From Austen to Zola, from medieval to the modern day - all genres are catered for between the covers of these coveted classics.
Classics Books
Prakash Books Greatest Works of Rabindranath Tagore
Book Synopsis
£18.39
HarperCollins Publishers Beren and Lúthien
Book SynopsisPainstakingly restored from Tolkien's manuscripts and presented for the first time as a continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of Beren and Luthien will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, Dwarves and Orcs and the rich landscape and creatures unique to Tolkien's Middle-earth.Trade ReviewPraise for The Children of Húrin:‘I hope that its universality and power will grant it a place in English mythology’Independent on Sunday ‘The darkest of all Tolkien’s tales. Alan Lee’s illustrations complement the writing splendidly’Times Literary Supplement
£56.25
HarperCollins Publishers Five Little Pigs Poirot
Book SynopsisAgatha Christie's ingenious murder mystery, now presented as a sumptuous special edition hardback.Beautiful Caroline Crale was convicted of poisoning her husband, yet there were five other suspects: Philip Blake (the stockbroker) who went to market; Meredith Blake (the amateur herbalist) who stayed at home; Elsa Greer (the three-time divorcee) who had roast beef; Cecilia Williams (the devoted governess) who had none; and Angela Warren (the disfigured sister) who cried wee wee wee' all the way home.It is sixteen years later, but Hercule Poirot just can't get that nursery rhyme out of his mindTrade Review‘Despite only five suspects, Mrs Christie as usual puts a ring through the reader’s nose and leads him to one of her smashing last-minute showdowns.’Observer ‘The answer to the riddle is brilliant.’Times Literary Supplement ‘A brilliant piece of detective fiction, in which character plays an important part.’Daily Telegraph ‘Straightforward bamboozling from start to finish.’New Statesman ‘As usual, Mrs Christie hoaxes us with a double twist at the denouement, and provides excellent entertainment.’Punch ‘Agatha Christie never fails us, and her Five Little Pigs presents a very pretty problem for the ingenious reader.’ Manchester Guardian
£13.49
Alma Books Ltd Journey by Moonlight
Book SynopsisTravelling to Italy on their honeymoon, Erszi and Mihaly are ready to take in all the beauties and pleasures of the country. But when they reach Venice, it is clear that Mihaly prefers to roam around the back alleys and the canals on his own, and as they continue their journey through the Bel Paese there is a growing sense of unrest between them, until Mihaly misses the train to Rome they were due to take together. Wandering alone from city to city, with his marriage rapidly falling apart, Mihaly must confront the ghosts of his past and try to find a sense of purpose. Originally written in 1937, and here presented in a brilliant new translation by Peter V. Czipott, Antal Szerb's gently humorous and psychologically subtle exploration into the workings of a budding bourgeois marriage has been hailed as one of the great rediscovered classics of the twentieth century.Trade ReviewA novel to love as well as admire, always playful and ironical, full of brilliant descriptions, bon mots and absurd situations... it's a book utterly in love with life. -- Kevin Crossley-Holland * The Guardian * A true classic beautifully translated by Peter V. Czipott, it will linger in my memory for a long time. -- Bill Spence * Yorkshire Gazette and Herald * One of the most engaging and moving novels I have read for a long time. * Nudge Books *
£7.59
Penguin Books Ltd The Long Goodbye
Book SynopsisA classic novel by Raymond Chandler, the master of hard-boiled crime, The Long Good-Bye is the sixth novel featuring laconic PI Philip MarloweDown-and-out drunk Terry Lennox has a problem: his millionaire wife is dead and he needs to get out of LA fast. So he turns to his only friend in the world: Philip Marlowe, Private Investigator.He''s willing to help a man down on his luck, but later, Lennox commits suicide in Mexico and things start to turn nasty. Marlowe finds himself drawn into a sordid crowd of adulterers and alcoholics in LA''s Idle Valley, where the rich are suffering one big suntanned hangover.Marlowe is sure Lennox didn''t kill his wife, but how many more stiffs will turn up before he gets to the truth?''Anything Chandler writes about grips the mind from the first sentence'' Daily Telegraph''One of the greatest crime writers, who set standards others still try to attain'' Sunday Times''Chandler is an original stylist, creator of a character as immortal as Sherlock Holmes'' Anthony Burgess
£9.49
Wordsworth Editions Ltd The Odyssey
Book SynopsisWith an Introduction and Notes by Adam Roberts, Royal Holloway, University of London. Homer's great epic describes the many adventures of Odysseus, Greek warrior, as he strives over many years to return to his home island of Ithaca after the Trojan War. His colourful adventures, his endurance, his love for his wife and son have the same power to move and inspire readers today as they did in Archaic Greece, 2800 years ago. This poem has been translated many times over the years, but Chapman's sinewy, gorgeous rendering (1616) stands in a class of its own. Chapman believed himself inspired by the spirit of Homer himself, and matches the breadth and power of the original with a complex and stunning idiom of his own. John Keats expressed his admiration for the resulting work in the famous sonnet, 'On first looking into Chapman's Homer': 'Much have I travelled in the realms of gold…' This new Wordsworth edition of Chapman’s Homer contains accessible annotation, and a detailed introduction that places his masterpiece in the context of his own day, and discusses its influences on later poets.
