Peacock Books

“…they see in poverty nothing but poverty, without seeing in it the revolutionary, subversive side, which will overthrow the old society.” The Poverty of Philosophy by Karl Marx is a groundbreaking exploration of the economic and philosophical fo...

“One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin.” The life of Gregor Samsa, a travelling salesman, takes a horrifying turn when he wakes up one day to find that he has tran...

“But man is not made for defeat,” he said. “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” This tremendously famous novella, written in 1952, underlined Hemingway's influence and presence in the literary world. The Old Man and the Sea is a story of fr...

Johanna Spyri's Heidi, a beloved classic of children's literature, unfolds in the breathtaking Swiss Alps, where a young orphan named Heidi is sent to live with her gruff grandfather in a remote mountain cabin. Through heartfelt and often life-cha...

Annihilation of Caste is a powerful and uncompromising critique of India's caste system, written by one of the most influential social reformers in Indian history, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Originally published in 1936, this groundbreaking work challenge...

Rated among the most excellent works of American fiction, Mark Twain’s classic The Adventures of Tom Sawyer paints an unforgettable picture of Mississippi frontier life, combining picaresque adventure with challenging satire and great innovative p...

“We are not going in circles, we are going upwards. The path is a spiral; we have already climbed many steps.” Siddhartha is a profound exploration of one man's quest for enlightenment in ancient India. Discontent with traditional religious teach...

Gulliver's Travels, first published in 1726, was an immediate success and was read 'from the Cabinet - council to the Nursery' (Gay). It continues to appeal to readers of all ages, both as a travel book and as a powerful satire. George Orwell rate...

Animal Farm is a dystopian allegorical novella. It reflects events leading up to and during the Stalin era before World War II. Orwell, being a democratic socialist, was a critic of Joseph Stalin and was against Moscow-directed Stalinism. The nove...

First published in 1812 as Kinder- und Hausmärchen, Grimm’s Fairy Tales—inspired by German folklore—remain among the most cherished and influential stories in literary history. This complete collection of over 200 tales features timeless character...

Kipling's allegory, The Jungle Books, set in India and filled with high adventure and extraordinary characters that touch both our intellect and our emotions, is an unforgettable mythic tale of a boy Mowgli, the fearless man-cub, looking for where...

Rudyard Kipling’s works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short stories, including “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep”; “Three and An Extra”; “On Greenhow Hill”; “The Limitations of Pambé Serang”; “The Disturber of Traffic”; “The...

Swami Paramananda's The Upanishads explores ancient Indian spiritual texts, revealing wisdom that has influenced philosophical thought for centuries. Based on Vedic teachings, these sacred writings probe the nature of reality, the self and the uni...

PLATO, born around 428 BC in Athens, was a philosopher and mathematician in Classical Greece. He was the founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world, and is arguably one of the greatest writers i...

Rated among the most excellent works of American fiction, Mark Twain's classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn paints an unforgettable picture of Mississippi frontier life, combining picaresque adventure with challenging satire and great innova...

The task of the economist is not to predict the future but to explain the present. Ten Great Economists, originally published in 1914, offers an insightful exploration of the influential minds who shaped the field of economics. Through a blend of ...

Politics by Aristotle is a cornerstone of political philosophy, unfolding in dialogues and reflections on the nature of the state, citizenship and governance. Through a conscientious analysis of different political systems-monarchy, aristocracy an...

The Time Machine is a social allegory set in the year 802701 A.D., describing a society divided into two classes, the subterranean workers, called Morlocks, and the decadent Eloi. The central character, referred to throughout as the Time Traveller...

Treasure Island, a wonderfully crafted edition of Stevenson’s classic adventure story, is known for its great plot, immortal characters and vivid images. Its captivating story, that holds the readers’ interest throughout, relates of a great treasu...

Virginia Woolf’s fifth novel, To the Lighthouse, was widely praised and has remained the most popular of all her novels. It is considered among the greatest literary achievements of the twentieth century. There is minimal action. The novel works t...

