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David Copperfield
Introduction and Notes by Dr Adrienne Gavin, Canterbury Christ Church University College. Illustrations by Hablot K. Browne (Phiz). Dickens wrote of David Copperfield: ‘Of all my books I like this the best’. Millions of readers in almost every language on earth have subsequently come to share the author’s own enthusiasm for this greatly loved classic,… Read More
Oliver Twist
Introduction and Notes by Dr Ella Westland, University of Exeter. Illustrations by George Cruikshank. Dickens had already achieved renown with The Pickwick Papers. With Oliver Twist his reputation was enhanced and strengthened. The novel contains many classic Dickensian themes – grinding poverty, desperation, fear, temptation and the eventual triumph of good in the face of… Read More
Study in Scarlet & The Sign of the Four
With an Introduction by David Stuart Davies. ‘Doctor Watson, Mr Sherlock Holmes’ – The most famous introduction in the history of crime fiction takes place in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet, bringing together Sherlock Holmes, the master of science detection, and John H. Watson, the great detective’s faithful chronicler. This novel not… Read More
Around the World in Eighty Days & Five Weeks in a Balloon
With an Introduction and Notes by Professor Roger Cardinal. University of Kent at Canterbury. Translations are by Paul Desages (Around the World in Eighty Days) and Arthur Chambers (Five Weeks in a Balloon). Jules Verne (1828-1905) possessed that rare storyteller’s gift of being able to present the far-fetched and the downright unbelievable in such a… Read More
Candide and Other Works
Introduction and Notes by James Fowler, Senior Lecturer in French, University of Kent. Candide (1759) is a bright, colourful literary firework display of a novella. With sparkling wit and biting humour, Voltaire hits several targets with fierce and comic satire: organised religion, the overweening pride of aristocrats, merchants’ greed, colonial ambition and the hopeless complacency… Read More
Rainbow
With an Introduction and Notes by Lionel Kelly, University of Reading. In 1915, Lawrence’s frank representation of sexuality in The Rainbow caused a furore and the novel was seized by the police and banned almost as soon as it was published. Today it is recognised as one of the classic English novels of the twentieth… Read More
Animal Farm
With an Introduction and Notes by Dr Andrew Palmer, Principal Lecturer in Modern Literature, Canterbury Christ Church University ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS In 1943, there was an urgent need for Animal Farm. The Soviet Union had become Britain’s ally in the war against Nazi Germany, and criticism… Read More
Complete Jane Austen Collection
The perfect gift for any Jane Austen lover. Each box set contains seven books, together creating a comprehensive collection of Austen’s best and much-loved works. Beautifully packaged in a rigid, matt-laminated slipcase with metallic detailing, complete with strikingly attractive, bespoke artwork. Includes: 9781853260285 – Emma 9781853260322 – Mansfield Park 9781853260438 – Northanger Abbey 9781853260568 –… Read More
Peter Pan
The magical Peter Pan comes to the night nursery of the Darling children, Wendy, John and Michael. He teaches them to fly, then takes them through the sky to Never-Never Land, where they find wolves, Mermaids and… Pirates. The leader of the pirates is the sinister Captain Hook. His hand was bitten off by a… Read More