Classic Fiction

A classic adventure from the author of A Town Like Alice and On the Beach During the Second World War, Peter Marshall's crew become one of the most successful bombing teams in their Oxfordshire airbase. However, when Peter falls in love with a young WAAF officer, his concentration begins to suffer and it looks as though his perfect run of...

A powerful read brought back to life; surprising, honest and witty at every turn. Jake's Thing centres on Jake Richardson, an Oxford don nearing sixty with a lifetime's lechery behind him, in pursuit of his lost libido. He heads off to the consulting room of a miniature sex therapist. Not one to disobey a doctor's orders, he runs the full...

A classic adventure from the author of A Town Like Alice and On the Beach. When Johnny Pascoe attempts to rescue a sick girl from the Tasmanian outback, his plane crashes, leaving him dangerously injured. Ronnie Clarke, who was trained by Pascoe, endeavours to fly a doctor in to help, but this proves more difficult than he imagined. As he...

A poet of the appetites - John Updike In one of her most celebrated books, the doyenne of food writers offers us more than 140 of her favourite and most famous recipes. Here are dishes for every course of every meal - from 'Teasers and Titbits', through 'Some Seeds of this Planet' to 'A Plethora of Puddings'. Whether simple or...

Stella Gibbons's gift is very special – Daily Express As heard on BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime Amy, a neglected motherless child in 1920s London, meets Robert, a wealthy American boy. It's an encounter she will never forget. My American follows the lives and loves of Amy Lee and Robert Vorst – from a chance childhood meeting to the...

A tense potboiler set on an exotic Pacific island by one of the 20th century's bestselling authors. On his way home from a remote Pacific island, Dr Saunders travels with two strangers: the treacherous Captain Nichols, and Fred, a handsome Australian with a shadowy past. Driven to shelter from a storm on the island of Kanda, the trio meet good-natured...

Completed shortly before Burgess's death, this novel in verse is extravagantly original. Michael Byrne is an Irish Don Juan — a composer, a charmer, a bigamist, and a thug. He moves from country to country, from bed to bed, selling his talents and leaving a trail of children in his wake. His journey takes him from post-Great War London to...

A new translation of this tragic tale of lost identity, part of the Maigret series. What was the woman doing here? In a stable, wearing pearl earrings, her stylish bracelet and white buckskin shoes! She must have been alive when she got there because the crime had been committed after 10 in the evening. But how? And why? And no...

V.S. Pritchett (1900 - 1997) was one of the most subtle, potent, and best-loved of modern British writers, an unparalleled storyteller and biographer. This engrossing and lively volume, edited by his son, is a tribute to a lifetime of writing. He looks back to his childhood and youth in extracts from his autobiographies A Cab At The Door and Midnight...

A haunting political allegory...a cracking beach read - The Times With an introduction by Michael Moorcock A model of efficiency and order, the aerodrome stands on the hill looking down on the village below. Roy, coming of age in the messy, violent and adulterous world of the villagers, is simultaneously attracted and repelled by this strange place and by the...

A Scottish classic, a world classic - Ian Rankin, Observer Robert is a difficult and disturbed young man. He comes from a troubled family background and turns to his Calvinist faith for solace but finds it hard to get along with other people, particularly his brother and his dissolute father. After he falls in with the mysterious and charming Gil-Martin,...

A classic adventure from the author of A Town Like Alice and On the Beach. As seen on BBC Two's Between the Covers 'An incredible adventure story...a book that will live with you forever' Richard Osman (on BBC Two's Between the Covers). Discover a classic adventure from the author of A Town Like Alice and On the Beach. Keith Stewart...

A classic adventure from the author of A Town Like Alice and On the Beach. Nevil Shute wrote this prophetic novel just before the start of the Second World War. In it, he describes the devastation that results from an aerial bomb attack on Southampton that destroys the city's infrastructure and leaves the inhabitants at the mercy of cholera and...

A rousing story of pirate adventure, hair-raising duels and romance. With an introduction by Ben Kane Oliver Tressilian, a Cornish gentleman, is blessed with 'youth, wealth, and good digestion'. He is betrayed by his half-brother and becomes a renegade and Barbary corsair, winning the title of Sakr-el-Bahr - hawk of the sea. This is the thrilling, full-blooded adventure of how...

A dramatic romance set in the remote wilds of the Australian outback. A young English woman leaves her ageing parents to visit friends living in the Australian outback. She falls in love, both with the country and with Carl, a doctor and Czech refugee. Brought together through dramatic encounters and strange twists of fate, their relationship hangs in the balance...

The atmosphere of the cheap cafes...is subtly caught. Packed tight with wit and understanding, it lights the London Scene - Scotsman When Nell Sely moves from sleepy Dorset to Hampstead she leaves behind a childhood of dull teas and oppressive rules for the freedom of the big city. Naive and only nineteen, she becomes embroiled with the wayward John Gaunt...

Excitement and suspense 18,000 feet over the Atlantic! Read this classic uplifting, moving, and heartwarming story about life in the face of the Cold War. Theodore Honey is a shy, inconspicuous aircraft engineer whose eccentric interests in quantum mechanics and spiritualism are frowned upon in aviation circles. But when a passenger plane crashes in unexplained circumstances, Honey must convince his...

Time remarked, "No serious writer of this century has more thoroughly invaded and shaped the public imagination than did Graham Greene." In It's A Battlefield, Drover, a Communist bus driver, finds himself in prison, sentenced to death for killing a policeman during a riot at Hyde Park Corner. This gripping narrative explores the ensuing battle for a reprieve, involving a...

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Sophie’s Choice explores a range of moral, political, historical and literary subjects in this impressive collection of essays, threaded with personal memoirs. In This Quiet Dust, the first book of non-fiction by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lie Down in Darkness and Sophie’s Choice, William Styron addresses great moral issues with passion and precision. His...

'If men could see us as we really are, they would be amazed', wrote Charlotte Bronte, the outwardly conventional parson's daughter who had rarely met any men beyond those of the church or classroom by the time Jane Eyre was published in 1847. From the landscape of the Yorkshire moors, an appalling childhood and a family decimated by consumption, Jane...

Two exquisite novellas which confirm Sackville-West's gift as a novelist. Seducers in Ecuador is the story of Arthur Lomax, every bit the English gentleman in his white ducks and solar topee, enjoying the pleasures of an Egyptian cruise. But with the addition of a pair of blue spectacles to the outfit, Lomax's entire world changes – to alarming, deadly effect....

Stunningly written and cleverly done, Maugham masters the enthralling and shocking world of Machiavelli. Maugham found a parallel to the turmoil of our own times in the duplicity, intrigue and sensuality of the Italian Renaissance. Then and Now enters the world of Machiavelli, and covers three important months in the career of that crafty politician, worldly seducer and high priest...

A reclusive young man works in a San Francisco library for unpublishable books. Life's losers, an astonishing number of whom seem to be writers, can bring their manuscripts to the library, where they will be welcomed, registered, and shelved. They will not be read, but they will be cherished. In comes Vida, with her manuscript. Her book is about her...

Yet more thrilling adventures of the bold and bolshy Captain Blood. Ready of wit and skilled of blade, the elegant surgeon-buccaneer Captain Blood is ever a jump ahead of his foes. Time and again, he falls headlong into deep peril, and his own motley crew are happy to sail to hell and back at his command. Yet when everything is...

The first novel from one of the twentieth century's most admired and stylish writers. It's the balmy days of the 1920s and where could be more pleasant for a holiday than a hotel on the Italian Riviera? Filled with prosperous English visitors, The Hotel offers a closed world of wealth and comfort. It also provides the stage for the display...

She is not only a romantic but an anarchist, and she knows the ways of men and women very well indeed – Anita Brookner Return I Dare Not presents Hugo Potts, a successful London playwright enjoying his moment of notoriety. Adored by critics and pursued by women, he's the darling of the literary scene. However, his public persona is exactly...

A first-class adventure story of love, mystery, and nail-biting suspense, for fans of classic wartime romance. Landfall follows Jerry Chambers, a fresh-faced young pilot who mistakenly sinks a British submarine. As a result, he is reprimanded and sent to a remote posting to test an experimental new bomb—a dangerous mission far away from the girl he loves. While Jerry risks...

