Best of British classic lit

A Christmas Carol (AmazonClassics Edition)

Charles Dickens · 2017

Cranford

Elizabeth Gaskell · 2020

Macbeth (Folger Shakespeare Library)

William Shakespeare · 2003

The authoritative edition of Macbeth from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers.<br/><br/>In 1603, James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne, becoming James I of England. London was alive with an interest in all things Scottish, and Shakespeare turned to Scottish history for material. He found a spectacle of violence and stories of traitors advised by witches and wizards, echoing James’s belief in a connection between treason and witchcraft.<br/><br/>In depicting a man who murders to become king, Macbeth teases us with huge questions. Is Macbeth tempted by fate, or by his or his wife’s ambition? Why does their success turn to ashes?<br/><br/>Like other plays, Macbeth speaks to each generation. Its story was once seen as that of a hero who commits an evil act and pays an enormous price. Recently, it has been applied to nations that overreach themselves and to modern alienation. The line is blurred between Macbeth’s evil and his opponents’ good, and there are new attitudes toward both witchcraft and gender.<br/><br/>The edition includes:<br/>-Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play<br/>-Newly revised explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play<br/>-Scene-by-scene plot summaries<br/>-A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases<br/>-An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language<br/>-An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play<br/>-Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books<br/>-An up-to-date annotated guide to further reading<br/><br/>Essay by Susan Snyder<br/><br/>The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.

North and South (AmazonClassics Edition)

Elizabeth Gaskell · 2018

Romeo and Juliet (Folger Shakespeare Library)

William Shakespeare · 2004

In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare creates a violent world, in which two young people fall in love. It is not simply that their families disapprove; the Montagues and the Capulets are engaged in a blood feud.<br/><br/>In this death-filled setting, the movement from love at first sight to the lovers’ final union in death seems almost inevitable. And yet, this play set in an extraordinary world has become the quintessential story of young love. In part because of its exquisite language, it is easy to respond as if it were about all young lovers.<br/><br/>The authoritative edition of Romeo and Juliet from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes:<br/><br/>-Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play<br/>-Newly revised explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play<br/>-Scene-by-scene plot summaries<br/>-A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases<br/>-An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language<br/>-An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play<br/>-Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books<br/>-An up-to-date annotated guide to further reading<br/><br/>Essay by Gail Kern Paster<br/><br/>The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.

Great Expectations

Charles Dickens · 2020

Great Expectations, written by Charles Dickens and first published in 1861, is a classic novel that follows the life of an orphaned boy named Pip. Through a series of unexpected events, Pip embarks upon a journey of self-discovery and maturity. Along the way, he meets a variety of colorful characters and learns valuable life lessons. Great Expectations is an uplifting story of hope, perseverance, and the power of redemption. It is a timeless tale of courage and determination that will continue to inspire generations to come.<br/><br/>Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was an English writer, novelist, and social critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time, having written some of the most famous works in the English language, such as A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and Oliver Twist. His works have been translated into more than 100 languages, and his stories have been adapted into countless plays, films, and television shows.<br/><br/>Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England, and lived in London for much of his life. He was the second of eight children and had a difficult childhood. He was forced to leave school at the age of twelve and start working at a factory to help support his family. Despite his difficult circumstances, Dickens was an avid reader and a talented writer. He began publishing his works in 1833, and quickly gained fame and popularity.<br/><br/>Throughout his career, Dickens wrote some of the most influential works of the 19th century, exploring themes of morality, poverty, and social justice. He was also an outspoken critic of Victorian-era injustices, particularly those experienced by the poor. His works were often seen as critiques of the social and political issues of his time.<br/><br/>Dickens' popularity has endured over the years and his works are still widely read today. His novels have been adapted and re-imagined countless times, and his characters and stories have become part of the English literary canon. He is remembered as one of the most influential authors of all time, and his works have shaped generations of readers.

Jane Austen: The Complete Works 7-Book Boxed Set: Sense and Sensibility; Pride and Prejudice; Mansfield Park; Emma; Northanger Abbey; Persuasion; Love ... boxed set) (Penguin Clothbound Classics)

Jane Austen · 2015

A beautiful boxed set of seven Hardcover Classics by Jane Austen, including Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, and Love and Freindship<br/><br/>Few novelists have conveyed the subtleties and nuances of their own social milieu with the wit and insight of Jane Austen. Through her vivacious and spirited heroines and their circle, she painted vivid portraits of English middle-class life as the eighteenth century came to a close.<br/><br/>Each of these novels is a love story and a story about marriage—marriage for love, for financial security, for social status. But they are not mere romances. Ironic, comic, and wise, they are masterly studies of the society Austen observed.<br/><br/>The seven books in this box set—Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Love and Freindship (early writings and juvenilia)—contain some of the most brilliant, dazzling prose in the English language.<br/><br/>Part of Penguin’s beautiful Hardcover Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design.

