Classics Books

Book SynopsisThrough a series of connected monologues, The Waves tells the story of six very different friends – Bernard, Louis, Neville, Jinny, Susan and Rhoda – as they progress from childhood to middle age. Interspersed with evocative descriptions of the seaside at different times of day, the poignant personal histories coalesce into a poetic tapestry of human experience. A commercial and critical success when it was first published in 1931, and now considered by some to be Virginia Woolf’s most ambitious novel, showcasing her Modernist narrative techniques at their finest, The Waves casts a visionary and lyrical light on everyday life.Trade ReviewShe was doing with language something like what Jimi Hendrix does with a guitar. -- Michael Cunningham

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Book SynopsisLady Augusta Gregory’s collection and translation of Irish folk legends brings, as Yeats observed, ‘Ireland’s gift of imagination to the world’. Following on from the bestselling Irish Myths and Legends: Gods and Fighting Men, this second volume, originally titled Cuchulain of Muirthemne, tells of the brave exploits of Ireland’s answer to Achilles, the fearless Cuchulain and the Red Branch of Ulster, as well as the overpowering love of his wife Emer. Forming part of the bedrock of Gaelic legend, and translated faithfully from the idiom of Irish oral storytellers, this new volume is essential reading for anyone with an interest in Gaelic culture.

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Book SynopsisWith a new Introduction by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English, University of Sussex. Richard Hannay finds a corpse in his flat, and becomes involved in a plot by spies to precipitate war and subvert British naval power. The resourceful victim of a manhunt, he is pursued by both the police and the ruthless conspirators. The Thirty-Nine Steps is a seminal ‘chase’ thriller, rapid and vivid. It has been widely influential and frequently dramatised: the film directed by Alfred Hitchcock became a screen classic. This engaging novel also provides insights into the inter-action of patriotism, fear and prejudice.

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Book SynopsisEdgar Allan Poe's gift for the macabre influenced Baudelaire and French symbolism, Freudian analysis, the detective novel and the Hollywood film. His psychologically profound stories, which comprise this book, represent the darker side of the 19th-century American sensibility.

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Book SynopsisA brilliant scientist constructs a machine, which, with the pull of a lever, propels him to the year AD 802,701. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition of The Time Machine features an introduction by Dr Mark Bould.The Time Traveller finds himself in a verdant, seemingly idyllic landscape where he is greeted by the diminutive Eloi people. The Eloi are beautiful but weak and indolent, and the explorer is perplexed by their fear of the dark. He soon discovers the reason for their fear - the Eloi are not the only race to have inherited the earth. When his time machine disappears, the Time Traveller must descend alone into the subterranean tunnels of the Morlocks - a terrifying, carnivorous people who toil in darkness - to reclaim it.

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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!

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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.

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Book SynopsisThe Nobel Prize-winner Doris Lessing's first novel is a taut and tragic portrayal of a crumbling marriage, set in South Africa during the years of Arpartheid.Set in Rhodesia, The Grass is Singing' tells the story of Dick Turner, a failed white farmer and his wife, Mary, a town girl who hates the bush and viciously abuses the black South Africans who work on their farm. But after many years, trapped by poverty, sapped by the heat of their tiny house, the lonely and frightened Mary turns to Moses, the black cook, for kindness and understanding.A masterpiece of realism, The Grass is Singing' is a superb evocation of Africa's majestic beauty, an intense psychological portrait of lives in confusion and, most of all, a fearless exploration of the ideology of white supremacy.Trade Review‘Original and striking…full of those terrifying touches of truth, seldom mentioned but instantly recognised.’ New Statesman ‘Doris Lessing responds more passionately than most writers to people or situations: often she responds with hate or rancour, but always with passion. In “The Grass is Singing”, you can feel the dynamo-like throb of a formidable talent; by its side, most novels of 1950 look like crochet-work.’ The Times ‘“The Grass is Singing” focuses on the blighted life of a woman whose spirit is destroyed by a disastrous marriage and by an environment to which she couldn’t respond. More than any other white African writer of her generation, Doris Lessing is aware of the seductive cruelty of colonialism, and is one of our strongest, fiercest voices against injustice, racism and sexual hypocrisy.’ Independent on Sunday

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction by Alex Dolby. Translation by W.H.G. Kingston.Jules Verne (1828-1905) is internationally famous as the author of a distinctive series of adventure stories describing new travel technologies which opened up the world and provided means to escape from it. The collective enthusiasm of generations of readers of his 'extraordinary voyages' was a key factor in the rise of modern science fiction. In The Mysterious Island a group of men escape imprisonment during the American Civil War by stealing a balloon. Blown across the world, they are air-wrecked on a remote desert island. In a manner reminiscent of Robinson Crusoe, the men apply their scientific knowledge and technical skill to exploit the island's bountiful resources, eventually constructing a sophisticated society in miniature. The book is also an intriguing mystery story, for the island has a secret.

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction and Notes by Dinny Thorold, University of Westminster Gaskell’s last novel, widely considered her masterpiece, follows the fortunes of two families in nineteenth century rural England. At its core are family relationships – father, daughter and step-mother, father and sons, father and step-daughter – all tested and strained by the romantic entanglements that ensue. Despite its underlying seriousness, the prevailing tone is one of comedy. Gaskell vividly portrays the world of the late 1820s and the forces of change within it, and her vision is always humane and progressive. The story is full of acute observation and sympathetic character-study: the feudal squire clinging to old values, his naturalist son welcoming the new world of science, the local doctor and his scheming second wife, the two girls brought together by their parent’s marriage…

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Book SynopsisAmong Dostoevsky’s later novels, The Adolescent occupies a very special place: published three years after The Devils and five years before his final masterpiece, The Karamazov Brothers, the novel charts the story of nineteen-year-old Arkady – the illegitimate son of the landowner Versilov and the maid Sofia Andreyevna – as he struggles to find his place in society and “become a Rothschild” against the background of 1870s Russia, a nation still tethered to its old systems and values but shaken up by the new ideological currents of socialism and nihilism. Both a Bildungsroman and a novel of ideas, dealing with themes such as the relationship between fathers and sons and the role of money in modern society, The Adolescent – here presented in a brand-new translation by Dora O’Brien – shows Dostoevsky at his finest as a social commentator and observer of the workings of a young man’s mind.Trade ReviewThe Adolescent really is an unjustly neglected book. As a study of the coming of age of a confused young man, it couldn’t be bettered for capturing his mindset; and as the saga of a truly dysfunctional Russian family it can’t be faulted. * Shiny New Books *

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Book SynopsisOut of his smoke-filled rooms in Baker Street stalks a figure to cause the criminal classes to quake in their boots and rush from their dens of inequity The twelve mysteries gathered in this first collection of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson's adventures reveal the brilliant consulting detective at the height of his powers. Problems involving a man with a twisted lip, a fabulous blue carbuncle and five orange pips tax Sherlock Holmes' intellect alongside some of his most famous cases, including A Scandal in Bohemia and The Red-Headed League.

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Book SynopsisThree adventurers set out to kill a sea monster, but all is not as it seems. Out in the vast expanse of the Pacific they find not a beast but a submarine - the Nautilus, an advanced craft captained by the enigmatic Captain Nemo. Captured and hauled aboard, they accompany him through coral reefs, shipwrecks, and ancient ruins. There they hunt sharks, and battle giant squid, not realising that the greatest danger is Nemo himself, who will stop at nothing in his quest for vengeance.Beautifully illustrated by the French painter Édouard Riou, who worked with Jules Verne on six of his novels, this Macmillan Collector's Library edition of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea also includes an afterword by author David Stuart Davies.Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

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Book SynopsisChiltern Publishing creates the most beautiful editions of the World?s finest literature. Your favorite classic titles in a way you have never seen them before; the tactile layers, fine details and beautiful colors of these remarkable covers make these titles feel extra special and will look striking on any shelf.The Turn of the Screw tells the story of a young governess who is sent to Bly, a large country estate, to care for two children. She has strict instructions from their guardian never to write to him, never to ask about the history of the house, and never to abandon the children.It isn?t long before the Governess starts to see apparitions around the grounds. When she describes the sightings, they are identified by the housekeeper as the previous governess Miss Jessel and former valet Peter Quint, who both died not long ago. As the children?s behaviour grows increasingly strange, the Governess becomes convinced that these ghosts have returned to claim Miles & Flora and vows to protect them.?But are the phantoms real, or is it all in the Governess'' imagination?

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Book SynopsisMr Twit was a twit. He was born a twit. And, now at the age of sixty, he was a bigger twit than ever.This beautiful edition of The Twits, part of The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, features official archive material from the Roald Dahl Museum and is perfect for Dahl fans old and new.So, enter a world where invention and mischief can be found on every page and where magic might be at the very tips of your fingers . . .The Roald Dahl Classic Collection reinstates the versions of Dahl's books that were published before the 2022 Puffin editions, aimed at newly independent young readers.

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Book SynopsisSleepily Ever After: Bedtime Stories for Grown Ups is a gorgeous little anthology of upbeat, touching, funny and inspiring stories that will help you relax and drift off to sleep. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is edited and introduced by Zachary Seager. It’s hard to relax, to keep still and to stop our brains from whirring. We live in a world where lack of sleep is a common problem for many adults. This collection of stories will help to banish anxiety and to soothe stressed minds as they welcome you into a world of happy endings, gentle humour and good choices. Each classic story from authors including Oscar Wilde, Kate Chopin, Guy de Maupassant and H G Wells, has been carefully chosen for the quality of its writing, for great storytelling and to gently help you into the land of nod.

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Book SynopsisEduardo Mendoza's classic novel about the birth of Barcelona as a world city, embodied in the rise of the ambitious and unscrupulous Onofre Bouvila"Though historical in subject matter, this story of Catalonian enterprise and Barcelonan ambition is thoroughly contemporary in spirit" Jonathan FranzenStung by the realisation that his father is a fraud and a failure, Onofre Bouvila leaves a life of rural poverty to seek his fortune in Barcelona.The year is 1888, and the Catalan capital is about to emerge from provincial obscurity to take its place amongst the great cities of the world, thanks to the upcoming Universal Exhibition. Thanks to a tip-off from his landlord's daughter, Onofre gets his big break distributing anarchist leaflets to workers preparing for the World Fair. From these humble beginnings, he branches out as a hair-tonic salesman, a burglar, a filmmaker, an arms smuggler and a political dealmaker, in a multifaceted career that brings him wealth and influence beyond his wildest dreams.But, just as Barcelona's rise makes it a haven for gangsters, crooks and spivs, vice begins to fester in Onofre's heart. And the climax to his remarkable story will come just as a second World Fair in 1929 marks the city's apotheosis.Translated from the Spanish by Nick CaistorTrade ReviewThough historical in subject matter, this story of Catalonian enterprise and Barcelonan ambition is thoroughly contemporary in spirit. -- Jonathan FranzenA splendid piacaresque novel . . . Rich in humour, irony and parody . . . Lusty and ingenious entertainment * New York Times Book Review *Rich in eccentric, violent, fantastic, and horrible incident . . . A profusion of bizarre characters, and a fair quota of entertaining digression. * The Times *A novel of great variety and scope . . . There is much to delight . . . A very considerable, and an exhilarating, achievement * Scotsman *A large book, written in picaresque style, and full of incidental pleasures. * Observer *Not since Ragtime has there been such a treasure of rascals and riches . . . Brilliant . . . Mendoza is a prodigiously inventive author. * Chicago Tribune *A major work, a great novel . . . a satirical love song and an adventurous chronicle that delivers the wonders promised in its title. * El País *One of this season's literary landmarks . . . an extravagant, amusing, fantastic, and moving fresco of Barcelona. * Vanguardia *

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Book SynopsisDelve into this stunning gift edition boasting the complete collection of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Other Tales and original, iconic illustrations by John Tenniel. The next elegant edition in the Timeless Classics series, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Other Talesis unabridged and complete, and comprised of: Both Alice books (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass) The nonsense poems, including “The Hunting of the Snark” and “Jabberwocky” The novels Sylvie and Bruno and Sylvie and Bruno Concluded Carroll’s essays and other miscellaneous writings Also included are the original, iconic illustrations by John Tenniel and an introduction by Lori Campbell. Lewis Carroll fans worldwide will fall in love with this stunning hardcover gift edition complete with gorgeous foil cover detail, decorative endpapers, and a ribbon marker. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Other Tales contains every piece ever written by this master of puns, puzzles, and fantasy that have been delighting adults and children alike for over 150 years. 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.Table of ContentsContents chronological table xv introduction xix i. alice’s adventures in wonderland christmas-greetings i. down the rabbit-hole ii. the pool of tears iii. a caucus-race and a long tale iv. the rabbit sends in a little bill v. advice from a caterpillar vi. pig and pepper vii. a mad tea-party viii. the queen’s croquet ground ix. the mock turtle’s story x. the lobster-quadrille xi. who stole the tarts? xii. alice’s evidence ii. through the looking-glass preface to 1896 edition i. looking-glass house 101ii. the garden of live flowers iii. looking-glass insects iv. tweedledum and tweedledee v. wool and water vi. humpty dumpty vii. the lion and the unicorn viii. “it’s my own invention” ix. queen alice x. shaking xi. waking xii. which dreamed it? iii. sylvie and bruno preface i. less bread! more taxes! ii. l’amie inconnue iii. birthday-presents iv. a cunning conspiracy v. a beggar’s palace vi. the magic locket vii. the baron’s embassy viii. a ride on a lion xi. a jester and a bear x. the other professor xi. peter and paul xii. a musical gardener xiii. a visit to dogland xiv. fairy-sylvie xv. bruno’s revenge xvi. a changed crocodile xvii. the three badgers xviii. queer street, number forty xix. how to make a phlizz xx. light come, light go xxi. through the ivory door xxii. crossing the line xxiii. an outlandish watch xxiv. the frogs’ birthday-treat xxv. looking eastward iv. sylvie and bruno concluded preface i. bruno’s lessons ii. love’s curfew iii. streaks of dawn iv. the dog-king v. matilda jane vi. willie’s wife vii. mein herr viii. in a shady place ix. the farewell-party x. jabbering and jam xi. the man in the moon xii. fairy-music xiii. what tottles meant xiv. bruno’s picnic xv. the little foxes xvi. beyond these voices xvii. to the rescue! xviii. a newspaper-cutting xix. a fairy-duet xx. gammon and spinach xxi. the professor’s lecture xxii. the banquet xxiii. the pig-tale xxiv. the beggar’s return xxv. life out of death v. verse the hunting of the snark preface to the hunting of the snark fit the first the landing fit the second the bellman’s speech fit the third the baker’s tale fit the fourth the hunting fit the fifth the beaver’s lesson fit the sixth the barrister’s dream fit the seventh the banker’s fate fit the eighth the vanishing early verse my fairy punctuality melodies brother and sister facts rules and regulations horrors misunderstandings as it fell upon a day ye fattale cheyse lays of sorrow, no. 1 lays of sorrow, no. 2 the two brothers the lady of the ladle coronach she’s all my fancy painted him photography extraordinary lays of mystery, imagination, and humour, no. 1: the palace of humbug the mock turtle’s song upon the lonely moor miss jones puzzles from wonderland puzzles solutions prologues to plays prologue to “la guida di bragia” prologue prologue phantasmagoria canto i: the trystyng canto ii: hys fyve rules canto iii: scarmoges canto iv: hys nouryture canto v: byckerment canto vi: discomfyture canto vii: sad souvenaunce echoes a sea dirge ye carpette knyghte hiawatha’s photographing melancholetta a valentine the three voices theme with variations a game of fives poeta fit, non nascitur size and tears atalanta in camden-town the lang coortin’ four riddles fame’s penny-trumpet college rhymes and notes by an oxford chiel ode to damon those horrid hurdy-gurdies! my fancy the majesty of justice the elections to the hebdomadal council the deserted parks examination statute acrostics, inscriptions, and other verses acrostic: little maidens, when you look to three puzzled little girls, from the author double acrostic: i sing a place wherein agree three little maids puzzle three children two thieves two acrostics: round the wondrous globe maidens, if a maid you meet double acrostic: two little girls near london dwell acrostic: “are you deaf, father william?” acrostic: maidens! if you love the tale acrostic: love-lighted eyes, that will not start to m. a. b. acrostic: maiden, though thy heart may quail madrigal love among the roses two poems to rachel daniel the lyceum acrostic: around my lonely hearth tonight dreamland to my child-friend a riddle a limerick rhyme? and reason? a nursery darling maggie’s visit to oxford maggie b—— three sunsets and other poems three sunsets the path of roses the valley of the shadow of death solitude beatrice stolen waters the willow-tree only a woman’s hair the sailor’s wife after three days faces in the fire a lesson in latin puck lost and found vi. stories a tangled tale novelty and romancement a photographer’s day out wilhelm von schmitz the legend of scotland vii. a miscellany the offer of the clarendon trustees the new method of evaluation the dynamics of a parti-cle the new belfry of christ church, oxford the vision of the three t’s the blank cheque twelve months in a curatorship three years in a curatorship by one whom it has tried resident women-students some popular fallacies about vivisection lawn tennis tournaments eight or nine wise words about letter writing what the tortoise said to achilles the two clocks photography extraordinary hints for etiquette; or, dining out made easy a hemispherical problem a selection from symbolic logic rules for court circular croquet castles mischmasch doublets a postal problem the alphabet-cipher introduction to “the lost plum cake” endnotes index of first lines of verse the life and times of lewis carroll further reading

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Book Synopsis'Wildly original, morose, uproarious... It is also one of the funniest books ever written' Susan SontagA naive young man is sent by the bishop of Iceland to investigate a small town that has reportedly lost its faith. The church is boarded up and the errant pastor lives with a woman who is not his wife. He has also allowed a corpse to be lodged in the glacier. So the rumours go.What he discovers is a community that regards itself as the centre of the world - earthly yet otherworldly, banal yet astonishing. Brimming with humour, mystery, and the supernatural this is a surprising and moving novel from the Nobel Prize-winning Icelandic author.WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SUSAN SONTAGTrade ReviewThis is a novel of immense charm... It's a book of ideas, like no other Laxness ever wrote -- Susan SontagUnder the Glacier is hilarious, in a deadpan, northern-edge-of-the-world sort of way -- Andrew O'Hehir * Salon *Whimsical... deliriously funny... impishly chaotic * Kirkus Reviews *Under the Glacier is a journey to the center of Laxness's antic imagination, and it is well worth the trip -- Vincent Czyz * The Arts Fuse *

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction and Notes by Anne Varty, Royal Holloway, University of London. Oscar Wilde took London by storm with his first comedy, Lady Windermere's Fan. The combination of dazzling wit, subtle social criticism, sumptuous settings and the theme of a guilty secret proved a winner, both here and in his next three plays, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and his undisputed masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest. This volume includes all Wilde's plays from his early tragedy Vera to the controversial Salome and the little known fragments, La Sainte Courtisane and A Florentine Tragedy. The edition affords a rare chance to see Wilde's best known work in the context of his entire dramatic output, and to appreciate plays which have hitherto received scant critical attention. Wilde’s plays have never failed to delight audiences and are a lasting testimony to their author’s supreme wit and theatrical genius.

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Book SynopsisIntroduction and Notes by R.T. Jones, Honorary Fellow of the University of York. This novel, based on George Eliot's own experiences of provincial life, is a masterpiece of ambiguity in which moral choice is subjected to the hypocrisy of the Victorian age. As the headstrong Maggie Tulliver grows into womanhood, the deep love which she has for her brother Tom turns into conflict, because she cannot reconcile his bourgeois standards with her own lively intelligence. Maggie is unable to adapt to her community or break free from it, and the result, on more than one level, is tragedy.

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Book SynopsisSybil, or The Two Nations is one of the finest novels to depict the social problems of class-ridden Victorian England. The book''s publication in 1845 created a sensation, for its immediacy and readability brought the plight of the working classes sharply to the attention of the reading public. The ''two nations'' of the alternative title are the rich and poor, so disparate in their opportunities and living conditions, and so hostile to each other. that they seem almost to belong to different countries. The gulf between them is given a poignant focus by the central romantic plot concerning the love of Charles Egremont, a member of the landlord class, for Sybil, the poor daughter of a militant Chartist leader.Trade Reviewperfect timing for this new edition ... with a brilliant introduction that throws fresh light on Disraeli's views, explains the novel's culutural roots and defends its place as an accomplished work of fiction in its own right * The Lady *Table of ContentsIntroduction Note on the Text Select Bibliography Chronology SYBIL Explanatory Notes

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Book Synopsis''Graham Greene has wit and grace and character and story and a transcendent universal compassion that places him for all time in the top ranks of world literature'' John le Carré The Third Man, Graham Greene''s most iconic tale, takes place in post-war Vienna, a ''smashed dreary city'' occupied by the four Allied powers. Rollo Martins, a second-rate novelist, arrives penniless to visit his friend and hero, Harry Lime. But Harry has died in suspicious circumstances, and the police are closing in on his associates... The Fallen Idol is the chilling story of a small boy caught up in the games that adults play. Left in the care of the butler and his wife whilst his parents go on a fortnight''s holiday, Philip realises too late the danger of lies and deceit. But the truth is even deadlier.WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY IAN THOMSONTrade ReviewA master storyteller, one of the first to write in cinematic style with razor-sharp images moving with kinetic force * Newsweek *Some of his characters the murderous yet repentant Pinkie in Brighton Rock and the mockingly elusive Harry Lime in The Third Man remain so vivid in the public consciousness that they are certain of immortality * Daily Mail *The Fallen Idol handles themes of guilt and deception, responsibility and disappointment, with precision, reflecting these adult ideas off an innocent child * Time Out *[The Third Man] Graham Greene's typically laconic and mordantly witty fable of crime, deceit and betrayal -- Simon Callow * Guardian *No serious writer of this century has more thoroughly invaded and shaped the public imagination than did Graham Greene * The Times *

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Book SynopsisWith a new Introduction by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English, University of Sussex. Laurence Sterne's The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman is a huge literary paradox, for it is both a novel and an anti-novel. As a comic novel replete with bawdy humour and generous sentiments, it introduces us to a vivid group of memorable characters, variously eccentric, farcical and endearing. As an anti-novel, it is a deliberately tantalising and exuberantly egoistic work, ostentatiously digressive, involving the reader in the labyrinthine creation of a purported autobiography. This mercurial eighteenth-century text thus anticipates modernism and postmodernism. Vibrant and bizarre, Tristram Shandy provides an unforgettable experience. We may see why Nietzsche termed Sterne 'the most liberated spirit of all time'.

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Book Synopsis'Knut Hamsun founded the modernist and postmodernist novel at once' writes James Wood in his introduction to this seminal work by a Nobel Prize-winning writer who has been recognised as one of the greatest literary figures of the twentieth century. A young man called John Nagel arrives to spend a summer in a small Norwegian coastal town, a stranger in a loud yellow suit who begins to behave very curiously. He shocks, bewilders and beguiles with his open defiance and erratic self-revelations. Nagel's presence acts as a catalyst for the hidden impulses, concealed thoughts and darker instincts of the townsfolk. Cursed with the ability to understand the human soul, especially his own, Nagel can foresee, but cannot prevent, his own destruction.Trade ReviewKnut Hamsun's writing is magical, his sentences are glowing, he could write about anything and make it alive. -- Karl Ove Knausgaardthe inventor of a certain kind of modern fictionality. Hamsun's development of the stream of consciousness becomes particularly beautiful, and extremely comic .... Mysteries is as great as Hunger. -- James WoodHamsun is one of the great writers of this century - his nearest British equivalent being I suspect Thomas Hardy. Hamsun's novels have a unique beauty of expression. * Sunday Times *Hamsun has the qualities that belong to the very great, the completest omniscience about human nature. -- Rebecca WestA rare understanding of human nature comes through, expressed in a measured, elegiac and lyrical prose. * Sunday Telegraph *With Mysteries, Hamsun rewrote the novel's rules * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisAnimal Farm is George Orwell’s brilliant political satire and allegorical fable about the corrupting effects of power. Published in 1945 it is, to this day, one of the most famous and influential works of fiction ever written.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful hardbacks make perfect gifts for book lovers, or wonderful additions to your own collection. This edition features an introduction by journalist, award-winning writer and editor of the New Statesman, Jason Cowley.When the old Major, a highly respected white boar, gathers his fellow farm animals to preach about freedom, rebellion and the evils of man, he incites a revolution that has been brewing for years. The animals drive out their drunken farmer and create their own society – with the promise of equality for all, two scheming pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, appoint themselves leaders. What begins as a supposedly equalitarian community descends into an increasingly violent and hierarchical society, permeated by lies and corruption. Years after publication, Orwell's words remain a stark warning against the lure of fascist populism.Trade ReviewIf you are looking for allegorical literature to understand today’s politics, Animal Farm is a great guidepost. * Observer *The Cold War Candide . . . Virtually every detail in Animal Farm allegorizes some incident in that history. * New Yorker *Animal Farm is moving, bitter and a warning from history . . . [it] is one of the greatest socio-political works of all time. * Fantasy Book Review *Animal Farm is a biting satire of totalitarianism . . . Orwell is unnervingly precise in the way he depicts each step on the road from revolution to tyranny. * Common Sense Media *

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Book Synopsis"Sense and Sensibility" is famously characterised as the story of two Dashwood sisters who embody the conflict between the oppressive nature of 'civilised' society and the human desire for romantic passion. However, there is far more to this story of two daughters made homeless by the death of their father. Elinor, 19, and Marianne, 17, initially project the opposing roles with Elinor cautious and unassuming about romantic matters, while Marianne is wild and passionate when she falls hopelessly in love with the libertine Mr Willoughby. But the lessons in love and life see the two characters develop and change with sense and sensibility needing to be compromised as a matter of survival.Written when Austen was just nineteen, this story has been read as a biographical reflection of her relationship with her own sister Cassandra, with the younger Jane being the victim of 'sensibility.' However, the novel is far more than a simple case of passion versus manners, and depicts the romantic complications of two women made highly vulnerable by the loss of their father and estate. With a raw and intense quality Austen creates a romantic masterpiece on the backdrop of a fragile social context.Trade Review"As a creative realist, giving to her characters the very body and pressure of actual life, no writer, living or dead, has surpassed her." - John Cowper Powys - "The technique of [Jane Austen's novels] is beyond praise... Her mastery of the art she chose, or that chose her, is complete." --Elizabeth Bowen - "The wit of Jane Austen has for partner the perfection of her taste." --Virginia Woolf

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Book SynopsisA new collectable edition of Poe's poetry which demonstrates his skilful and imaginative command of the English language. Often regarded as the founder of the modern short story Poe also laid the foundations for the symbolist poets and futurists of the 20th Century, his razor-sharp dissections of the world offering dark romantic notions to the reader. Little 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 original text is accompanied by a Glossary of Victorian and Literary terms produced for the modern reader.

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Book SynopsisKatherine Anne Porter (1890-1980) lived a long life which fluctuated between glamour and loneliness. Porter experienced firsthand many of the most iconic events of the twentieth century and wrote about most of them. Growing up on a farm in Texas at the end of the nineteenth century, she was a lifelong advocate of liberal social politics, and worked as a journalist on the American home-front during the First World War; she barely survived the influenza epidemic of 1918; moved to Greenwich village during its heyday as a center of radical politics and bohemian artists; lived in Mexico during and after its failed revolution; was in Europe during the rise of Nazism; and returned to the US during the Cold War and rabid McCarthyism.Trade ReviewKatherine Anne Porter's short stories are unsurpassed in modern fiction -- Robert PennPorter writes English of a purity and precision almost unique in contemporary fiction -- Edmund WilsonShe solves the essential problem: how to satisfy exhaustively in writing briefly -- V.S. PritchettPorter's stories take accurate and deadly aim... dazzling * The New York Times *

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Book SynopsisInevitably Maigret was a hostile presence in the Majestic. He constituted a kind of foreign body that the hotel's atmosphere could not assimilate. Not that he looked like a cartoon policeman. He didn't have a moustache and he didn't wear heavy boots. His clothes were well cut and made of fairly light worsted.Trade ReviewGem-hard soul-probes . . . not just the world's bestselling detective series, but an imperishable literary legend . . . he exposes secrets and crimes not by forensic wizardry, but by the melded powers of therapist, philosopher and confessor * Times *Strangely comforting . . . so many lovely bistros from the Paris of mid-20th C. The corpses are incidental, it's the food that counts. * Margaret Atwood *One of the greatest writers of the 20th century . . . no other writer can set up a scene as sharply and with such economy as Simenon does . . . the conjuring of a world, a place, a time, a set of characters - above all, an atmosphere. * Financial Times *Simenon's supreme virtue as a novelist, to burrow beneath the surface of his characters' behaviour; to empathise . . . it is this unfailing humanity that makes the Maigret books truly worth reading. * Guardian *Gripping . . . richly rewarding . . . You'll quickly find yourself obsessing about his life as you tackle each mystery in turn -- Stig Abell * The Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisAn exquisite novel about four sisters living though a turbulent decade...I'd put it in the 10 greatest books of the 20th century' David Mitchell 'A near-perfect novel' Hanya Yanagihara In the years leading up to the Second World War, four sisters live in dilapidated houses in Osaka and Ashiya, and each navigate their own complex, personal relationship to the fading lustre of the Makioka family name. Rich with breathtaking descriptions of ancient customs and an ever-changing natural world, Junichiro Tanizaki evokes in loving detail a long-lost way of life even as it withers under the harsh glare of modernity. TRANSLATED BY EDWARD SEIDENSTICKER VINTAGE JAPANESE CLASSICS - five masterpieces of Japanese fiction in gorgeous new gift editions.Trade ReviewExquisite craftsmanship * Guardian *An exquisite novel about four sisters living though a turbulent decade, during the Forties and Fifties, I'd put it in the 10 greatest books of the 20th century -- David MitchellOne of the books I return to frequently is Junichiro Tanizaki’s The Makioka Sisters: a near-perfect novel -- Hanya YanagiharaA complex, detailed and agreeably gossipy book...The author's obvious nostalgia for this vanished world does not prevent him from looking objectively at its darker side and this, together with his artful blend of the exotic and the mundane, creates an absorbing and richly textured story * Sunday Times *A subtle, moving novel * The Times *

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Book SynopsisTHE AUTHORATITIVE TEXT "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."The year is 1984. 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 ensure no individual thinking is allowed. Winston Smith works at The Ministry of Truth, carefully rewriting history. But Winston dreams of freedom, and of rebellion. It is here that he falls in love with Julia, and starts a secret, forbidden affair with her - but in this world nothing can be kept secret, and they are forced to face consequences more terrifying than either of them could have ever imagined.A dystopian masterpiece, this is the powerful and prophetic novel that defined the twentieth century. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ROBERT HARRIS

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction by Dr Pamela Knights, Department of English Studies, Durham University. With this intensely moving short novel, Edith Wharton set out ‘to draw life as it really was’ in the lonely villages and desolate farms of the harsh New England mountains. Through the eyes of a visitor from the city, trapped for a winter in snowbound Starkfield, readers glimpse the hidden histories of this austere and beautiful land. Piecing together the story of monosyllabic Ethan Frome, his grim wife, Zeena, and Mattie Silver, her charming cousin, Wharton explores psychological dead-lock:frustration, longing, resentment, passion. First published in 1911, the novella stunned its public with its consummate handling of the unfolding drama, and has remained for many readers the most compelling and subtle of all Wharton’s fiction.

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Book SynopsisPretty, impecunious Mary Preston, newly arrived as a guest of her Aunt Agnes at the magnificent wooded estate of Rushwater, falls head over heels for handsome playboy David Leslie. Meanwhile, Agnes and her mother, the eccentric matriarch Lady Emily, have hopes of a different, more suitable match for Mary. At the lavish Rushwater dance party, her future happiness hangs in the balance . . .Trade ReviewCharming, very funny indeed. Angela Thirkell is perhaps the most Pym-like of any twentieth-century author, after Pym herself -- Alexander McCall SmithIf you like Nancy Mitford you'll love this * Elle Decoration *A witty romantic comedy and a warm and inviting piece of social satire from this sharply observant and popular writer * Good Book Guide *With touches of Nancy Mitford, Barbara Pym and PG Wodehouse, Angela Thirkell's sparkling prose recounts misunderstandings and mishaps in a particularly English way. * Spectator *Charming, very funny indeed. Angela Thirkell is perhaps the most Pym-like of any twentieth-century author, after Pym herself. -- Alexander McCall SmithAppealing. * Glasgow Sunday Herald *If you like Nancy Mitford you'll love this * Elle Decoration *A witty romantic comedy and a warm and inviting piece of social satire from this sharply observant and popular writer * Good Book Guide *

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Book SynopsisInspired by Dostoevsky's own gambling addiction and written under pressure in order to pay off his creditors and retain his rights to his literary legacy, The Gambler is set in the casino of the fictional German spa town of Roulettenburg and follows the misfortunes of the young tutor Alexei Ivanovich. As he succumbs to the temptations of the roulette table, he finds himself engaged in a battle of wills with Polina, the woman he unrequitedly loves. With an unforgettable cast of fellow gamblers and figures from European high society, this darkly comic novel of greed and self-destruction reveals Dostoevsky at his satirical and psychological best.Trade ReviewNo novelist ever wrestled with materialism more fiercely and intelligently than Dostoevsky. -- Jonathan Franzen

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisProfessor Persikov, an eccentric zoologist, stumbles upon a new light ray that accelerates growth and reproduction rates in living organisms. In the wake of a plague that has decimated the country's poultry stocks, Persikov's discovery is exploited as a means to correct the problem. As foreign agents, the state and the Soviet media all seize upon the red ray, matters get out of hand... Set in 1928 but written four years earlier, during Stalin's rise to power, The Fatal Eggs is both an early piece of science fiction reminiscent of H.G. Wells and a biting, brilliant satire on the consequences of the abuse of power and knowledge.Trade ReviewThe exuberance of it... has to enliven the reader, and make us laugh. -- Doris Lessing Bulgakov was not merely a brilliant observer of what was going on around him, but had an uncanny ability to pick out the particular manifestations of folly and discord which would set the tone of the era to follow. * The Guardian * Cockrell's self-effacing, fluent prose restores the elegant irony of the original, while rising to the challenge of Bulgakov's occasionally abstruse medical lexicon. * TLS *

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