The captivating story of Joan of Arc is told by the great underrated writer Vita Sackville-West. The strange story of Joan of Arc, the obscure peasant girl who became the national saint of France, is retold in this celebrated, classic biography. Saint Joan of Arc lives for the reader on every page, as a shepherd girl in a remote part...

In this classic guide, Maugham introduces and discusses what he considers to be the ten greatest novels and their authors. Here are some of the formulae of greatness in the genre, as well as the flaws and heresies that enfeeble it. Maugham's choice list: Fielding's Tom Jones; Dickens's David Copperfield; Flaubert's Madame Bovary; Balzac's Old Man Goriot; Wuthering Heights by...

Robin Davies is both a shrewd observer and an energetic actor in a drama that takes him from school to Oxford. With him, we live through all the pangs of a pre-war adolescence in South London, and on through his rites of passage to adulthood, involving rebellion, self-discovery, sex, seduction, and commitment. You Can't Do Both is classic Amis—brilliantly funny,...

A selection of spine-chilling tales by the Godfather of Goth. The midnight hour approaches. You lie in bed and try to sleep, but there is the howling of the wind outside, the creak of a floorboard, the scream of a cat, the ticking clock... Your heart beats, your skin crawls, and despite yourself you reach for this book and enter...

Author William Harris is spending the fag-end of the season at Antibes finishing his first attempt at historical biography, but he becomes more and more interested and involved in the antics of two homosexual interior decorators intent on stealing Poopy Travis's honeymoon husband. Which leaves him free to fall in love with Poopy himself. A widow and a divorcee tipsily...

An entrancing, illustrated edition of one of the most celebrated poems of all time. With an introduction by Marina Warner The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Coleridge's celebrated poem, was written at the suggestion of William Wordsworth in the early days of their friendship and published for the first time in 1798. It is the story of a nightmare voyage...

A novel about four different men learning how to live with their past lives, and face their futures. John Turner, a young man with a chequered past, has been told he has just one year to live. He decides to use his time in search of three very different men he met briefly during the war—an snobbish British pilot, a...

'Gibbons was an acute and witty observer, and her dissection of the British class system is spot-on' - Mail on Sunday Thrown out of her long-established office job, Miss Christine Smith takes up a new role as housekeeper for a group of middle-aged artists. Charmed by a previous mystical experience, her spirituality is nurtured further by the tenants, who seem...

A classic adventure from the author of A Town Like Alice and On the Beach. After Philip Stenning is involved in a near-fatal plane crash, he feels he owes a debt of gratitude to the man who rescued him. However, his mysterious saviour is an escaped convict, and his determination to help him leads Stenning into a tense and dramatic...

Of all the choristers at the Cathedral Basilica of St George, he is the angel—the one whose voice could only have been made in heaven. In every other respect, Hubert is utterly ordinary: a nice, rather timid ten-year-old boy. The year is 1976, but by bold Amisian sleight-of-hand, the England of The Alteration has become a disconcerting, quasi-medieval land in...

A rich and fascinating biography of an extraordinary man. Statesman, political thinker, orator and ardent campaigner, Edmund Burke was one of the greatest minds of the 18th century. His ideas and principles were expressed in the great debates over liberty, the rights of man and the American and French Revolutions, and are among the most important in modern history. Edmund...

"I believe that that's the one thing most worth doing in this modern world," he said quietly. "To create jobs that men can work at, and be proud of" Ruined City Through a series of mishaps, Henry Warren, a recently divorced City financier, ends up in hospital in a Northern town ruined by the closure of its shipyard. Moved by...

'A perpetual feast to the reader. Her prose is rich, flawless, intricate, audacious and utterly beautiful' - Raymond Mortimer Set in pre-war Paris, Julie de Carneilhan tells of the complex relationship between the proud but impoverished Julie and her former husband, the Comte d'Espivant, who has remarried a wealthy widow. Julie de Carneilhan was the last full-length novel Colette was...

