Classic General Fiction

"They say (said Reginald) that there's nothing sadder than victory except defeat. If you've ever stayed with dull people during what is alleged to be the festive season, you can probably revise that saying." These Christmas stories present Saki at his inimitable, satirical best as he addresses the most perilous aspects of the holiday period: visiting dull relatives, tolerating Christmas...

In the months following his wife's death, Mr. Preemby, a retired laundryman, becomes convinced that he is the incarnation of Sargon, the ancient king of Sumeria, returned to save a world upturned by the First World War. Trying to make sense of Mr. Preemby is his stepdaughter, Christina Alberta. A masterclass in comic invention, Christina Alberta's Father depicts characters who...

Charles Dickens (Barnes & Noble Collectible Classics: Omnibus Edition) brings together five of Charles Dickens' best-known novels: Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, and A Tale of Two Cities. Many readers know Victorian England through the writings of Charles Dickens. Not only did Dickens put a face to the era through his memorable characters, but he also...

Bleak House by Charles Dickens is a classic novel filled with intricate storytelling and unforgettable characters. After impressing Francis Drake with a feat of daring and bravery, young Ned Hearne is offered a reward of his own choosing. His decision? To sail the seas on Drake’s ship. Little does he know, however, what adventures, dangers and close shaves lie in...

Beyond Time explores the fascinating concept of time travel, a staple of science fiction that presents both intriguing possibilities and complex challenges, including paradoxes. This collection features stories spanning from the 1880s to the 1960s, transporting us to the remote future and back to the distant past. We find ourselves trapped in eternal loops, encounter visitors and objects from the...

A STUNNING NEW EDITION OF FORSTER'S CLASSIC NOVEL With a new introduction by Sarah Winman, bestselling author of Still Life 'One of the most beautiful, poignant and poetic love stories, as relevant today as it was then' SARAH WINMAN 'My first intimation of the possibilities of fiction' ZADIE SMITH 'Brimming with yearning and desire . . . a novel I...

'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man begins with one of the most arresting opening sentences in literature,' Patrick McGuinness, from his Preface. A Portrait first appeared in instalments in the modernist magazine The Egoist in 1914, before it came out as a book in 1916, the year of the Easter Rising against British rule in Ireland. An...

A Pin to See the Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse tells the story of Julia Almond, a woman who believes she is special and dreams of a more exciting and glamorous life, far removed from the drab suburbia of her upbringing. Her work at a fashionable boutique in the West End grants her the personal freedom she craves, but her...

'I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.' Mark Twain In these extraordinary stories, Mark Twain takes us from the sleepy banks of the Mississippi, through frontier towns, and across the deserted gold plains of California. We encounter his countryfolk in all their bizarre variety: a cannibalistic ex-senator, a...

Originally conceived by its author as an entertaining story for Alice Liddell, the daughter of an Oxford dean, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the fantastic tale of the young Alice’s encounters with the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts, has captured the imaginations of young and old throughout the world since it was first...

By the New York Times Bestselling Author With a New Introduction by Clare Chambers 'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' - Richard Osman 'My favourite writer... I pick up her books with joy, as though I were meeting an old, dear friend' - Jilly Cooper 'The subtlest of her books... the sparkle on first acquaintance has been succeeded by...

Agatha Raisin: Hiss and Hers sees Agatha falling in love once again. This time, the object of her affection is the local gardener, George Marston. However, she isn’t the only one vying for his attention. With her shameless determination, Agatha is willing to do anything to win him over—even footing the bill for a charity ball in town just to...

The cult novel of fin de siècle decadence that inspired Oscar Wilde. 'It will be the biggest fiasco of the year - but I don't give a damn! It will be something nobody has ever done before.' The title page of the first complete English translation of Against Nature (published in French as A Rebours) included the caption 'the book...

