The Floating Press: 2252 books

This short story is part of the Scenes of Paris Life section of Honore de Balzac's epic masterpiece The Human Comedy. Pierre Grassou is an artist who has many of the attributes necessary for success -- but lacks that spark of creativity. Rather than painting original works, he begins painting copies...

What is the true function of the artist in society? Do fame and acclaim help or hinder the artist's pursuit of creative expression? These are the timeless questions underpinning this classic novel from American literary legend Henry James. The story follows the parallel career trajectories of two artists:...

Immerse yourself in the midst of working-class Victorian London with Benjamin Farjeon's charming and ambitious novel London's Heart. Populated by a cast of unforgettably quirky characters and conflicts ranging from the quotidian to the existential, it's a true slice of life that will remain on your mind long after you've read the last page.

If you're a fan of action-adventure tales set in battle, don't miss Percy F. Westerman's The Wireless Officer. Having himself served as an officer in the Royal Navy, the author brings an unparalleled level of realism and detail to this thrilling account of one man's contribution to the war effort.

Bret Harte made his name as a writer by being one of the first to chronicle the early days of California. The tales in this collection are primarily set in the region, ranging from character studies to nuanced examination of social issues. In "Three Vagabonds of Trinidad," a tragic massacre of Native Americans is used as a lens through which Harte examines the clash of cultures in California.

What happens when hunters grow weary of pursuing traditional game? In the future imagined by Poul Anderson in the story "Duel on Syrtis," wealthy sportsman Riordan has upped the stakes by traveling across the solar system to pursue an intelligent creature that can match wits with him.

Humphrey Challoner is an eccentric collector and amateur scientist who has put his vast fortune to work funding his many unusual interests and obsessions. When his beloved wife is murdered, Challoner decides to take the law into his own hands and dispense justice on his own terms. The Uttermost Farthing provides an interesting view of how far one man will go to right a wrong.

William Clark Russell joined the Merchant Navy at the age of 13 and served an eight-year stint, permanently damaging his health in the process. He then traded in life at sea for life as a writer, penning dozens of nautical romances and action-adventure novels over the course of his literary career. In...

Fans of Sherlock Holmes will appreciate the investigative handiwork of one Dr. John Thorndyke, created by author R. Austin Freeman, an important figure in the early development of the detective fiction genre. In The Eye of Osiris, Thorndyke helps crack the case of a scholar of ancient antiquities who has gone missing.

Golden Walter leaves him homeland after his wife betrays him. Word reaches him that her family have killed his father, and all ties are broken with his old life. He is shipwrecked upon a foreign shore and begins a fantastical adventure. Written by the English textiles designer William Morris, this is one of the first modern supernatural fantasy novels.

Leo Tolstoy is widely recognized as one of the most important fiction writers of the modern era. What's less widely known, however, is that Tolstoy was a devout Christian who read deeply in the subjects of religious philosophy and theology and, over the course of his lifetime, came to devise his own...

Unto This Last is an essay on economy by John Ruskin, critical of the 18th and 19th century capitalist economists. When first published as four magazine articles in 1860 they were, in the words of Ruskin himself, "very violently criticized" and the publisher was forced to halt publication. But Ruskin...

Whether you're a new writer struggling to find your way into the story you want to tell or an experienced scribe looking to shake things up with a few novel tips and techniques, Robert Saunders Dowst's The Technique of Fiction Writing can help. Packed with practical guidelines and instructions that are...

What do we mean when we call an object or experience "beautiful"? What are the mental, cognitive, psychological and spiritual processes that transpire when we encounter something with significant aesthetic value? These questions are at the heart of the insightful Beauty and the Beast: An Essay in Evolutionary Aesthetic, a long-form exploration of beauty and all of its beguiling facets.