"The Last of the Mohicans is set in 1757, during the French and Indian War (the Seven Years' War), when France and Great Britain battled for control of North America. During this war, both the French and the British used Native American allies, but the French were particularly dependent, as they were outnumbered in the Northeast frontier areas by the more numerous British colonists. The novel is primarily set in the upper New York wilderness, detailing...

"Published in 1882, The Prince and the Pauper is a delightful piece of historical fiction set in 1547. The young British Prince Edward, son of Henry VIII, switches place with a young pauper boy, Tom Canty, who happens to look exactly like the Prince. Tom takes over royal duties when King Henry dies and enjoys life in the palace. The real Prince is tossed out on the streets of London and learns about the life and misery of the common people of England...

"A swashbuckling epic of chivalry, honor, and derring-do, it is set in France during the 1620s and richly populated with romantic heroes, unattainable heroines, kings, queens, cavaliers, and criminals in a whirl of adventure, espionage, conspiracy, murder, vengeance, love, scandal, and suspense. Dumas transforms major and minor historical figures into larger-than-life characters: the brave d'Artagnan, an impetuous young man in pursuit of glory; the...

"Lemuel Gulliver is a kind English surgeon longing for adventure. He gets a lot more than he bargained for when he signs on board a sailing ship and a shipwreck leaves him swept ashore. He embarks on four remarkable voyages, each leading to strange beings and cultures. Portrayed both as an observer and a victim of circumstances, Gulliver solves problems, starts and ends wars, and gets in and out of one difficulty after another. He first finds himself...

Over a century and a half after its publication, Moby-Dick still stands as an indisputable literary classic. It is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. But more than just a novel of adventure, more than an encyclopedia of whaling lore and legend, Moby-Dick is a haunting, mesmerizing, and important social commentary populated with several of the most...