Often referred to as “the great American novel,” The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn defined American literature with its richness of characters, colorful vernacular, and vibrant depictions of the American Midwest. Told in the first-person from the viewpoint of the classic protagonist, the satirical narrative follows young “Huck” Finn as he searches for escape and adventure along the Mississippi River. The story begins where Twain’s previous...

Sister Carrie (1900) is a novel by Theodore Dreiser. Controversial for its honest depiction of work, desire, and urban life, Sister Carrie has endured as a classic of naturalist fiction and remains a powerful example of social critique over a century after its publication. Despite poor reviews upon publication, the novel is now considered a landmark of American literature. Tired of the countryside, Carrie Meeber moves to Chicago to live with her older...

Best known as the author of the satirical novel Candide, Voltaire also wrote other highly regarded works of philosophical fiction. With the title tale of this original collection of short stories, the author addresses the social and political problems of his own day in an ancient Babylonian setting. First published in 1747, "Zadig" makes no attempt at historical accuracy. Instead, its thinly veiled references to contemporary issues challenge eighteenth-century...

Mansfield Park is a study of three families-the Bertrams, the Crawfords, and the Prices-with the isolated figure of the heroine, Fanny Price, at its center. Fanny's quiet passivity, her steadfast loyalty and love for the son of the family who regard her as the poor relation, and who have taken her under their roof, are not appreciated until they are tried against the brilliant and witty Mary and Henry Crawford, the unfortunate consequences of whose...

Freud considers why we dream and what it means in the larger picture of our psychological lives. Delving into theories of manifest and latent dream content, the special language of dreams, dreams as wish fulfillments, the significance of childhood experiences, and much more, Freud, widely considered the "father of psychoanalysis," thoroughly and thoughtfully examines dream psychology. Encompassing dozens of case histories and detailed analyses of...

First performed in 1773, "She Stoops to Conquer" is the timeless comedic drama by Anglo-Irish author Oliver Goldsmith. The play depicts the story of Charles Marlow, a wealthy young man who is promised in marriage to a woman, Kate Hardcastle that he has never met. While he is eager to meet her and is travelling to her home with his friend, George Hastings, Charles is quite shy in the company of women of wealth. He prefers those of a lower class and...

The story of a cloistered scholar's discovery of his own soul through contact with the world of reality.

An English family's complex lives are followed and picked up again after a ten-year hiatus in order to explore the effects of time.

With its rousing cry of "One for all, and all for one," Alexandre Dumas's thrilling adventure novel has captivated generations of readers since its initial publication in 1844. Action, intrigue, and romance abound in this swashbuckling epic, which traces a country lad's path to the French court of the early 1600s and the glorious fraternity of the king's men, the Musketeers. A son of impoverished nobility, D'Artagnan arrives in Paris to find the...

Edward FitzGerald gave the title.