Penguin Books Ltd: 3539 books

Inspired by an image of Christ's suffering, Dostoyevsky set out to create a protagonist with "a truly beautiful soul" and to trace the fate of such an individual as he comes into contact with the brutal reality of contemporary society. The novel begins when the innocent epileptic Prince...

'The Kreutzer Sonata' is the self-lacerating confession of a man consumed by sexual jealousy and eaten up by shame and eventually driven to murder his wife. The story caused a sensation when it first appeared and Tolstoy's wife was appalled that he had drawn on their own experiences together to create...

'I did have hallucinations, but did they harm anyone? Who did they harm, that's what I'd like to know!'

Sculptor and architect Bernini was the virtual creator and greatest exponent of Baroque in 17th century Italy. He has left his greatest mark on Rome where Papal patronage provided him with enormous architectural commissions.

Jane de Teliga had it all - a glamorous and fulfilling career as style director for Australia's best-loved magazine, a happy family life and a beautiful home in Sydney's stunning eastern suburbs. But when empty nest syndrome struck, she suddenly found herself wondering what it all meant. Who was she...

Kerry Packer described her as a 'dedicated and brilliant journalist who has achieved greatness in her industry very early and so quickly' and 'a jewel beyond price'. Cold Chisel wrote a song about her. Rupert Murdoch was so impressed by her talents, he asked her to be the editor-in-chief of both the...

The colourful, salacious and sumptuously illustrated story of Covent Garden - the creative heart of Georgian London - from Wolfson Prize-winning author Vic Gatrell SHORT-LISTED FOR THE HESSELL TILTMAN PRIZE 2014 In the teeming, disordered, and sexually charged square half-mile centred...

When policeman Allan Sparkes was awarded a Cross of Valour for rescuing a young boy from a flooded drain, he had no idea that the aftermath would lead to a diagnosis of chronic post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Twenty years of police work - a career he'd loved - had taken their toll....

The long-awaited life story of John Williamson: an Australian icon, a much-loved legend of the music industry and man of the land. Williamson takes us through his life, from growing up on the land in the Mallee and Moree in a family of five boys, to being the voice of Australia. John got a lucky break...

Meet fifteen remarkable Australian (and one Kiwi!) jacks and jills of all trades with a wealth of experiences from the good old days to modern times. Hailing from all walks of life, they share their memories with renowned yarn spinner Sandy Thorne in a collection of stories full of wisdom and wit. There's...

When Shane Crawford was eight years old, he wrote down, 'When I grow up I want to win a Brownlow medal'. He played footy and every sport he could all through school, and made sure he could run faster and longer than everyone else. When he was 18, he was drafted to Hawthorn footy club. After playing...

Beginning with Cimabue and Giotto in the thirteenth century, Vasari traces the development of Italian art across three centuries to the golden epoch of Leonardo and Michelangelo. Great men, and their immortal works, are brought vividly to life, as Vasari depicts the young Giotto scratching his first...

At thirty one, Michelangelo was considered the finest artist in Italy, perhaps the world; long before he died at almost 90 he was widely believed to be the greatest sculptor or painter who had ever lived (and, by his enemies, to be an arrogant, uncouth, swindling miser). For decade after decade,...

Combining the sexual frankness of Fifty Shades of Grey and of Belle de Jour's writing, with the fascinating insights of What the Nanny Saw, Scarlett O'Kelly's memoir of her year as a high-end escort, Paying For It, is an explicit, astonishing and compulsive story of living a double life . Facing...