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The Picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wilde's only novel, but what a novel! Dorian Gray is a handsome young man who commissions a painting of himself by an artist named Basil Hallward. The artist is infatuated with Dorian, thinking the young man's beauty has brought about a major improvement in his art. When Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of the artist's, Dorian comes to love Lord Henry's worldview: that the only things worth pursuing are beauty, and a hedonistic abandon to please the senses. Dorian, in a whimsical moment, says he'd love to sell his soul to have Basil's painting of him age instead of Dorian himself. That wish is granted, and Dorian lives a life of debauchery, the results of which are reflected in the painting. But no matter how well you play the game, there's always a price to pay...

Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (aka Alice in Wonderland). The book plays out in sort-of a mirror image of the first adventure, but uses a chess motif.

The aphorism, "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he," not only embraces the whole of a man's being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of his life. A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. That is the opening of James Allen's classic bestselling self help book. This is one of the books that inspired The Secret and made The Law of Attraction such a major draw in recent years. The truth in this book is universal. The premise that your thoughts will dictate who you are and what you can achieve will prove helpful as you strive to improve every aspect of your life. You choose your thoughts and in so doing, you choose your destiny.

John Dewey had particular ideas about what would work when teaching children in a classroom setting, and in this very short, but very important book, he lays out his thoughts on the subject. This is the basis for hands-on learning, and helping students to relate the subject matter to their prior experiences in order to gain a deeper understanding of what they're learning. Essential reading for all teachers who work with children, and recommended for anyone interested in how education works. As relevant today as it was when it was first published back in 1902.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland sometimes referred to as Alice in Wonderland, is about a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world filled with anthropomorphic animals. It has been a staple of fantasy literature and remains popular with both children and adults. It was followed by a sequel, Through the Looking Glass

Amory Blaine is an young man from the Midwest who feels he's destined for greatness. He attends Princeton University, and on a trip back to Minneapolis, he encounters Isabelle Borgé, a young woman he'd met years before. When their relationship doesn't work out, he returns to Princeton, but is soon shipped overseas to fight in World War I (the Great War). After the war, he meets and falls in love with Rosalind Connage, but she wants to marry a rich man. Amory has no money, so how can he win his lovely debutante? Or can he win her at all? Can love survive the greed and the social climbing or will it be crushed and left to die on this side of paradise?

A Woman of No Importance premiered at London's Haymarket Theatre on April 19, 1893. As he often did, Oscar Wilde focused on the secrets of the upper class in this play. As always, there is plenty of witty repartee. The play was set to go on tour when Wilde was arrested. The scandal meant they canceled the tour.

The Turn of the Screw is a classic ghost story--or is it? The author leaves it to you to decide whether the supernatural is real here or if it's in the governess's head.

Heart of Darkness is the classic novella about Charles Marlow, an ivory transporter on the Congo River in Central Africa, who becomes obsessed by Mr. Kurtz, a notorious ivory procurement agent. The story deals with the conflict between savagery and civilization, and ranks as one of the best works of literature in the Western canon.

Great Expectations is a Victorian coming of age novel and remains one of the most popular books by Charles Dickens. The first person narrator, Pip is a down on his luck orphan who finds himself being forced to steal food for an escaped convict. He soon goes to work for a blacksmith and is given the opportunity to go to London to become a gentleman. To come from such humble beginnings and yet have the opportunity to raise his standard of living gives him great expectations. A true classic of literature.

Walden, or A Life in the Woods, was first published in 1854. Thoreau spent two years, two months, and two days living in a cabin he built by Walden Pond in Massachusetts. The woodlands were owned by his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thoreau fictionalized it a bit by condensing it down to one year in the book, so the passing of the seasons symbolize human development. His focus was simple living and self-sufficiency, and was inspired by transcendental philosophy. The cabin was actually on the edge of town, not in the wilderness, but he still felt immersed in nature. This edition of the book, also includes the essay "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience."

The Trojan War from ancient Greek mythology is the backdrop for this world renowned classic prose poem in dactylic hexameter. The story covers the last few weeks of the war. Agamemnon's quarrel with the warrior Achilles is at the forefront. The Iliad is one of the oldest works of Western Literature, and has been the basis for various movie adaptations including Troy.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... Everyone knows that opening. A Tale of Two Cities is a great classic set before and during the French Revolution in London and Paris. It has sold more than 200 million copies and remains one of the most popular books in all of literature.

Set in the Regency era of England, Emma is a classic romance novel. Emma Woodhouse is twenty years old. She's rich, spoiled, and thinks she's a terrific matchmaker. Her only critic is her friend George Knightley. Emma tries playing matchmaker, and while she has sworn off marriage for herself, she does try to fall in love with a man named Frank Churchill because everyone seems to expect it, but soon finds herself jealous when her friend Harriet falls for George. Emma was the last of Jane Austen's novels to be published during her lifetime. Her next two books were released posthumously.

This is the science fiction classic where Martians attack the Earth. Alien invasion novels all owe something to H.G. Wells because this is the grandfather of such tales. A man witnesses the attack of the Martians in Surrey and London as war breaks out between planets. He must get back to his wife, and on his journey, he sees the Martians lay waste to southern England. How can we possibly fight back against a technologically superior race? This novel has inspired a great many other books, movies, including the notorious radio broadcast by Orson Welles in 1938 that caused widespread panic because listeners thought it was real. It all started with this book, and it belongs in every home library.

The classic novel of unrequited love. Heathcliff is found in Liverpool and brought to stay at Wuthering Heights, a farmhouse on the Yorkshire moors. There he meets Catherine and he falls in love. Alas, Catherine chooses to marry Edgar Linton instead. Jealousy and vengeance form the core themes, and while this is Emily Brontë's only novel, it stands the test of time. A must-read.

