Biographical fiction / autobiographical fiction
Cornerstone Something Fresh
Book Synopsis''P.G. Wodehouse should be prescribed to treat depression. Cheaper, more effective than Valium and far, far more addictive'' Olivia Williams''P.G. Wodehouse remains the greatest chronicler of a certain kind of Englishness, that no one else has ever captured quite so sharply or with quite so much wit and affection'' Julian Fellowes _____________________________________''Without at least one impostor on the premises, Blandings Castle is never itself''Welcome to the world of the delightfully dotty Lord Emsworth, his bone-headed younger son and his long-suffering secretary.Having returned home with a valuable Egyptian amulet, Lord Emsworth finds his home contains not one but two imposters intent on taking it off his hands. But with no real sense of how the amulet came to be in his pocket in the first place, things get a lot more complicated very quickly...Trade ReviewA comic masterpiece -- BBCSomething Fresh has all the trademarks of a Wodehouse classic * The Times *P.G. Wodehouse should be prescribed to treat depression. Cheaper, more effective than Valium and far, far more addictive -- Olivia WilliamsP.G. Wodehouse remains the greatest chronicler of a certain kind of Englishness, that no one else has ever captured quite so sharply or with quite so much wit and affection -- Julian FellowesI've longed to visit the beautifully tended gardens of Blandings Castle with P. G. Wodehouse. -- The Guardian * Books to read to cheer us up *
£8.54
Vintage Publishing The Great Gatsby
Book SynopsisFrancis Scott Fitzgerald was born in 1896 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age a term he popularized in his short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age. His first novel, This Side of Paradise, was published in 1920 and was a tremendous critical and commercial success. Fitzgerald followed with The Beautiful and the Damned, The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night . He was working on The Last Tycoon when he died, in Hollywood, in 1940.Trade ReviewThe Great Gatsby remains not just one of the greatest works of American literature, but a timeless evocation of the allure, corruption and carelessness of wealth...a gilded society intoxicated by wealth, dancing its way into the Great Depression. * The Times *Gatsby is a connoisseur's guide to the glamour and glitter of the Jazz Age, but it's also a nearly prophetic glimpse into the world to come. Writing at the height of the boom, in the midst of the Roaring Twenties, Fitzgerald detected the ephemerality, fakery and corruption always lurking at the heart of the great American success story... A haunting meditation on aspiration, disillusionment, romantic love - and a blistering exposé of the materialism, duplicity, and sexual politics driving what Fitzgerald calls America's true "business": "the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty" * The Times *It is a marvellously suggestive novel...a parable of modern America, and by extension of modern life * Daily Telegraph *The first and greatest modern novel, it has beautiful women, lavish parties, romance, betrayal and murder woven together in an intricately structured plot. A prescient comment on the dying days of a gilded age that is brilliant entertainment with a very eloquent insight * Mirror *His masterpiece, an elegy for the American Dream, the greatest lost cause of them all * Los Angeles Times *
£999.99
Penguin Books Ltd Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio Penguin
Book SynopsisExquisite and amusing miniatures regarded as the pinnacle of classical Chinese fictionWith their elegant prose, witty wordplay and subtle charm, the 104 stories in this selection from The Strange Tales of Pu Songling (1640-1715) reveal a world in which nothing is as it seems. Here a Taoist monk conjures up a magical pear tree, a scholar recounts his previous incarnations, a woman out-foxes the fox-spirit that possesses her, a child bride gives birth to a thimble-sized baby, a ghostly city appears out of nowhere and a heartless daughter-in-law is turned into a pig. In his tales of humans coupling with shape-shifting spirits, bizarre phenomena, haunted buildings and enchanted objects, Pu Songling pushes back the boundaries of human experience and enlightens as he entertains.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a glTrade Review“Magical and wondrously entertaining . . . Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio overflows with ghosts, demons, monsters, monks, magicians, revived corpses, gods and fox-spirits. . . . [It] calls to mind a collection of mildly racy club stories or lost episodes of The Twilight Zone. . . . Fast paced, surprisingly light in tone, emotionally cool, wryly humorous—these uncanny tales, often just one or two pages long, might almost be adult bedtime stories. . . . Reading this beloved classic provides a particularly enjoyable way to help celebrate Chinese New Year.” —The Washington Post
£12.34
Penguin Books Ltd Melmoth the Wanderer
Book SynopsisCreated by an Irish clergyman, Melmoth is one of the most fiendish characters in literature. In a satanic bargain, Melmoth exchanges his soul for immortality. The story of his tortured wanderings through the centuries is pieced together through those who have been implored by Melmoth to take over his pact with the devil. Influenced by the Gothic romances of the late 18th century, Maturin''s diabolic tale raised the genre to a new and macabre pitch. Its many admirers include Poe, Balzac, Oscar Wilde and Baudelaire.
