Classic fiction: literary and general

Book SynopsisFar From the Madding Crowd was the first of Hardy’s novels to give the name of Wessex to the landscape of south-west England and is set against the backdrop of the unchanging natural cycle of the year. The story both upholds and questions rural values with a startlingly modern sensibility.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features original illustrations by Helen Allingham and an introduction by Professor Mark Ford.Gabriel Oak is only one of three suitors for the hand of the beautiful and spirited Bathsheba Everdene. He must compete with the dashing young soldier Sergeant Troy and respectable, middle-aged Farmer Boldwood. And while their fates depend upon the choice Bathsheba makes, she discovers the terrible consequences of an inconstant heart.Trade ReviewFar From the Madding Crowd is the first of Thomas Hardy's great novels, and the first to sound the tragic note for which his fiction is best remembered -- Margaret DrabbleI have always loved this author whose writing so romantically and evocatively captures the essence of that part of England * The Australian *The imagined Wessex . . . appealed to a nostalgic appetite for vanishing pastoral traditions among the urbanized population of Victorian Britain -- Dinah Birch * Guardian *Hardy’s natural modesty and reticence were such that he stood at the back of the crowd until he was noticed and escorted to a place of honour * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction and Notes by Dr Keith Carabine, University of Kent at Canterbury. These three wonderful comic novels drolly record the battle between Lucia and Elisabeth Mapp for social and cultural supremacy in the village of Tilling (based on Rye). Their constant skirmishes ensure that every game of bridge, tea or dinner-party, church service, council meeting or art–exhibition are thrilling encounters that ensure Tilling is always on ‘a very agreeable rack of suspense’. Both Elisabeth and Lucia are gross hypocrites, snobs and bullies, the huge differences in temperament and style ensure the battle is usually unequal. Elisabeth is incurably mean-spirited and Lucia suffers from splendid delusions of grandeur and personal prestige. Driven by demons of revenge, Elisabeth always acts impulsively, and therefore every revelation of her meanness allows Lucia, the consummate actress, to kill her ally with a sickening kindness. In his insightful Introduction Keith Carabine shows that these books are excruciatingly funny because Benson, like Jane Austen, invites the reader to view the world through the self-deluded chronic anger and jaundiced suspicions of Elisabeth and through the self-deluded fabrications and day-dreams of Lucia. Carabine also concentrates on the novels’ disturbing, bitchy, ‘camp’ humour whenever ‘that horrid thing which Freud calls sex is raised’Table of ContentsMapp and Lucia (1931) Lucia's Progress (1935) Trouble for Lucia (1939)

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Book SynopsisThe Prince and the Pauper is a classic adventure of mistaken identity set in Tudor London and told with Mark Twain’s trademark humour and concern for social justice.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition has an afterword by author and journalist Nicolette Jones.Penniless Tom Canty wonders what it would be like to be a prince. Heir to the throne Edward Tudor dreams of a life outside the royal palace walls. When the two boys meet by chance they’re amazed by how similar they look and agree to swap clothes. Dressed in rags, Edward is thrown out onto the streets whilst courtiers have no idea that their prince is a pauper. Will each boy be able to find his way home?Trade ReviewTwain's great virtue as a writer, his genius, was his deliberate refusal of borrowed propriety or scale. The tallest of tales could be fashioned from the most modest of ingredients -- Tim Adams * Guardian *Twain was ahead of his time. He was one of America’s first modern celebrities, an icon of the first age of mass media -- Ben Tarnoff * New Yorker *Twain was surely the American Dickens, however much he would have hated the phrase—and however high a tribute it seems today -- Ellen Moers * New York Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisOrwell is most well-known for his two famous novels Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, but their dystopian vision was informed by observations of poverty in England (Down and Out in Paris' and London and Road to Wigan Pier), and disillusion with political and national events of the 1930s and 1940s. Homage to Catalonia chronicled his experience of the Spanish Civil War and formulated his revulsion against totalitarianism, highlighted in his subsequent novels. This new collection (edited and with a new introduction by Professor Richard Bradford, and a foreword by Whitbread Prize winner D.J. Taylor) brings together Orwell's two celebrated novels and some of his seminal nonfiction (extensive extracts from Down and Out in Paris and London and The Road to Wigan Pier, and the whole of Homage to Catalonia), along with some brief extracts of pertinent work by Jack London, who also explored totalitarianism in The Iron Heel (fiction), and the Russian dissident Yevgeny Zamyatin whose own work We (1921) offers a strong warning about a dystopian police state. A new addition to the Flame Tree deluxe Gothic Fantasy series on classic and modern writers, exploring origins and cultural themes in myth, fable and speculative fiction. The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

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Book SynopsisThe Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer (eighth century BC) are the two oldest European epic poems. The former tells of Achilles’ anger over an insult to his honor during the Trojan War, and of its consequences for the Achaeans, the Trojans, and Achilles himself.

