Great Classics

The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, the novel depicts narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan. A youthful romance Fitzgerald had with socialite Ginevra King, and the riotous parties he attended on Long Island's North Shore in 1922 inspired the novel.

The year is 1922, and young Nick Carraway moves to the village of West Egg, where he discovers that his neighbor is the eclectic millionaire Jay Gatsby. As he and Gatsby become acquainted, Nick is thrown into a world full of dazzling parties, unrequited love, and unchecked idealism. Gatsby, surrounded by riches, yearns for the love of a woman who chose another man. He waits for her every night, using a green light at the end of his dock to call out to her from across the water.

A collection of some of George MacDonald’s greatest short stories, this bundle brings together the lessons and delightful tales of The Golden Key & The Giant's Heart, The Light Princess, The Wise Woman, and The Day Boy and the Night Girl. MacDonald is one of the most influential fiction writers and is famous for his eye-opening parables and extraordinary fantasies. This collection of stories offers bold and beautiful insights to love, loss, growth, and life.

A fitting capstone for this comprehensive series, this sixth and final installment imparts a learned understanding of the forces that shaped - and continue to shape - Western culture.

When F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby in the early 1920s, the American Dream was already on the skids. Originally based on the idea that the pursuit of happiness involves not only material success but moral and spiritual growth, the dream had by Fitzgerald's time become increasingly focused on money and pleasure—a phenomenon the high-living writer was only too familiar with.

Awful, rich people - and the folks who want to be just like them. Drawing freely from the real people and actual events of its setting in 1920s Long Island (with literary license, of course), The Great Gatsby looks at the acquisition of the American Dream of wealth, power, and prestige, and what the costs are to those who realize that dream. And if that sounds a bit too highbrow for you, there are speakeasies, a broken nose, wild parties, and a bit of rough and tumble as well.

THE GREAT GATSBY, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s American masterpiece, has enthralled readers since its original publication in 1925. The powerful story of love gained, lost, and rekindled ignites against a backdrop of Roaring Twenties excess. Speeding motorcars, wild parties, and dangerous business collide as gorgeous Daisy Buchanan must choose between the husband she can’t trust and the old flame who still owns her heart. Is Jay Gatsby an honorable man who wants to risk everything to recapture long-lost desire—or a cad who cheats and steals to get what he wants?

The focus of the book is on Shakespeare's London, how it influenced his drama, and how he represents it on stage. Taking listeners on an imaginative journey through the city, the book moves both chronologically, from beginning to end of Shakespeare's dramatic career, and geographically, traversing London from west to east.

In the public imagination, Ernest Hemingway looms larger than life. But the actual person behind the legend has long remained elusive. Now, his son Patrick shares the letters they exchanged over two decades, offering a glimpse into how one of America’s most iconic writers interacted with his children. These letters reveal a father who wished for his children to share his interests—hunting, fishing, travel—and a son who was receptive to the experiences his father offered.

As the First World War reaches its final year, an illicit love affair is beginning between a 16-year-old boy and a young woman married to a soldier at the front. They meet secretly in her flat on the outskirts of Paris, in cornfields and on river banks. When she receives letters from her husband, they burn them together. Intoxicated by passion, they cannot bear to end their affair, even when it causes a scandal among their friends and neighbours. Instead, they can only hurtle towards tragedy.

The story is told from the point of view of Pip, an orphan of humble origins who dreams of being a gentleman. From a chilling encounter with a convict when he was seven, through his coming of age and early adulthood, he tells of his "memorable days" and the "great changes" they wrought in him.

James Baldwin gives an electrifying reading about a young gay American in Paris recalling a dramatic and transforming incident from his boyhood, as he struggles to accept his sexual identity.

Henry James was born 15th April 1843, in New York City. A prolific author he was able to easily move across genres to create vivid and totally real worlds and situations and to offer sophisticated observations of human relations as well as realistic social criticism. The Great Good Place is a formidable short story with a sharp view of a writer who really needs to find peace but unexpectedly finds himself in paradise. Or does he?

Set in 1872, Around the World in 80 Days tells the extraordinary and wonderful adventures of Phileas Fogg and his servant Passepartout, who set out to win a £20,000 bet to circumnavigate the globe in eighty days.

Left unfinished after Dickens died in 1870, The Mystery of Edwin Drood centers on Edwin Drood's uncle, John Jasper, and his love for Rosa Bud, Edwin's fiancee. Set in the dark, fictional cathedral city of Cloisterham, the novel is awash with guilt, disguise and mystery. It contains some fine writing, and just before his death, Dickens left an indication of where the plot was going, which is included.

Immerse yourself in the captivating world of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Great Stone Face". This beloved short story explores themes of identity, destiny, and the power of perseverance. Hawthorne's writing is both enchanting and thought-provoking, and his characters are richly drawn with nuance and depth. Follow the story of a young boy named Ernest who is convinced that one day he will meet the man whose face perfectly matches the great stone face on the mountain. Join Ernest on his journey of self-discovery and learn about the true meaning of greatness.

In a world on the brink of madness...In the summer of 1914, a young man beyond reproach awakens under police guard grievously injured and accused of heinous, impossible murder.

Great Expectations is one of a series of retellings of classic literature by publisher Real Reads. True to the original plot, characters and themes, Real Reads also imitate the the original author's style. An intelligent, lively and enjoyable introduction to this classic tale.An escaped convict threatens to eat young Pip's heart for breakfast. The ghostly Miss Havisham invites Pip to her eerie home.

From minimalist cocktails to classic renditions, become the toast of the town who knows how to mix the perfect drink. This updated edition contains more than 400 classic and contemporary craft cocktail recipes, paired with exceptional writing and the authoritative voice of The New York Times.

When young Pip accidentally meets a convict out in the marsh one Christmas Eve, he has no idea that his life is about to change - forever. The amazing events following that encounter, and the strange tale of Miss Havisham and her adopted daughter, Estella, have made Great Expectations a must since it was first serialized in 1860. Now, young listeners can enjoy Dickens’ engrossing story in this simplified yet thrilling version.