The ​Foundling

Horace Walpole - The ​Castle of Otranto
All ​the familiar components of the Gothic novel - the ominous darkness and the howling winds, the dire portents and the ineluctable prophecy - originate in this tale of unnatural passions and unacknowledgeable guilt. The clap of thunder, the creaking door, and "the clank of more than mortal armour" reverberate in these pages as contrapuntal accents to the portrait that steps out of its frame, the statue that bleeds, the skeleton in a hermit's cowl that prays. It is in this setting that the story of Manfred, Prince of Otranto, unfolds. His eagerness to marry off his son Conrad is thwarted when a gigantic, supernatural helmet crushes the youth to death and sets off a fearful sequence of events. Written half-jokingly by the clever, dilettantish Walpole, this story started a fashion that brought the romantic, the uncanny, and the bizarre to the literature of Western Europe.

William Shakespeare - Richard ​II
The ​Oxford School Shakespeare is a well-established series which helps students understand and enjoy Shakespeare’s play. As well as the complete and unabridged text, each play in this series has an extensive range of students’ notes. These include detailed explanations of difficult words and passages, a synopsis of the plot and summaries of individual scenes, and notes on the main characters. Also included is a wide range of questions and activities for work in class together with the historical background to Shakespeare’s England, a brief biography of Shakespeare, and a complete list of his plays. Roma Gill, the series editor, has taught Shakespeare at all levels. She has acted in and directed Shakespeare’s plays, and has lectured on Shakespeare all over the world.

Charles Dickens - Oliver ​Twist (angol)
One ​of Dickens’s most popular novels, Oliver Twist is the story of a young orphan who dares to say, "Please, sir, I want some more." After escaping from the dark and dismal workhouse where he was born, Oliver finds himself on the mean streets of Victorian-era London and is unwittingly recruited into a scabrous gang of scheming urchins. In this band of petty thievesOliver encounters the extraordinary and vibrant characters who have captured readers’ imaginations for more than 150 years: the loathsome Fagin, the beautiful and tragic Nancy, the crafty Artful Dodger, and perhaps one of the greatest villains of all time—the terrifying Bill Sikes. Rife with Dickens’s disturbing descriptions of street life, the novel is buoyed by the purity of the orphan Oliver. Though he is treated with cruelty and surrounded by coarseness for most of his life, his pious innocence leads him at last to salvation—and the shocking discovery of his true identity.

William Shakespeare - King ​Richard III
Richard ​III is one of Shakespeare's most popular plays on the stage and has been adapted successfully for film. This new and innovative edition recognizes the play's pre-eminence as a performance work: a perspective that informs every aspect of the editing. Challenging traditional practice, the text is based on the 1597 Quarto which, brings us closest to the play as it would have been staged in Shakespeare's theater. The introduction, which is illustrated, explores the long performance history from Shakespeare's time to the present. The commentary gives detailed explanation of matters of language, staging, text, and historical and cultural contexts, providing coverage that is both carefully balanced and alert to nuance of meaning. Documentation of the extensive textual variants is organized for maximum clarity: the readings of the Folio and the Quarto are presented in separate sections, and more specific information is given at the back of the book. Appendices also include selected passages from the main source and a special index of actors and other theatrical personnel.

Peter Ackroyd - Hawksmoor
London ​in the eighteenth century is a city of extremes: squalor and superstition vie with elegance and enlightenment as the capital's brilliant architect Nicholas Dyer is commissioned to build several new churches in the aftermath of the great fire. Two hundred and fifty years later in the vast, sprawling metropolis of London the legacyof the past lives on as CID Detective Nicholas Hawksmoor investigates a series of macabre murders that have occured on the sites of certain eighteenth-century churches in the City...

Charles Dickens - The ​Personal History of David Copperfield
In ​a wildly eventful life, David Copperfield moves from the cruelty of his stepfather's care to the heights of success as a beloved and respected novelist. On his journey through Victorian society, he endures bitter treatment as a labourer, wins the approval of his formidable aunt, finds himself an education - and a career, falls in love, and expands his circle of acquaintance to include true, false and marvellously eccentric friends. Dickens's own favourite among his novels, The Personal History of David Copperfield is a classic of comedy and tragedy that never ceases to surprise and delight.

