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Reading lists

Beautiful horror books from our Clothbound Classics collection

A bright, colourful image showing the Henry James quote, “Summer afternoon – summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”

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Features

The best literary quotes about summer

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Horror stories to listen to with the lights on

The essential Halloween reading list in 10 books 

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8 classic and chilling tales

Abridged Edition

Penguin Readers Level 5: The Wings of the Dove (ELT Graded Reader)

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. 
 
Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. 
 
The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary. 
 
The Wings of the Dove, a Level 5 Reader, is B1 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing present perfect continuous, past perfect, reported speech and second conditional. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. 
 
Kate and Densher are in love and want to get married. Densher is a poor journalist, and Kate's aunt tells her that she must marry someone rich. But Kate has a plan. She decides to deceive Milly, a sweet young heiress who is very ill. She wants Milly to marry Densher so he can get her money after she dies. Will Kate's plan succeed? 
 
Visit the Penguin Readers website 
Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.

Henry James was born in 1843 in New York and died in London in 1916. In addition to many short stories, plays, books of criticism, autobiography and travel, he wrote some twenty novels, the first published being Roderick Hudson (1875). They include The Europeans, Washington Square, The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians, The Princess Casamassima, The Tragic Muse, The Spoils of Poynton, The Awkward Age, The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors and The Golden Bowl.

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
The Wings of the Dove, a Level 5 Reader, is B1 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing present perfect continuous, past perfect, reported speech and second conditional. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. 
 
Kate and Densher are in love and want to get married. Densher is a poor journalist, and Kate's aunt tells her that she must marry someone rich. But Kate has a plan. She decides to deceive Milly, a sweet young heiress who is very ill. She wants Milly to marry Densher so he can get her money after she dies. Will Kate's plan succeed?

Penguin Readers Level 4: Washington Square (ELT Graded Reader)

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. 
 
Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. 
 
The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary. 
 
Washington Square, a Level 4 Reader, is A2+ in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, introducing more complex uses of present perfect simple, passives, phrasal verbs and simple relative clauses. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. 
 
Catherine Sloper is not pretty or clever, but she is rich. She lives in New York with her father, the respected doctor, Austin Sloper. One day, Catherine meets a charming man called Maurice Townsend, who wants to marry her. But does Maurice really love Catherine, or does he just want her money? Doctor Sloper is sure that he knows the answer. 
 
Visit the Penguin Readers website 
Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
Washington Square, a Level 4 Reader, is A2+ in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, introducing more complex uses of present perfect simple, passives, phrasal verbs and simple relative clauses. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. 
 
Catherine Sloper is not pretty or clever, but she is rich. She lives in New York with her father, the respected doctor, Austin Sloper. One day, Catherine meets a charming man called Maurice Townsend, who wants to marry her. But does Maurice really love Catherine, or does he just want her money? Doctor Sloper is sure that he knows the answer.

The Turn of the Screw and Other Ghost Stories

<a href="https://shop.penguin.co.uk/collections/book-bundles-clothbound-classics/?&amp;utm_source=Penguin.co.uk&amp;utm_medium=Banner&amp;utm_campaign=Penguin_Clothbound_Series_26_06" target="_blank">Buy 3 classics for £33 on the Penguin Shop</a>

A chilling collection of Henry James's finest ghost stories, now in a wonderful Clothbound Classics edition 
 
In 'The Turn of the Screw', one of the most famous ghost stories of all time, a governess becomes obsessed with the belief that malevolent forces are stalking the children in her care. But are the children really in danger - and if so, from whom? The novella is accompanied here by several more of the very best of Henry James' short stories, including 'The Jolly Corner' and 'The Third Person', all of which explore human psychology through ghostly visitations and the uncanny.

Henry James (Author) Henry James was born in 1843 in New York and died in London in 1916. In addition to many short stories, plays, books of criticism, autobiography and travel, he wrote some twenty novels, the first published being Roderick Hudson (1875). They include The Europeans, Washington Square, The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians, The Princess Casamassima, The Tragic Muse, The Spoils of Poynton, The Awkward Age, The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors and The Golden Bowl. Susie Boyt (External Editor) Susie Boyt is the author of four novels and a memoir, My Judy Garland Life.

