Classics (74)

The Nutcracker

ISBN: 9781843915324

Author: E.T.A Hoffman    Publisher: Hesperus Press

Best known as the inspiration for Tchaikovsky's ballet, The Nutcracker is a charming book in its own right. Full of magic and childish wonder, this coming-of-ag...


Best known as the inspiration for Tchaikovsky's ballet, The Nutcracker is a charming book in its own right. Full of magic and childish wonder, this coming-of-age novella by E.T.A. Hoffmann has something for everyone: beautiful dolls, ferocious battles and dark undertones. It truly has all the elements of a fairy tale. Younger readers will be enchanted by this children's classic, while older readers will be intrigued to discover the background to the famous ballet libretto. It is Christmas Eve and little Marie has tired of her new presents, happily playing with a nutcracker instead. So when her brother Fritz breaks it, she is horrified, tenderly bandaging the little nutcracker with her ribbon and putting him to bed. When the clock strikes midnight, Marie is stunned to see an army of mice advancing, led by a seven-headed Mouse King. Her very own nutcracker leads the dolls and toys against the mouse army and a violent battle ensues. Just as the nutcracker looks like he might lose, Marie throws her shoe at the mice, and injures herself as she falls over. When she wakes up, her arm is bandaged but nobody will believe her unlikely tale of how she came to hurt herself.Soon after, her godfather comes for a visit and tells her the story of the nutcracker. As the tale unfolds, Marie learns about the ongoing feud between the mice and their enemy Princess Pirlipat. It sounds fanciful, but could it be true? And if the fairy tale is true, shouldn't there be a Prince Charming in the offing for Marie? This timeless tale is full of the magic of Christmas, but is a delight to read at any time of the year. Its enduring popularity is testament to its originality and charm.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 112


Publication Date: 28-10-2014


$21.99
The War of the Worlds & The War in the Air

ISBN: 9781840227420

Author: H G Wells    Publisher: Wordsworth Editions

In these two compelling novels H.G. Wells imagines terrifying futures in which civilisation itself is threatened. The narrator of The War of the Worlds is quick...


In these two compelling novels H.G. Wells imagines terrifying futures in which civilisation itself is threatened. The narrator of The War of the Worlds is quick to discover that what appeared to be a falling star was, in fact, a metallic cylinder landing from Mars. Six million people begin to flee London in panic as tentacled invaders emerge and overpower the city. With their heat-ray, killing machines, black gas, and a taste for fresh human blood, is there anything that can be done to stop the Martians? In The War in the Air, naive but resourceful Bert Smallways is thrilled by speed and fascinated by the new flying machines. His curiosity sweeps him away by accident into a German plan to conquer America, beginning with the destruction of New York. The ease of movement in aerial warfare means that nothing and nobody is safe as Total War erupts, civilisation crumbles, and Bert's hopes of getting back to London to marry his love seem impossibly distant.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 432


Publication Date: 01-01-2017


Tag: Classics
$9.99
The Invisible Man & The Food of the Gods

ISBN: 9781840227413

Author: H G Wells    Publisher: Wordsworth Editions

At the end of the nineteenth century a stranger arrives in the Sussex countryside and mayhem ensues; in the sleepy county of Kent a miracle food brings biologic...


At the end of the nineteenth century a stranger arrives in the Sussex countryside and mayhem ensues; in the sleepy county of Kent a miracle food brings biological chaos that engulfs and threatens the entire planet. H. G. Wells's fertile and mercurial imagination never brought us more bizarre and unsettling stories than those revealed in The Invisible Man (1897) and The Food of the Gods, and How It Came to Earth (1904). These are stories of extraordinary physical transformations and are at once extremely funny and richly imaginative. At the same time, Wells poses some very probing questions about the ethical dimensions to science and the human capacity for both pity and cruelty. Brought together for the first time in this new Wordsworth edition, The Invisible Man and The Food of the Gods are two of Wells's most entertaining and thought-provoking works.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 352


Publication Date: 01-01-2017


Tag: Classics
$9.99
The Island of Doctor Moreau & Other Works

ISBN: 9781840227406

Author: H G Wells    Publisher: Wordsworth Editions

'Each time I dip a living creature into the bath of burning pain, I say: this time I will burn out all the animal, this time I will make a rational creature of ...


