onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/Precious_Bane');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0268015384'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Precious Bane

by Mary Webb

Amazon says:
Books like this are as rare as blue moons. A forgotten classic set in rural Shropshire at the turn of the 19th century blends a simple, rustic love story with a profound sense of nature's mystic truth. Prue Sarn is an original and appealing heroine of English literature as she triumphs over a physical handicap to win her heart's desire. Skillfully woven through this story is the aura of the English countryside, its flora and fauna anticipating every turn of the plot. Mary Webb's work won her the admiration of her contemporary writers and in 1925 she won the Femina Vie Heureuse prize.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/Precious_Bane');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/Precious_Bane');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0268015384'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 320 page paperback |$18.00 |19 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/Jane_Eyre');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0553211404'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Jane Eyre

by Charlotte Bronte

Amazon says:
Charlotte Bronte's impassioned novel is the love story of "Jane Eyre," a plain yet spirited governess, and her employer, the arrogant, brooding Mr. Rochester. Published in 1847 under the pseudonym Currer Bell, the book heralded a new kind of heroine -- one whose virtuous integrity, keen intellect, and tireless perseverance broke through class barriers to win equal stature with the man she loved. Hailed by William Thackeray as "the masterwork of a great genius," "Jane Eyre" is still regarded, over a century later, as one of the finest novels in English literature.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/Jane_Eyre');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/Jane_Eyre');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0553211404'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 492 page paperback |$4.95 |595 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/The_Ballad_of_the_Sad_Cafe_and_Other_Stories');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0618565868'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">The Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Other Stories

by Carson McCullers

Amazon says:
A classic work that has charmed generations of readers, this collection assembles Carson McCullers's best stories, including her beloved novella "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe." A haunting tale of a human triangle that culminates in an astonishing brawl, the novella introduces readers to Miss Amelia, a formidable southern woman whose cafe serves as the town's gathering place.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/The_Ballad_of_the_Sad_Cafe_and_Other_Stories');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/The_Ballad_of_the_Sad_Cafe_and_Other_Stories');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0618565868'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 160 page paperback |$7.95 |31 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/The_Mists_of_Avalon');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0345350499'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">The Mists of Avalon

by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Amazon says:
Even readers who don't normally enjoy Arthurian legends will love this version, a retelling from the point of view of the women behind the throne. Morgaine (more commonly known as Morgan Le Fay) and Gwenhwyfar (a Welsh spelling of Guinevere) struggle for power, using Arthur as a way to score points and promote their respective worldviews.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/The_Mists_of_Avalon');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/The_Mists_of_Avalon');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0345350499'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 912 page paperback |$12.24 |885 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/The_Passion');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0802135226'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">The Passion

by Jeanette Winterson

Amazon says:
Jeanette Winterson first book won the Whitbread Award in 1985. She was 25. Two years later, "The Passion," her third novel arrived and told the fantastical tale of Henri -- Napoleon's cook -- and Villanelle, a Venetian gondolier's daughter who has webbed feet, works as a croupier, picks pockets, cross-dresses, and literally loses her heart to a beautiful woman.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/Germinal');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0140447423'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Germinal

by Emile Zola

Amazon says:
The thirteenth novel in Zola's great Rougon-Macquart sequence, "Germinal" expresses outrage at the exploitation of the many by the few, but also shows humanity's capacity for compassion and hope.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/Moments_of_Reprieve_A_Memoir_of_Auschwitz');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0140188959'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Moments of Reprieve: A Memoir of Auschwitz

by Primo Levi

Amazon says:
This new memoir presents 15 portraits of unforgettable characters the author encountered at Auschwitz. In Levi's "moments of reprieve" which he describes as "bizarre, marginal moments of truce" he encountered Wolf, a Berlin pharmacist who had scabies but didn't scratch; Ezra, the cantor who insisted that his soup ration be saved while he fasted on Yom Kippur; Joel, a blond Jew with a German accent who crossed Europe without being harmed by the Gestapo but was imprisoned by the British in Palestine; Avrom, an innocent young soldier of fortune who became a hero of the Resistance; Grigo, a Gypsy who paid with bread for having an undeliverable letter written; and Rumkowski, chief of the Lodz ghetto, who rode to Auschwitz in a private car.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/Moments_of_Reprieve_A_Memoir_of_Auschwitz');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/Moments_of_Reprieve_A_Memoir_of_Auschwitz');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0140188959'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 144 page paperback |$10.16 |4 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/American_Pastoral');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0375701427'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">American Pastoral

by Philip Roth

Amazon readers say:

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/East_of_Eden');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0142004235'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">East of Eden

by John Steinbeck

Amazon readers say:

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_Octogenarians_10_Favorite_Novels/A_Prayer_for_Owen_Meany');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0345417976'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">A Prayer for Owen Meany

by John Irving

Amazon readers say: