Penguin Group

The result of a lifetime’s knowledge of Russia and its people, this monumental and authoritative work has been acclaimed as the definitive single-volume history of Russia.

The return of the beautiful Countess Olenska into the rigidly conventional society of New York sends reverberations throughout the upper reaches of society. Newland Archer, an eligible young man of the establishment is about to announce his engagement to May Welland, a pretty ingénue, when May's cousin, Countess Olenska, is introduced into their circle. The Countess brings with her an aura of European sophistication and a hint of scandal, having left her husband and claimed her independence. Her sorrowful eyes, her tragic worldliness and her air of unapproachability attract the sensitive Newland and, almost against their will, a passionate bond develops between them. But Archer's life has no place for passion and, with society on the side of May and all she stands for, he finds himself drawn into a bitter conflict between love and duty.

At the age of ten, shy, vulnerable Fanny Price leaves behind her impoverished family in Portsmouth to go and live with her rich relatives at Mansfield Park. Growing up with her cousins Tom, Edmund, Maria and Julia, she is aware that she is different from them and that her place in society cannot be taken for granted, although she is not treated unkindly. A dashing couple from London, Mary Crawford and her brother Henry, enter this stable, rural world. They succeed in dazzling everyone ant Mansfield Park, except for Fanny, who sees through their shallow veneer. Throughout the dramatic events that follow it is she who is able the bring back some stability to the ruptured lives of those around her. One of the great novels of the nineteenth century, Mansfield Park echoes Jane Austen's fears and awareness of the dawn of a modern age, which was to bring about a complete break from the old country traditions and way of life.

The narrator is a young governess, sent off to a country house to take charge of two orphaned children. She finds a pleasant house and a comfortable housekeeper, while the children are beautiful and charming. But she soon begins to feel the presence of intense evil.

Vanity Fair, Thackeray's panoramic, satirical saga of corruption at all levels of English society, was published in 1847 but set during the Napoleonic Wars. It chronicles the lives of two women who could not be more different: Becky Sharp, an orphan whose only resources are her vast ambitions, her native wit, and her loose morals; and her schoolmate Amelia Sedley, a typically naive Victorian heroine, the pampered daughter of a wealthy family. Becky's fluctuating fortunes eventually bring her to an affair with Amelia's dissolute husband; when he is killed at Waterloo, Amelia and her child are left penniless, while Becky and her husband Rawdon Crawley rise in the world, managing to lead a high life in London solely on the basis of their shrewdness. (The chapter entitled «How to Live on Nothing» is a classic.) Thackeray's subtitle, «A Novel Without a Hero», is understating the case; his view of humanity in this novel is distinctly bleak and deliberately antiheroic. Critics of the time misunderstood the book, decrying it as (among other things) vicious, vile, and odious. But VANITY FAIR has endured as one of the great comic novels of all time, and a landmark in the history of realism in fiction.

The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter is drawn into the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his 'charming' friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, The Woman in White is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism.

Unfairly deprived of their family inheritance by the grasping Mrs John Dashwood and her husband, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood and their mother find themselves in greatly reduced circumstances. Compelled to leave Norland in Sussex for Barton Cottage in Devonshire, the two sisters are soon accepted into their new society. Marianne, whose sweet radiance and open nature charm the roguish John Willoughby, is soon deeply in love. Elinor, whose disposition is more cautious and considered, who carefully conceals her emotions, is suffering the loss of Edward Ferrars whom she has left behind. Despite their very different personalities, both sisters experience great sorrows in their affairs of the heart: Marianne demonstrably wretched and Elinor allowing no one to see her private heartache. It is, however, the qualities common to them both — discernment, constancy and integrity in the face of the fecklessness of others — that allow them entry into a new life of peace and contentment.

