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The Naval War of 1812
by Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt’s landmark work of military history: The definitive account of the War of 1812. First published in 1882, The Naval War of 1812 established Theodore Roosevelt’s reputation as a noteworthy historian and scholar at just twenty-three years old. Four years later, the US Navy ordered copies of the book to be kept on every ship. With exhaustive research into all levels of the conflict, Roosevelt presented an illuminating account of the political grievances between the United States and Britain, as well as the virtues and weaknesses of ship commanders on both sides. He demonstrated an impressive understanding of naval technology, detailing weaponry and ship designs and their effects on the outcome of each battle. Refuting previous accounts of the war, Roosevelt bluntly criticized America’s military weaknesses in the face of the British fleet. Though The Naval War of 1812 initially stirred controversy in political circles, Roosevelt’s persuasive analysis inspired a movement to strengthen our national defense. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
The Nine Tailors
by Dorothy L. SayersIn the world of Lord Peter Wimsey, even bell-ringing isn’t free from murder.
Chance car troubles leave Lord Peter stranded in the small town, and when he discovers that a theft of emeralds from a family twenty years earlier was never solved, his detective’s curiousity is piqued.
But unsurprisingly, things turn out to be more complicated as Lord Peter could have suspected, as he begins to uncover a web of murder, conspiracy, and false identity.
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Ninteen Eighty-Four
by George OrwellGeorge Orwell's dystopian masterpiece, Nineteen Eighty-Four is perhaps the most pervasively influential book of the twentieth century, published with an introduction by Ben Pimlott in Penguin Modern Classics. 'Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past' Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker Julia, but soon discovers the true price of freedom is betrayal. If you enjoyed Nineteen Eighty-Four, you might like Orwell's Animal Farm, also available in Penguin Modern Classics. 'His final masterpiece . . . enthralling and indispensible for understanding modern history' Timothy Garton-Ash, New York Review of Books 'The book of the twentieth century . . . haunts us with an ever-darker relevance' Independent
No Pockets in a Shroud
by Horace McCoyIs the pen really mightier than the sword – or the gun?
Mike Dolan is an investigative journalist with his eyes on a baseball bribery scandal until his editor kills the story.
Mike quits his job and starts his own magazine, determined to unearth corruption and make the world a better place. But as he goes after more and more dangerous and powerful people, will he find that he’s bitten off more than he can chew?
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The Odyssey
by HomerThe incredible sequel to The Iliad, presented here in the Alexander Pope translation.
In the aftermath of the events of the Trojan war, Ulysses sets sail with his men for the shores of Ithaca, his home, but a failure to properly honour the gods enrages them, and Poseidon exacts revenge on Ulysses, keeping him from his destination and forcing him to wander the world.
Meanwhile Penelope, Ulysses's wife, must fend off the advances of a group of miscreant suitors who are convinced that her husband must have perished.
A tale of heroes and gods, it is one of the pillars of the Western canon.
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Officers and Gentlemen
by Evelyn WaughThe second part of the Sword of Honour Trilogy, inspired by the author’s experiences in World War II.
After being bounced from his regiment in the war, Guy Crouchback, the youngest member of a declining British aristocratic family, falls in with a commando-brigade-in-training led by Tommy Blackhouse, Crouchback’s ex-wife’s second husband (but not her last).
Guy is posted to Egypt and finds himself in the middle of the frantic evacuation of Crete. Can he distinguish himself in service this time, or will he once again stumble?
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Of Human Bondage
by W. Somerset MaughamWhen Philip Carey’s parents pass away he is sent to live with his Aunt Louisa and Uncle William, a vicar.
Because of his club foot and his odd childhood, Philip has trouble fitting in at school, and passes up a scholarship at Oxford to try and make his own way.
He tries an apprenticeship, and pursues a career as a painter, before finally settling on a career in medicine.
But nothing is ever simple for Philip Carey, and the often banal realities of real life confound him at every turn.
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Old New York
by Edith WhartonA series of four interconnected novellas, painting a vivid portrait of New York through the middle of the 19th century.
In the 1840s, Lewis Raycie is sent to Europe by his father to purchase art by famous painters. The elder Raycie, a self-made man, wants to establish a family dynasty and hopes that a respected art gallery well help entrench his family in New York's upper crust.
But when his son returns home with works by cutting edge but unknown artists, it threatens to tear this fledgling family apart.
In the 1850s, Delia Ralston's cousin Charlotte is about to be married but has a dilemma. Her husband-to-be wishes her to give up her work at an orphanage where, unbeknownst to him, Charlotte's illegitimate daughter resides.
