Novel

When The Forsyte Saga was shown on television in 1967 it was hugely successful. The nation was gripped by the masterful visual telling of the Forsyte family's troubled story and adapted its activities to suit the next transmission. The Forsyte Saga comprising The Man of Property, In Chancery and To Let, is here produced by Wordsworth for the first time in a single volume. Initially, the narrative centres on Soames Forsyte - a successful solicitor living in London with his beautiful wife Irene. A pillar of the late Victorian upper middle class, materially wealthy, his appears to be a golden existence endowed with all the necessary possessions for a 'Man of Property', but beneath this very proper exterior lies a core of unhappiness and brutal relationships. The marriage of Soames and Irene disintegrates in bitter recrimination, creating a feud within the family that will have far-reaching consequences.

Widely acclaimed since publication, John Fowles' most beloved novel is the ultimate epic historical romance. Charles Smithson, a respectable engaged man, meets Sarah Woodruff as she stands on the Cobb at Lyme Regis, staring out to sea. Charles falls in love, but Sarah is a disgraced woman, and their romance will defy all the stifling conventions of the Victorian age.

A moving story of love, friendship, grief, healing, and the magical bond between a woman and her dog - now in a stunning new edition as part of Virago's 50th anniversary Five Gold Reads seriesWINNER OF THE 2018 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD * A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD'A true delight: I genuinely fear I won't read a better novel this year' FINANCIAL TIMES'Loved this. A funny, moving examination of love, grief, and the uniqueness of dogs' GRAHAM NORTON'Delicious' SUNDAY TIMES 100 BEST SUMMER READSWhen a woman unexpectedly loses her lifelong best friend and mentor, she finds herself burdened with the unwanted dog he has left behind. Her own battle against grief is intensified by the mute suffering of the dog, a huge Great Dane, and by the threat of eviction: dogs are prohibited in her apartment building.

Albertine disparue first published in 1925. This English translation first published in Great Britain by Allen Lane The Penguin Press, 2002.

An Alternate History adventure... From Turkish dominated Europe, across the high seas to the land of opportunity-the Aztec Empire- Dan Beauchamp is a young Englishman whose heart longs for fortune and adventure. But industrial Mexico is a long way from primitive Britain, and Dan has a lot to learn. From the city of London-better known as New Istanbul-to the untamed wilderness of North America lies a high adventure not to be missed.

THE GATE TO WOMEN'S COUNTRY tells of a society that exists three hundred years after our own has nearly destroyed itself. Now, male warriors are separated from women at an early age and live in garrisons plotting futilely for the battles which must never be fought again. Inside the women's towns, education, arts and science flourish. But for some like Stavia, there is more to see. Her sojourn with the man she is forbidden to love brings into sharp focus the contradictions that define their lives. And when tragedy strikes, Stavia is faced with a decision she never thought she would make - a decision that could for ever change their world ... THE GATE TO WOMEN'S COUNTRY is a novel that rivals Margaret Atwood's THE HANDMAID'S TALE in scope, impact, and the sheer power of its storytelling.

One private island. Seven guests. One killer...

The perfect holiday. The perfect murder. The perfect beach read.

Get away from your problems.
Multimillionaire Robert Rathwell and his entourage arrive at their private Greek island. White sand, turquoise water, the perfect place to relax. But this is no ordinary family, and this holiday will be their last.

Get away from your life.
The next morning, a scream shatters their peaceful world. Someone has been murdered, his body arranged to make it look like suicide. Everyone has a motive and, under the burning sun, secrets quickly simmer to the surface.

Get away with murder.
Soon the guests see a darker, more violent side to paradise. Because the Rathwells don't just own the island; they own the people on it. And they can do whatever they like - maybe even commit murder...

Book of the Month'A triumph... a brilliant idea carried out with confidence and brio and a deep love of an extraordinary city. The ingenuity of the time-skipping is beyond admiration' PHILIP PULLMAN'Spellbinding....

Chevalier at her fabulous best. A rich, vivid and gently enchanting novel' ELIF SHAFAK?Venice, 1486. Across the lagoon lies Murano.

Time flows differently here - like the glass the island's maestros spend their lives learning to handle.Women are not meant to work with glass, but Orsola Rosso flouts convention to save her family from ruin. She works in secret, knowing her creations must be perfect to be accepted by men. But perfection may take a lifetime.Skipping like a stone through the centuries, we follow Orsola as she hones her craft through war and plague, tragedy and triumph, love and loss.The beads she creates will adorn the necks of empresses and courtesans from Paris to Vienna - but will she ever earn the respect of those closest to her?Tracy Chevalier is a master of her own craft, and The Glassmaker is vivid, inventive, spellbinding: a virtuoso portrait of a woman, a family and a city that are as everlasting as their glass.

Susy Branch and Nick Lansing are typical Wharton heroes: popular, attractive, and much poorer than their “international set” friends. Like Lily Bart in The House of Mirth, the two depend on the largesse of more privileged acquaintances to get by. Recognizing in each other a desire for the finer things in life, they decide to get married and, knowing that their friends will happily provide fabulous accommodations, live rent-free on an extended honeymoon until either one of them finds a better match—at which point they will amicably divorce and sail off into their separate, wealthier sunsets. But a romantic tour of Europe can confuse even the most mercenary hearts. And when a friend asks for a favor in exchange for the use of her palazzo, Susy and Nick realize that everything in this sophisticated world comes at a price: one that their hearts and consciences may no longer allow them to pay. .

Henry James's highly charged study of adultery, jealousy and possession, The Golden Bowl is edited with an introduction and notes by Ruth Bernard Yeazell in Penguin Classics. Maggie Verver, a young American heiress, and her widowed father Adam, a billionaire collector of objets d'art, lead a life of wealth and refinement in London. They are both getting married: Maggie to Prince Amerigo, an impoverished Italian aristocrat, and Adam to the beautiful but penniless Charlotte Stant, a friend of his daughter. But both father and daughter are unaware that their new conquests share a secret - one for which all concerned must pay the price. Henry James's late, great work both continues and challenges his theme of confrontation between American innocence and European experience. This edition of The Golden Bowl contains a chronology, suggested further reading, a glossary, notes and an introduction by Ruth Bernard Yeazall discussing James's original conception of the novel and later changes made to its structure and characters. Henry James (1843-1916) son of a prominent theologian, and brother to the philosopher William James, was one of the most celebrated novelists of the fin-de-siecle. In addition to many short stories, plays, books of criticism, biography and autobiography, and much travel writing, he wrote some twenty novels. His novella 'Daisy Miller' (1878) established him as a literary figure on both sides of the Atlantic, and his other novels in Penguin Classics include Washington Square (1880), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), What Maisie Knew (1897), The Awkward Age (1899), The Wings of the Dove (1902) and The Ambassadors (1903). If you enjoyed The Golden Bowl, you might like Theodor Fontaine's Effi Briest, also available in Penguin Classics. 'A wonderfully luminous drama'Gore Vidal'One of the greatest pieces of fiction ever written'A.N. Wilson