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd The Dharma Bums
Book SynopsisA witty, moving philosophical novel, Jack Kerouac''s The Dharma Bums is a journey of self-discovery through the lens of Zen Buddhist thought. This Penguin Modern Classics edition includes an introduction by Ann Douglas.Following the explosive energy of On the Road, the book that put the Beat Genration on the literary map - and Jack Kerouac on the bestseller list - comes The Dharma Bums, in which Kerouac charts the spiritual quest of a group of friends in search of Dharma, or Truth. Ray Smith and his friend Japhy, along with Morley the yodeller, head off into the high Sierras to seek the lesson of solitude and experience the Zen way of life. But in wildly Bohemian San Francisco, with its poetry jam sessions, marathon drinking bouts and experiments in ''yabyum'', they find the ascetic route distinctly hard to follow.Jack Kerouac (1922-69) was an American novelist, poet, artist and part of the Beat Generation. His first published novel, The Town
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd After Midnight
Book SynopsisDepicting a young woman''s life in Nazi Germany, a masterpiece from the author of Child of All Nations''I cannot think of anything else that conjures up so powerfully the atmosphere of a nation turned insane'' Sunday TelegraphNineteen-year-old Sanna just wants to drink her beer in peace, but that''s difficult when Hitler has come to town and his motorcade is blocking the streets of Frankfurt. What''s more, her best friend Gerti is in love with a Jewish boy, her brother writes books that have been blacklisted and her own aunt may denounce her to the authorities at any moment, as Germany teeters on the edge of the abyss. Written after she had fled the Nazi regime, Irmgard Keun''s masterly novel captures the feverish hysteria and horror of the era with devastating perceptiveness and humour.Translated by Anthea BellTrade ReviewI cannot think of anything else that conjures up so powerfully the atmosphere of a nation turned insane * Sunday Telegraph *Acerbically observed by this youthful, clever, undeceived eye....Crystalline yet acid * Jewish Chronicle *Explosive ... Reading After Midnight today [still] feels dangerous. I kept turning to the copyright page, unable to believe that such a sexually and politically frank book could have been published in 1937 Germany ... After Midnight haunts far beyond its final page * NPR *Brief, important and haunting -- Penelope Lively
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd The Flint Anchor
Book Synopsis''A comic masterpiece'' Patrick Gale, GuardianPillar of society and stern upholder of Victorian values, god-fearing Norfolk merchant John Barnard presides over a large and largely unhappy family. This is their story - his brandy-swilling wife, their hapless offspring and their changing fortunes - over the decades. Sylvia Townsend Warner''s last novel, The Flint Anchor gloriously overturns our ideas of history, family and storytelling itself.''A novel created with solidity and subtlety of feeling, a fusion of warmth, wit and quietly biting shrewdness that are reminiscent of Jane Austen'' Atlantic Review''As a sustained work of historical imagination, it has few rivals ... one of the most acute and intelligent writers of her age'' Claire HarmanTrade ReviewA novel created with solidity and subtlety of feeling, a fusion of warmth, wit and quietly biting shrewdness that are reminiscent of Jane Austen * Atlantic Review *One of our most idiosyncratic, courageous and versatile writers -- Hermione Lee
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd BillionDollar Brain
Book Synopsis''Dazzlingly intelligent and subtle'' Sunday Times''Worth of Raymond Chandler ... intelligent, inventive, constantly entertaining'' Sunday TelegraphTexan billionaire General Midwinter will stop at nothing to bring down the USSR - even if it puts the whole world at risk. The fourth and final novel featuring the cynical, insolent narrator of The IPCRESS File sees him sent from his shabby Soho office to bone-freezing Helsinki in order to penetrate Midwinter''s vast anti-Communist network - and stop a deadly virus from wiping out the planet.Trade ReviewDazzlingly intelligent and subtle. * Sunday Times *Worthy of Raymond Chandler... intelligent, inventive, constantly entertaining. * Sunday Telegraph *Deighton is a fearless observer of the deceptive human world. -- John Gray * New Statesman *They don't, as they say, write them like this anymore. You will be entertained, informed, thrilled and dazzled. Long may he, and his creations, live on. -- Jeremy Duns * The Guardian *A wonderful mixture of the exciting and the amusingly humdrum ... James Bond may be thinner, but so is his dialogue. -- Jake Kerridge * Daily Telegraph *Len Deighton is the Flaubert of the contemporary thriller writers. -- Michael Howard * Times Literary Supplement *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Cossacks Leo Tolstoy Little Clothbound
Book SynopsisLittle Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world''s greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith.Dmitry Andreich Olenin, in the hope of escaping the hollowness of his privilege, joins the army and heads to the Caucasus. There among the foothills he will meet the Cossacks: a people he considers to be at one with the land. In their company he will hunt, he will drink, he will fall in love and, slowly, he will begin to understand that between people, between cultures, there is often a space that cannot be traversed...''It is the richness of Tolstoy''s genius that strikes us most in this story'' Virginia Woolf
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Death in Midsummer
Book SynopsisLittle Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world''s greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-SmithFilled with rich description and luxurious beauty, these ten tales of loss and longing from one of Japan''s greatest writers show the pull between duty and desire, ecstasy and death: a mother lost in mourning, a moonlit journey to fulfil a wish, a night of infidelity, a young lieutenant who ends his life.
