From Austen to Zola, from medieval to the modern day - all genres are catered for between the covers of these coveted classics.
Classics Books
Penguin Books Ltd Animal Farm
Book SynopsisThe perfect edition for any Orwell enthusiasts' collection, discover Orwell's classic dystopian masterpiece beautifully reimagined by renowned street artist Shepard Fairey 'All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.' Mr Jones of Manor Farm is so lazy and drunken that one day he forgets to feed his livestock. The ensuing rebellion under the leadership of the pigs Napoleon and Snowball leads to the animals taking over the farm. Vowing to eliminate the terrible inequities of the farmyard, the renamed Animal Farm is organised to benefit all who walk on four legs. But as time passes, the ideals of the rebellion are corrupted, then forgotten. And something new and unexpected emerges. . . First published in 1945, Animal Farm - the history of a revolution that went wrong - is George Orwell's brilliant satire on the corrupting influence of power.'Remains our great satire of the darker face of modern history' MalcoTrade Review'Animal Farm is a timeless satire on the central tragi-comedy of all politics—that is, the tragi-comedy of corruption by power' Timothy Garton AshIt is the book for everyone and Everyman, its brightness undimmed after fifty years * Ruth Rendell *Remains our great satire of the darker face of modern history * Malcolm Bradbury *Animal Farm has seen off all the opposition. It's as valid today as it was fifty years ago * Ralph Steadman *
£8.09
Penguin Books Ltd 1984 The dystopian classic reimagined with cover
Book SynopsisThe perfect edition for any Orwell enthusiasts'' collection, discover the classic dystopian masterpiece beautifully reimagined by renowned street artist Shepard Fairey Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth in London, chief city of Airstrip One. Big Brother stares out from every poster, the Thought Police uncover every act of betrayal. When Winston finds love with Julia, he discovers that life does not have to be dull and deadening, and awakens to new possibilities. Despite the police helicopters that hover and circle overhead, Winston and Julia begin to question the Party; they are drawn towards conspiracy. Yet Big Brother will not tolerate dissent - even in the mind. For those with original thoughts they invented Room 101. . . First published in 1949, 1984 is George Orwell''s terrifying vision of a totalitarian future in which everything and everyone is slave to a tyrannical regime. ''Right up there among my favourite books . . . I rTrade ReviewHis final masterpiece. Enthralling and indispensible for understanding modern history * Timothy Garton Ash *Right up there among my favourite books ... I read it again and again * Margaret Atwood *More relevant to today than almost any other book that you can think of * Jo Brand *One of the most shocking novels of the twentieth century * Margaret Drabble *The book of the twentieth century * Ben Pimlott *
£8.54
Maple Press Pvt Ltd 1984
Book SynopsisIn 1984, a dystopian society is controlled by Big Brother through constant surveillance and suppression of personal freedom. Winston rebels against the oppressive regime but is ultimately tortured into submission. The novel explores themes of power, control, and the manipulation of truth.
£6.55
Birlinn General 1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four: New Edition of the
Book SynopsisTHE JURA EDITION with new introduction by Alex Massie 'For him Jura was home' - Richard Blair on his father George Orwell 'The book of the twentieth century . . . haunts us with an ever-darker relevance’ – Ben Pimlott, Independent 'The greatest British novel to have been written since the war’ – Time Out 'His final masterpiece . . . enthralling and indispensable for understanding modern history' – New York Review of Books The year is 1984 and war and revolution have left the world unrecognisable. Great Britain, now known as Airstrip One, is ruled by the Party, led by Big Brother. Mass surveillance is everything and The Thought Police are employed to ensure that no individual thinking is allowed. Winston Smith works at The Ministry of Truth, carefully rewriting history, but he dreams of freedom and of rebellion. It is here that he meets and falls in love with Julia. They start a secret, forbidden affair - but nothing can be kept secret, and they are forced to face consequences more terrifying than either of them could have ever imagined. In this new edition of a modern classic, Alex Massie's introduction highlights the importance that Jura had on the writing of one of the twentieth century's most important works of fiction. Trade Review'Right up there among my favourite books ... I read it again and again' -- Margaret Atwood'More relevant to today than almost any other book that you can think of' -- Jo Brand'His final masterpiece. Enthralling and indispensable for understanding modern history' -- Timothy Garton Ash * New York Review of Books *'One of the most shocking novels of the twentieth century' -- Margaret Drabble'The book of the twentieth century' -- Ben Pimlott * Independent *
£7.19
HarperCollins Publishers The Hobbit
Book SynopsisThe Hobbit is the unforgettable story of Bilbo, a peace-loving hobbit, who embarks on a strange and magical adventure. A timeless classic.Trade Review‘The greatest children’s book ever written… Funny, frightening, dense with detail and gloriously vivid, it is the one adventure story every eight-year-old should have.’Amanda Craig, The Times ‘The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and those who are going to read them.’Sunday Times ‘A finely written saga of dwarves and elves, fearsome goblins and trolls… an exciting epic of travel and magical adventure, all working up to a devastating climax.’Observer
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Beauty and the Beast The MinaLima Edition
Book SynopsisTrade Review"This unique gift edition takes readers on a captivating journey through a mystical land filled with enchanting inhabitants. MinaLima's imaginative artwork, exquisite detail, and engaging design recreate this timeless romantic adventure as never before." -- Tor.com "We got a chance to take a look inside, and trust us - you won't be disappointed ... Just the chapter illustrations alone are swoon-worthy." -- MuggleNet "Lavishly retold." -- Parade.com "Now, the classic fairy tale is brought to life in this spectacular illustrated edition as originally envisioned by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740." -- Tor.com "What a glorious journey ... This collectible edition is filled with stunning illustrations of stories that continue to be cherished by readers of all ages. Forget the flowers, chuck the chocolates. The Beauty and the Beast is a scrumptious wonder." -- Entertainment Report
£22.50
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Notes From Underground & Other Stories
Book SynopsisWith an Introduction and Notes by David Rampton, Department of English, University of Ottowa. Notes from Underground and Other Stories is a comprehensive collection of Dostoevsky’s short fiction. Many of these stories, like his great novels, reveal his special sympathy for the solitary and dispossessed, explore the same complex psychological issues and subtly combine rich characterization and philosophical meditations on the (often) dark areas of the human psyche, all conveyed in an idiosyncratic blend of deadly seriousness and wild humour. In Notes from Underground, the Underground Man casually dismantles utilitarianism and celebrates in its stead a perverse but vibrant masochism. A Christmas Tree and a Wedding recounts the successful pursuit of a young girl by a lecherous old man. In Bobok, one Ivan Ivanovitch listens in on corpses gossiping in a cemetery and ends up deploring their depravity. In A Gentle Spirit, the narrator describes his dawning recognition that he is responsible for his wife’s suicide. In short, as a commentator on spiritual stagnation, Dostoevsky has no equal.
£5.62
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Wuthering Heights
Book SynopsisIntroduction and Notes by John S. Whitley, University of Sussex. Wuthering Heights is a wild, passionate story of the intense and almost demonic love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, a foundling adopted by Catherine's father. After Mr Earnshaw's death, Heathcliff is bullied and humiliated by Catherine's brother Hindley and wrongly believing that his love for Catherine is not reciprocated, leaves Wuthering Heights, only to return years later as a wealthy and polished man. He proceeds to exact a terrible revenge for his former miseries. The action of the story is chaotic and unremittingly violent, but the accomplished handling of a complex structure, the evocative descriptions of the lonely moorland setting and the poetic grandeur of vision combine to make this unique novel a masterpiece of English literature.
£5.62
Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc Siddhartha: A Novel by Hermann Hesse
Book SynopsisFollow Siddhartha on a journey toward peace and enlightenment in this gorgeous hardcover edition of Herman Hesse’s lyrical masterwork. Herman Hesse’s classic novel Siddhartha comes to you in this newly designed edition complete with full-color illustration and foil and debossed hardcover. In the journey, Siddhartha, living in ancient Nepal, rediscovers the illumination of travel, meditation, and the wisdom of the Buddha. Join the young Brahmin and explore the themes of enlightenment and self-discovery in his ultimate search for reality. This edition contains the original work from the US publication in 1951. For Herman Hesse fans, this elegantly designed keepsake edition features beautiful illustrations that enhance Hesse’s poetic vision.Table of ContentsPART I The Son of the Brahman With the Samanas Gotama Awakening PART II Kamala With the Childlike People Sansara By the River The Ferryman The Son Om Govinda
£11.69
Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe:
Book SynopsisPart of the Timeless Classics series, The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe contains every known tale written by the famous gothic American writer. Poe’s often macabre and dark works, which span the years from 1827 to his death in 1849, include “The Raven,” “The Black Cat,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “Annabelle Lee.” For Poe fans worldwide, this stunning gift edition features a gorgeous deckled edge, ribbon marker, and foil and deboss details on a vibrantly colored case, and includes over 70 of Poe’s short stories, more than 40 melodious poems, and his only full-length novel, The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym. In addition, it also includes a compelling introduction by notable historian and biographer Daniel Stashower.Tales include: The Unparalleled Adventure Of One Hans Pfaall The Balloon-Hoax Mesmeric Revelation Ms. Found In A Bottle A Descent Into The Maelström Von Kempelen And His Discovery The Gold-Bug The Facts In The Case Of M. Valdemar The Thousand-And-Second Tale Of Scheherazade The Murders In The Rue Morgue The Mystery Of Marie Rogêt The Fall Of The House Of Usher The Purloined Letter The Tell-Tale Heart The Black Cat The Imp Of The Perverse The Premature Burial The Island Of The Fay The Cask Of Amontillado The Pit And The Pendulum The Oval Portrait The Masque Of The Red Death The Assignation The System Of Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether Mystification How To Write A Blackwood Article A Predicament The Literary Life Of Thingum Bob, Esq. Diddling X-Ing A Paragrab The Angel Of The Odd Loss Of Breath The Business Man Mellonta Tauta The Man That Was Used Up Maelzel’s Chess-Player The Power Of Words The Conversation Of Eiros And Charmion The Colloquy Of Monos And Una Silence—A Fable Shadow—A