Frankenstein: The 1818 Text (Penguin Classics)

Mary Shelley · 2018

<b>Mary Shelley’s classic novel, presented in its original 1818 text, with an introduction from National Book Critics Circle award-winner Charlotte Gordon</b><br>  <br> <b>Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s <i>The Great American Read</i></b><br>  <br>The original 1818 text of <i>Frankenstein</i> preserves the hard-hitting and politically-charged aspects of Shelley’s original writing, as well as her unflinching wit and strong female voice. This edition also emphasizes Shelley’s relationship with her mother—trailblazing feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, who penned <i>A Vindication of the Rights of Woman</i>—and demonstrates her commitment to carrying forward her mother’s ideals, placing her in the context of a feminist legacy rather than the sole female in the company of male poets, including Percy Shelley and Lord Byron.<br>  <br> This edition includes a new introduction and suggestions for further reading by National Book Critics Circle award-winner and Shelley expert Charlotte Gordon, literary excerpts and reviews selected by Gordon, and a chronology and essay by preeminent Shelley scholar Charles E. Robinson. <br>  <br>Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Oliver Twist (Penguin Classics)

Charles Dickens · 2003

A gripping portrayal of London's dark criminal underbelly, published in Penguin Classics with an introduction by Philip Horne.<br/>The story of Oliver Twist - orphaned, and set upon by evil and adversity from his first breath - shocked readers when it was published. After running away from the workhouse and pompous beadle Mr Bumble, Oliver finds himself lured into a den of thieves peopled by vivid and memorable characters - the Artful Dodger, vicious burglar Bill Sikes, his dog Bull's Eye, and prostitute Nancy, all watched over by cunning master-thief Fagin. Combining elements of Gothic Romance, the Newgate Novel and popular melodrama, Dickens created an entirely new kind of fiction, scathing in its indictment of a cruel society, and pervaded by an unforgettable sense of threat and mystery.<br/>This Penguin Classics edition of Oliver Twist is the first critical edition to faithfully reproduce the text as its earliest readers would have encountered it from its serialisation in Bentley's Miscellany, and includes an introduction by Philip Horne, a glossary of Victorian thieves' slang, a chronology of Dickens's life, a map of contemporary London and all of George Cruikshank's original illustrations.<br/>For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

The Brontë Sisters Boxed Set: Jane Eyre; Wuthering Heights; The Tenant of Wildfell Hall; Villette (Penguin Clothbound Classics)

Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, Anne Bronte · 2016

A beautiful clothbound boxed set designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith of four classics by the Brontë sisters: Wuthering Heights, Villette, Jane Eyre, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall<br/><br/>Penguin Classics presents the Brontë sisters’ four greatest works in a boxed set of lavish, clothbound Hardcover Classics editions designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. From the bleak moors of Wuthering Heights to the French boarding school of Villette to the gloomy, mysterious country estates of Jane Eyre and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, these four novels show the most famous siblings in literature at the peak of their powers.<br/><br/>Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Clothbound Classics)

Jane Austen · 2009

Jane Austen’s timeless classic that explores the intricate complexities of love, societal expectations, and the power of overcoming prejudice—now in a beautiful clothbound hardcover edition designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith.<br/><br/>When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships, gossip, and snobberies of provincial middle-class life.<br/><br/>Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Little Dorrit

Charles Dickens · 2020

<p> <b>An epic tale of two families in Victorian England and their shifting fortunes by one of the world's greatest novelists.</b> </p> <p>For decades, William Dorrit has been confined to Marshalsea, a debtor's prison, which he cannot leave until he pays what he owes—meanwhile preventing him from getting a job in order to do so. His daughter Amy, born in Marshalsea, is now old enough to provide some help by earning money as a seamstress, and is free to come and go from the prison as she pleases.</p> <p>It is during one of her journeys to the outside world that she meets Arthur Clennam. Amy sews for Arthur's mother, a rigid, emotionally distant woman who is also confined, in this case to a wheelchair. Arthur knows his mother is hiding a dark secret. But while he tries in vain to unearth it, something else is revealed: a large inheritance to which none other than William Dorrit is entitled.</p> Thus begins a sprawling and beguiling novel of wealth and poverty, suspense and adventure, at once a satirical commentary about the British economic class system and bureaucratic absurdity, an engrossing mystery, and a tribute to the power of love.

Lady Chatterley''s Lover

D. H. Lawrence · 2023

<p><i>'I always labour at the same thing, to make the sex relation valid and precious instead of shameful. And this<br>novel is the furthest I've gone. To me it is beautiful and tender as the naked self.'</i> - D.H. Lawrence<br><br><i>Lady Chatterley's Lover</i> explores the intense affair between the sexually frustrated Connie - whose husband, Clifford, is paralysed from the waist down - and Oliver Mellors, the family gamekeeper.<br><br>First published in 1928, the novel challenged the social and sexual taboos of its time and was immediately banned as obscene. Lawrence's last and most famous work of fiction, it was eventually published in full in 1960 to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the writer's death.<br><br>ABOUT THE SERIES: The <i>Arcturus Classics</i> series brings together high-quality paperback editions of classics works, presented with contemporary graphic cover designs. Together they make a wonderful collection which is perfect for any home library.</p>

Hard Times (AmazonClassics Edition)

Charles Dickens · 2017

Tess of the D’Ubervilles

Thomas hardy · 2019

Tess, John Durbeyfield's eldest daughter, is a hardworking and intelligent girl, but also very innocent, willing to do anything to help her parents and siblings. Practically pushed by his parents, he will travel to the house of some distant family members. There she will be harassed by Alec, the son of the widow who owns the place. Too young to know the world, Tess will end up being the victim of the distant cousin, which, without a doubt, will leave a very black stain on her moral file. But although Tess is willing to stay single, soon love crosses her path. Is it possible that the girl can finally be happy with the man she loves?