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Reporter, author, artist, and screenwriter Wallace Smith (1888–1937) served as the Washington correspondent for the Chicago American for over a decade, and originated the paper's Joe Blow comic panel feature. Reputed to have been one of the most colorful characters to have worked for the Hearst newspapers, he switched back and forth between cartooning and reporting, covering subjects as diverse as the criminal trials of Roscoe'Fatty'Arbuckle and Pancho Villa's Mexican campaigns.Smith's experiences as an eyewitness to the armed struggles of the Mexican Revolution during the 1910s and'20s inspired these remarkable stories. They begin with the title tale of a soldadera, one of the many women who abandoned their conventional roles to fight in the revolution. Populated by soldiers, bandits, and peasants, these tales of love, treachery, courage, and adventure are illustrated by the author's atmospheric drawings from his field sketchbook.

Based on an actual bloody dispute in 1880 between wheat farmers and the Southern Pacific Railroad, this shocking tale of lust for power, greed, and betrayal plays out during the last days of the western frontier. As the beast that encircled and strangled ranches,'The Railroad'personified evil. Through its owners and agents, it controlled the local paper, the land, the legislature, and even representatives on the state rate-fixing commission. But the farmers were not completely blameless, using such tactics as coercion and violence in an attempt to achieve their ends. Inspired by the work of French author Emile Zola, The Octopus is a novel of remarkable sweep and range, vividly and relentlessly recording social and economic problems of the late 19th century.

Virginia Woolf's satirical, prescient novel Orlando, published in 1928, is a groundbreaking work that explores themes of gender, identity, and time. The narrative features a nobleman named Orlando who lives over three centuries, beginning in the Elizabethan era and ending in the twentieth century, and, remarkably, changes from man to woman at the midpoint. With its fusion of masculinity and femininity, this transformation allows Woolf to critique societal norms and expectations tied to gender and class in different periods. Through Orlando's unique life span and gender fluidity, Woolf suggests that gender is not fixed or binary, challenging the traditional concepts of gender roles and stereotypes. A complex and multilayered novel that defies easy categorization, Orlando is lauded for its rich prose and its pioneering representation of gender and queer identity. It is a work of literature that continues to resonate with readers today.

The author of one of the greatest romance novels of all time, Pride and Prejudice, takes her readers on a satiric tour through England's history, mercilessly exploiting the comedic potential of human foibles within British royalty. Part of Jane Austen's Juvenilia of the 1790s, The History of England was written during the author's teenage years. Filled with puns and parodies, the history begins with the reign of Henry IV and concludes with the death of Charles I more than two centuries later. Originally intending it for circulation and performance among family and friends, Jane also commissioned her sister Cassandra to draw illustrations to complement her signature wit and humor. This volume includes an informative introduction providing background context, along with extensive editorial commentary. Austen fans and history buffs are sure to delight in this history written by “a partial, prejudiced, and ignorant historian.”

In eighteenth-century Peru, a historic bridge connecting the cities of Cuzco and Lima collapses, plunging five people to their deaths. A Franciscan monk, Brother Juniper, witnesses the tragedy and embarks on a spiritual quest to reconcile free will versus fate and the existence of God in the victims'lives: “Why did this happen to those five?” This thought-provoking, Pulitzer Prize–winning second novel by American writer Thornton Wilder was called “a masterpiece” by The New York Times when it was published in 1927. Critically acclaimed, it remains a compelling literary classic exploring destiny, love, religion, and the meaning of life.

'One of the most important works in American literature — and, to many, the great American novel.'— Time.'I want to write something new,'F. Scott Fitzgerald told his editor, Maxwell Perkins,'something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned.'A century later, Fitzgerald's little book of big ideas retains its freshness and excitement. The quintessential portrait of Jazz Age America, it reflects the era's postwar exuberance as well as the corruption and immorality lurking behind the glamour of wild parties, dancing, and illegal drinking. Narrator Nick Carraway — a transplant from the Midwest like Fitzgerald himself — observes the wasteful lives of his well-to-do neighbors in this tale of money, love, and the pursuit of the American dream. The unforgettable cast is headed by Jay Gatsby, a self-made man whose determination to realize his fantasies embodies both the glories of imagination and the grimness of reality. Above all, The Great Gatsby is animated by the magic of Fitzgerald's incandescent prose and its timeless exploration of the importance of honesty, the temptations of wealth, and the struggle to escape the past.

