Best of
Literature

1878

Nobody's Boy


Hector Malot - 1878
    Going from village to village with its act, ‘nobody’s boy’ has numerous adventures until his boss also falls on hard times and perishes, homeless and destitute. Remi’s life includes a number of surprising twists and turns, leading to a climax and a very happy conclusion when he is reunited with his family.

Dick Sands the Boy Captain (The Extraordinary Voyages, #17)


Jules Verne - 1878
    This picture of the wilds of Africa, its adventures and its dangers, the savage hunting both of beasts and men, has always been a favorite among Verne's readers. It contains no marvels, no inventions, but merely, amid stirring scenes and actions seeks to convey two truthful impressions. One is the traveler's teaching the geographical information, the picture of Africa as explorers, botanists, and zoologists have found it. The other is the moral lesson of the awful curse of slavery, its brutalizing, horrible influence upon all who come in touch with it, and the absolutely devastating effect it has had upon Africa itself.

Is He Popenjoy?


Anthony Trollope - 1878
    Trollope responded to the public's interest in scandal with this novel, which traces the claim of a shadowy figure to the marquisate of Brotherton. The novel is full of sensational elements and is highly revealing of the social issues of the mid-1870s.

An Inland Voyage and Travels With a Donkey


Robert Louis Stevenson - 1878
    Stevenson is best remembered for Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. We are travelers in the wilderness of the world-travelers with a donkey. So Robert Louis Stevenson wrote to a friend on completing this enchanting account of a journey in rural France in 1878. Alone with his pack-donkey Modestine, and showing total disregard for discomfort, Stevenson relishes to the full his walking tour of the Cevennes. Freedom was the important thing: I blessed God that I was free to wander, free to hope, and free to love." This diary will find many kindred spirits. In the summer of 1876, Robert Louis Stevenson made a trip by canoe from Antwerp through northern France. Accompanying him was his friend Walter Simpson. Written when he was twenty five and published in May of 1878, An Inland Voyage was Stevenson's first published work. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.