"In order to reach perfection, one must begin by being ignorant of a great deal. A descendant of one of Russian nobility’s oldest families, the gentle, good natured and epileptic Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin returns to St. Petersburg after spending four years in a Swiss sanatorium. Taken to be an ‘idiot’, Prince Myshkin’s life changes drastically after he stumbles upon a photograph of Nastasya Filippovna during a visit to his distant relative General Yepanchin. Entangled in a web of love, betrayal, and murder, the Christ-like Prince Myshkin struggles to negotiate a chaotic and corrupt Russian society. Regarded as Fyodor Dostoevsky’s most autobiographical work, The Idiot, as the author wrote in a letter in 1868, was meant “to depict a positively good and beautiful human being”. Through the exploration of the psychological complexities and idiosyncrasies of modern Russian society, Dostoevsky presents the life of a Russian Holy Fool in a world of moral emptiness and degradation. The Idiot remains an evergreen classic."


Fyodor Dostoevsky, one of the finest psychologists in world literature, was born in Moscow in 1821. Introduced to literature from the age of three, he was very close to his parents and ‘nanny’. His literary upbringing was influenced by Alena Frolovna, his nanny, who would read to him fairy tales, heroic sagas, and legends.As a student too, he was drawn to Romantic
and Gothic fiction, especially the works of Sir Walter Scott, Nikolay Karamzin, Ann Radcliffe, Alexander Pushkin, and Friedrich Schiller among others. Unlike his contemporary writers, Dostoevsky was not born into the landed gentry.Therefore, his literary works foregrounded the lives of “accidental families” and of “the insulted and the humiliated”. His stories explored human psychology in the turbulent socio-political atmosphere of 19th-century Russia.
His first novel, Poor Folk, was published in 1846 when he was 25.This gained him entry into St. Petersburg’s literary circles. In 1849, he was arrested for being part of a literary group that discussed ‘banned’ books of Tsarist Russia. His most acclaimed works include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), Demons (1872) and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). Notes from Underground (1864), his novella, is considered one of the earliest works of existentialist literature.

Fyodor Dostoevsky, one of the finest psychologists in world literature, was born in Moscow in 1821. Introduced to literature from the age of three, he was very close to his parents and ‘nanny’. His literary upbringing was influenced by Alena Frolovna, his nanny, who would read to him fairy tales, heroic sagas, and legends.As a student too, he was drawn to Romantic
and Gothic fiction, especially the works of Sir Walter Scott, Nikolay Karamzin, Ann Radcliffe, Alexander Pushkin, and Friedrich Schiller among others. Unlike his contemporary writers, Dostoevsky was not born into the landed gentry.Therefore, his literary works foregrounded the lives of “accidental families” and of “the insulted and the humiliated”. His stories explored human psychology in the turbulent socio-political atmosphere of 19th-century Russia.
His first novel, Poor Folk, was published in 1846 when he was 25.This gained him entry into St. Petersburg’s literary circles. In 1849, he was arrested for being part of a literary group that discussed ‘banned’ books of Tsarist Russia. His most acclaimed works include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), Demons (1872) and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). Notes from Underground (1864), his novella, is considered one of the earliest works of existentialist literature.


Fyodor Dostoevsky, one of the finest psychologists in world literature, was born in Moscow in 1821. Introduced to literature from the age of three, he was very close to his parents and ‘nanny’. His literary upbringing was influenced by Alena Frolovna, his nanny, who would read to him fairy tales, heroic sagas, and legends.As a student too, he was drawn to Romantic
and Gothic fiction, especially the works of Sir Walter Scott, Nikolay Karamzin, Ann Radcliffe, Alexander Pushkin, and Friedrich Schiller among others. Unlike his contemporary writers, Dostoevsky was not born into the landed gentry.Therefore, his literary works foregrounded the lives of “accidental families” and of “the insulted and the humiliated”. His stories explored human psychology in the turbulent socio-political atmosphere of 19th-century Russia.
His first novel, Poor Folk, was published in 1846 when he was 25.This gained him entry into St. Petersburg’s literary circles. In 1849, he was arrested for being part of a literary group that discussed ‘banned’ books of Tsarist Russia. His most acclaimed works include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), Demons (1872) and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). Notes from Underground (1864), his novella, is considered one of the earliest works of existentialist literature.

