Barnes Noble: 2826 books

In The Dark Night of the Soul, Spanish mystic St. John of the Cross describes the purification, or "night," that the human soul must experience if it is to enter into loving union with God in this life. Its combination of personal, pastoral, and academic wisdom has made The Dark Night of the Soul an...

American Indian Stories (1921) is remarkable for being perhaps the first literary work by a Native-American woman created without the mediation of a non-Native interpreter, or collaborator. Zitkala-Sa vividly articulates her disillusionment with the harshness of American-Indian boarding schools and the...

In The Myths of the North American Indians, Lewis Spence offers insight into what is unique and distinctive about the Native-American cultures and peoples. Part ethnography, part history, and part literary study, this collection is accessible to academic scholars and mainstream readers alike. Spence...

Alexander Musgrave narrates his own yarn as a legalized pirate, sailing under a letter of marque to harass the enemy. The story includes the capture of a French ship, shark attacks and slavery, and Musgrave’s journey into the arms of a beautiful woman—this last (1846) of Marryat’s naval stories delivers vintage high-seas adventure.

In this work, Cooper adopts the perspective of a European traveling through the United States for the first time, revealing his impressions of Americans to fellow Europeans. Though lighthearted, this epistolary narrative draws deep comparisons between his “home country” and America—noting that...

This collection of Balzac’s stories contains The Marriage Contract, a tragicomedy about money and marriage; Gobseck, in which Anastasie de Restaud enters into an unfortunate marriage—an aristocratic yet boring partnership without love or passion; and La Grenadiere.

Five of Balzac’s finest short stories are collected in this volume. “The Unknown Masterpiece” introduces three artists and their obsessive quest to create beautiful paintings which will enthrall the viewer—and the madness that ensues. “The Maranas” follows two French soldiers stationed in...

Appearing in 1829, Les Chouans was the first of Balzac’s books to be published under his own name. It is a tale of love gone wrong amid the anti-government Chouan uprising in Brittany in 1799.  This is the book that established Balzac’s literary reputation, and was, as one critic wrote, the author’s “passage into the Promised Land.”

The author’s favorite of his own works, Lily of the Valley tells the story of Felix, a young man with a dark past—always turned away, always unloved. One night at a party, he falls in love with Henriette, who is already married. The morbid romance which ensues is anything but conventional. This volume...

Hawthorne's first novel, published anonymously in 1828, was only printed under his name following his death.  During his life, he burned every copy he could find.  But modern readers are apt to be more forgiving of this gothic-tinged romance based on Hawthorne's experiences at Bowdoin College.

Containing fantasy, horror, and vampire fiction, One of Cleopatra’s Nights is a collection of passionate stories by Théophile Gautier, the master of the spectral. The title story captures the eternal horror of Egypt’s netherworld of catacombs; and the romantic vampire tale, “Clarimonde,” is included here along with other tales of sinister creatures and femme fatales.

The book begins with the actor and author of a play, trying to work out what the play is about, exactly. In the rest of this engaging novel, Howells uses his keen understanding of playwriting and theater to explore the behind-the-scenes drama of staging a play.

In 1874, the Anglican socialist and advocate of “muscular Christianity” looked at England and saw that “tens of thousands...lead sedentary and unwholesome lives, stooping, asphyxiated, employing as small a fraction of their bodies as their minds.” This book compiles his thoughts on improving the physical and spiritual health of the nation.

One of his chief theological works and an engrossing read for any student of theology, Discipline and Other Sermons collects the famous clergyman’s meditations on such subjects as the title sermon, discipline, as well as wisdom, prayer, the humanity of God, the Good Samaritan, humility, the kingdom of Christ, and more.