Classics Books

Book Synopsis'I am a sick person. I am a spiteful person. An unattractive person, too . . .'In the depths of a cellar in St. Petersburg, a retired civil servant spews forth a passionate and furious note on the ills of society. The underground man's manifesto reveals his erratic, self-contradictory and even sadistic nature. Yet Dostoyevsky's disturbing character causes an uncomfortable flicker of recognition, and we see in him our own human condition.Trade ReviewThis excellent Canongate Canons edition has an enlightening and entertaining introduction by DBC Pierre . . . Dostoevsky chips away at complex human motivation with persuasive stylistic tools, succeeding in being hilarious and heart-rending in a single sentence (after all, "mankind is a comical construction"), captured in this beautiful translation by Natasha Randall. It's through elegantly excavating the particularities of his era that Dostoevsky strikes upon timeless truths, and with perspicacious analysis of behaviour, tunnels through to hidden depths * * Guardian * *Dostoyevsky's Underground Man . . . is perhaps the greatest reliably unreliable narrator in world fiction * * New York Times * *The most unflinching study of self-loathing in the literary canon * * Irish Times * *Notes From Underground established Dostoevsky's reputation as the most innovative and challenging writer of fiction in his generation in Russia -- Rowan Williams * * Guardian * *Notes from Underground is still a modern book; it still can kick * * New Yorker * *Dostoyevsky is one of the few psychologists from whom I have learned something -- NIETZSCHENotes From Underground, with its mood of intellectual irony and alienation, can be seen as the first modern novel . . . That sense of the meaninglessness of existence that runs through much of twentieth-century writing - from Conrad and Kafka to Beckett and beyond - starts in Dostoyevsky's work -- MALCOLM BRADBURYAn author whose Christian sympathy is ordinarily devoted to human misery, sin, vice, the depths of lust and crime, rather than to nobility of body and soul . . . [Notes From Underground is] an awe- and terror-inspiring example of this sympathy -- THOMAS MANNNotes From Underground transcends art and literature, and its place is among the great mystical revelations of mankind . . . It cannot be recommended to those who are not either sufficiently strong to overcome it or sufficiently innocent to remain unpoisoned. It is a strong poison, which is most safely left untouched -- D.S. Mirsky in HISTORY OF RUSSIAN LITERATUREOne of the most revolutionary and original works of world literature -- WALTER KAUFMAN

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisKindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It''s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.As it gets harder for the older siblings Miss Marilla Cuthbert and Mr. Matthew Cuthbert to take care of their farm on Prince Edward Island, they decide to adopt a young boy to help them out. Meanwhile a misunderstanding occurs and instead of sending a boy, the orphanage sends them the eleven-year-old spunky Anne Shirley instead. Initially Marilla and Matthew plan to send Anne back to the orphanage, but they soon realize that they need her as much as she needs them.Since its publication in 1908, Anne of Green Gables has been translated into at least 36 languages and sold more than 50 million copies.The Legend Classics series:Around the World in Eighty DaysThe Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Importance of Being EarnestAlice''s Adventures in WonderlandThe MetamorphosisThe Railway ChildrenThe Hound of the BaskervillesFrankensteinWuthering HeightsThree Men in a BoatThe Time MachineLittle WomenAnne of Green GablesThe Jungle BookThe Yellow Wallpaper and Other StoriesDraculaA Study in ScarletLeaves of GrassThe Secret GardenThe War of the WorldsA Christmas CarolStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeHeart of DarknessThe Scarlet LetterThis Side of ParadiseOliver TwistThe Picture of Dorian GrayTreasure IslandThe Turn of the ScrewThe Adventures of Tom SawyerEmmaThe TrialA Selection of Short Stories by Edgar Allan PoeGrimm Fairy TalesThe AwakeningMrs DallowayGulliver's TravelsThe Castle of OtrantoSilas MarnerHard Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisBut who wants to be foretold the weather? It is bad enough when it comes, without our having the misery of knowing about it beforehand.J. and his friends George and Harris decide that taking a boating holiday on the Thames from Kingston upon Thames to Oxford and back to Kingston is a great idea what could go wrong? Originally intended to be a serious travel guide, the humorous elements soon took over and Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) has been considered a classic masterpiece of British humor since its first publication in 1889.The Legend Classics series:Around the World in Eighty DaysThe Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Importance of Being EarnestAlice''s Adventures in WonderlandThe MetamorphosisThe Railway ChildrenThe Hound of the BaskervillesFrankensteinWuthering HeightsThree Men in a BoatThe Time MachineLittle WomenAnne of Green GablesThe Jungle BookThe Yellow Wallpaper and Other StoriesDraculaA Study in ScarletLeaves of GrassThe Secret GardenThe War of the WorldsA Christmas CarolStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeHeart of DarknessThe Scarlet LetterThis Side of ParadiseOliver TwistThe Picture of Dorian GrayTreasure IslandThe Turn of the ScrewThe Adventures of Tom SawyerEmmaThe TrialA Selection of Short Stories by Edgar Allan PoeGrimm Fairy TalesThe AwakeningMrs DallowayGulliver's TravelsThe Castle of OtrantoSilas MarnerHard Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisHe''s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.Catherine Earnshaw had no idea that the boy her father took in from the streets of Liverpool would one day become her lover, her soul mate. Nor did she know that her decision to marry someone else would send him down the path of destruction. Once a novel criticised for its display of mental and physical cruelty, Wuthering Heights is now a considered a 19th century classic. It's themes of gender inequality and violence driven by passion still resonate with readers today.The Legend Classics series:Around the World in Eighty DaysThe Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Importance of Being EarnestAlice''s Adventures in WonderlandThe MetamorphosisThe Railway ChildrenThe Hound of the BaskervillesFrankensteinWuthering HeightsThree Men in a BoatThe Time MachineLittle WomenAnne of Green GablesThe Jungle BookThe Yellow Wallpaper and Other StoriesDraculaA Study in ScarletLeaves of GrassThe Secret GardenThe War of the WorldsA Christmas CarolStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeHeart of DarknessThe Scarlet LetterThis Side of ParadiseOliver TwistThe Picture of Dorian GrayTreasure IslandThe Turn of the ScrewThe Adventures of Tom SawyerEmmaThe TrialA Selection of Short Stories by Edgar Allan PoeGrimm Fairy TalesThe AwakeningMrs DallowayGulliver's TravelsThe Castle of OtrantoSilas MarnerHard Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisPart of the Legend Classics series The young scientist Victor Frankenstein experiments with alchemy to fulfil his greatest ambition: to create life. Once he succeeds and his creature takes its first breath, he realises he has made a monster and abandons it. The creature, shunned by the world and filled with rage, decides to follow its master. One of the most famous horror novels of all time and considered by many to be the first science-fiction novel, Shelley?s masterpiece has entertained and horrified its readers for 200 years.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisAll modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. It''s the best book we''ve had. - Ernest HemingwayA nineteenth-century boy from a Mississippi River town recounts his adventures as he travels down the river with a runaway slave, encountering a family involved in a feud, two scoundrels pretending to be royalty, and Tom Sawyer''s aunt who mistakes him for Tom.In this unforgettable adventure for all ages, Twaindelves into issues such as racism, friendship, war, religion, and freedom with an uncanny combination of lightheartedness and gravitas.This was the first major American novel to be written in the vernacular, a dark and funny satire that exposes the bigotry and hypocrisy of provincial America during Mark Twain''s lifetime. A rite of passage for ever young reader, this book continues to delight readers around the world and remainsas fresh and as funny as ever.The Legend Classics series:Around the World in Eighty DaysThe Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Importance of Being EarnestAlice''s Adventures in WonderlandThe MetamorphosisThe Railway ChildrenThe Hound of the BaskervillesFrankensteinWuthering HeightsThree Men in a BoatThe Time MachineLittle WomenAnne of Green GablesThe Jungle BookThe Yellow Wallpaper and Other StoriesDraculaA Study in ScarletLeaves of GrassThe Secret GardenThe War of the WorldsA Christmas CarolStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeHeart of DarknessThe Scarlet LetterThis Side of ParadiseOliver TwistThe Picture of Dorian GrayTreasure IslandThe Turn of the ScrewThe Adventures of Tom SawyerEmmaThe TrialA Selection of Short Stories by Edgar Allan PoeGrimm Fairy TalesThe AwakeningMrs DallowayGulliver's TravelsThe Castle of OtrantoSilas MarnerHard Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisTo go around the world...in such a short time and with the means of transport currently available, was not only impossible, it was madness.The latest edition of the classic novel from Jules Verne, featuring Phileas Fogg and his quest to circumnavigate the world in 80 days to win a bet. Following an argument at the Reform Club over the opening of a new railway section in India, Fogg agrees to the outlandish bet. Setting off at 8:45pm on Wednesday, 2nd October, Fogg must return no later than Saturday, 21 December. What follows is one of the most famous journeys in fictional history. Around the World in Eighty Daysgripped audiences on its publication and remains hugely popular, combining exploration, adventure and a thrilling race against time.The Legend Classics series:Around the World in Eighty DaysThe Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Importance of Being EarnestAlice''s Adventures in WonderlandThe MetamorphosisThe Railway ChildrenThe Hound of the BaskervillesFrankensteinWuthering HeightsThree Men in a BoatThe Time MachineLittle WomenAnne of Green GablesThe Jungle BookThe Yellow Wallpaper and Other StoriesDraculaA Study in ScarletLeaves of GrassThe Secret GardenThe War of the WorldsA Christmas CarolStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeHeart of DarknessThe Scarlet LetterThis Side of ParadiseOliver TwistThe Picture of Dorian GrayTreasure IslandThe Turn of the ScrewThe Adventures of Tom SawyerEmmaThe TrialA Selection of Short Stories by Edgar Allan PoeGrimm Fairy TalesThe AwakeningMrs DallowayGulliver's TravelsThe Castle of OtrantoSilas MarnerHard Times