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Book SynopsisDavid Sempill is being torn apart. Young and idealistic, his loyalty to his King conflicts with his Covenanting sympathies, which are, in turn, tested by the brutality he witnesses towards Montrose's beaten army. When black magic is uncovered in the ancient Witch Wood, as a man of God he must fight it, but his love for the beautiful, pagan Katrine and the religious extremism of the time puts him at the centre of a deadly spiral. Buchan's favourite novel - and an inspiration for the young C.S. Lewis - is a terrifying portrait of a cruel and intolerant age. With an introduction by Allan Massie. This edition is authorised by the John Buchan Society.Trade Review'One of Scotland's most enduringly popular writers' * The Scotsman *'Buchan knew that you can't buck the consequences of your actions, and that your life is what you make of it. Perhaps his peculiarly Scottish combination of Romanticism and Calvinism - daring living and high thinking - is due to return to fashion' * The Independent Magazine *

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Book SynopsisEdgar Allan Poe remains the unsurpassed master of works of mystery and madness in this outstanding collection of Poe's prose and poetry are sixteen of his finest tales, including 'The Tell-Tale Heart', 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' 'The Pit and the Pendulum,' 'William Wilson,' 'The Black Cat,' 'The Cask of Amontillado,' and 'Eleonora'. Here too is a major selection of what Poe characterized as the passion of his life, his poems - 'The Raven,' 'Annabel Lee,' Ulalume,' 'Lenore,' 'The Bells,' and more, plus his glorious prose poem 'Silence - A Fable' and only full-length novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.

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Book SynopsisElizabeth Bennet is Austen’s most liberated and appealing heroine, and Pride and Prejudice has remained over most of the past two centuries Austen’s most popular novel. The story turns on the marriage prospects of the five daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, and especially on Elizabeth’s prejudice against the proud and distant Fitzwilliam Darcy. Pride and Prejudice is a romantic comedy that has been read as conservative and feminist, reactionary and revolutionary, rooted in the time of its composition and deliberately timeless. Robert Irvine’s introduction sets the novel in the context of the literary and intellectual history of the period, dealing with such crucial background issues as class relations in Britain, female exclusion from property and power, and the impact of the French Revolution. The introduction and annotations have been expanded and updated for the new edition, and a new appendix of Austen’s juvenilia has been added.Trade Review“Robert P. Irvine’s new edition of Pride and Prejudice is a superb version of Austen’s most frequently taught novel. Broadview’s Austen editions have always been my go-to for the classroom due to their rich introductions and expansive critical apparatuses, and this edition is no exception. Irvine’s cogent and insightful introduction clarifies the novel’s contexts and intertexts for both students and scholars, but what really set this and Broadview’s other Austen editions apart are the excellence and depth of their appendices; this one includes contemporary reviews and judiciously chosen excerpts from conduct books and texts on domestic tourism, on the French Revolution, and on militia regiments, as well as selections from Austen’s letters and juvenilia, all of which richly contextualize Pride and Prejudice for twenty-first-century readers. This edition will be a valuable resource for Austen scholars at all levels, perhaps especially for students who approach the novel with limited knowledge of the period.” — Suzanne L. Barnett, Manhattan College“This is my new go-to edition of Pride and Prejudice. Robert Irvine’s introduction usefully elucidates the social, political, and literary contexts of the novel, and his illuminating explanatory notes are indispensable for today’s student. As with all Broadview Editions, a range of supplementary materials offers productive frameworks for teaching the novel and will benefit both new and veteran readers of Austen.” — Mary-Catherine Harrison, University of Detroit MercyTable of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Jane Austen and Her Time: A Brief Chronology A Note on the Text Map Pride and Prejudice Appendix A: From the Juvenilia (1792–93) 1. From Volume the First: “The Three Sisters” 2. From Volume the Second: “From a young Lady in distress’d Circumstances to her freind” Appendix B: From Austen’s Letters to Her Sister Cassandra 1. To Cassandra Austen, 8–9 January 1799 2. To Cassandra Austen, 11 June 1799 3. To Cassandra Austen, 29 January 1813 4. To Cassandra Austen, 4 February 1813 Appendix C: Contemporary Periodical Reviews of Pride and Prejudice 1. British Critic (February 1813) 2. From Critical Review (March 1813) Appendix D: From the Conduct Books 1. From James Fordyce, Sermons to Young Women (1766) 2. From Dr. John Gregory, A Father’s Legacy to His Daughters (1774) Appendix E: Domestic Tourism 1. From William Watts, The Seats of the Nobility and Gentry (1779) 2. From William Bray, Sketch of a Tour into Derbyshire and Yorkshire (1777) Appendix F: Burke on the French Revolution1. From Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)Appendix G: Discussion of Women’s Role after the French Revolution 1. From Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman 2. From Hannah More, Strictures on the Modern System of Female Education (1799) Appendix H: The Militia Regiments on the South Coast of England in 1793–95 1. Women at the Brighton Camp, from The Sussex Weekly Advertiser (1793, 1795) 2. The Mutiny of the Oxfordshire Militia, from The Sussex Weekly Advertiser (1795) Works Cited and Select Bibliography

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Book SynopsisDiscover the full story of the sorceress Medea, one of the most reviled and maligned women of Greek antiquity, in this propulsive and evocative debut in the tradition of Circe, Elektra, and Stone Blind.Among the women of Greek mythology, the witch Medea may be the most despised. Known for the brutal act of killing her own children to exact vengeance on her deceitful husband, the Argonauts leader Jason, Medea has carved out a singularly infamous niche in our histories. But what if that isn’t the full story? The daughter of a sea nymph and the granddaughter of a Titan, Medea is a paradox. She is at once rendered compelling by virtue of the divinity that flows through her bloodline and made powerless by the fact of her being a woman. As a child, she intuitively submerges herself in witchcraft and sorcery, but soon finds it may not be a match for the prophecies that hang over her entire family like a shroud. As Medea comes into her own as a woman and a witch, she also faces the arrival of the hero Jason, preordained by the gods to be not only her husband, but also her lifeline to escape her isolated existence. Medea travels the treacherous seas with the Argonauts, battles demons she had never conceived of, and falls in love with the man who may ultimately be her downfall. In this propulsive, beautifully written debut, readers will finally hear Medea’s side of the story through a fresh and feminist lens.

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Book SynopsisBY THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE STREETWith a new introduction by Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of Libertie''Petry is the writer we have been waiting for . . . insightful, prescient and unputdownable'' TAYARI JONES ''A masterpiece'' NEW YORK TIMES ''A powerful and moving book . . . A book to watch'' KIRKUS REVIEWS It''s past midnight, and thick fog rolls in from the river like smoke. Link Williams is standing on the dock when he hears quick footsteps approaching, and the gasp of a woman too terrified to scream. After chasing off her pursuer, he takes the woman to a nearby bar to calm her nerves, and as they enter, it''s as if the oxygen has left the room: in the dim light, they can see that he''s Black and she''s white.Link is a brilliant Dartmouth graduate, who, because of the lack of opportunities available to him, tends bar; Camilo is a wealthy, married heiress who has crossTrade ReviewHer work endures not merely because of the strength of its message but its artistry . . . Petry will always feel on time. Her kind of talent will always feel startling and sui generis: The music of her sentences, and their discipline; her unerring sense of psychology; the fullness with which she endows each character, which must be understood as a kind of love; the plots that commandeer whole hours and days . . . Her work endures not only because it illuminates reality, but because it harnesses the power of fiction to supplant it * New York Times *Petry is the writer we have been waiting for, hers are the stories we need to fully illuminate the questions of our moment, while also offering a page-turning good time. Ann Petry, the woman, had it all, and so does her insightful, prescient and unputdownable prose . . . The Narrows is the story of a doomed interracial romance that proves that passion and prejudice are not mutually exclusiveAnn Petry's novels The Street and The Narrows are masterpieces of social realism - volatile but exacting, heartbreaking but often brutally funny . . . The Narrows is capacious, elliptical and immersive. Slowly and comprehensively, it envelops you . . . The scenes seethe with rage, and yet the book's sheer profusion makes it feel joyous and celebratory * Wall Street Journal *A powerful and moving book, dealing with an almost proscribed subject . . . A book to watch * Kirkus Reviews *Mainly about human beings, and the messes we sometimes make of our own lives * Yale Review *

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Book SynopsisA classic novel of ruthless revenge set in the steel jungle of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico and on the sea bed below it.Off the Gulf of Mexico lies a sunken DC-3. Its cargo: millions of dollars in gold ingots and jewels guarded by the remains of two men, one woman and a very small boy.The fortune is there for the taking, and ready to grab it are a wealthy oilman, a gangster and a psychopathic hired assassin.Against them stands Talbot, a man out for justice. He will see the dead given a proper burial but only after he has avenged their murders.Trade Review‘So good I stole part of the plot’Lee Child ‘Guns, gangsters, sudden death, terrific action on land and under the sea … Fear is the Key has a plot that will require a lot of willpower to stop you looking at the last page.’Sunday Mirror ‘Keeps tension at screaming point.’Daily Express ‘Excitement and violence … the pace never slackens.’Scotsman

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Book SynopsisLittle treasures, the FLAME TREE COLLECTABLE CLASSICS are chosen to create a delightful and timeless home library. Each stunning, gift edition features deluxe cover treatments, ribbon markers, luxury endpapers and gilded edges. The unabridged text is accompanied by a Glossary of Victorian and Literary terms produced for the modern reader. Originally titled Susan, Northanger Abbey was written before any of Jane Austen's other novels, but published after her death in 1817. It is a satire of the gothic novel popular at the time, full of weeping, frustrated romance, dark corridors and deep yearnings. At the core of the book are the mysterious rooms within the Abbey that nobody seems to visit. Could they hold a dark secret? Is there a rotten core at the heart of the house and the family that holds court to all? Catherine is determined to find out more, but is distracted by the machinations of her fellows, the flirtations and engagements of the family and her love for clever, young Henry Tilney.

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Book SynopsisRuskin Bond's stories feature Indian children's adventures, mischief, and responsibilities, showcasing the essence of childhood with themes of happiness and freedom. The collection, including characters like Bina and Rusty, is part of a curated children's bookshelf aimed at enriching young readers' lives with a mix of bestsellers and new releases.

