Written during World War II and published in 1945, this is a sharp and celebrated satire on dictatorship. Orwell conveys his bleak message of man's inhumanity to man, and beast's to beast through star
Set in the Central Europe of old, this anti-war novel features a simple soldier whose determination to survive brings into question the powerful social and political institutions he confronts. A portr
Dostoesky's drama of sin, guilt and redemption transmutes the sordid story of an old woman's murder by a desperate student into the nineteenth century's profoundest and most compelling philosophical n
Set in Yorkshire, and first published in 1911, this is the story of two spoilt and lonely children who regain happiness by restoring a neglected garden. It was inspired by the rose garden in Great May
The 14 best-known Eastern folk tales from the 1821 English text of "The Thousand and One Nights" are reproduced here with illustrations from the larger collection of 1899. Aladdin, Sinbad and Ali Baba
First published in 1912, this is a modern version of "Cinderella", told in the form of letters. It is the love-story of an orphan and her unknown benefactor, written and illustrated by the great-niece
This most beloved of all fairy tales is told in many versions and found in many different cultures - from the Italian CENERANTOLA to the Russian CHERNUSHKA For this edition, first published in 1919, C
Roberta is the eldest daughter of a man unjustly sent to prison, who shows great courage, and who is ultimately reunited with her father when he is vindicated and restored to his family. This book spa
First published in 1929, this draws on Hemingway's experiences of World War I, when he was badly wounded while serving with the Italians. This is a portrait of men at war which explores their deeper r
This is an historical romance which takes place in Paris and London during the French Revolution. It is also a powerful study of crowd psychology and the dark emotions aroused by the Revolution.
From the author of THE POWER AND THE GLORY. A story of gang war in the underworld of Brighton. Pinkie, only seventeen, has already brutally killed a man. Now believing he has escaped retribution, he i
First published in 1925, this traces a day in the life of society hostess, Clarissa Dalloway. It is Woolf's first complete rendering of her "stream of consciousness" mode, which displays the inner wor
The story of a stifled woman in a provincial town who dreams of happiness and then perishes by her own hand, provides a profound and moving study of human bondage.
After he is wrongly accused of a crime and expelled from his community, weaver Silas Marner becomes a miser and a recluse. A strange sequence of events, and the appearance of a small child, transforms
Peter Fortymore can't believe his brother is dead. So he conceives a desperate plan. He'll run away from school, 'borrow' a plane and fly off to France to find him. In the chaos of the first world war
Hopelessness took him in its grip. He knew he was wandering in circles but he had ceased to care. All he wanted to do was drink. His skin began to smart. His feet were on fire. It's the Second World W
When Biggles undertakes a lone mission to rescue an Italian princess from Mussolini's Italy, he doesn't know he's walking into a trap. He's last seen wounded and surrounded by the enemy, but Algy, Gin
In this classic of American literature, Thoreau gives an account of his two years' experience of the 'simple life' in the woods, telling how he sought and found material and spiritual sustenance in th
The heroine of this story, Edna Pontellier, goes through the stages of a compelling but ultimately tragic search for personal freedom. On publication in 1899, this book provided a frank treatment on a
