Fiction - New Zealand - Classics

Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey's 1962 novel has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time. Now, in a new deluxe edition with a foreword by Chuck Palahniuk and cover by Joe Sacco, here is the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially the tyrannical Big Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her. We see the struggle through the eyes of Chief Bromden, the seemingly mute half-Indian patient who witnesses and un... read more

A glittering parable of good and evil."
-"The New York Times Book Review

'...losing hold of my original and better self, and becoming slowly incorporated with my second and worse.' Victorian London is the setting for "The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde" (1886), Stevenson's famous story of conflict between dual personalities: one good, and one ruthlessly evil. Other eerie tales in this volume are: "The Body Snatcher" (1881) inspired by the case of Burke and Hare; "Markheim" (1885) where a murderer meets a sinister smiling stranger; and "The Bottle Imp" (1893) in which an imp has the dubious po... read more

Classic / British English (Available February 2008) Why is the frightening Mr Hyde a friend of the nice Dr Jekyll? Who is the evil little man? And why does he seem to have power over the doctor? After a terrible murder, everyone is looking for Mr Hyde. But he has disappeared. Or has he?

This witty, clever, mind-expanding and original book is destined to become a classic.
A professor for over 40 years, Jim Flynn found fewer and fewer of his students were in love with reading. However, they were willing to try if he gave them lists. This inspired him to create the definitive list: books so wonderful to read, and so revealing about times and places, that they make learning enjoyable and effortless. The title is in honour of the author's 'uneducated' Irish-American family, who made him love reading - includi... read more

Perhaps her best-loved, certainly her most well-known book, Pride and Prejudice is the classic romantic comedy. It's the enchanting and enduring story of Lizzy Bennet 'one of literature`s most engaging heroines', proud Mr Darcy, of true love, families, villains and heroes and of course, pride and prejudice.

Persuasion is the ultimate novel of love lost and regained. By turns achingly sad and intensely romantic, it’s a Cinderella story for anyone who’s ever felt overlooked – or anyone who’s ever had their heart broken… Eight years ago, Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth fell head over heels in love. But Anne’s family put a stop to their engagement, believing he wasn’t good enough for her. Pretty, intelligent Anne soon realises she’s made a terrible mistake. Then Captain Wentworth walks back into her life again. Can he forgive her... read more

One of a series of fiction titles for schools. Scout, the keen-eyed narrator, and her brother Jem interrupt their games to champion their lawyer father when, in a hostile, racist town in the American South, he battles to defend Tom, who is black and accused of murder.

First published in 1936, this book is a historical novel set against the dramatic backdrop of the American Civil War. It tells the love story of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler.

"The Catcher in Rye" is the ultimate novel for disaffected youth, but it's relevant to all ages. The story is told by Holden Caulfield, a seventeen- year-old dropout who has just been kicked out of his fourth school. Throughout, Holden dissects the 'phony' aspects of society, and the 'phonies' themselves: the headmaster whose affability depends on the wealth of the parents, his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection. Lazy in style, full of slang and swear words, it's a novel whose interest and appeal comes from... read more

'So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war!' These words, said to have been uttered by Abraham Lincoln, signal the celebrity of Uncle Tom's Cabin. The first American novel to become an international best-seller, Stowe's novel charts the progress from slavery to freedom of fugitives who escape the chains of American chattel slavery, and of a martyr who transcends all earthly ties. At the middle of the nineteenth-century, the names of its characters - Little Eva, Topsy, Uncle Tom - were renowned. A hu... read more

With its vibrant new translation, perceptive introduction, and witty packaging, this new edition of Voltaire's masterpiece belongs in the hands of every reader pondering our assumptions about human behavior and our place in the world. "Candide" tells of the hilarious adventures of the naive Candide, who doggedly believes that 'all is for the best' even when faced with injustice, suffering, and despair. Controversial and entertaining, "Candide" is a book that is vitally relevant today in our world pervaded byoas Candide would say 't... read more

No Description

Orphaned Jane Eyre grows up in the home of her heartless aunt, where she endures loneliness and cruelty, and at a charity school with a harsh regime. This troubled childhood strengthens Jane's natural independence and spirit - which prove necessary when she finds a position as governess at Thornfield Hall. But when she finds love with her sardonic employer, Rochester, the discovery of his terrible secret forces her to make a choice. Should she stay with him and live with the consequences, or follow her convictions, even if it means... read more

Meg is the eldest and on the brink of love. Then there's tomboy Jo who longs to be a writer. Sweet-natured Beth always puts others first, and finally there's Amy, the youngest and most precocious. Together they are the March sisters. Even though money is short, times are tough and their father is away at war, their infectious sense of fun sweeps everyone up in their adventures -- including Laurie, the boy next door. And through sisterly squabbles, their happy times and sad ones too, the sisters discover that growing up is sometimes... read more

First published in 1949, George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" has lost none of the impact with which it first hit readers. Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth in London, chief city of Airstrip One. Big Brother stares out from every poster, the Thought Police uncover every act of betrayal. When Winston finds love with Julia, he discovers that life does not have to be dull and deadening, and awakens to new possibilities. Despite the police helicopters that hover and circle overhead, Winston and Julia begin to question the... read more

Eight years ago Moose Malloy and cute little redhead Velma were getting married - until someone framed Malloy for armed robbery. Now his stretch is up and he wants Velma back. PI Philip Marlowe meets Malloy one hot day in Hollywood and, out of the generosity of his jaded heart, agrees to help him. Dragged from one smoky bar to another, Marlowe's search for Velma turns up plenty of dangerous gangsters with a nasty habit of shooting first and talking later. And soon what started as a search for a missing person becomes a matter of li... read more

Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with fellow-worker Julia, but soon discovers a nightmare world where love is hate, war is peace and the true price of freedom is betrayal.

This brutal glimpse of Russia under Stalin shocked the world when it first appeared. Discover the importance of a piece of bread or an extra bowl of soup, the incredible luxury of a book, the ingenious possibilities of a nail, a piece of string or a single match in a time where survival is all. Enter a world of incarceration – and participate in the struggle of men to survive both the terrible rigours of nature and the inhumanity of the system that defines their conditions of life.

Emma Bovary is beautiful and bored, trapped in her marriage to a mediocre doctor and stifled by the banality of provincial life. An ardent reader of sentimental novels, she longs for passion and seeks escape in fantasies of high romance, in voracious spending and, eventually, in adultery. But even her affairs bring her disappointment and the consequences are devastating.Flaubert's erotically charged novel caused a moral outcry on its publication in 1857. First published 1857.