£6.23
HarperCollins Publishers The Hobbit Facsimile First Edition The Classic
Book SynopsisThis sumptuous gift set includes a replica of the very rare first edition of The Hobbit, the only edition where one can now read the original version of the story before Tolkien re-edited it to become the one enjoyed by readers since 1951.The Hobbit was published on 21 September 1937, with a print run of 1,500 copies. With a beautiful cover design, nearly a dozen black & white illustrations and two black & red maps by the author himself, the book proved to be popular and was reprinted shortly afterwards. History was already being made.The scarcity of the first edition has resulted in copies commanding huge prices, way beyond the reach of most Tolkien fans. In addition, subsequent changes to the text particularly those to chapter 5, when Tolkien decided in 1947 to revise the text to bring it better into accord with events as they were developing in its sequel', The Lord of the Rings mean that the opportunity to read the book in its original form and format has become quite difficult.TTrade Review‘The Hobbit belongs to a very small class of books which have nothing in common save that each admits us to a world of its own. Its place is with Alice and The Wind in the Willows.’Times Literary Supplement ‘One of the best loved characters in English fiction… a marvellous fantasy adventure’Daily Mail ‘Finely written saga of dwarves and elves, fearsome goblins and trolls… an exciting epic of travel, magical adventure, working up to a devastating climax’The Observer
£24.00
Wordsworth Editions Ltd The Hound of the Baskervilles & The Valley of
Book SynopsisWith an Introduction by David Stuart Davies. The Hound of the Baskervilles is the classic detective chiller. It features the world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes, in his most challenging case. The Baskerville family is haunted by a phantom beast "with blazing eyes and dripping jaws" which roams the mist-enshrouded moors around the isolated Baskerville Hall on Dartmoor. Now the hound seems to be stalking young Sir Henry, the new master of the Baskerville estate. Is this devilish spectre the manifestation of the family curse? Or is Sir Henry the victim of a vile and scheming murderer? Only Sherlock Holmes can solve this devilish affair. The Valley of Fear is a dark, powerful tale, which provides the great detective with a most perplexing case and opens with a vile murder: “Lying across his chest was a most curious weapon, a shotgun with the barrel sawn off in front of the triggers. It was clear that it had been fired at close range, and that he had received the whole charge in the face, blowing his head almost to pieces”. Sherlock Holmes' arch enemy, the criminal genius Professor Moriarty, is back! But the solution to the riddle, found after many surprising twists and high dramas, lies far away, half across the world in a location known as 'The Valley of Fear'. This is Conan Doyle's last Holmes novel and in the opinion of many of his fans, it is the best!
£6.23
Pan Macmillan Burmese Days
Book SynopsisIn Burmese Days, George Orwell, one of the most famous writers in the English language, draws on his own experience of living and working in Burma to write an unflinching novel about the dark side of imperialism. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features an introduction by journalist and writer David Eimer.John Flory is a disillusioned timber merchant based in the remote town of Kyauktada in 1920s Burma. Whilst his English peers gather night after night to drink and gossip in their exclusive club, Flory has embraced local life – his best friend is Dr Veraswami and his mistress is Ma Hla May. The slow, sticky, hot days are interrupted by the arrival of the young and beautiful Elizabeth. And when the club is forced to elect a non-white member, Flory is caught up in an increasingly hostile and dangerous feud.Trade ReviewA scathing portrait of the imperious attitudes of the British. * New York Times *Of all the fictions about colonial rule – A Passage to India, The Raj Quartet, Out of Africa – Burmese Days is the angriest, rawest, most scathing and least sentimental. * The Times *A scathing indictment of imperialism, exposing the dark face of British rule in the subcontinent. * Hindu *Orwell draws on his own experience and what’s so striking is how the uncomfortable echoes of that time still reverberate today among some expatriate circles in the region . . . A vaguely Austen feel permeates the romantic subplot; the ending is devastating. * Travelfish *Orwell can write . . . in Burmese Days he has written a malodorous, realistic novel of the white man in the east, as he really is. * Kirkus Reviews *
£10.44
British Library Publishing The Ghost Stories of M. R. James
Book SynopsisThe second in a series of republished classic literature, The Ghost Stories of M. R. James collects the tales that best illustrate his quiet mastery of the ghost story form.
£14.24
Pan Macmillan Bleak House
Book SynopsisComplete and unabridged. Bleak House is not only a love story and a tightly plotted murder mystery, but also a condemnation of the corruption at the heart of English society. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition has an afterword by David Stuart Davies and original illustrations by H. K. Browne.The inheritance case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce has been going on for generations involving myriad characters from all walks of life. There’s Esther Summerson, Dickens' feisty heroine; Sir Leicester and Lady Dedlock, cocooned in their stately home in Lincolnshire; and Jo, the penniless crossing sweeper. We are drawn in and fascinated by the complex relationships. Indeed in none of Charles Dickens’ other novels is the canvas broader, the sweep more inclusive, the linguistic texture richer and the gallery of comic grotesques more extraordinary.Trade ReviewBleak House is his greatest novel . . . with its backdrop of a legal system more invested in obstruction and obfuscation than resolution, it remains utterly contemporary -- Anna Quindlen * Independent *The greatest novel of the lot. Why? First, the quality of the writing; second, the complexity of the plot; third, the extraordinary insight and honesty of the characterization -- Colin Dexter * Guardian *The story starts at a spine-tingling pace: a young woman cloaked in gray is swept up in a swirl of rain, fog and mud and sped to London by horse-drawn carriage. It is a romantic journey to the most unromantic of places, the chancery courts -- Alessandra Stanley * New York Times *
£12.59
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Peter Pan MinaLima Edition lllustrated with
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Just like all the genius designs they created for the Potter films...Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima have truly outdone themselves in creating a book that is not only gorgeous but also uniquely fun." -- MuggleNet.com "Unique and imaginative in their style, MinaLima has created a Peter Pan that will become a beloved attention to any library. Hook a copy now!" -- Examiner.com "Seriously, the new Peter Pan volume is just a delight. Not only is it a beautifully bound hardcover, but every page looks just stunning." -- io9 "This lovely hardcover of Peter Pan is designed to look like something from an earlier era, with off-white paper and a limited color palette of mostly orange and green for the illustrations." -- Geek Dad "Take a tour through the magical story of JM Barrie's Peter Pan with gorgeous maps, fairy clap charts, crocodiles, mermaids and fairy dust galore via these stunning illustrations by Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima-AKA Minalima-from their beautiful new illustrated version of the classic tale." -- The Guardian
£22.50
Silver Dolphin Books The Complete Novels of Jane Austen
Book Synopsis
£17.09
British Library Publishing Doomed Romances
Book SynopsisIndulging in the strangest eddies of literary love, this new anthology bids you enter a doom-laden yet irresistibly seductive corner of the Weird.
