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Seven Hanged (Penguin Little Black Classics)
By Leonid Andreyev. 2016
'It was like walking along the knife-edge of the highest possible mountain range, seeing life on one side and death…
on the other in the form of two deep, gorgeous and gleaming seascapes.'This astonishing novella from 1908, newly translated for Little Black Classics by War and Peace translator Anthony Briggs, probes the emotions and experiences of seven people condemned to death in Tsarist Russia. A powerful and subtle exploration of the morality of capital punishment, it was a bestseller at the time, and, in a strange quirk of history, influenced the conspirators in the cataclysmic assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914.One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.Set Fire To Sicily
By Jane Heritage. 1997
Marcello D'Estari, bastard son of a nobleman and a courtesan, is the most effective, most unmanageable and most amorous of…
the spies of the Venetian Republic.To safeguard its position as the greatest Mediterranean power, Venice needs intelligence, and to gather intelligence it needs spies and informers - courageous, reckless men who can pass unnoticed among peasants and courtiers alike, who can speak the polyglot dialects of the Mediterranean ports, who can befriend noblemen and seduce their wives, and who can, if necessary, kill.Marcello rarely enjoys the killing.Set Fire To Sicily is his first recorded mission.The Servant Girl
By Maggie Hope. 2013
She is the downstairs maid; he is the Master’s son...Forced to become a kitchen maid at Fortune Hall, Hetty Pearson…
strikes up an unlikely friendship with the younger son of the house, Richard.But Hetty is just a poor servant girl: what hope does she have of either winning Richard’s heart or escaping his older brother’s more base attentions?Note: previously published as THE JEWEL STREETS by Una HorneSeriously Funny: The Endlessly Quotable Terry Pratchett
By Terry Pratchett. 2016
‘I’ll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there’s evidence of any thinking going on inside it.’The…
most quotable writer of our time, Terry Pratchett’s unique brand of wit made him both a bestseller and an enduring, endearing source of modern wisdom. This collection is filled with his funniest and most memorable words about life, the universe and snoring.A heart-warming Cockney saga from multi-million copy seller Mary Jane Staples. Perfect for fans of Maggie Ford, Kitty Neale and…
Katie Flynn. You won't be able to put it down! READERS ARE LOVING SERGEANT JOE!"Another fun read with some surprising twists and turns" - 5 STARS"A lovely story, and so funny I couldn't help but burst out laughing at times" - 5 STARS"Excellent read" - 5 STARS"A brilliant book...Mary Jane Staples brings her characters to life! Excellent!" - 5 STARS"Awesome - a lovely fun read" - 5 STARS***********************************************************************SHE'LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO KEEP HER FAMILY SAFE FROM HARM...Everyone likes Sergeant Joe. From the family with whom he has lodgings to the bookseller who employs him in a little lucrative and harmless forgery. He is a universal favourite.When he bumps into Dolly Smith - quite literally - he meets a girl who makes quite an impression on him. Dolly is quick, lively, and full of cockney cheek. She is also a little frightened - running from a vicious-looking thug and a sinister foreigner who seem to think she has stolen something valuable. When Joe takes Dolly under his wing he thinks he is just helping her in a momentary predicament. Little does he know his life is going to change forever... For Dolly, bewitching and beguiling - is involved in something quite dangerous...September Starlings: a tender but true to life saga about families and all they entail
By Ruth Hamilton. 1994
This moving and captivating novel will keep you glued to the page and invested from the off. From the SUNDAY…
TIMES BESTSELLER, Ruth Hamilton, perfect for fans of Catherine Cookson, Dilly Court and Josephine Cox.'Very much the successor to Catherine Cookson. Her books are plot driven, they just rip along; laughs, weeps, love, they've got the lot, and they're quality writing as well' - SARAH BROADHURST, RADIO FOUR'This book breaks your heart, it is rare to find a book which stirs so many emotions.' - ***** Reader Review'I couldn't bear to turn off my Kindle... Another great read from Ruth.' - ***** Reader Review'Great story. Found myself not wanting to stop reading.' - ***** Reader Review****************************************************ONE WOMAN'S FIGHT TO FORGE HER OWN FUTURE...Laura Starling, now wealthy and successful, has survived a bitter past.She fled from a tyrannical mother into the clutches of a sadistic man. She endured poverty, fear and pain. Then along came Ben Starling, older, wiser, who smoothed her path and gave her love and security.But now Ben has become a stranger who has slipped beyond her reach. As her stability threatens to disintegrate once more, a thin, waif-like girl from Liverpool thrusts her way into Laura's life - a girl who is to prove a link with the past.But no one can help Laura make the decisions that will alter the course of her existence. As the September starlings gather, Laura realises she must take courage and forge her own future...FROM THE NUMBER 1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE TEA PLANTER'S WIFE The Separation, Dinah Jefferies' stunning debut novel, is the…
