The concluding part of the Vedas, the ancient Indian sacred literature, which mark the culmination of a tradition of speculative thought first expressed in the Rig-Veda more than 4,000 years ago. Remarkable for their meditative depth, spirit of doubt and intellectual honesty, the Upanishads are concerned with the knowledge of the Brahman, the Ultimate Reality, and Man's relationship with it. The name Upanishad is derived from the face-to-face mode of imparting this knowledge - in the utmost sanctity and secrecy, to prevent its trivialisation or perversion. Composed in Sanskrit between 900 and 600BC, the Upanishads presented here are by far the oldest and most important of those that exist. 144pp. Paperback.

Walt Whitman's verse gave the poetry of America a distinctive national voice. It fits into no previously defined genre and skilfully combine autobiographical, sociological and religious themes with lyrical sensuality. His verse is a fitting celebration of a new breed of American and includes 'Song of Myself', 'Crossing Brooklyn Ferry', the celebratory 'Passage to India', and his fine elegy for the assassinated President Lincoln, 'When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd'. 592pp. Paperback.

Njal's Saga is the finest of Icelandic sagas, and one of the world's great prose works. Written in about 1280, about events a couple of centuries earlier, it is divided into three parts: the first recounts the touching friendship between the noble Gunnar and the statesman Njal, together with the fatal enmity of their wives. The second part works out the central tragedy of the saga, while the third describes the retribution wrought by Flosi and Kari. The saga is remarkable not only for the details of everyday life - the farming, the feasting and the charcoal-burning - but also for the social structures of the society in which that life took place - the Althing or Parliament, the lawmaking and the lawgiving. 384pp. Paperback.

Goethe's 'Faust' is a classic of European literature. Based on the fable of the man who traded his soul for superhuman powers and knowledge, it became the life's work of Germany's greatest poet. Beginning with an intriguing wager between God and Satan, it charts the life of a deeply flawed individual, his struggle against the nihilism of his diabolical companion Mephistopheles. Part one presents Faust's pact with the Devil and the harrowing tragedy of his love affair with the young Gretchen. Part Two shows Faust's experience in the world of public affairs, including his encounter with Helen of Troy, the emblem of classical beauty and culture. The whole is a symbolic and panoramic commentary on the human condition and on modern European history and civilisation. This new translation of both parts of Faust preserves the poetic character of the original, its tragic pathos and hilarious comedy. In addition, John Williams has translated the 'Urfaust', a fascinating glimpse into the young Goethe's imagination, and a selection from the draft scenarios for the Walpurgis Night witches' sabbath - material so ribald and blasphemous that Goethe did not dare publish it. 468pp. Paperback.

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.

This collection contains all of his poetry: the early work, which is often undervalued even today, the poems on which his reputation rests including the Odes and the two versions of the uncompleted epic Hyperion, and work which only came to light after his death including his attepts at drama and comic verse. It all demonstrates the extent to which he tested his own dictum throughout his short creative life. 512pp. 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.