19th-Century Classics
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
In early 19th-century England, a spirited young Elizabeth Bennet copes with the romantic entanglements of her four sisters and her growing feelings for Mr. Darcy, a proud and brooding gentleman.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
When Alice follows a strange rabbit down a rabbit hole and passes through a looking glass, she experiences unusual adventures with a variety of nonsensical characters, including the Mad Hatter and the fiendish Queen of Hearts.
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Upon publication of this novel, critics condemned it as sordid. It was ignored for decades, until, in the 1970s, a new generation of critics begin to perceive it as a masterpiece. Chopin portrays a woman who awakens to the possibility of a sensual and creative life, and who realizes that, contrary to community opinion, she does not need to be a "mother-woman" to love her children and feel affection for her uncomprehending husband.
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
Set against the backdrop of the French and Indian War, this is the story of two sisters' perilous journey through the wilderness near Lake Champlain to join their father at Fort William Henry, and a Mohican brave's struggle to protect them from an evil Huron.
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Henry Fleming, a young Union soldier, struggles with his conflicting emotions about violence, death and the nature of bravery in this ironic, skeptical account of the Civil War.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Raskolnikov, an impoverished student living in the gloomy slums of St. Petersburg, must endure relentless physical and mental punishments as retribution for his act of murder.
Middlemarch by George Eliot
George Eliot's imaginative understanding and intelligent perception of Victorian provincial life is displayed through her subtle portrayal of middle class characters like Dorthea Brooke, who is trapped in a loveless marriage and finds her attempts to defy social conventions inhibited by the strict nature of her surroundings.
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
An unhappily married woman, Emma Bovary's unfulfilled dreams of romantic love and desperation to escape the ordinary boredom of her life lead her to a series of desperate acts, including adultery, in a classic novel set against the backdrop of 19th-century bourgeois France.
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
Molly Gibson was living life pleasantly when her widowed father decided that he must remarry. Molly's life is turned upside down by Claire, her usually well-meaning but off-the-mark stepmother, who insists on things being done the proper way, and by Cynthia, Claire's beautiful, educated daughter.
Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
When her family learns that they may be descendants of the wealthy D'Urbervilles, young Tess is unwittingly packed off and directed to win favor, and her fate is sealed when she meets the handsome Alec D'Urberville.
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
Follows the story of American heiress Isabel as she visits Europe to find her own destiny, is pursued by suitors and ultimately must make a tragic choice.
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
The fanatical and ruthless Captain Ahab, seeking revenge on the great white whale that had crippled him, sends his crew on dangerous quest to find and kill Moby-Dick, in the 19th-century novel about life aboard a whaling ship.
Collected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
Poe’s tales provided models for the first detective stories, and Auguste Dupin, the narrator of “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” served as inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. Poe’s tales of horror and suspense continue to influence writers today, and many of them now make their living by writing exclusively in those genres that Poe helped to define.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
A monstrous and deadly creature assembled by Dr. Frankenstein from parts of dead bodies develops a mind of his own as he learns to loathe himself and hate his creator, in the classic story of science and the search for the origins of life.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
This classic mid-19th-century masterpiece tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless marriage and must endure the hypocrisies of society.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Huckleberry Finn, an abused outcast, rafts with Jim, a runaway slave, down the Mississippi River, where they have a variety of experiences. Huck tells the story in his own words – a radical narrative technique at that time – and the gulf between what he sees and what he understands produces a richly ironic indictment of slavery in all of its forms.
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
The first modern-day science fiction story about the possibilities of intelligent life on distant planets follows an English astronomer, an artilleryman, a country curate and others, as they struggle to survive and stop the invasion of Earth by Martians in 1894.
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Lily Bart's quest to find a husband who can satisfy her cravings for endless admiration and all the trappings of the rich comes to a scandalous end when she is accused of being a wealthy man's mistress.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
An exquisitely beautiful young man in Victorian England retains his youthful and innocent appearance over the years while his portrait reflects both his age and evil soul as he pursues a life of decadence and corruption.