Maupassant's second novel, Bel-Ami (1885) is the story of a ruthlessly ambitious young man making it to the top in fin-de-siecle Paris. It is a novel about money, sex, and power, set against the background of the politics of the French colonization of North Africa. This new translation is complemented by fullest introduction and notes of any edition.

An ancient book is opened by the eccentric Professor Lidenbrock and his life - and the life of his nephew Axel - is changed for ever. An old piece of paper has tumbled from the book, a priceless parchment that will lead them on a terrifying journey to find what lies at the centre of the Earth.

The Emperor Hadrian writes a valedictory letter to Marcus Aurelius, his future successor. The Emperor meditates on his past, describing his accession, military triumphs, love of poetry and music, and the philosophy that informed his powerful and far-flung rule. This work recreates the life and death of one of the great rulers of the ancient world.

This is a new translation of five stories, including 'The Room', 'Erostratus', 'The Childhood of a Leader' and 'Intimacy', from a master of Existentialism.

Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook ...

A collection of philosohical fragments, notes and essays in which the author explores the contradictions of human nature in pscyhological, social, metaphysical and - above all - theological terms.

An essay on the nature of human revolt, this book makes a critique of communism, how it had gone wrong behind the Iron Curtain, and the resulting totalitarian regimes. It also questions two events held sacred by the left wing, the French Revolution of 1789 and the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Candide is the most famous of Voltaire's 'philosophical tales', in which he combined witty improbabilities with the sanest of good sense. This edition includes four other prose tales - Micromegas, Zadig, The Ingenu, and The White Bull - and a verse tale based on Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale,: What Pleases the Ladies.

On a crowded bus at midday, the author observes one man accusing another of jostling him deliberately. When a seat is vacated, the first man appropriates it. In another part of town, the author sees the man being advised by a friend to sew another button on his overcoat. This book retells this tale ninety-nine times in 99 different styles.

Weaves a tapestry of daily life as seen through a magical perspective. This book combines Breton's autobiographical fact with memory and imagination, and spins a love story in modern literature.

In Search of Lost Time is one of the greatest, most entertaining reading experiences in any language. This book is an English translation of the French original.

Acclaimed by language professionals the world over, the Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary leads the field. The dictionary is based on the statistical evidence of vast electronic databanks of real language, both written and spoken, making it the most comprehensive, reliable, and up-to-date dictionary of French and English available today. And now, it has even better coverage of the language, with

The summer holidays are dragging on and Harry Potter can't wait for the start of the school year. It is his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and there are spells to be learnt and (unluckily) Potions and Divination lessons to be attended. But Harry can't know that the atmosphere is darkening around him.

From the moment she walks from court having been charged with attempting to poison her husband, to her banishment, escape to Paris, and final years of solitude and waiting, the life of Therese Desqueyroux is passionate and tortured.

Au Bonheur des Dames is the glittering Paris department store run by Octave Mouret. He has used charm and drive to become director of this mighty emporium, unscrupulously exploiting his young female staff and seducing his lady customers with luxurious displays of shimmering silks, satins, velvets and lace.

The fraternal love that Pierre Roland feels for his younger brother Jean has always been tinged with jealousy. But when a lawyer arrives at the house, to declare that an old family friend has bequeathed his entire fortune to Jean, this envy rapidly becomes an all-consuming force... This is a personal story of suspicion, jealousy and family love.

A collection of poems that retell some of the world's well-known fables including 'The Ant and the Grasshopper', 'The Hare and the Tortoise' and 'The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse'.