A historical romance, The Three Musketeers tells the story of the early adventures of the young Gascon gentleman, D'Artagnan and his three friends from the regiment of the King's Musketeers - Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Under the watchful eye of their patron M. de Treville, the four defend the honour of the regiment against the guards of Cardinal Richelieu, and the honour of the queen against the machinations of the Cardinal himself as the power struggles of seventeenth century France are vividly played out in the background. But their most dangerous encounter is with the Cardinal's spy, Milady, one of literature's most memorable female villains, and Dumas employs all his fast-paced narrative skills to bring this enthralling novel to a breathtakingly gripping and dramatic conclusion. Introduction and Notes by Keith Wren, University of Kent at Canterbury. 592pp. Paperback.

Martin Chuzzlewit is Charles Dickens' comic masterpiece about which his biographer, Forster, noted that it marked a crucial phase in the author's development as he began to delve deeper into the 'springs of characters'. Old Martin Chuzzlewit, tormented by the greed and selfishness of his family, effectively drives his grandson, young Martin, to undertake a voyage to America. It is a voyage which will have crucial consequences not only for young Martin, but also for his grandfather and his grandfather's servant, Mary Graham, with whom young Martin is in Love. 832pp. Paperback.

Top ranking ghost story writer Le Fanu presents a remarkable collection of tales of the supernatural. The patients of Dr Heselius are plagued by malignant apparitions and vampires or are drugged into a state of living death. Many disturbing implications remain unsolved as the good doctor tries to explain the phenomena in terms of psychopathology. A classic of mystery and occult literature in 302 page paperback.

Oscar Wilde's Works are suffused with his aestheticism, brilliant craftmanship, legendary wit and, ultimately, his tragic muse. The Picture of Dorian Gray shocked and outraged many readers of his day, and his stories for adults which exhibited his fascination with the relations between serene art and decadent life. Wilde took London by storm with his plays, particularly his masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest. His essays - in particular De Profundis and The Ballad of Reading Gaol both written after his release from prison - strikingly break the bounds of his usual expressive range. His other essays and poems for children are all included in this comprehensive collection. 954pp in paperback.

Based on the fable of the man who traded his world for superhuman powers and knowledge, Faust became the life's work of Germany's greatest poet. It is a compelling dramatic poem that charts the life of a deeply flawed individual and his fight against despair and the nihilism of the diabolical Mephistopheles; it is also a symbolic and panoramic commentary both on the human condition and on modern history and culture. This edition presents Part One of Faust in a new translation that preserves the poetic character of the original, its style and diction, its tragic pathos and hilarious comedy. In addition, John Williams has translated the Urfaust, an early draft of Part One that offers a fascinating glimpse into the younger Goethe's imagination, and the sensational draft scenarios for the witches' Sabbath - material so ribald and blasphemous that Goethe did not dare publish it. 512pp. Paperback.

Hector bidding farewell to his wife and baby son, Odysseus bound to the mast listening to the Sirens, Penelope at the loom, Achilles dragging Hector's body round the walls of Troy - scenes from Homer have been reportrayed in every generation. The questions about mortality and identity that Homer's heroes ask, the bonds of love, respect and fellowship that motivate them, have gripped audiences for three millennia. Chapman's Iliad and Odyssey are great English epic poems, but they are also two of the liveliest and most readable translations of Homer. Poetry is driven by the excitement of the Renaissance discovery of classical civilisation as at once vital and distant. 976pp. Paperback.

The generous selection in this volume represents the wide range of his writing, both poetry and prose. Arranged chronologically, the accompanying introductory essays set Shelley's works in their historical, social and political context. They provide a vivid insight into the life and times of this volcanic spirit, whose inspiring voice called on the people of England to: 'Rise like lions after slumber, In unvanquishable number; Shake your chains to earth like dew, Which in sleep had fallen on you - Ye are many, they are few.' The Mask of Anarchy. 752pp. Paperback.

In 1888 Henry James wrote 'There was the customary novel by Mr Le Fanu for the bedside; the ideal reading in a country house for the hours after midnight'. Madam Crowl's Ghost & Other Stories are tales selected from Le Fanu's stories which mostly appeared in The Dublin University Magazine and other periodicals, and their haunting, sinister qualities still have an enormous appeal for the modern reader. The great M.R. James, who collected and introduces the stories in this book, considered that Le Fanu 'stands absolutely in the first rank as a writer of ghost stories.' 192pp.

Wilkie Collins is a master of mystery, and 'The Woman in White' is his first excursion into the genre. When the hero, Walter Hartright, on a moonlit night in north London, encounters a solitary, terrified and beautiful woman dressed in white, he feels impelled to solve the mystery of her distress. The intricate plot is peopled with a finely characterised cast, from the peevish invalid Mr Fairlie to the corpulent villain Count Fosco and the enigmatic woman herself. 502pp. Paperback.

Here are two great, neglected horror novels by Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, together in one volume for the first time. It is a double treat for lovers of blood-curdling fantasy fiction. The Lady of the Shroud, published here in its full and unabridged form, is a fascinating and engrossing concoction of a vampire tale, Ruritanian adventure story and science fiction romance. The novel fully demonstrates the breadth and ingenuity of Stoker's imagination. The spine-chilling The Lair of the White Worm features a monstrous worm secreted for thousands of years in a bottomless well and able to metamorphose into a seductive woman of a reptilian beauty who survives on her victim's life blood. The novel contains some of Stoker's most graphic and grisly moments of horror. 431 page Wordsworth paperback.