Classics Australia

Emma Donahue has just started her new job as nanny to Simone, the daughter of John Chen, a very rich Hong Kong businessman. She understands that Simone may be a target for kidnappers but she does not expect to be drawn into a world of martial arts, magic and extreme danger, where both gods and demons can exist in the mortal domain. When John and his American bodyguard, Leo, teach Emma their particular style of martial arts, they begin to realise that Emma herself is more than she seems....

Sybylla Melvin is a misfit. She barely endures the dreary life of dairy farming in a family that can hardly make ends meet. Out of the blue, she is invited to move back to the family property, Caddagat, to live with Grannie, Aunt Helen, and Uncle Jay Jay. With a cast of interesting neighbors and friends, Sybylla finally seems to discover hope in the world. She is nourished by thoughtful conversation, books, and music. Harold Beecham's love, however, throws her into indecision and painful tension.

Originally written in 1940 and first published by Simon & Schuster in 1972, How to Read a Book introduces and elucidates the various levels of reading and how to achieve them in order to gain the most understanding and insight from any book. From elementary reading, through systematic skimming and inspectional reading, to speed reading and beyond, readers will learn when and how to ‘judge a book by its cover,’ perceive structure no matter the prose, read critically, and extract an author’s message from any text.

One lonely night, a cabbie discovers that his intoxicated passenger has been suffocated with a handkerchief saturated in chloroform. The murderer, the victim, and the motive are all unknown. Fergus Hume's first literary attempt, became the best-selling mystery novel of the 19th century.

Paul Kelly's songs are steeped in poetry. And now he has gathered from around the world the poems he loves - poems that have inspired and challenged him over the years, a number of which he has set to music. This wide-ranging and deeply moving anthology combines the ancient and the modern, the hallowed and the profane, the famous and the little known, to speak to two of literature's great themes that have proven so powerful in his music: love and death - plus everything in between.

This collection of short stories by notable Australian author Mary Grant Bruce (1878-1958) reflects on Australian experiences of summertime. Infused with the smells, sounds, and textures of Australian life during the Christmas season, these stories also highlight the strengths and yearnings of their characters.

This collection follows on from Australian Christmas Yarns Volume I and consists of 10 stories by notable Australian author Mary Grant Bruce (1878-1958). These stories sketch challenges of landscape, relationship, loss and hope.

On the far northwest coast of Tasmania at Cape Grimm lies the isolated and idiosyncratic community of Skye, which practises a religion that reveres the imagination. One clear evening in 1992 all the inhabitants enter the church hall, where they are locked in and burned alive. They have been persuaded to do this by a young man called Caleb Mean - also known as El Nino, the Christ Child.

Ten suspects. Ten heists. A mystery only Ernest Cunningham can solve. I've spent the last few years solving murders. But a bank heist is a new one, even for me. I've never been a hostage before. The doors are chained shut. No one in or out. Which means that when someone in the bank is murdered, hostages become suspects.

When a pampered cat has to share her home with a lost dog, sparks are set to fly. To her surprise, Catvinkle starts to like Ula. She even tells Ula her three secrets. But a cat and a dog can't be friends - can they? A tail-spin of a tale that will make you howl with laughter - and remind you that if you aren't open to adventure, you might never meet your best friend.

Shyla is a researcher who resides in the underground desert city of Zirdai, which is ruled by the wealthy Water Prince and brutal Heliacal Priestess. Even though Shyla is sun-kissed—an outcast, considered cursed by the Sun Goddess—she is still renowned for uncovering innumerable archaic facts, lost artefacts, ancient maps, and obscure historical documents. Her quiet life is about to change when Banqui, an archaeologist, enlists her services to find The Eyes of Tamburah: legendary gemstones that bestow great magic on their wielder.

Busy Betty has always been busy. Every day she wakes up with a million questions and a billion ideas! And today she has an amazing idea: she's throwing her mum a birthday party. Shhh . . . It's a surprise! Then Betty and her best friend, Mae, have the best idea of all: What if they threw Mum a circus surprise party?! It will be the greatest day in the history of the universe!

Bill, transformed from a bitter thug to a steady and peaceful family man, bickers with Doreen over household issues, like the chopping of firewood, the raising of their son, young Bill, and medical treatment. Bill finds himself consistently outsmarted by his loyal - but strong-minded - wife and yields with wry grace to her manipulations and ministrations.

Une nouvelle, extraite du recueil "Garden Party", qui décrit ou peint à petites touches la journée d'une famille en Nouvelle Zélande dans le bungalow familial, un jour d'été au début des années 1900. L'auteur récrée avec précision et amour la Nouvelle-Zélande de son enfance. Elle écrit son pays, comme si elle ne l'avait jamais quitté.

Laura, une jeune fille de bonne famille, jeune fille très sensible aide à la préparation de la fête qui va avoir lieu dans le jardin...

"Mariage à la mode" est une autre nouvelle de Katherine Mansfield (extraite du recueil "Garden party") qui aborde avec finesse la désunion, la brèche qui se creuse entre deux êtres, et ce dans un cadre idyllique par une belle journée d'été. Avec son stylo-scalpel, elle nous plonge dans les cœurs de William, époux délaissé et de sa jeune femme Isabelle, accaparée par ses nouveaux amis artistes.

Prélude est une nouvelle extraite du recueil "Félicité" de Katherine Mansfield. Une nouvelle, qui aborde à nouveau l'enfance...

In the forest, armed men from the new settlement ventured to investigate strange lights and found three fires burning, a child at their center, tethered to a stake. The boy appeared to be white, perhaps three or four years old, unable to speak. He watched the men with the darting, fearful eyes of a wild animal and at their approach he crouched, snatched a stick from a fire, and snarled. So begins Dirk Wildlight's life in the tiny Victorian settlement of Tilmore.