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Some of our favorite classic stories
Updated April 19, 2024
RPL Staff
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Watership Down
Adams, Richard
Paper Book
Chronicles the adventures of a group of rabbits searching for a safe place to establish a new warren where they can live in peace.
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Little women or, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy
Alcott, Louisa May 1832-1888
Paper Book
Louisa May Alcott's beloved tale about Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy is presented in a beautiful Everyman's Library Children's Classics edition. The story of the four sisters' dreams, quarrels, and romances are brought to vivid life in this edition that features full cloth binding in bold, bright colors;...
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Bless me, Ultima
Anaya, Rudolfo A.
Paper Book
This coming-of-age classic from "one of the nation's foremost Chicano literary artists" follows a young boy as he questions his faith and beliefs after a curandera woman introduces herbs and magic into his life (Denver Post) . Antonio Marez is six years old...
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Northanger Abbey
Austen, Jane 1775-1817
Paper Book
At Northanger Abbey Jane Austen's charmingly imperfect heroine, Catherine Morland, meets all the trappings of gothic horror and imagines the worst. Fortunately she has, at hand, her own fundamental good sense and the irresistible but unsentimental hero, Henry Tilney.
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The women of Troy : a novel
Barker, Pat
Paper Book
A daring and timely feminist retelling of The Iliad from the perspective of the women of Troy who endured it--an extraordinary follow up to The Silence of the Girls from the Booker Prize-winning author of The Regeneration Trilogy and "one of contemporary literature's most thoughtful...
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Fahrenheit 451
Bradbury, Ray
Paper Book
Internationally acclaimed with more than 5 million copies in print, Fahrenheit 451 is Ray Bradbury's classic novel of censorship and defiance, as resonant today as it was when it was first published nearly 50 years ago. Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires......
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Wuthering Heights
Brontë, Emily 1818-1848
Paper Book
Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord. There he discovers the history of the tempestuous events that took place years before- of the intense passion between the foundling...
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The eternal wonder : a novel
Buck, Pearl S.
Paper Book
Lost for forty years, a new novel by the author of The Good Earth The Eternal Wonder tells the coming-of-age story of Randolph Colfax (Rann for short), an extraordinarily gifted young man whose search for meaning and purpose leads him to...
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Impasse
Buckingham, Royce
Paper Book
In Royce Scott Buckingham'sImpasse, a man is left to die in Alaska while on an "adventure vacation" and must somehow survive to get his revenge on those who betrayed him. Forty and facing a mid-life crisis, Stu Stark has lost his mojo. He simply gave up after being...
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Kindred
Butler, Octavia E.
Paper Book
Selected by The Atlantic as one of THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVELS. ("You have to read them.") From the New York Times bestselling author of Parable of the Sower and MacArthur "Genius" Grant, Nebula, and Hugo award winner The visionary time-travel classic...
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The spy who came in from the cold
Le Carré, John 1931-2020
Paper Book
Originally published: [London]: Victor Gollancz, 1963.
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O pioneers!
Cather, Willa 1873-1947
Paper Book
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Don Quixote
Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de 1547-1616
Paper Book
Edith Grossman's definitive English translation of the Spanish masterpiece, in an expanded P.S. edition and with an introduction by Harold Bloom "A major literary achievement."--Carlos Fuentes, New York Times Book Review Widely regarded as one of the funniest and most tragic books...
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The Awakening
Chopin, Kate
Paper Book
The best-selling, "excellent . . . poignant ”and scientifically lucid ” portrait" (New York Times Book Review) of the remarkable Marie Curie.... "Never a dull moment. . . . Goldsmith leads the reader through a wonderland of facts with just the right blend of science and...
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The woman in white
Collins, Wilkie 1824-1889
CD
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The last of the Mohicans : a narrative of 1757
Cooper, James Fenimore 1789-1851
Paper Book
The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales. Deep in the forests of upper New York State, the brave woodsman Hawkeye (Natty Bumppo) and his loyal Mohican friends Chingachgook and...
