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This novel, set in 1920s California, tells the tale of Linda Strong who shares her father’s love for the beauty of nature in California. When her parents suddenly pass away, she is left with her sister Eileen, a huge house, and much wealth. Eileen goes on a spending spree, dissipating the inheritance at an alarming pace. When Linda eventually finds out, she meets with their banker and finds a way to earn money in a manner that she enjoys. The narrative includes romance, murder, and delightful descriptions of the state’s fauna and flora.

Reform or Revolution, also titled Social Reform or Revolution?, is an 1899 pamphlet by Polish-German Marxist theorist Rosa Luxemburg, in which she argues that trade unions, reformist political parties, and the expansion of social democracy could not create a socialist society as Eduard Bernstein, among others, argued. She contends from a historical materialist perspective that capitalism is economically unsustainable and will eventually collapse and that a revolution is necessary to transform capitalism into socialism.

Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book tell the story of the boy Mowgli who was raised by wolves. Set in a forest in India, the narratives promotes the ideas of law, freedom, respect, and obedience. Besides Mowgli, all the characters are animals or human archetypes in animal form, like Sher Khan the huge tiger, Baloo the sleepy brown bear, Bagheera the cunning black panther, and Kaa the python. The Second Jungle Book contains five stories about Mowgli and three unrelated pieces.

A Girl of the Limberlost, a novel by the writer and naturalist Gene Stratton-Porter, was published in 1909 as the sequel to her earlier novel Freckles. The tale unfolds in and around the Limberlost Swamp of north-eastern Indiana and in the nearby town of Onabasha. The main character, Elnora Comstock, lives with her widowed mother, Katharine Comstock, on the edge of the wetlands. The embittered Katharine blames her daughter for the death of her husband, who was swallowed by quicksand.

Lily Bart, impoverished though she was born into New York City's high society in the 19th century, was raised and educated to marry well both socially and economically. As she approaches the age of 29, her marital prospects become limited, and she descends on a two-year social slide from privilege to a tragically lonely existence on the margins of society. 

First published in 1895, it contains five stories about Mowgli and three unrelated pieces. Mowgli, the boy raised by wolves, is older and wiser but still learns more of life and survival in the Indian jungle, in the company of well-known characters like Baloo the brown bear and Bagheera the black panther.

Kipling's Jungle Book remains popular and has seen many adaptations to film and other media. Besides the boy Mowgli, all the characters are animals or rather human archetypes in animal form. The stories, set in a forest in India, have themes like abandonment followed by fostering, and promotes the ideas of law and freedom, respect and obedience. Even critics of Kipling's supposed imperialism admit to the extraordinary power of his storytelling.

The story begins with an unnamed male narrator who describes a man with a limp and a striking demeanor. The story of Ethan, his sickly wife Zeena, and the caregiver Mattie then unfolds: Mattie helped to care for the infirm Zeena, but when Zeena noticed a spark of affection between her husband and Mattie, she demanded that the caregiver be dismissed. When the aforementioned narrator resumes, it emerges that Mattie was severely injured 20 years earlier in the accident which caused Ethan’s limp as well as a startling role reversal among the two women.

Mary Barber was born in Massachusetts and married Sioux chief Squatting Bear in 1867. In her memoirs, she described her experiences with the Sioux and the many relations of Squatting Bear.

The Story of a Bad Boy (1870), a semi-autobiographical novel by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, is considered the first in the "bad boy" genre of literature. It is hailed as the precursor to stories such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. The protagonist, Tom Bailey, is mischievous, a vandal, and a troublemaker. The narrative follows Tom as he engages in a series of adventures from New Hampshire to New Orleans and beyond. Among the supporting characters, Sailor Ben, Miss Abigail, and Conway stand out.

Gene Stratton-Porter (1863-1924) was an early naturalist and nature photographer who wrote several best-selling novels. Her novel, Laddie: A True Blue Story (1913), includes autobiographical elements that corresponded to her early life. The story is told by Little Sister, the 12th child of a large family, while the character of the title is based on the author’s older brother, who has a strong connection to the land. The narrative has a country ambiance with lovely descriptions of nature.

The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett, is an 1896 novella and early example of the regionalism genre with its sketches of the fictional fishing village of Dunnet Landing in Maine. The narrator is a woman from Boston who returns to the small coastal town after a brief earlier visit, in order to finish writing her book. She rents an empty schoolhouse with a panoramic view of Dunnet Landing, which serves as a focus of narrative consciousness. 

"The Song of the Cardinal" by Gene Stratton-Porter is the story of a big male Cardinal bird in the Wabash Valley, Indiana. Living in a tree near the home of a farmer and his wife, the bird sings with passion and joie de vivre to attract a mate, which he finds, and a charming romance develops. Unfolding at a leisurely pace, the story portrays the varied natural settings of the region in a most engaging way. The theme of nature and mankind’s responsibility to care for it, is present throughout the narrative.

Besides being a great short story writer, Anton Chekhov was also a master of the novella. One of his best is My Life, the tale of a rebellious young man so disgusted with bourgeois society that he drops out to live amongst the working classes, only to find himself once more disillusioned.

This work by Chekhov is about Musatov, who finds himself fortunate to have such dedicated children. Musatov is a drunkard and is constantly seeking out money from his sons, which they routinely give to him. His children indulge their father continually, even though he doesn't deserve it for all the trouble he brings them and the fact that he has nothing to give in return.

A lawyer encounters a beggar and offers him a menial job, after which he regularly comes to do odd jobs. Eventually, the lawyer gets him a clerical position. Years later, the beggar has risen in life, but it turns out that it was the lawyer’s servant Olga who caused the change of heart which set the beggar’s life in a new direction.

"Dreams" is a story about identity and fate. Two peasant constables are escorting a tramp to a district town. A conversation arises, and it becomes clear that the tramp may be a prisoner, but is not really a tramp.

In this story, two peasants keeping a three-day vigil over a dead body wrapped in sheets, are interrupted by a man wearing a cassock. The younger peasant agrees to guide the third man to his destination, while the older one stays behind.

Yegor the huntsman, walking down a country road, accidentally meets his estranged wife Pelageya to whom he's been married for 12 years, but who he seldom visited. She weeps and implores him to visit her more often. He tries to explain why he could not abide living in a village.

The story of an isolated man and wife visited by the postman and his coachman. This visit triggers all sorts of interpersonal dynamics, as the husband accuses his wife of being a witch who ensorcels young men, while the wife feels that her life has been wasted with her useless husband.