Today’s book
Bleak House
Esther Summerson, raised to feel ashamed of her unknown birth, finds affection and purpose as housekeeper to the generous John Jarndyce at Bleak House.
How it begins
London. Michaelmas term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall. Implacable November weather.
Chapter 1: In ChanceryKeep reading →
Today’s book
Frankenstein
Robert Walton sails toward the North Pole seeking discovery and glory but longs for a sympathetic friend.
How it begins
To Mrs. Saville, England. St. Petersburgh, Dec. 11th, 17—. You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings.
Letter 1Keep reading →
Today’s book
Dracula
Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania to help Count Dracula buy property in England.
How it begins
(Kept in shorthand.) 3 May. Bistritz.—Left Munich at 8:35 P. M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6:46, but train was an hour late.
Chapter 1: Jonathan Harker’s JournalKeep reading →
Today’s book
Emma
Emma Woodhouse, wealthy, clever, and unmarried, lives with her anxious father at Hartfield in Highbury.
How it begins
Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.
Chapter 1Keep reading →
Today’s book
Wuthering Heights
Heathcliff, an orphan brought home by Mr. Earnshaw, grows up devoted to Earnshaw’s daughter Catherine and persecuted by her brother Hindley.
How it begins
1801—I have just returned from a visit to my landlord—the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with. This is certainly a beautiful country!
Chapter 1Keep reading →
Today’s book
A Room with a View
Lucy Honeychurch travels to Florence with her older cousin Charlotte Bartlett.
How it begins
“The Signora had no business to do it,” said Miss Bartlett, “no business at all. She promised us south rooms with a view close together, instead of which here are north rooms, looking into a courtyard, and a long way apart.
Chapter 1: The BertoliniKeep reading →
Today’s book
Anne of Green Gables
Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, an elderly brother and sister living at Green Gables in Avonlea, arrange to adopt an orphan boy to help Matthew farm.
How it begins
MRS. Rachel Lynde lived just where the Avonlea main road dipped down into a little hollow, fringed with alders and ladies’ eardrops and traversed by a brook that had its source away back in the woods of the old Cuthbert place; it was reputed to be an intricate, headlong brook in its earlier course through those woods, with dark secrets of pool and cascade; but by the time it reached Lynde’s Hollow it was a quiet, well-conducted little stream, for not even a brook could run past Mrs. Rachel Lynde’s door without due regard for decency and decorum; it probably was conscious that Mrs. Rachel was sitting at her window, keeping a sharp eye on everything that passed, from brooks and children up, and that if she noticed anything odd or out of place she would never rest until she had ferreted out the whys and wherefores thereof.
Chapter 1: Mrs. Rachel Lynde Is SurprisedKeep reading →
Today’s book
A Study in Scarlet
Dr. John Watson returns to England after wounds and fever end his army service in Afghanistan.
How it begins
In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through the course prescribed for surgeons in the army.
Chapter 1: Mr. Sherlock HolmesKeep reading →
Today’s book
Up from Slavery
Born enslaved on a Virginia plantation, Booker T. Washington seeks an education and a way to help other Black Americans achieve lasting independence.
How it begins
My life had its beginning in the midst of the most miserable, desolate, and discouraging surroundings. This was so, however, not because my owners were especially cruel, for they were not, as compared with many others.
Chapter 1: A Slave Among SlavesKeep reading →
Today’s book
A Little Princess
Seven-year-old Sara Crewe leaves India with her devoted father, Captain Ralph Crewe, to attend Miss Minchin's school in London.
How it begins
Once on a dark winter's day, when the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London that the lamps were lighted and the shop windows blazed with gas as they do at night, an odd-looking little girl sat in a cab with her father and was driven rather slowly through the big thoroughfares.
Chapter 1: SaraKeep reading →
Six collections
Start here
10 books
Gothic and sensation
9 books
Mystery and detection
5 books
Adventure
11 books
Growing up
8 books
Comedy
4 books
All 64 books
- Adam BedeGeorge EliotAdam Bede, a skilled carpenter in Hayslope, hopes to marry Hetty Sorrel, the beautiful niece of the farming Poysers.
- Agnes GreyAnne BrontëAgnes Grey leaves her sheltered family home to become a governess, hoping to earn money, help her family, and prove herself capable.
- AlbrechtArlo Bates“It must be evident to the most careless observer that the treatment of the theme with which the present story deals would probably not…”
- Anne of Green GablesL. M. MontgomeryMatthew and Marilla Cuthbert, an elderly brother and sister living at Green Gables in Avonlea, arrange to adopt an orphan boy to help Matthew farm.
- Anne's House of DreamsL. M. MontgomeryAnne Shirley marries Gilbert Blythe and leaves Green Gables for a small rented house near Four Winds Harbor, where Gilbert begins practicing medicine.
