In a Norwegian coastal town, society's carefully woven threads begin to unravel when an unsettling stranger named Johan Nagel arrives. With an often brutal insight into human nature, Nagel draws out the townsfolk, exposing their darkest instincts and suppressed desires.

At once arrogant and unassuming, righteous and depraved, Nagel's bizarre behavior and feverish rants seduce the entire community even as he turns it on its head—before disappearing as suddenly as he had arrived.

Phantastes is a captivating 19th-century fairy tale by George MacDonald. This story is a profound spiritual journey of a young man named Anodos who is drawn into a magical realm known as Fairy Land. As he embarks on this dreamlike adventure, Anodos encounters mystical creatures, faces perilous challenges, and learns invaluable lessons about self-surrender and spiritual growth.

The narrative is rich with allegorical elements, representing the spiritual world or our own world unveiled in its full depth and meaning. Anodos' quest is not only about external adventures but an introspective journey that leads to the ultimate surrender of the self. This surrender, though hard-won, brings about a ripple of joy and profound insight.

Throughout his journey, Anodos meets a beautiful White Lady, who becomes an embodiment of his spiritual aspirations. His encounters with various beings, from nurturing spirits to irritating goblins, challenge his perceptions and compel him to grow. The tale is imbued with moments of introspection, temptation, and redemption, all culminating in a transformative experience for Anodos.

Phantastes is a work that resonates with the reader, offering a glimpse into the symbolic world of dreams and the spiritual quest that lies at the heart of human existence.

The Death of Ivan Ilyich has been classified as the best example of a novella ever written. Leo Tolstoy remains one of the greatest writers to put pen to paper, revolutionizing the form of the novel, the short story, and with Ivan Ilyich, the novella.

The story revolves around the titular Ivan Ilyich Golovin, who has discovered that he will die. Ivan is a well-liked official, but he has spent his life pursuing his career, eschewing his domestic life. Forced to confront his mortality, Ivan has the time to consider his life and discovers he has fled from an authentic life. Ivan has turned away from his wife, his daughter, and his son, and the lack of any real connection with them only exacerbates the pain of his impending demise.

Only through conversation with the simple peasant boy Geresim does Ivan find some solace, and that realization allows him to find a new joy in his last moments. Tolstoy wrote Ivan Ilyich late in his career, well after his major novels Anna Karenina and War and Peace. His religious and philosophical convictions shine through in this work, showing how Tolstoy has developed a deep understanding of the meaning of life itself.

Although the subject of the novella may be macabre, the story gives hope for a better life for us all.

Clássico da literatura brasileira, este texto de Machado de Assis continua sendo, cento e trinta anos depois de sua publicação original, uma das mais devastadoras observações sobre a insanidade a que pode chegar a ciência. Tão palpitante quanto de leitura prazerosa, O Alienista é uma dessas joias da ficção da literatura mundial.

Médico, Simão Bacamarte passa a se interessar pela psiquiatria, iniciando um estudo sobre a loucura em Itaguaí, onde funda a Casa Verde - um típico hospício oitocentista -, arregimentando cobaias humanas para seus experimentos. O que se segue é uma história surpreendente e atual em seu debate sobre desvios e normalidade, loucura e razão.

Billy Budd, Sailor is a timeless tale of the sea, where a handsome young sailor finds himself unjustly accused of plotting mutiny. This gripping narrative unfolds on the high seas, capturing the essence of maritime life and the complex interplay of innocence and evil.

The story explores the moral dilemmas faced by its characters, particularly the young sailor, Billy Budd, whose beauty and good nature make him a target of envy and malice. The narrative serves as a profound legal parable, illustrating how reason and intellect can sometimes fail in the face of intransigence.

For readers who find themselves threatened by a hostile and inflexible environment, this story holds a special significance. Melville's brilliantly condensed prose brings to life the haunting tale of a victimized sailor, offering a rich exploration of humanity's struggle against a rigid world.