In 'The Turn of the Screw', one of the most famous ghost stories of all time, a governess becomes obsessed with the belief that malevolent forces are stalking the children in her care. But are the children really in danger - and if so, from whom? The novella is accompanied here by several more of the very best of Henry James' short stories, including 'The Jolly Corner' and 'The Third Person', all of which explore human psychology through ghostly visitations and the uncanny.

Frankenstein, A Christmas Carol, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde & The Turn of the Screw

BBC Classics: Suspense Collection

Unabridged readings of four spine-tingling stories 
 
This suspenseful anthology collects together four gripping tales of gruesome scientific experiments and chilling supernatural events - all read in full by some of the very best voice actors. With over 18 hours of electrifying listening, tracked by chapter, these classic tales will have you on the edge of your seat. 
 
Frankenstein 
Mary Shelley's Gothic masterpiece about young scientist Victor Frankenstein, whose quest to create new life has horrific consequences... Read by Shaun Mason. 
 
A Christmas Carol 
Charles Dickens' timeless classic about a bitter old miser who has a Christmas epiphany when he is visited by four spirits. Read by Sean Baker 
 
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 
Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novella about a doctor who experiments with the duality of human nature - and in doing so creates a monster. Read by Sam Dale. 
 
The Turn of the Screw 
Henry James' terrifying tale of a governess sent to look after two children in a haunted country house. Read by Sam Dale and Clare Corbett. 
 
 
Credits: 
 
Frankenstein 
Read by Shaun Mason 
Produced by Martha Littlehailes 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 24 August 2019 
 
A Christmas Carol 
Read by Sean Baker 
Produced by Anne Bunting 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 22 August 2019 
 
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 
Read by Sam Dale 
Produced by Julian Wilkinson 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 22 August 2019 
 
The Turn of the Screw 
Read by Sam Dale and Clare Corbett 
Produced by Julian Wilkinson 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 1 November 2019 
 
 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Unabridged readings of four spine-tingling stories 
 
This suspenseful anthology collects together four gripping tales of gruesome scientific experiments and chilling supernatural events - all read in full by some of the very best voice actors. With over 18 hours of electrifying listening, tracked by chapter, these classic tales will have you on the edge of your seat. 
 
Frankenstein 
Mary Shelley's Gothic masterpiece about young scientist Victor Frankenstein, whose quest to create new life has horrific consequences... Read by Shaun Mason. 
 
A Christmas Carol 
Charles Dickens' timeless classic about a bitter old miser who has a Christmas epiphany when he is visited by four spirits. Read by Sean Baker 
 
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 
Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novella about a doctor who experiments with the duality of human nature - and in doing so creates a monster. Read by Sam Dale. 
 
The Turn of the Screw 
Henry James' terrifying tale of a governess sent to look after two children in a haunted country house. Read by Sam Dale and Clare Corbett. 
 
 
Credits: 
 
Frankenstein 
Read by Shaun Mason 
Produced by Martha Littlehailes 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 24 August 2019 
 
A Christmas Carol 
Read by Sean Baker 
Produced by Anne Bunting 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 22 August 2019 
 
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 
Read by Sam Dale 
Produced by Julian Wilkinson 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 22 August 2019 
 
The Turn of the Screw 
Read by Sam Dale and Clare Corbett 
Produced by Julian Wilkinson 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 1 November 2019 
 
 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Penguin Readers Level 6: The Turn of the Screw (ELT Graded Reader)

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. 
 
Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. 
 
The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary. 
 
Visit the Penguin Readers website 
Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys. 
 
A young woman accepts her first job as a governess and goes to Bly, a large country house in England. There she teaches a young brother and sister. But the governess soon starts to see ghosts and tries to protect the children from them.

