Non-Secondhand Books

Aristotle's influential treatise on the way to win arguments With the emergence of democracy in the city-state of Athens in the years around 460 BC, public speaking became an essential...

Penguin Classics relaunch Beginning with Cimabue and Giotto in the thirteenth century, Vasari traces the development of Italian art across three centuries to the golden epoch of Leonardo and Michelangelo....

These writings capture the beginnings of the Christian Church The writings in this volume cast a glimmer of light upon the emerging traditions and organization of the infant church, during...

Basho is one of the greatest Japanese poets and a master of haiku Basho, one of the greatest of Japanese poets and the master of haiku, was also a Buddhist...

A new edition of the acclaimed translation, by Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis, of this masterpiece of Persian literature Composed in the twelfth century in north-eastern Iran, Attar's great mystical...

Penguin Classics relaunch Few figures in intellectual history have proved as notorious and ambiguous as Niccol Machiavelli. But while his treatise The Prince made his name synonymous with autocratic ruthlessness...

Penguin Classics relaunch. Writing at the time of Napoleon's greatest campaigns, Prussian soldier and writer Carl von Clausewitz created this landmark treatise on the art of warfare, which presented war...

Books VI - X of Livy's monumental History of Rome Books VI-X of Livy's monumental work trace Rome's fortunes from its near collapse after defeat by the Gauls in 386...

Penguin Classics relaunch The Greek statesman Polybius (c.200-118 BC) wrote his account of the relentless growth of the Roman Empire in order to help his fellow countrymen understand how their...

The Analects express a philosophy, or a moral code, by which Confucius, one of the most humane thinkers of all time, believed everyone should live. Upholding the ideals of wisdom,...

The poetry of ancient Greece Together the poetry of Hesiod and Theognis offers a superb introduction to the life and thought of ancient Greece. Hesiod's Theogoney (c. 725 BCE) is...

Cicero's reflections upon the way to a live a good life For the great Roman orator and statesman Cicero, 'the good life' was at once a life of contentment and...

Penguin Classics relaunch 'Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains' These are the famous opening words of a treatise that has not ceased to stir vigorous debate...

One of the greatest historical records of fourteenth-century England and France The Chronicles of Froissart (1337-1410) are one of the greatest contemporary records of fourteenth-century England and France. Depicting the...

A selection of Seneca's most powerful and macabre plays Based on the legends used in Greek drama, Seneca's plays are notable for the exuberant ruthlessness with which disastrous events are...

'He has everything - pleasantry, seriousness, reason, vigour, pathos, eloquence of every kind' Voltaire A French courtier, secret agent, libertine and adventurer, Beaumarchais (1732-99) was also author of two sparkling...

A collection of four of the finest Greek plays The four tragedies collected in this volume all focus on a central character, once powerful, brought down by betrayal, jealousy, guilt...

One of the most influential - and best loved - spiritual autobiographies Born in the Castilian town of vila in 1515, Teresa entered the Carmelite convent of the Incarnation when...

W. F. Jackson Knight's prose translation captures the vitality and music of the original, while his introduction discusses Virgil's life and literary career, and his poetic style and vision. Aeneas...

Xenophon's account of the Greek war with Persia through the eyes of a young Athenian searching for his destiny abroad In The Persian Expedition, Xenophon, a young Athenian noble who...

Penguin Classics relaunch After reading Christmas Carol, the notoriously reculsive Thomas Carlyle was \"seized with a perfect convulsion of hospitality\" and threw not one but two Christmas dinner parties. The...

One of the best-known pieces of detective fiction and probably the most popular of all Holmes stories The terrible spectacle of the beast, the fog of the moor, the discovery...

A collection of some of Holmes' most challenging cases - and his first encounter with Moriarty This collection includes many of the famous cases - and great strokes of brilliance...

The famous Gothic novel from Ann Radcliffe From the first moment Vincentio di Vivaldi, a young nobleman, sets eyes on the veiled figure of Ellena, he is captivated by her...

