Henry James' story of a pair of adulterous lovers who are married, respectively, to a rich American collector of European art and to his inexperienced daughter provides-beyond its expensive, burnished, beautifully appointed exteriors-an understanding of the rises and betrayals inherent in society that is unparalleled in literature.

"Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame was written in 1831, at a time when the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was falling into disrepair. This epic novel helped spark a preservationist movement that led to the cathedral being restored to its full glory. Set in 1482, the story tells of how four men-the hunchbacked bell-ringer, Quasimodo; the archdeacon of Notre Dame, Claude Frollo; the dashing soldier Phoebus de Chateaupers; and the poet Pierre...

One of the most striking and original achievements in American poetry is now available in a remarkable edition that comprehends the poet and his book in an entirely new way. This edition of Spoon River Anthology probes the social background of the smalltown world that Edgar Lee Masters loved and hated--and finally transmuted into powerful literary art. Extensive annotations identify the people whose lives inspired the 243 poetic accounts of frustration,...

"Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert are looking to adopt a boy to help out on their farm - so when the orphanage delivers a red-haired eleven-year-old girl named Anne instead, they are determined to fix the mistake. However, as Anne's vibrant character and vivid imagination brighten up their home, the Cuthberts soon realise Anne must stay at Green Gables. The inimitable Anne Shirley is fanciful, talkative and dramatic, and this charming novel describing...

Born and raised in the appalling deprivation of a Victorian-era London workhouse, the orphan Oliver escapes the drudgery of apprenticeship only to fall into the hands of the notorious Fagin and his gang of child thieves. But Oliver is an innocent at heart and the attempts by Fagin and the impudently witty Artful Dodger to teach the boy the trick of the pick-pocket's trade lead only to his almost immediate capture. Oliver's rescue by the kindly Mr....

A young Englishman, seeking to avenge the death of his father, becomes involved in the band of the Black Arrow and the events of the War of the Roses.

"This new and completely original translation of Around the World in Eighty Daysrenders Jules Verne's classic novel in a style that is both more understandable and more faithful to the spirit of the original French text than the commonly reprinted older English editions. Many of these older translations were acceptable when they were first published 150 years ago, but were translated with a Victorian British audience in mind. Their style is now very...

Retired business man, Samuel Pickwick and the other members of the Pickwick Club embark on a series of comic adventures in late Georgian England.

One of the greatest mystery thrillers ever written, Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White was a phenomenal bestseller in the 1860s, achieving even greater success than works by Dickens, Collins's friend and mentor. Full of surprise, intrigue, and suspense, this vastly entertaining novel continues to enthrall readers today. The story begins with an eerie midnight encounter between artist Walter Hartright and a ghostly woman dressed all in white who seems...

Written in 1896, The Island of Dr. Moreau is one of the earliest scientific romances. An instant sensation, it was meant as a commentary on Darwin's theory of evolution, which H. G. Wells stoutly believed. The story centers on the depraved Dr. Moreau, who conducts unspeakable animal experiments on a remote tropical island, with hideous, humanlike results. Edward Prendick, an English-man whose misfortunes bring him to the island, is witness to the...