Do you see your son, standing over there, in the antechamber? Well, I am going to shoot him.'The story of the great and mad Cambyses, King of Persia, told by part-historian, part-mythma...
When the last fire goes out, time too will be finished'Italo Calvino was one of the most joyful and imaginative writers of the twentieth century. Here he muses on what the things we lea...
The Old Man of the Moon is Shen Fu's intimate and moving account of his marriage - from early passion to the trials of poverty and separation - and his great, enduring love for his wife in eighteen...
A phantom child roams the Northumberland moors, while a host of fairytale characters gone to seed gather in the dark, dark woods in these two surprising tales of the uncanny from the great Victoria...
Two moving stories of love, loss, desire and divorce, from one of the great chroniclers of nineteenth-century New York life.Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80t...
In two I'll slice the hair-seat / of Helga's kiss-gulper'In this epic tale from the Viking Age that ranges across Scandinavia and Viking Britain, two poets compete for the love of Helga...
he Steel Flea is an uproarious and alcohol-soaked shaggy-dog story from one of Russia's great comic masters.Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Litt...
From the father of American literature, four sparkling comic tales of extraordinary animals and parables subverted.One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, t...
Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened...
Chuang Tzu examines the nature of existence in these dialogues and essays, from the battle to grasp the purpose of life to the search for knowledge. A collection of some of the most absorbing and c...
'There sat the dog with eyes as big as mill wheels'Though criticised for their anarchic immorality when first published, Hans Christian Andersen's tales made him an international star, taken to the...
One of the most bawdy, entertaining and popular stories from The Canterbury Tales.Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrat...
Can I bear to leave these blue hills?'A generous selection from three of the greatest and most enjoyable of Chinese poetsIntroducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Peng...
In this selection from Marco Polo's famous travel book, the intrepid Venetian describes the customs of India, recounts the story of the king who died eighty-four times and explains how to retrieve ...
Some of the most macabre and wonderful of all Chinese stories, including 'The Golden Goblet', 'Scorched Moth the Daoist' and 'The Black Beast'Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books...
A selection of Coleridge's poems, including 'This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison' and 'Frost at Midnight'Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black...
'Women so empowered are dangerous'Written with a 'black woman's anger' and the precision of a poet, these searing pieces by the groundbreaking writer Audre Lorde are a celebration of fe...
'It was what we call in the trade a potato...'Tales of low-lifes and grifters trying to make ends meet in pre-War Germany.Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pio...
'So the only question is: do animals other than man suffer?'One of the great moral philosophers of the modern age, Peter Singer asks unflinching questions about how we should live our l...
After the death of his wife Emma, a grief-stricken Hardy wrote some of the best verse of his career. Moving and evocative, it ranks among the greatest elegiac poetry in the language.Int...