Barchester Towers - With Audio Level 6 Oxford Bookworms Library

Anthony Trollope

A level 6 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Retold for Learners of English by Clare West. Mrs Proudie, the warlike wife of the new Bishop of Barchester, brings the Reverend Slope into the Bishop's Palace to help dominate her husband and rule the local clergy. But Slope is a snake in the grass, determined to find a rich wife, to win advancement for himself, even to fight Mrs Proudie if necessary. Their battle becomes a furious dance, involving rich, pretty Widow Bold, angry Archdeacon Grantly, man-eating Signora Neroni, gentle Mr Harding, confused Parson Quiverful and his fourteen noisy children. This classic comic story is Trollope's most famous novel.

The Thirty-Nine Steps Level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library

Buchan, John

A level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Nick Bullard '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 to 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 these people? And why do they want Hannay dead?

The Withered Arm Level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library

Hardy, Thomas

A level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library graded readers. Retold for Learners of English by Jennifer Bassett A woman and a man . . . words of love whispered on a summer night. Later, there is a child, but no wedding-ring. And then the man leaves the first woman, finds a younger woman, marries her . . . It's an old story. Yes, it's an old, old story. It happens all the time -- today, tomorrow, a hundred years ago. People don't change. But this story, set among the green hills of southern England, has something different about it. Perhaps it is only a dream, or perhaps it is magic - a kind of strange dark magic that begins in the world of dreams and phantoms . . .

Dead Man's Island Level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library

Escott, John

A level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library graded readers. Written for Learners of English by John Escott Mr Ross lives on an island where no visitors come. He stops people from taking photographs of him. He is young and rich, but he looks sad. And there is one room in his house which is always locked. Carol Sanders and her mother come to the island to work for Mr Ross. Carol soon decides that there is something very strange about Mr Ross. Where did he get his money from? How can a young man buy an island? So she watches, and she listens - and one night she learns what is behind the locked door.

Les Miserables - With Audio Level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library

Bassett, Jennifer

A level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Retold for Learners of English by Jennifer Bassett. France, 1815. Jean Valjean leaves prison after nineteen years. These are dangerous and troubled times, and life is hard. Valjean must begin a new life, but how can he escape his past, and his enemy, Inspector Javert? This story for Bookworms is loosely based on the famous novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, one of France's greatest writers. The novel was written in 1862, and the story has been retold many times - in a musical, in plays for radio and theatre, and in more than fifty films for television and cinema.

John F. Kennedy Level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library

Collins, Anne

A level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Written for Learners of English by Anne Collins. 'Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.' More than fifty years ago, the new US President, John F. Kennedy, spoke these words. Millions of Americans listened, and they were filled with hope. With Kennedy as president, surely there was a great future ahead for their country. But Kennedy would not finish his four years as president. In November 1963, the world stopped as terrible news came from Dallas, Texas . . .

Huckleberry Finn Level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library

Twain, Mark

A level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Diane Mowat Who wants to live in a house, wear clean clothes, be good, and go to school every day? Not young Huckleberry Finn, that's for sure. So Huck runs away, and is soon floating down the great Mississippi River on a raft. With him is Jim, a black slave who is also running away. But life is not always easy for the two friends. And there's 300 dollars waiting for anyone who catches poor Jim . . .

The Girl with Green Eyes - With Audio Starter Level Oxford Bookworms Library

Escott, John

A Starter level Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Written for Learners of English by John Escott. Greg is a porter at the Shepton Hotel in New York. When a girl with beautiful green eyes asks him for help, Greg can't say no. The girl's name is Cassie, and she says she is an artist. She tells Greg that her stepfather has her sketchbooks, and now she wants them back. Cassie says her stepfather is staying at Greg's hotel . . . so what could go wrong?

Love among the Haystacks - With Audio Level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library

Lawrence, D. H.