Rarely have the exploits of marauding pirates and buccaneers of the Spanish Main been more vividly recounted than in the stories of author and illustrator Howard Pyle. Possessed of a unique talent for recapturing the flavor of bygone eras, Pyle wrote and illustrated these highly readable sagas of the sea wolves who sailed under the dreaded black flag. This treasury includes'The Ghost of Captain Brand,''Tom Chist and the Treasure Box,''Jack Ballister's Fortunes,''The Ruby of Kishmoor,''Blueskin, the Pirate,''Captain Scarfield,'and other swashbuckling yarns. In addition to a formidable crew of fictional cutthroats, the tales also feature such real-life figures as Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, and Henry Morgan. Enhanced with 80 of Pyle's own incomparable illustrations—including 16 full-page color plates—this book will delight any lover of adventures on the high seas.

At the dawn of the twentieth century, the peak of the British colonial era, a visiting English schoolteacher and her traveling companion express a desire to see a more authentic side of India. One of their new friends, a young Muslim doctor, arranges a trip to a natural wonder, the Marabar Caves—a disastrous excursion that concludes with the schoolteacher accusing the doctor of attempting to rape her. His arrest and trial divide an already troubled Indian community, bringing its racial and sexual tensions to a boil. Widely regarded as one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century, A Passage to India reflects the country's rising nationalism. E. M. Forster's 1924 tale offers a stirring condemnation of the abuses of British colonialism. Written at the height of Forster's career, the book recaptures a heated political atmosphere and offers a foreigner's view of India as a place of mystery and exotic beauty, inhabited by a people unknowable to outsiders.

Hailed by Dostoyevsky as'The final and greatest utterance of the human mind,'Don Quixote constitutes a founding work of modern Western literature. Cervantes'masterpiece has been translated into more than sixty languages, and the novel's fantasy-driven'knight,'Don Quixote, and his loyal squire, Sancho Panza, rank among fiction's most recognized characters. Their adventures have been interpreted for film, opera, and ballet, and they head a cast of characters that comprises a diverse array of beliefs and perspectives, reflecting the historical realities of seventeenth-century Spain. Within its absorbing re-creation of the world during Cervantes'time, this parody of chivalric romances and epic of heroic idealism forms a strikingly contemporary narrative. The author is often credited with inventing the concept of the novel, addressing himself to the readers rather than the characters or the action. This edition of his landmark work presents the acclaimed 1755 Tobias Smollett translation.

A brilliant social satire by Nobel Prize-winning author John Galsworthy, this monumental trilogy chronicles the lives of three generations of an upper-middle class London family obsessed with money and respectability. The first book, The Man of Property, established Galsworthy's reputation as an author and a keen observer of society. His masterly prose, always scorchingly accurate and often very funny, introduces Soames Forsyte, an avaricious man who sees everything—including his rebellious trophy wife, Irene—in terms of its value as a possession. The second book, In Chancery, recounts the Forsytes'stormy marriage, separation, and eventual divorce. To Let, the last of the trilogy, focuses on the children of the estranged couple. In addition to the three original novels, this edition also contains the connecting interludes, Indian Summer of a Forsyte and Awakening. An enduring portrait of Victorian and Edwardian life, The Forsyte Saga remains an impressive contribution to social history and literary art.

Inspired by the financial scandals of its era, The Way We Live Now is a portrait of a society corrupted by greed that continues to resonate with modern readers. Taking place in 1870s Victorian London, the characters are comprised of a motley cast of financiers, investors, and determined social-climbers.Despite rumors of an unsavory past, Augustus Melmotte is so vastly wealthy that the London society receives him with open arms. In addition to furthering his schemes of railway fraud, the ruthless financier's entry into society launches his daughter into the matrimonial market. Her preferred suitor, Sir Felix Carbury, is a penniless wastrel whose mother aspires to literary and financial success not so much by writing good books but by using her feminine charms to get ahead. A host of other bounders and rogues populate the pages of this tale, which begins as a satire and concludes as a delicious social comedy. Rejected by critics upon its 1875 publication, The Way We Live Now is recognized today as Anthony Trollope's masterpiece.