In the delightful social comedy of Pride and Prejudice (1813) Jane Austen delicately handles the problem of love and money in marriage where, in spite of many hurdles, eventually love triumphs over 'pride' and 'prejudice'. With a mild satiric tone...

“Neither the colourless vagueness of cosmopolitanism, nor the fierce self-idolatry of nation-worship, is the goal of human history.” In the words of a poet and in the shape of a prose, Rabindranath Tagore’s Nationalism is the culmination of his l...

Newly married Tara struggles through the formative years of advocacy, attempting to balance her roller coaster professional and personal life. She soon discovers that material success matters, yet selfless pursuits often yield greater satisfaction...

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, a beloved fable of childhood wonder and wisdom, invites readers on a journey through the cosmos, where a young prince travels from one distant planet to another, meeting eccentric characters who embody...

A classic that took the world by storm, raising havoc among scientists and religious people as its exposition apparently contradicted the account of the creation of the world of Genesis in the Bible, Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species remains ...

Around the World in Eighty Days is a classic adventure novel by Jules Verne. It is the story of a rich English gentleman living a life of modesty and solitude. Phileas Fogg accepts a challenge from his fellow members at the Reform Club and sets of...

“I think everyone in the world is friends if you can only get them to see you don't want to be un-friends.” Edith Nesbit's The Railway Children, a beloved classic of children's literature, unfolds the lives of three siblings—Roberta, Peter and Ph...

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” Relativity as a concept was not new to physics when Albert Einstein developed an interest in the field. Dissecting Relativity into the General Theory and ...

“It costs nothing to ask wise advice from a good friend.” The Richest Man in Babylon, a timeless classic in personal finance, offers practical wisdom for achieving wealth and financial success through simple, yet profound lessons. Set in the ancie...

“Half of happiness is the recognition that we are happy; and half of misery is the forgetting how many causes of happiness we have.” For many, the quest for happiness is a never-ending journey. The Pursuit of Happiness by Daniel G. Brinton trans...

The Tragedy of Macbeth, or Macbeth, is one of his Shakespeare's shorter tragedies, and was probably written between 1599–1606, and is thought to have been first performed in 1606. This play was penned the play during the region of James V1, who wa...

Peter Pan, a timeless work of fantasy, unfolds in the magical world of Neverland, where Peter Pan, the boy who wouldn't grow up, leads a group of Lost Boys and the Darling children-Wendy, John and Michael-on a series of thrilling adventures. As th...

A great dramatist, literary critic, an eminent showman, intellectual and a satirist, George Bernard Shaw was a leading theatre personality of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. Pygmalion is one of his masterpi...

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, usually shortened to just Hamlet, was written by Shakespeare sometime between 1599–1602. It is arguably one of his most famous tragedies. The lines from Hamlet's monologue in act three that begin "To be, o...

Three Men in a Boat, published in 1889, is a humorous account of a two-week boating holiday on the Thames from Kingston upon Thames to Oxford and back to Kingston. The book was initially intended to be a serious travel guide, with accounts of loca...

“Let us strike the keynote, Coketown, before pursuing our tune... It was a town of machines and tall chimneys, out of which interminable serpents of smoke trailed themselves for ever, and never got uncoiled...” — Hard Times The novel is set in the...

Marco Polo is one of the most adventurous travellers in human history. His travels are recorded in Livres des Merveilles du Monde, a book which is said to have introduced Europeans to Central Asia and China. It is one of the first great travel boo...

Lewis Carroll's masterpieces, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking Glass, mark an epoch in the history of dream literature, having as much appeal for adults as for children. The story is of a girl Alice, who chasing ...

When the starving French masses rise in hate to overthrow a corrupt and decadent government, both the guilty and innocent become victims of their frenzied anger. Soon nothing stands in the way of the chilling figure they enlist for their cause - L...

“I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics.” A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett follows the heartwarming story of Sara Crewe, a young girl with a vivid imagination, who attends Miss Minchin’s school in London....

