| OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIST A: summaries A tale of two cities ‘The marquis lay there, like stone, with a knife pushed into his heart. On his chest lay a piece of paper, with the words : Drive him fast to his grave. This is from JACQUES.’ The French revolution brings terror and death to many people. But even in these troubled times people can still love and be kind. They can be generous and true-hearted … and brave. The dead of Jericho Chief Inspector Morse is drinking a pint of beer. He is thinking about an attractive woman who lives not far away. The woman he is thinking of is hanging, dead, from the ceiling of her kitchen. On the floor lies a chair, almost two metres away from the woman’s feet. Chief Inspector Morse finishes his pint, and orders another. Perhaps he will visit Anne, after all. But he is in no particular hurry. Meanwhile, Anne is still hanging in her kitchen, waiting for the police to come and cut her down. She is in no hurry, either. Little women When Christmas comes for the four March girls, there is no money for expensive presents and they give away their Christmas breakfast to a poor family. But there are no happier girls in America than Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. They miss their father, of course, who is away at the Civil War, but they try hard to be good so he will be proud of his ‘little women’ when he comes home. This heart-warming story of family life has been popular for more than a hundred years. Heat and dust Heat and dust – these simple, terrible words describe the Indian summer. Year after year, endlessly, it is the same. And everyone who experiences this heat and dust is changed forever. We often say, in these modern times, that sexual relationships have changed, for better or for worse. But in this book we see that things have not changed. Whether we look back sixty years, or a hundred and sixty, we see that it is not things that change, but people. And, in the heat and dust of an Indian summer, even people are not very different after all. The thirty-nine steps “I turned on the light, but there was nobody there. Then I saw something in the corner that made my blood turn cold. Scudder was lying on his back. There was a long knife through his heart, pinning him to the floor.” Soon Richard Hannay is running for his life across the hills of Scotland. The police are chasing him for a murder he did not do, and another more dangerous enemy is chasing him as well – the mysterious ‘Black Stone’. Who are all these people ? And why do they want Hannay dead ? This rough magic The Greek island of Corfu lies like a jewel, green and gold in the Ionian sea, where dolphins swim in the sparkling blue water. What better place for an out-of-work actress to relax for a few weeks ? But the island is full of danger and mysteries, and Lucy Waring’s holiday is far from peaceful. She meets a rude young man, who seems to have something to hide. Then there is a death by drowning, and then another … Meteor It was just a smooth round metal ball, less than a metre in diameter. Although it was still hot from its journey through the huge nothingness of space, it looked quite harmless. But what was it, exactly ? A meteor, perhaps – just one of those pieces of rock from outer space that occasionally fall down on to the planet Earth. But meteors don’t usually make strange hissing sounds … In this collection of four of his famous science fiction stories, John Wyndham creates visions of the future that make us think carefully about the way we live now. Treasure island “Suddenly, there was a high voice screaming in the darkness : Pieces of eight ! Pieces of eight ! Pieces of eight! It was Long John Silver’s parrot, Captain Flint! I turned to run …” But young Jim Hawkins does not escape from the pirates this time. Will he and his friends find the treasure before the pirates do ? Will they escape from the island, and sail back to England with a ship full of gold ? |