Biographical fiction / autobiographical fiction
Oxford University Press The Picture of Dorian Gray
Book SynopsisDorian Gray gives his soul for eternal youth. While his portrait changes hideously, reflecting his crimes and corruption, he remains outwardly flawless. This new edition uses the 1891 expanded text and shows how Wilde transformed his many sources.Trade ReviewIt seemed to be an impossible task to outdo the former edition of 'Dorian Gray' in the World's Classics series, but Bristow has achieved his goal. The quality of the explanatory notes is, simply, superb, and the introduction is succint but informative,
£7.44
Penguin Books Ltd Alices Adventures in Wonderland and Through the
Book SynopsisNominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American ReadPart 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. 'I had sent my heroine straight down a rabbit-hole without the least idea what was to happen afterwards,' wrote Dodgson, describing how Alice was conjured up one 'golden afternoon' in 1862 to entertain his child-friend Alice Liddell. In the magical world of Wonderland and the back-to-front Looking-Glass kingdom, order is turned upside-down: a baby turns into a pig; time is abandoned at a tea-party; and a chaotic game of chess makes a 7-year-old a Queen.
£15.29
Penguin Books Ltd Monkey King
Book SynopsisOne of the world''s greatest fantasy novels, Monkey King: Journey to the West is the inspiration for the new blockbuster game Black Myth: Wukong. Published in a sparkling modern translation and available in the Penguin Clothbound Classics series, this is the perfect introduction to the seminal Chinese classic. A shape-shifting trickster on a kung-fu quest for eternal life, Monkey King is one of the most memorable superheroes in world literature. High-spirited and omni-talented, he can transform himself into whatever he chooses and turn each of his body''s 84,000 hairs into an army of clones. But his penchant for mischief repeatedly gets him into trouble, and when he raids Heaven''s Orchard of Immortal Peaches, the Buddha pins him beneath a mountain. Five hundred years later, Monkey King is finally given a chance to redeem himself: he must protect the pious monk Tripitaka on his journey in search of precious Buddhist sutras that will bring enlightenment to the Chinese empire. Joined by two other fallen immortals - Pigsy, a rice-loving flying pig, and Sandy, a depressive river-sand monster - Monkey King does battle with Red Boy, Princess Jade-Face, the Monstress Dowager, and all manner of dragons, ogres, wizards and femmes fatales; navigates the perils of Fire-Cloud Cave, the River of Flowing Sand and the Water-Crystal Palace; and is serially captured, lacquered, sautéed, steamed and liquefied - but always hatches an ingenious plan to get himself and his fellow pilgrims out of their latest jam. Comparable to The Canterbury Tales or Don Quixote, Monkey King is at once a gripping adventure, a comic satire and a spring of spiritual insight. With this new translation by the award-winning Julia Lovell, the irrepressible rogue hero of one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature has the potential to vault, with his signature cloud-somersault, into the hearts of a whole new generation of readers.Trade ReviewA monument of world literature, Monkey King is also one of the funniest, most subversive satires ever written ... If you've not read Journey to the West, prepare yourself for the adventure of a lifetime and know that like Monkey himself, you are about to be transformed. Even if you have read it, Julia Lovell's magnificent new translation becomes its own cloud somersault, its own gold-hooped staff -- Junot DíazVisit one of the greatest countries in the world through the pages of this Chinese epic [and] Julia Lovell's new contemporary translation, with exquisite maps of 'somewhat mythical lands' by Laura Hartman Maestro -- Piers Torday * Guardian *I marvelled at the ingenuity, cheek and charm of Monkey King by Wu Cheng'en in Julia Lovell's lively new translation: what a book to return to! -- Daniel Medin * The White Review *A new translation of Monkey King is a cause for joy! Imaginative and mischievous, exhilarating and timeless, this sixteenth-century superhero saga is a delight to readers of all ages. -- Yiyun LiAn exhilarating new translation of my favourite of all the classic Chinese novels - a great, wild epic that expands and fires one's imagination -- Ha JinThe Monkey King, one of Chinese literature's great characters, should add many new disciples to his existing fans through this compelling new version of his adventures. Julia Lovell here conveys a vibrant sense of the richness and also the sheer fun of this Ming dynasty text, a classic of world fiction -- Craig Clunas, University of OxfordAn all-new translation of one of the greatest stories ever written . . . An out-and-out fantasy adventure that has captivated audiences and influenced creatives for centuries * Bustle *Jam-packed with outrageous danger and outlandish transformations . . . Lovell does an admirable job condensing the original text . . . while capturing the essence of Chinese fantastical storytelling and parody. Readers who enjoy nutty adventures and nonsensical plots will get a kick out of this madcap fable * Publishers Weekly *Uproarious and action-filled, this highly readable new translation captures the most beloved of Chinese characters in all his impossible charm. Irrepressible and irresistible, Monkey speaks to us across the centuries, and here makes us laugh anew -- Gish JenThis new translation . . . breathes fresh life, humour, wit and charm into the 16th-century classic. . . . If you did not know that this was an abridged version you never would. . . . [It] is exactly as long as it needs to be, with the fat cut and the story paced perfectly. . . . If you've ever wanted to read Journey to the West but have been put off by fears of it being too long, too dense, too dry, then put those fears aside. Julia Lovell's translation is nothing but fun, frantic fantasy writing. . . . I can't imagine having more fun than I did with Lovell's hilarious translation -- Will Heath * Books & Bao *Monkey King: Journey to the West is rich with imaginative world-building that evokes the best Pixar films... With this new readable version of 'Monkey King,' Western readers will also have plenty of fun * San Francisco Chronicle *A mirthful tale of endless mischief, deception, irony and combat . . . Impish and adventurous . . . Thanks to this fresh translation . . . the adventures of superhero simian Sun Wukong are newly accessible to English readers around the world. * Global Asia *
£18.70
HarperCollins Publishers Wuthering Heights
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics.
£7.59
Vintage Publishing Wuthering Heights
Book SynopsisRediscover Emily Bronte''s powerful tale of love, violence and obsession. ''May you not rest, as long as I am living. You said I killed you - haunt me, then''Wuthering Heights is the tale of two families both joined and riven by love and hate. Cathy is a beautiful and wilful young woman torn between her soft-hearted husband and Heathcliff, the passionate and resentful man who has loved her since childhood. The power of their bond creates a maelstrom of cruelty and violence which will leave one of them dead and cast a shadow over the lives of their children. Trade ReviewA dark and passionate tale of tortured but enduring love... Mesmerising * Guardian *This brilliantly atmospheric Yorkshire saga has only one drawback - Emily never wrote another novel. For me, it is both fantastic but also true to life because the protagonists have such believably fierce emotions -- Kate MosseWhen I was 16 I read Wuthering Heights for the first time, and I read it as a kind of oracle; that life is worth nothing if it is not worth everything. Disaster does not matter, intensity does. You can dilute Wuthering Heights, as Mills & Boon and musicals have done. But if you are honest, you cannot escape its central stark premise; all or nothing. The all is not Heathcliff - that is the sentimental version. The all is what Heathcliff represents, which is life itself -- Jeanette WintersonIt is as if Emily Brontë could tear up all that we know human beings by, and fill these unrecognizable transparencies with such a gust of life that they transcend reality -- Virginia WoolfOnly Emily Brontë exposes her imagination to the dark spirit -- V. S. Pritchett
£9.25
Penguin Books Ltd Lolita
Book Synopsis''Lolita is comedy, subversive yet divine'' Martin Amis, ObserverPoet and pervert, Humbert Humbert becomes obsessed by twelve-year-old Lolita and seeks to possess her, first carnally and then artistically, ''to fix once for all the perilous magic of nymphets''. Is he in love or insane? A tortured soul or a monster? Humbert Humbert''s fixation is one of many dimensions in Nabokov''s dizzying masterpiece, which is suffused with a savage humour and rich, elaborate verbal textures. Filmed by Stanley Kubrick in 1962, and again in 1997 by Adrian Lyne, Lolita has lost none of its power to shock and awe.''There''s no funnier monster in literature than poor, doomed Humbert Humbert'' Independent
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Giants Bread
Book SynopsisA spellbinding novel of romantic obsession.Vernon Deyre is a sensitive and brilliant musician, even a genius. But there is a high price to be paid for his talent, especially by his family and the two women in his life. His sheltered childhood in the home he loves has not prepared Vernon for the harsh reality of his adult years, and in order to write the great masterpiece of his life, he has to make a crucial decision with no time left to count the costFamous for her ingenious crime books and plays, Agatha Christie also wrote about crimes of the heart, six bittersweet and very personal novels, as compelling and memorable as the best of her work.Trade Review'A satisfying novel.' New York Times 'When Miss Westmacott reaches the world of music, her book suddenly comes alive. The chapters in which Jane appears are worth the rest of the book put together.' New Statesman
