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To escape their obligations, two young men from London society lie with great aplomb. Jack invents a brother called Ernest, and goes by that name whenever he goes off to enjoy himself in town. Algernon invents a sick friend to escape boring dinners. Things get complicated when two young women declare that they will only marry a man named Ernest. It is Oscar Wilde's funniest comedy, in which every line sparkles with wit. Written in short, lively dialogue, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

After years in Paris, Lyubov Ranevskaya returns to her country estate, which is riddled with debt. A decision must be made about the cherry orchard, the garden of her childhood. Around her gather her brother, her daughters, the old manservant, an eternal student and a merchant whose father was a serf of the family. It is Chekhov's last play, which he himself called a comedy: it blends laughter and melancholy in a gentle farewell to a world that is fading away. Written entirely in dialogue, this short play is easy to read in the language you are learning.

Harpagon, a rich bourgeois obsessed with his box full of gold, wants to marry his children to wealthy matches so as to spend nothing, and to marry young Mariane himself. But his son Cléante happens to love Mariane, his daughter Élise loves Valère, and a crafty valet has spotted the box. It is one of Molière's most famous comedies. Its hero has become a common noun in French, “un harpagon”, and his cry “Without a dowry!” has been making people laugh for more than three centuries. Written in lively dialogue and full of mix-ups, this play is easy to read in the language you are learning.

Perdican, who has just taken his doctorate, returns to the family castle, where his father wants him to marry his cousin Camille, who has only just left the convent. Camille rejects him. To sting her, Perdican pretends to court Rosette, a young peasant girl, and the game of pride between the two cousins grows more and more dangerous. Between laughter and tears, this play by Musset holds one of the finest speeches about love, and its title has become a saying in French: you do not trifle with love. Written in short, lively dialogue, it can be read in one sitting in the language you are learning.

Silvia is to marry Dorante, whom she has never seen. To observe him without being recognised, she takes the place of her maid Lisette. But Dorante has had exactly the same idea, and arrives disguised as a manservant. Each then falls in love with someone they believe to be a servant, and no longer knows what to do with their heart. It is Marivaux's most famous comedy, a very subtle game of masks and feelings. Its author even gave a word to the French language: marivaudage. Written in short, lively dialogue, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

In Naples, while their fathers are away, Octave and Léandre have fallen in love. But these two miserly old men would never accept their sons' choice. The valet Scapin gets them out of trouble by inventing trick after trick to fool the fathers, even shutting one of them in a sack to give him a beating. Farce and wit mix in this comedy, in which Molière wrote one of his most famous lines: “What the devil was he doing in that galley?” Written in short, lively dialogue, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

This collection retells six great tragedies by Shakespeare in prose. Here are Prince Hamlet, who wants to avenge his father, Macbeth, driven to crime by his wife, Othello, the jealous Moor, and old King Lear, betrayed by his daughters. Romeo and Juliet, the lovers of Verona, are here too, with the fabulously rich Timon of Athens. Written in 1807 for young readers, these tales keep Shakespeare's own words in the most famous passages. It is the simplest way into his work. Simply told, these stories are easy to read in the language you are learning.

This collection retells fourteen of Shakespeare's comedies and romances in prose. We meet the exiled magician of The Tempest on his island, the fairies who sow confusion in the wood near Athens, the merchant of Venice facing his moneylender, twins who are forever being mistaken for each other and a young woman disguised as a boy. Written in 1807 by Mary Lamb for young readers, these stories full of mix-ups, disguises and happy endings are a very gentle way into Shakespeare. Short and clear, each tale can be read in one sitting in the language you are learning.