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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.

Buck, a pet dog used to a peaceful life, is stolen and sold as a sledge dog in the Far North, in the middle of the gold rush. Under the whip and in the cold, he learns the law of the strongest, and the wild instinct of his ancestors slowly awakens in him. A powerful adventure about survival and freedom, in which the wild takes back its own. Jack London's direct, vivid style makes it an ideal first classic to read in the language you are learning.

One evening in London, a terrified neighbour takes refuge in Richard Hannay's flat and reveals a plot against England. A few days later the neighbour is found dead, and Hannay, accused of the murder, has to flee across the Scottish moors, pursued by both the police and the spies. A breathless short spy novel: an ordinary man, hunted by everyone, can count only on his courage and his wits. Its fast pace and direct sentences make it easy to follow in the language you are learning.

A gentleman of La Mancha has read so many tales of chivalry that he loses his mind. Calling himself Don Quixote, he takes to the road on a thin old horse, with Sancho Panza, a talkative peasant full of common sense, to whom he has promised an island. The knight mistakes inns for castles and windmills for giants. Funny and moving at once, this novel gave the whole world a famous image: tilting at windmills. It is often called the first modern novel. With the translation always in front of you, you can read this great classic in the language you are learning.

Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief, steals jewels and paintings from the very rich with elegance and humour, and makes fools of the police. He even warns his victims before he strikes, and constantly escapes those who hunt him. Tricks, disguises and dramatic twists: you never know where he will turn up, or with what face. Its lively, light tone makes it a delightful read in the language you are learning.

In an old sailor's sea chest, young Jim Hawkins finds the map of an island where a pirate has hidden his treasure. He sails as cabin boy aboard the Hispaniola, but part of the crew, led by the one-legged cook Long John Silver, has plans of its own. Treasure maps, mutinies, a parrot on the shoulder: this is the novel that fixed for ever the image of the pirate in our imagination. Full of action and twists, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

In Marseille in 1815, the young sailor Edmond Dantès is arrested on the day of his engagement, on a false accusation. Locked up without trial in the Château d'If, he meets the Abbé Faria, an old prisoner who educates him and reveals the existence of a hidden treasure. Years later, a rich and mysterious Count of Monte Cristo appears in Paris, among the very people who betrayed him. It is the most famous revenge story in literature, full of disguises and dramatic twists. With its lively dialogue and a new turn in every chapter, the novel is a gripping read in the language you are learning.

In London in 1872, Phileas Fogg, a very methodical English gentleman, bets a fortune that he can travel around the world in eighty days. He leaves that very evening with Passepartout, his new manservant, a resourceful Frenchman. Inspector Fix sets off after them, convinced he is dealing with a thief. By steamer, by train and even on the back of an elephant, Fogg races against the clock, and one surprise follows another right up to the very last page. Full of pace and humour, the novel is easy to read in the language you are learning.

On the banks of the Mississippi, Tom Sawyer, a mischievous boy brought up by his Aunt Polly, prefers adventure to school. As a punishment, he has to whitewash a long fence, and he manages to get his friends to hand over their treasures for the right to paint it for him. One night, with his friend Huckleberry Finn, he secretly witnesses a murder in the graveyard. Running away to an island, a treasure hunt, a cave where you get lost: this is the great novel of a free childhood, funny and a little frightening, and you never forget it. Full of humour and lively dialogue, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

Marlow, an English sailor, agrees to take a steamboat up a great river in Africa, for a company that trades in ivory. All the way upriver, he hears about Kurtz, the company's most brilliant agent. Kurtz, who has settled in the depths of the forest, sends back more ivory on his own than all the others put together. But no one really knows what has become of him out there. This short tale takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the heart of colonisation, where power no longer has any limits. With the translation always in front of you, you can discover this story in the language you are learning.

White Fang, a young wolf with a trace of dog in his blood, is born in the frozen wastes of the Far North, where he learns the law of survival very early. Taken in by humans, he discovers their world, often hard and violent, and becomes a feared fighter. Until the day he meets a man who offers him something other than blows. A great adventure about loyalty and trust, in which a wild animal slowly learns to love. Jack London's direct, vivid style makes it an ideal classic to read in the language you are learning.

After the Trojan War, Odysseus wants to return home to his island of Ithaca. But it will take him ten years of wandering: he faces the Cyclops, escapes the song of the Sirens and resists the charms of the enchantress Circe. Meanwhile, his wife Penelope fends off the suitors who have overrun her palace. It is the greatest adventure in literature, so much so that its title has become a word: an odyssey. With the translation always in front of you, you can read this great tale in the language you are learning.

In 1930, a scientific expedition sets out to explore Antarctica. Beyond mountains higher than the Himalayas, two men fly over a vast stone city, abandoned for millions of years. On its walls, carvings tell the story of its builders, who came from the stars long before mankind. The narrator is writing to stop a new expedition from leaving, and one question drives the whole story: what did they see out there? With the translation always in front of you, you can follow this expedition in the language you are learning.