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The red badge of courage
Crane, Stephen 1871-1900
Paper Book
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Robinson Crusoe
Defoe, Daniel 1661?-1731
Paper Book
This classic story of a shipwrecked mariner on a deserted island is perhaps the greatest adventure in all of English literature. Fleeing from pirates, Robinson Crusoe is swept ashore in a storm possessing only a knife, a box of tobacco, a pipe-and the will to survive. His is the saga of a man alone:...
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Great expectations
Dickens, Charles 1812-1870
Paper Book
A terrifying encounter with an escaped convict in a graveyard on the wild Kent marshes; a summons to meet the bitter, decaying Miss Havisham and her beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella; the sudden generosity of a mysterious benefactor - these form a series of events that change the orphaned Pip's...
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Crime and punishment
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor 1821-1881
Paper Book
A masterpiece of guilt and redemption that transforms the sordid story of an old woman's murder into the nineteenth century's profoundest and most compelling philosophical novel. * ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME ...
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The sound and the fury
Faulkner, William
Paper Book
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time * One of The Atlantic's Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years From the Modern Library's new set of beautifully repackaged hardcover classics by William Faulkner--also available are Snopes,...
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The beautiful and damned
Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott) 1896-1940
Paper Book
The work that signaled Fitzgerald's maturity as a storyteller and novelist, The Beautiful and Damned is a devastating portrait of the excesses of the Jazz Age. Anthony Comstock Patch is a Harvard-educated gallant who leisurely aspires to author a book as he awaits an enormous inheritance upon...
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To kill a mockingbird : a graphic novel
Fordham, Fred
Paper Book
"This gorgeously rendered graphic-novel version provides a new perspective for old fans but also acts as an immersive introduction for youngsters as well as any adult who somehow missed out on the iconic story set in Maycomb, Alabama."--USA Today A beautifully...
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Love in the time of cholera
GarcÃa Márquez, Gabriel
Paper Book
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * "A love story of astonishing power" (Newsweek), the acclaimed modern literary classic by the beloved Nobel Prize-winning author. In their youth, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza fall passionately in love. When Fermina eventually chooses to marry...
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King Solomon's mines
Haggard, H. Rider (Henry Rider) 1856-1925
Paper Book
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Far from the madding crowd
Hardy, Thomas 1840-1928
Paper Book
Now a major motion picture! The tale of a passionate, independent woman and her three suitors, Far from the Madding Crowd tells the story of Bathsheba Everdene and her relationships with the devoted Gabriel Oak, the dashing Sergeant Troy, and the reclusive gentleman farmer, Mr. Boldwood....
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The scarlet letter
Hawthorne, Nathaniel 1804-1864
Paper Book
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Catch-22
Heller, Joseph
Paper Book
Catch-22 is like no other novel. It is one of the funniest books ever written, a keystone work in American literature, and even added a new term to the dictionary. At the heart of Catch-22 resides the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero endlessly inventive in his schemes to save...
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The sun also rises
Hemingway, Ernest 1899-1961
Paper Book
Originally published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises is Ernest Hemingway's first novel and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style. A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of...
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Ayesha at last
Jalaluddin, Uzma
Paper Book
As seen on The Today Show! One of the best summer romance picks! One of Publishers Weekly Best Romance Books of 2019! A modern-day Muslim Pride and Prejudice for a new generation of love. Ayesha Shamsi has a lot going on. Her dreams of...
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Beth & Amy
Kantra, Virginia
Paper Book
Four sisters face new beginnings in this heartfelt modern take on Little Women by New York Timesbestselling author Virginia Kantra. Amy March is more like her older sister Jo than she'd like to admit. An up-and-coming designer in New York's competitive fashion...