£9.99
Penguin Books Ltd Little Men
Book Synopsis''The small hopes and plans and pleasures of children should be tenderly respected by grown-up people, and never rudely thwarted or ridiculed''Continuing the adventures of the March sisters from Little Women, Little Men follows the story of spirited, determined Jo, now married with two sons, and running a school. But this is no conventional school. Its pupils are a band of boisterous orphans, pillow fights are allowed on Saturdays, and each child is respected for who they are including Nat, a skinny, nervous boy with a talent for the violin.Showing how families can take many forms, Louisa M. Alcott's beloved novel is a celebration of the magic of childhood.
£7.59
Penguin Books Ltd The Umbrella
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£5.99
Faber & Faber Your Show
Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZEAS HEARD ON R4s FRONT ROW''The football novel is back. The TimesWonderful.' IRENOSEN OKOJIE ''A novel rich in both poetry and detail.'' DAVID PEACE''Memorable and moving . . . Your Show is a remarkable book'' Observer____________The Uriah Rennie Show? Damn right it is.From Jamaica to Sheffield to the recently formed Premier League, Uri rises through the ranks as a referee, making it to the highest level of our national game.But along the way he is confronted with tensions and prejudices, old and new, which emerge as his every move is watched, analysed and commented on.Your Show is the thrilling story of one man's pioneering efforts to make it, against the odds, to the very top of his profession and beyond.''A gripping, thought-provoking and important read.' Daily Mail ''Incredibly moving .
£8.54
British Library Publishing Fear Stalks the Village
Book SynopsisRevelling in the wickedness that lies beneath the idyllic veneer of village life, White’s 1932 mystery is an inventive interwar classic and remains one of the foundation stones of the village mystery sub-genre of crime fiction.
£9.49
Pan Macmillan Mermaids Sirens and Selkies
Book SynopsisA magical collection of stories about mermaids and mermen, seductive sirens and shape-shifting sea creatures from around the world.
£10.44
Union Square & Co. Essential Tales and Poems
Book SynopsisFeatured in these pages are Edgar Allan Poe's best-loved and most-feared literary creations: the clever C. August Dupin, precursor to Sherlock Holmes; the terrifying ghouls ofTales of the Grotesque and Arabesque; as well as the tragic sensibilities ofThe Raven and Other Poems. This is an essential treasury for Poe novices and experts alike.
£9.49
Union Square & Co. The Blue Castle
Book SynopsisIf it had not rained on a certain May morning, Valancy Stirling's whole life would have been entirely different. . . One day, Valancy Stirling, a quiet, shy old maid, decides to stop listening to her nosy, small-minded relatives and start doing exactly as she pleases. Over the next year, Valancy's choices will transform her life, outrage her family, confuse the entire town of Deerwoodand bring her into close contact with the mischievous, mysterious, violet-eyed Barney Snaith. This is a heartwarming romance with a bold, contemporary messagea life spent appeasing other people is a wasted onefrom the beloved author of the Anne of Green Gables series.
