Timeless classics and modern masterpieces that challenge, inspire, and leave a lasting impact. Ideal for thought-provoking discussions.
The Portrait of a Lady
Henry James, 1880-81
656 pp.
September 2009
The Portrait of a Lady is Henry James's most famous work, and Isabel Archer his most famous heroine. This is James at his best. (scholars would rise up in arms at that, but they're not reading this, I assure you.)
We follow Isabel, a beautiful and intellectually gifted young American woman, who longs for experience of the wider world, especially the world of Europe. A large inheritance offers her the freedom she needs to gain the experience she wants.
The Hamlet
William Faulker, 1940
432 pp.
August 2009
For my money this is Faulkner's finest, certainly his most readable work. In the vein of a traditional 19th-century novel, The Hamlet showcases Faulkner's immense talent—for humor, storytelling, luscious prose, and characterization.
The first novel in what is known as the "Snopes Trilogy," The Hamlet follows the fortunes of the Snopes Family, interlopers who gain a foothold in the hill-cradled hamlet of Frenchman's Bend.
Bartleby the Scrivener
Herman Melville, 1853
~50 pp.
July 2009
True story: a full-fledged English professor once told me the biggest mistake Herman Melville made when writing "Bartleby the Scrivener" was to write anything after the title. It's not much of a recommendation.
But I've always loved the story—and my students, if not exactly falling in love with "Bartleby," learned to appreciate it and the lively discussions it inspired.
Vanity Fair
William Makepeace Thackeray, 1848
912 pp.
May 2009
Becky Sharpe is the heroine you love to hate. She so dominates this novel—like Satan in Paradise Lost—that Thackeray must have been, as William Blake said about Milton, of the "devil's party and didn't know it." His Becky is mesmerizingly awful!
Yet maybe she isn't. Placed in the early 1800's, in a cultural mileau that values only lineage and wealth, Becky Sharpe has neither. And so she makes use of the only assets in her possession—beauty, intelligence, and a sturdy will—to gain entry into the good life. If people are foolish enough to be taken in ... then so be it.
The Feminine Mystique
Betty Friedan, 1963
382 pp.
April 2009
Although too small to read, here's what the fine print at the bottom of the book cover (on the left) says:
Changed the world so comprehensively that it's hard to remember how much change was called for. —New York Times
It's hard to imagine that any single work could have the seismic impact this one did—especially one written by a women many considered an anathema: angry, strident and abrasive. Friedan, to say nothing of her book, was a lightening rod for controversy.