Books in Complete Classics series

William Dorrit has been a resident of the Marshalsea debtors prison for so many years that he has gained the nickname The Father of the Marshalsea. However, his suffering is eased by his close bond with youngest daughter Amy, or Little Dorrit. The dashing Arthur Clennam, returning to London after many years in China, enters their lives and the Dorrits fortunes begin to rise and fall. A biting satirical work on the shortcomings of 19th -century government and society.

The complete box set of T. H. Whites epic fantasy novel of the Arthurian legend. The novel is made up of five parts: The Sword in the Stone, The Witch in the Wood, The Ill-Made Knight, The Candle in the Wind and The Book of Merlyn. Merlyn instructs the Wart (Arthur) and his brother Sir Kay in the ways of the world. One of them will need it the King has died leaving no heir, and a rightful one must be found by pulling a sword from an anvil resting on a stone. In the second and third parts of the novel, Arthur has become King and the kingdom is threatened from the north. In the final two books, the ageing king faces his greatest challenge, when his own son threatens to overthrow him. In The Book of Merlyn, Arthurs tutor Merlyn reappears, and teaches him that, even in the face of apparent ruin, there is hope.

Set in the fictional South American country of Costaguana, Nostromo explores the volatile politics and crippling greed surrounding the San Tomé silver mine. The story of power, love, revolutions, loyalty and reward is told with richly evocative description and brilliantly realised characters. But Nostromo is more than an adventure story; it is also a profoundly dark moral fable. Its language is as compellingly resonant as the sea itself; the characters absorbing and complex. It was Conrads masterwork, a forerunner of Modernism, and one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century.

H.E. Marshalls classic childrens chronicle of Britain Our Island Story includes all the best-loved (and most infamous!) stories from history: King Alfred and the cakes; King John and the Magna Carta; Lord Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar; Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada; and many others. This box set contains the complete and unabridged text, released previously in separate volumes. It is read with aplomb by Anna Bentinck and Daniel Philpott.

When tulip-grower Cornelius van Baerle is framed for treason and sentenced to death, he is powerless against the brutal factional politics that put him in prison. But Rosa, the jailer's daughter, is beautiful and strong-willed, and when they fall in love, she determines not only to save him but also to grow the near-mythical flower - the black tulip. Set in the savage turmoil of Hollands late 17th century, this intimate novel celebrates the power of integrity over obsession and tolerance over violence; and creates in the black tulip a symbol of humanitys potential.

Written at the peak of her career, Gaskells sorrowful tale of betrayed love is immensely affecting. For Paul Manning, one of the undeniable charms of the countryside is his beautiful yet naïve cousin Phillis. But, when Paul finds himself uncomfortably implicated in the romantic drama that unfolds between Phillis and his sophisticated colleague, country life suddenly becomes not quite the simple and artless pleasure it once was. Gaskells exploration of the threat posed to an uncomplicated, rustic way of life by the rapid industrialisation of the nineteenth century provides the backdrop to this touching tale of romance. The young English actor Joe Marsh makes his audiobook debut in a fine rendering of this gentle novel.

In the grotesque bell-ringer Quasimodo, Victor Hugo created one of the most vivid characters in classic fiction. Quasimodo's doomed love for the beautiful gypsy girl Esmerelda is an example of the traditional love theme of beauty and the beast. Yet, set against the massive background of Notre Dame de Paris and interwoven with the sacred and secular life of medieval France, it takes on a larger perspective. The characters come to life: the poet Gringoire, the tormented priest Claude Frollo, the fun-loving captain Phoebus and above all Quasimodo and Esmeralda themselves. It is a tale peppered with humour but fuelled by the anguish which unfolds beneath the bells of the great cathedral of Paris.

Rumis Spiritual Verses is the greatest mystical poem in Islamic culture and of all time. Rumi tells of our human separation from reality, love and truth. He shows how love neither erotic nor sentimental but divine, by which the universe is held together enlightens ignorance and dissolves suffering. The first book of the Masnavi is the key to the whole work: it takes off from simple, amusing tales into realms unimaginable, but wholly familiar to the human heart.