1035

Power, religion, cruelty, selfishness and sex. This novel is both a thriller and a work of philosophy. And how many bells are there in the end?

1051

The only novel to come out of the Vietnam War to have been written by a Vietnamese. Bao Ninh has produced a hauntingly beautiful work out of the hell that was Vietnam.This book should be compulsory reading in all American schools.

1046

George Orwell's creation in 1948 of the nightmare furture world is justly famous. His satires have been compared with those of Swift, but there ismuch more than satire here. Read and weep.

1056

George Orwell's biting satire on the reality of dictatorship.

1051a

Banned in his lifetime, this great novel about the Russian Revolution is where Boris Pasternak explores his growing disillusion with Communism.

1084

Perhaps better known to us in Britain as an opera, this is the poem that many Russians consider their greatest work. It is, in fact, a novel in verse and is considered the masterpiece of Pushkin's short life.

1086

Erich Maria Remarque's book is the classic about WW1, but written 10 years after the events and from the German perspective. Here we re-live the experience we all know about, but from the other side of the lines. A marvellous novel about the death of youth and idealism.

1048a

Jean Rhys's literary masterpiece explores the possible early life of Charlotte Bronte's 'mad woman in the attic' in 'Jane Eyre'. Rhys gives us the lush beguiling landscape of her native Jamaica in this extraordinary and passionate work.

1007

A novel still banned in some American States as obscene, is it a 'sensational achievement' or a dangerous 'youthquake'? Holden Caulfield leads the rebellion of American youth that led to many others. A novel which changed the face of American popular culture forever.

1055

The Bard's most performed tragedy with the most modern of heroes. Hamlet is a Renaissance man in a medieval situation, and the play contains archtypes which reward re-examining in every generation.

1002

A summer pantomime with a happy ending? Or a deep exploration of how the unseen worlds manage and manouever us? Shakespeare's most frequently performed comedy, has dark layers under all the fun.

1034

Murder, madness, witches, ghosts and, finally, revenge. What is is that makes 'The Scottish Play' so deeply respected by actors and why does the leading actor cross himself before playing a King steeped in innocent blood?