Sleepily Ever After: Bedtime Stories for Grown Ups is a gorgeous little anthology of upbeat, touching, funny and inspiring stories that will help you relax and drift off to sleep. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is edited and introduced by Zachary Seager. It’s hard to relax, to keep still and to stop our brains from whirring. We live in a world where lack of sleep is a common problem for many adults. This collection of stories will help to banish anxiety and to soothe stressed minds as they welcome you into a world of happy endings, gentle humour and good choices. Each classic story from authors including Oscar Wilde, Kate Chopin, Guy de Maupassant and H G Wells, has been carefully chosen for the quality of its writing, for great storytelling and to gently help you into the land of nod.

A selection of stories from your favourite classic authors that will make you smile, relax and fall gently to sleep

THE PERFECT NIGHTTIME READ - DESIGNED TO CALM YOUR MIND FOR A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP *Introduced by Lucy Mangan* Recommended by RED magazine * 'Dreamy' STYLIST 'Calm and restore an anxious mind before sleep... the most beautiful book that will, without a doubt, put you in the mood for some ZZZZs.' THE SUN Tales to soothe tired souls. A nighttime companion for frazzled adults, including calming stories and poems for a good night's sleep. This cheering book of best loved short tales, extracts and poems will calm and restore an anxious mind. Sleep is essential for our well being and our health, but in our busy lives it is often poor and overlooked. Now is the time to put down your smartphone, stop a while and find consolation and wonder in other worlds where all is well and sleep just a page or two away. From classic stories by Oscar Wilde, Guy de Maupassant and Katherine Mansfield, to friendly tales of our childhoods and poetry that reminds us of the simple joys of life, this lovingly curated book will soothe a tired mind and gently carry you to the peaceful land of sleep. So switch off, snuggle down and allow yourself to escape into new worlds and old; magical, mysterious and tender realms that will accompany you to your own sweet dreams. 'Hurrah for a book that draws us away from the cold blue light of the smart phone and into the soothing glow of poems, short stories and extracts' THE SIMPLE THINGS PICKED FOR WORLD BOOK NIGHT 2020

Soothing stories to help you fall and stay asleep, based on the popular podcast Busy minds need a place to rest. Whether you find yourself struggling to sleep, awake in the middle of the night, or even just anxious as you move through the day, in Nothing Much Happens, Kathryn Nicolai offers a healthy way to ease the mind before bed: through the timeless appeal of classic bedtime stories. Already beloved by millions of podcast listeners, the stories in Nothing Much Happens explore and expose small sweet moments of joy and relaxation: Sneaking lilacs from an abandoned farm in the spring. Watching fireflies from the deck in the summer. Visiting the local cider mill in the autumn. Watching the tree lighting in the park with friends in the winter. You'll also find sixteen new stories never before featured on the podcast, along with whimsical illustrations, recipes, and meditations. Using her decades of experience as a meditation and yoga teacher, Kathryn Nicolai creates a world for you to slip into, one rich in sensory experience that quietly teaches mindfulness and self-compassion, soothes frayed nerves, and builds solid habits for nurturing sleep. A PENGUIN LIFE TITLE

In a world where we’re more connected than ever, why is it that we’re also more lonely? Dip into this anthology of classic writing to reclaim the pleasure of your own company. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning pocket size classics. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is edited and introduced by writer and academic, Zachary Seager. The Art of Solitude shows some of the myriad ways in which people throughout history have understood their experiences of solitary life, or have counselled others to benefit from solitude. It contains poetry, essays, autobiographical pieces and short stories from writers such as Virginia Woolf, Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Dickinson and Ralph Waldo Emerson. These diverse works can teach us how to think in freedom, how to enjoy a profound inner life and how best to cope with the fact that, as the novelist Joseph Conrad put it, we live, as we dream – alone. Above all, they show how we might truly connect with ourselves and, in the process, how we can meaningfully connect with those around us, including the earth itself. Looked at in this way, solitude is always focused both outward and inward, towards the self and towards the world. The cure for loneliness is, in the end, the art of solitude.

Round About the Christmas Tree is the perfect Christmas gift for booklovers, as all facets of the festive season are represented here in one gorgeous volume. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful hardbacks make perfect gifts for book lovers, or wonderful additions to your own collection. This edition is introduced by Ned Halley and features the classic, charming illustrations of Alice Ercle Hunt. This anthology reveals the inspiration Christmas gives so many writers, whether as a time for celebration, for family, or as a chance to remember those in hardship. There are heart-warming stories from Charles Dickens and E. Nesbit, comic fun from G. K. Chesterton and Saki, touching whimsy from Hans Christian Andersen, and even crimes to solve from Arthur Conan Doyle.

Living alone in her Stockholm apartment, a ninety-six-year-old woman reminisces through the pages of a long-kept address book before starting to write down stories from her past, unlocking family secrets in unexpectedly beneficial ways.