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Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Ann Kronheimer

ISBN: 978-1-906230-11-1

Lexile® Rating: 810L what is this?

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Marianne is ablaze with fire and passion; Elinor keeps her own heat under control.

Marianne seeks a man who shares her eager spirit; Elinor is in love with the polite, considerate Edward Ferrars.

Their younger sister Margaret watches in bewilderment as Marianne and Elinor experience the joys and heartaches of early adult life. Is Marianne too warm or is Elinor too cold? Whose example should Margaret follow?

Margaret records the dangers presented by scheming friends and deceitful lovers. Will Elinor’s sense be strong enough to support both sisters, or will Marianne’s sensibility bring tragedy?

What will you learn as you read Margaret’s account?


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Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Ann Kronheimer

ISBN: 978-1-906230-06-7

Lexile® Rating: 870L what is this?

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‘You are the last man in the world I would marry.’

Why does spirited, lively Elizabeth Bennet so rudely reject the proposal of the handsome, rich Mr Darcy? What could he possibly have done to offend her?

Elizabeth is proud of her ability to judge others; Mr Darcy is proud of his family name. When their social worlds collide, feelings run high.

Misunderstandings, poor judgement and wicked lies bring danger to the Bennet family. Can broken hearts be mended?

Can hurtful words be forgiven? Can the Bennets be drawn back from the brink of disgrace?

Will Elizabeth’s prejudice and Darcy’s pride be the ruin of them both?


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Persuasion

Jane Austen

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Ann Kronheimer

ISBN: 978-1-906230-07-4

Lexile® Rating: 840L what is this?

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After eight years of heartache, can anyone love again?

Eight years ago, Anne Elliot was persuaded that her family’s honour was more important than her own happiness. She has suffered ever since. Now the man she turned away has returned.

Can Captain Wentworth forgive Anne, or will he be charmed instead by the beautiful Louisa? Will Anne be persuaded to marry her cousin, or will she find the strength to follow her heart?

The extravagance of Anne’s foolish father, the greedy plotting of false friends, and a near-fatal accident bring danger into Anne’s safe world. Their hearts assailed by resentment, regrets and rivals, can Anne and Captain Wentworth now reach across the void that separates them to love each other again?


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Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Ann Kronheimer

ISBN: 978-1-906230-08-1

Lexile® Rating: 850L what is this?

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The time has come for an unlikely heroine to have a real adventure.

Catherine Morland has little experience of the world. When a neighbour takes her to visit the fashionable city of Bath, her naiveté leaves her vulnerable. Who should Catherine trust? Whose friendship is genuine and whose will be harmful?

Catherine’s adventure becomes sinister when she visits Northanger Abbey. What is hidden in the locked cabinet? Why are the General’s children afraid of him? What terrible secrets does he keep in his dead wife’s bedroom?

Guided only by the gothic horror stories she so loves reading, Catherine stumbles through her adventures. Will hers be a happy ending? Will she find a hero to share her ‘happily ever after’?


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Emma

Jane Austen

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Ann Kronheimer

ISBN: 978-1-906230-10-4

Lexile® Rating: 840L what is this?

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‘I must warn you that you might guess twenty things without guessing correctly.’

Following her governess’s marriage, wealthy, spoilt Emma Woodhouse seeks new company and new amusement. Ignoring the warnings of her friend Mr Knightley, she begins a series of terrible blunders.

Through letters to her sister, the author presents the reader with puzzles to confuse even the best detective. Who sent the mystery piano? Why is Mr Elton so charming and Miss Fairfax so reserved? How many men can Harriet love? Who is hiding a shocking secret?

With little understanding of her own feelings, can Emma lead anyone towards happiness? Can you solve any of the mysteries before Emma does?


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Mansfield Park

Jane Austen

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Ann Kronheimer

ISBN: 978-1-906230-09-8

Lexile® Rating: 830L what is this?

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‘Your little cousin cannot help being dull and stupid.’

