American Literature

Here are 10 unabridged stories by the greatest American authors. These treasured stories from the most influential authors of the 19th and early 20th centuries were selected for their literary importance as well as their dramatic oral qualities.

Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her - but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known. So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia’s proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the South to dangerously idealistic movements in the North.

Los Angeles, 1948: Easy Rawlins is a black war veteran just fired from his job at a defense plant. Easy is drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage, when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will simply locate Miss Daphne Money, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs.

When Mecca's parents are killed in front of her by a family friend, she learns that true friends are few and far between. She is taken in by her aunt and soon finds out who is really riding for her and who is just around because they fear the wrath of Aunt Ruby. Making a deal with the devil doesn't seem all that bad when you're sitting on top of the world with endless amounts of money and designer everything, but it's not long before her beloved aunt Ruby is snatched away from her.

For Unique, life is good until her dope-dealing boyfriend, Took, is arrested and winds up in jail. Now she's broke as a joke, trying to put every petty hustle into play to chase hard times away from the door. With an empty refrigerator, a stack of bills piling up, a tenth-grade education, a big butt and a smile, it doesn't take long for her to learn to pull the wool over the eyes of any fool who's blinded by her good looks.

Robyn and Aries are "The Murder Mamas", contract killers from Los Angeles who take no prisoners. It doesn't take them long to link up with Hollywood's biggest drug kingpin, who hires them to take out a snitch and a judge. But the plans backfire, and they complete only half the job. Robyn is caught and put on death row, and Aries goes on the run. She winds up in the islands, where she takes up a new life as a mother and wife and tries to forget who she once was.

The Black household is swiftly deteriorating. Frustrated and angry at her prosperous preacher husband's obvious infidelities, Tanya cannot believe the man she once loved has been replaced by this pathological liar obsessed with material wealth.

New York Times best-selling author Mary Monroe takes you on the ultimate twist-filled ride with her Lonely Heart, Deadly Heart series. For two restless women looking for satisfaction, too much of a good thing is never enough - even as a lethal passion closes in. Best friends Lola Poole and Joan Proctor-Riley have finally found the love and excitement they've always longed for. Online-dating an endless line of wealthy, no-strings-attached lovers is the perfect escape from their unfulfilling lives.

Mary Monroe is a New York Times best-selling author who pens tales of life’s emotional tapestry. Lost Daughters follows Maureen Montgomery and her daughter, Loretta, as they strive to make a life after the death of Maureen’s domineering mother. Forever scarred by Mama Ruby’s tyrannical ways, Maureen longs for a quiet, simple life. But Loretta has something far different in mind. Dreaming of fame and fortune, she embarks on a modeling career. Mama Ruby, however, casts a shadow with the power to darken their lives.

The most lethal ride-or-die women in Memphis now run their gangs and the streets. But the aftermath of an all-out war means merciless new enemies, time-bomb secrets... and one chance to take it all... Bullets have no names and collateral damage is the game as the women of the Dirty South push to secure total control.

Alicia was born to the good life, she's entitled to the best, and she'll do anything to get it. Even if it means piling up thousands of dollars in debt. Even if it means denying to everyone - even herself - that her love of shopping has gotten way out of control.

In this, the first volume of renowned author and historian Peter G. Tsouras’s alternative history trilogy, Great Britain’s support for the Confederacy takes it to the brink of war with the Union. The escape of a British-built Confederate ironclad finally ignites the heap of combustible animosities and national interests. When the US Navy seizes it in British waters, the ensuing battle spirals into all-out war. Napoleon III eagerly joins the British and declares war on the United States.

Patricia Haley’s inspirational series following the drama-filled Mitchell family shot her to the number-one spot on the Essence best-seller list. Anointed transports listeners back to the saga’s beginning, when Dave and Madeline Mitchell were still married, raising a family, and building a million-dollar business. Then Dave hires a pretty young assistant named Sherry Henderson, and temptation gives way to desire - setting events in motion that will haunt the Mitchell clan for decades to come.

There's a saying in Brooklyn that if you come from my part of town, you're from around the way. Around the Way Girls is a fast-paced look at the life of some street-smart women who think they know it all but are about to get the lessons of their lives.

With heart-stopping stories by Zane, Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes, Joy M. Copeland, Robert Fleming, Terence Taylor, Francine Lewis, Brandon Massey, and 12 other established or up-and-coming writers, Dark Dreams is a must-have contemporary anthology for fans of the supernatural.

Meet the Banks sisters - Simone, Bunny, Tallhya, and Ginger. They feel like they are finally in the clear in connection with the recent bank robberies - until their mother shows up demanding her share at gunpoint. She threatens to snitch them out if they don't come correct. The situation becomes a bloody mess, and now two sisters must band together to cover up the unthinkable actions of one of their own. As if that isn't enough, Pastor Cassius Street hits them with another major blow.

With a unique style, Noire tantalizes readers with erotic tales and wildly entertaining urban dramas. Featuring one of her most unforgettable characters, Natural Born Liar follows the escapades of Mink LaRue - straight out of Harlem and looking to take a big step up in life. Mink’s got a taste for fine living, and when her resemblance to a missing oil heiress gives her an opportunity to take up residence in a 20-room mansion, you better believe she’s going to jump at the chance.

Nationally best-selling author Niobia Bryant lays down smooth and sexy fiction for her adoring fans. Here, four friends must deal with a shocking betrayal from within their group. Jaime, Renee, Aria, and Jessa have stuck together through it all. But the group is stunned when Jessa texts the other three a confession regarding an affair with someone’s husband—and she won’t reveal whose man she’s been sleeping with.

Sixteen-year-old Diamond "Ray-Ray" Jenkins has it made in the shade, until one wrong move by her parents turns their lives upside down. Their secret of taking from the wrong street King in the Trap, Damien Orlando, has now put her in peril. The death of her parents signals an end to Diamond's semi-perfect life, putting her in the hands of evil. Her only salvation is to learn the game, and to put her trust in a kid wearing a hoodie.

In this stirring prequel, New York Times best-selling author Mary Monroe returns to the “cold-blooded yet fascinating” ( Publishers Weekly) character from her acclaimed novel The Upper Room. Ruby is a wild youth, with a thirst for boys and booze by the age of 15. When she discovers she’s pregnant, the only person she can confide in is her best friend Othella. But Othella talks Ruby into giving up the child, leaving Ruby emotionally shattered and adamant that Othella is to blame for her loss.