Henry James was born in 1843 in New York and died in London in 1916. In addition to many short stories, plays, books of criticism, autobiography and travel, he wrote some twenty novels, the first published being Roderick Hudson (1875). They include The Europeans, Washington Square, The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians, The Princess Casamassima, The Tragic Muse, The Spoils of Poynton, The Awkward Age, The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors and The Golden Bowl.

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
The Turn of the Screw, a Level 6 Reader, is B1+ in the CEFR framework. The longer text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing future continuous, reported questions, third conditional, was going to and ellipsis. A small number of illustrations support the text. 
 
A young woman accepts her first job as a governess and goes to Bly, a large country house in England. There she teaches a young brother and sister. But the governess soon starts to see ghosts and tries to protect the children from them.

10 full-cast dramatisations

The Henry James BBC Radio Drama Collection

The definitive collection of full-cast BBC radio dramatisations of Henry James’ classic novels – plus a bonus documentary about his life and work

The definitive collection of full-cast BBC radio dramatisations of Henry James’ classic novels – plus a bonus documentary about his life and work 
 
One of the greatest and most influential American novelists, Henry James is loved for his compelling storytelling, vividly realised characters and perceptive exploration of the shifting relationships between Europeans and Americans. But he also possessed extraordinary insights into the secrets of the human heart, as shown in the ten dramas in this collection. 
 
Roderick Hudson explores how love and obsession intermingle as old and new worlds collide; The American mixes humour and heartache in a tale of a self-made millionaire and an aristocratic young Frenchwoman; and desire and propriety clash in Daisy Miller when Frederick Winterbourne meets the beautiful, free-spirited Daisy. Pursued by two suitors, Isabel Archer longs for freedom in The Portrait of a Lady; while a literary editor insinuates himself into the lives of an elderly spinster and her niece in The Aspern Papers. 
 
What Maisie Knew is James’ classic tale of divorce seen through a child’s eyes; while Gothic ghost story The Turn of the Screw tells the terrifying tale of a governess who tries to protect two young children from the forces of evil. The Wings of the Dove is a heartbreaking story of a doomed love triangle; dark comedy The Ambassadors features yearning and betrayal in aristocratic Paris; and The Golden Bowl explores two marriages and the secret that threatens to tear them apart. 
 
The casts of these sweeping radio dramas include Kate Hudson, Kate Phillips, Emma Cunniffe, Jodie Comer, Henry Goodman and Toby Jones, with John Lynch as Henry James. Also featured is a bonus programme, The Master, in which Sarah Churchwell discusses James’ life and novels with author Colm Tóibin and biographer Hermione Lee.

DI Jack Frost series 4

Frost at Midnight

Prepare to be gripped by this prequel series to R.D. Wingfield's A Touch of Frost. 
 
Back in Denton, Detective Sergeant Jack Frost returns to investigating murders, finding missing children, and discovering dead bodies in woodland areas. With Detective Inspector Williams missing, and a new policeman, DS Waters, to mentor, DS Jack Frost has to put the stresses and straings of his personal life on hold in order to keep Denton safe.

The fourth book in the bestselling prequel series, starring R. D. Wingfield’s unforgettable creation Jack Frost – younger, greener, and just as uncouth.

One of the most successful ventriloquial acts in crime writing.

James Henry is the pen name for James Gurbutt, who has long been a fan of the original R. D. Wingfield Frost books and the subsequent TV series. He works in publishing, and enjoys windsurfing and long lunches. 
 
After a successful career writing for radio, R. D. Wingfield turned his attention to fiction, creating the character of Jack Frost. The series has been adapted for television as the perennially popular A Touch of Frost, starring David Jason. R. D. Wingfield died in 2007.

The fourth prequel to R. D. Wingfield's A TOUCH OF FROST, for anyone who loved watching David Jason as Jack Frost, and readers of sharply plotted detective crime novels. 
 
August, 1983. Denton is preparing for a wedding, with less than a week to go until Detective Sergeant Waters marries Kim Myles. But the Sunday before the big day, the body of a young woman is found in the churchyard. Their idyllic wedding venue has become a crime scene. 
 
