Non-Secondhand Books

The heroic Greek dramas that have moved theatergoers and readers since the fifth century B.C. Towering over the rest of Greek tragedy, the three plays that tell the story of...

The historical account of the end of the Roman Empire Ammianus Marcellinus was the last great Roman historian, and his writings rank alongside those of Livy and Tacitus. The Later...

Ovid's poems on the experience of sexual desire This collection of Ovid's poems deals with the whole spectrum of sexual desire, ranging from deeply emotional declarations of eternal devotion to...

Stendhal's intensely personal and yet universal work on Love In 1818, when he was in his mid-thirties, Stendhal met and fell passionately in love with the beautiful Mathilde Dembowski. She,...

A collection of political speeches from the greatest orator of Rome Amid the corruption and power struggles of the collapse of the Roman Republic, Cicero (106-43BC) produced some of the...

The Italian Renaissance man's handbook, defining the virtues essential for a man of the Court In The Book of the Courtier (1528), Baldesar Castiglione, a diplomat and Papal Nuncio to...

Caesar's own account of his struggle with Pompey over leadership of Republican Rome A military leader of legendary genius, Caesar was also a great writer, recording the events of his...

A fascinating historical account of Greece at a point of crisis Xenophon's History recounts nearly fifty turbulent years of warfare in Greece between 411 and 362 BC. Continuing the story...

Written four hundred years before the birth of Christ, this detailed contemporary account of the long life-and-death struggle between Athens and Sparta stands an excellent chance of fulfilling its author's...

Elizabeth Gaskell's chilling tales of the supernatural Elizabeth Gaskell's chilling Gothic tales blend the real and the supernatural to eerie, compelling effect. 'Disappearances', inspired by local legends of mysterious vanishings,...

Burke's hugely influential work - particularly in art - on the sublime and the beautiful Edmund Burke was one of the foremost philosophers of the eighteenth century and wrote widely...

The first full-length biography of a woman novelist by a woman novelist, which was almost single-handedly responsible for creating the Bronte myth Elizabeth Gaskell's biography of her close friend Charlotte...

When the young nobleman Harold Transome returns to England from the colonies with a self-made fortune, he scandalizes the town of Treby Magna with his decision to stand for Parliament...

New selection with introduction, suggestions for further reading, and full explanatory notes Selection includes The Portrait of Mr W.H., Wilde's defence of Dorian Gray, reviews, and the writings from 'Intentions'...

A passionately argued work on the philosophy of aesthetics No philosopher has held a higher opinion of art than Hegel, yet nor was any so profoundly pessimistic about its prospects...

A collection of Bacon's vibrant, intelligent essays covering subjects ranging from ambition to the vicissitude of things One of the major political figures of his time, Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)...

First Penguin volume Of best Japanese haiku Vivid translations Now a global poetry, the haiku was originally a Japanese verse form that flourished from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. Although...

A new edition of Christina Rossetti's poetry This new selection of Rossetti's poems brings together works by one of the most significant nineteenth-century English poets. It includes an illuminating introduction,...

"I have come to have a feeling, almost a superstition, that it is a kind of obligation laid upon me to testify for Rudyard Kipling whenever the opportunity presents itself",...

Poems organised according to genre, to demonstrate the progress and variety Coleridge achieved Living in a revolutionary age, Coleridge's poetry was written in a spirit of moral and emotional inquiry...

The complete collection of Donne's poems, including his famous Holy Sonnets, 'The Flea' and 'The Sun Rising' No poet has been more wilfully contradictory than John Donne, whose works forge...

Following the hugely successful hardback, this extraordinary tale of the father of modern geology looks set to be the non fiction paperback for 2002. Hidden behind velvet curtains above a...

Scission, Tim Winton's first collection of short fiction, contains spare, jagged stories in which people struggle with change and disintegration. Scission, Tim Winton's first collection of short fiction, contains spare,...

