Western Fiction Classic

The year is 1348. Thomas, a disgraced knight, has found a young girl alone in a dead Norman village. An orphan of the Black Death, and an almost unnerving picture of innocence, she tells Thomas that plague is only part of a larger cataclysm - that the fallen angels under Lucifer are rising in a second war on heaven, and that the world of men has fallen behind the lines of conflict. Is it delirium or is it faith? She believes she has seen the angels of God. She believes the righteous dead speak to her in dreams. And now she has convinced the faithless Thomas to shepherd her across a depraved landscape to Avignon.

When Dorothy and her pet dog, Toto, are swept away from their Kansas home, they find themselves in the magical land of Oz where munchkins live, monkeys fly and Wicked Witches rule. In their quest to return home they meet a cast of characters that have become much loved by families since the story was first published in 1900. Dorothy, played by Lydia West (Years and Years) joins the Tin Woodsman, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion as they follow the yellow brick road to find the Wizard, played by Jim Broadbent (The Iron Lady, Moulin Rouge).

He is the Virginian-the first fully realized cowboy hero in American literature, a near-mythic figure whose idealized image has profoundly influenced our national consciousness. This enduring work of fiction marks the birth of a legend that lives with us still.

This gripping tale follows Paul and his mates as they navigate the horror, boredom, and stupidity of the First World War. We see the pain of one comrade, who loses a leg, while his friends covet the pair of boots he can no longer wear. We follow Paul’s company as it is whittled down in combat from 150 men to 32. Paul, wounded, goes home on leave, but he feels alienated from his family, who do not understand what he has gone through and to whom he cannot explain it.

Admired by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker, and Dashiell Hammett, and hailed as one of the best 100 English-language novels by Time magazine, The Day of the Locust continues to influence American writers, artists, and culture. Bob Dylan wrote the classic song "Day of the Locusts" in homage, and Matt Groening's Homer Simpson is named after one of its characters. No novel more perfectly captures the nuttier side of Hollywood. Here the lens is turned on its fringes-actors out of work, film extras with big dreams, and parents lining their children up for small roles.

There will never be another Western writer like Louis L’Amour. A legendary author and indisputably the greatest storyteller in his genre of all time, L’Amour captivated millions of readers and has sold well over three hundred million copies of his works, which includes nearly ninety novels and countless short stories. Mistakes Can Kill You highlights an essential selection featuring nine of L’Amour’s earlier short stories, sometimes written under the pen name Jim Mayo, that exemplify the rugged morality of the best Western writing.

U.S. Marshal Hunter Cole is called upon to restore peace and stop a gang from attacking a sacred site of the Apaches. The small town of Thunder Ridge is built near an ancient Apache ruins, where whispers of hidden treasure stir excitement. A notorious gang led by Lucas Crane rides into town, seeking gold and priceless artifacts rumored to be buried by Apache ancestors. The town’s peace crumbles when its residents start fearing the outlaws’ greed might provoke a war with the Apache tribe. The town’s mayor realizes he has no choice but to call in U.S. Marshal Hunter Cole to capture ...

Paul Bäumer is just 19 years old when he and his classmates enlist. They are Germany’s Iron Youth who enter the war with high ideals and leave it disillusioned or dead. As Paul struggles with the realities of the man he has become, and the world to which he must return, he is led like a ghost of his former self into the war’s final hours. All Quiet is one of the greatest war novels of all time, an eloquent expression of the futility, hopelessness and irreparable losses of war.

Often considered to be one of the most famous pieces by Edgar Allan Poe, 'The Raven' is a poem recounting the descent into madness of a young man lamenting the loss of his lover. This spellbinding performance by Dominic West (The Wire, The Affair) lures the listener into the depths of the protagonist’s despair.

He may be half Apache and half-white man, but he's all gunfighter. In a land where danger lurks around every corner, one man stands at the crossroads of two worlds. Meet Nash, a half-Apache, half-white gunfighter with an unyielding spirit and a deadly aim. He knows the wilderness like the back of his hand, but as he embarks on a treacherous journey through hostile Indian territory, survival takes on a whole new meaning. Tasked with escorting Ted Murphy, a desperate miner eager to stake his claim, Nash is reluctant. The Apache braves are restless, their land violated, and every white man is ...

After a violent train robbery, a stranger is left for dead, with no memory of who he is. Rescued by the rancher Sam Garrett and his widowed sister Sarah, he takes the name "Jack" and begins the slow road to recovery, never knowing if the men who attacked him will return to finish the job… Grateful for their kindness, Jack works to repay them. He has a natural way with horses, yet no memory of the life he left behind. The more time he spends at the ranch, the stronger his bond grows with Sarah, a bond shadowed by the mystery of who he was before the robbery. But Copper Valley is no safe ...

