Eyewitness classics

A miser learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future. Illustrated notes throughout the text explain the historical background of the story.

"When Black Beauty was born one sweet spring day, he could not have imagined the life ahead of him. Following his mother's advice to do his work with a good will, he enjoys the adventures of country and city life, makes new friends, and suffers from the cruelty and greed of his human masters. Beauty faces each challenge with bravery and kindness -- and then a chance encounter with an old friend brings him the greatest joy of all. Anna Sewell's classic...

A retelling of the story of the boy fated to be the "Once and Future King, " covering his glorious reign and his tragic, yet triumphant, passing. Illustrated notes throughout the text explain the historical background of the story.

"Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Dickens had already achieved renown with The Pickwick Papers. With Oliver Twist his reputation was enhanced and strengthened. The novel contains many classic Dickensian themes - grinding poverty, desperation, fear, temptation and the eventual triumph of good in the face of great adversity. Oliver Twist features some of the author's most enduring characters, such as Oliver himself (who dares to ask for more), the tyrannical...

Contemporary fiction. 'I walk'd about on the shore, lifting up my hands, and my whole being, as I may say, wrapt up in the contemplation of my deliverance . . . reflecting upon all my comrades that were drown'd, and that there should not be one soul sav'd but my self . . . ' Who has not dreamed of life on an exotic isle, far away from civilization? Here is the novel which has inspired countless imitations by lesser writers, none of which equal the...

"When Maria is given a nutcracker by her mysterious Godfather, Drosselmeier, it seems like an ordinary gift...But as the clock strikes midnight on Christmas eve, she finds her nutcracker embroiled in a fight with a sinister Mouse King--no ordinary toy after all, but a cursed hero. Together, they embark on a fantastical journey."--inside flap.

In seventeenth-century France, young D'Artagnan initially quarrels with, then befriends, three musketeers and joins them in trying to outwit the enemies of the king and queen. Illustrated notes throughout the text explain the historical background of the story.