A collection of nineteenth-century fantastic literature - from enchantments and horrors to subtler, psychological terrors. It includes Hoffmann's The Sandman , Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart and Dickens' The Signal-Man , and works...

A couple on a journey across Mexico are excited by the idea of a particular ingredient, suggested by ancient rituals of human sacrifice. Precariously balanced on his throne, a king is able only to listen to the sounds around him -...

Viscount Medardo is bisected by a Turkish cannonball on the plains of Bohemia; These three vivid images are the points of departure for Calvino's classic triptych of moral tales, now published in one volume and all displaying the...

This dazzling collection of stories follows the individual adventures of a varied cast of characters and masterfully illustrates Calvino's unique perspective and narrative gifts. As well as the eleven tales from his Difficult...

'I can think of no finer writer to have beside me while Italy explodes, Britain burns, while the world ends' Salman Rushdie From the age of twelve, the Baron Cosimo Piovasco di Rondo makes his home among ash, elm, magnolia,...

An empty suit of armor is the hero in this witty novella, a picaresque gem that brilliantly parodies medieval knighthood.

Intricate interior lives are brilliantly explored in these short stories, now presented in this collection as Calvino intended them.

Appearing here in its first English translation, Into the War contains three stories drawing on Italo Calvino's memories of the Second World War in Italy.