R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) is a science fiction play in the Czech language by Karel ?apek. It premiered in 1921 and is famous for having introduced and popularized the term robot.

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, generally known as Frankenstein, is a novel written by the British author Mary Shelley. The title of the novel refers to a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who...

A futuristic story of tragic love and of the gradual extermination of the human race by plague, The Last Man is Mary Shelley's most important novel after Frankenstein. With intriguing portraits of Percy...

"The Mortal Immortal" tells the story of Winzy, who gains eternal life after drinking an alchemist's elixir. Over time, he realizes that immortality is more of a curse than a blessing as he watches everyone...

In this gothic tale, Constance, a young woman, is in love with Gaspar, the son of her father's enemy. After their fathers die in a battle, Constance seeks guidance in her dreams on how to handle this...

"The Heir of Mondolfo" is a gothic short story by Mary Shelley, published posthumously in 1877. It revolves around Ludovico, the second son of a nobleman, who is initially despised by his father. When...

"The Invisible Girl" is a Gothic tale about Rosina, a young woman who is cast out by her guardian. As she faces isolation, her fiancé searches for her, leading to a dramatic and romantic reunion. The...

"Valperga" by Mary Shelley follows the story of Castruccio Castracani, a historical figure, and his rise to power in 14th-century Italy. The novel intertwines his military and political ambitions with...

"On Ghosts" by Mary Shelley explores people's belief in the supernatural through personal anecdotes and reflections on ghostly encounters. The essay discusses stories of apparitions and the psychological...

"The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck" tells the story of Perkin Warbeck, a young man who claims to be Richard, Duke of York, and rightful heir to the English throne. Set against the backdrop of late 15th-century...

"Lodore" explores the interconnected lives of three women shaped by Lord Lodore: his estranged wife Cornelia, who is influenced by societal norms and her mother; his daughter Ethel, raised in Illinois...

Falkner charts a young woman's education under a tyrannical father figure.

The tale opens with the unnamed narrator arriving at the house of his friend, Roderick Usher, having received a letter from him in a distant part of the country complaining of an illness and asking for...

"The Raven" is a narrative poem by the American writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe. It was published for the first time on January 29, 1845, in the New York Evening Mirror. Noted for its musicality, stylized...

In an isolated town called Vondervotteimittis (wonder-what-time-it-is), the punctilious inhabitants seem to be concerned with nothing but clocks and cabbage. This methodical, boring and quiet little borough...

Set on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, the plot follows William Legrand, who was recently bitten by a gold-colored bug. His servant Jupiter fears Legrand is going insane and goes to Legrand's friend,...

Blueblooded mama's boy Waldo Emerson Smith-Jones is swept overboard during a south seas voyage for his lifelong ill health. He finds himself on a jungle island. His bookish education has not prepared...

"The Purloined Letter" is a short story by American author Edgar Allan Poe. It is the third of his three detective stories featuring the fictional C. Auguste Dupin, the other two being "The Murders in...

"The Pit and the Pendulum" is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe and first published in 1842. The story is about the torments endured by a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition, though Poe skews historical...

"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe first published in 1843. It follows an unnamed narrator who insists on his sanity after murdering an old man with a "vulture eye". The murder...

Inspired by the Moskstraumen, it is couched as a story within a story, a tale told at the summit of a mountain climb. The story is told by an old man who reveals that he only appears old - "You suppose...

The death of Edgar Allan Poe on October 7, 1849, has remained mysterious: the circumstances leading up to it are uncertain and the cause of death is disputed. On October 3, Poe was found delirious on...

A Princess of Mars is an Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction novel, the first of his famous Barsoom series. It is also Burroughs' first novel, predating his Tarzan stories. He wrote it between July and...

After the long exile on Earth, John Carter finally returned to his beloved Mars. But beautiful Dejah Thoris, the woman he loved, had vanished. Now he was trapped in the legendary Eden of Mars -- an Eden...

Professor Maxon performs secret experiments to make a "perfect race" of humans, finally succeeding with "Number Thirteen."

As the Beasts of Tarzan begins, Tarzan -- as Lord Greystoke -- is settled in civilized London. But two of his enemies, Nikolas Rokoff and henchman Alexis Paulvitch, are on his trail. The pair abducts...

Starting out as a harrowing wartime sea adventure, Burroughs’s story ultimately develops into a lost world story reminiscent of such novels as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World (1912) and Jules...

This installment shifts focus from John Carter and Dejah Thoris, protagonists of the first three books in the series, to their son Carthoris, prince of Helium, and to Thuvia, princess of Ptarth, and follows...

When Tarzan is orphaned as a baby deep in the African jungle, the apes adopt him and raise him as their own. By the time the boy is ten, he can swing through the trees and talk to the animals. By the...

The author relates how, traveling the Sahara, he's encountered a remarkable vehicle & pilot, David Innes, a man with a remarkable story to tell. Innes is a mining heir who finances an experimental...