Parable A Tale Of Jerusalem Philosophy Of Furniture The Sphinx The Man Of The Crowd “Thou Art The Man” Hop-Frog Never Bet The Devil Your Head Four Beasts In One Poems include: The Raven Lenore A Valentine Hymn The Coliseum Ulalume To Helen An Enigma Annabel Lee To One In Paradise The Bells To My Mother The Haunted Palace The Conqueror Worm To F—S S. O—D The Valley Of Unrest The City In The Sea The Sleeper A Dream Within A Dream Silence Dream-Land Ulalie To Zante Bridal Ballad Eldorado Israfel For Annie Scenes From “Politian” The Timeless Classics series from Rock Point brings together the works of classic authors from around the world. Complete and unabridged, these elegantly designed gift editions feature luxe, patterned endpapers, ribbon markers, and foil and deboss details on vibrantly colored cases. Celebrate these beloved works of literature as true standouts in your personal library collection. Trade ReviewMuch of Poe’s life — orphaned, debts, alcohol abuse and heartbreak — are encapsulated in his works — and well-archived in this Rock Point edition. * Mountain Times *
£17.99
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Pride and Prejudice
Book SynopsisIntroduction and Notes by Dr Ian Littlewood, University of Sussex. Pride and Prejudice, which opens with one of the most famous sentences in English Literature, is an ironic novel of manners. In it the garrulous and empty-headed Mrs Bennet has only one aim - that of finding a good match for each of her five daughters. In this she is mocked by her cynical and indolent husband. With its wit, its social precision and, above all, its irresistible heroine, Pride and Prejudice has proved one of the most enduringly popular novels in the English language.
£5.62
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Animal Farm
Book SynopsisIn 1943, there was an urgent need for Animal Farm. The Soviet Union had become Britain’s ally in the war against Nazi Germany, and criticism of Stalin’s brutal regime was either censored or discouraged. In any case, many intellectuals on the left still celebrated the Soviet Union, claiming that the terrors of its show trials, summary executions and secret police were either exaggerated or necessary. But, to Orwell, Stalin was always a “disgusting murderer” and he wanted to remind people of this fact in a powerful and memorable way. But how to do it? A political essay would never reach a wide enough audience; a traditional novel would take too long to write. Orwell hit on the inspired idea of combining the moralism of the traditional ‘beast fable’ with the satire of Gulliver’s Travels. A group of farmyard animals, led by the pigs, overthrow their human masters. Their revolution is inspired by high ideals: the farm will be run in the interests of its animals with no more slaughtering, plenty of food for all and comfort in retirement. But when Napoleon the pig takes command, he quickly corrupts their principles, creating a new tyranny worse than the old. Orwell wrote Animal Farm in the middle of the Second World War, but at first no publishers wanted to touch it. It was finally published in August 1945, once the war was over. This little book quickly became a seminal text in the emerging ‘cold war’ (a phrase that Orwell himself coined). It also became a site of that conflict itself, suffering various attempts to subvert or change its meaning. Today, Animal Farm remains a powerful fable about the nature of tyranny and corruption which applies for all ages. Our edition also includes the following essays: Shooting an Elephant; Charles Dickens; Inside the Whale; The Frontiers of Art and Propaganda; Literature and Totalitarianism; Fascism and Democracy; Patriots and Revolutionaries; Catastrophic Gradualism; Some Thoughts on the Common Toad; Why I Write; Writers and Leviathan
£5.62
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Peter Pan MinaLima Edition lllustrated with
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Just like all the genius designs they created for the Potter films...Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima have truly outdone themselves in creating a book that is not only gorgeous but also uniquely fun." -- MuggleNet.com "Unique and imaginative in their style, MinaLima has created a Peter Pan that will become a beloved attention to any library. Hook a copy now!" -- Examiner.com "Seriously, the new Peter Pan volume is just a delight. Not only is it a beautifully bound hardcover, but every page looks just stunning." -- io9 "This lovely hardcover of Peter Pan is designed to look like something from an earlier era, with off-white paper and a limited color palette of mostly orange and green for the illustrations." -- Geek Dad "Take a tour through the magical story of JM Barrie's Peter Pan with gorgeous maps, fairy clap charts, crocodiles, mermaids and fairy dust galore via these stunning illustrations by Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima-AKA Minalima-from their beautiful new illustrated version of the classic tale." -- The Guardian
£20.00
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Interactive MinaLima
Book Synopsis
£25.00
Wordsworth Editions Ltd The Idiot
Book SynopsisTranslated by Constance Garnett, with an Introduction and Notes by Agnes Cardinal, Honorary Senior Lecturer in Comparative Literature at the University of Kent. Prince Myshkin returns to Russia from an asylum in Switzerland. As he becomes embroiled in the frantic amatory and financial intrigues which centre around a cast of brilliantly realised characters and which ultimately lead to tragedy, he emerges as a unique combination of the Christian ideal of perfection and Dostoevsky's own views, afflictions and manners. His serene selflessness is contrasted with the worldly qualities of every other character in the novel. Dostoevsky supplies a harsh indictment of the Russian ruling class of his day who have created a world which cannot accomodate the goodness of this idiot.
£5.62
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Jungle Book MinaLima Edition Illustrated with
Book SynopsisTrade Review"With jungle maps and spinning dials, this edition has more than just the bare necessities." -- Shelf Awareness "The 256 pages are brimming with lavish and lush full-color illustrations and nine interactive elements...this must-have collectible is unlike any edition currently being sold and can be enjoyed by readers of all ages." -- Examiner.com
£22.50
Wordsworth Editions Ltd The Great Gatsby
Book SynopsisGenerally considered to be F. Scott Fitzgerald's finest novel, The Great Gatsby is a consummate summary of the "roaring twenties", and a devastating expose of the ‘Jazz Age’. Through the narration of Nick Carraway, the reader is taken into the superficially glittering world of the mansions which lined the Long Island shore in the 1920s, to encounter Nick's cousin Daisy, her brash but wealthy husband Tom Buchanan, Jay Gatsby and the mystery that surrounds him. The Great Gatsby is an undisputed classic of American literature from the period following the First World War and is one of the great novels of the twentieth century.
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers The Two Towers
Book SynopsisThe Two Towers is the second part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure, The Lord of the Rings.Trade Review‘An extraordinary book. It deals with a stupendous theme. It leads us through a succession of strange and astonishing episodes, some of them magnificent, in a region where everything is invented, forest, moor, river, wilderness, town and the races which inhabit them.’The Observer ‘Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century.’Sunday Telegraph ‘The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them.’Sunday Times ‘A story magnificently told, with every kind of colour and movement and greatness.’New Statesman ‘Masterpiece? Oh yes, I’ve no doubt about that.’Evening Standard
£22.50
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
HarperCollins Publishers The Hobbit
Book SynopsisA great modern classic and the prelude to The Lord of the Rings.Trade Review‘One of the best loved characters in English fiction… a marvellous fantasy adventure’Daily Mail ‘Finely written saga of dwarves and elves, fearsome goblins and trolls… an exciting epic of travel, magical adventure, working up to a devastating climax’The Observer ‘A flawless masterpiece’The Times
£24.00
HarperCollins Publishers Tolkien J Children of Hurin
Book SynopsisPainstakingly restored from Tolkien's manuscripts and presented for the first time as a fully continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of The Children of Húrin will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, eagles and Orcs, and the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien.There are tales of Middle-earth from times long before The Lord of the Rings, and the story told in this book is set in the great country that lay beyond the Grey Havens in the West: lands where Treebeard once walked, but which were drowned in the great cataclysm that ended the First Age of the World.In that remote time Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in the vast fortress of Angband, the Hells of Iron, in the North; and the tragedy of Túrin and his sister Nienor unfolded within the shadow of the fear of Angband and the war waged by Morgoth against the lands and secret cities of the Elves.Their brief and passionate lives were dominated by the elemental hatred that Morgoth bore them as the children of Húrin, the man who had dared to defy and to scorn him to his face. Against them he sent his most formidable servant, Glaurung, a powerful spirit in the form of a huge wingless dragon of fire. Into this story of brutal conquest and flight, of forest hiding-places and pursuit, of resistance with lessening hope, the Dark Lord and the Dragon enter in direly articulate form. Sardonic and mocking, Glaurung manipulated the fates of Túrin and Nienor by lies of diabolic cunning and guile, and the curse of Morgoth was fulfilled.The earliest versions of this story by J.R.R. Tolkien go back to the end of the First World War and the years that followed; but long afterwards, when The Lord of the Rings was finished, he wrote it anew and greatly enlarged it in complexities of motive and character: it became the dominant story in his later work on Middle-earth. But he could not bring it to a final and finished form. In this book Christopher Tolkien has constructed, after long study of the manuscripts, a coherent narrative without any editorial invention.Trade Review‘I hope that its universality and power will grant it a place in English mythology’Independent on Sunday ‘The darkest of all Tolkien’s tales. Alan Lee’s illustrations complement the writing splendidly’Times Literary Supplement
£21.25
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Anna Karenina
Book SynopsisTranslated by Louise and Aylmer Maude. Introduction and Notes by E.B. Greenwood, University of Kent. Anna Karenina is one of the most loved and memorable heroines of literature. Her overwhelming charm dominates a novel of unparalleled richness and density. Tolstoy considered this book to be his first real attempt at a novel form, and it addresses the very nature of society at all levels,- of destiny, death, human relationships and the irreconcilable contradictions of existence. It ends tragically, and there is much that evokes despair, yet set beside this is an abounding joy in life's many ephemeral pleasures, and a profusion of comic relief.
£5.62
Andrews McMeel Publishing The Jane Austen Escape Room Book
Book SynopsisAn exciting new take on a literary classic, The Jane Austen Escape Room Book is sure to delight and intrigue fans, old and new, of Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice.This elegant book presents a chance to experience a classic piece of literature in an all-new way. The Jane Austen Escape Room Book combines the characters that you know and love with the intrigue of mystery as you solve puzzles and riddles to help Elizabeth find her way back to the arms of Mr. Darcy. This thrilling new take on the ever-adored Pride and Prejudice, exquisitely illustrated by Marjolein Bastin, is the perfect gift for the Jane Austen fan in your life!
