'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 w...

'A book that you don't just read, you live' Simon SchamaTolstoy's magnificent epic novel of love, conflict, fate and human life in all its imperfection and grandeurWar and Peace begins at a glittering society party in St Petersburg in 1805, where conversations are dominated by the prospect of war. Terror swiftly engulfs the country as Napoleon's army marches on Russia, and the lives of three young people are changed forever. The st...

Brought to you by Penguin.This Penguin Classic is performed by Chloe Pirrie, Sam Woolf, Michael Fox, Olivia Darnley and Terence Wilton.At a glittering society party in St Petersburg in 1805, conversations are dominated by the prospect of war. Terror swiftly engulfs the country as Napoleon's army marches on Russia, and the lives of three young people are changed forever. The stories of quixotic Pierre, cynical Andrey and impetuous Natasha interweave with a h...

This book asks whether the decision to lock down the world was justified in proportion to the potential harms and risks generated by the Covid-19 virus. Drawing on global, empirical data, it explores and exposes the social harms induced by lockdowns, many of which are 'hidden', including joblessness, mental health problems and an intensification of societal inequalities and divisions. It offers data-driven case studies on harms such as domestic violence, child abuse, the distress of being ...

Steed and Dr Keel return to action in these four recreations of classic lost episodes:Kill the KingBy James Mitchell, adapted by John DorneyWhen the King of an unstable Far Eastern country visits the UK to sign an oil treaty, Steed is assigned to his protection and discovers that assassins lurk around every corner.A Change of BaitBy Lewis Davidson, adapted by John DorneyCarol's landlord has got into a lot of trouble with a sh...

SummaryHello! Python fully covers the building blocks of Python programming and gives you a gentle introduction to more advanced topics such as object-oriented programming, functional programming, network programming, and program design. New (or nearly new) programmers will learn most of what they need to know to start using Python immediately.About this BookProgrammers love Python because it's fast and efficient. Shouldn't l...

'It is only a bruise'A carefree Russian official has what seems to be a trivial accident...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.

The aristocratic Yevgeny Onegin has come into his inheritance, leaving the glamour of St Petersburg's social life to take up residence at his uncle's country estate. Master of the nonchalant bow, the aristocratic Onegin is the very model of a social butterfly - a fickle dandy, liked by all for his wit and easy ways.When the shy and passionate Tatyana falls in love with him, Onegin condescendingly rejects her, and instead diverts himself by flirting with her sister, Olga - with terr...

A dazzling new collection of Pushkin's most essential fiction, in definitive translations by the acclaimed Anthony Briggs Pushkin's restless creative genius laid the foundations for Russian prose. His stories, among the greatest and most influential ever written, retain stunning directness and precision, more than ever in Anthony Brigg's finely nuanced translations. Upending expectations at every turn, Pushkin depicts brutal conflicts and sudden reversals of fortune with disarming lightnes...

The Queen of Spades and Selected Works is a brand new English translation of two of Alexander Pushkin's greatest short stories, 'The Queen of Spades' and 'The Stationmaster', together with the poem 'The Bronze Horseman', extracts from Yevgeny Onegin and Boris Godunov, and a selection of his poetic work. 'The Queen of Spades' ('Pikovaya dama'), originally published in Russian in 1834, is one of the most famous tales in Russian literature, and inspired the eponymous opera by Tchaikovsky; in ...

This edition includes: The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Happy Ever After, and The Cossacks. Mortality was one of Tolstoy's most persistent themes, and all of the stories in this volume are connected by this preoccupation, along with the author's simultaneous attempt to help us improve our lives.

Here are some of Tolstoy's extraordinary short stories, from "The Death of Ivan Ilyich." in a masterly new translation, to "The Raid," "The Wood-felling," "Three Deaths," "Polikushka," "After the Ball," and "The Forged Coupon," all gripping and eloquent lessons on two of Tolstoy's most persistent themes: life and death. More experimental than his novels, Tolstoy's stories are essential reading for anyone interested in his development as one of the major writers and thinkers of his time.