A story of Americans on the French Riviera in the 1930s is a portrait of psychological disintegration as a wealthy couple supports friends and hangers-on financially and emotionally at the cost of their own stability.

The life of a miserly old man is changed forever when he finds and adopts a beautiful little girl.

Published in 1919, this tells the story of Andrew/Andy, raised by his uncle to shoot and ride horses. Andrew is content with living a quiet life in a Western town, until a bully picks a fight. Andy knocks him out, and the guy hits his head on a rock. Andy goes on the run, thinking he's a murderer and subconsciously gravitating towards the lawless sector. (Goodreads)

When Ralph Connor (Rev. Charles William Gordon) first published "Corporal Cameron of the North West Mounted Police A Tale of the MacLeod Trail" in 1912, he created the first great fictional Mountie hero. He based Allan Cameron on the real-life Sergeant William Fury, who alone faced down a mob in Kicking Horse Pass. His "I'll shoot the first man who takes one more step" became a staple in hundreds of later Hollywood Westerns.

The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky's crowning achievement, is a tale of patricide & family rivalry that embodies the moral & spiritual dissolution of an entire society (Russia in the 1870s). It created a national furor comparable only to the excitement stirred by the publication, in 1866, of Crime & Punishment. To Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov captured the quintessence of Russian character in all its exaltation, compassion, & profligacy. Significantly,...

Zoo animals from polar bear to walrus make their distinctive sounds for each other, while children imitate the sounds for the zookeeper. Includes note to parents and teachers, and related activities.

Master wit Mark Twain selected these twenty-seven stories himself by fifteen of his favorite nineteenth century authors. The order follows that which Twain placed them in in the original anthology, published in 1888. He indulged his comic fancy rather than making a textbook in which all themes or authors are placed together, saying that "This way, you will have to peruse the whole thing before discovering that one of your favorites is not included."...

Beezus' biggest problem was her 4-year-old sister Ramona. Even though Beezus knew sisters were supposed to love each other, with a sister like Ramona, it seemed impossible.

Milt Dale, man of the forest, halted at the edge of a timbered ridge, to listen and to watch. Beneath him lay a narrow valley, open and grassy, from which rose a faint murmur of running water. Its music was pierced by the wild staccato yelp of a hunting coyote. From overhead in the giant fir came a twittering and rustling of grouse settling for the night; and from across the valley drifted the last low calls of wild turkeys going to roost. To Dale's...

"Frodo and his companions of the ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the ruling ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They lost the wizard Gandalf in a battle in the Mines of Moria, and Boromir, seduced by the power of the ring, tried to seize it by force. While Frodo and Sam made their escape, the rest of the company was attacked by Orcs. Now they continue the journey alone...