"Fyodor Dostoevsky’s final work, The Brothers Karamazov, is arguably one of the best novels ever written in any language. Set in 19th-century Russia, the novel was published as a serial in The Russian Messenger from January 1879 to November 1880. The story revolves around the murder of Fyodor Pavlovitch Karamazov—the father of the Karamazov brothers—a debauched man who leads a hedonistic life and excels in the art of seducing women.A spiritual drama of sorts, the story of Fyodor and his three sons from different wives, embodies Dostoevsky’s philosophy and delves into debates on morality, free will and God. Dostoevsky’s hero Alyosha was named after his own son who died of epilepsy at the age of three in 1878.The qualities that Dostoevsky admired in his son are reflected in the eponymous character, created and developed as a cathartic process. Dostoevsky died less than four months after the publication of The Brothers Karamazov. Constance Garnett’s English translation of the novel was released in 1912. It is believed that a copy of The Brothers Karamazov was found next to Leo Tolstoy’s nightstand when he died."


Fyodor Dostoevsky, one of the finest psychologists in world literature, was born in Moscow in 1821. Introduced to literature from the age of three, he was very close to his parents and ‘nanny’. His literary upbringing was influenced by Alena Frolovna, his nanny, who would read to him fairy tales, heroic sagas, and legends.As a student too, he was drawn to Romantic
and Gothic fiction, especially the works of Sir Walter Scott, Nikolay Karamzin, Ann Radcliffe, Alexander Pushkin, and Friedrich Schiller among others. Unlike his contemporary writers, Dostoevsky was not born into the landed gentry.Therefore, his literary works foregrounded the lives of “accidental families” and of “the insulted and the humiliated”. His stories explored human psychology in the turbulent socio-political atmosphere of 19th-century Russia.
His first novel, Poor Folk, was published in 1846 when he was 25.This gained him entry into St. Petersburg’s literary circles. In 1849, he was arrested for being part of a literary group that discussed ‘banned’ books of Tsarist Russia. His most acclaimed works include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), Demons (1872) and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). Notes from Underground (1864), his novella, is considered one of the earliest works of existentialist literature.

"Every life is in many days, day after day. We walk through ourselves, meeting robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, brothers-in-love, but always meeting ourselves. Considered one of the most important modernist works in literature, James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922) is often referred to as a modern parallel of Homer’s epic poem, Odyssey. The story revolves around the events of a single ordinary day, 16 June 1904, in the life of Leopold Bloom, Mary Bloom and Stephen Dedalus, the famous hero from Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, who act as counterparts of Telemachus, Odysseus and Penelope respectively from the epic poem. Joyce portrays modernist concerns in the context of the 20th century by enhancing the structural similarities yet stark differences between the events and characters of the epic poem and his novel. His use of ingenious characterisation and humour as well as literary techniques such as stream of consciousness, allusions and puns not only enrich the novel but also elucidate the inner workings of the mind and the nonlinear progressions of thought. Fans of the author now celebrate 16 June worldwide as Bloomsday."


Born on 2 February 1882 in Dublin, Ireland, James Joyce was one of the most revered writers of the 20th century. His masterpiece, Ulysses, remains an unparalleled literary feat. His exploration of language and his exceptional use of the stream-of-consciousness technique immensely contributed to the modernist avant-garde, inspiring contemporary writers to experiment with fresh perspective.
A brilliant student, Joyce briefly attended the Christian Brothers-run O’Connell School before excelling at the Jesuit schools Clongowes and Belvedere. In 1904, in his early twenties, he emigrated permanently to continental Europe with his partner and future wife, Nora Barnacle. Though most of his life was spent in Trieste, Paris and Zurich, his fictional universe was largely set in Dublin, with characters who resembled his family members, acquaintances, friends and enemies. Joyce’s other well known works include Dubliners, a short-story collection; his first novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, which caught the attention of the American poet, Ezra Pound, who praised him for his unconventional style and voice, and the masterly Finnegans Wake. Following the Nazi invasion of Paris, he and his family moved to southern France in 1940. On 13 January 1941, following an intestinal operation, the writer passed away in Zurich, where he is buried in the Fluntern cemetery.

"The first novel by Irish writer, James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a coming-of-age tale about the religious and intellectual awakening of the protagonist. In this semi-autobiographical novel, Joyce examines what distinguishes the individual from the social, religious and cultural, by mapping the ever-changing landscape of the mind. Written in a modernist style, the novel traces the journey of young Stephen Dedalus, a fictitious alter ego of Joyce, with an allusion to the skilful craftsman and artist of Greek mythology. Stephen rebels against the Catholic and Irish mores that govern his upbringing, culminating in his self-imposed exile from Ireland to Europe. American modernist poet Ezra Pound had the novel serialised in the English literary magazine The Egotist in 1914 and 1915. Published as a book in 1916 by B.W. Huebsch of New York, Joyce’s debut novel earned him his place as a frontrunner of literary modernism."