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisAll animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.George Orwell's fable of revolutionary farm animals - the steadfast horses Boxer and Clover, the opportunistic pigs Snowball and Napoleon, and the deafening choir of sheep - who overthrow their elitist human master only to find themselves subject to a new authority, is one of the most famous warnings ever written. Rejected by such eminent publishing figures as Victor Gollancz, Jonathan Cape and T.S. Eliot due to its daringly open criticism of Stalin, Animal Farm was published to great acclaim by Martin Secker and Warburg on 17 August 1945. One reviewer wrote 'In a hundred years' time perhaps Animal Farm ... may simply be a fairy story: today it is a fairy story with a good deal of point.' Seventy-five years since its first publication, Orwell's immortal satire remains an unparalleled masterpiece and more relevant than ever.The Authoritative Text. With an introduction by Christopher Hitchens.*The jacket of this stunning hardback edition features period artwork by Elizabeth Friedlander, one of Europe's pre-eminent 20th-century graphic designers. Look out for complementary editions of Orwell's essential works Nineteen Eighty-Four and Down and Out in Paris and London.*

Read more less

Book SynopsisIt was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.The year is 1984, and life in Oceania is ruled by the Party. Under the gaze of Big Brother, Winston Smith yearns for intimacy and love - "thought crimes" that, if uncovered, would mean imprisonment, or death. But Winston is not alone in his defiance, and an illicit affair will draw him into the mysterious Brotherhood and the realities of resistance. Nineteen Eighty-Four has been described as chilling, absorbing, satirical, momentous, prophetic and terrifying. It is all these things, and more.The Authoritative Text. With an introduction by Robert Harris.*The jacket of this stunning hardback edition features period artwork by Elizabeth Friedlander, one of Europe's pre-eminent 20th-century graphic designers. Look out for complementary editions of Orwell's essential works Animal Farm and Down and Out in Paris and London.*Trade ReviewThe book of the twentieth century...haunts us with an ever-darker relevance * Independent *His final masterpiece... Enthralling and indispensable for understanding modern history * New York Review of Books *Orwell remains the most indispensable English writer of his period * Observer *Matchlessly sharp and fresh... The clearest and most compelling English prose style this century -- John Carey * Sunday Times *Many writers and journalists have tried to imitate his particular kind of clarity without possessing anything like his moral authority -- Peter Ackroyd * The Times *

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Wodehouse is a tonic' - New Yorker. A Wodehouse pick-me-up that'll lift your spirits, whatever your mood.Cheaper and more effective than Valium’.*Offers ‘relief from anxiety, raginess or an afternoon-long tendency towards the sour’.*‘Read when you’re well and when you’re poorly; when you’re travelling, and when you’re not; when you’re feeling clever, and when you’re feeling utterly dim.’*Whatever your mood, P. G. Wodehouse, widely acknowledged to be ‘the best English comic novelist of the century’*, is guaranteed to lift your spirits. Why? Because ‘Mr Wodehouse’s idyllic world can never stale. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in.’*How? ‘You don’t analyse such sunlit perfection, you just bask in its warmth and splendour.’**Olivia Williams *Caitlin Moran *Lynne Truss *Sebastian Faulks *Evelyn Waugh *Stephen FryMeet the Young Men in Spats – all members of the Drones Club, all crossed in love and all busy betting their sometimes non-existent fortunes on unlikely outcomes – that's when they're not recovering from driving their sports cars through, rather than round, Marble Arch.These wonderful comic short stories are the essence of innocent fun. Here, you'll encounter some of Wodehouse's favourite characters – and, in 'The Amazing Hat Mystery', one of his favourite stories.Contents:- The Amazing Hat Mystery - Uncle Fred Flits By - Trouble Down at Tudsleigh