As best man to Waters, Detective Inspector Jack Frost has a responsibility to solve the mystery before the wedding. But with nowhere to live since his wife's family sold his matrimonial home, Frost's got other things on his mind. 
 
Can he put his own troubles aside and step up to be the detective they need him to be? 
 
'One of the most successful ventriloquial acts in crime writing.' Financial Times

Daisy Miller and Other Tales

A wonderful new collection of tales exploring Henry James's favourite 'international theme': the experiences of Americans in Europe, and the meeting of the old world and new. 
 
Daisy Miller is one of Henry James's great heroines - a young, independent American travelling in Europe, whose flouting of social conventions has the potential to lead to disaster. Her story is here accompanied by six more set among English castles, Swiss hotels and French ports, and all riffing on a classic Jamesian theme: the clash between the old world and new, Europe and America. 
 
The tales included in this volume are 'Travelling Companions', 'Madame de Mauves', 'Four Meetings', 'Daisy Miller', 'An International Episode', 'Europe' and 'Fordham Castle', and the collection has been edited by renowned scholar of Anglo-American literature, Stephen Fender, under the general editorship of Philip Horne. This is one of three new volumes of James's greatest tales in Penguin Classics, and is accompanied by The Aspern Papers and Other Tales and The Turn of the Screw and Other Tales (forthcoming).

The Ambassadors

The finest editions available of the world's greatest classics from Homer to Achebe, Tolstoy to Ishiguro, Proust to Pullman, printed on a fine acid-free, cream-wove paper that will not discolour with age, with sewn, full cloth bindings and silk ribbon markers, and at remarkably low prices. All books include substantial introductions by major scholars and contemporary writers, and comparative chronologies of literary and historical context.

The original American in Paris. This dark comedy, seen as one of the masterpieces of James's final period, has all the elements of great writing, brilliant plot and gorgeous setting: An Edwardian gentleman from the States arrives in seedy and sophisticated Paris to rescue his wayward future step son. But his innocent American background has not prepared him for such seduction... 
Beautiful hardback gift edition of this collectable classic.

Henry James was born on 15th April 1843 in Washington Place, New York to a wealthy and intellectual family and as a youth travelled between Europe and America. His first novel, Watch and Ward, was published in 1871 after first appearing serially in Atlantic Monthly. After a brief period in Paris, James moved first to London and then later to Rye in Sussex. He became a British citizen in 1915 to declare his loyalty to his adopted country as well as to protest against America's refusal to enter the war on behalf of Britain. Henry James was a prolific writer and critic and from around 1875 until his death he maintained a strenuous schedule of publications in a variety of genres: novels, short story collections, literary criticism, travel writing, biography and autobiography. He died in 1916.

This complex tale of self-discovery -- considered by the author to be  his best work -- traces the path of an aging idealist, Lambert Strether.  Arriving in Paris with the intention of persuading his young charge to  abandon an obsession with a French woman and return home, Strether  reaches unexpected conclusions.

The Figure in the Carpet

'Did she know and if she knew would she speak?' 
 
The story of an unsolved literary mystery that explores what James referred to as "troubled artistic consciousness" 
 
Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. 
 
Henry James (1843-1916). James's works available in Penguin Classics are The Portrait of a Lady, 
The Europeans, What Maisie Knew, The Awkward Age, The Figure in the Carpet and Other Stories, The Turn of The Screw, The Aspern Papers and Other Tales, The Wings of The Dove, Washington Square, The Tragic Muse, Daisy Miller, The Ambassadors, The Golden Bowl, Selected Tales, Roderick Hudson, The Princess Casamassima and The American.

The Portrait of a Lady

Henry James's great masterpiece, now in a stunning Penguin clothbound edition designed by the acclaimed Coralie Bickford-Smith. 
 
When Isabel Archer, a beautiful, spirited American, is brought to Europe by her wealthy aunt Touchett, it is expected that she will soon marry. But Isabel, resolved to enjoy her freedom, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors. Then she finds herself irresistibly drawn to Gilbert Osmond. Charming and cultivated, Osmond sees Isabel as a rich prize waiting to be taken. In this portrait of a 'young woman affronting her destiny', Henry James created one of his most magnificent heroines, and a story of intense poignancy. 
 
