- Bunyan, John. The Pilgrim's Progress (1684) [FICT BUNYAN, JOHN Pilgrims]
- The pilgrim Christian undertakes the dangerous journey to the Celestial City, experiencing physical and spiritual obstacles along the way.
- Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. The Brothers Karamazov (1879-80) [FICT DOSTOYEVSKY, FYODOR Brothers]
- The plot concerns the trial of one of four brothers for the murder of his father. The book is written on two levels: on the surface it is the story of a patricide in which all of the murdered man's sons share varying degrees of complicity but, on a deeper level, it is a spiritual drama of the moral struggles between faith, doubt, reason, and free will.
- Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. The Idiot (1868) [FICT DOSTOYEVSKY, FYODOR Idiot]
- Prince Myshkin, a good yet simple man, is out of place in the corrupt world created by Russia's ruling class.
- Douglas, Lloyd C. The Robe (1942) [FICT DOUGLAS, LLOYD C. Robe]
- A Roman soldier, Marcellus, wins Christ's robe as a gambling prize. He then sets forth on a quest to find the truth about the Nazarene's robe -- a quest that reaches to the very roots and heart of Christianity and is set against the vividly limned background of ancient Rome. Here is a timeless story of adventure, faith, and romance, a tale of spiritual longing and ultimate redemption.
- Goldsmith, Oliver. The Vicar of Wakefield (1762) [FICT GOLDSMITH, OLIVER Vicar of]
- A vicar and his charming, if vain, family fall victim to undeserved misfortune in this eighteenth-century classic.
- Lewis, C. S. The Chronicles of Narnia (1950-56) [YAFICT LEWIS, C.S. Chronicl]
- Aslan, the noble lion, and the royal leaders of Narnia struggle against the magical forces of evil. A series of seven books that will also be found published separately. Series comprises: 1. The Magician's Nephew; 2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; 3. The Horse and His Boy; 4. Prince Caspian; 5. Voyage of the Dawn Treader; 6. The Silver Chair; 7. The Last Battle. The series contains Christian themes and borrows from Greek and Roman mythology as well as traditional English and Irish fairy tales.
- Lewis, Sinclair. Elmer Gantry (1927) [FICT LEWIS SINCLAIR Elmer]
- A vulgar and licentious college football captain becomes a messenger of God as a suave evangelist preacher.
- Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron. The Last Days of Pompeii (1834) [FICT LYTTON, EDWARD Last day]
- One of the most widely read books of all time, the novel describes the cataclysmic destruction of the city of Pompeii.
- MacDonald, George. Lilith (1895) In: Visionary Novels. [FICT MACDONALD, GEORGE Visionar]
- First published in 1895 (inhabiting a universe with the early Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, and Oscar Wilde--not to mention Thomas Hardy), this is the story of the aptly named Mr. Vane, his magical house, and the journeys into another world into which it leads him. Meeting up with one mystery after another, including Adam and Eve themselves, he slowly but surely explores the mystery of the human fall from grace, and of our redemption.
- MacDonald, George. Phantastes (1858) In: Visionary Novels. [FICT MACDONALD, GEORGE Visionar]
- Tells the story of its narrator's dreamlike adventures in fairyland, masterfully recounted to convey a sense of profound sadness and a poignant longing for death.
- Marshall, Catherine. Julie (1984) [FICT MARSHALL, CATHERIN Julie]
- Adventure, romance, triumph, and tragedy blend in the story of Julie Wallace and her family during a period of strife between steel mill owners and immigrant laborers during the final years of the Depression, in a flood-prone town in western Pennsylvania.
- Sienkiewicz, Henryk. Quo Vadis (1896) [FICT SIENKIEWICZ, HENRYK Quo vadi]
- Historical novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in Polish under its Latin title in 1896. The title means "where are you going?" and alludes to a New Testament verse (John 13:36). The popular novel was widely translated. Set in ancient Rome during the reign of the emperor Nero, Quo Vadis tells the story of the love that develops between a young Christian woman and a Roman officer who, after meeting her fellow Christians, converts to her religion. Underlying their relationship is the contrast between the worldly opulence of the Roman aristocracy and the poverty, simplicity, and spiritual power of the Christians. The novel has as a subtext the persecution and political subjugation of Poland by Russia.
- Stendhal. The Red and the Black (1831) [FICT STENDHAL Red]
- Handsome and ambitious, Julien Sorel is determined to rise above his humble peasant origins and make something of his life-by adopting the code of hypocrisy by which his society operates. Julien ultimately commits a crime -- out of passion, principle, or insanity -- that will bring about his downfall. The Red and the Black is a lively, satirical picture of French Restoration society after Waterloo, riddled with corruption, greed, and ennui. The complex, sympathetic portrayal of Julien, the cold exploiter whose Machiavellian campaign is undercut by his own emotions, makes him Stendhal's most brilliant and human creation -- and one of the greatest characters in European literature.
- Tolkien, J. R. R. The Lord of the Rings (1954-55) [FICT TOLKIEN J.R.R. Lord of]
- A three-volume fantasy masterpiece, centering on a hobbit named Frodo Baggins who inherits a ring of power, which, in the hands of Sauron (the Lord of the Rings), would bring about the destruction of the world. Frodo Baggins, and a small group of companions must journey to destroy the ring, and save the world from evil. The trilogy titles are: 1. The Fellowship of the Ring 2. The Two Towers 3. The Return of the King.
- Wallace, Lew. Ben-Hur (1880) [FICT WALLACE, LEW Ben-hur]
- From a thrilling sea battle to its famous chariot race to the agony of the Crucifixion, this is the epic tale of a prince who became a slave and by a twist of fate and his own skill -- won a chance at freedom.
- Williams, Charles. Descent Into Hell (1937) [FICT WILLIAMS, CHARLES Descent]
- Hell turns out to be nothing other than a refusal to see things as they really are. Arguably his finest novel, the "descent" in the title happens to an ordinary (if extraordinarily selfish) historian named Wentworth, whose daily choices to cheat on the truth slowly but surely lead him into a terrifying state of isolation and egotism.
- Williams, Charles. War in Heaven (1930) [FICT WILLIAMS, CHARLES War in h]
- A search for the Holy Grail serves as an allegory for a metaphysical journey through the human mind.
NOTE: Dates show the year of original publication. In most cases the Library's copies are later reprints.
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