Penguin Classics

The greatest novel of the twentieth century, now in a beautiful Clothbound Classics centenary edition. Following the events of one single day in Dublin, the 16th of June 1904, and what happens to the characters Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom, and his wife Molly, Ulysses is a monument to the human condition. It has survived censorship, controversy, and legal action, and...

A chilling collection of Henry James's finest ghost stories, now in a wonderful Clothbound Classics edition. In The Turn of the Screw, one of the most famous ghost stories of all time, a governess becomes obsessed with the belief that malevolent forces are stalking the children in her care. But are the children really in danger—and if so, from whom?...

Henry James's masterpiece, now available in a delightful new clothbound edition. When Isabel Archer, a beautiful, spirited American, is brought to Europe by her wealthy Aunt Touchett, it is expected that she will soon marry. But Isabel, resolved to enjoy her freedom, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors. Then she finds herself irresistibly drawn to Gilbert Osmond....

Mark Twain's great American masterpiece, in a gorgeous new clothbound edition. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is Mark Twain's tale of a boy's picaresque journey down the Mississippi on a raft, conveying the voice and experience of the American frontier as no other work had done before. When Huck escapes from his drunken father and the 'sivilizing' Widow Douglas with...

Penguin Classics relaunch. That proud, impassioned soul, so ungovernable now that she has felt the sting of injustice. Medea, in which a spurned woman takes revenge upon her lover by killing her children, is one of the most shocking and horrific of all the Greek tragedies. Dominating the play is Medea herself, a towering and powerful figure who demonstrates Euripides'...

To the Lighthouse is Woolf's most autobiographical novel, now in Penguin Black Classics. To the Lighthouse is at once a vivid impressionistic depiction of a family holiday, and a meditation on marriage, on parenthood and childhood, on grief, tyranny and bitterness. For years now, the Ramsays have spent every summer in their holiday home in Scotland, and they expect these...

New to Modern Classics, published alongside The Ballad of Peckham Rye Lise has been driven to distraction by working in the same accountants' office for sixteen years. So she leaves everything behind her, transforms herself into a laughing, garishly-dressed temptress and flies abroad on the holiday of a lifetime. But her search for adventure, sex and the obsessional experience takes...

The Three Musketeers, an enthralling tale of valour, intrigue, and brotherhood, penned by Alexandre Dumas and newly translated by Richard Pevear, takes readers on a captivating journey through 17th-century France. The story follows the spirited young Gascon, D'Artagnan, who arrives in Paris with dreams of joining the King's illustrious Musketeers. Upon his arrival, D'Artagnan's fiery temper and unyielding sense of...

A Treatise of Human Nature is David Hume's seminal work, where he embarks on an expansive exploration of the complexities of human psychology and the ways in which our minds navigate the world. The book is divided into three parts: the understanding, the passions, and morals, each addressing critical inquiries into human cognition, emotion, and conduct. Published in 1739-40 when...

A beautiful edition of the great Stoic philosopher's writings, designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith and new to the Penguin Pocket Hardbacks series. I must die. But must I die bawling? Epictetus, a Greek Stoic and freed slave, ran a thriving philosophy school in Nicopolis in the early second century CE. His animated discussions were celebrated for their rhetorical wizardry and were...

An anthology of some of the greatest poetry in the English language. Poetry and music have been associated with each other from the very beginning. The Penguin Book of English Song draws together a great variety of English poetry (including Irish, Scots and Welsh writers) that has reached a wider audience through the magic of music. Richard Stokes's rich anthology...

The Story of the Stone (c. 1760), also known as The Dream of the Red Chamber, is one of the greatest novels of Chinese literature. The fifth part of Cao Xueqin's magnificent saga, "The Dreamer Awakes", was carefully edited and completed by Gao E some decades later. It continues the story of the changing fortunes of the Jia dynasty, focusing...

