Classic / British English Winston Smith lives in a society where the government controls people’s lives every second of the day. Alone in his small, one-room apartment, Winston dreams of a better life. Is freedom from this life of suffering possible? There must be something that the Party cannot control – something like love, perhaps?
Classic / British EnglishSherlock Holmes is a great detective. There are few cases that he cannot solve. In these three stories we meet a young woman who is terrified of a mysterious ‘speckled band’, a family who think that five orange pips are a sign of death, and a banker who believes that his son is a thief. But are things really as they seem?
Classic / British EnglishThe famous Canterville Ghost haunts an old house, but the ghost becomes unhappy when the new owners play tricks on him! In the other stories, we meet Lord Arthur Savile, who has to murder someone before he can get married, and we discover the secret life of beautiful Lady Alroy.
Classic / British EnglishIt is the summer of 1900 and Leo is staying with his friend Marcus. Leo likes Marcus’s beautiful older sister very much. To make her happy, he becomes a secret messenger for her and a local farmer. But then he realises what their messages are about, and his whole life begins to change.
Classic / British EnglishSir Henry Curtis, Captain John Good and Allan Quatermain are travelling to the mysterious, unmapped heart of Africa. Sir Henry wants to find his missing brother. Quatermain wants to find King Solomon’s secret treasure. Is Sir Henry’s brother still alive? Will they find King Solomon’s treasure? Does the treasure even exist...?
Classic / British EnglishIn 1673 young John Ridd meets a little girl called Lorna Doone. Seven years later they meet again, and fall in love. But the Doones are a family of robbers and murderers. One of them, Carver, killed John’s father and now wants to marry Lorna. Can John save Lorna from her worst fears?
Classic / British EnglishThe Time Traveller has built a time machine and has gone into the future to the year 802,701. He expects to find a better world with highly-intelligent people and great inventions. Instead, he finds that people have become weak, child-like creatures. They dance and sing and wear flowers. They seem happy, but why are they so frightened of the dark? And who or what has taken his time machine? Will the Time Traveller ever be able to return to the present?
Classic / British EnglishMacbeth, a brave soldier, is trusted by the Scottish king. Then a strange meeting with three witches makes him greedy for power. Macbeth wants to be king. He and his evil wife make murderous plans. But how many people will have to die before their dreams come true?This Penguin Reader play is written for acting – making English come alive.
Classic / British EnglishJane and Elizabeth Bennet are the oldest of five sisters in need of husbands, but it isn’t easy to find the right man. Are Mr Bingley, Mr Darcy and Mr Wickham all that they seem? Will pride and prejudice ever be defeated in the search for true love?
Classic / British EnglishHamlet is the Prince of Denmark. His heart is filled with sadness and pain. Why? Only his two best friends, Horatio and Marcellus, know the true reason. The new king, Claudius, murdered Hamlet’s father and married the young prince’s mother. Will Hamlet be strong and brave enough to take revenge? Is he mad? Or does he have a secret plan?
Classic / British EnglishLife changes completely for Margaret Hale and her parents when they move to a smoky northern city. There, Margaret meets Mr Thornton, a wealthy cotton mill owner, and dislikes him immediately. But the mill owner falls passionately in love with her. Then his workers strike. Against a background of industrial drama and personal tragedy, is there any hope for Mr Thornton’s dream?
Classic / British EnglishAfter the death of his beautiful wife Rebecca, Maxim de Winter goes to Monte Carlo to forget the past. There he meets and marries a quiet young woman and takes her back to Manderley, his family home in Cornwall. But will the memory of Rebecca destroy the new marriage?
Classic / British EnglishRaskolnikoff, a young student, has been forced to give up his university studies because of lack of money. He withdraws from society and, poor and lonely, he develops a plan to murder a greedy old moneylender. Surely the murder of one worthless old woman would be excused, even approved of, if it made possible a thousand good deeds? But this crime is just the beginning of the story...
Classic / British EnglishEmma Bovary is a dreamer. She escapes from her boring life with her father by marrying Charles, a doctor, but married life does not bring her the love and excitement she expected. She looks for love outside her marriage, and one of literature’s great tragedies begins to unfold.
Classic / British EnglishAnna Karenina, one of world literature’s greatest novels, tells the story of a beautiful young woman who is unhappily married to a man much older than herself. When she falls in love with a handsome young soldier, life suddenly seems wonderful. But real happiness is not so easily found ...