£9.49
Headline Publishing Group Code Name Helene
Book SynopsisWoman. Wife. Smuggler. Spy . . .TV SERIES IN DEVELOPMENT STARRING ELIZABETH DEBICKI (TENET, THE CROWN) AS NANCY WAKEA thrilling and heart-wrenching novel inspired by the astonishing real life story of Nancy Wake. Perfect for fans of Suzanne Goldring''s MY NAME IS EVA, Kate Quinn''s THE ALICE NETWORK and Imogen Kealey''s LIBERATION, soon to be a blockbuster movie. ''Lawhon breathes new life into Nancy Wake''s extraordinary story. Rich and thoroughly researched, an exciting, well-written account of wartime valour and the protagonist''s qualities shine through'' The Times''This is the next book I won''t be able to stop talking about...so, so good!'' 5 stars (Goodreads reviewer)''Readers will be transfixed by this story of a woman who should be a household name'' Library Journal''A gripping thrille
£10.44
Pushkin Press And the Earth Will Sit on the Moon
Book SynopsisNo writer has captured the absurdity of the human condition as acutely as Nikolai Gogol. In a lively new translation by Oliver Ready, this collection contains his great classic stories - 'The Overcoat', 'The Nose' and 'Diary of a Madman' - alongside lesser known gems depicting life in the Russian and Ukrainian countryside. Together, they reveal Gogol's marvelously skewed perspective, moving between the urban and the rural with painfully sharp humour and scorching satire. Strikingly modern in his depictions of society's shambolic structures, Gogol plunders the depths of bureaucratic and domestic banalities to unearth moments of dark comedy and outrageous corruption. Defying categorisation, the stories in this collection range from the surreal to the satirical to the grotesque, united in their exquisite psychological acuteness and tender insights into the bizarre irrationalities of the human soul.
£9.49
WORDSWORTH Christmas Carol
£15.08
Chiltern Publishing The Wind In The Willows
Book SynopsisChiltern creates the most beautiful editions of the World's finest literature. Your favourite classic titles in a way you have never seen them before; the tactile layers, fine details and beautiful colours of these remarkable covers make these titles feel extra special and will look striking on any shelf.
£14.12
Chartwell Books The Odyssey
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£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers The History of Middleearth Boxed Set 1
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£75.00
British Library Publishing Fearsome Fairies
Book SynopsisThis new collection of stories pairs strange creatures with frightening encounters to revive the fearsome past of the fairy folk.
£15.29
Oxford University Press The Scarlet Letter
Book SynopsisAfter a two-year absence a husband returns to find his wife wearing the scarlet 'A' for Adulteress on her breast. Determined to find her lover, he embarks on a destructive path of revenge. This edition uses the most authoritative text, with a wide-ranging critical introduction.
£6.99
Titan Books Ltd Choke Hold
Book SynopsisAngel Dare went into Witness Protection to escape her past - not as a porn star, but as a killer who took down the sex slavery ring that destroyed her life. But sometimes the past won't stay buried. When a former co-star is gunned down, it's up to Angel to get his son...
£9.25
Oxford University Press The Three Musketeers
Book SynopsisThe Three Musketeers (1844) is one of the most famous historical novels ever written. It is also one of the world''s greatest historical adventure stories, and its heroes have become symbols for the spirit of youth, daring, and comradeship. The action takes place in the 1620s at the court of Louis XIII, where the musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, with their companion, the headstrong d''Artagnan, are engaged in a battle against Richelieu, the King''s minister, and the beautiful, unscrupulous spy, Milady. Behind the flashing blades and bravura, in this first adventure of the Musketeers, Dumas explores the eternal conflict between good and evil. This new edition is the most fully annotated to date in English, providing explanatory notes which set the work in its historical, literary, and cultural context. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s co
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers The Beautiful and Damned F. Scott Fitzgerald
Book SynopsisFrom Collins Classics and the author of The Great Gatsby' comes this razor-sharp satire on the excesses of the Jazz Age.From the author of The Great Gatsby, a tale of marriage and disappointment in the Roaring Twenties.Fitzgerald's rich and detailed novel of the decadent Jazz Era follows the beautiful and vibrant Anthony Patch and his wife Gloria as they navigate the heady lifestyle of the young and wealthy in 1920s New York. Patch is the presumptive heir to his grandfather's fortune, and keeps his equally spoiled wife in comfort while biding time until his grandfather's death. Patch is unable to hold down any kind of job and spends his days in luxury, indulging in whatever pleasures are available. But as the money begins to fail, so does their marriage. Patch's gradual descent into alcoholism, depression and alienation from his marriage ultimately lead to his ruin. Fitzgerald's novel is a remorseless exploration of the horrors of an age of excess and lost innocence.F. Scott Fitzgerald
£5.62
Penguin Books Ltd Barchester Towers
Book SynopsisAfter the death of old Dr Grantly, a bitter struggle begins over who will succeed him as Bishop of Barchester. And when the decision is finally made to appoint the evangelical Dr Proudie, rather than the son of the old bishop, Archdeacon Grantly, resentment and suspicion threaten to cause deep divisions within the diocese.
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Everything Flows
Book Synopsis''Everything Flows is as important a novel as anything written by Solzhenitsyn, and Robert Chandler''s superb translation makes it a joy to read''Antony BeevorIvan Grigoryevich has been in the Gulag for thirty years. Released after Stalin''s death, he finds that the years of terror have imposed a collective moral slavery. He must struggle to find a place for himself in an unfamiliar world. Grossman tells the stories of those people entwined with Ivan''s fate: his cousin Nikolay, a scientist who never let his conscience interfere with his career, Pinegin, the informer who had Ivan sent to the camps and Anna Sergeyevna, Ivan''s lover, who tells of her involvement as an activist in the Terror famine of 1932-3.Everything Flows is Vasily Grossman''s final testament, written after the Soviet authorities suppressed Life and Fate.''Vasily Grossman is the Tolstoy of the USSR'' Martin AmisTrade ReviewAs eloquent a memorial to the anonymous little man in the Stalinist state as Dr Zhivago is to the artistic spirit in post-Czarist Russia and The First Circle to the scientific intelligentsia * New York Times *Vasily Grossman is the Tolstoy of the USSR * Martin Amis *Possibly the greatest chronicler of the second world war * Guardian *Only Dante, in his account of Ugolino and his sons starving to death in a locked tower, has written of death from hunger with equal power -- Robert Chandler * London Review of Books *Supplies a wealth of information about the social context and Soviet terminology -- Christopher Taylor * Guardian *
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Hound of Death
Book SynopsisA collection of macabre mysteries, including the superlative story The Witness for the ProsecutionTwelve unexplained phenomena with no apparent earthly explanationA dog-shaped gunpowder mark; an omen from the other side'; a haunted house; a chilling seance; a case of split personalities; a recurring nightmare; an eerie wireless message; an elderly lady's hold over a young man; a disembodied cry of murder'; a young man's sudden amnesia; a levitation experience; a mysterious SOS.To discover the answers, delve into the supernatural storytelling of Agatha Christie.Trade Review‘Twelve thrilling, chilling mysteries.’ OBSERVER
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Street Haunting
Book SynopsisLittle Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. 'The hour should be evening and the season winter, for in winter the champagne brightness of the air and the sociability of the streets are grateful'. In such conditions, Virginia Woolf takes to London's streets in search of a pencil. The account of her journey - the people, the places, the pleasure - soon becomes one of the great paeans to city life. This collection also includes other wonderful essays, such as 'How Should One Read a Book?' and 'The Sun and the Fish'. 'One of the great writers of the twentieth century' Guardian
£9.99
Penguin Books Ltd Remembrance of Things Past Volume 1
Book SynopsisOne of the greatest translations of all time: Scott Moncrieff''s classic version of Proust, published in three stunning clothbound volumes designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith.Proust''s masterpiece is one of the seminal works of the twentieth century, recording its narrator''s experiences as he grows up, falls in love and lives through the First World War. A profound reflection on art, time, memory, self and loss, it is often viewed as the definitive modern novel. C. K. Scott Moncrieff''s famous translation from the 1920s is today regarded as a classic in its own right and is now available in three volumes in Penguin Classics.This first volume includes Swann''s Way and Within a Budding Grove.''Scott Moncrieff''s [volumes] belong to that special category of translations which are themselves literary masterpieces ... his book is one of those translations, such as the Authorized Version of the Bible itself, which can never be displaced'' - A.
