Penguin Group

Jim Dixon has accidentally fallen into a job at one of Britain's new red brick universities. A moderately successful future in the History Department beckons. As long as Jim can survive a madrigal-singing weekend at Professor Welch's, deliver a lecture on 'Merrie England' and resist Christine, the hopelessly desirable girlfriend of Welch's awful son Bertrand.

'It is the history of a revolution that went wrong — and of the excellent excuses that were forthcoming at every step for the perversion of the original doctrine', wrote Orwell for the first edition of «Animal Farm» in 1945. Orwell wrote it at the end of 1943, but it almost remained unpublished. Its savage attack on Stalin, at that time Britain's ally, led to it being refused by publisher after publisher. Orwell's simple, tragic fable, telling what happens when the animals drive out Mr Jones and attempt to run the farm themselves, has since become a world-famous classic.

'Basil needed a war. He's not meant for peace '... Upper-class scoundrel Basil Seal, mad, bad and dangerous to know, creates havoc wherever he goes, much to the despair of the three women in his life — his sister, mother and mistress. And when Neville Chamberlain declares war on Germany, it seems the perfect opportunity for more action and adventure. So Basil follows the call to arms and goes forth to have his finest hour — as a war hero. His instincts for self-preservation come to the fore in such spheres of opportunity as the Ministry of Information and a little-known section of Military Security. But, with Europe frozen in the 'phoney war', when will Basil's big chance to fight finally arrive? Based on Evelyn Waugh's own time as a soldier, «Put Out More Flags» is a painfully funny satire on the military establishment.

In his elegant, malicious prose, Evelyn Waugh satirizes British society as he saw it over three decades. From «Work Suspended», where Plant, a writer of detective fiction, puts his incomplete novel in a drawer until such time as he can finish it (that is to say after the war), to Basil Seal Rides Again, in which the hero of Black Mischief defeats the children of the Sixties, these stories encompass much of the social milieu of the twentieth century. The volume also includes the fragment Charles Ryder's Schooldays, which sketches the background to the narrator of Brideshead Revisited.

There are a lot of monsters in Anita Blake's life. And some of them are human. One such individual is the man she calls Edward, a bounty hunter who specializes in the preternatural. He calls her to help him hunt down the greatest evil she has ever encountered. Something that kills and maims and vanishes into the night. Something Anita will have to face alone...

The novels of Jane Austen depict a world of civility, reassuring stability and continuity, which generations of readers have supposed was the world she herself inhabited. Claire Tomalin's biography paints a surprisingly different picture of the Austen family and their Hampshire neighbours, and of Jane's progress through a difficult childhood, an unhappy love affair, her experiences as a poor relation and her decision to reject a marriage that would solve all her problems — except that of continuing as a writer. Both the woman and the novels are radically reassessed in this biography.

Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the harsh totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty he begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker, Julia, but soon discovers that the true price of freedom is betrayal.

Set in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692, a community stands accused of witchcraft, and in the mood of fear and recriminations that develops, men denounce their neighbours and truth is perverted by superstition.

Returning to the scene of Cannery Row — the weedy lots, junk heaps and flop houses of Monterey — Steinbeck brings to life in Sweet Thursday the denizens of a netherworld of laughter and tears. He again explores the common bounds of humanity and love which make goodness and happiness possible.

First time in print — Cook's most daring novel yet. A mysterious transmission from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean leads a crew of oceanographers and divers to a phenomenon beyond scientific understanding — and a discovery that will change everything we know about life on Earth.

Cath and Si are best friends. Total opposites, always together, and both unlucky in love. Cath is scatty, messy, and emotionally closed. Si is impossibly tidy, bitchy, and desperate for a man of his own. When Portia steps back into their lives, her reappearance sets off a chain of events that tests them to the limit. Does Portia have a hidden agenda, or is she just looking for happy endings all round? Whatever the answers, none of them could ever predict the outcome...

Drifters in search of work, George and his simple-minded friend Lennie, have nothing in the world except each other — and a dream. A dream that one day they will have some land of their own. Eventually they find work on a ranch, but their hopes are doomed as Lennie — struggling against extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and jealousy — becomes a victim of his own strength. Tackling universal themes, friendship and a shared vision, and giving a voice to America's lonely and dispossesed, Of Mice And Men remains Steinbeck's most popular work.

