Two of the stories take place in s America, two in Paris, but all four focus on self-indulgent artists with their own shortcomings. Lovecraft and others. Still, many argue and provide merit that Dr. Jekyll is more multifaceted than most make him out to be, and to say he has a dual personality is overly simplistic. Like numerous Gothic works of the time, it deals with how even the most moral of characters can be corrupted — in this case a priest who has sex with a young girl disguised as a boy and further delves into other sensational acts of sorcery, incest, torture, murder, and deceit.
This atmospheric horror classic from the s inspired H. Lovecraft, among others, and it was widely denounced when it was first published. The soul-crushing atrocities and horrendous accounts of the meat industry were so alarming they even spurred federal investigations in One of the first great novels in the Southern literary canon, The Awakening is complex yet beautiful.
The novel focuses on the life of Edna Pontellier and her enlightened but unorthodox views on the socioeconomic status of women in the South. To put it simply, The Souls of Black Folk is an insightful examination of African-American life at the turn of the 20th century. It was and still is a momentous piece of sociological literature written as part of a semi-autobiographical essay looking at life after the Emancipation Proclamation.
The collection consists of 85 brilliant and eye-opening essays that delve into the establishment of various rules of governance and the promotion of the U.
The Reign of Terror during the onset of the French Revolution was a tumultuous and incredibly violent affair 17, deaths by guillotine is no laughing matter.
It argues with labor comes wealth, which in turn increases the gap between economic classes with one becoming the ruling one at the expense of the others. It lays down the theories and goals behind the movement, outlined rather vividly, and proposes complete revolution as the only way to overhaul an unstable governmental and class structure.
The pamphlet, published anonymously in during the beginning of the American Revolution, presented an astute argument for the colonies to break free of British rule and establish their own independent republican government. Sun Tzu, a high-ranking military general and strategist, composed the treatise as early as 2nd century B.
Gone With The Wind is epic, not only in the sweep of its storyline but also in length. It recounts the tale of Elizabeth Bennett, one of five sisters with a mother hellbent on them marrying rich, and Fitzwilliam Darcy, an arrogantly wealthy English gentleman.
Plus, it has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, offering further encouragement for you to download the title. The book explores the lives of a sculptor named Roderick Hudson and Rowland Mallet, his single male benefactor. During their travels to Europe, the two experience a number of hardships and failed relationships. An undercurrent of unrequited love appears to exist between the two, leading to an absolutely devastating ending. It really is beautiful and enthralling, though, with an ending that epitomizes the meaning of tragedy and doomed love.
However, the original tale about the Phantom living below the opera houses all the core elements of the latter adaptations: a menacing figure presiding over the opera, a talented chorus girl, and an enchanting childhood sweetheart that comes between them.
Wuthering Heights is set in the stormy moors of England during the early s and is centered on a love that is disturbingly fierce and vividly dark. Everyone knows dating in the workplace can cause … complications. Amazon Google. Russian author Leo Tolstoy knows all too well that we cannot help who we love.
In his second acclaimed novel, the beautiful and passionate Anna Karenina leaves her husband when she falls head over heels for a wealthy army officer named Count Vronsky.
It essentially built the foundation on which the concept of evolutionary biology is based, providing evidence from his voyage on the HMS Beagle, and expanded on the theories he and Alfred Russel Wallace helped conceive. Thoreau is a brilliant writer who seemingly has little trouble combining autobiographic details with an apt and poignant social critique of Western civilization. Nonetheless, The Trial was published the year following his death, though never completed. The story revolves around Joseph K, a respectable chief financial officer at an undisclosed bank, and his arrest and subsequent prosecution for a crime that is never revealed to him or the reader.
The ideal state is far harder to implement than it is to envision. It, along with several others, help develop political theory and add further fuel to a period already swimming with philosophical debates. The novel begins with the main protagonist, Siddhartha, voluntarily leaving his prosperous Brahman life for one more contemplative and full of meaning.