After his parents freeze to death, seventeen-year-old Garret Brassfield takes responsibility for his surviving kin and their herd of starving cattle. It’s the Big Die Up – the worst winter in anybody’s memory. With the little help he has left, Garret fights to spare his loved ones from a lonely, frigid death on the open range and learns the ways of ranching so they may survive. Come springtime, everybody’s cattle are half-dead and the money has evaporated from the once booming industry… with one exception. Delmer Potter. His fortunes are securely built on a foundation of ...

Heralded as an instant classic of fantasy literature, Maguire has written a wonderfully imaginative retelling of The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch's point of view. More than just a fairy tale for adults, Wicked is a meditation on the nature of good and evil.

Evelyn Harper shoots her abusive husband to protect her son, then flees Indiana under the cover of night. They find refuge in Arlington, Wyoming, where Evelyn starts over as a seamstress, but danger isn’t finished with her yet… Widowed sheriff Jonathan Tate has kept his heart buried since his wife's death, focused solely on protecting his town. Yet, Evelyn’s strength and guarded warmth catch him off guard. He senses she’s running from something, and he’s not sure if he can trust her… or afford not to. When ruthless outlaws appear in Arlington, Evelyn and Jonathan face their ...

A dead man’s last words. A cold-blooded betrayal. A gunfighter on the run. Framed for murder and hunted like an outlaw, Nash has one chance to clear his name—track down the man who put a bullet in his only friend and bring him back alive. But the trail is cold, the bounty hunters are closing in, and his target is drinking away a stolen fortune. Forced to disguise himself as a preacher, Nash plays a dangerous game of deception, walking the fine line between salvation and vengeance. In a land where justice is bought and paid for, he'll need more than a fast draw to survive—he'll need to...

One Town in Chains. One Ruthless Tyrant. One Gunfighter Who Won’t Back Down. Nash wasn’t looking for trouble. But trouble had a way of finding men like him. When a ruthless mine boss, Elias Mercer, takes everything from a desperate town, Nash finds himself caught in a war that ain't his—but one he's damn well ready to finish. Copper Ridge is a place where the law don’t mean much and a man’s life is worth less than a bullet. As Mercer’s iron grip tightens, Nash and a handful of outlaws, miners, and lost souls must do the impossible—bring the whole damn empire crashing down ...

Haunted by the murder of his wife and daughter, former lawman John Turner rides into Blackstone – a town suffocating under the iron fist of Roderick Garrison and his ruthless gang. Blackstone is a place of shattered hope, where extortion and violence reign. The sheriff is wounded, the townsfolk are desperate, and the women and children suffer most of all. Among them is Emma Dawson, a widow whose strength and kindness rekindle a spark of hope John thought was lost forever. When John witnesses their pain, he can’t turn away. But taking on Roderick’s gang won’t be easy. Mason Hawkins, ...

No romance. Just action, bullets, and a man on the run. Wesley McCoy has always been a drifter—good with a gun, handy with a deck of cards, and smart enough to stay out of trouble when the odds ain’t in his favor. But after a card game gone wrong lands him in jail, he finds himself faced with a choice: swing from a noose or ride with former Texas Ranger William McKinnrick, a man who claims he still upholds the law. McKinnrick and his men bring justice to the lawless frontier—or so it seems at first. Hunting outlaws, collecting bounties, and settling scores, McCoy starts to believe ...

When justice slumbers, vengeance rides… When Gideon Ward returns to Edgewood to bury his murdered sister, he finds a town strangled by fear. Malcolm Bryce, a ruthless ranch baron, rules through intimidation and bloodshed, while the law turns a blind eye to the mounting body count. Though haunted by his violent past in the Civil War, Gideon must decide whether to honor his late father's pacifism, or embrace the brutal justice the frontier demands. As smaller ranchers face burning barns and deadly accidents, Gideon soon discovers that his sister's death points to an ugly conspiracy. With ...

From the day he was orphaned until he ended up in the silver mines at White Pine, Nevada, Blaze Mowbray has only known the merciless frontier. Thanks to the protection of his adoptive mother, lawlessness and degeneracy have always been just out of reach. Now Blaze has no choice – at sixteen, he’s leapt into the fire of an outlaw’s world. When the silver is gone, money becomes scarce and company big shots like William Montgomery hire outlaws like Jed Scanlon to maintain the bloodstained bones of his business empire and recoup his mounting debts. Jed Scanlon. He’s insane, and he’s ...