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Hound of the Baskervilles Another Adventure
Book SynopsisSir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles gripped readers when it was first serialised and has continued to hold its place in the popular imagination to this day. Could the sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville have been caused by the gigantic ghostly hound that is said to have haunted his family for generations? Arch-rationalist Sherlock Holmes characteristically dismisses the theory as nonsense. And, immersed in another case, he sends Dr Watson to Devon to protect the Baskerville heir and observe the suspects at close hand. With its atmospheric setting on the ancient, wild moorland and its savage apparition, The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the greatest crime novels ever written. Rationalism is pitted against the supernatural and good against evil as Sherlock Holmes sets out to defeat a foe almost his equal. This edition contains a full chronology of Arthur Conan Doyle's life and works, an introduction by renowned horror scholar Professor Trade Review“The whole Sherlock Holmes saga is a triumphant illustration of art’s supremacy over life.” —Christopher Morley
£8.65
Vintage Publishing A German Christmas: Festive Tales From Berlin to
Book SynopsisFrom helpful elves to an enchanting Nutcracker, rediscover the German Christmas tales behind our most iconic festive traditions*A Daily Express Book of the Year*Eine fröhliche Weihnachten -- A Merry Christmas -- made all the more joyful with these literary treats redolent of candle-lit trees, St. Nikolaus, gingerbread, roast goose and red cabbage, tinsel and stollen cakes, accompanied by plenty of schnapps.In this collection, classic works by the Brothers Grimm and Thomas Mann intertwine with more recent stories from writers like Peter Stamm and Martin Suter to bring together the greatest festive tales from Austria, Switzerland and Germany. From a child lost in a snowy, pine-scented forest meeting an unlikely saviour to old lovers reuniting during a last-minute dash across the city for presents, each story creates magical moments of reflection and rediscovery.Bursting with family chaos, carols and yuletide cheer, A German Christmas showcases those works that have helped define the festive period the world over.Trade ReviewA festive treat with a German twist * Daily Express, *Christmas Gift Guide 2022* *A gorgeous little book and the perfect Christmas stocking filler * Art Shelf, *Christmas Gift Guide 2022* *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing The Inseparables: The newly discovered novel from
Book SynopsisWhen Andrée joins her school, Sylvie is immediately fascinated. Andrée is small for her age but walks with the confidence of an adult.The girls become close. They talk for hours about equality, justice, war and religion; they lose respect for their teachers; they build a world of their own. But as the girls grow into young women, the pressures of society mount, threatening everything.This novel was never published in Simone de Beauvoir's lifetime. It tells the story of the real-life friendship that shaped one of the most important thinkers and feminists of the twentieth century.'Slim, elegant, achingly tragic and unaffectedly lovely in its evocation of the closeness between girls - and the pressures that sunder them' SpectatorTRANSLATED BY LAUREN ELKIN - INTRODUCED BY DEBORAH LEVYTrade ReviewThis 'lost' novel by a giant of 20th-century letters reads surprisingly like a French Elena Ferrante... Lauren Elkin's translation is undistractingly smooth * Daily Telegraph *Translated by Lauren Elkin with exquisite finesse, it utterly conveys both de Beauvoir's heady sensuality and its immediate opposite, observant restraint... The Inseparables is a ravishing work of art * Financial Times *A succulent taster for those who don't know de Beauvoir's work and, for everyone else, a treat * Daily Mail *A poignant and sensitive portrait of female friendship which acutely captures the agonizing mysteries of intimacy. The translation was gorgeous, and there were lines that absolutely punched me in the gut -- Anbara Salam author of BelladonnaSlim, elegant, achingly tragic and unaffectedly lovely in its evocation of the closeness between girls - and the pressures that sunder them * Spectator *
£9.49
Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc Persuasion
Book SynopsisThis collector’s edition of Jane Austen’s final novel, Persuasion, is a poignant story of love, loss, and redemption set in Regency-era Britain.
£9.49
Cornerstone Carry On, Jeeves: (Jeeves & Wooster)
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.
£8.54
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Jane Eyre
Book SynopsisJane Eyre ranks as one of the greatest and most perennially popular works of English fiction. Although the poor but plucky heroine is outwardly of plain appearance, she possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit and great courage. She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer and a rigid social order. All of which circumscribe her life and position when she becomes governess to the daughter of the mysterious, sardonic and attractive Mr Rochester. However, there is great kindness and warmth in this epic love story, which is set against the magnificent backdrop of the Yorkshire moors. Ultimately the grand passion of Jane and Rochester is called upon to survive cruel revelation, loss and reunion, only to be confronted with tragedy.
£13.49
Wordsworth Editions Ltd The Pickwick Papers
Book SynopsisWith an Introduction and Notes by David Ellis, University of Kent at Canterbury. With Illustrations by R.Seymour, R.W. Buss and Hablot K. Browne (Phiz). The Pickwick Papers is Dickens' first novel and widely regarded as one of the major classics of comic writing in English. Originally serialised in monthly instalments, it quickly became a huge popular success with sales reaching 40,000 by the final part. In the century and a half since its first appearance, the characters of Mr Pickwick, Sam Weller and the whole of the Pickwickian crew have entered the consciousness of all who love English literature in general, and the works of Dickens in particular.