He relinquishes his processions and conceives a son, but later relapses into a life of materialism until he finds salvation and enlightenment in the presence of a river. Dorian Gray is a chic, young man of wealth and beauty who, under the influence of a nobleman, decides to sell his soul and embark on an immoral path to retain his fleeting youth.
In doing so, he hopes to outlast a portrait painted of him by artist Basil Hallward, but soon finds the painting a mere reflection of his debauched acts and hedonistic sins.
Wilde was a major proponent of the aestheticism movement, emphasizing the beauty of art over its educational and societal value, and his novel is evidence of that. It was scandalous for the time, resulting in strict censorship, but remained distinctly Wilde nonetheless. Einstein was a brilliant physicist — that much is indisputable. While working at the Patent Office in Bern, Switzerland, he devised what would become the bedrock of modern physics and some of the most influential theories ever created.
The essay represents one of the principal sources of empiricism in philosophy, the idea that our knowledge is primarily derived from sensory experiences we encounter, and thus counters the theory that knowledge and traditions are innate. The story centers on a young woman, Emma Woodhouse, who seems to have somewhat misplaced confidence in her matchmaking abilities. Many romantic misadventures ensue, and the humor never wanes throughout.
The best part of short stories is the brevity, whether good or bad. My Man Jeeves is a comical collection of eight short stories originally published in various U. Half of the stories are centered on silly escapades of the good-hearted aristocrat Bertie Wooster and his loveable valet Jeeves, while others concern Reggie Pepper a similar character to Wooster.
Twain was fabled for embedding autobiographical accounts of his wanderlust years within his fictional works. It delves into his stints as a gold miner, a reporter, and a lecturer as his stagecoach travels through Nevada and his side trip to Hawaii.
Sure, Wilde penned his one and only novel in , but it was his later works that helped him become the acclaimed playwright we recognize him as today. The Importance of Being Earnest is the embodiment of satire, a humorous examination of Victorian-era manners and marriage laced with rapid-fire wit and an eccentric cast of epigrams.
It revolves around two refined gentlemen who adopt fake personas with the goal of dazzling their respected love interest. If there ever was a Shakespeare play that relied on language to carry the plot more so than any other theme, it would be The Taming of the Shrew. Chivalry is arguably on its way out, but it would likely never cease if the country gentlemen Don Quixote and his cunning squire Sancho Panza had anything to do with it.
The e-book also includes line drawing illustrations. Broken into five sections and dense with allusions, homages, and various languages, the poem conveys the feelings of a world shattered by World War I and the cultural upheavals of the 20th century. Percy Shelley was one of the great figures in the Romantic movement , running in the same circles as figures such as Lord Byron and John Keats, and his poetry stands as some of the most iconic of the era, swelling with gorgeous imagery and masterful arrangements.
This collection includes some of his most famous works, like the sonnet Ozymandias , as well as longer pieces like Prometheus Unbound.
These poems, written in vernacular English, offer a glimpse into the lives of country folk and the beauty of nature. One of the foundational texts of English literature, Beowulf follows the titular hero, a Geat who comes to the aid of the Danish king Hrothgar, whose land is besieged by the monster Grendel.
Beowulf is a majestic work, one sure to please any reader who enjoys tales of heroes rending limbs from monsters. There are plenty of stories that make up Arthurian legend, but one of the most famous is the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Along the way, he must withstand the temptation to break his vows and the chivalric code.
Like all Greek myths, it is a story of complicated, oft-flawed people, and the disastrous consequences of their actions. This is one of the best poetry books of all time. Every high school curriculum over the years assigns grumpy English students with the terrifying, borderline Herculean feat of creating a sonnet.
Not all of us can be as adept as Shakespeare, who wrote breathtaking sonnets that are some of the most beautiful poems on Earth. This particular storyline is designed for a broad audience and is filled with tantalizing rendezvous with sirens, intense battles with cyclops, and grievous losses of suitors. The writing style is dactylic hexameter paired with a non-linear plot that includes intriguing Greek mythology and folklore. Although only 12 poems are included in the first edition of the collection, it took Whitman the majority of his life to write.
He finally finished the same year he passed away. They span a wide range of topics, including but not limited to American romanticism, the machinery age, and nature.
But those are only a few of many. Books designed specifically for Kindle are often available in these formats. You can find almost any classics and even a few select newer books.
A quick search or a filter option will offer dozens if not hundreds of free titles available across a variety of genres. The best part is that you can download these directly to your device without any hassle.
Book Lending : If you would rather borrow books than download them permanently, Book Lending may be an excellent option for you. It is a free library-like service where you can lend and borrow from a wide selection of titles.
Books are only available for 14 days after you borrow, so it is a great motivator for procrastinators.
Whether downloading free e-books is legal depends on where you are downloading them from. Using public domain content from sites like Project Gutenberg is legal. The problem arises when you access or download e-books from shady sites. If a relatively unknown website is offering the latest book that just hit the shelves for free, it may be a scam or a virus bait.
Further reading Best sites for downloading free audiobooks Best e-book readers How to read EPUB books on your Kindle Thankfully, for Kindle owners, there are thousands of titles currently available via Amazon, Google Play, and an array of other online sources. Amazon Peter and Wendy by J. Wells First published in , The Time Machine is considered one of the earliest science fiction novels, and the first of the time travel subgenre.
Milo Milton Hastings This prescient dystopian novel, written by an American at the end of World War I and published in , depicts the city of Berlin more than a century later when millions of people live underground as the city wages war with the rest of the world. Project Gutenberg Flatland by Edwin A. Beam Piper Piper may have committed suicide in — often attributed to financial woes and marital problems — but not before he wrote a series of stellar short stories and several novels in the sci-fi vein.
Project Gutenberg Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin was always renowned for his eccentric and intriguing personality, whether he was dabbling in electricity, drinking beer, or serving as Postmaster General of the United States. Project Gutenberg Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain The Mississippi River had a profound and pivotal on Twain from the time he was a little boy until his death in Project Gutenberg The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg Published anonymously in , nothing can prepare you for this deliciously clever gothic mystery book about the rivalry between two brothers in 17th-century Edinburgh and a powerful stranger known as Gil-Martin who stirs it all up.
Amazon Project Gutenberg Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad An increasingly nightmarish journey on a steamboat in the Congo turns into a disturbing journey into the human psyche. Project Gutenberg The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Doyle did not invent the fictional detective archetype — that arguably goes to Edgar Allen Poe — but he certainly helped bring it to the mainstream with this classic mystery book.
Google Murder on the Mind by L. Amazon Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Shelley wrote and published Frankenstein by the time she turned Google The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Be sure to watch out for higher valued books temporarily on discount for free! These come around more frequently than you'd think, but they often only last for two or three days.
I don't get why Amazon buries Kindle's Advanced Search feature so deep in the site! Here, you can search by keywords, author, title, publisher, subject, published date ranges, and even relevance. Don't forget that Amazon Prime members get free monthly unreleased books via Kindle First! I was too. A few summers ago, I bought my first Kindle and promptly let it gather dust in my desk for months. Flash forward to January. I get snowed in, the power goes out, and I discover my impulse-buy deep in my desk while hunting for candles.
The battery was so strong on it, that it still had a few hours left even though I hadn't charged it since I first bought it. I haven't put it down since. I'm the only person who somehow gets addicted to an electronic device during a power outage. Some of my friends complain that reading books and newspapers on an electronic device is sacrilege and I used to agree.
Captain Beatty would fry me alive if he discovered my hoard. I'd probably thank him too. Just the thought of moving them again is giving me a hernia. Remember, you don't actually have to own a Kindle to read many of these free ebooks. You can download the free Kindle app to your phone, tablet, or computer! If you found a good book or enjoy these free Kindle eBooks posts, please let me know in the comments! Table of Contents.
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