The classic ancient Greek epic poem about Odysseus and his heroic journey. First composed near the end of the 8th century B.C. then translated from the Greek by Alexander Pope in 1726. Cover illustration "Odysseus in the Underworld" by John Flaxman [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

From the author of The Scarlet Letter: The thrilling tale of three American artists whose search for artistic inspiration leads to romance and murder. The sculpture galleries and classical architecture of nineteenth-century Rome set the stage for Nathaniel Hawthorne's gothic romance The Marble Faun. While touring the Eternal City in search of inspiration and authentic beauty, American artists Miriam, Hilda, and Kenyon soon discover that their Italian...

The narrative poem about Hiawatha, "he who makes rivers," in which he is challenged by the powers of nature that continually war against man.

Many great artists have had at least intermittent doubts about their own abilities. But The Education of Henry Adams is surely one of the few masterpieces to issue directly from a raging inferiority complex. The author, to be sure, had bigger shoes to fill than most of us. Both his grandfather and great-grandfather were U.S. presidents. His father, a relative underachiever, scraped by as a member of Congress and ambassador to the Court of St. James....