£6.23
Canongate Books We
Book SynopsisThe One State is the perfect society, ruled over by the enlightened Benefactor. It is a city made almost entirely of glass, where surveillance is universal and life runs according to algorithmic rules to ensure perfect happiness. And D-503, the Builder, is the ideal citizen, at least until he meets I-330, who opens his eyes to new ideas of love, sex and freedom.A foundational work of dystopian fiction, inspiration for both Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Huxley's Brave New World, WE is a book of radical imaginings - of control and rebellion, surveillance and power, machine intelligence and human inventiveness, sexuality and desire. In this brilliant new translation, it is both a warning and a hope for a better world.Trade ReviewThe best single work of science fiction yet written -- URSULA K. LE GUINTwo of the most iconic novels in the English language - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and 1984 by George Orwell - owe an enormous debt to Zamyatin. We is the ur-text of science-fiction dystopias . . . the product of a powerful imagination * * Wall Street Journal * *The prototype . . . Zamyatin is a major artist * * New York Times * *This new edition, which contains Orwell's review as well as an introduction by Margaret Atwood, an afterword by Ursula Le Guin and an absorbing comment by the translator Bela Shayevich, who grew up in the former Soviet Union, will be the definitive version in English for the foreseeable future * * New Statesman * *[A] fine new translation . . . In a market of competing editions . . . Shayevich's stands out, and for very good reason . . . truly excellent . . . Shayevich's [translation] retains the novel's bold, jagged, elemental energy [and] remains true to the spirit of the work in a way that the author himself would have applauded * * Times Literary Supplement * *A seminal dystopian classic . . . This timely and thoughtful edition is a fitting tribute to book of lasting influence * * Irish Times * *It is in effect a study of the Machine, the genie that man has thoughtlessly let out of its bottle and cannot put back again -- GEORGE ORWELL
£8.54
Cornerstone The Code of the Woosters: (Jeeves & Wooster)
Book Synopsis'A cavalcade of perfect joy' Caitlin Moran 'There are periods when I'm not up to the journey, when hope is too much to ask for and I am only fit for ... cowering under the covers with P. G. Wodehouse' Cathy Rentzenbrink_____________________________________'There are moments, Jeeves, when one asks oneself, "Do trousers matter?"' 'The mood will pass, sir.' Aunt Dahlia has tasked Bertie with purloining an antique cow creamer from Totleigh Towers. In order to do so, Jeeves hatches a scheme whereby Bertie must charm the droopy and altogether unappealing Madeline and face the wrath of would-be dictator Roderick Spode. Though the prospect fills him with dread, when duty calls, Bertie will answer, for Aunt Dahlia will not be denied. In a plot that swiftly becomes rife with mishaps, it is Jeeves who must extract his master from trouble. Again.Trade ReviewSheer joy -- IndependentA cavalcade of perfect joy -- Caitlin MoranFairly close to perfection -- Spectator * Books to get through lockdown *There are periods when I'm not up to the journey, when hope is too much to ask for and I am only fit for ... cowering under the covers with P.G. Wodehouse -- Cathy RentzenbrinkThe prose . . . is so gloriously funny you can relish the book over and over again. * The Times *Quite possibly the funniest book the master of comedy ever wrote. * i paper (feel good books) *A sheer joy to read. * Yahoo: 40 best books to read before you die *'Anything by PG Wodehouse' was a common response when asking around for people's comfort reads. It's very hard to pick just one, but this - with Roderick Spode, Aunt Dahlia and plenty of sneering at cow creamers - is fairly close to perfection. -- Books to get through lockdown * Spectator *It's illegal to put together any list of the funniest books in English without including Wodehouse. [His] incredibly delicate descriptive touch (for example, of a particularly burly character: "as if Nature had intended to make a gorilla, and had changed its mind at the last moment") and sense of timing elevate a country house farce involving a policeman's hat, a cow-creamer and a would-be British fascist leader into something which glows with an effortless, sunny brilliance. * Esquire *
£8.54
Vintage Publishing They Came Like Swallows
Book SynopsisDiscover William Maxwell’s classic, heart-breaking portrait of an ordinary American family struck by the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic'A story of such engaging warmth that it would thaw the heart of any critic… Will melt many a reader to tears’ TIMEElizabeth Morison is an ordinary woman. Yet, to eight-year-old Bunny, his mother is the centre of his universe. To Robert, her elder son, she is someone he must protect against the dangers of the outside world. And to her husband, James, she is the foundation on which his family rests and life without her is unimaginable. As the dark winter of 1918 dawns and the shadow of Spanish flu starts to disturb day-to-day life, a moving portrait of Elizabeth takes shape, set against the lives and fate of the Morison family. ‘As you read They Came Like Swallows, you catch yourself from time to time being astonished at how tightly you're gripping the pages… There isn't a word that has dated. It could have been written yesterday, or tomorrow’ Nicholas Lezard, GuardianTrade ReviewIllness, regret, recovery, loss: it's our times in another key. We watch as ordinary lives take an extraordinary turn — the flu felling some and sparing others, and laying bare their emotional lives as it goes -- Gish JenMaxwell does something all great novelists do: he conjures depths of pain and regret in words of radiant simplicity -- Anthony Quinn * Observer *As you read They Came Like Swallows, you catch yourself from time to time being astonished at how tightly you're gripping the pages… There isn't a word that has dated. It could have been written yesterday, or tomorrow -- Nicholas Lezard * Guardian *A story of such engaging warmth that it would thaw the heart of any critic… Will melt many a reader to tears * TIME *As the voices of Austen, Turgenev and Tolstoy have survived, so will Maxwell's * The Times *
£9.49
British Library Publishing Green for Danger
Book SynopsisAs the prospect of driving back across Kent amid falling bombs detains the inspector for the night, a tense and claustrophobic investigation begins to determine who committed the foul deeds, and how it was possible to kill with no evidence left behind.
