The Wall, the lead story in this collection, introduces three political prisoners on the night prior to their execution. Through the gaze of an impartial doctor—seemingly there for the men's solace—their mental descent is charted in exquisite, often harrowing detail. And as the morning draws inexorably closer, the men cross the psychological wall between life and death, long before the first shot rings out.

This brilliant snapshot of life in anguish is the perfect introduction to a collection of stories where the neurosis of the modern world is mirrored in the lives of the people that inhabit it.

When penniless businessman Mr. Bedford retreats to the Kent coast to write a play, he meets by chance the brilliant Dr. Cavor, an absent-minded scientist on the brink of developing a material that blocks gravity. Cavor soon succeeds in his experiments, only to tell a stunned Bedford that the invention makes possible one of the oldest dreams of humanity: a journey to the moon.

With Bedford motivated by money, and Cavor by the desire for knowledge, the two embark on the expedition. But neither are prepared for what they find—a world of freezing nights, boiling days, and sinister alien life, on which they may be trapped forever.

In 1845, runaway slave Frederick Douglass became, almost overnight, the most celebrated African American author in history with the publication of his Narrative. In stark, powerful prose, he conveyed his observations of owners and overseers, the demoralizing effects of slavery on both slave and slaveholder, and his own triumph over oppression.

In the latter part of the century, Douglass became a public figure of enormous stature: an orator, a newspaper publisher, and a statesman. But he is perhaps best remembered as America's first major African American writer, a man whose work still makes a powerful impact on both our minds and hearts.

For a new perspective on Douglass' narrative, Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s, introduction examines its literary and social importance, and considers the issues Douglass raised as the foundation for today's field of African American studies. Gates's illuminating insights, and an extensive bibliography, make this edition essential reading for scholars, historians, and students of African American literature.

A Doll's House (1879), is a masterpiece of theatrical craft which, for the first time portrayed the tragic hypocrisy of Victorian middle class marriage on the stage. The play ushered in a new social era and "exploded like a bomb into contemporary life".

The Student Edition contains these exclusive features:

• A chronology of the playwright's life and work
• An introduction giving the background of the play
• Commentary on themes, characters. language and style
• Notes on individual words and phrases in the text
• Questions for further study
• Bibliography for further reading.

When the Moomin family members need a change of scenery, they decide to take up residence in a lighthouse. Leave Moominvalley? Is it possible? Yes, even the Moomin family need a change of scenery sometimes, so they're off to live in a lighthouse on a tiny island.

Here they find space to grow, and to do things they couldn't in their comfortable, cluttered valley home. As they discover their new home, the family also discover surprising, and wonderfully funny, new things about themselves.

When a flood sweeps through the valley, the Moomins must find a new house. And with their typical Moomin good luck, one just happens to be floating by. It looks normal enough, but there are curtains where one wall should be, strange rows of lights, and other odd amenities.

Then Moomintroll and the Snork Maiden disappear, and the family realizes that the house may hold the answers to more than they ever dreamed.

The Moomins and the Great Flood is the first book about the Moomins, originally published in 1945. It tells the story of Moominmamma and Moomintroll as they embark on a quest to find the missing Moominpappa and eventually discover the beautiful Moominvalley.

As they journey through a dark and mysterious forest, they encounter a flood of epic proportions, testing their resilience and courage. The story is set against the backdrop of a natural catastrophe, which adds an element of suspense and adventure to their journey.

With Moominmamma's kindness and patience, they face numerous challenges, symbolizing themes of family, hope, and perseverance. The book is beautifully illustrated with black and white artwork, bringing the whimsical world of the Moomins to life.

Beowulf is a major epic of Anglo-Saxon literature, probably composed between the first half of the seventh century and the end of the first millennium. The poem was inspired by Germanic and Anglo-Saxon oral tradition recounting the exploits of Beowulf, the hero who gave his name to the poem.

Here, it's transcribed as a verse epic, onto which are grafted Christian additions.