A prize of 100,000 guilders awaits the gardener who can produce a black tulip, a rich reward that incites a bitter competition in 17th-century Holland. Cornelius von Baerle, a gifted and passionate florist, has dedicated himself to cultivating the elusive flower. But a ruthless rival, capitalizing on accusations that led to the assassination of Cornelius's godfather, falsely accuses the young horticulturist of treason. Sentenced to life imprisonment, Cornelius conspires with his jailer's daughter to grow the black tulip in secret.Alexandre Dumas sets his captivating tale in the 1670s, a generation after Holland was gripped by the economic madness of Tulip mania and shortly after the mob lynching of a pair of Dutch statesmen. His fictional treatment of these historic events forms a timeless political allegory in which the rare flower represents the triumph of justice, tolerance, and true love over greed, jealousy, and obsession.

'When I think of Rob Roy, I am impatient with all other novels,'declared Robert Louis Stevenson of this bold adventure tale and its eponymous hero, the legendary Scottish Robin Hood. Set amid the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, the novel reflects the oppressive social conditions of 18th-century Scotland and offers a stirring vision of the Highlanders'battle for dignity and justice. The story centers on Frank Osbaldistone, an aspiring poet whose reluctance to enter his father's business leads to banishment in Northumbria. There he joins his foxhunting relatives at their ancestral estate, where his suspicions of his cousin Rashleigh's efforts to steal the family business are intensified by a rivalry for the hand of high-spirited Diana Vernon. In desperation, Frank turns to the outlaw Rob Roy for help in pursuing Rashleigh across the Highlands. Sir Walter Scott's captivating evocation of a country on the brink of rebellion blends history with fiction for a tale of intrigue, conflict, and romance.

Within a decade of the 1818 publication of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, another Englishwoman invented a foundational work of science fiction. Seventeen-year-old Jane Webb Loudon took up the theme of reanimation, moved it three hundred years into the future, and applied it to Cheops, an ancient Egyptian mummy. Unlike Shelley's horrifying, death-dealing monster, this revivified creature bears the wisdom of the ages and is eager to share his insights with humanity. Cheops boards a hot-air balloon and travels to 22nd-century England, where he sets about remedying the ills of a corrupt government.In recounting Cheops'attempts to put the futuristic society to rights, the young author offers a fascinating portrait of the preoccupations of her own era as well as some remarkably prescient predictions of technological advances. The Mummy! envisions a world in which automatons perform surgery, undersea tunnels connect England and Ireland, weather-control devices provide crop irrigation, and messages are transmitted with the speed of cannonball fire. The first novel to feature the concept of a living mummy, this pioneering tale offers an engaging mix of comedy, politics, and science fiction.

A new bishop arrives in the fictional cathedral town of Barchester, launching a comical battle for ascendancy among the local clergymen and their dependents. Dr. Proudie, the newly appointed bishop, brings two powerful allies: Mrs. Proudie, the outspoken power behind the ecclesiastical throne, and a scheming chaplain, the odious Obadiah Slope. Anthony Trollope's novel satirizes Anglican Church infighting during the 1850s between'low church'reformers and'high church'conservatives. Trollope's ironic observations and keen social and psychological insights combine to form a tale with timeless appeal. There are many ways to approache the prolific Victorian author's 47 novels, and Barchester Towers is among the best as an introduction. The success of its predecessor, The Warden, inspired Trollope to return to Barchester for the next in what ultimately became a series of six related novels. Rich in humor, wisdom, and memorable characters, this volume offers a captivating portrait of provincial life in 19th-century England.

A landmark in the history of the novel, Oroonoko is among the earliest such works in the English language and its author, Aphra Behn, is often cited as the first professional woman writer. Originally published in 1688, the tale combines memoir, biography, and travelogue in the form of a narrative by an Englishwoman visiting Surinam. The storyteller's account of an African prince who is sold into slavery and becomes the leader of a rebellion represents one of the first fictional treatments of colonial and abolitionist themes, and it is unusual for its era in its sympathetic regard for black Africans.Despite the considerable success of her poetry, plays, and fiction, little is known for certain about the life of Restoration-era author Aphra Behn (1640–89). Two centuries after Behn's burial in Westminster Abbey's Poets Corner, Virginia Woolf observed,'All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn... for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.'

