Historical Classics

The great virtue of this volume is that it reveals a lighter, comic side of Sade. He was a man obsessed, like many great writers, and his obsessions are still present here: his hatred of all things pretentious, his loathing of a corrupt judicial system, his damning of hypocrisy and false piety. One of the great anarchists of all time, he was nevertheless far from mad (as many pretended) and these works of fiction shed another light on this most feverish of minds.

Sharply observant and wickedly funny, E.F. Benson's six Mapp and Lucia novels satirize the upper-middle-class social climbers in 1920s and '30s rural England. Games of bridge and cups of tea fuel hilarious gossip and vindictive plots a-plenty. It is a masterfully sustained spotlight on the minutiae of village life - a clever and ultimately heartwarming series that seems tailor-made for audio. This second volume contains the second three books.

Discover the intricate tapestry of the Roman Empire’s decline in “The Fall of the Roman Empire: Key Events, Influential Figures, and Social Factors.” This meticulously researched book unravels the complexities behind one of history’s most significant transitions, offering a concise yet comprehensive exploration of the forces that led to the empire’s eventual collapse. Inside this book, you will explore: • The Height of Power: Journey through the Roman Empire’s golden age under Emperor Trajan, where territorial expansion and cultural achievements flourished. • Crisis and ...

Sons and Lovers, D. H. Lawrence's first major novel, was also the first in the English language to explore ordinary working-class life from the inside. No writer before or since has written so well about the intimacies enforced by a tightly knit mining community and by a family where feelings are never hidden for long. When the marriage between Walter Morel and his sensitive, high-minded wife begins to break down, the bitterness of their frustration seeps into their children's lives.

In 1938, when running to her future and trying to escape his past, only one place will do. Destination? Hollywood! Yearning to be a star, Vivian is anxious to leave small-town farm life behind. Marriage, kids, and endless chores don’t fit into her plans. If she doesn’t escape, she’ll repeat her mother’s life and her dreams will be doomed. Brokenhearted, Markus has little to show for his life, save for the simple pleasures of Budapest. But someone certainly thinks he’s worth noticing, and he’s forced to flee when the attention turns deadly. Walking away from his mother and sister...

Survivor, genius, perfumer, killer: This is Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. He is abandoned on the filthy streets of Paris as a child, but grows up to discover he has an extraordinary gift: A sense of smell more powerful than any other human's. Soon, he is creating the most sublime fragrances in all the city. Yet there is one odour he cannot capture. It is exquisite, magical: The scent of a young virgin. And to get it he must kill. And kill. And kill...

This powerful story of passion, adultery, honor, and repression caused a tremendous controversy in 1850 when it was published, because of its provocative subject matter. Set in Puritan New England, the novel begins with Hester Prynne, a young woman with an illegitimate baby daughter, leaving prison to face her scornful townsfolk. Forced to wear a scarlet letter "A" to remind people of her adultery, Hester obstinately holds her head high and refuses to reveal the father of her child.

Her Majesty's ship Sutherland is a humdrum ship of the line. But in command is none other than the heroic Captain Hornblower and, with his crew from the Lydia, he looks set to take on commando raids, hurricanes at sea, and Napoleons's gun batteries.

August 1911. Emily Hardcastle and her inimitable lady’s maid Florence Armstrong are enjoying a fine summer until Harry, Lady H’s brother, turns up out of the blue with a mystery for them to solve. A routine parachute test at a local aeroplane factory has gone horribly wrong - with pilot Dickie Dupree plummeting to his death. Harry is certain there is more to this ‘tragic accident’ than meets the eye, having discovered that someone at the airfield is leaking top secret intelligence to foreign rivals.

Luke Fitzwilliam does not believe Miss Pinkerton's wild allegation that a multiple murderer is at work in the quiet English village of Wychwood and that her local doctor is next in line. But within hours, Miss Pinkerton has been killed in a hit-and-run car accident. Mere coincidence? Luke is inclined to think so - until he reads in the Times of the unexpected demise of Wychwood's Dr. Humbleby....

