This is the first edition of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Nature." Published anonymously in 1836, it is his first essay and is considered to be the foundation text for the American Transcendentalist movement. Emerson puts forth the concept that the divine spirit is universally present within all things and all aspects of nature. He believes that through nature, humans acquire all of their physical and spiritual needs. He divides his essay into several different...

Relates the adventures of Ben Brown, his performing poodle Sancho, and the two young girls who feed and care for them after the boy and dog run away from the circus.

First published serially in magazines beginning in 1915 and then as a complete novel in 1919, "Lad: A Dog" is the beloved tale of the perfect dog by Albert Payson Terhune, the American journalist, dog breeder, and novelist. Lad, the central character of the tale, is a Rough Collie dog who lives with his Master, Mistress, and mate, Lady, at their home called the Place. Lad, who was based on Terhune's real life pet Rough Collie, is a loyal and brave...

"Work: A Story of Experience" by Louisa May Alcott immerses readers in the compelling narrative of Christie Devon, a young woman navigating the post-Civil War landscape in pursuit of independence and purpose. Set against the backdrop of the societal constraints of the era, this semi-autobiographical novel chronicles Christie's multifaceted journey through various jobs, each offering a glimpse into the challenges and triumphs of a woman seeking self-reliance. Alcott's...

A fantastic look of some of the greatest writers of the Victorian era, including Charlotte Bronte, Anthony Trollope, Thomas Carlyle and Charles Dickens. Written by eminent historian Frederic Harrison.

Five Weeks in a Balloon is not only the first installment in Jules Verne's celebrated Voyages Extraordinaires series, but also the first of Verne's works to earn him widespread popularity as a writer of science fiction and adventure novels. Following his invention of an ingenious new air balloon capable of long-distance flight, Dr. Samuel Fergusson embarks on the adventure of a lifetime with his trusted servant, Joe, and loyal friend, Dick Kennedy....

Mr. William Whittlestaff was strolling very slowly up and down the long walk at his countryseat in Hampshire, thinking of the contents of a letter, which he held crushed up within his trousers' pocket. He always breakfasted exactly at nine, and the letters were supposed to be brought to him at a quarter past. The postman was really due at his hall-door at a quarter before nine; but though he had lived in the same house for above fifteen years, and...

But strange as the journey may be, it's nowhere near as strange as what they will find waiting at its end. One of the lesser known novels by Jules Verne, but certainly a novel that is worth reading, An Antarctic Mystery or The Sphinx of the Ice Fields is a fictional travelogue that describes the narrator's adventures as he travels from Kerguelen Islands, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, towards the South Pole. The novel is the account of the...

Rachel Ray is the younger daughter of a lawyer's widow. She lives with her mother and her widowed sister, Dorothea Prime, in a cottage near Exeter in Devon. Mrs. Ray is amiable but weak, unable to make decisions on her own and ruled by her older daughter. Mrs. Prime is a strict and gloomy Evangelical, persuaded that all worldly joys are impediments to salvation. Rachel is courted by Luke Rowan, a young man from London who has inherited an interest...

“News from Nowhere” is a classic work combining utopian socialism and soft science fiction written by the artist, designer and socialist pioneer William Morris. It was first published in serial form in the Commonweal journal beginning on 11 January 1890. Up at the League, says a friend, there had been one night a brisk conversational discussion, as to what would happen on the Morrow of the Revolution, finally shading off into a vigorous statement...