In The Confessions of Saint Augustine (c. 400 CE), Saint Augustine reveals in brutally honest details the agonizing process of maturation from a worldly and sinful young man to the great advocate for Christianity and virtue he would become.Saint Augustine of Hippo is now remembered as one of the great Christian philosophers of history, with his many works contributing significantly to concepts like theological anthropology, eschatology, and origin...

When his partner is killed while on a case, Sam Spade is plunged into the hunt for a priceless, gem-encrusted statuette known as the Maltese Falcon, a legendary artifact coveted by a cast of deceitful characters, including the enigmatic Brigid O'Shaughnessy and the opportunistic Joel Cairo. The Maltese Falcon is a masterclass in ambiguity and moral complexity, establishing Sam Spade as the quintessential detective antihero who operates in a world where truth is an elusive ...

Considered today to be a classic of Japanese literature, Lady Murasaki Shikibu’s groundbreaking novel, The Tale of Genji, is a story of a young man in search of love in the time of Heian aristocracy.In the immediate aftermath of his mother’s death, Genji–the love child of Emperor Kiritsubo and his favorite concubine–is stripped of his birthright and royalty to avoid political scandal. Nevertheless remaining close to the Emperor’s heart, Genji is nicknamed “Shining Prince,”...

The Queen of Regency Romance returns to her craft with her career-launching sophomore novel, These Old Shades.On a previously uneventful night in Paris, two ships–who in any other circumstance would likely continue to pass through the night–collide in a stroke of serendipity. The first being Justin Alastai–the infamous and dastardly Duke of Avon–on his way to seek revenge on the Comte de Saint-Vire; the second being the abused youth Léon, who is in the midst of fle...

Thomas Wolfe’s 1929 semi-autobiographical novel is a rich and detailed tapestry of human experience, chronicling the coming-of-age of Eugene Gant in the early 20th century.The narrative begins with Eugene's birth into a tumultuous family in the fictional town of Altamont, a place defined by his father's alcoholism and his mother's obsession with property acquisition. As a shy and awkward boy, Eugene grapples with a turbulent home life and the relentless torment of ...

What lies in wait at the nexus of heartbreak and unrequited love? In teasing out the answer to this question, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe produced The Sorrows of Young Werther, one of history’s first bestsellers and the book that would propel Goethe to celebrity status and the heights of the Sturm and Drang movement that defined Germany’s literary scene during the late 1700s.The novel follows Werther, a young and sensitive artist, through his letters writte...

The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) is a masterwork of emotional complexity, heartbreak, and redemption by celebrated English author Thomas Hardy.Drunk and outraged, Michael Henchard auctions off his own wife and daughter for five guineas. The following morning, he searches for his family to no avail and, with the clarity of sobriety, swears off liquor for the next 21 years. In that time, he becomes a successful grain merchant and the titular Mayor of Casterb...

Still a staple in history classrooms to this day, The Red Badge of Courage (1895) is at once a portal to a crucible moment in American history and a lyrical investigation into the origins of shame, bravery, and redemption within the human spirit.In the face of unrelenting and senseless brutality, why do some people flee while others stand their ground? This question is at the heart of the novel. The narrative follows Private Henry Fleming, a young soldier full of r...

"A spectre is haunting Europe—the spectre of Communism." The Communist Manifesto (1848) is one of the most important pieces of political writing in modern history, sparking outrage, revolution, and controversy since its initial publication in 1848.In the text, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels begin by laying out the different classes of people within society and how those classes interact with one another. They stress the exploitation of the...

Daisy Miller is Henry James’ sharpest critique of European high society and a must read for lovers of psychological drama, social deconstruction, and classic literature.The titular Daisy Miller is a woman whose genuine kindness and lust for life is anathema to the rigid and vain culture of 19th Century Europe. For refusing to conform, Daisy is the subject of gossip everywhere she goes and eventually cast out of high society all together, culminating in a m...

On the Origin of Species (1859) is legendary naturalist Charles Darwin's groundbreaking and foundational study that birthed the theory of evolutionary biology.Sparking controversy from the time of its publication to the present day, Darwin’s theory of natural selection, where upon individuals of the same species have a more robust chance of survival thanks to their unique combination of physical characteristics, completely changed how the world viewed huma...

The only full-length novel of Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) is a tale that is as strange as it is adventurous, as comical as it is horrifying, and just about as Poe as it gets.Initially intended to be a realistic tale, the adventure of the titular Arthur, a stowaway aboard the whaling ship Grampus, is always turning stranger and harder to define, Poe’s powerful imagination leaking into the cracked hull of the narra...