The fourth novel by Elizabeth Bowen, described by the Guardian as 'One of the last century's greatest woman writers'. Cecilia, capricious and unable to love, inches reluctantly towards a second marriage to the kind, passionless Julian Tower. Meanwhile, her sister-in-law, Emmeline, is surprised to find the calm tenor of her life disturbed by her attraction to the predatory Mark Linkwater....

A new translation of this gripping novel, originally intended as the last in the Maigret series, which sees the inspector brought out of his peaceful retirement. Maigret shrugged his shoulders, buried his hands in his pockets and went off without answering. He had just spent one of the most wretched days in his life. For hours, in his corner, he...

Penguin Classics relaunch The Diary of a Nobody began as a serial in Punch and the book which followed in 1892 has never been out of print. The Grossmith brothers not only created an immortal comic character but produced a clever satire of their society. Mr Pooter is an office clerk and upright family man in a dull 1880s suburb....

A devastating tale of misfortune, betrayal and the weakness of family ties, newly translated for the Maigret series. Instead of the detail filling itself in and becoming clearer, it seemed to escape him. The face of the man in the ill-fitting coat just misted up so that it hardly looked human. In theory, this mental portrait was good enough, but...

A beautiful new edition of Mary Shelley's Gothic horror classic, Frankenstein Includes a cultural history of Frankenstein’s monster by Jeanette Winterson Navigating the Arctic, the captain of a ship rescues a man wandering near death across the ice caps. How the man got there reveals itself in a story of ambition, murder, and revenge. As a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein...

George MacDonald's beloved classic of children's fantasy is now available in an unabridged, paperback volume in Union Square and Co.'s Signature Editions series. A classic fairy tale of Princess Irene, the brave young miner Curdie, magic, and the dastardly goblins plotting against the kingdom. Throughout their journey, Princess Irene and Curdie face various challenges and magical events that test their...

Hans Christian Andersen is one of the world's most popular storytellers, and his fairy tales are among the best-loved works of literature. Readers the world over know his poignant tale of "The Little Mermaid," who sacrifices everything for love, and "Thumbelina," the miniscule maiden who captures the heart of many members of the animal kingdom. Several of Andersen's stories are...

Grimm's Fairy Tales collects more than forty of the best-known fairy tales set down by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the early decades of the nineteenth century. Among them are timeless stories such as "Little Red Riding Hood," "Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," "Rapunzel," "Rumpelstiltskin," and "Tom Thumb." In these wonderfully entertaining stories, frogs transform into handsome...

A new translation of this novel in which Maigret's leave in the Dordogne is disrupted by some sinister happenings. He recalled his travelling companion's agitated sleep—was it really sleep—his sighs, and his sobbing. Then two dangling legs in their patent leather boots and hand-knitted socks... A lacklustre face. Glazed eyes. And Maigret was not surprised to see a grey beard...

Exiled from Paris, Maigret discovers some disturbing secrets in a sleepy coastal town. A short, sprightly man appeared in the doorway, looked left and right, and went back into the passage. A moment later, the improbable happened. The little man reappeared, bent over, clinging to a long mass that he now started dragging through the mud. It must have been...

Imperious, clever, mysterious—Maigret meets his match in the alluring form of Felicie. In his mind's eye, he would see that slim figure in the striking clothes, those wide eyes the colour of forget-me-not, the pert nose, and especially the hat: that giddy, crimson bonnet perched on the top of her head with a bronze-green feather shaped like a blade stuck...

A collection of three of the sharpest Restoration comedies. The three plays collected in this volume demonstrate Sheridan's unerring ability to create unrivalled comedy out of ingenious plots, witty repartee, farcical situations and flamboyant characters. And while he never overtly moralises, Sheridan uses brilliant comedy to deflate hypocrisy and satirise the manners of his age. In The Rivals, Captain Absolute...

A chilling exploration of humanity’s capacity for evil and the dark side of thoughtless curiosity Exploring timeless themes of the duality of human nature, the tension between good and evil, and the consequences of tampering with the natural order, the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde remains one of the enduring classics of the gothic horror genre. This...

A timeless story of beauty, hedonism, and morality A new addition to the widely read Capstone Classics series, The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Gothic Classic, by Oscar Wilde, explores the brutal consequences of hedonism, loose morals, and an obsessive focus on beauty and pleasure. Wilde’s novel follows a young man, Dorian Gray, who becomes infatuated with his own beauty...