£17.99
HarperCollins Publishers Beren and Lúthien
Book SynopsisPainstakingly restored from Tolkien's manuscripts and presented for the first time as a continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of Beren and Luthien will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, Dwarves and Orcs and the rich landscape and creatures unique to Tolkien's Middle-earth.Trade ReviewPraise for The Children of Húrin:‘I hope that its universality and power will grant it a place in English mythology’Independent on Sunday ‘The darkest of all Tolkien’s tales. Alan Lee’s illustrations complement the writing splendidly’Times Literary Supplement
£23.75
Wordsworth Editions Ltd A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Book SynopsisWith an Introduction and Notes by Dr. Jacqueline Belanger, University of Cardiff. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man represents the transitional stage between the realism of Joyce's Dubliners and the symbolism of Ulysses, and is essential to the understanding of the later work. This novel is a highly autobiographical account of the adolescence of Stephen Dedalus, who reappears in Ulysses, and who comes to realize that before he can become a true artist, he must rid himself of the stultifying effects of the religion, politics and essential bigotry of his background in late 19th century Ireland. Written with a light touch, this is perhaps the most accessible of Joyce’s works.
£5.62
Atlantic Books The White Tiger
Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2008Balram Halwai is the White Tiger - the smartest boy in his village. His family is too poor for him to afford for him to finish school and he has to work in a teashop, breaking coals and wiping tables. But Balram gets his break when a rich man hires him as a chauffeur, and takes him to live in Delhi. The city is a revelation. As he drives his master to shopping malls and call centres, Balram becomes increasingly aware of immense wealth and opportunity all around him, while knowing that he will never be able to gain access to that world. As Balram broods over his situation, he realizes that there is only one way he can become part of this glamorous new India - by murdering his master. The White Tiger presents a raw and unromanticised India, both thrilling and shocking - from the desperate, almost lawless villages along the Ganges, to the booming Wild South of Bangalore and its technology and outsourcing centres. The first-person confession of a murderer, The White Tiger is as compelling for its subject matter as for the voice of its narrator - amoral, cynical, unrepentant, yet deeply endearing.Trade ReviewBlazingly savage and brilliant * Sunday Telegraph *A masterpiece * The Times *Dazzling... With The White Tiger, Adiga sets out to show us a part of [India] that we hear about infrequently: its underbelly... [Balram's voice is] brimming with idiosyncrasy, sarcastic, cunning. * Independent on Sunday *Adiga's portrait of the Indian capital is very funny but unmistakably angry... Keeps you guessing to the final page and beyond. * Financial Times *
£9.49
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Crime and Punishment: With selected excerpts from
Book SynopsisTranslated by Constance Garnett with an Introduction and Notes by Dr Keith Carabine, University of Kent at Canterbury. Crime and Punishment is one of the greatest and most readable novels ever written. From the beginning we are locked into the frenzied consciousness of Raskolnikov who, against his better instincts, is inexorably drawn to commit a brutal double murder. From that moment on, we share his conflicting feelings of self-loathing and pride, of contempt for and need of others, and of terrible despair and hope of redemption: and, in a remarkable transformation of the detective novel, we follow his agonised efforts to probe and confront both his own motives for, and the consequences of, his crime. The result is a tragic novel built out of a series of supremely dramatic scenes that illuminate the eternal conflicts at the heart of human existence: most especially our desire for self-expression and self-fulfilment, as against the constraints of morality and human laws; and our agonised awareness of the world's harsh injustices and of our own mortality, as against the mysteries of divine justice and immortality.
£5.62
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Lady Audley’s Secret
Book SynopsisWith an Introduction and Notes by Esther Saxey The flaxen-haired beauty of the childlike Lady Audley would suggest that she has no secrets. But M.E. Braddon’s classic novel of sensation uncovers the truth about its heroine in a plot involving bigamy, arson and murder. It challenges assumptions about the nature of femininity and investigates the narrow divide between sanity and insanity, using as its focus one of the most fascinating of all Victorian heroines. Combining elements of the detective novel, the psychological thriller and the romance of upper class life, Lady Audley’s Secret was one of the most popular and successful novels of the nineteenth century and still exerts a powerful hold on readers.