Five Weeks in a Balloon is the first book in Jules Verne's Extraordinary Voyages series. It tells the adventurous tale of three Englishmen who attempt to cross Africa, from east to west, in a hot air balloon.

Dr. Samuel Ferguson, a rational and daring scientist, leads the expedition. He is accompanied by his loyal manservant Joe and his sporting friend Dick Kennedy. The trio embarks on a series of thrilling adventures as they encounter various challenges, including natives, dangerous animals, and the unpredictable African weather.

Throughout the journey, Verne's vivid descriptions of the African landscape, flora, and fauna provide a rich backdrop to the story. The novel, first published in 1863, reflects the European fascination with African exploration during the 19th century and includes references to actual expeditions of that time.

This classic work combines elements of science fiction, adventure, and comedy, showcasing Verne's unique storytelling style that has captivated readers for generations.

Austin Tappan Wright left the world a wholly unsuspected legacy. After he died in a tragic accident, among this distinguished legal scholar's papers were found thousands of pages devoted to a staggering feat of literary creation—a detailed history of an imagined country complete with geography, genealogy, literature, language, and culture.

As detailed as J.R.R. Tolkien's middle-earth novels, Islandia has similarly become a classic touchstone for those concerned with the creation of imaginary worlds.

The Call of the Wild tells the story of Buck, a domestic dog who is kidnapped from his home in California and forced to pull sleds in the Arctic wasteland. White Fang, by contrast, is the tale of a crossbreed who is three-quarters wolf and a quarter dog, and who must endure considerable suffering in the wilderness before being tamed by an American and taken to live in California. Extraordinary both for the vividness of their descriptions and the success with which they imagine life from a non-human perspective, Jack London's classics of children’s literature are two of the greatest and most popular animal stories ever written.

This beautiful Macmillan Collector’s Library edition of The Call of the Wild & White Fang features an afterword by Sam Gilpin.

Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much-loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

Jennie Gerhardt was Theodore Dreiser's second novel and his first true commercial success. Today, it is generally regarded as one of his three best novels, along with Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy.

Jennie Gerhardt is a powerful study of a woman tragically compromised by birth and fate. Jennie has an illegitimate child by one man and lives out of wedlock with another, but Dreiser does not condemn her for her behavior. The novel explores themes of ambition, desire, and the limitations imposed by society.

Realistic Portrayal of Society: Theodore Dreiser's novel delves into the societal norms and constraints of early 20th-century America, exposing the class divisions and moral complexities that impact the lives of the characters.

Complex Female Protagonist: Jennie Gerhardt emerges as a multidimensional character who grapples with her own ambitions, desires, and the societal expectations placed upon her. Her journey resonates with readers as she navigates the challenges of love and personal fulfillment.

Exploration of Human Relationships: The novel delves into the intricacies of human relationships, examining themes of love, sacrifice, and the conflicts between personal desires and societal obligations.

In this haunting and surreal novel, the narrator and a man known as the warden search for an elusive girl in a frozen, seemingly post-nuclear, apocalyptic landscape. The country has been invaded and is being governed by a secret organization. There is destruction everywhere; great walls of ice overrun the world.

Together with the narrator, the reader is swept into a hallucinatory quest for this strange and fragile creature with albino hair. The novel is acclaimed for its extraordinary and innovative narrative, recognized as a major work of literature in its own right.

Beware of Pity is the only novel published during the lifetime of the great Austrian writer, Stefan Zweig. Zweig was a master anatomist of the deceitful heart, and in this powerful narrative, he uncovers the seed of selfishness within even the finest of feelings.

The story revolves around Hofmiller, an Austro-Hungarian cavalry officer stationed at the edge of the empire. Invited to a party at the home of a rich local landowner, Hofmiller finds himself a world away from the dreary routine of his barracks. The surroundings are glamorous, wine flows freely, and the exhilarated young Hofmiller asks his host's lovely daughter for a dance, only to discover that sickness has left her painfully crippled.

