Continuing the story of The Hobbit, this seven-volume paperback boxed set of Tolkien's epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings is a collection to treasure. Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him all the Rings of Power; the means by which he intends to rule Middle-earth. All he lacks in his plans for dominion is the One Ring — the ring that rules them all — which has fallen into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as the Ring is entrusted to his care. He must leave his home and make a perilous journey across the realms of Middle-earth to the Crack of Doom, deep inside the territories of the Dark Lord. There he must destroy the Ring forever and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose. Discover the incredible epic journey of Frodo in a celebratory seven-volume boxed set of fantasy classic, The Lord of the Rings.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Lord Dorincourt had occasion to wear his grim smile many a time as the days passed by. Indeed, as his acquaintance with his grandson progressed, he wore the smile so often that there were moments when it almost lost its grimness'. When young Cedric Errol's father dies, he becomes heir to the fortune of his English grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, and must move from working-class New York to England. Bad-tempered, cantankerous and bitter, the old man is slowly won over by the kind, generous and cheerful spirit of Cedric. When a plot arises to deprive Cedric of his inheritance and another pretender steps forward as heir, Cedric's friends in America become involved in order to thwart the challenger. Through Cedric's unconditional love and trust he teaches his grandfather to show compassion to those who are less fortunate than himself. Burnett's book had a huge impact on 19th century society, influencing how young middle-class American boys dressed through her detailed descriptions of Cedric's lordly clothing. The book even set new precedents in copyright law when Burnett won the rights to theatrical adaptations of the work.

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. The Professor is Charlotte Bronte's first novel, reflecting her own experience of life in Brussels and published after her untimely death. Viewed as a precursor to the narrative style and characterization she perfected in her later works, such as Jane Eyre, the novel is Bronte's portrayal of a love story from a male perspective. Writing from the point of view of orphaned young teacher William Crimsworth — as the sole male protagonist among Bronte's works — the author allows herself a freedom of action in love and will that reveals her character's loves, desires, and ambitions, as he forges a new life on his own terms in Brussels. William finds himself caught between the desire he feels for Zoraide Reuter, the beguiling head of the girls' school where he teaches, and the gentle love he feels for one of his pupils, Frances Henri. Exploring questions of love, identity, freedom, and independence, The Professor is an important work in the small opus that is Charlotte Bronte's significant contribution to English literature.

A young boy weighs the pros and cons of possessing various animal appendages—such as a duck's feet, a deer's antlers, a whale's spout, an elephant's trunk, and a long, long tail—only to decide that he's better off just being himself. A zany, insightful story that beginning readers will wish to hear again and again!

