Books in Classic series

Featured title in the 2018 PBS Great American Reads“I think the reason we’re so struck by [Jane Eyre] is how Charlotte Brontë manages to relate, expertly, what it means to be a human being...and that never changes.” (Narrator Thandie Newton)Following Jane from her childhood as an orphan in Northern England through her experience as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Charlotte Brontë’s Gothic classic is an early exploration of women’s independence in the mid-19th century and the pervasive societal challenges women had to endure. At Thornfield, Jane meets the complex and mysterious Mr. Rochester, with whom she shares a complicated relationship that ultimately forces her to reconcile the conflicting passions of romantic love and religious piety. Performing the early Victorian novel with great care and respect, actress Thandie Newton (Crash, The Pursuit of Happyness) draws out Jane Eyre’s intimacy and depth while conveying how truly progressive Brontë was in an era of extreme restraint.

Turgenev is an author who no longer belongs to Russia only. During the last fifteen years of his life he won for himself the reading public, first in France, then in Germany and America, and finally in England. In his funeral oration the spokesman of the most artistic and critical of European nations, Ernest Renan, hailed him as one of the greatest writers of our times: 'The Master, whose exquisite works have charmed our century, stand more than any other man as the incarnation of the whole race', because 'a whole world lived in him and spoke through his mouth'. Not the Russian world only, we may add, but the whole Slavonic world, to which it was 'an honour to have been expressed by so great a Master'. As regards his method of dealing with his material and shaping it into mould, he stands even higher than as a pure creator. Tolstoy is more plastical, and certainly as deep and original and rich in creative power as Turgenev, and Dostoevsky is more intense, fervid, and dramatic. But as an artist, as master of the combination of details into a harmonious whole, as an architect of imaginative work, he surpasses all the prose writers of his country, and has but few equals among the great novelists of other lands. To one familiar with all Turgenev's works it is evident that he possessed the keys of all human emotions, all human feelings, the highest and the lowest, the novel as well as the base. But there was in him such a love of light, sunshine, and living human poetry, such an organic aversion for all that is ugly, or coarse and discordant, that he makes himself almost exclusively the poet of the gentler side of human nature. We may say that the description of love is Turgenev's speciality.

This collection is a treasure trove of the world's storytelling wisdom, ranging from the must-have favourites (Axe soup, Under the Banyan Tree) to lesser known stories that are at once compelling and unforgettable. 28 stories, re-told in Mary Joslin's elegant style are illustrated with eye-catching pictures, making this book a valuable addition to any bookshelf. Presented in a beautifully designed hardback cover, The Lion Book of Classic Wisdom Stories makes a thoughtful and lasting gift.

"I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like," declared Jane Austen when she wrote Emma. But it turns out that readers loved Emma Woodhouse, a ”handsome, clever, and rich” young lady who enjoys meddling in others' lives--until she nearly makes a mess of her own. Austen's pointed look at romantic mishaps and matchmaking, social status in the Georgian age, and the importance of simple human kindness remains a joy to read.

Fiery passion, shocking secrets, and a compelling, vulnerable heroine in peril have made Jane Eyre an enduring favorite. When Jane becomes governess at gloomy Thornfield Hall, she falls deeply in love with the brooding, tormented Edward Rochester--and he with her. But soon Jane realizes that the house holds terrifying mysteries. What is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will their smoldering relationship survive--or will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled?

One of the greatest plays of all time, the compelling tragedy of the tormented young prince of Denmark continues to capture the imaginations of modern audiences worldwide. Confronted with evidence that his uncle murdered his father, and with his mother’s infidelity, Hamlet must find a means of reconciling his longing for oblivion with his duty as avenger. The ghost, Hamlet’s feigned madness, Ophelia’s death and burial, the play within a play, the “closet scene” in which Hamlet accuses his mother of complicity in murder, and breathtaking swordplay are just some of the elements that make Hamlet an enduring masterpiece of the theater.Each Edition Includes:• Comprehensive explanatory notes • Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship • Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English• Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories • An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography

Lush, romantic, and wildly passionate: Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, the tale of two soul mates separated by class and society, has seduced readers for generations and inspired countless adaptations.Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff--the gypsy boy her father brought home to their estate of Wuthering Heights--have been inseparable since childhood. But as Catherine grows up and becomes a lady, she spurns Heathcliff for the wealthy and genteel Edgar Linton. She never stops loving him, however…with a passion that not even death can diminish.