By Mark Twain

From Wikipedia: The Prince and the Pauper is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States.[1] The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547, it tells the story of two young boys who were born on the same day and are identical in appearance: Tom Canty, a pauper who lives with his abusive, alcoholic father in Offal Court off Pudding Lane in London, and Edward VI of England, son of Henry VIII of England. Plot: Tom Canty, the youngest son of a very poor family living in Offal Court located in London, has been abused by his father and grandmother, but is encouraged by the local priest, who taught him to read and write. Loitering around the palace gates one day, he sees Edward Tudor, the Prince of Wales. Coming too close in his intense excitement, Tom is caught and nearly beaten by the Royal Guards. However, Edward stops them and invites Tom into his palace chamber. There, the two boys get to know one another and are fascinated by each other's life. They have an uncanny resemblance to each other and learn they were even born on the same day, so they decide to swap clothes “temporarily". The Prince hides an item, which the reader later learns……

By Mark Twain

From Wikipedia: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885.

Commonly named among the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written throughout in vernacular English, characterized by local color regionalism. It is told in the first person by Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, the narrator of two other Twain novels (Tom Sawyer Abroad and Tom Sawyer, Detective) and a friend of Tom Sawyer. It is a direct sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The book is noted for "changing the course of children's literature" in the United States for the "deeply felt portrayal of boyhood".[2][better source needed] It is also known for its colorful description of people and places along the Mississippi River. Set in a Southernantebellum society that had ceased to exist over 20 years before the work was published, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an often scathing satire on entrenched attitudes, particularly racism and freedom. Perennially popular with readers, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has also been the continued object of study by literary critics since its publication. The book was widely criticized upon release because of its extensive use of coarse language and racial epithet. Throughout the 20th century, and despite arguments that the protagonist and the tenor of the book are anti-racist,[3][4] criticism of the book continued due to both its perceived use of racial stereotypes and its frequent use of the racial slur "nigger".

USA. Chatto & Windus / Charles L. Webster And Company.. 1884. 440p.

By Mark Twain

From Wikipedia: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is an 1876 novel by Mark Twain about a boy growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1840s in the town of St. Petersburg, which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived as a boy.[2] In the novel, Tom Sawyerhas several adventures, often with his friend Huckleberry Finn. Originally a commercial failure, the book ended up being the best selling of Twain's works during his lifetime.[3][4]Though overshadowed by its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the book is considered by many to be a masterpiece of American literature.[5] It was one of the first novels to be written on a typewriter.

Tom Sawyer is an orphan who lives with his Aunt Polly and his half-brother Sid in the town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, sometime in the 1840s. A fun-loving boy, he frequently skips school to play or go swimming. When Aunt Polly catches him sneaking home late on a Friday evening and discovers that he has been in a fight, she makes him whitewash her fence the next day as punishment….

Hartford. Conn. American Publishing Company. 1884. 392p.

By Franz Kafka. Translated by David Wyllie

From Wikipedia: The Trial (German: Der Process,[1] previously Der Proceß, Der Prozeß and Der Prozess) is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, with the nature of his crime revealed neither to him nor to the reader. Heavily influenced by Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, Kafka even went so far as to call Dostoevsky a blood relative.[2] Like Kafka's two other novels, The Castleand Amerika, The Trial was never completed, although it does include a chapter which appears to bring the story to an intentionally abrupt ending.

After Kafka's death in 1924 his friend and literary executor Max Brod edited the text for publication by Verlag Die Schmiede. The original manuscript is held at the Museum of Modern Literature, Marbach am Neckar, Germany. The first English-language translation, by Willa and Edwin Muir, was published in 1937.[3] In 1999, the book was listed in Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century and as No. 2 of the Best German Novels of the Twentieth Century.

Berlin. Verlag Die Schmiede. 1925. 213p. CONTAINS MARK-UP

By Franz Kafka. Translated by David Wyllie

From Wikipedia: Metamorphosis (German: Die Verwandlung) is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, Metamorphosis tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect (German: ungeheueres Ungeziefer, lit. "monstrousvermin") and subsequently struggles to adjust to this new condition. The novella has been widely discussed among literary critics, with differing interpretations being offered. In popular culture and adaptations of the novella, the insect is commonly depicted as a cockroach.