The bestselling author of The Talented Mr Ripley, Carol and Strangers on a Train 'The No.1 Greatest Crime Writer' The Times 'The original, the best, the gloriously twisted Queen of Suspense' Mark Billingham 'No one has created psychological suspense more densely and deliciously satisfying' Vogue 'Dear Sir, I suppose you are pretty pleased with yourself? Superior to everyone, you think....

This cat was a drag... Till a midnight wakeup call A Christmas Carol?! What a load of Humbug. Mistletoe and Wine just don't do it for Scrooge; he's a workaholic miser with an attitude problem. If he doesn't change his ways, he'll end up with no friends and Tiny Tim won't last the year. Let's hope some spooky night-time visitors...

An exquisitely illustrated, luxury collector's edition of Dickens's Christmas tale. Marley's ghost, Bob Cratchit's slide down icy Cornhill, Mr and Mrs Fezziwig's dance, and of course Ebenezer Scrooge himself, are all exquisitely illustrated in this luxury collector's edition of Charles Dickens's perennial seasonal favourite. Arthur Rackham's colour wash drawings and silhouettes, first published during the First World War, bring a...

'For three minutes you will turn your eyes inward into the darkness of the mind which I have taught you to make. Then I will give the sign you will look at the paper. There you will see words written, but only for one second. Bend all your powers to remember them.' What begins as a welcome, if slightly dull,...

Lud-In-The-Mist - a prosperous country town situated where two rivers meet: the Dawl and the Dapple. The latter, which has its source in the land of Faerie, is a great trial to Lud, which had long rejected anything 'other', preferring to believe only in what is known, what is solid. Nathaniel Chanticleer is a somewhat dreamy, slightly melancholy man, not...

A new edition of this vitally important political novel from George Orwell. First published in 1945, Animal Farm—the history of a revolution that went wrong—is Orwell's brilliant satire on the corrupting influence of power. 'All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.' Mr Jones of Manor Farm is so lazy and drunken that one day he...

Classic crime fiction's 'Indiana Jones' Tony Medawar unearths more unpublished and uncollected stories from the Golden Age of suspense, including John Bude, John Dickson Carr, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Julian Symons. ‘Five books in, and the selection here might well be the strongest yet. This series continues to delight with the high standard of forgotten gems that Medawar uncovers, and...

The first novel by one of the legends of the Harlem Renaissance, a classic in the annals of Black fiction. When Black lawyer Fred Merrit purchases a house in the most exclusive white neighbourhood bordering Harlem, he has to hire the toughest removal firm in the area to help him get his belongings past the hostile neighbours. The removal men...

For the first time ever, a beautiful slipcased edition of the forerunner to The Lord of the Rings, illustrated throughout in colour by J.R.R. Tolkien himself, with the complete text printed in two colours and with many bonus features unique to this edition. The Silmarilli were three perfect jewels, fashioned by Fëanor, the most gifted of the Elves, and within...

A landmark anthology, staking a new claim for Bengali literature in English. The prose short story arrived in Bengal in the wake of British colonisers, and Bengali writers quickly made the form their own. By the twentieth century, a profusion of literary magazines and journals meant they were being avidly read by millions. Writers responded to this hunger for words...

A hardcover omnibus edition of the two classic novels in which Mary Renault brilliantly recreates the legendary hero Theseus and his defeat of the Minotaur. In two remarkable historical novels, Mary Renault fashions from the myth of Theseus a convincingly flawed hero and weaves a thrillingly plausible account of the Labyrinth and the infamous Minotaur. The King Must Die follows...

A 40th anniversary hardcover edition of Sandra Cisneros's beloved coming-of-age novel about a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago. The House on Mango Street is one of the most cherished novels of the last fifty years. Readers from all walks of life have fallen for the voice of Esperanza Cordero, growing up in Chicago and inventing for herself who...

The thirteenth issue of The Happy Reader, the bookish bi-annual published by Penguin Classics in collaboration with Fantastic Man. For avid readers and the uninitiated alike, this is a chance to reengage with classic literature and to stay inspired and entertained. The concept of the magazine is simple: the first half is a long-form interview with a notable book fanatic...

