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The Journal of Beatrix Potter from 1881 to 1897
by Beatrix PotterThis ebook has been optimised for viewing on colour devices. Between the ages of 15 and 30 Beatrix Potter kept a secret diary written in code. When the code was cracked by Leslie Linder more than 20 years after her death, the diary revealed a remarkable picture of upper middle-class life in late Victorian Britain. This book provides an illuminating insight into the personality and inspiration of one of the world's best loved children's authors.
Lady Audley's Secret (The Penguin English Library)
by Mary Elizabeth BraddonThe Penguin English Library Edition of Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon'Lady Audley uttered a long, low, wailing cry, and threw up her arms above her head with a wild gesture of despair'In this outlandish, outrageous triumph of scandal fiction, a new Lady Audley arrives at the manor: young, beautiful - and very mysterious. Why does she behave so strangely? What, exactly, is the dark secret this seductive outsider carries with her? A huge success in the nineteenth century, the book's anti-heroine - with her good looks and hidden past - embodied perfectly the concerns of the Victorian age with morality and madness.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
The Moonstone: A Romance (The Penguin English Library)
by Wilkie CollinsWith an essay by T. S. Eliot.'Here was our quiet English house suddenly invaded by a devilish Indian Diamond - bringing after it a conspiracy of living rogues, set loose on us by the vengeance of a dead man'When Rachel Verinder's birthday present - the Moonstone, a large Indian diamond - is stolen at her party, suspicion and the diamond's mysterious curse seem set to ruin everyone and everything she loves. Only Sergeant Cuff's famous detective skills offer any hope of peace and a future for them all. The intricate plot and modern technique of multiple narrators made Wilkie Collin's 1868 work a huge success in the Victorian sensation genre. With a reconstruction of the crime, red herrings and a 'locked-room' puzzle, The Moonstone was also a major precursor of the modern mystery novel.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
The Murders in the Rue Morgue and Other Tales: The Murders In The Rue Morgue, And Other Tales (The Penguin English Library)
by Edgar Allan PoeWith an essay by D. H. Lawrence.'... an agility astounding, a strength superhuman, a ferocity brutal, a butchery without motive, a grotesquerie in horror absolutely alien from humanity...'Horror, madness, violence and the dark forces hidden in humanity abound in this collection of Poe's brilliant tales, including - among others - the bloody, brutal and baffling murder of a mother and daughter in Paris in 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', the creeping insanity of 'The Tell-Tale Heart', the Gothic nightmare of 'The Masque of the Red Death', and the terrible doom of 'The Fall of the House of Usher'.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
North and South (The Penguin English Library)
by Elizabeth GaskellWith an essay by V. S. Pritchett.'How am I to dress up in my finery, and go off and away to smart parties, after the sorrow I have seen today?'Elizabeth Gaskell's compassionate, richly dramatic novel features one of the most original and fully-rounded female characters in Victorian fiction, Margaret Hale. It shows how, forced to move from the country to an industrial northern town, she develops a passionate sense of social justice, and a turbulent relationship with mill-owner John Thornton. North and South depicts a young woman discovering herself, in a nuanced portrayal of what divides people, and what brings them together.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
A Tale of Two Cities (The Penguin English Library)
by Charles DickensThe Penguin English Library Edition of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens'Liberty, equality, fraternity, or death; - the last, much the easiest to bestow, O Guillotine!'Described by Dickens as 'the best story I have written', A Tale of Two Cities interweaves thrilling historical drama with heartbreaking personal tragedy. It vividly depicts a revolutionary Paris running red with blood, and a London where the poor starve. In the midst of the chaos two men - an exiled French aristocrat and a dissolute English lawyer - are both redeemed and condemned by their love for the same woman, as the shadow of La Guillotine draws closer...The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
The Time Machine (The Penguin English Library)
by H. G. WellsWith a contemporary review by R.H. Hutton, from the Spectator.'Great shapes like big machines rose out of the dimness, and cast grotesque black shadows, in which dim spectral Morlocks sheltered from the glare'Chilling, prophetic and hugely influential, The Time Machine sees a Victorian scientist propel himself into the year 802,701 AD, where he is delighted to find that suffering has been replaced by beauty and contentment in the form of the Eloi, an elfin species descended from man. But he soon realizes that they are simply remnants of a once-great culture - now weak and living in terror of the sinister Morlocks lurking in the deep tunnels, who threaten his very return home. H. G. Wells defined much of modern science fiction with this 1895 tale of time travel, which questions humanity, society, and our place on Earth.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
The Warden (The Penguin English Library)
by Anthony TrollopeWith an essay by Robin Gilmour.'It was so hard that the pleasant waters of his little stream should be disturbed and muddied ... that his quiet paths should be made a battlefield: that the unobtrusive corner of the world which been allotted to him ... made miserable and unsound'Trollope's witty, satirical story of a quiet cathedral town shaken by scandal - as the traditional values of Septimus Harding are attacked by zealous reformers and ruthless newspapers - is a drama of conscience that pits individual integrity against worldly ambition. In The Warden Anthony Trollope brought the fictional county of Barsetshire to life, peopled by a cast of brilliantly realised characters that have made him among the supreme chroniclers of the minutiae of Victorian England.The first book in the Chronicles of Barsetshire.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
Mr Chan, Rocket Man: Genie Street: Ladybird Read it yourself
by Richard DungworthGenie Street is a magical place where anything can happen. This e-book edition is an ideal first chapter book series for children who are gaining in reading confidence and want to progress to reading a proper book. Each book is split into two stories, with large type and plenty of pictures, so that children can read it for themselves, with a sense of achievement. Ideal for Key Stage 1 children.When Daisy and Tom move to Genie Street, they are worried they might be bored. But before long they meet a talking cat called Jinx, and find out that nobody who lives on the street is quite what they seem! Mr Chan is not just a car mechanic - he makes space rockets too! Find out what happens when the children join him for an adventure.Book 2 in the Genie Street series.
Engelbert - What's In A Name?: My Autobiography
by Engelbert HumperdinckThe man known simply as 'Enge' by his millions of fans worldwide has sold over 150 million records and is in the Guinness Book of Records for achieving 56 consecutive weeks in the chart with 'Release Me'.From living on the dole and receiving last rites with tuberculosis, to buying a Hollywood palace with a heart-shaped pool and a fleet of fourteen Rolls Royces, Engelbert wears his 'King of Romance' crown so well that horticulturists even named a rose after him. And the love god has certainly lived up to his reputation, indulging in a string of affairs and one-night stands, whilst remaining happily married to his first love Patricia. Forty years on from his early hits 'Enge' is still at the very top, selling out concerts across the world, representing the UK at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, and topping the charts in all the major markets.Inspired by the warmth of his millions of affectionate fans and the endless support of his wife, Engelbert shares his incredible life story with openness, humour and astonishing honesty.
Who Wants It?
by Chris Henderson Colin WardChris Henderson formed the Chelsea Headhunters – who later earned a reputation as the most dangerous fans in Britain - as well as the band Combat 84 who, with their punk attitude and uncut, Orwellian lyrics, represented the antithesis of middle-class England. After the jailing of Stephen 'Hickey' Hickmott, Henderson organised a gang of Chelsea fans who travelled to matches by luxury coach with the aim of causing havoc and destruction. They were finally arrested and their subsequent trial was meant to be the crowning glory of Thatcher's campaign to vanquish hooliganism. Instead, the dramatic collapse of the case sounded the death knell for all the undercover police operations and mass indiscriminate arrests that had been ordered by the authorities to squash the activities of Henderson and others.The 'Ministry' continued to pursue Henderson and prior to the 2002 World Cup, he and Hickmott were named as the two leaders planning hooligan and criminal acts for the tournament in South Korea and Japan, which culminated in Henderson being arrested and refused entry to Japan for the England v. Argentina match.Told in Henderson's exact words, this is the dramatic story of an era of music and football, when how you looked counted as much as how you performed. With its depiction of events surrounding South Korea/Japan 2002, Who Wants It? also shows how the scourge of hooliganism continues to blight the beautiful game today.
