After surviving the fifth century fall of the Western European Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire flourished as one of the most powerful economic, cultural, and military forces in Europe for a thousand years. In this Very Short Introduction Peter Sarris introduces the reader to the unique fusion of Roman political culture, Greek intellectual tradition and Christian faith that took place in the imperial capital of Byzantium under the emperor Constantine and his heirs. Using examples from Byzantine architecture, art and literature, Sarris shows how their legacy was re-worked and re-invented in the centuries ahead, in the face of external challenges and threats. Charting the impact of warfare with the Persian and Islamic worlds to the east, Sarris explores the creativity of Byzantine statecraft and strategy, as well as the empire's repeated (but ultimately forlorn) attempts to enlist aid from the Christian powers of Western Europe to ensure its survival.

Where has Peter Rabbit gone? Play a fun game of hide and seek with much-loved characters from the world of Beatrix Potter as you look for naughty Peter! Is that Peter by the blackberry bush? Is he hiding in the lettuce patch? Lift the flap and see! With easy-to-lift flaps, gentle rhyming text and charming illustrations, this Peter Rabbit story is fun to share with little ones at bedtime or anytime. The perfect introduction to Beatrix Potter for very young readers.

A full-colour short story taken from the magical Wishing-Chair series. Perfect for new readers. Be whisked away! Mollie and Peter are very lucky - they have a Wishing-Chair that will fly them to any magical land and grant them their every wish! And so when they arrive home from school for the half-terms holidays, they can't wait to embark on their next adventure!

The perfect introduction to Thomas the Tank Engine! Percy is a little engine who loves to be cheeky. He spends all day playing tricks on the other engines, but one day he has to be a very brave engine! Based on the classic tales from the Reverend W. Awdry, with a stunning, modern look. Thomas Engine Adventures is a great way to pass on the tradition of Thomas to early readers. Children aged 2 and up will love meeting classic characters such as Percy, James, Gordon, and Toby down on The Fat Controller's railway. These fun, short stories come with a bonus spot-and-see activity at the end. Perfect for bedtime. Thomas has been teaching children lessons about life and friendship for over 75 years. He ranks alongside other beloved character such as Paddington Bear, Winnie-the-Pooh and Peter Rabbit as an essential part of our literary heritage.

A new board book edition of Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were - Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter. Beatrix Potter's classic tale of mischievous little Peter Rabbit has delighted generations of children around the world for generations since it was first published in 1902. This brand new board book edition includes the original text and illustrations and its sturdy format makes it perfect for an introduction to Peter Rabbit for very young children. Beatrix Potter is regarded as one of the world's best-loved children's authors of all time. From her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, published by Frederick Warne in 1902, she went on to create a series of stories based around animal characters including Mrs. Tiggy-winkle, Benjamin Bunny, Jemima Puddle-duck, Mr. Jeremy Fisher and Tom Kitten. Her humorous, lively tales and beautiful illustrations have become a natural part of childhood.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is perhaps Shakespeare's most popular play, particularly as a first introduction to Shakespeare for children--filled as it is with a marvelous mixture of aristocrats, workers, and fairies. Simple and engaging on the surface, it is none the less a highly original and sophisticated work, remarkable for both its literary and its theatrical mastery. It is one of the very few of Shakespeare's plays which do not draw on narrative sources, which suggests that it reflects his deepest imaginative concerns to an unusual degree. For this edition, Peter Holland's introduction looks at dreams and dreamers, tracing the materials out of which Shakespeare constructs his world of night and shadows.

The perfect introduction to Thomas the Tank Engine! James is a bright red engine, and he's very proud of how he looks. He is so busy thinking about his shiny red paint that he soon gets into lots of trouble! Based on the classic tales from the Reverend W. Awdry, with a stunning, modern look. Thomas Engine Adventures is a great way to pass on the tradition of Thomas to early readers. Children aged 2 and up will love meeting classic characters such as Percy, James, Gordon, and Toby down on The Fat Controller's railway. These fun, short stories come with a bonus spot-and-see activity at the end. Perfect for bedtime. Thomas has been teaching children lessons about life and friendship for over 75 years. He ranks alongside other beloved character such as Paddington Bear, Winnie-the-Pooh and Peter Rabbit as an essential part of our literary heritage.

A full-colour short story taken from the magical Wishing-Chair series. Perfect for new readers. Be whisked away! Molly and Peter are ever so lucky. They have a magical Wishing-Chair that will fly them to fairy-tale lands and grant them any wish they please! But on a mission to find their missing toys, the children are captured and made to attend the very strict school for bad brownies! However will they escape and find the Wishing-Chair again?

