| (Virginia Woolf)
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| This essay is based on a series of lectures Virginia Woolf delivered to the Arts Society at Newnham College and Girton College. She begins by announcing her basic thesis: that "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction." She examines disadvantages in the social, financial and educational structures, as well as the prejudices which have prevented women writers from succeeding throughout English history.
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| (Rachel Field)
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| Henriette Desportes, the main character, was a great-aunt of Rachel Field, the author of the novel. Henriette was, at one time, the governess of the children of the Duchesse de Choiseul-Praslin and her husband, the Duc Theobald de Praslin. She later went to the United States as a French teacher and while there she married Henry Martyn Field, a minister of religion. The American Civil War and the laying of the intercontinental telegraph cable provided a backdrop to their lives together. They also became acquainted with many of the notable people of the time. The book was made into a film starring Bette Davis and Charles Boyer.
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| (Rachel Field)
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| A best-seller when first published, this novel centres on a doctor's attempt to find a cure for deafness. In a note at the beginning of the novel, Field points out that "the place, action, and characters of this book are purely fictional. There is no Vance method of treatment to restore hearing, nor is the theory based on any actual medical findings." The book was made into a film in 1944, starring Alan Ladd and Susan Hayward.
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| (George Orwell)
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| This modern classic is an allegory on social revolution. When the animals take over the farm it soon transpires that, while all animals are created equal, some are more equal than others.
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| (L M Montgomery)
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| This is one of a series of books featuring the character Anne Shirley, a fictional character introduced first in the novel Anne of Green Gables. Montgomery wrote in her journal that the idea for Anne's story came from relatives who, planning to adopt an orphaned boy, received a girl instead.
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| (Sinclair Lewis)
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| A bestseller when first published, Babbitt is a satire of American culture, society, and behavior. It critiques the vacuity of middle-class American life and its pressure on individuals toward conformity. (Wikipedia.)
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| (P C Wren)
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| This is the first in the "Beau Geste" series. The three Geste brothers are orphans and have been brought up by their aunt. When a precious jewel known as the "Blue Water" goes missing, suspicion falls on the young people, and Beau leaves Britain to join the French Foreign Legion, followed by his brothers, Digby (his twin) and John.
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| (Earl Derr Biggers)
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| A former head of Scotland Yard is pursuing the long-cold trail of a murderer. Fifteen years before, a London solicitor has been killed in circumstances in which the only clue was a pair of Chinese slippers, which he apparently donned just before his death. [Wikipedia.]
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| (Herman Melville)
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| Billy Budd is a novella which Melville left unfinished at the time of his death in 1891. It was not published until 1924. When Budd strikes and accidentally kills Claggart, the Master-at-Arms, he is court-martialed. This story is often interpreted as being about good and evil, with Billy representing Christ or Adam (before the Fall), and Claggart (who is compared to a snake several times in the text) representing Evil. Part of Claggart's hatred towards Billy comes because of Billy's goodness rather than in spite of it. [Wikipedia]
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| (Rudyard Kipling)
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| Harvey Cheyne is the indulged son of a wealthy railroad magnate. Washed overboard from a transatlantic steamship and rescued by fishermen on the Grand Banks, the young Harvey cannot persuade them to take him ashore, nor convince them of his wealth. However, the captain of the fishing boat, Disko Troop, offers him a job as part of the crew until they return to port. With no other choice, Harvey accepts. [Wikipedia]
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| (Sinclair Lewis)
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| A former Congressman, now Judge, Cass Timberlane is a respected figure in the community. He marries a much younger woman from a lower social class. At first the marriage is happy but Jinny, his wife, becomes bored with the small town and with the judge's friends and has an affair.
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| (Earl Derr Biggers)
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| Inspector Duff, a Scotland Yard detective and friend of Chan's, is pursuing a murderer on an around-the-world voyage, following killings in London, France, Italy and Japan. While his ship is docked in Honolulu, Duff is shot and wounded by his quarry. Though he survives, he is unable to continue with the cruise, and Chan takes his place. [Wikipedia]
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| (Eugene O'Neill)
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| This classic American play features three sons. Their father has left their farm to find a wife. Eben, the youngest, maintains that the farm is his birthright. He buys out his half-brothers' shares with money stolen from his father. The other sons, Peter and Simeon, head off to California to seek their fortune. Later, the father returns with a new wife and things become complicated.
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| (Sinclair Lewis)
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| Samuel Dodsworth is an ambitious and innovative automobile designer. He marries Fran Voelker, a beautiful young socialite. At the age of fifty and facing retirement after selling his successful automobile company, he sets out on a leisurely trip to Europe with his wife.
