Catalog Search Results
1) Martin Eden
Author
Series
Lexile measure
1020L
Language
English
Description
The novel is a classic Künstlerroman -- a coming of age story centered on its titular protagonist, a self-taught would-be writer, struggling to rise above his impoverished proletarian roots in working-class Oakland, California, to achieve a place among the literary elite. The driving force behind Martin Eden's ambition is his love for Ruth Morse and a desire to accumulate enough wealth and prestige to satisfy her bourgeois family.
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Series
Language
English
Formats
Description
Published in 1896, this work purports to be the found memoirs of Joan's page and secretary, Louis de Conte. Twain considered this, his last published novel, to be his greatest; his lifelong fascination with Joan of Arc made this a fourteen year project. The novel follows Joan through youth, then as a commander of Charles&;s army, right up to her trial at Rouen.
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
Death in Venice (German: Der Tod in Venedig) is a novella written by the German author Thomas Mann published in 1912. The work presents a great writer who visits Venice and is liberated, uplifted, and then increasingly obsessed by the sight of a stunningly beautiful youth.
Tadzio, the boy in the story, is the nickname for the Polish name Tadeusz and is based on a boy Mann had seen during his visit to Venice in 1911.
As the story opens, he is strolling...
Author
Series
Lexile measure
910L
Language
English
Description
"Of Human Bondage" is the first and most autobiographical of Maugham's novels. It is the story of Philip Carey, an orphan eager for life, love and adventure. After a few months studying in Heidelberg, and a brief spell in Paris as a would-be artist, Philip settles in London to train as a doctor. And that is where he meets Mildred, the loud but irresistible waitress with whom he plunges into a formative, tortured and masochistic affair which very nearly...
6) Roughing it
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
Roughing It is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature written by American humorist Mark Twain. It was written during 1870-71 and published in 1872 as a prequel to his first book Innocents Abroad. This book tells of Twain's adventures prior to his pleasure cruise related in Innocents Abroad. Roughing It follows the travels of young Mark Twain through the Wild West during the years 1861-1867. After a brief stint as a Confederate cavalry militiaman...
Author
Series
Lexile measure
1340L
Language
English
Description
Written between 1873 and 1884 and published posthumously in 1903, The Way of All Flesh is regarded by some as the first twentieth-century novel. Samuel Butler's autobiographical account of a harsh upbringing and troubled adulthood shines an iconoclastic light on the hypocrisy of a Victorian clerical family's domestic life. It also foreshadows the crumbling of nineteenth-century bourgeois ideals in the aftermath of the First World War, as well as the...
Author
Series
Lexile measure
1220L
Language
English
Description
Raised in the idyllic setting of Dorlcote Mill, the wild and wilful Maggie Tulliver adores her elder brother Tom and is forever trying to gain the approbation of her parents. Yet, as she grows older and the family struggle under the weight of severe pecuniary difficulties, she becomes increasingly caught between the divergent expectations of the four men in her life: a doting father, an obdurate and vengeful brother, a good-looking and frivolous suitor...
Author
Series
Accelerated Reader
IL: UG - BL: 8.5 - AR Pts: 65
Lexile measure
1170L
Language
English
Description
Clyde Griffiths was born poor, but his prospects improve when he is hired by an uncle who owns a shirt factory. Despite a warning to stay away from the women he manages, Clyde begins a love affair with a young factory worker named Roberta, but neglects her when he catches the eye of Sondra, a glamorous socialite. When Roberta turns up pregnant, Clyde's hopes of marrying Sondra are threatened and he responds with desperation.
10) Phineas Finn
Author
Series
Lexile measure
1130L
Language
English
Formats
Description
An adventurous Irishman sets out to find his fortune among proper English society in this classic novel from Anthony Trollope. Sent to London to become a lawyer, young Phineas Finn proves himself to be a disappointing student but truly gifted in the ways of charm, culture, and fine appearance. It is the discovery of these talents that ultimately leads him to what he believes is his true calling: English Parliament. Through sheer luck and pluck, dashing,...