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Book SynopsisEdward Prendick is rescued from a damaged ship and brought to a small island where an infamous doctor performs a series of experiments on animals. Once exposed, Prendick becomes disturbed by his cruel and unethical methods. When Edward Prendick arrives on a mysterious island, he’s introduced to its leader, the elusive Dr. Moreau. He’s a disgraced vivisectionist who was forced to flee after his experiments were exposed. On the island he’s created a human-animal-hybrid race called Beast Folk. As Prendick encounters these creatures, he begins to fear for his life. He attempts to escape the horrors of the land but is haunted by its ugly truth. Initially, The Island of Doctor Moreau, was met with controversy due to its twisted take on evolution. Wells’ unflinching detail paints an unforgettable picture in the reader’s mind. It’s one of his most popular and adapted works, including three feature films from 1933, 1977 and 1996. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Island of Doctor Moreau is both modern and readable.

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Book SynopsisA ghost ship full of long-lost gold beckons, and Biggles gets an icy reception...Biggles, Algie, Bertie and Ginger are visited by Grimes, an old pal from the war, whose father, a Merchant Navy captain known as Jumbo, is in a spot of bother. He was recently tricked into skippering a crew of seal poachers to an islet off Antarctica. While there, they spotted an old ship – still rigged for sail – trapped in the pack ice. After an investigation of the ship, Jumbo overheard the words ‘starry’ and ‘crown’ from the jubilant crew.An avid fan of an unsolved mysteries, Biggles immediately recognises the importance of these words. Jumbo and his crew had stumbled upon the long-lost schooner Starry Crown, which went missing seventy years prior with a ton of Australian gold ingots aboard. There have been several sightings and ill-fated recovery expeditions since, but no one has ever retrieved the gold.Grimes reckons that they might be able to beat the poachers to the treasure if they were to go by air, and wonders if Biggles is interested in an adventure. After making a few enquiries, Biggles agrees to the expedition, but there is more than gold in the Starry Crown, and no help for miles across Antarctica’s vast silence…Wrap up warm for a classic Biggles adventure to the frozen continent of Antarctica.

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Book SynopsisMeet Elizabeth and discover there is no greater happiness to be found than when lost in a wilderness of a garden, with bird cherries, lilacs, hollyhocks and lilies crowding the vision. This is her sanctuary from a host of unreasonable demands, whether from the Man of Wrath (husband), babies, servants and (worst of all horrors) house guests. Plunge into her charming diaries and be warned: you won't be able to remain indoors.Trade ReviewAn extraordinary piece of work...it has a freshness, a freakish charm, an irrepressible energy -- Elizabeth Jane HowardA gem of a book: rare, simple, innocent and charming -- Susan HillUnusual in the way that the sympathetic female narrator either cheerfully disregarded or, more often than not, gently mocked her husband and family. The book was a wild success and by 1899 it had run through 21 editions. * Independent *A witty tale about marrying a richer, older man and finding liberation from a stifling world of elitism through gardening. It was a risky tale for its time, and still feels modern on both love and the garden. * Guardian *Delightful * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisThe definitive collection work by the forefather of modern fantasyOf all the weavers of magic, there is none like Lord Dunsany. During his long lifetime - he died at the age of eighty - he wrote more than sixty books: novels like The King of Elfland's Daughter, plays, poetry collections, memoirs, essays and, most memorably, innumerable exotic and fantastical short stories.In this definitive new collection are the very best of Dunsany's extraordinarily evocative and joyous tales of Faerie, of dreamworlds and of magic: some of the loveliest fantasies in the English language, including the complete contents of Time and the Gods, The Book of Wonder, The Sword of Welleran and The Last Book of Wonder.

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Book Synopsis''Whenever two Russians come together, the shadow of autocracy is with them...haunting the secret of their silences.''First published in 1911, Under Western Eyes traces the experiences of Razumov, a young Russian student of philosophy who is uninvolved in politics or protest. Against his will he finds himself caught up in the aftermath of a terrorist bombing directed against the Tsarist authorities. He is pulled in different directions - by his conscience and his ambitions, by powerful opposed political forces, but most of all by personal emotions he is unable to suppress. Set in St Petersburg and Geneva, the novel is in part a critical response to Dostoevsky''s Crime and Punishment but it is also a startlingly modern book. Viewed through the ''Western eyes'' of Conrad''s English narrator, Razumov''s story forces the reader to confront the same moral issues: the defensibility of terrorist resistance to tyranny, the loss of individual privacy in a surveillance society, and the demands t

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Book SynopsisA classic thriller featuring the most daring escape of the Second World War, from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Eagle Has Landed.American Colonel Hugh Kelso is washed ashore on German-held Jersey in Spring 1944, with top-secret D-Day plans in his possession. To get him back, the most daring escape of the Second World War must be planned and executed.Harry Martineau, bilingual philosophy professor turned assassin, and Sarah Drayton, a beautiful, half-French Jersey native, are selected to carry out the mission, and set off to steal the most precious Allied asset from under the noses of the NazisTrade Review‘Open a Jack Higgins novel and you’ll encounter a master craftsman at the peak of his powers … first-rate tales of intrigue, suspense and full-on action.’ Sunday Express ‘Higgins is a master of his craft.’ Daily Telegraph ‘A thriller writer in a class of his own.’ Financial Times ‘The master craftsman of good, clean adventure.’ Daily Mail