A stunning full-colour illustrated adaptation of H. G. Wells' sci-fi classic, from the illustrator of A Boy Called Christmas and The Iron Man. 1894. Across space, this Earth is being watched by envious eyes. What seems to be a meteorite falls to Earth, but from the debris unfolds a terrifying alien threat... Leon and his scientist wife race against the...

A rich new selection of Buddhist writings, representing the full range of historical periods, geographical origins and literary styles. While Buddhism has no central text such as the Bible or the Koran, there is a powerful body of scripture from across Asia that encompasses the dharma, or the teachings of Buddha. This rich anthology brings together works from a broad...

Return to the world of The Samurai Detectives, the multi-million copy bestselling series of thrilling adventure and inscrutable mystery. In the months since their last perilous quest, a fragile calm has settled over Edo. Daijiro dedicates his days to training the first pupil of his quiet riverside dojo, while his father Kohei—a famed swordsman whose name still inspires awe—drifts through...

Anniversary edition of the first book Jackie French published with A & R. This is where a truly remarkable career began. Rain Stones and the other stories in this collection reveal that the country is a magical place, that there is an extra dimension to be found by those whose minds and hearts are open to the possibility. Michael knows...

An extraordinary book... Part Gothic fantasy, part emblematic progress through a dream world... It has a gripping hallucinogenic clarity - Snoo Wilson A trancelike feminist fable by Britain's foremost surrealist painter Calcination. Putrefaction. Exaltation. Trapped on an enchanted island ruled by her uncle, a young woman must pass through the stages of alchemical transformation to escape. He wants to conquer...

A man is found dead in an escape tunnel in an Italian prisoner-of-war camp. Did he die in an accidental collapse — or was this murder? Captain Henry 'Cuckoo' Goyles, master tunneller and amateur detective, takes up the case. This classic locked-room mystery with a closed circle of suspects is woven together with a thrilling story of escape from the...

A rich and exquisite anthology that illuminates Japanese travel over a thousand years Shortlisted for the NSW Translation Prize Discover a realm of travel writing undreamed of in the West - a richly literary tradition extending through a thousand years and more, whose individual works together weave a dense and beautiful brocade of repeated patterns and motifs, tones and textures....

Celebrate all things lucky with The Very Hungry Caterpillar! Celebrate all things lucky with The Very Hungry Caterpillar in this charming and colorful board book perfect for St. Patrick's Day! From four-leaf clovers to ladybugs, shooting stars, and more, there are so many ways to feel lucky! Learn about them all with The Very Hungry Caterpillar in this delightful board...

A key work of ancient Chinese philosophy is brought back to life in Ian Johnston's compelling, definitive translation. Very little is known about Master Mo, or the school he founded. However, the book containing his philosophical ideas has survived centuries of neglect and is today recognised as a fundamental work of ancient Chinese philosophy. The book contains sections explaining the...

Discover Jules Verne's epic underwater adventure with this gorgeous collectible edition of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Professor Aronnax, a marine biologist, joins harpoonist Ned Land in search of a mysterious sea creature in the open ocean, only to discover that the beast is actually a submarine piloted by the enigmatic Captain Nemo. They are taken captive, thus beginning...

A woman is unnerved when a sinister package arrives in the post—containing her old diary entries. Strange and gripping, this is the unmistakable work of Marlen Haushofer, mistress of sustained dread and author of the cult classic, The Wall. An Austrian housewife sits in her loft intent on her drawings of birds and insects. The loft is a retreat where...

To tie in with the new 4-part BBC/Netflix animation coming Christmas 2018. Fiver could sense danger. Something terrible is about to happen to the warren - he feels sure of it. And Fiver's sixth sense is never wrong, according to his brother Hazel. They had to leave immediately, and they had to persuade the other rabbits to join them. And...

Twelve-year-old Eli is an apprentice librarian at the largest library in the world. But when his grandmother falls ill, he enters the Glorious Race of Magical Beasts to raise money for her treatment. This annual race is always held in the most perilous places and is full of spiky dangers. Most participants seek out unicorns and dragons to help them...

