Ancient Classics

A tragic epic love story before Romeo and Juliet, by one of the greatest medieval Persian romance poets, in a modern-verse English translation by Dick Davis A Penguin Classic Based on historical characters of the seventh-century Iranian court and written 850 years ago, the narrative poem about...

The new National Geographic Treasury of Egyptian Mythology is a stunning tableau of Egyptian myths, including those of pharaohs, queens, the boisterous Sun God Ra, and legendary creatures like the Sphinx. The lyrical storytelling of award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli dramatizes the timeless tales of ancient Egypt in the year when Angelina Jolie will make Cleopatra a multimedia star.

Have you ever been to a King Lear performance with the impression of not having understood everything? It's normal. Shakespeare's plays are the most beautiful of the theatrical repertoire, but you cannot go to a Shakespeare play if you do not have a minimum prepared this show: understand the issues, characters, context, cultural or historical references is indispensable. The same is true if you intend to read a play by William Shakespeare: our summaries will help you better understand what you have read.

Precursors to the Aztecs (amazing in their own right), the Toltec people were the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilization honored for their artisanship and tactile warfare - considered so fierce and respectable that the Aztecs claimed descendancy from them! How did this empire come to be regarded as the apex of culture, sophistication, and civilization? Why did the Aztecs overtake them, and how? And…which came first: the Mayans, the Toltecs, or the Aztecs? Explore these questions and more as you step into amazing architectural sites in Indiana Jones-eque style.

Guru Nanak was deeply spiritual from an early age, having being born into a society caught in the throes of orthodoxy and ritualism. The ills of child marriage, infanticide and a rigid caste system had further crippled his people. The outpouring of Nanak’s faith evolved into the universal...

On the Shortness of Life was written by Seneca around the year 49AD. He argues that we waste so much time because we do not properly value it. We expend great effort in protecting other valuables such as money and property, but because time appears intangible, we allow others to occupy it and take time away from us. Wise people, on the other hand, understand that time is the most valuable of all resources, and with effort can free themselves from external control to engage in meaningful introspection and create an intentional life.

Three tales from The Canterbury Tales, read in the original Middle English by Richard Bebb under the direction of Britain's foremost Chaucer scholar, Derek Brewer.

The story of Cyrano, his famous nose, and his undying love for the beautiful Roxanne evokes the spirit and panache of 17th century France.

This definitive and magnificent 10-volume unabridged translation is one of the rare English translations in full of the epic. Bibek Debroy makes the Mahabharata marvellously accessible to contemporary readers. Dispute over land and kingdom may lie at the heart of this story of war...

Join beloved Bible teacher Margaret Feinberg as you learn how to move from simply reading Scripture to entering stories that can be touched, tasted, smelled, and savored. The Bible is full of clever plots and compelling stories, laced with historic insights and literary beauty. But despite its...

Faust is a tragic play in two parts that reworks the late medieval myth of a brilliant but disillusioned scholar who makes a deal with the devil. it is widely considered to be Goethe's masterpiece and the greatest work of German literature. The novel Elective Affinities is the story of Eduard and Charlotte, an aristocratic couple enjoying an idyllic but rather dull life on their rural estate. They invite the Captain, Eduard's childhood friend, and Ottilie, the orphaned niece of Charlotte, to live with them, with tragic results.

The 18th Century Classics Collection steps into the vibrant and tumultuous world of 18th century Europe. With this captivating anthology of some of the most influential works of 1700s literature, we encounter biting satire, passionate romance, and political tumultuousness. From the philosophical musings of Candide to the dark, gothic suspense of The Monk, this collection provides an eclectic mix of narrative styles and genres, capturing the essence of an age marked by intellectual revolution, social upheaval, and profound artistic expression.

This definitive and magnificent 10-volume unabridged translation is one of the rare English translations in full of the epic. Bibek Debroy makes the Mahabharata marvellously accessible to contemporary readers. Dispute over land and kingdom may lie at the heart of this story of war...

"The Twelve Labours of Hercules" are a series of feats ordered by the gods carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised as Hercules. The legend was first written whole, as a fixed cycle of twelve labours, in an epic Greek poem now lost, in about 600BC; as they survive in the original source, the labours are not all recounted in a single place, but must be reassembled from many sources. This short story is a retelling of Hercules' legend with an elegant style that will edify children and adults alike.

When a curious traveler visits the crumbling seaside town of Innsmouth, he is met with distorted faces, hostile glances, and warnings spoken in fearful whispers. As night falls, unease turns to dread, and the town’s unspeakable secret begins to surface. With every passing moment, the tension tightens, the streets grow darker, and escape feels increasingly impossible.

Vis and Ramin is one of the world's great love stories. It was the first major Persian romance, written between 1050 and 1055 in rhyming couplets. This remarkable work has now been superbly translated into heroic couplets (the closest metrical equivalent of the Persian) by the poet and scholar Dick Davis.

Vis and Ramin had immense influence on later Persian poetry and is very probably also the source for the tale of Tristan and Isolde, which first appeared in Europe about a century later.

The quintessential dramatisations of Homer’s two masterpieces, with exceptional casts including Derek Jacobi, Christopher Eccleston, Tim McInnerny and Benedict Cumberbatch Attributed to the Greek poet Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey are among the greatest and most influential works of the...

A witty, inspiring reckoning with the ancient Greek and Roman myths and their legacy, from what they can illuminate about #MeToo to the radical imagery of Beyoncé. The picture of classical antiquity most of us learned in school is framed in certain ways -- glossing over misogyny while omitting...

Oedipus the King is the story of a man whose life is destroyed by his own good intentions. When a terrible secret from his past is brought to the light of day, the consequences are chilling - and ineluctable.

Enriched for audio with specially commissioned music based on traditional melodies, Old Songs fuses short stories, histories, lyrics and music in an enthralling reimagining of traditional folk ballads. Sunday Times Bestselling historian Amy Jeffs and her creative collaborators combine forces to...