One of Dickens’ most enduringly popular stories is Oliver Twist, an early work published 1837-8. Like many of his later novels, its central theme is the hardship faced by the dispossessed and those of the outside of ‘polite’ society. Oliver...
By NASA’s best guess, the crew of Apollo 8 are an even money chance of dying.
A long list of things could go catastrophically wrong as they attempt to park their supersonic spacecraft into stable lunar orbit.
But they get it done, paving...
Paul Trilby is having a bad day. If he were to be honest with himself, Paul Trilby would have to admit that he's having a bad life. His wife left him. Three subsequent girlfriends left him. He's fallen from a top-notch university teaching job, to a...
The summer of 1917.
Britain is losing the war against the deadly German U-boats.
After a close fought action, Commander David Smith uncovers what he believes is a deadly plot against Britain from a dying German sailor. Code-named...
A stunning selection of the best short fiction from the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature.
This collection of Nadine Gordimer’s short fiction demonstrates her rich use of language and her unsparing vision of politics,...
Most parents are reluctant to let their children stay home by themselves. When Paul’s parents finally decided to let him stay alone, it was an experience that he’d never...
The Man Booker Prize
The 1993 Booker Prize-winner. Paddy Clarke, a ten-year-old Dubliner, describes his world, a place full of warmth, cruelty, love, sardines and slaps across the face. He's confused; he sees everything but he understands less...