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Mansfield Park (The Penguin English Library)
by Jane Austen'We have all been more or less to blame ... every one of us, excepting Fanny'Taken from the poverty of her parents' home in Portsmouth, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with her cousin Edmund as her sole ally. During her uncle's absence in Antigua, the Crawford's arrive in the neighbourhood bringing with them the glamour of London life and a reckless taste for flirtation. Mansfield Park is considered Jane Austen's first mature work and, with its quiet heroine and subtle examination of social position and moral integrity, one of her most profound.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.
Last Steps: The Late Writings of Leo Tolstoy
by Leo Tolstoy1910. Anna Karenina and War and Peace have made Leo Tolstoy the world's most famous author. But fame comes at a price. In the tumultuous final year of his life, Tolstoy is desperate to find respite, so leaves his large family and the hounding press behind and heads into the wilderness. Too ill to venture beyond the tiny station of Astapovo, he believes his last days will pass in isolation. But as we learn through the journals of those closest to him, the battle for Tolstoy's soul will not be a peaceful one. Jay Parini introduces, translates and edits this collection of Tolstoy's autobiographical writing, diaries, and letters related to the last year of Tolstoy's life published to coincide with the 2009 film of Parini's novel The Last Station: A Novel of Tolstoy's Final Year.
The Little Demon
by Fyodor SologubA dark classic of Russia's silver age, this blackly funny novel recounts a schoolteacher's descent into sadism, arson and murder.Mad, lascivious, sadistic and ridiculous, the provincial schoolteacher Peredonov torments his students and has hallucinatory fantasies about acts of savagery and degradation, yet to everyone else he is an upstanding member of society. As he pursues the idea of marrying to gain promotion, he descends into paranoia, sexual perversion, arson, torture and murder. Sologub's anti-hero is one of the great comic monsters of twentieth-century fiction, subsequently lending his name to the brand of sado-masochism known as Peredonovism. The Little Demon (1907) made an immediate star of its author who, refuting suggestions that the work was autobiographical, stated 'No, my dear contemporaries ... it is about you'. This grotesque mirror of a spiritually bankrupt society is arguably the finest Russian novel to have come out of the Symbolist movement.Fyodor Sologub was born in St Petersburg in 1863. His first two novels Bad Dreams (1896) and The Little Demon (1907) were drawn from his own experiences as schoolmaster in a remote provincial town. For many years Sologub could not find a publisher for The Little Demon but when in 1907 the novel was at last published - to immediate and resounding success - he was able to leave his restricting career and devote himself to literature. In 1921 his wife committed suicide and Sologub died a few years later in 1927. Ronald Wilks studied Russian language and literature at Trinity College,Cambridge, after training as a Naval interpreter, and later Russian literature at London University. He has translated many works from Russian for Penguin Classics, including books by Gorky, Gogol, Pushkin, Tolstoy and Chekhov.
Madwoman On The Bridge And Other Stories
by Su TongSet during the fall-out of the Cultural Revolution, these bizarre and delicate stories capture the collision of the old China of vanished dynasties, with communism and today's tiger economy.The mad woman on the bridge wears a historical gown which she refuses to take off. In the height of summer she stands madly on the bridge. Until a young female doctor, bewitched by the beauty of the mad woman's dress, plots to take it from her, with tragic consequences.
Mansions of Misery: A Biography of the Marshalsea Debtors’ Prison
by Jerry WhiteFor Londoners of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, debt was a part of everyday life. But when your creditors lost their patience, you might be thrown into one of the capital’s most notorious jails: the Marshalsea Debtors’ Prison.In Mansions of Misery, acclaimed chronicler of the capital Jerry White introduces us to the Marshalsea’s unfortunate prisoners – rich and poor; men and women; spongers, fraudsters and innocents. We get to know the trumpeter John Grano who wined and dined with the prison governor and continued to compose music whilst other prisoners were tortured and starved to death. We meet the bare-knuckle fighter known as the Bold Smuggler, who fell on hard times after being beaten by the Chelsea Snob. And then there’s Joshua Reeve Lowe, who saved Queen Victoria from assassination in Hyde Park in 1820, but whose heroism couldn’t save him from the Marshalsea. Told through these extraordinary lives, Mansions of Misery gives us a fascinating and unforgettable cross-section of London life from the early 1700s to the 1840s.
Me And My Monsters: Monster Mess (Me & My Monsters)
by Rory GrowlerTen-year-old Eddie couldn't believe it when he found three furry monsters living in the basement of his house. Fiend, Haggis and Norman are the naughtiest, stinkiest, craziest friends he could wish for!But now his Mum, Dad and sister are in on the secret too, can the Carlson family learn to live with their newly adopted monsters? When Fiend, Haggis and Norman make one mess too many, Eddie's Mum tells them they need to learn to clean up . . . OR ELSE. Can Eddie teach the monsters to be tidy?