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Demon Copperhead : a novel
Kingsolver, Barbara
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE * WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION New York Times Readers' Pick: Top 100 Books of the 21st Century * An Oprah's Book Club Selection * An Instant New York Times Bestseller * An Instant Wall Street Journal Bestseller * A #1 Washington Post...
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Captains courageous
Kipling, Rudyard
Paper Book
A Penguin Classic First published in 1897, Captain Courageoustells of the high-seas adventures of Harvey Cheyne, the son of an American millionaire, who, after falling from a luxury ocean liner, is rescued by the raucous crew of the fishing ship We're Here. Obstinate and...
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Babbitt
Lewis, Sinclair 1885-1951
Paper Book
The masterpiece of Nobel Prize winner Sinclair Lewis A Penguin Classic George F. Babbitt, a conniving, prosperous real estate man from Zenith, Ohio, revels in his popularity, his success, and, especially, in the material rewards they bring. He bullies his wife...
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The call of the wild
London, Jack 1876-1916
Paper Book
Jack London's novels and ruggedly individual life seemed to embody American hopes, frustrations, and romantic longings in the turbulent first years of the twentieth century, years infused with the wonder and excitement of great technological and historic change. The author's restless spirit...
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Northanger Abbey
McDermid, Val
Paper Book
Internationally best-selling crime writer Val McDermid has riveted millions of readers worldwide with her acutely suspenseful, psychologically complex, seamlessly plotted thrillers. In Northanger Abbey, she delivers her own, witty, updated take on Austen’s classic novel about a...
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Moby Dick
Melville, Herman 1819-1891
Paper Book
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Circe : a novel
Miller, Madeline
Paper Book
This #1 New York Times bestseller is a "bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story" that brilliantly reimagines the life of Circe, formidable sorceress of The Odyssey (Alexandra Alter, TheNew York Times). In the house of Helios,...
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Sula Toni Morrison
Morrison, Toni.
Paper Book
Sula and Nel are born in the Bottom--a small town at the top of a hill. Sula is wild, and daring; she does what she wants, while Nel is well-mannered, a mamma's girl with a questioning heart. Growing up they forge a bond stronger than anything, stronger even than the dark secret they have to bear...
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Lolita
Nabokov, Vladimir Vladimirovich 1899-1977
Paper Book
The most famous and controversial novel from one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century tells the story of Humbert Humbert's obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze. "The conjunction of a sense of humor with a sense of horror [results in]...
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The things they carried : a work of fiction
O'Brien, Tim 1946-
Paper Book
One of the first questions people ask about The Things They Carried is this: Is it a novel, or a collection of short stories? The title page refers to the book simply as "a work of fiction," defying the conscientious reader's need to categorize this masterpiece. It is both: a collection of...
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The bell jar : a novel
Plath, Sylvia
Paper Book
One of The Atlantic's Great American Novels A beautifully designed Harper Perennial Deluxe Edition of this haunting American classic: a realistic and emotional novel about a woman battling mental illness and societal pressures written by the iconic American writer Sylvia Plath. ...
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All quiet on the western front
Remarque, Erich Maria
Paper Book
The masterpiece of the German experience during World War I, considered by many the greatest war novel of all time--with an Oscar-winning film adaptation now streaming on Netflix. "[Erich Maria Remarque] is a craftsman of unquestionably first rank."--...
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The plot against America
Roth, Philip
Paper Book
When the renowned aviation hero and rabid isolationist Charles A. Lindbergh defeated Franklin Roosevelt by a landslide in the 1940 presidential election, fear invaded every Jewish household in America. Not only had Lindbergh, in a nationwide radio address, publicly blamed the Jews for sel&...
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Franny and Zooey
Salinger, J. D.
Paper Book
"Perhaps the best book by the foremost stylist of his generation" (New York Times), J. D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey collects two works of fiction about the Glass family originally published in The New Yorker. "Everything everybody does...
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Frankenstein (unabridged) (AR).
