'Moll Flanders' follows the life of its eponymous heroine through its many vicissitudes, which include her early seduction, careers in crime and prostitution, conviction for theft and transportation to the plantations of Virginia, and her ultimate redemption and prosperity in the new World. 304pp. Paperback.

An ominous fable about the pursuit of great wealth. Readers will be transported to a fabulous fantasy land of such opulence that its very existence has to remain a jealously guarded secret. Fatal consequences lie in store for 'bona fide' guests and uninvited visitors alike, while the sybaritic luxury of the place is evoked in an effortless prose style which is quintessentially F. Scott Fitzgerald. Also featured in this volume are 'The Cut-Glass Bowl', 'May Day', 'The Rich Boy', 'Crazy Sunday', 'An Alcoholic Case', 'The Lees of Happiness', 'The Lost Decade' and 'Babylon Revisited'. 240pp. Paperback.

Jane Austen teased readers with the idea of a 'heroine whom no one but myself will much like', but Emma is irresistible. 'Handsome, clever, and rich', Emma is also an 'imaginist', 'on fire with speculation and foresight'. She sees the signs of romance all around her, but thinks she will never be married. Her matchmaking maps out relationships that Jane Austen ironically tweaks into a clearer perspective. Judgement and imagination are matched in games the reader too can enjoy, and the end is a triumph of understanding. 384pp. Paperback.

A wonderful collection of classic stories specially selected and introduced by David Stuart Davies. These are tales from the golden age of the great storytellers presenting evocative snapshots from that bygone era while at the same time providing engaging entertainment and stimulation for the modern reader. All emotions are catered for in the offerings by Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, H. G. Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Mrs Gaskell, Anthony Trollope, Thomas Hardy, Wilkie Collins, Anton Chekhov, Charlotte Perkins Gillman and Charles Lamb. Through their words the rich pageant of yesterday springs to vibrant life. From France there of Guy de Maupassant, one of the greatest short-story writers of all and from America, O Henry. Then there is a heady mix of excellent tales by excellent tellers of tales, because this crop has been taken from the time of the great golden harvest in short story writing. Each story is prefaced with concise biographical details and a brief discussion of the themes in the story. 15 stories including The Withered Arm, The Terribly Strange Bed, The Sphinx Without A Secret and Juke Judkins' Courtship. 226pp in new Wordsworth paperback.

Lively and mischievous, idle and brave, Tom Brown is both the typical boy of his time and the perennial hero celebrated by authors as diverse as Henry Fielding (in Tom Jones) and Alec Waugh (in The Loom of Youth). The book describes Tom?s time at Rugby School from his first football match, through his troubled adolescence when he is savagely bullied by the unspeakable Flashman, to his departure for a wider world as a confident young man. This classic tale of a boy?s schooldays under the benevolent eye of the renowned Dr Arnold still retains the appeal for which it was acclaimed on its first publication in 1857. In its less well-known sequel, Tom Brown at Oxford, we follow our hero to St Ambrose?s College, and, in sharing his undergraduate experiences, gain a vivid impression of university life in the mid-nineteenth century.. 752pp. Paperback.

Introduction and Notes by Robert Hampson, Royal Holloway College, University of London. Nostromo is the only man capable of the decisive action needed to save the silver of the San Tome mine and secure independence for Sulaco, Occidental province of the Latin American state of Costaguana. Is his integrity as unassailable as everyone believes, or will his ideals, like those which have inspired the struggling state itself, buckle under economic and political pressures? Nostromo is an extraordinary illustration of the impact of foreign commercial exploits on a young developing nation, and the problems of reconciling individual identity with a social role. Conrad peoples his imaginary Latin American state with a multi-national cast of fully-rounded characters to achieve striking realism and create a novel that he called 'my largest canvas'. 416 page paperback.

Virginia Woolf’s second novel, Night and Day (1919), portrays the gradual changes in a society, the patterns and conventions of which are slowly disintegrating; where the representatives of the younger generation struggle to forge their own way, for '... life has to be faced: to be rejected; then accepted on new terms with rapture'. Woolf begins to experiment with the novel form while demonstrating her affection for the literature of the past. Jacob’s Room (1922), Woolf’s third novel, marks the bold affirmation of her own voice and search for a new form to express her view that 'the human soul... orientates itself afresh every now & then. It is doing so now. No one can see it whole therefore.' Jacob's life is presented in subtle, delicate and tantalising glimpses, the novel’s gaps and silences are as replete with meaning as the wicker armchair creaking in the empty room. 565 page paperback. New from Wordsworth.

When Princess Irene and her nursemaid stay out too late one night and are chased home by goblins, a young miner boy called Curdie comes to their rescue. So begins a fantastic adventure in which Irene and Curdie must try to stop a goblin invasion, helped by Irene's mysterious great-great-grandmother. This much-loved tale was a personal favourite of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. This edition includes the sequel, The Princess and Curdie. B/w illus. Wordsworth paperback, 331pp.

This endearing edition proudly includes the original telling of the beloved tale, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. Together, we travel alongside the Velveteen Rabbit on his magical journey towards becoming real and discover how he and other toys are brought to life once they are truly loved by their little owners. Also in this edition are modern, infant-friendly retellings of: The Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Three Little Pigs, The Frog Prince and The Tale of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse. All stories are beautifully illustrated with exclusive line drawings which truly bring these charming tales to life... just like your favourite toys. Paperback, large print with line illus.112pp.

Gaskell's last novel, widely considered her masterpiece, follows the fortunes of two families in 19th century rural England. At its core are family relationships - father, daughter and step-mother, father and sons, father and step-daughter - all tested and strained by the romantic entanglements that ensue. Despite its underlying seriousness, the prevailing tone is one of comedy. Gaskell vividly portrays the world of the late 1820s and the forces of change within it, and her vision is always humane and progressive. The story if full of acute observation and sympathetic character study: the feudal squire clinging to old values, his naturalist son welcoming the new world of science, the local doctor and his schemeing second wife, the two girls brought together by their parents' marriage... 624pp. Paperback.