Drawn by a promise of'wisteria and sunshine,'four English ladies exchange their damp and dreary surroundings for a month on the Italian Riviera. They're different from each other in age and attitude, but all are bewitched by their rented medieval castle and the natural beauty of the Portofino peninsula. Their holiday not only refreshes their spirits but also reintroduces them to their true natures and reopens their hearts to love and friendship.Hilarious and romantic by turns, the novel provides a piquant satire on British society of the 1920s as well as the human foibles of every era. It's also a tale of women coming into their own and finding the courage to be true to themselves and others. This bestselling tale of self-discovery ― recounted with warmth, wit, and charm ― was adapted several times for stage and screen. Not everyone can spend a month in the Italian countryside, but the spell cast by The Enchanted April offers the next best thing.

A lucky strike by a pair of prospectors turns into a nightmare when crooked politicians attempt to steal their claim. Loaded with action and romance, this 1906 bestseller recaptures the excitement of the Gold Rush era, when thousands of prospectors headed to Alaska in hopes of finding riches. Miners, gamblers, and fortune-hunters of every description populate these pages, chasing their dreams among the rowdy camps and boom towns of the frozen north.Author Rex Beach, known as the Victor Hugo of the North, based this novel on a true series of events involving the theft of Yukon gold mines by corrupt politicians. Beach seasoned the dramatic tale with incidents from his own experiences prospecting for gold in Nome at the beginning of the twentieth century. Five different movie versions of The Spoilers include versions with John Wayne and Gary Cooper in the role of the rugged hero.

Balzac's Contes Drolatiques, published in three installments in the 1830s, offers a lively and lusty portrait of sixteenth-century French life and manners. These thirty stories in the tradition of Boccaccio, Chaucer, and Rabelais were claimed by the author to have originated in manuscripts from the abbeys of Touraine. Abounding in episodes of good-humored licentiousness, the tales scandalized Balzac's contemporaries and continue to delight modern readers.French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) was a founder of realism in European literature. An inspiration to Proust, Dickens, Faulkner, Dostoyevsky, and countless others, Balzac wrote works that were hailed for their multifaceted characters and exquisite attention to detail. This edition's excellent translation was the first to make Contes Drolatiques available to English-speaking readers.

In this classic, a fiendish plot forces the rightful king of Ruritania to miss his coronation. Rudolf Rassendyll, a dashing English lookalike, is persuaded to impersonate the monarch — only to find himself drawn into a struggle to save the country and obtain the release of a false accused prisoner. A gripping novel brimming with adventure and romance.

'When George Hotspur entered the room, his cousin was dancing with a prince. Thus the hand of Emily, the only child and heiress of the vastly wealthy Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite, is eagerly pursued by Europe's'princes and potentates.'Their hopes are quickly dashed, however; Emily's heart is pledged to her impecunious cousin George.A fairy tale? Not in the least! As even his love-blinded cousin knows too well, George is no humble or virtuous knight. Except for his attachment to her, he knows little but carousing with his unsavory cronies, evading his creditors and betting his last — borrowed — shillings at the races. Sir Harry, who in the main naturally opposes the match, has yet one powerful incentive to support it: after his demise, George will become Sir George, and the cousins'marriage would maintain the centuries-old tie between the title and the family estates. Sir Harry is in a quandary, and meanwhile the virtuous Emily is bent on reforming her scapegrace cousin. Then unwelcome news arrives, further complications ensue, and the once complacent Hotspurs are forever wrenched from their placid existence.Anthony Trollope (1815–1882), best known for his panoramic studies of Victorian society, could also be a keen, uncompromising psychologist. In 1868 he laid aside his famous Palliser series of novels, then in progress, and conceived a brief, poignant tale that would thoroughly explore the minds, hearts, and intertwined fates of just a few characters. The result was the present novel, one that treads familiar pathways of love and parental opposition but insistently avoids trite resolutions, probes deep, and is totally uncloying in its pathos.As we read this compelling story — here in its first inexpensive edition in many years — we rediscover, as the best Victorian literary artist knew, how character is destiny — and at the same time how an individual destiny is as unpredictable as life itself. No Trollope fan or lover of quality fiction should miss this unjustly neglected Trollope gem.