One of the greatest epics in Western literature, The Iliad recounts the story of the Trojan wars. This timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves to its tragic conclusion. In his introduction, Bernard Knox observes that although the violence of The Iliad is grim and relentless,...

A beautiful clothbound edition of Hardy's most tragic novel. Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality, colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. Jude Fawley's hopes of an education at Christminster University are dashed when he is trapped into marrying the wild,...

A beautifully designed clothbound edition of Shirley Jackson's chilling tale of power and fear. Hunting for evidence of the occult, Dr Montague invites three participants to Hill House: Theodora, his lovely assistant; Luke, set to inherit the estate; and Eleanor, a fragile young woman with a troubled past. As The House takes hold, Jackson plumbs the depths of the human...

On the day of his wedding, Conrad, heir to the house of Otranto, is killed in mysterious circumstances. His calculating father, Manfred, fears that his dynasty will now come to an end and determines to marry his son's bride himself, despite the fact he is already married. But a series of terrifying supernatural omens soon threaten this unlawful union, as...

90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books I am a ridiculous man. They call me mad now. That would be a promotion in rank. A delusional man whose strange dream changes his life; a self-justifying husband who causes his wife's suicide; a witness to a young girl's ruin; a writer who stretches out on a gravestone and listens...

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby, she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile, Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through...

The Story of the Stone (c.1760) is one of the greatest novels of Chinese literature. The first part of the story, The Golden Days, begins the tale of Bao-yu, a gentle young boy who prefers girls to Confucian studies, and his two cousins: Bao-chai, his parents' choice of a wife for him, and the ethereal beauty Dai-yu. Through the changing...

The Story of the Stone (c. 1760), also known by the title of The Dream of the Red Chamber, is the great novel of manners in Chinese literature. Divided into five volumes, of which The Warning Voice is the third, it charts the glory and decline of the illustrious Jia family—a story which closely accords with the fortunes of the...

The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth is a narrative that blurs the lines between history and legend, chronicling the earliest kings of Britain. Completed in 1136, The History of the Kings of Britain traces the story of the realm from its supposed foundation by Brutus to the coming of the Saxons some two thousand years...

Taken from the poverty of her parents' home in Portsmouth, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with her cousin Edmund as her sole ally. During her uncle's absence in Antigua, the Crawfords arrive in the neighbourhood, bringing with them the glamour of London life and a reckless...

In The Art of Rhetoric, Aristotle delves into the intricacies of the art of persuasion, offering an extensive analysis of rhetoric as a central component of public discourse. The book is divided into three primary sections, each addressing different aspects of rhetoric: the speaker, the audience, and the speech itself. Aristotle's work not only explores the theory behind effective communication...

Steinbeck's lyrical and moving novel, now in an elegant clothbound edition. The Pearl is Steinbeck's flawless parable about wealth and the evil it can bring. When Kino, an Indian pearl-diver, finds "the pearl of the world," he believes that his life will be magically transformed. He will marry Juana in church and their little boy, Coyotito, will be able to...

Delve into the revolutionary thinking of one of the 20th century's most provocative and influential philosophers with The Foucault Reader. This essential compilation offers a comprehensive introduction to Michel Foucault’s pioneering work, meticulously curated to provide readers with insightful access to his seminal texts and theories. The Foucault Reader features detailed excerpts from Foucault's richly textured historical studies, including his...

One of the greatest classics of Chinese literature One of China's Four Great Classical Novels, Monkey King was written anonymously during the Ming dynasty and is most commonly attributed to Wu Cheng'en, the son of a silk-shop clerk from east China. It recounts a Tang-dynasty monk's quest for Buddhist scriptures, accompanied by an omni-talented kung-fu Monkey King called Sun Wukong;...

A new translation by Valerie Roebuck of this seminal work of Buddhist literature. One of the best-known and best-loved works of Buddhist literature, The Dhammapada forms part of the oldest surviving body of Buddhist writings and is traditionally regarded as the authentic teachings of the Buddha himself. These teachings were spoken by him during his lifetime and memorised and handed...

The adventures of the well-loved clerical sleuth, collected in a single volume and introduced by Michael D. Hurley. Shabby and lumbering, with a face like a Norfolk dumpling, Father Brown makes for an improbable super-sleuth. But his innocence is the secret of his success—refusing the scientific method of detection, he adopts instead an approach of simple sympathy, interpreting each crime...

A nail-biting, tough-talking classic western from the author of GET SHORTY and JACKIE BROWN. In Last Stand at Sabre River, a Civil War veteran returns home to find a Yankee's private army living on his land, while another enemy waits to strike... Paul Cable has fought - and lost - for the Confederacy but when he returns home he finds...

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. Jean-Baptiste Clamence—refined, handsome, forty, a former successful lawyer—is in turmoil. Over several drunken nights, he regales a chance acquaintance with his story. He talks of parties and his debauchery, of Parisian nights and the Aegean sea, and,...

Orwell's peerless satire, in Penguin Clothbound Classics for the first time. 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, starts to take...

Gerald Durrell's beloved account of his childhood in Corfu, now in Penguin Modern Classics for the first time. 'Living in Corfu was rather like living in one of the more flamboyant and slapstick comic operas' It is 1935 and the Durrells have escaped the leaden summer skies of Bournemouth to arrive 'like a troupe of medieval tumblers' on the sun-drenched...

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 2 is 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 reflection on art, time,...

The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas is, in fact, Gertrude Stein's own autobiography, seen through the eyes of her friend, Alice B. Toklas. With occasional glimpses into her early life, it describes her years in Paris until 1932. At 27 Rue de Fleurus, Gertrude Stein established a formidable literary and artistic salon, and this book provides a record of her...

Born into a theatrical family, Charlie Chaplin's father died of drink while his mother, unable to bear the poverty, suffered from bouts of insanity. All this did not hinder Chaplin from embarking on a filmmaking career which won him immeasurable success, as well as intense controversy. This biography, first published in 1964, was written almost entirely from memory by the...

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, it is...

Mesmerising, haunting stories from the Soviet-Afghan War collected by the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. From 1979 to 1989, Soviet troops engaged in a devastating war in Afghanistan that claimed thousands of casualties on both sides. While the Soviet Union talked about a 'peace-keeping' mission, the dead were shipped back in sealed zinc coffins. Boys in Zinc presents...

New to Classics, The Rule of St Benedict is one of the most important written works in the shaping of Western society. Founder of a monastery at Monte Cassino, between Rome and Naples, in the sixth century, St Benedict intended his Rule to be a practical guide to Christian monastic life. Based on the key precepts of humility, obedience, and...

A collection of some of Dostoyevsky's finest short stories. With their penetrating psychological insight and their emphasis on human dignity, respect, and forgiveness, Dostoyevsky's early short stories contain the seeds of the themes that came to his major novels. Poor Folk, the author's first great literary triumph, is the story of a tragic relationship between an impoverished copy clerk and...

A simple peasant seeks spiritual fulfilment in this apparently artless tale of popular piety. 'Here, see my belongings—a bag of dry crusts on my back and the Holy Bible in my breast pocket; that's it.' In 1884, a slim volume containing four short tales appeared in Russia. They told of a pilgrim, a lone wanderer, led by his quiet curiosity...

Professor Timofey Pnin, late of Tsarist Russia, is now precariously perched on a college campus in the fast beating heart of the USA. In a series of funny and sad misunderstandings, Pnin does halting battle with American life and language.

New to Penguin Classics, Lewis's 1935 bestseller about a demagogue who becomes president of the United States is frighteningly contemporary. It's 1935 and discontent is rife in America. From the political margins appears Buzz Windrip, charismatic presidential candidate and 'inspired guesser at what political doctrines the people would like'. Sweeping to power amid mass elation, he promises wealth for all...

