Scottish World

Throughout his life, Noel Coward the master songwriter, 'derived a considerable amount of private pleasure from writing verse'. Much of it is gathered in this first ever audio collection. From moving war-time encounters to satirical barbs at familiar Coward targets and personal reminiscences, this delightful collection is a perfect blend of vintage Noel Coward sure to be enjoyed by faithful fans and new listeners alike.

"The Prisoner of Zenda" is an adventure novel by Anthony Hope, published in 1894. The king of the fictional country of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces are such that in order for the king to retain his crown his coronation must go forward. An English gentleman on holiday who fortuitously resembles the monarch, is persuaded to act as his political decoy in an attempt to save the situation.

This collection brings together stories by Edith Wharton, Katherine Mansfield, Wilkie Collins and Marcel Proust, with forays into the supernatural and the comedic by Sabine Baring-Gould and Saki. Be them funny or moving, all stories are beautifully read by Harriet Walter (Atonement, Netflix’s The Crown), Juliet Stevenson (Bend it Like Beckham, The Enfield Haunting), Barbara Leigh-Hunt (Pride and Prejudice, Billy Elliot) and Rosalind Ayres (Titanic, Outnumbered).

Chi conosce Edgar Wallace per i suoi thriller resterà stupito di questo suo romanzo leggero. Scritto nel 1909, è una ironica e delicata satira dell'atteggiamento inglese verso la nobiltà. In certi punti si può quasi pensare che Woodhouse, che ha fatto di questo tipo di romanzi la sua fortuna, si sia ispirato a questo tipo di scrittura.

The gripping and entertaining tale of terror and suspense as well as a potent Faustian allegory of hubris and science run amok, The Invisible Man endures as one of the signature stories in the literature of science fiction. A brilliant scientist uncovers the secret to invisibility, but his grandiose dreams and the power he unleashes cause him to spiral into intrigue, madness, and murder. The inspiration for countless imitations and film adaptations, The Invisible Man is as remarkable and relevant today as it was a hundred years ago.

In this staple of classic literature, Charles Dickens tells the tale of fueding classes set at the inception and escalation of the French Revolution. Amidst the upheaval, righteous former aristocrat Charles Darnay becomes wrongly tangled in unfortunate events, endangering his freedom and family. Sidney Carton, a cynical lawyer who squandered his life away, seeks to redress his unhappiness through Darnay's beautiful wife, Lucie.

A romantic adventure yarn of plotting and corruption largely set against the panorama of Imperialist Russia but with some of the skulduggery taking place in the major capitals of Europe. An old Etonian and half Russian, Prince Paul Alexis, inherits the Osterno estate in the Steppes. Naive and honest, but helped by experienced campaigner Steinmetz, he forms a progressive but illegal Charity League to succour the needs of the starving uneducated peasantry who are ravaged by cholera.

This is the final book of "The Forsyte Saga". The interlude "Awakening" introduces us to young Jon's discoveries and his love for his mother Irene. To Let tells of Soames' daughter Fleur's and Jon's love for each other - a love which is subjected to the stigma of their parents' divorce.

"This story is the record of a struggle between two temperaments, two consciences and almost two epochs. It ended, as was inevitable, in disruption. Of the two human beings here described, one was born to fly backward, the other could not help being carried forward. The affection of these two persons was assailed by forces in comparison with which the changes that health or fortune or place introduce are as nothing.

Kirk, an impecunious artist of perfect physique, and Ruth, a spoilt heiress, were blissfully happy through their early days of marriage and the birth of their first son. But when Kirk returns from a trip to Columbia to find Ruth under the thumb of her Aunt Laura, an advocate of eugenics, parenting philosophies divide them. It takes a series of comic mishaps, featuring a galaxy of vintage Wodehouse characters, to retrieve the family’s happiness from the overbearing aunt.

When her father remarries, the honest, innocent Molly Gibson suddenly finds herself with a new stepsister, Cynthia, who is beautiful, worldly and impetuous. This would be more than enough to deal with, but the new wife is the deeply snobbish (and darkly secretive) Hyacinth. Thwarted love, scheming ambition and small-town gossip underlie the warmth, irony and brilliant social observation which link the relationships and the inevitable conflicts as profound change comes to rural England.

En av nobelpristagarens Kiplings mest älskade verk, nästefter Djungelboken, kretsar kring den föräldralösa Kim som lever ett kringströvande liv i Indien i början av 1900-talet som då låg under brittiskt styre. Han får sitt levebröd av att tigga och göra ärenden på gatorna i staden Lahore (idag i Pakistan) och läsaren får ta del av färgstarka skildringar av bazarernas vimmel, den religiösa och kulturella mångfalden. Kim blir snart lärjunge till en tibetansk lama och tar därefter värvning i underrättelsetjänsten i kriget mot Ryssland.

"Lord Jim" is a novel by Joseph Conrad originally published as a serial in "Blackwood's Magazine" from October 1899 to November 1900. An early and primary event is the abandonment of a ship in distress by its crew including the young British seaman Jim. He is publicly censured for this action and the novel follows his later attempts at coming to terms with his past. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked "Lord Jim" #85 on its list of the 100 best English language novels of the 20th century.

Mr. Midshipman Easy is the 1836 novel by Frederick Marryat, a retired Captain in the 19th century Royal Navy. The novel is set during the Napoleonic Wars, in which Marryat himself served with distinction. It was adapted twice into films in 1916 and in 1935 as Midshipman Easy. Captain Frederick Marryat (July 10, 1792 - August 9, 1848) was an English Royal Navy officer, novelist, and a contemporary and acquaintance of Charles Dickens, noted today as an early pioneer of the sea story.

When beautiful young Lucy Graham accepts the hand of Sir Michael Audley, her fortune and her future look secure. But Lady Audley's past is shrouded in mystery, and Sir Michael's nephew, Robert, has vague forebodings. When Robert's good friend, George Talboys, suddenly disappears, he is determined to find him and to unearth the truth. His quest reveals a tangled story of lies and deception, crime and intrigue, whose sensational twists turn the conventional picture of Victorian womanhood on its head. Can Robert's darkest suspicions really be true?

The Parliamentry troops believe he will hide in the home of Colonel Beverly, a famous Cavalier - they surround the house believeing they will smoke him out. No King is found and they are told that they have killed the four children who were in the house - but they escape with the old forester, Jacob Armitage, who must now teach them to lose their lace, and velvet manners and behave and look like Puritans

The Young Carthaginian chronicles the struggle of the Second Punic War (218-203 BC) and the attempt of Hannibal to conquer Rome. At first, the struggle of Carthage against Rome was a struggle for empire, but it became a struggle for existence. Hannibal presses on despite formidable geographical barriers and the corrupt leadership in Carthage which time and again undermined all his efforts.

In this first book of "The Forsyte Saga", Galsworthy paints a vivid portrait of a wealthy and ambitious London family at the turn of the century. Interwoven with this is the ill-fated romance of Irene and Bossiny.

As heir to Ardinmuir, Connor MacKean had one job: fulfill the marriage pact that's held his family captive for 300 years. Except his sister's the one who took the plunge, and now there's nothing standing in the way of him finding a real and lasting love. Nothing except the fact that the object of his affections has never seen him as anything more than her best friend's little brother.

Published in 1791, Thomas Paine’s The Rights of Man defended the French Revolution’s values of freedom, equality, and brotherhood. He argued that a government based on justice ought to support mankind’s civil rights relating to security and protection, as well as the natural rights to life, liberty, and freedom of conscience. He also proposed plans for universal education, pensions, poverty relief, and social welfare in this classic work that was widely read across the West.