First published in 1922, The Beautiful and the Damned is F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel. Exploring the elite of New York Café Society, the novel brilliantly captures the louche, sometimes decadent lifestyle of the Eastern elite during the Jazz Age. Fitzgerald's characters - as in all his novels - are complex, difficult people, and Anthony Patch, a 1920s socialite and presumptive heir to a tycoon's fortune, is one of Fitzgerald's most memorable protagonists. His relationship with his wi...

Dracula is a Gothic horror novel written by the Irish author Bram Stoker, famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula. The novel relates the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing.Although Bram Stoker did not invent the vampire, he defined its modern form, and the novel has spawned theatrical, film and television interpretations ...

When Bill, a broke, would-be bestselling novelist, attends a friend's party, the last thing he expects is to meet the condescending but goddess-like Cassandra. He is even more surprised when she whisks him back to her place.Thus begins the 'perfect' relationship, as Bill would say: no commitment, no consideration, no caring. Just sex - and none of that soppy love to get in the way, either. Or so he thinks. Once installed in Cassandra's flashy Hampstead house, all he has to do is wr...

From the acclaimed author of Kissing Through a Pane of Glass comes an outstanding novel of dreams and desire, a fascinating exploration of guilt and wish-fulfilment – and the very real dangers of having your dreams come true.Daniel's work as a photo-journalist has taken him all around the world. But following a serious accident in which a colleague is killed, his injuries – both mental and physical – prevent him from going much further than the end of the street. Depression, anxiet...

It's everyone's nightmare. You're home alone one night and something wakes you. Was it a noise? Or do you just have a feeling that something's not quite right? Sleep-befuddled Jonathan Fairchild doesn't really believe it's a burglar. It's more likely to be his wife, who walked out on him two days ago.Yes, it's Liz, back with her tail between her legs, he thinks as he creeps downstairs. Still, strange she hasn't put the lights on... and that's when the man shoves him up against the ...

Jonathan Muon’s world is falling apart. Or rather, as he nears his thirtieth birthday, he finds himself ensconced in a world which refuses to behave in a recognisable way. Instead, Jonathan’s world is governed by the rules which actually apply at the microscopic, atomic level… with bizarre consequences.Obsessed by his non-existent sex life, his dreams of unseen yet threatening figures with huge choppers, and the machinations of his office co-workers, Jonathan must learn to cope wit...

Kissing Through a Pane of Glass is a Betty Trask Award winning novel.Michael Montrose, young, naive and fresh from university, is travelling alone around India when he meets the strange, alluring Liana. Enchanted by his exotic surroundings and bewitched by Liana's breathtaking beauty, Michael is seduced and falls deeply in love. Everything seems perfect - except for Liana's sporadically odd behaviour.As their relationship develops it becomes clear that ther...

In a far away land, Hassan - a tomb raider - embarks on a dangerous journey across unmapped deserts in search of a mythical crystal flask believed to contain the elixir of everlasting life.

The story follows an unnamed Englishman who is visiting Munich, Germany. As he embarks on a journey through the Bavarian countryside, he becomes lost and finds himself in an eerie and desolate area. Seeking shelter from a violent storm, he stumbles upon a cemetery and an abandoned tomb.Intrigued by the mysterious atmosphere, the Englishman decides to explore the tomb despite his instincts warning him to leave. Inside, he encounters various supernatural occurrences, including encounters wit...

The Lair of the White Worm is a horror novelAdam Salton finds black snakes on his great uncle’s property and buys a mongoose to hunt them down. He then discovers a child who has been bitten on the neck and who almost dies as a result. Adam learns that another child has already been killed by a snake bite, and that animals have also been killed mysteriously throughout the county.

Adrift off the coast of the fictional Blue Mountains is a small coffin containing a white-shrouded woman. She rises, soaking wet, from the sea, and seeks refuge in the Castle of Vissarion in the middle of the night. The rich young Rupert Leger lets the mysterious beauty in, but who is she?

The first thing that will strike you on reading this book will be the timelessness of its subject matter, no matter how dated the setting is. The Ivy League of Fitzgeralds indifferent hero, Amory Blaine, is a thing of the past, with only the faintest reminders of its aura of American royalty remaining today. Reading about Amorys days at Princeton is a bit like looking at the ancient photographs of 19th century football teams that every university seems to have on display in some corner of ...