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An epic poem is a lengthy narrative poem, usually set in a time beyond living memory in which the extraordinary ancestors, in their dealings with the gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants, the poet, and his audience in order to understand themselves as a people.

John Henry Newman was an influential figure in the Church of England who shocked the Anglican community in 1843 when he joined the Roman Catholic Church. Newman's spiritual autobiography, Apologia Pro Vita Sua, is a classic of English literature. Besides serving as an eloquent response to his critics, it also explores the nature of Christianity and its place in the world. Newman’s work The Idea of a University covers topics such as the character of the academic community, the place of religion and moral values in the university milieu, and more.

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818-1883) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, and popularizer of Russian literature in the West. Fathers and Sons (1862), one of the most acclaimed Russian novels of the 19th century, deals with the growing cultural divide between two generations or mindsets of Russians. Both the nihilists (the "sons") and the 1830s liberals (the "fathers") sought Western-style social change. "Mumu" (1854) is the story of Gerasim, a deaf-mute serf whose life of poverty is thrown into stark relief by his rescue of the dog Mumu.

Plato (428/427 BC-348/347 BC), whose original name was Aristocles, was an ancient Greek philosopher, the second of the great trio of ancient Greeks - succeeding Socrates and preceding Aristotle - who between them, laid the philosophical foundations of Western culture. Plato was also a mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Plato's brilliance as a writer and thinker can be witnessed by reading his Socratic dialogues.

John Locke (1632 - 1704), the English philosopher and physician, is widely regarded as one of the Enlightenment's most influential thinkers. "A Letter Concerning Toleration" (1689) addresses the problem of religion and government by proposing religious toleration as the answer. In the "Second Treatise", Locke claims that civil society was created for the protection of life, liberty, and estate.

Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, composer, essayist, and adventure writer. "The Silverado Squatters" is a travelogue of his honeymoon in the Napa Valley. "Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes" (1879), one of his earliest published works, is considered a milestone of outdoor literature. The short story "A Lodging for the Night" (1877) was Stevenson's first published fiction, at the age of 27, while Kidnapped (1886) is an historical novel set in 18th-century Scotland, about the Appin Murder.

Book 1: Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë from 1847. Book 2: Little Women is a novel by Louisa May Alcott who was also an abolitionist and a feminist. Book 3: The Odd Women is an 1893 novel by the English novelist George Gissing. Book 4: Anna Howard Shaw (1847-1919) was a leader in the campaign for women’s suffrage. Book 5: Sojourner Truth’s autobiographical Narrative chronicles her life as a slave, and her transformation into an abolitionist, women’s rights activist, orator, and preacher. Book 6: "The Crisis" is a speech....

Clarence Larkin (1850-1924) was a pastor, author, and theologian. Published in 1918, The Book of Daniel examines the Biblical book of Daniel in detail. An entire chapter is devoted to the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel’s interpretation of it. Larkin also investigates and interprets the Book of Revelation, with reference to earlier books of the Bible.

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) had a profound influence on the shape of 19th-century thought and political discourse. His view of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to the unrestricted state. Mill favoured decentralised forms of socialism because he thought that a centralised model would discourage competition, neglect talent, and disregard freedom.

Xenophon of Athens (c. 430 BC - 354 BC) was an Athenian historian, philosopher, and soldier. "Hiero", one of Xenophon’s minor works, is a dialogue between Hiero, tyrant of Syracuse, and the lyric poet Simonides, as a response to the assumption that a tyrant's life is more pleasant than that of a commoner. "On Horsemanship" is one of his two treatises on horsemanship. Military training and the duties of the cavalry commander are dealt with in the other, "Hipparchicus", while "On Horsemanship" deals with the selection, care, and training of horses in general.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) was a prominent sociologist, novelist, and writer of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. In the short story "If I Were a Man", a married woman named Mollie Mathewson yearns with all her heart to be a man and is suddenly transported into the body and mind of her husband, Gerald. Through the character of Mollie, Gilman illustrates the roles and attitudes of women in early 19th-century society. The utopian novel Herland describes an isolated society composed entirely of women, with an ideal social order free of war, conflict, and domination.

The Occult and Supernatural Collection includes: The Book of Were-Wolves, The Discovery of Witches, and Irish Witchcraft and Demonology.

Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856-1915) was an educator, author, intellectual and orator, who founded Tuskegee University in 1881. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the most prominent leader in the African American community.

Edith Nesbit (Edith Bland,1858-1924) was an English author and poet. She authored or collaborated on more than 60 books of fiction for children, many of which have been adapted for film and television. She wrote tales of fantasy, magic, and misadventure in which children in normal circumstances are faced with extraordinary characters or events.

The cowboy is an iconic figure in American culture. With his hat, boots, and trusty horse, the cowboy rides in at a moment of crisis to intervene against the forces of evil. In the 20th century, the cowboy of the Wild West took center stage in the realm of popular literature.

The Victorian journalist Nellie Bly (1864-1922) performed one of the most courageous acts in the history of investigative reporting by posing as an inmate at a Women’s lunatic asylum on Blackwell’s Island. Her exposé, titled "Ten Days in a Mad-House" led to a grand jury investigation, which resulted in a one million dollar increase in New York City’s budget for the care of the mentally ill. "Around the World in Seventy-Two Days" chronicles the author’s 72-day trip around the world for Joseph Pulitzer's newspaper, the New York World.

Thorstein Bunde Veblen (1857-1929) was an economist, sociologist, and critic of capitalism. In The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), Veblen coined the concepts of “conspicuous consumption” and “conspicuous leisure”. His emphasis on conspicuous consumption greatly influenced economists who engaged in critiques of capitalism and technological determinism. In The Theory of Business Enterprise (1904) Veblen looks at the growing corporate domination of culture and the economy, arguing that business interests do not coincide with that of the community.

Pandemics have afflicted human civilizations throughout history, yet these health crises have also led to progress in medicine and society that improved people’s lives. History shows that scientific innovation often proceeds from the collaboration of researchers across disciplines, nations, and institutions.

Robert William Dale (1829-1895) was an English Congregational church leader based in Birmingham. In "Christian Worldliness" he explores the endless conflict between Christianity and worldliness. He warns of "the bitter melancholy, this profound discontent with all things in Heaven above and on the earth beneath". Rejecting the idea of "the sanctity of misery" he criticizes the Book of Ecclesiastes and the image of the traditional "Romish Saint", and concludes by stating that for the miseries which we cannot avoid, Divine love offers infinite consolation.

Washington Irving (1783-1859) was a short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat. The short story "The Devil and Tom Walker" is about a miserly man who makes a deal with the devil. Irving’s fictional character Diedrich Knickerbocker is a Dutch-American historian and narrator of "The Conspiracy of the Cocked Hats" and the “golden age” of Wouter van Twiller, the Dutch Governor of New Amsterdam.