£8.54
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Grimms Fairy Tales Collectors Edition
Book SynopsisThe Brothers Grimm rediscovered a host of fairy tales, telling of princes and princesses in their castles, witches in their towers and forests, of giants and dwarfs, of fabulous animals and dark deeds. This selection of their folk tales was made and translated by Lucy Crane, and includes firm favourites such as Rapunzel, The Goose Girl, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Greteland Snow White. It is illustrated throughout by Walter Crane's charming line drawings. Tales Include:The Frog PrinceRapunzelHansel and GrethelCinderellaLittle Red-cap (Little Red Riding Hood)The Bremen Town MusiciciansTom ThumbTom Thumb's TravelsThe Sleeping BeautySnow-whiteRumpelstiltskin
£10.32
Vintage Publishing Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Stories
Book SynopsisA beautiful deluxe gift edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's dark work of genius with foiled covers, marbled endpapers, sprayed edges, beautiful paper and finished with a silk ribbon. Dr Jekyll has been experimenting with his identity. He has developed a drug which separates the two sides of his nature and allows him occasionally to abandon himself to his most corrupt inclinations as the monstrous Mr Hyde. But gradually he begins to find that the journey back to goodness becomes more and more difficult, and the risk that Mr Hyde will break free entirely from Dr Jekyll's control puts all of London in grave peril. This hardback is part of VINTAGE COLLECTOR'S CLASSICS, a series of luxurious books especially crafted for collectors and fans of beautiful special editions. Sumptuous design meets the highest quality production. Discover timeless classics beautifully bound for every bookshelf.
£17.09
Penguin Books Ltd Nineteen EightyFour
Book SynopsisEver since its publication in 1948, George Orwell''s terrifying vision of a totalitarian regime where Big Brother controls its citizens like ''a boot stamping on a human face'' has become a touchstone for human freedom, and one of the most widely-read books in the world. In this new annotated edition Orwell''s biographer D. J. Taylor elucidates the full meaning of this timeless satire, explaining contemporary references in the novel, placing it in the context of Orwell''s life, elaborating on his extraordinary use of language and explaining the terms such as Newspeak, Doublethink and Room 101 that have become familiar phrases today. This is the essential edition of the essential book of modern times.
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd The Man from London
Book Synopsis''One of Simenon''s darkest novels'' Le MondeOn a foggy winter''s evening in Dieppe, after the arrival of the daily ferry from England, a railway signalman habitually scrutinizes the port from his tiny, isolated cabin. When a scuffle on the quayside catches his eye, he is drawn to the scene of a brutal murder and his once quiet life changes forever. A mere observer at first, he soon finds himself fishing a briefcase from the water and in doing so he enters a feverish and secret chase. As the murderer and witness stalk and spy on each other, they gain an increasingly profound yet tacit understanding of each other until the witness becomes an accomplice. Written in 1933, soon after the successful launch of the Inspector Maigret novels, this haunting, atmospheric novel soon became a classic and the inspiration for several film and TV adaptations.Trade ReviewOne of Simenon's darkest novels * Le Monde *
£8.99
Arcturus Publishing Amerika
Book SynopsisFranz Kafka (1883-1924) was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, born into a middle-class Jewish family in Prague. His name has become a byword for alienation and guilt and his harrowing yet humorous work features individuals in an impersonal and bureaucratic world over which they have increasingly little power.
£7.59
Fitzcarraldo Editions A State of Siege
£13.49
Penguin Books Ltd (UK) A LeopardSkin Hat
Book Synopsis
£999.99
Hesperus Press Ltd Prince Madog
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Three Japanese Short Stories Akutagawa and Others
Book Synopsis''Oh the cruelty of time, that destroys all things!''Beguiling, strange and hair-raising tales from early 20th century Japan: Nagai''s Behind the Prison, Uno''s Closet LLB and Akutagawa''s deeply macabre General Kim.Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York''s underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.
£5.63
Penguin Books Ltd Sense and Sensibility
Book SynopsisThe Penguin English Library Edition of Sense and Sensibility by Jane AustenThe more I know of the world, the more am I convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!Jane Austen''s novel tells the story of Marianne Dashwood, who wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor''s warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love - and its threatened loss - the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
£7.99
Arcturus Publishing Charles Dickens Christmas Stories
Book SynopsisCharles Dickens (1812-1870) was the outstanding English novelist of the Victorian era as well as a vigorous social campaigner. His most famous works include Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, Bleak House, Hard Times, Dombey and Son and The Pickwick Papers.
£21.24
Vintage Publishing Persuasion
Book SynopsisJane Austen was born in Steventon rectory on 16 December 1775. Her family later moved to Bath, then to Southampton and finally to Chawton in Hampshire. She began writing Pride and Prejudice when she was twenty-two years old. It was originally called First Impressions and was initially rejected by the publishers and only published in 1813 after much revision. She published four of her novels in her lifetime, Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816). Jane Austen died on 18th July 1817. Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were both published posthumously in 1818.
£17.09
Vintage Publishing Animal Farm
Book Synopsis''All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others''Mr Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, is a lazy drunk. The animals decide to overthrow him in a revolution that will allow them to run the farm, liberating themselves and creating a new life of equality and freedom. But they have underestimated the pigs. Napoleon and Snowball form an elite and take control for themselves, and the tyranny of the farmer is replaced with another kind of control leaving the animals again subject to a ruthless and cruel authority.Imagined only as Orwell could, this powerful fable is instilled with humour and an underlying urgency that makes this one of the most prescient warnings ever written.''Surely one of the greatest works of literature of the 20th century, delivering truths about politics that remain, to this hour, horribly disturbing'' The TimesWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS
£8.54
Pushkin Press Yevgeny Onegin
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Lady Susan
Book SynopsisGives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.
£5.63
Vintage Publishing Persuasion Vintage Classics Austen Series
Book SynopsisJane Austen (Author) Jane Austen was born in Steventon rectory on 16 December 1775. Her family later moved to Bath, then to Southampton and finally to Chawton in Hampshire. She began writing Pride and Prejudice when she was twenty-two years old. It was originally called First Impressions and was initially rejected by the publishers and only published in 1813 after much revision. She published four of her novels in her lifetime, Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816). Jane Austen died on 18th July 1817. Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were both published posthumously in 1818.Lynne Truss (Introducer) Bestselling author of Eats, Shoots and Leaves and Talk to the Hand, Lynne Truss is a journalist, arts and book reviewer, sports columnist and a regular broadcaster for BBC's Radio 4. She's had two plays performed at the EdinbTrade ReviewEveryone has their Austen, and this is mine. Sparer, more savage - and also more poignant than Pride and Prejudice, this is a novel that tells us wisely and wittily about the nature of romantic entanglements and the follies of being human. It isn't riven with the deep, muscular ironies of, say, Emma, but there is something about the dry lightness of Persuasion that is deceptive. It stays with you long after you've read it -- Nigella LawsonI worship all of Austen's novels, but if I have to choose one over the others, I plump for the autumnal pleasures of Persuasion. This is the last work Austen completed before her death in 1817, and it is rather more tender and melancholy in tone than the novels that preceded it. I read it once or twice a year, whenever I feel in need of a good cry -- Zoe HellerA subtle and elegiac novel - more heartfelt than some of her earlier romances and with a truly appealing heroine -- Joanna TrollopeFemale self-worth could have been invented by Jane Austen. No wonder we still value her -- Germaine Greer * Guardian *It is a sort of a private novel. In the heroine, Anne Elliot, we have glimpses of Austen and what happened to her; the lost romance and the lost youth -- Julian Fellowes * Sunday Express *
£9.25
Penguin Books Ltd Metamorphosis and Other Stories
Book Synopsis
£8.54
Sterling Juvenile A Treasury of Norse Mythology
£27.00
Penguin Books Ltd The Grapes of Wrath
Book SynopsisWinner of the Pulitzer Prize, The Grapes of Wrath is an epic human drama, with a stunning new cover by renowned artist Bijou Karman.''To the red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth.''Drought and economic depression are driving thousands from Oklahoma. As their land becomes just another strip in the dust bowl, the Joads, a family of sharecroppers, decide they have no choice but to follow. They head west, towards California, where they hope to find work and a future for their family. But while the journey to this promised land will take its inevitable toll, there remains uncertainty about what awaits their arrival . . .''Magnificent'' New York Times''Steinbeck''s writings form a photograph album of America'' Guardian''There is no more impressive writer on either side of the Atlantic'' Time and Tide''A novelist who is also a true poet'' Sunday TimesTrade ReviewA warm-hearted celebration of the persistence of the human spirit * Guardian *Magnificent * New York Times *Steinbeck's writings form a photograph album of America * Guardian *There is no more impressive writer on either side of the Atlantic * Time and Tide *A novelist who is also a true poet * Sunday Times *