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Wodehouse is a tonic' - New Yorker. A Wodehouse pick-me-up that'll lift your spirits, whatever your mood.Cheaper and more effective than Valium’.*Offers ‘relief from anxiety, raginess or an afternoon-long tendency towards the sour’.*‘Read when you’re well and when you’re poorly; when you’re travelling, and when you’re not; when you’re feeling clever, and when you’re feeling utterly dim.’*Whatever your mood, P. G. Wodehouse, widely acknowledged to be ‘the best English comic novelist of the century’*, is guaranteed to lift your spirits. Why? Because ‘Mr Wodehouse’s idyllic world can never stale. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in.’*How? ‘You don’t analyse such sunlit perfection, you just bask in its warmth and splendour.’**Olivia Williams *Caitlin Moran *Lynne Truss *Sebastian Faulks *Evelyn Waugh *Stephen FryEver on the lookout for a quick buck, a solid gold fortune, or at least a plausible little scrounge, the irrepressible Ukridge gives con men a bad name. Looking like an animated blob of mustard in his bright yellow raincoat, he invests time, passion and energy (but seldom actual cash) in a series of increasingly bizarre money-making schemes. Shares in an accident syndicate? Easily arranged. Finance for a dog college? It's yours. And if you throw in some cats, flying unexpectedly from windows, and a young man trying ever-more-desperately to impress the family of his latest love, you get a medley of Wodehouse delights in which lunacy and comic exuberance reign supreme.Contents:- Goodbye to All Cats- Ukridge's Dog College- Ukridge's Accident Syndicate

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘P.G. Wodehouse remains the greatest chronicler of a certain kind of Englishness, that no one else has ever captured quite so sharply, or with quite as much wit and affection’ Julian Fellowes‘Jeeves, of course, is a gentleman’s gentleman, not a butler, but if the call comes, he can buttle with the best of them.’Bertie’s friend ‘Stinker Pinker’ needs his help. But helping his friend means venturing back into the dreaded Totleigh Towers and facing Sir Watkyn Bassett, his ghastly daughter Madeline and would-be dictator Roderick Spode once more. Despite having sworn never to set foot in there again, Bertie, true to form, answers the call of friendship.But even the best laid plans can go awry and, as usual, the only one who can set this frightful adventure straight is Jeeves.‘A comic master’ David Walliams

Read more less

Book Synopsis'The ultimate in comfort reading' Marian Keyes 'A grown-up book - but not that grown-up' Katy Guest_____________________________________'I expect I shall feel better after tea.'From the moment Jeeves cures Bertie Wooster of a raging hangover with his own concoction of Worcestershire sauce and tomato juice, they become steadfast partners.Whether it is fixing a plan-gone-wrong, or solving his friends' love lives, Jeeves is Bertie's unfaltering aide through a series of entirely self-imposed misadventures.Trade ReviewPure pleasure -- The TimesThe ultimate in comfort reading -- Marian KeyesA grown-up book - but not that grown-up -- Katy GuestI am a huge fan -- Jennifer SaundersIf we're talking about culture that makes people happy, we have to start with the works of P.G. Wodehouse -- BBC CultureTo have one of his books in your hand is to possess by way of a pill that can relieve anxiety, rageiness, or an afternoon-long tendency towards the sour. Paper has rarely been put to better use than printing Wodehouse.Not only the funniest English novelist who ever wrote but one of our finest stylists. His world is perfect, his writing is perfect. What more is there to be said?P. G. Wodehouse is the gold standard of English wit.An incomparable and timeless genius.P. G. Wodehouse should be prescribed to treat depression. Cheaper, more effective than valium and far, far more addictive.P.G. Wodehouse remains the greatest chronicler of a certain kind of Englishness, that no one else has ever captured quite so sharply or with quite so much wit and affection.Wodehouse is a comic master.For as long as I'm immersed in a P. G. Wodehouse book, it's possible to keep the real world at bay and live in a far, far nicer, funnier one where happy endings are the order of the day.I'm a huge fan. Wodehouse writes proper jokes.To dive into a Wodehouse novel is to swim in some of the most elegantly turned phrases in the English language.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'A splendid anthology' The TimesNo writer knew better than PG Wodehouse how a drink can lift the spirits – and he was a master at the high comic effects of having a few too many. Highballs for Breakfast is a handpicked selection of wit, wisdom and comic moments from Wodehouse’s work that involve getting pickled or plastered, or lathered or sozzled, and getting in and out of all manner of scrapes.If some great writers dwelled on the darker side of drinking, Wodehouse was concerned with the pure pleasure to be had from ‘the magic bottle’ and getting outside of the contents of a tall glass. His imperishable writing displays a well-turned appreciation for all kinds of booze – cocktails, champagne, port, whiskey and brandy (with soda, of course); but also the humble pint, and even the infamous poteen.This sparkling collection captures Wodehouse at his best on being terribly thirsty, or drowning one’s sorrows, or knocking one back for Dutch courage. It finds him celebrating the special atmospheres of the English country pub and the Manhattan barroom. And it shows him to be exceptionally good on hangovers, but equally so on hangover cures, such as the legendary pick-me-ups prepared for Bertie Wooster by the dependable Jeeves.For all lovers of a laugh and a drink, Highballs for Breakfast is a tonic, a bracer, and a tissue-restorer.Trade ReviewA splendid anthology . . . It is vintage Wodehouse in more ways than one. Beware, though, one sip can leave you addicted for life. * The Times *A sparkling read. * The Commonwealth Lawyer Journal *

