Classics
22 stories
A Christmas Carol (1843) by CharlesDickens
A Christmas Carol (1843)
CharlesDickens
  • Reads 169,568
  • Votes 2,703
  • Parts 6
A Christmas Carol tells the story of bitter and miserly Ebenezer Scrooge and his ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation resulting from supernatural visits by Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by OscarWilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)
OscarWilde
  • Reads 1,224,212
  • Votes 16,268
  • 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.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892) by ArthurConanDoyle
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892)
ArthurConanDoyle
  • Reads 561,370
  • Votes 8,719
  • Parts 12
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his famous detective.
Jane Eyre (1847) by CharlotteBronte
Jane Eyre (1847)
CharlotteBronte
  • Reads 1,862,869
  • Votes 24,757
  • Parts 41
"Jane Eyre" follows the emotions and experiences of its eponymous character, including her growth to adulthood, and her love for Mr. Rochester, the byronic master of fictitious Thornfield Hall.
Oliver Twist (1837) by CharlesDickens
Oliver Twist (1837)
CharlesDickens
  • Reads 338,282
  • Votes 5,943
  • Parts 52
The story is about an orphan, Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to London where he meets the Artful Dodger, leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets. Naively unaware of their unlawful activities, Oliver is led to the lair of their elderly criminal trainer Fagin.
Great Expectations (1861) by CharlesDickens
Great Expectations (1861)
CharlesDickens
  • Reads 1,399,362
  • Votes 12,015
  • Parts 60
On Christmas Eve, around 1812, Pip, an orphan who is about six years old, encounters an escaped convict in the village churchyard while visiting the graves of his mother, father, and siblings. The convict scares Pip into stealing food and a file to grind away his shackles, from the home he shares with his abusive older sister and her kind, passive husband Joe Gargery, a blacksmith. The next day, soldiers recapture the convict while he is engaged in a fight with another convict; the two are returned to the prison ships from which they escaped...
Wuthering Heights (1847) by EmilyBronte
Wuthering Heights (1847)
EmilyBronte
  • Reads 1,979,157
  • Votes 21,519
  • Parts 34
Wuthering Heights is a wild, passionate story of the intense and almost demonic love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, a foundling adopted by Catherine's father. After Mr Earnshaw's death, Heathcliff is bullied and humiliated by Catherine's brother Hindley and wrongly believing that his love for Catherine is not reciprocated, leaves Wuthering Heights, only to return years later as a wealthy and polished man. He proceeds to exact a terrible revenge for his former miseries. The action of the story is chaotic and unremittingly violent, but the accomplished handling of a complex structure, the evocative descriptions of the lonely moorland setting and the poetic grandeur of vision combine to make this unique novel a masterpiece of English literature.
Hamlet by WilliamShakespeare
Hamlet
WilliamShakespeare
  • Reads 231,457
  • Votes 4,284
  • Parts 21
Set in the Kingdom of Denmark, "Hamlet" dramatizes the revenge Prince Hamlet exacts on his uncle Claudius for murdering King Hamlet, Claudius's brother and Prince Hamlet's father, and then succeeding to the throne and taking as his wife Gertrude, the old king's widow and Prince Hamlet's mother. Cover by @vkbloodgood
The Merchant of Venice by WilliamShakespeare
The Merchant of Venice
WilliamShakespeare
  • Reads 84,606
  • Votes 1,448
  • Parts 21
Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, "The Merchant of Venice" is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic scenes, and is best known for Shylock and the famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech.