Showing results by publisher "Dreamscape Media, LLC" in Classics

Set in the turbulent time right before World War I, this novel chronicles the tragedy of Edward Ashburnham, his seemingly perfect marriage, and his two American friends. Told through disjointed flashbacks, lies, infidelity, and acts of betrayal are revealed that eviscerate the ties that pull the friends and couples together.

The essential novels of Jules Verne include the classics such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Around the World in Eighty Days. Enjoy all three novels in this enthralling science-fiction collection.

When young Marie Stahlbaum's favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive, she realizes that she is about to start the adventure of a lifetime. After defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, her handsome Nutcracker whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls.

Based on Melville's real-life experiences after having jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands, his first novel was extremely popular, provoking public skepticism until the events within were corroborated by a fellow castaway. Typee is properly considered a work of fiction, as the three weeks stay on which the author based his story is here extended to four months, and the book is supplemented with imaginative reconstruction and adaptation of material from other Pacific exploration books of the time. The title refers to the province of Tai Pi Vai.

Tess Durbeyfield, the daughter of an impoverished family, must navigate a world of desire and romance once she meets Alec d'Urberville. The son of a rich widow, he takes a fancy to her and gets her a position as the poultry keeper on his family's estate. However, her good fortune is soon complicated by Alec's libertine ways, and Tess returns home shamed. Once recovered, she separates herself from the gossip by finding work at a dairy farm outside the village.

An experiment. A declaration. A spiritual awakening. Noted transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau spent two years, two months, and two days chronicling his near-isolation in a small cabin he built in the woods near Walden Pond, on land owned by his mentor and the father of Transcendentalism, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Immersing himself in nature and solitude, Thoreau sought to develop a greater understanding of society amidst a life of self-reliance and simplicity. Originally published in 1854, Walden remains one of the most celebrated works in American literature.

Warm and delightfully festive, this charming and long forgotten holiday classic was inspired, in part, by Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and other celebrations of old-time Yule. Splendid suppers, rural churches, cheerful dances, and hearty spirits imbue this short novel with the magic of the season.

Considered to be French novelist Victor Hugo's masterpiece, Les Miserables, which was published in 1862, is a sprawling historical and philosophical epic that covers from 1815 through the Paris Uprising in 1832. Notable for its many subplots and digressions from the main storyline, the novel's stated aim is a progress from evil to good, from injustice to justice, from falsehood to truth, which can be seen most clearly in the story of the central character Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who struggles to shake the sins of his past and become a good man.

In this epic poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of the king of the Danes whose great hall is plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel bare-handed and goes on to kill Grendel's mother with a giant’s sword that he recovers from her lair. Later, as king of the Geats, Beowulf confronts a dragon that terrorizes his kingdom. J.R.R. Tolkien said of Beowulf that it is in fact so interesting as poetry, that the poetry quite overshadows the historical content in places.

Set in Southwest England in the late 1800s, Sense and Sensibility follows the lives of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne. When inheritance money from their father does not fall their way, the sisters and their mother must move in with distant relatives. Settling in at Barton Park, the Dashwood sisters discover a new life filled with new acquaintances and different suitors. From these new encounters, their lives are forever changed through a series of love, romance, and heartbreaks.

Hailed as one of the world's supreme masterpieces on the subject of death and dying, The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the story of a worldly careerist, a high court judge who has never given the inevitability of his death so much as a passing thought. But one day death announces itself to him, and to his shocked surprise he is brought face to face with his own mortality. How, Tolstoy asks, does an unreflective man confront his one and only moment of truth?

James Allen's literary essay and book As a Man Thinketh was originally published in 1903. The book is written in terms of responsibility assumption, which is a doctrine that any person has complete responsibility for the events that happen to them. Every situation you are in is because of your choice, no other outside factors. Allen's book takes this thought and acts as a guide for an individual to lead a more full and happy life, by using the power of thought to change one's life through a better attitude.

Shipwrecked and cast adrift, Lemuel Gulliver wakes to find himself on Lilliput, an island inhabited by little people whose height makes their quarrels over fashion and fame seem ridiculous. His subsequent encounters with the crude giants of Brobdingnag, the philosophical Houyhnhnms, and the brutish Yahoos give him further insight into human behavior. Presented through Swift's satiric hall of distorting mirrors, mankind is cast as diminished, magnified, and bestial - the composite of which is an uncompromising reflection of human nature.

In Agatha Christie’s short story, “The Case of the Missing Will,” Poirot must help clever student Violet Marsh meet the terms of an unusual will by her Uncle Andrew. She must live in his house for a month and “prove her wits” if she is ever to receive his fortune. But is there another will? This short story originally appeared in the October 31, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.

Howard Pyle's heroic version of Robin Hood begins after a conflict with some foresters leads to Robin of Locksley becoming the outlaw famous for stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Each chapter tells a different tale of Robin as he recruits Merry Men, resists the authorities, and aids his fellow man. Pyle's version includes the popular stories of Little John and Robin's staff fight, Friar Tuck's besting of Robin, Robin's collusion with Allan-a-Dale, and several of his conflicts with the Sheriff of Nottingham.

The legendary Tarzan claims his birthright title as Lord Greystoke and starts a small family with Jane, now his wife. But just when things are going right, the evil Rokoff kidnaps Tarzan's infant son, Jack, luring Tarzan into a trap. After Rokoff exiles him on an island near the African coast, Tarzan uses his skills learned from the jungle to win the favor of various wild animals. Tarzan must enlist these creatures to help him track down Rokoff in order to save his family from certain demise.

These vivid, tightly focused observations about the life of Dublin's poorer classes originally made publishers uneasy: the stories contain unconventional themes and coarse language, and they mention actual people and places. Today, however, the stories are admired. They are considered to be masterful representations of Dublin done with economy and grace - representations, as Joyce himself once explained, of a chapter in the moral history of Ireland that give the Irish a good look at themselves.

Dealing with split personalities, Dr. Jekyll battles with himself to overcome the evil Mr. Hyde. An old friend of Dr. Jekyll's, lawyer Gabriel John Utterson, investigates odd occurrences that are linked to Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll is determined to stop becoming Mr. Hyde and uses a potion to stop the transition. This works for a time, but the need for the potion increases because he can't stave off the beast.

Post World War I, two men are attempting to find the perfect woman, although they both disagree about what might be considered ideal. Yogi Johnson, a World War I veteran, struggles with his lack of attraction to the opposite sex, until one day he's met with a gorgeous Native American woman. Scripps O'Neill, reeling from being left by his wife and young daughter, befriends a waitress and tumbles down a path of commitment.

In the mid 1800s, Pyncheon is still a revered namesake in Salem, with the gloomy Pyncheon mansion serving as a stark reminder of the family's upper class history. However, the house - unique for its seven gables - has a dark and deadly past. Its current occupant, the older and unmarried Hepzibah Pyncheon, is all but destitute and unwilling to accept any assistance from her wealthy but unrelenting cousin, Judge Jaffrey Pyncheon.