Sister Carrie (1900) is a novel by Theodore Dreiser. Controversial for its honest depiction of work, desire, and urban life, Sister Carrie has endured as a classic of naturalist fiction and remains a powerful example of social critique over a century after its publication. Despite poor reviews upon publication, the novel is now considered a landmark of American literature. Tired of the countryside, Carrie Meeber moves to Chicago to live with her older...

First published in 1845, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is the memoir of former slave turned abolitionist. The story recounts Douglass's life from early childhood growing up in Maryland as a slave to his eventual escape to the North. Learning to read and write served him well, as he would eventually use it to document the civil injustices of slavery in 19th century America and to craft his impassioned oratories against it.