£9.49
Orion Publishing Co The Odyssey: A New Translation
Book SynopsisThe classic tale of Odysseus's return home in a stunning new translation.THE ODYSSEY, which tells of Odysseus's long voyage home after the battle of Troy, is one of the defining masterpieces of Western literature.Populated by one-eyed man-eating giants, beautiful seductive goddesses, and lavishly hospitable kings and queens, it is an extraordinary work of the imagination, the original epic voyage into the unknown that has inspired other writing down through the ages - from ancient poems to modern fiction and films. With its consummately modern hero, full of guile and wit, THE ODYSSEY is perfectly suited to our times. Thanks to the scholarship and poetic power of the highly acclaimed Stephen Mitchell, this new translation recreates the energy and simplicity, the speed, the grace, and continual thrust and pull of the original, so that THE ODYSSEY's ancient story bursts vividly into new life.Trade ReviewStephen Mitchell is one of the great translators, and his version of the Odyssey is a masterpiece of clarity, directness and a kind of blunt musicality which catches perfectly the pitch of the true Homeric voice. -- John Banville, author of The SeaStephen Mitchell's faithful translation of the Odyssey has great vigor, and a plain eloquence that is quite free of pedantry. It does not plod. Its narrative drive is so compelling that the reader will find himself speaking the lines aloud, as I did. -- Richard Wilbur, former Poet Laureate of the United States and twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize for PoetryThis latest incarnation of the Odyssey leaves no doubt that Stephen Mitchell has made a deep connection to the tale's spiritual power, which he has managed to express with propulsive cadence and in exquisite detail. The bard sings again, this time at the banquet of Mitchell's ardent labor. -- Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the United StatesYet again, one of today's gifted, knowing scholars and writers embraces one of the masterpieces of yore, and so doing offers us the Odyssey as a wise and stirring companion for our own personal voyage through time and life's many stirring, worrying, enabling moments. -- Robert ColesThis new translation is one of the best: clear and poetic without losing the essential kinetic energy of the first adventure tale. * THE CATHOLIC HERALD *Stephen Mitchell is one of the great translators, and his version of the Odyssey is a masterpiece of clarity, directness and a kind of blunt musicality which catches perfectly the pitch of the true Homeric voice. -- John Banville, author of The SeaStephen Mitchell's faithful translation of the Odyssey has great vigor, and a plain eloquence that is quite free of pedantry. It does not plod. Its narrative drive is so compelling that the reader will find himself speaking the lines aloud, as I did. -- Richard Wilbur, former Poet Laureate of the United States and twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize for PoetryThis latest incarnation of the Odyssey leaves no doubt that Stephen Mitchell has made a deep connection to the tale's spiritual power, which he has managed to express with propulsive cadence and in exquisite detail. The bard sings again, this time at the banquet of Mitchell's ardent labor. -- Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the United StatesYet again, one of today's gifted, knowing scholars and writers embraces one of the masterpieces of yore, and so doing offers us the Odyssey as a wise and stirring companion for our own personal voyage through time and life's many stirring, worrying, enabling moments. -- Robert ColesThis new translation is one of the best: clear and poetic without losing the essential kinetic energy of the first adventure tale. * THE CATHOLIC HERALD *
£11.69
Little, Brown Book Group Loitering With Intent
Book SynopsisA funny and clever novel about art and reality and the way they imitate each other, from the author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. With an introduction by Mark Lawson.Would-be novelist Fleur Talbot works for the snooty, irascible Sir Quentin Oliver at the Autobiographical Association, whose members are all at work on their memoirs. When her employer gets his hands on Fleur's novel-in-progress, mayhem ensues as its scenes begin coming true... Spark's inimitable style make this literary joyride thoroughly appealing.'The most gloriously entertaining novel since The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.' AN Wilson, Spectator'I read this book in a delirium of delight ... robust and full-bodied, a wise and mature work, and a brilliantly mischievous one.' New York Times Book ReviewTrade ReviewThe most gloriously entertaining novel since THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE * A.N. Wilson, SPECTATOR *I read this book in a delirium of delight...robust and full-bodied, a wise and mature work, and a brilliantly mischievous one * NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW *Unflagging wit and inventiveness * TIME MAGAZINE *This is Muriel Spark in the splendid form of those marvellous and influential novels of her earlier career * THE TIMES *
£9.49
Alma Books Ltd Cheese: Newly Translated and Annotated
Book SynopsisWhen the ambitious but inept clerk Frans Laarmans is offered a job managing an Edam distribution company in Antwerp, he jumps at the chance, despite his professed dislike for cheese in all its forms. He soon finds himself submerged in a bureaucratic nightmare as his complete incompetence becomes apparent. Meanwhile, his offices fill up with a seemingly infinite supply of the distinctive red-skinned cheeses, which he has no idea how to sell. Skewering the pomposity of big business while revealing how an entrepreneurial spirit can often be a mask for buffoonery, Willem Elsschot’s Cheese combines comedy and pathos in its depiction of a man trying to progress beyond his limited skill set. As poignant as it is funny, Cheese will appeal to anyone who has suffered the endless indignities of office life.
£7.99
Alma Books Ltd Tales from Russian Folklore: New Translation
Book SynopsisTowards the middle of the nineteenth century, following the example of the Brothers Grimm in Germany, Alexander Afanasyev embarked on the ambitious task of sifting through the huge repository of tales from Russian folklore and selecting the very best from written and oral sources. The result, an eight-volume collection comprising around 600 stories, is one of the most influential and enduringly popular books in Russian literature. This large selection from Afanasyev’s work, presented in a new translation by Stephen Pimenoff, will give English readers the opportunity to discover one of the founding texts of the European folkloristic tradition. Displaying a vast array of unforgettable characters, such as the Baba-Yaga, Ivan the Fool, Vasilisa the Fair and the Firebird, these tales – by turns adventurous, comical and downright madcap – will enchant readers for their raw beauty and constant ability to surprise and excite.