Delia wants to help her cousin out, while also looking out for Charlotte's future husband, who is in turn her husband's cousin. And then there is the young child to worry about, an orphan in the public eye who has no prospects to speak of...
In the 1860s, a young man named Hayley joins the Civil War and is wounded. Three decades later, the narrator traces the way his life has unfolded since the war.
Finally, in the 1870s, a woman named Lizzie's apparent affair is causing a scandal throughout the city, but the relationship is not as it appears...
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Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
by T. S. EliotA lighter side of the great poet. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats will be a delightful surprise for any readers familiar with poem's like The Waste Land and Prufrock. Eliot playfully weaves his way through 13 vignettes about cats, starting with some observations on the importance of cats' names, before diving into the lives of individual felines. Cat burglars, magicians, thieves, and troublemakers populate the colourful cast of this wonderful book. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
Oliver Twist
by Charles DickensOliver is an orphan living on the dangerous London streets with no one but himself to rely on. Fleeing from poverty and hardship, he falls in with a criminal street gang who will not let him go, however hard he tries to escape. In Oliver Twist, Dickens graphically conjures up the capital's underworld, full of prostitutes, thieves and lost and homeless children, and gives a voice to the disadvantaged and abused.Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
The Once & Future King
by T. H. WhiteThe definitive modern take on the timeless tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round table. The legends of King Arthur date back to medieval Europe, and have become some of the dominant myths of Western culture. In The Once & Future King, T. H. White reinvents the story for a modern audience. The novel starts by introducing the reader to a young Arthur - just a child, and far from the King he will become - as he is raised by the wizard Merlyn, and moves on to chronicle his rise to Kingship, the affair between Guinevere and Lancelot, and the eventual destruction of the round table. The first section, released independently as The Sword in the Stone, was adapted into an animated film by Walt Disney Pictures. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
On Liberty
by John Stuart MillOn Liberty presents John Stuart Mill's theory of utilitarianism, which posits that all conduct should be directed toward the achievement of happiness. The individual should be able to govern himself in this pursuit. One of the great works of 19th century philosophy, On Liberty remains relevant, highly-readable and fascinating.Sayre Street Books offers the world's greatest literature in easy to navigate, beautifully designed digital editions.
On the Beach
by Nevil ShuteA classic work of post-apocalyptic fiction, and a haunting look at the capacity of humankind for self-destruction. On the Beach is set in the wake of World War III; the world has been rendered almost completely uninhabitable due to Nuclear Fallout, with the only liveable areas, located in the southern part of the planet, on a short clock as air currents threaten to eventually spread the fallout over the entire planet. When Austrlia receives a morse code message from the Seattle area, they dispatch one of the last nuclear submarines in hopes of finding survivors. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
On the Origin of Species
by Charles DarwinIn On the Origin of Species, naturalist Charles Darwin examines the role of natural selection in the evolution of plant and animal species. Revolutionary at the time of its publication in 1859, On the Origin of Species and Darwin's theory of natural selection served as one of the foundations or modern theories of evolution.Be it mystery, romance, drama, comedy, politics, or history, great literature stands the test of time. ClassicJoe proudly brings literary classics to today's digital readers, connecting those who love to read with authors whose work continues to get people talking. Look for other fiction and non-fiction classics from ClassicJoe.
O Pioneers!
by Willa CatherWidely known as Willa Cather’s first great novel and the first of the “prairie trilogy,” O Pioneers! is a work of fiction that conveys both the sharp physical realities and the mythic transformation of the American frontier and those who settled in it. Alexandra Bergson, the heroine of the novel, arrives in Nebraska with her family and grows up to make a prosperous farm despite the losses she experiences—but her love of the land comes at a cost. Filled with clear prose and a characterized landscape, this novel is about personal sacrifice, family loyalty, emotional and romantic ties, and belonging. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
Out of Africa
by Isak DinesenAn enthralling depiction of the waning years of British colonial power. Out of Africa recounts the experiences of Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke in what was then British East Africa, now called Kenya. Blixen and her husband build a coffee plantation and staff it with local workers. At first things seems idyllic, but as the memoir progresses it traces the descent and ultimate failure of both the marriage and the plantation. It was adapted into a film in 1985, starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
The Painted Veil
by W. Somerset MaughamKitty Garstin, a wealthy debutante, loves her life.
She attends all the best functions, and attracts all the best men, though she would never dream of accepting any of their marriage proposals. Never, that is, until she finds herself at twenty-five, most prospects exhausted, facing the possibility of her younger sister beating her to the altar.
