The Harvard classics - a shelf of fiction 20 PDF ebooks
 |
| Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction |
In 1917, the Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction was issued as a supplement to Charles W. Eliot’s original Harvard Classics series.
While the earlier volumes had focused on philosophy, history, science, and the “great books” of Western civilization, this twenty‑volume addition brought together the finest examples of modern fiction. The selections were chosen by Eliot himself, with introductions and scholarly notes provided by William Allan Neilson, then professor of English literature at Harvard.
This collection was conceived as a portable library of world fiction, offering readers a panoramic view of the novel’s evolution across Europe and America. It spans the comic realism of Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones, the social satire of Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, the psychological depth of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, and the tragic grandeur of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. Alongside these towering works, the series includes shorter masterpieces—Poe’s Gothic tales, Twain’s humor, Maupassant’s realism, and Harte’s frontier sketches—that capture the diversity of literary imagination.
The guiding principle was Eliot’s belief that “a five‑foot shelf of books” could provide a complete liberal education. By adding fiction to the canon, he acknowledged the novel’s central role in shaping modern thought and culture. Neilson’s introductions further contextualized each work, helping readers appreciate not only the artistry of the stories but also their historical and philosophical resonance.
Today, the Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction remains a testament to the democratization of knowledge. All volumes are in the public domain, making them freely accessible to new generations of readers. Together, they form a curated treasury of narrative art—stories of love, ambition, tragedy, humor, and redemption—that continue to illuminate the human condition.
Contents of Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction (20 Volumes) PDF
- Vol. 1. 1-The History of Tom Jones, part 1, by Henry Fielding
- Vol. 2. 2 -The History of Tom Jones, part 2, by Henry Fielding
- Vol. 3. Sentimental Journey, by Laurence Sterne ,Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
- Vol. 4. Guy Mannering, by Sir Walter Scott
- Vol. 5. 1 Vanity Fair, part 1, by William Makepeace Thackeray
- Vol. 6. 2 Vanity Fair, part 2, by William Makepeace Thackeray
- Vol. 7. 1- David Copperfield, part 1, by Charles Dickens
- Vol. 8. 2 - David Copperfield, part 2, by Charles Dickens
- Vol. 9. The Mill on the Floss, by George Eliot
- Vol. 10. he Scarlet Letter and Rappaccini's Daughter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving - Eleonora, The Fall of the House of Usher, and The Purloined Letter, by Edgar Allan Poe -The Luck of Roaring Camp, The Outcasts of Poker Flat, and The Idyl of Red Gulch, by Francis Bret Harte - Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog, by Samuel L. Clemens -The Man Without a Country, by Edward Everett Hale
- Vol. 11. .The Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James
- Vol. 12. Notre Dame de Paris, by Victor Marie Hugo
- Vol. 13. Balzac, Sand, De Musset, Daudet, De Maupassant Old Goriot, by Honoré Balzac - The Devil's Pool, by George Sand
- The Story of a White Blackbird, by Alfred de Musset
- The Siege of Berlin, The Last Class—The Story of a Little Alsatian, The Child Spy, The Game of Billiards, and The Bad Zouave, by Alphonse Daudet - Walter Schnaffs’ Adventure and Two Friends, by Guy de Maupassant
- Vol. 14. Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, by Johann Wolfgang Goethe
- Vol. 15. The Sorrows of Young Werther, by Johann Wolfgang Goethe -The Banner of the Upright Seven, by Gottfried Keller -The Rider on the White Horse, by Theodor Storm - Trials and Tribulations, by Theodor Fontane
- Vol. 16. 1 -Anna Karenina, part 1, by Leo Tolstoy
- Vol. 17. 2 = Anna Karenina, part 2, and Ivan the Fool, by Leo Tolstoy
- Vol. 18. Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Vol. 19. House of Gentlefolk and Fathers and Children, by Ivan Turgenev
- Vol. 20. Valera, Bjørnson, Kiell and Pepita Jimenez, by Juan Valera - A Happy Boy, by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson - Skipper Worse, by Alexander L. Kiellan
Date:1917
Editors: Charles William Eliot,
William Allan Neilson
Download zip file contains 20 PDF - 360 MB