Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration. Dumas' epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment, was a huge popular success when it...

Presents a collection of stories, including "The Tales of the late Ivan Petrovich Belkin," "Roslavlev," and "Egyptian nights."

In the California apple country, 900 migratory workers rise up "in dubious battle" against the landowners. The group takes on a life of its own, stronger than its individual members and more frightening. Led by the doomed Jim Nolan, the strike springs from his tragic idealism, from the "courage never to submit or yield."

In the final years of his life Chekhov had reached the height of his powers as a dramatist, while also writing short stories that rank among his masterpieces. In "The Lady with the Little Dog" a man and a woman indulge in an affair that could ruin both their marriages, but their feelings for each other compel them towards betrayal. "Peasants" focuses on the brutality of peasant life, where the locus of evil is the tavern, in which the men spend the...

Ethan Allen Hawley, the protagonist of the novel, works as a clerk in a grocery store that his family once owned. With the decline in their status, his wife is restless, and his teenage children are hungry for the tantalizing material comforts he cannot provide. Then one day, in a moment of moral crisis, Ethan decides to take a holiday from his own scrupulous standards.

Collects some of Poe's short fiction, poetry, and critical writings, including "The Raven," "Eldorado," "The Masque of the Red Death," and "Ligeia."

Here in one book are the four classic accounts of the trial and death of Socrates. Here in one book are the four classic accounts of the trial and death of Socrates. Here in one book are the four classic accounts of the trial and death of Socrates. Here in one book are the four classic accounts of the trial and death of Socrates.

"Etienne Lantier, an unemployed railway worker, is a clever but uneducated young man with a dangerous temper. Compelled to take a back-breaking job at Le Voreux mine when he cannot get other work, he discovers that his fellow-miners are ill, hungry and in debt, unable to feed and clothe their families. When conditions in the mining community deteriorate even further, Lantier finds himself leading a strike that could mean starvation or salvation for...

"Graham Greene's first published novel tells the story of Andrews, a young man who has betrayed his fellow smugglers and fears their vengeance. Fleeing from them, with no hope of pity or salvation, he takes refuge in the house of a young woman, also alone in the world. Elizabeth persuades him to give evidence against his accomplices in court, but neither she nor Andrews is aware that to both criminals and authority, treachery is as great a crime as...