Referring to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, H. L. Mencken noted that his discovery of this classic American novel was'the most stupendous event of my whole life'; Ernest Hemingway declared that'all modern American literature stems from this one book,'while T. S. Eliot called Huck'one of the permanent symbolic figures of fiction, not unworthy to take a place with Ulysses, Faust, Don Quixote, Don Juan, Hamlet.'The novel's preeminence derives from its wonderfully imaginative re-creation of boyhood adventures along the Mississippi River, its inspired characterization, the author's remarkable ear for dialogue, and the book's understated development of serious underlying themes:'natural'man versus'civilized'society, the evils of slavery, the innate value and dignity of human beings, and other topics. Most of all, Huckleberry Finn is a wonderful story, filled with high adventure and unforgettable characters.

In this unflaggingly suspenseful story of aspirations and moral redemption, humble, orphaned Pip, a ward of his short-tempered older sister and her husband, Joe, is apprenticed to the dirty work of the forge but dares to dream of becoming a gentleman. And, indeed, it seems as though that dream is destined to come to pass — because one day, under sudden and enigmatic circumstances, he finds himself in possession of'great expectations.'In telling Pip's story, Dickens traces a boy's path from a hardscrabble rural life to the teeming streets of 19th-century London, unfolding a gripping tale of crime and guilt, revenge and reward, and love and loss. Its compelling characters include Magwitch, the fearful and fearsome convict; Estella, whose beauty is excelled only by her haughtiness; and the embittered Miss Havisham, an eccentric jilted bride.Written in the last decade of Dickens'life, Great Expectations was praised widely and universally admired. It was his last great novel, and many critics believe it to be his finest. Readers and critics alike praised it for its masterful plot, which rises above the melodrama of some of his earlier works, and for its three-dimensional, psychologically realistic characters — characters much deeper and more interesting than the one-note caricatures of earlier novels.'In none of his other works,'wrote the reviewer in the 1861 Atlantic,'does he evince a shrewder insight into real life, and a cheaper perception and knowledge of what is called the world.'To Swinburne, the novel was unparalleled in all of English fiction, with defects'as nearly imperceptible as spots on the sun or shadows on a sunlit sea.'Shaw found it Dickens''most completely perfect book.'Now this inexpensive edition invites modern readers to savor this timeless masterpiece, teeming with colorful characters, unexpected plot twists, and Dickens'vivid rendering of the vast tapestry of mid-Victorian England.

The elusive Pimpernel returns for another swashbuckling adventure in El Dorado. The still-raging French Revolution continues to claim lives, and the shadow of the guillotine draws ever nearer to the young Dauphin, son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. No one dares to attempt to liberate the little prince — no one, that is, but the mysterious Sir Percy Blakeney, also known as the Scarlet Pimpernel. Sir Percy takes on one of Robespierre's agents, the scheming Citizen Chauvelin, in a suspenseful blend of action and political intrigue, recounted with captivating period detail. Unabridged republication of the classic 1913 edition.

Set in 18th-century Scotland, this brooding historical romance unfolds amid the Jacobite Rebellion. A struggle between good and evil begins in the old Scottish castle of Durrisdeer — the ancestral home of the Durie clan — where James Durie, Master of Ballantrae, persists in his lifelong rivalry with his younger brother as well as his relentless quest for the family fortune.From Durrisdeer, the fast-paced adventure shifts to sea voyages and encounters with pirates, intrigue at the French court and in India, and an attempt to recover buried treasure in New York's Adirondack Mountains — all leading to a shocking climax in the American wilderness. An engrossing tale played out against the backdrop of three continents, The Master of Ballantrae stands among the most vivid and exciting of Robert Louis Stevenson'tales.

Set on the Nebraska prairie where Willa Cather (1873–1947) grew up, this powerful early novel tells the story of the young Alexandra Bergson, whose dying father leaves her in charge of the family and of the lands they have struggled to farm. In Alexandra's long flight to survive and succeed, O Pioneers! relates an important chapter in the history of the American frontier.Evoking the harsh grandeur of the prairie, this landmark of American fiction unfurls a saga of love, greed, murder, failed dreams, and hard-won triumph. In the fateful interaction of her characters, Willa Cather compares with keen insight the experiences of Swedish, French, and Bohemian immigrants in the United States. And in her absorbing narrative, she displays the virtuoso storytelling skills that have made her one of the most admired masters of the American novel.