- ArmadaleWilkie Collins“It was the opening of the season of eighteen hundred and thirty-two, at the Baths of Wildbad. The evening shadows were beginning to gather…”
- At the Sign of the SwordWilliam Le QueuxEdmond Valentin, a Belgian lawyer and soldier, and Aimee de Neuville love each other despite her father's opposition.
- Aurora FloydM. E. BraddonAurora Floyd, the beloved daughter of wealthy widower Archibald Floyd, seeks love and happiness while concealing a troubling period of her past.
- The Autobiography of Benjamin FranklinBenjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin writes an account of his life for his son, seeking to explain his rise from poverty to wealth and reputation and preserve lessons others may find…
- BeauvalletGeorgette HeyerSir Nicholas Beauvallet, an English privateer, captures a Spanish galleon carrying Don Manuel and his daughter, Dominica.
- Behind the ScenesElizabeth KeckleyElizabeth Keckley recounts her life from enslavement in Virginia to freedom as a successful dressmaker and confidante of Mary Lincoln.
- Ben-HurLew WallaceThree wise men follow a star to Bethlehem and worship the newborn Jesus.
- BeulahAugusta J. EvansBeulah Benton, a poor orphan, wants an education, independence, and a secure place among people she loves.
- Beverly of GraustarkGeorge Barr McCutcheonBeverly Calhoun, an independent young American and friend of Princess Yetive of Graustark, travels to visit her despite threatened war.
- Black Nick, the hermit of the hillsFrederick WhittakerDuring the American Revolution, Captain Adrian Schuyler carries a request for General Stark to join General Schuyler at Bemis’ Heights.
- Bleak HouseCharles DickensEsther Summerson, raised to feel ashamed of her unknown birth, finds affection and purpose as housekeeper to the generous John Jarndyce at Bleak House.
- Brewster's MillionsGeorge Barr McCutcheonOn his twenty-fifth birthday, Montgomery “Monty” Brewster inherits a million dollars from his grandfather and leaves his bank job.
- Captain BloodRafael SabatiniPeter Blood, a physician who has stayed out of Monmouth’s rebellion, is condemned for treason after treating a wounded rebel.
- Captains CourageousRudyard KiplingHarvey Cheyne, the spoiled son of wealthy parents, falls from an ocean liner and is rescued by fishermen aboard Disko Troop’s schooner, the We’re Here.
- Castles in the AirBaroness OrczyHector Ratichon recounts his police work and schemes to make money, assisted and frequently outwitted by his clerk Theodore, whom he rescued from poverty.
- Charles RexEthel M. DellCharles Saltash, a restless aristocrat with a dubious reputation, shelters Toby, a frightened young servant fleeing mistreatment at Valrosa.
- ContrabandWhyteRose Lascelles hopes to marry Sir Henry Hallaton, while his daughter Helen and Captain Frank Vanguard fall in love.
- Daddy-Long-LegsJean WebsterJerusha Abbott grows up in the John Grier Home, an orphanage, and longs for life beyond it.
- A Damsel in DistressP. G. WodehouseMaud Marsh wants to marry Geoffrey Raymond despite the opposition of her aunt, Lady Caroline, and her brother Percy, Lord Belpher.
- Daniel DerondaGeorge EliotGwendolen Harleth wants admiration, wealth and freedom, but her family's financial ruin forces her to consider earning a living or marrying.
- Devlin the BarberB. L. FarjeonAfter losing his job, the unnamed narrator becomes involved in a catastrophe affecting his friend Mr. Melladew.
- Dora ThorneCharlotte M. BrameRonald Earle wants to marry Dora Thorne, a lodge keeper’s daughter, against his aristocratic parents’ wishes.
- DraculaBram StokerJonathan Harker travels to Transylvania to help Count Dracula buy property in England.
- Dust of the DesertRobert Welles RitchieGrant Hickman, an American engineer arriving on the Mexican border, protects Benicia O’Donoju from Colonel Hamilcar Urgo, who insists she will marry him.
- East LynneMrs. Henry WoodLady Isabel Vane is left penniless when her father, Lord Mount Severn, dies.
- EmmaJane AustenEmma Woodhouse, wealthy, clever, and unmarried, lives with her anxious father at Hartfield in Highbury.
- Exit BettyGrace Livingston HillBetty Stanhope escapes her wedding after discovering that Herbert Hutton, whom she fears, has replaced his older brother Bessemer as the bridegroom.
- FrankensteinMary Wollstonecraft ShelleyRobert Walton sails toward the North Pole seeking discovery and glory but longs for a sympathetic friend.