Brought up in a castle in Westphalia, young Candide learns from his tutor Pangloss that “all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds”. Thrown out for kissing the lovely Cunégonde, he makes his way through war, the Inquisition, the Lisbon earthquake and the American colonies. At every disaster, Candide repeats his master's lesson, and Voltaire mocks, with fierce humour, those who want to explain everything. His phrase about “the best of all possible worlds” has stayed in everyone's memory. Its very short chapters and biting irony make it a tale that is easy to read in the language you are learning.

One evening, two gentlemen come to see Father, who leaves with them and does not come back. His three children, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis, leave London with their mother for a little house in the country, near a railway line. Every morning they wave at the passing train, and an old gentleman at the window ends up waving back. The mystery of the missing father hangs over this tender story full of adventures, in which the children even stop a train by waving red petticoats. Simply written, with plenty of dialogue, the novel is easy to read in the language you are learning.

A man-cub, lost in the Indian jungle, is adopted by a family of wolves who call him Mowgli. Baloo, the old bear, teaches him the Law of the Jungle, and Bagheera, the black panther, watches over him. But the tiger Shere Khan claims the child, and he is biding his time. The book also includes other famous stories, such as that of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the little mongoose who fights two cobras to protect a family. Kipling gives each animal its own character, voice and wisdom. Full of action, these stories can be read one by one in the language you are learning.

In 1866, an unknown sea monster is reported on every ocean. Professor Aronnax sets out to hunt it down, with his servant Conseil and the harpooner Ned Land. Thrown into the sea, they are taken aboard the Nautilus, an extraordinary submarine commanded by the mysterious Captain Nemo. Prisoners of this man who has broken with the world, they travel the oceans of the globe with him and discover the wonders of an undersea world then unknown. But who is Nemo really, and why does he flee dry land? Full of adventure and discovery, this novel is easy to read in the language you are learning.

Ishmael, a young sailor, signs on at Nantucket aboard the Pequod, a whaler commanded by Captain Ahab. Ahab lost a leg to a white sperm whale, Moby Dick, and has only one idea left: to find it and kill it. This novel made the white whale the symbol of every obsession, and its first line, “Call me Ishmael”, is one of the most famous in literature. With the translation always in front of you, you can experience this great sea adventure in the language you are learning.

In sixteenth-century London, Tom Canty, a poor boy whose father beats him, dreams of seeing a real prince. One day, at the palace gates, he is noticed by Prince Edward, son of King Henry VIII. The two boys look as alike as twins. For fun, they swap clothes, and the guards throw the real prince out into the street. Tom has to play the prince without knowing anything about the court, while Edward discovers hunger, thieves and the injustice of his own kingdom. An adventure full of humour, in which each boy learns about the other's life. Full of twists and turns, this classic is easy to read in the language you are learning.

In 1625, young d'Artagnan leaves his native Gascony for Paris, with a ridiculous horse and a letter for the captain of the King's Musketeers. On his very first day he challenges three musketeers, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, to duels, and they become his friends for life. Together they defend the queen against Cardinal Richelieu and the formidable Milady. Duels, wild rides and plots: the great swashbuckling novel, and one of the finest stories of friendship in literature. Full of humour, action and lively dialogue, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

In Hamburg, Professor Lidenbrock, a hot-tempered scientist, deciphers an old parchment with his nephew Axel. In it, an Icelandic alchemist claims to have gone down to the centre of the Earth through the crater of a volcano. The professor sets off at once for Iceland with Axel, who is not at all reassured, and there hires Hans, a guide as calm as he is sturdy. Underground, they discover endless tunnels, a vast sea and creatures long extinct. Jules Verne blends science and imagination so well that you believe in every stage of the journey. Told by Axel, with humour and suspense, the novel is easy to read in the language you are learning.

In a quiet little town in the American West at the start of the twentieth century, two childhood friends have an idea: to make everyone believe that the town is going to become a big city. As long as people believe it, land prices rise. They buy land, lay out a new district and bring in the railway. A humorous satire about easy money, friendship and the fever of speculation. Its lively tone and plentiful dialogue make it an enjoyable read in the language you are learning.

To escape his father, a violent drunkard, and the widow who wants to turn him into a well-behaved boy, Huckleberry Finn fakes his own death. He travels down the Mississippi on a raft with Jim, a runaway slave. Along the river they meet swindlers, feuding families and towns full of danger. In his own boyish words, Huck tells the story of a friendship that overturns everything he has been taught. Hemingway said that all modern American literature comes from this book. With the translation always in front of you, Huck's colourful way of talking and his adventures are a pleasure to read in the language you are learning.

After a shipwreck, Gulliver, a ship's surgeon, wakes up on a beach, tied to the ground by tiny cords: he is among the Lilliputians, a people six inches tall. On later voyages, he in turn becomes tiny in the land of the giants, then discovers a flying island and a country ruled by horses gifted with reason. Behind its fairy-tale air, it is a humorous satire of mankind and its quarrels. The book even left a word in the dictionary: “Lilliputian”. Gulliver tells of his travels like a ship's log, and this great classic is a pleasure to read in the language you are learning.