Frank and Joe Hardy are investigating a mysterious old house high on the cliffs above Barmet Bay when they are frightened off by a scream. The boys return to the apparently haunted house when they make a connection between the place and a smuggling case their father is working on. When their father goes missing, they have to investigate the caves beneath the house and confront the smugglers.

One of the most popular pieces of American fiction is Washington Irving s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, originally published in 1820 in Irving s short story collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Set in New York s Hudson River valley after the American Revolution, it is rich with Dutch culture, regional history, and ghost stories. In schoolmaster Ichabod Crane and his adversary the Headless Horseman, Irving created two of the most unforgettable...

Bored of the parties and luxuries that come with her socialite lifestyle, Claire Boltwood longs for something more authentic in her life. Desperate for adventure, Claire and her father decide to travel from New York City to the Pacific Northwest in their automobile, a new privilege enjoyed by the rich. Though he is a clever businessman, Claire's father knows nothing about cars, so he encourages Claire to drive, challenging the gender stereotypes of...

In the summer of 1953, two 11-year-old boys--best friends--are playing in a Little League baseball game in New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills his best friend's mother. Owen Meany believes he didn't hit the ball by accident. He believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after 1953 is extraordinary and terrifying. He is Irving's most heartbreaking hero.

"The Light That Failed" is Kipling's first novel, written when he was 26 years old, and is semi-autobiographical; being based upon his own unrequited love for Florence Garrard. Though it was poorly received by critics, the novel has managed to remain in print for over a century. It was also adapted into a play, two silent films as well as a drama film.

With uncanny abilities, Whistlin' Dan Berry keeps the toughest of situations under control. The protagonist of Brand's first western novel was radically different from earlier, more realistic characters. In 'The Untamed', readers are introduced to the modern conception of the west as a violent world of fairy tale.

This is the story of Lieutenant Thomas Glahn, an ex-military man, who lives alone in a hut in the woods with his faithful dog Aesop. Glahn's life changes when he meets Edvarda, a merchant's daughter from a nearby town, with whom he quickly falls in love. While they feel strongly for each other, they do not truly understand the other's perspective and tragedy soon befalls the lovers. Edvarda is not entirely faithful to Glahn, and he is profoundly affected...

"With its blend of Eastern mysticism and Western culture, Hesse's best-known and most autobiographical work is one of literature's most poetic evocations of the soul's journey to liberation."--Publisher's website.

First published in Germany in 1901 and translated into English in 1924, Thomas Mann's "Buddenbrooks" is the story of the decline of a wealthy German family over four generations which takes place in the years 1835 to 1877. Mann began writing the novel, his first, when he was only twenty-two years old and based much of his critically acclaimed work on the story of his own family and their peers. Mann was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929...

The Damnation of Theron Ware (1896) is a novel by Harold Frederic. Inspired by his upbringing in Utica, New York, The Damnation of Theron Ware is a story of faith, community, and rural life from an underappreciated master of American realism. A bestseller in the year of its publication, the novel has earned praise for its criticism of cultural and religious hypocrisy in nineteenth century provincial life. "No such throng had ever before been seen...