This seemingly minor blunder sets off a chain of events that will ultimately destroy his life, as pity and guilt gradually implicate him in a well-meaning but tragically wrongheaded plot to restore the unhappy invalid to health.

Beware of Pity is an almost unbearably tense and powerful tale of unrequited love and the danger of pity, set against the backdrop of the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is a devastating depiction of the torment of the betrayal of both honour and love.

Maurice is heartbroken over unrequited love, which opened his heart and mind to his own sexual identity. In order to be true to himself, he goes against the grain of society’s often unspoken rules of class, wealth, and politics.

Forster understood that his homage to same-sex love, if published when he completed it in 1914, would probably end his career. Thus, Maurice languished in a drawer for fifty-seven years, the author requesting it be published only after his death (along with his stories about homosexuality later collected in The Life to Come).

Since its release in 1971, Maurice has been widely read and praised. It has been, and continues to be, adapted for major stage productions, including the 1987 Oscar-nominated film adaptation starring Hugh Grant and James Wilby.

What, if anything, is it that makes the human uniquely human? This, in part, is the question that G.K. Chesterton starts with in this classic exploration of human history. Responding to the evolutionary materialism of his contemporary (and antagonist) H.G. Wells, Chesterton in this work affirms human uniqueness and the unique message of the Christian faith.

Writing in a time when social Darwinism was rampant, Chesterton instead argued that the idea that society has been steadily progressing from a state of primitivism and barbarity towards civilization is simply and flatly inaccurate. "Barbarism and civilization were not successive stages in the progress of the world," he affirms, with arguments drawn from the histories of both Egypt and Babylon.

As always with Chesterton, there is in this analysis something (as he said of Blake) "very plain and emphatic." He sees in Christianity a rare blending of philosophy and mythology, or reason and story, which satisfies both the mind and the heart. On both levels, it rings true. As he puts it, "in answer to the historical query of why it was accepted, and is accepted, I answer for millions of others in my reply; because it fits the lock; because it is like life."

Here, as so often in Chesterton, we sense a lived, awakened faith. All that he writes derives from a keen intellect guided by the heart's own knowledge.

The Omen is a classic tale of the antichrist who comes to Earth in the form of a young boy. This chilling story has captivated audiences for decades, blending elements of horror and suspense.

In this gripping narrative, a seemingly ordinary child harbors a dark secret that could spell doom for humanity. The tale unfolds with a series of unsettling events that lead to an inevitable confrontation between good and evil.

Prepare yourself for a journey into the heart of darkness, where every shadow hides a sinister truth and every choice could be your last. The Omen is not just a story, but an experience that will leave you questioning the nature of fate and the true essence of evil.

In Dubious Battle is a relentlessly fast-paced, admirably observed novel of social unrest and the story of a young man’s struggle for identity. Set in the California apple country, a strike by migrant workers against rapacious landowners spirals out of control. A principled defiance metamorphoses into blind fanaticism.

Caught in the upheaval is Jim Nolan, a once aimless man who finds himself in the course of the strike. He briefly becomes its leader and is ultimately crushed in its service.

Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains. These are the famous opening words of a treatise that has not ceased to stir vigorous debate since its first publication in 1762.

Rejecting the view that anyone has a natural right to wield authority over others, Rousseau argues instead for a pact, or ‘social contract’, that should exist between all the citizens of a state and that should be the source of sovereign power.

From this fundamental premise, he goes on to consider issues of liberty and law, freedom and justice, arriving at a view of society that has seemed to some a blueprint for totalitarianism, to others a declaration of democratic principles.

The Murders in the Rue Morgue: The Dupin Tales includes three captivating stories: The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mystery of Marie Rogêt, and The Purloined Letter.

Between 1841 and 1844, Edgar Allan Poe invented the genre of detective fiction with these mesmerizing stories featuring a young French eccentric named C. Auguste Dupin. Introducing to literature the concept of applying reason to solving crime, these tales brought Poe fame and fortune. Dorothy Sayers described The Murders in the Rue Morgue as "almost a complete manual of detective theory and practice."

