‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife’.

With these words Jane Austen’s best-loved novel opens,...

P. D. James masterfully recreates the world of Pride and Prejudice, and combines it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly-crafted crime story. The year is 1803, and Darcy and...

Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram, their two daughters and two sons, are the fortunate residents of Mansfield Park, and they bring Fanny Price, the timid and delicate niece of Lady Bertram to share in...

Catherine Morland reads popular tales of Gothic romance, yet leads a quiet country life in Wiltshire. When she travels to Bath with Mr and Mrs Allen she meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney....

The difference between the two sisters, Elinor and Marianne, lies not only in their appearance but also in their temperament. Elinor’s good sense contrasts with Marianne’s impulsive candour....

Emma Woodhouse, motherless and mistress of her father’s home from an early age, is used to getting her own way. ‘Handsome, clever and rich’, she has every advantage. Employing her extensive...

Four hundred years after its first performance, Shakespeare's play The Tempest still captivates its audiences with a story of usurping brothers, monsters, magic and romance. Prospero, the exiled...

While England is threatened by rebellion, the king’s scapegrace son Hal haunts the taverns of London, accompanied by the dissolute Falstaff and his band of rogues. The Earl of Northumberland and...

In the early 15th century, civil war is rife in England. King Henry’s health is failing — and Falstaff and his ribald companions waste the nights in revelry, anticipating the moment when...

The all-conquering King Henry V is dead and the throne is occupied by his infant son, Henry VI. The good Duke Humphrey of Gloucester has been appointed Protector, but a struggle for power soon...

The Yorkists have been temporarily victorious and the Duke of York has assumed the throne, but the Lancastrians, led by Queen Margaret, counter-attack. As the fortunes of war shift, both the...

King Henry is married to Katherine of Aragon, but he has been smitten by the charms of the Queen's Maid of Honour, Anne Bullen, and is tempted to divorce his dignified and noble wife. Meanwhile,...

The Yorkists have emerged victorious from the civil wars and Edward IV wears the English crown. But Edward's misshapen brother Richard harbours kingly ambitions and will stop at nothing to achieve...

The noble Titus returns victorious to Rome bringing Tamora, Queen of the Goths as his captive. When one of Tamora's sons is condemned to die, she vows revenge and, aided by the villainous Aaron,...

Palamon and Arcite, cousins and bosom friends, are taken prisoner by Duke Theseus of Athens. While in captivity, they spy the beautiful Emilia. Both fall instantly in love with her, and their...

The young and virtuous physician's daughter Helena desperately loves Count Bertram, but he regards her as beneath his notice. When Helena cures the King of France of a mortal illness, he rewards...

Helen Huntingdon flees a disastrous marriage and retreats to the desolate, half-ruined moorland mansion, Wildfell Hall. With her small son, Arthur, she adopts an assumed name and makes her living...

The work tells the story of Jane's early life, her experience at Lowood School and as a governess. Her refusal to accept Rochester's love on any but her own strictly moral terms is a passionate...

Even after the resounding triumph of ‘Jane Eyre’, Charlotte Brontë could persuade no one to publish ‘The Professor’, her first novel. This story of William Crimsworth, who goes to...

Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord. There he discovers the history of...

When John Durbeyfield discovers a family connection to the ancient Norman family, the D’Urbervilles, the fate of daughter Tess is transformed. Sent by her ambitious parents to visit her wealthy...

An unabridged reading of the classic novel by Thomas Hardy.

Independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate...

Jude Fawley is a stonemason with a passion for scholarship who longs to study at the nearby university town of Christminster. Then Arabella Donn comes into his life. His longing for her eclipses...

In a fit of drunken anger, Michael Henchard sells his wife and baby daughter for five guineas at a country fair. Over the course of the following years, he manages to establish himself as a...

Eustacia Vye is cut off from the world in her grandfather’s lonely cottage. Clym Yeobright seems to offer everything she dreams of: passion, excitement and the opportunity to escape. However,...

‘Under the Greenwood Tree’ is Hardy’s most charming novel using, as it does, the four seasons of the Wessex year as a backdrop for the delightful romance of the young tranter Dick Dewy and...