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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
...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.
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.
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.
At first glance, wheat farming may not appear to be a scintillating topic for a novel, but in the hands of renowned social realist Frank Norris, this seemingly quotidian activity is transformed into a fascinating analysis of the economic factors that spurred the expansion into the western United States. The first novel in a planned trilogy that Norris never completed, The Octopus: A Story of California is an enlightening and gratifying read.
...26) 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.
28) 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
...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
...31) Blind Love
Love is said to be the salve that soothes a damaged soul. But in some cases, an all-consuming intimacy can have the opposite effect, inflaming murderous jealousies and compelling people to act in the most nefarious ways. The relationship at the center of Wilkie Collins' classic novel Blind Love started out innocently enough, but before long, Iris Henley and Lord Harry Norland find themselves doomed by their passion.
32) Prester John
Fans of H. Rider Haggard's action-adventure novels will be swept away by John Buchan's Prester John, a thrill-a-minute tale set in colonial Africa. Young David Crawfurd travels to Africa to make a quick buck as a merchant, but the ambitious entrepreneur soon finds himself caught in the middle of an uprising—and under the sway of a charismatic rebel leader with a mysterious past.
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
...The Haunted Bookshop speaks of the ghosts that inhabit all places of books - "the ghosts of all great literature." Christopher Morley's suspenseful 1919 novel continues the story of the bookseller from Parnassus on Wheels, Roger Mifflin, whose character underlines the wisdom and knowledge to be gained from literature and makes allusions and references to many famous works.
35) Mr. Standfast
World War I espionage thriller meets modern-day morality tale in Mr. Standfast, the third of five Richard Hannay novels written by acclaimed storyteller John Buchan. Follow Hannay's exploits as a soldier and a spy in a fast-paced book that echoes may of the themes and motifs of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress.
36) Poor Miss Finch
What if you had been deprived of sight for your entire life—only to have your vision restored just as you found yourself falling in love for the first time? That's the seemingly miraculous fate that befalls the Miss Finch of the title in this classic novel from abidingly popular nineteenth-century author Wilkie Collins.
Another entrant in his astoundingly popular series of Christmas parables, Dickens revisits many of the themes and plot devices he first explored in A Christmas Carol in The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain. This novella recounts the supernatural experiences of Professor Redlaw, who learns several life-changing lessons from a mysterious spirit.
38) 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.
Sail off on a fantastical journey with Baron Munchausen, the jocular title character of this whimsical tale from Rudolf Erich Raspe. The book is based on the exploits of a real-life German baron whose stories about the battles in which he fought as a member of the Russian army included details such as riding on a cannonball and flying to the moon. The book was also the basis of a 1988 film adaptation.
Regarded by some critics — including Henry James — as her masterpiece, The Country of the Pointed Firs is a short story cycle from American writer Sarah Orne Jewett. It follows the lives of several families in villages in coastal Maine as they struggle to survive amidst hardship and deprivation.
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