Poe’s short mysteries inspired the creation of countless literary sleuths, among them Sherlock Holmes. Today, these unique Dupin stories still stand out as utterly engrossing page-turners.

Inheriting the mantle of revolutionary biologist from Darwin, Watson, and Crick, Richard Dawkins forced an enormous change in the way we see ourselves and the world with the publication of The Selfish Gene. Suppose, instead of thinking about organisms using genes to reproduce themselves, as we had since Mendel's work was rediscovered, we turn it around and imagine that our genes build and maintain us in order to make more genes. That simple reversal seems to answer many puzzlers which had stumped scientists for years, and we haven't thought of evolution in the same way since.

Drawing fascinating examples from every field of biology, he paved the way for a serious re-evaluation of evolution. He also introduced the concept of self-reproducing ideas, or memes, which (seemingly) use humans exclusively for their propagation. If we are puppets, he says, at least we can try to understand our strings.

Louis-Ferdinand Céline's revulsion and anger at what he considered the idiocy and hypocrisy of society explodes from nearly every page of this novel. Filled with slang and obscenities and written in raw, colloquial language, Journey to the End of the Night is a literary symphony of violence, cruelty and obscene nihilism.

This book shocked most critics when it was first published in France in 1932, but quickly became a success with the reading public in Europe, and later in America where it was first published by New Directions in 1952. The story of the improbable yet convincingly described travels of the petit-bourgeois (and largely autobiographical) antihero, Bardamu, from the trenches of World War I, to the African jungle, to New York and Detroit, and finally to life as a failed doctor in Paris, takes the readers by the scruff and hurtles them toward the novel's inevitable, sad conclusion.

As the first decade of Peanuts closes, it seems only fitting to bid farewell to that halcyon decade with a cover starring Patty, one of the original three Peanuts.

Major new additions to classic Peanuts lore come fast and furious here. Snoopy begins to take up residence atop his doghouse, and his repertoire of impressions increases exponentially. Lucy sets up her booth and offers her first five-cent psychiatric counsel. (Her advice to a forlorn Charlie Brown: "Get over it.")

For the very first time, Linus spends all night in the pumpkin patch on his lonely vigil for the Great Pumpkin (although he laments that he was a victim of "false doctrine," he's back 12 months later). Linus also gets into repeated, and visually explosive, scuffles with a blanket-stealing Snoopy, suffers the first depredations of his blanket-hating grandmother, and falls in love with his new teacher Miss Othmar.

Even more importantly, several years after the last addition to the cast ("Pig-Pen"), Charlie Brown's sister Sally makes her appearance—first as an (off-panel) brand new baby for Charlie to gush over, then as a toddler and eventually a real, talking, thinking cast member. (By the end of this volume, she'll already start developing her crush on Linus.)

All this, and one of the most famous Peanuts strips ever: "Happiness is a warm puppy." Almost one hundred of the 731 strips collected in this volume (including many Sundays) have never been collected in any book since their original release, with one hundred more having been collected only once in relatively obscure and now impossible-to-find books; in other words, close to one quarter of the strips have never been seen by anyone but the most avid Peanuts completists.

Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper, and his friends are led into a mortal struggle with Arawn and his deathless warriors. Taran must wrest the Black Cauldron from them, for it is the cauldron that gives them their evil strength. But can he withstand the three enchantresses, who are determined to turn him and his companions into toads?

Taran has not foreseen the awful price he will have to pay in his defense of Prydain...

Denis Johnson's Train Dreams is an epic in miniature, one of his most evocative and poignant fictions. It is the story of Robert Grainier, a day laborer in the American West at the start of the twentieth century---an ordinary man in extraordinary times. Buffeted by the loss of his family, Grainer struggles to make sense of this strange new world. As his story unfolds, we witness both his shocking personal defeats and the radical changes that transform America in his lifetime.

Suffused with the history and landscapes of the American West, this novella captures the disappearance of a distinctly American way of life.

