Penguin Black Spine

Aristotle's probing look at the fundamental questions of philosophy The Metaphysics presents Aristotle's mature rejection of both the Platonic theory that what we perceive is just a pale reflection of...

Nietzsche's final testament of his beliefs In late 1888, only weeks before his final collapse into madness, Nietzsche (1844-1900) set out to compose his autobiography, and Ecce Homo remains one...

Aristotle's profoundly influential examination of the concept of the soul For the Pre-Socratic philosophers the soul was the source of movement and sensation, while for Plato it was the seat...

A compelling narrative of the life of the greatest conqueror of all time- Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), who led the Macedonian army to victory in Egypt,...

Only widely-available edition of Khayyam's lyrical poetry Revered in eleventh-century Persia as an astronomer, mathematician and philosopher, Omar Khayyam is now known first and foremost for his Ruba'iyat. The short...

R. J. Hollingdale's selection structures Nietzsche's writings according to theme to give the fullest possible sense of the depth and scope of this extraordinary writer. The literary career of Friedrich...

Rousseau's autobiography, giving a unique insight into the mind and life of one of the greatest thinkers of the Enlightenment Widely regarded as the first modern autobiography, The Confessions is...

The verses have influenced artists from the Renaissance onwards, from Botticelli to Shelley and Tennyson, Andre Gide and Stravinsky. Composed for recitation at festivals, these 33 songs were written in...

A new edition of the last volume in Trollope's most popular series of novels When Reverend Josiah Crawley, the impoverished curate of Hogglestock, is accused of theft it causes a...

This edition is based on the first one-volume publication of Barnaby Rudge, reproducing all the original illustrations. Appendices include a map of London at the time of the Gordon Riots...

A tale of inheritance and destiny, this is the story Dickens considered his best The greed of his family has led wealthy old Martin Chuzzlewit to become suspicious and misanthropic,...

The Comic masterpiece that catapulted the 24 year old Dickens to fame THE PICKWICK PAPERS began as a literary spoof centred around sketches of stock sporting fops by caricaturist Robert...

Penguin Classics relaunch. THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE was written towards the beginning of Hardy's career as a novelist and can be considered one of his most representative works. In...

Penguin Classics relaunch. When HMS Beagle sailed out of Devonport on 27 December 1831, Charles Darwin was twenty-two and setting off on the voyage of a lifetime. His journal, here...

Over the course of his short life, John Keats (1795-1821) honed a raw talent into a brilliant poetic maturity. By the end of his brief career, he had written poems...

Sue Bridehead, his last heroine, is an extaordinarily complex woman - an English Emma Bovary or Anna Karenina. Jude Fawley, the stonemason excluded not by his wits but by poverty...

Part of a series of new editions of Henry James most famous novels and short stories Travelling in Europe with her family, Daisy Miller, an exquisitely beautiful young American woman,...

Fairy tales, ghost stories, detective fiction and comedies of manners - the stories collected in this volume made Oscar Wilde's name as a writer of fiction, showing breathtaking dexterity in...

Part of the authoritative and acclaimed Penguin Shakespeare series, now rejacketed in the celebrated Penguin Classics livery A young woman flees Athens with her lover, only to be pursued by...

Part of the authoritative and acclaimed Penguin Shakespeare series, now rejacketed in the celebrated Penguin Classics livery A popular soldier and newly married man, Othello seems to be in an...

The ultimate guide to winning Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent,...

Robert Fagles's stunning modern-verse translation-available at last in our black-spine classics line Soon to be a major motion picture directed by Christopher Nolan A Penguin Classic The Odyssey is literature's...

Edith Wharton's acclaimed novel of love, duty, and half-known truths in Gilded Age New York society, with a foreword by bestselling author Elif Batuman Dutiful Newland Archer, an eligible young...

A landmark, searing critique of pornography that condemns how culture consumes and manipulates images of women and eroticises male dominance 'Pornography is the orchestrated destruction of women's bodies and souls...

First time in Black Classics for Forster's story of Anglo-Indian society under the Raj. Featuring a new introduction by novelist Pankaj Mishra. When Adela and her elderly companion Mrs Moore...

For more than two thousand years, Sun-Tzu?sThe Art of Warhas provided military leaders with essential advice on battlefield tactics, managing troops and terrain, and employing cunning and deception. For more...

New to Black Classics with a New Introduction by Giles Foden Three men trek to the remote African interior in search of a lost friend - and reach, at the...

Shipwrecked and cast adrift, Lemuel Gulliver wakes to find himself on Lilliput, an island inhabited by little people, whose height makes their quarrels over fashion and fame seem ridiculous. His...

The definitive portrait of the real Socrates Rich in drama and humour, they include the controversial Ion, a debate on poetic inspiration; Laches, in which Socrates seeks to define bravery;...

The original 'sex and shopping' novel Au Bonheur des Dames is the glittering Paris department store run by Octave Mouret. He has used charm and drive to become director of...

New edition of one of the most powerful of the Icelandic prose sagas Written in the thirteenth century, Njal's Saga is a story that explores perennial human problems-from failed marriages...

A collection of Chekhov's dramatic masterpieces At a time when the Russian theatre was dominated by formulaic melodramas and farces, Chekhov created a new sort of drama that laid bare...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Penguin Classics relaunch. The Faerie Queene was the first epic in English and one of the most influential poems in the language for later poets from Milton to Tennyson. Dedicating...

Part of a series of new editions of DH Lawrence's most famous novels, stories and poems In these impressions of the Italian countryside, Lawrence transforms ordinary incidents into passages of...

A superb translation of one of the greatest nineteenth century poems- the libretto to Wagner's Ring cycle The scale and grandeur of Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung has no...

Michael Hamburger's distinguished translation of a selection of poems by German poet Friedrich Holderlin Friedrich H lderlin (1770-1843) is now recognized as one of Europe's supreme poets. He first found...

The Story of the Stone (c. 1760), also known by the title of The Dream of the Red Chamber, is the great novel of manners in Chinese literature. The Story...

The complete collection of the poetry of Walt Whitman, one of the most influential American voices In 1855 Walt Whitman published Leaves of Grass, the work which defined him as...

What is history and how should it be written? This important new anthology contains all the seminal texts that relate to the writing of history in the ancient world The...

The definitive collection of George Orwell's timeless political writing This comprehensive collection brings together the best of George Orwell's powerful political essays and journalism with his timeless satire on totalitarianism,...

New to Black Classics for this Classic Travel Book, with a new introduction by Jon Lee Anderson During the years he spent among the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq Wilfred...