At the tender age of ten, Fanny Price moves from her poor family home to live with her wealthy cousins at Mansfield Park. Settling into this proud family is only the first of many challenges she will have to face. Can Fanny, uneducated and inexperienced, win any respect or love, or will the spiteful Mrs Norris turn everybody against her?

When plays, balls and marriage proposals challenge Fanny’s judgement, will she be strong enough to do what is right? When jealousy, duty and flattery challenge Fanny’s heart, will it be strong enough to guide her towards true love?

Just how strong is Fanny Price?


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Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontë

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Vanessa Lubach

ISBN: 978-1-906230-20-3

Lexile® Rating: 760L what is this?

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I saw everything. They told me everything. I played a part in everything.

Nelly Dean has spent her life serving the inhabitants of Wuthering Heights. She has quite a tale to tell. She wants to tell it to you.

Nelly’s story is as wild and stormy as the moors on which it is set. She talks of haunting, hatred, love, grief and the desire for revenge.

Her tale begins and ends with the mysterious Heathcliff. Where has this strange, silent boy come from? Will you fear him or pity him? What drives the adult Heathcliff to destroy others, even his own son, and to dig in dark graveyards? Is it love or vengeance, or both?

This famous story of Heathcliff and Catherine will thrill you and chill you to the bone.


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Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Vanessa Lubach

ISBN: 978-1-906230-21-0

Lexile® Rating: 630L what is this?

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Jane Eyre is poor, parentless and plain. Her future looks bleak.

Jane’s aunt and cousin detest her. Life at Lowood School is cruel and dangerous. What inner strength can the young Jane find?

Seeking adventure and independence, Jane sets out alone. Is her new master, Mr Rochester, all that he seems? What secret does he keep locked in the third storey, where strange laughter haunts the nights?

In her search for affection, Jane faces horror, cruelty, poverty and temptation. Is she strong enough to do what is right?

Will she ever mean anything more to anybody than poor, plain Jane Eyre?


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The Awakening

Kate Chopin

Retold by JoAnne Drake

Illustrated by Stephen Davis

ISBN: 978-1-906230-78-4

F&P Level: Z what is this?

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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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Robinson Crusoe

Daniel Defoe

Retold by Margaret Elphinstone

Illustrated by Katy Elphinstone

ISBN: 978-1-906230-71-5

Lexile® Rating: 780L what is this?

ATOS®/AR Level: 5.0 what is this?

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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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Hard Times

Charles Dickens

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Karen Donnelly

ISBN: 978-1-906230-05-0

Lexile® Rating: 790L what is this?

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Louisa is the practical daughter of a powerful industrialist. Sissy is the imaginative daughter of a clown. What will happen when two such different lives collide?

A disappearing father, an unhappy marriage, a handsome suitor and a bank robbery all bring challenges to Louisa’s life. Will she be able to control her powerful emotions, or will they lead her to ruin?

Set amongst the noisy, dangerous factories of a northern industrial town, where the workers struggle to survive, Hard Times explores the power that people can have over others, and the suffering that is caused when human emotions are ignored.


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Little Dorrit

Charles Dickens

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Karen Donnelly

ISBN: 978-1-906230-65-4

Lexile® Rating: 800L what is this?

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‘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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Great Expectations

Charles Dickens

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Karen Donnelly

ISBN: 978-1-906230-01-2

Lexile® Rating: 800L what is this?

ATOS®/AR Level: 5.2 what is this?

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An escaped convict threatens to eat young Pip’s heart for breakfast. The ghostly Miss Havisham invites Pip to her eerie home. A mysterious benefactor makes him suddenly wealthy. Pip’s life will never be the same again.

Pride, humility, love, loyalty and shame compete for Pip’s emotions. Will his quest to become a gentleman enable him to melt the cold heart of the beautiful Estella, or will it destroy his happiness?

Pip’s tale is full of mystery and surprises. What is the nature of Miss Havisham’s interest in him? Why does Estella want to break his heart? Why does the dangerous convict return?

Most importantly, who has given Pip his great expectations?


