Daniel Defoe relates the tale of an English sailor marooned on a desert island for nearly three decades. An ordinary man struggling to survive in extraordinary circumstances, Robinson Crusoe wrestles with fate and the nature of God. This edition features ma

‘The more I know of the world, the more am I convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!’

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor’s warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.

Generations of readers young and old, male and female, have fallen in love with the March sisters of Louisa May Alcott’s most popular and enduring novel, Little Women. Here are talented tomboy and author-to-be Jo, tragically frail Beth, beautiful Meg, and romantic, spoiled Amy, united in their devotion to each other and their struggles to survive in New England during the Civil War.

It is no secret that Alcott based Little Women on her own early life. While her father, the freethinking reformer and abolitionist Bronson Alcott, hobnobbed with such eminent male authors as Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne, Louisa supported herself and her sisters with « woman’s work,” including sewing, doing laundry, and acting as a domestic servant. But she soon discovered she could make more money writing. Little Women brought her lasting fame and fortune, and far from being the « girl’s book” her publisher requested, it explores such timeless themes as love and death, war and peace, the conflict between personal ambition and family responsibilities, and the clash of cultures between Europe and America.

‘The sea is everything…Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides.’

Fascinated with the wonders of the sea, Professor Pierre Aronnax, a marine biologist, along with his loyal servant Conseil and the harpooner Ned Land, embarks on an expedition to search for a sea monster.

Their missions lead them to discover a technologically advanced submarine called the Nautilus, commanded by the enigmatic Captain Nemo.

The further Professor Pierre travels into the depths of the sea, his inner conflicts surface to life, as he releases ultimately his soul was seeking refuge from a world, he believed had wronged him.

The mesmerizing underwater world with exotic marine life and breathtaking landscapes is the perfect getaway for both Professor Pierre and the reader. The silence and calm invoke reflection into what is one’s purpose in life; and how must nature and humans share the planet. A thoughtful and cathartic read for all ages.

Madame Bovary is the debut novel of French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life. When the novel was first serialized in La Revue de Paris between 1 October 1856 and 15 December 1856, public prosecutors attacked the novel for obscenity. The resulting trial in January 1857 made the story notorious. After Flaubert’s acquittal on 7 February 1857, Madame Bovary became a bestseller in April 1857 when it was published in two volumes. A seminal work of literary realism, the novel is now considered Flaubert’s masterpiece, and one of the most influential literary works in histor

A gothic masterpiece of tempestuous passions and dark secrets, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre is edited with an introduction and notes by Stevie Davis in Penguin Classics.

Charlotte Brontë tells the story of orphaned Jane Eyre, who grows up in the home of her heartless aunt, enduring loneliness and cruelty. This troubled childhood strengthens Jane’s natural independence and spirit – which prove necessary when she finds employment as a governess to the young ward of Byronic, brooding Mr Rochester. As her feelings for Rochester develop, Jane gradually uncovers Thornfield Hall’s terrible secret, forcing her to make a choice. Should she stay with Rochester and live with the consequences, or follow her convictions – even if it means leaving the man she loves? A novel of intense power and intrigue, Jane Eyre dazzled readers with its passionate depiction of a woman’s search for equality and freedom.

‘It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.’

On the treacherous grounds of Devonshire moors, lives Sir Charles Baskerville. One fine day he is found dead on the foggy moors, and the rumour is that a monstrous hound is responsible for this event.

As Sir Henry Baskerville, the last heir of the Baskerville estate, arrives from America to claim his inheritance, Holmes and Watson begin unravelling the dark secrets around the haunting murder.

Follows the famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his loyal companion Dr. John H. Watson though a thrilling investigation, as they the discover the supernatural and sinister curse that haunts the Baskerville family.

Their suspenseful journey highlights how the past continues to cast a dark shadow over the present, and the power of folklore and generational fears on the human mind.

« My satire is against those who see figures and averages, and nothing else, » proclaimed Charles Dickens in explaining the theme of this classic novel. Published in 1854, the story concerns one Thomas Gradgrind, a « fanatic of the demonstrable fact, » who raises his children, Tom and Louisa, in a stifling and arid atmosphere of grim practicality