Literary Fiction

Recently orphaned and left destitute, Briar Monroe accepts the protection of Lord Danville and the shadowed sanctuary of Thornby Manor. As Briar navigates the undercurrents of a household ruled by watchful servants and locked doors, she is drawn ever deeper into a web of suspicion, desire and fear. Whispers in the night, figures at windows, and a constant sense of being watched leave her questioning not only the truth about Thornby, but her own safety within its walls.

Told with exceptional grace and read beatifully by Indira Varma, The Light Years is a modern classic of twentieth-century English life and is the first novel in Elizabeth Jane Howard’s extraordinary, bestselling family saga, The Cazalet Chronicles. 'Compelling, moving, unputdownable...

Set in nineteenth-century Edinburgh, The Body Snatcher follows two medical students, Fettes and Macfarlane, who become entangled in the grisly world of grave robbing to supply cadavers for their studies. As the moral cost of their actions grows, the pair descend further into darkness as Fettes begins to suspect Macfarlane of more than just stealing bodies… A profoundly haunting and suspenseful tale of ethical decay, Stevenson's iconic short story remains a classic work of psychological and gothic horror.

In Thus Spoke Zarathustra , the philosopher-prophet Zarathustra descends from his mountain solitude to challenge everything humanity thinks it knows about truth, morality, religion, and purpose. Through poetic speeches, parables, and sharp philosophical provocations, he introduces radical ideas that shake modern thought. Part philosophical manifesto, part mystical epic, and part psychological exploration, this revolutionary work pushes listeners to confront a question that still feels urgent today: If old beliefs no longer guide us, what should we become?

The Essential Brontë Sisters Collection brings together the singular, definitive works of one of the most famous and impactful families of writers in history. Between Emily, Charlotte, and Anne, the Brontës wrote into existence some of the most memorable and long-lasting characters of English literature. Collected here are their most celebrated works - Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Jane Eyre , by Charlotte Brontë Orphaned Jane emerges from a cold, hostile upbringing at Lowood Institution to take her place as governess at Thornfield, home of Mr Rochester.

Francis Andrews has spent years drifting between smuggling crews and bad decisions, convincing himself he doesn't belong anywhere. When a failed smuggling operation leaves him hunted by former allies and forced into hiding, he finds refuge in an unlikely place: a small rural community where trust is hard-earned and redemption seems impossible. As Andrews begins to form real connections—especially with a woman who sees more in him than he believes exists—he's forced to confront the battle between the man he has been and the man he could become.

Lucy lives in a Berkshire village with her two friends, Jane and Bella, and works in the marketing department of Widgetex Computers. Her boss – Slave Driver – is a constant bane; her family are lovable eccentrics; her boyfriend, the dishy but fickle Greg, takes shameless advantage of her (Lucy is too good hearted to notice). Throughout two action-packed, fun-filled, disaster-strewn years, Lucy charts an erratic course among this motley crew to her very own happy ending.

Carrie Soto est féroce, et sa détermination à gagner à tout prix ne l'a pas rendue très populaire. Mais lorsqu'elle se retire du tennis en 1988, elle est la plus grande joueuse que le monde ait jamais connue. Elle a pulvérisé tous les records et remporté vingt titres du Grand Chelem. Pour devenir la meilleure, Carrie a tout sacrifié, entraînée par son père depuis l'âge de deux ans. Mais six ans après sa retraite, Carrie voit la jeune et éblouissante Nicki Chan lui arracher son record mondial. À trente-sept ans, Carrie décide de reprendre l'entraînement pour tenter de reconquérir son titre.

L'aristocratie anglaise ne se doute guère que lady « Gus » Augusta et sa sœur Julia sont beaucoup plus que deux vieilles filles. Gus et Julia ont accueilli Hester, la sœur de lord Evan, un séduisant forçat évadé dont Gus est amoureuse, ainsi que sa compagne pour les protéger d'une société qui rejette l'homosexualité. Cependant, le passé trouble de lord Evan ne cesse de les mettre en péril et l'étau se resserre autour du petit groupe. Les sœurs doivent à la fois prouver l'innocence du lord et exfiltrer les deux femmes.

Kana sería un tranquilo pueblo perdido en Turingia si su remota desolación no hubiera atraído a un grupo de neonazis... Mientras que los lugareños mantienen las distancias con los extraños, Florian Herscht, un huérfano tan formidable como inofensivo, inocentón y clarividente, cree tener amigos en ambos bandos; y, convencido de que el universo está a punto de colapsar, escribe una carta tras otra a Angela Merkel para advertirla de la inminente catástrofe. Sólo el descubrimiento de la música de Bach le permitirá sustraerse de sus tormentosos presagios.

With an introduction by Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall. Originally published in 1956, The Long View is Elizabeth Jane Howard's uncannily authentic portrait of one marriage and one woman. Written with exhilarating wit, it is a gut-wrenching account of the birth and death of a relationship. In...

Painting a candid picture of a family in crisis, Something in Disguise is a haunting, heartfelt novel from the bestselling author of the Cazalet Chronicles, Elizabeth Jane Howard. May's second marriage to Colonel Herbert Brown-Lacy is turning out to be a terrible mistake. Her son, Oliver, leaves...

