Classic / British EnglishEdgar Allan Poe, ‘the father of the detective story’ and a master of horror, is one of the greatest American short story writers. In these stories we meet people struggling with fear, revenge, mental illness and death. Which of them will win – and which will lose – their battles?
Records the courage and self-reliance of an Indian girl who lived alone for eighteen years on an isolated island off the California coast.
It is the summer of 1900 and Leo is staying with his friend Marcus. Leo likes Marcus's beautiful older sister, Marian very much. He becomes a secret messenger for her and a local farmer. But when he realizes what the messages they send each other are about, he is shocked and confused.
Spiral into a dimly lit world, down streets lined with madmen and their black deeds, through the cold twists of the catacombs, and into rooms where secrets dwell. From the tortured mind of Edgar Allan Poe, these three tales, "The Black Cat, " "The Fall of the House of Usher, " and "The Cask of Amontillado, " speak to the hidden places inside us all. Capturing the mist and shadows rising from the stories are illustrations by prominent artist Gary Kelley. Angular and dark, his work heightens the Gothic terror that is Poe's trademark and creates windows into Poe's world.
A damning indictment of Utilitarianism and the dehumanizing effects of the Industrial Revolution, this novel is set in the Northern mill-town of Coketown, dominated by Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, a headmaster who epitomizes Utilitarian ideals. He feeds his pupils and family a diet of facts, banning imagination and wonder. This rigid upbringing leads his obedient daughter Louisa to marry the loveless businessman Mr. Bounderby, while his son Tom rebels, falling into gambling and crime. Their lives intersect with Sissy Jupe, a free-spirited circus girl, and Stephen Blackpool, a victimized weaver. Gradgrind ultimately confronts the importance of compassion in a materialistic age. This edition is based on the first volume published in 1854, with an introduction by Kate Flint that highlights the often-overlooked character dynamics in Dickens's critique of Victorian industrial society. Celebrated as one of the best-loved novelists, Dickens's works, including Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, have been adapted for stage and screen, reaching millions. If you enjoyed this novel, you may also appreciate Dickens's Bleak House, available in Penguin Classics. 'A masterpiece ... a completely serious work of art' - F.R. Leavis.