Set in a small town in New Zealand, the story is told through the eyes of a gauche thirteen-year-old boy called Jimmy Sullivan. It is the haunting tale of a young boy growing up in a Catholic household, seeing things he shouldn't and struggling to cope. The book appears to be domestic in scope and provincial in vision, but by...

The time for a revival of interest in the work of G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), a towering figure in the literary world of the early twentieth century, is long overdue. Novelist, journalist, short-story writer, essayist, biographer, critic, poet, and Catholic apologist, his was a many-faceted talent, as this generous selection made for Everyman by his biographer Ian Ker bears witness....

Dive into three captivating novels from a pioneer in the genre of science fiction: The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The War in the Air. The stories of H. G. Wells have engrossed readers for more than a century by incorporating fantastic, otherworldly elements into the lives of ordinary people. Selected Works of H. G. Wells includes three of...

One of the greatest American novelists of the twentieth century - Sunday Telegraph Richard Yates was acclaimed as one of the most powerful, compassionate, and accomplished writers of America's post-war generation. Whether addressing the smothered desire of suburban housewives, the white-collar despair of Manhattan office workers, or the heartbreak of a single mother with artistic pretensions, Yates ruthlessly examines 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. With his signature flair and razor-sharp wit, Saki is an undisputed master of the short story. His tales are by turns hilarious, festive, supernatural, and macabre, but all offer fabulous, bite-sized satires of a decadent...

Further stories of members of the Drones Club and several adventures related by the Oldest Member of the golf club. Many old friends reappear – Bingo Little and Mrs Bingo, Freddie Widgeon, Ambrose Gussett, Agnes Flack, Horace Bewstridge and many more. Including: The Shadow Passes Bramley Is So Bracing Up From the Depths Feet of Clay Excelsior Rodney Has a...

Set in Paris's demi-monde at the beginning of the twentieth century, Chéri by Colette is a passionate story of devotion, misplaced desire, and the passage of time. Chéri is part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, pocket-sized classics bound in real cloth with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a...

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. Journey to the Centre of the Earth is a science-fiction classic by Jules Verne where, “From that hour we had no further occasion for the exercise of reason, or judgment, or skill, or contrivance. We were henceforth to be hurled along, the playthings of the fierce elements of...

"There is no greater sorrow than to be mindful of the happy time in misery." Dante Alighieri's Inferno, the first Canticle in the epic poetic masterpiece The Divine Comedy, is now available in an exquisite hardcover edition featuring a foiled cover and distinctive interior design elements, making it an ideal gift for literature lovers, fans of gothic horror and allegorical...

HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics. We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words. When his beloved owners are forced to sell him, Black Beauty leaves his life as a young, carefree colt and embarks...

Boxed gift set of Tolkien’s classic masterpieces, fully illustrated throughout in watercolour by the acclaimed and award-winning artist, Alan Lee, Conceptual Designer on Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit films. Since they were first published, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have been two books people have treasured. Steeped in unrivalled magic and otherworldliness, these works of sweeping fantasy have...

For the first time ever, a beautiful slipcased edition of the enchanting prelude to The Lord of the Rings, illustrated throughout with over 50 sketches, drawings, paintings, and maps by J.R.R. Tolkien himself, with the complete text printed in two colours and with many bonus features unique to this edition. Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious...

The first part of J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic adventure The Lord of the Rings. In a sleepy village in the Shire, a young hobbit is entrusted with an immense task. He must make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ruling Ring of Power – the only thing that prevents the Dark...

Fifty new books at £1 each, celebrating the pioneering spirit of the Penguin Modern Classics series, from inspiring essays to groundbreaking fiction and poetry. It was what we call in the trade a potato... Tales of low-lifes and grifters trying to make ends meet in pre-War Germany.