The Last Straw
by Christina ShellyWhen Dennis Mann loses his job, his life hits a hiatus of junk food and daytime TV, much to the consternation of his wife Helen and her wealthy mother Samantha. Soon, the women realise that he would be more use to them as a feminised sissy maid, and set about enforcing their will with the aid of the mysterious Last Straw Society. It seems the women have found the way to mine the seams of Denis' dark perversity forever. Will his contempt for the aims of the Society prove a match for the waves of masochistic desire its members have awakened in him.
A Little Dinner Before the Play
by Agnes JekyllWhether extolling the merits of a cheerful breakfast tray, conjuring up a winter picnic of figs and mulled wine, sharing delicious Tuscan recipes, or suggesting a last-minute pre-theatre dinner, the sparkling writings of the society hostess and philanthropist Agnes Jekyll describe food for every imaginable occasion and mood. Originally published in The Times in the early 1920s, these divinely witty and brilliantly observed pieces are still loved today for their warmth and friendly advice and, with their emphasis on fresh, simple, stylish dishes, were years ahead of their time.
Madwoman on the Bridge (Storycuts)
by Su TongThe madwoman was wearing a white velvet cheongsam. Standing on the bridge, she revelled in her own faded splendour. Normal people pay no attention to madwomen, but one woman from Shaoxing stayed on the bridge that afternoon to talk to this one; what was she coveting?Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection Madwoman on the Bridge.
Manslave
by J D Jensen"Our eyes were not permitted to look either to our left or rigth; our noses must always touch the cold marble;our rumps always to be thrust high and tightly back, our knees and feet widely placed. We would hear only th vague whisper of the Royal Sister's silk slippers as she walked slowly behind our sprawled feet. Sometimes we might just catch the faint sound of the split-bamboo cane brushing against her robes."Ruled by the Grand Lady, The Pavilion of The Divine Orchid Ladies is a dangerous place for sevants and concubines alike. Escape is impossible; survival an ever tenuous state. Neglected by the aging emperor, the Honourable Sisters resort to alternative but forbidden pleasures. And within this turmoil of petty jealousies, cruel perversities and formidable mistresses, the manslave Shani must so often serve as a plaything, lover, whipping boy, and so much else. His position is made even more precarious when he becomes torn between his devotion and fascination for His Royal Mistress, and his love for the maidservant, Li Mei.
Me And My Monsters: Monsters in the Basement (Me & My Monsters)
by Rory GrowlerEddie and his family have just moved into their new home at 12 St Olave's Avenue. But what they don't know, is that their house is already inhabited by three furry monsters - Fiend, Haggis and Norman! They live in the basement and are the naughtiest, stinkiest, craziest friends Eddie could wish for! But how long can he keep them a secret from his parents and sister?
Maestro
by Peter SlaterA young Spanish cello player, Ramon, journeys to the castle of master cellist Ernesto Cavello in the hope of private tuition from the great musician. Ramon's own music is technically perfect, but his playing lacks a certain essence - and so, Maestro Cavello arranges for Ramon to undergo a number of sexual trials.This is a modern day Gothic novel full of dark sensuality and eroticism - and distinctly Catholic decadence.
Me Moir - Volume One
by Vic ReevesVic Reeves' vivid, enchanting, and utterly hilarious childhood memoir is a comic masterpiece.Before there was Vic Reeves, there was a boy called James Moir who was much the same as any other lad.Obsessed with owning a pet crow, a master at writing his name and terrified of his father's immense moustache. Growing up in Yorkshire and then CountyDurham, the boy who would be Reeves somehow managed to escape the attentions of 'Randy Mandy' and get a crash course in pig castration, before having encounters with Jimi Hendrix and the Yorkshire Ripper.Peopled with weird and wonderful characters, Vic Reeves' memoir is authentic, witty and inventive, and as unique as you'd expect from one of Britain's most exceptional comedy talents.
The Last Summer (The Adams Family #11)
by Mary Jane StaplesJob and Jemima Hardy weren't Londoners by birth. They had both lived in a Sussex village until lack of work had sent Job and the family to Walworth - to a house in Stead Street. They got it cheap because of the poltergiest but they were sensible folk and decided that eight shillings a week rent was a bargain and - well - if the floors and doors sometimes moved a bit, they could live with it. They settled quickly into London life - particularly Jonathan, the eldest. Jonathan got a job at Camberwell Green and it was there, in Lyons teashop, that he met Emma Somers, niece of Boots Adams. Over a long and hazy summer - the summer of 1939 - the two young people met, always at lunchtime, and never allowing their friendship to progress too far.Then, as the clouds of war gathered over Europe, Jonathan got his call-up papers. And the first alarms of conflict began to affect the Adams family in other ways. Boots, on the Officer's Reserve list, was called onto the staff of General Sir Henry Sims, and Polly Sims herself joined the Auxiliaries. Suddenly there was only a little time left for people to lead ordinary lives - and Jonathan Hardy and Emma Somers had to make decisions about their future.
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.
Magic and Desire
by Janine Ashbless Olivia Knight Portia Da CostaThree novellas of forbidden desire and otherworldly passions, from the leading names in erotic fiction, including the Sunday Times bestselling author Portia Da Costa.The House of Dust by Janine Ashbless: A young Queen who must descend into the Underworld to bring her lover back from the dead...Ill Met by Moonlight by Portia Da Costa: A handsome, yet enigmatic stranger who yearns to experience human love and desire...The Dragon Lord by Olivia Knight: And a Princess with a sizzling secret which is about to be unleashed...
The Manuscript Found in Saragossa
by Jan PotockiAlphonse, a young Walloon officer, is travelling to join his regiment in Madrid in 1739. But he soon finds himself mysteriously detained at a highway inn in the strange and varied company of thieves, brigands, cabbalists, noblemen, coquettes and gypsies, whose stories he records over sixty-six days. The resulting manuscript is discovered some forty years later in a sealed casket, from which tales of characters transformed through disguise, magic and illusion, of honour and cowardice, of hauntings and seductions, leap forth to create a vibrant polyphony of human voices. Jan Potocki (1761-1812) used a range of literary styles - gothic, picaresque, adventure, pastoral, erotica - in his novel of stories-within-stories, which, like the Decameron and Tales from the Thousand and One Nights, provides entertainment on an epic scale.
Me & My Monsters: Monster Manners (Me & My Monsters)
by Rory GrowlerEddie can't believe it when he found THREE FURRY MONSTERS living in his basement. Fiend, Haggis and Norman are teh stinkiest and craziest friends he could wish for! When Eddie sees a chance for the monsters to live upstairs he decides to teach them human manners so they can stay for good. But when Fiend, Haggis and Norman start acting like serious grown-ups the whole family want things to go back to normal - QUICKLY!
The Last Taboo
by Bali RaiSimran likes Tyrone from the moment she spots him in the crowd. He's gorgeous and he won't take no for an answer. There's just one problem. . . Tyrone is black and Simran's not sure how her family will react. Even though her parents were a 'love match' and married each other against the wishes of their families, Simran doesn't think they will approve of her having a black boyfriend, and her nightmare uncles and aunts certainly won't. Like her cousin Ruby says, it's the last taboo.But Simran likes Tyrone too much to walk away, so they face the problems their relationship causes together. But it becomes harder than either of them predicted and when the hatred they encounter escalates into violence, with families and friends turning against each other, Simran and Tyrone are forced to question whether they are strong enough to fight for what they believe in.
Little Dorrit
by Charles DickensThe Penguin English Library Edition of Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens'You talk very easily of hours, sir! How long do you suppose, sir, that an hour is to a man who is choking for want of air?'A masterly evocation of the state and psychology of imprisonment, Little Dorrit is one of the supreme works of Dickens's maturity. When Arthur Clennam returns to England after many years abroad, he takes a kindly interest in Amy Dorrit, his mother's seamstress, and in the affairs of Amy's father, a man of shabby grandeur, long imprisoned for debt in the Marshalsea. As Arthur discovers, the dark shadow of the prison stretches far beyond its walls to affect many lives, from Mr Panks, the reluctant rent-collector of Bleeding Heart Yard, to Merdle, an unscrupulous financier.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 Magic Hour: an uplifting and moving tale of serendipity and fate from bestselling author Charlotte Bingham
by Charlotte BinghamExciting and dramatic but tender and heartfelt; this is a novel that you will return to again and again. From the million copy and Sunday Times bestselling author Charlotte Bingham, for fans of Louise Douglas and Dinah Jeffries.'An engaging, romantic and nostalgic read' -- DAILY MAIL'Compulsive reading... Bingham's prose is lively and vivid, making this a real page turner' -- GOOD BOOK GUIDE"These are characters you will really care about" -- ***** Reader review"Very enjoyable and hard to put down" -- ***** Reader review"Incredibly well written and engrossing" -- ***** Reader review**************************************************************************TWO PATHS, ONE DESTINATION...When Alexandra Stamford goes to stay with her cousins at Knighton Hall she is very much the poor relation. Shortly after her return home, her father re-marries. No longer wanted, Alexandra is forced to become a maid-of-all-work for a Mrs Smithers who lives in a grand Regency house in the seaside town of Deanford.It is here that handsome, funny Bob Atkins meets and falls in love with Alexandra...Meanwhile Tom O'Brien, erstwhile stable lad at Knighton Hall, meets and falls for the beautiful Lady Florazel Compton who introduces him to the sophistications of 1950s London.As Bob is conscripted for National Service, Alexandra plans her future, and in doing so discovers family secrets that have a devastating impact. Tragedy strikes, and it is only when Tom returns from New York to search out his old friend Bob Atkins' fiancée that Alexandra's life appears about to be truly transformed.But the past seems destined to wreck the happiness of the present, as the glamorous Lady Florazel Compton is determined to re-capture her former love, destroying the magic hour of Tom's and Alexandra's meeting.
