Classic Fiction

Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog find excitement and adventure wherever they go in Enid Blyton's most popular series. Five On A Hike Together Dick is woken by a light flashing through his window. Is someone trying to send him a coded message? When the Famous Five hear of an escaped convict in the area, they are on...

A beautiful deluxe gift edition of Poe's most macabre and irresistible stories with foiled covers, marbled endpapers, sprayed edges, beautiful paper, and finished with a silk ribbon. The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Stories offers a window into Edgar Allan Poe's stories, uncovering the deeply unnerving strangeness lurking within us all. His genius for horror and suspense...

NOW A MAJOR BBC TV ADAPTATION "Still grips the reader with its epic-narrative sweep and all-embracing humanitarianism" Douglas Kennedy, Sunday Times Read the masterful story of romance and revolution behind the hit BBC TV series. Les Miserables is a novel peopled by colourful characters from the nineteenth-century Parisian underworld; the street children, the prostitutes, and the criminals. In telling the...

Cherish Emily Brontë's beloved classic for generations with this heirloom edition.A timeless tale of haunting and passionate love and obsession, Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights is one of the most enduring classics in English literature. Originally published in 1847, the novel follows the tragic bond between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw-a relationship that defies social conventions and even death itself. A powerful...

 “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning, ruthless elite among them – masterminded by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball –...

'A revolutionary thriller, bildungsroman and cry of feminist frustration... Actual-work-of-genius territory' Sunday Times A captivating feminist classic about a woman's struggle for independence in fascist Italy, from the author of Forbidden Notebook - with an afterword by Elena Ferrante Alessandra has always wanted more than life offered her. Growing up in a crowded apartment block in 1930s Rome, she watches...

Discover the marvellous land of Oz in this collection of the first three books in L. Frank Baum’s classic American fairy tale series. The first three books of the iconic Oz series, now in one collection! In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her dog, Toto, find themselves in a strange land called Oz after their Kansas house is...

Puffin in Bloom is an all-new line of classics, gorgeously illustrated by renowned stationery brand Rifle Paper Co.'s lead artist, Anna Bond. Alone in a new country, wealthy Sara Crewe tries to settle in and make friends at boarding school. But when she learns that she'll never see her beloved father again, her life is turned upside down. Transformed from...

Part of the Timeless Classics series, The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe contains every known tale written by the famous gothic American writer. His often macabre and dark works, which span the years from 1827 to his death in 1849, include "The Raven," "The Black Cat," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and "Annabelle Lee." For Poe fans worldwide, this...

The Return of the King is the third part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure, The Lord of the Rings. The Companions of the Ring have become involved in separate adventures as the quest continues. Aragorn, revealed as the hidden heir of the ancient Kings of the West, joined with the Riders of Rohan against the forces of Isengard, and took...

This is an attractively designed edition of Gray's Anatomy, the scientific and artistic triumph. Gray's Anatomy is a phenomenally well-known title and with good reason. Not just a dry index of parts and names, Gray's lets the natural beauty and grace of the body's interconnected systems and structures shine forth from the page. Using sumptuous illustrations and clear, matter-of-fact descriptions,...

A new collection of Pushkin's great narrative and lyric verse, translated by Antony Wood WINNER OF THE READ RUSSIA PRIZE 2020 Alexander Pushkin established what we know as Russian literature. This collection includes his strongly personal lyric verse, which springs spontaneously from his everyday life – his numerous loves, his exile, his hectic life in St Petersburg – while the...

Every winter, in the days leading up to Christmas, Benedikt walks into the snowy mountains of Iceland to rescue sheep lost in the blizzards. With his dog and his ram by his side, traversing wild snowstorms and crystalline nights, fuelled by endless cups of hot coffee, Benedikt dedicates himself to helping other living beings in need. It is midwinter in...