With a length of about 70 printed pages over three chapters, it is the longest of the stories Kafka considered complete and published during his lifetime. The text was first published in 1915 in the October issue of the journal Die weißen Blätter under the editorship of René Schickele. The first edition in book form appeared in December 1915 in the series Der jüngste Tag, edited by Kurt Wolff.[1]

Leipzig. Kurt Wolff Verlag . 1915. 49p. CONTAINS MARK-UP

By Franz Kafka. : Willa and Edwin Muir, Tania and James Stern

This is a 1971 collection of all Kafka’s finished works. It contains all the amazing, weird and wonderful unsettling stories from Metamorphisis to In the Penal Colony.From Wikipedia: “In 1912, Kafka wrote Die Verwandlung (The Metamorphosis, or The Transformation),[150] published in 1915 in Leipzig. The story begins with a travelling salesman waking to find himself transformed into an ungeheures Ungeziefer, a monstrous vermin, Ungezieferbeing a general term for unwanted and unclean pests, especially insects. Critics regard the work as one of the seminal works of fiction of the 20th century.[151][152][153] The story "In der Strafkolonie" ("In the Penal Colony"), dealing with an elaborate torture and execution device, was written in October 1914,[82] revised in 1918, and published in Leipzig during October 1919. The story "Ein Hungerkünstler" ("A Hunger Artist"), published in the periodical Die neue Rundschau in 1924, describes a victimized protagonist who experiences a decline in the appreciation of his strange craft of starving himself for extended periods.[154] His last story, "Josefine, die Sängerin oder Das Volk der Mäuse" ("Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk"), also deals with the relationship between an artist and his audience.[155]

NY. Schoken. 1971. 487p. CONTAINS MARK-UP

By Henry James

From Wikipedia: The Wings of the Dove is a 1902 novel by Henry James. It tells the story of Milly Theale, an American heiress stricken with a serious disease, and her effect on the people around her. Some of these people befriend Milly with honourable motives, while others are more self-interested. Plot summary:

Kate Croy and Merton Densher are two betrothed Londoners who desperately want to marry but have very little money. Kate is constantly put upon by family troubles, and is now living with her domineering aunt, Maud Lowder. Into their world comes Milly Theale, an enormously rich young American woman who had previously met and fallen in love with Densher, although she has never revealed her feelings. Her travelling companion and confidante, Mrs. Stringham, is an old friend of Maud. Kate and Aunt Maud welcome Milly to London, and the American heiress enjoys great social success…….

By Henry James

From Wikipedia: The story of Washington Square by Henry James is told with a nuanced perspective of characters with individual rationalizations and sometimes undisclosed motivations. There is a subtle ambiguity to the internal logic of the participants in the story and none are altogether depicted as outright villainous.

In 1840s New York City, naive, introverted Catherine Sloper lives with her respected physician father, Dr. Austin Sloper, in Washington Square, a then newly established neighborhood near Greenwich Village. After the deaths of his wife and son, Dr. Sloper raises Catherine with his widowed sister, Mrs. Penniman, who is charged with Catherine's education. Although never disclosed directly to Catherine, the Doctor does not hold her personality or appearance in high regard, finding her a cheap substitute for her mother. This evaluation is never challenged in the narrative and Catherine is depicted as a simple, reserved individual……

NY. Harper. 1880. 266p.

By Henry James

From Wikipedia: The Portrait of a Lady is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly and Macmillan's Magazine in 1880–81 and then as a book in 1881. It is one of James's most popular novels and is regarded by critics as one of his finest.

The Portrait of a Lady is the story of a spirited young American woman, Isabel Archer, who, "affronting her destiny,"[1] finds it overwhelming. She inherits a large amount of money and subsequently becomes the victim of Machiavellian scheming by two American expatriates. Like many of James's novels, it is set in Europe, mostly England and Italy. Generally regarded as the masterpiece of James's early period,[2] this novel reflects James's continuing interest in the differences between the New World and the Old, often to the detriment of the former. It also treats in a profound way the themes of personal freedom, responsibility, and betrayal.

• More.....

  Isabel Archer, from Albany, New York, is invited by her maternal aunt, Lydia Touchett, to visit Lydia's rich husband, Daniel, at his estate near London, following the death of Isabel's father. There, Isabel meets her uncle, her friendly invalid cousin Ralph Touchett, and the Touchetts' robust neighbor, Lord Warburton. Isabel later declines Warburton's sudden proposal of marriage. She also rejects the hand of Caspar Goodwood, the charismatic son and heir of a wealthy Boston mill owner. Although Isabel is drawn to Caspar, her commitment to her independence precludes such a marriage, which she feels would demand the sacrifice of her freedom…….

