After honeymooning in Italy Max de Winter returns with his young bride to Manderley, the family estate in Cornwall. Yet the former mistress's presence lingers throughout the house. The shy heroine is torured by constant comparisons to the glittering socialite who was her predecessor and is heading for tragedy and despair when Rebecca herself appears...
Margaret Tarner Books






Bleak house
- 128 pages
- 5 hours of reading
zjednodušená anglická četba, vhodná při přípravě na zkoušku FCE jako doplňkový materiál ( úroveň B2 - Upper-Intermediate, slovní zásoba 2 200 slov)věk 16+
The enchanted April - B1/B2
- 80 pages
- 3 hours of reading
Four women answer and advertisement. They leave London and go on holiday to San Salavatore - an Italian castle by the sea. They find enchantment, happiness and love.
The Forsyte Saga
- 906 pages
- 32 hours of reading
The three novels which make up The Forsyte Saga chronicle the ebbing social power of the commercial upper-middle class Forsyte family between 1886 and 1920. Galsworthy's masterly narrative examines not only their fortunes but also the wider developments within society, particularly the changing position of women. This is the only critical edition of the work available, with Notes that explain contemporary artistic and literary allusions and define the slang of the time.
Our mutual friend
- 128 pages
- 5 hours of reading
This is an Upper Level story in a series of ELT readers comprising a wide range of titles - some original and some simplified - from modern and classic novels, and designed to appeal to all age-groups, tastes and cultures. The books are divided into five levels: Starter Level, with about 300 basic words; Beginner Level (600 basic words); Elementary Level (1100); Intermediate Level (1600); and Upper Level (2200). Some of the titles are also available on cassette.
Oxford and Cambridge
- 58 pages
- 3 hours of reading
Oliver Twist
- 67 pages
- 3 hours of reading
A simplified retelling of the adventures of an orphan boy who lives in the squalid surroundings of a nineteenth-century English workhouse until he becomes involved with a gang of thieves.
My cousin Rachel
- 88 pages
- 4 hours of reading
"From the first pagethe reader is back in the moody, brooding atmosphere of Rebecca." The New York Times "From the bestselling author of Rebecca, another classic set in beautiful and mysterious Cornwall."Philip Ashley's older cousin Ambrose, who raised the orphaned Philip as his own son, has died in Rome. Philip, the heir to Ambrose's beautiful English estate, is crushed that the man he loved died far from home. He is also suspicious. While in Italy, Ambrose fell in love with Rachel, a beautiful English and Italian woman. But the final, brief letters Ambrose wrote hint that his love had turned to paranoia and fear.Now Rachel has arrived at Philip's newly inherited estate. Could this exquisite woman, who seems to genuinely share Philip's grief at Ambrose's death, really be as cruel as Philip imagined? Or is she the kind, passionate woman with whom Ambrose fell in love? Philip struggles to answer this question, knowing Ambrose's estate, and his own future, will be destroyed if his answer is wrong. Bonus Reading Group Guide IncludedPRAISE FOR DAPHNE DU MAURIER"Miss du Maurier is... a storyteller whose sole aim is to bewitch and beguile. And in My Cousin Rachel she does both, with Rebecca looking fondly over her shoulder." New York Times"Double-distilled readers' delight." Manchester Guardian
Frankenstein
- 207 pages
- 8 hours of reading
Since it was first published in 1818, Mary Shelley's seminal novel has generated countless print, stage and screen adaptations, but none has ever matched the power and philosophical resonance of the original. Composed as part of a challenge with Byron and Shelley to conjure up the most terrifying ghost story, Frankenstein narrates the chilling tale of a being created by a bright young scientist and the catastrophic consequences that ensue. Considered by many to be the first science-fiction novel, the tragic tale of Victor Frankenstein and the tortured creation he rejects is a classic fable about the pursuit of knowledge, the nature of beauty and the monstrosity inherent to man.
The Grapes of Wrath
- 535 pages
- 19 hours of reading
The Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression, a book that galvanized—and sometimes outraged—millions of readers. First published in 1939, Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads—driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck’s powerful landmark novel is perhaps the most American of American Classics.