11) Sister Carrie
Author
Series
Accelerated Reader
IL: UG - BL: 6.4 - AR Pts: 26
Lexile measure
980L
Language
English
Description
"The story of a young woman from Wisconsin who goes to Chicago, becomes an actress, marries and moves to New York, and when her husband loses his job, returns to the stage." ***"A powerful account of a young working girl's rise to the 'tinsel and shine' of worldly success, and of the slow decline of her lover and protector Hurstwood." Oxford Companion to Engl Lit. ***"Plain, unaffected, and unconventional story of the actual life of the lower middle-classes...
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
Edmond Rostand's 1897 romance, Cyrano de Bergerac, is a classic portrayal of the battle between physical attractiveness and inner beauty and the impact they have on one's ability to love and be loved. The legendary swordsman and poet, whose nose is as big as his passion, believes himself too ugly to woo and win his beloved Roxane. Fellow cadet, Christian, believes himself to be too unschooled. Drawn together by their insecurities, Christian and Cyrano...
Author
Language
English
Description
Paul Kelver, a fictional character, recounts an eventful life loosely based on author Jerome K. Jerome's personal and professional exploits prior to becoming a writer. It's an intriguing look at an unconventional path that led to a promising literary career.
In Paul Kelver: A Novel, the narrator explains the critical events that pushed him into his current profession. He details both platonic and romantic relationships that have come and gone. He...
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Series
Language
English
Formats
Description
The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is the lesser-known sequel to Defoe's well-loved Robinson Crusoe. Crusoe is married in England when he is overcome by the melancholy urge to visit his island once more. After the death of his wife he sets sail and finds his island in a state of disarray. He installs a code of conduct and leaves the habitants with useful skills. He then sails home via Madagascar, South-East Asia and China and
...Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
First published in 1860, 'First Love' is a novella by Ivan Turgenev, a Russian novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, translator and popularizer of Russian literature in the West. It is one of his most popular works of short fiction. Some criticized its light subject matter that did not touch upon any of the pressing social and political issues of the day. But, it had its many admirers, including the French novelist Gustave Flaubert, who...
16) Pierre and Jean
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
Considered Maupassant's greatest novel, "Pierre and Jean" is vivid, satirical, and emotionally profound. The Roland brothers, Pierre and Jean, have always been driven by competition. When a lawyer arrives at the house of their parents to declare that an old family friend has bestowed his entire fortune to Jean, the envy hastily becomes an ardent force for Pierre. Roaming the seaport of Le Havre alone, Pierre contemplates, desperate to come to terms...
Author
Language
English
Description
Very few books have resulted in the controversy that "The Diary of a Drug Fiend" has caused since its original publication in 1922. While much of the debate is centered on the novel's author Aleister Crowley, the story itself has both enchanted and enraged audiences for nearly a century. Despite being a fictional work, Crowley drew from his own experiences as a heavy drug user for the context of the plot. Peter Pendragon and Louise Laleham, in a drug-induced...
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
Acclaimed by literary critic Carl Van Doren as "the most important of all immigrant novels," The Rise of David Levinsky takes place amid America's biggest and most diverse Yiddish-speaking community during the early 20th century. David Levinsky, a young Hasidic Jew struggling to master the Talmud, seeks his fortune amid the teeming streets of New York's Lower East Side. All the energy formerly focused on his religious studies now turns in the direction...
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
First published in 1862 after Dostoyevsky's imprisonment in a Siberian labor camp, "The House of the Dead" is a collection of memoirs, related by themes, that portrays the horrific life of convicts. The author drew on his own experiences in prison to depict the squalor, destitution, and severity of a Siberian camp with remorseless detail. Dostoyevsky reveals the characters of many of the other convicts, which includes the depravity many have come...
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
This radical feminist work is an extraordinary gothic novel exploring themes of gender inequality, social injustice, and the indomitable spirit of a resilient woman.
Maria is a courageous and intelligent woman, imprisoned in an insane asylum by her own husband. She defies societal norms and challenges eighteenth-century England's oppressive systems that confine women. As she navigates the labyrinth of patriarchal society, Maria confronts the injustices...
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