A colourful array of characters including Gussie Fink-Nottle, the soupy Madeleine Bassett, and the Rev. H.P. ('Stinker') Pinker, add an 18th century cow-creamer, a small notebook and mix with Aunt Dah
This classic story of a Swiss family - pastor, wife and four sons -shipwreaked on an uninhabited island (most fortunately blessed with an unlikely profusion of natural resources) was written by a Swis
With the style and eloquent language that earned him the Nobel prize for literature, Marquez weaves a stunning story of glory and despair. Both real history and Marquez' imagination let us enter the w
Chesterton wrote some of the best nonsense and satirical verse in the language. In this book, the main bias of the selection, however, will be towards Chesterton's non-fictional prose, where, the auth
Eugene Onegin is not merely the greatest poem in the Russian language by its most influential poet: it is a global cultural, social and political icon of the highest order. The historical power of thi
In the comic masterpiece which established him one of the greatest writers in the English language, Naipaul follows the fortunes of Mr Biswas, the outsider who refuses to conform to the customs of his
This complex tale of self-discovery -- considered by the author to be his best work -- traces the path of an aging idealist, Lambert Strether. Arriving in Paris with the intention of persuading his yo
Follows the adventures of an Argentinean writer living in Paris with his lover and a circle of bohemian friends, and consists of 155 short chapters that the author advises us to read out of order.
"A one-of-a-kind, beautifully jacketed hardcover anthology of classic stories for art lovers. With full-cloth binding and a silk ribbon marker. EVERYMAN'S POCKET CLASSICS. Stories of Art and Artists
Originally published as a serial in Chums under the pseudonym of Basil Windham, The Luck Stone is thoroughly Wodehouse with his trademark sticky situations, quirky characters, sly humour and wit, and
Using multiple narrators, playing with literary stereotypes and identities, this title tells the story of an aspiring young writer, James Orlebar Cloyster, prepared to do almost anything, first for su
Offers an account of author's work with Guy Bolton in musical comedy, which occupied much of his energy from his arrival in America and effectively made his reputation.
When mild-mannered and unremarkable academic Roland Mitchell stumbles upon a letter written by Victorian poet Randolph Ash to a mysterious woman with whom he seems to be infatuated, he is determined t
The liberal hero, Balint, is at odds with the politics of his time; he describes the idyllic pre-industrial world of Hungarian Transylvania, later to fall into the hands of first the Nazis and then th
Mike is a seriously good cricketer who forms an unlikely alliance with old Etonian Psmith ('the P is silent') after they both find themselves fish out of water at a new school, Sedleigh, where they ev
After the Summer Concert fiasco, Mr Kay resolves to remove Fenn from office and puts his house into special measures, co-opting Kennedy, second prefect of Blackburn's, as reluctant troubleshooter with
With its intricate rhyme scheme and dance-like pattern of repeated lines, its marriage of recurrence and surprise, the villanelle has fascinated poets ever since it was introduced almost two centuries
Sally leaves her boarding-house at last, and looks forward to a quiet life in a small apartment. Instead, she finds herself swept up in a series of adventures with her ambitious brother, an accident-p
With its roots in the devotional verse of the early Christian church and the long lyric poems of the Irish bards, Irish poetry has a rich and robust tradition both of engagement and self-reflection. T
Fishing has inspired a wealth of poetry Tang Dynasty meditations; Japanese haiku; medieval rhymes; classic verses by Homer and Shakespeare. Filled with humour, nostalgia, adventure, celebrations of th
As Scheherazade proved long ago, good stories make the best bedtime entertainment. The tales collected here represent the essence of the storyteller's art, with its ancient roots in fantastical legend
Includes literary classics by such golf-loving writers as P G Wodehouse, Ring Lardner, and John Updike, mixed with surprises like an appearance by Ian Fleming's James Bond and a little crime on the li
Inspiration for many a movie and TV adaptation, this is an epic of chivalry, honour and derring-do, set in France during the 1620s, and is satisfyingly peopled with romantic heroes, unattainable heroi
Blandings Castle lacks its usual balm for the Earl of Emsworth, as his stern sister Lady Constance Keeble is once more in residence. The Duke of Dunstable is also infesting the place again, along with
Includes classic adventure stories by Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling, Stephen Crane, Robert Louis Stevenson and Jack London that mix with imaginative tales by Isak Dinesen, Patricia Highsmith and J G
With the Duke of Dunstable trying to steal his pig to sell to Lord Tilbury, mischievous Church Lads camping in his park, his sister Constance bossing him unmercifully, and Lavender Briggs, his secreta
The youthful hero, armed with a commission in the 11th Dragoons, is shipped to India, woos and wins the beautiful Elspeth, and reluctantly takes part in the first Anglo-Afghan War, honing a remarkable
It wasn't Archie's fault, really. It's true he went to America and fell in love with Lucille, the daughter of a millionaire hotel proprietor ...and if he did marry her - well, what else was there to d
Written by the author who whether addressing the smothered desire of suburban housewives, the white-collar despair of Manhattan office workers or the heartbreak of a single mother with artistic preten
Includes stories like "To Room Nineteen", in which a woman reacts against the oppression of her banal marriage with dreadful results; "One off the Short List", that traces the surprising conclusion to
Marco Polo's book was one of the best-loved works of the Middle Ages, and has remained popular ever since. This book explains the references in the book, and shows in detail with maps the routes descr
A collection of stories which combine the wide-eyed, credulous imagination of the peasant with the sardonic social criticism of the city dweller. It features the minor official who misplaces his nose,
When Bill Bannister meets Dr Sally Smith, love blossoms immediately. Unfortunately there is just the small problem of Lottie Higginbotham, former actress, serial bride and human fireball, with whom Bi
Features poems from Chaucer, Shakespeare and Wordsworth to Whitman, Dickinson and Thoreau; from Keats, Blake and Hopkins to Elizabeth Bishop, Ted Hughes and Amy Clampitt. This work engages with the se
As a literary subject, Christmas has inspired topics ranging from intimate domestic dramas, to fanciful flights of the imagination. This work features stories that is imbued with Christmas spirit of o
Features breweries, paintings, children's books, canals and Christmas - everything illustrated with collections of photographs, watercolours and scrapbook items.
Includes four linked stories - "The House in Turk Street", "The Girl with the Silver Eyes", "The Big Knockover" and "$106,000 Blood Money" - featuring the Continental Op, Hammett's anonymous tough-guy
When Sam Marlowe falls in love with his cousin's sparky ex-fiancee, he finds himself up against stiff opposition from her father, her father's best friend and the best friend's son for whom she is des
Typical - just when Bertie thinks that God's in his heaven and all's right with the world, things start to go wrong again... Only one man can save the day - the inimitable Jeeves.
Set at Rudge Hall, home to the obese miser Lester Carmody, and at Healthward Ho, a health farm run by 'Chimp Twist, along with his cohorts 'Soapy' and 'Dolly' Molloy.