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. I see that a man cannot give himself up to drinking without being miserable one-half his days and mad the other. When Helen flees from her alcoholic husband in order to protect her son she defies societal convention. Earning a living as an artist, she becomes the mysterious tenant of Wildfell Hall as she hides herself away and uses her art to support her child. However, the beautiful and reclusive young woman soon begins to stir up malicious gossip and speculation. Captivated and drawn to Helen, Gilbert Markham becomes suspicious when he begins to hear these stories, however it is only when he reads Helen's diary that he learns the full cruelty that her husband subjected her to in her previous life. Rejecting the societal norms surrounding marriage in Victorian Society, Anne Bronte's novel, said to be based on the experiences of her own brother Branwell, shocked her readers at the time and still remains a scandalous read today.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. Cheerfulness, it would appear, is a matter which depends fully as much on the state of things within as on the state of things without and around us. Considered one of her less well-known novels, Shirley is Charlotte Bronte's only historical work, set during the Napoleonic Wars. Wealthy and independent, Shirley is very different from her friend Caroline who has few prospects and is dependent on her uncle. Struggling Mill owner Robert Moore considers marriage to the monied Shirley in order to secure his financial future, however it is Caroline who he loves while Shirley has fallen for Robert's brother, an impoverished tutor who is deemed an unsuitable match for her. Unsentimental, yet unflinching in its honest portrayal of love, class conflict and identity, Bronte uses the backdrop of her beloved Yorkshire to play out the tensions and dramas of a society facing social and industrial upheaval.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. I've worn that mask so long I don't feel safe without it. The Man in the Iron Mask sees D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis return to meet their destinies in their final adventure. D'Artagnan still remains in the service of King Louis XIV while Aramis is a priest at the Bastille prison. Upon listening to a confession from an iron-masked prisoner who tells him that he is the twin brother of the King of France, Aramis is convinced that he will be rewarded if he can help him become king and he devises a plan for his escape, pitching himself against his old comrade D'Artagnan. Far darker than Dumas' previous novels, The Man in the Iron Mask is a fast-paced and compelling historical romance of honour and loyalty.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. We're their slaves as long as we can work; we pile up their fortunes with the sweat of our brows, and yet we are to live as separate as if we were in two worlds! Set in the industrial unrest of 1840s Manchester, Mary Barton is a factory-worker's daughter living a working-class life in Victorian England. She soon attracts the attentions of the mill-owner's son, Harry Carson, and in the hope that marrying him will improve her prospects and help her to transcend class boundaries, she rejects her former lover Jem Wilson. However, when Harry is shot the main suspect is Jem and Mary finds herself torn between the two men. At the same time, she discovers that her father, John Barton, who has been active in fighting for the rights of his fellow workers is implicated in the murder. Gaskell's exploration of the class division and the oppression of the working-class is demonstrated effectively through the character of Mary, highlighting how lack of communication and mistrust can arise through such vast differences in lifestyle and wealth.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. Caution comes too late when we are in the midst of evils. Set just before the Jacobite Rising in 1715, Scott drew upon the political and economic struggles leading up to the rebellion and the tumultuous history of the Highlands in his classic adventure novel Rob Roy. Despite the book's title, Frank Osbaldistone is the protagonist, travelling through England and the Scottish Highlands to collect a debt owed to his father by his cousin Rashleigh. On his journey he comes across the mysterious and striking Rob Roy, the infamous yet hunted outlaw. A story about justice, love and the harsh realities of 18th-century Highland life, Scott's work is still viewed as the ultimate historical adventure novel.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. Don't you sometimes feel that this is the kind of life we were meant to live on this earth? Everything we need, everything, right here, right at our fingertips. Said to be inspired by Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, Wyss' tale of a family stranded at sea and washed up on a tropical island has become a much-loved classic. As the Swiss pastor, his wife and four sons struggle to create a life for themselves on the island, they soon learn to use their own ingenuity and rely upon the natural resources supplied by the nature that surrounds them. Daily challenges and struggles test the family, but each member discovers how to harness their own unique skills and qualities to overcome any obstacle.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. I snapped the switch, but there was nobody there. Then I saw something in the far corner which made me drop my cigar and fall into a cold sweat. When Richard Hannay is warned of an assassination plot that has the potential to take Britain into a war, and then a few days later discovers the murdered body of the American that warned him in his flat, he becomes a prime suspect. He flees to the moors of Scotland and a spirited chase begins as he is pursued by the police and the German spies involved with stealing British plans. Buchan's tale unfolds into one of the seminal and most influential chase books, mimicked by many, yet unrivalled in the tension and mystery created by his writing. Buchan reveres Hannay as an ordinary man who puts his country's good before his own and the classic themes of the novel influenced many films and subsequent man-on-the-run novels.

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. Now seen as one of the great English comic novels, Tristram Shandy caused a stir on publication in polite 18th-century English society. The novel broke with conventions of form and structure, foreshadowing postmodern authors by 200 years, and scandalized with bawdy descriptions and rambling prose. Hugely influenced by Francis Bacon, Rabelais and Jonathan Swift, clergyman Lawrence Sterne manages to both eloquently champion the literary and scientific views of the day, and to satirize those same idols in the next outrageous breath. The questionable hero and narrator of the novel, the eponymous Tristram Shandy, attempts to tell the reader his life story, but as he digresses ever further on everything from sexual practices, the importance of a name, obstetrics, linguistics, weaponry and philosophy, the reader quickly learns that the path won't be a linear one, and gets wrapped up in the author's exuberance and wit — as Tristram's ill-fated conception and birth don't even enter the story until Volume III. Encompassing a humorously memorable cast of misfits, including his eccentric father Walter, obsessive Uncle Toby, accident-prone mother Susannah, pastor Yorick, and a gaggle of other characters, Tristram Shandy's restless energy and modern-seeming wit explain why Nietzsche, Karl Marx, Schopenhauer, Michael Winterbottom, and Michael Nyman count among its numerous fans.