Set in the 1870s, the same period as Wharton's The Age of Innocence, The Buccaneers is about five wealthy American girls denied entry into New York Society because their parents' money is too new. At the suggestion of their clever governess, the girls sail to London, where they marry lords, earls, and dukes who find their beauty charming—and their wealth extremely useful.

First published as four separate novels ( Some Do Not…, No More Parades, A Man Could Stand Up, and The Last Post) between 1924 and 1928, Parade’s End explores the world of the English ruling class as it descends into the chaos of war. Christopher Tietjens is an officer from a wealthy family who finds himself torn between his unfaithful socialite wife, Sylvia, and his suffragette mistress, Valentine. A profound portrait of one man’s internal struggles during a time of brutal world conflict, Parade’s End bears out Graham Greene’s prediction that "there is no novelist of this century more likely to live than Ford Madox Ford."

Rich, handsome, and fashionably jaded, Jason, Lord Radford, knows he must marry to get an heir, but assumes that any well bred young lady will do, so he offers for Caroline Hanscombe, whose name he draws at random. Caroline is pressured by her family to accept, but shy and musical, she finds her new fiancé alarming. Will this be a match made in heaven or hell? Or might Caroline quietly find herself a man who suits her better?

This trilogy about World War II, largely based on his own experiences as an army officer, is the crowning achievement of Evelyn Waugh's career. Its central character is Guy Crouchback, head of an ancient but decayed Catholic family, who at first discovers new purpose in the challenge to defend Christian values against Nazi barbarism, but then gradually finds the complexities and cruelties of war too much for him.

In Storm Rising, mysterious mage-storms are wreaking havoc on Valdemar, Karse, and all the kingdoms of the West, plaguing these lands not only with disastrous earthquakes, monsoons, and ice storms, but also with venomous magical constructs - terrifying creatures out of nightmare. Both Valdemar's Heralds and Karse's Sunpriests struggle to marshal their combined magical resources to protect their realms from these devastating, spell-fueled onslaughts

“Gave an interesting perspective on why white women were actually happy to live with the Indians. Really like Alexandra and her spunk even after something did not go her way! Also liked Hunter, his respect for others of both cultures, and his sense of responsibility.”—Kshydog, Goodreads This love adventure story sizzles when Lady Alexandra Lambert meets Hunter of the Shawnee, who cannot allow her to be sold to the Cap-i-tan, the renegade British officer who trades in women. Lady Alexandra is tied to a nearby tree when the buckskinned English free spirit known as Hunter of the Shawnee ...

Les Misérables is set in Paris after the French Revolution. In the sewers and backstreets, we encounter "the wolf-like tread of crime", and assassination for a few sous is all in a day's work. We weep with the unlucky and heart-broken Fantine, and we exult with the heroic revolutionaries of the barricades; but above all we thrill to the steadfast courage and nobility of soul of ex-convict Jean Valjean, always in danger from the relentless pursuit of the diabolical Inspector Javert.

The crime-fighting careers of Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings have come full circle—they are back once again in the rambling country house in which they solved their first murder together. Both Hercule Poirot and Great Styles have seen better days—but, despite being crippled with arthritis, there is nothing wrong with the great detective and his “little gray cells.” However, when Poirot brands one of the seemingly harmless guests a five-time murderer, some people have their doubts. But Poirot alone knows he must prevent a sixth murder before the curtain falls.

Even as a 14-year-old orphan, Simon Beauvallet knows his own mind. Later, friend and foe alike will know better than to cross the flaxen-haired mountain of a man whose exploits in battle have earned him knighthood, lands and gilded armour. After Agincourt, he has no equal save the king himself in generalship - until his legendary prowess is baulked by a woman. In Normandy, the icy rage of Simon the Coldheart must melt - or quench Lady Margaret, spitfire of Belremy.

Even though the war had thrown a shroud over the outside world, Phineas and Gene remained untouched by it. In the summer of ’42, the Devon school was a lot like Camelot, fairly bursting with adventure and promise. As much as Gene resisted it, there had been something eternal and unforgettable about that summer. And by the time he understood what life without Phineas could be—it was too late.