'Things are not simple but complex. If he bit Mr. Browning he bit her too. Hatred is not hatred; hatred is also love.'
Virginia Woolf's delightful biography of the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning'
'Nothing more lonely -'
A selection of Basho's most magical haiku
Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and div
'How can the bird that is born for joy / Sit in a cage and sing?'
A selection of Blake's most haunting verse, including 'The Songs of Innocence and Experience'.
One of 46 new books in the bestselli
'Cut iron with iron,
What makes iron valuable,
Big kuku tree and big silk-cotton tree,
Fari and Kaunju -'
Told and retold since the fourteenth century, this West African epic chronicles the sto
'Brave Frenchmen, will you not surrender?'
Cambronne answered, 'Merde!'
A tense, dramatic account of the Battle of Waterloo - and how a rain shower changed history - from Victor Hugo's epic novel
'She's done for...'
The crew aboard a ramshackle steamer faces a treacherous storm in this gripping tale, inspired by Conrad's own time at sea.
One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Bla
This joyful poetic satire describes wig thieves, chamberpots, prostitutes and other hazards to be avoided on the teeming streets of eighteenth-century London.
'Reader, if you're ready, so am I.'
These witty vignettes, set in Charlotte Brontë's imaginary world of Angria, feature debauched aristocrats, high-society courtesans and the rakish, brooding hero
'Ko-ax, ko-ax, ko-ax!
Now listen, you musical twerps,
I don't give a damn for your burps!'
A biting comedy from the great Ancient Greek playwright.
One of 46 new books in the bestselling Litt
' "You are not my first passion, my divine friend, but you shall be my last." '
In this episode from his infamous memoirs, swashbuckling serial seducer Casanova falls for a beautiful nun on the Ve
Exuberant and ingenious, Lear's best-loved poems tell of jumblies, quangle wangles and luminous noses.
One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first e
Touching and comic short stories from the 19th century American master of the genre.
One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classi
The disturbing tale of a young man's obsession with the Sandman, stealer of eyes, which has inspired writers from Sigmund Freud to Neil Gaiman.
One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black
'... that strange internal kingdom of which we are the hapless and helpless monarchs.'
From the master of the detective story and creator of Sherlock Holmes, the first ever tale to feature a s
Electrifying poems of isolation, beauty, death and eternity from a reclusive genius and one of America's greatest writers.
One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to c
'We have nothing left in the world but what we can win with our swords.'
The remarkable account of Hannibal crossing the Alps with his elephants and winning the Battle of the Trebbia.
One of 46
'The pleasure is twice as sweet
When you cheat a cheat.'
An illustrated collection of fables from one of France's most vital writers.
One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classi
One of Pushkin's most popular and chilling stories, 'The Queen of Spades' tells of a young man who develops a dangerous obsession in pursuit of the wealth he craves.
One of 46 new books in the bes
A jealous lover's curse and an ingenious party trick feature in these two suspenseful stories set in Hardy's imaginary Wessex.
One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series,
It would be unfair to expect other people to be as remarkable as oneself'
Wilde's celebrated witticisms on the dangers of sincerity, duplicitous biographers, the stupidity of the English - and his
From the pioneer of horror fiction, this tale of a clergyman tormented by a demonic creature is one of the greatest Victorian ghost stories.
One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Cla
A collection of cantos from Paradiso, the most original and experimental part of the Divina Commedia.
One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ev
'Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle.'
In this charming bo
It was like walking along the knife-edge of the highest possible mountain range, seeing life on one side and death on the other in the form of two deep, gorgeous and gleaming seascapes.'
This asto
We must learn to love, learn to be kind, and this from our earliest youth ... Likewise, hatred must be learned and nurtured, if one wishes to become a proficient hater'
This volume contains a sele
'It is a most wonderful comfort to sit alone beneath a lamp, book spread before you, and commune with someone from the past whom you have never met...'
Moonlight, sake, spring blossom, idle moment
I could see that she was still terribly afraid, but I didn't soften anything; instead, seeing that she was afraid I deliberately intensified it.'
In this short story, Dostoyevsky masterfully depic
'Strangely enough, I mistook it for a gentleman at first. Fortunately I had my spectacles with me so I could see it was really a nose.
.Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th
'I'll stop doing it as soon as I understand what I'm doing.'
Somewhere between a historical account and work of philosophy, Socrates' Defence details the final plea of Plato's beloved mentor.
I