£5.62
HarperCollins Publishers The Lord of the Rings
Book Synopsis For the first time ever, a very special edition of the classic masterpiece, illustrated throughout in colour by the author himself and with the complete text printed in two colours. Trade Review‘Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the 20th century.’Sunday Telegraph ‘The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them’Sunday Times ‘Masterpiece? Oh yes, I’ve no doubt about that.’Evening Standard
£45.00
Silver Dolphin Books The Complete Novels of Jane Austen
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£17.09
Penguin Putnam Inc Crime And Punishment
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£8.29
HarperCollins Publishers Animal Farm and 1984 Nineteen EightyFour
Book SynopsisTwo modern classics in one volume.Trade Review Animal Farm ‘[Orwell’s] wit is both edged and human. Few writers of any period have been able to use the English language so simply and accurately to say what they mean, and at the same time to mean something’ The New Republic (1946) ‘Animal Farm remains our great satire on the darker face of modern history’ Malcolm Bradbury ‘The book for everyone and Everyman, its brightness undimmed after fifty years’ Daily Telegraph ‘The book it’s writer called “a little squib” is the finest prose satire in English after Gulliver’s Travels’ Julian Symons ‘Orwell … has written in a prose so plain and spare, so admirably proportioned to his purpose, that Animal Farm even seems very creditable if we compare it with Voltaire and Swift’ The New Yorker ‘A prophet who thought the unthinkable and spoke the unspeakable, even when it offended conventional thought’ Daily Express ‘Matchlessly sharp and fresh … The clearest and most compelling English prose style this century’ Sunday Times Nineteen Eighty-Four ‘His final masterpiece … enthralling and indispensable for understanding modern history’ New York Review of Books ‘A profound, terrifying and wholly fascinating book … Orwell’s theory of power is developed brilliantly’ The New Yorker ‘Brilliantly constructed and told’ Guardian ‘There is not a smile or a jest that does not add bitterness to Orwell’s utterly depressing vision of what the world may be in 35 years’ time’ TIME
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers The Hobbit
Book SynopsisFor the first time ever, a beautiful slipcased edition of the enchanting prelude to The Lord of the Rings, illustrated throughout with over 50 sketches, drawings, paintings and maps by J.R.R. Tolkien himself, with the complete text printed in two colours and with many bonus features unique to this edition.Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey there and back again'. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragonWritten for J.R.R. Tolkien's own children, The Hobbit was published on 21 September 1937. With a beautiful cover design, a handful of black & white drawings and two maps by the author himself, the book became an instant success and was reprinted shortly afterwards with five colour plates.Tolkien's own selection of finished paintings and drawings have become inseparable from his text, adorning editions of The Hobbit for more than 85 years. But the published art has afforded only a glimpse of Tolkien's creative process, and many additional sketches, coloured drawings and maps although exhibited and published elsewhere have never appeared within the pages of The Hobbit.In this unique enhanced edition of Tolkien's enchanting classic tale, the full panoply of his art is reproduced for the first time, presenting more than 50 illustrations to accompany Bilbo Baggins on his adventure there and back again'.Unique to this edition are two poster-size, fold-out maps revealing all the detail of Thror's Map and Wilderland, an illustrated 88-page booklet, and a printed art card reproducing Tolkien's original dustjacket painting.It is additionally quarterbound, with raised ribs on the spine, stamped in three foils on black cloth boards, and housed in a custom-built clothbound slipcase. The pages are edged in gold and include a ribbon marker.Trade Review‘One of the most influential books of our generation’The Times ‘Finely written saga of dwarves and elves, fearsome goblins and trolls … an exciting epic of travel, magical adventure, working up to a devastating climax’The Observer ‘The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and those who are going to read them’Sunday Times ‘One of the best loved characters in English fiction … a marvellous fantasy adventure’Daily Mail ‘A flawless masterpiece’The Times
£93.75
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Pride and Prejudice
Book SynopsisPride and Prejudice, which opens with one of the most famous sentences in English Literature, is an ironic novel of manners. In it the garrulous and empty-headed Mrs Bennet has only one aim - that of finding a good match for each of her five daughters. In this she is mocked by her cynical and indolent husband. With its wit, its social precision and, above all, its irresistible heroine, Pride and Prejudice has proved one of the most enduringly popular novels in the English language.
£12.74
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Jane Eyre
Book SynopsisJane Eyre ranks as one of the greatest and most perennially popular works of English fiction. Although the poor but plucky heroine is outwardly of plain appearance, she possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit and great courage. She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer and a rigid social order. All of which circumscribe her life and position when she becomes governess to the daughter of the mysterious, sardonic and attractive Mr Rochester. However, there is great kindness and warmth in this epic love story, which is set against the magnificent backdrop of the Yorkshire moors. Ultimately the grand passion of Jane and Rochester is called upon to survive cruel revelation, loss and reunion, only to be confronted with tragedy.