heartbreaking tale of a family fractured by lies and one mother's love reaching across the distance of years and continents.A country at war with itself,a family divided and betrayed,a bond that can never be broken...Malaya, 1955. Lydia Cartwright returns from visiting a sick friend to an empty house. The servants are gone. The phone is dead. Where is her husband Alec? Her young daughters, Emma and Fleur? Fearful and desperate, she contacts the British District Officer and learns that Alec has been posted up country. But why didn't he wait? Why did he leave no message? Lydia's search takes her on a hazardous journey through war-torn jungle. Forced to turn to Jack Harding, a man she'd vowed to leave in her past, she sacrifices everything to be reunited with her family.And while carrying her own secrets, Lydia will soon face a devastating betrayal which may be more than she can bear . . .A Sentimental Journey
By Laurence Sterne. 2005
When Yorick, the roving narrator of Sterne's innovative final novel, sets off for France on a whim, he produces no…
ordinary travelogue. Jolting along in his coach from Calais, through Paris, and on towards the Italian border, the amiable parson is blithely unconcerned by famous views or monuments, but he engages us with tales of his encounters with all manner of people, from counts and noblewomen to beggars and chambermaids. And as drama piles upon drama, anecdote, flirtation and digression, Yorick's destination takes second place to an exhilarating voyage of emotional and erotic exploration. Interweaving sharp wit with warm humour, irony with sentiment, A Sentimental Journey paints a captivating picture of an Englishman's adventures abroad.Sentimental Education
By Gustave Flaubert. 1972
Sentimental Education begins with the hero - Frederic Moreau - leaving Paris and returning to the provinces and his mother.…
Part love story, part historical novel and satire it tells of how Moreau is driven by passion for an unattainable older woman. His 'sentimental education' turns out to be more of an anxious quest than a happy one, echoing Flaubert's own life experience of unrequited love. Packed with vivid detail and characterised by its historical authenticity, the book was described by Flaubert as 'the moral history of the men of my generation'.Sense and Sensibility (The Penguin English Library)
By Jane Austen. 2012
"The more I know of the world, the more am I convinced that I shall never see a man whom…
I can really love. I require so much!"Jane Austen's novel tells the story of Marianne Dashwood, who wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love - and its threatened loss - the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.Sense and Sensibility
By Jane Austen. 2014
'The wit of Jane Austen has for partner the perfection of her taste' Virginia WoolfJane Austen's subtle and witty novel…
of secrets and suppression, lies and seduction, brilliantly portrays a world where rigid social convention clashes with the impulses of the heart. It tells the story of two very different sisters who find themselves thrown into an unkind world when their father dies. Marianne, wild and impulsive, falls dangerously in love, while Elinor suffers her own private heartbreak but conceals her true feelings, even from those closest to her. Edited with an Introduction by ROS BALLASTERSense and Sensibility
By Jane Austen. 1996
Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are two strikingly different sisters. On their father's death, the Estate goes to their brother John…
who, encouraged his his wife, goes against his father's wishes of looking after his sisters and step-mother. They retire to a cottage in Devonshire, but not before Elinor and Edward Ferras become mutually attracted. In Devonshire Marianne falls desperately in love with John Willoughby, an attractive but unprincipled man. Each sister discovers that their suitors have become engaged to other women and the story centres on the different way they cope with this distress. All ends well, however, when Edward is released from his engagement and can marry Elinor, and Marianne is won over by an old admirer.Sense and Sensibility
By Jane Austen. 2010
‘I wish, as well as everybody else, to be perfectly happy; but, like everybody else, it must be in my…
own way’Discover the beloved story of sisters, love and society that launched Jane Austen’s career.Elinor is as prudent as her sister Marianne is impetuous. Each must learn from the other after they are they are forced by their father's death to leave their home and enter into the contests of polite society. The charms of unsuitable men and the schemes of rival ladies mean that their paths to success are thwart with disappointment but together they attempt to find a way to happiness.Sense and Sensibility: Jane Austen (Vintage Classics Austen Series)
By Jane Austen. 2014
'Beautifully designed... Perfect collectable gift for Austen fans and design devotees' So Darling Elinor is as prudent as her sister…
Marianne is impetuous. Each must learn from the other after they are they are forced by their father's death to leave their home and enter into the contests of polite society. The charms of unsuitable men and the schemes of rival ladies mean that their paths to success are thwart with disappointment but together they attempt to find a way to happiness. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY FRANCESCA SEGAL VINTAGE CLASSICS AUSTEN SERIES - all six of Jane Austen's major novels, beautifully designed and introduced by our finest contemporary writers.Selected Tales
By Brothers Grimm. 1982
Selected Tales contains some of the most timeless and enchanting folk and fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm, translated…
with an introduction by David Luke in Penguin Classics.These folktales collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are among the most memorable stories in European culture - conjuring up a world of spells and bewitchment, outwitted villains and cruel stepmothers, animal bridegrooms and enchanted princesses. Tales such as 'Hansel and Gretel', 'Little Red Cape' and 'The Robber Bridegroom' depict the dangers lurking in dark forests, and others, including 'Briar-Rose' and 'Snow White' show young beauties punished by unforgiving sorceresses. Other tales include 'Thickasathumb', which portrays a childless young couple whose wish for a baby is granted in an unexpected way, while 'The Frog King' tells of a rash promise made by a haughty princess to share her bed with a frog, and a fortune is won in 'The Blue Lamp', when a soldier gains a kingdom with the help of a magic lamp.David Luke's vibrant translation is accompanied by an introduction discussing the key themes of the tales and the literary background of the Brothers Grimm. This edition also includes new further reading and a chronology, with notes and a glossary.Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859) are nowadays simply known as 'the brothers Grimm'. Both brothers were state-appointed librarians in Kassel, and later members of the Academy of Arts and Sciences in Berlin, where Frederick William IV of Prussia had invited them to settle. Two of Germany's greatest scholars, Jacob is regarded as the founder of the scientific study of the German language, and with his brother Wilhelm initiated the Deutsches Wörterbuch, a dictionary of all words in modern High German since 1450.If you enjoyed the Selected Tales of the Brothers Grimm, you might like Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales, also available in Penguin Classics.Since their first publication in the 1830s and 1840s, Edgar Allan Poe's extraordinary Gothic tales have established themselves as classics…
of horror fiction and have also created many of the conventions which still dominate the genre of detective fiction. As well as being highly enjoyable, Poe's tales are works of very real intellectual exploration. Attentive to the historical and political dimensions of these very American tales, this new selection places the most popular -- `The Fall of the House of Usher', `The Masque of the Red Death', `The Murders in the Rue Morgue; and `The Purloined Letter' -- alongside less well-known travel narratives, metaphysical essays and political satires.Selected Tales
By James Henry. 2001
Throughout his life, Henry James was drawn to the short story form for the freedom and variety it offered. The…
nineteen stories in this selection span James's career, from brief tales to longer works, all exploring his concerns with the old world and the new, money, fame and art. 'Daisy Miller', the work that first brought him fame, depicts a bold, unsophisticated American girl abroad, and 'In the Cage' portrays a young telegraphist's romantic fantasies about customers who send telegrams from her post office. In 'The Birthplace' a Stratford tour guide embellishes the Shakespeare legend, while in the late masterpiece 'The Jolly Corner', an elderly American returns from Europe and encounters a strange apparition. Haunting, witty and beautifully drawn, James's tales are as complex and resonant as his novels.Selected Stories
By D. H. Lawrence. 2007
This collection of short stories traces D. H. Lawrence's development as a writer. His early tales often draw on personal…
experiences, as in 'Odour of Chrysanthemums', a work he described as 'full of my childhood's atmosphere', while the horror of the First World War haunts 'England, My England'. Later stories, such as 'Things', powerfully express his evolving ideas about the duality of our lives. With their complex characters, these stories illuminate emotional lives and, above all, illustrate Lawrence's passionate belief about the destructive forces in modern society and their effect on love.With an Introduction by Louise Welsh and Notes by Sue WilsonSelected Stories: Selected Stories Of Rudyard Kipling
By Rudyard Kipling. 1987
This collection opens with The Gate of the Hundred Sorrows, the first story Kipling published as a young journalist in…
india, and ends with an acknowledged masterpiece, The Gardener, written 50 years later in the aftermath of the great war.Selected Short Stories
By Honoré De Balzac. 1977
One of the greatest French novelists, Balzac was also an accomplished writer of shorter fiction. This volume includes twelve of…
his finest short stories - many of which feature characters from his epic series of novels the Comédie Humaine. Compelling tales of acute social and psychological insight, they fully demonstrate the mastery of suspense and revelation that were the hallmarks of Balzac's genius. In The Atheist's Mass, we learn the true reason for a distinguished atheist surgeon's attendance at religious services; La Grande Breteche describes the horrific truth behind the locked doors of a decaying country mansion, while The Red Inn relates a brutal tale of murder and betrayal. A fascinating counterpoint to the renowned novels, all the stories collected here stand by themselves as mesmerizing works by one of the finest writers of nineteenth-century France.