Agatha Christie - Death ​in the Clouds
From ​seat No.9, Hercule Poirot was ideally placed to observe his fellow air passengers. To his right sat a pretty young woman, clearly infatuated with the man opposite; ahead, in seat No.13, sat a Countess with a poorly-concealed cocaine habit; across the gangway in seat No.8, a detective writer was being troubled by an aggressive wasp. What Poirot did not yet realize was that behind him, in seat No.2, sat the slumped, lifeless body of a woman… ‘It will be a very acute reader who does not receive a complete surprise at the end.’ Times Literary Supplement

Natasha Solomons - The ​Gallery of Vanished Husbands
A ​stunning new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The House at Tyneford London, 1958. It's the eve of the sexual revolution, but in Juliet Montague's conservative Jewish community where only men can divorce women, shefinds herself a living widow, invisible. Ever since her husband disappeared seven years ago, Juliet has been a hardworking single mother of two and unnaturally practical. But on her thirtieth birthday, that's all about to change. A wealthy young artist asks to paint her portrait, and Juliet, moved by the powerful desire to be seen, enters into the burgeoning art world of 1960s London, which will bring her fame, fortune, and a life-long love aff air.

Daniel Defoe - Moll ​Flanders (angol)
Born ​and abandoned in Newgate Prison, Moll Flanders is forced to make her own way in life. She duly embarks on a career that includes husband-hunting, incest, bigamy, prostitution and pick-pocketing, until her crimes eventually catch up with her. One of the earliest and most vivid female narrators in the history of the English novel, Moll recounts her adventures with irresistible wit and candour - and enough guile that the reader is left uncertain whether she is ultimately a redeemed sinner or a successful opportunist.

Terry Pratchett - Dodger
Dodger ​is a tosher - a sewer scavenger living in the squalor of Dickensian London. Everyone who is nobody knows him. Anyone who is anybody doesn't. He used to know his future; it involved a lot of brick-lined tunnels and plenty of filth. But when he rescues a young girl from a beating, things start to get really messy. Now everyone who is anyone wants to get their hands on Dodger.

Charles Dickens - Great ​Expectations (Heinemann Guided Readers)
This ​is an Upper Level story in a series of ELT readers comprising a wide range of titles - some original and some simplified - from modern and classic novels, and designed to appeal to all age-groups, tastes and cultures. The books are divided into five levels: Starter Level, with about 300 basic words; Beginner Level (600 basic words); Elementary Level (1100); Intermediate Level (1600); and Upper Level (2200). Some of the titles are also available on cassette.

Charles Dickens - A ​Christmas Carol
This ​engrossing tale relates Ebenezer Scrooge's ghostly journeys through Christmases past, present, and future and his ultimate transformation from a harsh and grasping old miser to a charitable and compassionate human being. A perennial classic that has become as much a part of the holiday season as holly, mistletoe, and evergreen wreaths.

Sophie Kinsella - Can ​You Keep a Secret?
Emma ​is sitting on a turbulent plane. She's always been a v. nervous flyer. She really thinks that this could be her last moment. So, naturally enough, she starts telling the man sitting next to her - quite a dishy American, but she's too frightened to notice -all her innermost secrets. How she scans the backs of intellectual books and pretends she's read them. How she does her hair up like Princess Leia in her bedroom. How she's not sure if she has a G-spot, and whether her boyfriend could find it anyway. How she feels like a fraud at work - everyone uses the word 'operational' all the time but she hasn't a due what it means. How the coffee at work is horrible. How she once threw a troublesome client file in the bin. If ever there was a bare soul, it's hers. She survives the flight, of course, and the next morning the famous founding boss of the whole mega corporation she works for is coming for a look at the UK branch. As he walks around, Emma looks up and realises... It's the man from the plane. What will he do with her secrets? He knows them all - but she doesn't know a single one of his. Or... does she?

