Classics/Letterkunde

Orphaned Philip Pirrip - known as Pip - lives with his tyrannical elder sister and her kindly blacksmith husband. After surviving a terrifying churchyard encounter with an escaped convict, Pip is invited to visit embittered, reclusive spinster Miss Havisham. Jilted on her wedding day, Miss Havisham delights in using the beautiful Estella, whom she has adopted, as an instrument of revenge. Pip falls for the disdainful, cold-hearted Estella, and vows to better himself in the hope of winning her over. A windfall raises his expectations but proves to be no panacea, as wealth alters his values and brings little contentment. Along the path to wisdom and enlightenment, Pip also learns the identity of his mysterious benefactor.

Anna Sewell's moving story is one of the best-loved animal adventures ever written, this Penguin Threads edition of "Black Beauty" includes a new foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley, cover art by Jillian Tamaki and deluxe French flaps. Commissioned by award-winning Penguin art director Paul Buckley, the Penguin Threads series debuts with cover art by Jillian Tamaki for three gift-worthy Penguin Classics. Sketched out in a traditional illustrative manner, then hand stitched using needle and thread, the final covers are sculpt embossed for a tactile, textured, and beautiful book design that will appeal to the Etsy(tm)-loving world of handmade crafts. The Penguin Classics Deluxe series has been celebrated for its unique packaging and innovative design.

Readers Classic Gift Collection by Converpage Digital Reproductions"Striving to keep American Literature on our book shelves"Buck is a domesticated dog whose instincts return when events find him working as a sled dog in the frigid Yukon during the 19th century Gold Rush. An amazing insight into the instincts and actions of a sled dog. A heart-wrenching story touching upon the relationship of dog vs. dog and dog vs. man, with a beautiful ending.

When a cyclone hits the Kansas farm where Dorothy lives with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em, she and her dog Toto are swept into the air and deposited in the strange, magical land of Oz. Her only hope of returning home is to seek the help of the all-powerful Great Wizard, who lives in the Emerald City. Dorothy sets off along the yellow brick road that leads to the city, and on the way teams up with the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman and Cowardly Lion, who have their own wishes they would like the Wizard to grant. One of the best loved fantasy adventures, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has enthralled generations of children. Its timeless appeal is a mark of how L. Frank Baum succeeded in his stated aim: to write "a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out"

Exploring issues of colonialism, faith and the limits of comprehension, E.M. Forster's "A Passage to India" is edited by Oliver Stallybrass, with an introduction by Pankaj Mishra. When Adela Quested and her elderly companion Mrs Moore arrive in the Indian town of Chandrapore, they quickly feel trapped by its insular and prejudiced 'Anglo-Indian' community. Determined to escape the parochial English enclave and explore the 'real India', they seek the guidance of the charming and mercurial Dr Aziz, a cultivated Indian Muslim. But a mysterious incident occurs while they are exploring the Marabar caves with Aziz, and the well-respected doctor soon finds himself at the centre of a scandal that rouses violent passions among both the British and their Indian subjects. A masterly portrait of a society in the grip of imperialism, "A Passage to India" compellingly depicts the fate of individuals caught between the great political and cultural conflicts of the modern world. In his introduction, Pankaj Mishra outlines Forster's complex engagement with Indian society and culture.