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Isis in America
by Henry OlcottTheosophical Society cofounder Colonel Henry Steel Olcott's memoirs cover his years with Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and the birth of the American occult--part of the new Tarcher Supernatural Library.
There are few more intriguing, or polarizing, figures in modern American spiritual history than Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. The cofounder of the Theosophical Society, Blavatsky remains a figure of fascination more than a century after her death. In Isis in America--one of the most unique documents of recent American spiritual history--we get a closer look at Blavatsky, through the eyes of Theosophical Society cofounder, writer, lawyer, investigator, and Blavatsky confidant Henry Steel Olcott. Olcott spent years by Blavatsky's side, witnessing acts of aura projection and spontaneously produced objects--and undergoing his own spiritual awakening--as they laid the foundations for a new era in esoteric spirituality. This special edition features a comprehensive timeline of the life of Henry Steel Olcott by Mitch Horowitz.
The first three titles released in Tarcher's Supernatural Library are Ghost Hunter (by Hans Holzer), Romance of Sorcery (by Sax Rohmer) and Isis in America (by Henry Steel Olcott).
Israel Potter
by Herman MelvilleThe Odyssey meets Forrest Gump. Israel Potter is a simple farmer from the Berkshires, but when the American Revolution breaks out, he bravely volunteers to fight for country and freedom. After a disastrous first battle on land, he tries his hand at seafaring, only to be captured by the British. Thus begins a whirlwind string of adventures that put him in the path of some of history’s greatest figures – but no closer to returning to the home that he misses so dearly.
It Can't Happen Here
by Sinclair LewisWritten during the Great Depression, It Can’t Happen Here, Sinclair Lewis’s novel satirizing American politics, describes the rise of a totalitarian regime in the United States. When Berzelius “Buzz” Windrip is elected president of the United States, he does so by inciting fear and dissent, promising massive economic and social changes in order to regain America’s prominence in the world. Once in office, he moves quickly to gain total control of the government and empowers a ruthless paramilitary force to carry out his rule and suppress all those who stand in his way. Depicting a frightening world where fascism has taken hold in America, Lewis’s novel is a prescient and alarming tale of power, corruption, and how easily democracy can fall prey to manipulation. Described by the Guardian as “the 1935 novel that predicted the rise of Donald Trump,” It Can’t Happen Here is as timely now as it was when it was first published.
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte BronteA revolutionary novel that helped shaped the course of 20th century literature. Jane Eyre is an orphan, shunned by her extended family and subjected to cruel treatment at school. She weathers this harsh treatment, and eventually finds herself employment as a governess at Thornfield hall, where she meets the surly yet charming Mr. Rochester, the master of the house. The two quickly fall in love, but their future is threatened by a dark secret from Mr. Rochester's past... It has been adapted for the big and small screens numerous times, with actors such as Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Judi Dench, William Hurt, and Anna Paquin in leading roles. 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.
Journey to the Centre of the Earth
by Jules VerneOriginally published in 1864, this classic science fiction novel is simultaneously a perilous adventure into the earth’s core and a reflection on the perfectibility of human understanding and psychology of explorers. The intrepid Professor Lidenbrock and his nervous nephew Axel decode a scrap of paper written in runic script and embark on the strangest expedition of the nineteenth century. Enlisting the silent Hans as their guide, they travel across Iceland to find the secret passage to the centre of the earth via an extinct volcano, finding in it an astonishing subterranean menagerie of natural hazards, prehistoric beasts and sea monsters, and curious sights. 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.
