Description In Little Lord Fauntleroy, an American boy named Cedric is transported from the impoverished streets of New York City to the grandeur of his ancestral home, Dorincourt Castle. Here he learns how to become an English aristocrat from the Earl of Dorincourt, his cold and cynical grandfather. Frances Hodgson Burnett published this, her first children’s story, in St. Nicholas Magazine in 1885. Because of the story’s popularity, a year later, it was published as an illustrated novel to be
Description The Red House Mystery is a detective novel by A. A. Milne, better known for his children’s writing, who wrote this book for his father in 1922. It is his only mystery novel and was very popular at the time. Mark Ablett is the amiable host of a country-house party to which his estranged brother, Robert, arrives from Australia. Robert is the black sheep of the family who is said to have borrowed money in the past and had written to warn of his visit. One afternoon a gunshot is heard,
Description Jane Eyre experienced abuse at a young age, not only from her aunt—who raised her after both her parents died—but also from the headmaster of Lowood Institution, where she is sent away to. After ten years of living and teaching at Lowood Jane decides she is ready to see more of the world and takes a position as a governess at Thornfield Hall. Jane later meets the mysterious master of Thornfield Hall, Mr. Rochester, and becomes drawn to him. Charlotte Brontë published Jane Eyre: An
Description Stanley Weinbaum’s The Dark Other was first written sometime in the 1920’s under the name The Mad Brain. The manuscript went unpublished until 1950, where it was posthumously released with edits by Forrest J. Ackerman. Patricia Lane is a spirited young woman, in the midst of a passionate relationship with Nicholas Devine, a writer with a fascination with horror. When he starts to show bizarre personality shifts, she turns to her neighbor, a talented psychologist, to discover the
Description Surprisingly timeless and under the guise of “Christian Mysticism,” Underhill describes in 1914 what could rightly be called “secular mindfulness” today. Evelyn Underhill doesn’t use much Christian terminology, instead preferring to use words that may be considered “new age.” If one can get past the terminology, the “Practical Mysticism” allows anyone to explore the mystical aspects of their own worldview without necessarily betraying their prior deeply-held beliefs. Practical
Description An ancient Roman hilltop fort proves an irresistible draw to Lucian Taylor, but what awaits at the top isn’t just a view of the surrounding Welsh landscape but a bacchal experience his young soul isn’t ready for. This experience sets his path as he attempts to transcribe his increasingly elaborate visions into the perfect book; the book that will actually mean something more than the banal novels he sees the publishing houses push out. The Hill of Dreams is a semi-autobiographical
Description Anne of Green Gables established the career of Canadian writer Lucy Maude Montgomery. When Matthew Cuthbert sends away for an orphan boy to help on his farm, he is surprised to instead meet the captivatingly imaginative Anne Shirley. What ensues is one of the most enduringly popular coming-of-age stories, bringing the pastoral beauty of Prince Edward Island to the world.
