The story of the orphan Oliver, who runs away from the workhouse only to be taken in by a den of thieves, shocked readers when it was first published. Dickens's tale of childhood innocence beset by evil depicts the dark criminal underworld of a London peopled by vivid and memorable characters—the arch-villain Fagin, the artful Dodger, the menacing Bill Sikes and the prostitute Nancy. Combinin…
To save his ailing mother, young Merlin must master the Seven Songs of Wisdom passed down from his grandfather, a legendary wizard. Only then can he journey to the spiritual Otherworld to obtain the elixir he needs. But the quest involves a task Merlin must perform -- defeating a vile ogre whose merest glance means death. And even more difficult for the young wizard, he must discover the secret…
This tells the poignant tale of a Chinese farmer and his family in old agrarian China. The humble Wang Lung glories in the soil he works, nurturing the land as it nurtures him and his family. Nearby, the nobles of the House of Hwang consider themselves above the land and its workers; but they will soon meet their own downfall. Hard times come upon Wang Lung and his family when flood and drou…
from the back cover: England and Scotland in the 1500s. Two famous queens - Mary, the Catholic Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I, the Protestant Queen of England. It was an exciting and a dangerous time to be alive, and to be a queen. Mary was Queen of Scotland when she was one week old. At sixteen, she was also Queen of France. She was tall and beautiful, with red-gold hair. Many men loved h…
from the back cover: 'It's an interesting job,' says Sally about her work at Happy Hills. And today is a very exciting day because Zapp the famous singer is coming. Everybody is having a wonderful time. But suddenly something goes wrong - very wrong.
from the back cover: The empty centre of Australia. The sun is hot and there are not many people. And when Bill meets a man, alone, standing on an empty road a long way from anywhere, he is surprised and worried. And Bill is right to be worried. Because there is something strange about the man he meets. Very strange . . .
from the back cover: 'Every day is the same. Nothing exciting ever happens to me,' thinks Adam one boring Monday morning. But today is not the same. When he helps a beautiful young woman because some men want to take her bag, life gets exciting and very, very dangerous.