£8.54
Oxford University Press Tess of the dUrbervilles
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA wonderful book that asks many questions that are still relevant in today's world. * FictionFan *
£6.99
Vintage Publishing Emma
Book Synopsis'Jane Austen's Emma is her masterpiece, mixing the sparkle of her early books with a deep sensibility' ObserverEmma is young, rich and independent.Trade ReviewWhatever age you are, Austen has something for you. I would go further, in fact, to assert that a reader never comes away from an Austen novel empty-handed * Joanna Trollope *That young lady has a talent for describing the involvements of feelings and characters of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with -- Sir Walter ScottI'd like to write a play as perfect as Emma -- Simon GrayAusten's characters are unquestionably one key to her greatness. Her understanding of the human heart is forensic and also frosted with the necessary detachment that gives deeper meaning to her rendering of human frailty * Guardian *It is the cleverest of books. I especially love the dialogue - every speech reveals the characters' obsessions and preoccupations, yet it remains perfectly natural...absolutely gripping -- Susannah Clarke
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd Hard Times
Book SynopsisThe Penguin English Library Edition of Hard Times by Charles Dickens''Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else''Coketown is dominated by the figure of Mr Thomas Gradgrind, school owner and model of Utilitarian success. Feeding both his pupils and his family with facts, he bans fancy and wonder from young minds. As a consequence his obedient daughter Louisa marries the loveless businessman and ''bully of humility'' Mr Bounderby, and his son Tom rebels to become embroiled in gambling and robbery. And, as their fortunes cross with those of free-spirited circus girl Sissy Jupe and victimised weaver Stephen Blackpool, Gradgrind is eventually forced to recognise the value of the human heart in an age of materialism and machinery.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in the English language, from the eighteen
£9.25
Penguin Books Ltd The Forty Days of Musa Dagh
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewForty Days will invade your senses and keep the blood pounding. Once read, it will never be forgotten * The New York Times *In every sense a true and thrilling novel... It tells a story which it is almost one's duty as an intelligent human being to read. And one's duty here becomes one's pleasure also * New York Times Book Review *Werfel's book ... did more than the efforts of any diplomat, journalist, or historian to encourage speech about the unspeakable. It arrives today as a timely reminder that savagery thrives in silence * The Barnes and Noble Review *A crackling read. Symphonic in its handling of profound themes, respectful of its most vacillating characters, Werfel's novel is a grand and satisfying story about the necessities and difficulties of leadership * Booklist *
£14.24
Faber & Faber Winter in the Air
Book SynopsisThis Christmas, ''hand yourself over to be enchanted'' (Guardian) by the English genius behind witchcraft classic Lolly Willowes.''Worth 9.99 for the book jacket alone (trust Faber) ... It's exquisite and shivery, just like the stories within ... By turns creepy, melancholy, horrifying, tragic and beltingly romantic.'' Sunday Times''One of our finest writers.'' Neil Gaiman''One of the most shamefully under-read great British authors of the past 100 years.'' Sarah Waters''Diminutive masterpieces ... Hand yourself over to be enchanted.'' Guardian''Extraordinary, lucid wildness.'' Helen MacDonald''Glinting perfection'' The TimesDecades after her divorce, a lady returns to the village of her tumultuous marriage. A railway carriage hosts a charged schoolboy encounter. A murder raises fears of blackmail. A woman waits anxiously in a caf
£9.49
HarperCollins Focus Wuthering Heights Artisan Edition
Book SynopsisThe renowned gothic novel is now available in an affordable softcover edition featuring a striking cover and distinctive interior design elements, making it ideal for classic fiction lovers, readers in high-school or college literature courses, and fans of reading challenges and Required Reading lists.The Wuthering Heights softcover edition: Presents Emily Brontë''s famed gothic novel of the turbulent love affair between Catherine Earnshaw and the dark brooding Heathcliff, viewed by many literary scholars as one of the greatest novels ever written in English; its 1847 publication helped secure Brontë''s place in literature''s pantheon of great writers. Explores such important themes as romantic love, revenge, obsession, betrayal, and the complexities of social and class divisions. Is ideal for Brontë aficionados, fans of literary fiction and classic literature, and people who love both the bo
£10.44
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Anne of Green Gables Heritage Collection
Book SynopsisAnne Shirley is an eleven-year-old orphan who has hung on determinedly to an optimistic spirit and a wildly creative imagination through her early deprivations. She erupts into the lives of aging brother and sister Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a girl instead of the boy they had sent for. Thus begins a story of transformation for all three; indeed the whole rural community of Avonlea comes under Anne's influence in some way. We see her grow from a girl to a young woman of sixteen, making her mistakes, and not always learning from them. Intelligent, hot-headed as her own red hair, unwilling to take a moral truth as read until she works it out for herself, she must also face grief and loss and learn the true meaning of love. Part Tom Sawyer, part Jane Eyre, by the end of Anne of Green Gables, Anne has become the heroine of her own story.
£17.09
Vintage Publishing The Picture of Dorian Gray
Book SynopsisA beautiful deluxe gift edition of Oscar Wilde's decadent and disturbing novel with foiled covers, marbled endpapers, sprayed edges, beautiful paper and finished with a silk ribbon. Dorian is a good-natured young man until he discovers the power of his own exceptional beauty. As he gradually sinks deep into a frivolous, glamorous world of selfish luxury, he apparently remains physically unchanged by the stresses of his corrupt lifestyle and untouched by age. But up in his attic, hidden behind a curtain, his portrait tells a different story... This hardback is part of VINTAGE COLLECTOR'S CLASSICS, a series of luxurious books especially crafted for collectors and fans of beautiful special editions. Sumptuous design meets the highest quality production. Discover timeless classics beautifully bound for every bookshelf.
£17.09
Penguin Books Ltd Northanger Abbey
£999.99
Vintage Publishing Great Expectations
Book SynopsisCharles Dickens was born in Hampshire on February 7, 1812. His father was a clerk in the navy pay office, who was well paid but often ended up in financial troubles. When Dickens was twelve years old he was send to work in a shoe polish factory because his family had been taken to the debtors' prison. His career as a writer of fiction started in 1833 when his short stories and essays began to appear in periodicals. The Pickwick Papers, his first commercial success, was published in 1836. The serialisation of Oliver Twist began in 1837. Many other novels followed and The Old Curiosity Shop brought Dickens international fame and he became a celebrity in America as well as Britain. Charles Dickens died on 9 June 1870. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.
£17.09
Prakash Books The Horror Omnibus
Book Synopsis
£10.76
Union Square & Co. Grimms Fairy Tales
Book SynopsisFor most children, reading the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm is an essential experience; but when these stories were first collected, fairy tales were considered entertainment for adults as well.
£16.20
Union Square & Co. Anna Karenina
Book SynopsisTolstoy's masterpiece tells the story of a woman who seems to have everything until her affair with the impetuous officer Count Vronsky scandalises society.
£31.50
Union Square & Co. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Book SynopsisWhat a study in contrasts is the friendship between Henry Jekyll and his boon companion, Edward Hyde.
£17.10
Penguin Books Ltd Northanger Abbey
Book SynopsisThe Penguin English Library Edition of Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen''To look almost pretty, is an acquisition of higher delight to a girl who has been looking plain the first fifteen years of her life, than a beauty from her cradle can ever receive''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.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
£7.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Red and the Black Penguin Classics S
Book SynopsisCharts the rise and fall of an ambitious young social climber in a cruel, monarchical societyHandsome, ambitious Julien Sorel is determined to rise above his humble provincial origins. Soon realizing that success can only be achieved by adopting the subtle code of hypocrisy by which society operates, he begins to achieve advancement through deceit and self-interest. His triumphant career takes him into the heart of glamorous Parisian society, along the way conquering the gentle, married Madame de Rênal, and the haughty Mathilde. But then Julien commits an unexpected, devastating crime—and brings about his own downfall. The Red and the Black is a lively, satirical portrayal of French society after Waterloo, riddled with corruption, greed and ennui, and Julien—the cold exploiter whose Machiavellian campaign is undercut by his own emotions—is one of the most intriguing characters in European literature. Roger Gard's fine translation rTrade ReviewPraise for Burton Raffel’s translationsFor Balzac’s Père Goriot“Raffel’s Père Goriot is both faithful and beautiful, and that makes it a masterpiece.” —Alain Renoir“I predict that this translation will give Balzac’s great novel a new life for English and American readers. . . . The definitive translation for this generation.” —Peter Brooks“[Raffel’s] translation has the vigor and elasticity of Balzac’s style, and catches with uncanny accuracy the tone of the period.” —Guy DavenportFor Cervantes’s Don Quijote“[Raffel’s Don Quijote] recasts the original into lively English, without losing the complexity and flavor of the Spanish. . . . This Quijote flows smoothly and reads, in fact, like original prose rather than a translation.” —Adrienne Martin
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Northanger Abbey Jane Austen Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisAusten's witty exploration of the perils of mistaking fiction for realityDuring 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.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 global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. ReadersTrade Review“Jane Austen is the Rosetta stone of literature.” —Anna Quindlen
£8.65
Penguin Books Ltd Ulysses
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewEverybody knows now that Ulysses is the greatest novel of the century -- Anthony Burgess * Observer *The most important expression which the present age has found; it is a book to which we are all indebted, and from which none of us can escape -- T.S. EliotIntoxicating ... a towering work, in its word play surpassing even Shakespeare * Guardian *
£21.25
Penguin Books Ltd Remembrance of Things Past Volume 1
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewScott 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. N. WilsonFor the reader wishing to tackle Proust your guide must be C K Scott Moncrieff ... There are some who believe his headily perfumed translation of À la recherche du temps perdu conjures Belle Époque France more vividly even than the original—TelegraphI was more interested and fascinated by your rendering than by Proust's creation—Joseph Conrad to Scott Moncrieff
£13.49
Pan Macmillan The Green Years
Book SynopsisBorn in Cardross, Scotland, A. J. Cronin studied at the University of Glasgow. In 1916 he served as a surgeon sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteers Reserve, and at the war's end he completed his medical studies and practiced in South Wales. He was later appointed to the Ministry of Mines, studying the medical problems of the mining industry. He later moved to London and built up a successful practice in the West End. In 1931 he published his first book, Hatter's Castle, which was compared with the work of Dickens, Hardy and Balzac, winning him critical acclaim. Other books by A. J. Cronin include: Dr Finlay's Casebook, The Stars Look Down, The Citadel, Three Loves, The Green Years, Beyond This Place, and The Keys of the Kingdom.
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Orlando (Vintage Classics Woolf Series)
Book SynopsisVirginia Woolf's most unusual and fantastic creation, a funny, exuberant tale that examines the very nature of sexuality. **One of the BBC's 100 Novels That Shaped Our World** As his tale begins, Orlando is a passionate young nobleman whose days are spent in rowdy revelry, filled with the colourful delights of Queen Elizabeth's court. By the close, he will have transformed into a modern, thirty-six-year-old woman and three centuries will have passed. Orlando will not only witness the making of history from its edge, but will find that his unique position as a woman who knows what it is to be a man will give him insight into matters of the heart. WITH INTRODUCTIONS BY PETER ACKROYD AND MARGARET REYNOLDSTrade ReviewOrlando is the wittiest little book, a pleasure: it makes me laugh every time I read itUndoubtedly Virginia Woolf's most intense and one of the most singular [novels] of our era
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers The Fall of Númenor
Book SynopsisJ.R.R. Tolkien’s writings on the Second Age of Middle-earth, collected for the first time in one volume.Trade Review‘Physically beautiful and sometimes overwhelming in its power, this book is a grand compendium of all Tolkien said about the period when the foundations of The Lord of the Rings are laid’John Garth, THE GUARDIAN ‘It brings a Biblical grandeur to Tolkien’s fictional history’WINTER IS COMING ‘A trove of source material about one of Middle-earth’s most intriguing and central back stories. The book is beautifully illustrated by Alan Lee and nimbly edited by Brian Sibley’WASHINGTON POST ‘For those wishing to expand their understanding of Middle-earth and the incredible legend crafted by Tolkien, this is an essential piece to complete that puzzle’BOOK REPORTER ‘With this most recent volume, The Fall of Númenor, Sibley has beautifully and brilliantly done for Tolkien’s Second Age what Christopher Tolkien did for the First Age’NATIONAL REVIEW
£21.25
