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Reading lists

Best romance books for ultimate escapism

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Children's reading lists

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What book to read, based on your favourite rom-com

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The best classic love stories for young readers

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Beautiful books that make unforgettable gifts

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Features

Which is the best on-screen Jane Austen adaptation?

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What to read if you love Bridgerton

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Quizzes

Penguin quiz: who said it, Bridgerton or Pride and Prejudice?

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Where to start with...

Where to start with Jane Austen

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Semi-colons; or, learning to love literature’s most misunderstood punctuation

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From Jane Austen's Chawton to Bram Stoker's Whitby, this is the definitive literary tour of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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A literary tour of the United Kingdom

Weekly Penguin quiz: How well do you know Watership Down?

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Weekly quiz: How well do you know Jane Austen?

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Mood-lifting books with only happy endings

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The best books about Jane Austen, for all the superfans

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Best Jane Austen quotes

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Extracts

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

10 Unmissable Classics

Book at Bedtime: A BBC Radio Collection

A bumper collection of accessible classics from the perennially popular BBC Radio 4 series 
 
This diverse, wide-ranging anthology features readings of 10 of the greatest books in the English language, taken from the BBC's Book at Bedtime and performed by a stellar cast of narrators. Here are nearly 27 hours of sensational stories, from iconic romances and humorous travelogues to pioneering Modernist masterpieces and compelling explorations of the human heart. Comprising much-loved favourites as well as neglected classics, this genre-spanning selection has something for everyone. 
 
This collection includes abridged readings of: 
 
Persuasion by Jane Austen: Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth get a second chance at love following their broken engagement seven years earlier. Read by Juliet Stevenson. 
 
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë: An orphaned young woman discovers romance when she meets the charming Mr Rochester. Read by Anne-Marie Duff. 
 
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy: Independent Bathsheba Everdene must contend with three very different suitors all vying for her affections. Read by Douglas Hodge. 
 
Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes by Robert Louis Stevenson: Stephenson's travelogue from his 12-day hike, taken to distance himself from his love affair with a married woman. Read by Alan Cumming. 
 
The Aspern Papers by Henry James: A nameless narrator goes to Venice to persuade American poet Jeffrey Aspern's lover to let him read Aspern's letters. Read by Samuel West. 
 
Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome: The Three Men in a Boat return for a bicycle tour through the German Black Forest. Read by Hugh Laurie. 
 
Dubliners by James Joyce: Form-defining stories about life in Dublin at the start of the 20th century. Read by Stephen Rea. 
 
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford: Two couples, two marriages; both seemingly perfect. But beneath the surface lies deception and betrayal. Read by Toby Stephens. 
 
The Rector's Daughter by F.M. Mayor: Mary has spent thirty-five years taking care of others, but with the arrival Robert Herbert her quiet, ordered existence is changed forever. Read by Juliet Stevenson. 
 
Orlando by Virginia Woolf: A playful mock biography of a chameleonic historical figure, immortal and ageless, who changes sex and identity on a whim. Read by Amanda Hale. 
 
First published 1817 (Persuasion), 1847 (Jane Eyre), 1874 (Far from the Madding Crowd), 1879 (Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes), 1888 (The Aspern Papers), 1900 (Three Men on the Bummel), 1914 (Dubliners), 1915 (The Good Soldier), 1924 (The Rector's Daughter), 1928 (Orlando) 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Abridged Edition

Penguin Readers Level 3: Persuasion (ELT Graded Reader)

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. 
 
Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. 
 
The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary. 
Persuasion, a Level 3 Reader, is A2 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, introducing first conditional, past continuous and present perfect simple for general experience. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages. 
 
Eight years ago, Anne Elliot decided that she could not marry Frederick Wentworth because he had no money. But when Anne's father decides to rent their home and move to Bath, Anne meets Frederick for a second time. Anne still loves him, but what are his feelings for her after all this time? 
 
Visit the Penguin Readers website 
Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.

