The Australian home for Penguin Classics
A decent book to read. Not too much to ask, is it?
It was in 1935 when Allen Lane, Managing Director of Bodley Head Publishers, stood on a platform at Exeter railway station looking for something good to read on his journey back to London. His choice was limited to popular magazines and poor-quality paperbacks — the same choice faced every day by the vast majority of readers, few of whom could afford hardbacks. Lane’s disappointment and subsequent anger at the range of books generally available led him to found a company — and change the world.
‘We believed in the existence in this country of a vast reading public for intelligent books at a low price, and staked everything on it’ Sir Allen Lane, 1902—1970, founder of Penguin Books
NEW: Robert Drewe's The Bodysurfers
Set among the surf and sandhills of the Australian beach - and the tidal changes of three generations of the Lang family - this bestselling collection of short stories is an Australian classic. The Bodysurfers vividly evokes the beach, with the scent of the suntan oil, the sting of the sun and a lazy sensuality, all the while hinting at a deep undercurrent of suburban malaise.
From first publication, these poignant and seductive stories marked a major change in Australian literature.
'These stories breathe. Taut yet teeming with life, they are shot through with gritty phrases that catch at one's throat.'
- Sydney Morning Herald
Read an extract
View all new Modern Classics
Review your favourite Penguin Classic
Send us a review of your favourite classic and if we like it we’ll upload it to the website next month. Email it to us at penguinclassics@au.penguingroup.com
Review: Love In The Time of Cholera
(from Gordon, Melbourne) 
Love in the Time of Cholera is one of my favourite books of all time. Gabriel Garcia Marquez brings his characters to life and evokes the sights and sounds of South America in a
way that no one else ever has.
Rating: 10/10
Review: On the Road by Jack Kerouac
(from JJ Symon, Melbourne)
Highway Paradise.
Red eyes, sweat soaked shirt and a visible hum in the body’s extremities, it’s unmistakable. The rhythmic shuffle in the step, the jazz-like foot movements, slow and subtle, it’s the grace and flair of the restless spirit wondering; the hobo-beat readers.
These are your kindred souls, thumbing the same ride, on the same journey, endlessly hunting new kicks and a new understanding. And so it goes that your primary compass is a book, and your guide an author; no longer alive in flesh but very much awake in scripture.
Author Jack Kerouac’s amphetamine-prose masterpiece On the Road was first published in 1957, however its attitude, philosophy and reckless spirit still echoes amongst the best contemporary writers, musicians, actors and poets. The highways may have since been re-surfaced, and the new imported cars may travel along a different American landscape, but the inspiration and characters imbedded within this Beat Generation bible still set the template for every would-be adventure seeking hitch-hiker. Kerouac’s inventive scrolled pages, conceived in one creative 3 week burst, encapsulated a social movement and defined a genre. This story, his story, poses more questions than answers, but it is the journey, not the destination, from which all the great lessons are learnt. Get On the Road now.
Rating: Genius
Robert Drewe's highly-awarded first novel, The Bodysurfers, has been duly published as one of Australia's own Modern Classics this month. Replete with rich, evocative language that conjures up images of the Australian surf and sandhills, his poignant and seductive stories marked a major change in Australian literature.
View all new Modern Classics here
In Granite Island: Portrait of Corsica, Dorothy Carrington sheds light on an highly individualistic island culture whose people have nurtured their love of freedom and political justice, as well as their pride, hospitality and poetry. Far more than a travel book, this is an intoxicating window into a sensual, magical country and its culture.
View all new Black Classics titles here
Rediscover an old friend
Now a new generation can discover a friend for life within the pages of these much-loved Puffin Classics. The range includes favourites such as A Little Princess, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Black Beauty, The Wizard of Oz and Little Women.
Visit the website
Listen to children's author Meg Rosoff talk about her favourite Puffin Classic
The Best Books Ever Written
If you would like a taste test of some of our favourite Penguin Classics around simply click the cover of your choice below.
Publishing Penguin Classics
Lovers of the Classics can enjoy some pearls of wisdom by watching the clips below from Adam Freudenheim, the publisher of 
Clip 1 - Adam talks about Penguin Classics
Clip 2 - Adam's favourite Classics
Clip 3 - Adam talks about Jack Kerouac and On The Road
My Penguin Design
Think you have a flare for cover design? Then why not design your own!
It's simple, we print the words, you do the covers. You can draw, paint, scribble or scratch your own My Penguin cover onto a selection of Penguin Classics. You can even send in your design to the My Penguin Gallery or check out designs from some of our favourite bands including Ryan Adams, Beck and Razorlight. My Penguins are available in all good bookstores now. That cover is naked. Put something on it!
View a list of all the Classics titles available
View the My Penguin Gallery here
View designs from our favourite bands here
Classics Online: Books Blogged by You
Sign up to become involved in the biggest ever Classics blog ever. If you are quick enough you may even be one of our lucky bloggers to receive a randomly chosen FREE Penguin Classic in the post. But make sure you register online to be eligible.
Register and submit a comment here
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