In the 1880's in southern Africa, Allan Quatermain, a hunter and guide, joins forces with a sea captain and an English nobleman to find the latter's missing brother, who disappeared while searching for King Solomon's legendary lost diamond mines.

Fully entitled "Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty," this novel was Dickens' first attempt at a historical novel. As such, it is the precursor to his more famous "A Tale of Two Cities", in which his exploration of mob violence, and especially the effect of public events on individual lives, becomes apparent. This work centers on Barnaby Rudge, a mentally simple son, and his loving mother, who are a part of the small village of Epping Forest,...

"The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678) is a Christian allegory by English writer and Puritan preacher John Bunyan. Begun during Bunyan’s twelve-year imprisonment for refusing to abide by English laws forbidding nonconformist evangelism, The Pilgrim’s Progress is his most famous work as well as one of the most republished works in English literary history. Often cited as the first English novel, The Pilgrim’s Progress is told as a dream sequence from...

In 1194 the Saxon knight Ivanhoe returns from the Crusades to a chaotic England ruled by the enemies of the absent King Richard the Lion-Hearted and finds himself disowned and dishonored, forced to fight for his name and the people he loves.

Abandoned by her cruel Aunt Reed, the young and spirited Jane Eyre finds herself living in a spartan, oppressive orphanage. After the death of her best friend, Jane resolves to search out a brighter and more independent life for herself. She finds work as a governess for Adele, the ward of Edward Rochester, enigmatic master of Thornfield Hall. As days pass, Jane feels the intensity of love build between her and Rochester as he reveals all but the...

A classic of children's literature, The Wind in the Willows is author Kenneth Grahame's tale of adventure, misadventure, and friendship. Grahame grew up in Cookham in Berkshire, which provided the scenery for Wind in the Willows. When Mole wanders off from his spring cleaning, he discovers a thrilling new world of boat trips, caravan rides, car crashes, and other madcap adventures with his friends Rat, Badger, and the impetuous Toad. This unabridged...

Set in 1793 and 1794, The Pioneers tracks the changes of a small town called Templeton, built on the advancing frontier of New York. Natty Bumppo, a hero raised by Native Americans, lives in a cabin, secluded in a forest near Templeton. As the Christmas Eve snow falls, Natty, more commonly known as Leatherstocking, embarks on a tense hunt for a deer. As he tracks the deer down, he runs into Judge Marmaduke Temple, the man who founded the town of Temple....

The story takes place in a small struggling mining town located in the foothills of the California mountains at the time of the gold rush. The camp is suffering from a long string of bad luck. With only one woman in their midst, it seems as though the miners have no future. However, the tide turns when a small boy is born. Thomas Luck is the first newborn the camp has seen in ages; things are looking up. The miners become cheerful, foliage begins...

What do you do after the end of the Civil War when your services are no longer required? If you are members of the Baltimore Gun Club, you decide to build a gun large enough to launch a rocket to the moon. From the Earth to the Moon follows the ambitions of Impey Barbicane, the president of the Gun Club, as his plan sets off an international space race. With uncanny details that presage the actual moon landings, large helpings of satire, and an action-filled...