Regarded by many as one of the first European novels and a classic of its era. Published anonymously in March 1678, and set in the royal court of Henry II of France a century earlier, it tells the story of the unspoken and unrequited love between Mme de Cleves and the irresistible Duc de Nemours. It recreates that era with remarkable precision as a backdrop for a poignant study of the human heart.

The work opens with an unnamed narrator listening to the reading of a manuscript written many years ago by a now dead young governess. The governess relates that soon after arriving to work in the house she learns that her predecessor had died under mysterious circumstances. As the tale unfolds the reader has room to doubt the reality of the evil that the governess feels is approaching.

Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), published in 1889, is a humorous account by Jerome K. Jerome of a boating holiday on the Thames between Kingston and Oxford. The trip has been recreated many times since most recently in 2005 for the BBC. Quotes and references turn up regularly, ranging from references in Robert A. Heinlein's 1958 Have space suit will travel through to the 2006 film Pirates of the Caribbean.

In Utopia (1516) Thomas More concocts a place, an island, with what he considers to be desirable religious, social and political practices - a place very unlike where he actually lived. It is a place "like Plato's Republic, only better". Utopia is often discussed for its political ideas and is seen as the seed for communist political thought, it is a great piece of work that continues to generate political discussion. Thought provoking through the ages.

Publishers Weekly #1 Best Seller for 1900.

English soldier turned Virginia explorer unknowingly becomes entangled in royal intrigue when he makes a quick marriage. The author drives the plot through a series of adventures, each revealing more of the essential nature of the characters.

One Americas most popular historical novels and very hard to put down.

An account of Ruhl's experiences in almost all WWI's hot spots.

A political analysis of the causes and justifications of the war against the Ottoman Empire and the eventual ill fated Gallipoli landings of the ANZACs. Full of historical background, for example the apparent origin of the phrase "Young Turk" from a new Ottoman regime just before WWI. Presented for it's historical interest, the views of the author are his own.