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Encapsulating, with luxurious detail, the phenomenon of consumer societyA obsessed with image, fashion and instant gratificationA The Ladies'Paradise depicts the growth of capitalism through the workings of a new economic entity, the department store. The novel centres around the story of the young Denise, who is seeking work in Paris, and Octave Mouret, the aspirational director of the shopping emporium.

A seventeen-year-old London girl flies to Los Angeles for the funeral of her mother Lily, from whom she was separated in her childhood. After stealing a suitcase of letters, clothes and photographs from her mum's bedroom at the top of a hotel on Venice Beach, the girl spends her summer travelling around Los Angeles in a bid to track down the men who knew her mother. As she discovers more about Lily's past and tries to re-enact her life, she comes to question the foundations of her own personality.

The tale of Heathcliff and Cathy's ungovernable love and suffering, and the havoc that their passion wreaks on the families of the Earnshaws and the Lintons, shocked the book's first readers, with even Emily's sister Charlotte wondering 'whether it is right or advisable to create beings like Heathcliff'. Replete with unforgettable characters and situations that have seared themselves into our literary consciousness, Emily Bronte's intense masterpiece is one of the most haunting love stories in the canon of English literature.

In this compelling memoir his first wife, Jane Hawking, relates the inside story of their extraordinary marriage. As Stephen's academic renown soared, his body was collapsing under the assaults of motor neurone disease, and Jane's candid account of trying to balance his 24-hour care with the needs of their growing family will be inspirational to anyone dealing with family illness. The inner-strength of the author, and the self-evident character and achievements of her husband, make for an incredible tale that is always presented with unflinching honesty; the author's candour is no less evident when the marriage finally ends in a high-profile meltdown, with Stephen leaving Jane for one of his nurses, while Jane goes on to marry an old family friend. In this exceptionally open, moving and often funny memoir, Jane Hawking confronts not only the acutely complicated and painful dilemmas of her first marriage, but also the faultlines exposed in a relationship by the pervasive effects of fame and wealth. The result is a book about optimism, love and change that will resonate with readers everywhere.

Under the feckless husbandry of Mr Jones, the Manor Farm has fallen into disrepair. Pushed into hardship, the animals decide to stage a revolt, and, led by two young pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, they overthrow Mr Jones and drive him away from the farm. In the subsequent struggle for power, it is Napoleon who emerges as a victor: he renames the place "Animal Farm", gets rid of his enemies and, by the way he behaves - expecting to be glorifi ed above the others and turning the screw on his fellow beasts in order to keep them subjugated - begins to resemble more and more the former rulers of the farm, the hated humans. Written during the Second World War and published in 1945, this allegorical novel is a carefully constructed critique of the Russian Revolution and a sharp satire of the abuse of power. It remains unsurpassed both as a document of its time and as a testament to the versatility and creative genius of George Orwell. This new edition contains notes and extra material for students

Ravaged by years of war and civil conflict, Britain has changed its name to Airstrip One and become part of Oceania - one of the three totalitarian blocks dominating the world - ruled by a mysterious leader called Big Brother who keeps the population in thrall through strict surveillance and brutal police repression. In a society where the individual is suppressed and turned into an "unperson" for not conforming, and where not only personal thought, but also historical record and language itself are constantly being manipulated by the ruling regime, Ministry of Truth worker Winston Smith tries to make sense of the rebellious thoughts and passions that are stirring inside him, and finds himself impotent against the inexorable machine that surrounds him and threatens to crush him at any time. Arguably the greatest dystopian novel of all time and the most influential post-war work of fiction - which enriched the English language with words such as "Newspeak", "doublethink" and "thoughtcrime" - Nineteen Eighty-Four is a riveting read and a groundbreaking exploration of mass surveillance, censorship and mind control, which has a deep resonance with the world we live in.

In a world a few decades from now, Russia has lost its influence and descended into a farcical civil war. With an extreme right-wing cult in power, racial tensions have divided the country into the Varangians - those who consider themselves to be the orig

In a world a few decades from now, Russia has lost its influence and descended into a farcical civil war. With an extreme right-wing cult in power, racial tensions have divided the country into the Varangians - those who consider themselves to be the orig