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| (Bram Stoker)
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| The classic story of the vampire from Transylvania who feeds on human blood.
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| (Sinclair Lewis)
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| This is the story of a young, womanising college athlete who abandons his early ambition to become a lawyer. He is mistakenly ordained as a Baptist minister and becomes the manager for Sharon Falconer, an itinerant evangelist. He becomes her lover but loses both her and his position when she is killed in a fire at her new tabernacle.
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| (Thomas Hardy)
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| In this story of unrequited love, Gabriel Oak, unsuccessfully proposes marriage to Bathsheba Everdene. After his sheep are killed in an accident he finds himself working at Weatherby Farm, owned by Bathsheba. However her romantic interest is with William Boldwood and Sergeant Troy. The rivalry between Bathsheba's three suitors has a timeless quality.
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| (Marcus Clarke)
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| This is the best known novel of life as a convict in early Australian history. The story follows the fortunes of Rufus Dawes, a young man transported for a murder that he did not commit. The book clearly conveys the harsh and inhumane treatment meted out to the convicts, some of whom were transported for relatively minor crimes, and graphically describes the conditions the convicts experienced. The novel was based on research by the author as well as a visit to the penal settlement of Port Arthur. [Wikipedia]
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| (Mary Shelley)
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| The title of the novel refers to a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who learns how to create life and creates a being in the likeness of man, but larger than average and more powerful. In popular culture, people have tended incorrectly to refer to the monster as "Frankenstein". Frankenstein is infused with some elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement, and is also considered to be one of the earliest examples of science fiction. It was also a warning against the expansion of modern man in the Industrial Revolution, alluded to in the novel's subtitle, The Modern Prometheus. The story has had an influence across literature and popular culture and spawned a complete genre of horror stories and films. [Wikipedia]
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| (James Hilton)
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| A much-loved school teacher at Brookfield, a fictional boys' boarding school, Mr. Chipping ("Mr Chips") is an inspiring educator. He is also witness to sweeping social changes throughout his life.
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| (Charles Dickens)
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| This classic story includes the famous Dickens characters Pip, Miss Havisham, Estella, Magwitch and Mr Jaggers.
At the outset Pip finds food for a convict to eat and a file so that the convict can undo his leg shackles. Many years later, the convict repays this kindness in a surprising way.
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| (Jonathan Swift)
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| This novel, a classic of English fiction, introduces us to the country of Lilliput where the inhabitants are 6 inches (15cm) high. It became very popular upon first publication and has never since been out of print.
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| (Sinclair Lewis)
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| Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip, a charismatic and power-hungry politician, is elected President of the United States on a populist platform, promising to restore the country to prosperity and greatness, and, more importantly, promising each citizen five thousand dollars a year. Once in power, however, he becomes a dictator; outlawing dissent, putting his political enemies in concentration camps, and creating a paramilitary force called the Minute Men who terrorize the citizens. (from: Wikipedia.)
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| (Charlotte Bronte)
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| This is a first-person narrative of the title character. The novel goes through five distinct stages: Jane's childhood at Gateshead, where she is emotionally and physically abused by her aunt and cousins; her education at Lowood School, where she acquires friends and role models but also suffers privations; her time as the governess of Thornfield Hall, where she falls in love with her Byronic employer, Edward Rochester; her time with the Rivers family at Marsh's End (or Moor House) and Morton, where her cold clergyman-cousin St John Rivers proposes to her; and her reunion with and marriage to her beloved Rochester. Partly autobiographical, the novel abounds with social criticism. It is a novel considered ahead of its time. In spite of the dark, brooding elements, it has a strong sense of right and wrong, of morality at its core. [Wikipedia]
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| (Earl Derr Biggers)
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| When a prima donna is shot there is likely to be something doing in the detective line. When the shooting is done at Reno, and there are several people who may reasonably be suspected of having had an interest in the crime, or who have been so close to it that, visible interest or not, they can be asked to explain themselves, the detective--especially if he is the celebrated Charlie Chan--is likely to sit up and take notice. So he does; and those who have met this prince of sleuths in some other of his exploits will follow his feat in tracking down his latest quarry with full appreciation.
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| (Robert Louis Stevenson)
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| David Balfour, whose parents have recently died, is out to make his way in the world. He has an introduction to his uncle, Ebenezer Balfour. When David enquires about the location of House of Shaws, where his uncle lives, people speak of it as a place of fear and evil. When David arrives at the house, he is confronted by Ebenezer who armed with a blunderbuss. While staying at the house David begins to suspect that he might be the legitimate heir to the estate. He is subsequently kidnapped and his adventures begin.
