Great Reads
Classics
Brideshead Revisited
By Evelyn Waugh
Classics
Charles Ryder, a student at Oxford, is drawn under the spell of the decadent Sebastian Flyte and his family. At first he welcomes the attention of the eccentric aristocratic inhabitants of Brideshead but slowly recognizes his social distance from them and he once again returns to a real world where duty and desire are in conflict.
Cider with Rosie
By Laurie Lee
Classics
This is a vivid story of childhood in a remote Cotswold village - a timeless place on the verge of change. The tale remains as fresh today as when it was written and brings alive a sense of time gone forever.
Far from the Madding Crowd
By Thomas Hardy
Classics
This story of love and consequences lays out a far reaching plot. Bathsheba Everdene is the centre of a complex story of love and loss set against the backdrop of the unchanging natural cycle of the year. This is the first of Hardy's novels to give the name of Wessex to the landscape of the south-west of England. A book with rich characterisation and atmosphere that will make you want to read more of this author's work.
Nicholas Nickleby
By Charles Dickens
Classics
Young Nicholas was left penniless on the death of his father and he sets off to seek a way to support his mother and sister. Due to the bitterness of his uncle he is forced to take employment in unlikely places. His adventures take him to Dotheboys Hall where Wackford Squeers ill-treats his impoverished pupils and into the unlikely company of travelling actors. Dickens creates a gallery of extraordinary characters and explores the themes of self-awareness, love and class.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
By Mark Twain
Classics
A nostalgic return to the boyhood of Tom and glimpse into the simple life of rural Missouri with his friends Huck Finn, Becky and Aunt Polly. This dreamlike world draws you into a summer-time spend playing pranks and having adventures. This is the life we all dreamed of having as children. Climbing out of windows at midnight and going to the churchyard or exploring haunted houses, chasing villains and getting into scrapes.
The Little History of the World
By Ernst Gombrich
Classics
Written in the 1930s but only now translated into English it is vintage Gomnbrich - clear and concise and fascinating and thought aimed at younger readers will be enjoyed by adults too. And the compact size and gorgeous newly commissioned woodcuts all add to the joy that this book brings. Can't recommend it highly enough to anyone interested in Gombrich's writings or just looking for a wonderful short historical read.
The Mayor of Casterbridge
By Thomas Hardy
Classics
This is a story of impulsive actions and the consequences as they impact on others. It is filled with love, jealousy and the whole gambit of human emotions. Michael Henchard gets drunk at a local fair and sells his wife and baby daughter. Years later they seek him out only to find out that he is the most prominent man in Casterbridge.
The Moonstone
By Wilkie Collins
Classics
An action packed thriller. A beautifully written classic.
