Fiction Recommended Books and Bestsellers

1Bleak House

By Charles Dickens

Bleak House is the ninth novel by Charles Dickens, published in 20 monthly parts between March 1852 and September 1853. It is widely held to be one of Dickens' finest and most complete novels, containing one of the most vast, complex and engaging arrays of minor characters and sub-plots in his entire canon. Dickens tells all of these both through the narrative of the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and as an omniscient narrator. Memorable characters include the menacing lawyer Tulkinghorn, the friendly but depressive John Jarndyce and the childish Harold Skimpole. The plot concerns a long-running legal dispute (Jarndyce and Jarndyce) which has far-reaching consequences for all involved. (Summary from Wikipedia)

2Getting of Wisdom

By Henry Handel Richardson

The Getting of Wisdom tells the story of Laura Rambotham, a 12-year-old girl who is just starting at her boarding school. This is based on Henry Handel Richardson's experiences of her own school, the Presbyterian Ladies College in central Melbourne. The story goes through her friends and enemies and all the life of a boarding school in early 20th century Australia, and all the subjects and learning too. Laura learns a lot but her education does not satisfy her, and her social life is thrown upon her as very different from her peers. (Summary by Bronwyn Kate)

3Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

By Howard Pyle

Robin Hood is the archetypal English folk hero; a courteous, pious and swashbuckling outlaw of the mediæval era who, in modern versions of the legend, is famous for robbing the rich to feed the poor and fighting against injustice and tyranny. He operates with his "seven score" (140 strong) group of fellow outlawed yeomen – named the Merry Men. He and his band are usually associated with Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire.<br><br>The Victorian era generated its own distinct versions of Robin Hood. The traditional tales were often adapted for children, most notably in Howard Pyle's Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. These versions firmly stamp Robin as a staunch philanthropist, a man who takes from the rich to give to the poor.(Summary from Wikipedia)

4Jane Eyre

By Charlotte Brontë

<i>Jane Eyre</i> is not your typical romance. It is a story of a woman who struggles with a world in which she doesn't quite fit. Once finished with her schooling, and with no family that really cares of her she strikes out on her own as a governess. Jane Eyre searches for love, someone to care for her, and someone to care for, and finds it in unexpected places. (summary by Kri)

5Christmas Carol

By Charles Dickens

A classic tale of what comes to those whose hearts are hard. In a series of ghostly visits, Scrooge visits his happy past, sees the difficulties of the present, views a bleak future, and in the end amends his mean ways. (Summary written by Kristen McQuillin)

6Anne of Avonlea

By Lucy Maud Montgomery

Following Anne of Green Gables, the book covers the second chapter in the life of Anne Shirley. Anne of Avonlea follows Anne from the age of 16 to 18, during the two years that she teaches at Avonlea school. It includes many of the characters from Anne of Green Gables, as well new ones like Mr Harrison, Miss Lavendar Lewis, Paul Irving, and the twins Dora and Davy. (Summary from Wikipedia.org)

7Anne of Green Gables

By Lucy Maud Montgomery

Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic children’s novel, Anne of Green Gables tells the story of a red headed orphan girl with a personality you can’t help but love. Despite her “tragical” past, Anne’s optimism and imagination have helped her to always see the best in things. Anne’s life changes considerably when she is accidentally adopted by the Cuthberts, a brother and sister who thought they were getting a boy to help out on the farm. The Cuthberts decide Anne will have to be sent back to the orphange but before they know it, she has begun to work her way into their hearts. (Summary by Annie Coleman)

8Country of the Pointed Firs

By Sarah Orne Jewett

The Country of the Pointed Firs (1896) is considered Jewett’s finest work, described by Henry James as her “beautiful little quantum of achievement.” Despite James’s diminutives, the novel remains a classic. Because it is loosely structured, many critics view the book not as a novel, but a series of sketches; however, its structure is unified through both setting and theme. Jewett herself felt that her strengths as a writer lay not in plot development or dramatic tension, but in character development. Indeed, she determined early in her career to preserve a disappearing way of life, and her novel can be read as a study of the effects of isolation and hardship on the inhabitants who lived in the decaying fishing villages along the Maine coast.<br /> (summary from Gutenberg e-text)

9Main Street

By Sinclair Lewis

Carol Milford is a liberal, free-spirited young woman, reared in the metropolis of Minneapolis. She marries Will Kennicott, a doctor, who is a small-town boy at heart. When they marry, Will convinces her to live in his home-town of Gopher Prairie, Minnesota. Carol is appalled at the backwardness of Gopher Prairie. But her disdain for the town's physical ugliness and smug conservatism compels her to reform it. (Summary from Wikipedia).

10Our Mutual Friend

By Charles Dickens

Dickens' last complete novel was published serially 1864-5. It begins with an intriguing fortune offered to John Harmon by his late father, a rich dust contractor, in his will. <br><br>To receive the money, John must marry a certain Bella Wilfer who he does not know from Eve. He is returning from the exile enforced by his father and confides in a ship's mate who attempts to murder him. The mate gets killed instead, leaving one inconvenient corpse. Because John is considered dead (the body is found with his papers), the money passes to Mr Boffin, old Harmon's foreman. Harmon adopts Bella and John comes into his employ disguised as John Rokesmith. Bella does not fall for John but through kindly Boffin's contrivances learns to hate money and fall for her suitor under his false name. Eventually she learns of his true identity as the Boffins had previously, and the villainous one-legged Silas Wegg's plot to blackmail Mr Boffin is brought to light.<br><br> There is also a story running behind the main plot about a certain Eugene Wrayburn and his love for Lizzie Hexam, and his rival's attempt to murder him. The two plots are only really connected through the waterside murders but it allows Dickens to indulge in an extremely socially diverse cast of characters. (Summary written by Alan Chant).