The author writes: The two long pieces in this book originally came out in The New Yorker - RAISE HIGH THE ROOF BEAM, CARPENTERS in 1955, SEYMOUR - An Introduction in 1959. Whatever their differences in mood or effect, they are both very much concerned with Seymour Glass, who is the main character in my still-uncompleted series about the Glass family. It struck me that they had better be collected together, if not deliberately paired off, in something of a hurry, if I mean them to avoid unduly or undesirably close contact with new material in the series. There is only my word for it, granted, but I have several new Glass stories coming along - waxing, dilating - each in its own way, but I suspect the less said about them, in mixed company, the better. Oddly, the joys and satisfactions of working on the Glass family peculiarly increase and deepen for me with the years. I can't say why, though. Not, at least, outside the casino proper of my fiction.

Set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine, #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King’s timeless novella “The Body”—originally published in his 1982 short story collection Different Seasons, and adapted into the 1986 film classic Stand by Me—is now available as a stand-alone publication.

It’s 1960 in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. Ray Brower, a boy from a nearby town, has disappeared, and twelve-year-old Gordie Lachance and his three friends set out on a quest to find his body along the railroad tracks. During the course of their journey, Gordie, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp, and Vern Tessio come to terms with death and the harsh truths of growing up in a small factory town that doesn’t offer much in the way of a future.

A timeless exploration of the loneliness and isolation of young adulthood, Stephen King’s The Body is an iconic, unforgettable, coming-of-age story.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare gathers together the timeless works of the renowned playwright in a single, convenient volume. This collection includes:

The Comedies: A Midsummer Night's Dream, All's Well That Ends Well, As You Like It, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Measure for Measure, Much Ado About Nothing, The Comedy of Errors, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Taming of the Shrew, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night; or, What You Will.

The Romances: Cymbeline, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale.

The Tragedies: King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Troilus and Cressida, Julius Caesar, Timon of Athens, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, Titus Andronicus.

The Histories: King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry IV (Parts 1 & 2), Henry V, Henry VI (Parts 1, 2 & 3), Henry VIII.

The Poetical Works: The Sonnets, Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music, A Lover's Complaint, The Rape of Lucrece, Venus and Adonis, The Phoenix and the Turtle, The Passionate Pilgrim.

Experience the rich language, complex characters, and timeless themes of love, betrayal, and power that define Shakespeare's work. This collection is a must-have for anyone interested in classic literature and the intricacies of human experience.

Robert Louis Stevenson's masterpiece of the duality of good and evil in man's nature sprang from the darkest recesses of his own unconscious—during a nightmare from which his wife awakened him, alerted by his screams. More than a hundred years later, this tale of the mild-mannered Dr. Jekyll and the drug that unleashes his evil, inner persona—the loathsome, twisted Mr. Hyde—has lost none of its ability to shock.

Its realistic police-style narrative chillingly relates Jekyll's desperation as Hyde gains control of his soul—and gives voice to our own fears of the violence and evil within us. Written before Freud's naming of the ego and the id, Stevenson's enduring classic demonstrates a remarkable understanding of the personality's inner conflicts—and remains the irresistibly terrifying stuff of our worst nightmares.

Considered by Rumi to be "the master" of Sufi mystic poetry, Attar is best known for this epic poem, a magnificent allegorical tale about the soul’s search for meaning. He recounts the perilous journey of the world’s birds to the faraway peaks of Mount Qaf in search of the mysterious Simorgh, their king.

Attar’s beguiling anecdotes and humor intermingle the sublime with the mundane, the spiritual with the worldly, while his poem models the soul’s escape from the mind’s rational embrace. Sholeh Wolpé re-creates for modern readers the beauty and timeless wisdom of the original Persian, in contemporary English verse and poetic prose.

The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft brings together an extraordinary collection of tales from one of the most influential American writers of weird tales since Edgar Allan Poe.

Stories included are:

• The Nameless City
• The Festival
• The Colour Out of Space
• The Call of Cthulhu
• The Dunwich Horror
• The Whisperer in Darkness
• The Dreams in the Witch House
• The Haunter of the Dark
• The Shadow Over Innsmouth
• The Shadow Out of Time
• At the Mountains of Madness
• The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
• Azathoth
• Beyond the Wall of Sleep
• Celephaïs
• Cool Air
• Dagon
• Ex Oblivione
• Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family
• From Beyond
• Herbert West-Reanimator
• Hypnos
• In the Vault
• Memory
• Nyarlathotep
• Pickman’s Model
• The Book
• The Cats of Ulthar
• The Descendant
• The Doom That Came to Sarnath
• The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
• The Evil Clergyman
• The Horror at Red Hook
• The Hound
• The Lurking Fear
• The Moon-Bog
• The Music of Erich Zann
• The Other Gods
• The Outsider
• The Picture in the House
• The Quest of Iranon
• The Rats in the Walls
• The Shunned House
• The Silver Key
• The Statement of Randolph Carter
• The Strange High House in the Mist
• The Street
• The Temple
• The Terrible Old Man
• The Thing on the Doorstep
• The Tomb
• The Transition of Juan Romero
• The Tree
• The Unnamable
• The White Ship
• What the Moon Brings
• Polaris
• The Very Old Folk
• Ibid
• Old Bugs
• Sweet Ermengarde, or, The Heart of a Country Girl
• A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson
• The History of the Necronomicon

This collection showcases Lovecraft's mastery of the macabre and his pioneering of a new type of fiction that fused elements of supernatural horror with visionary science fiction, revolutionizing modern horror fiction.

Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters was an immediate commercial success when it was published in 1915. Unconventional in both style and content, it shattered the myths of small town American life. This collection of epitaphs of residents of a small town requires the reader to piece together narratives from fragments contained in individual poems.

In these pages, no less than 214 individual voices are heard — each voice distinct, yet universal in its resonance. The voices of Spoon River, although distinctively small-town Americans, evoke themes of love and hope, disappointment and despair that are universal in their resonance.

"One swallow does not make a summer; neither does one day. Similarly neither can one day, or a brief space of time, make a man blessed and happy"

Previously published as Ethics, Aristotle's The Nicomachean Ethics addresses the question of how to live well and originates the concept of cultivating a virtuous character as the basis of his ethical system. Here Aristotle sets out to examine the nature of happiness, and argues that happiness consists in 'activity of the soul in accordance with virtue', including moral virtues, such as courage, generosity, and justice, and intellectual virtues, such as knowledge, wisdom, and insight.

The Ethics also discusses the nature of practical reasoning, the value and the objects of pleasure, the different forms of friendship, and the relationship between individual virtue, society, and the State. Aristotle's work has had a profound and lasting influence on all subsequent Western thought about ethical matters.

This Penguin Classics edition is translated from the Greek by J.A.K. Thomson with revisions and notes by Hugh Tredennick, and an introduction and bibliography by Jonathan Barnes. 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.

Neil Gaiman, long inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction, presents a bravura rendition of the Norse gods and their world from their origin though their upheaval in Ragnarok. In Norse Mythology, Gaiman stays true to the myths in envisioning the major Norse pantheon: Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin's son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki—son of a giant—blood brother to Odin and a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator.

Gaiman fashions these primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds and delves into the exploits of deities, dwarfs, and giants. Through Gaiman's deft and witty prose, these gods emerge with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to duping others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions, making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again.

The Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath is a remarkable compilation that brings together 224 poems, including a selection from her earliest works. This comprehensive collection offers readers an immersive experience into the poetic genius of Plath, showcasing her unique style and emotional depth.

This edition, edited and introduced by Ted Hughes, presents a chronological order of Plath's work, allowing readers to trace the evolution of her poetic voice. The collection includes uncollected and unpublished pieces, making it an essential read for those who wish to explore the full scope of Plath's literary achievements.