'It was a very momentous day, the day on which I was to be slaughtered' Bringing together tales of melancholy and madness, nightmare and fantasy, this is a new collection of the most haunting German stories from the past 200 years. Ranging from the Romantics of the early nineteenth century to works of contemporary fiction, it includes Hoffmann's hallucinatory portrait of terror and insanity 'The Sandman'; Chamisso's influential black masterpiece 'Peter Schlemiel', where a man barters his own shadow; Kafka's chilling, disturbing satire 'In the Penal Colony'; the Dadaist surrealism of Kurt Schwitters' 'The Onion'; and Bachmann's modern fairy tale 'The Secrets of the Princess of Kagran'. Macabre, dreamlike and expressing deep unconscious fears, these stories are also spiked with unsettling humour, showing stylistic daring as well as giving insight into the darkest recesses of the human condition. Peter Wortsman's powerful translations are accompanied by brief overviews of the lives of each author, and an introduction discussing the notion of 'angst' and the stories' place in the context of German history. Translated, selected and edited with an introduction by Peter Wortsman

Lord Peter Wimsey, wealthy, charming and charismatic, is one of the most famous amateur detectives of the golden age of crime. This Macmillan Collector's Library edition of Lord Peter Wimsey Investigates is introduced and edited by crime writer David Stuart Davies. The fifteen short stories in this lively and witty collection, Dorothy L. Sayers’s very best, celebrate the breadth of Peter Wimsey’s career as London’s most celebrated amateur sleuth. From the foppish man about town of 'In the Teeth of the Evidence', to the happily married man in 'The Haunted Policeman', to the father of three in 'Talboys', Wimsey kept that twinkle in his eye and the brilliance of mind that helped him spot a clue a mile off.

Lord Peter Wimsey, wealthy, charming and charismatic, is one of the most famous amateur detectives of the golden age of crime. This Macmillan Collector's Library edition of Lord Peter Wimsey Investigates is introduced and edited by crime writer David Stuart Davies. The fifteen short stories in this lively and witty collection, Dorothy L. Sayers’s very best, celebrate the breadth of Peter Wimsey’s career as London’s most celebrated amateur sleuth. From the foppish man about town of 'In the Teeth of the Evidence', to the happily married man in 'The Haunted Policeman', to the father of three in 'Talboys', Wimsey kept that twinkle in his eye and the brilliance of mind that helped him spot a clue a mile off.

A buggy book featuring Beatrix Potter's classic character, Peter Rabbit! Join Peter as he hops, nibbles, cuddles and sleeps in this gorgeous book. Perfect for babies to play with at any time of day, simply clip to a buggy or a highchair. Introduce Peter to the very youngest Beatrix Potter fans, who will love discovering the things that Peter Rabbit likes to do best.

The Secret Seven are Peter and his sister Janet, Jack, Colin, George, Pam and Barbara. They meet every holiday in the shed at the bottom of Peter and Janet's garden - and solve mysteries, and eat lots of delicious food. But no one can enter the shed without whispering the secret password! There are 15 Secret Seven novels, and a collection of short stories. The gang witness the horror of a house going up in flames! Then there's the theft of a very valuable violin. Are the two events connected The Seven need to use all their detective know-how to find out. Each book features rarely seen bonus Blyton: extra stories, a quiz, additional artwork and insights into Blyton's life and writing process.

What is naughty Peter Rabbit doing in Mr McGregor's garden? This delightful first board book tells a simple version of The Tale of Peter Rabbit for very young children to enjoy.

Celebrated for her much-admired novels, including The Heat of the Day and The Death of the Heart, Bowen established herself in the front rank of the century's writers equally through her short fiction. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY A. N. WILSON Throughout these seventy-nine stories - love stories, ghost stories, stories of childhood, of English middle-class life in the twenties and thirties, of London during the Blitz - Elizabeth Bowen combines social comedy and reportage, perception and vision in an oeuvre which reveals, as Angus Wilson affirms in his introduction, that 'the instinctive artist is there at the very heart of her work'.

The perfect introduction to Thomas the Tank Engine! Thomas has always wanted to go fishing. But when some fish get trapped in his boiler, it's not quite what he expected! Based on the classic tales from the Reverend W. Awdry, with a stunning, modern look. Engine Adventures is the perfect introduction to Thomas for children aged 3 up. From Thomas to Gordon to Harold the Helicopter, there is a railway adventure to thrill every Thomas fan. These fun, short stories come with a fun, bonus spot-and-see activity at the end. Perfect for bedtime. Thomas has been teaching children lessons about life and friendship for over 75 years. He ranks alongside other beloved character such as Paddington Bear, Winnie-the-Pooh and Peter Rabbit as an essential part of our literary heritage.