Jane Austen was born in Steventon rectory on 16 December 1775. Her family later moved to Bath, then to Southampton and finally to Chawton in Hampshire. She began writing Pride and Prejudice when she was twenty-two years old. It was originally called First Impressions and was initially rejected by the publishers and only published in 1813 after much revision. She published four of her novels in her lifetime, Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816). Jane Austen died on 18th July 1817. Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were both published posthumously in 1818.

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
Persuasion, a Level 3 Reader, is A2 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, introducing first conditional, past continuous and present perfect simple for general experience. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages. 
 
Eight years ago, Anne Elliot decided that she could not marry Frederick Wentworth because he had no money. But when Anne's father decides to rent their home and move to Bath, Anne meets Frederick for a second time. Anne still loves him, but what are his feelings for her after all this time?

Lady Susan

Introducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. 
 
 Celebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on the ocean to a love story on the moon. Beautifully designed and printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile cloth and stamped with foil. 
 
Recently widowed, the unscrupulous and beautiful Lady Susan Vernon is determined to scheme her way through high society in the hope of a profitable new match - all while trying to marry off her unfortunate daughter. Told through a series of letters, Jane Austen's magnificent first novella is as subversive as it is charming. 
 
'The wit of Jane Austen has for partner the perfection of her taste' - Virginia Woolf

The wit of Jane Austen has for partner the perfection of her taste

Jane Austen, the daughter of a clergyman, was born in Hampshire in 1775, and later lived in Bath and the village of Chawton. As a child and teenager, she wrote brilliantly witty stories for her family's amusement, as well as a novella, Lady Susan. Her first published novel was Sense and Sensibility, which appeared in 1811 and was soon followed by Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma. Austen died in 1817, and Persuasion and Northanger Abbey were published posthumously in 1818.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Mansfield Park

A captivating BBC radio dramatisation of Jane Austen's most overlooked novel 
 
Sent away from her poverty-stricken parents in Portsmouth to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle, Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram, nine-year-old Fanny Price is abruptly transplanted to a new, luxurious home: Mansfield Park. Overwhelmed by the grandeur of her surroundings, she feels out of place - and as she grows up, her spoiled cousins, Tom, Maria and Julia, never let her forget her humble beginnings. Only her cousin Edmund treats her with kindness, and the two become close companions. 
 
But their lives are turned upside down when Sir Thomas goes away to visit his sugar plantation in the West Indies - and the charismatic Crawfords, Henry and Mary, arrive on the scene. Glamorous, attractive and flirtatious, they shake up the entire Bertram family - and leave Fanny grappling with emotions she's never felt before... 
 
In Mansfield Park, Jane Austen gives us her subtlest and most unusual heroine: a displaced child, shaped by family and adversity, who becomes a quietly resolute young woman with an unshakeable moral code. This enthralling dramatisation focusses on the precariousness of Fanny's life - as a poor relation, unmarried, and living on an estate funded by sugar and slavery - and follows her as she navigates this high-stakes world with courage and conviction. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Jane Austen 
Adapted by Clara Glynn 
Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane 
Directed by Bruce Young 
 
Fanny Price - Lydia Wilson 
Edmund Bertram - Bryan Dick 
Mary Crawford - Tala Gouveia 
Henry Crawford - Tom Mothersdale 
Mrs Norris/Mrs Grant - Janice Acquah 
Lady Bertram - Madeleine Worrall 
Tom Bertram/William Price - Joshua Riley 
Sir Thomas - John Hollingworth 
Mr Rushworth- Samuel Valentine 
Maria Bertram - Faith Alabi 
Julia Bertram - Hollie Burgess 
 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 10-17 July 2022 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

A captivating BBC radio dramatisation of Jane Austen's most overlooked novel 
 
Sent away from her poverty-stricken parents in Portsmouth to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle, Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram, nine-year-old Fanny Price is abruptly transplanted to a new, luxurious home: Mansfield Park. Overwhelmed by the grandeur of her surroundings, she feels out of place - and as she grows up, her spoiled cousins, Tom, Maria and Julia, never let her forget her humble beginnings. Only her cousin Edmund treats her with kindness, and the two become close companions. 
 