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners is an extraordinary spiritual autobiography composed by John Bunyan while he was imprisoned for his religious beliefs. This classic work is a profound exploration of Bunyan's spiritual journey and his struggles with doubt and despair.

Bunyan vividly recounts his conviction of sin and his eventual triumph over spiritual obstacles, offering a haunting yet inspiring account of his inner life. His narrative is a testament to the power of faith and the comfort found in the Holy Scriptures.

Set in a time when religious radicalism was viewed as socially subversive, Bunyan's story highlights the intense battle between God and Satan for his soul, not as abstract theological concepts, but as real and immediate forces. His spiritual defenses are fortified by the Bible, making this work a passionate and imaginative engagement with the ultimate source of wisdom.

"Cranford" offers a delightful portrait of the residents of an English country town in the mid-nineteenth century. At its heart are the adventures of two middle-aged spinster sisters, Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, who strive to live with dignity despite reduced circumstances.

Through a series of vignettes, Elizabeth Gaskell portrays a community governed by old-fashioned habits and dominated by friendships between women. Her wry account of rural life is affectionately crafted, yet undercut by moments of tragedy, such as Matty's bankruptcy and the violent death of Captain Brown. The novel also explores the unwitting cruelty of Peter Jenkyns.

Written with acute observation, Cranford is by turns affectionate, moving, and darkly satirical.

The Silver Chalice brings the colorful and passionate world of early Christianity to vivid life. It tells the story of Basil of Antioch, a sensitive artisan who is purchased from slavery and commissioned to create a decorative casing for the Chalice that Jesus used at the Last Supper.

Basil's journey takes him to Jerusalem, Greece, and Rome, where he meets the apostles, braves the perils of persecution, and finally makes a fateful choice that allows him to "see" Jesus.

The dramatic plot, compelling characters, and spiritual depth of The Silver Chalice made it one of the most popular historical novels of the twentieth century.

The Voyage Out is Virginia Woolf's first novel, offering a haunting exploration of a young woman's mind. Join Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose and their niece, Rachel, on a sea journey from London to the South American coast. This is not just any voyage; it is a voyage into the depths of the soul, capturing the mysteries and complexities of the inner life.

Rachel Vinrace, a young girl innocent and wholly ignorant of the world of politics, society, books, sex, love, and marriage, embarks on this journey. She encounters Terence Hewet, an aspiring writer, and her greatest discovery will be her own self.

Woolf began work on The Voyage Out by 1910 and completed it by 1912. The novel had a long and difficult gestation and was finally published in 1915. The resultant work contained the seeds of all that would blossom in her later work: the innovative narrative style, the focus on feminine consciousness, sexuality, and death.

Senhora is a captivating critique of marriage of convenience that delves into universal truths through the story of one-time lovers reconciling as husband and wife. The story revolves around the poor orphan Aurélia, who is devastated when her true love, Fernando, breaks their engagement for the financial rewards of a marriage of convenience to another.

Unexpectedly, Aurélia inherits a fortune and plans her revenge. She wins marriage to Fernando with a large dowry and stuns her lover on their wedding night by imposing a marriage of convenience until the dowry is returned. The marriage descends into one of hate more than convenience, until both recognize the errors of their ways.

Cold Comfort Farm is a wickedly funny portrait of British rural life in the 1930s. Flora Poste, a recently orphaned socialite, moves in with her country relatives, the gloomy Starkadders of Cold Comfort Farm, and becomes enmeshed in a web of violent emotions, despair, and scheming, until Flora manages to set things right.

The remarkable, acclaimed series of interconnected detective novels – from the author of 4 3 2 1: A Novel The New York Review of Books has called Paul Auster’s work “one of the most distinctive niches in contemporary literature.” Moving at the breathless pace of a thriller, this uniquely stylized trilogy of detective novels begins with City of Glass, in which Quinn, a mystery writer, receives an ominous phone call in the middle of the night. He’s drawn into the streets of New York, onto an elusive case that’s more puzzling and more deeply-layered than anything he might have written himself.

