"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times ..." The year is 1789. In London, Lucie Darnay lives quietly with her father, who is a former prisoner, and her husband and child. In Paris, the bloody French Revolution is about to begin. How will the uprisings in faraway France affect Lucie and those she loves? What dreadful secrets from the distant past threaten their security, even their lives? When "the best of times" becomes "the worst of...

Ann Veronica is a New Woman novel by H.G. Wells. Ann Veronica describes the rebellion of Ann Veronica Stanley, "a young lady of nearly two-and-twenty," against her middle-class father's stern patriarchal rule. The novel dramatizes the contemporary problem of the New Woman. It is set in Victorian era London and environs, except for an Alpine excursion. Ann Veronica offers vignettes of the Women's suffrage movement in Great Britain and features a chapter...

Tolstoy's epic novel of love, destiny and self-destruction, in a gorgeous new clothbound edition from Penguin Classics. Anna Karenina seems to have everything - beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son. But she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky. Their subsequent affair scandalizes society and family alike and soon brings jealously and bitterness in its wake. Contrasting with this tale...

Presents the adventures of a boy and a runaway slave as they travel down the Mississippi River on a raft. Universally acclaimed as one of the greatest creations of American fiction, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of those few books that are read over and over again, with ever increasing enjoyment.

Deeply wounded by her embittered mother's lack of sympathy for her aspirations, Elnora finds comfort in the nearby Limberlost Swamp, whose beauty and rich abundance provide her with the means to better her life.

G.K. Chesterton was a prolific writer on many topics. His views of history were always from the standpoint of men and their interactions, and it may fairly be said he saw all of history as a battle between civilization and barbarism. So it has always been, and that remains true even today. "But it is especially in the matter of the Middle Ages that the popular histories trample upon the popular traditions. In this respect there is an almost comic...

Regarded by many as the first major historian, Herodotus was a Greek scholar and traveler who set down his impressions of foreign countries and his analysis of wars and other significant events in a relatively straightforward, journalistic manner. This volume contains Herodotus' views on Egypt. For centuries, some of the the author's claims about Egypt were regarded as far-fetched, but evidence has recently come to light that supports some of his...

Abandoned by Jules Verne is a crossover sequel of two of Verne's most popular novels, In search of Castaways and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Set during the American Civil War, five Northern prisoners of war band together despite their different backgrounds. Cyrus is a railroad engineer, Gideon is a journalist, Neb is an ex-slave, Pencroff is a sailor, and Harbert is Pencroff's protégé and son. Together, the five prisoners escape their...

When Lincoln took office as President of the United States, the nation was fraught with problems, not the least of which was slavery and the danger of secession. This biography relates how Lincoln dealt with the problems with thought and wisdom. James Russell Lowell (February 22, 1819 — August 12, 1891) was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among...

Animal Ghosts is a collection of ghost stories in which the antagonists are various animals. Divided up into chapters of ghost sightings by each group of animals, you will hear of hauntings by dogs, cats, birds, jungle animals, etc. Elliott O'Donnell (27 February 1872 — 8 May 1965) was an author known primarily for his books about ghosts. He claimed to have seen a ghost, described as an elemental figure covered with spots, when he was five years...