Like the exuberant storytellers of Boccaccio's Decameron and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the ten men and women who narrate the tales of The Heptameron offer captivating glimpses of a vanished world. They have taken refuge in a Pyrenean abbey, where they pass their time in a storytelling battle of the sexes. Ranging from highly romantic to downright bawdy, and from deeply spiritual to profane, these tales form a vivid portrait of life and attitudes during the transition from medieval to modern times in sixteenth century France.These tales reputedly originated at the royal court of France and are attributed to Marguerite de Navarre, the learned sister of Francis I. Several of the characters attest to the truth of their stories, and indeed, many of the incidents they describe were verified by latter-day scholarship. Real or imagined, the gripping tales of The Heptameron—brimming with murder, adultery, remorse, and revenge—continue to enthrall readers in the twenty-first century.

Referring to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, H. L. Mencken noted that his discovery of this classic American novel was'the most stupendous event of my whole life'; Ernest Hemingway declared that'all modern American literature stems from this one book,'while T. S. Eliot called Huck'one of the permanent symbolic figures of fiction, not unworthy to take a place with Ulysses, Faust, Don Quixote, Don Juan, Hamlet.'The novel's preeminence derives from its wonderfully imaginative re-creation of boyhood adventures along the mighty Mississippi River, its inspired characterization, the author's remarkable ear for dialogue, and the book's understated development of serious underlying themes:'natural'man versus'civilized'society, the evils of slavery, the innate value and dignity of human beings, the stultifying effects of convention, and other topics. But most of all, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a wonderful story ― filled with high adventure and unforgettable characters (including the great river itself) ― that no one who has read it will ever forget.

Starved and mistreated, empty bowl in hand, the young hero musters the courage to approach his master, saying,'Please, sir, I want some more.'Oliver Twist's famous cry of the heart has resounded with readers since the novel's initial appearance in 1837, and the book remains a popular favorite with fans of all ages.Dickens was no stranger to the pain of hunger and the degradation of poverty. He poured his own youthful experience of Victorian London's unspeakable squalor into this realistic depiction of the link between destitution and crime. Oliver escapes his miserable servitude by running away to London, where he unwillingly but inevitably joins a scabrous gang of thieves. Masterminded by the loathsome Fagin, the underworld crew features some of Dickens'most memorable characters, including the juvenile pickpocket known as the Artful Dodger, the vicious Bill Sikes, and gentle Nancy, an angel of self-sacrifice.A profound social critic, Dickens introduced genteel readers to the problems of the poor in a way that had rarely been attempted before. This tale of the struggle between hope and cruelty continues to speak to modern audiences.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a prolific writer born in Scotland, who started out as a medical doctor and took an occupational detour that made him world-famous. While studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh, he augmented his income by writing stories — a pursuit that led to the creation of Sherlock Holmes, one of literature's best-loved detectives. Doyle also wrote many works of history and science fiction, plus plays and poetry. Set against the fourteenth-century war between England and France, Sir Nigel is an action-packed adventure classic, filled to the brim with history, conflict, chivalry, and a dash of romance.This illustrated epic, which the author calls'the most complete, satisfying, and ambitious thing I have ever done,'introduces young squire Nigel Loring as he leaves home to serve King Edward at the start of the Hundred Years'War. Though small of stature, Nigel possesses a'lion heart and the blood of a hundred soldiers thrilling in his veins'that propel him to accomplish heroic acts in his quest for knighthood. The star upon his path is his beloved Lady Mary, who waits for him to complete three courageous acts so he can win her hand in marriage. Faced with fierce combat, a desperate battle at sea, and a terrifying encounter with the Red Ferret that leaves him close to death, can Nigel fulfill his promise?

'A tale of American disinheritance told from the inside out,'declared the Village Voice of this autobiographical novel. Written in 1929 by a dedicated social activist, it chronicles a woman's escape from grinding rural poverty into a predominantly male world of politics and revolution.'My aim in life was to study, not to follow a man around,'asserts Marie Rogers, who struggles to establish her identity as an individual and as'a daughter of the earth,'in restless pursuit of equality and justice.Marie's hardscrabble childhood and her involvement with freedom fighters of India and China reflect the author's own experiences. Agnes Smedley (1892–1950) drew upon her own search for spiritual consciousness in this powerful exploration of race, class, and sex in early twentieth-century America. Smedley's novel fell into obscurity after her death, only to reemerge decades later as a remarkable tale of a working-class woman's heroic transformation into an agent for social change.

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 Musketeers disbanded by the cunning Cardinal Richelieu, who hopes to seize power from the weak-willed Louis XIII. The daring and ambitious youth proves his mettle in the company of the famous Musketeers — Porthos, Athos, and Aramis — and joins them in a heroic struggle to defend the king and his lovely queen, Anne of Austria.Dumas transformed the concept of the historical novel by writing in a modern, conversational style. His accessible, fast-paced narratives combine real and fictional characters to recapture the events, manners, and mood of seventeenth-century France. Emerging in the chaotic aftermath of the Revolution, Dumas's novels provided his contemporaries with a welcome sense of identity and national pride. His most popular work, The Three Musketeers, continues to charm modern readers with its timeless tales of romantic valor.

It was the time of the French Revolution — a time of great change and great danger. It was a time when injustice was met by a lust for vengeance, and rarely was a distinction made between the innocent and the guilty. Against this tumultuous historical backdrop, Dickens'great story of unsurpassed adventure and courage unfolds.Unjustly imprisoned for 18 years in the Bastille, Dr. Alexandre Manette is reunited with his daughter, Lucie, and safely transported from France to England. It would seem that they could take up the threads of their lives in peace. As fate would have it though, the pair are summoned to the Old Bailey to testify against a young Frenchman — Charles Darnay — falsely accused of treason. Strangely enough, Darnay bears an uncanny resemblance to another man in the courtroom, the dissolute lawyer's clerk Sydney Carton. It is a coincidence that saves Darnay from certain doom more than once. Brilliantly plotted, the novel is rich in drama, romance, and heroics that culminate in a daring prison escape in the shadow of the guillotine.

'All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. It's the best book we've had,'declared Ernest Hemingway. Millions of readers around the world would agree, having climbed aboard the raft with young Huck and Jim, the runaway slave, to drift along the Mississippi on a voyage of adventure and self-discovery. This economical two-part edition includes the complete text of Twain's classic novel plus a student-friendly study guide. Created to help the reader quickly gain a thorough understanding of the content and context of Huckleberry Finn, the guide includes: • Chapter-by-chapter summaries• Explanations and discussions of the plot• Question-and-answer sections• Mark Twain biography• List of characters and more Dover Thrift Study Editions feature everything that students need to undertake a confident reading of a classic text, as well as to prepare themselves for class discussions, essays, and exams.

Taking up a challenge from his whist partners, a mysterious English gentleman named Phileas Fogg wagers half his fortune and abandons his quiet domestic routine to undertake a daring feat: to circle the globe in a mere 80 days, an achievement unheard of in the Victorian world.Fogg and Passepartout, his devoted manservant, avail themselves of virtually every known means of transportation in their wild race against time. All the while, a devious detective dogs their every step and introduces fresh obstacles. The resourceful Fogg faces each new trial with unshakable aplomb, through a constantly shifting background of exotic locales — from the jungles of India, a Chinese opium den, and a Japanese circus to a full-throttle train ride under attack by Sioux and a bloodless mutiny aboard a tramp steamer.The most popular of Jules Verne's fantastic adventure stories, Around the World in Eighty Days first appeared as a newspaper serial in 1872, much to the delight of a world already agog with recent advances in technology. Its enduring blend of comic misadventures and thrilling suspense continues to enchant generations of readers.

My Ántonia evokes the Nebraska prairie life of Willa Cather's childhood, and commemorates the spirit and courage of immigrant pioneers in America. One of Cather's earliest novels, written in 1918, it is the story of Ántonia Shimerda, who arrives on the Nebraska frontier as part of a family of Bohemian emigrants. Her story is told through the eyes of Jim Burden, a neighbor who will befriend Ántonia, teach her English, and follow the remarkable story of her life.Working in the fields of waving grass and tall corn that dot the Great Plains, Ántonia forges the durable spirit that will carry her through the challenges she faces when she moves to the city. But only when she returns to the prairie does she recover her strength and regain a sense of purpose in life. In the quiet, probing depth of Willa Cather's art, Ántonia's story becomes a mobbing elegy to those whose persistence and strength helped build the American frontier.