A boundary-breaking, riveting romance narrative from the seminal Brazilian writer, Clarice Lispector. A lonely woman in Rio de Janeiro makes a connection that will change her life. Ulisses, a mysterious man, has penetrated her soul and turned her inside out. An Apprenticeship or The Book of Pleasures is a devastating novel of the interior, of a woman yearning to love,...

The third and final novel of John le Carré's acclaimed 'Karla Trilogy', Smiley's People, published in Penguin Modern Classics for the first time, transports readers into the intricate world of espionage and Cold War intrigue. When a former agent is found murdered, George Smiley, retired but ever-observant, finds himself pulled back into the shadowy operations of the Secret Service. Despite...

Aristotle's De Anima (On the Soul) is a seminal work that delves into the profound and intricate nature of the soul, exploring its defining characteristics and functions. Aristotle embarks on a comprehensive examination of living organisms, scrutinising their myriad behaviours, sensory capabilities, and perceptual depth. His quest is to establish a cohesive theory of the soul that integrates the principles...

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin is a seminal work of dystopian fiction that has sparked imaginations and influenced numerous twentieth-century authors. Set in the distant future, the novel unfolds in OneState, a monolithic glass city where life is governed by logic and reason. Every aspect of existence is regulated by the omnipotent Benefactor, who ensures that citizens live without personal freedom,...

One of the major poets of Romanticism, Wordsworth epitomized the spirit of his age with his celebration of the natural world and the spontanous expression of feeling. This volume contains a rich selection from the most creative phase of his life, including extracts from his masterpiece, The Prelude, and the best-loved of his shorter poems such as 'Composed Upon Westminster...

When an unbridled schoolmistress with advanced ideas is in her prime, the classroom can take on a new identity, and no one can predict what will happen. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie introduces Jean Brodie, a teacher whose unconventional ideas put her at odds with the other members of staff at the Marcia Blaine School in Edinburgh. She endeavours...

Revolutionary essays on design, aesthetics, and materialism - from one of the great masters of modern architecture. But art has nothing to do with forgery, with lies. The paths of art may be thorny, but they are clean. Ornament and Crime comprises a selection of essays by celebrated Viennese architect, Adolf Loos, covering the full range of design - from...

Timaeus and Critias holds a central place in Western thought and is best known to many for the story of Atlantis. Timaeus and Critias is a Socratic dialogue in two parts. A response to an account of an ideal state told by Socrates, it begins with Timaeus's theoretical exposition of the cosmos and his story describing the creation of the...

This work is far more than an eloquent piece of occasional writing. For Burke is one of the foremost conservative British political thinkers: in his support for piecemeal reform rather than revolutionary change, in his sceptical belief in expediency and practical wisdom rather than abstract theorising, and in his defence of property, religion and traditional institutions. On all these topics,...

Night and Day is new to Modern Classics. Katharine Hilbery is beautiful and privileged but uncertain of her future. She must choose between becoming engaged to the oddly prosaic poet William, and her dangerous attraction to the lower-class Ralph. As she struggles to decide, the lives of two other women—women’s rights activist Mary Datchet and Katharine’s mother, struggling to weave...

New to Classics The Book of Chuang Tzu draws together the stories, tales, jokes and anecdotes that have gathered around the figure of Chuang Tzu. One of the great founders of Taoism, Chuang Tzu lived in the fourth century BC and is among the most enjoyable and intriguing personalities in the whole of Chinese philosophy.

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. Akutagawa was one of the towering figures of modern Japanese literature and is considered the father of the Japanese short story. This paradigmatic selection, which includes the stories that inspired Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film Rashomon, showcases the...

Part of the authoritative and acclaimed Penguin Shakespeare series, now rejacketed in the celebrated Penguin Classics livery. An embittered Roman General returns from war, having captured the Queen of the Goths and her three sons. Sacrificing the eldest in memory of his own sons killed in battle, he provokes the queen's unending hatred. And when she is made empress by...

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy finds George Smiley facing his greatest challenge yet: unmasking a Soviet double agent at the heart of the British establishment. George Smiley, a troubled man of infinite compassion, is also a single-mindedly ruthless adversary as a spy. The scene he enters is a Cold War landscape of moles and lamplighters, scalp-hunters and pavement artists, where men...

Part of the authoritative and acclaimed Penguin Shakespeare series, now rejacketed in the celebrated Penguin Classics livery. The jealous King of Sicily becomes convinced that his wife is carrying the child of his best friend. Imprisoned and put on trial, the Queen collapses when the King refuses to accept the divine confirmation of her innocence. The child is abandoned to...

The most original and illuminating study of the subject New Yorker How do we see the world around us? The Penguin on Design series includes the works of creative thinkers whose writings on art, design, and the media have changed our vision forever. Susan Sontag's groundbreaking critique of photography asks forceful questions about the moral and aesthetic issues surrounding this...

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. Over the course of six years, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote a series of letters to a young officer cadet, advising him on writing, love, suffering, and the nature of advice itself. These profound and lyrical letters...

Set in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill, Wives and Daughters centres on the story of youthful Molly Gibson, brought up from childhood by her father. When he remarries, a new stepsister, Cynthia, enters Molly's quiet life. Loveable but worldly and troubling, Cynthia's arrival alters Molly's daily life. The narrative traces the development of the two girls into womanhood...

New edition When attractive, impulsive English widow Lidia takes a holiday in Italy, she causes a scandal by marrying Gino, a dashing and highly unsuitable Italian twelve years her junior. Her prim, snobbish in-laws make no attempts to hide their disapproval, and when Lidia's decision eventually brings disaster, her English relatives embark on an expedition to face the uncouth foreigner....

This was the most popular novel of Radcliffe's time, and Radcliffe's portrayal of her heroine's inner life raised the Gothic romance to a new level. The atmosphere of fear and the gripping plot continue to thrill today. This is the story of the orphaned Emily St Aubert, who finds herself separated from the man she loves and confined within the...

Pavese's seductive masterpiece of memory and betrayal set in the Italian countryside, The Moon and the Bonfires comes to life in a vivid new translation by Tim Parks. Having made his fortune in America, Eel is magnetically drawn back to the Piedmontese countryside where he grew up poor and illegitimate. Spending the summer wandering its valleys and vineyards with his...

Tolstoy's controversial treatise on the purpose of Art During his decades of world fame as a novelist, Tolstoy also wrote prolifically in a series of essays and polemics on issues of morality, social justice and religion. These works culminated in What is Art?, published in 1898. Impassioned and iconoclastic, this powerfully influential work both criticises the elitist nature of art...

Part of the Penguin Classics' fresh new editions of Tolstoy's major works - including Antony Briggs' stunning new translation of War and Peace. In 1851, at the age of twenty-two, Tolstoy joined the Russian army and travelled to the Caucasus as a soldier. The four years that followed were among the most significant in his life, and deeply influenced the...

In 1926, de Saint-Exupery began flying for the pioneering airline Latécoère—later known as Aéropostale—opening up the first mail routes across the Sahara and the Andes. Wind, Sand and Stars is drawn from this experience. Interweaving encounters with nomadic Arabs and other adventures, the book presents a richly textured autobiographical narrative. It includes the extraordinary story of his crash in the...

A tragic tale of a young woman's descent into isolation and despair, inspired by Jean Rhys's own experiences. First published in 1934, Voyage in the Dark is the story of an unhappy love affair, a portrait of a hypocritical society, and an exploration of exile and breakdown; all written in Jean Rhys's hauntingly simple and beautiful style. Eighteen, on her...

