Victorian
Written between 1837 and 1900.
- Agnes GreyAgnes Grey leaves her sheltered family home to become a governess, hoping to earn money, help her family, and prove herself capable.
- Wuthering HeightsHeathcliff, an orphan brought home by Mr. Earnshaw, grows up devoted to Earnshaw’s daughter Catherine and persecuted by her brother Hindley.
- Bleak HouseEsther Summerson, raised to feel ashamed of her unknown birth, finds affection and purpose as housekeeper to the generous John Jarndyce at Bleak House.
- VilletteLucy Snowe, an Englishwoman without money or close family support, seeks a livelihood and a place where she can belong.
- Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many LandsMary Seacole supports herself through nursing and trade while seeking opportunities to travel and help the sick.
- Adam BedeAdam Bede, a skilled carpenter in Hayslope, hopes to marry Hetty Sorrel, the beautiful niece of the farming Poysers.
- BeulahBeulah Benton, a poor orphan, wants an education, independence, and a secure place among people she loves.
- East LynneLady Isabel Vane is left penniless when her father, Lord Mount Severn, dies.
- Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by HerselfLinda grows up loved by her family, learning at six that she is enslaved.
- Aurora FloydAurora Floyd, the beloved daughter of wealthy widower Archibald Floyd, seeks love and happiness while concealing a troubling period of her past.
- Uncle SilasMaud Ruthyn, a wealthy young heiress, lives with her widowed father Austin at Knowl.
- ArmadaleIt was the opening of the season of eighteen hundred and thirty-two, at the Baths of Wildbad. The evening…
- Wives and DaughtersMolly Gibson grows up devoted to her widowed father, a doctor in Hollingford.
- Under Two FlagsBertie Cecil, a popular officer in the British Guards, lives extravagantly despite mounting debts.
- Behind the ScenesElizabeth Keckley recounts her life from enslavement in Virginia to freedom as a successful dressmaker and confidante of Mary Lincoln.
- Two Little Wooden ShoesBébée is an orphan rescued from the water as a baby and raised by Antoine Mäes and his wife near Brussels.
- Daniel DerondaGwendolen Harleth wants admiration, wealth and freedom, but her family's financial ruin forces her to consider earning a living or marrying.
- Dora ThorneRonald Earle wants to marry Dora Thorne, a lodge keeper’s daughter, against his aristocratic parents’ wishes.
- Heart and ScienceOvid Vere, a young doctor exhausted by overwork, falls in love with Carmina Graywell, his mother’s orphaned niece and ward.
- A Romance of Two WorldsAn unnamed musician, suffering from nervous illness and insomnia that conventional medicine has failed to cure, leaves London for the Riviera with Colonel Everard and…
- A Study in ScarletDr. John Watson returns to England after wounds and fever end his army service in Afghanistan.
- AlbrechtIt must be evident to the most careless observer that the treatment of the theme with which the present…
- A Lady of QualityClorinda Wildairs grows up neglected after her mother dies giving birth to her.
- Captains CourageousHarvey Cheyne, the spoiled son of wealthy parents, falls from an ocean liner and is rescued by fishermen aboard Disko Troop’s schooner, the We’re Here.
- DraculaJonathan Harker travels to Transylvania to help Count Dracula buy property in England.
- A Galahad of the CreeksThe book follows two groups whose hopes for service and love are tested by corruption, desire and religious duty.
