"Matthew Cuthbert, who's that?" she ejaculated. "Where is the boy?" Matthew had been to the train station to fetch the child they were to adopt, a boy. Marilla had insisted on a boy.

"There wasn't any boy," said Matthew wretchedly. "There was only "her.""

He nodded at the girl. He didn't know her name. He was embarrassed to realize that he had never even asked her name.

"No boy But there "must" have been a boy," insisted Marilla. "We sent word to Mrs. Spencer to bring a boy."

"Well, she didn't. She brought "her." I asked the station-master. And I had to bring her home. She couldn't be left there, no matter where the mistake had come in."

"Well, this is a pretty piece of business " ejaculated Marilla.

During this dialogue the child had remained silent, her eyes roving from one to the other, all the animation fading out of her face. Suddenly she seemed to grasp the full meaning of what had been said. Dropping her precious carpet-bag she sprang forward a step and clasped her hands.

"You don't want me " she cried. "You don't want me because I'm not a boy I might have expected it. Nobody ever did want me. I might have known it was all too beautiful to last. I might have known nobody really did want me. Oh, what shall I do? I'm going to burst into tears "

And burst into tears the little girl did. . . .

If you came down to harsh facts -- which, it must be confessed, Anne of Avonlea seldom did until she had to -- it did not seem likely that there was much promising material for celebrities in Avonlea school; but you could never tell what might happen if a teacher used her influence for good. Anne had certain rose-tinted ideals of what a teacher might accomplish if she only went the right way about it; and she was in the midst of a delightful scene, forty years hence, with a famous personage . . . just exactly what he was to be famous for was left in convenient haziness, but Anne thought it would be rather nice to have him a college president or a Canadian premier . . . bowing low over her wrinkled hand and assuring her that it was she who had first kindled his ambition, and that all his success in life was due to the lessons she had instilled so long ago in Avonlea school.

Patricia Gardiner is another of Montgomery's sweet-natured and agreeable heroines. She grows up in the beautiful house of Silver Bush, surrounded by a large family, whose true mother-figure is their Irish cook, Judy. She loves and clings to the house as the best and most constant source of happiness in her life. As she matures she becomes more accepting of the inevitability of change, despite her experiences of illness and loss. Montgomery said that there was more of herself in Pat than any of her other heroines, and this novel strongly echoes her own lovingly remembered childhood on Prince Edward Island, with Silver Bush standing in for her cousins' house, Park Corner.

Edinburgh, 1930, and the world is on the brink of change. Leading the charge is the glamorous, free-spirited Miss Jean Brodie, schoolteacher at the Marcia Blaine Academy, whose guiding principle is 'Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she ll be mine for life. I am dedicated to you in my prime.' While Miss Brodie manipulates and charms 'her girls' - known as the Brodie Set - with notions of romance and heroism, tragedy and a cruel betrayal beckon.

This is one of the 22 novels written by Muriel Spark in her lifetime. All are being published by Polygon in hardback Centenary Editions between November 2017 and September 2018.

It's a warm summer's afternoon when young Alice first tumbles down the rabbit hole and into the adventures in Wonderland that have kept readers spellbound for more than 150 years. Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is brought to life by Sir John Tenniel's legendary illustrations in black and white, and with an afterword by Anna South. Collected here are Lewis Carroll's two classics - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass - in which Alice encounters the laconic Cheshire Cat, the anxious White Rabbit and the terrifying Red Queen, as well as a host of other outlandish and charming characters.

This novel tells the classic tale of the mischievous Master of Sherwood Forest, who lives the outlaw life with Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet and his band of Merry Men, bedevilling the implacable Sheriff of Nottingham during the reign of Richard the Lionhearted. This edition features over 40 full-colour illustrations by author Howard Pyle, bringing this timeless text to life.

When he had been at school for about three weeks, the boys called him Six-fingered Jack; but his real name was Willie, for his father and mother gave it him -- not William, but Willie, after a brother of his father, who died young, and had always been called Willie. His name in full was Willie Macmichael. It was generally pronounced Macmickle, which was, by a learned anthropologist, for certain reasons about to appear in this history, supposed to have been the original form of the name. . . . One evening in winter, when he had been putting coals on his grannie's fire, she told him to take a chair beside her, as she wanted a little talk with him. He obeyed her gladly.

"Well, Willie," she said, "what would you like to be?">P? Willie answered without a moment's hesitation --

Andrew Lang selects stories from Hungary, Russia, Rumania, Finland, Iceland, Japan, and Sicily for this volume of his long-running series of international children's fairy tales.

'The Chronicles of Narnia' have enchanted millions of readers over the last fifty years and the magical events described in C.S. Lewis's immortal prose have left many a lasting memory. For here is a world where a witch decrees eternal winter; where there are more talking animals than people; and where battles are fought by Centaurs, Giants and Fauns.

Anne of Green Gables is a literary classic written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. It is the story of a young orphan girl who was sent to a middle-aged brother and sister who are farmers and intended to adopt a boy to help them run the farm. The novel tells the story of how she gets on with them and in the community. This story has sold over 50 million copies since publication and Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote several other novels, telling Anne Shirley's life story. Six are all available here in a single volume, and in age order. Enjoy this classic tale of the orphan girl making her way through life.

Illustrated version of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Character portraits and scene location drawings help you visualise the play from the words on the page making the play easier to follow and study for that all important exam.

A full-colour short story taken from the world of the Magic Faraway Tree. Perfect for new readers. Discover the magic!

Beth, Joe, Frannie and Rick thought they had had quite enough of adventures, but soon go up the Faraway Tree again and find themselves in the Land of Dreams. The dastardly Sandman makes them fall asleep and Silky has to find a way to get them home in one piece! Along the way, they encounter muffins that turn into kittens, a bus that turns into a plane and a boat, and lots more...

The stories about the Magic Faraway Tree have been entertaining children for more than 80 years. Now these colour short stories offer a great way for young new readers to discover the adventures of Silky, Moon-Face, the Saucepan Man and all of their friends in the Enchanted Wood.

"Work, work all the night"
"While the stars are shining bright;"
"Work, work all the day --"
"I've got no time to play!"

Everyone is curious! Farmer Brown's boy cannot figure it out. Then Peter Rabbit and Jerry Muskrat set their minds to the problem and try to wrestle it to the ground. What is happening in the peaceful meadow where the stream flowed so quietly before -- and what does Paddy Beaver have to do with it?

Thornton W. Burgess, famous for his tales of "the lesser folk in fur and feathers," first entertained young readers in the 1910s . . . and his books have kept doing so, decade after decade, down to the present day.

Life with his regiment in Scotland is dull until he visits his uncle's friends in the Highlands, where he meets Fergus McIvor and his sister Flora. Attracted by the wild freedom and romance of the Scottish clans, Edward finds himself in a difficult and dangerous position. His new friends are Jacobites, planning to overthrow King George and restore the Stuart monarchy. The Jacobites rise in rebellion. When Prince Charles leads an invasion of England, Edward's loyalties are hopelessly divided. Whose side will he take? And what fate awaits them all?

Nature-loving Timi is unsettled by the arrival of a new sibling and turns to tending a tree growing in his local library. But there is something magical about the tree and it is growing FAST... and the library is going to close. Can Timi save the library and his tree, and maybe bring his community closer together along the way? A charming early reader for ages 5-8, filled with black-and-white illustrations.