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Book Synopsis''Teetotal!'' Ma said. ''It''s a libel. He''ll never live it down. He''ll never be able to hold his head up again. Whatever will people think? What''s he going to say when anybody asks him to have one?''''No,'' said Dr Conner.''You''ll have to strap him down,'' Ma said. ''You''ll have to put the handcuffs on.''And so after a mild heart-attack - caused by rather too much of what you fancy - Pop Larkin finds himself off the booze, off the good food and off the good life generally, much to his own and everyone''s else''s horror and upset. And while Ma tries to find ways around ''doctor''s orders'', young Primrose is finding her own way round a rather flustered - not to say flushed - Mr Candy ...Trade ReviewThey are absolute comfort books . . . all five titles are being rereleased just in time for summer * The Lady *Pop is as sexy, genial, generous, and boozy as ever. Ma is a worthy match for him in all these qualities -- The * Times *As funny as Evelyn Waugh and as enchanting as Laurie Lee's Cider with Rosie. Don't miss it -- - * Herald *Pop Larkin, Ma and their progeny . . . are essentially English of the rich and ribald England of Chaucer and Shakespeare. A superb and timeless comedy -- - * Scotsman *A wistful daydream about innocence and happiness -- - * Spectator *The high mid-summer pomps of tree and flower are evoked with gusto -- - * The Times Literary Supplement *

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Book Synopsis"The Japanese people are more mysterious than I imagined through Hearn's books." —Albert EinsteinLafcadio Hearn is the most significant early interpreter of Japan and Japanese culture for the West—a man who traveled to Japan when he was thirty-nine, and never left. Lafcadio Hearn's Japan presents Hearn's most famous stories and essays about his adopted land—recounting his love for its striking natural beauty and the rich character and customs of its people.The 18 fascinating essays in this book include: "In a Japanese Garden" Hearn's classic description of the meditative calm and serenity he experienced when visiting a traditional Zen garden just outside his back door "Strangeness and Charm" Expressing his deep love for the richness and beauty of traditional Japanese culture "In the Cave of the Children's Ghosts" An account of a journey to an isolated sea cave where the souls of dead children are said to congregate Lafcadio Hearn's Japan provides an unforgettable look at traditional Japan through the eyes of a sensitive and eloquent foreigner. This new edition features a foreword by Steve Kemme, a leading expert on Hearn and president of the Lafcadio Hearn Society (USA). It also includes 21 color photos showcasing the people and places which Hearn so lovingly describes.Trade Review"All nations believed in the rebirth of the soul and had probably empirical evidence like that Lafcadio Hearn found among the Japanese." --William Butler Yeats"In the turbid, shallow flood of the ephemeral books of our time Lafcadio Hearn's contribution to English letters has been partially obscured. But day by day, as these sink unfruitfully into the sands of time, more clearly emerge the stern and exquisite outlines of his patient work." --Elizabeth Bisland"I invested in a large number of books on Japan and tried to read some of them. I felt rather lost in Japanese history, but I liked the knightly tales and pleasant prose of Lafcadio Hearn." --Jawaharal Nehru

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Book SynopsisA fresh contemporary look for the first anthology to trace the strength and diversity of Gothic fiction from its origins in the eighteenth century, with authors as diverse as Edgar Allan Poe, Thomas Hardy, Jorge Luis Borges, and Angela Carter.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition the perfect book to put beside the bed of a timorous guest you wish would go home * The Economist *a sumptuous spread of eeriness, horror and decay, plus an astute introduction that lays bare the gothic's vitals...there will be something in this book to chill the blood of any reader. * John Carey, Sunday Times *Armed with this anthology...the faint-hearted connoisseur can make his way down the gloomy halls and secret passageways of the genre. * Peter Ackroyd, The Times *this is a generous selection from the eighteenth century up to the present day ... Deliciously unsettling. * The Observer *Table of ContentsI. BEGINNINGS; II. THE NINETEENTH CENTURY; III. THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

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Book SynopsisThe capstone volume in Penguin Classics’ celebrated series of Icelandic sagas Comic Sagas and Tales from Iceland brings together the very finest Icelandic stories from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, a time of civil unrest and social upheaval. With feuding families and moments of grotesque violence, the sagas see such classic mythological figures as murdered fathers, disguised beggars, corrupt chieftains, and avenging sons who do battle with axes, words, and cunning. The tales, meanwhile, follow heroes and comical fools through dreams, voyages, and religious conversions in medieval Iceland and beyond. Shaped by Iceland’s oral culture and its people’s conversion to Christianity, these stories are works of ironic humor and stylistic innovation. 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 Trade ReviewThis collection of strange and difficult-to-categorize pieces is comic not in the usual sense, but rather, as Viðar explains in his excellent introduction, in the sense of reading counter to the Icelandic family sagas, whose narratives he terms tragic. The stories here are edgy, subversive and often grim little narratives, in striking contrast to the humane, wise and sometimes uplifting family sagas * The Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisPublished soon after Fitzgerald's debut novel This Side of Paradise, Flappers and Philosophers was the author's first collection of short fiction, a form through which he had gained notoriety in newspapers and magazines. The familiar themes of aspiration and social satire already permeate his writing: in 'Bernice Bobs Her Hair' the fashionable Marjorie attempts to turn her dowdy cousin into a debutante, before betraying her out of jealousy, while 'The Ice Palace' features a Southern belle whose engagement to a Northerner finds her confronted with a cultural clash between tradition and modernity. Also containing 'The Offshore Pirate', 'Head and Shoulders', 'The Cut-Glass Bowl', 'Benediction', 'Dalyrimple Goes Wrong' and 'The Four Fists', this volume of stories illustrates the early stages of Fitzgerald's development as a writer and provides an entertaining chronicle of America in the 1910s.Trade ReviewHe was better than he knew, for in fact and in the literary sense he invented a generation. * The New York Times *

