Esther (Penguin Classics)

Does a spirited young painter who's fallen in love with a preacher need to comprise her own personal convictions to marry him? Find out in this surprisingly insightful work by Henry Adams, who originally published the work under the nom de plume, Frances Compton Snow.

While Esther's plot may sound like one pulled from today's romantic comedies, Adams creates a story filled with tension and personality clashes, painted against a backdrop of arguments about religion, science, art and poetry.

A well-regarded historian and great-grandson of President John Adams, Henry Adams penned just two novels, Esther and Democracy.