This first title in the popular mystery series by playwright and novelist John Mortimer features Horace Rumpole, an English barrister who stands before the jury with the flourish of a Shakespearean actor and the ingenuity of a Sherlock Holmes. Rumpole—expert on bloodstains and fingerprint forgery—who has a wit so dry and razor sharp that most of his duller colleagues miss its cutting edge entirely; who prefers, nay depends upon a daily nip of Pommeroy’s ordinary claret; who recites Matthew...

'Rising rage and extreme bewilderment had swelled the noble breast of Mr Pickwick, almost to the bursting of his waistcoat' Few first novels have created as much popular excitement as The Pickwick Papers - a comic masterpiece that catapulted its twenty-four-year-old author to immediate fame. Readers were captivated by the adventures of the poet Snodgrass, the lover Tupman, the sportsman Winkle and, above all, by that quintessentially English Quixote, Mr Pickwick, and his cockney Sancho Pan...

One of the first spy novels ever written, The Riddle of the Sands had an enormous impact upon its publication in 1903. Author Erskine Childers-a Boer War veteran and expert yachtsman-crafted a riveting tale of two men who sail close to the German coast and observe secret preparations for an invasion of England. The novel sparked intense concern over British preparedness for war, and one critic accused Childers of almost single-handedly plunging Europe into a conflagration.

" The great panther leaped as a kitten leaps at a dead leaf whirling overhead, struck left and right into the empty air that sung under the strokes, landed noiselessly and leaped again and again, while the half purr, half growl gathered head as steam rumbles in a boiler. ' I am Bagheera-- in the jungle-- in the night, and my strength is in me. Who shall stay my stroke?'" -- from " Letting in the Jungle" For Rudyard Kipling, the jungle was at once a fierce and an infinitely gentle place. Th...

George Orwell’s timeless and timely allegorical novel—a scathing satire of a downtrodden society’s blind march towards totalitarianism.“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penn...

Oliver Goldsmith earned instant acclaim when he published The Vicar of Wakefield, a marvelous mixture of burlesque and satire. The simple village vicar, Mr. Primrose, is living with his wife and six children in complete tranquility until unexpected calamities force them to weather one hilarious adventure after another. Goldsmith plays out this classic comedy of manners with a light, ironic touch that is irresistibly charming.

When Jules Verne’s delightful tale of two globetrotting gentlemen first appeared in 1873, it won the hearts—and imaginations—of readers across Europe. Published chapter by chapter over the course of many months, Around the World in Eighty Days aroused so much excitement that readers placed bets on the outcome of Phileas Fogg’s endeavor.When eccentric Englishman Fogg makes a daring wager that he can circle the globe in just 80 days, it’s the beginning of an incredible world ...

Holmes is rescued from boredom by the strange case of Jonathan Small and the tragedy of Pondicherry Lodge.

When a strange coded message arrives at 221B Baker Street, sent by a member of Professor Moriarty's criminal organization, Sherlock Holmes soon deciphers it and finds a warning: someone is about to be murdered. A visit from a Scotland Yard inspector confirms that one John Douglas has been mysteriously killed in Sussex. Even Sherlock Holmes, well accustomed to the bizarre, finds the elements of this case unusual. John Douglas lived at Birlstone Manor House, built on the ruins of a castle su...

In the 19th century, Sir Richard Francis Burton-Oxford-educated spy and adventurer-became the first Englishman to enter the Muslim city of Mecca. Disguised as a dervish, Burton braved the harsh desert climate, Bedouin bandits, and the scrutiny of Muslim travelers to reach the forbidden city. He recorded his experiences in this book, a fascinating adventure of unique anthropological significance.

A new edition Wilkie Collins's classic novel with a new introduction by bestselling crime author Val McDermidThe Moonstone, a yellow diamond looted from an Indian temple and believed to bring bad luck to its owner, is bequeathed to Rachel Verinder on her eighteenth birthday. That very night the priceless stone is stolen again and when Sergeant Cuff is brought in to investigate the crime, he soon realizes that no one in Rachel’s household is above suspicion…"The first, the lon...

It is 1857, and Reverend Geoffrey Wilson has departed England to prove the literal truth of the Bible. The expedition heads towards Tasmania, where he is convinced he will find the real Garden of Eden. But the other passengers have their own agendas. Dr Potter is developing a sinister thesis, and the ship is crewed by smugglers of contraband brandy and tobacco. As the English passengers near Peevay's land, their bizarre notions become painfully at odds with reality. Their destination is no...