David Timson

Here are the stories of ten key Shakespeare plays: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, King Lear, Richard III, Othello, Macbeth, The Tempest, Henry V, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. David Timson presents the complex plots in a clear, entertaining and informal style, introducing the main characters in the context of the famous lines. This account not only entertains but also acts as an ideal 'starter pack' for children going to see the plays of...

Laughter is unique to man. This delightful anthology presents some of the funniest extracts in English literature. David Timson starts with Anglo-Saxon riddles and continues with medieval memories, Tudor comic turns and Restoration buffoonery. The rise of the novel in the eighteenth century brought classic humour from Swift, Sterne and Smollet, passing the mantle to Charles Dickens in the nineteenth century. Included here are rarities as well, from...

The stories of 13 key Shakespeare plays - Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, King Lear, Richard III, Othello, Macbeth, The Tempest, Henry V, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Timson presents the complex plots in a clear, entertaining and informal style, presenting the main characters in the context of the famous lines.

Western theatre from ancient Greece to the present day. Tracing the development of dramatic art through the miracle plays, the great Shakespearean period, Moliere and Racine in France, Goethe in Germany, through the 19th century and the main movements in the 20th century.

The astonishing debut of Sherlock Holmes and his partner in detection, Dr. Watson
Shot in the shoulder and brought to death’s door by typhoid fever, Dr. John Watson is sent home from the second Afghan war with a small income and nothing to do but recover his health. By his own account, he leads a meaningless existence in London until a chance encounter with an old friend brings news of comfortable lodgings on Baker Street. In a hospital...

Eager to learn the rules of magic, Lucius agrees to participate in a shapeshifting spell that suddenly goes awry, transforming the man into a donkey. His life is abruptly upended as he is attacked, stolen and sold multiple times before finding relief through divine intervention. Lucius is enamored with witchcraft and begs a woman to transform him into a bird. Unfortunately, she fails, and he is immediately turned into an ass. This leads to a tumultuous...

The Black Robe (1881) is a novel by Wilkie Collins. Written toward the end of Collins' career, The Black Robe shows brilliant flashes of the author's trademark sense of mystery and psychological unease, which made him a household name around the world. Recognized as an important Victorian novelist and pioneer of detective fiction, Wilkie Collins was a writer with a gift for thoughtful entertainment, stories written for a popular audience that continue...

New Large Print Edition, comfortable and easily readable format."The Secret History" by Procopius, as translated by Richard Atwater, immerses readers in the Byzantine Empire's clandestine intrigues, unveiling the political landscape during the 6th century under the rule of Emperor Justinian I (527-565 AD). Against the backdrop of ambitious military endeavors, grand construction projects, and theological controversies, Procopius, an advisor to General...

"The Confessions of Arsène Lupin" is a collection of nine stories - or confessions - of the celebrated gentleman thief Arsène Lupin. This early work by Maurice Leblanc was originally published in 1913 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc was born on 11th November 1864 in Rouen, Normandy, France. He was a novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional...

Biting wit and lush descriptions combine in this striking new edition of Oscar Wilde's short story collection, which contains Wilde's most famous story, "The Canterville Ghost." Originally published in 1887 in the British literary magazine, The Court and Society Review. "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime: A Study of Duty" headlines this anthology, first published in 1891. In addition to the title work, Wilde added "The Canterville Ghost," "The Model Millionaire,"...