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Book SynopsisMicromegas is a six-hundred-and-fifty-year-old, thirty-nine-kilometre-high giant from the planet Sirius who can speak a thousand languages and has been expelled from his homeland for writing a heretical tract. On Saturn he befriends the local secretary of the Academy of Sciences – a comparative dwarf, being only two kilometres high – and the two decide to travel to earth together, where they will make startling discoveries about human nature. At once a story-length Bildungsroman and a philosophical tale, ‘Micromegas’ is a classic Enlightenment text, and is accompanied in this volume by thirteen other pieces – including ‘Plato’s Dream’ and ‘Memnon’ – all in a new translation by acclaimed French specialist Douglas Parmée.Trade ReviewVoltaire will always be regarded as the biggest name of recent literature, and perhaps throughout all the centuries. -- Johann Wolfgang von GoetheThis welcome selection of fourteen of the lesser-known fables and parables comes in a wonderfully loose-limbed and unstuffy translation which shows both Voltaire – and the late Douglas Parmée – on top form. * TLS *

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Book SynopsisLavinia Brandon is quite the loveliest widow in Barsetshire, blessed with beauty and grace, as well as two handsome grown-up children, Delia and Francis. So thinks their cousin Hilary Grant when he comes to stay and - like many before him - promptly falls for his fragrant hostess. Meanwhile, the Brandons' ill-tempered dowager aunt is stirring up controversy over her legacy, and Lavinia's attention is further occupied by the challenges of making a match between the vicar and gifted village helpmeet Miss Morris, and elegantly deterring her love-struck suitors. Angela Thirkell's 1930s comedy is bright, witty and winning.Trade ReviewWhat sings out is the ebullience and charm of her characters, deliciously sparkling dialogue, a romping plot, her wit and gentle satire, and the escapist satisfaction of neatly tied-up happy endings * bookoxygen.com *Angela Thirkell is perhaps the most Pym-like of any twentieth-century author, after Pym herself -- Alexander McCall SmithAngela Thirkell is perhaps the most Pym-like of any twentieth-century author, after Pym herself -- Alexander McCall Smith

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Book Synopsis'Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.' A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel - a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man's struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much. To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age story, an anti-racist novel, a historical drama of the Great Depression and a sublime example of the Southern writing tradition. Out now as an unabridged audiobook, narrated by Sissy Spacek.Trade ReviewLee explores with exuberant humourthe irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. * The Week *Someone rare has written this very fine novel, a writer with the liveliest sense of life and the warmest, most authentic humour. A touching book; and so funny, so likeable * Truman Capote *There is humour as well as tragedy in this book, besides its faint note of hope for human nature; and it is delightfully written in the now familiar Southern tradition * Sunday Times *Her book is lifted...into the rare company of those that linger in the memory... * Bookman *Unbelievably, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, has never been properly available in Britain until now - but Harper Lee's wonderful novel, first published in 1960, has been worth the wait. Sissy Spacek brings all the characters to life as young Scout Finch watches her lawyer father, Atticus, do battle for the life of a black man who's been accused of the rape of a white girl in a Deep South town steeped in ignorant prejudice. Set in the 1930s, this is a tale that will never age... -- Kati Nicholl * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisAbridged novel depicting the sinister affair of the eighteenth century cow-creamer and the small, brown, leather-covered notebook tests the Wooster soul as it has never been tested before. Friends and relations, in urgent need, queue up to beg for assistance in a variety of troublesome situations, and ruthless enemies stop at nothing in their determination to bring Bertie down. Does our hero blink at the burdens placed on his shoulders by his nearest and dearest? He does not. Does his courage fail him when he faces overwhelming odds? It does not. Aided by the magnificent Jeeves, Bertie Wooster looks after his pals and smites the ungodly in his own inimitable style.Martin Jarvis is a much respected actor. Feted for his narration skills he also directs radio drama and divides his time between L.A. and London.Trade ReviewWodehouse brightens up the dullest day and lightens the heaviest heart. So give yourself a tonic by listening to this comedy classic * * audiobooksreview.co.uk * *Martin Jarvis brings the madcap world of Bertie Wooster and his brilliant valet Jeeves to life with canny comedic timing * * Publishers Weekly * *

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Book SynopsisLew Wallace''s "Tale of the Christ" as told through the life of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish heir accused of attempting to assassinate a Roman Governor and sold into slavery as punishment.Classics Illustrated tells this wonderful tale in colorful comic strip form, offering an excellent introduction for younger readers. This edition also includes a biography of Lew Wallace, theme discussions and study questions, which can be used both in the classroom or at home to further engage the reader in the story.The Classics Illustrated comic book series began life in 1941 with its first issue, Alexandre Dumas? "The Three Musketeers", and has since included over 200 classic tales released around the world. This new edition is specifically tailored to engage and educate young readers with some of the greatest works ever written, while still thrilling older readers who have loving memories of this series of old. Each book contains dedicated theme discussions and study questions to further develop the reader?s understanding and enjoyment of the work at hand.

