These four superb novels of the nineteenth century have gained a permanent place in our culture as great American classics. They are not only part of our national heritage, but masterpieces of world literature as well. THE SCARLET LETTER connects us with America's moral and historical roots in Puritan New England in Nathaniel Hawthorne's masterful exploration of sin, guilt, and pride. THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN takes us along on Huck's unforgettable raft journey down the Mississippi in America's foremost comic epic--the first great novel to speak in a truly American voice. THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE mixes the brutal reality of war with its psychological impact on a young Civil War soldier in one of the most moving and most widely read American novels. BILLY BUDD, SAILOR, joins the world's great tragic literature as a compelling portrayal of the clash between social authority and individual freedom in this powerful drama of a doomed seaman. --back cover