Eschewing the "great man" theory of history, Tolstoy shows how events are determined by large numbers of people whose actions coalesce at any moment in history to determine the course of events. Arguing that the closer people are to a situation the more they believe they have exercised free will, and the farther away people are from that situation the more they realize that their actions were already determined by past events, Tolstoy demonstrates...

"Beautiful, clever, rich--and single--Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee, Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected. With...

Back in print and now available in trade paperback, Dorothy L. Sayers' classic tale of murder and scandal at a chic London advertising agency, featuring the dashing and brilliant Lord Peter Wimsey. When executive Victor Dean dies from a fall down the iron staircase at Pym's Publicity, a posh London ad agency, Lord Peter Wimsey goes undercover to investigate. Before his tragic demise, the victim had tried to warn Mr. Pym, the firm's owner, about some...

Bertie Wooster, trapped in the English countryside with his ex-fiancee Florence Craye, her father, brother, and new fiancé Stilton Cheesewright, is facing the double threats of the return of Florence's affections and the ire of Stilton, when Jeeves arrives to save the day.

When her fiancé dies exactly as described in one of her novels, mystery writer Harriet Vane becomes the prime suspect. Can Lord Peter Wimsey find the real poisoner in time to save her from the gallows? Impossible, it seems. The Crown's case is watertight. The police are adamant. The judge's summing-up is clear: Harriet Vane is guilty. But Lord Peter is determined to find her innocent - as determined as he is to make her his wife.

When Father goes away with two strangers one evening, the lives of Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis are shattered. They and Mother have to move from their comfortable London home to go and live in a simple country cottage, where Mother writes books to make ends meet. However, they soon come to love the railway that runs near their cottage, and they make a habit of waving every day to the Old Gentleman who rides on it. They befriends the porter, Perks,...

Bertie must deal with the Market Snodsbury Grammar School prize giving, the broken engagement of his cousin Angela, the wooing of Madeline Bassett by Gussie Fink-Nottle, and the resignation of Anatole, the genius chef. Will he prevail? Only with the aid of Jeeves!

The waste land is one of the most influential poems of the 20th century. Erudite and allusive, it borrows from poets as diverse as Dante and Webster, and incorporates languages from German to Sanskirt. Its disillusioned tone and innovative, audacious tyle have made it a modern classic. Four quartets consists of four long poems linked by common themes: "Burnt Norton", "East Coker", "The Dry Salvages" and "Little Gidding". Symbolising the cyclical nature...