Dickens had already achieved renown with 'The Pickwick Papers'. With 'Oliver Twist' his reputation was enhanced and strengthened. The novel contains many classic Dickensian themes - grinding poverty, desperation, fear, temptation and the eventual triumph of good in the face of great adversity. 'Oliver Twist' features some of the author's most enduring characters, such as Oliver himself (Who dares to ask for more), the tyrannical Bumble, the diabolical Fagin, the menacing Bill Sykes, Nancy and 'the Artful Dodger'. 400pp. Paperback.

The daughter of a lawyer from Amhurst, Massachusetts, Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was initially a vivacious, outgoing person, but she progressively withdrew into a reclusive existance. Emily was a truly undiscovered genius during her lifetime and astonishingly only seven out of her total of 1,775 poems were published prior to her death. She had an immense breadth of vision and a passionate intensity and awe for life, love, nature, time and eternity. Originally branded an eccentric, she is now recognised as a major poet of great depth, startling originality and courage. 214pp. Paperback.

The legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table is one of the most enduring in world literature. Its scenes of love, war, religion, treachery and family loyalty are timeless as are the reputations of its major characters Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere and Lancelot. Malory's story of noble knights, colourful tournaments and fateful love is set in a courtly society which although outwardly secure is in reality torn by dissent and ultimately treachery. Originally published in 1485, the book is here presented in modern spelling and accompanied by an Introduction and helpful Glossary. Amazing value, 912 page paperback with good-sized print.

Utopia is a complex, innovative and penetrating contribution to political thought. Utopians live according to the principles of natural law, but are receptive to Christian teachings, hold all possessions in common, and view gold as worthless. Drawing on the ideas of Plato, St. Augustine and Aristotle, Utopia was practiced by Bacon, H.G. Wells, Huxley and George Orwell. It invites readers to become participants in a compelling debate concerning the best state of a commonwealth. 134pp in Wordsworth reprinted paperback. With Utopian alphabet and glossary.

Dating from around 300BC, this is the first great classic of the Chinese school of philosophy called Taoism. Within its pages is summed up a complete view of the cosmos and how human beings should respond to it. It constitutes the shaping forces behind Chinese spirituality, art and science and this edition presents the authoritative translation by Arthur Waley. Wordsworth paperback. 112pp.

This edition of the poetry of Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) includes all the poems contained in the Definitive Edition of 1940. In his lifetime, Kipling was widely regarded as the unofficial Poet Laureate, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907. His poetry is striking for its many rhythms and popular forms of speech, and Kipling was equally at home with dramatic monologues and extended ballads. He is often thought of as glorifying war, militarism, and the British Empire, but an attentive reading of the poems does not confirm that view. This edition reprints George Orwell's hard-hitting account of Kipling's poems, first published in 1942, and generally regarded as one of the most important contributions to critical discussion of Kipling. 880pp. Paperback.

The House of the Dead is a stark account of Dostoyevsky's own experience of penal servitude in Siberia. In graphic detail he describes the suffering of the convicts - their squalor and degradation, their terror and resignation, from the rampages of a pyschopath to the brief serenity of Christmas Day. We see a young intellectual forced to live, eat and sleep with men from a background of cruelty, coarseness and brutality. The Gambler is set in a spa town with its casino and international clientèle. Alexey Ivanovitch is a young tutor in the household of a general. He is both observer and actor in the tempest which surrounds his impoverished employer, as he envies and mocks the airs and pretensions of his supposed superiors. Everyone is waiting for the death of Granny, the general's rich aunt, but so far from dying, she turns up alive and well, and makes her way to the casino. 454 page paperback.

As Fyodor Karamazov awaits an amorous encounter, he is violently done to death. The three sons of the old debauchee are forced to confront their own guilt or complicity. Who will own to parricide? The reckless and passionate Dmitri? The corrosive intellectual Ivan? Surely not the chaste novice monk Alyosha? The search reveals the divisions which rack the brothers, yet paradoxically unite them. Around the writhings of this one dysfunctional family Dostoevsky weaves a dense network of social, psychological and philosophical relationships. Paperback. 870pp.

Adam Smith (1723-1790) was one of the brightest stars of the 18th century Scottish Enlightenment. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations was his most important book. First published in London in March 1776, it had been eagerly anticipated by Smith's contemporaries and became an immediate bestseller. That edition sold out quickly and others followed. Today, Smith's Wealth of Nations rightfully claims a place in the Western intellectual canon. It is the first book of modern political economy, and still provides the foundation for the study of that discipline. But it is much more than that. Along with important discussions of economics and political theory, Smith mixed plain common sense with large measures of history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and much else. Few texts remind us so clearly that the Enlightenment was very much a lived experience, a concern with improving the human condition in practical ways for real people. A masterpiece by any measure, Wealth of Nations remains a classic of world literature to be usefully enjoyed by readers today. Please note the cover of the first edition states, incorrectly, that this is an abridged edition. In fact the text is complete, and the cover will be corrected on the next reprint. 974 page paperback. New from Wordsworth.

Published as a reply to Burke's Reflections of the Revolution in France, Rights of Man is a classic statement of the belief in humanity's potential to change the world for the better. Paine writes with the vigour of a self-taught mast-maker and excise man. With a passion and rapier wit, he advocates such measures as free education, old age pensions, welfare benefits and child allowance over 100 years before these things were introduced in Britain. The work remains a compelling manifesto for social change. 226 page reprint in paperback.