Secret agent Mr. Adolph Verloc operates from a seedy Soho shop, where he deals in pornography and espionage. Idle, treacherous, and self-righteous, he makes the life of his wife, Winnie, one of silent misery. When Verloc is assigned to plant a bomb at Greenwich Observatory, his plans go terribly awry, and his family has to deal with the tragic repe...

Bloomsbury presents One Christmas Wish by Katherine Rundell, read by Jamie Parker.Go on an adventure with Katherine Rundell ..._______________NOMINATED FOR THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL NOMINATED FOR THE CILIP GREENAWAY MEDAL From the winner of the Costa Children's Book Award_______________It's Christmas Eve and Theo – left at home with a babysitt...

After escaping a Confederate prison during the Civil War, a group of unlikely survivors is swept away to a mysterious, uncharted island. Stranded with nothing but their wits and resourcefulness, they must overcome natural dangers, build a new life, and unlock the island's hidden secrets. But as they discover strange clues and unexpected inventions,...

Red Harvest, which was originally published in four issues of Black Mask from November 1927 to February 1928, is acclaimed as one of the essential detective novels, giving birth to a darker turn than classic great detectives such as Sherlock Holmes. Drawing from his personal experiences as an operative with the Pinkerton Detective Agency, Hammett p...

Among all female poets of the English-speaking world in the 19th century, none was held in higher critical esteem or was more admired for the independence and courage of her views than Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The many journals which reported Browning's untimely death all spoke of her as the greatest woman poet in English literature. The highly...

When a mysterious woman named Dain enlists Continental Op's help, they're pulled into a dark world of family secrets, stolen jewels, and a curse that seems to haunt everyone involved. As Op uncovers twisted motives and dangerous lies, they must navigate a deadly game where no one can be trusted.

An unexpected visitor comes into Hercule Poirot's bedroom and collapses on the floor. The only clue as to what he wants is his repeating Poirot's name and address and writing the number 4, many times. When Poirot's friend Hastings jokingly calls it "The Mystery of the Big Four," the visitor begins speaking about an international crime cartel of tha...

Winner of the 1921 Pulitzer Prize, The Age of Innocence is Edith Wharton's masterful portrait of desire and betrayal during the sumptuous Golden Age of Old New York, a time when society people "dreaded scandal more than disease." This is Newland Archer's world as he prepares to marry the beautiful but conventional May Welland. But when the mysterio...

Tommy and Tuppence, two young people short of money and restless for excitement, embark on a daring business scheme – Young Adventurers Ltd. Their advertisement says they are ‘willing to do anything, go anywhere’. But their first assignment, for the sinister Mr Whittington, plunges them into more danger than they ever imagined&hel...

K. is a land surveyor who arrives in a remote village with the hope of securing a position working for the mysterious Castle that looms over the settlement. But his attempts to gain access to the Castle are thwarted at every turn by confusing rules, indifferent officials, and an opaque system that seems designed to keep him out...

Six short stories from the Queen of Crime, featuring our favourite young detectives, Tommy and Tuppence. Tommy and Tuppence Beresford were restless for adventure, so when they were asked to take over Blunt’s International Detective Agency, they leapt at the chance. After their triumphant recovery of a pink pearl, intriguing cases kept on comi...

Although the story of Frankenstein is well known and commonly referenced, experiencing the original novel is well worth the endeavor and illuminates the true depth and complexity that is often missed in modern references. A tale not just of monsters and dark shadows, but of hubris, romance, regret, loss, adventure, morality, isolation, and much mor...

Anne Shirley has left Redmond College behind to begin a new job and a new chapter of her life away from Green Gables. Now she faces a new challenge: the Pringles. They're known as the royal family of Summerside—and they quickly let Anne know she is not the person they had wanted as principal of Summerside High School. But as she settles into...

Sent down from Oxford for indecent behaviour, Paul Pennyfeather is oddly unsurprised to find himself qualifying for the position of schoolmaster at Llanabba Castle. His colleagues are an assortment of misfits, rascals, and fools, including Prendy and Captain Grimes, who is always in the soup (or just plain drunk). Then Sports Day arrives, and with...

When the young English widow Lilia Herriton takes off on the grand tour and along the way marries a penniless Italian, her in-laws are far from amused. That the marriage should fail and poor Lilia die tragically are only to be expected. But that Lilia should have had a baby - and that the baby should be raised as an Italian - are matters of grave c...

The Professor is Charlotte Brontës first novel. Our protagonist is William Crimsworth and, like Jane Eyre, he is parentless; like Lucy Snowe in Villette he leaves the familiar surroundings of England to forge a life in Brussels. Brontë explores the relationship between power and sexual desire through William's first person narration. The...

'All the Christmases roll down toward the two-tongued sea, like a cold and headlong moon bundling down the sky that was our street; and they stop at the rim of the ice-edged fish-freezing waves, and I plunge my hands in the snow and bring out whatever I can find.' Cherished by generations as a Christmas classic ever since it was first recorded and...

Stephen Dedalus is a boy on the edge of transformation—questioning his strict Irish Catholic upbringing, the confines of his family, and the weight of tradition. As he comes of age, his inner world brims with restless ambition and a desire to escape conformity through the power of art. In this bold, lyrical, and deeply introspective novel, Ja...

The quintessential novel of the Lost Generation, The Sun Also Rises is one of Ernest Hemingway's masterpieces and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style. A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady...

In this gripping tale of passion, independence, and societal constraints, the young and introspective Robert Moore is caught in the whirlwind of his factory's struggles, while becoming entangled with the fierce and enigmatic Shirley. A strong, unconventional woman with a sharp mind, Shirley challenges the rigid social norms of her time, forcing tho...

Dickens’s final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a remarkable mystery concerning a complicated love triangle. Left unfinished at the time of Dickens’s death, several adaptations of the book have attempted to provide a fitting conclusion to the story – although Dickens’s plans for the plot remain enigmatic. Published in 1...