Immerse yourself in the emotional journey and the artistic expression of one of the most celebrated poets of the 20th century. This volume is not just a collection of poems; it's an inspirational masterpiece that continues to resonate with readers worldwide.

A Most Unusual Friendship

When sophomores John and Lorraine played a practical joke a few months ago on a stranger named Angelo Pignati, they had no idea what they were starting. Virtually overnight, almost against their will, the two befriended the lonely old man; it wasn't long before they were more comfortable in his house than their own. But now Mr. Pignati is dead. And for John and Lorraine, the only way to find peace is to write down their friend's story -- the story of the Pigman.

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

Summering with a fellow schoolboy on a great English estate, Leo, the hero of L. P. Hartley's finest novel, encounters a world of unimagined luxury. But when his friend's beautiful older sister enlists him as the unwitting messenger in her illicit love affair, the aftershocks will be felt for years.

The Go-Between is a masterpiece—a richly layered, spellbinding story about past and present, naiveté and knowledge, and the mysteries of the human heart.

At the staid Marcia Blaine School for Girls, in Edinburgh, Scotland, teacher extraordinaire Miss Jean Brodie is unmistakably, and outspokenly, in her prime. She is passionate in the application of her unorthodox teaching methods, in her attraction to the married art master, Teddy Lloyd, in her affair with the bachelor music master, Gordon Lowther, and—most important—in her dedication to "her girls," the students she selects to be her crème de la crème. Fanatically devoted, each member of the Brodie set—Eunice, Jenny, Mary, Monica, Rose, and Sandy—is "famous for something," and Miss Brodie strives to bring out the best in each one. Determined to instill in them independence, passion, and ambition, Miss Brodie advises her girls, "Safety does not come first. Goodness, Truth, and Beauty come first. Follow me." And they do. But one of them will betray her.

Mary Shelley's seminal novel of the scientist whose creation becomes a monster. This edition is the original 1818 text, which preserves the hard-hitting and politically charged aspects of Shelley's original writing, as well as her unflinching wit and strong female voice.

This edition also includes a new introduction and suggestions for further reading by author and Shelley expert Charlotte Gordon, literary excerpts and reviews selected by Gordon, and a chronology and essay by preeminent Shelley scholar Charles E. Robinson.

Kim is Rudyard Kipling's story of an orphan born in colonial India, torn between love for his native India and the demands of Imperial loyalty to his Irish-English heritage, and to the British Secret Service. The novel unfolds against the backdrop of The Great Game, the political conflict between Russia and Britain in Central Asia. Set after the Second Afghan War which ended in 1881, but before the Third, the story is probably set in the period 1893 to 1898.

At the novel's heart are two men - a boy who grows into early manhood and an old ascetic priest, the lama. They embark on a quest that faces them both; Kim, born in India, is nevertheless white, a sahib. While he aspires to play the Great Game of Imperialism, he is also spiritually bound to the lama, and his aim is to reconcile these opposing strands of his identity. As Kim moves chameleon-like through the two cultures, the lama searches for redemption from the Wheel of Life.

Kim captures the opulence of India's exotic landscape, overlaid by the uneasy presence of the British Raj, presenting a vivid picture of India, its teeming populations, religions, superstitions, and the life of the bazaars and the road. Long recognized as Kipling's finest work, Kim was a key factor in his winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907.

At the Mountains of Madness is a tale of terror unlike any other. The barren, windswept interior of the Antarctic plateau was lifeless—or so the expedition from Miskatonic University thought. Then they found the strange fossils of unheard-of creatures...and the carved stones tens of millions of years old...and, finally, the mind-blasting terror of the City of the Old Ones.

Three additional strange tales, written as only H.P. Lovecraft can write, are also included in this macabre collection of the strange and the weird.

• At the Mountains of Madness • A complete short novel, part of the Cthulhu Mythos.
• The Dreams in the Witch-House • A novelette, part of the Cthulhu Mythos.
• The Shunned House • A novelette.
• The Statement of Randolph Carter • A short story, part of the Randolph Carter series.