Edward Prendick finds himself shipwrecked on an island where Doctor Moreau is using vivisection to create man/animal hybrids. Needless to say, things go wrong. This is a classic science fiction novel dealing with morality, human's interfering with nature, cruelty, and of course, responsibility.

A research chemist named Bensington develops what he calls the Food of the Gods. When it's tested on a farm, the chickens grow to six times their normal size. Unfortunately, the food works on wasps, earwigs, and even rats! This classic science fiction novel by H.G. Wells is more topical than ever with GMOs in the news all the time. The novel was adapted into a B-movie back in the 1970s, which focused primarily on the giant rats.

Becky Sharp begins as a lowly governess, and works her way up to being an aristocrat. Meanwhile, her friend Amelia Sedley falls on harder times after getting married and losing her husband at the Battle of Waterloo. The title of the book is taken from Pilgrim's Progress and refers to the town of Vanity, which is run like a fair, and the novel itself plays out like a fair with the narrator bringing people on and off like puppets in a play. It's a long and rich novel, and remains a true classic.

The Invisible Man is a classic science fiction novel, and has inspired many movies and television shows. Griffin is a scientist who develops a procedure to change his body's refractive index to that of air so it absorbs and reflects no light, making him invisible. Unfortunately, he can't reverse the process, and after a betrayal, he decides to go on a reign of terror.

First published in 1874, The Mysterious Island is sort of a combined sequel to both 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and In Search of the Castaways, but it is very much its own novel. Five Americans find themselves stranded on a strange island, which they name Lincoln (after the president). The endure many hardships as they fight to survive, and they adopt an orangutan, which they name Jupiter. After rescuing a man named Tom Ayrton (from In Search of the Castaways), they must battle pirates as they seek to understand the secret of the island.

Travel back to Boston, Massachusetts as it existed in the 1642 for this classic tale of Puritanical Romance and sin. Meet Hester Prynne, who has a baby from an adulterous affair, and must wear a scarlet A on her dress to represent her shameful act. She refuses to name the father, so her long-lost husband sets out to expose her lover. This classic tale is a must-read for everyone as it explores the nature of sin and purity.

A scientist builds a machine that can travel through time! In the far future, he meets the Eloi, a child-like race. They live in peace and don't do any work, though the machines around them have been deteriorating for centuries. When he returns to his machine, he finds it's been dragged away. Without that machine, he'll be stranded in the future, so he knows he must get it back. In the dark tunnels below the surface, he discovers the Morlocks, ape-like people who feed on the Eloi. This classic science fiction tale has influenced virtually every time travel story published since its first appearance.

Henry Higgins, a professor of phonetics, makes a bet that he can train a Cockney flower girl named Eliza Doolittle to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party. The play was adapted into My Fair Lady, as well as the movie Pygmalion. It remains popular for its comedy and its commentary on British social classes.

Wilfred of Ivanhoe disinherited by his father, Cedric, because as a Saxon in the year 1194, it wasn't acceptable to support a Norman king like Richard I of England. In addition, Wilfred is in love with Lady Rowena, a woman Cedric hoped to marry to Lord Aethelstane. Ivanhoe accompanies King Richard on the Crusades along with various Knights Templar. Note, too, that Robin of Locksley (aka Robin Hood) is one of the characters in the story, and the standard feat of Robin Hood splitting a competitor's arrow originated in this novel. As with many of Sir Walter Scott's novels, Ivanhoe deals with the clash between heroic ideals and modern society.

KING OF THE VAMPIRES! Count Dracula is known around the world as the ultimate vampire. He wasn't the first, but he remains the greatest. The novel, first published in 1897, is the account of Count Dracula's move from Transylvania to England. Told in epistolary style from the letters and journals of Jonathan Harker, Abraham Van Helsing, Jack Seward, Mina Harker, etc. the novel touches on colonialism, sexual conventions, women's place in Victorian culture and more. It's a Gothic and a mystery and a horror novel. There's a reason when you say vampire, the first name to come to your mind is Dracula.

Set in Canada's Yukon Territory during the Klondike Gold Rush, White Fang is the classic novel told partly from the point of view of the wolf dog who gives the book its name. It's the companion novel and thematic mirror of Jack London's earlier novel, The Call of the Wild.

Henrik Ibsen's inspiration for this controversial (at the time) play was that "a woman cannot be herself in modern society," because it's "an exclusively male society, with laws made by men and with prosecutors and judges who assess feminine conduct from a masculine standpoint." That said, he saw it as a human interest tale more than a women's issues tale. The story itself was inspired by Laura Kieler, a friend of Ibsen's. Many of the things that happen between Nora and Tovald in the play are things that happened to Laura and her husband with one major exception because Laura was committed to an asylum while Nora is spared that fate in the play.

Bleak House is one of Dickens' more accomplished novels. It's an intricately plotted book with many characters, and it draws upon Dickens' knowledge of England's Court of Chancery with the fictional case of Jarndyce v Jarndyce. The litigation has eaten up years and the vast majority of the estate due to conflicting wills. While the court case is certainly the backdrop, we also meet Esther Summerson, who comes to stay at Bleak House. Is she one of the heirs? Is that why Mr. Jarndyce wants to make sure she's well cared for at the estate? We also meet Lady Dedlock, who has her own secrets. Among the other characters, are cousins Richard Carstone and Ada Clair, who fall in love and are beneficiaries of one of the wills. Conflict and social commentary mix with satire and some of Dickens' best characters. Bleak House is a long, but rewarding novel. One of Dickens' best.

In this short story, the first person narrator is a woman locked in a room by her husband for "health reasons." She becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper as she slowly goes insane. First published in 1892, this story illustrates how women needed to get more power over their own lives, and as such, it's been a staple of feminist literature ever since. A classic tale that should be read by everyone.