But their lives are turned upside down when Sir Thomas goes away to visit his sugar plantation in the West Indies - and the charismatic Crawfords, Henry and Mary, arrive on the scene. Glamorous, attractive and flirtatious, they shake up the entire Bertram family - and leave Fanny grappling with emotions she's never felt before... 
 
In Mansfield Park, Jane Austen gives us her subtlest and most unusual heroine: a displaced child, shaped by family and adversity, who becomes a quietly resolute young woman with an unshakeable moral code. This enthralling dramatisation focusses on the precariousness of Fanny's life - as a poor relation, unmarried, and living on an estate funded by sugar and slavery - and follows her as she navigates this high-stakes world with courage and conviction. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Jane Austen 
Adapted by Clara Glynn 
Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane 
Directed by Bruce Young 
 
Fanny Price - Lydia Wilson 
Edmund Bertram - Bryan Dick 
Mary Crawford - Tala Gouveia 
Henry Crawford - Tom Mothersdale 
Mrs Norris/Mrs Grant - Janice Acquah 
Lady Bertram - Madeleine Worrall 
Tom Bertram/William Price - Joshua Riley 
Sir Thomas - John Hollingworth 
Mr Rushworth- Samuel Valentine 
Maria Bertram - Faith Alabi 
Julia Bertram - Hollie Burgess 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 10-17 July 2022 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Penguin Readers Level 5: Sense and Sensibility (ELT Graded Reader)

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. 
 
Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. 
 
The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary. 
 
Sense and Sensibility, a Level 5 Reader, is B1 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing present perfect continuous, past perfect, reported speech and second conditional. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. 
 
Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are sisters. After the death of their father and losing their home and money, they have to move to a small cottage across the country. There, both their lives completely change. 
 
Visit the Penguin Readers website 
Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
Sense and Sensibility, a Level 5 Reader, is B1 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing present perfect continuous, past perfect, reported speech and second conditional. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. 
 
Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are sisters. After the death of their father and losing their home and money, they have to move to a small cottage across the country. There, both their lives completely change.

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre & Cranford

BBC Classics

Unabridged readings of three of the greatest novels of all time 
 
This timeless collection brings together three of the finest works in the literary canon, read in full by some of the very best audiobook narrators. With over 38 hours of unmissable storytelling, tracked by chapter so you can easily find your place, this is the ideal way to enjoy these classic masterpieces. 
 
Pride and Prejudice 
Jane Austen's universally acknowledged romance charts the love story between pretty, witty Elizabeth Bennett and handsome, arrogant Fitzwilliam Darcy. Read by Clare Corbett. 
 
Jane Eyre 
Orphan Jane falls head over heels in love with the brooding, mysterious Mr Rochester in Charlotte Brontë's coming-of-age classic about secrets and lies. Read by Katherine Press. 
 
Cranford 
Elizabeth Gaskell's much-loved portrait of life in a Cheshire town and its female inhabitants, as they cope with the impact of change on their small world. Read by Carolyn Pickles. 
 
 
Credits: 
 
Pride and Prejudice 
Read by Clare Corbett 
Produced by Justine Willett 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 24 August 2019 
 
Jane Eyre 
Read by Katherine Press 
Produced by Anne Bunting 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 24 August 2019 
 
Cranford 
Read by Carolyn Pickles 
Produced by Julian Wilkinson 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 1 November 2019 
 
 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Unabridged readings of three of the greatest novels of all time 
 
This timeless collection brings together three of the finest works in the literary canon, read in full by some of the very best audiobook narrators. With over 38 hours of unmissable storytelling, tracked by chapter so you can easily find your place, this is the ideal way to enjoy these classic masterpieces. 
 
Pride and Prejudice 
Jane Austen's universally acknowledged romance charts the love story between pretty, witty Elizabeth Bennett and handsome, arrogant Fitzwilliam Darcy. Read by Clare Corbett. 
 
Jane Eyre 
Orphan Jane falls head over heels in love with the brooding, mysterious Mr Rochester in Charlotte Brontë's coming-of-age classic about secrets and lies. Read by Katherine Press. 
 
Cranford 
Elizabeth Gaskell's much-loved portrait of life in a Cheshire town and its female inhabitants, as they cope with the impact of change on their small world. Read by Carolyn Pickles. 
 
