Classics

With its forthright treatment of sex and depression, The Awakening, first published in 1899, was so shocking to turn-of-the-century readers that it was neglected for decades. Rediscovered in the 1960s, this brief, beautiful novel is considered a landmark of early feminism. It is the story of Edna Pontellier, a twenty-eight-year-old wife and mother of two who--with devastating consequences--rejects her conventional married life for a transgressive path of self-discovery.

Edna is vacationing with her husband and children on the Louisiana Gulf Coast when she meets and falls in love with the passionate, impulsive Robert Lebrun. Afterward, Edna can no longer find meaning and satisfaction in her comfortable domestic life and moves out, alone. Her tragic quest for personal, creative, and erotic freedom is at the heart of this now-classic novel which captures women's desires with extraordinary frankness, sympathy, and intensity.

The Modern Library Torchbearers series features women who wrote on their own terms, with boldness, creativity, and a spirit of resistance.

Georgia says: The Awakening by Kate Chopin, was first published in 1899. It’s the story of a young woman stuck in a stifling marriage, who decides to go her own way….to leave her husband and children for a man with whom she has fallen in love.  A beautifully realized story of passion and despair, from a time when infidelity was simply not a possibility for women.

Ghost stories reached the height of popularity in the late nineteenth century. As the nights draw in, close the curtains and relish this collection of the very best spine-tingling ghost stories from the masters of the genre.

Many of the contributors are amongst the most famous writers in the English language led by the master of the genre, M. R. James. What all the stories have in common is that they give the reader a delicious sense of terror but in different ways. Rudyard Kipling in 'The Phantom Rickshaw' and Charles Dickens in 'The Signalman' expertly twist their protagonists' emotions, creating fear and dread. Mary Elizabeth Braddon and E. Nesbit aim for downright terror in their tales 'The Shadow in the Corner' and 'Man-Size in Marble' and there's even room for some spooky humour with Saki's tale, 'Laura'.

With tales of revenge, supernatural malevolence and ghostly goings on, this anthology is full of expertly crafted and terrifying ghost stories.

Dracula, Frankenstein and The Hunchback of Notre Dame are also available in this series of gorgeous pocket-sized paperbacks from Macmillan Collector's Library which celebrates the very best Gothic and horror literature, teeming with monsters, misfits and ghosts.

Notorious for erotic novels that use satire and social critique to challenge the aristocracy in Pre-revolutionary France, his sexual transgressive work made his name unmentionable in civilized circles. Writing about Enlightenment philosophy as much as he does about incest and adultery, de Sade's fiction delves deep into the darkest recesses of the human psyche and remains as relevant to our society as it was to his own.

Thrumming with devious fantasies and dangerous liaisons, these gothic stories lay bare the transgressive desires of his unforgettable characters. As good behaviour gives way to wicked impulse, each finely crafted tale reveals an uncomfortable truth about human nature, from a pitch-black social comedy exposing the hypocrisies of the church to a drama-laden deep dive into adultery.

Infamous for spending decades in prison and condemned by Parisian society, de Sade's writing provocatively challenges the morality of day, introducing through these stories a lawless locale of vice and freedom.

With a provocative introduction from translator Margaret Crossland, Gothic Tales provides a tantalizing entry point, showcasing Sade's gift as both a moralist and a humorist through classic stories including: