Books: What to Know
Classic Stories Without the Homework
The plot, the people, the point and the ending — then the Boovie film, where there is one.
The library
1,001 classics
In the library
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 14, No. 390, September 19, 1829
periodical
In the library
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 17, No. 470, January 8, 1831
periodical
In the library
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 17, No. 477, February 19, 1831
periodical
In the library
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 551, June 9, 1832
periodical
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The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 559, July 28, 1832
periodical
In the library
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 574, November 3, 1832 Title
periodical
In the library
The Miser
Molière · play
The story in one page
The Monk: A Romance
A celebrated monk breaks every vow for a demon in disguise, leading to a family reunion in the catacombs.
M. G. Lewis · novel
In the library
The mother
Grazia Deledda · novel
The story in one page
The Mysteries of Udolpho
An orphan girl inherits a castle and a guardian who treats hospitality like a hostage negotiation.
Ann Ward Radcliffe · novel
In the library
The Mysterious Stranger: A Romance
Mark Twain · novel
The story in one page
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
The heir disappears on Christmas Eve, leaving behind a baffled town and a permanently unwritten conclusion.
Charles Dickens · novel
In the library
The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 3 (of 6)
the Elder Pliny · science
In the library
The new art of writing plays
Lope de Vega · collection
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The New Hudson Shakespeare: Julius Cæsar
William Shakespeare · play
In the library
The New Life (La Vita Nuova)
Dante Alighieri · poetry
In the library
The Nibelungenlied
William Nanson Lettsom · poetry
The story in one page
The Nibelungenlied
Siegfried fights dragons, wins a queen, and ruins everything for his in-laws.
G. H. Needler · myth
In the library
The Nibelungenlied
Daniel Bussier Shumway · poetry
The story in one page
The Nicomachean ethics of Aristotle
A guide to the good life that assumes you are not a stone.
Aristotle · ideas
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The nights of Straparola, volume 1 [of 2]
Giovanni Francesco Straparola · myth
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The Odes and Carmen Saeculare of Horace
Horace · poetry
The story in one page
The Odyssey
One war, ten years lost at sea, and several gods with grudges.
Homer · myth
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The Odyssey of Homer
Homer · poetry
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The Odysseys of Homer, together with the shorter poems
Homer · myth
In the library
The Ontario Readers: The High School Reader, 1886
Ontario. Department of Education · general
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The Orations of Lysias
Lysias · ideas
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The Orphan; Or, The Unhappy Marriage. A Tragedy, in Five Acts
Thomas Otway · play
In the library
The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900
Arthur Quiller-Couch · poetry
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The Passionate Pilgrim
William Shakespeare · poetry
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The Pastime of Pleasure: An Allegorical Poem
Stephen -1523? Hawes · poetry
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The Pearl
Sophie Jewett · poetry
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The peasants, [vol. 2]
Władysław Stanisław Reymont · novel
In the library
The peasants, [vol. 3]
Władysław Stanisław Reymont · novel
In the library
The peasants, [vol. 4]
Władysław Stanisław Reymont · novel
In the library
The Persian Literature, Comprising The Shah Nameh, The Rubaiyat, The Divan, and The Gulistan, Volume 1
Firdawsī · poetry
In the library
The Persian Literature, Comprising The Shah Nameh, The Rubaiyat, The Divan, and The Gulistan, Volume 2
Sadi · poetry
In the library
The Personal History of David Copperfield
Charles Dickens · collection
The story in one page
The Pickwick Papers
A wealthy retiree tours England to document observations, but his servant keeps saving his life.
Charles Dickens · novel
The story in one page
The Picture of Dorian Gray
A young socialite stays perpetually beautiful while his oil portrait pays for his sins in wrinkles and rot.
Oscar Wilde · novel
The story in one page
The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan Every Child Can Read
One man leaves his city for a better one, ignoring the arrows fired at his back.
John Bunyan · religious
The story in one page
The Pilgrim's Progress from this world to that which is to come
A man leaves his family to find salvation, carrying a backpack that turns out to be his own sins.
John Bunyan · novel
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The Plays of Roswitha
Hrotsvitha · collection
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The Poems and Fragments of Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus · poetry
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The poems of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe · poetry
In the library
The Poems of John Donne, Volume 1 (of 2)
John Donne · poetry
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The Poems of John Donne, Volume 2 (of 2)
John Donne · poetry
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The Poems of Sappho: An Interpretative Rendition into English
John Myers O'Hara · poetry