Anton Lesser

In nineteenth-century London, sixteen-year-old Sally, recently orphaned, must uncover two mysteries. One involves the opium trade and the other a stolen ruby.

The sensational bestselling story of Little Nell, the beautiful child thrown into a shadowy, terrifying world, seems to belong less to the history of the Victorian novel than to folklore, fairy tale, or myth. The sorrows of Nell and her grandfather are offset by Dickens's creation of a dazzling contemporary world inhabited by some of his most brilliantly drawn characters-the eloquent ne'er-do-well Dick Swiveller; the hungry maid known as the "Marchioness";...

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. Now seen as one of the great English comic novels, Tristram Shandy caused a stir on publication in polite 18th-century English society. The novel broke with conventions of form and structure, foreshadowing Postmodern authors by 200 years, and scandalized with bawdy descriptions and rambling prose. Hugely influenced by Francis Bacon, Rabelais, and Jonathan Swift,...

"Thomas Gradgrind is the guiding luminary of the Coketown school, stern proponent of the Philosophy of Fact, whose ill-conceived idealism blinds him to the essential humanity of those around, with calamitous results. His daughter Louisa becomes trapped in a loveless marriage and falls prey to an idle seducer, and her brother Tom is ruined thanks to their father's pet theories. Meanwhile Sleary's circus offers a vision of escape and entertainment,...

"Many of these fables are so well known they have given us everyday phrases such as "sour grapes" and "dog in the manger." but even the rarer ones seem familiar, because their simple morals reflect all aspects of human nature. From the tortoise and the hare to the mouse and the lion, the timeless wisdom and wit of Aesop's fables are as entertaining as ever"--Cover verso.

When phonetics tutor and linguist Henry Higgins meets Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle, he makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he can teach her to speak so well that she will be able to pass herself off as a Duchess at a society ball.

"When A Christmas Carol was first published in 1843 it was an overnight success, and set a precedent that was to be followed by other Christmas books, including The Chimes (1844) and The Cricket (1845). Each book was published at the same time of year, in the same format, and extolled similar values about the virtues of love, charity and the family unit. But none would achieve the cult status of A Christmas Carol, a book so popular it has become part...

Murder strikes a sour note at a jazz concert in this classic detective novel from the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master. Lord Pastern and Bagott is given to passionate, peculiar enthusiasms, the latest of which is drumming in a jazz band. His wife is not amused, and she is even less so when her daughter falls for Carlos Rivera, the band's sleazy accordion player. Nobody likes Rivera very much, so there's a wealth of suspects when he is shot...

The account of a Dutch girl growing up in Nazi-occupied Holland and her family who helped hide Jewish people. The account of a Dutch girl growing up in Nazi-occupied Holland & her family who helped hide Jewish people. Corrie Ten Boom stood naked with her older sister Betsie, watching a concentration camp matron beating a prisoner."Oh, the poor woman," Corrie cried."Yes. May God forgive her," Betsie replied. And, once again, Corrie realized that it...

Season two follows Queen Elizabeth through the late 1950s and early '60s as she struggles to navigate a world that's changing around her. She must face the challenges of a new era, from the Suez Canal crisis to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, while preserving both the monarchy and her marriage.