Emma is a literary classic by Jane Austen following the genteel women of Georgian-Regency England in their most cherished sport: matchmaking. Emma is spoiled, headstrong, and self-satisfied. After a couple she has introduced gets married, she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities and, blind to the dangers of meddling in other people's lives, proceeds to forge ahead in her new interest despite objections. What follows is a comedy of manners, in which Emma repeatedly counsels her friends for or against their marriage prospects, absent any notice of their true emotions or desires. This story is often cited as a personal favorite of critics and literary historians, and Emma is set apart from other Austen heroines by her seeming immunity to romantic attraction.

Book Two in the Magnificent Dune Chronicles-the Bestselling Science Fiction Adventure of All Time Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known-and feared-as the man christened Muad'Dib. As Emperor of the known universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremen, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne-and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence. And even as House Atreides begins to crumble around him from the machinations of his enemies, the true threat to Paul comes to his lover, Chani, and the unborn heir to his family's dynasty...

When Count Dracula departs Transylvania on a Russian ship, crew members begin to mysteriously disappear. After the ship docks, and more people are attacked, rumours of a monster quickly spread. When Abraham Van Helsing is asked to intervene, Dracula meets his match. On his quest to find Dracula, Van Helsing is forced to hunt newly made vampires, using a cross, garlic, and a wooden steak as weapons. But tracking down Dracula will prove to be harder, and more dangerous that Van Helsing could have ever imagined. Bram Stoker named Count Dracula after the 15th century Romanian king, Vlad III. His father, Vlad II was given the surname Dracul in 1431 after being inducted into the Order of the Dragon. Dracula literally means ‘Son of Dracul’. Vlad III was also know as Vlad the Impaler for killing nearly 100,000 people with wooden stakes. In the novel, Stoker twice alludes to Count Dracula being the very same Vlad III of Romania.

An earthquake sends Dorothy and her California friends, Zeb, Jim, and Eureka, tumbling down a crack and deep beneath the earth. There she runs into her old friend, the Wizard of Oz. Together with the Wizard and his troupe of piglets, Dorothy and friends travel through many fantastical lands, such as the Valley of Voe, where fruit has turned the entire population invisible. After a run-in with flying Gargoyles, Dorothy and friends finally reach the Land of Oz, where she reunites with Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, Princess Ozma, and the wooden Sawhorse.

A gifted gambler fights to survive on a hostile planet in this classic novel from the creator of science fiction antihero the Stainless Steel Rat. The gravity is twice that of Earth. The weather is an unpredictable maelstrom. All species of life, both plant and animal, monstrous and microscopic, are lethal. And the environment is drenched with radioactivity. This is planet Pyrrus, where telepathically gifted gambler Jason dinAlt has ended up after scamming a government casino out of a fortune. A small, fortified town stands against the nonstop natural onslaught, and its people are the descendants of hardened survivors. But there are some who exist outside the city-the "grubbers," humans living in harmony with the nightmarish surroundings who share a mutual hatred with the technologically superior city dwellers. These people fascinate Jason because they share his psionic abilities. And with their help he soon realizes that Pyrrus is more than just a planet. It's alive. It's intelligent. And it's angry. From the legendary author whose novel Make Room! Make Room! was the basis for the film Soylent Green, Deathworld is "an action story with a built-in mystery" (Analog). This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

David Copperfield traces the eponymous hero from misery in the Salem House Academy and drudgery in his stepfather's business, to his escape to Dover and an eccentric aunt where he transforms his life.

The acclaimed Russian novelist's epic morality tale of a young man's horrifying crime and his struggle for redemption. Rodion Raskolnikov, a young man living in St. Petersburg, devises a gruesome experiment in morality. Theorizing that men of exceptional intelligence have license to kill others, he decides to test his theory with the murder of an elderly pawnbroker. Though no evidence can link him to his crime, it leaves him so deeply disturbed that he fights a constant urge to confess. Despite this, Raskolnikov goes on with his life, contending with his younger sister's plan to marry a man of dubious character and the fate of an impoverished family for whom he feels responsible. In Fyodor Dostoyevsky's acutely observed psychological drama, readers meet an array of brilliantly realized characters. There is Arkady Svidrigailov, the wealthy, married man infatuated with Raskolnikov's sister; Sonya Marmeladov, the innocent young woman forced by poverty into a life of prostitution; Detective Porfiry Petrovitch, who suspects Raskolnikov but cannot prove his guilt; and Raskolnikov himself, whose horrifying offense leaves him in a long and agonizing struggle toward redemption. First published in 1866 in the Russian Messenger literary journal, Crime and Punishment met with sensational acclaim and catapulted Dostoyevsky to the pinnacle of literary fame. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

Lisbeth Fischer feels she's been wronged--though much of what she perceives may only reside in her imagination. Seeking vengeance against the family of her beautiful cousin, Adeline, she leverages the uncontrollable sexual appetites of her cousin's husband as the linchpin of her plans.

Catch the holiday spirit with this magical collection of beloved Christmas tales. Christmas favorites from Mark Twain, O. Henry, Willa Cather, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Bret Harte and others are lovingly recorded and presented here in one enchanting volume. | This collection includes: | The Fir Tree, by Hans Christian Andersen | The Burglar's Christmas, by Willa Cather | The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, by Arthur Conan Doyle | How Santa Claus Came to Simpson's Bar, by Bret Harte | The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry | A Christmas Inspiration, by Lucy Maud Montgomery | Christmas in Poganuc, by Harriet Beecher Stowe | Christmas at Thompson Hall, by Anthony Trollope | Susie's Letter from Santa, by Mark Twain |