RNIB National Library Service Giant Print 24
Classic fiction
Austen, Jane
Emma. 1994. 5v.
Emma Wodehouse has led a simple life, but during the course of this novel she at last reaps her share of the world's vexations. In this comedy of manners, the heroine learns to come to terms with the reality of other people, and with her own erring nature.
Austen, Jane.
MansfieldPark. 2008. 5v.
Adopted into the household of her Uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram, Fanny Price grows up a meek outsider among her cousins in the unaccustomed elegance of MansfieldPark. Soon after Sir Thomas absents himself on estate business in Antigua, Mary Crawford and her brother Henry arive at Mansfield, bringing with them London glamour, and the seductive taste for flirtation and theatre that precipitates a crisis.
Austen, Jane.
Persuasion. 2008. 3v.
Anne Elliot has been persuaded to break off her engagement, but meets Wentworth again after some time, and the story is concerned with the gradual revival of his passion for her.
Austen, Jane.
Sense and sensibility. 2008. 4v.
Mrs Dashwood and her two daughters must leave the family home and move to a small house in another part of the country. Soon Marianne and Elinor both fall in love, but they must first learn some terrible secrets before they find true happiness
Barr, Robert.
Rock in the Baltic. 2008. 2v.
A chance meeting with a beautiful girl in the banking hall of the Sixth National Bank in Bar Harbour, Maine, sets Lieutenant Alan Drummond of HMS Consternation off on a wild adventure and dark dealings in pre-revolutionary Russia and the Baltic.
Bennett, Arnold
The old wives' tale. 2009. 7v.
Constance, a staid and sensible young woman, marries the estimable and superficially insignificant Samuel Povey, and spends all her life in Bursley. The more passionate and imaginative Sophia elopes with the fascinating but unprincipled Gerald Scales, who carries her off to Paris where she suffers many indignities and is finally deserted. But the sisters are reunited, and spend their last years together in Bursley.
Blackmore, R D
Lorna Doone. 1993. 7v.
Set in the times of Charles II and James II, this is the story of John Ridd, an Exmoor yeoman, and his revenge for the murder of his father by the Doones. His love for Lorna complicates the issue until it is discovered that she is the daughter of a Scottish noble, so that the impediment to the marriage becomes one of social situation. This is soon overcome by her fidelity and by his services to an old kinsman of Lorna and to the king.
Brebner, Percy James.
The brown mask. 2008. 3v.
The story of the mystery relating to the identity of a notorious highwayman whose lawlessness is mixed with deeds of daring and chivalry. It is set in the time of the Monmouth Rebellion in the late 17th Century.
Brontë, Anne.
Agnes Grey. 2008. 2v.
An inexperienced girl has to earn her living as a governess - a story of "small unhappiness suffered without a murmur". But her resignation is undercut by a gentle irony that borders at times on near-caustic satire, and gives the novel an edge over the more passionate, mystical and enigmatic books written by Anne's sisters.
Brontë, Anne
The tenant of Wildfell Hall. 2009. 5v.
The story of Helen Huntingdon and her swaggering, debauched husband and of Gilbert Markham, the man who falls in love with Helen.
Bronte, Charlotte.
Jane Eyre. 2000. 1v.
The unhappy childhood of Jane Eyre, her time as governess at Thornfield Hall and her love for Mr Rochester.
Brontë, Charlotte
Shirley. 2009. 8v.
Romantic hope and the denial of feeling are the focus of this historical novel set in England at the time of the Napoleonic Wars.
Brontë, Charlotte
Villette. 2009. 6v.
A semi-autobiographical novel about a young, poor and unattractive English teacher who takes a post at a Belgian school where she gains esteem and affection through sheer strength of character.
Bronte, Emily.
WutheringHeights. 2003. 1v.
Set in the wild, bleak Yorkshire Moors, the story tells of the relationship between Cathy and Heathcliffe.
Bunyan, John
The pilgrim's progress. 2009. 2v. Classic fiction.
An allegorical account of Christian's
journey toward heaven or hell.
Burgess, Anthony
A clockwork orange. 2000. 2v.