A gorgeous picture book to delight all little readers, featuring blackbirds and honeybees with shining secrets. Collect the whole series for a year-round library of beautiful books. In this beautiful collection of stories by the world's best-loved storyteller, Enid Blyton, the blackbirds share their secret, a honeybee shows off his hidden pockets and the fairy queen searches for a royal...

Set off on an outdoor adventure with this collection of 25 classic tales by the world's best-loved storyteller. The perfect holiday read for children aged 5 and up!From stolen dogs and disappearing necklaces to journeys to faraway lands, these fun-filled stories are packed full of mystery and adventure. Ideal for newly confident readers, these entertaining tales are the ideal length...

Solve the mystery with the Secret Seven - everyone's favourite detective club! These timeless stories are perfect for young fans of mystery, adventure or detective series. Also available in audiobook! In book six, Good Work, Secret Seven, Peter and Janet are the only witnesses when a car is stolen. They saw the thieves, and now the whole of the Secret...

With their father away in the military and their mother working overtime to support the family, the March sisters have to rely on one another to make it from day to day. Whether they're arguing over the bathroom, struggling with homework, fighting off bullies, understanding their crushes, or battling leukemia, there's one thing the four sisters keep questioning—will everything turn...

A wonderful collection of six retellings of William Shakespeare's best-loved plays—a perfect mix of comedy, tragedy, magic, and romance, retold for younger readers. Full of colourful illustrations from the Usborne Young Reading Programme. Suitable for ages 7 and above. The stories of six of Shakespeare's best-loved plays are beautifully retold and illustrated for children growing in reading confidence. Includes Twelfth...

Favourite stories from Robert Munsch in an early reader format kids will love! Adapted from the originals so beginner readers can proudly say I read this myself! Colourful and fun, Robert Munsch's zany stories and Michael Martchenko's illustrations will grab kids' attention and keep them interested as they practise their reading skills. Tips for supporting emerging readers are in the...

“There’s nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as messing about in boats.…" One of the all-time great animal stories. Kenneth Grahame's classic children's book, with exclusive illustrations from E.H. Shepard, has delighted generations. Rat, Mole, Toad, and Badger have been firm favourites with children and adults everywhere since the tale of their many adventures was first...

The #1 New York Times Bestseller and instant Sunday Times Bestseller The only official companion to the Harry Potter stories – the ultimate compendium of wizarding lists, charts, maps and all things magical! Whisk yourself away to Harry Potter’s wizarding world with this Whiz-bang of an illustrated companion, suitable for readers of all ages. Discover magical places, study wandlore, encounter...

The Brothers Karamazov is a classic that only gets more timely with the ages. In its account of the murder trial of Fyodor Karamazov, it was the true-crime phenomenon of its day; in its study of how his three archetypally different sons butt heads and come under scrutiny in the wake of his death, it calls to mind any number...

Meet all your favourite characters from the deep dark wood in this colourful tabbed board book based on the bestselling classic picture book, The Gruffalo. Take a stroll through the deep dark wood to learn more about Mouse, Fox, the Gruffalo and more of your favourite characters, with sturdy tabbed pages and colourful illustrations. Based on the original stories, The...

Dive into these six volumes of classic stories from the masters of the dark and macabre...if you dare. This collection of dark and haunting stories is an essential addition to the bookshelf of anyone who enjoys classic literature and tales of horror. The six volumes in this boxed set include short stories from esteemed authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edith...

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'You won't find a more thrilling winter read this year, or a better line up of writers who have mastered the gothic and ghostly.' SARA COLLINS, Costa Award-winning author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton Featuring new and original tales from: Bridget Collins Sunday Times bestselling author of The Binding | Imogen Hermes Gowar Sunday...

Join the world's most beloved bunny, Peter Rabbit, in this board book version of the childhood classic, perfect for an Easter basket or the spring season. This board book with sturdy pages and rounded corners is perfect for toddlers, who will enjoy entering Beatrix Potter’s enchanted world full of rabbits and bunnies. Charles Santore illustrates this timeless tale with lessons...