Harperperennial Classics: 218 books

With a single kiss, a young maid saves her beloved from the Snow Queen’s icy imprisonment. When splinters from an evil troll’s magic mirror get into the heart and eye of Kai, he is tricked into accompanying the Snow Queen to her palace, and only the innocence and kindness of Gerda’s heart can...

Upon their arrival in the fictional town of Milton from their comfortable life in the rural South, Margaret Hale and her parents are struck by the harsh reality of the industrial revolution. When Margaret becomes sympathetic to the suffering of the town’s mill workers and their families, she develops...

Upon their arrival in the fictional town of Milton from their comfortable life in the rural South, Margaret Hale and her parents are struck by the harsh reality of the industrial revolution. When Margaret becomes sympathetic to the suffering of the town’s mill workers and their families, she develops...

Written as a sequel to her groundbreaking memoir Roughing it in the Bush, Susanna Moodie’s Life in the Clearings Versus the Bush candidly explores the communities that developed along Lake Ontario in the 1850s. Based on her experiences of living in Belleville, Ontario, Moodie utilizes her sharp...

When an eclectic group of pilgrims take turns telling tales while on the road to Canterbury Cathedral, the Wife of Bath, an older woman who has been married and widowed five times, tells her tale . . . eventually. But first she shares her opinions on marriage and the role of women with her fellow...

When an eclectic group of pilgrims take turns telling tales while on the road to Canterbury Cathedral, the Knight tells the tale of Arcite and Palamon, two young aristocrats from Thebes who are captured in battle by Theseus. When the captives spy the beautiful maiden Emily from their prison window,...

When an eclectic group of pilgrims take turns telling tales while on the road to Canterbury Cathedral, the Pardoner begins his tale with a confession—that he preaches against greed but swindles churchgoers by pressuring them into buying fake religious relics. However, he claims that despite his...

When an eclectic group of pilgrims take turns telling tales while on the road to Canterbury Cathedral, the Clerk of Oxford, a learned man, sets out to tell a moral and educational story for his fellow pilgrims. He tells the tale of Griselda, a beautiful young peasant girl chosen by the marquis to...

When the White family comes into the possession of a monkey’s paw that magically grant wishes, they do what many people would do—they wish for money. But every wish has a consequence, and the White family finds they are completely unprepared for what comes next. The Monkey’s Paw is a classic...

When the mutilated bodies of Madame L'Espanaye and her daughter are found in the rue Morgue, detective C. Auguste Dupin is faced with the most puzzling case of his career as witness accounts contradict each other and key evidence from the perpetrator does not appear to be human. “The Murders in...

Hailed as an inspiring memoir during a time of slavery, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth is not just about the emancipation of an African American woman, but also the strength of her faith. Truth provides the narrative of her life, from her early years as a slave to her liberation and life as a freed...

One of America’s most beloved authors, Washington Irving penned some of the most popular and enduring tales of fiction. From Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman to Rip Van Winkle’s prolonged nap, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories also includes literary sketches and essays about...

Through a series of journal entries, a woman records her thoughts and feelings over the course of a summer, shortly after giving birth to her child. Confined to her bedroom on the advice of her husband, a physician, “The Yellow Wallpaper” chronicles the woman’s increasing instability, as she...

Imprisoned and condemned to death by the Spanish Inquisition, an unnamed man is cruelly tortured by his captors even as an enemy army encircles the city. A pioneer of the short story genre, Poe’s stories typically captured themes of the macabre and included elements of the mysterious. His...