Fifteen-year-old Alex and his three friends start an evening's mayhem by hitting an old man, tearing up his books and stripping him of money and clothes. Because of his delinquent excesses, Alex is jailed and made subject to "Ludovico's Technique", a chilling experiment in reclamation treatment.
Chesterton, G.K.
The wisdom of Father Brown. 2008. 2v.
The loveable amateur detective delves into more strange and baffling situations, applying his rich intuitive skills to solve mysteries that leave everyone else confounded.
Chesterton, G.K.
The innocence of Father Brown. 2008. 2v.
Eleven more stories in which Father Brown, priest-detective, solves plots of murder and mystery.
Collins, Wilkie.
The moonstone. 1994. 7v.
An emormous diamond is bequeathed to Miss Rachel Verinder by her uncle. In anticipation of Miss Verinder's eighteenth birthday, the Moonstone is spirited out of India and brought back to England whereupon it goes missing. Stolen in the first place from a Hindu shrine, the ownership and indeed the whereabouts of the sacred diamond is the question around which the plot revolves. Credited with being the first example of detective fiction the tale is told as a series of eyewitness accounts.
Conrad, Joseph.
Heart of darkness. 2008. 1v.
Heart of darkness is a chilling tale of horror set in the Congo during the period of rapid colonial expansion in the 19th century. The story deals with the highly disturbing effects of economic, social and political exploitation of European and African societies.
Conrad, Joseph
Lord Jim. 1994. 5v.
The central figure is Jim, the sensitive first mate of the Patna. "Lord Jim" traces the development of this character as he moulds himself and the society in which he is marooned. Plain Jim becomes Tuan or "Lord Jim".
Conrad, Joseph.
The secret agent. 2008. 3v.
An anarchist bomb plot fails through a woman's protective love for her simple-minded young brother.
Conrad, Joseph
Typhoon. 2009. 1v.
'Typhoon' is the story of a steamship and her crew beset by tempest, and of the stolid captain whose dogged courage is tested to the limit.
Defoe, Daniel.
The fortunes and misfortunes of the famous Moll Flanders. 1994. 4v.
Abandoned at six months old, Moll has no option but to use her considerable wit and looks to make her way in a world where no mercy is given to the unadaptable. As a woman her options are limited and Moll embarks on a rollicking career of incest, bigamy and crime.
Defoe, Daniel
Robinson Crusoe. 1994. 3v.
Robinson Crusoe, set ashore on an island after a terrible storm at sea, is forced to make do with only a knife, some tobacco, and a pipe. He learns how to build a canoe, make bread, and endure endless solitude. That is, until, twenty-four years later, when he confronts another human being.
Dickens, Charles.
A Christmas carol. 1992. 1v.
Ebenezer Scrooge is a heartless old miser who doesn't enjoy Christmas and doesn't think anyone else should, either. But, one Christmas Eve, some ghostly visitors take Scrooge on a journey that changes his mind for ever.
Dickens, Charles
A tale of two cities. 2009. 4v.
A story of the French Revolution set in London and Paris. Sydney Carton sacrifices his life on the guillotine for the happiness of Lucie Manette, the French girl he loves.
Dickens, Charles.
Barnaby Rudge: a tale of the riots of 'Eighty. 2010. 8v.
Set against the backdrop of the Gordon Riots of 1780, Barnaby Rudge is a story of mystery and suspense which begins with an unsolved double murder and goes on to involve conspiracy, blackmail, abduction and retribution. As London erupts into riot, fathers and sons become opposed, apprentices plot against their masters and anti-Catholic mobs rampage through the streets. Meanwhile Barnaby Rudge struggles to escape the curse of his own past.
Dickens, Charles
David Copperfield. 2009. 11v.
David Copperfield relates the story of his life. On his journey, David encounters a gallery of memorable characters, kind, cruel or grotesque: Mr Micawber, Uriah Heep and Steerforth are among the many that shape his development.
Dickens, Charles.
Dombey and Son. 2010. 10v.
Dombey has lost his beloved son, and his firm. His wife and daughter are estranged from him through his arrogance, and he lives alone and desolate until his daughter returns to take care of him.
