In tracing the parish boy's progress, Dickens did not write a topical satire on the workhouse system and the role of the 1834 New Poor Law in fostering criminality, he created a story about the survival of good, and the exploitation of violence.

'Northanger Abbey' tells the story of 17-year-old Catherine Morely, a passionate and headstrong young woman with a fondness for Gothic novels. Catherine's vivid imagination leads to all kinds of misunderstandings before she eventually finds romance.

Stevenson's classic tale of buccaneers, a treasure map, and a hunt for buried gold introduced the character of Long John Silver and brought moral ambiguity into children's books. This edition celebrates the ultimate book of pirates and examines its innovations and unrivalled place in literary history.

Fanny Price is taken to live at Mansfield Park, the home of her wealthy uncle. She gradually falls in love with her cousin Edmund, but when the dazzling and sophisticated Crawfords arrive, and Fanny has to fight to retain her independence.

Set in the context of Victorian social and medical debate, this novel is about rebellion, posing fundamental questions about the nature of social authority and obedience. This revised edition draws on recent theoretical work on gender and class.

Set in Coketown, a fictional industrial town in the north of England, 'Hard Times' was born of its author's indignation at the soul-crushing conditions of the industrial age.