NCW Libraries

First published in 1842, "Dead Souls" is the story of Chichikov, a young middle-class gentleman who comes to a small town in Russia with a dubious plan to improve his wealth and position in life. He begins by spending beyond his means on the premise that he can impress the local officials and gain standing and connections in the community. At the heart of his plan is the idea of acquiring "dead souls" or more explicitly serfs of landowners who have...

The classic nineteenth-century Russian novel in which a young woman is destroyed when she attempts to live outside the moral law of her society.

Jane, a plain and penniless orphan in nineteenth-century England, accepts employment as a governess at Thornfield Hall and soon finds herself in love with her melancholy employer, Mr. Edward Rochester, a man with a terrible secret.

While searching for a mysterious beauty he met at a masquerade party, Benedict Bridgerton meets Sophie Beckett, a servant in need of his help, and as passion flares between them, he must choose between Sophie and the woman of his dreams. "Sophie Beckett never dreamed she'd be able to sneak into Lady Bridgerton's famed masquerade ball-or that "Prince Charming" would be waiting there for her! Though the daughter of an earl, Sophie has been relegated...

A representation of the American humorist's works features an eclectic mix of writings, including "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," "The Stolen White Elephant," and the novella The Mysterious Stranger.

"Grace M. Cho grew up in a small, rural American town as the daughter of a white American merchant marine and the Korean bar hostess he met abroad. When Grace was fifteen, her Korean mother experienced the onset of schizophrenia, a condition that would continue for the rest of her life. Part food memoir, part sociological investigation, TASTES LIKE WAR is a hybrid text about a daughter's search through intimate and global history to understand herself...

Heathcliff comes to Wuthering Heights, a brooding mansion on the Yorkshire moors, as an orphan child. Cathy is the daughter of the wealthy family that takes him in. They are drawn together from the moment they meet, their love consuming, destructive, and full of desire. They cannot be together, and yet they cannot stay apart. The consequences will haunt generations. The book's core theme is the destructive effect that jealousy and vengefulness have,...

"Developed by literacy experts for students in grades three through seven, this book introduces young readers to the geography and culture of France"--Provided by publisher.

Follows a Jamaican girl through a typical day as she describes her school, her chores, her leisure time activities, and her family.