First published in 1913, “Sons and Lovers” is D. H. Lawrence’s provocative semi-autobiographical novel. The work is based in part on his own family, his mother married a miner like the matriarch of the novel and consequently felt constrained by being relegated to a working class life. The story reflects the struggles of Paul Morel, an artist who cannot reciprocate love for other women while under the influence of his stifling mother. Unconscious ...
First published in 1874, «The Mysterious Island» is French author Jules Verne’s exciting adventure which begins amidst the siege on Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Five northern prisoners plan an unconventional escape by hijacking a hot air balloon. What is in store for them is more than they bargained for. Cyrus Harding, an engineer in the union army; his servant Nebuchadnezzar, a former slave; sailor Bonadventure Pencroft; h ...
First published in 1912, “Death in Venice” is Thomas Mann’s novella concerning Gustav von Aschenbach, a famous middle-aged author who in order to alleviate a terrible case of writer’s black decides to go on holiday. Gustav first travels to the coast of Austria-Hungary but soon is overcome with the feeling that he is meant to travel to Venice. On Lido Island he takes up residence in a suite at the Grand Hotel des Bains. During dinner one evening ...
First published in 1922, “Babbitt” is Sinclair Lewis’ satire of American culture in the early part of the 20th century. In the years following World War I Americans began to idealize the middle-class lifestyle as a symbol of success, one crucial to the American identity. The successful self-made family man living in a Midwestern town began to symbolize the “American Dream”. The titular character of this novel, George F. Babbitt, is one such man. ...
First published in 1830, “The Red and the Black,” is widely considered the masterpiece of 19th century French author Marie-Henri Beyle, known more commonly by his pen name, Stendahl. It follows the ambitions of Julien Sorel, a young man raised in the French countryside who wishes to rise above his provincial station by climbing the social ranks of Parisian society. Through a series of events, Julien’s talent and hard work give way to deception a ...
First published in 1896, Charles Monroe Sheldon’s “In His Steps” is a classic of Christian literature whose premise centers on the idea of emulating Christ in one’s everyday life. The story concerns the lives of the residents of the fictional railroad town of Raymond, located somewhere in the Northeastern United States. When an out of work man, Jack Manning, appeals for help from Reverend Henry Maxwell, pastor of the first church of Raymond, and ...
A predecessor to such monumental works as “Crime and Punishment” and “The Brothers Karamazov”, “Notes from Underground” represents a turning point in Dostoyevsky’s writing towards the more political side. In this work we find a story in two parts, the first a rambling memoir of a bitter, isolated, retired civil servant living in St. Petersburg, Russia. In the second part we follow the unnamed narrator through a series of events which further exh ...
First published serially between January and December of 1878 in the sensationalistic monthly London magazine “Belgravia”, Thomas Hardy’s “The Return of the Native” is the author’s sixth published novel. Set in Egdon Heath, an area of Thomas Hardy’s fictionalized Wessex known for the thorny evergreen shrubs, called furze or gorse, which are cut there by its residents for fuel. When the story begins, on Guy Fawkes Night, we find Diggory Venn, a m ...
In the late 19th century, discoveries of ancient civilizations, like those in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, stirred the imaginations of Europeans with regard to the largely unexplored interior of Africa. First published in 1885, H. Rider Haggard’s “King Solomon’s Mines” was one the first novels to capitalize on this fascination of the public. It is the story of adventurer Allan Quatermain, who is enlisted by the aristocratic Sir Henry Curtis and ...
