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"The Scarlet Pimpernel" is considered one of the greatest adventure novels of all time. It is the first in a series of stories about Percy Blakeney, an Englishman in France during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror, who lives a double life as an English aristocrat and a swashbuckling masked rescuer of French aristocrats from the guillotine. «The Scarlet Pimpernel» is the classic tale of action and adventure that literally invented the genre of the masked avenger.

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Upon original submission of «Anthem» to Macmillan publishing the book was rejected on grounds that «the author does not understand socialism.» For the harshest of Ayn Rand's critics this might as well be an analysis of all her work. However, for those who revere Rand's work and subscribe to her particular philosophy of objectivism this novel could be set in the present day instead of some unidentified future in which mankind has entered a dark age characterized by irrationality, collectivism, and socialistic thinking. In this dystopian novella we find a world where technological advancement is now carefully planned and the concept of individuality has been eliminated. The central characters of the story are Equality 7-2521, a free thinking inventor, and his love interest, Liberty 5-3000. Like most dystopian works, «Anthem» describes a strange and unfathomable world which could never exist. It is in the creation of this extreme world the Rand draws a parable to warn us against what she believed were the perils of socialism.

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First Published in 1653, Izaak Walton's «The Compleat Angler» is a much loved treatise on the art of fishing. In the 1676 edition of the book, Charles Cotton added a second part thus expanding the volume. Those two parts are included here in this edition. «The Compleat Angler» is a classic of fishing literature and a copy belongs in the library of any true sportsman.

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Oliver Goldsmith's 18th century novel «The Vicar of Wakefield» was so popular in Victorian times that it is mentioned in many classics of that era including George Eliot's «Middlemarch,» Jane Austen's «Emma,» Charles Dickens' «A Tale of Two Cities» and Mary Shelley's «Frankenstein», amongst others. It is the story of Dr. Charles Primrose, the titular Vicar, his wife Deborah and their six children who live an idyllic life in a country parish. The Vicar who is wealthy due to investing an inheritance loses all his money when the merchant investor with which he is invested goes bankrupt and skips town with Dr. Primrose's money. This unfortunate event occurs on the eve of his son George's wedding to the wealthy Arabella Wilmot, causing the wedding to be called off by the Father of the Bride. «The Vicar of Wakefield» is often described as a sentimental novel, which displays the belief in the innate goodness of human beings. But it can also be read as a satire on the sentimental novel and its values.

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Perhaps one of the most influential works ever written, «The Metamorphoses» is an epic and narrative poem by the Roman writer Ovid. Finished in 8 AD, this work, organized into fifteen books, combines a stunning arrangement of mythological tales that are masterfully connected by a theme of transformation, most often through love. Beginning with the world's creation, the poet utilizes unparalleled wit to describe the history of the world, incorporating the most commonly known Greek and Roman myths and legends of his time in a style both dramatic and mischievous. Ovid's often sensuous poems weave together the tales of Daedalus and Icarus, Pygmalion, Persueus and Andromeda, the Trojan War, and the deification of Augustus, frequently changing the human men and women into remarkable beings through magic that rivals the gods. The best known classical work to writers during the medieval period and influencing other great artists such as Shakespeare and Titian, «The Metamorphoses» is a work that will continue to endure and inspire throughout the ages.

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"El Filibusterismo" or in English «The Filibustering» is the second novel by Philippine national hero José Rizal, which is the sequel to his first novel «Noli Me Tángere» or «Touch me Not.» The main character of the first novel, Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra returns as Simoun, a rich jeweler, to the Philippines after a thirteen year absence. At the center of the story is the conflict against Spanish colonialism. The Philippines, which is named after King Philip II of Spain, was ruled by the Spanish empire as a colony from 1565 until the Philippine Revolution ended this rule in 1898. For his part in the Philippine Revolution, José Rizal was tried and convicted for rebellion, sedition, and conspiracy. His sentence was to be death by firing squad. «El Filibusterismo» is contrasted against Rizal's previous novel which has a more hopeful tone. Ibarra believes in that first work that reforms to the Spanish system can be made peacefully, however this hope is gone here as he deceitful plots to incite a revolution. José Rizal's novels are exceptional firsthand documents of the real struggles faced by the Philippine peoples at the end of the 19th century.

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"The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson" begins with the act of a young slave girl exchanging her light-skinned child, fearing for its safety, for that of her master's. From this reversal of identities evolves a suspenseful murder mystery and courtroom drama. «The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson» is everything one would expect from a novel by Mark Twain. On the surface it is a witty and satirical tale but as one digs deeper a biting social commentary of racial inequality can be found.

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Set in rural New England, «Ethan Frome» is the story of its title character who marries Zenobia, a nagging hypochondriac of a woman, and finds himself trapped in an unfulfilling life. When Zenobia's young cousin Mattie Silver comes to live with them, Frome falls in love with her. «Ethan Frome» is the story of forbidden love and its tragic consequences. In «Summer» we have the story of the sexual awakening of a young woman, Charity Royall. Charity, the daughter of mountain moonshiners, is adopted by a poor New England family and falls for Lucius Harney, an educated young man from the city. «Summer» is the story of a young girl coming to terms with her feelings and sexuality in an environment of overwhelming social pressure in early 20th century America. Readers will delight in this edition which combines two of Wharton's most popular works.

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"Candide" is the famous satire and best-known work by Voltaire. First published in 1759, «Candide» is the story of its central character who travels throughout Europe and South America experiencing and witnessing much misfortune on the way. It is within the clever construct of this narrative that Voltaire refutes the philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, whose central idea was that life was the best of all possible worlds and that disasters, should they occur, were harbingers of better things to come. Voltaire found this philosophy insultingly ridiculous and within the humorous and satirical construct of this work he effectively exposes the idiocy of a philosophy that was so pervasive in his time.

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One of the earliest gothic novels, «The Castle of Otranto» is the story of the Prince of Otranto, who out of concern for carrying on his lineage attempts to marry off his son to a young girl by the name of Isabella. When a tragic accident kills the Prince's son, a series of eerie events are set in motion. «The Castle of Otranto» is a chilling gothic masterpiece that will be enjoyed by any fan of the genre.

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