Description In The Golden Bowl, an impoverished Italian aristocrat comes to London to marry a wealthy American, but meets an old mistress before the wedding and spends time with her, helping her pick out a wedding gift. After their marriage, his wife maintains a close relationship with her father, while their own relationship becomes strained. Completed in 1904, Henry James himself considered The Golden Bowl one of his best novels, and it remains one of critics’ favorites. Along with The Wings
Description Gulliver’s Travels was published in 1726 and is probably the most famous work by Jonathan Swift. It was an instant hit—selling out within a week—and has never been out of print, as well as having been adapted many times. Lemuel Gulliver, an English surgeon on the Antelope, is shipwrecked and washed up on the island of Lilliput, where the inhabitants are less than six inches tall. This part of the book is a thinly veiled attack on the political classes of the time, as the
Description Suetonius was a Roman historian born in about 69 AD, shortly after the death of the emperor Nero. This book, detailing the lives of the twelve Roman emperors who were known as “Caesar”—some by a family connection to Julius Caesar, some just as a title—is considered to be Suetonius’ most important work. The Lives of the Caesars is a detailed account of the often dramatic lives of these emperors, whose abilities and morals varied enormously; from the capable, stable Augustus, to the
Description In Little Lord Fauntleroy, an American boy named Cedric is transported from the impoverished streets of New York City to the grandeur of his ancestral home, Dorincourt Castle. Here he learns how to become an English aristocrat from the Earl of Dorincourt, his cold and cynical grandfather. Frances Hodgson Burnett published this, her first children’s story, in St. Nicholas Magazine in 1885. Because of the story’s popularity, a year later, it was published as an illustrated novel to be
Description The Red House Mystery is a detective novel by A. A. Milne, better known for his children’s writing, who wrote this book for his father in 1922. It is his only mystery novel and was very popular at the time. Mark Ablett is the amiable host of a country-house party to which his estranged brother, Robert, arrives from Australia. Robert is the black sheep of the family who is said to have borrowed money in the past and had written to warn of his visit. One afternoon a gunshot is heard,
Description Jane Eyre experienced abuse at a young age, not only from her aunt—who raised her after both her parents died—but also from the headmaster of Lowood Institution, where she is sent away to. After ten years of living and teaching at Lowood Jane decides she is ready to see more of the world and takes a position as a governess at Thornfield Hall. Jane later meets the mysterious master of Thornfield Hall, Mr. Rochester, and becomes drawn to him. Charlotte Brontë published Jane Eyre: An
Description Stanley Weinbaum’s The Dark Other was first written sometime in the 1920’s under the name The Mad Brain. The manuscript went unpublished until 1950, where it was posthumously released with edits by Forrest J. Ackerman. Patricia Lane is a spirited young woman, in the midst of a passionate relationship with Nicholas Devine, a writer with a fascination with horror. When he starts to show bizarre personality shifts, she turns to her neighbor, a talented psychologist, to discover the
Description Surprisingly timeless and under the guise of “Christian Mysticism,” Underhill describes in 1914 what could rightly be called “secular mindfulness” today. Evelyn Underhill doesn’t use much Christian terminology, instead preferring to use words that may be considered “new age.” If one can get past the terminology, the “Practical Mysticism” allows anyone to explore the mystical aspects of their own worldview without necessarily betraying their prior deeply-held beliefs. Practical
Description An ancient Roman hilltop fort proves an irresistible draw to Lucian Taylor, but what awaits at the top isn’t just a view of the surrounding Welsh landscape but a bacchal experience his young soul isn’t ready for. This experience sets his path as he attempts to transcribe his increasingly elaborate visions into the perfect book; the book that will actually mean something more than the banal novels he sees the publishing houses push out. The Hill of Dreams is a semi-autobiographical
Description Anne of Green Gables established the career of Canadian writer Lucy Maude Montgomery. When Matthew Cuthbert sends away for an orphan boy to help on his farm, he is surprised to instead meet the captivatingly imaginative Anne Shirley. What ensues is one of the most enduringly popular coming-of-age stories, bringing the pastoral beauty of Prince Edward Island to the world.
Description In The Golden Bowl, an impoverished Italian aristocrat comes to London to marry a wealthy American, but meets an old mistress before the wedding and spends time with her, helping her pick out a wedding gift. After their marriage, his wife maintains a close relationship with her father, while their own relationship becomes strained. Completed in 1904, Henry James himself considered The Golden Bowl one of his best novels, and it remains one of critics’ favorites. Along with The Wings
Description Gulliver’s Travels was published in 1726 and is probably the most famous work by Jonathan Swift. It was an instant hit—selling out within a week—and has never been out of print, as well as having been adapted many times. Lemuel Gulliver, an English surgeon on the Antelope, is shipwrecked and washed up on the island of Lilliput, where the inhabitants are less than six inches tall. This part of the book is a thinly veiled attack on the political classes of the time, as the
Description Suetonius was a Roman historian born in about 69 AD, shortly after the death of the emperor Nero. This book, detailing the lives of the twelve Roman emperors who were known as “Caesar”—some by a family connection to Julius Caesar, some just as a title—is considered to be Suetonius’ most important work. The Lives of the Caesars is a detailed account of the often dramatic lives of these emperors, whose abilities and morals varied enormously; from the capable, stable Augustus, to the