By Charles Dickens

The opening of “A Christman story”. I have been looking on, this evening, at a merry company of children assembled round that pretty German toy, a Christmas Tree.  The tree was planted in the middle of a great round table, and towered high above their heads.  It was brilliantly lighted by a multitude of little tapers; and everywhere sparkled and glittered with bright objects.  There were rosy-cheeked dolls, hiding behind the green leaves; and there were real watches (with movable hands, at least, and an endless capacity of being wound up) dangling from innumerable twigs; there were French-polished tables, chairs, bedsteads, wardrobes, eight-day clocks, and various other articles of domestic furniture (wonderfully made, in tin, at Wolverhampton), perched among the boughs, as if in preparation for some fairy housekeeping; there were jolly, broad-faced little men, much more agreeable in appearance than many real men—and no wonder, for their heads took off, and showed them to be full of sugar-plums; there were fiddles and drums; there were tambourines, books, work-boxes, paint-boxes, sweetmeat-boxes, peep-show boxes, and all kinds of boxes; there were trinkets for the elder girls, far brighter than any grown-up gold and jewels; there were baskets and pincushions in all devices; there were guns, swords, and banners; there were witches standing in enchanted rings of pasteboard, to tell fortunes; there were teetotums, humming-tops, needle-cases, pen-wipers, smelling-bottles, conversation-cards, bouquet-holders; real fruit, made artificially dazzling with gold leaf; imitation apples, pears, and walnuts, crammed with surprises; in short, as a pretty child, before me, delightedly whispered to another pretty child, her bosom friend, “There was everything, and more.”  This motley collection of odd objects, clustering on the tree like magic fruit, and flashing back the bright looks directed towards it from every side—some of the diamond-eyes admiring it were hardly on a level with the table, and a few were languishing in timid wonder on the bosoms of pretty mothers, aunts, and nurses—made a lively realisation of the fancies of childhood; and set me thinking how all the trees that grow and all the things that come into existence on the earth, have their wild adornments at that well-remembered time.

London. Chapman and Hall Christmas Stories edition, Volume 1, 1911. 69p.

By Charles Dickens

From Wikipedia. Nicholas Nickleby, or The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, is the third novel by Charles Dickens, originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839. The character of Nickleby is a young man who must support his mother and sister after his father dies.

London. Chapman and Hall. 1839. 954p.

By Charles Dickens

From Wikipedia: “The story concerns Paul Dombey, the wealthy owner of the shipping company of the book's title, whose dream is to have a son to continue his business. The book begins when his son is born and Dombey's wife dies shortly after giving birth. Following the advice of Mrs Louisa Chick, his sister, Dombey employs a wet nurse named Mrs Richards (Toodle). Dombey already has a six-year-old daughter Florence, but, bitter at her not having been the desired boy, he neglects her continually. One day, Mrs Richards, Florence, and her maid, Susan Nipper, secretly pay a visit to Mrs Richards' house in Staggs's Gardens so that Mrs Richards can see her children. During this trip, Florence becomes separated from them and is kidnapped for a short time by Good Mrs Brown, before being returned to the streets. She makes her way to Dombey and Son's offices in the City and there is found and brought home by Walter Gay, an employee of Mr Dombey, who first introduces her to his uncle, the navigation instrument maker Solomon Gills, at his shop The Wooden Midshipman. The child, named Paul after his father, is a weak and sickly child….”

London. Bradbury & Evans. 1848.

By Charles Dickens

“…When he came therefore to think of his new story for Christmas time, he resolved to make it a plea for the poor ... He was to try and convert Society, as he had converted Scrooge, by showing that its happiness rested on the same foundations as those of the individual, which are mercy and charity not less than justice…” (Wikipedia)

Chapman and Hall. 1844. 175p.

By Rosalie Ham

Sydney. Duffy and Shellgrove. 2000. 302p.

"The Dressmaker" is a novel by Australian author Rosalie Ham, first published in 2000. The book tells the story of Tilly Dunnage, a talented dressmaker who returns to her hometown in rural Australia after years of living abroad. As she settles back into her old life, Tilly must confront the demons of her past and navigate the complex social dynamics of a small town that has never fully accepted her.

The novel is a darkly comic satire that skewers the hypocrisies and prejudices of small-town life. Ham's vivid descriptions of the characters and setting bring the town to life, and her use of irony and satire add a sharp edge to the story's humor. At its heart, though, "The Dressmaker" is a story about the power of self-expression and the importance of being true to oneself, even in the face of opposition from others.

By Jane Shemilt

London. Penguin. 2014. 342p.

"The Daughter" is a novel by Australian author Jane Shemilt, first published in 2014. The book tells the story of a successful doctor named Jenny, whose daughter Naomi disappears one day without a trace. As Jenny searches for her daughter and tries to unravel the mystery of her disappearance, she must confront the painful secrets and hidden truths that have been simmering beneath the surface of her seemingly perfect family.

