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21) John Barleycorn
Although Jack London is best remembered as a fiction writer who chronicled the power of nature and the American West, he also dabbled in psychological drama over the course of his career. John Barleycorn is an engrossing novel based heavily on London's personal struggles with alcoholism.
Tom Sawyer, Detective follows Twain's popular novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Tom Sawyer Abroad. In this novel, Tom turns detective, trying to solve a murder. Twain plays with and celebrates the detective novel, wildly popular at the time. This novel, like the others, is told through the first-person narrative of Huck Finn.
23) Tono Bungay
Philosophically minded science fiction fans will rejoice in this novel from H.G. Wells, the author regarded as one of the originators of the genre who wrote classic gems such as The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The Island of Doctor Moreau. Though more grounded in realism than some of his other works, Tono-Bungay offers an interesting look into the morality of scientific discovery.
24) Martin Eden
Jack London's Martin Eden was first published in 1909 and is the story of a young writer's quest for celebrity and love. Much loved by writers who identify with Martin's belief that when he posted a manuscript, 'there was no human editor at the other end, but a mere cunning arrangement of cogs that changed the manuscript from one envelope to another and stuck on the stamps,' that automatically returned it slapped with a rejection slip.
Typically known for his hard-hitting works of social realism, such as the novel New Grub Street, the publication of The Town Traveller represented something of a departure for Victorian-era novelist George Gissing. Not only is the novel markedly different in style and tone from Gissing's previous work, but it outsold all of his other publications by a significant measure and lifted him from semi-obscurity to the upper echelons of
...Nineteenth-century British writer Anthony Trollope created what has become one of the most beloved literary chronicles of English country life in the Chronicles of Barsetshire series. Framley Parsonage, the entertaining fourth novel in the series, follows the financial travails of a young vicar, the romantic entanglements of a pair of star-crossed lovers, and various other social skirmishes and conflicts in and around the seemingly sleepy
...Get set for rollicking adventure with this volume from Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs. If your only exposure to the King of the Jungle has been the watered-down cartoon versions, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the depth and nuance that Burroughs conveys in the character.
28) The American
The American by renowned novelist Henry James offers readers a fascinating glimpse into the differences—and, though less pronounced—the similarities between American culture and European culture. Regarded as one of the most important American writers of his era, James' deft juxtaposition of these two cultural traditions—set against the backdrop of a subtly nuanced love story—will delight fans of literary fiction.
The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is the lesser-known sequel to Defoe's well-loved Robinson Crusoe. Crusoe is married in England when he is overcome by the melancholy urge to visit his island once more. After the death of his wife he sets sail and finds his island in a state of disarray. He installs a code of conduct and leaves the habitants with useful skills. He then sails home via Madagascar, South-East Asia and China and
...William Dean Howells' 1885 novel, The Rise of Silas Lapham tells the story of its protagonist's materialistic aspirations; his rise from rags to riches. Despite making a fortune in business, Silas feels he lacks social position; he banks on the marriage of his daughter to an aristocratic family to change this. But Silas faces a moral quandary when his business partner suggests dodgy business dealings.
The Aspern Papers is a novella set in Venice. A young man travels to the city and takes lodgings with an old woman—the former lover of the dead American poet Aspern. The man believes the old woman still has some letters from Aspern and he ingratiates himself with her niece in an attempt to find them. Suspense builds around the motives and actions of James' masterfully drawn characters.
Victorian-era novelist Wilkie Collins was one of the most popular and successful writers of his day, ranked by some as equal in influence and acclaim to his friend and mentor Charles Dickens. Like Dickens, Collins' novels take a hard look at the social problems of the period in the context of an engaging, often addictively paced, narrative. Fallen Leaves recounts the lives of four women, each of whom has chosen a distinct path but whose
...33) In the Cage
Long recognized as one of the most refined and insightful American writers of the nineteenth century, Henry James turns his keen powers of perception and observation to the case of a London telegraph operator in the novella In the Cage. Over time, the operator becomes adept at inferring personal details from customers' messages and develops an unhealthy interest in the quotidian lives of those she serves. A masterpiece of psychological subtlety,
...The Son of Tarzan is Edgar Rice Burroughs' fourth novel in the Tarzan series. First serialized between 1915 and 1916 in All-Story Weekly, it was published as a novel in 1917. Narrowly surviving his encounter with his enemy Tarzan in The Beasts of Tarzan, Alexis Paulvitch has a score to settle. He lures Tarzan's son Jack away from London and captures him, only to have Jack escape into the jungle that Tarzan once called home. With the
...Believed to be a collaboration between science fiction luminary Jules Verne and French writer Andre Laurie (the pen name of politician Paschal Grousset), The Waif of the Cynthia skillfully combines action-adventure with a beguiling mystery. A respected and affluent Norwegian doctor takes an interest in the case of the brilliant orphan Erik and vows not only to support him and guide his education, but also to help Erik discover his true origins.
...36) Hide and Seek
This domestic drama from beloved author Wilkie Collins focuses on the abiding power of family, whether by birth or by chance. A profoundly disabled girl is adopted by a loving family, but her true origins are shrouded in mystery. When a few intrepid friends begin trying to find out more about her history, a wholly unexpected chain of events is set into motion.
Thomas Hardy (1840 – 1928) was a naturalist and writer, whose fiction sits on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution and is filled with an imminent sense of nostalgia for the coming transformation of the British countryside. He was also a ferocious critic of the unfair treatment of women both sexually and socially in Victorian society. The Romantic Adventures of a Milkmaid is set in Hardy's alternate landscape, called Wessex after the
...38) The Absentee
On the eve of his coming of age, a young Lord begins to see the truth of his parents' lives: his mother cannot buy her way into society no matter how hard he tries, and his father is being ruined by her continued attempts. The young Lord then travels to his home in Ireland, encountering adventure on the way, and discovers that the native residents are being exploited in his father's absence.
A young Dutch trader, Kaspar Almayer, marries Captain Lingard's adopted Malay daughter in the hopes of one day inheriting the captain's wealth. He moves to Borneo to run Lingard's trading post there, but while the captain is frittering away his fortune on a hopeless treasure hunt, Almayer's ventures fail, one after the other. In the hotpot of isolation, colonialism and frustrated desire, naming Almayer's true folly becomes complicated.
Dive into the scandalous roman à clef that shocked the world. Based in part on H. G. Wells' own alleged affair with a much-younger woman, the novel The New Machiavelli follows the rise to power of brilliant politician Richard Remington, whose ascendance is stopped in its tracks when his extramarital dalliance is revealed.
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