Born on 2 February 1882 in Dublin, Ireland, James Joyce was one of the most revered writers of the 20th century. His masterpiece, Ulysses, remains an unparalleled literary feat. His exploration of language and his exceptional use of the stream-of-consciousness technique immensely contributed to the modernist avant-garde, inspiring contemporary writers to experiment with fresh perspective.
A brilliant student, Joyce briefly attended the Christian Brothers-run O’Connell School before excelling at the Jesuit schools Clongowes and Belvedere. In 1904, in his early twenties, he emigrated permanently to continental Europe with his partner and future wife, Nora Barnacle. Though most of his life was spent in Trieste, Paris and Zurich, his fictional universe was largely set in Dublin, with characters who resembled his family members, acquaintances, friends and enemies. Joyce’s other well known works include Dubliners, a short-story collection; his first novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, which caught the attention of the American poet, Ezra Pound, who praised him for his unconventional style and voice, and the masterly Finnegans Wake. Following the Nazi invasion of Paris, he and his family moved to southern France in 1940. On 13 January 1941, following an intestinal operation, the writer passed away in Zurich, where he is buried in the Fluntern cemetery.

Let’s enjoy the beautiful things we can see, my dear, and not think about those we cannot. A book “for children and those who love children”, Heidi (1881) is a story of an orphan girl who is sent to live with her grumpy grandfather in the Swiss Alps. The embittered grandfather who lives in seclusion, is known as ‘Uncle Alp’, and deeply resents Heidi’s arrival. But soon, he grows fond of her. Lost in the idyllic world of snow-covered mountains, Heidi befriends Peter, the goatherd, his mother, Bridget, and his blind maternal grandmother. While all seems well in Heidi’s wonderland, she is soon compelled to leave the comforts of the hills and go to Frankfurt to live with a differently-abled girl named Clara. Overcoming the initial difficulties, Heidi and Clara become friends. Amidst the grey streets of a new city, Heidi struggles to overcome her homesickness. If only she could return to the mountains. Will she ever meet her grandfather again? Written well over a century ago, Johanna Spyri’s evergreen tale of a young girl’s coming of age, of her bravery and compassion, remains a classic.


Born on 12 June 1827, Johanna Heusser was raised in Hirzel, a small village in Zurich, Switzerland. Her mother Meta Heusser-Schweizer wrote religious poetry and hymns, and agreed to have her works published on the condition that her identity wouldn’t be disclosed. In 1875, a selection of Alpine Lyrics by her was translated into English.

At 16, Johanna was sent to a residential school in Yverdon, western Switzerland. Later, she studied Modern Languages and Piano in Zurich.
In 1852, Johanna married a lawyer and journalist named Johann Bernhard Spyri. Her husband being a workaholic, their marriage suffered and gradually, Johanna sunk into depression. In 1884, tragedy struck when she lost her son, Bernhard—who was only 28—and her husband.
Encouraged by a family friend, Johanna began to write to overcome depression and published her first story ‘Ein Blatt auf Vronys Grab’ (A Leaf From Vrony’s Grave) in 1871. The success of her very first story fuelled her passion for writing, that she pursued diligently. Between 1871 and 1901, Johanna published 27 books and several volumes of stories for children and adults.
As a writer, she was concerned about the upbringing of children in 19th-century Europe. Instead of treating them as ‘imperfect’ adults, she wanted to present a child’s world as very different from an adult’s.
Heidi (1881), a novel that she wrote in four weeks, reflects the writer’s psychological insight into a child’s mind. A world classic, which has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide, Heidi has been translated from German into 50 languages. Johanna Spyri died in Zurich on 7 July 1901.

"She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter, set in 17th-century Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony, is the tale of Hester Prynne’s ‘shame’ following the birth of a child whose father remains unidentified for the larger part of the narrative. Hester’s defiance in the face of expulsion and repudiation makes her a heroine ahead of her time. Pearl, the illegitimate daughter, Arthur Dimmesdale, the ‘cheating’ Minister of Church, Reverend John Wilson, and the malicious Roger Chillingworth are Hawthorne’s characters whose lives, premised on guilt and pride, take a tumultuous turn as the cataclysmic outcome of an act of passion. The embroidered scarlet ‘A’—that she is required to wear on her dress on the day of her punishment— becomes a manifestation of Hester’s ‘adultery’, her erratic past and ignominious present. Will she break her vow of silence?"


