Fiction

A cornerstone of Western literature, Homer's Iliad is the epic tale of the siege of Troy. After nine years, the Greeks are still fighting to claim the beautiful Helen and it is hardly the time for their supreme warrior, Achilles, to drop out of the war. But he does, in revenge against the overlord Agamemnon for seizing his concubine, Briseis. Only the death of his best friend, Patroclus, persu

Emily Bronte's brutally passionate poetic masterpiece is about doomed love on the bleak Pennine moors. This haunting tale of uncontrolled, violent passion between the wilful Catherine Earnshaw and the wild, dark-natured Heathcliff has gripped readers since it was first published in 1847. An extraordinary novel in the Victorian Gothic tradition that every reader will love! ABOUT THE SERIES: The

Originally published in 1894, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of 12 short stories featuring the adventures of the consulting detective. They include 'Silver Blaze'; 'The Adventure of the Cardboard Box'; 'The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk'; The Adventure of the Gloria Scott'; The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual'; 'The Adventure of the Reigate Squire'; 'The Adventure of the

One of the books that 'everybody should read', this was named the '2nd greatest novel of the 20th century' by the Modern Library and it has now been filmed six times, including the latest version directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. ABOUT THE SERIES: Arcturus Essential Fitzgerald presents a selection of F. Scott Fitzgerald's most acclaimed fiction with striking contemporary

Jules Verne's classic work, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, has been adapted at least three times as a film and also for television. The story of Professor Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel and their guide Hans venturing into the Icelandic volcano if Snaefellsjökull and encountering a weird underground world that is full of prehistoric animals and other phenomena before reaching the earth's surfac

This classic novel about the frailty of human beauty and sensual experience and the futility of vanity remains as powerful today as when it was first published in 1891. A truly extraordinary piece of work, The Picture of Dorian Gray has come to be regarded as the finest novel of the aesthetic and decadent movements. In this cautionary tale, the handsome Dorian Gray wishes that his portrait shoul

Jane Austen's classic tale of love overcoming preconceptions centres on the two eldest daughters of the Bennet family: Jane and Elizabeth. Elizabeth has to fend off an unwelcome offer of marriage from the Rev. Collins, while mistakenly falling for the charms of the dashing Mr Wickham, before realising that appearances are deceptive and that her prejudice against Mr Darcy has blinded her to his r

Mark Twain's classic of smalltown life along the banks of the Mississippi before the Civil War features loveable rascal Tom Sawyer and his friend Huckleberry Finn, a social outcast and son of the town drunk. Tom lives with his respectable but gullible Aunt Polly and, dogged by his nemesis - the villainous Injun Joe - embarks on a series of boyhood adventures, which include witnessing a murder in

When Gabriel Utterson, a lawyer, first encounters the figure of Edward Hyde, he has little notion of the man's background. Bringing Hyde to account for an attack on a girl, he discovers that Hyde is acquainted with one of his clients, a Dr Henry Jekyll. Disturbed by Hyde's behaviour, Utterson worries about the power that Hyde seems to exert over Jekyll, despite assurances from the latter. But af

"All American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since." - Ernest Hemingway To escape from his violent and drunken father, a 13-year-old boy from the wrong side of the tracks, Huckleberry Finn, fakes his own death and floats away on a raft down the Mississippi with Jim, a runaway slave. In a series of un

Oliver Twist sent out shock waves when it appeared in 1838. With a half-starved orphan for a hero, it was Dickens' first attempt to rouse the public conscience over the social evils of the day. The adventures of the innocent Oliver - from workhouse to London's underworld, and how he was rescued - is one of Dickens' most popular stories.

Heart of Darkness tells the story of Charlie Marlowe, who takes a steamboat on a voyage into the heart of Africa. His mission is to relieve an ivory agent named Kurtz, who has been taken ill at a remote trading station. Marlowe's eyes are opened wide as he witnesses acts of cruelty on his journey and when he meets Kurtz, he is forced to examine his own values and views of humanity. In addition t

Written in an epistolary format, Dracula recalls the experiences of a young lawyer called Jonathan Harker, who pays a visit to Count Dracula on the border of Transylvania to deal with the purchase of some property. After Harker leaves Dracula's castle, having nearly been the victim of vampires, a Russian ship runs aground off Whitby and the captain's log details the gradual disappearance of the

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in a friend's copy of Tender Is the Night, "If you liked The Great Gatsby, for God's sake read this. Gatsby was a tour de force but this is a confession of faith.

Alexei Ivanovich is tutor to a Russian family. They are bankrupt and eagerly awaiting the death of 'Grandmother'. Alexei falls in love twice: first, with the beautiful but impossible Polina; and second, with the game of roulette. Hi addiction turns out to be shared by Grandmother who suddenly appears, very much alive, and willing to gamble down to her last banknote. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arctur

Frankenstein is considered to be one of the earliest examples of science fiction. Written by Mary Shelley it tells the story of scientist Victor Frankenstein and the catastrophic consequences of his attempts to create a perfect new being by activating a group of body parts with an electrical charge. The hideous monster that is born of Frankenstein's experiment wreaks havoc when it realises that

Jane Eyre recounts the story of a governess who, having suffered during childhood both at her aunt's house and then at school, finds herself falling for her new employer, Mr Rochester. But Mr Rochester and his home are not all they seem and when secrets come to light, Jane is forced to abandon all her hopes and dreams. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arcturus Classics series brings together high-quality