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Alexander Pope wrote the "Pastorals" in 1704 at the age of 16, but it was only in 1709 that the publisher Jacob Tonson included them in his Poetical Miscellanies. The cycle of poems with a preface – Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter– were highly stylized and inspired by Virgil’s Eclogues. In the "Pastorals", Pope develops a theory of the relationship between art and nature.

This famous oration included in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War has been credited as highly significant due to its unique nature amongst others in its genre. Following the annual tradition, Pericles delivers his speech at the public funeral for the victims of war. Even though designed to glorify and commemorate the dead, Pericles soon turns his oration into an ode to Athens celebrating the many achievements of this proud city.

Amongst the many historical accounts we have, few are devoted to the voice of those belonging to the lower classes. Reverend Legh Richmond shares the words and experiences of Elizabeth Wallbridge, a young woman from limited means who had found God after a sermon transformed her life. This booklet had a rather wide distribution and carried a great influence due to its cheerful tone underlining a story of wisdom, heroism, and altruism.

Plato's dialogue, Critias, recalls the story of Atlantis attempting to conquer Athens. In ancient times, the Earth was divide by the gods - and gods tended the humans in their allotment as shepherds. Atlantis, allotted to Poseidon, becomes corrupt over time, and Zeus must take matters into his own hands.

Harriet Beecher Stowe is most known for her revolutionary novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin which greatly influenced the anti-slavery movements. Stowe had been active in many different genres, however, including the writing of short stories that further her firm grasp of moral principles. Betty’s Bright Idea shares three short stories exploring themes of charity, sacrifice, and joyful celebrations.

In the age of the American Civil War, this story touches on the spirits of the soldiers embroiled in the war. Page truly gives you an insight on what it means to be a soldier.

American author Washington Irving is known for his legendary tales like Sleepy Hollow, but also as the great architect behind how Americans now perceive Christmas. In his 1819 collection, The Sketch Book, he devotes one story to a reflection on the meaning of Christmas and its celebration. The story’s protagonist reflects on how its ancient rituals may have vanished almost completely, but that the warmth of togetherness will still prevail for those who welcome it.

Prepare to be spooked by one of England's classic scary stories. Stephen Elliot, a young orphan boy nearly 12, is called to live with a mysterious cousin in the country. Little does Elliot know that Abney has his own alchemical secrets and obsessions that will affect the young boy in ways he cannot imagine.

In this classic by Ambrose Pierce, a soldier falls asleep during war times. When he awakens, he finds an enemy man on a horse - but struggles with himself on shooting him. Instead he shoots the horse, and a comrade sees the horse and the man falling through the sky.

While visiting a friend in San Francisco our narrator hears a knock on the wall during dinner. He and his friend examine the wall to find it is an outside wall and no one could have knocked on it. Our narrator's friend described how he had met a young woman whom he lived next to and they would knock on the walls to each other....

O. Henry’s gift for dark humor and plot twists reaches new levels in this simple yet very moving story. Miss Martha’s corner bakery receives a mysterious visitor buying two loaves of stale bread every day. When her sympathetic heart finally pushes her to an act of kindness, her romantic daydreams are brutally crushed by a rather uninspired reality.

Ralph Merriam and his friend Wade have quite the evening together that results in a man being killed. Wade tells his friend that he has to skip town and start anew. When he arrives in his new city, he hears about a beautiful woman in town, and tries to court her.

Business can cause you to forget the most special times in your life. This rule is no exception to Harvey Maxwell. Harvey has feelings for his secretary and professes his love...but her response is of surprise and sadness.

A classic Christmas story with a special moral, Della Dillingham Young has very little money to buy her husband a present. She sells her beautiful brown hair; a treasure to the couple, to buy her husband a gift. But when he returns home with her gift, she's in for a very heartfelt surprise.

A widow and a deacon seem to be getting awfully close to one another. At the sewing circle, gossip is of course had by the "sisters". All in all, a race is won and to the winner go the spoils.

Check out one of the lesser-known but brilliant tales by the author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Writing under his pseudym of Geoffery Crayon, Irving conjures an entertaining tale of conspiracy and headwear. Will our character Roloff Van Ripper be successful in his takedown, or will his efforts go awry?

Emile Zola applies his keen eye to the human condition in this masterpiece plagued by passions, guilt, and the ghosts that haunt our psyche. Often perceived as a play of temperaments, Zola tells the story of Therese’s unhappy marriage to Camille and her subsequent affair with one of her husband’s friends, Laurent. With his dark symbolism often reaching claustrophobic depths, we become more acquainted with what drives our most animalistic instincts.

This 1859 novella by George Eliot takes a rather dramatic departure from her usual realistic fiction. Now canonized along with other great works of Victorian horror literature, The Lifted Veil plays with the theme of extrasensory perception. It discusses the power of fate in our everyday lives and even flirts with the possibilities of life after death.

The first gothic novel! Manfred, the lord of the castle intends to wed his son to a lovely princess. But after the untimely death of his son, Manfred takes up the task of trying to marry the princess Isabella. She does not desire to marry Manfred, and steals away with the help of a peasant named Theodore.

This rather incoherent work by Russian anarchist philosopher Michael Bakunin is described in a way that he described his own life: a fragment. Rife with criticisms on Christianity and the technocracy, Bakunin presses communist values without fear of bordering extremism. Listening to this work is like walking through Bakunin’s disjointed mind; often cutting off and starting mid-sentence, including footnotes several paragraphs long as if his thoughts suddenly start to wander, as well as ending rather abruptly mid-sentence.