Historical Stories

A handsome, intelligent, and egotistical young man as he comes of age in early 20th-century America.

A young boy is disfigured by a group of child traffickers who carve a permanent smile into his face.

The Pyncheon family live in a gloomy mansion known as the House of the Seven Gables.

A boy is born in a workhouse in a poor town. His mother dies after childbirth, leaving him an orphan.

A mill owner is trying to introduce labor-saving machinery to his textile factory. This angers local workers, who fear unemployment.

A semi-autobiographical novel that explores life aboard a U.S. Navy warship based on Melville’s own experiences.

A political and historical narrative written chronicling the events surrounding Napoléon Bonaparte’s coup d’état.

A young American sailor who abandons his whaling ship along with a shipmate while docked in the Marquesas Islands.

A social critique centered on a kind, modest young woman born and raised in Marshalsea Prison for Debt in London.

Israel Potter leaves his home in Massachusetts to fight in the American Revolutionary War. After fighting at Bunker Hill, he is captured by the British.