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Always be civil to the girls. You never know whom they might marry.' Nancy Mitford, from her introduction to The Princess de Clèves When the young, beautiful Mademoiselle de Chartres comes to court, her primary objective is to find herself a husband. Upon her mother's recommendation, she accepts the advances of the Prince de Clèves, a rather average sort of a man. Unfortunately, soon after the wedding she finds herself to be in love with the dashing Duc de Nemours . . . Against a backdrop of labyrinthine court politics, the naïve Madame de Clèves' pursuit of true love is a riveting and timelessly tragic read.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'I am sure a cigarette has a more poignant flavour when it is the last'A neurotic Italian businessman obsessed by his own hypochondria, Zeno Cosini recounts his early years to his psychoanalyst Dr S as a form of therapy. With a cigarette clutched permanently between his fingers, he explores the important themes of his life: his love of smoking, his relationship with his parents, his marriage. Structured as a series of conversations with his psychoanalyst, Zeno was an innovation in its time, and remains a curious and intriguing delight. Michael Hoffman places Confessions of Zeno in its European context in his sparkling introduction.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA wounded solider vanishes into notoriety.A nose is found in a loaf of bread.Places - like the Nevesky Prospect - are not what they seem. Nikolai Gogol was one of the nineteenth century's greatest and most influential Russian writers, a realist whose witty and acerbic observations and his taste for the absurd give his writing its strange, comic voice. Selected from the work of Constance Garnett, one of Gogol's earliest translators, this edition presents a new, exclusive collection of Gogol's short fiction, selected and lightly revised by Natasha Randall. Contextualized by Randall's preface, and full of the wit of Garenett's work, this edition is the perfect introduction to Gogol, and a must for the enthusiast.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe cult novel of fin de siècle decadence that inspired Oscar Wilde'It will be biggest fiasco of the year - but I don't give a damn! It will be something nobody has ever done before.' The title page of the first complete English translation of Against Nature (published in the French as À Rebours) included the caption 'the book that Dorian Gray loved and inspired Oscar Wilde.' It was, declared Wilde, one of the best novels he had ever read. It is the story of Jean des Esseintes, the last of a proud and noble family, who retreats from the world in disgust at bourgeois society and leads a life based on cultivation of the senses through art. Des Esseintes distills perfumes from the rarest oils and essences, he creates a garden of poisonous flowers, sets gemstones in a tortoise's gold-painted shell and plans to corrupt a street urchin until he is degraded enough to commit murder. Des Esseintes' aesthetic pilgrimage is described in minutely documented realistic detail and was widely regarded as the guidebook of decadence. This influential novel is now available in a new translation by Theo Cuffe and includes a preface by Luc Sante.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA young woman struggles to assert herself within a regrettable marriage.A boy learns about life on an epic summer's journey to a new school.A doctor attempts to befriend his most interesting patient.A young man tries to figure out the best way to live.This riverrun edition presents a selection of Chekhov's longer stories - novellas, effectively - in Constance Garnett's timeless translations. These four stories, Ward No.6, The Wife, The Steppe and My Life, tell of characters attempting to create meaning through work, connection with others and art; they deal with misunderstandings and loss; they celebrate brief joys, sudden passions and unsatisfied longings, all underscored by Chekhov's gentle wit and great humanity. This unique collection - selected and introduced by the celebrated Janet Malcolm - is unmissable for the enthusiast and a brilliant introduction to one of the nineteenth century's greatest writers.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA married woman restlessly seeks a deeper love.An insomniac ponders the meagreness of his life.A man loses the respect of his family because of a counterfeit coin.A duel of wits escalates into a clash of cultures - and more.The Duel and Other Stories is the second in an exclusive three-volume edition of Chekhov's stories. Encompassing the intricacy and range of social connection, these exquisitely crafted stories trace the mutability of our everyday relationships as they stall, separate or entwine. In the strangely lyrical deadpan prose so characteristic of Chekhov's drama, they expose the misplaced affections, broken vows, and brilliant dreams of what it is to be human. This unique collection offers a perfect introduction to one of Russia's - and the world's - greatest writers.