Jay Gatsby is the man who has everything. But one thing will always be out of his reach... Everybody who is anybody is seen at his glittering parties. Day and night his Long Island mansion buzzes with bright young things drinking, dancing and debating his mysterious character. For Gatsby — young, handsome, fabulously rich — always seems alone in the crowd, watching and waiting, though no one knows what for. Beneath the shimmering surface of his life he is hiding a secret: a silent longing that can never be fulfilled. And soon this destructive obsession will force his world to unravel.

This is a board book version of this classic picture book that introduces characters from traditional stories, such as the «Three Bears», «Mother Hubbard» and «Tom Thumb», and encourages children to participate and to find the characters hidden in the pictures. The text, with its strong rhyme and rhythm, is perfect to read aloud to very young children.

With this month's release of the new Eve Dallas thriller, Betrayal in Death, fans will learn the true identity of author J.D. Robb — she's #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts. But fans won't feel betrayed — they'll snap up the previous titles in this New York Times bestselling police series... and push it straight to the top.

A board book version of the tale of Peter Rabbit with simple text and fully illustrated. This book introduces the very young to the world of Beatrix Potter.

The runaway bestseller about the ultimate reality show The year is 2025. The Running Man is America's favorite television game show. Ben Richards is the program's latest contestant-and the Hunters' latest target in a rigged game of death...

Young readers will soon be echoing the little blue engine's trademark I think I can as they take their first steps on the road to independent reading with this reissue, featuring simple words, rebus pictures, and 24 skill-building flash cards.

Feeling stressed? Need some help to regain balance in your life? Following the success of Instant Calm, Paul Wilson has produced a book of advice and inspiration that aims to help readers quickly reach a state of calm. His words of guidance are distinct, with one suggestion per page, so the reader can open the book at any point and find a proven and easy way to achieve calm.

Riots between humans and trolls, elves, and other non-humans have plunged Tunfaire into near chaos. Garrett finds himself pulled into the game when a powerful gang of human rightists tries to shake down his employer?and ends up caught in a conspiracy of hate that pits man against? Everybody!

»Twas the night before Halloween, and all through the house, All the creatures were stirring, except for the mouse. The monsters had gathered to plan and prepare, For the trick-or-treaters who soon would be there?.» Little monsters and goofy goblins take center stage in this silly, spooky spin on Clement C. Moore's beloved poem. But what will happen on Halloween when the monsters come face to face with human trick-or-treaters in this fun-filled book by the author of The Night Before Easter?

What precisely are structuralism, semiotics and sociolinguistics? What distinguishes pidgins from creoles, gerunds from gerundines and the hard palate from the soft palate? How many people speak Macedonian, Malay or Makua? Now in its second edition, David Crystal's superbly authoritative dicionary provides answers to all these questions and to many hundreds of others concerned with language and linguistics. • Major new edition, with fully updated and data and statistics new entries on the critical issues of ecolinguistics, endangered languages and human linguistic rights • Succinct descriptions of many hundreds of languages • Clear definitions of grammatical and literary concepts • Full coverage of the terminology used in such disciplines as language teaching and learning, speech disorders, desk top publishing and stylistics • Over 60 diagrams and cartoons

Originally written under the Richard Bachman pseudonym, this novel has been repackaged under King's name. In this gritty narrative, a lone man takes on the wheels of progress in a showdown of cataclysmic proportions. When a highway project puts him out of work and threatens to destroy his home, he has more than enough time on his hands to plot his revenge.

Captain Robert Gormly served 29 years as a Navy SEAL, the United States's elite military force, where he undertook the most dangerous missions in the history of the nation. Combat Swimmer is an autobio-graphical account of Capt. Gormly's life as a SEAL: acting as platoon leader in SEAL Team Two in Vietnam, and later as commanding officer of that team; as the executive Officer of UDT-22, and as commanding officer of the legendary SEAL Team Six. This thrilling real-life story takes readers through the fiery life of a man who can literally be called « the best of the best».