Emma
- 470 pages
- 17 hours of reading
Beautiful, rich, self-assured, and witty, Emma Woodhouse delights in match-making those around her with no apparent care for her own romantic life.
Dracula
- 64 pages
- 3 hours of reading
In the mountains of Transylvania there stands a castle. It is the home of Count Dracula - a dark, lonely place, and at night the wolves howl around the walls. In the year 1875 Jonathan Harker comes from England to do business with the Count. But Jonathan does not feel comfortable at Castle Dracula. Strange things happen at night, and very soon, he begins to feel afraid. And he is right to be afraid, because Count Dracula is one of the Un-Dead - a vampire that drinks the blood of living people...
Much Ado About Nothing
- 200 pages
- 7 hours of reading
This modern edition of Shakespeare's beloved comedy explores the timeless battle of the sexes, enriched by an expert introduction from Sir Jonathan Bate. It offers a comprehensive historical overview, providing context and insights into the play's themes and characters. The Royal Shakespeare Company's definitive version ensures a fresh perspective on this classic work, making it accessible and engaging for contemporary readers.
Hamlet
- 442 pages
- 16 hours of reading
Longman Literature Shakespeare:Includes an informative, detailed and practical introduction to Shakespeare's life, times and language. Supports the texts with useful notes. Provides activities for before, during and after study.
Anna Karenina
- 107 pages
- 4 hours of reading
"Anna Karenina" is perhaps the greatest novel of all time. It tells the story of Anna, married to the dull, cold Karenin in 19th century St. Petersburg, Russia. She falls in love with a handsome young soldier, Vronsky. At first Anna is happy, but the story ends in despair, and death. -- from p. 4 of cover.
Weep Not, Child
- 160 pages
- 6 hours of reading
This is a simple and powerful tale of the effects of the Mau Mau war on individuals and families in Kenya. Two brothers must decide where their loyalties lie; Njoroge, the dreamer and accomplished student, finds it hard to give up schooling and is drawn relentlessly into turmoil. Good and evil are portrayed somewhat more starkly than in Ngugi's later works.
The Eye of the Tiger
- 336 pages
- 12 hours of reading
Set amid the exotic world of deep-sea diving in the tropics, The Eye of the Tiger is a tale of adventure and romance told with rare humour and excitement. `I was looking down, watching the shark come. It seemed to swell up in size as it rushed towards me. Every detail was burned into my mind in those frantic seconds. I saw the hog`s snout with the two slotted nostrils, the golden eyes with the black pupils like arrowheads, the broad blue back from which stood the tall executioner`s blade of the dorsal fin.` Harry Fletcher, a man with a chequered past, has reformed and is making an honest living as a charter skipper fishing for big game in the seductive waters of the Indian Ocean. Suddenly men from the world of violence Harry has put behind him overturn his good intentions, involving him in a hectic race to recover a fabulous treasure from an ancient wreck.
Jay Gatsby is a self-made man famed for his decadent, champagne-drenched parties. Despite being surrounded by Long Island's bright and beautiful, he longs only for Daisy Buchanan. In shimmering prose, Fitzgerald shows Gatsby pursue his dream to its tragic conclusion.
English Library: The Woodlanders
- 464 pages
- 17 hours of reading
In this classically simple tale of the disastrous impact of outside life on a secluded community in Dorset, now in a new edition, Hardy narrates the rivalry for the hand of Grace Melbury between a simple and loyal woodlander and an exotic and sophisticated outsider. Betrayal, adultery, disillusion, and moral compromise are all worked out in a setting evoked as both beautiful and treacherous. The Woodlanders, with its thematic portrayal of the role of social class, gender, and evolutionary survival, as well as its insights into the capacities and limitations of language, exhibits Hardy's acute awareness of his era's most troubling dilemmas.
Macbeth
- 96 pages
- 4 hours of reading
Complete text of Shakespeare's tragedy, with an introduction, criticism, and stage history. Signet Shakespeare.