The Monarchy: A Critique of Britain's Favourite Fetish
by Christopher HitchensAs the Duke and Duchess of Sussex bring renewed focus to the monarchy, now is the perfect time to re-examine Christopher Hitchens’s powerful polemic.In this scathing essay, Christopher Hitchens looks at the relationship of the press and the public to the royal family, unpacking the tautology and contradictory arguments that prop it up. In his inimitable style, Hitchens argues that our desire not to profane or disturb the monarchy is a failure of reason and a confusion of reality. Fealty to the magic of monarchy stops us looking objectively at our own history and hinders open-minded criticism of our present. It is time we outgrew it. With the recent birth of royal baby Archie, during a time of austerity and national inequality, Hitchens’s 10,000-word critique is even more relevant today than when it was first published in 1990. 'Christopher is one of the most terrifying rhetoricians that the world has yet seen' Martin Amis
Daniel Deronda (The Penguin English Library)
by George EliotWith an essay by Barbara Hardy.'What can I do? ... I must get up in the morning and do what every one else does. It is all like a dance set beforehand. I seem to see all that can be - and I am tired and sick of it. And the world is all confusion to me' George Eliot's last, most controversial novel opens as the spoiled Gwendolen Harleth, poised at a roulette table about to throw away a small fortune, captivates Daniel Deronda. As their lives become intertwined, they are also transformed by suffering, misfortune, revelations and Daniel's fascination with the Jewish singer Mirah. Daniel Deronda shocked Victorian readers with its portrayal of the Jewish experience in British society, and remains a moving and epic portrayal of human passions.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
David Copperfield (The Penguin English Library)
by Charles DickensNow a major film directed by Armando Iannucci, starring Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi and Ben WhishawDickens's epic, exuberant novel is one of the greatest coming-of-age stories in literature. It chronicles David Copperfield's extraordinary journey through life, as he encounters villains, saviours, eccentrics and grotesques, including the wicked Mr Murdstone, stout-hearted Peggotty, formidable Betsey Trotwood, impecunious Micawber and odious Uriah Heep.Dickens's great Bildungsroman (based, in part, on his own boyhood, and which he described as a 'favourite child') is a work filled with life, both comic and tragic.
Evelina (The Penguin English Library)
by Frances BurneyWith entries from the diary of Fanny Burney.'O Sir, how much uneasiness must I suffer, to counterbalance one short morning of happiness!'In this comic and sharply incisive satire of excess and affectations, beautiful young Evelina falls victim to the rakish advances of Sir Clement Willoughby on her entrance to the world of fashionable London. Colliding with the manners and customs of a society she doesn't understand, she finds herself without hope that she should ever deserve the attention of the man she loves. Frances Burney's first novel brilliantly sends up eighteenth-century society - and its opinions of women - while enticingly depicting its delights.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
Happy Children Through Positive Parenting
by Elizabeth Hartley-BrewerHappy Children through Positive Parenting is a parenting book with a difference. It does not tell parents how and when to potty train or when to introduce children to solid food. Instead it argues what really matters is helping children to grow up feeling secure and good about themselves, enabling them to gain positive self-esteem. Knowing and liking yourself is so often the key to success in life - affecting personal relationships, general motivation and success in work. Using key words such as 'praise', 'play', 'time', 'touch' and 'talk' Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer speaks to new and experienced parents alike about what helps children to develop and what blocks progress. No matter how difficult parenting may have seemed in the past, this book offers a clear and simple way forward in the most influential relationship of all - that between parent and child.
Helping Your Toddler to Sleep: an easy-to-follow guide
by Siobhan MulhollandA new title in the series of beautifully illustrated and easy-to-follow practical guides covering all the essential phases of childcare.Getting your toddler to sleep, and to sleep well, can become a battle that can be tiring and upsetting for both parent and child. And the less sleep they get, the more tiring it can be. This comprehensive guide - the first to be aimed purely at toddlers - offers practical guidance and clear guidelines on how to achieve the best result. From sleep cycles and nap times to food and mental attitude, Helping Your Toddler to Sleep is the only book parents need to ensure that their toddler - and they - get as much sleep as they need.
Little Dorrit
by Charles DickensAmy Dorrit (known as Little Dorrit) was born in the Marshalsea debtors' prison in London. She has lived there with her father and two elder siblings for all of her twenty-two years, only leaving to work each day as a seamstress for the forbidding Mrs Clennam. But Amy's fortunes are about to change: the arrival of Mrs Clennam's son Arthur, back from working in China, heralds the beginning of stunning revelations not just about Amy but also about Arthur himself.