This indispensable translation is as close to the original as it is possible to get while at the same time being a clear and fluid rendering of the Russian. If you've never read it, now is the moment. This translation will show that you don't read War and Peace, you live it - The Times Tolstoy's enthralling epic depicts Russia's...

Stefan Zweig's most famous novel, reissued with a new jacket and title. 'I can't take any more of your revolting merciful kindness!' Who would have thought that the great military hero Captain Hofmiller - that living monument to his own courage - would have anything burdening his soul? But when he reveals his story, it is not one of bravery...

The biggest children's book of the year! The Midwatch is the long-awaited new middle-grade novel from internationally bestselling author–illustrator Judith Rossell, creator of the multi-award-winning novel Withering-by-Sea. ‘The city was stuffed full of wickedness, everyone knew that …’ Banished to the Midwatch Institute for Orphans, Runaways and Unwanted Girls, Maggie Fishbone is sure she’s in for a life of drudgery....

The Iron Man came to the top of the cliff. Where had he come from? Nobody knows. How was he made? Nobody knows. Mankind must put a stop to the dreadful destruction by the Iron Man and set a trap for him, but he cannot be kept down. Then, when a terrible monster from outer space threatens to lay waste...

A true classic for children. The bestselling picture book of all time! Five little puppies dug a hole under the fence and went for a walk in the wide, wide world... The Poky Little Puppy was one of the original twelve Little Golden Books published in 1942, and went on to become the bestselling picture book of all time. The...

One of the most beloved translations of all time returns to Penguin Classics - Scott Moncrieff's masterful version of Proust. Remembrance of Things Past: Volume 3 is part of Proust's masterpiece, one of the seminal works of the twentieth century, recording its narrator's experiences as he grows up, falls in love, and lives through the First World War. A profound...

Philip K. Dick's cult novel—now in an official tie-in edition to accompany the new TV series. Imagine the world if the Allies had lost the Second World War... Philip K. Dick trips the switches of our minds with his vision of the world as it might have been—the African continent virtually wiped out, the Mediterranean drained to make farmland, the...

The Vintage Classics Russians Series - sumptuous editions of the greatest books to come out of Russia during the most tumultuous period in its history. If you've never read it, now is the moment. This translation will show that you don't read War and Peace, you live it - The Times Tolstoy's enthralling epic depicts Russia's war with Napoleon and...

In Twilight of Idols and Anti-Christ, Friedrich Nietzsche presents two of his most provocative and critical works. These texts offer a penetrating analysis of the philosophical and religious ideas that dominated his era. Twilight of Idols serves as an incisive critique of the cultural and intellectual norms of Nietzsche's time. Subtitled "How to Philosophize with a Hammer," the book delivers...

The famous Gothic novel from Ann Radcliffe. From the first moment Vincentio di Vivaldi, a young nobleman, sets eyes on the veiled figure of Ellena, he is captivated by her enigmatic beauty and grace. But his haughty and manipulative mother is against the match and enlists the help of her confessor to come between them. Schedoni, previously a leading figure...

This special 25th anniversary edition of The Gruffalo is a must-have addition to the bookshelves of all Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler fans, featuring special bonus content to enjoy! A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood. A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good. Walk further into the deep dark wood, and discover what happens...

Death Comes for the Archbishop is Cather's masterpiece of life, death, and faith in New Mexico, now part of the Modern Classics collection. Two French priests, friends since childhood, are sent to the newly created diocese of New Mexico. Life there is hard and frequently dangerous. Journeys between parishes are beset by the perils of bandits and storms. The people...

The strange and wonderful tale of man’s experiences on Mars, filled with intense images and astonishing visions. The classic work that transformed Ray Bradbury into a household name. Written in the age of the atom, when America and Europe optimistically viewed the discovery of life on Mars as inevitable, Bradbury’s 1940s short stories of a brutal, stark, and unforgiving Martian...

In the summer of 1348, as the Black Death ravages their city, ten young Florentines take refuge in the countryside. They amuse themselves by each telling a story a day for the ten days they are destined to remain there—a hundred stories of love, adventure, and surprising twists of fate. Less preoccupied with abstract concepts of morality or religion than...

NOW A MAJOR BBC DRAMATISATION FOR RADIO 4 - AVAILABLE ON BBC SOUNDS This is the new, revised edition which includes recently discovered new material including letters and diary entries by the author and two additional sections of the novel. The Leopard is a modern classic which tells the spellbinding story of a decadent, dying Sicilian aristocracy threatened by the...

Eric Carle's Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Other Nursery Rhymes presents classic nursery rhymes with interactive elements, making this board book ideal for little hands! This sturdy casebound board book features a lift-the-flap on every spread, providing an engaging way to revisit five beloved nursery rhymes: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, Hickory Dickory Dock, The Itsy-Bitsy...

The definitive translation of the world's greatest novel Indisputably the definitive translation — Observer If there is one novel you should read before you die, it is Don Quixote — Ben Okri Widely regarded as the world's first modern novel, and one of the funniest and most tragic books ever written, Don Quixote chronicles the famous picaresque adventures of the...

Introducing Little Clothbound Classics – irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas, and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. Georges Simenon's brilliant pipe-smoking detective, Jules Maigret, is one of the most beloved literary creations of the twentieth century. In this adventure, an officer from Scotland Yard is studying Maigret's methods when a call from...

Jay Rubin's translation of Soseki's cherished novel, new to Penguin Classics. One of Soseki's most beloved works of fiction, the novel depicts the 23-year-old Sanshiro leaving the sleepy countryside for the first time in his life to experience the constantly moving 'real world' of Tokyo, its women and university. In the subtle tension between our appreciation of Soseki's lively humour...

When the elderly Allan Armadale makes a terrible confession on his death-bed, he has little idea of the repercussions to come, for the secret he reveals involves the mysterious Lydia Gwilt: flame-haired temptress, bigamist, laudanum addict, and husband-poisoner. Her malicious intrigues fuel the plot of this gripping melodrama: a tale of confused identities, inherited curses, romantic rivalries, espionage, money—and murder....

Introducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas, and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. The hour should be evening and the season winter, for in winter the champagne brightness of the air and the sociability of the streets are grateful. In such conditions, Virginia Woolf takes to London's streets in...

A stunning Puffin Clothbound Classic - a deluxe edition of a much-loved story. A beautiful hardback edition of Charlotte's Web by E. B. White. This lovely edition is part of the highly collectible Puffin Clothbound Classics series. The unforgettable story of a girl called Fern who loves a little pig called Wilbur. It tells how Charlotte A. Cavatica, a beautiful...

These stories from the middle period of Chekhov's career show him exploring complex, ambiguous, and often extreme emotions. Influenced by his own experiences as a doctor, Ward No. 6, set in a mental hospital, is a savage indictment of the medical profession. The Black Monk, portraying an academic who has strange hallucinations, explores ideas of genius and insanity. In Murder,...

Penguin Classics relaunch When country-girl Grace Melbury returns home from her middle-class school, she feels she has risen above her suitor, the simple woodsman Giles Winterborne. Though marriage had been discussed between her and Giles, Grace finds herself captivated by Dr Edred Fitzpiers, a sophisticated newcomer to the area—a relationship that is encouraged by her socially ambitious father. Hardy's novel...

Penguin Classics relaunch. The Return of the Native was written towards the beginning of Hardy's career as a novelist and can be considered one of his most representative works. In this novel, Hardy's tragic vision is powerfully and narrowly focused on Egdon Heath and the men and women who live on it. Set against the backdrop of the Heath and...

Introducing Little Clothbound Classics—irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas, and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. A novella regarded by Edith Wharton as one of her very best, Summer tells the tale of forbidden sexual passion and thwarted dreams set against the backdrop of a lush summer in rural Massachusetts. A sensation on...

