"Inferno" by Dante Alighieri is an epic allegory of the spiritual journey of man. Virgil, Dante the pilgrim's guide, leads him through the 7 layers of hell. Throughout his journey through the torturous layers, Dante discovers the perfection of God's divine justice and themes of contrapasso are largely explored. Classical symbolism and classical figures are constantly referenced. This serves to emphasize that God's power rules over all - even pagan...

A Swiss orphan is heartbroken when she must leave her beloved grandfather and their happy home in the mountains to go to school and to care for an invalid girl in the city.

Jack Worthington is an upstanding gentleman in Victorian society. He just has one secret-he tells everyone that he has a brother named Earnest, when, in reality, Earnest is his alter ego. This allows him a certain duality; he can go out and party as Earnest, but have a sterling reputation as Jack. However, he must merge the two when Jack discovers that his lover, Gwendolyn, will only marry a man named Earnest. Meanwhile, Algernon, a family friend,...

The Last Man (1826) is a dystopian novel by Mary Shelley. Dedicated to the recently deceased Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron, The Last Man was controversial upon publication and was immediately suppressed by British authorities. Resurrected by dedicated critics and readers, the novel is now recognized as a pioneering work of science fiction and as the first work of dystopian literature to be published in English. The ambitious and semi-autobiographical...

Three English boys, shipwrecked on a deserted island, create an idyllic society despite typhoons, wild hogs, and hostile visitors. Then evil pirates kidnap one of the youths whose adventures continue among the South Sea Islands.

Smoky, a mouse-colored horse born in the wild in the early 1900s, decides giving up his freedom is not so bad after he is captured by humans who put him to work in the rodeo and on the range, and care for him in his old age.

First published in 1921, "Robin Hood", by American author J. Walker McSpadden, is one of the most widely read and enduring editions of these timeless legends. The story of young Robert Fitzooth and his transformation into the honorable and generous gentleman robber is familiar to readers the world over and has been adapted for stage and screen countless times. McSpadden has included all of the thrilling adventures and celebrated characters that make...

Jonathan Zane seeks revenge against the man who abducted his sweetheart and controls a gang of marauding outlaws and Indians.

A novel about hopeful perseverance in the face of mortality, features some of Faulkner's most memorable characters: guileless, dauntless Lena Grove, in search of the father of her unborn child; Reverend Gail Hightower, who is plagued by visions of Confederate horesemen; and Joe Christmas, a desperate, enigmatic drifter consumed by his mixed ancentry.

The Hunting of the Snark (1876) is a poem by Lewis Carroll. Filled with many of the portmanteau words developed for his poem "Jabberwocky," The Hunting of the Snark is a delightfully strange tale of mystery and adventure. Often read as an allegory for everything from tuberculosis to the endless quest for happiness itself, The Hunting of the Snark, much like the Snark itself, refuses all description. “‘Just the place for a Snark!' the Bellman cried,...