This edition is based on the earliest published copy of the novel: this is the version that was read first and loved by most readers in James's lifetime. It also includes an introduction, notes and other editorial materials by leading James scholar Philip Horne. 
 
Henry James was born in 1843 in Washington Place, New York, of Scottish and Irish ancestry. In addition to many short stories, plays, books of criticism, autobiography and travel, he wrote some twenty novels, the first published being Roderick Hudson (1875). They include The Europeans, Washington Square, The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians, The Princess Casamassima, The Tragic Muse, The Spoils of Poynton, The Awkward Age, The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors and The Golden Bowl. 
 
Philip Horne is Professor of English at University College London.

The Aspern Papers and Other Tales

A wonderful new selection of Henry James's short stories exploring the relationship between art and life, edited by Michael Gorra. 
 
This volume gathers seven of the very best of Henry James's short stories, all focussing the relationship between art and life. In 'The Aspern Papers', a critic is determined to get his hands on a great poet's papers hidden in a faded Venetian house - not matter what the human cost. 'The Author of Beltraffio', 'The Lesson of the Master' and 'The Figure in the Carpet' all focus on naive young men's unsettling encounters with their literary heroes. In 'The Middle Years', a dying novelist begins to glimpse his own potential, while 'The Real Thing' and 'Greville Fane' both explore the tension between artistic and commercial success. These fables of the creative life reveal James at his ironic, provocative best. 
 
Henry James was born in 1843 in New York and died in London in 1916. In addition to many short stories, plays, books of criticism, autobiography and travel, he wrote some twenty novels, the first published being Roderick Hudson (1875). They include The Europeans, Washington Square, The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians, The Princess Casamassima, The Tragic Muse, The Spoils of Poynton, The Awkward Age, The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors and The Golden Bowl. 
 
Michael Gorra is Professor of English at Smith College and the author of Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece (2012), a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in biography.

Henry James was born in 1843 in New York and died in London in 1916. In addition to many short stories, plays, books of criticism, autobiography and travel, he wrote some twenty novels, the first published being Roderick Hudson (1875). They include The Europeans, Washington Square, The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians, The Princess Casamassima, The Tragic Muse, The Spoils of Poynton, The Awkward Age, The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors and The Golden Bowl. 
 
Michael Gorra is Professor of English at Smith College and the author of Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece (2012), a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in biography.

DI Jack Frost series 3

Morning Frost

The third book in the bestselling prequel series, starring R. D. Wingfield’s unforgettable creation Jack Frost – younger, greener, and just as uncouth.

5 October 1982. It's been one of the worst days of Detective Sergeant Jack Frost’s life. He has buried his wife Mary, and must now endure the wake, attended by all of Denton’s finest. 
 
All, that is, apart from DC Sue Clark, who spends the night pursuing a bogus tip-off, before being summoned to the discovery of a human hand. And things get worse. Local entrepreneur Harry Baskin is shot outside his club, an off-licence is set on fire and a famous painting goes missing. 
 
As the week goes on, a cyclist is found dead in suspicious circumstances, and the arsonist strikes again. Frost is on the case, but another disaster – one he is entirely unprepared for – is about to strike . . .

A gripping prequel to R. D. Wingfield's A TOUCH OF FROST, perfect for fans of David Jason's Jack Frost and readers who love Stuart MacBride, Peter James and Lynda La Plante. 
 
November 1982. It’s been one of the worst days of DS Jack Frost’s life. 
 
He has buried his wife Mary, and must now endure the wake, attended by all of Denton’s finest. 
 
All, that is, apart from DC Sue Clarke, who has been summoned to the discovery of a human foot in a farmer’s field. And things get worse. Local entrepreneur Harry Baskin is shot inside his club and a valuable painting goes missing. 
 
