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A sweeping story of love amidst the social strife of the industrial revolution in northern England.

After living with her aunt in London for over a decade, nineteen-year-old Margaret Hale returns to the village of Helston, where her pastor father is undergoing a crisis of faith. He decides to move them to the industrial town of Milton, where poverty and poor conditions run rampant, and, as such, Margaret finds herself identifying with the working class.

A self-made owner and student of her father’s, John Thornton finds Margaret wholly naive but intriguing. Soon, the potential of a strike mounts between workers and owners, in what author Charles Dickens described as “[an] admirable story [....] full of character and power.”

Margaret must decide where she stands, whether with the mistreated laborers or with Thorton, whom she finds herself increasingly drawn to, and who will have a chance to prove himself in a moment of crisis. 

An outstanding social critique of Victorian England, which blends passion and, above all, tragedy.

Jude Fawley dreams of escaping the dull existence of country life for the scholarly ways of Christminster College. His sole priority, Jude stays up studying classical Greek and Latin, after spending his days working as a stonemason.

But when Jude meets local girl Arabella Donn and becomes trapped in a doomed marriage, his plans are entirely dashed. At the same time, the woman he loves, his unconventional cousin, finds herself trapped by a union as well.

Together, they escape and attempt to build a new life together. Yet, they remain burdened by the expectations of society, which look down upon their two children born out of wedlock.

Still, he has not experienced the brunt of his misfortune when Arabella shares the unexpected arrival of their first son, in a harrowing tale from “the greatest tragic writer among English novelists” (Virginia Woolf).

A young woman’s search for freedom in a society that seeks to tame her impulses. 

Following her father’s death, young Isabel Archer decides to do away with convention, leaving behind the man chosen for her in Boston, for England instead. While at her aunt’s country home, though, her plans of forging her own path are routinely undermined and culminate in a decision that may ruin her dreams of independence forever.

Considered to be one of Henry James’ most influential works, The Portrait of a Lady is, in many ways, a profoundly modern work, challenging social norms for an autonomy that had yet to be granted. 

From the Nobel Prize-winning author Herman Hesse, a compelling and enduring tale of a man’s path towards enlightenment. 

Young Siddhartha lives a life of privilege as a Brahmin, following the ways of the Buddha, but still feels unfilled. Ultimately, he decides to set off into the real world in pursuit of his own course towards nirvana. Leaving everything behind besides his best friend, Govinda, the two embark on separate paths.

Govinda becomes entirely dedicated to Buddhist teachings, while Siddhartha meanders through ascetism and the joys of the flesh, culminating in his embracing of time, truth, and realization. 

When first released in Germany in 1922, Siddhartha became a key touchstone for American counterculture women and continues to be an enlightening exploration of identity.