Jude the Obscure
by Thomas HardyOriginally published as a magazine serial in December 1894, Jude the Obscure was published in book form in 1895, immediately causing a public furor with its fearless and challenging exploration of class and sexual relationships. Jude Fawley’s dreams of a university education are lost when he is trapped into marrying the earthy Arabella, who later abandons him. Moving to the town of Christminster where he finds work as a stonemason, Jude meets and falls in love with his cousin Sue Bridehead, a sensitive, freethinking “New Woman.” Refusing to marry merely for the sake of religious convention, Jude and Sue decide instead to live together, but they are shunned by society, and poverty soon threatens to ruin them. 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 Jungle
by Upton SinclairUpton Sinclair's dramatic and deeply moving story exposed the brutal conditions in the Chicago stockyards at the turn of the nineteenth century and brought into sharp moral focus the apalling odds against which immigrants and other working people struggled for their share of the American dream. Denounced by the conservative press as an un-American libel on the meatpacking industry, The Jungle was championed by more progressive thinkers, including then president Theodore Roosevelt, and was a major catalyst to the passing of the Pure Food and Meat Inspection act, which has tremendous impact to this day.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 Jungle Book
by Rudyard KiplingSince its publication in 1894, Rudyard Kipling’s beloved masterpiece The Jungle Book has been celebrated by generations of readers. Composed of seven tales, each one accompanied by a poem, The Jungle Book introduces a lush, colorful world full of adventure and danger. The first three tales include some of the most charming and unforgettable characters in literature—the man-cub Mowgli, the black panther Bagheera, the wise brown bear Baloo, and the ruthless tiger Shere Khan. The other four tales each tell the story of a different animal, such as the travels of the white seal Kotick; the battle between the courageous mongoose Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and the deadly cobra Nag; Toomai and the elephant dance; and the camp animals of the queen’s guard.
King Conan
by Robert E. HowardThe fourth volume of the adventures of the legendary Conan the Barbarian, one of the most iconic fantasy characters in history, on a rarified list next to Gandalf and Harry Potter. Contains "Jewels of Gwahlur," "Beyond the Black River," "The Black Stranger," "The Phoenix on the Sword," and "The Scarlet Citadel." 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.
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
by Horace McCoyA classic hard-boiled noir, taking the reader on a whirlwind ride from the heights of American society to its seediest depths and back again. Ralph Cotter is an Ivy League graduate, which means he’s smart enough to get himself into prison – and out again. He’s on the run, in a city where he knows no one and no one knows him. With nothing to lose, he might as well shoot for the moon. But he didn’t expect to meet Margaret Dobson, a wealth heiress who sees right through him.
Lady Chatterley's Lover
by D. H. LawrenceE. L. James has nothing on D. H. Lawrence. The upper class Constance Chatterley is trapped in a marriage with a paraplegic and emotionally distant husband. She finds a release in a torrid affair with her gardener, through which she is able to discover the physical joy that is a necessary compliment to mental fulfillment. Because of the graphic nature of the content, the book was highly controversial and could not legally be published in England until 32 years after it was written, when it was the subject of an obscenity trial. It was also banned in several countries. 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 Lady in the Lake
by Raymond ChandlerIn his fourth novel appearance, private investigator Philip Marlowe is hired to find a businessman’s estranged wife, but instead finds a series of dead bodies and crooked cops. Although Chandler himself adapted the novel into a screenplay, it has never been used. The novel was filmed by Robert Montgomery, using a different, shorter script.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories
by Washington IrvingOriginally published under a pseudonym as The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories stands as Washington Irving’s best known literary collection, starring staple characters in American fiction: Ichabod Crane, the Headless Horseman, and Rip Van Winkle. Experience Gothic horror at its best, written by the “Father of the American short story,” in these classic larger-than-life tales sure to chill the faint of heart and thrill the brave-hearted. 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 Letters of William Cullen Bryant
by William Cullen BryantDuring the years covered in this volume, Bryant traveled more often and widely than at any comparable period during his life. The visits to Great Britain and Europe, a tour of the Near East and the Holy Land, and excursions in Cuba, Spain, and North Africa, as well as two trips to Illinois, he described in frequent letters to the Evening Post. Reprinted widely, and later published in two volumes, these met much critical acclaim, one notice praising the "quiet charm of these letters, written mostly from out-of-the-way places, giving charming pictures of nature and people, with the most delicate choice of words, and yet in the perfect simplicity of the true epistolary style."His absence during nearly one-fifth of this nine-year period reflected the growing prosperity of Bryant's newspaper, and his confidence in his editorial partner John Bigelow and correspondents such as William S. Thayer, as well as in the financial acumen of his business partner Isaac Henderson. These were crucial years in domestic politics, however, and Bryant's guidance of Evening Post policies was evident in editorials treating major issues such as the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law, the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, the rise of the Republican Party, and the Dred Scott Decision, as well as in his correspondence with such statesmen as Salmon P. Chase, Hamilton Fish, William L. Marcy, Edwin D. Morgan, and Charles Sumner. His travel letters and journalistic writings reflected as well his acute interest in a Europe in turmoil. In France and Germany he saw the struggles between revolution and repression; in Spain he talked with journalists, parliamentary leaders, and the future president of the first Spanish republic; in New York he greeted Louis Kossuth and Giuseppe Garibaldi.Bryant's close association with the arts continued. He sat for portraits to a dozen painters, among them Henry P. Gray, Daniel Huntington, Asher Durand, Charles L. Elliott, and Samuel Laurence. The landscapists continued to be inspired by his poetic themes. Sculptor Horatio Greenough asked of Bryant a critical reading of his pioneering essays on functionalism. His old friend, the tragedian Edwin Forrest, sought his mediation in what would become the most sensational divorce case of the century, with Bryant and his family as witnesses. His long advocacy of a great central park in New York was consummated by the legislature. And in 1852, his eulogy on the life of James Fenimore Cooper became the first of several such orations which would establish him as the memorialist of his literary contemporaries in New York.
