Harperperennial Classics: 218 books

When Rachel takes a country house for the summer with her niece and nephew, she expects to fill her days with relaxing social activities. But these plans take a turn for the sinister when, on the second night, a dead body is found at the bottom of the house’s circular staircase. Mary Roberts...

John Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Saga chronicles the lives of the wealthy, and expansive, Forsyte family. Only a few generations removed from their humble beginnings, the Forstye family’s fortunes have been enriched by their commercial investments. But even as their fortunes grow, the family is divided...

This narrative poem is a retelling of the legend of the founding of the Roman Republic after the rape of Lucrece, the wife of an advisor to the king. When the king’s son, Tarquins, hears Collatinus praise his wife Lucrece’s chastity, Tarquins becomes intent on sullying the good woman, and sets...

Written as a fictionalized account of Mark Twain’s own short-lived war experience, "The Private History of a Campaign That Failed" is a satiric sketch of the American South at the onset of the American Civil War. The narrative follows a small group of young men—dubbed “the Marion Rangers”—as...

When an unnamed narrator opens his door to a lightning-rod salesman, the two become involved in a philosophical discussion about faith and the will of God. The salesman claims that the copper rod will protect its owner from the very lightning that the narrator believes to be an act of God. As they...

Billy Budd and Other Stories is a collection of author Herman Melville’s most remarkable short stories. In the titular story, unfinished at the time of the author’s death, Billy Budd’s life takes an unexpected turn when he is pressed into service in the Royal Navy, and runs afoul of the jealous...

The Selected Works of Thomas Hardy includes many of the esteemed author’s best-known works: Far From the Madding Crowd, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure. Influenced by the Romantics, Hardy’s novels are deeply critical of the constraints of Victorian...

The beautiful and exotic Eustacia Vye feels trapped by her life in Egdon Heath, an area occupied mostly by simple rural folk, where superstition and the supernatural have taken root. As she tries to escape her life of constraint and frustration, Eustacia finds herself drawn deeper and deeper into...

As Horace walks home from school, his hands ensconced in a pair of new red mittens, boys from the neighbourhood entice him into a snowball fight. There’s just one problem—his mother has told him to come home straight away, and to keep his mittens dry. Horace retreats before a chorus of teasing,...

On board a train steaming toward the Texas town of Yellow Sky are the marshal of Yellow Sky, Jack Potter, and his bride. Meanwhile, the town villain, Scratchy Wilson, is on the prowl. He’s drunk and belligerent, with a revolver in each hand, and when none of the townspeople accepts his offer to...

The Velveteen Rabbit is the charming children’s tale about a stuffed rabbit who longs to become real, and the magic that makes his dream come true. A beloved classic since it was first published in 1922, The Velveteen Rabbit has since been adapted many times for television and film. This illustrated...

Bored of the lack of adventure at school, two boys decide to cut class and head for the shore. They encounter many people and social events along the way, until they finally meet an older man who gives them a long speech on Sir Walter Scott, corporal punishment, and other distressing topics, much...

Mrs. Mooney runs a boarding house for working men, and her daughter Polly entertains the men by singing and flirting. When Mrs. Mooney discovers that Polly is having an affair with one of the men, Mr. Doran, she tries to trap him into marrying her daughter. Critically acclaimed author James...

Faithful and handsome, the Englishman Belvile is in love with the Italian lady Florinda, who is betrothed to another. Willmore, the rover, is in love with Hellena, sister of Florinda and destined for the convent. And Angellica Bianca, a courtesan, is in love with Willmore. Against the backdrop of...