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80,418 stories
Silas Marner (Completed)
This novel has been banned because of how the topic of religion is discussed and portrayed. "Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe" is a dramatic novel by George Eliot. It was first published in 1861. An outwardly simple tale of a reclusive weaver, in its strong realism it represents one of Eliot's most sophisticated treatments of her attitude to religion."
The Call of the Wild (Completed)
This novel was removed from dictatorships in Europe during the the 1920s and 1930s. From Wikipedia: "The Call of the Wild is a novel by American writer Jack London. The plot concerns a previously domesticated 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."
Black Beauty (Completed)
Black Beauty is an 1877 novel by Anna Sewell, and reportedly banned by South Africa's apartheid regime. The story is narrated in the first person as an autobiographical memoir told by a horse named Black Beauty.
The Happy Prince and Other Tales (Completed)
This was challenged and banned because the stories were considered to be "distressing and morbid." "The Happy Prince and Other Tales is a collection of stories for children by Oscar Wilde first published in May 1888."
Grimm's Fairy Stories (Completed)
Concern over activities, such as Red Riding Hood bringing wine to her grandmother, caused this title to be removed from some schools. This is a collection of German origin fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the Brothers Grimm.
Candide (Completed)
Candide is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire. The book was widely banned because it contained religious blasphemy, political sedition and intellectual hostility. From Wikipedia: "It parodies many adventure and romance clichés, the struggles of which are caricatured in a tone that is mordantly matter-of-fact. Still, the events discussed are often based on historical happenings, such as the Seven Years' War and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake."
Gulliver's Travels (Completed)
Gulliver's Travels is a famous satirical novel by Jonathan Swift, first published in 1726. It was originally banned because of the politically sensitive references the author makes in the novel, but the work has also been censured for displays of madness and for being "wicked and obscene, blasphemous, filthy in word and thought". The story recounts the dystopian experiences of Lemuel Gulliver, as he sees giants, talking horses, cities in the sky, and much more.
Leaves of Grass (Completed)
The use of explicit language in this text has been the reason behind attempted bannings. "Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection by the American poet Walt Whitman. This book is notable for its delight in and praise of the senses during a time when such candid displays were considered immoral. " (via Wiki)
Frankenstein (Completed)
South Africa's apartheid regime banned a number of classic books, reportedly including Frankenstein by Mary Shelley for being "indecent, objectionable, or obscene". This novel was first published in 1818. "Frankenstein" is the classic sci-fi horror tale of an obsessed scientist who assembles a living being from parts of exhumed corpses.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Completed)
This classic has been banned for various reasons, including the animal's abilities to use human language to communicate. Alice in Wonderland is an 1856 novel by Lewis Carroll. "It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world (Wonderland) populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures."
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Completed)
This book has a very controversial past, due to offensive wording. From Wikipedia: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in 1884. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written in the vernacular, characterized by local color regionalism. It is told in the first person by Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, a friend of Tom Sawyer.The book is noted for its colorful description of people and places along the Mississippi River. Satirizing a Southern antebellum society that had ceased to exist about twenty years before the work was published, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an often scathing look at entrenched attitudes, particularly racism."
The Iron Heel (Completed)
This novel was removed from dictatorships in Europe during the the 1920s and 1930s. "The Iron Heel is a dystopian novel by American writer Jack London, first published in 1907. Generally considered to be 'the earliest of the modern Dystopian,' it chronicles the rise of an oligarchic tyranny in the United States."
Paradise Lost (Completed)
This title was at one time listed on the Indx Librorum Prohibitorum (List of Prohibited Books) in Rome. "Paradise Lost is an epic poem by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. The poem concerns the Christian story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden."
Jerusalem Delivered (Completed)
This text was banned in the seventeenth century for being contrary to the ruling powers of Kings. "Jerusalem Delivered is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso first published in 1581, which tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade in which Catholic knights, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, battle Muslims in order to take Jerusalem."
Can Such Things Be? (Completed)
This short story collection by Ambrose Bierce was considered pacifist and disturbing and removed from some military libraries.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Completed)
This book has a very controversial past, due to offensive wording. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is a 1876 novel about a young boy growing up along the Mississippi River."
Twelfth Night (Completed)
Shakespeare's play was banned at one time because of concern over a character dressing as the opposite sex. Twelfth Night is William Shakespeare's "comedy of gender confusion, in which a girl disguises herself as a man to be near the count she adores, only to be pursued by the woman he loves."
Confessions of J.J. Rousseau (Completed)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's works have been banned for being contrary to public morality. Confessions of J.J. Rousseau is an autobiography covering the first fifty-three years of Rousseau's life, up to 1765.
Macbeth (Completed)
Shakespeare's play was banned at one time because of adult language and references to mature themes and violence. "The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607."
King Lear (Completed)
Shakespeare's play was banned at one time because of adult language and references to mature themes and violence. "King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is considered to be one of his greatest plays. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king."
The Merchant of Venice (Completed)
This play has been banned because of characterization of racial stereotypes. The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. "In 16th century Venice, when a merchant must default on a large loan from an abused Jewish moneylender for a friend with romantic ambitions, the bitterly vengeful creditor demands a gruesome payment instead."
On The Origin of Species
This book has been banned numerous times since original publication because of its content. "Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published on 24 November 1859, is a work of scientific literature which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology."
Lysistrata (Completed)
This text was banned for obscenity as well as its anti-war sentiment. From Wikipedia: "It is one of eleven surviving plays written by Aristophanes. Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, it is a comic account of one woman's extraordinary mission to end The Peloponnesian War. Lysistrata persuades the women of Greece to withhold sexual gratification from their husbands and lovers as a means of forcing the men to negotiate peace - a strategy that, consequently, inflames the battle between the sexes. The play is notable for being an early exposé of sexual politics in a male-dominated society."
LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER (Completed)
Lady Chatterley's Lover is a novel by D. H. Lawrence, first published privately in 1928 in Italy, and in 1929 in France and Australia. An unexpurgated edition was not published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960, when it was the subject of a watershed obscenity trial against the publisher Penguin Books. Penguin won the case, and quickly sold 3 million copies. The book was also banned for obscenity in the United States, Canada, Australia, India and Japan. The book soon became notorious for its story of the physical (and emotional) relationship between a working class man and an upper class woman, its explicit descriptions of sex, and its use of then-unprintable words.
Circus
I heard, and I'm paraphrasing here, that the essence of who you are never dies. There's a part of you that's asking to die, and that's different. To be truly alive, you have to constantly die to the old ideas of yourself. That's real liberation. You don't want to die; you want to shed the part of your narrative that's suffocating you. Circus embarks on an introspective journey through the tumultuous cosmic seas and the grand circus of life. It's an emotional rollercoaster ride with a side of existential crises, where one man's journey through love, loss, and personal growth unveils the raw beauty of life's relentless performance, proving that true mastery and happiness are found within oneself by shedding the previous versions of ourselves.
Banned Books, Banned Girl
Maria Kehoe was a ghost worker--- illegally employed--- pulling newly banned books off the shelves at Surrat's Bookshop. But her past seems to be catching up with her, and because she's classified as a 'defective' because of her Asperger Syndrome, if the government catches up with her, she's likely to be sent to a mercy center for termination. But what hope does she have when she isn't even legally considered a person?