As the week goes on, a cyclist is found dead in suspicious circumstances. Frost is on the case, but another disaster – one he is entirely unprepared for – is about to strike… 
 
'One of the most successful ventriloquial acts in crime writing.' Financial Times

The Wings Of The Dove (Classic Serial)

By Henry James Dramatised by Linda Marshall Griffiths. Episode 1: Kate and Merton need money. Milly needs love. How far will they go to get what they want?  Kate Croy is in love with Merton Densher; a poor writer. Her rich aunt Maud disapproves. Maud has offered Kate a wealthy existence but if Kate chooses to marry Merton she risks losing it all. When American Heiress Milly Theale steps into her London society, Kate sees a way out. Episode 2: Milly confides in Kate that she believes herself to be gravely ill and Kate begins to see a way for her and Merton to have a future.  When Merton returns to London, Kate sets out to bring her lover and her friend together. With Kate's assurances that there is nothing between them, Milly allows herself to hope that Merton may be the one great passion in her short life.Episode 3. Milly, now gravely ill, is staying in Venice. Kate's plan to bring Merton and Milly together is gaining pace. But Merton begins to realise that his own feelings for Milly are much deeper than he knew. Lord Mark's arrival threatens everything and Merton and Kate aren't prepared for the consequences. Will Milly change their lives irrevocably? Starring Anna Maxwell Martin, Lyndsey Marshall and full cast.Starring Lyndsey Marshall and full cast. Directed by Nadia Molinari.

The Portrait Of A Lady (Classic Serial)

Rachel Joyce (Author) Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North, The Music Shop, Miss Benson's Beetle, and a collection of interlinked short stories, A Snow Garden &amp; Other Stories. 
Rachel’s books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The critically acclaimed film of the novel, for which Rachel also wrote the screenplay, was released in 2023. Miss Benson’s Beetle won the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize in 2021. Rachel was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards New Writer of the Year in December 2012 and was shortlisted for the UK Author of the Year in 2014. In 2024 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Kingston University. 
Rachel has written over twenty original afternoon plays and adaptations of the classics for BBC Radio 4. She lives with her family near Stroud. Henry James (Author) Henry James was born on 15th April 1843 in Washington Place, New York to a wealthy and intellectual family and as a youth travelled between Europe and America. His first novel, Watch and Ward, was published in 1871 after first appearing serially in Atlantic Monthly. After a brief period in Paris, James moved first to London and then later to Rye in Sussex. He became a British citizen in 1915 to declare his loyalty to his adopted country as well as to protest against America's refusal to enter the war on behalf of Britain. Henry James was a prolific writer and critic and from around 1875 until his death he maintained a strenuous schedule of publications in a variety of genres: novels, short story collections, literary criticism, travel writing, biography and autobiography. He died in 1916.

Henry James's novel, dramatised by Rachel Joyce. Young and beautiful, Isabel Archer thinks that she is in control of her fate. Little does she know, however, that others behind the scenes are pulling the strings. The beautiful and free-spirited Isabel Archer is now a very rich woman. Two men have declared their love for her but she does not want to be married. Resolved to enjoy her fortune, she begins her travels. Starring Anna Maxwell Martin,  Haydn Gwynne, Robert Bathurst, Gayle Hunnicutt and full cast. Pianist Duncan Walsh Atkins. Directed by Tracey Neale.

The Ambassadors (Classic Serial)

Adapted by Graham White from the Henry James novel which centres on the predicament of Lambert Strether, a fifty-something New Englander lately arrived in Paris. Henry Goodman stars as the hapless protagonist in a novel many critics find James' finest. Episode 1: Strether has been sent to the city to persuade the fun-living son of his wealthy fiancee back home in Woolett to return home. But now Strether too falls under the spell of Paris.Episode 2: Strether had hoped to persuade the fun-living son of his wealthy fiancee to return home to New England. But now Strether has fallen under the spell of the beautiful Mme de Vionnet. More ambassadors are sent by the angry fiancee to bring both men home. With a full cast. Directed by Peter Kavanagh.

Washington Square

Washington Square is the story of an heiress torn between two men. It has been adapted many times for stage and screen, and remains among James’s most popular works.