The minds of five normal people merge in a beautiful, unnerving first contact story where the strangest thing humanity has to face is each other, from the critically acclaimed author of Sleeping Giants. “I’m you now. We all are.” When advertising executive Carole Veilleux loses it at...

When art teacher Walter Hartright meets a frightened woman dressed entirely in white, her cryptic warnings hint at a hidden conspiracy. Soon after, Walter arrives at a country estate where he becomes entangled in the lives of two sisters—one gentle and trusting, the other sharp and perceptive—both surrounded by secrets they don't fully understand. As strange events unfold and powerful enemies begin to close in, a web of deception, identity theft, and betrayal slowly emerges.

In the shadows of London, a quiet shopkeeper is living a dangerous double life. Adolf Verloc appears ordinary—a husband, a small business owner, a man who keeps to himself. But behind the dusty windows of his shop lies a web of espionage, anarchists, and secret orders from foreign powers. Pressured to prove his usefulness, Verloc becomes entangled in a reckless plot that spirals far beyond his control. As the scheme unfolds, the consequences ripple through the lives closest to him—especially his wife, Winnie, whose quiet loyalty is tested in ways she never imagined.

The year is 1984. The British government has become impersonal and apathetic, not run by a particular party or corresponding ideology, but by the random selection of a new figurehead each year. When the eccentric Auberon Quin is chosen to lead the country, the nation begins to take a whimsical turn. In an attempt to liven up London, Auberon transforms the city into a mock-medieval town, complete with crests, flags and costumes. Everything is a joke–that is until Adam Wayne, a young man claiming to be the Napoleon of Notting Hill, begins to take it seriously.

'Madmen do not rebel against logic – they merely use it where it is not applicable.' A brilliantly unique collection of short stories, The Poet and the Lunatics was originally published in Nash's Magazine in 1921. Today, it remains a masterpiece of detective fiction. Gabriel Gale, an eccentric poet, often finds himself acting as detective when he becomes entangled in a series of bizarre and psychologically challenging events.

Part spy novel and part allegory, The Man Who Was Thursday centres on Gabriel Symes, a poet who was recruited by Scotland Yard to secretly infiltrate an anarchist group. During his first meeting with the anarchists, Symes is unexpectedly elected as a new delegate to the central council. Each member is named after a day of the week, and so Syme becomes ‘Thursday’. As he begins to unmask the other council members, he discovers that all is not what it seems: one by one these supposed anarchists are unveiled to be working undercover too. That is until Syme gets to man called ‘Sunday’…

The humble yet shrewd Father Brown returns in a series of epic mysteries that see him use his gift of human understanding to solve the crimes at play. After all, it is not just logic and rational thinking that can get to the root of these crimes – but moral reasoning too. In these twelve tales, we see a man seemingly disappear from a locked room, a staged robbery, a fatal love triangle and much more. Rather than mere criminal tricks, these stories offer profound psychological and spiritual truths.

The Return of Don Quixote centres on the character of Michael Herne, a gentle, quiet librarian. When Michael finds himself cast as a king in a medieval play, he reluctantly fulfils the role. But after the play's end, peculiar things start to occur: Michael begins donning armour, adopts chivalric ideals and boldly questions the hypocrisies of modern society. As Michael rallies for a movement that tackles misplaced power and dishonour, it's clear that a new Don Quixote is in town…

Originally published in 1927, The Secret of Father Brown sees our wise and moral amateur detective navigate more tales of crime and violence. Although quiet and unassuming, Father Brown has sharp skills of deduction and – most importantly – a deep, empathetic understanding of human nature, putting himself into the minds of the criminals he faces. From a mistaken suicide and a potential culprit with two faces, to a missing aristocrat and a remorseful killer, this brilliantly unique collection of short stories cement G.K. Chesterton as a master of the mystery genre.

Quasimodo, the isolated and disfigured bell-ringer of the great cathedral, lives hidden from the world—feared by the crowds below and bound in loyalty to the powerful archdeacon who raised him. But everything changes when he encounters Esmeralda, a free-spirited dancer whose kindness awakens a longing he has never known. As desire, jealousy, and power collide in the shadow of the cathedral, the lives of Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and those around them spiral toward a tragic reckoning. In a city ruled by appearances and authority, compassion may be the rarest—and most dangerous—virtue of all.

The year is 1665, and London is under siege: fear and paranoia haunt the city's streets, infection begins to spread like wildfire and people do all they can to avoid the horrific disease thrust upon their homes. Written in a candid, first-person narrative – thought to be inspired by Defoe's own uncle, who lived in London's East End at the time of the plague – the novel reports the grim realities of the epidemic in unflinching detail.

For readers of George Saunders, Kelly Link, David Mitchell, and Karen Russell, This Census-Taker is a stunning, uncanny, and profoundly moving novella from multiple-award-winning and bestselling author China Miéville. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR In a remote house on a hilltop...

The re-dipping of dishes was a small matter, but the emotional texture of married life is made up of small matters. This one had become invested with a fatal quality. Imogen, the beautiful and much younger wife of distinguished barrister Evelyn Gresham, is facing the greatest challenge of her...