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Buck, a pet dog used to a peaceful life, is stolen and sold as a sledge dog in the Far North, in the middle of the gold rush. Under the whip and in the cold, he learns the law of the strongest, and the wild instinct of his ancestors slowly awakens in him. A powerful adventure about survival and freedom, in which the wild takes back its own. Jack London's direct, vivid style makes it an ideal first classic to read in the language you are learning.

In the America of the Roaring Twenties, the mysterious Jay Gatsby throws huge parties every weekend at his mansion by the water. His young neighbour gradually discovers what lies behind all this luxury: a youthful love that Gatsby has never forgotten. Beyond the love story, this short novel by Fitzgerald paints a critical portrait of a society fascinated by money and appearances. Fitzgerald writes with elegance and clarity, and his novel is a pleasure to read in the language you are learning.

In Marseille in 1815, the young sailor Edmond Dantès is arrested on the day of his engagement, on a false accusation. Locked up without trial in the Château d'If, he meets the Abbé Faria, an old prisoner who educates him and reveals the existence of a hidden treasure. Years later, a rich and mysterious Count of Monte Cristo appears in Paris, among the very people who betrayed him. It is the most famous revenge story in literature, full of disguises and dramatic twists. With its lively dialogue and a new turn in every chapter, the novel is a gripping read in the language you are learning.

Frederick Douglass is born a slave on a plantation in Maryland, separated from his mother at birth. As a child he secretly learns to read, although it is forbidden, and understands that knowledge is the path to freedom. He tells of the beatings, the hunger, the resistance, and his escape to the North. A deeply moving account, written by a man who became one of the great voices against slavery. Its simple, powerful sentences make it easy to read in the language you are learning.

White Fang, a young wolf with a trace of dog in his blood, is born in the frozen wastes of the Far North, where he learns the law of survival very early. Taken in by humans, he discovers their world, often hard and violent, and becomes a feared fighter. Until the day he meets a man who offers him something other than blows. A great adventure about loyalty and trust, in which a wild animal slowly learns to love. Jack London's direct, vivid style makes it an ideal classic to read in the language you are learning.

From 1793 to 1795, the English writer Mary Wollstonecraft writes almost every day to Gilbert Imlay, the American she loves. It all begins in Paris, during the Revolution: to escape the imprisonment that threatens the English, she calls herself “Madame Imlay”. But Imlay is often away, and she writes to him from Le Havre, where their daughter Fanny is born, then from Sweden and Norway. These intimate letters show the author of “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” as she really was: a free woman who says frankly what she expects from love. Tender, lively and sometimes teasing, they can be read one by one, at your own pace, in the language you are learning.

In 1805, in the salons of St Petersburg, everyone is talking about Napoleon. Pierre Bezukhov, an awkward young man who is about to inherit a huge fortune, is looking for meaning in his life. His friend, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, goes off to war to escape boredom, while young Natasha Rostova is bursting with joie de vivre. From Austerlitz to the burning of Moscow, Tolstoy weaves together great battles and family life, love and war. We watch his characters grow up, love, make mistakes and change, like people we know. With the translation always in front of you, you can read this great novel in the language you are learning.

Released after nineteen years in prison with hard labour for stealing a loaf of bread, Jean Valjean is turned away everywhere, until the evening a bishop takes him in. Now a changed man living under a false name, he takes in little Cosette, mistreated by the Thénardiers, and brings her up in hiding. Inspector Javert, for his part, does not believe a convict can change. Around them, Victor Hugo brings a whole century back to life, right up to the barricades of Paris. One of his characters even became a word in French: a cheeky Paris street urchin is still called a “gavroche”. With the translation always in front of you, you can read this great classic in the language you are learning.

Orphaned, mistreated by her aunt and then brought up in a harsh boarding school, Jane Eyre becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall. There she meets her master, Mr Rochester, a dark and unpredictable man, and falls in love with him. But the house hides a secret, and strange noises echo through the corridors at night. A great story of love and mystery, carried by a heroine who refuses to give up her freedom and her dignity. Jane tells her own story, like a confidence, and the novel is a gripping read in the language you are learning.

A young woman, worn out after the birth of her baby, is taken by her husband, a doctor, to an old house rented for the summer. She is forbidden to write or work, and she spends her days in a room covered in hideous yellow wallpaper. She keeps a secret diary, and comes to believe that a figure is moving behind the pattern on the wall. Charlotte Perkins Gilman had been through such a rest cure herself, and this short story creates an unease that grows with every page. You can read it in one sitting in the language you are learning.

In Vienna, a famous writer comes home on his birthday and finds a long letter, with no name or address. A woman tells him her life story: she has loved him since she was thirteen, since the day he moved into the flat opposite hers. Over the years he has met her many times, without ever recognising her. Who is this unknown woman, and why is she writing to him now? This short story by Stefan Zweig is one of the most beautiful tales of unrequited love. Written like a confession, in a single voice, it can be read in one sitting in the language you are learning.

Black Beauty, a handsome black horse, tells his own life story: his peaceful early days in a meadow, then his years of work for very different masters. Some care for him with affection, others treat him harshly, and each new home brings him a different life. This moving novel, which changed the way a whole era saw animals, is about kindness, respect and dignity. Written in simple words, it is an ideal classic to read in the language you are learning.

During the American Civil War, Henry Fleming, a young farmer, joins the Union army dreaming of glory. For weeks he waits for his first battle and wonders whether he will stand firm or run away. When the battle finally comes, the smoke, the noise and the fear sweep away all his ideas about heroism. Stephen Crane, born after the war, had never seen it, and yet many readers took him for an old soldier. This short novel tells the battle from the inside, as close as possible to what a frightened man feels. Its clear sentences and vivid scenes make it enjoyable to read in the language you are learning.

These two St Petersburg stories each follow a minor civil servant. Akaky Akakievich, a copying clerk mocked by his colleagues, goes without for months to have a new overcoat made. Kovalyov, for his part, wakes up one morning without his nose, and soon meets it in the street, in uniform and of a higher rank than his own. Gogol mixes laughter and pity, in a city where the absurd rules. Dostoevsky is credited with a famous line: “We all came out of Gogol's Overcoat.” You can read each of these short stories in one sitting in the language you are learning.

In Budapest, a gang of schoolboys defends its playground, a patch of waste ground squeezed between a timber yard and blocks of flats. The Red Shirts, a rival gang, want to take it over, and war is organised, with ranks, a flag and battle plans. Little Nemecsek, the only one in the gang with no rank at all, will show more courage than all the officers. A great novel about friendship, loyalty and courage, which you can read at any age and never forget. Simply written, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

Out of work, Étienne Lantier arrives one March night at Le Voreux, a mine in the north of France, and gets taken on in the miner Maheu's team. Down the mine, he discovers the heat, the danger and the hunger of the families, and he is far from indifferent to Catherine, Maheu's daughter. Outraged, Étienne leads the miners into a great strike against the Company. The title recalls the spring month when seeds germinate, like the hope of a fairer world. With the translation always in front of you, you can read this great novel by Zola in the language you are learning.

Fyodor Karamazov, a miserly and dissolute father, quarrels with his eldest son Dmitri over money and over the same woman. His two other sons take opposite paths: Ivan, tormented by the existence of evil, and gentle Alyosha, a novice in a monastery. One evening, the old man is murdered, and all suspicion falls on Dmitri. Both a murder investigation and a great family novel, it is Dostoevsky's last book, and for many readers his greatest. With the translation always in front of you, you can read this masterpiece in the language you are learning.

On Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge, an old miser who hates the festive season, is visited by the ghost of his former partner, chained for all eternity. Then three spirits come for him, one after another, to show him his past, his present and his future. Dickens turns a ghost story into a warm fable about generosity and the possibility of change. This tale did a great deal to shape the spirit of Christmas as we still celebrate it today. Full of life and humour, this short tale is easy to read in the language you are learning, and ideal for a winter's evening.

In sixteenth-century London, Tom Canty, a poor boy whose father beats him, dreams of seeing a real prince. One day, at the palace gates, he is noticed by Prince Edward, son of King Henry VIII. The two boys look as alike as twins. For fun, they swap clothes, and the guards throw the real prince out into the street. Tom has to play the prince without knowing anything about the court, while Edward discovers hunger, thieves and the injustice of his own kingdom. An adventure full of humour, in which each boy learns about the other's life. Full of twists and turns, this classic is easy to read in the language you are learning.

Harriet Jacobs is born a slave in North Carolina. As a teenager, she is pursued by her master's advances. To escape him and protect her children, she hides for seven years in a tiny attic at her grandmother's house, watching her children through a small hole, before she can flee to the North. It is one of the few slave narratives written by a woman. In it she says what others kept silent: what slavery did to women and mothers. She tells her life simply, like a confidence, and her story is a moving read in the language you are learning.

Paris, 1482: during the Feast of Fools, the beautiful Esmeralda dances in the Place de Grève. Quasimodo, the cathedral's hunchbacked bell-ringer, and the archdeacon Claude Frollo, who brought him up, are both overwhelmed by her. From the Court of Miracles to the pillory, the young woman becomes the object of dangerous passions. Hugo brings medieval Paris back to life around the cathedral. The novel made Quasimodo one of the most famous characters in literature, and helped to save the cathedral, which was then badly run down. With the translation always in front of you, you can read this great novel by Victor Hugo in the language you are learning.

Fifteen stories about Dublin around 1900, from childhood to adulthood. A schoolboy dreams of going to a grand bazaar, a young woman hesitates to leave everything behind for a sailor, an office clerk drowns his anger in drink, a family gathers for its annual dance at Christmas time. Joyce portrays ordinary people, caught in routine, at the moment their lives tip slightly. The collection ends with “The Dead”, one of the finest stories ever written. The stories are short and can be read one by one in the language you are learning.

In Paris, a ghost haunts the Opera: he demands that Box Five be kept for him and threatens the managers by letter. Christine Daaé, a young Swedish singer, secretly takes lessons from a mysterious voice she calls the Angel of Music. Her childhood friend, the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, wants to find out who is behind this voice. A chandelier that falls in the middle of a performance, a mask, tunnels under the stage: Gaston Leroux created a character famous all over the world, both frightening and touching. Told like an investigation and full of suspense, the novel is easy to read in the language you are learning.

In the north of England, Mr Earnshaw one day brings home a child found in the streets of Liverpool: Heathcliff. The boy grows up in the old farmhouse of Wuthering Heights with Catherine, the daughter of the house, who never leaves his side. But Catherine turns to Edgar Linton, the rich neighbour from the valley, and Heathcliff, wounded, does not forgive. Emily Brontë wrote only this novel, and in it she tells one of the most famous loves in literature: a dark, violent love, stronger than reason. Told mostly by the servant Nelly Dean, as if by the fireside, the story is a gripping read in the language you are learning.