When Catherine Sloper falls for Maurice Townsend, her father, a wealthy New York doctor, believes that Townsend is a fortune hunter after his daughter’s inheritance. He forbids the marriage but Catherine persists in her affection, encouraged by her foolish aunt Lavinia who has a weakness for Maurice herself. Dr Sloper takes Catherine abroad to distract her from the infatuation, but she proves to be as stubborn as her father. The book is a vivid study of the four central characters drawn in what are, for this author, unusually strong primary colours. 
Six novels by Henry James and two volumes of his shorter fiction are already published in Everyman’s Library.

<a href="https://shop.penguin.co.uk/collections/book-bundles-penguin-english-library/?&amp;utm_source=Penguin.co.uk&amp;utm_medium=Linked_text&amp;utm_campaign=Penguin_English_Library_Series_26_06">Choose 5 classics for £25 over on the Penguin Shop</a>

The Penguin English Library edition of The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James 
 
'She knew of no wrong that he had done; he was not violent, he was not cruel; she simply believed that he hated her' 
 
When Isabel Archer, a beautiful, spirited American, is brought to Europe by her wealthy aunt Touchett, it is expected that she will soon marry. But Isabel, resolved to enjoy her freedom, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors. Then she finds herself irresistibly drawn to Gilbert Osmond. Charming and cultivated, Osmond sees Isabel as a rich prize waiting to be taken. In this portrait of a 'young woman affronting her destiny', Henry James created one of his most magnificent heroines, and a story of intense poignancy. 
 
The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

Henry James was born in 1843 in New York City. The son of a prominent theologian and philosopher, the young James's intellectual upbringing enabled him to travel widely, studying in New York, London, Paris, Bologna and Geneva. He briefly attended Harvard Law School in 1862 before choosing to dedicate himself instead to writing and literary criticism, with his first short story, A Tragedy of Error, published at the age of twenty-one. Well acquainted with Europe, he moved more permanently to England, living in London and later Sussex. A prominent literary figure and noted socialite, he admitted to having accepted 107 invitations in the winter of 1878-9 alone. James became a British citizen in 1915, received the Order of Merit in 1916, and died that year at the age of seventy-two. 
 
Daisy Miller and The Turn of the Screw, Washington Square and The Wings of the Dove are also published in the Penguin English Library.

"Why, you must take me or leave me ... You can't please your father and me both; you must choose between us" 
 
When timid and plain Catherine Sloper acquires a dashing and determined suitor, her father, convinced that the young man is nothing more than a fortune-hunter, decides to put a stop to their romance. Torn between her desire to win her father's love and approval and her passion for the first man who has ever declared his love for her, Catherine faces an agonising dilemma, and becomes all too aware of the restrictions that others seek to place on her freedom. James's masterly novel deftly interweaves the public and private faces of nineteenth-century New York society; it is also a deeply moving study of innocence destroyed. 
 
The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

Henry James was born in 1843 in New York City. The son of a prominent theologian and philosopher, the young James's intellectual upbringing enabled him to travel widely, studying in New York, London, Paris, Bologna and Geneva. He briefly attended Harvard Law School in 1862 before choosing to dedicate himself instead to writing and literary criticism, with his first short story, A Tragedy of Error, published at the age of twenty-one. Well acquainted with Europe, he moved more permanently to England, living in London and later Sussex. A prominent literary figure and noted socialite, he admitted to having accepted 107 invitations in the winter of 1878-9 alone. James became a British citizen in 1915, received the Order of Merit in 1916, and died that year at the age of seventy-two. 
 
Daisy Miller and The Turn of the Screw, The Portrait of a Lady and The Wings of the Dove are also published in the Penguin English Library.

DI Jack Frost series 2

Fatal Frost

Jack Frost returns in this gripping sequel to the Top 10 Bestseller First Frost, perfect for fans of Peter James, Stuart MacBride and Lynda La Plante.

A must for all fans of Frost, but also so much more

James Henry is the pen name for James Gurbutt who has long been a fan of the original R. D. Wingfield books and the subsequent TV series. He worked for several years as an accountant before moving into publishing. In 2009 he set up Corsair, a literary imprint for Constable &amp; Robinson, Wingfield’s original publisher. He lives in Essex. 
 
