While her escape from Sweet Home shows her fierce determination to protect Denver, so her tragic act, on which the novel hinges, can be read as the ultimate demonstration of maternal love: Sethe will not allow her children to experience the pain and trauma of enslavement that she has had to endure.

In Beloved, Sethe is torn between her love for her children and her recognition of the incompatibility of motherhood with enslavement. She barely remembers her own mother and, as Paul D observes of Sethe and Denver, “to love anything that much was dangerous, especially if it was her children.”

Mothers in literature come in many forms: caring, tender, powerful, angry or even absent. But the most iconic literary mothers stay with the reader long after the book is finished.

Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona daoibh! A happy St Patrick's Day to our Irish readers.
Consider this your reminder to pick up an Irish classic today:
☘️ Irish Stories
☘️ Irish Poems
☘️ The Complete Novels by Flann O'Brien
☘️ The Book of Evidence, and The Sea by John Banville
☘️ Dubliners by James Joyce

Today we publish Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, translated by Richard Aldington and introduced by Peter Washington. With devotees as varied as Marie Antoinette and Virginia Woolf, it is a unique combination of sentiment and brutality, psychological insight and erotic tenderness.

A haunting tale of lost causes and lost love, The Remains of the Day, winner of the Booker Prize, contains Ishiguro's now celebrated evocation of life between the wars in a Great English House. Within its walls can be heard ever more distinct echoes of the violent upheavals spreading across Europe.

Lady Chatterley's Lover shocked its original audience with its portrayal of adulterous love across the class divide as well as its explicit descriptions of sex. It remains a hymn to erotic love and an impassioned treatise on 'tender-hearted fucking' as salvation from the sterility of modern life.

When poverty drives Tess Durbeyfield to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urbervilles, her 'cousin' Alec proves to be her downfall. Another man, Angel Clare, seems to offer her love and salvation, but Tess must choose whether to reveal her past or remain silent in the hope of a peaceful future.

We wish our readers a happy Valentine’s Day, courtesy of Jane Austen’s much-loved story of contrasting sisters and hidden longing, Sense and Sensibility.

#lovestories #ireadclassics #classiclovestories #tragiclovestories #yearning

‘Be with me always – drive me mad! only do not leave me!’ Wuthering Heights, a novel of impossible desires, violence and transgression, is a masterpiece of unsettling power, chronicling the passion, betrayal and bitter vengeance between the foundling Heathcliff and heiress Catherine Earnshaw

By the end of a summer day in 1934, the lives of Briony Tallis, her sister Cecilia and Robbie, Cecila's childhood friend, will have been changed for ever. Robbie and Cecilia will cross a boundary and Briony will commit a crime for which she will spend the rest of her life trying to atone...

As Valentine’s Day approaches, we wanted to dedicate this month to stories of love, yearning, longing, transgression and heartbreak. To begin, we suggest two perfectly romantic Pocket Poets: Love Speaks Its Name and Love Letters, both ideal gifts for a loved one. Visit the link in our bio for more

Is 2026 the year you read more modern classics written by women? We have just the thing: why not try this collected edition of The Bookshop, The Gate of Angels and The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald. These novels all display her characteristic wit, intellectual breadth and narrative brilliance.

Is ‘a book by a Nobel Prize winner’ on your reading goals list this year? If so, we recommend Independent People by Halldór Laxness, introduced by John Freeman, a masterly realist novel evoking in rich detail a family and a rural community struggling to survive in the starkest of landscapes.

Ye Pow’rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o’ fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu’ prayer,
Gie her a Haggis!

Wishing a very happy Burns night to you all – Slàinte Mhath!

We totally agree! @themerl.bsky.social, let's talk comedy pigs!

Looking for a memoir in translation to read in 2026? Hope Against Hope is an account of Stalin's persecution of the Russian intelligentsia, and of Osip Mandelstam (1891-1938) whose poetry, in spite of the unfolding tragedy of his life, continued to shine

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, from all of us at Everyman’s Library. We’ll be taking a winter break until 5th January and we hope that you, like us, are taking the time to rest and revive.

‘And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!’

Christmas Eve has often been a time for friends and families to gather and tell stories. So, let us turn to this collection of seasonal tales of all varieties. Each of these stories is imbued with Christmas spirit of one kind or another, and all are richly and indelibly entertaining.

As our thoughts turn from present-buying to frivolity, it’s the ideal moment to treat ourselves to a few tales from Party Stories. All kinds of literary greats consort in this festive gathering, a perfect gift for readers and partygoers alike.

Thinking of that friend who loves a beer festival or mixing the perfect martini?
Treat them to a copy of Shaken and Stirred Intoxicating Stories or Hip Hops: Poems about Beer -- cheers! 🥂

For those who love the great outdoors, what better gift than a book that allows them to explore nature, whatever the weather? Whether they favour a stroll by the riverside, a woodland walk, a countryside ramble or pottering in the flowerbeds, there’s a collection for them here.

Looking for something to entertain the lyricist in your life? As well as chic treasuries of lyrics by Sondheim and Cohen, Jazz Poems demonstrates the powerful influence of this vibrant musical genre on American poetry, from the 1920s to the present day.

There’s not long left to buy those final gifts, so please allow us to share a few suggestions for literary stocking fillers...

Shopping for a cat or dog lover? These story collections are for those who like nothing better than curling up with their furry friend and reading a good book.

The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize is the only literary accolade to present its winner with their very own pig. Here's this year’s winner, Rosanna Pike, with her new companion, aptly named after her winning novel: A Little Trickerie .
#BEWP2025 #ChampagneBollinger
Photo: Laurie Fletcher

The Vintage Bollinger Prize, celebrating 25 years of the funniest fiction, is received by Marina Lewycka’s partner Donald and her daughter Sonia. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction in 2005.
#VintageBollingerPrize #ChampagneBollinger

And here’s our winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction 2025, Rosanna Pike, for her debut novel A Little Trickerie. Congratulations again, Rosanna, from all the judges and everyone at Everyman’s Library and Champagne Bollinger.
#BEWP2025 #funnyfiction #ChampagneBollinger

The winner of the Vintage Bollinger Prize, celebrating 25 years of the funniest comic fiction, is A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka. We’re incredibly lucky that Marina's enduring legacy is one of laugh-out-loud literature.
#VintageBollingerPrize #BEWP2025 #ChampagneBollinger

The winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction 2025 is A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike! Judge James Naughtie said, “Silky and effervescent, it bubbles with wit and style”. Huge congratulations to Rosanna and the team at Fig Tree
#BEWP2025 #funnyfiction #ChampagneBollinger

Did you spot this interview in @FiveBooks.com with our Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize judge Stephanie Merritt? It’s one week until we announce our winner so it’s the perfect time to try a book from our shortlist!
fivebooks.com/best-books/t...

#bewprize2025 #funnyfiction #bollingerchampagne