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Being asked to write about Kafka is like being asked to describe the Great Wall of China by someone who's standing just next to it. The only honest thing to do is point.' Joshua Cohen, from his preface to He: Shorter Writings of Franz KafkaThis is a Kafka emergency kit, a congregation of the brief, the minor works that are actually major. Joshua Cohen has produced a frame that refuses distinctions between what is a story, a letter, a workplace memo and a diary entry, also including popular favourites like The Bucket Rider, The Penal Colony and The Burrow. Here we see Kafka's preoccupations in writing about animals, messiah variations, food and exercise, each in his signature style.Cohen's selection emphasises the stately structure of utterly coherent logic, within an utterly incoherent illogical world, showing how Kafka harnessed the humblest grammar to metamorphic power until the predominant effect ceases to be the presence of an unreliable narrator, but the absence of the universe's only reliable narrator. Who is God.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA priest receives an unexpected visitor from his past.A triumphant celebration ends in murder.A doctor tells of an unrequited love that only ended with death.Maupassant's direct treatment of sex and sexuality, and his insistence that the artist's primary duty was faithfulness to his own perceptions, made his work a challenge to many of his nineteenth-century English readers, but in Henry James's view, his vision was, 'altogether of this life'. His stories may have mystified contemporary moralists, but he was championed by writers who admired his resistance to self-censorship and applauded the economy of his style. In this new selection of his best stories, the sensitive and faithful translations of Ada Galsworthy and Elsie Martindale Hueffer show why writers like Conrad (whose preface is included) and Ford Madox Ford revered Maupassant's work.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'The beautiful illusion, when reading Tolstoy, is that one is looking directly at the world, as opposed to a depiction' Andrew O'Hagan from his preface to Childhood, Boyhood and YouthPublished in 1852, when he was just twenty-four, Childhood was Tolstoy's first published work, and the first of a trilogy of stories that evoke the upbringing and traditional education of a Russian aristocrat in a world that vanished with the revolution. In this self-portrait, narrated by its protagonist Nikólya, the young Tolstoy captured the textures of adolescence with a psychological insight and subtlety of analysis that look forward to his mature achievements; while his matchless objectivity - summoning the smells, sights and sounds of early childhood - is already fully present in these pages. The riverrun edition reissues the translation of Louise and Aylmer Maude, whose influential versions of Tolstoy first brought his work to a wide readership in English.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe collected BBC radio productions of the major works of Oscar Wilde, plus bonus play by Neil BartlettLoved for his flamboyant personality, sparkling wit and brilliant epigrams, Oscar Wilde was a comic genius and a literary icon.This collection reflects the many facets of his dazzling talent. Here are dramatisations of his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, a Gothic tale of a gilded aristocrat who makes a dangerous pact, as well as four scintillating social comedies – Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Woman of No Importance, The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband. Among the distinguished casts are Ian MacDiarmid, Joely Richardson, Edward Fox, Diana Rigg, Martin Clunes, Michael Hordern and Judi Dench.Moving examples of his correspondence are revealed in The Letters of Oscar Wilde and De Profundis, read by Simon Callow and Simon Russell Beale respectively, and his most famous poem, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, is performed live by stars including Ian McKellen, Neil Tennant and Stephen Fry.In addition, a bonus drama, In Extremis by Neil Bartlett, starring Corin Redgrave and Sheila Hancock, reimagines Oscar Wilde's hastily arranged sitting with a society palm reader, a week before the trial that would cost him so dearly.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOften described as ‘the father of realism’, Henrik Ibsen was a pioneer of modernist drama. He influenced playwrights as diverse as George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde, and is the most frequently performed dramatist in the world after Shakespeare.Included in this collection are adaptations of his tragicomic masterpiece The Wild Duck, his complex and compelling play Rosmersholm, the epic drama Brand and the tragedy John Gabriel Borkman. Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is relocated to 1879 India in Tanika Gupta’s Audio Drama Award-winning dramatisation, while the provocative and scandalous Ghosts is adapted by Richard Eyre, with the cast of his Olivier Award-winning Almeida Theatre production.Also featured are vibrant dramatisations of Hedda Gabler, whose desperate heroine is trapped in a suffocating marriage; The Lady from the Sea, about a woman torn between security and passion; and An Enemy of the People, in which a whistleblower reveals an inconvenient truth and is vilified for it.The casts of these stunning dramas include David Threlfall, Nicholas Farrell, Helen Baxendale, Indira Varma, Lesley Manville and Harriet Walter.

