Perhaps the greatest book ever written about war. Oppression soldier von Clauswitz had witnessed at first hand the immense destructive power of French Revolutionary armies which swept across Europe between 1792 and 1815. His response was to write a comprehensive text covering every aspect of warfare - a philosophical and practical work with highly controversial passages. His arguments are illustrated with vivid examples from the campaigns of Frederick the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte. Abridged and with an Introduction by Louise Willmot. Translated by Constance Garnett, with an Introduction and Notes by Agnes Cardinal, Honorary Senior Lecturer in Comparative Literature at the University of Kent. 373 page paperback.

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) is one of the most important and innovative figures of the European Middle Ages. Writing his Comedy (the epithet Divine was added by later admirers) in exile from his native Florence, he aimed to address a world gone astray both morally and politically. At the same time, he sought to push back the restrictive rules which traditionally governed writing in the Italian vernacular, to produce a radically new, all-encompassing poetic work In Inferno, Dante's protagonist - and his reader - is presented with a graphic vision of the dreadful consequences of sin, and encounters an all-too-human array of noble, grotesque, beguiling, ridiculous and horrific characters. 224pp. Paperback.

The Moonstone, a priceless Indian diamond which had been brought to England as spoils of war, is given to Rachel Verrinder on her 18th birthday. That very night, the stone is stolen. Suspicion then falls on a hunchbacked housemaid, an Rachel's cousin Franklin Blake, on a troupe of mysterious Indian jugglers, and on Rachel herself. The phlegmatic Sergeant Cuff is called in, and with the help of Betteredge, the Robinson Crusoe-reading loquacious steward, the mystery of the missing stone is ingeniously solved. 448pp. Paperback.

David Copperfield was first published in episodes during 1849 and 1850. In 1850, the novel was issued in book format. David's childhood world changes when his mother marries Mr Murdstone. Until this point he has lived peacefully in Yarmouth with his young mother and Peggotty, his nurse. His mother dies shortly after marrying Mr. Murdstone and David has to leave school. He goes to work in a factory. His Great Aunt Betsy Trotwood eventually adopts him. The novel follows the twists and turns of his adult life. He meets Wilkins Micawber, Uriah Heep and other legendary, but fictional, characters. 752pp. Paperback.

'Far from the Madding Crowd' is perhaps the most pastoral of Hardy's Wessex novels. It tells the story of the young farmer Gabriel Oak and his love for and pursuit of the elusive Bathsheba Everdene, whose wayward nature leads her to both tragedy and true love. It tells of the dashing Sergeant Troy whose rakish philosophy of life was '...the past was yesterday; never, the day after'. And lastly, of the introverted and reclusive gentleman farmer, Mr Boldwood, whose love fills him with '...a fearful sense of exposure', when he first sets eyes on Bathsheba. The background of this tale is the Wessex countryside in all its moods. 362pp. Paperback.

'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.

Set in the reign of Richard I, Coeur de Lion, Ivanhoe is packed with memorable incidents - sieges, ambushes and combats and equally memorable characters. Scott explores the conflicts between the Crown and the powerful Barons, between the Norman overlords and the conquered Saxons, and between Richard and his scheming brother, Prince John. 400pp. 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.

The ideas of Plato (c.429-347BC) have influenced Western philosophers for over 2,000 years. The Republic deals with the great range of Platonic thought combining argument and myth to advocate a life organised by reason rather than dominated by desires and appetites. Regarded by some as the foundation document of totalitarianism, it remains a challenging and intensely exciting work. 400 page paperback.