»Book of Longing» is Leonard Cohen's first book of new poetry since «Book of Mercy» was published two decades ago. It collects Cohen's poetry written between the 1980s and the present, and also includes his wonderfully witty and sensuous illustrations, including numerous playful self-portraits. The illustrations interact with, and complement, the poetry in unexpected and fascinating ways. «Book of Longing» demonstrates the range and depth of Cohen's work, revealing an extraordinary gift of language and visual art that speak with rare clarity, passion and timelessness.

Jeremy Paxman is to many the embodiment of Englishness yet even he is sometimes forced to ask: who or what exactly are the English? And in setting about addressing this most vexing of questions, Paxman discovers answers to a few others. Like: • Why do the English actually enjoy feeling persecuted? • What is behind the English obsession with games? • How did they acquire their odd attitudes to sex and to food? • Where did they get their extraordinary capacity for hypocrisy? Covering history, attitudes to foreigners, sport, stereotypes, language and much, much more, The English brims over with stories and anecdotes that provide a fascinating portrait of a nation and its people.

This is a brilliantly researched, hugely entertaining study of the English by Britain's best-known broadcaster. In the light of membership of Europe, the loss of an Empire and a devolved United Kingdom, the English no longer know who they are. Covering every aspect of the English identity (from cricket to Cumberland sausages, St George to Bernie Grant, the «Book of Common Prayer to Cool Britannia», John Bull to football thugs) and combining popular history with incisive interviews, Jeremy Paxman provides some fascinating and timely answers.

The Rough Guide to iPhone is the ultimate guide to Apple's next killer product: the iPhone, a mobile-cum-iPod-cum-PDA-cum-web browser. Full coverage of the latest product rolled out from Apple HQ, from powering up the first time to sending pictures as email attachments and hooking up to hi-fis. All the tips and tricks from uploading music, google maps and conference calls, to a full “first aid” Help! Section, and all in your pocket. Chapters include: Meet the iPhone, Make it your own, Making calls, Listening to music, Email, Web browsing, Camera & pictures, Video & TV, Syncing and updates and iPhone extras, all this plus much, much more. The ultimate reference for the decade’s definitive gadget, if you are thinking of buying an iPhone, this is the book for you.

Somerset, 1836, and baby Hope is cast out from a world of privilege as living proof of her mother's adultery... Smuggled away from the Harveys and Briargate House to a nearby village, Hope grows up in the arms of the warm and loving Renton family, unaware of her true identity. But fate has harsh plans for Hope and a chain of events sees her forced to lead a vagabond's existence until she finds the courage to fight back and prove herself a fearless and able nurse, a vocation that takes her to the horrific battlefields of the Crimea. But the secrets of the past are not yet done with Hope Renton, and she must return to England to face the legacy of her birth... With the storytelling magic that has won Lesley Pearse millions of fans, Hope is the portrait of a remarkable woman who will never let the world — or injustice — bring her down.

In this fascinating survey of everything from how sounds become speech to how names work, David Crystal answers every question you might ever have had about the nuts and bolts of language in his usual highly illuminating way. Along the way, we find out about eyebrow flashes, whistling languages, how parents teach their children to speak, how politeness travels across languages and how the way we talk show not just how old we are but where we're from and even who we want to be.

A new edition of this hugely popular story of James and his journey to New York with the strangest group of insect friends. Great new Quentin Blake cover and new author biography.

Can you trust yourself when you don’t know who you are? Syme uses his new acquaintance to go undercover in Europe’s Central Anarchist Council and infiltrate their deadly mission, even managing to have himself voted to the position of ‘Thursday’. In a park in London, secret policeman Gabriel Syme strikes up a conversation with an anarchist. Sworn to do his duty, when Syme discovers another undercover policeman on the Council, however, he starts to question his role in their operations. And as a desperate chase across Europe begins, his confusion grows, as well as his confidence in his ability to outwit his enemies. But he has still to face the greatest terror that the Council has — its leader: a man named Sunday, whose true nature is worse than Syme could ever have imagined. …

The 2nd edition Rough Guide Map New York combines clear modern mapping and bang-up-to-date research, and is the essential companion to anyone travelling around this vibrant metropolis. The Rough Guide Map pinpoints the best New York has to offer, from the bars and restaurants of SoHo to the lake in Central Park. The best shopping streets, pedestrian zones and major buildings are all edged in different colours to make them easier to find. The useful 'Time Map' charts the opening days and times of all the city's sights. The map's detailed transport information and clear layout will help you make the most of the buses, trains and taxis which serve the city.

