"A Streetcar Named Desire" is a play written in 1947 by the great American playwright Tennessee Williams. The play was an immediate success, garnering a Pulitzer Prize for drama in the following year and is often considered to be one of the greatest plays of the 20th century. It's original run was from December 3rd 1947 to December […]
The Importance of Being Earnest
"The Importance of Being Earnest" is a comical play first performed on the London stage in 1895. It opened to great reviews but was stopped after the playwright, Oscar Wilde was found guilty of homosexuality and imprisoned. The play follows a responsible young country squire, and his friends. Jack Worthing always does the right thing. […]
The Good Earth
"The Good Earth" is a novel published in 1931 and written by Pearl S. Buck. The novel was an instant success and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction the next year in 1932. It was the bestselling novel in the United States in both 1931 and 1932 and went a long way toward helping […]
The Man in the Iron Mask
"The Man In The Iron Mask" is the third part in a epic novel by the French author Alexander Dumas called "The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later" (or as it is called in the original French: "Le Vicomte de Bragelonne ou Dix ans plus tard"). The 268 chapter novel first appeared in serial form […]
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
In 1891 and '92 Arthur Conan Doyle wrote twelve short stories for The Strand Magazine published in London. The stories all use the voice of Dr. Watson. His stories are about the exploits of the genius, Sherlock Holmes. A righter of wrongs, Holmes helps people to find justice, especially if the problems are difficult to […]
Faust
"Faust" is a play written by German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The play is in two parts, the first part having been published in 1808 and the second, posthumously in 1832. The play is based off of a classic German legend about a scholar who, although he is very successful, finds himself unsatisfied with […]
The Time Machine
"The Time Machine" is a science fiction novel written by H.G. Wells and published in 1895. The book was one of the first science fiction novels ever to be published and is largely credited with popularizing the concept of time travel by usage of a vehicle or a "time machine" (a term coined in the […]
War and Peace
"War and Peace" is an epic novel about Russian society between 1805 and 1815, just before and after the Napoleonic invasion. Considered one of the greatest books ever written, it contains 559 characters, commemorates important military battles and portrays famous historical personalities but it's main theme is the chronicle of the lives of two main […]
The Alchemist
In 1988. author Paulo Coelho published a modern classic, The Alchemist. It was originally written in Portuguese, but since, has been translated into 67 different languages, including, thankfully English. As with a lot of writers, his novel took a while to find a publisher. Then it stalled in sales for a few years, but, a […]
Sense and Sensibility
Published in 1811, "Sense and Sensibility" is a novel about two sisters and the opposite methods with which they deal with love. Originally written by Jane Austen as an epistolary novel (written in the form of letters) it was titled "Elinor and Marianne". Whenever Austen decided to actually send it to a publisher, she changed […]
Orlando: A Biography
"Orlando: A Biography" is a novel written by Virginia Woolf and published in 1928. The book is a work of satire and was inspired by Woolf's partner Vita Sackville-West's riotous family. The novel has received many accolades since being published and is considered a classic works of feminist literature today. The story in the book spans […]
Lolita
Set in the late 1940's, "Lolita" is a story of a possessive, pedophilic obsession. The story begins with a manuscript given to the author by a fictitious lawyer. Since the author is a clinical psychologist with a specialty in abnormal psychology, the lawyer, C.C. Clark has given him permission to publish the story if he […]
Les Miserables
"Les Miserables" (or, as it is often shortened, "Les Mis") is a novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1862. The title is French, translating in English to "The Wretched Ones". The book is nearly 3,000 pages long and considered an epic. It is set in France and spans the course of 17 years, starting in […]
Brave New World
"Brave New World" is a 1932 novel written by Aldous Huxley. The novel is one of the first and most well known Sci-Fi/Dystopian tales in history and often compared to George Orwell's "1984" which was released seventeen years later. Upon 'Brave New Worlds' release, critical reviews were mixed, with some critics lauding it as being […]
The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers is novel based on history and adventure by Alexandre Dumas. It was published in 1844 before the 1848 revolution in France the author usually write about various injustices, abuses and illogicalities of ancient period, giving the novel a political appearance during the period France republicans and monarchist's debate is still intense. The father of the author […]
To Kill a Mockingbird
"To Kill A Mockingbird" is a groundbreaking novel written by Harper Lee and published in America in 1960. The novel was one of the first of it's kind to deal with the subjects of racial inequality and rape and is still widely read in schools to this day. Harper Lee wrote the book based off of […]
And Then There Were None
"And Then There Were None" is a murder mystery novel written by the world famous mystery writer Agatha Christie and published in 1939. The book is considered by most fans as Christie's greatest work and lauded by critics of the time as ingenious and spine chilling. Over the years, many adaptations have been made of […]
A Farewell to Arms
"A Farewell to Arms" is a novel written by acclaimed American writer Ernest Hemingway and set in Italy during World War I. The novel was originally published in Scribner's Magazine from the period of May 1929 to October 1929 and was almost immediately published with a print run of 31,000 copies The book was an […]
Moby Dick
In 1851 Herman Melville published the story of a whale and the mad man who hunted it. He originally titled it "The Whale", but later changed the name to "Moby Dick". It was a failure and out of print at the time of his death 40 years later. But, then during the 20th century it […]
David Copperfield
David Copperfield is a semi-autobiographical novel by British writer Charles Dickens, published 1849-50. A sentimental story of an orphan's struggles. It deals with the sufferings of young David after his mother's death, through the cruel treatment of his stepfather, schoolmasters, and employers. The hypocritical Uriah Heep is one of the book's many memorable characters. David's […]
The Scarlet Letter
"The Scarlet Letter" is a tragic love story set in the time of the Puritan settlement around 1700 in Boston, Massachusetts. The story begins with a bundle of papers found in the attic of a customhouse in Salem, Massachusetts around 200 years later. The narrator is an unknown person who is about to lose his […]
Of Mice and Men
"Of Mice and Men" is a classic novella written by John Steinbeck and published in 1937. The world within the novella is based off of the author's own experiences working as a farm hand in the 1920's and the title of the book is taken from the Robert Burns poem, "To a mouse" which states: […]
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
"The Tragedy of Julius Caesar" is play written in 1599 by the famous playwright William Shakespeare. The play is one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies and is based on true events from Roman history. The story of the play is the story of the death of the Roman statesman and general Julius Caesar in 44 […]
Pride and Prejudice
First published in 1813., "Pride and Prejudice" is thought by some to be Jane Austen's greatest work. The story follows Elizabeth Bennet and the Bennet family through a time of courtship and manners during the British Regency period. The matriarch of the Bennet family, Mrs. Bennet, is determined to find husbands for her five daughters. […]
Jane Eyre
"Jane Eyre" is a Gothic novel written by Charlotte Bronte in 1847 and originally published under the male pseudonym "Currer Bell". It was published by the London company Smith, Elder, and Co. The novel is set in the early decades of the nineteenth century and revolves around the story of a young girl named Jane […]