£9.49
Prakash Books War and Peace
Book Synopsis
£25.49
Fingerprint! Publishing The Best of Lewis Carroll: Three Titles
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£12.56
Wordsworth Editions Ltd The Return of Sherlock Holmes (Collector's
Book Synopsis' … once again Mr Sherlock Holmes is free to devote his life to examining those interesting little problems which the complex life of London so plentifully presents.'. Evil masterminds beware! Sherlock Holmes is back! Ten years after his supposed death in the swirling torrent of the Reichenbach Falls locked in the arms of his arch enemy Professor Moriarty, Arthur Conan Doyle agreed to pen further adventures featuring his brilliant detective. In the first story, 'The Empty House', Holmes returns to Baker Street and his good friend Watson, explaining how he escaped from his watery grave. In creating this collection of tales, Doyle had lost none of cunning or panache, providing Holmes with a sparkling set of mysteries to solve and a challenging set of adversaries to defeat. The potent mixture includes murder, abduction, baffling cryptograms and robbery. We are also introduced to the one of the cruellest villains in the Holmes canon, the despicable Charles Augustus Milverton. As before, Watson is the superb narrator and the magic remains unchanged and undimmed.
£8.54
Alma Books Ltd Dracula: Annotated Edition. Illustrated by David Mackintosh
Regarded as one of the most influential horror stories of all time and the inspiration for countless literary spin-offs, the tale of the young Englishman Jonathan Harker’s journey into the very heart of Count Dracula’s evil realm remains a compelling read to this day. A thriller of hypnotic power, a dark exploration of human passion, mythology and the paranormal, and a plain old-fashioned masterpiece of storytelling, the nightmarish saga of Dracula is one of the enduring classics of supernatural fiction.
£6.99
Vintage Publishing Crime and Punishment (Vintage Classic Russians
Book SynopsisThe best translation of Crime and Punishment currently available... An especially faithful re-creation...with a coiled-spring kinetic energy... Don't miss it' Washington Post Consumed by the idea of his own special destiny, immured in poverty and deprivation, Rashkolnikov is drawn to commit a terrible crime. In the aftermath, Rashkolnikov is dogged by madness, guilt and a calculating detective, and a feverish cat-and-mouse game unfolds. The only hope for redemption, if Rashkolnikov can but recognise it, lies in the virtuous and faithful Sonya. TRANSLATED BY RICHARD PEVEAR AND LARISSA VOLOKHONSKY VINTAGE CLASSICS RUSSIAN SERIES - sumptuous editions of the greatest books to come out of Russia during the most tumultuous period in its history.Trade ReviewDostoevsky makes Martin Amis seem as if he was writing 130 years ago and that Dostoevsky is writing now. Read all of Dostoevsky. These books are for now and they matter, because it's up to us to call a halt to our TV producers, politicians, gutless artists, poets and writers: these "teenagers of all ages" who are propelling us towards a consumerist hell of disposability over quality -- Billy ChildishDostoevsky's finest masterpiece * John Bayley *Donne, Herbert, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, George Eliot, Dostoevsky, Henry James - these are the great psychologists - far greater than Freud or Klein or Jung -- Sally VickersThe best translation of Crime and Punishment currently available... An especially faithful re-creation...with a coiled-spring kinetic energy... Don't miss it * Washington Post *Crime and Punishment...is about a big subject - the meaning of life - yet it is gritty, gripping and it's depiction of city life gives it a modern, timeless feel -- Leila Aboulela, author of The Translator
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings
Book SynopsisThe Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings is a collection that displays the full force of Edgar Allan Poe''s mastery of both Gothic horror and the short story form. This Penguin Classics edition is edited with an introduction and notes by David Galloway.This selection of Poe''s critical writings, short fiction and poetry demonstrates his intense interest in aesthetic issues, and the astonishing power and imagination with which he probed the darkest corners of the human mind. ''The Fall of the House of Usher'' is a slow-burning Gothic horror, describing the final hours of a family tormented by tragedy and the legacy of the past. In ''The Tell-Tale Heart'', a murderer''s insane delusions threaten to betray him, while stories such as ''The Pit and the Pendulum'', ''The Raven'' and ''The Cask of Amontillado'' explore extreme states of decadence, fear and hate.In his introduction, David Galloway re-examines the myths surrounding Poe''s life and reputation. This edition includes a new chronology and suggestions for further reading.As well as his remarkable literary output, Boston-born Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) had a variety of occupations - he served in the US army and was a magazine editor. Towards the end of his life, he was plagued by mental instability. If you enjoyed The Fall of the House of Usher, you might like Horace Walpole''s The Castle of Otranto, also available in Penguin Classics.''The most original genius that America has produced''Alfred, Lord Tennyson''Poe has entered our popular consciousness as no other American writer''The New York Times Book ReviewTable of ContentsThe Fall of the House of Usher and Other WritingsChronologyIntroductionFurther ReadingA Note on the TextPoemsStanzasSonnet - To ScienceAl AaraafRomanceTo HelenIsrafelThe City and the SeaThe SleeperLenoreThe Valley of UnrestThe RavenUlalumeFor AnnieA ValentineAnnabel LeeThe BellsTalesMS. Found in a BottleLigeiaThe Man that was Used UpThe Fall of the House of UsherWilliam WilsonThe Man of the CrowdThe Murders in the Rue MorgueA Decent into the MaelströmEleonoraThe Oval PortraitThe Masque of the Red DeathThe Pit and the PendulumThe Tell-Tale HeartThe Gold BugThe Black CatThe Purloined LetterThe Facts in the Case of M. ValdemarThe Cask of AmontilladoHop-FrogEssays and ReviewsLetter to B--Georgia ScenesThe Drake-Halleck Review (excerpts)Watkins TottleThe Philosophy of FurnitureWyandottéMusicTime and SpaceTwice-Told TalesThe American Drama (excerpts)HazlittThe Philosophy of CompositionSong-WritingOn ImaginationThe Veil of the SoulThe Poetic Principle (excerpts)Notes
£9.49
Vintage Publishing An Italian Christmas: Festive Tales for La Dolce
Book SynopsisBuon Natale -- A Merry Christmas -- made all the more joyful with these literary treats filled with ancient churches, plates piled high with pasta, flowing wine, shimmering gifts and plenty of style.In this collection, classic works by Boccaccio to Pirandello intertwine with more recent stories from writers like Anna Maria Ortese, Natalia Ginzburg and Nobel laureate Grazia Deledda to bring together the greatest festive tales from the land of enchantment: Italy.An Italian Christmas showcases stories that put the passionate, fiery side of the festive period back into Christmas.
