Books published by Alma Books Ltd

Set against the chequered background of the city of the six Ps - Pope, priests, princes, prostitutes, parasites and the poor - Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli' poems deal with life's elementals. This selection of poems represent people from every course and manner of life - housewives, mothers, beggars, lovers, popes, thieves, gossips and more.

Details Rossini's early life followed by discussions in the operas, libretti, personalities of the period, and on Rossini's own character. This work includes a whole chapter devoted to his sense of humour.

English National Opera Guides are ideal companions to the opera. They provide stimulating introductory articles together with the complete text of each opera in English and the original.

Contains more than thirty photographs covering performances of Don Giovanni to the present day, a detailed thematic analysis, the libretto in Italian with a facing literal translation, an up-to-date bibliography and a discography, as well as DVD and website guides.

A delightful variation on the long tradition of bestiary writing, Jules Renard's short verse and prose poems have captured the imagination of readers and artists since they were originally written in 1894.

This is Gogol's humour at its best, where the most irrelevant-seeming details and turns of phrase suddenly take on a bizarre life of their own.

In 1807, Charles Lamb and his sister Mary wrote a collection of stories retelling twenty of Shakespeare's plays for children. Ranging from Romeo and Juliet to the delightful fancy of A Midsummer Night's Dream and the humour of As You Like it, this collection of vivid adaptations offers budding readers an accessible route to Shakespeare's works.

The most widely staged dramatist after Shakespeare, Chekhov left a deep mark both on the development of Russian literature and world theatre, with plays that were remarkable not just for their dialogue but their atmosphere and the tensions expressed between the lines. This title collects four of Chekhov's most celebrated plays.

Orphaned at an early age, Heidi has been brought up by her mother's sister Dete in Switzerland. Having been offered a job in Frankfurt, however, her aunt is forced to entrust her young charge into the care of her grandfather, the reclusive Alp-Uncle who lives in the mountains without any interaction with the villagers beneath.

Verse translation by prize-winning translator with facing Italian text. Part of Alma Classics' collection of Dante's complete Italian works, this edition is fully annotated.

Part of Alma Classics Evergreen series of popular classics, this edition is fully annotated and contains extra material.

Seen as Dostoevsky's most powerful indictment of man's propensity to violence, this darkly humorous work, shot through with grotesque comedy, is presented here in Roger Cockrell's masterful new translation.

A heartwarming tale that has become one of the most loved children's stories of all time, Eleanor H. Porter's 1913 bestseller - here presented with illustrations by Kate Hindley - is a beautiful story with a powerful moral message.

New edition of one of the greatest children's classics of English literature. It features stunning illustrations by Susan Hellard and it Includes extra material for young readers.

New edition of one of the greatest children's classics of English literature. It includes extra material for young readers.

New edition of one of the greatest children's classics of English literature. It includes extra material for young readers.

Illustrated by Ella Okstad, this new edition includes extra material for young readers.

When Celine's first novel, Journey to the End of the Night was first published in 1932, it created an instant scandal. Four years later came the sequel, Death on Credit. Both were a new kind of novel, frank about the author's thoughts and actions in ways that readers had never encountered.

These inventive and entertaining pieces display the early sparkles of wit and imagination of Jane Austen's mature fiction. Written when she was only in her teens, they are by turns amusing, acerbic and occasionally downright silly.