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
by Charles DickensWhen Nicholas's father dies, he, his mother and sister, Kate, are left penniless. To earn his keep, Nicholas becomes a tutor at Dotheboys Hall but soon discovers that the headmaster, Wackford Squeers, is a one-eyed tyrant who insists on a harsh regime. Nicholas embarks on an adventure that takes him from loathsome boarding schools to the London stage. Dickens confronts issues of neglect and cruelty in this blackly comic masterpiece.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.
Life in the Backwoods
by Susanna MoodieLife in the Backwoods in Susanna Moodie's follow-up to her first memoir, Roughing It in the Bush. She and her family leave the home they've carved out in the bush for new opportunities in Canada's frontier. Once again she chronicles their struggles, sorrows, and joys as they try to build a life for themselves in a place that can be equal parts bounteous and unforgiving. 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.
Light in August
by William FaulknerLight in August, a novel about hopeful perseverance in the face of mortality, features some of Faulkner’s most memorable characters: guileless, dauntless Lena Grove, in search of the father of her unborn child; Reverend Gail Hightower, who is plagued by visions of Confederate horsemen; and Joe Christmas, a desperate, enigmatic drifter consumed by his mixed ancestry.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.
Literary Lapses
by Stephen LeacockStephen Leacock is one of Canada's most celebrated humourists and was, for a period in the early 20th century, the most-widely read English language author the world over. His success comes in no small part due to Literary Lapses, his first collection of 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.
The Little House in the Big Woods
by Laura WilderBased on the real-life adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods is the first book in the classic Little House series. Four-year-old Laura lives in a log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin, which she shares with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their dog, Jack. Though pioneer life isn’t easy for the Ingalls family, they make the best out of every tough situation. They catch, hunt, and grow their own food; take trips to town; celebrate Christmas with homemade treats; and work together to complete the chores needed for survival and livelihood. Told over a year in their life, this book sets the tone for the rest of the series through its themes of hardship and family. 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 Little House on the Prairie
by Laura WilderThe adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family continue in Little House on the Prairie as they leave their house in the Big Woods and set out for Kansas, travelling for many days in their covered wagon to find the best location to build their new house on the prairies. Once they do, they get to work, building, farming, hunting, and gathering food—and face more difficulty and danger than they have before. Just as they’re feeling settled, the Ingalls family is caught in a conflict. Will they have to move again? 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 Long Goodbye
by Raymond ChandlerOne of the best and most personal novel’s by one of the greatest mystery writers of all time. When a friend of private investigator Philip Marlowe’s shows up at his house begging the detective to drive him to Tijuana airport, he agrees. Both his friend and his friend’s wife turn up dead, and when another case of Marlowe’s turns out to have connections to his friend’s death, he is determined to uncover what actually happened. Robert Gould played Marlowe in the 1973 film adaptation.
Lord Peter Views the Body
by Dorothy L. SayersThe first collection of Lord Peter Wimsey short stories. In this collection brilliant amateur detective Lord Peter Wimsey tackles a variety of confounding cases, covering everything from crossword puzzles to a spectral carriage.
The Lottery and Other Stories
by Shirley JacksonThe first short story collection by Shirley Jackson, featuring one of her most celebrated works. The only collection of Jackson's short fiction to be published in her lifetime, it contains 25 stories, of which "The Lottery" is the most famous. When it was published in The New Yorker, it elicited an unprecedented stream of interest, both positive and negative, from its readers. It is a haunting take of the darker side of small town America, and one of Jackson's crowning achievements.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.