Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, this work explores with humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties.

Depicting the gradual disintegration of the Compson family through four fractured narratives, this title explores passionate family relationships where there is no love, only self-centredness. It is about lovelessness - 'only an idiot has no grief; only a fool would forget it. What else is there in this world sharp enough to stick to your guts?'

Successive episodes in the death and burial of Addie Bundren are recounted by various members of the family circle, principally as they are carting their mother's coffin to Jefferson, Mississippi, in order to bury her among her people.

Sue Monk Kidd's exquisite first novel has received huge acclaim. 'Wonderfully written, powerful, poignant, and humorous... Do read it' Joanna Trollope

A novel, both funny and macabre, which ties in with the film of the same name, starring Jessica Tandy and Kathy Bates.

Set against the dramatic backdrop of the American Civil War, this is tale of love and loss, of a nation mortally divided and a people forever changed. It is the story of beautiful, ruthless Scarlett O'Hara and the soldier of fortune, Rhett Butler.

Joe Christmas - a man doomed, deracinated and alone - wanders the Deep South in search of an identity, and a place in society. After killing his perverted God-fearing lover, it becomes inevitable that he is pursued by a lynch-hungry mob. Yet after the sacrifice, there is new life, a determined ray of light in the author's complex and tragic world.

Narrated by Quentin Compson, the suicide in The Sound and the Fury , this is the tale of Thomas Sutpen, a poor White who dreams of founding a dynasty. His refusal to accept his wife's Negro blood initiates a bloody train of events to create a vision of doom of the American South.

Presents a true story of intrigue, murder, forgery and eccentricity set in the steamy, surreal atmosphere of Savannah, Georgia. This book brings the unpredictable twists and turns of a murder case that are interwoven with a first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South.

The ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged as well. Ignatius ignores them as he heaves his vast bulk through the city's fleshpots in a noble crusade against vice, modernity and ignorance. But his momma has a nasty surprise in store for him.

Set in the 1930s, this novel traces the rise and fall of an American demagogue - Louisiana Governor Willie Stark - a once humble man of the people, steadily corrupted by power. Often labelled a political novel, it is also about personal corruption and disillusionment.

Huckleberry Finn had a tough life with his drunk father until an adventure with Tom Sawyer changed everything. But when Huck's dad returns and kidnaps him, he must escape down the Mississippi river with runaway slave, Jim. They encounter trouble at every turn, from floods and gunfights to armed bandits and the long arm of the law.

A group of people have little in common except that they are all hopelessly lonely. A young girl, a drunken socialist and a black doctor are drawn to a gentle, sympathetic deaf mute, whose presence changes their lives.

Tells the story of Hazel Motes who, released from the armed services, returns to the evangelical Deep South. There he begins a private battle against the religiosity of the community and in particular against Asa Hawkes, the 'blind' preacher, and his degenerate fifteen-year-old daughter.

A journey to the South that only Southerners know, to a time when Blue Velvet was played at the Senior Prom, and into the life of Daisy Fay Harper. Daisy is a sassy, truth-telling heroine who just can't stay out of trouble. What's more, she tells us everything.

Published for the first time in the VMC, the complete collected short stories of one of America's greatest living writers.

The classic, Pulitzer-Prize winning novel that made Alice Walker a household name.

A reflective, poignant novel of independence and love from one of America's greatest contemporary Southern writers.

Kaye Gibbons' highly acclaimed first novel

Meet Sookie Stackhouse: a quirky, kick-ass heroine and an infusion of fresh blood in the world of vampire fiction