Showing results by publisher "Real Reads" in All Categories

Can one lonely little boy show the strength and determination to survive the dangers that lie ahead? Travelling along the rocky road from boyhood to manhood, how can David learn who to trust and who to love? Will David's friends bring him happiness or heartache? In this inspiring tale of trust, betrayal and courage, Dickens presents a world of colourful characters to amuse us, astonish us, disgust us and move us to tears.

As Dimitry struck him, Grigory screamed and fell back, the blood streaming horribly from his head. Dimitry bent over him, trying to stop the flow with his handkerchief which turned soaking red in an instant. Alexey, Ivan and Dimitry Karamazov were sent away by their father, Fyodor, when they were very young and never knew a father's love. Now what will Dimitry's bitter quarrel with Fyodor lead to?

A guard had stepped back into the path of a train and been crushed beneath the wheels. He had been killed instantly. When Anna Karenina arrives at the scene of the horrible accident, it is the beginning of a new and troubling time in her life. Will she ever find happiness with the man she loves? Anna's sister-in-law, Darya Oblonsky, is threatening to leave her selfish husband. Is Anna able to save their marriage?

At five o'clock on the evening of November 21st, after the ice had drawn back like pall bearers at a funeral, Endurance slipped lower in the water, her stern pointing skywards. We stood in silence while she said her last farewell. A cacophony of cracking timber and rushing water signalled her end and then she was silent, slipping into the watery grave. The bravest ship, she had struggled to the bitter end and now she was gone. Endurance - well named.

A great roaring came from the mouth of the cave, and to our horror we saw an enormous giant striding towards us. His skin was a sickly green, and his eyes burned red like fiery coals. Sindbad makes an enormous fortune from his voyages, but he cannot resist joining further dangerous expeditions to far off lands. Will anything persuade him to remain at home in Baghdad? When Sindbad finds himself in the valley of huge serpents, there seems no way out. What clever plan does he use to escape?

The horsemen stopped close to where Ali Baba was hiding. He could scarcely breathe. As they dismounted, he counted them - there were 40 in all, and they were carrying bags of gold, silver and precious stones. When Ali Baba goes into the forest as usual to gather wood to sell, he can hardly imagine that it is the start of an amazing adventure that will change his life. After he discovers the secret of the treasure cave, his good fortune soon turns into terrible danger. Can he ever live safely again with his wife and family?

As soon as Aladdin started cleaning the lamp there was a sound like a clap of thunder. A swirling cloud of smoke filled the room, changing until it formed the outline of a huge green figure. Aladdin and his mother live a poor and humble life. Then one day Aladdin meets his long-lost uncle and his life is changed for ever. Can his new friend be trusted? When Aladdin persuades the sultan to let him marry the beautiful Princess Badroulbadour, he thinks his happiness is complete.

The world's greatest classics retold for children. Mahatma Gandhi is best known as the father of the Indian nation and a charismatic leader in the fight for justice for all. But who was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, and what made him the phenomenon he became? Born into a middle-class family, Gandhi's thirst for truth was evident from an early age, and his insistence on speaking and living his truth often got him into trouble.

A horrific apparition interrupts the Christmas festivities at King Arthur's Camelot. A green giant throws down a deadly challenge: one of the gathering must cut off his head, after which he will return the favour in a year's time! King Arthur must accept this challenge or appear a coward, but it's left to young Sir Gawain to act. Gawain chops off the giant's head and, horror of horrors, the giant strides over to pick up his head, which then begins to speak. He holds Sir Gawain to his promise and rides off into the wintry night.

An amazing sight met my eyes. All around me were dozens of human creatures a little less than six inches high, chattering together in high-pitched voices in a strange language. When Lemuel Gulliver is shipwrecked in the Indian Ocean, it's the start of a series of adventures stranger than he could possibly have imagined. After the tiny inhabitants of Lilliput become suspicious of Gulliver, they plan to kill their huge visitor. What deadly scheme do they come up with?

