Your absolute no-miss books in the public domain

[Tattncat]

I would like to add:
Jane Eyre, The Man in the Iron Mask, all of Elinor Glyn's works (courtesy of MR), Zane Grey's works, and The rest of Burroughs' works previously not mentioned, and both volumes of the Elizabeth BarrettBrowning-Robert Browning letters.

[MickiTee]

Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince, but a good translation is essential so avoid the Gutenburg version. Its amazing how relevant this still is in the 21st century.

[Nothingness]

Théophile Gautier, some of his novels ("Le capitaine Fracasse", "Mademoiselle de Maupin", "Le Roman de la momie", etc.) and his dark fantasy short stories, like his vampire short story "La morte amoureuse".

[pagansoul]

I loved every single one of these books:

Anne of Green Gables collection by Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942)


Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic children’s novel, Anne of Green Gables tells the story of a red headed orphan girl with a personality you can’t help but love. Despite her “tragical” past, Anne’s optimism and imagination have helped her to always see the best in things. Anne’s life changes considerably when she is accidentally adopted by the Cuthberts, a brother and sister who thought they were getting a boy to help out on the farm. The Cuthberts decide Anne will have to be sent back to the orphange but before they know it, she has begun to work her way into their hearts. (Summary by Annie Coleman)

Further books in this series:
2 Anne of Avonlea
3 Anne of the Island
5 Anne’s House of Dreams
7 Rainbow Valley
8 Rilla of Ingleside

[basschick]

my favorites that i love to revisit

heidi
little women
all the l. frank baum oz books
the black moth (georgette heyer's first book - and one of her best!)
the picture of dorian gray
alice in wonderland and through the looking glass
the jungle book
the red house mystery (a.a. milne)

[purple_fishy]

My list:

Jane Eyre
Pride and Prejudice
Romeo and Juliet
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Burglar
A Little Princess

[jersysman]

My favorite PD book (so far. . . ) is The Three Musketeers.

[Rizla]

The Nightland by William Hope Hodgson.
The House on borderland by the same author.

Orwell, 1984.

[Gazella]

Originally Posted by maxbookworm

What are your absolute favorite, wave-it-in-peoples'-faces-and-tell-them-they-MUST-read books in the public domain? This is by no means comprehensive, but my top-of-mind books are:

- Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Which edition do you have? I'm looking for the best English translation. I was going to go for either the Modern Library or the Oxford World's Classics edition because according to the product description they're unabridged versions of the novel but the reviews state otherwise.

Reviews for the Oxford World's Classics edition

I downloaded the book without reading all of the details. This is a short version of The Count of Monte Cristo.

This is a great book and I highly recommend it, but don't buy this enriched classic version of the book. It was good, but I felt like something was missing, and not until I finished the book did I discover that this version leaves out significant portions of the actual story. Nowhere in this book does it tell you that it is an abridged version, but it actually is. Buy a different version of this book.

and for the Modern Library:

I have the Modern Library Translation with an Introduction by Lorenzo Carcaterra. It's over 1,400 pages long, but it's still abridged a bit. It's not severly abridged, like some editions are, but there are entire conversations of 1,000+ words that are left out of the Modern Library edition. Additionally, there are some bizarre additions that make no sense and only confused me as a reader. I started reading this version, got 2/3's of the way through it, then realized that at least one lengthy conversation had been cut out of the story (so frustrating).

Or should I get the Penguins Classics edition translated by Robin Buss. I've read his translation is the best so far.

[xg4bx]

Originally Posted by Gazella

What edition do you have? I'm looking for the best English translation. I was going to go for either the Modern Library or the Oxford World's Classics edition because according to the product description they're unabridged versions of the novel but the reviews state otherwise.

Reviews for the Oxford World's Classics edition





and for the Modern Library:




Or should I get the Penguins Classics edition translated by Robin Buss. I've read his translation is the best so far.

I've also been interested in an unabridged edition of The Count of Monte Cristo so thank you for asking a question that I neglected to.

[Gazella]

No problem. I hope I get a reply

[Gazella]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

I've also been interested in an unabridged edition of The Count of Monte Cristo so thank you for asking a question that I neglected to.

After digging around some more and since I haven't gotten an answer, I'll be getting the Penguin Classics edition for the following reasons:

1. It's an unabridged version (1,316 pages)

2. It includes an appendix with an explanation of all the 19th century references mentioned in the novel.

3. It's translated by Robin Buss and is considered the most accurate and modern translation (there are people who read several editions and think the Penguin Classics is by far the best).



This is a comparison of Buss' translation and the version on Project Gutenberg ( I found this example in one of the reviews):

Project Gutenberg- His wife visited for him, and this was the received thing in the world, where the weighty and multifarious occupations of the magistrate were accepted as an excuse for what was really only calculated pride...

Robin Buss- His wife visited on his behalf; this was accepted in society, where it was attributed to the amount and gravity of the lawyer's business -- when it was, in reality, deliberate arrogance...


EDIT: I just got the Penguin Classics edition and it's well worth the purchase, filled with informative footnotes and references, just wanted to let you know if you're still interested in a good edition. Though I don't like how the text is not justified on the Kindle like the book on the right, but it's no big deal.

[maxbookworm]

Thanks for doing all that research and sharing, Gazella! I've actually never read it electronically, but I did just check my hard copy and it is, indeed, the Penguin Classics version. It never even occurred to me how important it would be to get a good translation.

[xg4bx]

Originally Posted by maxbookworm

Thanks for doing all that research and sharing, Gazella! I've actually never read it electronically, but I did just check my hard copy and it is, indeed, the Penguin Classics version. It never even occurred to me how important it would be to get a good translation.

Seconded. I figured that if I was going to make the time investment I may as well get the most complete version out there. It seems like one misses tons of stuff in the abridged versions.

[Istvan diVega]

Originally Posted by RbnJrg

The Thousand Nights and a Night (version of Richard Burton - 10 vols.)

Lots of wonderful books have been mentioned, many of which are entirely unmissable. I'd like to second The Thousand Nights and a Night though, the books which probably gave me more enjoyment than any others as a kid and have continued to entertain me ever since. In English it absolutely, positively has to be the Burton translation, which is the only one (I know of) which does not tone down and censor the rich and at times quite explicit language of the original Arabic.

If you like fairy tales, folk tales and/or fantastic literature in general, you really need to check out these.