In Ghosts, Blue, a mentee of Brown, is hired by White to spy on Black from a window on Orange Street. Once Blue starts stalking Black, he finds his subject on a similar mission, as well. In The Locked Room, Fanshawe has disappeared, leaving behind his wife and baby and nothing but a cache of novels, plays, and poems.

This Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition includes an introduction from author and professor Luc Sante, as well as a pulp novel-inspired cover from Art Spiegelman, Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic artist of Maus and In the Shadow of No Towers. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

The teaching of G. I. Gurdjieff (1866-1949) has come to be recognized as one of the most original, enduring, and penetrating of our century. While Gurdjieff used many different means to transmit his vision of the human dilemma and human possibility, he gave special importance to his acknowledged masterwork, Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson.

Beelzebub's Tales is an "ocean of story" and of ideas that one can explore for a lifetime. It is majestic in scale and content, challengingly inventive in prose style, and often approached with apprehension. This revised edition, prepared under the direction of Gurdjieff's closest pupil, Jeanne de Salzmann, offers a new experience of Gurdjieff's masterpiece for contemporary readers.

This edition provides a translation that clarifies the verbal surface while respecting the author's thought and style. It is presented in a sturdy cloth edition, echoing its original publication.

One of Gabriel García Márquez's most intricate and ambitious works, The Autumn of the Patriarch is a brilliant tale of a Caribbean tyrant and the corruption of power. From charity to deceit, benevolence to violence, and fear of God to extreme cruelty, the dictator of The Autumn of the Patriarch embodies the best and the worst of human nature.

Gabriel García Márquez, the renowned master of magical realism, vividly portrays the dying tyrant caught in the prison of his own dictatorship. Employing an innovative, dreamlike style, and overflowing with symbolic descriptions, the novel transports the reader to a world that is at once fanciful and vividly real.

Among the great works of world literature, perhaps one of the least familiar to English readers is Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings, the national epic of Persia. This prodigious narrative, composed by the poet Ferdowsi between the years 980 and 1010, tells the story of pre-Islamic Iran, beginning in the mythic time of Creation and continuing forward to the Arab invasion in the seventh century.

Shahnameh belongs in the company of such literary masterpieces as Dante's Divine Comedy, the plays of Shakespeare, and the epics of Homer - classics whose reach and range bring whole cultures into view. In its pages are unforgettable moments of national triumph and failure, human courage and cruelty, blissful love and bitter grief.

In tracing the roots of Iran, Shahnameh initially draws on the depths of legend and then carries its story into historical times, when ancient Persia was swept into an expanding Islamic empire. Now Dick Davis, the greatest modern translator of Persian poetry, has revisited that poem, turning the finest stories of Ferdowsi's original into an elegant combination of prose and verse.

For the first time in English, in the most complete form possible, readers can experience Shahnameh in the same way that Iranian storytellers have lovingly conveyed it in Persian for the past thousand years.

Ask the Dust is a virtuoso performance by an influential master of the twentieth-century American novel. It is the story of Arturo Bandini, a young writer in 1930s Los Angeles who falls hard for the elusive, mocking, unstable Camilla Lopez, a Mexican waitress. Struggling to survive, he perseveres until, at last, his first novel is published. But the bright light of success is extinguished when Camilla has a nervous breakdown and disappears... and Bandini forever rejects the writer's life he fought so hard to attain.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a story for those who follow their hearts and make their own rules...people who derive special pleasure from doing something well, even if only for themselves...people who understand there's more to this living than meets the eye. They'll be right there with Jonathan, soaring higher and faster than they ever dreamed.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is no ordinary bird. He believes it is every gull's right to fly, to reach the ultimate freedom of challenge and discovery, finding his greatest reward in teaching younger gulls the joy of flight and the power of dreams.

The special 20th anniversary release of this spiritual classic!