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft 1797-1851
Paper Book
Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS'sThe Great American Read At the age of eighteen, Mary Shelley, while staying in the Swiss Alps with her lover Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and others, conceived the tale of Dr. Victor Frankenstein and the monster he...
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A thousand acres : a novel
Smiley, Jane.
Paper Book
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A "powerful and poignant" twentieth-century reimagining of Shakespeare's King Lear (The New York Times Book Review) that takes on themes of truth, justice, love, and pride--and centers on a wealthy Iowa farmer who decides to...
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Of mice and men
Steinbeck, John
Paper Book
A controversial tale of friendship and tragedy during the Great Depression A Penguin Classic Over seventy-five years since its first publication, Steinbeck's tale of commitment, loneliness, hope, and loss remains one of America's most widely read and taught novels....
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Dracula
Stoker, Bram 1847-1912
Paper Book
Authentic music is combined with a new ballet score and various sound effects to create a gripping dramatization of this classic tale -- an undisputed masterpiece of horror writing.
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Uncle Tom's cabin
Stowe, Harriet Beecher 1811-1896
Paper Book
Uncle Tom, Topsy, Sambo, Simon Legree, little Eva- their names are American bywords, and all of them are characters in Harriet Beecher Stowe's remarkable novel of the pre-Civil War South. Uncle Tom's Cabinwas revolutionary in 1852 for its passionate indictment of slavery and for its...
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Vanity fair : a novel without a hero
Thackeray, William Makepeace 1811-1863
Paper Book
No one is better equipped in the struggle for wealth and worldly success than the alluring and ruthless Becky Sharp, who defies her impoverished background to clamber up the social ladder. Her sentimental companion Amelia, however, longs for caddish soldier George. As the two heroines make their way...
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War and peace
Tolstoy, Leo graf 1828-1910
Paper Book
Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic Wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit....
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A confederacy of dunces
Toole, John Kennedy 1937-1969
Paper Book
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize "A masterwork . . . the novel astonishes with its inventiveness . . . it is nothing less than a grand comic fugue."--The New York Times Book Review A Confederacy of Dunces is an American comic masterpiece. John Kennedy Toole's hero,...
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The adventures of Tom Sawyer
Twain, Mark 1835-1910
Paper Book
The adventures and pranks of a mischievous boy growing up in a Mississippi River town in the early nineteenth century.
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Twenty thousand leagues under the sea
Verne, Jules 1828-1905
Paper Book
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Hocus pocus
Vonnegut, Kurt
Paper Book
From the New York Timesbestselling author of Slaughterhouse-Five comes anirresistible novel thatcombines"clever wit with keen social observation... and re-establishes Mr. Vonnegut's place as the Mark Twain of our times" (Atlanta Journal & Constitution).
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Ethan Frome
Wharton, Edith 1862-1937
Paper Book
First published in 1911, Ethan Frome is widely regarded as Edith Wharton's most revealing novel and her finest achievement in fiction. Set in the bleak, barren winter landscape of New England, it is the tragic tale of a simple man, bound to the demands of his farm and his tyrannical, sickly...
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The picture of Dorian Gray
Wilde, Oscar 1854-1900
Paper Book
Enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, Dorian Gray exchanges his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Influenced by his friend Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life; indulging his desires in secret while remaining a gentleman inthe eyes of polite society. Only his portrait bears...
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Native son
Wright, Richard 1908-1960
Paper Book
One of The Atlantic's Great American Novels "If one had to identify the single most influential shaping force in modern Black literary history, one would probably have to point to Wright and the publication of Native Son." - Henry Louis Gates Jr. "The most powerful American novel to...
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The story of Edgar Sawtelle : a novel
Wroblewski, David.
Paper Book
An Oprah's Book Club Pick #1 New York Times Bestseller "A mystery, a thriller, a ghost story, and a literary tour de force . . . an authentic epic, long and lush, full of back story and observed detail . . . the author exercises a certain magic that catches and holds our attention,...
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