Full catalogue

Alice, a curious little girl, follows a white rabbit in a great hurry and falls down a rabbit hole that leads her to a strange land. There she grows, shrinks, and meets the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and a queen who wants to cut off everyone's head. Between dream and nonsense, this tale plays endlessly with words and logic, and is just as enjoyable at any age. Its simple sentences and lively dialogue make it an ideal first classic to read in the language you are learning.

Carried off by a tornado with her little dog Toto, Dorothy, a girl from Kansas, lands in a marvellous country. To get home, she must go and see the great Wizard of Oz, and she travels with a scarecrow who would like a brain, a Tin Woodman who would like a heart and a lion who would like some courage. This tale full of fantasy is about friendship, courage and self-confidence. Simply written, in short sentences, it is an ideal first classic to read in the language you are learning.

These two St Petersburg stories each follow a minor civil servant. Akaky Akakievich, a copying clerk mocked by his colleagues, goes without for months to have a new overcoat made. Kovalyov, for his part, wakes up one morning without his nose, and soon meets it in the street, in uniform and of a higher rank than his own. Gogol mixes laughter and pity, in a city where the absurd rules. Dostoevsky is credited with a famous line: “We all came out of Gogol's Overcoat.” You can read each of these short stories in one sitting in the language you are learning.

On Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge, an old miser who hates the festive season, is visited by the ghost of his former partner, chained for all eternity. Then three spirits come for him, one after another, to show him his past, his present and his future. Dickens turns a ghost story into a warm fable about generosity and the possibility of change. This tale did a great deal to shape the spirit of Christmas as we still celebrate it today. Full of life and humour, this short tale is easy to read in the language you are learning, and ideal for a winter's evening.

One winter evening, Alice climbs through the drawing-room mirror and finds a house where everything is reversed. Outside, the countryside forms a huge chessboard, which Alice must cross square by square to become a queen. On the way she meets Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Humpty Dumpty sitting on his wall, and a Red Queen who keeps running just to stay in the same place. In this sequel to “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland”, the games with words and logic are even more plentiful. It is here that the famous poem “Jabberwocky” appears. Its simple sentences and lively dialogue make it an ideal classic to read in the language you are learning.

In St Petersburg, Hermann, a young officer, watches his fellow officers play cards every night without ever placing a bet himself. He learns that an old countess is said to know the secret of three cards that always win. To get close to her, he courts Lizaveta, the poor young woman who lives with the countess, and one night he slips into the house. This short story by Pushkin builds the tension right to the end, and leaves a doubt hanging: chance, madness or the supernatural? You can read it in one sitting in the language you are learning.

This collection brings together nine fairy tales by Oscar Wilde. A golden statue and a swallow help the poor of the town, a nightingale wants to give a red rose to a student in love, and a selfish giant sees his garden stay locked in winter. We also meet a young king, an Infanta and a fisherman ready to give up his soul. Written for children as much as for adults, these poetic and ironic tales still move readers more than a century later. You can read each tale in one sitting in the language you are learning.

This collection brings together forty tales gathered by the Brothers Grimm: Snow White and the queen's magic mirror, Hansel and Gretel lost in the forest, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and lesser-known ones such as “The Blue Light”. Here we meet witches, talking animals and clever young heroes. These are the tales children have been told for two centuries, here in the text of the Grimms' last edition, from 1857, which is often darker than the versions we know. Short and simply written, they can be read one by one in the language you are learning.

John Carter, a former officer from Virginia, takes refuge in a cave in Arizona and suddenly finds himself on Mars. Because gravity there is weaker, he makes huge leaps and becomes astonishingly strong. Captured by giant green warriors, he wins their respect, then meets Dejah Thoris, a princess who is a prisoner like him. This novel, the first in a long series of adventures on Mars, has inspired generations of science fiction writers. Fights, friendship and love follow one another without a dull moment. Told by John Carter himself, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

The secret son of King Uther, young Arthur is brought up by the knight Ector without knowing anything of his birth. At fifteen, he pulls from a stone the sword that no lord had been able to move, and becomes king. Around the Round Table, Lancelot, Tristram and Galahad set off on adventures and on the quest for the Grail. Merlin, Excalibur, Camelot: these legends, retold here from Thomas Malory, have inspired countless stories of knights. Told in a clear, lively style, they are a pleasure to read in the language you are learning.

In the Spain of old legends, a hunter finds a woman with green eyes beside a hidden spring. A young poet runs through the night after an unknown woman who may be nothing but a moonbeam. Elsewhere, a blind organist plays music that lives on after death. This collection brings together six of these tales, somewhere between dream and shiver. Bécquer, a great poet of Spanish Romanticism, tells them as if by the fireside, in a simple, musical style. Each tale is short and can be read in one sitting in the language you are learning.

On Christmas Eve, little Marie finds a wooden nutcracker among the presents. When her brother Fritz breaks three of the poor toy's teeth, she takes it under her protection. Left alone in the drawing room, she sees the toys come to life and do battle with an army of mice, led by a seven-headed king. We also hear the story of Princess Pirlipat, in a fantasy stranger than you might think, where you never quite know whether Marie is dreaming. With the translation always in front of you, this short tale can be read in one sitting in the language you are learning.

Ruined and determined to die, young Raphaël de Valentin walks into an antique shop, where the dealer offers him an animal skin covered in signs. This talisman grants every wish of its owner, but it shrinks with each wish, and its owner's life grows shorter with it. Rich overnight, Raphaël must choose between living long and living out his desires. Balzac blends the supernatural with a portrait of the Paris of his day. The novel left an expression still used in France: to shrink “like the peau de chagrin”. With the translation always in front of you, you can read this great novel in the language you are learning.