From Shel Silverstein, the celebrated author of The Giving Tree and Where the Sidewalk Ends, comes The Missing Piece, a charming fable that gently probes the nature of quest and fulfillment.

It was missing a piece. And it was not happy. What it finds on its search for the missing piece is simply and touchingly told. This inventive and heartwarming book can be read on many levels, and Silverstein’s iconic drawings and humor are sure to delight fans of all ages.

So it set off in search of its missing piece. And as it rolled, it sang this song:

Oh I'm lookin' for my missin' piece
I'm lookin' for my missin' piece
Hi-dee-ho, here I go,
Lookin' for my missin' piece.

Helena, a ward of the Countess of Rousillion, falls in love with the Countess's son, Bertram. Daughter of a famous doctor, and a skilled physician in her own right, Helena cures the King of France—who feared he was dying—and he grants her Bertram's hand as a reward.

Bertram, however, offended by the inequality of the marriage, sets off for war, swearing he will not live with his wife until she can present him with a son, and with his own ring—two tasks which he believes impossible. However, with the aid of a bed trick, Helena fulfils his tasks. Bertram realizes the error of his ways, and they are reconciled.

This classic Shakespearean play explores themes of love, ambition, and the social constraints of marriage. It is a delightful and thought-provoking comedy that continues to captivate audiences with its complex characters and intricate plot.

Philosopher David Hume was considered one of the most important figures in the age of Scottish enlightenment. In An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Hume discusses the weakness that humans have in their abilities to comprehend the world around them, what is referred to in the title as human understanding.

This work, now commonly required reading in philosophy classes, exposed a broad audience to philosophy when it was first published. A great introduction to the philosophy of David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding and the ideas within it are as intriguing today as when they were first written.

Go Ask Alice is a haunting first-person account of a young girl's descent into the nightmarish world of drug addiction. It begins innocently enough when she is unwittingly served a soft drink laced with LSD at a party. Within months, she finds herself trapped in a downward spiral, moving from a comfortable home and loving family to the mean streets of an unforgiving city.

This journey strips her of her innocence, her youth, and ultimately, her life. The reader is invited to read her diary and enter her world—a world that will be impossible to forget.

The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter is drawn into the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his 'charming' friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, The Woman in White is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Welcome to Centerburg! Where you can win a hundred dollars by eating all the doughnuts you want; where houses are built in a day; and where a boy named Homer Price can foil four slick bandits using nothing but his wits and pet skunk.

The comic genius of Robert McCloskey and his wry look at small-town America has kept readers in stitches for generations!

Six episodes in the life of Homer Price including one in which he and his pet skunk capture four bandits and another about a donut machine on the rampage.

Play It as It Lays is a ruthless dissection of American life in the late 1960s, capturing the mood of an entire generation. Joan Didion chose Hollywood to serve as her microcosm of contemporary society, exposing a culture characterized by emptiness and ennui.

Set in a place beyond good and evil – literally in Hollywood, Las Vegas, and the barren wastes of the Mojave Desert, but figuratively in the landscape of an arid soul – it remains a profoundly disturbing novel, riveting in its exploration of a woman and a society in crisis and stunning in the still-startling intensity of its prose.

Who can forget our beloved gentleman's personal gentleman, Jeeves, who ever comes to the rescue when the hapless Bertie Wooster falls into trouble. My Man Jeeves is sure to please anyone with a taste for pithy buffoonery, moronic misunderstandings, gaffes, and aristocratic slapstick.

Contents:

• Leave It to Jeeves
• Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest
• Jeeves and the Hard-boiled Egg
• Absent Treatment
• Helping Freddie
• Rallying Round Old George
• Doing Clarence a Bit of Good
• The Aunt and the Sluggard

Sodom and Gomorrah explores the complex themes of homosexual love, both male and female, and the destructive nature of sexual jealousy. Within its pages, Proust offers an unforgiving analysis of the decadent high society of Paris and the rise of a philistine bourgeoisie poised to supplant it.

Characters who had lesser roles in earlier volumes now reappear in a different light and take center stage, notably Albertine, with whom the narrator believes he is in love, and the insanely haughty Baron de Charlus.

This volume is a testament to Proust's ability to weave intricate narratives that delve deeply into the human psyche, making it a critical piece of his monumental series, À la recherche du temps perdu.

Jo's Boys is a delightful continuation of the beloved story that began in Little Women and Little Men. Set ten years after the events of Little Men, this novel takes us back to Plumfield, the New England school still under the loving guidance of Jo and her husband, Professor Bhaer.

In this final installment, Jo's boys have grown up. The tale revolves around the lives of these young men, including the rebellious Dan, the adventurous sailor Emil, and the promising musician Nat. The narrative is rich with adventure and drama, as the boys face challenges such as shipwrecks, storms, disappointment, and even murder.

Jo's Boys is a powerful and affectionate depiction of family, where the prodigal can always return, adversity is never faced alone, and dreams of being cherished, no matter the flaws, come true. This classic novel continues to capture the hearts of readers with its enduring themes of love, growth, and resilience.

The House of the Seven Gables is a Gothic novel which follows the story of a New England family and their ancestral home. In this book, Hawthorne explores themes of guilt, retribution, and atonement and colors the tale with suggestions of the supernatural and witchcraft. The setting for the book was inspired by a gabled house in Salem belonging to Hawthorne's cousin Susanna Ingersoll and by ancestors of Hawthorne who had played a part in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.

American novelist and short story writer Nathaniel Hawthorne's (1804-1864) writing centers on New England, many works featuring moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His fiction works are considered to be part of the Dark romanticism. His themes often centre on the inherent evil and sin of humanity, and his works often have moral messages and deep psychological complexity.

The Mind Parasites is a thrilling fusion of H.P. Lovecraft's dark vision with Colin Wilson's revolutionary philosophy and unique narrative powers. This stunning, high-tension story is one of vaulting imagination.

A professor makes a horrifying discovery while excavating a sinister archaeological site. For over 200 years, mind parasites have been lurking in the deepest layers of human consciousness, feeding on human life force and steadily gaining a foothold on the planet. Now, they threaten humanity’s extinction.

These parasites can be fought with only one weapon: the mind. It must be pushed to—and beyond—its limits. Pushed so far that humans can read each other’s thoughts, that the moon can be shifted from its orbit by thought alone. Pushed so that man can at last join battle with the loathsome parasites on equal terms.

First published in 1944, Dragonwyck is a classic gothic romance that tells the story of an 18-year-old Miranda Wells. She falls under the spell of a mysterious old mansion and its equally fascinating master.

Tired of her mundane life of churning butter and weeding the garden, Miranda is thrilled by an invitation to the upstate New York estate of her distant relative, the intriguing Nicholas Van Ryn. Her passion is ignited by the icy fire of Nicholas, the last of the Van Ryns, and the luxury of Dragonwyck, a way of life she has only dreamed of.

Dressed in satin and lace, Miranda becomes part of Dragonwyck, with its Gothic towers and flowering gardens, acres of tenant farms, and dark, terrible secrets. This compelling novel paints a marvelous portrait of a country torn between freedom and feudal traditions; a country divided between the very wealthy and the very poor.

The poor tenant farmers at Dragonwyck, the European royalty who visit, and American icons such as Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, and the Astors are vividly brought to life. This is a heart-stopping story of a remarkable woman, her breathtaking passions, and the mystery and terror that await her in the magnificent hallways of Dragonwyck.

In an astonishing feat of narrative invention, Philip Roth imagines an alternate version of American history. In 1940, Charles A. Lindbergh, heroic aviator and rabid isolationist, is elected President. Shortly thereafter, he negotiates a cordial understanding with Adolf Hitler, while the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti-Semitism.

For one boy growing up in Newark, Lindbergh's election is the first in a series of ruptures that threatens to destroy his small, safe corner of America - and with it, his mother, his father, and his older brother.