£12.74
HarperCollins Publishers The Return of the King
Book SynopsisThe Return of the King is the third part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure, The Lord of the Rings.Trade Review‘The story moves on with a tremendous narrative rush to its climax… extraordinary imaginative work, part saga, part allegory, and wholly exciting.’The Times ‘A triumphant close… a grand piece of work, grand in both conception and execution. An astonishing imaginative tour de force.’Sunday Telegraph ‘His astonishing inventiveness remains to the end and is continued in a series of appendices.;The Guardian
£24.00
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel
Book SynopsisThe Thought Police, Doublethink, Newspeak, Big Brother – 1984 itself: these terms and concepts have moved from the world of fiction into our everyday lives. They are central to our thinking about freedom and its suppression; yet they were newly created by George Orwell in 1949 as he conjured his dystopian vision of a world where totalitarian power is absolute. In this novel, continuously popular since its first publication, readers can explore the dark and extraordinary world he brought so fully to life. The principal characters who lead us through that world are ordinary human beings like ourselves: Winston Smith and Julia, whose falling in love is also an act of rebellion against the Party. Opposing them are the massed powers of the state, which watches its citizens on all sides through technology now only too familiar to us. No-one is free from surveillance; the past is constantly altered, so that there is no truth except the most recent version; and Big Brother, both loved and feared, controls all. Even the simple act of keeping a diary – as Winston does – is punishable by death. In Winston’s battle to keep his freedom of thought, he has a powerful adversary in O’Brien, who uses fear and pain to enter his very thought processes. Does 2+2 = 4? Or is it 5? We find out in Room 101. Nineteen Eighty-Four was Orwell’s last novel; but the world he created is always with us, as successive generations of readers find within it a mirror for their own times and a warning for the future. Our edition also includes the following selection of Orwell's essays, column extracts and broadcasts: A Hanging; Spilling the Spanish Beans; Reviews of Jack London, The Iron Heel; H. G. Wells, When the Sleeper Awakes; Aldous Huxley, Brave New World; Ernest Bramah, The Secret of the League ; England Your England; Looking Back on the Spanish War; Arthur Koestler; The Prevention of Literature; Politics and the English Language; Why I Write; Politics Vs Literature; Sir Walter Raleigh; The Three Super-States of the Future; Persecution of Writers in USSR; Literature and Totalitarianism; Imaginary Interview: George Orwell and Jonathan Swift
£5.62
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Emma
Book SynopsisJane Austen teased readers with the idea of a 'heroine whom no one but myself will much like', but Emma is irresistible. 'Handsome, clever, and rich', Emma is also an 'imaginist', 'on fire with speculation and foresight'. She sees the signs of romance all around her, but thinks she will never be married.
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Their Eyes Were Watching God A Novel Modern
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£11.89
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Moby Dick
Book SynopsisMoby Dick is the story of Captain Ahab’s quest to avenge the whale that ‘reaped’ his leg. The quest is an obsession and the novel is a diabolical study of how a man becomes a fanatic. But it is also a hymn to democracy. Bent as the crew is on Ahab’s appalling crusade, it is equally the image of a co-operative community at work: all hands dependent on all hands, each individual responsible for the security of each. Among the crew is Ishmael, the novel’s narrator, ordinary sailor, and extraordinary reader. Digressive, allusive, vulgar, transcendent, the story Ishmael tells is above all an education: in the practice of whaling, in the art of writing. Expanding to equal his ‘mighty theme’ – not only the whale but all things sublime – Melville breathes in the world’s great literature. Moby Dick is the greatest novel ever written by an American.
£8.54
Pan Macmillan Blood Meridian
Book SynopsisBrutally violent, Blood Meridian is the story of one teenage runaway in the nineteenth-century American South, as a sadistic gang unleashes its massacre across the desert land. It is the work that sealed Cormac McCarthy's reputation as one of the twentieth century's greatest writers – his magnum opus.‘[A] brilliant, uncompromising work of fiction – imagine if the authors of the King James Bible, their hands guided by Satan, wrote a western’ – The TimesThrough the hostile landscape of the Texas–Mexico border wanders the Kid, a fourteen year-old Tennessean who is quickly swept up in the relentless tide of blood.A group known as the Glanton gang hunt Indigenous Americans, collecting scalps as their bloody trophies. At the centre of this violence stands Judge Holden: a massive, hairless man, mysterious if not supernatural, erudite and cold-blooded. He is singularly extreme in his sadistic violence.But the apparent chaos is not without order – the Glanton gang, too, are stalked as prey.Read as both a brilliant subversion of the Western novel and a blazing example of that form, it is a powerful, mesmerizing and savagely beautiful novel – and one of the most important works in American fiction of the last century.‘In Blood Meridian, McCarthy reaches the peak of his style: spare and ornate at once, repetitious but endlessly readable’ – GuardianPraise for Cormac McCarthy:'His prose takes on an almost biblical quality, hallucinatory in its effect and evangelical in its power' – Stephen King, author of The Shining and the Dark Tower series‘McCarthy worked close to some religious impulse, his books were terrifying and absolute’ – Anne Enright, author of The Green Road and The Wren, The Wren'[I]n presenting the darker human impulses in his rich prose, [McCarthy] showed readers the necessity of facing up to existence' – Annie Proulx, author of Brokeback MountainPart of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature.Trade ReviewBlood Meridian is his masterpiece . . . An astonishing sanguinary epic dealing with the Indian wars of the 1840s in West Texas and Mexico . . . Unlike anything I have ever read in recent years, an extraordinary, breathtaking achievement -- John Banville, author of The SeaA bloody