Historical Fiction

The Secret of the Growing Gold

Bram Stoker

The story revolves around the Brent and Delandre families, both with long histories in rural England, but struggling with decline. The Brents, once aristocratic, are now worn out and degraded, while the Delandres, yeoman class, are scandalously connected to the Brents through Margaret Delandre’s marriage to Geoffrey Brent. As the families’ fates intertwine, a sense of terror and revenge from beyond the grave unfolds. The narrative explores themes of decay, family secrets, and the consequences of past actions. Ultimately, the story builds towards a climax of eerie and unsettling events, characteristic of Stoker’s gothic horror style.

The Squaw

Bram Stoker

The story revolves around Elias P. Hutcheson, a boastful and careless individual, who encounters a mysterious and menacing cat while exploring a city fosse. The cat, reminiscent of a “squaw” (an old-fashioned term for a Native American woman), seems to be haunting Hutcheson and his companions. As they observe the cat from a distance, Hutcheson’s inflated ego and careless attitudes are gradually deflated by the cat’s unsettling presence. The story explores the themes of pride, vulnerability, and the power of nature to humble human arrogance. Ultimately, Hutcheson’s encounter with the cat serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of underestimating the unknown and the natural world.

47 Chapters

LITTLE WOMEN

Louisa May Alcott

Little Women was originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. This edition contains both volumes. It follows the lives of the four March sisters--Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy-- from childhood to womanhood and is loosely based on the author and her three sisters. Although Little Women was a novel for girls, it differed notably from the current writings for children, especially girls. The book was an immediate commercial and critical success and has since been adapted for cinema, TV, Broadway and even the opera.

2Reads

39 Chapters

JANE EYRE: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Charlotte Brontë

Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard. But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again?