Melmoth the Wanderer (The Penguin English Library)
by Charles MaturinWith an essay by Alathea Hayter.'My hour is come ... the clock of eternity is about to strike, but its knell must be unheard by mortal ears!'This violent, profound, baroque and blackly humorous novel is the story of Melmoth, who has sold his soul in exchange for immortality in a satanic bargain, and now preys on the helpless in their darkest moments, offering to ease their suffering if they will take his place and release him from his centuries of tortured wanderings. Melmoth the Wanderer (1820) blended Gothic fiction and psychological realism to create a work of hallucinatory power.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
Nanny Knows Best: Successful Potty Training
by Nanny Smith with Nina Grunfeld Nina Grunfeld Nanny SmithDrawing on years of practical experience Nanny Smith will help every parent and every baby through this potentially traumatic time to enjoy the ease of life without nappies. Featuring Nanny's 10-step plan for guaranteed success the book answers common questions with sane practical and loving advice. She also addresses serious problems such as soiling and bedwetting in older children. There are no gimmicks in this book - Nanny Smith believes that every parent will learn for themselves what is right for their child.
Nanny Knows Best - Easy Weaning And First Feeding
by Smith , Nanny With Nina GrunfeldFor many parents weaning can become full of trauma and anxiety. Is your baby eating enough? Is he getting the right nutrients? What happens if your baby refuses to eat or is constantly sick or crying? Nanny Smith has the answers to every parent's everyday questions and will help you and your baby through the transition from breast to bottle to solids - with confidence and calm.
The Way of All Flesh
by Samuel ButlerWith an essay by V. S. Pritchett.'The greater part of every family is always odious; if there are one or two good ones in a very large family, it is as much as can be expected'Written with great humour, irony and honesty, The Way of All Flesh exploded perceptions of the Victorian middle-class family in its radical depiction of Ernest Pontifex, a young man who casts off his background and discovers himself. The awkward but likeable son of a tyrannical clergyman and a priggish mother, and destined to follow his father into the church, Ernest gleefully rejects his parents' respectability, and chooses instead to find his own way in the world.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
The Urban Beekeeper: A Year of Bees in the City
by Steve BenbowAt a time when the UK bee population is in decline there's no better way to make a difference than to start up your own beehive. Steve Benbow's enormous success with urban beekeeping show's how easy it is to keep bees, whether you're in the city or in the countryside, a beginner or an experienced beekeeper, and you'll never look back once you've tasted your very own sticky, golden honey, or lit a candle made from the beeswax from your beehive.Steve Benbow is a visionary beekeeper who started his first beehive ten years ago on the roof of his tower block in Bermondsey and today runs 30 sites across the city. His bees live atop the Tate Modern and Tate Britain, Fortnum & Mason and the National Portrait Gallery, and he supplies honey to the Savoy tearooms, Harvey Nichols, Harrods and delis across London. His bees forage in parks, cemeteries, along railway lines and in window boxes, and because of the diversity of the plants and trees in the city, produce far richer honey and greater yields than they would in rural areas.The Urban Beekeeper is a fact-filled diary and practical guide to beekeeping that follows a year in the life of Steve and his bees and shows how keeping bees and making your own delicious honey is something anyone can do. It is a tempting glimpse into a sunlit lifestyle that starts with the first rays of the morning and ends with the warm glow of sunset, filled with oozing honeycomb, recipes for sensational honey-based dishes, and honey that tastes like sunshine. A hugely affectionate but practical diary of a beekeeper's year and the immense satisfaction of harvesting your own delicious honey. Read it and join the revolution.
The Monk
by Matthew LewisWith an essay by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.'He now saw himself stained with the most loathed and monstrous sins, the object of universal execration ... doomed to perish in tortures the most severe'Shocking, erotic and violent, The Monk is the story of Ambrosio, torn between his spiritual vows and the temptations of physical pleasure. His internal battle leads to sexual obsession, rape and murder, yet this book also contains knowing parody of its own excesses as well as social comedy. Written by Matthew Lewis when he was only nineteen, it was a ground-breaking novel in the Gothic Horror genre and spawned hundreds of imitators, drawn in by its mixture of bloodshed, sex and scandal.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
The Jungle Books
by Rudyard KiplingThe Jungle Books tell the story of the irrepressible Mowgli, who is rescued as a baby from the jaws of the evil tiger, Shere Khan. Raised by wolves and guided by Baloo the bear, Mowgli and his animal friends embark on a series of hair-raising adventures through the jungles of India.