Whimsy, imagination, and sentiment have been banned in the Gradgrinds' upper-class household, but in Coketown, whose working class inhabitants fight for their very survival, the ban becomes a merciless creed. There, all that matters are the grinding wheels of production. Hard Times reflects a harsh world of grueling labor and pitiless relationships. But it is also a story of hope, of something elemental in the human spirit that rises above its bleak surroundings.

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...

Virginia Woolf once called Thomas Hardy “the greatest tragic writer among English novelists.” Set against the serene British countryside, his atmospheric novels were often considered shocking upon their publication.Returning to Egdon Heath from Paris, Clym Yeobright intends to settle down and improve the lives of his townspeople. But the alluring and mysterious Eustacia Vye has other plans. She believes Clym can provide the cosmopolitan life she craves, if only they return to Paris...

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...

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.

The endearing story of David Copperfield's endeavor to become the hero of his own life, with its intriguing correspondence to the author's own life, has delighted readers for generations. Dickens himself called this book his "favourite child," and it is his most quoted novel. Now you can have the pleasure of hearing Patrick Tull's brilliant narration of Dickens beloved classic. Listen as David recounts the experiences of his rise to successful novelist-his wretched boyhood , the drudgery o...

From New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell, the tenth installment in the world-renownedSharpe series, chronicling the rise of Richard Sharpe, a Private in His Majesty’s Army at the siege of Seringapatam.Sharpe’s job as Captain of the Light Company is under threat and he has made a new enemy, a Portuguese criminal known as Ferragus. Discarded by his regiment, Sharpe wages a private war against Ferragus – a war fought through the burning, pillag...

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 ...

Venture back in time to Victorian London to join literature's greatest detective team - the brilliant Sherlock Holmes and his devoted assistant, Dr. Watson - as they investigate a dozen of their best-known cases. Originally published in 1892, this is the first and best collection of stories about the legendary sleuth. It's also the least expensive edition available. Featured tales include several of the author's personal favorites: "A Scandal in Bohemia" - in which a king is blackmailed by...

At Baskerville Hall on the grim moors of Devonshire, a legendary curse has apparently claimed one more victim. Sir Charles Baskerville has been found dead. There are no signs of violence, but his face is hideously distorted with terror. Years earlier, a hound-like beast with blazing eyes and dripping jaws was reported to have torn out the throat of Hugo Baskerville. Has the spectral destroyer struck again? More important, is Sir Henry Baskerville, younger heir to the estate, now in danger?...