"A spell-binder... A desperately exciting book." - Daily Telegraph "Exceptionally well written and guaranteed [to] bring back memories of boyhood classics." - Sunday Times "Vivid... Beautiful descriptions... Carries us expertly from one excitement to another." - Punch Colonel Methuen is a seasoned British secret agent, weary of espionage missions and desperately in need of a break - but he can't...

Caroline Corcoran’s workplace thriller has more twists than a forkful of spaghetti! – Fabulous Her dream job just became her worst nightmare… My name is Rose, and I work for one of the country’s biggest newspapers. I was the Day Editor. Will Frost was the Night Editor. When I got to the office, Will had already left. When I left,...

"I had never heard of Zweig until six or seven years ago, as all the books began to come back into print, and I more or less by chance bought a copy of Beware of Pity. I immediately loved this book, his one, big, great novel—and suddenly there were dozens more in front of me waiting to read." - Wes...

In The Possessed, Witold Gombrowicz, considered by many to be Poland's greatest modernist, draws together the familiar tropes of the Gothic novel to produce a darkly funny and playful subversion of the form. With dreams of escaping his small-town existence and the limitations of his status, a young tennis coach travels to the heart of the Polish countryside where he...

An extraordinary tale of betrayal from the celebrated author of the Maigret series. On the shore of the Black Sea, on the edge of the Soviet Union, a little city has a new Turkish consul. Adil Bey—alone in an alien land—has taken the job after the mysterious death of his predecessor. Receiving only suspicion and hostility, he soon becomes reliant...

Love, ambition, and wealth take centre stage in this collection of classic stories from the Jazz Age. Often described as the “Great American Novel,” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is the quintessential story of love, ambition, and wealth in the Roaring Twenties. In the Long Island village of West Egg, the rich and mysterious Jay Gatsby pursues the now-married...

This mesmerizing, ambitious, lyrical masterpiece is perhaps Nobel Prize-winner Patrick White's best novel. NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE The Eye of the Storm tells the story of Elizabeth Hunter, an ex-socialite in her eighties, who has a mystical experience during a summer storm in Sydney. This transformative event alters all her relationships, and her existence becomes charged with a meaning...

‘Held me completely in its thrall until the very last line’ — SUSAN STOKES-CHAPMAN ‘I was hooked from the start’ — DAILY MAIL A SUNDAY TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH A TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE HISTORICAL WRITERS' ASSOCIATION DEBUT CROWN PRIZE June, 1878. The body of a boy is pulled from the depths of the River Thames,...

Dear Sir/Ma'am, Please find enclosed this AMBER AMULET. That must sound unusual to a citizen, but you will have to trust me on this count because the science is too detailed for me to outline here. All you need to know is that the AMBER AMULET will eliminate your unhappiness by counteracting it with POSITIVE ENERGY. This should see you...

These stories and poems come from the mind of one of the earliest masters of macabre literature. From the mysterious to the macabre, the works of Edgar Allan Poe have the power to evoke readers’ deepest emotions. Poe’s stories and poems explore the darker side of life and still offer lessons and insight into human behaviour today. This handsome Word...

I can hear the creak of the saddle and the clop and clink of hoofs as we cross the bridge over the brook by Dundell Farm; there is a light burning in the farmhouse window, and the evening star glitters above a broken drift of half-luminous cloud. It is with a sigh that I remember simple moments such as those,...

No home library is complete without the classics! Iliad & Odyssey brings together the two essential Greek epics from the poet Homer in an elegant, leather-bound, omnibus edition—a keepsake to be read and treasured. The Iliad and The Odyssey are two of the oldest works of western literature—yet these ancient myths still offer powerful lessons for our times. From the...

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. The wolf thought to himself, "What a tender young creature! what a nice plump mouthful – she will be better to eat than the old woman. I must act craftily, so as to catch both." Collected by the German Grimm brothers, these folk tales have captured the imaginations...

A strange love triangle unravels in this masterly study of storytelling, deception, and desire. They met when they were teenagers. Quiet, poor, perhaps even a little dull, Miguel fell for languid Alicia during their long walks back from school. Then Lucas arrived and changed everything, entrancing Alicia with his confident bohemian charm. Miguel could not compete. But he stuck around...

The 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,...

First time in Penguin Classics for this masterpiece of Victorian Gothic One of the most significant and intriguing Gothic novels of the Victorian period, Uncle Silas is enjoyed today as a modern psychological thriller. In Uncle Silas (1864), Le Fanu brought up to date Mrs Radcliffe's earlier tales of virtue imprisoned and menaced by unscrupulous schemers. The narrator, Maud Ruthyn,...

With a brand new introduction from Greg James, this caper of supreme joy is a Wodehouse classic. 'A colourful universe of aristocratic buffoonery and public school nonsense' — Greg James, host of BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Poor Pongo Twistleton only has to endure his energetic seventy-year-old Uncle Fred for lunch once a year, but when he descends from Ickenham (he's...

A new edition of Hogg's haunting tale of a devilish doppelgänger, edited and introduced by Hogg's celebrated biographer Karl Miller. Brought up by a strict Calvinist pastor, Robert Wringham believes he is one of the elect, predestined for salvation while all others—including his real father and brother—are cursed. Convinced he is indestructible and above the law, Robert commits terrible crimes...

'One of the greatest European novelists of the century' - Sunday Times This novella, one of the most haunting things that Joseph Roth ever composed, was published in 1939, the year the author died. Like Andreas, the hero of the story, Roth drank himself to death in Paris, but this is not an autobiographical confession. Rather, it is a secular...

A gorgeously illustrated graphic novel adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s beloved American classic. First published in 1925, The Great Gatsby has been acclaimed by generations of readers and is now reimagined as a stunning graphic novel. Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, Daisy Buchanan, and the rest of the unforgettable cast are rendered in vivid and evocative illustrations by artist Aya Morton....

Exceptional Telegraph Shocking, sensual and moving... Unfailingly original The Times The 18th century is drawing to a close, and unrest grips France. Tarare has been born into a life of slender means, but when a sudden act of violence ignites in him a ferocious appetite, his extraordinary abilities to eat make him a marvel throughout the land. Travelling to Paris...

Sister Perpetue is not to move. She is not to fall asleep. She is to sit, keeping guard over the patient's room. She has heard the stories of his hunger, which defy belief: that he has eaten all manner of creatures and objects. A child even, if the rumours are to be believed. But it is hard to believe that...

A new translation of the French classic—the first in a hundred years—by David Coward. The Napoleonic Wars are over. Octave, a young Parisian, loves his mistress Elise—until he witnesses her being unfaithful. His despair leads to decadence, and he becomes the perfect libertine. However, the death of his father takes Octave to the countryside where he falls in love with...

Parade's End, Ford's great masterpiece set in the First World War, is now available in Penguin Black Classics with an introduction by Julian Barnes. Consisting of four novels - Some Do Not..., No More Parades, A Man Could Stand Up, and The Last Post - Parade's End is the story of Christopher Tietjens and his progress from the secure world...

The award-winning new supernatural thriller from the acclaimed author of Ghost Story, Koko, The Throat, and The Talisman. Every year on his birthday, Ned Dunstan experiences a paralysing seizure where he is forced to witness scenes of ruthless slaughter perpetrated by a mysterious figure in black whom he calls Mr. X. As his birthday approaches, Ned is drawn back to...

Here at last is an exciting new translation of the modernist Brazilian epic Macunaíma, by Mário de Andrade. This landmark novel from 1928 has been hugely influential. It follows the adventures of the shapeshifting Macunaíma and his brothers as they leave their home in the northern Amazon for a whirlwind tour of Brazil, cramming four centuries and a continental expanse...

Exiled for nine years by the First World War, Ludwig has finally returned home to meet the woman he so passionately loved, and who promised to wait for him. But circumstances have changed. Confronted with an uncertain future, and still haunted by the past, they discover whether their love has survived hardships, betrayals, and the lapse of time. Journey Into...

