Michael Ward
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HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics. 'From that hour we had no further occasion for the exercise of reason, or judgment, or skill, or contrivance. We were henceforth to be hurled along, the playthings of the fierce elements of the deep.' In Verne's science-fiction classic, Professor Lidenbrock chances upon an ancient manuscript and pledges to solve the mysterious coded message that lies within it. Eventually...
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In "The Railway Children", a young family must leave their comfortable London life for a house in the country when their father is taken away unexpectedly. Roberta, Peter and Phyllis spend their days at the nearby train station, befriending the station master and porter and many of the passengers. Waving goodbye to the departing London train each day and sending their love to their father who is detained there, they strike up a friendship with a kindly...
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Criminals beware - there is no eluding the extraordinary mind of Father Brown Dr. Orion Hood is one of the eminent thinkers of his day, a psychologist whose expert opinion on human nature is sometimes sought by the police. Usually, he is called on to solve only the most spectacular crimes - a nobleman murdered, a diplomat poisoned - but today a more ordinary problem presents itself. An amiable little priest named Father Brown asks Dr. Hood to help...
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Soon after the American Civil War, Confederate soldier John Carter joins the gold rush in Arizona. After striking a vein of gold, Carter runs into trouble with the natives of the area. In attempts to evade their pursuit, Carter hides in a cave, unaware of its magical properties. Mysteriously, Carter is transported to Mars, which the planet inhabitants call "Barsoom". When Carter discovers that the gravity difference between Mars and Earth has granted...
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Kidnapped was published in 1886 amid one of the most productive periods of Robert Louis Stevenson's career. Although it was immediately met with popular success and critical acclaim, the novel was derided for decades as a story for children before being recognized as a major work of English literature.
Set in the aftermath of the Jacobite uprising of 1745, and full of a rich blend of English and Scots, Kidnapped is a powerful work with strong Scottish...
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When lawyer Gabriel John Utterson witnesses the odd behavior of a man named Edward Hyde, who uses cheques signed by Utterson's friend Dr. Henry Jekyll, he decides to investigate the strange and violent man. Utterson soon discovers the horrible and incredible truth in the form of a letter written by Dr. Jekyll and left near the body of the late Mr. Hyde.
Author Robert Louis Stevenson is believed to have had a somewhat volatile relationship with...
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Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince and Other Stories(1888) is an inscrutable, magical fairy tale collection that has filled readers of all ages with joy and wonder. Each story explores profound truths of love, morality, and suffering; yet there is a poignant beauty that shines through each of these remarkable and timeless tales.
The opening story, "The Happy Prince" is set in a town full of suffering, where a little sparrow who had been abandoned by...
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"British gentlemen Phileas Fogg makes a desperate wager that he and his servant the wily Passepartout, can circle the Earth in 80 days. Travelling by rail, by sea, even by elephant, Fogg overcomes every obstacle--and even rescues the beautiful Indian princess, Aouda, from certain death! But someone is tracking Fogg, determined to bring him back to England." --back cover
10) An Ideal Husband
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First performed in 1895, "An Ideal Husband" is Oscar Wilde's classic and much-loved comedic drama. The play tells the story of an up-and-coming politician, Sir Robert Chiltern, who tries to hide his secret past from his judgmental wife and the blackmail scheme he is forced to participate in to keep that secret quiet. Lady Chiltern has a very particular idea of what makes the "ideal husband" which leaves her with little tolerance for Sir Robert's all...
11) Pygmalion
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One of George Bernard Shaw's best-known plays, Pygmalion is based on ancient Greek mythology. Pygmalion fell in love with one of his sculptures, which then came to life. The general idea of that myth was a popular subject for Victorian era British playwrights.
Shaw's updated and revised version of this ancient Greek legend was first presented in England in 1914. Poking fun of the antiquated British class system, it introduces Henry Higgins, a professor...