The Professor (1857) is English writer Charlotte Brontë's first novel. Rejected by several publishing houses, Brontë shelved the novel in order to write her masterpiece Jane Eyre (1847). After her death, The Professor was edited by Brontë's widower, Arthur Bell Nichols, who saw that the novel was published posthumously. Based on Brontë's experience as a student and teacher in Brussels-which similarly inspired her novel Villette-The Professor is...

Mikhail Lermontov's pioneering psychological novel, "A Hero of Our Time", is probably his most impactful work, one which influenced the works of other great Russian authors such as Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. The novel's narrative is the story of Pechorin a young officer in the army whose story is told in five non-chronological parts. Drawing upon his own experiences in the military, Lermontov creates a fascinating anti-hero in Pechorin, a man who is...

A collection of stories and poems about tricksters in all parts of the world by a variety of authors.

Through the story of the brilliant but conflicted young Raskolnikov and the murder he commits, Fyodor Dostoyevsky explores the theme of redemption through suffering. "Crime and Punishment" put Dostoyevsky at the forefront of Russian writers when it appeared in 1866 and is now one of the most famous and influential novels in world literature. The poverty-stricken Raskolnikov, a talented student, devises a theory about extraordinary men being above...

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Love is the only thing that we can carry with us when we go, and it makes the end so easy.' In mid-nineteenth-century Massachusetts, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March continue to encounter both joys and sorrows along life's path, as they journey into womanhood both close to home and further away. The highs and lows of the four young women's lives are shared with...

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: • New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars • Biographies of the authors...

Stories and poems set in the urban land of Bordertown, a city on the edge of the faerie and human world, populated by human and elfin runaways.

The Phantom of the Opera (1910) is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. Originally serialized in Le Galois, the novel was inspired by legends revolving around the Paris Opera from the early nineteenth century. Originally, a journalist, Leroux turned to fiction after reading the works of Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe. Despite its lack of success relative to Leroux's other novels, The Phantom of the Opera has become legendary through several...

Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) was a Russian-American writer known for his unique blend of erudition and playfulness. His novels in English include Lolita, Pale Fire, and Ada. He also wrote poetry, short stories, translations from Russian, and a memoir, Speak, Memory. Brian Boyd is professor of literature at the University of Auckland. He is the author of Vladimir Nabokov: The Russian Years and Vladimir Nabokov: The American Years (both Princeton)....