to rekindle that love years later. Although written over 180 years ago the story is nevertheless a gripping tale for modern romance fans, packed with irony, wit, and powerful characters.

Tarzan had renounced his right to the woman he loved, and civilization held no pleasure for him. After a brief and harrowing period among men, he turned back to the African jungle where he had grown to manhood. It was there he first heard of Opar, the city of gold, left over from fabled Atlantis. It was a city of hideous men--and of beautiful, savage women, over whom reigned La, high priestess of the Flaming God. Its altars were stained with the blood of many sacrifices. Unheeding of the dangers... more info>>

In Conrad's haunting tale, Marlow, a seaman and wanderer, recounts his physical and psychological journey in search of the enigmatic Kurtz. Traveling to the heart of the African continent, he discovers how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local people. Marlow's struggle to fathom his experience involves him in a radical questioning of not only his own nature and values but the nature and values of his society.

Margaret Mitchell's epic novel of love and war won the Pulitzer Prize and went on to give rise to two authorized sequels and one of the most popular and celebrated movies of all time. Many novels have been written about the Civil War and its aftermath. None take us into the burning fields and cities of the American South as Gone With the Wind does, creating haunting scenes and thrilling portraits of characters so vivid that we remember their words and feel their fear and hunger for the rest of o... more info>>

The year is 2137, over 160 years ago the "Great War" was fought in Europe. The Western Hemisphere stayed out of the conflict, as much as possible, using the slogan: "The East for the East ... The West for the West." For all this time the USA did not go past 30 degrees or 175 degrees latitude. Until.... The aero-submarine, "Coldwater" in command of Lieutenant Jefferson Turck is blown past the 30 in a raging storm. Damaged, the ship landed in Europe only to find that it was not the enemy that was ... more info>>

This first of Jane Austen's published novels is the story of two starkly different English sisters: Elinor Dashwood, the epitome of prudence and self-control, and her younger, more impetuous sister Marianne, who embodies emotion, openness, and sheer enthusiasm. Elinor's good sense and readiness to observe social forms contrast with Marianne's impulsive candor and warm but excessive sensibility. Both struggle to maintain their integrity and find happiness in the face of a competitive marriage mar... more info>>

This expanded edition of Ayn Rand's classic tale of a future dark age of the great "We"--in which individuals have no name, no independence, and no values--is a beautifully written, powerful novel that projects current social trends into the future, and anticipates such later Rand masterpieces as The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.

An incredibly handsome young man in Victorian England retains his youthful appearance over the years while his portrait reflects both his age and evil soul as he pursues a life of decadence and corruption.

As the rich Lord Greystoke, Tarzan found himself the target of greedy, evil men. Stranded on a desert island, his wife and son kidnapped, Tarzan's plight seemed helpless. But with the help of Sheeta, the ferocious panther, and the great ape Akut, Tarzan crafted his escape with the giant Mugambi. Yet the trail of the kidnappers led deep into the interior--and it would take all of Tarzan's skills to reach his family in time.

Emily Bronte's only novel, Wuthering Heights is one of the pinnacles of 19th century English literature. It's the story of Heathcliff, an orphan who falls inlove with a girl above his class, loses her, and devotes the rest of his life to wreaking revenge on her family.

Mansfield Park is highly regarded by Austen followers as a tale of character and sensibility very much along the lines of Emma and confronting similar issues of marriage and social class while acting as a serious critique of Regency values. Austen began writing it in 1811 and it was published in 1814, just as she began writing Emma. The novel is founded upon the solid and stern but kind-hearted Sir Thomas Bertram, owner of Mansfield Park. He is a throwback to the conservative values and beliefs ... more info>>

Lewis Carroll's masterpiece, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was followed six years later by the sequel Through the Looking-Glass. In the topsy-turvy world that lies beyond the looking-glass, Alice meets such fantastical characters as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Humpty Dumpty, and the Jabberwock.

