Self-Help is the book that gave its name to the whole genre of literature known by that name. It is full of profiles of individuals who, through hard work, perseverance, and taking advantage of every opportunity that came their way, succeeded. At...

This roman à clef follows the musical adventures of Consuelo, a gifted singer under the tutelage of the composer Nicola Porpora. After encountering betrayal in her home city of Venice, she goes to stay with a family of nobles in an isolated castle...

An early example of a psychological mystery and modern crime fiction, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner details the experience of its criminal anti-hero. It is set in Scotland within a world where angels, devils, and demonic...

These Norwegian tales of elemental mountain, forest and sea spirits, have been handed down by hinds and huntsmen, wood choppers and fisher folk. They are men who led a hard and lonely life amid primitive surroundings. The Norwegian Fairy Book has an...

The Reverend Mr. Artman is a widower of three years and is worried he might not be able to escape the clutches of Miss Carlton, his housekeeper, much longer. Luckily, if he dismisses her from his employ, he has Doris and three other daughters to run...

Walpole’s first novel (1909), The Wooden Horse is the story of the Trojans, a family which accepted tranquilly the belief that they were the people for whom the world was created. But when Harry Trojan came home after twenty years in New Zealand,...

Maria Edgeworth was one of the most popular writers of her time, a sharp and witty observer of society manners, and a favorite author for Jane Austen. “Ormond,” published in 1817, is a “coming-of-age” novel, tracing a young man’s development as he...

An English translation that holds as closely as was possible to the original languages and idioms. - Summary by KevinS...

A biography of a woman who advocated for the humane treatment of people with mental illness. As a young woman travelling overseas, Dorothea Dix met with people who were interested in reforming how the mentally ill were treated. Returning to America,...

Arthur Scott Bailey, a native of the state of Vermont, wrote over forty children's books using a variety of animals, birds and even insects to entertain. The Tale of Jasper Jay is one of 16 stories of his Tuck-Me-In Tales series. - Summary by Larry...

Titus, emperor of Rome, wants to marry Berenice, queen of Palestine, but decides that Rome will not be able to handle having him marry a foreign queen. Berenice refuses to stay in this case and leaves Rome. Unlike many of the other Racine plays,...

Excerpt: "Saltash was thoroughly cosmopolitan in his tastes; he liked amusement but he abhorred boredom. He was never really wicked unless he was bored. And then- que voulez vous? He did not guide the star of destiny." On his last night in Valrosa,...

An award winning Jamaican poet who writes passionately about his birth home and his adopted home, USA. Claude McKay vividly describes family life, love, hate, work, and social life. The reader obtains a strong sense of black life through his...

Malcolm Herrick has it all: he is a lawyer, he has no financial problems, and he has wonderful friends and even an adopted sister. He is a dutiful boy to his mother. He is a loving friend. But he wanted something else. He wanted to be a poet or an...

While many of Calvin's sermons are now lost after they were sold by weight by the library of Geneva, his sermons on Ephesians have been preserved, having been translated into Early Modern English by Arthur Golding (who also translated Calvin's...

A DOUBTER'S Doubts about Science and Religion was first published anonymously, at a time when the author was Assistant Commissioner of Police and Head of the Criminal Investigation Department, at Scotland Yard (London). As the book is addressed to...

Saint Gerard Majella was an Italian lay brother of the Redemptorists. His only ambition was to be like Jesus Christ in his sufferings and humiliations. St. Alphonsus considered him a miracle of obedience. Although weak in body, he did the work of...

The Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth (generally referred to simply as The Fundamentals) is a set of ninety essays published between 1910 and 1915 by the Testimony Publishing Company of Chicago. According to its foreword, the publication was...

Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from...

Science fiction is a genre encompassing imaginative works that take place in this world or that of the author’s creation where anything is possible. The only rules are those set forth by the author. The speculative nature of the genre inspires...