Everyone looks upon shy, self-effacing Fanny Price as the poor relation among her four spoiled cousins at Mansfield Park.Adopted at a tender age by an uncle and aunt who have grown rich from a sugar plantation in distant Antigua, she finds herself morally at odds with them and their offspring. Her chief consolation is the kindness of the younger son, Edmund Bertram, whom she secretly loves.The arrival in the village of city sophisticates Henry and Mary Crawford sparks a series of romantic entanglements which lead the Bertrams to the brink of social disaster and Fanny to the indisputable conclusion that propriety and pretty manners are not substitutes for integrity.

Written between 500 BCE and 700 CE, these seven texts have inspired generals for millennia, both in China and the wider world. Featuring Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, this new translation brings to light the military masterpieces of ancient China. These seven texts display an understanding of strategy and warfare still relevant more than 2,000 years after they were originally written. Together, they present a uniquely eastern tradition of warfare that emphasizes speed, stealth, and cunning rather than force of numbers.

Set in 1547, this satirical novel brings together Tom Canty, an impoverished urchin who lives with his abusive father in London’s filthiest streets, and pampered Prince Edward, the son of King Henry VIII. Noticing their uncanny resemblance, the two boys trade clothes on a whim. While Tom lives in the lap of luxury and finds he has a knack for rendering wise judgments, the ragged prince roams the city and discovers first-hand the misery of his poorest subjects’ lives. But when the king dies and Edward tries to claim his throne, he finds that changing places will be difficult to undo.

Jane Eyre rightly remains high on the list of the most popular English novels, and brought fame to its author, Charlotte Brontd, on its publication in 1847.The story’s heroine, Jane, is a plain and plain-speaking orphan whose determination, good nature and spirit see her through a series of personal ordeals from an early age. When she takes up a position as governess at Thornfield Hall, to teach eight-year-old Adele, she is resigned to an uneventful career. But then the moody, charismatic owner of Thornfield, Edward Rochester, makes a rare visit to the Hall and Jane’s ‘impassioned self-respect and moral conviction’ are tested to breaking point.

In the village of Iping, a strange man arrives at a local inn wrapped in bandages. He refuses to leave his room where he is carrying out experiments to make himself invisible.The stranger’s success has grave implications for everyone. When he realises that he cannot reverse the experiment, he is gradually driven insane.This seminal tale acts as a powerful warning about unintended consequences. The journey on which The Invisible Man embarks turns out to be a penetrating, unflinching, and unsettling look into the heart of human nature.

Along with famous stories including «The Ugly Duckling», «Thumbelina» and «The Emperor’s New Suit», this collection includes some less well-known but no less magical tales such as a»The Red Shoes», «The Wild Swans» and the fable of the solitary Phoenix bird.

This deluxe hardback edition presents one of the most celebrated American novels of all time, The Great Gatsby, with silver gilded page edges and foil-stamping.Jay Gatsby is a mystery to Nick. On the surface he is a man of wealth and excess — throwing wild, extravagant parties that run deep into the night. But cracks begin to show in this facade as we meet Daisy Buchanan, the lady across the lake who is the object of his quiet obsession.A paragon of the Great American Novel, The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story which perfectly captures the hollow decadence of the Jazz Age. This beautiful hardback edition makes a wonderful collectable or gift for any lovers of classic literature.

The backdrop to this campaigning novel is the grim industrial centre of Coketown, with its belching chimneys, purple-dyed river and hordes of downtrodden mill hands. Here headmaster Thomas Gradgrind sternly prepares his pupils for their pre-determined fate as industrial fodder. Facts and figures are all that he will tolerate, because he scorns ‘fancy’ and forbids any use of the imagination.Gradgrind’s own children are brought up on the same bleak doctrine. There will be tragic consequences, both for his submissive daughter Louisa and degenerate son Tom, before their father acknowledges the value of the human heart.Hard Times is Dickens’ shortest novel, yet one of his most politically controversial and hard-hitting.

