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Fathers and Children

Arkady, a university graduate, returns from St. Petersburg to his father’s estate with his mentor Bazarov—a nihilist. Fathers and Children (also known as Fathers and Sons ) is a novel written in 1862 by Russian writer Ivan Turgenev and published in Moscow by The Russian Messenger. The main theme of the novel is the conflict between two generations—the “fathers,” the liberal serf owners, and the “children,” nihilists who reject their authority and traditions.

Ivan Turgenev · Drama · 28 ch

This Side of Paradise

This Side of Paradise chronicles the coming of age of Amory Blaine, born to a wealthy midwestern family. It begins with Amory as a spoiled youth, doted on by his eccentric mother Beatrice. It follows him as he attends preparatory school and Princeton, and then briefly attempts but quickly abandons at a career in advertising.

F. Scott Fitzgerald · Drama · 12 ch

The Black Gang

Having just survived the horrors of the First World War, Great Britain faces a new, more insidious threat: all across the country, clandestine groups of radicals are committing acts of sabotage and terror, with the ultimate goal of bringing about a Communist revolution in Britain. But these terrorists face a new terror of their own as their plans are foiled, their meetings raided, and their members kidnapped—all by a mysterious band of men dressed in black. Who’s behind the so-called “Black Gang”?

H. C. McNeile · Adventure · 18 ch

The Wisdom of Father Brown

Father Brown, G. K. Chesterton’s crime-solving Catholic priest, is back in this second collection of Father Brown short stories.

G. K. Chesterton · Mystery · 12 ch

The Food of the Gods

In the early twentieth century, two scientists develop a substance to promote continuous growth in plants and animals. In testing it on poultry at an experimental farm, the “Food of the Gods” is carelessly scattered about, resulting in giant insects, giant rats, and so on. When anxious parents give it to sickly children, it creates a race of giant humans.

H. G. Wells · Sci Fi · 12 ch

Shirley

Shirley, published in 1849, was Charlotte Brontë’s second novel after Jane Eyre. Published under her pseudonym of “Currer Bell,” it differs in several respects from that earlier work. It is written in the third person with an omniscient narrator, rather than the first-person of Jane Eyre, and incorporates the themes of industrial change and the plight of unemployed workers.

Charlotte Brontë · Drama · 37 ch

The Road to Oz

The Road to Oz tells the story of Dorothy Gale as she escorts a shaggy traveler who appears outside her farm. They soon find themselves transported to a fantasy land. Upon realizing this, Dorothy and the Shaggy Man travel down the road with the assumption that it will lead them to Oz, revealing a way for Dorothy to return home.

L. Frank Baum · Fantasy · 25 ch

Pudd’nhead Wilson

Pudd’nhead Wilson is a thought-provoking novel set in the fictional town of Dawson’s Landing, Missouri. The story revolves around the peculiar character of David Wilson, known as “Pudd’nhead” Wilson, a quirky and eccentric young lawyer with the unusual hobby of collecting fingerprints. As he experiments with this new forensic science, Wilson becomes entangled in the lives of two infants, Tom Driscoll, the son of a wealthy local family, and Chambers, a slave child.

Mark Twain · Drama · 23 ch

Carmilla

A lonely young woman in a Styrian castle befriends a beautiful stranger who arrives after a carriage accident nearby. A slow, dreamlike tale of fascination that turns toward dread.

J. Sheridan Le Fanu · Horror · 17 ch

At the Back of the North Wind

As a poor cabbie and his wife eke out a meager existence in Victorian London, their little boy, Diamond—named after his father’s horse—is befriended by the North Wind. While Diamond learns much about life through his travels with North Wind, his visit to the country at her “back” proves to be transformative. As life in London grows especially hard, that moment provides Diamond with the resources to touch those around him with beauty and truth.

George MacDonald · Fantasy · 38 ch

Five Children and It

Initially published in The Strand Magazine, which explains its episodic nature, Five Children and It was later collected into a book. Like many of E. Nesbit’s works, it has proven popular with children and adults to this day.

E. Nesbit · Fantasy · 11 ch

The Gods of Mars

The Gods of Mars is Burroughs’ sequel to A Princess of Mars. After ten long years, John Carter is again transported to Mars to try and determine the fate of his wife Dejah Thoris, but finds himself in the forbidden Valley Dor, from which no man may return. Published serially in five parts between January and May 1913, this sequel appeared a year after the initial serialization of its predecessor.

Edgar Rice Burroughs · Fantasy · 23 ch

Women in Love

Women in Love is a profound exploration of relationships, sexuality, and societal conventions in early 20th-century England. Set against the backdrop of World War I, the novel follows the lives of two sisters, Ursula and Gudrun Brangwen, as they navigate love, desire, and independence. Ursula, a schoolteacher, seeks a deeper connection beyond societal expectations, while Gudrun, an artist, is drawn to passionate and tumultuous relationships.

D. H. Lawrence · Drama · 34 ch

Lady Audley’s Secret

Lady Audley’s Secret was the most successful of a long series of novels written by Mary Elizabeth Braddon in what was then called the “sensation” genre because of the inventive and slightly scandalous plots of such works. Published in 1862, Lady Audley’s Secret was immediately popular and is said to have made a fortune for its author. It has never been out of print and has been the basis for a number of dramas and movies.

M. E. Braddon · Mystery · 41 ch

In the Days of the Comet

In the Days of the Comet, first published in 1906, is one of H. G. Wells’ “scientific romances.” Though it’s clearly a work of science fiction in that it features the collision of a huge comet with Earth, it has a greater than usual emphasis on Wells’ typical social commentary and criticism.

H. G. Wells · Sci Fi · 13 ch

The Mayor of Casterbridge

Like many of Hardy’s novels, The Mayor of Casterbridge is set in the fictional county of Wessex in the mid 1800s. It begins with Michael Henchard, a young hay-trusser, drunk on rum, auctioning off his wife and baby daughter at a village fair. The next day, overcome with remorse, Henchard resolves to turn his life around.

Thomas Hardy · Drama · 45 ch

The Third Round

Professor Goodman, an eccentric chemist, has made the breakthrough of a lifetime: he’s discovered a way to inexpensively manufacture flawless diamonds in the laboratory. To Goodman, the discovery is something that should be shared with the scientific community and the world at large; but to the heads of England’s diamond cartel, the discovery means the ruin of their business and the loss of their fortunes. In panic, they hire master criminal Carl Peterson to make sure the world never learns about Professor Goodman’s formula.

H. C. McNeile · Adventure · 13 ch

The Incredulity of Father Brown

Father Brown, full-time Catholic priest and part-time amateur detective, returns in this third collection of short stories. Unlike the first two collections, this time Father Brown is investigating alone; his sidekick, the former criminal Flambeau, is nowhere to be seen. Father Brown has to solve a murder (including his own!) in each story, and since several also appear to involve the supernatural, he has ample opportunity to elaborate on his thoughts concerning it.

G. K. Chesterton · Mystery · 9 ch

Lilith

Lilith, first published in 1895, tells the story of Mr. Vane, the owner of a library that seems to be haunted by a raven—the ghost of the library’s former owner. Mr. Vane eventually follows this strange figure through a mirror and into another world, the “region of seven dimensions.” There Vane meets a number of characters, including Biblical characters like Adam and his first wife Lilith. Thus begins a battle of good versus evil that reverberates through dimensions.

George MacDonald · Fantasy · 48 ch

Pollyanna

Eleven year-old Pollyanna, having recently been orphaned by her widower father, is sent back East to be cared for by her dutiful and stoic Vermont aunt. Naive and ever-literal, this very positive young girl brings with her an infectious habit of instinctive gratitude that was taught to her as “the game” by her late father. This game serves her well, while also uplifting the turn of the century New England community which becomes her home.

Eleanor H. Porter · Drama · 32 ch