Dickens, Charles.
Great expectations. 1998. 5v.
This novel charts Pip's progress from childhood to adulthood and the extraordinary characters he encounters, showing the danger of being driven by a desire for wealth and social status. This edition uses the text of the Clarendon edition.
Dickens, Charles.
Hard times. 1994. 3v.
Charles Dickens gives us a close-up look into what appears to be the ivory tower of the bourgeoisie of his day, yet these middle-class characters are viewed from a singular perspective, the perspective of those at the bottom of the social and economic system.
Dickens, Charles
Little Dorrit. 2009. 10v.
William Dorrit is a long-term inmate in the debtors' prison, Marshalsea. For her entire life so far, his daughter Amy has faithfully nursed him in jail. Trying to keep herself out of debt she works as a seamstress for the stern Mrs Clennam. When Mrs Clennam's son, Arthur, returns home from years abroad working for the family business, Amy's life begins to change.
Dickens, Charles
Nicholas Nickleby. 2009. 10v.
Nicholas goes as usher to Dotheboys Hall, where he meets the sadistic Squeers and his family. He foils the wicked plans of his uncle Ralph and rescues his sister from Sir Mulberry Hawk.
Dickens, Charles
Oliver Twist. 1994. 3v.
Oliver Twist is an orphan who was born in a workhouse. After an unhappy apprenticeship, Oliver runs away to London where he falls in with thieves, headed by Fagin. He is rescued by Mr Brownlow but the gang kidnap him back. Oliver discovers the identity of his parents and the gang is exposed.
Dickens, Charles.
Our mutual friend. 2010. 10v.
The novel follows the fortunes of Bella Wilfer, denied an inheritance by the death of the man she was to marry, and the Boffins, who receive the bequest in her place.
Dickens, Charles.
The mystery of Edwin Drood. 2010. 3v.
The betrothal of Edwin and Rosa by their fathers when they were
still very young leads to unhappiness, jealousy and violent quarrels.
Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir.
Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. 2008. 3v.
Eleven adventures of the Baker Street detective.
Dumas, Alexandre.
The man in the iron mask. 2010. 6v.
The Musketeers are back in another exciting adventure! This time a terrible secret threatens to bring down the throne of France. Aramis, Athos, Porthos, and D'Artagnan must rally once again to serve their king and save the country.
Dumas, Alexandre.
The three musketeers. 2010. 8v.
The classic historical adventure novel, set in the 1620s at the court of Louis XIII, where the musketeers are engaged in a battle against Richelieu, the King's minister, and a beautiful, unscrupulous spy.
Eliot, George
Middlemarch. 2009. 10v.
Dorothea Brooke marries Mr Casaubon, believing his researches into ancient mythologies are worthwhile. But sterility pervades his work and their marriage. Parallel to this runs the story of Lydgate, a young doctor also engaged in research but frustrated by his shallow wife, Rosamond. In contrast to Mr Casaubon, Will Ladislaw, his young cousin, is intensely alive and he and Dorothea are brought together at last.
Eliot, George
The mill on the Floss. 2009. 7v.
The story of the gifted Maggie Tulliver and her spoilt, selfish brother.
Fitzgerald, F Scott
Tender is the night: a romance. 2000. 4v.
To the French Riviera come Dick and Nicole Diver. Handsome, rich and glamorous, their dinners are legendary, their atmosphere magnetic. But something is wrong - Nicole has a secret and Dick a weakness.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott.
The Great Gatsby. 1990. 1v.
Set against a background of Long Island glamour and New York squalor, this is the story of a mysterious financier's passion for a young lady, and a tale of adultery and murder.
Forster, E M
A passage to India. 2005. 4v.
A strange event at the Marabar caves involves Adela Quested, newly come from England, and the presumed guilt of the charming, mercurial Dr Aziz.
Forster, E M
A room with a view.1990, c1978. 3v.
The love of a young British woman named Lucy Honeychurch for a British expatriate living in Italy is condemned by her stuffy, middle-class guardians, who prefer an eligible man of their own choosing.