This first volume of Margaret Thatcher's memoirs, which encompasses the whole of her time as Prime Minister. Margaret Thatcher is the towering figure of late-twentieth-century British politics. No other prime minister of modern times has sought to change Britain and its place in the world as radically as she did. This is the story of her remarkable life in her own words. This first volume of her memoirs is a riveting first-hand portrait of the events and personalities of her eleven years in power. She recalls the triumphs and the critical moments of her premiership — the Falklands War, the miners' strike, the Brighton bomb, the Westland Affair and her unprecedented three election victories. Her judgements of the men and women she encountered, whether world statesmen or Cabinet colleagues, are astonishingly frank. She is lavish with praise where it is due; devastating with criticism when it is not. The book reaches a gripping climax with an hour-by-hour description from inside 10 Downing Street of her dramatic final days in office. Margaret Thatcher's compelling account stands as a powerful testament to her extraordinary legacy.

The ultimate celebration of the first Hobbit movie reveals the full creative vision of the art and design teams with more than 1,000 exclusive images and photos, including designs and concepts that never made it to the big screen. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles — Art & Design is packed with more than 1,000 images of concept artwork, photographs and development paintings by the artists working behind the scenes to bring Middle-earth to life, each of whom provides detailed and entertaining commentary that reveals the story behind the vision. As a bonus feature unique to this book, there is a special fold-out map printed in glow-in-the-dark ink and a three-page fold-out replica of Bilbo's contract. Compiled by Weta Workshop senior concept designer Daniel Falconer, this is the first in a series of lavish hardback books written and designed by the award-winning team at Weta, who are working closely with the production team to guarantee that these books will be bursting with insider information and stunning visual imagery.

The notious dating handbook which, though many of the tips it gives 'Never call a man first' etc. (designied to make Mr Right hungry for more) are old-fashioned have been found effective by millions of women worldwide. A New York Times No. 1 bestseller, the book's phenomenal success quickly spread. After 'Men Are From Mars' this is our bestselling relationships book and sales show no signs of abating.

Packed with exclusive behind-the-scenes photographs, this official illustrated guide tells the detailed story of the making of the highly anticipated new film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, directed by Peter Jackson. Enter Bilbo Baggins' world through exclusive interviews with director Peter Jackson, Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen and all the principal cast and filmmakers, who share film-making secrets and tales of what it was actually like making movie magic in Middle-earth. Lavishly illustrated with hundreds of behind-the-scenes photos of the actors, locations, sets, creatures and costumes, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Official Movie Guide has been produced in collaboration with the filmmakers who have brought J.R.R. Tolkien's classic novel into breathtaking three-dimensional life.

Gene has had everyone in the back of his cab... Lauren Bacall, Leonardo di Caprio, John McEnroe, Sean Penn and Dennis Hopper, Simon and Garfunkel, Tony Bennett, Robin Williams, Norman Mailer, Suzanne Vega, Kevin Kline, Dan Ackroyd, Diane Keaton and, yes, even Kevin Bacon. He has taken all sorts of people for a ride... mafiosi, hookers, the rich and famous, down and outs, young lovers, old lovers, passengers from every corner of the globe, fare dodgers, a variety of animals, tourists, lifetime New Yorkers, people in a rush and others with no particular place to go. In well over 30 years driving a cab he has collected a remarkable selection of stories and share the very best in this unforgettable memoir. So sit back and enjoy the ride... the meter's running.

Fans of Please Kill Me, rejoice: Here is the raucous, star-studded, anarchic best of the era-defining Punk magazine, lovingly collected and reproduced in facsimile form — including one completely unseen lost issue — with behind-the-scenes stories from founding editor John Holmstrom.

«Meet teenage Carrie Bradshaw as she hits the bright lights, big city of New York for the very first time! Find out how Carrie transforms from country girl to super-cool fashionista in the second explosive CARRIE DIARIES novel from the globally bestselling author of SEX AND THE CITY. Summer is a magical time in New York City and Carrie is in love with all of it — the crazy characters in her neighbourhood, the vintage-clothing boutiques, the wild parties and the glamorous man who has swept her off her feet. Best of all, she's finally in a real writing class, taking her first steps toward fulfilling her dream. This sequel to THE CARRIE DIARIES brings surprising revelations as Carrie learns to navigate her way around the Big Apple, going from being a country «sparrow» — as Samantha Jones dubs her — to the person she always wanted to be.»

What if love were a disease? There was a time when love was the most important thing in the world. People would go to the end of the earth to find it. They would tell lies for it. Even kill for it. Then, at last, they found the cure. Now, everything is different. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Haloway has always looked forward to the day when she'll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. But then, with only ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable.