Alfred OllivantOne WomanAn English novel, the second part of “a Romance of Sussex”. In 1908, in a seaside town in the south of England, Ruth, a former housemaid, marries Ernie Caspar, a working man who raises little Alice, born before their marriage, as his own daughter. The years pass: more children…Same genreSame era
Alice RiceBilly Goat HillAn American novel. In Kentucky, early in the twentieth century, the old Thornwood mansion stands on Billy-goat Hill, a hill that the nearby city is slowly taking over. Colonel Bob Carsey lives there with his daughter, nicknamed Miss Lady, a free and joyful girl who has educated…Same genre
Charles DickensGreat ExpectationsPip, a young orphan raised in modest circumstances, sees his life upended when a mysterious benefactor offers him a chance to become a gentleman. Fascinated by the world of wealth and by Estella, a cold and unattainable young woman, he distances himself from his origins. But…Same genre
Charlotte BrontëJane EyreJane Eyre, an orphan with an independent spirit, grows up in difficult conditions before becoming a governess at Thornfield Hall. There, she meets Mr Rochester, a mysterious and troubled man, and gradually grows close to him. But hidden secrets threaten their relationship and…Same genre
H. G. WellsAnn VeronicaAnn Veronica, a determined young woman, refuses to submit to rigid social expectations and seeks to live on her own terms. She leaves home to pursue her ambitions, facing judgment and obstacles. Her encounters and experiences confront her with the realities of the world and her…Same genre
Stefan ZweigTwenty-Four Hours in the Life of a WomanAt a Riviera guest house, the flight of Madame Henriette with a young Frenchman she met the day before divides the guests. The narrator, alone in defending her, is soon taken into the confidence of Mrs C., an Englishwoman of sixty-seven still held by the memory of a single day.…Same genreSame era
Stefan ZweigLetter from an Unknown WomanA well-known novelist comes home on his birthday and finds a long letter from a woman whose name he does not know. In it she tells her whole life, from the day when, still a girl, she watched him move into her building in Vienna. For years she loved him without making herself…Same genreSame era
Emily BrontëWuthering HeightsAn English novel from 1847. In the windswept hills of northern England, at the end of the eighteenth century, Mr Earnshaw brings home from Liverpool an abandoned child, who is named Heathcliff, and raises him in his old, isolated farmhouse alongside his own children, Hindley…Same genre
Fyodor DostoevskyCrime and PunishmentRaskolnikov, a poor student in Saint Petersburg, believes that certain men can transgress moral laws to achieve great things. He commits a crime he deems justified but is quickly consumed by intense inner turmoil. Between guilt, fear, and pride, his mind wavers as those around…Same genre
E. SouthworthCruel as the GraveA romantic and dramatic novel set in a mountain valley in Virginia in the nineteenth century. Sybil Berners, a wealthy heiress with a passionate nature, has just married Lyon, a young lawyer without fortune whom she adores. On their way home from their honeymoon, the couple…Same genre
F. Scott FitzgeraldThe Great GatsbyJay Gatsby, a wealthy and enigmatic man, throws lavish parties in the hope of reconnecting with Daisy, a woman he loved in the past. Nick, his neighbor, observes this world of luxury, illusion, and ambition. Beneath the glittering surface, desires and lies intertwine, revealing…Same genreSame era
Henryk SienkiewiczQuo VadisUnder Nero, the patrician Vinicius falls in love with Lygia, a royal hostage raised in a Roman household and secretly Christian. Used to getting his way, he has her claimed for the palace; she escapes, and he discovers a community living by rules opposed to his own. When Rome…Same genre