£18.70
Penguin Books Ltd Tales from 1001 Nights
Book SynopsisPart of Penguin''s beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality, colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design.Every night for three years the vengeful King Shahriyar sleeps with a different virgin, executing her next morning. To end this brutal pattern and to save her own life, the vizier''s daughter, Shahrazad, begins to tell the king tales of adventure, love, riches and wonder - tales of mystical lands peopled with princes and hunchbacks, the Angel of Death and magical spirits, tales of the voyages of Sindbad, of Ali Baba''s outwitting a band of forty thieves and of jinnis trapped in rings and in lamps. The sequence of stories will last 1,001 nights . . .Trade ReviewA magnificent edition of the greatest collection of folk tales in the world ... an ocean of stories to be dipped into over a lifetime. And this new Penguin edition is the one to have. Settle back, pour a glass of wine and sail away with Sinbad to the Island of Serendib -- Christopher Hart * The Sunday Times *
£17.09
Penguin Publishing Group Billy Budd Bartleby and Other Stories
Book SynopsisA new, definitive edition of Herman Melville?s virtuosic short stories?American classics wrought with scorching fury, grim humor, and profound beauty Though best-known for his epic masterpiece Moby-Dick, Herman Melville also left a body of short stories arguably unmatched in American fiction. In the sorrowful tragedy of Billy Budd, Sailor; the controlled rage of Benito Cereno; and the tantalizing enigma of Bartleby, the Scrivener; Melville reveals himself as a singular storyteller of tremendous range and compelling power. In these stories, Melville cuts to the heart of race, class, capitalism, and globalism in America, deftly navigating political and social issues that resonate as clearly in our time as they did in Melville?s. Also including The Piazza Tales in full, this collection demonstrates why Melville stands not only among the greatest writers of the nineteenth century, but also as one of our greatest contemporaries. This Penguin Classics edition features the Reading Text of Billy Budd, Sailor, as edited from a genetic study of the manuscript by Harrison Hayford and Merton M. Sealts, Jr., and the authoritative Northwestern-Newberry text of The Piazza Tales. For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust theseries to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-datetranslations by award-winning translators.
£9.49
Cornerstone Aunts Arent Gentlemen
Book Synopsis''Why have you got to go anywhere? Are you on the run from the police?''''Doctor''s orders.''When Bertie Wooster overdoes metropolitan life, his doctor prescribes fresh air in the depths of the country. But after moving with Jeeves to his cottage at Maiden Eggesford, Bertie soon finds himself surrounded by aunts - not only his redoubtable Aunt Dahlia but an aunt of Jeeves''s too.Add a hyper-sensitive racehorse, a pompous cat and a decidedly bossy fiancée - and all the ingredients are present for a plot in which aunts can exert their terrible authority. But Jeeves, of course, can cope with everything - even aunts, and even the country.''The best English comic novels of the century'' Sebastian Faulks''Wodehouse always lifts your spirits, no matter how high they happen to be already'' Lynne TrussTrade ReviewIt's dangerous to use the word genius to describe a writer, but I'll risk it with him -- John HumphrysFor as long as I'm immersed in a P.G. Wodehouse book, it's possible to keep the real world at bay and live in a far, far nicer, funnier one where happy endings are the order of the day -- Marian KeyesWodehouse always lifts your spirits, no matter how high they happen to be already -- Lynne TrussThe incomparable and timeless genius - perfect for readers of all ages, shapes and sizes! -- Kate MosseNot only the funniest English novelist who ever wrote but one of our finest stylists -- Susan Hill
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Around the World in Eighty Days Collins Classics
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.''Phileas Fogg was one of those mathematically exact people, who, never hurried and always ready, are economical of their steps and their motions. He never made one stride too many, always going by the shortest route. He did not give an idle look. He did not allow himself a superfluous gesture.''When Phileas Fogg wagers a bet that he can travel across the globe in just 80 days, little does he know about the epic journey that he is about to undertake. With his faithful French servant, Passepartout, Phileas Fogg embarks on the adventure of a lifetime, travelling across four continents by whatever means he can train, elephant, steam ship and experiencing endless surprises and mishaps along the way.
£5.62
Penguin Books Ltd Northanger Abbey classics Hardcover Penguin
Book SynopsisPart of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. During an eventful season at Bath, young, naïve Catherine Morland experiences the joys of fashionable society for the first time. She is delighted with her new acquaintances: flirtatious Isabella, who shares Catherine's love of Gothic romance and horror, and sophisticated Henry and Eleanor Tilney, who invite her to their father's mysterious house, Northanger Abbey. There, her imagination influenced by novels of sensation and intrigue, Catherine imagines terrible crimes committed by General Tilney. With its broad comedy and irrepressible heroine, this is the most youthful and and optimistic of Jane Austen's works.Trade Review[Coralie Bickford-Smith's] recent work for Penguin Classics is...nothing short of glorious -- Anna Cole Co.