£11.69
Cornerstone Right Ho, Jeeves: (Jeeves & Wooster)
Book Synopsis_________________________________________'If comedy is your thing, it's hard to match PG Wodehouse and his classic characters Jeeves and Bertie Wooster for hilarious farce.' Irish Daily Mail'P.G. Wodehouse wrote the best English comic novels of the century' Sebastian Faulks'Heaven is Right Ho, Jeeves' Hugh Johnson'Jeeves, I'm engaged.''I hope you will be very happy, sir.''Don't be an ass. I'm engaged to Miss Bassett.'Bertie is feeling most put out when he finds that his friend Gussie is seeking relationship advice from Jeeves. Meanwhile Aunt Dahlia has asked Bertie to present awards at a school prize-giving ceremony. In a stroke of genius, Bertie realises he can kill two birds with one stone, palming off his prize-giving duties to Gussie by assuring him that the object of his affections will be there.Several terrible misunderstandings later and facing chaos, Bertie turns, yet again, to Jeeves who swiftly and ingeniously saves the day._________________________________________'Sublime comic genius' Ben Elton'A cavalcade of perfect joy' Caitlin Moran'Sunlit perfection... Bask in its warmth and splendour' Stephen Fry'The greatest chronicler of a certain kind of Englishness' Julian FellowesTrade Review'Heaven is Right Ho, Jeevesor almost any PG Wodehouse novel when he's writing about Jeeves and Wooster or the barmy inhabitants of Blandings Castle, or young love on the golf course ...His best writing has a nimble precision and a range of references greater than anyone since Shakespeare. He can cheer me out of a grey mood. -- Hugh Johnson * Daily Mail *To 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. -- Caitlin MoranNot 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? -- Susan HillP. G. Wodehouse is the gold standard of English wit. -- Christopher HitchensAn incomparable and timeless genius. -- Kate Mosse
£8.54
Alma Books Ltd A Young Doctor's Notebook: New Translation
Book SynopsisIn this collection of short stories, drawing heavily from the author's own experiences as a medical graduate on the eve of the Russian Revolution, Bulgakov describes a young doctor's turbulent and often brutal introduction to his practice in the backward village of Muryovo. Using a sharply realistic and humorous style, Bulgakov reveals his doubts about his own competence and the immense burden of responsibility, as he deals with a superstitious and poorly educated people struggling to enter the modern age. This acclaimed collection contains some of Bulgakov's most personal and insightful observations on youth, isolation and progress.Trade ReviewBulgakov's struggle with the dark Russian winter swirling outside his window symbolizes the lack of experience, loneliness, and the worry of breaking the Hippocratic oath that gnaws at the sleep of junior doctors everywhere. * British Medical Journal * One of the great writers of the twentieth century. -- A.S. Byatt One of the great classics of medical literature. -- The TimesTable of ContentsContains: The Towel with a Cockerel Motif, Baptism by Version, The Steel Throat, The Blizzard, Egyptian Darkness, The StarryRash, The Missing Eye, Morphine
£7.59
Alma Books Ltd The Monk: Annotated Edition
Book Synopsis"A masterpiece of the Gothic genre, The Monk tells the story of the Capuchin friar Ambrosio and his fall from grace through desire, greed and lust. Favourably reviewed at first, the novel was later so widely and raucously denounced for its perceived licentiousness, blasphemy and corrupting influence that Lewis had to remove controversial passages from future editions. Unsurprisingly, amidst this furore, the book was immensely popular with the reading public. Suffused with eroticism, and focusing on the corrupting influence of power, The Monk pioneered a shocking new form of Gothic novel, where elements such as mob violence, incest and brutal murder replaced the gentler horrors of earlier practitioners of the genre."Trade ReviewThe Monk was so highly popular that it seemed to create an epoch in our literature. -- Sir Walter Scott
£7.59
HarperCollins Publishers The Dice Man This book will change your life
Book SynopsisThe cult classic that can still change your lifeLet the dice decide!This is the philosophy that changes the life of bored psychiatrist Luke Rhinehart and in some ways changes the world as well.Because once you hand over your life to the dice, anything can happen.Entertaining, humorous, scary, shocking, subversive, The Dice Man is one of the cult bestsellers of our time.Trade Review‘Touching, ingenious and beautifully comic’Anthony Burgess ‘Hilarious and well-written… sex always seems to be an option’Time Out ‘Brilliant… very impressive’Colin Wilson
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers A Pocket Full of Rye
Book SynopsisA wealthy familyA fatal cup of teaRex Fortescue was enjoying his morning cup of tea when he met his untimely end.Suspicions naturally turn to his wife. He was filthy rich, after all.Then she too is found dead.Strange clues have Scotland Yard's finest minds scratching their heads. Poisoned marmalade. Dead blackbirds. A victim found with a pocketful of rye.It's up to Jane Marple to put the pieces of this strange puzzle togetherNever underestimate Miss MarpleCaptivating and addictive, Agatha Christie''s work never fails to delight.'Jean KwokThis is the best of the novels starring Christie's Miss Marple.'New York TimesTrade Review‘Without a doubt, the greatest mystery writer of all time’ – Ragnar Jonasson ‘A hundred years after her first novel, and we are all still standing in her shadow’ – Andrew Taylor ‘She gives us an insight into human nature that few, if any, have surpassed’ – Susan Lewis ‘Dame Agatha has sold more books than all besides Shakespeare and the Bible’ – David Baldacci ‘All crime fiction writers around the globe owe Agatha Christie a massive debt’ – Peter James ‘Reading a perfectly plotted Agatha Christie is like crunching into a perfect apple: that pure, crisp, absolute satisfaction.’ – Tana French
£9.49
Oxford University Press Zofloya
Book SynopsisThis is the first edition for nearly 200 years of an unduly neglected work, originally published in 1806, by an intriguing and unconventional woman writer. A Gothic tale of lust, betrayal, and multiple murder set in fifteenth-century Venice, the novel's most daring aspect is its anatomy of the central character, Victoria's, intense sexual attraction to her Moorish servant Zofloya. A minor scandal on its first publication, and a significant influence on Byron andShelley, it contradicts idealized stereotypes in women's writing and challenges the received idea of the Gothic genre's representation of passive, victimized women.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Note on the Text; Select Bibliography; A Chronology of Charlotte Dacre; Engraving of Charlotte Dacre as Rosa Matilda; ZOFLOYA, OR THE MOOR; Appendix; A Note on Names; Explanatory Notes
£8.54
Everyman Pride And Prejudice
Book SynopsisProbably the popular favourite among Jane Austen's novels, Pride and Prejudice was the first to be written (1796-7), when the author was just twenty-one. Revised for publication thirteen years later, it combines the freshness of youth with the skill of maturity, not least in the brilliance of the characterization and the attractiveness of the heroine, Elizabeth Bennet.