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Book SynopsisTrue Story, Lucian’s best-known and most entertaining work, is a parody of the tall stories of fantastic journeys narrated by famous poets and historians. With his trademark wit and humour, Lucian informs his readers that he means to tell nothing but lies and impossibilities, and warns them not to believe a word he says. The result is a comical masterpiece that influenced Western literature throughout the centuries, and works such as Gulliver’s Travels and The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Lucius, or the Ass, a satirical novel charting the adventures of a young man who has been transformed into a donkey, is usually attributed to Lucian and is thought to be a source of Apuleius’s Golden Ass.

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Book SynopsisA carriage transporting ten passengers fleeing from Rouen is stopped at a village inn by Prussian soldiers, who decide to detain them until one of their party, the prostitute Boule de Suif, consents to sleep with their officer. When Boule de Suif refuses to do so on account of her principles and patriotic sentiments, the solidarity initially manifested by her fellow travellers becomes increasingly tested as the deadlock continues, and the strained relationship between her and her “respectable” counterparts gradually worsens. A scathing satire of bourgeois prejudice and hypocrisy and a compelling snapshot of France during the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, ‘Boule de Suif’ – here presented with five other major stories by the author of Bel Ami – was declared a masterpiece by Flaubert and is widely considered to be Maupassant’s finest short story.Trade ReviewAn exceedingly sharp satire of flexible French morals among different classes during the nineteenth-century German occupation. * The Guardian *Table of ContentsContains:Boule de Suif, The Confession, First Snow, Rose, The Dowry, Bed 29

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Book SynopsisAn old man arrives at the offices of the lawyer Derville, claiming to be Colonel Chabert, a hero of the Napoleonic Wars who was left for dead on the battlefield, but in fact managed to survive under a pile of corpses before spending years as a recovering amnesiac. Having returned to Paris and discovered that his wife has married an aristocrat who has liquidated all his assets, Chabert enlists the help of Derville to recover both his name and his fortune. Part of Balzac’s La Comédie humaine cycle, Colonel Chabert is a poignant tale about the pursuit of justice, as well as a portrait of France’s transition from the Napoleonic Empire to the Restoration. Inspired by actual events, the novella has captured the imagination of generations of readers and has been adapted for the stage and screen numerous times.Trade ReviewReading Balzac is not a reassuring experience. It challenges our humanism, if we have any, but it ultimately does not destroy it. -- A.N. Wilson

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Book SynopsisIn an examination of his laudanum addiction and the dreams and visions the drug engendered, Thomas De Quincey lays bare the celestial pleasures and infernal lows of an existence dependent on “subtle and mighty opium”. At once moving and rhapsodic, and suffused with a poetic and lyrical beauty, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater hauntingly evokes frightful scenes and phantasmagorical night-time wanderings, while reality, dream and memory blur and intertwine in a nebulous and protean haze. Published anonymously in The London Magazine, the Confessions were an immediate success, and soon speculation was rife as to the identity of the mysterious Opium-Eater. The work, which introduced the literary world to De Quincey’s unique “impassioned prose”, is now widely deemed to be De Quincey’s masterpiece.Trade ReviewMy heart trembled through from end to end… What a poet that man is! How he vivifies words, and deepens them, and gives them profound significance! -- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

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Book SynopsisLittle treasures, the FLAME TREE COLLECTABLE CLASSICS are chosen to create a delightful and timeless home library. Each stunning, gift edition features deluxe cover treatments, ribbon markers, luxury endpapers and gilded edges. The unabridged text is accompanied by a Glossary of Victorian and Literary terms produced for the modern reader. After a dramatic shipwreck, Robinson Crusoe is a castaway on a tropical island for 28 years. Defoe's classic tale features a series of events involving mutineers and prisoners, while Crusoe wrestles with his own solitude. Probably the first true novel in the English language.