American novelist and short story writer Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on 4 July 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts.
Hawthorne studied at Bowdoin College from 1821 to 1825 and shortly thereafter published his first novel Fanshawe in 1828. In 1836, he served as the editor of the American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge.
Predominantly a short story writer in his early career, Hawthorne, after publishing Twice-Told Tales (1837), surprisingly observed about his own works, “I do not think much of them.” However, his most popular short stories include ‘My Kinsman, Major Molineux’ (1832), ‘The Minister’s Black Veil’ (1832), ‘Young Goodman Brown’ (1835) and ‘Feathertop’ (1852).
Hawthorne’s other major romances apart from the bestselling The Scarlet Letter (1850) were The House of the Seven Gables (1851), The Blithedale Romance (1852) and The Marble Faun (1860). For Hawthorne, romance was about exploring psychological themes like sin, human fallibility, self-destruction and retribution. Dark romanticism bordering on surrealism is what Hawthorne’s works, inspired by Puritan New England, were steeped in.
His seminal essay ‘Chiefly About War Matters’ (1862) foregrounded the author’s experiences of meeting eminent figures like Abraham Lincoln, during his travel to Washington, D.C., amidst the American Civil War.
Among his published works, a biography of his college friend Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States is also noteworthy.
Hawthorne died in his sleep on 19 May 1864.

"Jules Verne's Around The World In 80 Days (1873) is the story of Phileas Fogg, an affluent English gentleman who leads a solitar y life. Though Fogg doesn't boast of a vibrant social life, he is a member of the Reform Club. After reading an article in The Daily Telegraph about the opening of a new railway section in India, which promises to make travel around the world possible in 80 days, he accepts a wager for 20,000 from fellow club members, which will be given to him only if he makes it around the world in 80 days. With his newly employed French manservant Passepartout, he leaves London by train on 2 October 1872. From rescuing a Raja's young wife from sati in the exotic land of India, boarding a train from San Francisco to New York which is attacked by a livid Sioux tribe, to finding a steamboat destined for Bordeaux, France, the heroic travellers "adventures continue to mesmerise readers even today."


Born on 8 February 1828, Jules Gabriel Verne was a French novelist, poet and playwright who has also been the second most-translated writer in the world since 1979.
Popular for writing about air, underwater and space travel much before submarines or air travel became a reality, Verne was a visionary. Early in life, he began writing for magazines and his collaboration with Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the Voyages Extraordinaires series that included Journey To The Center Of The Earth (1864), 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1870) and Around The World In 80 Days (1873). A writer of plays, poems, operetta libretti, short stories, essays and miscellaneous non-fiction, Verne, in his works imagined a more harmonious and humanitarian society.
English translations of Verne's novels began in 1869 with William Lackland's translation of Five Weeks In A Balloon (originally published in 1863), and continued throughout his writing career, with publishers and translators working together to have his most popular books printed into English language.
On Verne and his influence on literature, Ray Bradbury had remarked, "We are all, in one way or another, the children of Jules Verne."

"There is no book so bad...that it does not have something good in it. One of the earliest classics from the Spanish Golden Age known as ‘the first modern novel’, Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote was published in two volumes. The first volume published in 1605, became a runaway success. Ten years later, in 1615, the second volume was published. Having devoured innumerable chivalric romances, Alonso Quixano, under the name Don Quixote de la Mancha, sets out on an adventure to restore order in the world. Sancho Panza, his faithful squire, responds to Quixote’s sermons on knighthood with wit and pragmatism. During his expedition, the knight-errant visits an inn imagining it to be a castle, fights with impudent sorcerers, chases windmills thinking them to be giants, and steals a barber’s basin mistaking it to be the mythic Mambrino’s helmet among other absurdities. Through his protagonist’s ludicrous transformation, Cervantes, not only redefined the form of the novel but also created a thinking, critical reader. “If there is one novel you should read before you die, it is Don Quixote,” said Ben Okri, Booker Prize winner, of this masterpiece."


Spanish novelist, playwright, and poet Miguel de Cervantes was the creator of one of the world’s finest literary masterpieces, Don Quixote. Born near Madrid in 1547, his formative years were spent in economic adversities.
In 1571, when Cervantes was serving as a soldier in the Battle of Lepanto, he was gravely injured. In 1575, after fighting in military campaigns against the Turks, he was captured and kept as a slave for five years.
In 1597, he landed back in jail in Seville over dealings with fraudulent bankers. During this time, the idea for Don Quixote was born. The first volume was published in 1605 and became an instant success. Over time, it was translated into more than 60 languages. The second volume was published in 1615.
The author of seminal works like La Galatea, Rinconete y Cortadillo, and Novelas ejemplares (Exemplary Novels), Cervantes influenced Spanish literature so much that Spanish was often called la lengua de Cervantes (language of Cervantes).
Cervantes’s works have inspired stalwarts like Fyodor Dostoevsky, Gustave Flaubert, and Henry Fielding among others.
In 1613, William Shakespeare, a contemporary and an admirer of Cervantes, wrote ‘The History of Cardenio’ (universally known as Shakespeare’s ‘lost play’), based on Cardenio, a character borrowed from Don Quixote. Miguel de Cervantes died in 1616.