Charles Dickens - Karácsonyi ​történetek / Christmas stories
Londonban, ​karácsonykor sült pulyka illata száll a levegőben, sokan sherryt iszogatnak, karácsonyi dalok hangja szól a szeretetről. Ám van egy másik London is, a szegények, a nincstelenek, a számkivetettek Londonja. Charles Dickens mindkét világ kiváló ismerője, de talán leginkább egy harmadiké, amelyben a kísértetek oly természetességgel látogatják a halandókat, mintha ők ugyanolyan élő emberek lennének, mintha csak golfozni tartanának a klubjukba. A Karácsonyi történetek kétnyelvű kiadvány, melynek külön érdekessége az angol nyelv régi íze, a rég elfelejtett szavak hangulata, ínyencek lapozgatják az effélét; ők azok az olvasók, akik örömmel fedeznek fel egy-egy megkopott, letűnt kifejezést a dickensi homályból. És persze unikum azoknak, akik csak nyelvet akarnak tanulni és gyakorolni, hiszen a régmúlt ellenére is élő e nyelv, akár egy hosszan érlelt aszú zamata.

Sophie Kinsella - I've ​Got Your Number
_I’ve ​lost it. :( The only thing in the world I wasn’t supposed to lose. My engagement ring. It’s been in Magnus’s family for three generations. And now the very same day his parents are coming, I’ve lost it. The very same day! Do not hyperventilate, Poppy. Stay positive :) !!_ Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill but in the panic that follows, her phone is stolen. As she paces shakily around the lobby, she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect! Well, perfect except that the phone’s owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn’t agree. He wants his phone back and doesn’t appreciate Poppy reading his messages and wading into his personal life. What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other’s lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls, and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents . . . she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.

J. K. Rowling - Harry ​Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Read ​by Jim Dale Running time: 20 hrs., 30 mins. 17 CDs. Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts for his fourth year of magical adventures in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This year Harry turns 14 and becomes interested in girls -- one in particular. And with Dark Magic comes danger, as someone close to Harry dies. You'll have to listen to learn more! The audio is available on July 8th.

Agatha Christie - Third ​Girl
Three ​single girls share a London flat. The first works as a secretary; the second is an artist; the third, who comes to Poirot for help, disappears believing she is a murderer. There are rumours of revolvers, flick-knives and blood stains. But, without hard evidence, it will take all Poirot's tenacity to establish whether the third girl is guilty, innocent or insane.

Jane Austen - Love ​and Freindship
Jane ​Austen is remembered for her six masterpieces of the Regency era: from the heroines of Elizabeth Bennett and Emma Woodhouse to the villains of Mrs. Norris and John Willoughby. But these characters were not born overnight. They sprung from Austen’s experiences as a young girl, and many versions of them can be found in the earliest of her writing: her Juvenilia. In the ‘History of England’, Austen discusses the great kings of England; in ‘Lady Susan’ (also published in Collins Classics Sanditon), she creates an anti-heroine who cheats her way through high society; and in ‘Love and Freindship’, a woman looks back on her extremely unfortunate life. Writing on the cusp of literary greatness, Love and Freindship offers a fascinating – and often surprising – insight into a young Jane Austen.

Agatha Christie - Poirot ​Investigates
First ​there was the mystery of the film star and the diamond ... then came the 'suicide' that was murder ... the mystery of the absurdly cheap flat ... a suspicious death in a locked gun-room ... a million dollar bond robbery ... the curse of a pharoah's tomb ... a jewel robbery by the sea ... the abduction of a Prime Minister ... the disappearance of a banker ... a phone call from a dying man ... and, finally, the mystery of the missing will. What links these fascinating cases? Only the brilliant deductive powers of Hercule Poirot! 'A capital collection ... ingeniously constructed, and told with an engaging lightness of style.' Literary Review

J. K. Rowling - Harry ​Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry ​Potter is an ordinary boy who lives in a cupboard under the stairs at his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon’s house, which he thinks is normal for someone like him who’s parents have been killed in a ‘car crash’. He is bullied by them and his fat, spoilt cousin Dudley, and lives a very unremarkable life with only the odd hiccup (like his hair growing back overnight!) to cause him much to think about. That is until an owl turns up with a letter addressed to Harry and all hell breaks loose! He is literally rescued by a world where nothing is as it seems and magic lessons are the order of the day. Read and find out how Harry discovers his true heritage at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, the reason behind his parents mysterious death, who is out to kill him, and how he uncovers the most amazing secret of all time, the fabled Philosopher’s Stone! All this and muggles too. Now, what are they?? The Author: This is Jo’s first book and she has already written seven outlines for Harry’s further adventures at Hogwarts. She lives in Edinburgh.