Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb was written to be an 'introduction to the study of Shakespeare', but are much more entertaining than that. All of Shakespeare's best-loved plays, comic and tragic, are retold in a clear and robust style, and their literary quality has made them popular and sought-after ever since their first publication in 1807. This edition contains the delightful pen-and-ink drawings of Arthur Rackham.

Galdone's dynamic, amusing pictures add much humor to the familiar tale of the industrious hen and lazy cat, dog, and mouse.

"Mind-bendingly brilliant and fearlessly strange." - Frances Hardinge "A haunting, lyrical fable." - The Bookseller "Awe-inspiring." - The Times, Children's Book of the Week From the multi-award-winning author of A Monster Calls comes a haunting tale of power and obsession that turns the story of Moby Dick upside down. The whales of Bathsheba's pod live for the hunt. Led by the formidable Captain Alexandra, they fight a never-ending war against men. Then the whales attack a man ship, and instead of easy prey they find the trail of a myth, a monster, perhaps the devil himself... With their relentless Captain leading the chase, they embark on the final hunt, one that will forever change the worlds of whales and men.

Orwell's powerfully unnerving and enduring allegory of oppression and rebellion, brought to life for a new age of readers in a stunning dyslexia-friendly edition. "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others ..." When the lazy and drunken Mr Jones of Manor Farm forgets to feed his livestock the down-trodden and over-worked animals unite to take back their freedom. Led by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball they imagine this rebellion as the start of a life of prosperity and plenty. But as a cunning, brutal, hidden elite begins to take control, something new and unexpected emerges ...

The first installment of Andrew Lang's popular fairy tale series. The Blue Fairy Book is a vibrant collection of children's stories that have been published across the globe. Lang pulls from genre favorites such as "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella or the Little Glass Slipper" and "The Brave Little Tailor."Originally published in 1889, The Blue Fairy Book, is the first in a series of popular collections by Andrew Lang that feature international fairy tales. It's a compilation of more than 30 stories across different times and locations.The Blue Fairy Book consists of famous tales from authors such as Madame d'Aulnoy and the Brothers Grimm. Their works are retold in vivid detail in an easy-to-read format. Some of the most memorable stories include "Beauty and the Beast," "Rumpelstiltskin," "The Story of Pretty Goldilocks" and "The History of Jack the Giant-killer." The first edition ran less than 10,000 copies before becoming a major international success. Fans of classic fairy tales will adore Andrew Lang's signature collection. The Blue Fairy Book marked the beginning of a new era in the author's impressive career. It's the inaugural edition of a long-running series that spanned well over a decade. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Blue Fairy Book is both modern and readable.

A Christmas Carol, by Dickens, Charles - Akasha Classics, AkashaPublishing.Com - A Christmas Carol, one of Dickens, Charles most enduring works, is the story of a truly remarkable transformation. Christmas is pointless - there is no profit in it. Money is the only thing that matters, and it is to be saved, not spent on such trifles as heating, a decent salary for your clerk, or frivolous celebrations. This is the attitude that Ebenezer Scrooge goes to sleep with on December 24th. Before the night is over, however, he will be visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future. Can these spirits help him see the error of his ways? Discover for yourself one of the all-time classics of the holiday season.

With an Introduction and Notes by Stuart Hutchinson, University of Kent at Canterbury. Tom Sawyer, a shrewd and adventurous boy, is as much at home in the respectable world of his Aunt Polly as in the self-reliant and parentless world of his friend Huck Finn. The two enjoy a series of adventures, accidentally witnessing a murder, establishing the innocence of the man wrongly accused, as well as being hunted by Injun Joe, the true murderer, eventually escaping and finding the treasure that Joe had buried. Huckleberry Finn recounts the further adventures of Huck, who runs away from a drunken and brutal father, and meets up with the escaped slave Jim. They float down the Mississippi on a raft, participating in the lives of the characters they meet, witnessing corruption, moral decay and intellectual impoverishment. Sharing so much in background and character, these two stories, the best of Twain, indisputably belong together in one volume. Though originally written as adventure stories for young people, the vivid writing provides a profound commentary on provincial American life in the mid-nineteenth century and the institution of slavery.

Introduction and Notes by Professor Stephen Arkin, San Francisco University. 'Young women who have no economic or political power must attend to the serious business of contriving material security'. Jane Austen's sardonic humour lays bare the stratagems, the hypocrisy and the poignancy inherent in the struggle of two very different sisters to achieve respectability. Sense and Sensibility is a delightful comedy of manners in which the sisters Elinor and Marianne represent these two qualities. Elinor's character is one of Augustan detachment, while Marianne, a fervent disciple of the Romantic Age, learns to curb her passionate nature in the interests of survival. This book, the first of Austen's novels to be published, remains as fresh a cautionary tale today as it ever was.

An adapted and illustrated edition of Jane Austen's romantic classic - at an easy-to-read level for all ages! Eight years ago, Anne was persuaded not to marry Captain Wentworth. Now he is back, rich, handsome and still unmarried. While everyone wonders which lucky lady will become his wife, Anne can't help hoping for a second chance. A chance to prove that her mind may have once been changed, but her heart never had. About Jane Austen Children's Stories: From the gardens of Pemberley to the spooky halls of Northanger Abbey, join some of literature's most iconic heroines on their path to self-discovery and true love. An adaptation of Jane Austen's famous stories, illustrated to introduce children aged 7+ to the classics.

A special treat for Nancy Drew fans, and any reader who's new to the series We're releasing a stunning new edition of an old favorite: "The Hidden Staircase," the second book in the incredibly popular, long-running series. It's the same exciting mystery that readers have fallen in love with for more than 80 years--Nancy Drew has to find the mysterious ghost that seems to be haunting Twin Elms, and make sure no more prized possessions disappear under her nose. Now with a brand-new look, this is an edition that collectors won't want to miss

Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - - When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. It was true, too. She had a little thin face and a little thin body, thin light hair and a sour expression. Her hair was yellow, and her face was yellow because she had been born in India and had always been ill in one way or another. Her father had held a position under the English Government and had always been busy and ill himself, and her mother had been a great beauty who cared only to go to parties and amuse herself with gay people. She had not wanted a little girl at all, and when Mary was born she handed her over to the care of an Ayah, who was made to understand that if she wished to please the Mem Sahib she must keep the child out of sight as much as possible. So when she was a sickly, fretful, ugly little baby she was kept out of the way, and when she became a sickly, fretful, toddling thing she was kept out of the way also. She never remembered seeing familiarly anything but the dark faces of her Ayah and the other native servants, and as they always obeyed her and gave her her own way in everything, because the Mem Sahib would be angry if she was disturbed by her crying, by the time she was six years old she was as tyrannical and selfish a little pig as ever lived. The young English governess who came to teach her to read and write disliked her so much that she gave up her place in three months, and when other governesses came to try to fill it they always went away in a shorter time than the first one. So if Mary had not chosen to really want to know how to read books she would never have learned her letters at all.

In this extraordinary play, one of Shakespeare's finest tragedies, a once-great general finds himself torn between his duty to the Roman Empire and his passionate attachment to Cleopatra, the alluring "Queen of the Nile." In depicting the collision of two contrasting cultures--Antony's world of political conniving and the hedonistic pleasures of Cleopatra's court--the playwright portrays a timeless paradox of human nature, the quest for seemingly irreconcilable goals.
The action of the play ranges from Alexandria and Rome to Syria and Athens, from the rugged quarters of military camps to the luxurious atmosphere of the Egyptian court. In the latter milieu Antony lingers, shamed by his overwhelming passion for Cleopatra yet irresistibly drawn toward love as a source of vitality and renewal. After ignoring increasingly urgent demands by his co-ruler, Octavius Caesar, for his return to Rome, Antony reluctantly obeys at last, marrying Octavius's sister and forming a fragile political alliance. This bond shatters when he returns to Cleopatra's side. Octavius declares war on the lovers, forcing them into a battle for world domination with dramatic and unforgettable consequences.
Brimming with Shakespeare's matchless poetry, "Antony and Cleopatra" is one of the world's great plays. In this inexpensive edition, it will enthrall students of drama and literature, poetry lovers, and all who appreciate Shakespeare's art.