Winner of the Miles Franklin Award and recognised as one of the greatest works of Australian literature, Cloudstreet is Tim Winton's sprawling, comic epic about luck and love, fortitude and...

The making of the Oxford English Dictionary was a monumental 50 year task requiring thousands of volunteers. One of the keenest volunteers was a W C Minor who astonished everyone...

The dark academia bestseller that defined an age Truly deserving of the accolade Modern Classic, Donna Tartt's cult bestseller The Secret History is a remarkable achievement - incredibly compelling, dramatic...

One of the most popular and controversial historians of the twentieth century, who made his subject accessible to millions, A.J.P. Taylor caused a storm of outrage with this scandalous bestseller....

A murder mystery and a serious exploration of racism in the American South An elderly, proud black farmer, Lucas Beauchamp, is wrongfully arrested for the murder of a white man....

Reveals that all of us can excel at our chosen activities and offers a guide to unlocking our potential 'Anyone who wants to get better at anything should read Peak.'...

An extraordinary investigation into human nature, by one of the most eminent international human rights lawyers The inspiration behind the hit podcast THE 100 TYPES OF HUMAN with DEXTER DIAS...

The long-awaited second volume of Volker Ullrich's acclaimed biography of the F hrer, taking us through the war years - from the early triumphs of the Blitzkrieg to Hitler's suicide...

The Gene is the story of one of the most powerful and dangerous ideas in our history. ** NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER ** The Gene is the story...

Edith Hall unpacks the mysterious and successful ancient Greek people through ten uniquely ancient Greek personality traits. They gave us democracy, philosophy, poetry, rational science, the joke. They built the...

Rosemary Sutcliff's famous and captivating novels based on the legends of King Arthur, brought together in one spellbinding trilogy. 'Traitor! Now is your death-time upon you!' You may think you...

A groundbreaking synthesis of the entire science of human behaviour by 'one of the best scientist-writers of our time' (Oliver Sacks) Why do human beings behave as they do? 'Awe-inspiring......

The riveting and definitive biography of the Islamic world's most famous military hero 'Superbly researched and enormously entertaining... One of the outstanding books of the year' The Times An epic...

From the bestselling author of How to Live, an enthralling and original new book about a group of young thinkers, the birth of existentialism and some of the biggest questions...

NOW A MAJOR BBC TV ADAPTATION 'Still grips the reader with its epic-narrative sweep and all-embracing humanitarianism' Douglas Kennedy, Sunday Times Read the masterful story of romance and revolution behind...

A mesmerising collection of stories from the superb Richard Yates First published in 1962, a year after Revolutionary Road, this sublime collection of stories seems even more powerful today. Out...

This indispensable translation is as close to the original as it is possible to get while at the same time being a clear and fluid translation 'If you've never read...

A new edition to celebrate the 40th anniversary of first publication of Pynchon's classic book. Discover Thomas Pynchon's brilliant writing in this postmodern literature classic. 'The greatest, wildest author of...

Stephen Fry's The Ode Less Travelled provides us with a witty and entertaining guide to the mysteries of writing poetry. If you can speak and read English, you can write...

Already acclaimed as a classic, this is the lost masterpiece behind the major new film starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Michelle Williams **AS FEATURED IN HRH THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL'S...

'An extraordinarily vivid yet authentic account of the birthpangs of a nation. A work of real distinction' Philip Ziegler An award-winning epic on the birth of Australia In 1787, the...

The first volume of collected short stories, written by a master of the form This classic collection of stories moves from England, France and Spain to the silver sands of...

A brilliantly executed intellectual detective story from the author of international best seller The Name of the Rose. Three book editors, jaded by reading far too many crackpot manuscripts on...

A portrait of the Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965, we see the wisdom, humour and curiosity of Richard Feynman through a series of conversations with his...

What does climate change mean? How will global warming affect our lives? Is it the cause of wilder storms and more frequent droughts? Are these events inevitable? Tim Flannery makes...