A level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Retold for Learners of English by Jennifer Bassett. It is hay-making time on the Wookey farm. Two brothers are building the haystack, but thinking about other things - about young women, and love. There are angry words, and then a fight between the brothers. But the work goes on, visitors come and go, and the long hot summer day slowly turns to evening. Then the sun goes down, covering the world with a carpet of darkness. From the hedges around the hayfield comes the rich, sweet smell of wild flowers, and the hay will make a fine, soft bed . . .

Sherlock Holmes: Two Plays - With Audio Level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan

A level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Retold for Learners of English by John Escott. Sherlock Holmes is the greatest detective the world has ever seen, and he knows it. As the famous bank-robber, John Clay, says to him, 'You think of everything, Mr Holmes. You're very clever.' People come to him with problems that no one, not even the police, can solve. Holmes sits, and thinks, and smokes his pipe, and in the end he finds the answer. In these plays, based on two of his stories, Holmes, helped by his old friend, Dr Watson, uses his great intelligence to solve two unusual and interesting cases.

Last Chance Starter Level Oxford Bookworms Library

Burrows Phillip, Foster Mark

A Starter level Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Written for Learners of English by Phillip Burrows and Mark Foster. 'How can Mr Frank be angry now?' thinks Mike happily. His film is good and he is the only cameraman on the volcano. Now he can go home. But then he finds Jenny and she is dying. Rocks start to move and Mike is afraid. Can they get off the volcano alive? And what happens to Mike's camera and film?  

The Picture of Dorian Gray Level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library

Wilde, Oscar

A level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Jill Nevile 'When we are happy, we are always good', says Lord Henry, 'but when we are good, we are not always happy.' Lord Henry's lazy, clever words lead the young Dorian Gray into a world where it is better to be beautiful than to be good; a world where anything can be forgiven - even murder - if it can make people laugh at a dinner party.

The Canterville Ghost - With Audio Level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library

Wilde, Oscar

A level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Retold for Learners of English by John Escott. There has been a ghost in the house for three hundred years, and Lord Canterville's family have had enough of it. So Lord Canterville sells his grand old house to an American family. Mr Hiram B. Otis is happy to buy the house and the ghost - because of course Americans don't believe in ghosts. The Canterville ghost has great plans to frighten the life out of the Otis family. But Americans don't frighten easily - especially not two noisy little boys - and the poor ghost has a few surprises waiting for him.

Far from the Madding Crowd - With Audio Level 5 Oxford Bookworms Library

Hardy, Thomas

A level 5 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Retold for Learners of English by Clare West. Bathsheba Everdene is young, proud, and beautiful. She is an independent woman and can marry any man she chooses - if she chooses. In fact, she likes her independence, and she likes fighting her own battles in a man's world. But it is never wise to ignore the power of love. There are three men who would very much like to marry Bathsheba. When she falls in love with one of them, she soon wishes she had kept her independence. She learns that love brings misery, pain, and violent passions that can destroy lives . . .

The Human Body - With Audio Level 3 Factfiles Oxford Bookworms Library

Raynham, Alex

A level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Written for Learners of English by Alex Raynham. You're fast asleep, and nothing is happening. Or is it? In fact, your body is hard at work. Your lungs are taking oxygen from the air, and your heart is pumping blood round your body. Millions of pieces of information are travelling backwards and forwards to your brain all the time. Muscles are repairing themselves, and in your lymph nodes special cells are cleaning germs and waste from the body. You may think that nothing is happening, but in the extraordinary machine that is the human body, it is very busy indeed . . .

A Ghost in Love and Other Plays Level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library

Dean, Michael

A level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Written for Learners of English by Michael Dean. Do you believe in ghosts? Jerry doesn't. He's a nineteen-year-old American, who just wants a good holiday with his friend, Brad. They are travelling round the north of England by bicycle. But strange things begin to happen in the small hotel where they are staying. First, Brad seems to think that he has been there before. And then a girl called Ellen appears . . . The first of these three original plays is set in the seventeenth century, and the other two take place in modern times. In each play, a ghost comes back from the dead to change the lives of living people.