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Adventure

An adventure involves risk and physical danger. It may include a quest or a voyage and may be set in different time periods or strange lands.

Books

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

by Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a first person narrative told by the title character, Huckleberry Finn, as he accompanies a runaway slave on his journey to freedom.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

by Mark Twain

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is set in the 1840's in the fictitious town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, where Tom lives with his deceased mother's sister, Aunt Polly, and his half-brother, Sid. After Tom plays hooky from school, he is made to whitewash Aunt Polly's fence as punishment, but persuades his friends to do it for him.

Tom's real trouble begins when he and Huck Finn witness a murder committed by Injun Joe. They swear to never tell, and the wrong man, Muff Potter, is accused of the crime. Tom, Huck, and a friend run away to be pirates, but become aware that the whole town is searching for their bodies. Each of the boys make an appearance at their own funerals, where they are greeted with open arms. As Muff Potter's trial begins, Tom is overcome with guilt and testifies against Injun Joe, who quickly flees the courtroom.

Later, on a class field trip to a cave, Tom and his love interest, Becky Thatcher, get lost. As they run out of food and candles searching for a way out, Tom and Becky come upon Injun Joe, who is using the cave as a hideout. Tom finds a way out just as the search party is giving up. The town rejoices and Judge Thatcher, Becky's father, has the cave sealed, unknowingly trapping Injun Joe inside where he starves to death.

Around the World in 80 Days

by Jules Verne

Around the World in 80 Days (French: Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is a classic adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in 1873. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days on a £20,000 wager set by his friends at the Reform Club.

Black Beauty

by Anna Sewell

Black Beauty is a novel told in the first person (or "first horse") as an autobiographical memoir told by a highbred horse named Black Beauty-beginning with his carefree days as a colt on an English farm, to his difficult life pulling cabs in London, to his happy retirement in the country.

The Call of the Wild

by Jack London

The Call of the Wild is a novel by American writer Jack London. The plot concerns a previously domesticated happy dog named Buck, whose primordial instincts return after a series of events leads to his serving as a sled dog in the Yukon during the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, in which sled dogs were bought at generous prices.

Published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is London's most-read book, and it is generally considered his best, the masterpiece of his so-called "early period". Because the protagonist is a dog, it is sometimes classified as a juvenile novel, suitable for children, but it is dark in tone and contains numerous scenes of cruelty and violence.

London followed the book in 1906 with White Fang, a companion novel with many similar plot elements and themes as Call of the Wild, although following a mirror image plot in which a wild wolf becomes civilized by a mining expert from San Francisco named Weedon Scott.

The Count of Monte Cristo

by Alexandre Dumas, pére

The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure story that takes place during the historical events of 1815 to 1838. This piece tells the tale of a man who seeks revenge after his escape from prision and deals with the central themes of vengeance, justice, forgiveness, and mercy.

The Flamingo Feather

by Kirk Munroe

When Rene De Veaux’s parents die he goes to live with his uncle, who happens to be setting out on an exploration of the new world.

How Sammy Went to Coral-Land

by Emily Paret Atwater

How Sammy Went to Coral-Land is a children’s short story about a salmon named Sammy who has grand adventures when he swims to Coral-Land alone. The story deals with bravery, danger, and finding out what you want is right in front of you.

In the Wilds of Florida

by W.H.G. Kingston

In the Wilds of Florida is a tale of an Irish schoolboy who leaves school and his struggling family in Ireland to come to America. He experiences a Florida where fighting still erupts between Cherokee and Seminole Indians, where white people are under threat of Indian attack, and the landscape is mostly swamp or plains of dense brush.

The Journey to the Center of the Earth

by Jules Verne

Originally published in French in 1864, the first English translation of this classic of adventure and science fiction was published in 1871. The book describes the journey of a scientist, his nephew, and their guide through the Earth's interior by way of volcanic tubes. Along the way, they encounter various threats and wonders, seeing evidence of earlier stages in the planet's development.

Moby Dick

by Herman Melville

Also known as The Whale, this is the story of Ishmael, a sailor aboard the Pequod with Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon realizes that vengeful Ahab's only mission is to find the sperm whale, Moby Dick.

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym

by Edgar Allan Poe

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is the only complete novel written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The work relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym who stows away aboard a whaling ship called Grampus. Various adventures and misadventures befall Pym including shipwreck, mutiny, and cannibalism before he is saved by the crew of the Jane Guy. Aboard this vessel, Pym and a sailor named Dirk Peters continue their adventures further south. Docking on land, they encounter hostile black-skinned natives before escaping back to the ocean. The novel ends abruptly as Pym and Peters continue towards the South Pole.

The Open Boat: A Tale Intended to be After the Fact. Being the Experience of Four Men Sunk from the Steamer Commodore

by Stephen Crane

Published in 1897, The Open Boat is based on an actual incident from Stephen Crane’s life. While on his way to Cuba, Crane's ship sank off the coast of Florida. Crane and other survivors were stranded at sea for thirty hours. They eventually made their way to safety in a small boat, but one of the men drowned while trying to swim to shore. Crane wrote this story soon after the incident occurred.

The Sea-Wolf

by Jack London

The Sea-Wolf is a psychological adventure novel by American novelist Jack London about a literary critic and other survivors of an ocean collision who come under the dominance of Wolf Larsen, the powerful and amoral sea captain who rescues them.

Treasure Island

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of “buccaneers and buried gold.” Traditionally considered a coming of age story, its influence on popular lore about pirates can not be overestimated.

A Victorious Union

by Oliver Optic

A Victorious Union, part of Oliver Optic's Blue and the Gray series, is an adventure story set in the time of the Civil War.

Passages