"When it comes to walking the mean streets, Dickens could give modern genre authors the tour of their lives." -Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times When a corpse is found in the Thames River and identified as John Harmon, many lives will be forever changed. John, who had been abroad and estranged from his miserly father for years, will no longer collect his inheritance. It will instead go to the miser's employees, Mr. and Mrs. Boffin, transforming...

Based on the true story of Alexander Selkirk, who survived alone for almost five years on an uninhabited island off the coast of Chile, The Mysterious Island is considered by many to be Jules Verne's masterpiece. Published in French as L'Île Mystérieuse in 1874, this novel is a sequel to Verne's earlier Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas. After hijacking a balloon from a Confederate camp, a band of five northern prisoners escape the American...

An enhanced edition of the classic writing manual features humorous art by a popular children's book illustrator and New Yorker cover artist, in a volume that provides visual and whimsical embellishments to the original instructive text--Publisher

The "60 Minutes" commentator brings together his greatest pieces of writing spanning a half-century.

Thuvia, Maid of Mars is a science fantasy novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fourth of the Barsoom series. The principal characters are Carthoris (the son of John Carter of Mars) and Thuvia of Ptarth, each of whom appeared in the previous two novels. While typical in many ways of Burrough's Barsoom novels, it also includes some inventive elements. Carthoris is madly in love with Thuvia. This love was foreshadowed at the end of the previous novel....

With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson-the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent-brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't), to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed...

When Jack Kells kidnaps the beautiful Joan Randle, he takes her to an isolated canyon where his legion are plotting to acquire a gold fortune. The woman becomes an unexpected accomplice to an intricate robbery. Jack Kells is the cold-hearted leader of a group of mountain bandits. Despite his rough exterior, he develops a soft spot for their latest victim-Miss Joan Randle. She was captured by the men and taken to their hideout where she encounters...

Love of Life and Other Stories (1906) is a collection of short stories by American writer Jack London. Containing eight stories by the author, a master of literary Naturalism and an experienced outdoorsman and adventurer, Love of Life and Other Stories explores the experience of humanity on the edge of civilization. Set mostly in Canada and Alaska, these stories follow characters for whom survival is a constant struggle, for whom death is as familiar...

The celebrated author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles offers inspiration and insight on finding one's muse and channeling it onto the page.

Acclaimed writer of novels and short stories as well as screen- and stage plays, Ray Bradbury has established himself as one of the most legendary voices in science fiction and fantasy. In Zen in the Art of Writing, he shares how his unbridled passion for creating...

The loves of two sisters set against the drab life in Nottingham.