Classics

A Tragi-comic Novel of Bourgeois Life, part 1 by Flaubert

In Part 1, the comedic elements of Bouvard and Pécuchet’s ignorance are highlighted, but the underlying tragedy lies in their inability to achieve anything meaningful despite their persistent effort.

A Tragi-comic Novel of Bourgeois Life, part 2 by Flaubert

As an unfinished work, Bouvard et Pécuchet lacks a definitive conclusion, but it remains a key example of Flaubert's wit and literary mastery. It is a sharp commentary on the limits of intellectual pretensions and the absurdity of human ambition.

Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens’s first historical novel–set during the anti-Catholic riots of 1780–is an unparalleled portrayal of the terror of a rampaging mob, seen through the eyes of the individuals swept up in the chaos.  

Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville

The tale is one of the final works of fiction published by Melville before, slipping into despair over the continuing critical dismissal of his work after Moby-Dick, he abandoned publishing fiction.

Before Adam by Jack London

Written in 1906, Before Adam is a bit of a departure from London's other novels. Still an adventure novel, this one revolves around the dreams of a young boy, dreams that involve racial memories and the knowledge of his prior existence as a man-like creature named Big Tooth living in prehistoric times.

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace

This faithful New Testament tale combines the events of the life of Jesus with grand historical spectacle in the exciting story of Judah of the House of Hur, a man who finds extraordinary redemption for himself and his family.A classic of faith, fortitude, and inspiration.

Beowulf by Unknown

Composed toward the end of the first millennium, Beowulf is the elegiac narrative of the adventures of Beowulf, a Scandinavian hero who saves the Danes from the seemingly invincible monster Grendel and, later, from Grendel's mother. He then returns to his own country and dies in old age in a vivid fight against a dragon. 

Berenice by Edgar Allan Poe

The story is often interpreted as a chilling exploration of mental deterioration and fixation, highlighting Poe's fascination with the grotesque and the human psyche's darkest corners. The graphic nature of Berenice was considered shocking and controversial at the time of its publication, and it remains one of Poe’s most unsettling tales.

Beverly of Graustark by George Barr McCutcheon

Far off in the mountain lands, somewhere to the east of the setting sun, lies the principality of Graustark, serene relic of rare old feudal days. The traveler reaches the little domain after an arduous, sometimes perilous journey from the great European capitals, whether they be north or south or west—never east.

Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche

Beyond Good and Evil confirmed Nietzsche's position as the towering European philosopher of his age. The work dramatically rejects the tradition of Western thought with its notions of truth and God, good and evil. Nietzsche demonstrates that the Christian world is steeped in a false piety and infected with a 'slave morality'.

Beyond the Horizon by Eugene O'Neill

Beyond the Horizon is a three-act play written by Eugene O'Neill. The play is set in rural New England and follows the story of two brothers, Robert and Andrew Mayo, and their family's struggles with love, duty, and ambition. Robert dreams of leaving the farm to become a sailor, while Andrew is content to stay and work the land. However, their plans and relationships are complicated when Ruth, a childhood friend and love interest, returns to the farm after years away. 

Billy Budd, Sailor by Herman Melville

A handsome young sailor is unjustly accused of plotting mutiny in this timeless tale of the sea.