P-Wave Classics

The Misfortunes of Elphin: Taliesin, Wales and Bardic Resistance

The Misfortunes of Elphin turns Welsh legend into a comic romance about Taliesin, failed rulers and bardic resistance. Through the lens of Homer's epic poetry and Christopher Nolan's retelling of The Odyssey, we look at how Peacock uses song as memory, judgement and cultural survival. Read More…

The Conversation Continues: Hermsprong Volume II Is Published

Volume II of Robert Bage’s Hermsprong is published today in paperback and ebook. The novel’s arguments about rank, authority and women’s independence now move into sharper conflict. Read More…

Maid Marian, Robin Hood and the Politics of Romance

Maid Marian turns the Robin Hood legend into a comic romance about liberty, authority and justice. Peacock’s greenwood is not a blueprint for reform, but a place where corrupt power can be laughed at and evaded. Read More…

Nightmare Abbey and the Comedy of Literary Celebrity

Nightmare Abbey does not mock Romantic poetry from a distance: Peacock knew the world he was satirising. This post looks at Shelley, Byron, Coleridge and the early nineteenth-century making of literary celebrity. Read More…

Nightmare Abbey and the Cult of Melancholy

Nightmare Abbey turns Gothic gloom and Romantic melancholy into comedy. Peacock’s target is not sorrow itself, but the moment despair becomes style, system and self-display. Read More…

Headlong Hall: Peacock’s Comic Laboratory

Headlong Hall is Peacock’s first comic experiment: a country-house gathering where every guest seems to have a theory. The joke is not that ideas are foolish, but that clever people so often turn partial truths into complete systems. Read More…

The Female Quixote Volume I Is Now Available

Volume I of Charlotte Lennox's The Female Quixote is now available in a restored two-volume edition from P-Wave Classics. Discover one of the eighteenth century's most original and thought-provoking heroines. Read More…

The Price of Becoming Sensible: Arabella's Cure in The Female Quixote

Arabella's cure appears to restore order and common sense. Yet The Female Quixote leaves open a more troubling question: what is lost when imagination yields to reality? Read More…

Arabella Refuses to Dress Properly: Clothing and Femininity in The Female Quixote

Arabella's clothes in The Female Quixote are beautiful, expensive, and entirely wrong. That is precisely the point. Read More…

Arabella Lives Inside Fiction: Reading, Reality and The Female Quixote

Arabella does not merely read romances, she lives inside them. Charlotte Lennox's novel explores how stories shape identity, perception, and our understanding of reality itself. Read More…

Why Is Hermsprong Published in Three Volumes?

Why is Hermsprong being published in three volumes? The answer reveals how novels were originally written, published and read in the late eighteenth century. Read More…

The Female Quixote Is Not a Female Don Quixote

Charlotte Lennox’s The Female Quixote is often described as a female version of Don Quixote. But Arabella’s romance-shaped imagination reveals something far stranger — and more unsettling — about the world around her. Read More…

Why Hermsprong Still Matters: Publication Day for Volume I

Volume I of Robert Bage’s Hermsprong is published today by P-Wave Classics. A radical satire of class, gender and social hypocrisy, restored to its original three-volume form. Read More…

Women, Education and Equality in Hermsprong

What did education prepare women for in the 1790s: thought, work or marriage? In Hermsprong, Robert Bage exposes the assumptions that kept women praised in theory but constrained in practice. Read More…

Maria Fluart in Hermsprong: Wit, Power and a Radical Heroine

Maria Fluart is not merely a strong heroine, she is a problem for polite society. In Hermsprong, Robert Bage uses wit and humour to expose the limits placed on women in the 1790s. Read More…

Why We Make Classics This Way

P-Wave Classics are made to be read, not merely admired from a distance. Here’s why our editions use compact paperbacks, readable type, standard paperback paper and restored volume structures where appropriate. Read More…

The Coquette Is Published: A New P-Wave Classics Edition

The Coquette is published today in a new P-Wave Classics edition. Explore its themes, history and continuing relevance through our four-part essay series. Read More…

The Many Meanings of Eliza Wharton: Judgement and Reputation

How Eliza Wharton’s story in The Coquette has been judged and reinterpreted for over two centuries. A reflection on reputation, morality and the ongoing scrutiny of women’s lives. Read More…

Against London: Robert Bage, Cultural Snobbery and Hermsprong

Why does Hermsprong largely ignore London? Robert Bage’s novel challenges the cultural dominance of the capital and gives voice to a growing provincial readership in late eighteenth-century Britain. Read More…

The Female Quixote, Volume I: Imagination, Reality and the Power of Books

To celebrate its launch, a reflection on Charlotte Lennox’s The Female Quixote and the enduring power of books to shape imagination, expectation and desire. Exploring Arabella’s world, where fiction and reality collide with surprising and unsettling consequences. Read More…

Letters, Privacy and the Public Eye in The Coquette

How private letters shaped public reputation in The Coquette. A reflection on communication, judgement and the fragility of privacy then and now. Read More…

Why Hermsprong Walks: Class and Independence in Robert Bage’s Radical Novel

Why does Hermsprong insist on travelling everywhere on foot? In late eighteenth-century Britain, walking signalled social rank, and Bage turns that simple act into a quiet challenge to the hierarchy of polite society. Read More…

From Scandal to Story: How Elizabeth Whitman Became Eliza Wharton

The real-life tragedy behind The Coquette. How Elizabeth Whitman’s story became one of early America’s most enduring novels. Read More…

Why Robert Bage’s Hermsprong Matters Now

P-Wave Classics publishes Volume I of Robert Bage’s Hermsprong (1796), restoring the radical novel to its original three-volume form. A bold satire of privilege and power, newly introduced and annotated. Read More…

Buying Direct: A Small Invitation to Our Readers

Readers can now buy P-Wave Press paperback and hardback editions directly from our website at a reduced price. A quiet way to support an independent publisher and join our growing literary journey. Read More…

Reading The Coquette in 2026: reputation, restraint, and the limits of female freedom

Why does The Coquette still matter in 2026? A reflection on reputation, restraint and the limits of female freedom, then and now, as pre-orders open for a new P-Wave Classics edition. Read More…

“She is still being talked about”: Why The Coquette still matters

A fresh edition of Hannah Webster Foster’s landmark novel The Coquette, exploring freedom, judgement and reputation in early America. Featuring rare historical responses and new editorial insight. Read More…

Wishing You Peace, Connection and Joy This Festive Season

As 2025 draws to a close, we reflect on a wonderful year for P-Wave Press and send heartfelt wishes of peace, connection and joy to all. Here’s to good stories, new discoveries and meaningful moments in 2026. Read More…

Launch Day: Crotchet Castle & Gryll Grange is Here!

Celebrate the launch of Crotchet Castle & Gryll Grange by Thomas Love Peacock, now available in a beautifully presented new edition from P-Wave Classics. Two comic gems from a forgotten master of satire, updated for today’s reader. Read More…

The Season of Books: Autumn Evenings and a Rolling Super Thursday

As autumn settles in, we're celebrating the season of books—from cosy reading moments to the exciting releases ahead, including our next P-Wave Classic. Read More…

The Joy of Discovery in the Classics

The current wave of enthusiasm for classics reflects the joy of discovery. At P-Wave Press, we find that same spirit in the radical literature of the late 18th and early 19th century, where writers challenged society across class and gender. Read More…

Forthcoming Publication: Crotchet Castle & Gryll Grange

On 23 October we publish Crotchet Castle & Gryll Grange, bringing together Thomas Love Peacock’s two final and most accomplished novels. Readers can preview the book now, pre-order the ebook, or request it on NetGalley. Read More…

Publication Day: Maid Marian & The Misfortunes of Elphin

Today marks the publication of Maid Marian & The Misfortunes of Elphin, the second title in the P-Wave Classics series. Join us as we continue our journey into the wit, satire and charm of Thomas Love Peacock. Read More…

Announcing the Next P-Wave Classic: Maid Marian & The Misfortunes of Elphin

We’re thrilled to announce the next P-Wave Classic: Maid Marian & The Misfortunes of Elphin by Thomas Love Peacock, releasing on 4 September 2025. Pre-order now or request an advance review copy! Read More…

Order Direct from P-Wave Press

You can now order P-Wave Press paperbacks and hardbacks directly from our website! Plus, we have a rich autumn lineup coming soon, including new P-Wave Classics and more from L.A. Davenport. Read More…

Tuesday Book Club: Our Own P-Wave Classic!

This week’s #TuesdayBookClub celebrates the launch of our first P-Wave Classic: Headlong Hall & Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock. An all-new edition with fresh introductions and notes to bring Peacock’s wit and satire to a new generation of readers. Read More…

Headlong Hall and Nightmare Abbey Out Now

P-Wave Press launches its new P-Wave Classics imprint with Headlong Hall and Nightmare Abbey—two sparkling satires by Thomas Love Peacock, now available in paperback and ebook. A witty, philosophical rediscovery of one of English literature’s overlooked voices. Read More…

The Inaugural Release of P-Wave Classics

P-Wave Press launches its new imprint, P-Wave Classics, with Headlong Hall and Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock. Discover timeless satire and wit in this beautifully crafted edition, available 11 April 2025. Read More…