Using, or rather mimicking, traditional forms of storytelling, Gogol created stories that are complete within themselves and only tangentially connected to a meaning or moral. His work belongs to the school of invention, where each twist and turn of the narrative is a surprise unfettered by obligation to an overarching theme.Selected from Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, Mirgorod, and Petersburg Tales and arranged in order of composition, the 13 stories i...

Fyodor Dostoyevsky is a titanic figure among the world’s great authors, and The Brothers Karamazov is often hailed as his finest novel. A masterpiece on many levels, it transcends the boundaries of a gripping murder mystery to become a moving account of the battle between love and hate, faith and despair, compassion and cruelty, good and evil.

Prince Lyov Nikolayevitch Myshkin is one of the great characters in Russian literature. Is he a saint or just naïve? Is he an idealist or, as many in General Epanchin’s society feel, an ‘idiot’? Certainly his return to St Petersburg after years in a Swiss clinic has a dramatic effect on the beautiful Aglaia, youngest of the Epanchin daughters, and on the charismatic but wilful Nastasya Filippovna. As he paints a vivid picture of Russian society, Dostoyevsky shows how principles conflict wi...

A century after it first appeared, Crime and Punishment remains one of the most gripping psychological thrillers. A poverty-striken young man, seeing his family making sacrifices for him, is faced with an opportunity to solve his financial problems with one simple but horrifying act: the murder of a pawnbroker. She is, he feels, just a parasite on society. But does the end justify the means? Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov makes his decision and then has to live with it. Dostoyevsky, in mas...

Also known as Demons, The Possessed is a powerful socio-political novel about revolutionary ideas and the radicals behind them. It follows the career of Pyotr Stepanovitch Verhovensky, a political terrorist who leads a group of Nihilists on a demonic quest for societal breakdown. They are consumed by their desires and ideals, and have surrendered themselves fully to the darkness of their ‘demons’. This possession leads them to engulf a quiet provincial town and subject it to a storm of vio...

A novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in The Russian Messenger in 1868–69. The title is an ironic reference to the central character of the novel, Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin, a young prince whose goodness, open-hearted simplicity, and guilelessness lead many of the more worldly characters he encounters to mistakenly assume that he lacks intelligence and insight. In the character of Prince Myshkin, Dostoevsky set himself the task of depi...

Brought to you by Penguin.The unforgettable novel from Booker International Prize winner Han Kang, author of The Vegetarian.In this compelling and beautifully-patterned novel, Han Kang tells the interwoven stories of a Greek instructor who is losing his sight and a woman who refuses to speak. Uniquely involving, and thoughtful, it explores the depths and limits of human connection.A remarkable and timeless writer, Han Kang'...

“True originality consists not in a new manner, but in a new vision.”Grab a pen and hone your writing skills under the guidance one of the greatest teachers of the craft.Edith Wharton made her claim in the literary world as the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Literature. She is famous for her works of fiction, which include The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, and Ethan Frome. Breaking from this tradition, The Writing of Fiction sets itself apart as a distinct...

**Horrifyingly vivid in the narration of Stephanie Németh-Parker.'Trad Wife is terrifying . . . a surreal and slick feminist feast'– Sarah Pinborough**, bestselling author of Behind Her EyesYour favourite influencer is about to be exposed . . .Every day, millions watch Mia Wright, the "trad wife" queen, on her idyllic 300-acre farm. With her handsome husband, seven perfect children, and a life of fr...

Brought to you by Penguin.LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2021THE BRAND NEW NOVEL FROM THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING, BOOKER PRIZE-SHORTLISTED AUTHOR OF THE OVERSTORY**'**It changed how I thought about the Earth and our place in it. . . . It changed how I see things and that's always, for me, a mark of a book worth reading.' Barack Obama on The Overstory'Really, just on...

'I can never forget the sense of pure astonishment I felt when I first read Mieko Kawakami'– Haruki Murakami'The most exciting Japanese novelist at work today'– The TimesA heart-stopping story of teenage girls on the brink in 1990s Tokyo from the International Booker Prize-Shortlisted author of Heaven and Breasts and Eggs.Hana has nothing but she’s hopeful. S...

Brought to you by Penguin.An air hostess doing the Caribbean-Florida run, Jackie also uses her job to shift large amounts of hot money. The Feds are closing in on her and the highly dysfunctional arms-dealers she works for are not getting any more functional. It would involve huge risks, but could she perhaps walk away from the whole wreckage, happy and rich?© Elmore Leonard 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025