Margaret Tarner Book order (chronological)

One of Macmillan's series of graded readers Much Ado About Nothing is Shakespeare's famous comedy/drama about the war of power and understanding between men and women and the disguises they wear in their romantic relationships.

Encompasses witchcraft, bloody murder, and ghostly apparitions. This work tells the tragedy of a good, brave and honourable man turned into the personification of evil by the workings of unreasonable ambition.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.' Considered one of Shakespeare's most rich and enduring plays, the depiction of its hero Hamlet as he vows to avenge the murder of his father by his brother Claudius is both powerful and complex. As Hamlet tries to find out the truth of the situation, his troubled relationship with his mother comes to the fore, as do the paradoxes in his personality. A play of carefully crafted conflict and tragedy, Shakespeare's intricate dialogue continues to fascinate audiences to this day.

A famous legend surrounding the creation of Anna Karenina tells us that Tolstoy began writing a cautionary tale about adultery and ended up by falling in love with his magnificent heroine. It is rare to find a reader of the book who doesn't experience the same kind of emotional upheaval: Anna Karenina is filled with major and minor characters who exist in their own right and fully embody their mid-nineteenth-century Russian milieu, but it still belongs entirely to the woman whose name it bears, whose portrait is one of the truest ever made by a writer.

Macmillan Readers are a range of contemporary and classic titles specially retold for learners of English. Levels are carefully graded from Starter to Upper Intermediate to help students choose the right material for their abilty.

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.

"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

Catherine Sloper is forbidden by her wealthy father to marry the fortune-hunting Morris Townsend. She secretly promises to marry Townsend when he is ready, but then realizes that Townsend is only waiting for her father to change his mind about her inheritance.

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

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.

Follows the adventures of the self-assured and accomplished Emma, a twenty-one-year-old girl of privilege who believes she is immune to romance and has several chaotic and often humorous experiences

Penguin presents the companion book to the "Masterpiece Theatre" miniseries starring Gillian Anderson (T"he House of Mirth, The X-Files"). This stunning production features a screenplay written by Andrew Davies ("Bridget Jones's Diary"). Part romance, part melodrama, part detective story, the novel spreads out among a web of relationships in every level of society.

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.

1797 - the Mediterranean. Britain and France are at war. British warships are fighting French warships. Young Billy Budd arrives on the British warship, Indomitable. Billy is strong and handsome. Most of the sailors on the ship like Billy. But he has an enemy - John Claggart, the master-at-arms. Claggart hates Billy. And he has a plan. He will make trouble for the young sailor.

When country-girl Grace Melbury returns home from her middle-class school she feels she has risen above her suitor, the simple woodsman Giles Winterborne. Though marriage had been discussed between her and Giles, Grace finds herself captivated by Dr Edred Fitzpiers, a sophisticated newcomer to the area - a relationship that is encouraged by her socially ambitious father. Hardy's novel of betrayal, disillusionment and moral compromise depicts a secluded community coming to terms with the disastrous impact of outside influences. And in his portrayal of Giles Winterborne, Hardy shows a man who responds deeply to the forces of the natural world, thought they ultimately betray him.

This is an Beginner Level title in a series of ELT readers which includes a wide range of stories - some original and some simplified - from modern and classic novels, and is designed to appeal to all age-groups, tastes and cultures. The books are divided into five 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 stories are also available on audio-cassette.

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.

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.

Frankenstein is a deeply disturbing story of a monstrous creation, which has terrified and chilled readers since its first publication in 1818.

Charles Dickens's last complete novel is a glorious satire of Victorian society, revolving around an inheritance tied to Old Harmon's profitable dust heaps. The story features young John Harmon, presumed drowned after a body is found in the River Thames, and the benevolent dustman Mr. Boffin, who inherits the fortune. Through sharp satire, Dickens depicts a dark, macabre London filled with diverse characters, including Gaffer Hexam, who scavenges the river for corpses; the charming yet mercenary Bella Wilfer; the ambitious Veneerings; and the unscrupulous street-trader Silas Wegg. The novel is rich in symbolism, exploring themes of death and renewal in a city overshadowed by the polluted Thames and the corrupting influence of wealth. This edition utilizes the text from the first volume of 1865 and features original illustrations, a chronology, and updated further reading. As noted in the introduction by Adrian Poole, the novel shares ambitious qualities with Dickens's earlier works like Bleak House and Little Dorrit, yet presents a more enigmatic and stealthy narrative. Penguin has been a leading publisher of classic literature for over seventy years, offering authoritative texts enhanced by scholarly introductions and notes, ensuring a trusted reading experience.

When Arthur Kipps attends the funeral of Alice Drablow he is unaware of the tragic secrets which lie hidden behind her house. It is not until he glimpses a woman dressed all in black at the funeral that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold.

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...

Reading Level: Upper IntermediateSteinbecks most powerful novel describes the lives of a homeless farming family as they travel across America in the Great Depression of the 1930s. When the Joad family loses its farm in Oklahoma, they join thousands of other families on the journey to a new life in California where they have heard there is work picking fruit. Every step of the way, the family face hardship and hostility as they struggle to survive in a country where kindness no longer exists.

Jay Gatsby is the man who has everything. But one thing will always be out of his reach... Everybody who is anybody is seen at his glittering parties. Day and night his Long Island mansion buzzes with bright young things drinking, dancing and debating his mysterious character. For Gatsby - young, handsome, fabulously rich - always seems alone in the crowd, watching and waiting, though no one knows what for. Beneath the shimmering surface of his life he is hiding a secret: a silent longing that can never be fulfilled. And soon this destructive obsession will force his world to unravel. (back cover)

F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), is a savage and haunting satire of the young, rootless post-war generation who live intent only on the pursuit of wealth and decadent pleasure. Anthony Patch's marriage to the beautiful but selfish Gloria is idyllic at first but the union slowly disintegrates as reality sets in and their goal becomes Adam Patch's fortune. Gloria's beauty fades, and Anthony's drinking takes its toll. Charting the corrosive attraction of wealth and its malign influence, The Beautiful and Damned is also a vivid portrait of early twentieth-century New York and the sights and sounds of the city's burgeoning night life.

Dracula has been attributed to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature. Structurally it is an epistolary novel, that is, told as a series of diary entries and letters. Literary critics have examined many themes in the novel, such as the role of Victorian culture, conventional and conservative women sexuality, immigration, colonialism, postcolonialism and folklore. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, the novel's influence on the popularity of vampires has been singularly responsible for many theatrical and film interpretations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

Proud, passionate Eustacia Vye marries Clym Yeobright in the hope that he will help her escape her cramped rural existence. But when their relationship falters Eustacia turns to her old lover Damon Wildeve, leading to a disastrous climax on the brooding wilds of Egdon Heath.

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.