In this award-winning Dahl title Matilda invents a game of punishing her parents when they treat her badly. She soon discovers that she has supernatural powers. New Quentin Blake cover as well as a whole new exciting end section about Roald Dahl and his world.

Back in Rummidge, scene of Changing Places, Robyn Penrose, temporary lecturer in English literature and Vic Willcox, MD of Pringle and Sons Industrial Engineering meet when they take part in an «Industry Year» scheme.

When the new teacher first arrives, Barbara immediately senses that this woman will be different from the rest of her staff-room colleagues. But Barbara is not the only one to feel that Sheba is special, and before too long Sheba is involved in an illicit affair with a pupil. Barbara finds the relationship abhorrent, of course, but she is the only adult in whom Sheba can properly confide. So when the liaison is found out and Sheba's life falls apart, Barbara is there...

Unlacing the story of how sport became so full of money … Today, sport is big business, and Adidas and Puma are two of the biggest global brands, paying stars, clubs and competitions to wear their label, dominating everywhere from football pitches to magazine pages. This is the incredible story of how the rivalry between two brothers turned sport into an industry. Pitch Invasion also tells the tales of some of the greatest sportsmen of all time, revealing the Pele pact, Boris Becker’s unfortunate contribution to the demise of Puma, and just how Adidas helped Mohammed Ali win his biggest fight. Reaching right up to today’s world of multibillion-dollar corporations, looking at how the arrival of Nike affected the pitch and the significance of Adidas’s recent takeover of Reebok, this is an incredible sporting drama of competition, greed, bribery, passion and shoes.

What if being Royal was a crime? The UK has come over all republican. The Royal Family exiled to an Exclusion Zone with the other villains and spongers. And to cap it all, the Queen has threatened to abdicate. Yet Prince Charles is more interested in root vegetables than reigning … unless his wife Camilla can be Queen in a newly restored monarchy. But when a scoundrel who claims to be the couple’s secret love child offers to take the crown off their hands, the stage is set for a right Royal show down. And the question for Camilla (and rest of the country) will be: Queen of the vegetable patch or Queen of England?

Tunnelling deep under one of the most holy cities in the world, an ambitious young archaeologist slowly works her way towards an unthinkable goal. Somewhere ahead is a chamber containing the collected fragments of an ancient scripture, a find of unimaginable significance. Meanwhile, halfway around the world, a covert military bunker holds a macabre secret. An elite special-forces officer seems to have been brutally murdered – but how, and more disturbingly, why? Any hope of solving the mystery rests on the grisly clues that remain. As the race to uncover the truth begins, a plot unfolds that could burn all of civilization in the fires of holy Armageddon.

When Beatrix Potter died in 1943 few knew the full story of her life. Margaret Lane's remarkable piece of literary detective work, originally published only three years after Beatrix's death, told her story for the first time. Extensively revised in1985 to include new material that had come to light, it remains essential reading for anyone interested in the background to the author of the famous Peter Rabbit Tales.

The Rough Guide to the USA is your definitive state-by-state guidebook to this vast and fascinating country. From a baseball game in Chicago and Yellowstone’s National Park to the towering Washington Monument and the astonishing southwest desert, the full-colour introduction highlights all the ‘things-not-to-miss’. There are insider reviews of all the best places to stay, eat and drink, both on and off the beaten track, with the new ‘Author’s Pick’ feature highlighting the very best options. There is plenty of expert advice on a multitude of activities, from hiking in the Grand Canyon to experiencing New York City nightlife. The guide takes a detailed look at the country’s history, culture and people and comes complete with maps and plans for every region, state and major city. The Rough Guide to the USA is like having a local friend plan your trip!