The classic tale of suspense set in Provence, where an English tourist investigates a series of mysterious deaths, from the acclaimed master of action and suspense. From all over Europe, even from behind the Iron Curtain, gypsies make an annual pilgrimage to the holy shrine of their patron saint in Provence. But something is different about this year's gathering; this...

Can friendship survive in a divided world? Written on the eve of the Holocaust as a series of letters between a Jew in America and his German friend, Kressmann Taylor's classic novel is a haunting tale of a society poisoned by Nazism. First published in 1938, Address Unknown met with immediate success in English but was banned in Europe by...

Three of the great American novels by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the incomparable chronicler of the Jazz Age, are all together in one keepsake volume. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote some of the most acclaimed novels of the 20th century, and literary scholars regard him as one of the finest American writers of all time. His stories were the stories of the...

A fine collection of classic novels, short stories, poems, and essays from distinguished women writers. Women writers have been making their voices heard for centuries, but their works were not always taken seriously. Over time, as women gained more social and political freedom, these works have reemerged as subjects that are considered to be worthy of closer study. Classic Works...

This illustrated collection includes hundreds of fables that have influenced our world for centuries. The stories attributed to Aesop, a slave and storyteller who lived in Greece around 620–564 BCE, were originally passed on through oral tradition before first being transcribed several centuries after his death. Many of these fables use animals as the main characters to convey deeper meanings...

'One of the greatest novels ever written' - Philippe Sands Set during the doomed splendour of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, The Radetzky March tells the story of the celebrated Trotta family, tracing their rise and fall over three generations. Theirs is a sweeping history of heroism and duty, desire and compromise, tragedy and heartbreak, a story that lasts until the darkening...

In this magnificent collection of The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig, the very best and worst of human nature are captured with sharp observation, understanding, and vivid empathy. A knock on a door that forces a whole community to take flight, an ageing womaniser who meets his match, a love soured into awful cruelty—these stories present a master at work,...

Twice Voted Scotland's Favourite Book Faced with a choice between a harsh farming life and the world of books and learning, Chris Guthrie chooses to remain in her rural community, bound by her intense love of the land. But everything changes with the arrival of the First World War, and Chris finds her land altered beyond recognition. In lyrical prose,...

Siddhartha is a gorgeous hardcover edition where you'll discover the timeless relevance of Hermann Hesse's masterwork alongside beautiful illustrations. Hermann Hesse's classic novel Siddhartha comes to you in this newly designed edition complete with full-colour illustration and a foil and debossed hardcover. In the journey, Siddhartha, living in ancient Nepal, rediscovers the illumination of travel, meditation, and the wisdom of...

What, what, am I to do with all of this life? Maud Martha Brown is a little girl growing up on the South Side of 1940s Chicago. Amidst the crumbling taverns and overgrown yards, she dreams: of New York, romance, her future. She admires dandelions, learns to drink coffee, falls in love, decorates her kitchenette, visits the Jungly Hovel, guts...

'It happened one day, about noon, going towards my boat, I was exceedingly surprised with the print of a man's naked foot on the shore...' Thus Defoe describes the heart-stopping moment when—after years of solitude—the world's most famous shipwrecked mariner discovers that he is not totally alone on his island. From its publication in 1719, and through many translations, Robinson...

Young law student Rodion Raskolnikov lives in poverty in St. Petersburg. In desperation, he sells the last of his valuables, a watch, to an elderly pawnbroker. But what the pawnbroker doesn't know is that Raskolnikov is rehearsing the crime he has resolved to commit: to rob and murder her. Though the robbery will service his own needs—and that of his...

Confusion tells the story of Roland, a young student at a new university, who meets an inspirational teacher. This meeting pulls him into a world of literature and learning. As Roland moves into the same building as the teacher and his wife, he grows ever closer to this remarkable man. However, he begins to sense his mentor pulling away from...