Books published by publisher Benediction Classics

Mark Twain’s characters are surprising, unforgettable and truly human. The character Huckleberry Finn is based on one of Twain’s childhood friends. Twain writes "In Huckleberry Finn I have drawn Tom Blankenship exactly as he was. He was ignorant, unwashed, insufficiently fed; but he had as good a heart as ever any boy had. His liberties were totally unrestricted. He was the only really independent person—boy or man—in the community, and by consequence he was tranquilly and continuously happy and envied by the rest of us. And as his society was forbidden us by our parents, the prohibition trebled and quadrupled its value, and therefore we sought and got more of his society than any other boy's." It is little surprise then that children are perennially drawn to Huck and his adventures. The dialogue faithfully reproduces the common speech of his day. Twain explains, “In this book a number of dialects are used, to wit: the Missouri negro dialect; the extremest form of the backwoods Southwestern dialect; the ordinary ‘Pike County’ dialect; and four modified varieties of this last. The shadings have not been done in a haphazard fashion, or by guesswork; but painstakingly, and with the trustworthy guidance and support of personal familiarity with these several forms of speech.” The plot combines adventure, suspense and mischief with the darker side of humanity: murder, deceit, brutality and racial prejudice. It is a great adventure story and much more, enlivened by Twain’s trademark humor and observations of human nature.Mark Twain, the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910) was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was lauded as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced,” and William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature". This original edition contains E. W. Kemble’s 174 original illustrations and the original cover. Twain’s record of reported speech precisely captures the language of the Antebellum South, and so, as one might expect, there are words that are unacceptable today. Since times have changed, these have been also been changed, but otherwise the text is original.

Mark Twain’s characters are surprising, unforgettable and truly human. The character Huckleberry Finn is based on one of Twain’s childhood friends. Twain writes "In Huckleberry Finn I have drawn Tom Blankenship exactly as he was. He was ignorant, unwashed, insufficiently fed; but he had as good a heart as ever any boy had. His liberties were totally unrestricted. He was the only really independent person—boy or man—in the community, and by consequence he was tranquilly and continuously happy and envied by the rest of us. And as his society was forbidden us by our parents, the prohibition trebled and quadrupled its value, and therefore we sought and got more of his society than any other boy's." It is little surprise then that children are perennially drawn to Huck and his adventures. The dialogue faithfully reproduces the common speech of his day. Twain explains, “In this book a number of dialects are used, to wit: the Missouri negro dialect; the extremest form of the backwoods Southwestern dialect; the ordinary ‘Pike County’ dialect; and four modified varieties of this last. The shadings have not been done in a haphazard fashion, or by guesswork; but painstakingly, and with the trustworthy guidance and support of personal familiarity with these several forms of speech.” The plot combines adventure, suspense and mischief with the darker side of humanity: murder, deceit, brutality and racial prejudice. It is a great adventure story and much more, enlivened by Twain’s trademark humor and observations of human nature.Mark Twain, the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910) was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was lauded as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced,” and William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature". This original edition contains E. W. Kemble’s 174 original illustrations and the original cover. Twain’s record of reported speech precisely captures the language of the Antebellum South, and so, as one might expect, there are words that are unacceptable today. Since times have changed, these have been also been changed, but otherwise the text is original.

Treasure Island, a coming of age novel, is perhaps the best adventure story of all time. It is certainly the quintessential pirate tale, and together with its many movie adaptations it has created our idea of the pirate world: treasure maps with an “X”, the one legged pirate, the parrot on the shoulder, the eye-patch, the black spot and even phrases like “shiver my timbers,” and the captain's eternal song: “Fifteen men on the dead man's chest— Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!Drink and the devil had done for the rest— Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!”The young Jim Hawkins is hired by an old seadog Billy Bones to look out for a sailor with one leg. Despite this precaution, Bones is found dead in suspicious circumstances. Searching through his belongings Jim finds a treasure map, which he shows to the local doctor and a wealthy squire. They engage a ship and captain, but unwittingly they hire the ruthless and immensely strong Long John Silver, who has designs on the treasure, as their cook …This edition contains 74 illustrations by Louis Rhead, the well known children’s book illustrator. In addition, each chapter begins with an illustrated capital. The text is modern crisp easy to read font and would be a pleasure for children or adults to read. This is Stevenson's original unabridged edition.The Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson, a celebrity during his lifetime, is best known for Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, A Child's Garden of Verse. While being a writer he was great traveller, journeying to Europe, America and the South Pacific, where spent his last years in Samoa. There he was respected and loved by the Samoans who called him Tusitala (Samoan for "Teller of Tales").

Tom Sawyer is an intelligent resourceful orphan who enjoys a life of freedom, unsheltered from life’s hardships: the life that most children secretly or not-so-secretly yearn for. He is an immediately attractive character who draws the reader through his adventures; falling in love, being dumped, becoming a pirate, being thought to be dead, fearing that he would surely die, uncovering a murder, finding hidden treasure, and all the while skipping school and playing pranks.Twain’s characters are surprising, unforgettable and truly human. His dialog faithfully reproduces the common speech of his day, in all its varied dialects. The plot combines adventure, suspense and mischief with the darker side of humanity: murder, deceit, brutality and racial prejudice. Twain’s trademark humor and observations of human nature are never far.The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was initially a commercial failure, but in his life-time it was his bestselling book, and today is regarded by many as a masterpiece of America literature.Features of this edition: Complete and unabridged. Includes 161 original illustrations Crisp text set in modern easily read font.

Edward Lear's delightful nonsense verse is as fresh and fun now as it has always been. This brilliant collection from 1900 is illustrated by the peerless L. Leslie Brooke. It contains: 'The Jumblies', 'The Owl and the Pussy-Cat', 'The Broom, the Shovel, the Poker and the Tongs', 'The Duck and the Kangaroo', 'The Cummerbund', 'The Dong with a Luminous Nose', 'The New Vestments', 'Calico Pie', 'The Courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bò' and 'Incidents in the Life of my Uncle Arly'. This color version has been carefully typeset to keep as close to the original as possible, faithfully reproducing the detailed black-and-white drawings and the six high-quality full-page color plates.

Jane Austen’s novels depict and critique the life of the British landed gentry at the end of the eighteenth century. They are romances that explore the pursuit of marriage for love, social standing and economic security. The works included are all six of Austen’s major novels, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion, as well as her early epistolary novel Lady Susan.

The Federalist Papers are a lucid series of initially anonymous political essays exhorting voters to ratify the Constitution of the United States, which was to replace the Articles of Confederation. The authors assume that people are neither perfect in virtue nor reason, and hence that a good system of government must protect against both these human weaknesses. The proposed constitution was soon ratified, though not without vigorous debate, and since then has been the supreme law of one of the greatest nations in human history, and the model for other systems of government. Thomas Jefferson hailed The Federalist Papers as the best commentary ever written about the principles of government, and they are still the best starting point for anyone who wishes to understand the Constitution of the United States. Later scholarship has identified the authors to be Alexander Hamilton, George Washington's Chief of Staff and first Secretary of the Treasury; John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the United States; and James Madison, father of the Constitution, author of the Bill of Rights, and fourth President of the United States. This edition includes the Constitution of the United States. This is a handsome hardback edition of an essential reference.

Orlando is the extraordinary tale of a young man who finds wealth and favour in the court of Elizabeth I of England, but who never grows old. After experiencing love and adventure, a long sleep turns him into a woman, who in her turn faces discrimination and eventually love as the centuries unfold. This ground-breaking novel can be read in may ways: as an extended love-letter to Vita Sackville-West, as a meditation on the different treatment that men and women have experienced over the centuries and as an examination of the way literature itself has changed; 'Orlando' becomes the typical hero or heroine of every age.