£13.49
Wordsworth Editions Ltd The Moonstone
Book SynopsisIntroduction and Notes by David Blair, Rutherford College, University of Kent. The Moonstone, a priceless Indian diamond which had been brought to England as spoils of war, is given to Rachel Verrinder on her eighteenth birthday. That very night, the stone is stolen. Suspicion then falls on a hunchbacked housemaid, on Rachel's cousin Franklin Blake, on a troupe of mysterious Indian jugglers, and on Rachel herself. The phlegmatic Sergeant Cuff is called in, and with the help of Betteredge, the Robinson Crusoe-reading loquacious steward, the mystery of the missing stone is ingeniously solved.
£5.96
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Dead Souls
Book SynopsisWith an Introduction by Anthony Briggs. Translated by Isabel F. Hapgood. Russia in the 1840s. There is a stranger in town, and he is behaving oddly. The unctuous Pavel Chichikov goes around the local estates buying up 'dead souls'. These are the papers relating to serfs who have died since the last census, but who remain on the record and still attract a tax demand. Chichikov is willing to relieve their owners of the tax burden by buying the titles for a song. What he does not say is that he then proposes to take out a huge mortgage against these fictitious citizens and buy himself a nice estate in Eastern Russia. Will he get away with it? Who will rumble him? Does this narrative contain a deeper message about Russia itself or the spiritual health of humanity? There is much interest and some suspense in considering these issues, but the real pleasure of this story lies elsewhere. It is an enjoyable comic romp through a retarded part of a backward country, a picaresque series of grotesque portraits, situations and conversations described with Gogolian humour based mainly on hyperbole. This is, quite simply, the funniest book in the Russian language before the twentieth century.
£6.23
Vintage Publishing One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Book SynopsisFROM THE PUBLISHER OF THE GULAG ARCHIPELAGO - THE OFFICIALLY APPROVED TRANSLATION OF SOLZHENITSYN''S SEARING DEBUT NOVELThe Gulag, the Stalinist labour camps to which millions of Russians were condemned for political deviation, has become a household word in the West. This is due to the accounts of many witnesses, but most of all to the publication, in 1962, of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, the novel that first brought Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn to public attention. His story of one typical day in a labour camp as experienced by prisoner Ivan Denisovich Shukhov is sufficient to describe the entire world of the Soviet camps.Translated from the Russian by H. T. WillettsTrade ReviewA masterpiece in the great Russian tradition. There have been many literary sensations since Stalin died. Doctor Zhivago apart, few of them can stand up in their own right as works of art. Ivan Denisovich is different * New Statesman *For much of the century that he came to dominate, he was simply Russia's greatest writer * Guardian *Solzhenitsyn's little book on the Soviet camps, One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich, has just been reissued, in a much-improved translation by Harry Willetts. It remains a devastating book - a classical tragedy... Solzhenitsyn is a genius and a hero: Ivan Denisovich stands with Animal Farm. * Guardian *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan Lark Rise to Candleford
Book SynopsisLark Rise to Candleford captures a piece of social history in this ever popular fictional account of an English rural upbringing between the wars. 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 contains all three books – Lark Rise, Over to Candleford and Candleford Green, with an introduction by Bill Gallagher, screenwriter of the hugely popular BBC television adaptation.Laura Timms spends her childhood in a country hamlet called Lark Rise. An intelligent and enquiring child, she is always attentive to the way of life around her – the lives of a farming community and nature as it transforms through the seasons, their working lives together and their celebrations. Whilst much is to be admired and cherished about her community, when she looks back on it as an adult she doesn’t shy away from describing hardship too. Laura attends the village school and leaves at the age of fourteen to work for the postmistress of the village of Candleford. There her eyes are opened to wider horizons.Trade ReviewLark Rise to Candleford is remarkable for its celebratory realism. It neither romanticises poverty nor underplays it -- Richard Mabey * Guardian *Thompson’s timing was perfect. The Second World War was looming and Englishness was being redefined in the face of modernity. -- Alice Spawls * London Review of Books *
£10.44
British Library Publishing The Uncanny Gastronomic
Book SynopsisRaiding this dark pantry of writing, this new collection presents a feast of sixteen classic tales, two poems and one essay, with choice morsels by masters of the macabre including Shirley Jackson, Franz Kafka, Angela Carter and Roald Dahl.
£9.49
