Step into the charming world of "Cranford" by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. This delightful novel invites you to a quaint English village, where the lives of its eccentric and endearing inhabitants are interwoven in a tapestry of humor, heartwarming moments, and social observations. Set in the early 19th century, the narrative unfolds through the eyes of Mary Smith, an outsider welcomed into the close-knit community. As she navigates the idiosyncrasies...

Etienne Lantier, an unemployed railway worker, is a clever but uneducated young man with a dangerous temper. Forced to take a back-breaking job at Le Voreux mine when he cannot get other work, he discovers that his fellow miners are ill, hungry, and in debt, unable to feed and clothe their families. When conditions in the mining community deteriorate even further, Lantier finds himself leading a strike that could mean starvation or salvation for all....

This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading. Considered to be Turgenev's greatest love story, The Torrents of Spring is a bittersweet story of young love steered astray by passion. While traveling through Germany, nobleman Dmitri Sanin meets Gemma Roselli, a beautiful Italian girl who works in her family's shop. They fall in love as Sanin saves Gemma's brother life and defends her honor in a duel. Romance turns...