The Cut Glass Bowl and Other Stories
- 80 pages
- 3 hours of reading
This is an Upper Level title in a series of ELT readers comprising a wide range of stories - some original and some simplified - from modern and classic novels, and designed to appeal to all age-groups, tastes and cultures. The books are divided into five levels: Starter Level, with about 300 basic words; Beginner Level (600 basic words); Elementary Level (1100); Intermediate Level (1600); and Upper Level (2200). Some of the titles are also available on cassette.
When rain clouds gather
- 188 pages
- 7 hours of reading
Two exiles--one white, one black--in a poor village in Botswana struggle with tradition, climate, and the local chief as they try to modernize the villagers' farming methods.
Return of the Native
- 400 pages
- 14 hours of reading
Tempestuous Eustacia Vye passes her days dreaming of passionate love and the escape it may bring from the small community of Egdon Heath. Hearing that Clym Yeobright is to return from Paris, she sets her heart on marrying him, believing that through him she can leave rural life and find fulfilment elsewhere. But she is to be disappointed, for Clym has dreams of his own, and they have little in common with Eustacia’s. Their unhappy marriage causes havoc in the lives of those close to them, in particular Damon Wildeve, Eustacia’s former lover, Clym’s mother and his cousin Thomasin. The Return of the Native illustrates the tragic potential of romantic illusion and how its protagonists fail to recognize their opportunities to control their own destinies.
Washington Square
- 88 pages
- 4 hours of reading
"When a handsome young man begins to court Catherine Sloper, she feels she is very lucky. She is quiet, gentle girl, but neither beautiful nor clever ; no one had ever admired her before, or come to the front parlour of her home in Washington Square to whisper soft words of love to her. But in New York in the 1840s young ladies are not free to marry where they please. Catherine must have her father's permission, and Dr Sloper is a rich man. One day Catherine will have a fortune of 30,000 dollars a year ..."--Publisher
Arthur Kipps did not believe in ghosts. Few attend Mrs. Alice Drablow's funeral, and not one blood relative amongst them. There are undertakers with shovels, of course, a local official who would rather be anywhere else, and one Mr. Arthur Kipps, solicitor from London. He is to spend the night in Eel Marsh House, the place where the old recluse died amidst a sinking swamp, a blinding fog and a baleful mystery about which the townsfolk refuse to speak. Young Mr. Kipps expects a boring evening alone sorting out paperwork and searching for Mrs. Drablow's will. But when the high tide pens him in, what he finds -- or rather what finds him -- is something else entirely.
The Beautiful and Damned
- 400 pages
- 14 hours of reading
Anthony Patch and Gloria Gibson are the golden children of the Jazz Age. They marry and embark on a life of glittering parties, lavish expenditure and scandalous revelry. When the money dries up their marriage founders. In this wistful novel Fitzgerald portrays the decline of youthful promise with devastating clarity.
The cut-glass bowl and other stories
- 80 pages
- 3 hours of reading
The Cut-glass Bowl and Other Stories is an adapted Upper level reader written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Five interesting short stories set in America in the 1920s and 1940s. The stories include 'Cut-Glass Bowl', 'Bernice Bobs Her Hair', 'Gretchen's Forty Winks', 'Magnetism' and 'Three Hours Between Planes'.
Unquiet graves
- 64 pages
- 3 hours of reading
During their school holidays, the teenagers, Frankie, Regan, Tom and Jack, join an archaeological dig in southeast England. Their teacher and the archaeologist in charge give them some facts about the historical background to the site and the Glanville family who had once lived there. When Frankie and Jack accidentally fall into the Glanville family's vault in the local graveyard, Frankie finds an old silver coin clipped in half. Shortly after her return to the graveyard, she meets an angry young man dressed in dark clothes. As Regan, Tom and Jack start to piece together the sad tale of Eleanor, the ward of the ruthless nineteenth century owner of the manor house and the local village, the friends begin to get seriously worried about Frankie's increasingly disturbed behaviour
The Phantom Airman
- 64 pages
- 3 hours of reading
Lychford Green is an old RAF airbase. It hasn't been used in years, but somehow it still bears the traces of the horrors which took place there 50 years previous. When Regan, Tom, Jack and Frankie investigate the empty airfield for a school project, they find that it echoes with its untold story.
