After a successful career writing for radio, R. D. Wingfield turned his attention to fiction, creating the character of Jack Frost. The series has been adapted for television as the perennially popular A Touch of Frost, starring David Jason. R. D. Wingfield died in 2007.

The second in the prequel series to R D Wingfield's A TOUCH OF FROST, for fans of David Jason's Jack Frost and crime-fiction readers. 
 
May, 1982. Britain celebrates the sinking of the Belgrano, Princess Diana prepares for the birth of her first child and Denton Police Division welcomes its first black policeman, DS Waters - recently relocated from East London. 
 
While the force is busy dealing with a spate of local burglaries, the body of fifteen-year-old Samantha Ellis is discovered in woodland next to the nearby railway track. Then a fifteen-year-old boy is found dead on Denton's golf course, his organs removed. 
 
Detective Sergeant Jack Frost is sent to investigate - a welcome distraction from troubles at home. And when the murdered boy's sister goes missing, Frost and Waters must work together to find her . . . before it's too late. 
 
'One of the most successful ventriloquial acts in crime writing.' Financial Times

Charlotte Brontë

Robert Louis Stevenson

Jane Austen

Thomas Hardy

Henry James

Jerome K. Jerome

James Joyce

Virginia Woolf

Ford Madox Ford

F.M. Mayor

Juliet Stevenson

Samuel West

Anne-Marie Duff

Alan Cumming

Amanda Hale

Hugh Laurie

Stephen Rea

Douglas Hodge

Toby Stephens

10 Unmissable Classics

A bumper collection of accessible classics from the perennially popular BBC Radio 4 series 
 
This diverse, wide-ranging anthology features readings of 10 of the greatest books in the English language, taken from the BBC's Book at Bedtime and performed by a stellar cast of narrators. Here are nearly 27 hours of sensational stories, from iconic romances and humorous travelogues to pioneering Modernist masterpieces and compelling explorations of the human heart. Comprising much-loved favourites as well as neglected classics, this genre-spanning selection has something for everyone. 
 
This collection includes abridged readings of: 
 
Persuasion by Jane Austen: Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth get a second chance at love following their broken engagement seven years earlier. Read by Juliet Stevenson. 
 
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë: An orphaned young woman discovers romance when she meets the charming Mr Rochester. Read by Anne-Marie Duff. 
 
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy: Independent Bathsheba Everdene must contend with three very different suitors all vying for her affections. Read by Douglas Hodge. 
 
Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes by Robert Louis Stevenson: Stephenson's travelogue from his 12-day hike, taken to distance himself from his love affair with a married woman. Read by Alan Cumming. 
 
The Aspern Papers by Henry James: A nameless narrator goes to Venice to persuade American poet Jeffrey Aspern's lover to let him read Aspern's letters. Read by Samuel West. 
 
Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome: The Three Men in a Boat return for a bicycle tour through the German Black Forest. Read by Hugh Laurie. 
 
Dubliners by James Joyce: Form-defining stories about life in Dublin at the start of the 20th century. Read by Stephen Rea. 
 
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford: Two couples, two marriages; both seemingly perfect. But beneath the surface lies deception and betrayal. Read by Toby Stephens. 
 
The Rector's Daughter by F.M. Mayor: Mary has spent thirty-five years taking care of others, but with the arrival Robert Herbert her quiet, ordered existence is changed forever. Read by Juliet Stevenson. 
 
Orlando by Virginia Woolf: A playful mock biography of a chameleonic historical figure, immortal and ageless, who changes sex and identity on a whim. Read by Amanda Hale. 
 
First published 1817 (Persuasion), 1847 (Jane Eyre), 1874 (Far from the Madding Crowd), 1879 (Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes), 1888 (The Aspern Papers), 1900 (Three Men on the Bummel), 1914 (Dubliners), 1915 (The Good Soldier), 1924 (The Rector's Daughter), 1928 (Orlando) 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Book at Bedtime: A BBC Radio Collection

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