The thirteenth-century Persian philosopher, mystic, scholar and founder of the order of the Whirling Dervishes, Rumi was also a poet of transcendental power. His verse speaks with the universal voice
A fascinating insight into the vibrant culture of Modernism, and the rich artistic world of Paris's Left Bank, Gertrude Stein's The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas includes an introduction by Thomas
Subtitled An Anglo-American Tragedy, Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One is a witty satirical novel on artistic integrity and the British expat community in Hollywood, published in Penguin Modern Classics. T
In this unique collection of Waugh's early short stories, some of which became the inspirations for his novels, Waugh displays his unique talent for comedy and narration. 'Mr Loveday's Little Outing'
Handsome, worldly and intelligent, Solal holds a position of enviable power in 1930s Geneva. But as Under-Secretary-General of the League of Nations, he has become bitterly disillusioned by internatio
Yasha the magician - sword swallower, fire eater, acrobat and master of escape - is famed for his extraordinary Houdini-like skills. Half Jewish, half Gentile, a free thinker who slips easily between
Published in order of first publication as far as possible, this selection ranges from initial offerings such as 'Tinker's Wife' and 'Inniskeen Road: July Evening' to his tragic masterpiece 'The Great
Describes the world of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassady. This novel chronicles the private lives the Beats lived before they became public figures. It also describes an individualistic po
Brings together the author's important critical writing from 1972 to 1980. This title explores some of the most controversial artists and thinkers of our time, including her polemic against Hitler's f
Includes ardent pieces on writers from the author's own private canon - Machado de Assis, Barthes, W G Sebald, Borges, Tsvetaeva and Elizabeth Hardwick. This work shares her passions for film, dance,
'We lose everything because everything remains except us'. In this book, the author recalls the strange events and people that shaped his past, including ghostly literary figures, a pilot, an adventur
A penniless and parentless Chicago boy growing up in the Great Depression, Augie March drifts through life latching on to a wild succession of occupations, including butler, thief, dog-washer, sailor
This selection brings together the best prose writings of the great early nineteenth-century essayist Charles Lamb, whose shrewd wit and convivial style have endeared him to generations of readers. Th
'Women so empowered are dangerous'Written with a 'black woman's anger' and the precision of a poet, these searing pieces by the groundbreaking writer Audre Lorde are a celebration of female strength a
'This century's most compelling theorist of racism and colonialism' Angela Davis'Fanon is our contemporary ... In clear language, in words that can only have been written in the cool heat of rage, Fan
This quiet, imaginative novel is a study of faith in an increasingly hostile world. Through intimate journal entries, the author reveals the private life and struggles of a young, withdrawn, devout an
A marvel of psychological insight from one of the most important Italian literary figures of the twentieth centuryWhen vain, obsessive and guilt-ridden Zeno Cosini seeks help for his neuroses, his psy
Set in Hardy's fictional realm of Wessex, these four charming novels have been brought together in a stunning clothbound set, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. From the moving and
Here is the story of lives painfully intertwined.An unnamed narrator is haunted by nightmarish memories of her father and desperate for the attentions of her lover. Her only companion is the androgyno
'An exciting writer, sharp and shocking as the knives her characters wield' Sunday TimesLike her namesake Jack Kerouac, J.K. is always on the road, travelling Europe with her typewriter in a pillowcas
Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl is an inspiring and tragic account of an ordinary life lived in extraordinary circumstances that has enthralled readers for generations. This Penguin Classics ed
One of the greatest American novels of all time - reissued in a stunning hardback to celebrate the Salinger centenary It's Christmas and Holden Caulfield has just been expelled from yet another school
Jack Kerouac's classic novel about friendship, the search for meaning, and the allure of nature A witty, moving philosophical novel, Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums is a journey of self-discovery throu
A timeless travelogue from the leading light of the Beat Generation, Jack Kerouac's Lonesome Traveller is a jubilant celebration of human discovery As he roams the US, Mexico, Morocco, Paris and Londo
'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'This landmark missive from one of the greatest activists in history calls for direct, non-violent resistance in the fight against racism, and ref
A new translation of Sade’s most notorious, shocking, and influential novel ? This distressing but hugely important text, which the Marquis de Sade himself called “the most impure tale that has ever b
'Now, ill-lit, almost in darkness, the windows of the houses shuttered, the water dank, the scene appeared altogether different, neglected, poor, and the long narrow boots moored to the slippery steps
'Why do I know a few more things? Why am I so clever altogether?'Self-celebrating and self-mocking autobiographical writings from Ecce Homo, the last work iconoclastic German philosopher Nietzsche wro
'Absolutely, definitively alone', a young Jewish student in Romania tries to make sense of a world that decides he doesn't belong. He searches for truth and understanding, spending days walking the st
Grandfather, son and grandson are equally dependent on the empire: the first for his enoblement; the second for the civil virtues that make him a meticulous servant of an administration whose failure
The Mosquito Coast - winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize - is a breathtaking novel about fanaticism and a futile search for utopia from bestseller Paul Theroux. Published as a Penguin Essent
'She kissed and kissed her with a hungry mouth'A selection of Rossetti's most famous poems, from the hallucinatory 'Goblin Market' to 'In the bleak mid-winter' Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 bo
Of all the extraordinary Victorian travelogues, The Malay Archipelago has a fair claim to be the greatest - both as a beautiful, alarming, vivid and gripping account of some eight years' travel across
A Room of One's Own is Virginia Woolf's most powerful feminist essay, justifying the need for women to possess intellectual freedom and financial independence. Based on a lecture given at Girton Colle
The Penguin English Library Edition The deadly hand of Professor Moriarty once more reaches out to commit a vile and ingenious crime, but a mole in Moriarty's criminal organization alerts Sherlock Hol
Jean-Baptiste Clamence is a soul in turmoil. Over several drunken nights he regales a chance acquaintance with his story. From the successful former lawyer and seemingly model citizen a compelling, se
Twenty year old Jenny Bunn is supernally beautiful and stubbornly chaste, which is why Patrick Standish, an arrogant schoolmaster, wants her so much. This novel about a northern girl who moves south,
Set against the backdrop of Europe's slide into Fascism, this title provides an account of depravity and violence. Exploring the dark forces beneath the surface of civilization, it is torn between ide
The Penguin English Library Edition of Evelina by Frances Burney 'O Sir, how much uneasiness must I suffer, to counterbalance one short morning of happiness!' In this comic and sharply incisive satire
The Penguin English Library Edition of Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift 'Fifteen hundred of the Emperor's largest horses, each about four inches and an half high, were employed to draw me towards