'Each time I dip a living creature into the bath of burning pain, I say: this time I will burn out all the animal, this time I will make a rational creature of my own!' declares Doctor Moreau to hapless narrator Edward Prendick. Moreau's highly controversial methods and ambitions conflict with the religious, moral and scientific norms of his day and Wells later called The Island of Doctor Moreau 'a youthful exercise in blasphemy'. Today his vivid depictions of the Beast People still strike modern readers with an uncanny glimpse of the animal in the human, while the behaviour of humans leave us wondering who is the most monstrous after all. This volume unites four of Wells' liveliest and most engaging tales of the strange evolution and behaviour of animals - including human beings. The Island of Doctor Moreau is followed by three fantastic yet chillingly plausible short stories of human-animal encounters. The Empire of the Ants is a darkly humorous account of intelligent Amazonian ants threatening to displace humans as ‘the lords of the future and masters of the earth’. In The Sea Raiders, the south coast of England is terrorized by an unwelcome visit from deep-sea predator Haploteuthis ferox, while Æpyornis Island provides a marooned egg collector with an unusual companion.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 192


Publication Date: 01-01-2017


Tag: Classics
$9.99
The Crystal Egg & Other Stories

ISBN: 9781840227390

Author: H G Wells    Publisher: Wordsworth Editions

This volume contains a generous selection of the tales of H. G. Wells, some of them famous, some forgotten. They demonstrate his immense imaginative energy, his...


This volume contains a generous selection of the tales of H. G. Wells, some of them famous, some forgotten. They demonstrate his immense imaginative energy, his originality, his prophetic genius, and his mastery of a range embracing Gothic horror, social satire, lyrical reverie and Utopian fantasy. Here Wells predicts the use of the tank, the aeroplane, the parachute and the bathysphere; he depicts the arrival of monsters from the deep, and envisages the destruction of life on our planet. Nevertheless, in social comedy, Wells anticipates E. M. Forster. We also see why Wells proved to be a provocation and inspiration not only to numerous science-fiction writers but also to such eminent authors as Vladimir Nabokov, Jorge Luis Borges and William Golding. Entertaining, disturbing, astonishing and thought-provoking, these tales constitute a Wellsian cornucopia. Enjoy!


Bind: paperback


Pages: 480


Publication Date: 01-01-2017


Tag: Classics
$9.99
The Time Machine & Other Works

ISBN: 9781840227383

Author: H G Wells    Publisher: Wordsworth Editions

Contains: The Time Machine, When the Sleeper Awakes and The Chronic Argonauts. With an Introduction and Notes by Laurence Davies, Honorary Senior Research Fello...


Contains: The Time Machine, When the Sleeper Awakes and The Chronic Argonauts. With an Introduction and Notes by Laurence Davies, Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow In these 'scientific romances' H. G. Wells sees the present reflected in the future and the future in the present. His aim is to provoke rather than predict. The Sleeper falls into a trance, waking up two centuries later as the richest man in a world of new technologies, power-greedy leaders, sensual elites, and brutalised industrial slaves. Arriving in the year 802,701, the Time-Traveller finds that humanity has evolved into two drastically different species; going farther still, he witnesses the ultimate fate of the solar system. The Chronic Argonauts, the original version of The Time Machine, pits a scientist with daring views of time and space against superstitious villagers. In all three works Wells laces vivid adventure stories with the latest ideas in biology and physics.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 352


Publication Date: 01-01-2017


Tag: Classics
$9.99
Treasury of Fairy Tales

ISBN: 9781782701675

Author: Val Biro    Publisher: Award Publications

Discover the magical world of fairy tales with this enchanting volume of best-loved stories from Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perraul...


Discover the magical world of fairy tales with this enchanting volume of best-loved stories from Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault, all beautifully illustrated and retold by Val Biro. Ideal for sharing together, and to develop a love of storytelling and reading, this collection with captivate any reader.


Bind: hardback


Pages: 200


Dimensions: 210 x 270 mm


$29.99
Grimms Fairy Tales

ISBN: 9781841355054

Author: Val Biro    Publisher: Award Publications

This lavishly illustrated treasury contains eight of the classic fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm, whose enchanting stories continue to delight child...


This lavishly illustrated treasury contains eight of the classic fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm, whose enchanting stories continue to delight children of all ages. This collection includes: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs The Elves and the Shoemaker Hansel and Gretel ...and many more


Bind: hardback


Pages: 198


Dimensions: 206 x 270 mm


$29.99
Charles Perrault's Mother Goose Fairy Tales

ISBN: 9781841357270

Author: Val Biro    Publisher: Award Publications

A superb volume of favourite tales from Charles Perrault considered to be the father of the Fairy Tale genre! Retold and fabulously illustrated by Val Biro. Thi...


A superb volume of favourite tales from Charles Perrault considered to be the father of the Fairy Tale genre! Retold and fabulously illustrated by Val Biro. This collection includes: The Sleeping Beauty Puss In Boots Little Red Riding Hood Cinderella ...plus many more


Bind: hardback


Pages: 200


Dimensions: 206 x 270 mm


$29.99
Treasury of Aesops Fables

ISBN: 9781841355061

Author: Val Biro    Publisher: Award Publications

Enjoyed by generations the world over, Aesop's tales are a delight for all children. Illustrated with great humour by Val Biro, this bumper edition is perfect f...


Enjoyed by generations the world over, Aesop's tales are a delight for all children. Illustrated with great humour by Val Biro, this bumper edition is perfect for sharing or for easy reading alone.


Bind: hardback


Pages: 198


Dimensions: 206 x 270 mm


$29.99
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