Hardy's last novel is the story of a young working man destroyed by the partial fulfilment of his dreams. He is torn between his desires for the life of the body and the life of the mind, as represent
Detective Inspector Jack Frost, offically on duty, is nevertheless determined to sneak off to a colleague's leaving party. But first the corpse of a well-known local junkie is found blocking the drain
Ten days to Christmas and Tracey Uphill, aged eight, hasn't come home from Sunday school. Her mother, a pretty young prostitute, is desperate. Enter Detective Inspector Jack Frost, sloppy, scruffy and
In "Nineteen eighty-four", one of the 20th century's great myth-makers takes a cold look at the future. Orwell's study of individual struggling - or not struggling - against totalitarianism remains a
This is a three-volume boxed set of Tolstoy's historical chronicle of Russia's struggle with Napoleon. The novel is an affirmation of life itself, focusing on the lives of individuals and the physical
This volume presents a complete text of all Milton's verse. Coleridge linked Milton and Shakespeare as the greatest of English poets, and even in our time Milton continues to exert a powerful influenc
Two of Stevenson's historical novels set against the Scottish landscape and featuring psychological studies of individuals. The unfinished "Weir of Hermiston", on which the author was working at the t
A story of passion and political intrigue in which the young and impulsive Fabrizzio finds himself caught between the love of two women and the wars of their aristocratic factions. "The Charterhouse o
Aesop is believed to have lived in the sixth century B.C., a slave on the Greek island of Samos. His ability to teach lessons in morality through story has made his name synonymous with the genre of '
First published in Germany in 1812, these tales were collected by the two brothers Grimm from neighbouring villages and spinning rooms, and include Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs a
Kipling began these stories in Vermont, to amuse his daughter when they were living in his wife's home town. The comic explanations, such as how the camel got his hump and how the whale got his throat
Edward Lear, the 20th child of a London stockbroker, entered the household of Lord Stanley as little more than a servant, but his sense of humour soon made him welcome above stairs and he began to amu
Stevenson's gift as an author and poet for children lay partly in his lack of condescension towards them, and he preserved a large element of the child in his own personality. He wrote many of these p
Stevenson's great adventure story, set in the 18th century, was conceived in the Scottish Highlands, where the author and his 12-year-old stepson amused themselves by making a map that showed the loca
Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales originally appeared in batches each Christmas in the mid-19th century, and Spink's English translation was first published in 1960. This edition has Heath Robinso
Barrie's classic tale of the boy who wouldn't grow up. It started life as a series of stories made up for the five Llewelyn Davies boys, who were virtually adopted by Barrie after being orphaned. This
Harry is a black and white dog who hates having a bath - so when he sees his owner with the dredded bath, he runs away. But in the end, harry gets so dirty that his owners dont recognise him and so he
Everyone thinks Harry looks lovely in his new knitted jacket covered in roses - except Harry! So Harry is on a mission to rid his back of those ridiculous roses...!
Steven is sent out for groceries on to the mean street of the city with only a shopping basket for protection. There are several shady characters about who are offering to lighten the load of the bask
