Great books, beautifully set.
Fourteen public-domain classics — Austen, the Brontës, Shelley, Stoker, Melville and more — in carefully typeset editions. Read the opening of any book free in your browser, then keep the EPUB for life.
- Free sample of every book
- DRM-free EPUB + online reader
- Rs 299–Rs 599 · pay with KPay
Find your next classic
Courtship, class and family — the great novels of manners and feeling.
Gothic & Horror 4 booksMonsters, curses and haunted minds: the books that invented modern horror.
Adventure 2 booksWhalers, pirates and the open sea.
Philosophy 2 books
Short, practical books about how to live — written centuries ago, still useful today.
Children’s Classics 3 booksStories first written for young readers and loved at every age.
Five good places to start
One purchase, every screen you own
Every book comes as a DRM-free EPUB file and in our online reader. Nothing to install, nothing locked to one device.
Reading apps
Opens in Apple Books, Google Play Books and most other ebook apps. Download it again whenever you need to.
Kindle
Send the EPUB to your Kindle with Amazon’s free Send to Kindle service, which converts it for you.
Kobo & other e-readers
Kobo and most e-ink readers open EPUB files directly — copy the file across with a USB cable.
In your browser
Read the full book on any phone, tablet or computer, in light, sepia or dark. Your place is saved on each device.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
Henry David Thoreau · Walden, 1854
Why pay for a book that’s in the public domain?
You don’t have to: these texts are free to read elsewhere, and we say so on every book page. If you buy from us, here is what you are paying for.
- A carefully made edition. Proofread, consistently typeset texts prepared by Standard Ebooks’ volunteer editors, with linked contents, endnotes and public-domain cover art.
- An EPUB that is yours. No DRM and no app lock-in — keep it, back it up and read it on any device you own.
- The online reader. The whole book in your browser, with adjustable text size and light, sepia and dark themes.
- A library that keeps your books. Re-download from My library whenever you change phones or e-readers.
- A fair refund. Not downloaded and not read beyond the free sample within 14 days? You get your money back.
Pay with KPay. Start reading in seconds.
Every payment is approved inside your own KPay app — we never see your PIN or bank details. The moment KPay confirms it, the book is added to My library and a receipt is emailed to you.
How to pay with KPay- Choose a bookRead the free sample first if you like — no account needed.
- Scan or approveScan a one-time KPay QR code, or approve a Request-to-Pay sent to your wallet.
- Start readingOpen the book online or download the EPUB straight away, on as many of your devices as you like.
More classics
Little Women
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Wuthering Heights
Dracula
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Short Fiction
Treasure Island
Walden
The Secret Garden
Good to know before you buy
These books are in the public domain. Why would I pay?
You don’t have to — the texts are free to read elsewhere, and we say so on every book page. Your purchase pays for our formatted EPUB edition, the online reader in your account, and lifetime re-downloads from your library. Read the free sample first and decide whether the edition is worth it to you.
What exactly do I get when I buy a book?
Two things, delivered to your account the moment KPay confirms payment: (1) a DRM-free EPUB file you can download and keep, and (2) full access to the book in our online reader. Both stay in My library for as long as your account exists.
Can I read a sample before buying?
Yes. Every book has a “Read a free sample” button that opens the first part of the book in our online reader. No account or payment is needed, and reading the sample never affects your refund rights.
Which devices and apps can I read on?
The EPUB opens in Apple Books, Google Play Books, Kobo e-readers and most other reading apps. For a Kindle, send the EPUB to your device with Amazon’s Send to Kindle service, which converts it automatically. Or skip files altogether and read in any web browser with our online reader.