Manx Murders: 150 Years of Island Madness, Mayhem and Manslaughter
by Keith WilkinsonA beautiful island lying in the northern part of the Irish Sea between England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, the Isle of Man was once a popular holiday destination. It is perhaps better known today for the TT motorcycle races held there, its tailless cats and Manx kippers. However, it also has its darker side.Manx Murders is a collection of gripping and mysterious murder cases committed on the Island over the last 150 years, from the brutal slaying of a spinster one dark night on a lonely track near Ramsey to the infamous 'Golden Egg Murder' in central Douglas.The cases that have caused shock and sensation throughout two centuries of the Island's history are recorded here as the author reveals the events behind the last hanging on the Island, a deathbead confession, the harrowing story of a murderous father and the cases that remain unsolved to this day. The Island's political importance as a wartime holding area for prisoners of war is also explored through the account of a bizarre, seemingly motiveless killing in 1916 and the stabbing of a Finnish prisoner during the Second World War.Using information obtained from newspapers, inquest records and trial transcripts whenever these were available, each murder is described against the backdrop of contemporary events to give the reader a distinct flavour of life at the time of the crime. While each case is unique, all share an overwhelming sadness and tragedy that will never be forgotten.
Me & My Monsters: Monster School (Me & My Monsters)
by Rory GrowlerEddie can't believe it when he finds THREE FURRY MONSTERS living in his basement. Fiend, Haggis and Norman are the stinkiest, craziest friends he could wish for!Eddie's school report is due and he's determined to stop his mum and dad from reading it. Luckily, his parents are too busy teaching the monsters (who have suddenly decided to improve their minds) to notice. Will Eddie be able to intercept his school report? And can Fiend, Haggis and Norman really learn anything useful...
The Last Train Home: A gorgeous will-they-won’t-they romance to curl up with this winter
by Elle Cook'Beautiful and compelling' Heidi Swain'Two sparkling leads who will steal your heart!' Holly Miller'One of the best books I have read this year' Emma Cooper________________On the last train home you expect to find...- Standing space only- Drunk people singing- The overpowering smell of McDonaldsYou never expect to find love.When Abbie and Tom cross paths traveling home after a night out, their eyes meet across a crowded carriage and their connection is unmistakable.What they don't know is that moments later they'll both be caught up in an event that will change them forever.It is one that will bring them together. But it will also tear them apart.A lot can happen in seven seconds. A lot can happen in seven years.Can they find their way back to each other?________________Don't miss THE LAST TRAIN HOME!‘This is an awesome book! It gripped me from start to finish. . . A wonderful, unconventional, captivating romance’ Sue Moorcroft'A right-person-wrong-time story that will stay with you' That's Life Magazine‘I absolutely devoured this funny, moving, unputdownable novel.’ Jenny Ashcroft‘A wonderful, heart-warming, different love story.’ Tracy Rees‘A beautiful, uplifting story from start to finish’ Virginia Heath'A compelling modern love story brimming with emotion and heart' Fiona Gibson'A heart-wrenching roller coaster full of missed opportunities and tenderness.' Caroline Khoury‘Romantic, warm and swoon-worthy’ Emily Stone'A gorgeous love story full of suspense, drama and tenderness.' Eleanor Ray'A touching story of love, fate and second chances.’ Fiona Lucas'Very easy reading’ Daily Mail‘...full of emotion and feels very real – we loved it’ Fabulous‘…these two characters feel believably flawed’ The Times
The Little Girl and the Tiny Doll (A Puffin Book)
by Aingelda Ardizzone Mr Edward ArdizzoneThe Little Girl and the Tiny Doll by Aingelda Ardizzone and illustrated by Edward Ardizzone has been delighting generations of children.There was once a tiny doll who belonged to a girl who did not care for dolls. One day when the little girl was shopping in the supermarket with her mother, she threw the tiny doll into a deep freeze. So the tiny doll had to stay there, cold and lonely, and frightened by people shuffling all the food round her. But someone came along who felt sorry for her, and thought of ways to make her happier, so the tiny doll began to smile again.