A man's life can change in an instant. For Ben-Hur, a young Jewish aristocrat, that time comes when he accidentally knocks a roof tile onto a Roman official's head. He is condemned to the galleys, but the most fateful moment of his life is yet to come: the day he meets Jesus.

Thackeray's best-loved work, "Vanity Fair, is a satire of epic proportions, and proves that deep-seated cynicism and heartfelt morality don't have to get in the way of a good story. Filled with exceptionally drawn characters, biting social humor, and Thackeray's own illustrations, "Vanity Fair is not only one of the great English novels of the nineteenth century, its title has become synonymous with the follies of high society. Nicholas Dames is Assistant...

"As I sit down to write here amidst the shadows of vine-leaves under the blue sky of southern Italy, it comes to me with a certain quality of astonishment that my participation in these amazing adventures of Mr. Cavor was, after all, the outcome of the purest accident. It might have been any one. I fell into these things at a time when I thought myself removed from the slightest possibility of disturbing experiences. I had gone to Lympne because I...

"A sudden catastrophe descends upon England, leaving London a pestilent swamp and the rest of the country in a state of wilderness. Meanwhile, the few and scattered survivors revert to a feudal society. Hauntingly beautiful in its descriptions of environmental collapse, this 1906 novel offers an early example of post-apocalyptic fiction"--

The adventures of an eccentric Spanish country gentleman and his companion who set out as a knight and squire of old to right wrongs and punish evil.

Fully entitled "Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty," this novel was Dickens' first attempt at a historical novel. As such, it is the precursor to his more famous "A Tale of Two Cities", in which his exploration of mob violence, and especially the effect of public events on individual lives, becomes apparent. This work centers on Barnaby Rudge, a mentally simple son, and his loving mother, who are a part of the small village of Epping Forest,...

Walden is a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings.[2] The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and manual for self-reliance. Thoreau also used this time to write his first book, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers.First published in 1854, Walden details Thoreau's experiences over the course of two years, two months, and two days in a cabin he built near...

The author's first novel, comprising a sequence of loosely related adventures of the Pickwickians as they explore the nooks and crannies and encounter the characters of early nineteenth century England.

Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet (1888) is the first of four of the original Sherlock Holmes novels and introduced the world to the most famous detective duo in literature. From the initial discovery of a corpse in a deserted house in London, to the wild west of the pioneer days of Utah, this is transatlantic crime adventure steeped in mystery, romance and delectable revenge. A Study in Scarlet was initially published in the magazine Beeton's...

Landmark 19th century novel in which a woman defies the standards of conventional French society.