 
Credits: 
 
Pride and Prejudice 
Read by Clare Corbett 
Produced by Justine Willett 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 24 August 2019 
 
Jane Eyre 
Read by Katherine Press 
Produced by Anne Bunting 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 24 August 2019 
 
Cranford 
Read by Carolyn Pickles 
Produced by Julian Wilkinson 
First broadcast on BBC Sounds, 1 November 2019 
 
 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

William Shakespeare

Alexandre Dumas

Jane Austen

W.M. Thackeray

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Neil Dudgeon

Emma Fielding

Iain Glen

Toby Jones

Eve Best

David Bamber

Tom Hollander

Stephen Fry

Bryan Dick

Andrew Scott

Five Full-Cast Dramatisations Including Macbeth, Emma & The Great Gatsby

BBC radio dramatisations of classic novels centred around engaging anti-heroes who dominate high societyAmbitious. Ruthless. Unprincipled. With their blurred morals and relatable imperfections, it’s no wonder we find anti-heroes so appealing and fascinating. Featuring a mixture of male and female anti-heroes across England, Scotland, France and New York, these fantastic adaptations of five of the best-known and best-loved classics of literature follow some of these flawed, nuanced characters as they steal the spotlight and make their presence known.Macbeth – Scottish general Macbeth’s life is changed when he encounters three witches who predict that he will become the king of Scotland. Encouraged by his forceful wife, he proceeds to fulfil the prophecy, but descends into madness and tyranny... This thrilling production of William Shakespeare's dark tragedy about ambition for power stars Neil Dudgeon and Emma Fielding.The Count of Monte Cristo – Marseilles, 1815. Nineteen-year-old seaman Edmond Dantès is engaged to the beautiful Mercédès and about to be promoted to Captain. But when three acquaintances betray him, he is condemned to 14 years of solitary confinement in the Chateau D'If. Escaping the notorious prison, Dantès plots his enemies’ destruction… Iain Glen stars in Alexandre Dumas’s swashbuckling tale of revenge.Emma – Handsome, clever and rich, Emma Woodhouse is so blessed by life that she declares she will never marry. However, she is determined to find the right match for her new friend Harriet Smith. Eve Best stars in this adaptation of Jane Austen's sparkling comedy of young love and romantic meddling.Vanity Fair – Thackeray's deliciously ironic tale of passion and ambition, set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, follows the fortunes of penniless, social-climbing Becky Sharp and her wealthy, sweet-natured best friend, Amelia Sedley. Starring Stephen Fry as the Narrator, with Emma Fielding as Becky, Katy Cavanagh as Amelia and Toby Jones as Jos.The Great Gatsby – Arriving in Long Island, Nick Carraway is reacquainted with his distant cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and falls in with her wealthy crowd. His neighbour, self-made millionaire Jay Gatsby, is the man who has everything – but one thing will always be out of his reach... A portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and excess, this dramatisation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's seminal novel stars Bryan Dick and Andrew Scott.Credits MacbethWritten by William ShakespeareDirected by Marc BeebyComposer: Timothy X AtackSound design by Colin GuthrieFirst broadcast BBC Radio 3, 17 May 2015The Count of Monte CristoWritten by Alexandre DumasAdapted by Sebastian BaczkiewiczDirected by Jeremy Mortimer and Sasha YevtushenkoMusic by David Tobin and Jeff MeeganFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 November–16 December 2012EmmaWritten by Jane AustenDramatised by April de AngelisDirected by Jonquil PantingMusic: Martin Souter and Sarah StoweFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 November–3 December 2000Vanity FairWritten by William Makepeace ThackerayDramatised by Stephen WyattProduced by Claire GroveFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 13 September–8 October 2004The Great GatsbyWritten by F. Scott FitzgeraldDramatised by Robert ForrestDirected by Gaynor MacFarlaneFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6–13 May 2012© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Anti-Heroes: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

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The seven books in our Jane Austen boxed set contain some of the most brilliant, dazzling prose in the English language. Shop the collection now on the Penguin Shop.

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