Read more less

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. One of the finest examples of literature, written by an author at the height her powers, Pride and Prejudice is sharply observed, witty and acute. It is studied and enjoyed in still increasing numbers throughout the world today. Elizabeth Bennet and her four sisters are unmarried, much to their parents' great anxiety. In a rollercoaster of social etiquette, wilful misunderstanding and romantic intrigue Mr Charles Bingley and his friend Mr Darcy vie with Mr Collins and Mr Wickham for the attentions of the Bennet daughters. Rejection, scandal and distress eventually lead to marriage and true love in a series of classic happy endings resolving the conflicts between pride and prejudice in the sisters and their beaus.

Read more less

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. Love and betrayal are the key themes of the comic satire Sense and Sensibility, a much loved, and much filmed evocation of romantic anxiety. Mrs Dashwood and her daughters live on the edge of poverty, desperate to marry well, for love at best, for sustenance at least, balancing the need for common sense against the desires and pressures of frantic emotion. Marianne falls for the wreckless Willoughby, Elinor falls in love with the shy Edward, but after the death of Mr Dashwood the family's fate seems cast from their control. In the end Colonel Brandon successfully courts Marianne, and Edward meekly asks for the hand of Elinor, heralding the happy-ever-after for both couples.

Read more less

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. Mansfield Park was written just after Pride and Prejudice, offering an opposite view of the world and bringing a very modern perspective on the relative merits of hard work vs inherited wealth. Fanny Price is a meek, downtrodden heroine who wins out in the end through sheer resourcefulness and good character. The book deals with slavery, love, betrayal, rivalry and meritocracy, highlighted by the mesmerising tension between The Crawford's metropolitan attitudes and the people of Mansfield Park who become enthralled by the illicit, seductive behaviour of their visitors. Probably Jane Austen's most ambitious novel, and worth reading again, and again for it's subtle layering of themes.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe FLAME TREE COLLECTABLE CLASSICS are chosen to create a delightful and timeless home library. Each stunning 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. Jane Austen has great fun with this novel, teasing at the social mores of her time, where the hunting of a suitable partner is an all-consuming game. Emma Woodhouse is a confident, elitist young woman, whose self-belief leads to a series of romantic misunderstandings as she makes and breaks engagements for her companion Harriet Smith. Emma assumes that Elton desires to marry Harriet, but actually Elton really wants Emma. Frank Churchill too tries to win her, but Emma falls for Mr. Knightley, whom everyone thinks is in love Jane Fairfax. In the end, everything all is mended, as Emma and Mr. Knightley finally get engaged, and Harriet and Robert Martin are brought back together again.

Read more less

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. The young Anne Russell regrets the break in her engagement with Captain Frederick Wentworth. She had hoped to be married, but her father and sister did not approve the match. In financial straits Anne's family move to more modest circumstances in Bath. When Anne and Wentworth meet again, it takes them some while to reconcile, but eventually they are reunited. In the course of the book Jane Austen explores social attitudes to marriage, romantic and family love, the power of social misunderstanding and the apparent role of fate in the desperate despair of unrequited love.

Read more less

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. Containing both Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass this new edition brings together the classic tales to offer the full story of Alice, the Red Queen, the mad Hatter and the incredible cast of characters created by mathematician and king of nonsense verse Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. Beloved characters whirl through a world of talking creatures, disappearing cats and madcap peculiarity told with swift economy by a writer whose influence on modern fantasy is often overlooked. Much filmed (including Tim Burton's award winning Alice in Wonderland), animated and republished Dodgson's work is a wildly entertaining ride for children, but packed with symbols and satire for the adult reader too.

Read more less

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. A complex and profound book, The Tale of Two Cities explores the consequences of tyranny, fate and self-sacrifice. With much of the narrative played out in Paris, during the French Revolution Dickens examines the interplay between personal action, and the flow of history. Dr Manette, having travelled to Paris finds himself imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 brutal years, unable to see his kind and loving daughter Lucy. On his eventual return to London the two of them become witnesses in a treason case against Charles Darney who is accused of giving secrets to the French. Lucy finds a way of exonerating him, Darney falls in love with her and by some strange twist of fate he finally reveals the terrible secret that his own uncle was responsible for Manette's years in the Bastille. Manette is shocked but eventually persuaded by Darney's sincerity and true love for this daughter, so he allows them to marry, bringing happiness finally to them all.