Dante Alighieri's The Inferno is the first part of his epic Divine Comedy, which takes readers on a journey through Hell. Guided by the Roman poet Virgil, Dante traverses the nine circles of the damned, reflecting on humanity's moral and spiritual...

The Waves by Virginia Woolf The Waves is Virginia Woolf’s most audacious exploration of the possibilities of the novel form. Instead of narrating her characters’ outward actions, Woolf enters their minds and reports their thoughts and perceptions ...

The book contains the best short stories written by Hector Hugh Munro under his pen name, Saki. "Reginald" was written after he had given up foreign reporting and settled in London. It features three short stories "Reginald at the Theater"; "Regin...

“A bee may be born in a hole in a tree, but she likes the honey of the lotus.” Shakuntala, a timeless masterpiece by the ancient Indian poet Kalidasa, weaves a poignant tale of love, longing and destiny. Centred around the enchanting Shakuntala, t...

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, or Julius Caesar, is believed to have been written in 1599 and is one of Shakespeare's works based on the true historical events. Though Caesar is the title character, his role is not as large as that of Marcus Brutus...

The Prophecies of Nostradamus, first published in 1555, is a captivating collection of cryptic predictions that has fascinated readers for centuries. Comprising quatrains that intertwine poetic imagery with prophetic insight, the work addresses a ...

Published in 1759, The Theory of Moral Sentiments provides a philosophical framework for Adam Smith's later works, including The Wealth of Nations (1776). The book showcases his interest in the human virtue of benevolence, contrary to his image of...

Before Jane Eyre, The Professor was the first novel written by Charlotte Bronte. It was published posthumously in 1857 and remains a classic among her other novels Jane Eyre and Villette. The novel is a trajectory of the protagonist William Crims...

The Merchant of Venice is a 16th century play written by Shakespeare between 1596-1598 in which a merchant in Venice must default on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. It is usually classified as a romantic comedy though its d...

The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice, or simply Othello, is a tragedy written in approximately 1603. One of Shakespeare's most tightly woven works, it explores themes of racism, betrayal, love, revenge, and forgiveness, and has spawned multi...

H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds is a groundbreaking science fiction novel that depicts humanity's struggle against a devastating alien invasion. Set in late 19th-century England, it narrates the catastrophic arrival of Martians, showcasing the e...

There can be no rise in the value of labour without a fall of profits. Originally published in 1817, Principles of Political Economy and Taxation remains an enduring cornerstone in the study of political economy. It navigates the interplay betwee...

The Prince contains a number of maxims concerning politics. It states that in order to retain power, the hereditary prince must carefully maintain the socio-political institutions which the people are accustomed to, whereas a new prince must first...

The Communist Manifesto is a political pamphlet by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels pub-lished in 1848. When the revolutions began to erupt, the Manifesto came to be recognized as one of the world’s most influential political man...

“The most valuable of all capital is that invested in human beings” Principles of Economicsby Alfred Marshal is a foundational text that continues to shape our understanding of economic theory. First published in 1890, Marshall's magnum opus revo...

In Persuasion, Jane Austen’s last completed novel, unpublished until her death, satire and ridicule become milder and the tone is more grave and tender. This novel depicts her most memorable heroine – Anne Elliot, a young woman of perfect breeding...

Man and Superman, a four-Act drama, was written in 1903 as a response to those who had questioned Shaw as to why he had never written a play based on the Don Juan theme. It deserves the position of Bernard Shaw’s masterpiece. The plot revolves aro...

Dale Carnegie's enduring masterpiece, How to Win Friends and Influence People, is a key to personal and professional triumphs. First published in 1936, this timeless guide provides valuable insights into the realms of communication, relationship-b...

“Consciousness does not determine life, but life determines consciousness.” The German Ideology by Karl Marx is a cornerstone of Marxist philosophy, offering a profound exploration of historical materialism and the foundations of societal structur...

Women in Love, the book Lawrence considered his best, was written during World War I, and while that conflict is never mentioned in the novel, a sense of background danger, of lurking catastrophe, continually informs its drama of two couples dynam...