For the full-size B&N books, first off we have a collection of Victorian-era ‘penny-dreadful’ tales – the term derives from cheap popular serial literature that was published during the nineteenth century in the UK – the stories were published in weekly parts, each costing a penny, and usually focused on sensational subjects, like detectives or supernatural mysteries. I love the binding on this one. Unfortunately a lot of bulk of the book is taken up by a couple of long novels – the original edition of Frankenstein, and The String of Pearls (which is the story of Sweeney Todd) and most of the rest of the stories are classics such as stories by Edgar Allen Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle, so I had already read much of the contents. It’s a fun idea though! Next we have Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, which I have to confess I bought because I fell in love with the cover design. The text inside is tiny, and the paper is very flimsy, so sadly I think it’s more of a display version rather than a reading one. And talking of display versions – I was really disappointed with the Beauty and the Beast collection – the binding is gorgeous, again, but inside it is just a selection of stories from Andrew Lang’s fairy book – focusing on stories with pretty girls (or beauties) or animals (beasts). No illustrations, which is a waste for these stories as far as I am concerned – I had anticipated some of the original pictures would be included – caveat emptor! Fairy Tales from Around the World, however, is lovely inside and out. It is also a selection taken from Andrew Lang’s fairy tale books – and there is a lot of overlap with the Beauty & the Beast book – but this one is profusely illustrated with classic period images by Henry Justice Ford. It’s a much better buy, if you’re ever looking for one of these.