A secret organization of upper class dissenters, called The League, is not happy with their weak government and wants to overthrow it. In a clever plan they bring about a civil war in Britain by manipulating the coal strike with foreign help and plant a fascist regime in its place. What comes about is a total breakdown giving an accurate prediction of the rise of Fascism, as George Orwell famously noted. Superficially the novel (also alternately known as What Might Have Been) seems like it is promoting the cause of The League but it is in fact a bleary take on what might end up happening if such a thing comes to pass when the government is overtaken by the conservatives. Who becomes a hero and who becomes a villain is only a matter of seizing absolute power! In fact Orwell credited this novel as his inspiration behind his own successful dystopian classic 1984. Ernest Bramah (1868–1942) was an English author and a recluse who wrote the famous Kai Lung and Max Carrados series. Interestingly Bramah's humorous works were ranked with Jerome K Jerome and W. W. Jacobs, his detective stories with Conan Doyle, his politico-science fiction with H. G. Wells and his supernatural stories with Algernon Blackwood.

Frankenstein is a scientist obsessed with creating life. Frankenstein tells how he makes a living person. Disgusted by what he has created he leaves his monster, but a terrifying chain of events has begun... TreeTops Classics are adapted and abridged versions of classic stories to enrich and extend children's reading experiences.

Why is the North East the most distinctive region of England? Where do the stereotypes about North Easterners come from, and why are they so often misunderstood? In this wideranging new history of the people of North East England, Dan Jackson explores the deep roots of Northumbrian culture--hard work and heavy drinking, sociability and sentimentality, militarism and masculinity--in centuries of border warfare and dangerous and demanding work in industry, at sea and underground. He explains how the landscape and architecture of the North East explains so much about the people who have lived there, and how a 'Northumbrian Enlightenment' emerged from this most literate part of England, leading to a catalogue of inventions that changed the world, from the locomotive to the lightbulb. Jackson's Northumbrian journey reaches right to the present day, as this remarkable region finds itself caught between an indifferent south and a newly assertive Scotland. Covering everything from the Venerable Bede and the prince-bishops of Durham to Viz and Geordie Shore, this vital new history makes sense of a part of England facing an uncertain future, but whose people remain as distinctive as ever.

David Copperfield tells of the life of the unlucky David Copperfield. David is sent away to boarding school. As he grows up, David meets many people - but who are his true friends and will his fortunes ever change? TreeTops Classics are adapted and abridged versions of classic stories to enrich and extend children's reading experiences.

Clive Finlayson, a native of the Rock and a trained ornithologist, presents a fascinating account of this region and its resident and transitory bird life. The Strait of Gibraltar is famous as a major point of passage for Palaearctic birds migrating between their European breeding grounds and their winter quarters in Africa. The first chapter of the book describes the area, which broadly defined includes the Coto Donana in the north and the Merja Zerga in the south, and the geographic and climatological characteristics which make it a suitable crossing place. In scope this book goes beyond the strict definition of the Strait and, following Irby's 19th Century work, examines the rich area where Europe meets Africa. The chapters which follow describe in detail the migration patterns of the principal passage species including their origins, destinations and overall numbers, showing how the precise conditions of weather and visibility affect the specific choice of route and timing of the crossing. The breeding and wintering bird communities are then considered and the ornithology of the entire region summarized. Whether or not you have ever witnessed the thousands of raptors, storks and other birds that may make this legendary crossing in a single day, this book will conjure the spirit of this extraordinary place. Delightful illustrations by lan Willis complete an important and entertaining book.

In The Three Musketeers, d'Artagnan goes to Paris with the ambition to become a musketeer - a King's Guard. He must convince the three musketeers to let him join them and help them to stop a plot against the Queen. TreeTops Classics are adapted and abridged versions of classic stories to enrich and extend children's reading experiences.

Nathan loves pirates - his days are spent dreaming about them and wondering what it would be like to be one. Anything to brighten up his grey and dreary existence. So when Tamo White, the son of a real-life pirate, suggests that Nathan go home with him to Madagascar, it is too good a chance to miss. There's just one problem . . . Nathan's sister, Maud. He can't leave her behind but will she really be able to survive in a strange land full of pirates? You never know - perhaps she'll adapt better than Nathan, or even she herself, could ever have imagined . . . Plundering Paradise will whisk you away to a distant land and fill your senses with amazing sights, sounds and beautiful colours. You will feel as though you've really visited Madagascar and have lived among the pirates and the islanders.