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Book SynopsisFrank Aldersley becomes engaged to Clara Burnham on the eve of his departure on a journey to discover the Northwest Passage. Unbeknownst to him, Richard Wardour, his spurned rival, joins the crew of another ship belonging to the same expedition. When the ships get trapped in the ice and the men are randomly drawn into the same search party, Richard finds himself torn between his desire for revenge and the need for solidarity in the face of adversity. Based on an actual doomed mission to the Arctic captained by Sir John Franklin, and initially written for the stage in collaboration with Dickens – who also acted in the play – The Frozen Deep is an action-packed tale of vengeance and sacrifice.Trade ReviewYou can’t help feeling that Wilkie Collins was more in tune with modernity than his friend Charles Dickens. * The Guardian *

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Book SynopsisUniversally acclaimed as the master of the short-story form, Anton Chekhov begun his literary career as the author of brief tales and vignettes of Russian life when he was still a young medical student. Later rejected by the writer in the same self-effacing way in which he repudiated some of his most celebrated works, the stories in this collection are not only a testament to the early promise of his genius, but deserve to be appreciated for their lapidary vividness and their intrinsic stylistic quality. Mostly dealing with the lives of downtrodden "little" men and low-ranking civil servants as they steer their actions through the corruption and malpractice of Russian public officials, this volume - here presented in Stephen Pimenoff's lively new translation - bristles with wit and humour, and is tinged by that understated note of melancholy and lyricism that is a trademark of Chekhov's writing.

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Book SynopsisThe Vinland Viking Saga: Book 1History set her fate in stoneMurderer. Mercenary. Temptress.Trickster. Traitor. Thief.But under a hammer that falls like thunder, stone will always shatter.So with her voice she lights the forge.The Voyage of Freydis sings the silenced tale of Freydis Eiriksdottir, the first and only woman to lead a Viking voyage across the Atlantic in this tempestuous retelling of an ancient Icelandic saga set at the dawn of the 11th century.Content notice: spousal abuse.Praise for The Voyage of Freydis:Anyone who loves Vikings and historical fiction definitely should pick up this book' Emily, NetGalley reviewerVery lyrically written, I felt as if I was reading a song' Tiffany, NetGalley reviewerAs a lover of mythology and historical fiction I knew immediately I was going to like this book and I'm pleased to say I not only liked it but I LOVED it!' Libby, NetGalley reviewerTamara Goranson's writing really shines here. I felt the cold, heard the wind, flinched with the blTrade Review‘Anyone who loves Vikings and historical fiction definitely should pick up this book’ Emily, NetGalley reviewer ‘Very lyrically written, I felt as if I was reading a song’ Tiffany, NetGalley reviewer ‘As a lover of mythology and historical fiction I knew immediately I was going to like this book – and I’m pleased to say I not only liked it but I LOVED it!’ Libby, NetGalley reviewer ‘Tamara Goranson’s writing really shines here. I felt the cold, heard the wind, flinched with the blows – that takes a lot of skill’ Dawn, NetGalley reviewer ‘Took me on a rollercoaster of emotions’ Charlotte, NetGalley reviewer

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Book SynopsisNo longer a boy, not quite a man, Edwin Clayhanger stands on a canal bridge on his last day of school, and surveys the valley of Bursley and the Five Towns. Serious, good-natured and full of incoherent ambition, Edwin's hopes and dreams for the future are just taking shape, even as they are put to the test by challenges from Edwin's domineering father, the stifling constraints of society, and an unusual young woman.Trade ReviewCrammed with details of Victorian life, the first book in Bennett's trilogy about a Potteries family examines how one man, Edwin Clayhanger, is shaped by class, geography and ties of blood. * Guardian *Arnold Bennett writes marvelously on the stuff of life * New York Times *For Bennett...compassion is not soggy. It involves understanding. The core of his writing is psychological truth, clinically observed, crisply reported * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisNostalgic and melancholy in equal measure, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a razor-sharp satire of the antebellum South that, despite beginning life as a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, is now seen in its own right as one of the most important of all American novels.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn features an afterword by playwright and screenwriter Peter Harness.Rather than be 'sivilized' by the Widow Douglas, Huckleberry Finn - the grubby but good-natured son of a local drunk - sets off with Jim, an escaped slave, to find freedom on the Mississippi river. With the law on their tail, they navigate a world of robbers, slave hunters and con men, and Huck must choose between what society says is 'right' and his own burgeoning understanding of Jim's friendship and humanity.

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Book SynopsisDickens's tale of reform in the boys' schools of Northern England. Classics Illustrated tells this wonderful tale in colourful comic strip form, providing an excellent introduction for younger readers. Also includes theme discussions and study questions.

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Book SynopsisClark's elegiac tale of vigilante justice. Classics Illustrated tells this wonderful tale in colourful comic strip form, providing an excellent introduction for younger readers. Also includes theme discussions and study questions.

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Book SynopsisSaddened with his country’s loss of freedom, disillusioned with life and racked with loneliness and ennui, university student Jacopo Ortis can only find some comfort in the company of his friends and in his love for Teresa. But when his studies call him back to Padua and he is separated from her, Jacopo’s torments become unbearable, and he feels that there is only one way out of his misery – a symbolic gesture against fate, God and all the tyrants of this world. Allegedly based on the real-life tragic story of the Italian student Girolamo Ortis, and suffused with the author’s own autobiographical experiences, Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis is a masterly prose work by one of Italy’s most celebrated poets, and perhaps the greatest Italian novel of the Romantic movement.Trade ReviewFoscolo’s social sensitivity is unexpectedly apparent in the pages of this novel, and leaves one amazed by its almost anarchic lucidity. -- Valerio Massimo Manfredi

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