Flaubert, Gustave.
Madame Bovary. 2008. 4v.
Emma Rouault leaves her father to marry Charles Bovary and live among the bourgeoisie of Yonville. She fills her head with notions of gallantry and high romance, which she finds in a tempestuous love affair with the local squire.
Galsworthy, John
The Forsyte saga. 2008. 10v.
The Forsyte Saga traces the changing fortunes of the wealthy Forsyte dynasty through fifty years of material triumph and emotional disaster.
García Márquez, Gabriel.
Love in the time of cholera. 2007. 4v.
When Dr. Juvenal Urbino died, aged eighty-one-and-a-half, his widow, the once breath-taking Fermina Daza, instinctively recoiled from the one hand extended to steady and comfort her. A hand which for her long life had always been within reach but which, in her haughtiness and guilt, she would not acknowledge: the hand of Florentino Ariza. Gabriel García Márquez, winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize for Literature, tells a haunting love story.
Garcia Marquez, Gabriel
One hundred years of solitude. 2000. 4v.
A saga spanning three generations of the Buendia family. Jose Buendia founds a town in the heart of the South American Jungle and the family is dominated by his passion for alchemy. But the world is changing, and succeeding generations are caught up in a political and social turmoil.Gaskell, Elizabeth
Gaskell, Elizabeth
Cranford and other stories. 2007. 5v.
In the village of Cranford, decorum is maintained at all times. Despite their poverty, the ladies are never vulgar about money (or their lack of it), and always follow the rules of propriety. But this discretion and gentility does not keep away tragedy; and when the worst happens, the Amazons of Cranford show the true strength of their honest affections.
Graves, Robert
I, Claudius: from the autobiography of Tiberius Claudius. 2006. 5v.
Despised for his weakness and regarded by his family as little more than a stammering fool, the nobleman Claudius quietly survives the intrigues, bloody purges and mounting cruelty of the imperial Roman dynasties. In I, Claudius he watches from the sidelines to record the reigns of its emperors.
Greene, Graham.
The third man, and, The fallen idol. 2001. 2v.
"The Third Man" is Graham Greene's brilliant recreation of post-war Vienna, a 'smashed dreary city' occupied by the four Allied powers. Rollo Martins, a second-rate novelist, arrives penniless to visit his friend and hero, Harry Lime. But Harry has died in suspicious circumstances, and the police are closing in on his associates..."The Fallen Idol" is the chilling story of a small boy caught up in the games that adults play. Left in the care of the butler and his wife whilst his parents go on a fortnight's holiday, Philip realises too late the danger of lies and deceit. But the truth is even deadlier.
Goldsmith, Oliver.
The vicar of Wakefield. 2008. 2v.
A witty account of the adventures of a clergyman and his family reduced to poverty.
Green, A.K.
Dark hollow. 2008. 3v.
The plot of this classic thriller includes two murderers, one house of mystery surrounded by high fences, one woman dressed entirely in purple and heavily veiled, many policemen and four corpses.
Haggard, H. Rider.
Ayesha: the return of She. 2008. 4v.
I die not, I shall come again, and shall once more be beautiful. I swear it - it is true. These were Ayeshas strange last words before her death, and Leo Vinley and Ludwig Horace Holly set out to determine if they are true. Exotic characters include the Hesea of the House of Fire, a cult of Isis worshippers, and Khan, an insanely jealous husband who has a pack of death hounds.
Haggard, H. Rider.
King Solomon's mines. 2008. 3v.
Following a map drawn in blood, adventurer Allan Quatermain sets out with his intrepid companions to find King Solomon's legendary diamond mines in Africa. But their path is fraught with dangers, especially when they encounter the evil 'wise woman' who holds the secret of the mines.
Hardy, Thomas
Jude the obscure. 1994. 5v.
Jude Fawley, a stone-mason, has already suffered. His academic ambitions were thwarted by his poverty and class: trapped in a loveless marriage, he is now alone but not free. He comes to love his cousin Sue who, seemingly emancipated, is herself miserably married. Together they defy conventional morality to seize a chance of happiness.