"Hailed as the 20th century’s best American novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby was first published in 1925. An exploration of a variety of themes— artistic and cultural dynamism, evolution of jazz music, economic prosperity, organised crime culture, technologies in communication—The Great Gatsby, is a reflection of the Roaring Twenties, often described as a cautionary tale of the ‘American Dream’. In the summer of 1922, Jay Gatsby, a young and enigmatic millionaire falls in love with Daisy Fay Buchanan. Nick Carraway, a veteran of the Great War from the Midwest (and Daisy Fay Buchanan’s cousin), rents a small house on Long Island, next to Jay Gatsby’s opulent mansion where he throws extravagant parties. A series of extraordinary events unfold and Fitzgerald presents a critical social history of America through his unusual characters. The initial response to The Great Gatsby was mixed and the book sold only 20,000 copies. Fitzgerald died thinking himself to be a failed writer. His work came into prominence during World War II and The Great Gatsby joined the ranks of the world’s leading classics. A satirical exposé of the Jazz Age, The Great Gatsby is a must-read for literature lovers."


F. Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul. Minnesota. His work illustrates the Jazz Age. One of the greatest American novelists and short story writers of the 20th century Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost Generation" of the 1920s. Some of his finest works include This Side of Paradise. Beautiful and Damned, The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night His fifth novel, The Last Tycoon, was published posthumously The In 1917, he joined the U.S. Army, where he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry and assigned to Alabama. It was here that he fell in love with Zelda Sayre, who later became his wife and his muse. Scott Fitzgerald died in 1940.

"It’s in vain to recall the past, unless it works some influence upon the present. David Copperfield was first published as a serial from May 1849 to November 1850, in 19 monthly instalments. Considered Charles Dickens’ “veiled autobiography”, it was published in a single volume by Bradbury & Evans on 14 November 1850. Born in Blunderstone, England, a fatherless David lives with his mother Peggotty, who marries Edward Murdstone when David turns seven. When Murdstone tries to thrash him, David bites his stepfather. Sent to a boarding school—Salem House—David’s life under the tyrannical headmaster Mr. Creakle becomes even more miserable. After his mother’s death, David travels from London to Dover in search of his great-aunt Betsey Trotwood. From boyhood to adulthood, David meets several characters—Emily, Mr. Wickfield, Agnes, Mr. Spenlow, Dora, Mr. Micawber, Mrs. Gummidge, Barkis, Uriah Heep, Steerforth, and Miss Mowcher, among others. So artfully does the novelist merge with his writerprotagonist that it is difficult to discern where Dickens ends, and Copperfield begins in this evergreen classic."


Born on 7 February 1812, in Portsmouth, Charles Dickens was one of the greatest novelists of the Victorian era. He created some of the most intriguing fictional characters in literature. The author’s success began with the 1836 publication of the Pickwick Papers, following which he became an international celebrity. Known for his humour, satire and incisive representation of society through his characters, his literary triumphs include A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and Great Expectations. A literary colossus of his time, he wrote 15 novels, 5 novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles. He even performed for Queen Victoria in 1851. Such was the charisma of the author that the term ‘Dickensian’ is still used to describe situations
reminiscent of his narratives. Literary stalwarts like Leo Tolstoy, George Orwell and G.K. Chesterton admired him for his comedy, prose style and realism. The quintessential Victorian author died in 1870, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness... The year was 1775 and Lucie Manette, a young self- sacrificing orphan, realised she had been living a lie. Her father, Doctor Manette, whom she had taken for dead was, in fact, alive. The self-exiled nephew of the Marquis Evrémonde, Charles Darnay was accused of treason in 1780; Madame Defarge, a victim of the French aristocracy, stitched a hidden registry of those condemned to die; and Sydney Carton, the brilliant yet dissolute alcoholic English lawyer in love with Lucie, were all battling the social ills that had besieged France and England. From the serene lanes of London, they were drawn against their will to the bloodstained streets of Paris at the peak of the Reign of Terror and soon the guillotine cast a lethal shadow over their lives. Originally published in 1859, in weekly instalments in All the Year Round, a British weekly literary magazine, A Tale of Two Cities is a masterpiece which captures the reader’s imagination through its haunting narrative of the French Revolution. A firm believer in the virtues of resurrection and transformation, Charles Dickens presents a moving account of sacrifice and redemption through his best-known work of historical fiction.



