Inspired by real events and centring on the figure of Pelageya Vlasova – the mother of the title – and her son Pavel, Gorky’s masterpiece describes the brutal life of ordinary Rus...
'A story for our, and all, times' GuardianThe Plague is Albert Camus's world-renowned fable of fear and courageThe townspeople of Oran are in the grip of a deadly plague, wh...
'Charming, witty and warm, Small Miracles is a gentle gem of a novel, a cheery balm in troubling times.' AJ Pearce, bestselling author of Dear Mrs BirdThree nuns play the lottery to sav...
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.George Orwell's fable of revolutionary farm animals – the steadfast horses Boxer and Clover, the opportunistic p...
Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2020, an enthralling Orwellian novel about the terrors of state surveillance from one of Japan's greatest writers.'Beautiful... Haunting' ...
Minimalist design has grown into a popular and timeless aesthetic due to its emphasis on uncluttered spaces and the exclusion of unnecessary elements, making it the perfect anecdote to the chaos of...
An unsuccessful writer and an inveterate alcoholic, Boris Alikhanov is running out of money and has recently divorced from his wife Tatyana, who intends to emigrate to the West with their daughter ...
Jude Fawley, the stonemason excluded not by his wits but by poverty from the world of Christminster privilege, finds fulfilment in his relationship with Sue Bridehead. Both have left earlier marria...
It is 1945, and London is still reeling from the Blitz. 14-year-old Nathaniel and his sister, Rachel, are apparently abandoned by their parents, left in the care of an enigmatic figure named The Mo...
Set in an era of turbulent social changes, A Place Called Freedom is a magnificent novel from the undisputed master of suspense and drama, Ken Follett.A Life of PovertyScotland, 1...
The perfect gift this Christmas season: a generous selection of some of the greatest festive stories of all timeThis is a collection of the most magical, moving, chilling and surprising...
When Henry James died he left behind a series of notebooks filled with ideas for novels and stories that he never wrote. Now ten of our best contemporary authors and James enthusiasts have written ...
Muriel Spark's classic The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie features a schoolmistress you'll never forget, in this beautifully repackaged Penguin Essentials edition.'Give me a girl at an impre...
Ten-year-old Jas has a unique way of experiencing her universe: the feeling of udder ointment on her skin as protection against harsh winters; the texture of green warts, like capers, on migrating ...
Nat Blake thinks the boys at Plumfield seem more like a big family than a group of school children. Nat is recently orphaned when he first arrives at the large house with its big, old-fashioned por...
In the heatwave of 1959, four sisters arrive at Applecote Manor to relive their memories of hazy Cotswolds summers.They find their uncle and aunt still reeling from the disappearance of...
All Lina wanted was to be desired. How did she end up in a marriage with two children and a husband who wouldn't touch her?All Maggie wanted was to be understood. How did she end up in ...
When the mysterious and beautiful young widow Helen Graham becomes the new tenant at Wildfell Hall rumours immediately begin to swirl around her. As her neighbour Gilbert Markham comes to discover,...
'A fine and profoundly intelligent novel, written by an author who balances big ideas with human emotion. Wistful, yearning and wise' ELIZABETH DAY'Faulks's most poignant love story yet...
David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters. He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling drinks.He attends his brother's wedding. He mops his sister's floor. He give...