Showing titles in Literary Fiction

Form-defining short stories. First published in 1914, James Joyce defined what the short story could be with his collection The Dubliners. A mixture of prose and poetry, each story can be listened to independently, or as a collection. From childhood to maturity, we see what life - and ultimately death - can be, via an extraordinary cast of characters, all of whom experience an epiphany. There’s Father Flynn, the priest; Evelyn, the shop girl who dreams of escape; Mrs Mooney, the butcher’s daughter, who runs a boarding house.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult comes a compelling and “multilayered tale of small-town intrigue” (Glamour) about a prep schoolteacher accused of rape by a group of young girls, the woman who stands by him, and the repercussions of the case in a New England town where...

Under the streets of London there's a world most people could never even dream of: a city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, and pale girls in black velvet. Richard Mayhew is a young businessman who is about to find out more than he bargained for about this other London. A single act of kindness catapults him out of his safe and predictable life and into a world that is at once eerily familiar and yet utterly bizarre.

Gene Hawkins, investigator by trade, was expert at arranging events so that they appeared accidental to all involved. Therefore, when he himself witnessed an ‘accident’ his curiosity flared up bright, and he insisted on looking into what he regarded as a work of art. A quarter of a million pounds worth of Derby-winning stallion had vanished into the Blue Grass of Kentucky... and a young man and a girl spent a dangerous afternoon in a punt on the River Thames.

An Amazon Best Books of 2026 So Far Pick! Five passengers. Five minutes until the next train … five minutes until someone dies. ‘Will have you glued to the page … guaranteed to shock and entertain’ The Times ‘Ridiculously good … darkly thrilling and unforgettable’ Chris Whitaker...

Dashing young Edmond Dantès has everything: a fine reputation, an appointment as captain of a ship, and the heart of a beautiful woman. But his perfect life is shattered when three jealous friends conspire to destroy him. Falsely accused of a political crime, Dantès is locked away for life in the infamous Chateau d'If prison. But it is there that Dantès learns of a vast hidden treasure.

Lieutenant-Colonel Sharpe is a man with a reputation. Born in the gutter, raised a foundling, he joined the army 21 years ago, and it’s been his home ever since. He’s a loose cannon, but his unconventional methods make him a valuable weapon. So when, the dust still settling after the Battle of Waterloo, the duke of Wellington needs a favour, he turns to Sharpe. 

"[Narrator Julia] Whelan's performance is unforgettable in this darkly romantic fantasy about one young woman cursed always to be forgotten...Her depiction of the darkness is smooth with a low cadence, capturing listeners' attention and their heart strings." –Booklist In the vein of The Time...

Hans Castorp is, on the face of it, an ordinary man in his early 20s, on course to start a career in ship engineering in his home town of Hamburg, when he decides to travel to the Berghof Santatorium in Davos. The year is 1912 and an oblivious world is on the brink of war. Castorp’s friend Joachim Ziemssen is taking the cure and a three-week visit seems a perfect break before work begins. But when Castorp arrives he is surprised to find an established community of patients, and little by little, he gets drawn into the closeted life and the individual personalities of the residents.

OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE Two childhood best friends. Torn apart by tragedy. Reunited by their search for the truth. Even if finding it means losing each other forever... A SWEEPING COMING-OF-AGE TALE, AN EPIC LOVE STORY AND A SEARING THRILLER - ALL UNFOLDING ON A VAST CANVAS *****...

Pre-order BOLEYN TRAITOR now – Philippa Gregory’s landmark return to the Tudor court, coming Autumn 2025 … From the bestselling author of The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory, comes a wonderfully atmospheric evocation of the court of Henry VIII and his final queens. 1539. Anne of Cleves...

SHARPE IS BACK. The brand new novel from Bernard Cornwell in the global bestselling Sharpe series. If any man can do the impossible it's Richard Sharpe . . . And the impossible is exactly what the formidable Major Sharpe is asked to do when he's dispatched on an undercover mission behind enemy...

John Fowles’s The Magus was a literary landmark of the 1960s. Nicholas Urfe goes to a Greek island to teach at a private school and becomes enmeshed in curious happenings at the home of a mysterious Greek recluse, Maurice Conchis. Are these events, involving attractive young English sisters, just psychological games, or an elaborate joke, or more? Reality shifts as the story unfolds. The Magus reflected the issues of the 1960s perfectly, and it continues to create tension and concern today.

Patrick Bateman is 26 and works on Wall Street. He is handsome, sophisticated, charming, and intelligent. He is also a psychopath. And he is taking us to a head-on collision with America's greatest dream - and its worst nightmare...

'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'; so the recording begins and ends with some of Dickens's best-known words, and between those lines is every Briton's view of the worst excesses of the French Revolution. Set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution, the audiobook tells the story of a French doctor who is imprisoned for 18 years in the Bastille in Paris. Upon his release, he moves to London with his daughter, Lucie, whom he had never met.

Often considered her most experimental work, Virginia Woolf's The Waves is a masterclass in modernist fiction, and a profound exploration of time, consciousness and the conflicting rhythms of individual lives. Published in 1931, The Waves unfolds through the soliloquies of six characters whose voices come and go – much like the sea tides they are surrounded by – in a blend of consciousness, tracing their journeys from childhood to old age. Around them drifts the unseen presence of a seventh figure, Percival, whose absence becomes a powerful refrain throughout the book.

Brought to you by Penguin. This Penguin Classic is performed by an ensemble cast which includes the BAFTA award-winning actor Adeel Akhtar (Killing Eve; The Night Manager; Les Miserables), Adrian Scarborough (Gavin and Stacey; The King's Speech), Natalie Simpson (Outlander; Les Miserables), Emma...

Pre-order the stunning Deluxe edition of The Lost Bookshop now, out in October 2026! ‘The thing about books,’ she said ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.’ The Echo of Old Books meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming...

How fortunate that Stilton Cheesewright drew Bertie Wooster, the red-hot favourite, in the Drones Club annual darts tournament. Had he not he would surely have beaten Bertie to a pulp and buttered the lawn with him. Stilton does not like men trifling with his fiancée Florence Craye's affections. In the event Florence would seem to prefer Percy Gorringe, stepson of L.G. Trotter.

Some love stories are bigger than just two people. This one is told by friends, flatmates, exes and strangers - everybody but the main characters. 'I laughed, I teared up, I couldn't put it down. This is a love story like no other' 'This book gave me genuine joy and broke my heart' 'For fans of...