- FrecklesGene Stratton-PorterFreckles, a lonely young man with one hand and no family history he considers his own, asks McLean for work guarding timber in the Limberlost swamp.
- A Galahad of the CreeksS. Levett YeatsThe book follows two groups whose hopes for service and love are tested by corruption, desire and religious duty.
- Gay LawlessHelen MathersGay Lawless wants to own and drive trotting horses, despite her brother Frank’s objections and society’s disapproval.
- A Girl of the LimberlostGene Stratton-PorterElnora Comstock wants an education and a life beyond her impoverished home near the Limberlost swamp.
- GraustarkGeorge Barr McCutcheonGrenfall Lorry, an American, falls in love with a young woman traveling under the name Miss Guggenslocker after helping her catch a train.
- GreenmantleJohn BuchanDuring the First World War, Sir Walter Bullivant sends Richard Hannay to investigate a German scheme to stir up a Muslim holy war against Britain and its allies.
- Heart and ScienceWilkie CollinsOvid Vere, a young doctor exhausted by overwork, falls in love with Carmina Graywell, his mother’s orphaned niece and ward.
- Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-PorterLinda Strong, a California schoolgirl devoted to her late father, wants fair control of her inheritance and freedom to develop her talents.
- Hugh Crichton's RomanceChristabel R. ColeridgeHugh Crichton loves Violante Mattei, a young singer preparing to make her debut in Don Giovanni under the intimidating direction of her father.
- HuntingtowerJohn BuchanDickson McCunn, a newly retired provision merchant, sets out on a Scottish walking holiday, hoping to enjoy his freedom.
- I Will RepayBaroness OrczyDuring the French Terror, Paul Déroulède, a revolutionary trusted by the people, shelters Juliette de Marny from a mob.
- Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by HerselfHarriet A. JacobsLinda grows up loved by her family, learning at six that she is enslaved.
- Initials OnlyAnna Katharine GreenEdith Challoner dies suddenly in a hotel lobby from a wound near her heart.
- A Lady of QualityFrances Hodgson BurnettClorinda Wildairs grows up neglected after her mother dies giving birth to her.
- A Little PrincessFrances Hodgson BurnettSeven-year-old Sara Crewe leaves India with her devoted father, Captain Ralph Crewe, to attend Miss Minchin's school in London.
- A rogue's tragedyBernard CapesYolande loves Louis-Marie Saint-Péray, but her father, the Chevalier de France, pressures her into marrying Augias di Rocco in exchange for securing him the office of…
- A Romance of Two WorldsMarie CorelliAn unnamed musician, suffering from nervous illness and insomnia that conventional medicine has failed to cure, leaves London for the Riviera with Colonel Everard and…
- A Room with a ViewE. M. ForsterLucy Honeychurch travels to Florence with her older cousin Charlotte Bartlett.
- A Sentimental Journey Through France and ItalyLaurence SterneYorick travels through France toward Italy with his servant La Fleur, seeking human connection while contending with impatience, attraction, social hypocrisy, and the…
- A Study in ScarletArthur Conan DoyleDr. John Watson returns to England after wounds and fever end his army service in Afghanistan.
- Two Little Wooden ShoesOuidaBébée is an orphan rescued from the water as a baby and raised by Antoine Mäes and his wife near Brussels.
- Uncle SilasJoseph Sheridan Le FanuMaud Ruthyn, a wealthy young heiress, lives with her widowed father Austin at Knowl.
- Under Two FlagsOuidaBertie Cecil, a popular officer in the British Guards, lives extravagantly despite mounting debts.
- Uneasy MoneyP. G. WodehouseLord Dawlish, known as Bill, wants to marry Claire Fenwick, but she demands that he make money and resents his refusal to profit dishonestly.
- Up from SlaveryBooker T. WashingtonBorn enslaved on a Virginia plantation, Booker T. Washington seeks an education and a way to help other Black Americans achieve lasting independence.
- VilletteCharlotte BrontëLucy Snowe, an Englishwoman without money or close family support, seeks a livelihood and a place where she can belong.
- WaverleyWalter ScottEdward Waverley, an imaginative young English gentleman raised between his politically divided father and uncle, enters the army with little practical experience.
- What Maisie KnewHenry JamesAfter Beale Farange and Ida divorce, their daughter Maisie moves between their households.
- Wives and DaughtersElizabeth GaskellMolly Gibson grows up devoted to her widowed father, a doctor in Hollingford.
- Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many LandsMary SeacoleMary Seacole supports herself through nursing and trade while seeking opportunities to travel and help the sick.
- Wuthering HeightsEmily BrontëHeathcliff, an orphan brought home by Mr. Earnshaw, grows up devoted to Earnshaw’s daughter Catherine and persecuted by her brother Hindley.
No books match.