Read more less

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. Dicken's cast of characters, from the orphan Pip, Miss Haversham and Estella to the aptly named Magwitch takes the reader through a Victorian society riven with social ills, and misplaced ambition. Pip, a blacksmith's apprentice encounters and helps the escaped convict Magwitch who subsequently repays the boy with a secret fortune. Pip misunderstands the source of elevation, thinking it comes from the high society of Miss Haversham and her cold-hearted daughter whom he adores. His wilfull naivety is exposed throughout as Estella's disdain for Pip makes him try ever harder, to the detriment of `joe Gargery and Mrs Joe, the good people who raised him in poverty at the forge. Ultimately Miss Haversham burns to death in a fire and Magwitch dies in prison leaving a chastened Pip without his fortune. At the end all is resolved when finally he wins Estella's heart.

Read more less

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. Published in 1908 to astounding success, Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery has since become a classic. Set in the nineteenth century, the book tells of the adventures of Anne Shirley, an 11-year-old orphan, who has bright red hair and a vivid imagination. She is adopted by the Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, a brother and sister who need help on their farm. They were in fact looking to adopt a boy but, after Matthew’s kind encouragement, they allow Anne to stay with them and she has many ups and downs settling in to Green Gables, her first real home.

Read more less

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. Oliver Twist dares to ask for more food, and with this a character was created that would be loved the world over and whose story would be adapted into countless television, film, theatre and film productions. For anyone wishing to read the works of the great Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist should be top of the list. The novel cemented Dickens’ growing reputation as a writer, continuing with the themes that readers expected of him – poverty, desperation and heroism in the face of adversity.

Read more less

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. The fifteen short stories collected in Dubliners are the best by renowned Modernist writer James Joyce. They were written between 1904 and 1907 and published much later in 1914. The stories explore themes of different life stages and provide a vivid depiction of gritty, day-to-day life in Dublin. The first story, ‘The Sisters’, sets the tone for the collection, exploring childhood. ‘The Dead’, which is the final story in the collection, takes place around the events of a Christmas party, culminating in a profound epiphany. It is widely considered by critics and readers alike to be a work of outstanding literary skill.

Read more less

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. American writer Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick in 1851 but it took decades before it was finally regarded as a great American novel, and worthy of its place among the greatest texts of humankind. A tale of imagination and adventure, it recounts the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of a whaling ship seeking vengeance on Moby Dick, the white whale that had bitten off his leg on a previous voyage.

Read more less

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. Hard Times was published in 1854 and is set in Northern England in Coketown, a polluted and suffering place with smoke-filled factories and soulless workers who have been downtrodden by the cruel and heartless Thomas Gradgrind and Josiah Bounderby. The novel was published to mixed criticism, with many feeling at the time that it was too distressing. However, many modern critics have praised the book, calling it a gripping and revealing exploration of Victorian society.

Read more less

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. In this collection of thirteen thrilling tales of intrigue and suspense, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle once again shows himself to be the master of detective fiction. Published in 1905, The Return of Sherlock Holmes marks the astonishing reappearance of the brilliant detective after his apparent demise at the hands of criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty. Revealed to be alive three years after his presumed death, Sherlock Holmes is reunited with his trusted partner Dr. Watson as they embark on a new series of adventures.

Read more less

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. Widely considered to be Thomas Hardy’s greatest work, Tess of the d’Urbervilles was first published in serialised form in 1891 and then published as a single volume one year later in 1892. During this time, it received mixed reviews from critics who believed it to be immoral. It is now loved worldwide and has been adapted into plays, operas and many different films and television programmes. The story of Tess Durbeyfield and her search for fortune is a moving look into a Victorian world that we have left behind, and still stands as a gripping story for contemporary readers.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA masterful mix of horror and absurdity which tells the story of travelling salesman Samsa, who wakes up one day to find out he has turned into a giant insect. Kafka''s novella has been adapted for film and television a number of times, most recently for radio when BBC''s Radio 4 broadcast the story, read by Benedict Cumberbatch, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its first publication.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arcturus Classics series brings together high-quality paperback editions of classics works, presented with contemporary graphic cover designs. Together they make a wonderful collection which is perfect for any home library.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisAnton Chekhov''s short stories were some of the most influential in modern literature. Relying on subtlety and clever characterisation rather than explicit action, his sketches of Russian life bring out comedy, tragedy and all aspects of human nature. This collection features some of Chekhov''s most celebrated stories, including ''Vanka'', ''The Lady with a Dog'' and ''Sleepy''.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arcturus Classics series brings together high-quality paperback editions of classics works, presented with contemporary graphic cover designs. Together they make a wonderful collection which is perfect for any home library.

Read more less