£15.29
Oxford University Press Castle Rackrent
Book SynopsisDuring the 1790s, with Ireland in political crisis, Maria Edgeworth made a surprisingly rebellious choice: in Castle Rackrent, her first novel, she adopted an Irish Catholic voice to narrate the decline of a family from her own Anglo-Irish class. Castle Rackrent''s narrator, Thady Quirk, gives us four generations of Rackrent heirs - Sir Patrick, the dissipated spendthrift; Sir Murtagh, the litigating fiend; Sir Kit, the brutal husband and gambling absentee; and Sir Condy, the lovable and improvident dupe of Thady''s own son, Jason.With this satire on Anglo-Irish landlords Edgeworth pioneered the regional novel and inspired Sir Walter Scott''s Waverly (1814). She also changed the focus of conflict in Ireland from religion to class and boldly predicted the rise of the Irish Catholic Bourgeoisie. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
£5.99
Oxford University Press The Assommoir
Book SynopsisThe seventh novel in Zola's Rougon-Macquart cycle, The Assommoir is the story of a woman's struggle for happiness in working-class Paris.Table of ContentsIntroduction Translator's Note Select Bibliography A Chronology of Émile Zola Maps THE ASSOMMOIR Explanatory Notes
£8.54
Pushkin Press The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig
Book SynopsisPerfectly paced and brimming with passion - twenty-two tales from a master storyteller of the twentieth centuryIn this indispensable collection of short stories, Stefan Zweig captures the best and worst of human nature. At the heart of these tales lies passion - from a humble waiter's love for an aristocratic guest to an exiled Frenchwoman's longing for the glitter of court life, and a bookseller's fatal lust for print in wartime Vienna. Translated by the award-winning Anthea Bell, and spanning a prolific literary career, these stories form a map of the human soul, drawn by a writer both tender and perceptive.
£13.49
Flame Tree Publishing War of the Worlds
Book SynopsisGorgeous Collector's Edition of H.G. Wells' classic tale of invasion. Cylinders land on earth and invaders from Mars begin to destroy houses, then whole cities, creating panic and mass evacuation before a foul black smoke is released by the aliens. Includes a new introduction, the short story 'A Dream of Armageddon' and The First Men in the Moon.
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Kidnapped Collins Classics
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both; and I believe they both get paid in the end; but the fools first.'Orphaned as a young teenager, Lowlander David Balfour's only relative is his guardian and uncle, Ebenezer. Ill-thought of and disliked by many, it's not long before Ebenezer betrays his nephew and David finds himself trapped aboard a ship.He soon strikes up a friendship with fugitive stranger and Scottish Highlander Alan Breck and becomes embroiled in the fierce Jacobite struggle against English rule. A tale of high-seas adventure, loyalty and fighting, the complex relationship between Alan and David stops Stevenson's novel from becoming just' a boys adventure novel.
£5.62
Vintage Publishing We Introduction by Will Self
Book SynopsisAs relevant today as when it was first published, We is the first modern dystopian novel which inspired both Nineteen Eighty-Four and Brave New World. The citizens of the One State live in a condition of ''mathematically infallible happiness''. D-503 decides to keep a diary of his days working for the collective good in this clean, blue city state where nature, privacy and individual liberty have been eradicated. But over the course of his journal D-503 suddenly finds himself caught up in unthinkable and illegal activities - love and rebellion.Banned on its publication in Russia in 1921, We is the first modern dystopian novel and a satire on state control that has once again become chillingly relevant.Trade ReviewThis is a book to look out for -- George OrwellZamyatin reminds us, Adam did not wish to be happy, he wished to be "free" -- Anthony BurgessPrecursor to much more famous works by Huxley and Orwell, this antidote to totalitarianism, written by someone who genuinely knew what that sort of existence was like, is the anti-Stalinist dystopia to beat them all - even Brave New World, 1984, and Koestler's Darkness at Noon -- Toby GreenTwo of the most iconic novels in the English language - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and 1984 by George Orwell - owe an enormous debt to Zamyatin. We is the ur-text of science-fiction dystopias...the product of a powerful imagination * Wall Street Journal *One of the greatest novels of the twentieth century -- Irving Howe
£9.49
Cornerstone Leave it to Psmith
