In The Aspern Papers, a cold and ruthless literary biographer travels to Venice on the trail of personal letters belonging to the deceased American poet Jeffrey Aspern. His journey takes him to a dilapidated, rambling house belonging to an elderly woman, named Juliana Bordereau, and her lonely niece, Miss Tina. Just how far will he go to get what he wants? Will morality confront his personal ambition and literary curiosity?

Considered one of China's great classical novels, Wu Ch'êng-ên's Journey to the West was translated by Arthur waley in abridged form as Monkey in 1942 and has delighted English readers ever since. It is a riveting adventure story about a priest's quest to obtain holy Buddhist scriptures for the Tang emperor; joining him on this rollicking journey: Sandy, Pigs and the mischievous Monkey King, Sn Wukong, whose flying cloud and magic cudgel are never far from his infamous deeds. Waley's accessible rendition of Wu Ch'êng-ên's novel has become a classic in it's own right: Gods, demons and disobedient monkey spirits all come alive in this entertaining work.

When the naïve David Balfour sets out on his quest for a long-lost relative, a terrifying chain of events is set in motion. He is plunged into a world of infamy and violence from which there seems no escape, until, that is, he meets the enigmatic and valiant Highlander, Alan Breck.

When his ship is wrecked in a storm, Robinson Crusoe finds himself stranded on a desert island with no one to help him and no chance of rescue. Scared and alone, he tries to make a life for himself, building shelters, hunting food, taming animals, crafting boats and making clothes. But just as his life appears to be settled, he sees someone else's footprint on the beach and a different struggle for survival begins, this time against cannibals and pirates. Published in 1719, the novel was an immediate success and continue to fascinate new generations.

Michael Henchard, drunk at a country fair, sells his wife and baby daughter for five guineas. The following day, in despair and remorse, he forswears alcohol and sets out to redeem himself. In time, he becomes a respected merchant and eventually the mayor of the town. But Fate is not to be so easily appeased, and Henchard finds his past actions resonate through and destroy his plans for the future. One of the greatest novels in the English language, the Mayor of Casterbridge sees Thomas Hardy at his best, bringing landscape and richly imagined characters to life, and setti.

Four more stories from the master detective. The mystery of the missing suitor is solved and Sherlock Holmes raises his whip... an Indian pot stands in the shadows of a Colonel' death... serious affairs of state and international diplomacy are threatened by.

L.P. Hartley’s heartbreaking novel The Go-Between is a haunting, moving, and evocative work about social constraints and childhood innocence. The story is set during the long hot summer of 1900 and follows young Leo Colston who is invited to stay for a month at an aristocratic manor in Norfolk. While there he falls in love with his friend’s sister who commissions him to carry secret notes to her lover, the local farmer. This story has been adapted multiple times for stage and screen, most recently the BBC One TV film starring Jim Broadbent. The story is exclusively licensed to Naxos Audiobooks. Sean Barrett gives a tender and sympathetic interpretation, full of warmth and insight.

The unremarkable Catholic priest, Father Brown, combines intuition and a profound interest in human nature to solve more crimes that are seemingly improbable. A prophet of a new religion appears in Westminster. Why does an Italian Prince seek exile in Norfolk? Who killed a jovial old philanthropist, and why? a decadent poet is inexplicably murdered in his own home. Did God kill a priest's brother? What really happened in a British battle glorified in history? This second volume of stories from the Innocence of Father Brown presents six crimes, which are at times surreal, bi.

Maggie Tulliver has two lovers Philip Wakem, son of her father's enemy, and Stephen Guest, already promised to her cousin. But the love she wants most in the world is that of her brother Tom. Maggie's struggle against her passionate and sensual nature leads her to a deeper understanding and to eventual tragedy.

In 1897 Bram Stoker wrote a story expressing the most persistent nightmare of the human condition, and now for over a century Dracula has reigned supreme as the undisputed masterpiece of horror writing. We have all grown up beneath the shadow of the elegant Count, at once an attractive, brutal and erotic creature of the night. Read by David Horovitch, Jamie Parker, Joseph Kloska, Alison Pettitt and cast, this Complete Classic Unabridged Edition, spans a total of 14 CDs. David Horovitch's long and distinguished theatre career includes many West End, National Theatre and RSC stage appearances. Among his many readings for Naxos Audiobooks are Lampedusa's The Leopard, Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby, Ovid's Metamorphoses and Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Known for roles in film, TV and theatre, Jamie Parker has read Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd and Under the Greenwood Tree for Naxos Audiobooks. Joseph Kloska has appeared in over 100 plays, readings and live broadcasts for the BBC.

Written and performed by Christopher Hastings, The Human Holiday is a continuous play in five sections. This quirky play is written in the British style, and was an instant hit in the 1980s on public radio. “The sound is so good you simply forget about it after a few minutes and become completely immersed in the content. The Human Holiday is so slickly and convincingly done that one finds it easy to accept the whole thing as being real…It’s a masterpiece.” (J. Gordon Holt, Stereophile)