Sentimental Education begins with the hero, Frederic Moreau, leaving Paris and returning to the provinces and his mother. Part love story, part historical novel and satire, it tells of how Moreau is driven by passion for an unattainable older woman. His 'sentimental education' turns out to be more of an anxious quest than a happy one, echoing Flaubert's own life...

Introducing Little Clothbound Classics — irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. Lolly Willowes, so gentle and accommodating, has depths no one suspects. When she suddenly announces that she is leaving London and moving, alone, to the depths of the countryside, her overbearing relatives are horrified. But...

Famously associated with the term 'magical realism', Gabriel Garcia Marquez is probably South America's most famous literary export. An acknowledged masterpiece, this is the story of seven generations of the Buendía family and of Macondo, the town they have built. Though little more than a settlement surrounded by mountains, Macondo has its wars and disasters, even its wonders and miracles....

A surreal work of science fiction from one of Japan's most brilliant novelists. In anticipation of a coming nuclear apocalypse, Mole has converted a huge underground quarry into an ark. While searching for his crew, he falls for the tricks of a wily insect dealer and his friends. In the surreal drama that ensues, the ark is invaded by first...

The sequel to one of the most powerful novels of the First World War and a keystone title on the Vintage Classics list. The sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front, one of the most powerful novels of the First World War and a twentieth-century classic. After four gruelling years, the survivors of the Great War finally make their...

The Makioka Sisters is part of the Vintage Japanese Classics series, which follows the success of Vintage Russian Classics and European Classics. These editions feature the best Japanese writers on the Vintage list. 'An exquisite novel about four sisters living through a turbulent decade...I'd put it in the 10 greatest books of the 20th century' — David Mitchell 'A near-perfect...

The Castle is Kafka's last great, unfinished novel— the book that hangs over the whole modern era like a nightmare. The Castle tells the story of K., the unwanted Land Surveyor who is never to be admitted to the Castle nor accepted in the village, and yet cannot go home. As he encounters dualities of certainty and doubt, hope and...

Anthony and Gloria are the essence of Jazz Age glamour. A brilliant and magnetic couple, they fling themselves at life with an energy that is thrilling. New York is a playground where they dance and drink for days on end. Their marriage is a passionate theatrical performance; they are young, rich, alive and lovely and they intend to inherit the...

HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics. The Woman in White is a novel where "the woman who first gives life, light, and form to our shadowy conceptions of beauty, fills a void in our spiritual nature that has remained unknown to us till she appeared." One of the earliest works of detective fiction, The Woman...

Set in the volatile Paris summer of 1938, The Age of Reason follows two days in the life of Mathieu Delarue, a philosophy teacher, and his circle in the cafes and bars of Montparnasse. Mathieu has so far managed to contain sex and personal freedom in conveniently separate compartments. But now he is in trouble, urgently trying to raise 4,000...

Islands in the Stream is Ernest Hemingway's last novel written before his death and his most autobiographical. Hemingway's last major novel, set in the Gulf Stream islands, captures the struggles of adult personal relationships in his consummate distinctive style. 'He knew too what it was to live through a hurricane' This is the last book Hemingway wrote before he died,...

Russell Hoban's masterpiece, a post-apocalyptic vision of humanity stripped back to its essentials. O what we ben! And what we come to... Wandering a desolate post-apocalyptic landscape, speaking a broken-down English lost after the end of civilisation, Riddley Walker sets out to find out what brought humanity here. This is his story.

Since the original, prewar translation, there has been no completely new rendering of the French original into English. This translation brings to the fore a more sharply engaged, comic, and lucid Proust, creating one of the greatest, most entertaining reading experiences in any language. As the great story unfolds from its magical opening scenes to its devastating end, Penguin makes...

Since the original, prewar translation, there has been no completely new rendering of the French original into English. This translation brings to the fore a more sharply engaged, comic, and lucid Proust, creating one of the greatest, most enjoyable reading experiences in any language. As the great story unfolds from its magical opening scenes to its devastating end, it is...

