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Dicken's tale of David Copperfield follows him from birth through to his successful career as a novelist. The novel boasts a famously rich cast of outlandish characters: the glamorous Steerforth, the cheerful Mr Micawber, the villainous Uriah Heep and David's eccentric aunt Betsy Trotwood, among others. Dickens described this energetic and enjoyable novel as his 'favourite child' and it is easy to see why.

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a masterpiece of Victorian literature and one of the most potent and enduring of modern myths. Why has Dr Jekyll begun to associate with the ugly and violent Mr Hyde? When Jekyll's friend Utterson tries to solve this mystery he uncovers a horrific story of murder and suffering which leads eventually to the terrible revelation of Mr Hyde's true identity. Also in this volume are three other memorable stories: The Body Snatchers, Markheim and Olalla.

Frankenstein is the most famous novel by Mary Shelley: a dark Faustian parable of science misused that was an immediate success on its publication in 1818. Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but wayward scientist, builds a human from dead flesh and then, horrified at what he has done, abandons his creation. The creature, an outcast because of his appearance, learns language and becomes civilized, but when rejected by society seeks revenge on his creator. So begins a cycle of destruction in which Frankenstein and his 'monster' lose all vestiges of their humanity in monomaniacal hatred.

Grimms' Fairy Tales have entertained children and adults for the past two centuries, and have become part of our common heritage. These stories about Tom Thumb, Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin and the Frog Prince stimulate the imagination and the heart and linger at the back of our minds for a lifetime. They are funny, disturbing, wise and compassionate; they speak of joy and terror, happiness and revenge, love and violence. They remind us of how it felt the first time an adult voice read them to us as we fell asleep and dreamed magical dreams.

Jonathan Swift's masterpiece is the finest satire in the English language. Lemuel Gulliver's adventures with the tiny inhabitants of Lilliput and the giants of Brobdingnag are familiar from modern abridged adaptations, but the scientists and philosophers of Laputa, the intelligent, horselike Houyhnhnms and the bestial Yahoos provide further opportunities for Swift to satirise society in a manner just as relevant today as it was in the eighteenth century.

The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of Doyle's best-known Holmes novels, frequently adapted for film and television, which is not surprising given the highly dramatic scenes of mist-wrapped moors echoing to the horrific howls of a supernatural hound. Is this a genuinely devilish apparition or is there a cunning murderer at work? Only Sherlock Holmes can solve the mystery. This volume also contains The Valley of Fear, a dark, powerful tale in which Holmes confronts the evil Professor Moriarty once more.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn began life as a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer but is now seen in its own right as one of the most important of all American novels. Rather than be 'sivilized' by the Widow Douglas, Huckleberry Finn and Jim, an escaped slave, set off to find freedom on the Mississippi. Their adventures teach them much about the society in which they live, and the book combines an exuberant sense of nostalgia with subtle undertones of adult melancholy.

A tremendous, emotionally stirring tragedy, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame features one of literature's most striking creations Quasimodo, the hideously deformed bellringer of Notre-Dame de Paris during the turbulent final years of the fifteenth century. Rejected by all but the priest Claude Frollo, Quasimodo rescues the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda, condemned for a crime she did not commit, and brings her to the sanctuary of the cathedral. But Frollo has been corrupted by his lust for the girl. Only Quasimodo can hope to save her.

The Iliad narrates the events of the siege of Troy, prompted by Greek outrage at the abduction by Paris of Helen from her Greek husband. It describes the anger of Achilles which results in the death of Patroclus, and Achilles' quest for brutal vengeance on Hector. Even though it was composed more than two thousand years ago The Iliad remains both powerful and enthralling.

Ivanhoe, first published in 1819, is a spellbinding tale of adventure, chivalry and romance set in twelfth-century England where the Saxons are in conflict with the occupying Normans. Young Wilfred of Ivanhoe, disinherited by his father for wanting to marry his father's ward Rowena, is wounded in a tournament and nursed back to health by the beautiful Rebeccca, who is later accused of being a witch. With the help of Richard the Lionheart and Robin Hood, Ivanhoe is able to save Rebecca, establish peace between Saxon and Norman, and gain the hand of the fair Rowena.

These twelve magical tales tell, among other things, how the camel got his hump, the leopard his spots, the elephant his trunk, how the alphabet was made and how a butterfly caused mayhem at the court of King Solomon when he stamped. The Just So Stories are one of the enduring classics of children's literature, not only for their wit, enchantment and language but also for Kipling's own illustrations.

This epic tale of American frontier life is set in the period when the French and the British fought for control of the continent and while native American tribes still had considerable power and influence. En route to their father's fort, Cora and Alice Munro are betrayed by their Iroquois guide. Their companion Duncan Heyward enlists the support of the scout Hawkeye and his friends, who attempt to rescue the party. This wonderful story of adventure has captivated successive generations of readers both in America and abroad.

One of the best loved classic children's stories, Little Women is a robust evocation of family life whose appeal transcends boundaries of time and age, making it as popular with adults as it is with younger readers.

Mansfield Park is a novel about town and country, surface dazzle and lasting values. Fanny Price, a poor relation, is brought up at the wealthy Bertrams' country house and fallls for Edmund, the younger son. Their lives are disrupted, however, by the arrival of the worldly Mary Crawford and her brother Henry. With her usual psychological insight and attention to detail, Jane Austen paints an irresistibly lifelike portrait of shifting values and split loyalties.

On board the whaling ship Pequod a crew of wise men and fools, renegades and seeming phantoms is hurled through treacherous seas by a crazed captain hell-bent on hunting down the mythic White Whale. Melville transforms the little world of the whale-ship into a crucible where mankind's fears, faith and frailties are pitted against a relentless fate. Teeming with ideas and imagery, and with its extraordinary, compressed intensity sustained by mischievous irony and moments of exquisite beauty, Moby-Dick is both a great American epic and a most profoundly imaginative literary creation.

Nicholas Nickleby is one of Dickens's early novels, a popular melodrama with a rich list of characters. When his father dies penniless, Nicholas Nickleby, his mother and his sister Kate are thrown on the mercy of his corrupt uncle Ralph Nickleby. Sent away to teach at the infamous Dotheboys Hall, run by the sadistic Wackford Squeers, Nicholas eventually absconds, but not before rescuing the poor abused Smike. He returns home just in time to save his sister from the unwanted attentions of Sir Mulberry Hawk, and eventually his family's fortunes are restored.

Northanger Abbey tells the story of Catherine Morland, a naive young woman whose perceptions of the world around her are greatly influenced by the romantic gothic novels to which she is addicted. When she moves to Bath she sees mystery and intrigue all around her. This is one of Austen's early works, a broad comedy about learning to distinguish between fiction and reality.

The Odyssey can claim to be Western literature's first adventure story, and describes the ten-year wanderings of Odysseus in his quest to return home after the Trojan war. He encounters giants, sorceresses and sea-monsters before he can get home and then must remain in disguise while seeking a way to rid his home of the suitors who, believing him dead, have besieged his wife. Both an enchanting fairy tale and a gripping drama, The Odyssey is eminently readable, not least for the rich complexity and magnetism of its hero.

In The Origin of Species Darwin outlined his theory of evolution, which proposed that species had been evolving and differentiating over time under the influence of natural selection. On its publication it became hugely influential, bringing about a seismic shift in the scientific view of humanitys place in the world that is still controversial today. It is both a brilliant work of science and also a clear, vivid and at times even moving piece of writing that reflects both Darwins genius and his boundless enthusiasm for the natural world.

Jane Austen's final novel, her most mature and wickedly satirical, is the story of Anne Elliott, a woman who gets a second chance at love. To achieve happiness she must learn to trust her own feelings and resist the social pressures of family and friends.

A skeleton in dinner dress is wreaking havoc among singers and staff at the Paris Opera House and when new owners take over the terror escalates. Who is the mysterious figures stalking the stage at night? How can he be everywhere at once and leave locked rooms at will? What is his connection to the beautiful young musician Christine? Stage and screen adaptations of The Phantom of the Opera have maintained the book's popularity, but the novel outdoes them all in Gothic tension and horror.

In The Portrait of a Lady Henry James tells the story of one of his most enchanting heroines, Isabel Archer, a young New York woman whose life is changed when she is visited by her aunt Mrs Touchett following the death of her father (her mother having died long before). Isabel is invited to accompany her aunt back to Europe, and fascinates everyone with her beauty, intelligence and vivacity. When she inherits money from her uncle this turns out to have unexpected and undesired consequences.

Written in the sixteenth century and almost immediately a subject of controversy, The Prince presents Machiavelli's advice to a ruler who would seek to maintain his power most effectively. Pragmatism and expediency are seen to be more important considerations than ethical ones, and a ruler must be prepared to take actions in the interest of public order that might conflict with purely private ethical concerns. A good ruler must avoid being hated by his subjects however. In The Art of War Machiavelli examines ancient military practices for their relevence to modern political issues, and asserts that military power is at the base of all civil order.

Regarded by many as one of the finest American novels, The Red Badge of Courage tells the story of one soldiers experience in the American Civil War, presenting war in a direct, impressionistic way that was innovative at the time and is still influential today. Henry Fleming enlists in the Union Army with dreams of military glory, and discovers real warfare is very different from its fictional portrayal.