Published in 1839, Nicholas Nickleby is Charles Dickens' third novel. In it, Nicholas Nickleby must earn a living to support his mother and sister after his father dies unexpectedly. Turning to a wealthy uncle in London for help, Nicholas is hired on as assistant to Wackford Squeers, a sadistic and small-minded schoolmaster. Meanwhile, his sister must take a job in a milliner's studio and is occasionally pressed into service by their uncle who exploits...

The Metamorphosis is a short novel by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. It is often, cited as one of the seminal works of fiction of the 20th century and is widely studied in colleges and universities across the western world. The story begins with a travelling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed into an insect. "When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous...