On the Origin of Species outlines Charles Darwin's world-changing theory that life on Earth had not been brought into being by a creator, but had arisen from a single common ancestor and had evolved over time through the process of natural selection.
A timely book for today's world, Marcus Aurelius's Meditations explores how to endure hardship, how to cope with change and how to find something positive out of adversity.
In The Time Machine by H. G. Wells - a hugely influential, groundbreaking work of science fiction - a brilliant scientist constructs a machine, which, with the pull of a lever, propels him to the year AD 802,701.
Shooting stars tear across the night sky, then a gigantic artificial cylinder descends from Mars to land near London. Inquisitive locals gather round, only to be struck down by a murderous Heat-Ray.