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
Bernard Marx seems alone harbouring an ill-defined longing to break free. A visit to one of the few remaining Savage Reservations where the old, imperfect life still continues, may be the cure for his
In an interview, Updike once said, "If I had to give anybody one book of me, it would be the Olinger Stories." This title follows the life of one character from the age of ten through manhood, in the
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
The thought of being cooped up in Blandings Castle with Clarence, the Earl of Emsworth, Galahad and Freddie, appalled Colonel Wedge. But the arrival of Tipton Plimsoll, a rich young American, brighten
An Anglican priest who took his calling with deep seriousness, Herbert brought to his work a religious reverence richly allied with literary and musical gifts of the highest order. His best-loved poem
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
When the eminent naturalist Charles Darwin returned from South America on board the H.M.S Beagle in 1836, he brought with him the notes and evidence which would form the basis of his landmark theory o
Written with energy and each quite different from the others, this volume features three novels which reveal a lightness of touch with the most serious matters unlike anything else in contemporary fic
Eating and drinking and the rituals that go with them are at least as important as loving in most people's lives, yet for every hundred anthologies of poems about love, hardly one is devoted to the pl
Mulliner has an endless supply of brothers, nephews and cousins who feature in the tales with which he entertains the regulars in his favourite pub. There is George, the stammerer, who finds the coura
Filled with compelling drama, earthy humour and remarkable insight, this book traces three generations of the family of tyrannical patriarch al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, who rules his household with
Illustrated with vivid portraits of friends, family, colleagues and enemies, this book provides an account of the passage from a life of sensuality and superstition to a genuine spiritual awakening. I
When Psmith finds himself working in the City for the pompous Mr Bickersdyke, he makes it his mission to bring a little sweetness and light into the bank manager's life. The monocled wit with the suav
For Bertie Wooster's old friend has fallen in love with Madeline Bassett and, as usual, makes a hash of the affair until Jeeves comes to the rescue. In the meantime, Jeeves must also solve the mystery
Dumas' most popular novel, The Three Musketeers, has long been a favourite with children, and its heroes are well-known from many a film and TV adaption. Set in France in the seventeenth century, it f
Containing Shakespeare's four Last Plays - The Tempest, Pericles, The Winter's Tale and Cymbeline, this single-column text of the plays features Signet footnotes, is supplemented with bibliographies,
This collection of some of Jane Austen's early stories and later fragments reveals a writer with a talent for broad comedy and even farce on occasion. The mature stories are featured in the first part
Contains pieces that are taken from all religious and traditions with the purpose of providing material for prayer and meditation. In this book, each section gathers poems and prose according to theme
An entirely new edition of Herbert's collected poems with nots, chronology and introduction by the distinguised scholar Anne Pasternak Slater, this volume is designed to complement the editions of Mar
The everyman Signet Shakespeare series continues with the first volume of Comedies containing THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA. LOVES LABOUR'S LOST, ROMEO AND
The story of a half-caste boy, part-Indian and part-Irish, who journeys throughout the subcontinent with an aged llama in search of religious enlightenment. Considered Kipling's masterpiece, the plot
The major male poet of nineteenth-century America, Whitman is the poet of grand passions great open spaces, lofty mourning and male love. This volume deals with his life and work.
The Everyman Signet Shakespeare series continues with the second volume of Histories, containing HENRY IV, parts I and II, HENRY V and HENRY VIII. As before, there is an extended introduction by Tony
This selection covers the full range of Kipling's short stories throughout his career, with the subject matter ranging from the Indian to the occult and from animals to domestic comedy.
Bringing together Mishima's preoccupations with violence, desire, religious life and the history of Japan, this novel is based on an actual incident, the burning of a celebrated temple. The novel is a
A romantic story with descriptions of working people and their lives, as the author encountered them in northern mills. Despite this grim setting, the book has the power to involve the reader in the l
A series with silk-ribbon markers and headbands, gold stamping on front and spine, and the original colour illustrations on the jackets. Anna Sewell's classic story of a horse was her only book, writt