Novel

Woolf continually used stories and sketches to experiment with narrative models and themes for her novels. This collection of nearly fifty pieces brings together the contents of two published volumes, A Haunted House and Mrs. Dalloway's Party; a number of uncollected stories; and several previously unpublished pieces. Edited and with an Introduction by Susan Dick.

First published fifteen years ago, shortly after his death, inside this collection are some of the finest short stories of science fiction writing from one of the genre's greatest writers, Isaac Asimov. Isaac Asimov was the Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America, the founder of robot ethics, and one of the world's most prolific authors of fiction and non-fiction. The Good Doctor's short fiction has been enjoyed by millions for more than half a century. Now the definitive Asimov collection is underway with Volume One of The Complete Stories. Many of these stories are classics of the genre, and the last, 'The Last Question', the absolute personal favourite of Asimov himself. Always entertaining and thought provoking, these stories display Asimov's mastery of the short story form. He remains supreme as the thinking person's science fiction writer.

A shape-shifting grifter boards a Mississippi riverboat to expose the pretenses, hypocrisies, and self-delusions of his fellow passengers. Melville's comic allegory challenges the optimism and materialism of mid-nineteenth century America.

ONE OF THE BBC'S '100 NOVELS THAT SHAPED OUR WORLD'As dramatised on BBC Radio 4, Edna O'Brien's iconic trilogy of novels - The Country Girls, The Lonely Girl and Girls in their Married Bliss - depicts the lives and loves of two girls in rural 1950s Ireland. Edna O'Brien's debut novels revolutionised Irish literature in the 1960s. Banned by the authorities as 'indecent and obscene' and burned by the clergy, they were instantly notorious for their frank portrayal of sexual desire: but scandal soon became fame, and made this coming-of-age story a bestseller and instant classic. Caithleen 'Kate' Brady and Bridget 'Baba' Brennan have grown up in the repressive atmosphere of a small Irish village after World War II. Kate is a romantic, looking for love; Baba is a reckless survivor. After being expelled from convent school, they dream of conquering the bright lights of Dublin - but are rewarded with bad faith, bad luck, and bad sex; marry for the wrong reasons, then betray for the wrong reasons; and fight - in their unique ways - the expectations forced upon young 'girls' of every era that dictate the women they become. Published in an omnibus edition with a new foreword by Eimear McBride, Edna O'Brien's portrait of innocence and youth, love and despair, hope and reality, continues to inspire new generations of readers with its bravery, lyricism, humour, and courage. Edna O'Brien's stunning new novel Girl will be published by Faber in September 2019: available for pre-order now.

Entertaining short stories from the foremost science-fiction writer of the early 20th century include the title fable as well as "The Star," a gripping story about a massive celestial object hurtling toward the Earth, "The New Accelerator," "The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes," "Under the Knife," and others.

Dickens's delightful evocations of a Victorian Christmas include the title story, a heartwarming fable of home life; "The Holly-Tree," concerning love reclaimed at a country inn; and "The Haunted House," an entertaining account of a belligerent ghost. Combining realism and fantasy, these tales attest to their author's flair for characterization and the picturesque.

When Bill Masen wakes up blindfolded in hospital there is a bitter irony in his situation. Carefully removing his bandages, he realizes that he is the only person who can see: everyone else, doctors and patients alike, have been blinded by a meteor shower. Now, with civilization in chaos, the triffids - huge, venomous, large-rooted plants able to 'walk', feeding on human flesh - can have their day. The Day of the Triffids, published in 1951, expresses many of the political concerns of its time: the Cold War, the fear of biological experimentation and the man-made apocalypse. However, with its terrifyingly believable insights into the genetic modification of plants, the book is more relevant today than ever before. John Wyndham was born in 1903. After a wide experience of the English preparatory school he was at Bedales from 1918 to 1921. Careers which he tried included farming, law, commercial art, and advertising, and he first started writing short stories, intended for sale, in 1925. During the war he was in the Civil Service and afterwards in the Army. In 1946 he began writing his major science fiction novels including "The Kraken Wakes", "The Chrysalids" and "The Midwich Cuckoos".

A bold and brilliant short work by the author of Grief is the Thing with Feathers and Lanny. Madrid. Unfinished. Man Dying. A great painter lies on his deathbed. Max Porter translates into seven extraordinary written pictures the explosive final workings of the artist's mind.

An immaculate portrait of adolescent love from one of our most beloved novelists. 'One of the last century's greatest woman writers' GuardianWhen sixteen-year-old Portia is orphaned, she is plunged into the sophisticated and politely treacherous world of her wealthy half-brother's home. There she encounters the attractive cad Eddie. To him, Portia is at once child and woman, and he fears her gushing love. To her, Eddie is the only reason to be alive. But when Eddie follows Portia to a sea-side resort, the flash of a cigarette lighter in a darkened cinema illuminates a stunning romantic betrayal - and sets in motion one of the most moving and desperate flights of the heart in modern literature. 'This is a stunning portrait of the human heart, a raw account of romantic betrayal and the pains of growing up' Sunday Times **One of the 50 best books of the past 100 years**