Born on 7 February 1812, in Portsmouth, Charles Dickens was one of the greatest novelists of the Victorian era. He created some of the most intriguing fictional characters in literature. The author’s success began with the 1836 publication of the Pickwick Papers, following which he became an international celebrity. Known for his humour, satire and incisive representation of society through his characters, his literary triumphs include A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and Great Expectations. A literary colossus of his time, he wrote 15 novels, 5 novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles. He even performed for Queen Victoria in 1851. Such was the charisma of the author that the term ‘Dickensian’ is still used to describe situations
reminiscent of his narratives. Literary stalwarts like Leo Tolstoy, George Orwell and G.K. Chesterton admired him for his comedy, prose style and realism. The quintessential Victorian author died in 1870, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Charles Dickens’ second novel, Oliver Twist, or The Parish Boy’s Progress, was first published as a serial (in monthl y instalments) in the magazine Bentley’s Miscellany from February 1837 to April 1839. The novel was inspired by Robert Blincoe’s account of his childhood spent in a cotton mill. Oliver Twist, an orphan, is born in a w orkhouse and later sold off into an apprenticeship. Dickens situates his protagonist amid the squalid lives of beggars, criminals and petty thieves. Trapped in a world of corruption and poverty, Oliver with his pure heart is rewarded with a fair ytale ending. The dark reality of child labour, the effects of industrialisation and the condition of orphans in London in the mid-19th centur y form the crux of Dickens’ heartrending novel.


Born on 7 February 1812, in Portsmouth, Charles Dickens was one of the greatest novelists of the Victorian era. He created some of the most intriguing fictional characters in literature. The author’s success began with the 1836 publication of the Pickwick Papers, following which he became an international celebrity. Known for his humour, satire and incisive representation of society through his characters, his literary triumphs include A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and Great Expectations. A literary colossus of his time, he wrote 15 novels, 5 novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles. He even performed for Queen Victoria in 1851. Such was the charisma of the author that the term ‘Dickensian’ is still used to describe situations
reminiscent of his narratives. Literary stalwarts like Leo Tolstoy, George Orwell and G.K. Chesterton admired him for his comedy, prose style and realism. The quintessential Victorian author died in 1870, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

"Great Expectations revolves around the life of an orphan nicknamed Pip. The novel, set in the 19th centur y, traces the psychological growth of Pip in three stages: his childhood in the marshes of Kent, his journey from the rural environs to the London metropolis, and finally his reluctant reconciliation with the vanity of false promises and values. The cast includes the cold yet ethereal Estella, the kind-hearted blacksmith Joe, the ‘pale young gentleman’ Herbert Pocket and the affluent, eccentric spinster Miss Havisham, among others. George Bernard Shaw said of the novel, ‘All of one piece and consistently truthful.’"


Born on 7 February 1812, in Portsmouth, Charles Dickens was one of the greatest novelists of the Victorian era. He created some of the most intriguing fictional characters in literature. The author’s success began with the 1836 publication of the Pickwick Papers, following which he became an international celebrity. Known for his humour, satire and incisive representation of society through his characters, his literary triumphs include A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and Great Expectations. A literary colossus of his time, he wrote 15 novels, 5 novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles. He even performed for Queen Victoria in 1851. Such was the charisma of the author that the term ‘Dickensian’ is still used to describe situations
reminiscent of his narratives. Literary stalwarts like Leo Tolstoy, George Orwell and G.K. Chesterton admired him for his comedy, prose style and realism. The quintessential Victorian author died in 1870, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

There is nothing stronger than those two: Patience and Time.
The year was 1805. Napoleon’s conquest of western Europe was causing anxiety among the Russians. In alliance with the Austrian empire, the Russian troops were trying to resist Napoleon’s onslaught.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy chronicles the French invasion of Russia and its impact on Tsarist Russia, through the stories of five families-the Bezukhovs, the Bolkonskys, the Rostovs, the Kuragins, and the Drubetskoys.
The Russian Messenger published portions of the manuscript, titled The Year 1805, as a serial from 1865–1867. Dissatisfied with the published version, Tolstoy extensively rewrote the novel between 1866 and 1869. After his wife, Sophia Tolstaya, copied as many as seven ‘separate’ manuscripts, the author considered it for publication, again.
Tolstoy finally changed the name to War and Peace; it is believed that he borrowed the title from Pierre-Joseph Proudhon’s 1861 book, La Guerre et la Paix.
War and Peace has been translated into several languages and is regarded as Tolstoy’s finest literary achievement.

Leo Tolstoy was born in 1828 in Russia’s Tula Province, Yasnaya Polyana, into an aristocratic family. Regarded as “the greatest living novelist” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Virginia Woolf, Tolstoy’s two seminal works are War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1878).
When he was a student of Oriental Languages at the University of Kazan, his teachers thought he was an incapable student who was unwilling to learn. Unsurprisingly, Tolstoy returned to Yasnaya Polyana. In 1851, reeling under gambling debts, he decided to accompany his elder brother Nikolay, an army officer, to the Caucasus and join the army. He served as a second lieutenant in the Crimean War (1853-1856). It was during this period that the writer in him was born.
One of his earliest and most notable autobiographical novels was Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth (1852-1856). Novellas such as The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886) and Hadji Murad (1912) followed. In his last days, Tolstoy was revered as a moral and religious teacher. Even Mahatma Gandhi sought the Grand Old Man’s advice on non-violence and resistance.
In 1910, Tolstoy died of heart failure at the railroad station of Astapovo, Russia. He was 82.

"Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina was first published in serial instalments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger. A canvas exploring a diverse array of themes—matrimony, politics, philosophy, altruism, adultery, religion and death, it is a masterpiece in realist fiction. Anna Karenina, a married aristocrat and socialite from St. Petersburg, falls in love with Count Vronsky, a suave military officer. Hemmed in by the laws of the Russian Orthodox Church, Anna is indecisive and anxious about leaving her husband and starting a new life with Vronsky. A social outcast,Anna is a voracious reader and detests fakery that she feels her husband epitomises. Unfortunately, with her growing suspicion of Vronsky’s fidelity, her affair brings her more misery than joy. Eventually, her paranoia leads her to taking her own life. ‘Flawless as a work of art’ is how Fyodor Dostoyevsky described Anna Karenina. "


Leo Tolstoy was born in 1828 in Russia’s Tula Province,Yasnaya Polyana, into an aristocratic family. Regarded as “the greatest living novelist” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Virginia Woolf, Tolstoy’s two seminal works are War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1878).
When he was a student of Oriental Languages at the University of Kazan, his teachers thought he was an incapable student who was unwilling to learn. Unsurprisingly,Tolstoy returned to Yasnaya Polyana. In 1851, reeling under gambling debts, he decided to accompany his elder brother Nikolay, an army officer, to the Caucasus and join the army. He served as a second lieutenant in the Crimean War (1853-1856). It was during this period that the writer in him was born.
One of his earliest and most notable autobiographical novels was Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth (1852-1856). Novellas such as The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886) and Hadji Murad (1912) followed. In his last days,Tolstoy was revered as a moral and religious teacher. Even Mahatma Gandhi sought the Grand Old Man’s advice on non-violence and resistance. In 1910,Tolstoy died of heart failure at the railroad station of Astapovo, Russia. He was 82.

"Mansfield Park, considered the most controversial work 76of Jane Austen, is masterful in its psychological characterisations. The novel foregrounds the need for moral strength and a sense of propriety, which the protagonist, Fanny Price, personifies. The story follows the life of Fanny Price, who is sent to her rich relatives country estate at the age of 10. The readers journey through Fanny's experiences, which shape the conscientious and moral young woman that she grows up to be. Mansfield Park is, therefore, a story of a young girl that provides a glimpse into her interiority and the role played by morality and religion in Victorian England. The novel has been adapted to film, stage, television and radio."


Born on 16 December 1775 in Steventon, Hampshire, Jane Austen was one of eight children of George Austen, a clergyman, who assisted as the rector of the Anglican parishes. Jane began writing as a teenager. In 1783, along with her sister Cassandra, she was sent to Oxford where she was taught by Mrs Ann Cawley. When the sisters caught typhus, both were sent home and Jane attended boarding school in Reading from early 1785. Since the Austen family couldn't afford the school fees, Jane returned home in 1786. In 1796, Jane began writing First Impressions and completed the first draft in August 1797, (later published as Pride and Prejudice). During this time, her father tried publishing one of his daughter�s novels. In her early years, Jane had unrestricted access to her father�s library and her father too would provide her expensive stationery to encourage her. In 1797, George Austen wrote to Thomas Cadell, a famous publisher in London, asking if First Impressions could be considered. Meanwhile, during mid-1798, Jane began working on Susan (later published as Northanger Abbey). Again, the manuscript was offered to a London publisher who paid 10 pounds for the copyright. The book remained unpublished for a long time and eventually, Jane had to repurchase the copyright from the publisher in 1816. Northanger Abbey was published posthumously in 1818. In 1816, Jane's health deteriorated due to Addison's disease, and she went to Winchester for treatment. She died there on 18 July 1817. As a writer, Jane achieved critical acclaim only after her death. Her body of works include Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. In 1833, her works were republished in Richard Bentley's Standard Novels series, and illustrated by Ferdinand Pickering. These became immensely popular and almost 52 years after her death, in 1869, her nephew published A Memoir of Jane Austen, reintroducing the writer to her readers.

"The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much! Sense And Sensibility (1811) was the first novel by Jane Austen, anonymously published as a novel ‘By A Lady’. It garnered positive reviews and turned out to be a success for the author. The novel is an insightful study of the social customs of early nineteenth century, The two sisters, Elinor and Marianne, are embodiments of sense and sensibility, respectively. A parallel is drawn between their experiences of love—while the elder sister, Elinor, is prudent and stoic as she deals with heartache, Marianne wears her heart on her sleeve and falls in love with the dubious Willoughby. Over time, however, Marianne realises that for true love to exist, sentimentality and rationality must co-exist. Sense And Sensibility has been adapted on various platforms—film, television and stage. It remains one of Austen’s most cherished works."


