Fiction

One of the greatest spy thrillers ever written, The Thirty Nine Steps tells the story of the adventurer Richard Hannay as he is forced to flee his old life after a spy is found dead in his flat. Searching for the assassins so that he can clear his name, Hannay uncovers a tangled web of intrigue, deception and conspiracy that could drag Britain into a deadly war. In The Power House, the mild-ma

The Professor was Charlotte Bronte's first novel, completed as early as 1846. The central character is the reserved William Crimsworth, an English teacher at an all-girls' school in Brussels who falls in love with one of his own pupils. Based on the author's own experiences as a language student in Belgium, The Professor is the only novel in which Charlotte Bronte chose to use a male narrator.

Follow curious Alice as she ventures down a rabbit hole and into Wonderland, filled with unforgettable characters such as the March Hare, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and the Queen of Hearts. Then enter a topsy-turvy universe the other side of the Looking Glass, where Alice encounters old and new friends, like Humpty Dumpty and Tweedledum and Tweedledee. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arcturus Class

London, 1886. Adolf Verloc, storeowner by day and secret agent by night, has been assigned the task of destroying the Greenwich Observatory. Behind his seemingly harmless exterior as a devoted husband and businessman lie dark secrets, private alliances, and dangerous motives. As the story unfolds, Verloc's secrets unravel with devastating consequences that threaten his livelihood, his young wi

Austen fans will love these three lesser-known stories that display her genius for witty observation and shrewd characterization, and deal with familiar themes of love, folly, and social ambition among the English middle classes. In The Watsons, Austen introduces us to Emma Watson and the choices she faces as a young woman in Georgian England. By contrast, Lady Susan describes a flirtatious an

In two of the most famous Sherlock Holmes stories, the brilliant detective uses his impressive powers of deduction to unravel the mysteries before him. In A Study in Scarlet, the iconic debut of Sherlock Holmes, the mystery begins with the word 'Rache' scrawled in blood. In The Sign of the Four, excitement abounds as Holmes and his trusty companion Dr John Watson continue their investigations i

One of the most accomplished authors in history, Tolstoy has inspired and influenced generations of readers. While celebrated for his masterpieces Anna Karenina and War and Peace, his short stories are just as compelling. This collection includes 'The Story of Ivan the Fool', 'Ilyás', and many more of Tolstoy's finest tales, and it demonstrates the raw power and emotion of his narrative genius.

Here - I am waiting to know about this offer of mine. The woman is no good to me. Who'll have her? In a spell of drunken rage and stupidity, Michael Henchard sells his wife and child at a county fair for five guineas. It would be an action that would plague at Michael's conscience for years to come and a secret he would work hard to conceal. Eighteen years later, Michael has risen to the posi

"There she stood, by herself, amidst all her treasures, with a whole horde of men grovelling at her feet." Featuring one of the most unconventional and controversial heroines of all time, Nana follows the life of a woman as she rises from the squalor of the Paris streets to become the star of the acclaimed Théâtre des Variétés. She quickly gains fame and a host of male admirers. But as Nana

It was a squid of colossal dimensions ... its arms stretched a distance twice the length of its body and were writhing like the serpentine head of the furies. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is an epic adventure story from the 'Father of Science Fiction', Jules Verne. On an expedition to hunt down a sea monster, Professor Arronax and his companions instead encounter the eccentric and rut

On the bleak streets of Dublin, a young boy grieves over the death of an irreligious priest, a woman elopes with her lover, and a professor considers the nature of death: these are some of the unfortunate denizens of James Joyce's imagination. This powerful collection of short stories from one of Ireland's greatest writers includes such brilliant tales as 'Araby', 'The Sisters' and 'The Dead'.

In the end, out of nothing at all, an enormous fabric of guilt will be conjured up. One morning Josef K. is arrested for a crime he did not commit. In fact, he is never even told the nature of the offense. His life is thrown into turmoil as he becomes enmeshed in a struggle to prove his innocence. As the confounding case unfolds, K. is ultimately powerless - battling against a remote and uncar

For a time I believed that mankind had been swept out of existence, and that I stood there alone, the last man left alive. In this thrilling tale of alien invasion, H. G. Wells rewrites the science fiction genre. Following the travails of an unnamed narrator, The War of the Worlds reveals the true terror of life under an implacable and enigmatic foe. Armed with terrifying killing machines, blac

A woman receives two severed ears in a cardboard box, a government-worker is found dead on the London Underground, and two men go insane in a Cornish cottage. In His Last Bow, the world's favourite eccentric sleuth investigates a series of compelling mysteries. Taking on dastardly villains in thrilling adventures, Sherlock Holmes and his partner John Watson leave no stone unturned as they seek

Inspired by the life of Paul Gauguin, The Moon & Sixpence is an intricate exploration of the nature of genius and the singlemindedness it takes.
Charles Strickland, a nondescript stockbroker, suddenly leaves his wife and children in search of artistic greatness. As he embarks on a journey that takes him from Paris to Tahiti, Strickland experiences periods o

The magnificent attitude of not giving a damn ... and to seek the moment's happiness as fervently and persistently as possible. It's New York during the Jazz Age. Anthony and Gloria Patch are a rich and beautiful couple who drink and dance away their days in glorious decadence as they wait for an inheritance to materialize. Gloria has always relied on her beauty to get her everything she wants

Sherlock Holmes: A Gripping Casebook of Stories contains the full-length novel A Study in Scarlet, plus 14 short stories. A Study in Scarlet marked Sherlock Holmes' debut appearance in novel form, while Holmes made his first short story appearance in A Scandal in Bohemia, also included in this compendium. In his perceptive introduction to this compendium, leading crime writer Martin Edwards obs