Drama
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The Old Curiosity Shop
Retold by
Illustrated by
ISBN: 978-1-906230-63-0
Lexile® Rating: 820L what is this?
ATOS®/AR Level: 5.2 what is this?
F&P Level: X what is this?
£7.99
‘Why bless you, Little Nell! What if I had lost you?’
Little Nell Trent’s childhood is over. Her grandfather’s mind is failing, his dark secret makes him sad and distracted, and he has nobody to care for him but Nell.
The grotesque Daniel Quilp is out to cause trouble. What plans does he hatch with the dreadful Sampson and Sally Brass? What use can he hope to make of the foolish Dick Swiveller? Is Nell’s one true friend, Kit, a match for Quilp’s villainous mind?
Nell and her grandfather must disappear or be separated forever, and so they begin their lives as beggars. When a mysterious gentleman arrives in London, determined to track them down, it becomes a race against time and against the evil of Quilp.
Can Little Nell keep her grandfather safe? Who will protect Nell? Will the mysterious gentleman find them before it is too late?
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A Tale of Two Cities
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Illustrated by
ISBN: 978-1-906230-64-7
Lexile® Rating: 800L what is this?
ATOS®/AR Level: 5.4 what is this?
F&P Level: Y what is this?
£7.99
‘It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done.’
Sydney Carton is a lawyer who has wasted his abilities and his life. Now he has to make a difficult choice about what is really important to him, which could be a matter of life or death.
The French Revolution is running its violent course; lives are ruined as a new France is created. How did the gentle Doctor Manette and his daughter Lucie become caught up in France’s struggles? What is the real identity of the handsome Charles Darnay, who wins Lucie’s hand in marriage? And why does the shadow of La Bastille Prison hang over them all?
The best of times and the worst of times. London and Paris. Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay. A story of contrasts and chaos. Can peace ever be restored in France? Can it ever be restored in the hearts of the people involved?
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Little Dorrit
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Illustrated by
ISBN: 978-1-906230-65-4
Lexile® Rating: 800L what is this?
ATOS®/AR Level: 5.1 what is this?
F&P Level: X what is this?
£7.99
‘She? That’s Little Dorrit. She’s nothing. She’s just a whim.’
Poor Little Dorrit. Her future looks as bleak as her past and her present. Born and brought up in a debtors’ prison, she relies on her sewing skills to help support her father. Little does she know that her sewing will soon present an opportunity for change.
When change arrives in the form of Arthur Clennam it is accompanied by secrets and dangers. Who is he? What are his motives for wanting to help Little Dorrit?
Follow Little Dorrit’s tale as it winds its way through London and Italy. Enjoy the rich variety of characters she encounters, and share with her the twists and turns of the road she travels.
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame
A frightful horde of men and women, armed with scythes, pikes, billhooks and rusty swords, advanced towards the massive front doors of Notre Dame Cathedral.
For many years Quasimodo the bellringer has lived peacefully in the Cathedral of Notre Dame with his master, Archdeacon Claude Frollo. But the arrival of Esmeralda, the young and dazzlingly beautiful gypsy dancer, changes everything.
Esmeralda has fallen in love with the brave and handsome Captain Phoebus. Will the Archdeacon be able to control his violent jealousy when Esmeralda rejects him?
Esmeralda’s life is in danger, but Quasimodo will do anything to protect her. When the King's soldiers clash with the thieves and beggars of Paris, can the innocent young dancer survive?
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Robinson Crusoe
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Illustrated by
ISBN: 978-1-906230-71-5
Lexile® Rating: 780L what is this?
ATOS®/AR Level: 5.0 what is this?
F&P Level: V what is this?
£7.99
Running away to sea brings adventure and wealth, but then come shipwreck and a desperate struggle for survival.
Defying his parents, Robinson Crusoe goes to sea. He is captured by pirates but escapes to Brazil. He makes a fortune using slave labour to grow tobacco and sugar. He sails to Africa to bring back more slaves but is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island.
Everyone else is drowned. For over twenty years he lives alone. He learns to hunt and fish and make shelter. Then the cannibals arrive. Will this be the end of his adventure - or the chance to escape?
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Moby Dick
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Illustrated by
ISBN: 978-1-906230-72-2
Lexile® Rating: 730L what is this?
ATOS®/AR Level: 4.5 what is this?
F&P Level: Y what is this?
£7.99
‘Breach your last to the sun, Moby Dick!’ cried Ahab. ‘Thy hour and thy harpoon are at hand!’
Why does Captain Ahab look like a man who’s being crucified? How did he come by that hideous scar and the false leg made of a whale’s bone? And why is he obsessed by Moby Dick, the great white whale?
Ishmael, the new recruit, has other strange shipmates. There’s Queequeg for instance, covered in weird tattoos and selling shrunken human heads. And what of the shadowy figures creeping on board the whaling ship Pequod?
Ahab leads them all in reckless pursuit of Moby Dick. Will he succeed in killing the whale, or will Moby Dick lure Ahab and his crew to destruction?
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The Great Gatsby
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ISBN: 978-1-906230-74-6
Lexile® Rating: 900L what is this?
ATOS®/AR Level: 5.7 what is this?
F&P Level: Z what is this?
£7.99
Nick Carraway’s mysterious neighbour Gatsby gazes across the dark bay at a distant green light.
As the summer unfolds, Nick is drawn into Gatsby’s world of luxury cars, speedboats and extravagant parties. But the more he hears about Gatsby – even from what Gatsby himself tells him – the less he is sure of the truth. Did Gatsby really go to Oxford University? Was he a hero in the war? Did he once kill a man?
Nick recalls how he came to know Gatsby. He recounts how he enters the world of his cousin Daisy and her wealthy husband Tom. But does their money make them any happier? How do everybody’s stories connect?