An epic novel of love, war, and revolution from Mikhail Sholokhov, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. One of the most important Russian masterpieces of the 20th century, And Quiet Flows the Don is an epic novel depicting the lives and struggles of Don Cossacks during the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the Civil War. The story...

A masterpiece - a classic of twentieth-century fiction - New York Times In Bulgakov's allegorical masterpiece of Stalin's regime, the devil is making a personal appearance in Moscow. He is accompanied by various demons, including a naked girl and a huge black cat. When he leaves, the asylums are full, and the forces of law and order are in disarray....

The new paperback series—Penguin English Library "I would be content, ay, glad, to live with you as your servant, if I may not as your wife; so that I could only be near you, and get glimpses of you, and think of you as mine ... I long for only one thing in heaven or earth or under the earth,...

Maurice by E.M. Forster is a deeply moving and intensely personal novel that traces the life and emotional journey of Maurice Hall, a young man from a privileged background. Maurice grows up with a keen sense of his societal role but finds himself increasingly drawn to relationships with other men, something that challenges the norms and expectations of early 20th-century...

A new translation by Helen Constantine of de Laclos's great novel of moral and emotional depravity. Published in 1782, just years before the French Revolution, Les Liaisons Dangereuses is a disturbing and ultimately damning portrayal of a decadent society. At its centre are two aristocrats, former lovers, who embark on a sophisticated game of seduction and manipulation to bring amusement...

A Midsummer Night's Dream is part of the new Puffin Classics collection entitled STAGED, which features timeless tropes and enduring stories. 'The course of true love never did run smooth ...' Hermia loves Lysander. But she must marry Demetrius or be condemned to life in a convent. Together, they plan to elope to escape their fate. However, Helena, Hermia's best...

At the age of forty-one, Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) underwent a profound spiritual crisis, from which he emerged believing that he had encountered death itself. These seven compelling stories explore, in very different ways, his subsequent preoccupation with mortality. The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a devastating account of a man fighting his inevitable end, and asks the existential question —...

Isaac Asimov’s Robot series – from the iconic collection I, Robot to four classic novels – contains some of the most influential works in the history of science fiction. Establishing and testing the Three Laws of Robotics, they continue to shape the understanding and design of artificial intelligence to this day. On Aurora, the first and greatest of the Spacer...

The most popular anthology of Jorge Luis Borges's short stories, Fictions is a wildly original and influential collection of fantastic tales, translated from the Spanish with an afterword by Andrew Hurley in Penguin Modern Classics. Nobody before Borges had ever attempted this strange and wonderful mixture of arcana, popular literature, national myth, the nature of time and classical themes. Now...

Having got rid of their human master, the animals in this political fable look forward to a life of freedom and plenty. But as a clever, ruthless elite takes control, the other animals find themselves hopelessly ensnared in the same old way. Animal Farm by George Orwell is a powerful allegory that explores the dynamics of power and corruption, leaving...

Penguin Classics relaunch Gilbert Markham is deeply intrigued by Helen Graham, a beautiful and secretive young woman who has moved into nearby Wildfell Hall with her young son. He is quick to offer Helen his friendship, but when her reclusive behaviour becomes the subject of local gossip and speculation, Gilbert begins to wonder whether his trust in her has been...

Filled with passion, love, and suspense, The Phantom of the Opera is a thrilling classic, now beautifully bound in a faux-leather hardcover edition. Rumours abound that the Paris Opera House is haunted by a ghost. Nobody has ever seen it, but it makes itself known through malevolent acts. First published in book form in 1911, this gothic novel by Gaston...

Rediscover Madeline, now available in board book format. The story of twelve little girls in two straight lines, the smallest one being Madeline, has delighted children for more than seventy years. Now the beloved Caldecott Honor Book is available in a sturdy board book format and a reduced size perfect for small hands. While the text is slightly abridged, none...

