Sara Nichols

Miles Franklin's 1901 ground-breaking debut, and an instant sensation. Meet Sybylla Melvyn, the young girl hungering for life and love in outback New South Wales. First published in 1901, this Australian classic is the candid tale of the aspirations and frustrations of sixteen-year-old Sybylla Melvin, a headstrong country girl constrained by middle-class social arrangements, especially the pressure to marry. Trapped on her parents' outback farm, Sybylla...

Set in rural New England, "Ethan Frome" is the story of its title character who marries Zenobia, a nagging hypochondriac of a woman, and finds himself trapped in an unfulfilling life. When Zenobia's young cousin Mattie Silver comes to live with them, Frome falls in love with her. "Ethan Frome" is the story of forbidden love and its tragic consequences. In "Summer" we have the story of the sexual awakening of a young woman, Charity Royall. Charity,...

In this follow up to her best-selling debut collection of poetry ("Enough Rope" from 1926) Dorothy Parker published "Sunset Gun" (1928) her second of three volumes of short verse. One of the 20th century's most celebrated and renowned humorists, Parker once again delivers a biting, satiric and insightful look at love, life and literature in this brilliant collection. Dorothy Parker - social commentator, political reformer and legendary wit - has...

Collected here are three of Dorothy Parker's earliest works: two collections of poetry - "Enough Rope" and "Sunset Gun" as well as her short, hilarious collection of stories recounting all of the men she managed to avoid marrying named (appropriately) "Men I'm Not Married To." One of the 20th century's most celebrated and renowned humorists, Parker burst upon the unsuspecting literary world with these best-selling books, delivering biting, satiric...

The final (and longest) story in James Joyce's short story collection "The Dubliners," "The Dead" is one of Joyce's most beloved works of short fiction. Taking place at Christmastime, the tale revolves around Gabriel Conroy and his wife Gretta, who are attending a holiday party hosted by Gabriel's elderly aunts. In typical Joycean style, this seemingly mundane setting hides many of the guests' secrets and mysteries, not the least of which is...

Agatha Christie - the Queen of Crime and the world's best selling author - created dozens of detective novels and over a hundred short stories in her long and storied career, but few of her characters are as beloved and admired as the mild-mannered but incisively brilliant amateur sleuth, Miss Jane Marple. First introduced in 1927 in the short story "The Tuesday Night Club," Miss Marple would become a favorite with readers and would appear in a dozen...

A blistering criticism of the literary world in which she lived, Charlotte Brontë's "The Biographical Notes on the Pseudonymous Bells" contains two fascinating and insightful essays by the author of "Jane Eyre" addressing her late sisters' Emily and Anne's writing careers (Emily wrote "Wuthering Heights," Anne created "Agnes Grey" and"The Tenant of Wildfell Hall"). With surprising frankness and honesty, Charlotte offers a glimpse of the challenges...

Presented here are two of the most important books of the early 20th Century by one of the most original and groundbreaking writers of her era, the feminist literary pioneer Virginia Woolf. First, the 1925 sensation "Mrs. Dalloway," the breakthrough novel that solidified Woolf's reputation as a fresh, new voice of her generation. Written in a new style - soon dubbed "stream-of-consciousness" - the book details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway,...

"Pride and Prejudice," written in 1813, was the second of six books by legendary British author Jane Austen. In this story, we are introduced to the Bennet family: Mr. and Mrs. Bennet...and their five daughters, each of whom (according to Mrs. Bennet) must find rich husbands as soon as possible. When Mr. Bingley - a wealthy bachelor - takes up residence in a nearby estate, the Bennets kindle hopes that he might be a good match for their eldest,...

"Persuasion" is the last of six books by the legendary British author Jane Austen. It was written during the years 1815-16 and published posthumously in 1818. In the story, we meet Anne Elliot, whose family is in crisis. Anne's once-wealthy father - widowed for fourteen years - has fallen into financial ruin and the family is forced to rent their estate and move to more modest accommodations. What's more, the family that moves in to the house is...