Containing one of the best known and best loved detective novels of all time — The Murders in the Rue Morgue — this entertaining collection of Poe’s work shows why he was considered a master of mystery. Also included in the book is The Mystery of Marie Roget, which was a sequel to the thrilling Murders in the Rue Morgue, as well as three other tales of detection and adventure, including «Thou Art the Man!», «The Purloined Letter» and «The Unparelleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall». Such was the influence of these works that the Mystery Writers of America named their awards after Poe and called them the Edgars.

First published in 1865, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass has been been perennially popular with both adults and children alike. It follows the tale of curious Alice and her fall through the rabbit hole into a fantasy world filled with anthropomorphic and peculiar creatures. A lasting classic that plays with logic and the bizarre, this tale cannot fail to delight readers with its mix of prose and poetry.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Originally entitled Children’s and Household Tales, Grimm’s Fairy Tales were first published by the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the early nineteenth century.This selection contains forty-five stories and includes some of the best known, such as ‘Briar- Rose’ (perhaps better known as ‘Sleeping Beauty’), and ‘Little Red-Cap’ (‘Little Red Riding Hood’), as well as some of the lesser known tales, like ‘The Mouse, the Bird and the Sausage’, ‘The Iron Stove’ and ‘The Hare and the Hedgehog’.Handsome princes and princesses, wicked witches and step-mothers, benevolent kings and fortune seekers abound among the stories that were collected from all over Germany in the folklore tradition. But no matter what the moral of the story, good always triumphs over evil.

Great Expectations (1861) is a favourite among many Dickens readers. In addition to its endearing hero, Pip — a blacksmith’s boy, desperate to escape his humble background — the story is populated by a vivid cast of characters, from the convict Magwitch to Miss Havisham who, jilted long ago, still wears her wedding gown and, for revenge, schools the beautiful young Estella in the art of malice towards men.When Pip receives a legacy and promptly leaves for London to become a gentleman, only then does he begin learning about the gulf between appearances and reality.

In an attempt to create a perfect new being, scientist Victor Frankenstein secretly assembles a collection of body parts and activates it with an electrical charge. The result is horrifying — even to his maker — and is never named.The hideous creature escapes the laboratory and searches in vain for friendship. Despairing, he returns to Frankenstein and demands a partner as his right to happiness. But when Victor destroys her before she is completed, the monster vows vengeance on everything he holds dear.Widely regarded as the first proper science-fiction novel, Frankenstein provided the inspiration for a whole genre of horror stories and, later, films.

Into the sleepy village of Weatherburv arrives one day Bathsheba Everdene, come to take charge of her late uncle’s thriving farm. Strong-willed and beautiful, her presence ensures that life in the area will never be the same again.She attracts three suitors, each of whom is very different: faithful shepherd Gabriel Oak; dour gentleman-farmer William Boldwood; and dashing seducer Sergeant Francis (Frank) Troy. Impulsive and independent, Bathsheba’s wavering passions commit her to none — and yet to all — of them, with some disastrous consequences.Far from the Madding Crowd (1874) was the first of Hardv’s Wessex novels and remains one of his most well-known and popular.

Forced by the death of her parents to seek her fortune in London, Fanny Hill is duped into prostitution by an old procuress. In Mrs Brown’s bawdy-house the naive young woman begins her sexual initiation and soon embarks on her own path in pursuit of pleasure, until she at last finds true love.

Edith Wharton’s novella Ethan Frome (1911) is a classic of American literature. Mattie Silver, a young and guileless girl, is hired to keep house on the bleak New England farm belonging to Ethan Frome and his sickly wife Zeena, who is her cousin. Mattie completely captures Ethan’s heart, but the would-be lovers are kept apart by the spiteful Zeena, who then banishes the girl without warning. Before she leaves, Ethan takes Mattie on a promised sled run, with profound and dreadful consequences.Also included in this volume are four of Wharton’s celebrated tales of the supernatural: The Triumph oj Night, Kerfol, Afterward and The Eyes.

Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 at Steventon. a small village in Hampshire, England. She received nearly all her education through her brothers and her father, an Anglican minister. Her earliest extant pieces date to 1787, at which point the author would have been 11 years of age. In adulthood, Austen began writing novels, the first being the brief Lady Susan. Her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility appeared in 1811. and was followed by Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Mansfield Park (1814). All enjoyed respectable sales, and the author developed a dedicated readership.As her books were published anonymously — ‘BY A LADY’ — Austen achieved little in the way of fame during her lifetime. That said, the identity of the author was known widely amongst the aristocracy. The Prince Regent, the future George IV, was a particular admirer of Austen’s work. Emma was dedicated reluctantly to the prince at the urging of the author’s friends.Emma was first published in December 1815, days before the author’s fortieth birthday. The work proved to be the last novel published during her lifetime.Austen’s health began to decline in the early months of 1816. She started work on a new novel, The Brothers, in January 1817, but was able to work for only three more months. In April, Austen was confined to bed.On 18 July 1817, she died in Winchester, where she had gone for medical treatment. N onhanger Abbey and Persuasion were published five months later. Her final novel, The Brothers, was not published in full until 1925, as Sanditon.

Dracula (1897) begins with a young solicitor, Jonathan Harker, on his way to Transylvania to meet Count Dracula, who is buying property in London. Harker endures a nightmarish stay at Dracula’s castle, which foreshadows some bizarre events in England.First, a huge wolf-like creature is seen to leap from the deck of a Russian ship which has run aground on the shores of Whitby, its captain dead at the helm and its crew mysteriously absent; and then Lucy — a friend of Harker’s fiancee, Mina — develops a strange wasting disease and red marks on her throat.Vampire expert Professor Van Helsing convinces Harker and his friends that if Mina is not to share the same fate as poor ‘undead’ Lucy, Dracula must be caught and ritually killed.

Dracula (1897) begins with a young solicitor, Jonathan Harker, on his way to Transylvania to meet Count Dracula, who is buying property in London. Harker endures a nightmarish stay at Dracula’s castle, which foreshadows some bizarre events in England.First, a huge wolf-like creature is seen to leap from the deck of a Russian ship which has run aground on the shores of Whitby, its captain dead at the helm and its crew mysteriously absent; and then Lucy — a friend of Harker’s fiancee, Mina — develops a strange wasting disease and red marks on her throat.Vampire expert Professor Van Helsing convinces Harker and his friends that if Mina is not to share the same fate as poor ‘undead’ Lucy, Dracula must be caught and ritually killed.

«.. losing hold of my original and better self, and becoming slowly incorporated with my second and worse.»Victorian London is the setting for The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), Stevenson’s famous story of conflict between dual personalities: one good, and one ruthlessly evil.Other eerie tales in this volume are: The Body Snatcher (1881) inspired by the case of Burke and Hare; Markheim (1885) where a murderer meets a sinister smiling stranger; and The Bottle Imp (1893) in which an imp has the dubious power to grant the owner’s every wish; also, The Weir ofHermiston (1896), an unfinished romance

Not for those of a nervous disposition, this chilling collection contains some of Edgar Allan Poe’s bestknown stories, including The Fall of the House of Usher and The Masque of the Red Death. Themes of guilt, fear and revenge abound as the master of gothic horror transports readers into mysterious worlds, carries them on dangerous sea voyages, and investigates gruesome murders in tales such as The Black Cat, The Pit and the Pendulum and The Cask of Amontillado. Exploring the hidden depths of the human mind, these are tales full of thrills and intrigue.

Originally published in Graham’s Magazine in 1841, The Murders in the Rue Morgue is considered to be the first classic tale of detection that gave birth to the genre of crime fiction which we know and love today.It introduced the sleuth C. Auguste Dupin and this «locked room» puzzle was followed by two more adventures for Monsieur Dupin: The Mystery of Marie Roget and The Purloined Letter. In addition, readers can enjoy an early Poe detective story, Thou Art the Man!, which seeks to uncover the murderer of the wealthy Barnabas Shuttleworthy, and The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall, the tale of his adventure to reach the moon in a revolutionary new balloon!