1Emma

By Jane Austen

Sherry reads Jane Austen’s sparkling comedy of manners with wit and vivacity, and brings the characters to life. Mr. Woodhouse worries and frets, Miss Bates chatters on, and Emma blithely manipulates and misunderstands her friends and family until she finally learns her lesson! (Summary by Kara)

2Villette

By Charlotte Brontë

After a tragedy in her family, Lucy Snow leaves her home to become a teacher at a French boarding school. Lucy soon begins to fight against an overwhelming sense of desolation. Meeting a charming doctor and a strict, peculiar schoolmaster changes her life forever-- and threatens to break her spirit. (summary by heatherausten)

3Three Musketeers

By Alexandre Dumas

The Three Musketeers (Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to become a musketeer. D'Artagnan is not one of the musketeers of the title; those are his friends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis -- inseparable friends who live by the motto, "One for all, and all for one".<br><br> The Three Musketeers was first published in serial form in the magazine Le Siècle between March and July 1844. Dumas claimed it was based on manuscripts he had discovered in the Bibliothèque Nationale. It was later proven that Dumas had based his work on the book Mémoires de Monsieur D'Artagnan, capitaine lieutenant de la première compagnie des Mousquetaires du Roi (Memoirs of Mister D'Artagnan, Lieutenant Captain of the first company of the King's Musketeers) by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras (Cologne, 1700). <br><br> Dumas' version of the story covers the adventures of D'Artagnan and his friends from 1625 to 1628, as they are involved in intrigues involving the weak King Louis XIII of France, his powerful and cunning advisor Cardinal Richelieu, the beautiful Queen Anne of Austria, her English lover, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and the Siege of La Rochelle. Adding to the intrigue are the mysterious Milady de Winter, and Richelieu's right-hand man, the Comte de Rochefort. (summary from wikipedia)<br /><br /> Get <a href="http://librivox.org/twenty-years-after-by-alexandre-dumas/"> Twenty Years After</a> here.<br /> Get <a href="http://librivox.org/the-man-in-the-iron-mask-by-alexandre-dumas/"> The Man in the Iron Mask</a> here.

4Rosary

By Florence Louisa Barclay

"The Rosary" is a beautiful love story. Gareth Dalmain falls in love with the Honorable Jane Champion. She loves him back, but does not trust his love, as is known to be a great lover of beauty, and she - alas - is very plain. Just as she decides to trust him, she receives news that he has been blinded in a hunting accident. She wants to go visit him, but he will not receive her, as he wants only her love - not her pity. With the help of their mutual friend and doctor, she gets the position as his nurse under a presumed name, and thereby gets to know the 'new' Gareth. (Summary by Maria Elmvang)

5Jane Eyre

By Charlotte Brontë

<i>Jane Eyre</i> is not your typical romance. It is a story of a woman who struggles with a world in which she doesn't quite fit. Once finished with her schooling, and with no family that really cares of her she strikes out on her own as a governess. Jane Eyre searches for love, someone to care for her, and someone to care for, and finds it in unexpected places. (summary by Kri)

6Anne of the Island

By Lucy Maud Montgomery

This is the continuing story of Anne Shirley and the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series. In it Anne attends Redmond College where she is studying for her BA. She has many trials and tribulations along the way, including some romance. In Anne of the Island the reader is also introduced to many new characters, that in the true sense of Anne are also "kindred spirits". <br/>(Summary from Wikipedia)

7Leiden des jungen Werther

By Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

<em>Die Leiden des jungen Werther</em> beschreibt die unglückliche Liebe eines jungen Mannes (Werther) zu einer verlobten, später verheirateten Frau. Der Roman ist aus einer radikal subjektiven Perspektive geschrieben: er besteht nur aus Briefen von Werther vor allem an einen Freund namens Wilhelm. Erst im letzten Teil des zweiten Buches tritt ein Erzähler hinzu. Anhand der Briefe kann der Leser sowohl dem Verlauf der Handlung als auch den Gefühlen Werthers folgen, der immer verzweifelter wird, bis es schließlich in einer Katastrophe endet.<br /> Der Roman besteht aus zwei Büchern, die aber eher als zwei Teile eines einzigen Romans anzusehen sind.<br /> (Zusammenfassung von Rainer)

This personal anthology is my choice of speeches from Shakespeare that I enjoy reading (that I would like to have had by heart years ago!) and that seem to me to illustrate his unsurpassed use of language. He was a man who seemed to know everything about human nature and as Orson Welles said ‘he speaks to everyone and we all claim him’. I know that it has been said that ‘it is impossible to be a great Shakespearian actor without an idiosyncratic and extraordinary voice’ and this may be so, but that does not preclude ordinary mortals from reading, hearing and enjoying Shakespeare. (Summary by Martin Clifton)

9Northanger Abbey

By Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey is a hilarious parody of 18th century gothic novels. The heroine, 17-year old Catherine, has been reading far too many “horrid” gothic novels and would love to encounter some gothic-style terror — but the superficial world of Bath proves hazardous enough. (Summary by Kara)

10Sarrasine

By Honoré de Balzac

Published by Honoré de Balzac in the tempestuous year of 1830, the tale follows the undulating pathways of Sarrasine the sculptor’s shocking journey to his coming of age. As one of the “fathers of realism” Balzac painted with his words a vivid portrait of life in the swirling salons of Europe at the end of the Bourbon monarchy, and we follow Sarrasine from France to Italy in search of both his métier and his muse.<br /><br /> However it is also the story of La Zambinella, an Italian singer with whom Sarrasine falls madly and passionately in love. But that passion holds a secret which Sarrasine spies too late.<br /> (Summary by Chip)