Sybylla Melvyn yearns for a life in the arts. She loves music and is determined to write a book. But as the daughter of a poor dairy farmer, she despairs of ever realising her ambitions. Then comes the opportunity for Sybylla to go and live with wealthy relatives. In her new home she tastes a life of culture and refinement. She also meets handsome, rich Harold Beecham, who offers her a future most young women would dream of.

Young, rich and handsome, Dorian Gray seems to have it all. So why do people who were once his friends leave the room when he enters? Can there really be any truth in the dark tales that are told about him? And why does he keep his portrait locked away in an attic room? Two men hold the answer to Dorian's secret. One is the artist Basil Hallward, who paints Dorian's portrait. The other is Lord Henry Wotton, who convinces the impressionable Dorian that youth and pleasure are the only things worth living for.

William Legrand has found a new type of bug, a golden bug, unusually heavy. His servant, Jupiter, is worried. Why is Legrand behaving so oddly? Has the bug's bite made him mad? When Legrand shows his friend a drawing of the gold-bug, it looks more like a skull. What can this mean? The arrival of the gold-bug leads the three men on an exciting adventure towards skeletons, a skull and a hunt for buried treasure.

What price will Edna Pontellier pay to be free? She seems to have everything she needs - her loving husband, Léonce, two beautiful children and a wonderful home in turn-of-the-century New Orleans. But deep inside her burns a creative fire that longs to be unleashed. One summer changes everything. When Edna meets Robert, she starts to question all that she was taught to believe. Is her comfortable marriage nothing more than a cage?

Buck recognised the wild brother. He was whining softly, and they touched noses. A second wolf, old and battle-scarred, came forward and sniffed noses with him; he sat down, pointed his nose at the moon and broke out in a long wolf howl. Buck, too, sat down and howled. Buck, a big, powerful dog, is kidnapped from his California home and sold as a sled dog in the Arctic.

Alone in a strange country where it isn't safe to be a single girl, Viola disguises herself as a boy called Cesario and finds work as a servant. But dressing in boy's clothes doesn’t stop Viola falling in love with a man - who is in love with someone else. Will she ever manage to win his love for herself? And who is this other young man that appears, looking so like Cesario? What confusion will result from his arrival? Perhaps Viola's brother didn't drown after all.

The world's greatest classics retold for children. Rachel opened the box and lifted out the diamond. She held it up in a ray of sunlight that poured through the window and cried out in amazement. When Rachel Verinder inherits the Moonstone from her uncle on her 18th birthday, the wonderful jewel is intended to make her rich and happy. So why is her mother so worried about this valuable gift? Rachel seems very fond of her cousin Franklin Blake. When trouble strikes, why does she refuse his help? What has he done to offend her?

A strange figure stood in front of him, dressed from head to foot in white clothing. The moonlight showed her pale, youthful face. When Walter Hartright meets the woman in white, it is the start of an exciting and dangerous adventure. Who is she and what does she want? At first Walter is happy at Limmeridge House, teaching painting and drawing to Laura Fairlie and Marian Halcombe, but a wicked plot soon threatens to destroy the woman he loves.

Here is a test, a puzzle for you. It is a faithful account of two most gruesome murders. Can you work out what actually happened in the early hours of one fateful morning in the Rue Morgue? Before you start, here are a few tips. To be a good detective you need the same skills as a good card-player. You must consider and examine every detail, not just the obvious ones. You have to observe every change in a person's face, everything they say, everything they do and you must always expect the unexpected. And finally, you must remember it all.

Frank hates working in his father's office. He swaps places with his cousin Rashleigh. But what is Rashleigh up to? Who are his mysterious friends? Frank has to find some missing papers to save his father's business. The search takes him to Scotland, where he finds that his life is in danger. But who is it that wants to kill him? Frank meets the outlaw Rob Roy and heads for the Highlands, where he's seized by soldiers looking for Jacobite rebels. Whose side is Rob Roy really on? And how can Frank recover the papers which will save his father?