Born on 16 December 1775 in Steventon, Hampshire, Jane Austen was one of eight children of George Austen, a clergyman, who assisted as the rector of the Anglican parishes. Jane began writing as a teenager. In 1783, along with her sister Cassandra, she was sent to Oxford where she was taught by Mrs Ann Cawley. When the sisters caught typhus, both were sent home and Jane attended boarding school in Reading from early 1785. Since the Austen family couldn’t afford the school fees, Jane returned home in 1786. In 1796, Jane began writing First Impressions and completed the first draft in August 1797, (later published as Pride and Prejudice). During this time, her father tried publishing one of his daughter’s novels. In her early years, Jane had unrestricted access to her father’s library and her father too would provide her expensive stationery to encourage her. In 1797, George Austen wrote to Thomas Cadell, a famous publisher in London, asking if First Impressions could be considered. Meanwhile, during mid-1798, Jane began working on Susan (later published as Northanger Abbey). Again, the manuscript was offered to a London publisher who paid 10 pounds for the copyright. The book remained unpublished for a long time and eventually, Jane had to repurchase the copyright from the publisher in 1816. Northanger Abbey was published posthumously in 1818. In 1816, Jane’s health deteriorated due to Addison’s disease, and she went to Winchester for treatment. She died there on 18 July 1817. As a writer, Jane achieved critical acclaim only after her death. Her body of works include Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. In 1833, her works were republished in Richard Bentley’s Standard Novels series, and illustrated by Ferdinand Pickering. These became immensely popular and almost 52 years after her death, in 1869, her nephew published A Memoir of Jane Austen, reintroducing the writer to her readers.

Perhaps when a man has special knowledge and special powers like my own, it rather encourages him to seek a complex explanation when a simpler one is at hand.
Presumed dead after plunging into the Reichenbach Falls with his archenemy Professor Moriarty, the sharp-witted detective Sherlock Holmes returns after a hiatus of three years. When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Holmes in ‘The Final Problem’, he came under intense pressure from fans to revive the beloved detective in a credulous way.
Thus, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Holmes surprises his sidekick Doctor Watson with his return and exhibits the analytical skills and impeccable logic that continue to charm readers across time. Set in the period after Holmes’s “resurrection”, this collection has some of the most enchanting stories such as ‘The Adventure of the Norwood Builder’, ‘The Adventure of the Dancing Men’, and ‘The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist’, which have been adapted to film, television, and radio.
A keepsake edition.

Born on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh, SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE started writing stories as a student. With a repertoire of over 30 books, 150 short stories, essays, plays, and poems, he earned the distinction of being one of the greatest short story writers ever, since Edgar Allan Poe. A master of all literary genres, his memorable creation is the invincible sleuth Sherlock Holmes whom the readers are introduced to in his first novel, A Study in Scarlet (1887). Such was the charisma of this Great Detective that after the author killed Holmes in ‘The Final Problem’ (1893), he was compelled to bring Holmes back after vociferous demands from readers.
A war correspondent, a spiritualist, an athlete, and a historian, the author was knighted for his contribution to Literature in a South African field hospital during the Boer War in 1902. He died on 7 July 1930 in Crowborough, Sussex.

You see, but you do not observe.
221B Baker Street is home to the matchless sleuth Sherlock Holmes, who solves the most intriguing, puzzling, and dreadful mysteries along with his competent sidekick and biographer Dr. Watson. Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories have been adapted to film, theatre, television, and radio many times over the years and have led to Holmes becoming a British cultural icon.
The Best of Sherlock Holmes contains the finest Sherlock Holmes short stories ever written such as ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’, ‘The Adventure of the Bruce- Partington Plans’, and ‘The Adventure of Silver Blaze’. It also contains Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s personal favourites such as ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’, ‘The Red-Headed League’, ‘The Final Problem’, and ‘The Adventure of the Dancing Men’ among many others.
A keepsake edition.

Born on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh, SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE started writing stories as a student. With a repertoire of over 30 books, 150 short stories, essays, plays, and poems, he earned the distinction of being one of the greatest short story writers ever, since Edgar Allan Poe. A master of all literary genres, his memorable creation is the invincible sleuth Sherlock Holmes whom the readers are introduced to in his first novel, A Study in Scarlet (1887). Such was the charisma of this Great Detective that after the author killed Holmes in ‘The Final Problem’ (1893), he was compelled to bring Holmes back after vociferous demands from readers.
A war correspondent, a spiritualist, an athlete, and a historian, the author was knighted for his contribution to Literature in a South African field hospital during the Boer War in 1902. He died on 7 July 1930 in Crowborough, Sussex.