and starkly beautiful tale -- Stephen Amidon * Sunday Times *Possibly the greatest American novel of the past 25 years -- Aleksandar Hemon, author of The World and All That It Holds and The Lazarus ProjectI have rarely encountered anything as powerful, as unsettling, or as memorable as Blood Meridian . . . A nightmare odyssey * Evening Standard *The Judge is the book, and the Judge is, short of Moby Dick, the most monstrous apparition in all of American literature -- Harlold Bloom, on the character of Judge Holden in Blood MeridianMcCarthy distances us not only from the historical past, not only from our cowboy-and-Indian images of it, but also revisionist theories that make white men the villains and Indians the victims. All men are unremittingly bloodthirsty here, poised at a peak of violence, the "meridian" from which their civilization will quickly fall * New York Times Book Review *In Blood Meridian, McCarthy reaches the peak of his style: spare and ornate at once, repetitious but endlessly readable * Guardian *Blood Meridian, published in 1985, is a brilliant, uncompromising work of fiction – imagine if the authors of the King James Bible, their hands guided Satan, wrote a western * The Times *
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers The Hobbit
Book Synopsis For the first time ever, a special enhanced edition of the enchanting prelude to The Lord of the Rings, illustrated throughout with over 50 sketches, drawings, paintings and maps by J. R. R. Tolkien himself and with the complete text printed in two colours. Trade Review‘One of the most influential books of our generation’The Times ‘Finely written saga of dwarves and elves, fearsome goblins and trolls … an exciting epic of travel, magical adventure, working up to a devastating climax’The Observer ‘The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and those who are going to read them’Sunday Times ‘One of the best loved characters in English fiction … a marvellous fantasy adventure’Daily Mail ‘A flawless masterpiece’The Times
£36.00
Wordsworth Editions Ltd The Picture of Dorian Gray
Book SynopsisWilde's only novel, first published in 1890, is a brilliantly designed puzzle, intended to tease conventional minds with its exploration of the myriad interrelationships between art, life, and consequence. From its provocative Preface, challenging the reader to believe in 'art for art's sake', to its sensational conclusion, the story self-consciously experiments with the notion of sin as an element of design. Yet Wilde himself underestimated the consequences of his experiment, and its capacity to outrage the Victorian establishment. Its words returned to haunt him in his court appearances in 1895, and he later recalled the 'note of doom' which runs like 'a purple thread' through its carefully crafted prose.
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Tales from the Perilous Realm
Book Synopsis This is the definitive collection of Tolkien’s five acclaimed modern classic ‘fairie’ tales in the vein of The Hobbit, fully corrected and reset for this edition and all beautifully illustrated in pencil by the award-winning artist, Alan Lee. Trade ReviewRoverandom:‘An old-fashioned story, yet it still speaks freshly today… would leap to life when read aloud to a child’ Independent Farmer Giles of Ham:‘A fabulous tale of the days when giants and dragons walked the kingdom’ Sunday Times Leaf by Niggle:‘A haunting and successful demonstration of the qualities of faerie’ New York Times The Adventures of Tom Bombadil:‘Something close to genius’ The Listener Smith of Wootton Major:‘Whoever reads it at eight will no doubt still be going back to it at eighty’ New Statesman
£17.00
Penguin Books Ltd Animal Farm
Book SynopsisThe first ever graphic novel version of Animal Farm - a Times Book of the YearAnimal Farm is the story of what happens when the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master, and how their revolution goes horribly wrong. Now George Orwell''s dark, timeless fable has been turned into a graphic novel for the very first time, illustrated in full colour by the renowned Brazilian artist Odyr to bring us a whole new work of art.''This brightly coloured homage to Orwell''s timely allegory is heartbreaking and elegant. Odyr''s images of animals casting off their bonds and then living with the results of their revolution are painterly and evocative, both loose and illuminating'' The New York TimesTrade ReviewThis brightly coloured homage to George Orwell's timely allegory is heartbreaking and elegant. Odyr's images of animals casting off their bonds and then living with the results of their revolution are painterly and evocative, both loose and illuminating. * The New York Times *Odyr's rich brushstrokes do much to enhance the experience of Orwell's brand of satire * New York Journal of Books *Odyr's expressive watercolour palette strikes a visceral note that matches the intensity of Orwell's original text ... He skillfully evokes the mood of the countryside and the plot's shocking violence; the atmosphere and emotions are spot-on * Publisher's Weekly *
£15.29
Flame Tree Publishing The Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso
Book SynopsisDante’s masterpiece of literature is well matched by the peerless art of Gustave Doré. Dante and his guides, Virgil and Beatrice, journey through the cantos in an allegory of the passage of the soul through the Afterlife, with the subtle engraving of Doré’s illustrations perfectly complementing the movement from darkness through to light. Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore, epic literature 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.
£16.00
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Adventures of Pinocchio MinaLima Edition
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£20.00
Wordsworth Editions Ltd The Pickwick Papers
Book SynopsisWith an Introduction and Notes by David Ellis, University of Kent at Canterbury. With Illustrations by R.Seymour, R.W. Buss and Hablot K. Browne (Phiz). The Pickwick Papers is Dickens' first novel and widely regarded as one of the major classics of comic writing in English. Originally serialised in monthly instalments, it quickly became a huge popular success with sales reaching 40,000 by the final part. In the century and a half since its first appearance, the characters of Mr Pickwick, Sam Weller and the whole of the Pickwickian crew have entered the consciousness of all who love English literature in general, and the works of Dickens in particular.
£5.62