The novel is a gripping psychological thriller that explores themes of loss, grief, and the complexities of family relationships. Shemilt's skill as a writer is evident in her deft handling of the novel's multiple narrative threads, as well as her ability to create a sense of tension and unease that keeps the reader engaged from start to finish.

By Jonas Jonasson. Translated by Rod Bradbury

A larger-than-life old man with a fondness for vodka goes on an unexpected adventure in this whimsical novel -- perfect for fans of Forrest Gump and A Man Called Ove.. The international publishing sensation -- more than six million copies sold worldwide! A reluctant centenarian much like Forrest Gump (if Gump were an explosives expert) decides it's not too late to start over . . .

After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he's still in good health, and in one day, he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn't interested (and he'd like a bit more control over his vodka consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey, involving, among other surprises, a suitcase stuffed with cash, some unpleasant criminals, a friendly hot-dog stand operator, and an elephant (not to mention a death by elephant).

It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: Not only has he witnessed some of the most important events of the twentieth century, but he has actually played a key role in them. Starting out in munitions as a boy, he somehow finds himself involved in many of the key explosions of the twentieth century and travels the world, sharing meals and more with everyone from Stalin, Churchill, and Truman to Mao, Franco, and de Gaulle. Quirky and utterly unique, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared has charmed readers across the world.

NY. Hachette. 2009, 2012. 381p.

By Woody Allen

From the cover. In Getting Even Woody Allen revenges himself upon such significant subjects as death, obe­sity, organized crime, the invention of the sandwich, adult education, laundry lists of famous people, and Latin American revolu­tionaries. Here is Woody Allen at his philo­sophical deepest: •    "... Death is an acquired trait.'' •    "If man were immortal, do you realize what his meat bills would be?" •    "Why pork was proscribed by Hebraic law is still unclear, and some scholars believe that the Torah merely suggested not eating pork at certain restaurants." •    "Eternal Nothingness is OK if you're dressed for it." •    "My mind can never know my body although it has become quite friendly with my legs."

NY. Random House. 1978. 124p.

By Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Translated from the Russian by Michael Guybon. “*The First Circle asks to be compared to Dostoevsky. Solzhenitsyn is in the great story-telling tradition. When he introduces a character, he fills in the complete background. His portrait of a Soviet prosecutor and his family circle is unforgettable. So are chapters devoted to the brooding Stalin. A future generation of Russians will be able to come to terms with their history through books like Dr. Zhivago and The First Circle.'“ David Pryce-Jones, Financial Times.

London Collins. Fontana Books. 1970. 680P.

By Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Translated from the Russian by Ralph Parker. With an Introduction by Marvin L. Kalb. Foreword By Alexander Tvardovsky. From the cover: This extraordinary novel is one of the most significant and outspoken literary documents ever to come out of Soviet Russia. It is both a brutally graphic picture of life in a Stalinist work camp and a moving tribute to man's will to prevail over relentless dehumanization. A masterpiece of modern Russian fiction, ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DENISOVICH first brought to world attention the work of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, brilliant author of THE CANCER WARD and THE FIRST CIRCLE.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn was born in 1918, a year after the Bolsheviks stormed to; power through­out Russia. He studied at the University of Rostov and served with distinction in the Russian Army dur­ing World War II. In 1945 he was arrested and im­prisoned in a labor camp for eight years because he allegedly made a derogatory remark about Stalin. He was released in 1953 after the death of Stalin, but was forced to live in Central Asia, where he remained until Premier Khrushchev’s historic “secret speech” denounced Stalin in 1956. Rehabilitated in 1957, Solzhenitsyn moved to Ryazan, married a chemistry student, and began to teach mathematics at the local school. In his spare time, he started to write. This novel is his first published work.

NY. A Signet Classic from New American Library. 1963. 158p.

By Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

From the jacket: Cancer Ward, which has been compared to the master­piece of another Nobel Prize winner, Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain,examines the relationships of a group of people in a provincial Soviet hospital in 1955, two years after Stalin's death. Through their stories, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has created a vivid portrait of life in the So­viet Union. Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Literature, was born in 1918. In 1945, while a captain in the Soviet Army, he was arrested—for criticiz­ing Stalin in a letter to a friend—and sentenced to an eight-year term in a labor camp and permanent exile. In exile, he became a patient in a cancer ward, and later re­covered. Although he was allowed to publish One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich in 1962, Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the Soviet Writers Union in 1969. When the KGB discovered the manuscript of The Gulag Archi­pelago, it became imperative for Solzhenitsyn to have the book published in the West. The authorities retaliated in 1974 by exiling him from the Soviet Union. He settled in the United States in 1976 and now lives in Vermont.

NY. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1968. 630p.