Launching a major new paperback series: Penguin English Library The Penguin English Library Edition of Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy 'I cannot allow any man to - to criticise my private conduct!' she exclaimed. 'Nor will I for a minute.' Hardy's powerful novel of swift sexual passion and slow-burning loyalty centres on Bathsheba Everdene, a proud working...

This novel is an extraordinarily poignant evocation of a lost happiness that lives on in the memory. For years now the Ramsays have spent every summer in their holiday home in Scotland, and they expect these summers will go on forever. In this, her most autobiographical novel, Virginia Woolf captures the intensity of childhood longing and delight, and the shifting...

Virginia Woolf's playful mock biography of a chameleonic historical figure, written for her intimate friend Vita Sackville-West. Orlando has always been an outsider... His longing for passion, adventure, and fulfilment takes him out of his own time. Chasing a dream through the centuries, he bounds from Elizabethan England and imperial Turkey to the modern world. Will he find happiness with...

Maigret at the Coroner's sees Maigret grappling with the American justice system on a trip to Arizona. The FBI man was convinced, in short, that Maigret was a big shot in his own country but that here, in the United States, he was incapable of figuring out anything. The more Cole watched him thinking things over, the more it amused...

Maigret at Picratt's delves into the sordid world of Montmartre nightclubs in this new translation. Through the half-open door, Dr. Pasquier could be seen putting his overcoat back on and replacing his instruments in his bag. On the white goatskin rug at the foot of the untouched bed, a body was stretched out—black satin dress, chalk white arm, auburn hair....

A new translation of this devastating tale of a young woman whose new life in Paris is tragically cut short, part of the Maigret series. Maigret and the Dead Girl follows Maigret and fellow inspector Lognon as they clash in their investigations into the murder of an unknown young woman in Paris. Maigret endeavours to piece together the story of...

Launching a major new paperback series: Penguin English Library The Penguin English Library Edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Never did I behold a vision so horrible as his face, of such loathsome, yet appalling hideousness A twisted, upside-down creation myth, Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale lays bare the dark side of science, and the horror within us all. It...

Doctor Who: The Time of Angels is a new Target novelisation from Matt Smith's era as the Doctor. An improbable call for help from River Song draws the Doctor and Amy to the wreck of the starship Byzantium on the world of Alfava Metraxis. The wreck contains a deadly cargo – a Weeping Angel, determined to escape. And the starship's...

HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics. Lady Chatterley's Lover was banned on its publication in 1928, creating a storm of controversy. Lawrence tells the story of Constance Chatterley’s marriage to Sir Clifford, an aristocratic and intellectual who is paralysed from the waist down after the First World War. Desperate for an heir and embarrassed by...

A major new translation of Voltaire's fast-paced, globe-trotting satire - an irresistible holiday read. Brought up in the household of a powerful Baron, Candide is an open-minded young man, whose tutor, Pangloss, has instilled in him the belief that all is for the best. But when his love for the Baron's rosy-cheeked daughter is discovered, Candide is cast out to...

With Robinson Crusoe, Defoe wrote what is regarded as the first English novel, and created one of the most popular and enduring myths in literature. Written in an age of exploration and enterprise, it has been variously interpreted as an embodiment of British imperialist values, as a portrayal of 'natural man', or as a moral fable. But above all, it...

A new board book edition of the Christmas classic The Snowman, featuring artwork and text based on the original animated film. Based on the much-loved film, fly away on a magical journey to the enchanting land of the Snowman - now available as a board book! After the snow settles on a cold winter's day, a little boy builds a...

A 75th anniversary edition of Steinbeck's undisputed masterpiece, a panoramic vision of the betrayal of the American dream. 'I've done my damndest to rip a reader's nerves to rags, I don't want him satisfied.' Shocking and controversial when it was first published, The Grapes of Wrath is Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Joad family, forced to travel west from...