It is in this, the second Holmes novel, that the great detective comes fully to life--not only as a melancholic and an inscrutable master of deduction, but also as an incurable drug addict. "Which is it today?" Watson asks Holmes matter-of-factly on the opening page of the novel, "morphine or cocaine?" "It is cocaine," Holmes famously replies. "A seven-per-cent. solution. Would you like to try it?" Mary Morstan comes to Holmes in the hope that he will be able to solve a mystery. Ten years earlie... more info>>

Set against the tumultuous years of the Post-Napoleonic era, Dumas's grand historical romance recounts the swashbuckling adventures of Edmond Dantes, a dashing young sailor falsely accused of treason. The story of his long imprisonment, dramatic escape, and carefully wrought revenge offers up a vision of France that has become immortal.

At Baskerville Hall on the grim moors of Devonshire, a legendary curse has apparently claimed one more victim. Sir Charles Baskerville has been found dead. There are no signs of violence, but his face is hideously distorted with terror. Years earlier, a hound-like beast with blazing eyes and dripping jaws was reported to have torn out the throat of Hugo Baskerville. Has the speetral destroyer struck again? More important, is Sir Henry Baskerville, young heir to the estate, now in danger? Enter S... more info>>

Written by one of America's greatest authors, Moby-Dick is a work of tremendous power and depth--one of world literature's great poetic epics. In the novel, published in 1851 after sixteen months of writing, Herman Melville recounts the Promethean quest of Captain Ahab, who, having lost a leg in a earlier battle with White Whale, is determined to catch the beast and destroy it. By the time readers meet Ahab, he is a vengeful, crazed, and terror-provoking figure, for Moby-Dick has come to represe... more info>>

These twelve tales chronicling Holmes's fatal battle of wits with the devilish Professor Moriarty will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Holmes's death in "The Final Problem" caused such a public outcry that the author was forced to bring the intrepid investigator back to life in The Return of Sherlock Holmes. I. Silver Blaze II. The Yellow Face III. The Stock-Broker's Clerk IV. The "Gloria Scott" V. The Musgrave Ritual VI. The Reigate Puzzle VII. The Crooked Man VIII. The Resident Patien... more info>>

More than a century after its first publication, Dracula remains the ultimate horror story, thrilling readers with its hair-raising portrait of a bloodthirsty vampire set loose on an English port town. Spawning countless film adaptations and literary spin-offs, Stoker's novel--a patchwork of letters, diary entries, and newspaper clippings--was the first to capture vampire mythology as we know it. We can still trace its abiding influence among the cinemas, bookstores, and television programs of t... more info>>

The book that shook the world First time from Signet Classic This is the book that revolutionized the natural sciences and every literary, philosophical and religious thinker who followed. Darwin's theory of evolution and the descent of man remains as controversial and influential today as when it was published over a century ago.

Four major works by the prominent late 18th/early 19th Century British writer Jane Austen (1775-1817): Northanger Abbey (1803), Lady Susan (a short piece probably written about 1805), Sense and Sensibility (1811), and Pride and Prejudice (1813).

Dante Alighieri's poetic masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, is a moving human drama, an unforgettable visionary journey through the infinite torment of Hell, up the arduous slopes of Purgatory, and on to the glorious realm of Paradise--the sphere of universal harmony and eternal salvation. [Translation by H. W. Longfellow.]

Lewis Carroll is best remembered for this story, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, both of which are children's books with content and style that have often appealed as much to adult readers as to the young. It was published in 1865 and was in fact with a particular child in mind, Alice Liddell, and had the working title "Alice's Adventures Under Ground". As befits that title, the tale is indeed of a trip (with the additional psychedelic sense certainly ... more info>>

This classic selection brings together twelve of the original stories serialized in the Strand Magazine in the early 1890s. Thrilling adventures such as "A Scandal in Bohemia" catapulted the keen-witted Holmes to fame and continues to make him the most beloved sleuth of all time. I. A Scandal in Bohemia II. The Red-headed League III. A Case of Identity IV. The Boscombe Valley Mystery V. The Five Orange Pips VI. The Man with the Twisted Lip VII. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle VIII. The Adven... more info>>

First published in 1873, The Gilded Age is both a biting satire and a revealing portrait of post-Civil War America--an age of corruption, of national optimism, and of crooked land speculators, ruthless bankers, and dishonest politicians voraciousiy taking advantage of that new optimism.