Definitive text in paperback IVANHOE (1819) was the first of Scott's novels to adopt a purely English subject and was also his first attempt to combine history and romance, which...

A definitive new collection of Marlowe's plays with a critical introduction by Frank Romany containing- 'Dido Queen of Carthage', 'Tamburlaine the Great Parts One and Two', 'The Jew of Malta',...

Penguin Classics relaunch Wilde was both a glittering wordsmith and a social outsider. His drama emerges out of these two perhaps contradictory identities, combining epigrammatic brilliance and shrewd social observation....

First time this book has been published as a Penguin Classic Ambrosio, the worthy superior of the Capuchins of Madrid, falls to the temptations of Matilda, a fiend-inspired wanton who,...

An intimate and revealing insight into the mind and heart of a Japanese lady-in-waiting. The Diary recorded by Lady Murasaki (c. 973-c. 1020), author of The Tale of Genji, is...

'I am only just returned to a sense of real wonder about me, for I have been reading Villette - There is something preternatural about its power' George Eliot With...

Penguin Classics relaunch Mary Barton, the daughter of disillusioned trade unionist, rejects her working-class lover Jem Wilson in the hope of marrying Henry Carson, the mill owner's son, and making...

Penguin Classics relaunch. When her father leaves the Church, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the North of England. Initially...

Penguin Classics relaunch The Moonstone, a priceless yellow diamond, is looted from an Indian temple and maliciously bequeathed to Rachel Verinder. On her eighteenth birthday, her friend and suitor Franklin...

Born in Newgate prison and abandoned six months later, Moll's drive to find and hold on to a secure place in society propels her through incest, adultery, bigamy, prostitution and...

Alan Ryan's anthology provides the perfect introduction to an enormously significant philosophical movement, aiming for "the greatest happiness for the greatest number" One of the most important nineteenth-century schools of...

Byron's exotic poem on the love life and adventures of Don Juan Byron's exuberant masterpiece tells of the adventures of Don Juan, beginning with his illicit love affair at the...

A generous selection from the most charismatic and infamous of the Romantic poets Described as 'Mad, bad and dangerous to know' by one of his lovers, Lady Caroline Lamb, Lord...

A major new assessment of one of the most controversial topics in history The Bible observes that God made humanity 'for a while a little lower than the angels'. If...

The author of She-Wolves chronicles the lives and reigns of Richard II and Henry IV, two cousins whose rivalry brought their nation to the brink of disintegration - and back...

A riotous biography of the charismatic ruler of eighteenth century Poland and Saxony, and his catastrophic reign Both King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, Augustus is one of the...

Two thousand years of Japanese history, told through interconnected portraits of twenty fascinating individuals Chris Harding's enormously enjoyable new book distils Japan's long, complex and fascinating history into the stories...

The real story behind the mercurial Masayoshi Son, who has three times lost and made tens of billions of dollars Gambling Man is the biography of one of the world's...

Ottolenghi's first brand-new major cookbook since the era-defining Ottolenghi SIMPLE and Ottolenghi FLAVOUR. With over 100 evocative, irresistible recipes alongside stories of childhood and home. Make a recipe a few...

Featuring plant and bird directories illustrated with superb colour photographs and line drawings, as well as comprehensive planting tables and expert advice, this book has all you need to create...

Clarissa is one of the grand masterpieces of European literature Pressured by her unscrupulous family to marry a wealthy man she detests, the young Clarissa Harlowe is tricked into fleeing...

The bestselling, multi-award winning, author of East, Fresh India and Made in India, Meera Sodha, is back with her much anticipated fourth book, Dinner FROM THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF EAST,...

A propulsive narrative history of the motivation and mentality behind the Nazis and their supporters. How could the Nazis have committed the crimes they did? Why did commandants of concentration...

Air fryers save you time and money. Now discover just how delicious air frying can really be, with Jamie . . . Whether you're new to air frying or an...