Free Literature OnLine
Did you miss reading Mark Twain's Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and can't find it in your local book store or public library? You don't have to leave you computer to get the full text. You can save the pages to your computer, or read them online—no charge! In fact the complete works of Mark Twain and several other famous authors are available at a mouse click on the full menu.
How can they do that? My best guess is that these works are out of copy right and now in the public domain. Some fans of the literary works have taken up the project of digitizing and presenting them in form available to the public. Some of these texts are also available in book form at very low cost.
Here's the list of authors with links to the Web sites presenting the literature.
- Jane Austen
Austen's work is experiencing a resurgence of popularity with the filming of Emma. Read this and other novels by the nineteenth-centurary author such as Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and others. - Charles Darwin
Have you ever been curious about what Darwin actually said about the Origin of the Species? Compare what he actually said with what people have said about what he said. - Charles Dickens
Dickens' best-known work is probably A Christmas Carol which has been dramatized in many versions on stage and screen. But that is only one of many that he wrote. The famous quotation: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, is the first line of his classic novel A Tale of Two Cities set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. It is one of the most famous books in fictional literature. You'll find it on this site. - Nathaniel Hawthorne
One of the leading writers of his time, Hawthorne often explored the themes of sin, repentance, and morality. His novel The Scarlet Letter is often found on the reading lists of college literature students. - George Orwell
Compare Orwell's vision of 1984 with what life was actually like in that period. - Edgar Allan Poe
If you have a taste for the macabre, be sure to check out the works of Edgar Allan Poe. - Mark Twain
Read the much loved Adventures of Tom Sawyer or read some of Twain's lesser known works. - William Shakespeare
Here's your opportunity to read som of the great bard's work that you've only heard about.
- Index of Authors
Explore the index for authors in many periods of history. Remember Aesop's Fables? You'll even find him in this index. This site can provide material for your reading pleasure from now on. Looking for literature for school projects? You'll find a wealth of topics here. - Library of Congress
Explore this site to see the depth of the rich collections that reside here.