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| (H Rider Haggard)
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| This classic adventure story tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the missing brother of one of the party. It is the first English fictional adventure novel set in Africa, and is considered to be the genesis of the Lost World literary genre. [Wikipedia]
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| (D H Lawrence)
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| The first edition of this novel was published in Italy. It could not be published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960. The novel concerns the affair between a a working-class man and an aristocratic woman. Its descriptions of sex, including the use of "four letter words," ensured that it was controversial.
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| (Clarence Shepard Day)
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| This is a humorous autobiographical book about Day's family and life. The more Day's father rails against his staff, his cook, his wife, his horse, salesmen, holidays, his children and the inability of the world to live up to his impossible standards, the more comical and lovable he becomes to his own family who love him despite it all.
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| (Thomas Wolfe)
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| In this, his first novel, Wolfe covers the life of Eugene Gant to the age of 19. The setting is the fictional town of Altamont, Catawba, which is considered to be a thinly veiled depiction of Wolfe's home town, Asheville, North Carolina.
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| (James Hilton)
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| This novel is best remembered as the origin of Shangri-La, a fictional utopian lamasery high in the mountains of Tibet. Robert Conway, a veteran member of the British diplomatic service, finds inner peace, love, and a sense of purpose in Shangri-La, whose inhabitants enjoy unheard-of longevity.
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| (E F Benson)
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| One of the "Mapp and Lucia" series of novels which relate humorous incidents in the lives of upper-middle-class British people in the 1920s and 1930s, vying for social prestige and "one-upmanship" in an atmosphere of extreme cultural snobbery.
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| (Jane Austen)
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| Fanny Price, a young girl from a relatively poor family, raised by her rich uncle and aunt, Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram, lives at Mansfield Park. She grows up with her four cousins, Tom Bertram, Edmund Bertram, Maria Bertram and Julia, but is always treated as inferior to them. Over time, Fanny's gratitude for Edmund's kindness secretly grows into romantic love.
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| (E F Benson)
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| One of the "Mapp and Lucia" series of novels which relate humorous incidents in the lives of upper-middle-class British people in the 1920s and 1930s, vying for social prestige and "one-upmanship" in an atmosphere of extreme cultural snobbery.
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| (Nathanael West)
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| In this black comedy set in New York in the Great Depression. A male newspaper columnist writes an advice column which is seen by the newspaper staff as a joke. As "Miss Lonelyhearts" reads letters from desperate New Yorkers, he feels burdened and falls into a cycle of deep depression, accompanied by heavy drinking and occasional bar fights. He is also the victim of the pranks and cynical advice of his feature editor at the newspaper. His attempts to escape from the mental anguish brought on by the letters leads to a unexpected climax. [Wikipedia]
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| (Herman Melville)
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| The classic story of the adventures of the wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whale ship 'Pequod,' commanded by Captain Ahab. Ahab is seeking to find and kill Moby Dick, a white sperm whale which had previously destroyed his boat and bitten off his leg.
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| (George Orwell)
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| This classic novel about a totalitarian regime describes a society where government surveillance, public mind control, and the denial of rights are the norm. Big Brother is always watching.
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| (J M Barrie)
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| The classic story of the boy who never grew up, filled with such favourite storybook characters as Wendy, Tinkerbell, Captain Hook and the Lost Boys.
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| (J M Barrie)
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| This story, "Peter Pan, or the Boy who Wouldn't Grow Up," was first performed in 1904, well before the novel appeared. However, it was not published until much later. The novel is also available from this site.
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| (Jane Austen)
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| This classic novel centres on the Bennet family. The five marriageable Bennet daughters and Mrs Bennet will be without a home and income once Mr Bennet dies.Elizabeth, the heroine, has decided to only marry only for love. Other characters include Mr Bingley, Mr Darcy and Mr Wickham.
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| (James Hilton)
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| This novel placed second on The New York Times list of best-selling novels for 1941, the year it was first published. It is set in the period immediately preceding the outbreak of the Second World War. Charles Rainier, a wealthy businessman and politician, is invalided out of the army during the Great War and subsequently loses his memory.
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| (James Hilton)
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| The story of a social reformer in a fictional Lancashire mill town. The story was made into a movie in 1947.
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| (Warwick Deeping)
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| The book was a bestseller from its first publication in 1925 throughout the 1920s and 1930s. It has been made into a movie on three occasions. Set in England, the story is about a man who devotes his life to making his son's life a success.
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| (F Scott Fitzgerald)
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| Dick and Nicole Diver, a rich couple, take a villa in the South of France. Dick, a psychoanalyst, had treated Nicole for a breakdown, after which they married. Nicole is an heiress and her sister thinks Dick is marrying her for her money. Nicole becomes stronger while Dick's life goes down-hill.
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| (S S Van Dine)
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| Van Dine's "Murder Case" stories feature Philo Vance. In "The Benson Murder Case' Van Dine states that "Vance was what many would call a dilettante, but the designation does him an injustice. He was a man of unusual culture and brilliance. An aristocrat by birth and instinct, he held himself severely aloof from the common world of men. In his manner there was an indefinable contempt for inferiority of all kinds."
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| (S S Van Dine)
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| Van Dine's "Murder Case" stories feature Philo Vance. In "The Benson Murder Case' Van Dine states that "Vance was what many would call a dilettante, but the designation does him an injustice. He was a man of unusual culture and brilliance. An aristocrat by birth and instinct, he held himself severely aloof from the common world of men. In his manner there was an indefinable contempt for inferiority of all kinds."
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| (Earl Derr Biggers)
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| This is the story of a Hollywood star who, while stopping in Hawaii after shooting a film, is murdered in the pavilion of her rented house. Her murder is linked with the three-year-old murder of another Hollywood actor. Chan, a detective with the Honolulu Police Department, investigates. "Death is a black camel that kneels unbidden at every gate. Tonight black camel has knelt here," Chan tells the suspects. [Wikipedia]
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| (S S Van Dine)
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| Van Dine's "Murder Case" stories feature Philo Vance. In "The Benson Murder Case' Van Dine states that "Vance was what many would call a dilettante, but the designation does him an injustice. He was a man of unusual culture and brilliance. An aristocrat by birth and instinct, he held himself severely aloof from the common world of men. In his manner there was an indefinable contempt for inferiority of all kinds."
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$4
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| (S S Van Dine)
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| Van Dine's "Murder Case" stories feature Philo Vance. In "The Benson Murder Case' Van Dine states that "Vance was what many would call a dilettante, but the designation does him an injustice. He was a man of unusual culture and brilliance. An aristocrat by birth and instinct, he held himself severely aloof from the common world of men. In his manner there was an indefinable contempt for inferiority of all kinds."
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| (Earl Derr Biggers)
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| A valuable string of pearls is purchased in Hawaii by a wealthy and eccentric financier and Charlie Chan travels from Hawaii to California with the pearls. After the death of a Chinese-speaking parrot and then of the household's Chinese man-of-all-work, Chan sets out to find the killer. [Wikipedia]
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| (S S Van Dine)
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| Van Dine's "Murder Case" stories feature Philo Vance. In "The Benson Murder Case' Van Dine states that "Vance was what many would call a dilettante, but the designation does him an injustice. He was a man of unusual culture and brilliance. An aristocrat by birth and instinct, he held himself severely aloof from the common world of men. In his manner there was an indefinable contempt for inferiority of all kinds."
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| (Josephine Tey)
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| In this crime and mystery story, Inspector Grant, who appears in several Tey novels, has only a cameo role. Two sisters are accused, by a fifteen-year-old girl, who has been missing from home for some time. She maintains that she has been held prisoner by the two ladies; tied up and beaten up, and mistreated. Even without Grant, this is an excellent crime/mystery story.
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| (Henry Handel Richardson)
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| This "coming of age" story tells of Laura Rambotham, a girl of twelve who is sent to a girls' boarding school. She is bullied and ridiculed by her fellow srudents, who are richer and also better able to deal with life.
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| (F Scott Fitzgerald)
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| Jay Gatsby is a young millionaire, originally from North Dakota. he has shady business connections and an obsessive love for Daisy Fay Buchanan, whom he had met when he was a young officer in World War I. The narrator, Nick Carraway, records Gatsby's story with its backdrop of corruption, selfishness and violence.
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| (Earl Derr Biggers)
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| This, the first of the "Charlie Chan" mysteries, deals with the murder of a former member of Boston society who has lived in Hawaii for a number of years. The main character is the victim's nephew, John Winterslip, who came to the islands to convince his aunt Minerva, whose holiday has extended many months, to return to Boston. Chan's role in this case is relatively small. He does arrive at the solution to the crime, but it is Winterslip who has the honour of collaring the murderer. [Wikipedia]
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| (Rachel Field)
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| Kate Ferald falls in love with Christopher Fortune, who is part of a wealthy New England shipping family. Chistopher returns her interest but the class structure of the 19th century precludes their marriage. The story is set against the decline of the New England shipbuilding industry.
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