Book Synopsis''Is there a better P. G. Wodehouse character than Psmith? No there is not. Thank you for agreeing'' John Self''An incomparable and timeless genius'' Kate Mosse _____________________________________''It seems to me that you and I were made for each other. I am your best friend''s best friend and we both have a taste for stealing other people''s jewellery.''Lady Constance Keeble has both an imperious manner and a valuable diamond necklace. The precarious peace of Blandings is shattered when her necklace becomes the object of desire for some well-connected jewel thieves - among them the Honourable Freddie Threepwood, who wants the reward money for a bookmaking business, and Psmith, the elegant socialist. On patrol with the impossible task of bringing order to Blandings is the Efficient Baxter, whose strivings lead to a memorable encounter with the castle flowerpots.Trade ReviewGlorious -- GuardianIs there a better P. G. Wodehouse character than Psmith? No there is not. Thank you for agreeing -- John SelfAn incomparable and timeless genius -- Kate MosseTo dive into a Wodehouse novel is to swim in some of the most elegantly turned phrases in the English language -- Ben Schott
£8.54
Vintage Publishing The Moonstone
Book Synopsis''The first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels'' T S EliotWhen Rachel Verinder receives a gift of an astonishing yellow diamond from her bitter old uncle for her eighteenth birthday, she has no idea that the stone brings great danger with it. When the diamond goes missing during the night the ensuing investigations gradually bring to light the sinister history of the jewel and the passions and plots of those close to Rachel.''Probably the very finest detective story ever written'' Dorothy L. Sayers**AS DISCUSSED ON BBC2''S BETWEEN THE COVERS**Trade ReviewPerfect for long, cold, winter evenings * The Times *A whodunit about a lost jewel with several different narrators 'the first English detective story' is so ingenious, so melodramatically rational, so druggy and glittery and cleverly elusive, that it triumphs over all its impersonators * Observer *A great, bold, theatrical mystery story which never falters, written with huge confidence and style -- Joanna TrollopeWilkie Collins, along with Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens is generally acknowledged to be the great-great-grandfather of the modern mystery, but it's hard to think of many modern mysteries as skillfully shaped and psychologically keen as this one. The story flirts with the conventions of Victorian melodrama, but the characters that people it are truly vivid -- Elizabeth KostovaNo wonder 21st-century novelists are influenced by the great Victorian serial writers with their rip-roaring plots. A twisting detective thriller -- Joanna Briscoe * Independent *
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Vintage Publishing Lost Horizon
Book SynopsisJames Hilton was born in Lancashire in 1900, the son of a headmaster. His best known books, Lost Horizon and Goodbye Mr Chips, were written during the thirties, a period which afforded him great commercial success and enormous popularity. Lost Horizon was made into a blockbuster Hollywood film in 1937. For a time, Hilton was highest paid screen-writer in Hollywood and he won an Academy Award in 1942 for his work on the screenplay of Mrs. Miniver. Hilton continued to write novels throughout his career. He died in 1954.Trade ReviewHilton's premise strikes a deep chord in today's 'everything is relative' society. His utopia retains all its charm and, in his creation of Shangri-La, he added something permanently to the language * Guardian *Lost Horizon introduced the world to a Tibetan paradise where people live extraordinarily long lives of peace, harmony and wisdom. Expertly plotted and deftly written, Hilton's book suggests mysteries without spelling them out - and leaves us wanting more * New York Times *James Hilton invented the name Shangri-La for a paradise on earth in a book that captured the imagination of a public dealing with financial hardships and the threat of Nazism * Observer *More than 60 years after James Hilton wrote Lost Horizon, launching one of the century's most enduring literary mysteries, the search for paradise on earth has led to the mountains of south-west China… Hilton intended it as a pacifist parable; Hollywood turned it into a romantic blockbuster * Guardian *The important thing to note about this very fine novel - the tale of an adventure in Tibet - is that it is unusual and the product of a first-class mind...a wildly exciting story, nightmare, fantasy, or what you will * Daily Express *
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Penguin Books Ltd The House of the Dead
Book SynopsisIn January 1850 Dostoyevsky was sent to a remote Siberian prison camp for his part in a political conspiracy. The four years he spent there, startlingly re-created in The House of the Dead, were the most agonizing of his life. In this fictionalized account he recounts his soul-destroying incarceration through the cool, detached tones of his narrator, Aleksandr Petrovich Goryanchikov: the daily battle for survival, the wooden plank beds, the cabbage soup swimming with cockroaches, his strange family' of boastful, ugly, cruel convicts. Yet The House of the Dead is far more than a work of documentary realism: it is also a powerful novel of redemption, describing one man's spiritual and moral death and the miracle of his gradual reawakening.
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