Will you come to know the real Gatsby after reading Nick’s account of that fateful summer?
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The Scarlet Letter
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Illustrated by
ISBN: 978-1-906230-76-0
ATOS®/AR Level: 6.1 what is this?
F&P Level: Z what is this?
£7.99
Hester Prynne stands defiantly on a scaffold before hostile Puritans in seventeenth-century Boston, Massachusetts.
The baby in her arms and the bright scarlet letter ‘A’ on her gown are evidence and punishment for the shame she has brought on her religious neighbours.
Will Hester continue to conceal the name of the husband who sent her away from Europe years before as well as that of the father of her baby? Will the husband get his revenge on the man who has shamed him? Will that man admit his past, and join Hester and her daughter Pearl?
Or is the matter out of their hands, waiting to be decided between the forces of the Lord and of Satan?
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The Call of the Wild
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Illustrated by
ISBN: 978-1-906230-77-7
ATOS®/AR Level: 6.1 what is this?
F&P Level: X what is this?
£7.99
Buck recognised the wild brother. He was whining softly, and they touched noses. A second wolf, old and battle-scarred, came forward and sniffed noses with him; he sat down, pointed his nose at the moon, and broke out in a long wolf howl. Buck, too, sat down and howled.
Buck, a big, powerful dog, is kidnapped from his California home and sold as a sled dog in the Arctic. In his new environment he must learn quickly how to deal with man’s club and dog’s fang, or he will not be able to survive.
He is transformed by two opposing forces – his love for John Thornton who saved his life, and the memories that awaken within him of the ways of his ancestors, both dogs and wolves. How will Buck survive, and not just survive, but become a leader of dogs and eventually a leader of wolves?
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The Awakening
What price will Edna Pontellier pay to be free?
She seems to have everything she needs – her loving husband Léonce, two beautiful children, and a wonderful home in turn-of-the-century New Orleans. But deep inside her burns a creative fire that longs to be unleashed.
One summer changes everything. When Edna meets Robert, she starts to question all that she was taught to believe. Is her comfortable marriage nothing more than a cage? Will she ever be able to explore her creativity and passion to the full? Is it possible for a woman to be responsible for the needs of others and still to live her own life to the full?
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Les Misérables
Retold by
Illustrated by
ISBN: 978-1-906230-79-1
Lexile® Rating: 990L what is this?
ATOS®/AR Level: 6.0 what is this?
F&P Level: Y what is this?
£7.99
‘Send the brat home? Oh no we won’t! Her mother must have met some rich man – we can make a load of money out of this.’
It seems that poor Cosette will never escape from the wicked Monsieur and Madame Thénardier. She is only eight years old, but they force her to work hard every day.
Jean Valjean has promised her mother that he will rescue the little girl – but Inspector Javert is on his trail. Will the fierce Inspector arrest Jean Valjean? If he does, will Cosette ever be set free?
Cosette is not the only person who desperately needs help. When Marius is badly wounded, will even Jean Valjean’s courage and determination be enough to save the brave young student?
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My Brilliant Career
This was my life, my career, my brilliant career!
Sybylla Melvyn yearns for a life in the arts. She loves music and is determined to write a book. But as the daughter of a poor dairy farmer, she despairs of ever realising her ambitions.
Then comes the opportunity for Sybylla to go and live with wealthy relatives. In her new home she tastes a life of culture and refinement. She also meets handsome, rich Harold Beecham, who offers her a future most young women would dream of. But Sybylla is torn between a comfortable married life and the career she craves.
Will Harold win her over? How will Sybylla live with the choice she makes?
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Seven Little Australians
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Illustrated by
ISBN: 978-1-906230-84-5
£7.99
A word of warning – if you are expecting to read a story about model children, you’d better read something else. Not one of the seven children in this story is truly good – Australian children never are.
The Woolcot children enjoy a life of fun and adventure in their rambling riverside home, despite frequent reprimands from their strict father, Captain Woolcot.
However, when one of Judy’s escapades tests the Captain’s patience to the limit, he decides that extreme measures are called for and sends her away to boarding school. But this leads to consequences not even he could anticipate. How will the headstrong Judy respond to her punishment? And how will this family recover from the disaster that strikes them?
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Anna Karenina
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Illustrated by
ISBN: 978-1-911091-04-2
£7.99
A guard had stepped back into the path of a train and been crushed beneath the wheels. He had been killed instantly.
When Anna Karenina arrives at the scene of a horrible accident, it is the beginning of a new and troubling time in her life. Will she ever find happiness with the man she loves? Anna’s sister-in-law, Darya Oblonsky, is threatening to leave her selfish husband. Is Anna able to save their marriage?
Anna’s young son, Sergey, is sure that one day his mother will return to him. Can the pair ever be reunited?
Konstantin Levin is determined to marry Kitty, but she is dazzled by the lively and handsome Count Vronsky. Levin prefers a quiet life in the countryside to dinner parties and dances. Which of them will she finally choose?
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The Brothers Karamazov
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Illustrated by
ISBN: 978-1-911091-05-9
£7.99
As Dimitry struck him Grigory screamed and fell back, the blood streaming horribly from his head. Dimitry bent over him, trying to stop the flow with his handkerchief which turned soaking red in an instant.
Alexey, Ivan and Dimitry Karamazov were sent away by their father Fyodor when they were very young, and never knew a father’s love. Now what will Dimitry’s bitter quarrel with Fyodor lead to?
Dimitry and his father both want to marry the beautiful Grushenka. Fyodor is old and ugly, but offers her wealth and security. Will she accept either of them, and if so, which?
The sickly, timid servant Smerdyakov confesses to a terrible crime. Is he telling the truth?
Can the deadly rivalry between father and son be settled peacefully, or must it end in tragedy?
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