Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary

Moby-Dick; Or, the Whale (1851)

"Moby-Dick" tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab has one purpose on this voyage: to seek out Moby Dick, a ferocious, enigmatic white sperm whale. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bi...

The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People

"The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People" is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personæ in order to escape burdensome social obligations.

Treasure Island (1883)

Treasure Island follows young Jim Hawkins, who finds himself owner of a map to Treasure Island, where the fabled pirate booty is buried; honest Captain Smollett, heroic Dr. Livesey, and the good-hearted but obtuse Squire Trelawney, who help Jim on his quest for the treasure; the frightening Blind Pew, double-dealing I...

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is about a young boy growing up along the Mississippi River.

A Tale of Two Cities (1859)

The novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in L...

Frankenstein (1818)

"Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" is about an eccentric scientist Victor Frankenstein, who creates a grotesque creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his famous detective.

The Three Musketeers (1844) (Completed)

The Three Musketeers (French: Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, which recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard. D'Artagnan is not one of the musketeers of the title; those are his friends Athos, Porthos an...

Anna Karenina

"Anna Karenina" is the tragedy of married aristocrat and socialite Anna Karenina and her affair with the affluent Count Vronsky. The story starts when she arrives in the midst of a family broken up by her brother's unbridled womanizing—something that prefigures her own later situation, though with less tolerance for h...