There’s nothing like a good ghost story to give you a frisson of fear on a dark winter’s night. Gathered in this haunting collection are twenty-seven of the very best of their genre by British and American masters.These are classic tales from the heyday of ghost fiction, when the great names of literature contributed to the genre as a matter of course -authors such as Ambrose Bierce (The Moonlit Road),Wilkie Collins (Miss Jeromette and the Clergyman),Conan Doyle (The Captain of the Pole-star), Charles Dickens (The Goblins Who Stole a Sexton), Mrs Gaskell (The Old Nurse’s Story), Thomas Hardy (The Withered Arm), Nathaniel Hawthorne (The Hollow of the Three Hills), O. Henry (The Furnished Room), Jerome K.Jerome (The Haunted Mill), de Maupassant (A Ghost),Edgar Allan Poe (The Oval Portrait), Robert Louis Stevenson (The Body Snatcher), Thackeray (The Devil’s Wage) and Oscar Wilde (The Canterville Ghost).

When Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert decide to adopt a boy from an orphanage they are not sure what to expect. They are in for a surprise when an adventurous, imaginative, red-haired little girl arrives at Green Gables instead.Follow Anne’s adventures on Prince Edward Island in the first of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s much-loved stories. Filled with mischief, romance, and friendship, this classic book is sure to delight readers of all ages.

Follow Alice as she ventures down a rabbit hole and into Wonderland, a world 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 on the other side of the Looking Glass, where Alice encounters old and new friends, including Humpty Dumpty and Tweedledum and Tweedledee.Illustrated with John Tenniel’s iconic original drawings and containing some of literature’s most famous nonsense poems, Lewis Carroll’s classic stories will enchant readers of all ages.

‘Patience, Firmness, and Perseverance were my only weapons.’Agnes Grey (1847) was Anne Bronte’s first novel and a poignant account of her own experience as a struggling governess, obliged to earn her living in one of the few ways open to an educated Victorian girl.Agnes is a gritty heroine and her story paints a realistic picture of an intelligent, sensitive young woman who endures months of isolation and frustration in a household that is not her home. But despite the unkindness, and sometimes even malice, to which she is subjected, Agnes’ abiding principles of tolerance and compassion help her to triumph against the odds.

First published in 1879, A Doll’s House rewrote the rules of drama. Henrik Ibsen’s biographer, Halvdan Koht, wrote that the play «exploded like a bomb into contemporary life… [pronouncing] a death sentence on accepted social ethics» and its author was decried as «an obscene defiler of the purity of the home».Before Ibsen, tragedies examined the lives of the aristocracy and upper classes, but A Doll’s House was the first serious play to be written in prose about ordinary people in everyday situations. The plot revolves around Nora Helmer who is married to Torvald, an ambitious banker. Initially, the couple seem ideally matched, but as a consequence of blackmail Nora is forced to re-examine her life along with her role as a frivolous, scatter-brained wife.

‘Every idiot who goes about with «Merry Christmas» on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.’No Christmas is complete without Charles Dickens’ classic morality tale in which rich miser Ebenezer Scrooge is shown the error of his ways after visits by the spectral Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet To Come.First published in 184-3, A Christmas Carol reinforced expectations for Christmas Day as a time of peace and goodwill to all men. It’s a story everyone should read.

Sherlock Holmes was the most popular character in Victorian fiction, but when arch-enemy Moriarty bumped him off at the Reichenbach Falls in The Final Problem’ (1893), many readers were angry and dismayed. Some even cancelled their subscriptions to The Strand magazine where Holmes was the star turn.The Return of Sherlock Holmes, published in 1903-4, was Arthur Conan Doyle’s belated but brilliant response. What you get for your money here is a selection of hugely enjoyable detective stories written in the author’s elegant but spare prose, and the chance to test your wits against 13 classic plot set-ups before the enigmatic sleuth beats you to the punch with his astonishing powers of deduction. This volume shows exactly why, more than a hundred years on, Holmes remains the world’s number one detective.

Insurance salesman George Bowling takes a day off work to pick up a new set of teeth. He’s had a win at the races. Life should be grand. But he is stuck in a rut — portly, middle aged, with a wife and children in the suburbs — and this morning he forgot to wash the soap off his neck.In a bid to rekindle childhood memories, George returns to the village of his youth, only to be surprised by what he discovers there.Written on the eve of World War II, Coming Up for Air is a humorous, insightful look at the culture of interwar Britain — a world about to change forever.