classics that i can't afford
23 stories
Agnes Grey (Completed) by AnneBronte
AnneBronte
  • WpView
    Reads 18,523
  • WpVote
    Votes 873
  • WpPart
    Parts 25
This is the debut novel of English author Anne Brontë, first published in December 1847 ( and originally written under the pen name, Acton Bell). The novel follows governess Agnes Grey as she works with the families of the English gentry, and is considered to be largely based on Brontë's own experiences as a governess. The novel addresses the position of governess and what it entailed, and how it affected a young woman. Cover by @FrankRSP
A LITTLE PRINCESS (Completed) by FrancesEHBurnett
FrancesEHBurnett
  • WpView
    Reads 4,118
  • WpVote
    Votes 293
  • WpPart
    Parts 19
A Little Princess is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, first published as a book in 1905. It is an expanded version of the short story "Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's", which was serialized in St. Nicholas Magazine from December 1887. The novel was published by Charles Scribner's Sons (also the publisher of St. Nicholas) with illustrations by Ethel Franklin Betts and the full title A Little Princess: Being the Whole Story of Sara Crewe Now Being Told for the First Time.
GRIMM'S FAIRYTALES (Completed) by brothersgrimm
brothersgrimm
  • WpView
    Reads 28,865
  • WpVote
    Votes 925
  • WpPart
    Parts 25
Children's and Household Tales (German: Kinder- und Hausmärchen) is a collection of fairy tales first published in 1812 by the Grimm brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm. The collection is commonly known in English as Grimms' Fairy Tales.
Frankenstein (1818) by MaryShelley
MaryShelley
  • WpView
    Reads 287,110
  • WpVote
    Votes 7,037
  • WpPart
    Parts 28
"Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" is about an eccentric scientist Victor Frankenstein, who creates a grotesque creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment.
A STUDY IN SCARLET (Completed) by ArthurConanDoyle
ArthurConanDoyle
  • WpView
    Reads 65,408
  • WpVote
    Votes 2,634
  • WpPart
    Parts 14
A Study in Scarlet is a 1887 detective novel by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Written in 1886, the story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become two of the most famous characters in popular fiction. The book's title derives from a speech given by Holmes, an amateur detective, to his friend and chronicler Watson on the nature of his work, in which he describes the story's murder investigation as his "study in scarlet": "There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it." Cover by the wonderful @-capetown
The Raven (1845) by EdgarAllanPoe
EdgarAllanPoe
  • WpView
    Reads 21,102
  • WpVote
    Votes 907
  • WpPart
    Parts 1
"The Raven" tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow fall into madness. The lover, often identified as being a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further instigate his distress with its constant repetition of the word "Nevermore". Cover by @Lujayna
THE MURDERS IN RUE MORGUE AND OTHER SHORT STORIES (Completed) by EdgarAllanPoe
EdgarAllanPoe
  • WpView
    Reads 7,252
  • WpVote
    Votes 178
  • WpPart
    Parts 9
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in Graham's Magazine in 1841. It has been recognized as the first modern detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of ratiocination". C. Auguste Dupin is a man in Paris who solves the mystery of the brutal murder of two women. Numerous witnesses heard a suspect, though no one agrees on what language was spoken. At the murder scene, Dupin finds a hair that does not appear to be human. As the first fictional detective, Poe's Dupin displays many traits which became literary conventions in subsequent fictional detectives, including Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. Many later characters, for example, follow Poe's model of the brilliant detective, his personal friend who serves as narrator, and the final revelation being presented before the reasoning that leads up to it. Dupin himself reappears in "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" and "The Purloined Letter".
The Fall of the House of Usher (1839) by EdgarAllanPoe
EdgarAllanPoe
  • WpView
    Reads 11,958
  • WpVote
    Votes 282
  • WpPart
    Parts 1
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839. Cover by the lovely @FayLane
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by LewisCarroll
LewisCarroll
  • WpView
    Reads 1,239,671
  • WpVote
    Votes 13,051
  • WpPart
    Parts 12
"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as children.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by OscarWilde
OscarWilde
  • WpView
    Reads 1,230,001
  • WpVote
    Votes 16,409
  • WpPart
    Parts 21
"The Picture of Dorian Gray" tells of a young man named Dorian Gray, the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian's beauty and becomes infatuated with him, believing his beauty is responsible for a new mode in his art. Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil's, and becomes enthralled by Lord Henry's world view. Espousing a new hedonism, Lord Henry suggests the only things worth pursuing in life are beauty and fulfilment of the senses.