Based on the story of Charles Dickens . Retold by Clare West . ... "Please, Mr Murdstone! Don't beat me! I've tried to learn my lessons, really I have, sir!" sobs David. Although he is only eight years old, Mr Murdstone does beat him, and David is so frightened that he bites his cruel stepfather's hand. For that, he is kept locked in his room for five days and nights, and nobody is allowed to speak to him. As David grows up, he learns that life is full of trouble and misery and cruelty. But he also finds laughter and kindness, trust and friendship... and love. Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction ... |
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Based on the story of Jane Austen . Retold by Clare West . ... Emma Woodhouse , beautiful, clever and rich, has no wish to marry, but she enjoys making matches for those around her. It was Emma who found the perfect husband for her governess Miss Taylor. So when her dear friend Mr Knightley tells her that she should let people choose their own husbands and wives, she will not listen. But does Emma really understand people as well as she thinks? And is she even right about her own feelings, when she says that she will never fall in love? Winner of the Extensive Reading Foundation Language Learner Literature Award ... |
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Retold by Rosemary Border . ... "After dinner we turned the lights out and played hide and seek. In the dark, I touched a hand, a very cold hand. Now, because of the game, I had to hide in the dark with... with this cold person - not speaking, not knowing who it was. Slowly the others found us, hid with us, until we were all there - all thirteen. Thirteen? But there were only twelve people in the house! We touched each other in the dark, counting. Thirteen. Quickly, nervously, I lit a match to see..." By the book Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. Written for secondary and adult students the ... |
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Based on the story of Anne Tyler . Retold by Jennifer Bassett . ... Everyday life in Baltimore, USA, is full of problems - getting the washing done, buying groceries and dog food, avoiding the neighbours... After the death of his son and the departure of his wife, Macon's attempts to run his own life become increasingly desperate - and more and more odd. Meanwhile, he has to get on with his work, writing tourist guides for business people. Then his dog Edward starts to bite people, and he has to send for Muriel, the dog trainer. And day by day, Macon's life gets more and more complicated. Classics, modern ... |
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Based on the story of Charles Dickens . Retold by Clare West . ... In a gloomy, neglected house Miss Havisham sits, as she has sat year after year, in a wedding dress and veil that were once white, and are now faded and yellow with age. Her face is like a death's head, her dark eyes burn with bitterness and hate. By her side sits a proud and beautiful girl, and in front of her, trembling with fear in his thick country boots, stands young Pip. Miss Havisham stares at Pip coldly, and murmurs to the girl at her side: 'Break his heart, Estella. Break his heart!' Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. ... |
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Based on the story of Desmond Bagley. Retold by Ralph Mowat. ... On a beautiful summer evening in the quiet town of Marlow, a young woman is walking home from church. She passes a man who is looking at the engine of his car. He turns round, smiles at her... and throws acid into her face. Then her father, the scientist George Ashton, disappears. And her sister, Penny, discovers that her husband-to-be, Malcolm, is a government agent. Why has Ashton disappeared, and why is Malcolm told to hunt for him? Who is George Ashton, anyway? And who is the enemy? Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. Written for secondary ... |
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Based on the story of Charlotte Bronte . Retold by Clare West . ... Jane Eyre is alone in the world. Disliked by her aunt's family, she is sent away to school. Here she learns that a young girl, with neither money nor family to support her, can expect little from the world. She survives, but she wants more from life than simply to survive: she wants respect, and love. When she goes to work for Mr Rochester, she hopes she has found both at once. But the sound of strange laughter, late at night, behind a locked door, warns her that her troubles are only beginning. Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. ... |
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Based on the story of Buchi Emecheta. Retold by Rosemary Border . ... When her father dies, Aku-nna and her young brother have no one to look after them. They are welcomed by their uncle because of Aku-nna's bride price - the money that her future husband will pay for her. In her new, strange home one man is kind to her and teaches her to become a woman. Soon they are in love, although everyone says he is not a suitable husband for her. The more the world tries to separate them, the more they are drawn together - until, finally, something has to break. Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. Written for ... |
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Based on the story of F. Scott Fitzgerald . Retold by Clare West . ... Gatsby's mansion on Long Island blazes with light, and the beautiful, the wealthy, and the famous drive out from New York to drink Gatsby's champagne and to party all night long. But Jay Gatsby, the owner of all this wealth, wants only one thing - to find again the woman of his dreams, the woman he has held in his heart and his memory for five long years. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, is one of the great American novels of the twentieth century. It captures perfectly the Jazz Age of the 1920s, and goes deep into ... |
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Based on the story of Louisa May Alcott . Retold by John Escott . ... When Christmas comes for the four March girls, there is no money for expensive presents and they give away their Christmas breakfast to a poor family. But there are no happier girls in America than Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. They miss their father, of course, who is away at the Civil War, but they try hard to be good so that he will be proud of his little women when he comes home. This heart-warming story of family life has been popular for more than a hundred years. Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. Written for secondary and adult ... |
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Based on the story of Anna Sewell . Retold by John Escott . ... When Black Beauty is trained to carry a rider on his back, or to pull a carriage behind him, he finds it hard at first. But he is lucky - his first home is a good one, where his owners are kind people, who would never be cruel to a horse. But in the nineteenth century many people were cruel to their horses, whipping them and beating them, and using them like machines until they dropped dead. Black Beauty soon finds this out, and as he describes his life, he has many terrible stories to tell. Classics, modern fiction, non-fiction and more. Written for ... |
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"Oxford Bookworms Library Factfiles" are non-fiction graded readers from the "Oxford Bookworms Library" available for Levels 1 to 4 (CEFR A1 - B2). Students learn about different countries and cultures, science and nature, history and historical figures all while practising and improving their English. Who will speak for the poor? Who will listen to slaves, and those who have no rights? Who will work for a future where everyone is equal? Who will give up his house, job, and money to fight for people who are shut out by everyone else? 'I will,' said Mohandas Gandhi. And he began to fight in a ... |
