Library

Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf's novel "To the Lighthouse" was published in 1927. The story is built around the Ramsay family and their visits to the Isle of Skye in Scotland between 1910 and 1920. Following and extending the tradition of modernist novelists such as James Joyce and Marcel Proust, the plot of "To the Lighthouse" is secondary to its philosophical introspection. The novel includes little dialogue and almost no action. Most of it is written as thoughts and observations. The novel recalls childhood emotions and highlights adult relationships. Among the book's many themes are those of loss, subjectivity, the nature of art and the problem of perception. In 1998, the Modern Library named "To the Lighthouse" Number 15 on its list of the "100 best English-language novels of 20th century".  In 2005, the novel was chosen by TIME magazine as one of the one hundred best English-language novels since 1923.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving

Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow first appeared in 1820. Since then, the tale of Ichabod Crane's terrifying yet hilarious encounter with the Headless Horseman has become so popular that it has passed into American folklore. It is a gothic story, contained in his collection of 34 essays titled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. The book that has affected childhood vision and imagination across many generations.  Along with Irving's companion piece "Rip Van Winkle", "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is among the earliest examples of American fiction with enduring popularity, especially during Halloween.

The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Idiot is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in 1868–69. The title is an ironic reference to the central character of the novel, Prince Myshkin.  Dostoevsky set himself the task of depicting "the positively good and beautiful man". He is surrounded by people who mistakenly think of his kindness as a lack of intelligence. No surprise there. We need more good in our world. If we had more of it, we wouldn't see a good person as a weak person.  Dostoevsky's primary motivation in writing the novel was to subject his own highest ideal, that of true Christian love, to the crucible of contemporary Russian society. Joseph Frank describes The Idiot as "the most personal of all Dostoevsky's major works, the book in which he embodies his most intimate, cherished, and sacred convictions." It includes descriptions of some of his most intense personal ordeals, such as epilepsy and mock execution and explores moral, spiritual and philosophical themes consequent upon them. 

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" was published anonymously in 1811. It tells the story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor (age 19) and Marianne (age 16½) as they come of age. They have an older half-brother, John, and a younger sister, Margaret, 13. The novel, which sold out its first print run of 750 copies in the middle of 1813, marked a success for its author. It had a second print run later that year. It was the first Austen title to be republished in England after her death, and the first illustrated Austen produced in Britain. The novel has been in continuous publication since 1811, and has many times been illustrated, excerpted, abridged, and adapted for stage and film.

Moby Dick, by Herman Melville

Moby-Dick is a novel written in 1851 by Herman Melville.  Initially it received mixed reviews, and was a commercial failure. About 3,200 copies of the book were sold during the author's life. It was out of print at the time of the author's death in 1891. A contribution to the literature of the American Renaissance, its reputation as a "Great American Novel" was established only in the 20th century, after the centennial of its author's birth. William Faulkner said he wished he had written the book himself. Its opening sentence, "Call me Ishmael", is among world literature's most famous. Herman Melville began writing Moby-Dick in February 1850, and finished 18 months later, a year longer than he had anticipated. Melville drew on his experience as a common sailor from 1841 to 1844, including several years on whalers, and on wide reading in whaling literature.  

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre is a novel written by Charlotte Bronte. It was originally published as "Jane Eyre: An Autobiography" in 1847.  It follows the experiences of its unglamorous heroine, including her growth to adulthood as she comes into contact with Victorian society.    The novel is considered to be revolutionary prose fiction as it was first to focus on its protagonist's moral and spiritual development through an intimate first-person narrative, where actions and events are colored by a psychological intensity. Charlotte Brontë has been called the "first historian of the private consciousness", and the literary ancestor of writers like Marcel Proust and James Joyce.  The book contains elements of social criticism with a strong sense of Christian morality at its core. it is also considered to be ahead of its time because of Jane's individualistic character and how the novel approaches the topics of class, sexuality, religion, and feminism. It, along with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is one of the most famous romance novels of all time.

The Call of the Wild, by Jack London

The Call of the Wild is an adventure novel by Jack London published in 1903. The story takes place in Yukon, Canada during the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890s. Sled dogs were in high demand back then. Jack London spent almost a year in the Yukon, and his observations form much of the material for the book. The story was published in parts in the Saturday Evening Post in 1903, followed by a book form publication later that year. The book's great popularity and success made a reputation for London. As early as 1923, the story was adapted to film, and it has since seen several more cinematic adaptations.