Le Carre shows espionage at its best and worst in this novel, new to Penguin Modern Classics. When the Department—faded since the war and busy only with bureaucratic battles—hears rumour of a missile base near the West German border, it seems like the perfect opportunity to regain some political standing in the Intelligence market place. The Cold War is at...

Larry McMurtry's hilarious and touching novel, in Penguin Modern Classics for the very first time. Sam the Lion runs the pool-hall, the picture house and the all-night café. Coach Popper whips his boys with towels and once took a shot at one when he disturbed his hunting. Billy wouldn't know better than to sweep his broom all the way to...

A masterpiece of historical fiction, The Corner That Held Them depicts the lives of medieval nuns amid the turmoil of rebellion and the Black Death. Sylvia Townsend Warner's portrayal of a fourteenth-century nunnery is widely considered to be one of the greatest historical novels of all time. An often hilarious ode to community living, it is also a poignant, delicate...

The notorious dark, modern-day fable of New York from this cult master, new to Penguin Modern Classics. Harry Goldfarb, heroin addict and son of lonely widow Sara, cares only about enjoying the good life with girlfriend Marion and best friend Tyrone C Love, and making the most of all the hash, poppers, and dope they can get. Sara Goldfarb sits...

A romantic, thrilling memoir that has become a French classic. You will be a great hero, a general, Gabriele d'Annunzio, Ambassador of France! For his whole life, Romain Gary's fierce, eccentric mother had only one aim: to make her son a great man. And she did. This, his thrilling, wildly romantic autobiography, is the story of his journey from poverty...

The dramatic and entertaining account of the revolution in Cuba, from the architect of its success. We were an army of shadows, of ghosts, walking as if to the beat of some dark psychic mechanism The Cuban Revolution changed the course of the twentieth century. Following years of brutal tyranny and poverty, a band of idealistic young people fought against...

Nightmarish, witty and immaculately conceived, Invitation to a Beheading unsparingly teases out the illogic of tyranny and will establish Nabokov in readers' minds as a serious and intelligent writer. Written in Berlin in 1934, Invitation to a Beheading contains all the surprise, excitement and magical intensity of a work created in two brief weeks of sustained inspiration. It takes us...

The king of gonzo journalism's most scorching work for Rolling Stone “It would not do to be found in the desert under these circumstances—firing wildly into the cactus from a car full of drugs.” Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone showcases the evolution of a writer through his work at the magazine that he helped to put on the map....

All My Sons brought Miller his first major success, and continues to be a bestseller today. In Joe and Kate Keller's family garden, an apple tree—a memorial to their son Larry, lost in the Second World War—has been torn down by a storm. But his loss is not the only part of the family's past they can't put behind them....

She has examined the heart of man with an understanding ... that no other writer can hope to surpass - Tennessee Williams Carson McCullers' prodigious first novel was published to instant acclaim when she was just twenty-three. Set in a small town in the middle of the deep South, it is the story of John Singer, a lonely deaf-mute, and...

Beautiful Star is the novel Yukio Mishima considered to be one of his best works— a tale of family, nuclear war, love, and UFOs. The Osugi family have come to a realization. Each of them hails from a different planet: Father from Mars, Mother from Jupiter, Son from Mercury, and Daughter from Venus. Already seen as oddballs in their small...

Penguin Classics relaunch Mary Barton, the daughter of disillusioned trade unionist, rejects her working-class lover Jem Wilson in the hope of marrying Henry Carson, the mill owner's son, and making a better life for herself and her father. But when Henry is shot down in the street and Jem becomes the main suspect, Mary finds herself painfully torn between the...

Fully restored edition of Anthony Burgess' original text Edited by Andrew BiswellWith a Foreword by Martin Amis Fifteen-year-old Alex likes lashings of ultraviolence. He and his gang of friends rob, kill, and rape their way through a nightmarish future, until the State puts a stop to his riotous excesses. But what will his re-education mean? A dystopian horror, a black...