Showing titles in Classics

London, chief city of Airstrip One, the third most populous province of Oceania. It's 1984 and Julia Worthing works as a mechanic fixing the novel-writing machines in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. Under the ideology of IngSoc and the rule of the Party and its leader Big Brother, Julia is a model citizen - cheerfully cynical, believing in nothing and caring not at all about politics. She routinely breaks the rules but also collaborates with the regime whenever necessary. Everyone likes Julia.

A sinister masterpiece, Our Mutual Friend was Dickens' last completed novel. It is perhaps his ultimate vision of a dark, macabre London and the corrupting power of money.

The Mill on the Floss is one of the great works of English literature. It is perhaps the most autobiographical of all Eliot's novels. The relationship between its heroine, Maggie Tulliver, and her brother, Tom, closely resembles that of George Eliot and her own brother, Isaac. The subject of sibling affection was clearly a deeply poignant one for George Eliot - she also wrote a series of beautiful and evocative sonnets entitled 'Brother and Sister'.

Paradise Lost — Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light. British poet and polemicist John Milton (December 9, 1608–November 8, 1674) is best known for his epic poem, Paradise Lost. Almost 11,000 lines long, Paradise Lost was published in 10 books in 1667 and then in 12 books in 1674. In the poem, Milton chronicles the downfall of Adam and Eve, the confrontation between the Son of God and Satan, and the redemption of mankind through the Son's supreme act of sacrifice.

The Brothers Karamazov is the final novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky and is generally considered the culmination of his life's work. Published in November 1880, Dostoevsky spent nearly two years writing the novel set in 19th-century Russia. Fydor Karamazov, a mean and disreputable landowner, has three sons, Dmitry, a profligate army officer; Ivan, a writer with revolutionary ideas; and Alexey, a religious novice.

Meet the greatest Greek general you've never heard of: Philopoemen. In his day, a leader as skilled and as dangerous as Hannibal: a ferocious fighter, a superb general, and credited as the inventor of modern 'special operations'. More importantly, he was a brilliant political leader. He commanded Greek forces at the turn of the third century BC, when mighty Rome, fresh from the destruction of Carthage, and Imperial Macedon, the greatest power of the day, chose Greece as their battlefield. 

Exclusively from Audible. 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' So begins Charles Dickens' most famous historical drama: a gripping tale of war, social injustice and the choice between darkness and light. After being unjustly imprisoned for 18 years, French doctor Manette is released from the Bastille jail in Paris and embarks upon a journey to London in the hope of finding the daughter he never met.

The Fortnight in September chronicles one family’s seaside holiday. Though they visit every year, the joy of the familiar is not without its challenges. R. C. Sherriff's writing is full of minute detail, capturing the sounds, smells and sights of everyday life for ordinary people. Every year...

Swann in Love is the continuation of Swann's Way, the first part of Marcel Proust's monumental, seven volume Remembrance of Things Past. It tells the story of man-about-town Charles Swann's passionate, tormented love affair with the courtesan Odette de Crecy, and of its surprising outcome.

Magic is the key...but will it save them, or consume them? For Natalia, there is no choice. Trained as a battle mage, she has the potential to be the most powerful spellcaster the family has ever produced. Yet their price is too high. Meanwhile, Athgar's life is about to change forever. On the day his village is burned to the ground, his magical potential is released by the very fire that nearly consumed him. He is driven by revenge until he learns he may not be the only survivor.

Directed by the skillful hand of Megan Follows (Directors Guild Award winner) and featuring the voices of Golden Globe® winner Sandra Oh, Emmy Award® Winner Catherine O’Hara, and Emmy Award® Winner Victor Garber, Anne Shirley’s (Emmy Award® winner Michela Luci) adventures come to life in a fresh adaptation of a timeless tale. Immerse yourself in the breathtaking beauty of Canada’s Prince Edward Island with the magic of an original score and immersive sound design.

Brought to you by Penguin. This Penguin Classic is narrated by Mark Gatiss, who also wrote the screen play for the critically acclaimed BBC adaptation. Gatiss has also had an extensive acting career including roles in Sherlock, which he wrote alongside Steven Moffat, The League of Gentlemen and...

Have you ever wondered why the relentless pursuit of the American Dream can lead to the destruction of the soul? Jay Gatsby has everything—wealth, power, and a name surrounded by mystery. Yet he lacks the one thing he wants most: the love of Daisy Buchanan, a woman who represents a past he cannot release. Set amid the glittering chaos of the Roaring Twenties, The Great Gatsby is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece of ambition, obsession, class, and disillusionment.

In Phineas Finn, the second of the Palliser series, Trollope balances the rival demands of public and private life. Phineas Finn, an irresistible but penniless young Irish barrister enters Parliament and comes to London leaving behind him an Irish sweetheart, Mary Flood-Jones. In London, Phineas wins friends on all sides and is admitted into high society. However, he also falls more-or-less in love, first with politically-minded Lady Laura Standish, then with Violet Effingham, and finally with wealthy widow Madame Max Goesler.

The Prisoner is the much-anticipated sequel to Persephone Books’ bestselling title, Crooked Cross by Sally Carson. It is now August 1933, and the deadly fervour of Hitler’s Nazi regime continues to spread across Germany. Michael Reader, a young Englishman, decides to visit his friends the...

Les Misérables is set in Paris after the French Revolution. In the sewers and backstreets, we encounter "the wolf-like tread of crime", and assassination for a few sous is all in a day's work. We weep with the unlucky and heart-broken Fantine, and we exult with the heroic revolutionaries of the barricades; but above all we thrill to the steadfast courage and nobility of soul of ex-convict Jean Valjean, always in danger from the relentless pursuit of the diabolical Inspector Javert.

The Odyssey tells of the heroic journey of Odysseus after the Trojan war. In his attempt to return home to Ithaca, this ancient hero is faced with obstacle after obstacle, mythic creature after mythic creature. This is an epic poem encompassing an epic journey as famous as it is classic. Translated by Stanley Lombardo.

This Victorian masterpiece of comic irony and unsentimental warmth has a force of nature at its core: headstrong Lucilla Marjoribanks. Mrs Oliphant’s unconventional and endearing heroine is ‘a woman with a mission’: she is determined to take charge of her widowed father and shape the social life of the community. With insight, tact and intelligence, she organises events, manages relationships, and guides the fates of those around her, all while remaining firmly in control of her own life.

Classic short stories from a master of American fiction exploring relationships, war, and sportsmanship. First published in 1927, Men Without Women represents some of Hemingway’s most important and compelling early writing. In these fourteen stories, Hemingway begins to examine the themes that...

THE NOVEL THAT STARTED IT ALL - ARKADY RENKO NOVEL #1 'One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe' Val McDermid 'Makes tension rise through the page like a shark's fin’ Independent *** Three bodies found frozen in the snow. And the...