Books in Bantam classics series

The high-spirited work of a young Dickens, The Pickwick Papers is the remarkable first novel that made its author famous and that has remained one of the best-known books in the world. In it the inimitable Samuel Pickwick, his well-fed body and unsinkable good spirits clad in tights and gaiters, sallies forth through the noisy streets of London and into the colorful country inns of rural England for a series of sparkling encounters with love and misadventure. From the wit of cockney bootblack Sam Weller to the unforgettable Fat Boy and rascals like the amorous Mr. Jingle and the unscrupulous lawyers Dodson and Fogg, The Pickwick Papers reels with joyous fantasy, infectious good humor, and a touch of the macabre—a classic work that G. K. Chesterton called “the great example of everything that made Dickens great…[a] supreme masterpiece.”

This classic by Sinclair Lewis shattered the sentimental American myth of happy small-town life with its satire. "Main Street" attacks the conformity and dullness of early 20th Century midwestern village life in the story of Carol Milford, the city girl who marries the town doctor. Her efforts to bring culture to the prairie village are met by a wall of gossip, greed, and petty small-minded bigotry. Lewis's complex and compelling work established him as an important character in American literature.

This early work by Susan Coolidge was originally published in 1885 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. In 'A Little Country Girl', orphaned Candace makes the first long trip of her life alone and gets to know her three second cousins, girls of similar ages. A virtuous story about living a good and true life. Sarah Chauncey Woolsey was born on 29 January 1835, into a wealthy and influential New England Dwight family, in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Her time as a medical worker provided Woolsey with the experience and self-determination in order to embark on her writing career. She has subsequently become famous as a children's author, writing numerous books under the pseudonym of 'Susan Coolidge'. Woolsey is best known for her classic children's novel What Katy Did (published in 1872)

In The Sketch-Book (1820-21), Irving explores the uneasy relationship of an American writer to English literary traditions. In two sketches, he experiments with tales transplanted from Europe, thereby creating the first classic American short stories, Rip Van Winkle, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Based on Irving's final revision of his most popular work, this new edition includes comprehensive explanatory notes of The Sketch-Book's sources for the modern reader.