Living overseas but writing, always, about his native city, Joyce made Dublin unforgettable. The stories in Dubliners show us truants, seducers, gossips, rally-drivers, generous hostesses, corrupt politicians, failing priests, amateur theologians, struggling musicians, moony adolescents, victims of domestic brutishness, sentimental aunts and poets, patriots earnest or cynical, and people striving to get by. In every sense an international figure, Joyce was faithful to his own country by seeing it unflinchingly and challenging every precedent and piety in Irish literature. Introduction and notes. 176pp. Paperback.

Dickens had already achieved renown with 'The Pickwick Papers'. With 'Oliver Twist' his reputation was enhanced and strengthened. The novel contains many classic Dickensian themes - grinding poverty, desperation, fear, temptation and the eventual triumph of good in the face of great adversity. 'Oliver Twist' features some of the author's most enduring characters, such as Oliver himself (Who dares to ask for more), the tyrannical Bumble, the diabolical Fagin, the menacing Bill Sykes, Nancy and 'the Artful Dodger'. 400pp. Paperback.

The daughter of a lawyer from Amhurst, Massachusetts, Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was initially a vivacious, outgoing person, but she progressively withdrew into a reclusive existance. Emily was a truly undiscovered genius during her lifetime and astonishingly only seven out of her total of 1,775 poems were published prior to her death. She had an immense breadth of vision and a passionate intensity and awe for life, love, nature, time and eternity. Originally branded an eccentric, she is now recognised as a major poet of great depth, startling originality and courage. 214pp. Paperback.

Jules Verne's third great science fiction novel describes the discovery and exploration of a secret tunnel which leads through a volcano to the centre of the Earth. The leader of the expedition is an archetypal comic and eccentric boffin, and together with his ward, his nephew Axel (who is in love with the ward), and an estimable Icelandic guide, the journey is made. 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' achieved instant and enduring popularity on publication in 1874. Together with 'Around the World in Eighty Days', 'Five Weeks in a Balloon' and 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea', it established Verne as an author of high adventure who filled his stories with a wealth of technical detail, and the energy and freshness of an extraordinary inventive imagination. 192pp. Paperback.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes first introduced Arthur Conan Doyle's brilliant detective the readers of The Strand Magazine. In these twenty three tales, collected here in one volume, you have some of the best detective yarns ever penned. In his consulting room at 221B Baker Street, the master sleuth receives a stream of clients all presenting him with baffling and bizarre mysteries to unravel. There is, for example, the man who is frightened for his life because of the arrival of an envelope containing five orange pips; there is the terrified woman who is aware that her life is in danger and cannot explain the whistling sounds she hears in the night; and there is the riddle of the missing butler and the theft of an ancient treasure. In the last story, there is the climatic battle between Holmes and his arch enemy, ?the Napoleon of Crime? Professor Moriarty. Holmes, with trusty Watson by his side, is equal to these and the other challenges in this splendid collection.This edition contains the original illustrations from Strand Magazine drawn by Sidney Paget. Introduction by Dr. Julian Wolfreys. 503pp. Paperback.

The legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table is one of the most enduring in world literature. Its scenes of love, war, religion, treachery and family loyalty are timeless as are the reputations of its major characters Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere and Lancelot. Malory's story of noble knights, colourful tournaments and fateful love is set in a courtly society which although outwardly secure is in reality torn by dissent and ultimately treachery. Originally published in 1485, the book is here presented in modern spelling and accompanied by an Introduction and helpful Glossary. Amazing value, 912 page paperback with good-sized print.

Utopia is a complex, innovative and penetrating contribution to political thought. Utopians live according to the principles of natural law, but are receptive to Christian teachings, hold all possessions in common, and view gold as worthless. Drawing on the ideas of Plato, St. Augustine and Aristotle, Utopia was practiced by Bacon, H.G. Wells, Huxley and George Orwell. It invites readers to become participants in a compelling debate concerning the best state of a commonwealth. 134pp in Wordsworth reprinted paperback. With Utopian alphabet and glossary.

The central figure of this novel is the returning "native", Clym Yeobright, and his love for the beautiful but capricious Eustacia Vye. As character after character is driven to self-destruction, the presence of Egdon Heath becomes all-embracing, while Clym becomes a preacher. 352pp. Paperback.

Wessex Tales was the first collection of Hardy's short stories, and they reflect the experience of a novelist at the height of his powers. These seven tales, in which characters and scenes are imbued with a haunting realism, show considerable diversity of content, form and style, and range from fantasy to realism and from tragedy to comedy. Introduction and Notes by Michael Irwin, Professor of English Literature, University of Kent at Canterbury. 196pp. Paperback

Published when Charles Dickens was just 25, it established him at a single stroke as a major creative artist. Readers were captivated by the adventures of the poet Snodgrass, the sportsman Winkle and, above all, by that quintessentially English Quixote, Mr Pickwick, and his cockney Sancho Panza, Sam Weller. From the hallowed turf of Dingley Dell Cricket Club to the unholy fracas of the Eatanswill election, characters and incidents sprang to life from Dickens's pen, to form an enduringly popular work of ebullient humour and literary invention. 720pp. Paperback.