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David Copperfield

Charles Dickens

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Karen Donnelly

ISBN: 978-1-906230-03-6

Lexile® Rating: 840L what is this?

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When David’s mother marries the malevolent Mr Murdstone, David’s childhood happiness is destroyed for ever.

Can one lonely little boy show the strength and determination to survive the dangers that lie ahead? Travelling along the rocky road from boyhood to manhood, how can David learn who to trust and who to love? Will David’s friends bring him happiness or heartache?

In this inspiring tale of trust, betrayal, courage and love, Charles Dickens presents a world of colourful characters to amuse us, astonish us, disgust us and move us to tears. Once encountered, David Copperfield’s friends and enemies will never be forgotten.


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Oliver Twist

Charles Dickens

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Karen Donnelly

ISBN: 978-1-906230-00-5

Lexile® Rating: 850L what is this?

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With a hungry, timid request of ‘Please, sir. I want some more’, orphan Oliver Twist takes his first step on a terrifying journey.

In the dark, dangerous streets of Victorian London Oliver enters the world of people so poor and desperate that they will take any risk and know no mercy.

Relentlessly pursued by the menacing criminal world, who should Oliver trust? Are his true friends strong enough to resist the determined plotting of desperate villains?

In this gripping tale of kidnapping, shooting and murder, Charles Dickens shows the threats to a vulnerable boy’s existence and asks the eternal question: which is more powerful, good or evil?


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Bleak House

Charles Dickens

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Karen Donnelly

ISBN: 978-1-906230-04-3

Lexile® Rating: 870L what is this?

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‘It would have been far better if you had never been born.’

Esther, at fourteen, has never known love. Determined to live well, earn some love and overcome the shadow of her birth, she takes her first steps into an unknown world.

A family curse, a manipulating lawyer, poverty and secrets threaten to destroy Esther’s world. Are the walls of Bleak House strong enough to protect her and her new friends from such powerful forces?

The reader will be caught up in an unfolding mystery, full of surprises. Perhaps the biggest mystery of all is: Who is Nemo?


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A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Karen Donnelly

ISBN: 978-1-906230-64-7

Lexile® Rating: 800L what is this?

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‘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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A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Karen Donnelly

ISBN: 978-1-906230-02-9

Lexile® Rating: 770L what is this?

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‘Bah, humbug! Fools wishing me a Merry Christmas should be forced to sit on cushions stuffed with holly leaves or boiled with their own Christmas puddings.’

Miserable old miser Ebenezer Scrooge hates Christmas. Can somebody so selfish, so harsh and so horribly lonely ever change his ways?

In one terrifying night, poor Scrooge is haunted by four ghosts. Why do they show him visions of his past? Why do they show him other people enjoying Christmas? Why do they show him the deaths of a young boy and of a miserable old miser?

Weep and laugh as you read this much-loved Christmas story. Will Scrooge always think that Christmas is ‘Humbug’, or will he learn to shout ‘Merry Christmas, one and all’?


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The Old Curiosity Shop

Charles Dickens

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Karen Donnelly

ISBN: 978-1-906230-63-0

Lexile® Rating: 820L what is this?

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‘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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The Brothers Karamazov

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Retold by Tony Evans

Illustrated by Maxim Larin

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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Silas Marner

George Eliot

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Sarah Wimperis

ISBN: 978-1-906230-60-9

Lexile® Rating: 890L what is this?

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‘It’s a woman. She’s dead, I think – dead in the snow at the Stone-pits – not far from my door.’

Since his arrival in the small village of Raveloe, Silas Marner has been an outsider. Nobody knows where he came from, nobody understands him, nobody dares to invite him in.

All of this changes when a little girl wanders through his door one snowy night. What feelings will she stir in Silas’s lonely heart? How will she draw Silas closer to the heart of Raveloe?

If Raveloe has a heart, it also has a head in the form of the wealthy Cass family. When Dunstan Cass enters Silas’s life, he takes something valuable. Years later, will Godfrey Cass do the same and take away what Silas has grown to love most dearly?


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The Mill on the Floss

George Eliot

Retold by Gill Tavner

Illustrated by Sarah Wimperis

ISBN: 978-1-906230-59-3

Lexile® Rating: 840L what is this?

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Why was this feeling of regret so familiar to her? Why must she always wish she had done something different?

Maggie Tulliver and her brother Tom grow up in the Mill on the River Floss. Although Maggie adores Tom, she often finds him cruel and cold. All she wants is for life to be full and warm.

The Tulliver family’s traditional way of living is threatened by changes beyond their control. Will the educated world of lawyers and lawsuits destroy what generations have enjoyed?

As Maggie grows into adulthood, how can she control her passionate nature? With a destiny like an unmapped river – full, deep and rapid – where will love and desire lead her? Where will it all end?


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The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Retold by Sean Connolly

Illustrated by Sam Kalda

ISBN: 978-1-906230-74-6

Lexile® Rating: 900L what is this?

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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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My Brilliant Career

Miles Franklin

Retold by James Bean and Gillian Flaherty

Illustrated by Brian Harrison-Lever

ISBN: 978-1-906230-83-8

F&P Level: W what is this?

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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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Far from the Madding Crowd

Thomas Hardy

Retold by Maxine Linnell

Illustrated by Ann Kronheimer

ISBN: 978-1-906230-38-8

Lexile® Rating: 760L what is this?

ATOS®/AR Level: 4.6 what is this?

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‘I cannot allow any man to – to criticise my private conduct!’

Young, attractive and impetuous, Bathsheba has inherited a farm and is determined to be as independent as possible. Her natural beauty is a magnet for men; how will she choose between them?

Gabriel Oak is a young farmer, just set up in business with his own flock of sheep. He meets Bathsheba and falls in love with her, but she turns him down. He has to stand by and watch while the woman he loves is courted by others, first by William Boldwood, much older than Bathsheba; then by Sergeant Troy, young, handsome, and reckless. Who will she choose?

Throughout Bathsheba’s series of mistakes, Gabriel remains her loyal friend. But will he ever be more than just a friend?


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Tess of the d’Urbervilles

Thomas Hardy

Retold by Maxine Linnell

Illustrated by Ann Kronheimer

ISBN: 978-1-906230-40-1

F&P Level: Y what is this?

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Following a series of misfortunes, Tess Durbeyfield leaves her impoverished family to seek work with her rich relations.

Her new employer, Alec d’Urberville, seems charming and kind. Tess has a mind of her own, but she is vulnerable and alone among strangers. Can she trust Alec?

A year later Tess meets Angel Clare, and they fall in love. If Angel discovers the truth about Tess’s past, will he still love her?

In this gripping story of courage, love and betrayal, Thomas Hardy asks many difficult questions. Are the expectations of women and men the same? Can we ever escape the consequences of our past actions? How much pain can one person live with?


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The Mayor of Casterbridge

Thomas Hardy

Retold by Maxine Linnell

Illustrated by Ann Kronheimer

ISBN: 978-1-906230-39-5

F&P Level: Y what is this?

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Michael Henchard knew he deserved the pain he felt.

Henchard is a handsome farm labourer. When he gets drunk at a country fair, he sells his wife and child to a sailor. The next day, ashamed by what he has done, he lets people believe that his wife has died. Thus begins a chain of events which leads Henchard deep into dishonesty and betrayal.

Repentant and determined to change his ways, Henchard works hard to improve his fortunes. He becomes rich, and is elected mayor of Casterbridge – though his temper and his pride make him difficult to like.

When Henchard’s wife and daughter come back to find him, will he accept them? And what might they want from him? Will a reunion mean a happy ending?


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The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Retold by Sean Connolly

Illustrated by Bri Hermanson

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 Hunchback of Notre Dame

Victor Hugo

Retold by Tony Evans

Illustrated by Catty Flores

ISBN: 978-1-906230-69-2

F&P Level: W what is this?

£7.99

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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Les Misérables

Victor Hugo

Retold by Tony Evans

Illustrated by Catty Flores

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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