Not wanting to risk life as a spinster, she accepts the proposal of Walter Fane, a doctor, and joins him on a posting in Hong Kong.
In the wake of an affair with one of Walter's superiors, she accompanies her husband to the Chinese mainland, where a cholera epidemic is ravaging the populace.
While Walter battles the illness, Kitty's conflict is within - Who is she? Who does she want to be? And who can she be? Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
Parade's End
by Ford Madox FordA stark, modernist look at the realities of contemporary war. The four novels that makes up Parade's End (Some Do Not..., No More Parades, A Man Who Could Stand Up--, and Last Post) tell the story of Christopher Tietjens, a British government statistician who joins the army during the first world war. He suffers severe shell-shock, and must live through an unhappy marriage while suspicions run rampant that he has been having an affair. The novels have been referred to as classics of 20th century modernist literature, and Ford has been praised for his unwillingness to ascribe some sort of purpose or order to the violence of war. HBO, VRT, and BBC collaborated on a miniseries adaptation of the novels starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall, and written by Tom Stoppard.
Peyton Place
by Grace MetaliousPeyton Place is a sleepy little American town, like any other. But like any other, it harbours its fair share of secrets. Constance MacKenzie is a widower—or so the residents of Peyton Place believe. In reality, after leaving Peyton Place she carried on an affair that lasted until her illicit lover’s untimely death.
No one in town knows the truth—not even her daughter, Allison, a budding intellectual and aspiring author.
Allison feels lonely and isolated in Peyton Place, save for the company of her best friend, Selena Cross, a poor girl trapped under the thumb of an abusive step-father. As the ebb and flow of small-town drama cascades over Peyton Place, the three women must navigate the constraints of their pasts, the potential of their futures, and growing understandings of their own sexuality.
Peyton Place was a resoundingly successful—and deeply controversial—novel when published, bolstered by its colourful cast and frank discussions of sex and sexuality. It was adapted as a film, and then a prime time television series.
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The Phantom of the Opera
by Gaston LerouxA classic ghost story, inspired by true events. Christine is an up-and-coming talent at the Paris Opera, so talented and beautiful that she attracts the attention of the opera house's mysterious phantom, in reality a deformed man named Erik. Overcome by love, the Phantom kidnaps her in a bid to make her his bride. It was famously adapted for the stage by Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1986 and to the screen in 1925, with Lon Cheney in the leading role. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
Playback
by Raymond ChandlerThe last Philip Marlowe novel finished in Chandler’s lifetime.
Playback begins with private investigator Philip Marlowe being hired to investigate a woman, but soon discovers that she is the victim of blackmail, and that Marlowe has been suckered into being a pawn in a much bigger game.
He turns his attention to the young woman, hoping to free her from the nefarious characters hounding her. Despite being adapted from a screenplay, it is the only Marlowe novel to never be filmed. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
The Poems of Sappho
by SapphoPraised for their simplicity and sincerity, the poems of Sappho evoke powerful and memorable images through her focus on emotion and individualism that foreshadows modern poetry. This collection, translated by John Myers O’Hara, includes over 75 poems such as “Ode to Aphrodite,” “The Roses,” “Eros,” and “The Swallow.” Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
The Prince
by Niccolo MachiavelliThe ultimate treatise on statecraft. Machiavelli's work has held such power to shock that he was at one time identified with Satan himself. Published in 1532, it remains relevant—and fascinating—for modern readers.Sayre Street Books offers the world's greatest literature in easy to navigate, beautifully designed digital editions.
Put Out More Flags
by Evelyn WaughWaugh brings some of his best characters back for another romp. Against the backdrop of the Phoney War, Alistair Trumpington wants only the chance to fight for a worthy cause, but instead he finds himself stuck in a never-ending series of military maneuvers, getting him nowhere closer to any front.
Meanwhile, the scoundrel Basil Seal sees the burgeoning war as an opportunity to help only himself.
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Pylon
by William FaulknerOne of the few of William Faulkner’s works to be set outside his fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Pylon, first published in 1935, takes place at an air show in a thinly disguised New Orleans named New Valois. An unnamed reporter for a local newspaper tries to understand a very modern ménage a trois of flyers on the brainstorming circuit. These characters, Faulkner said, “were a fantastic and bizarre phenomenon on the face of the contemporary scene. . . . That is, there was really no place for them in the culture, in the economy, yet they were there, at that time, and everyone knew that they wouldn’t last very long, which they didn’t. . . . That they were outside the range of God, not only of respectability, of love, but of God too.” In Pylon Faulkner set out to test their rootless modernity to see if there is any place in it for the old values of the human heart that are the central concerns of his best fiction.Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.