Anthologies & Short Stories

Book Synopsis‘This anthology of literary fiction features an all-star ensemble’ Cosmopolitan‘A reflective and must-read collection’ StylistKink is a groundbreaking anthology of literary short fiction exploring love and desire, BDSM, and interests across the sexual spectrum, edited by lauded writers R.O. Kwon and Garth Greenwell, and featuring a roster of all-star contributors including Alexander Chee, Roxane Gay, Carmen Maria Machado, and more.Kink is a dynamic anthology of literary fiction that opens an imaginative door into the world of desire. The stories within this collection portray love, desire, BDSM, and sexual kinks in all their glory with a bold new vision. The collection includes works by renowned fiction writers such as Callum Angus, Alexander Chee, Vanessa Clark, Melissa Febos, Kim Fu, Roxane Gay, Cara Hoffman, Zeyn Joukhadar, Chris Kraus, Carmen Mari

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Book SynopsisFrom New York Times bestseller Marjorie Liu comes six dark, lush, and spellbinding short stories and one novella, full of unexpected detours, dangerous magic, and even more dangerous women . New York Times bestseller and Hugo, British Fantasy, Romantic Times, and Eisner award-winning author of the graphic novel Monstress, Marjorie Liu leads you deep into the heart of the tangled woods. In her long-awaited debut collection of dark, lush, and spellbinding short fiction, you will find unexpected detours, dangerous magic, and even more dangerous women. Briar, bodyguard for a body-stealing sorceress, discovers her love for Rose, whose true soul emerges only once a week. An apprentice witch seeks her freedom through betrayal, the bones of the innocent, and a meticulously plotted spell. In a world powered by crystal skulls, a warrior returns to save China from invasion by her jealous ex. A princess runs away from an arranged marriage, finding family in a strange troupe of traveling actors at the border of the kingdom's deep, dark woods. Concluding with a gorgeous full-length novella, Marjorie Liu's first short fiction collection is an unflinching sojourn into her thorny tales of love, revenge, and new beginnings.

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Book SynopsisThe perfect festive treat: a beautifully illustrated book of Christmas stories and recipes from the Booker prize long-listed author.'Packed with charm and beautifully illustrated, it's a book that will solve your gift dilemmas and let you escape the less salubrious aspects of Christmas for a literary wonderland' StylistEverybody loves a Christmas story. The tradition of the Twelve Days of Christmas is a tradition of celebration, sharing and giving. And what better way to do that than with a story?Read these stories by the fire, in the snow, travelling home for the holidays. Give them to friends, wrap them up for someone you love, read them aloud, read them alone, read them together. Enjoy the season of peace and goodwill, mystery, and a little bit of magic.There are ghosts here and jovial spirits. Chances at love and tricks with time.There is frost and icicles, mistletoe and sledges. There's a cat and a dog and a solid silver frog. There's a Christmas cracker with a surprising gift inside.There's a haunted house and a SnowMama. There are Yuletides and holly wreaths. Three Kings. And a merry little Christmas time.And for the icing on the Christmas cake, there are twelve festive recipes from Yuletides past and present. Red cabbage, gravlax, turkey biryani, sherry trifle, Mrs Winterson's mince pies and more.Trade ReviewPacked with charm and beautifully illustrated, it's a book that will solve your gift dilemmas and let you escape the less salubrious aspects of Christmas for a literary wonderland. * Stylist *Winterson’s winter tales unfailingly succeed in their endeavour to leave you aglow. * Guardian *Winterson's prose is often witty and sometimes lyrical . . . The recipes come with intriguing glimpses of the writer, her friends, and their Christmas rituals. Spooky, inventive, funny . . . Winterson's mixed bag of fictional treats has a 19th-century charm much needed in the grim 21st. * Kirkus *Starred Review* *A pretty cloth-bound book containing an enchanting collection of recipes and short stories… suitably festive with icicles and plenty of mistletoe. -- Laura Powell * Sunday Telegraph, Book of the Year *A wonderful mix of festive stories and recipes. * Good Housekeeping *

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Book SynopsisThe first complete collection of Vonnegut's 97 short stories, including 5 which have never been published before.

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Book SynopsisBiblioasis is thrilled to continue this series of beautifully illustrated, collectible, classic Christmas ghost stories designed and illustrated by world-famous cartoonist Seth.In How Fear Departed the Long Gallery, for the Peverils, the appearance of a ghost is no more upsetting than the appearance of the mailman at an ordinary house. Except for the twin toddlers in the Long Gallery. No one would dare be caught in the Long Gallery after dark. But on this quiet and cloudy afternoon, Madge Peveril is feeling rather drowsy . . .E. F. Benson was the English writer of the Mapp and Lucia series.

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One of the most influential science-fantasy worlds ever envisaged, which inspired a generation of writers including George R.R. MartinThe fourth in the Fantasy Masterworks series, the Dying Earth saga inspired writers like Michael Moorcock and Gene Wolfe, who freely acknowledges his debt to Vance in his own Book of the New Sun.Here, in one volume, is Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winning author Jack Vance's classic Dying Earth saga comprising The Dying Earth, The Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel's Saga and Rhialto the Marvellous. Travel to a far distant future, when the sun bleeds red in a dark sky, where magic and science is one, and the Earth has but a few short decades to live ...Read what everyone is saying about The Tales of the Dying Earth:'He was, in a single paragraph, able to sketch the most incredible cultures and societies . . . he'd outline a world as interesting as all of Dune. And he did it again and again and again' Christopher Paolini, New York Times bestselling author of To Sleep in a Sea of Stars'Absolutely amazing! I've never read anything quite like Vance's Dying Earth stories . . . very witty and full of sarcasm . . . Even if you're not a fantasy fan you should read these stories' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'This is one of the best series EVER WRITTEN and the world created by Jack Vance is as good as anything I have ever read . . . HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'Within a few pages, I was completely drawn in, and there was simply no escape for me . . . This omnibus volume is the perfect way to experience everything about the Dying Earth' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'Almost singlehandedly defined an entire sub-genre of SF and Fantasy . . . the Dying Earth quartet is doubtless a masterpiece' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'Vance has got to be one of the greatest writers I have ever read, and quite probably the greatest stylist . . . as soon as I started reading each novel in the book, I couldn't stop' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'Awesome . . . a surreal fantasy setting on our own world, surrounded by crumbled civilisations and overlooked by a sun that could blink out at any moment' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'Jack Vance's masterwork of fantasy novellas and novelettes. Read once, read twice, read again. A powerful imagination in top form. This book is one of the main reasons that I love the fantasy genre' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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Book SynopsisWith a new Introduction by Professor Cedric Watts, M.A., Ph.D.This selection of a hundred of O. Henry’s succinct tales displays the range, humour and humanity of a perennially popular short-story writer.Here Henry gives a richly colourful and exuberantly entertaining panorama of social life, ranging from thieves to tycoons, from the streets of New York to the prairies of Texas.These stories are famed for their 'trick endings' or 'twists in the tail': repeatedly the plot twirls adroitly, compounding ironies. Indeed, O. Henry's cunning plots surpass those of the ingenious rogues he creates. His style is genial, lively and witty, displaying a virtuoso’s command of language and allusion.This great collection offers delights for the mind, imagination and emotions.

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Book SynopsisOne day, at dinner, Aschenbach notices an exceptionally beautiful young boy who is staying with his family in the same hotel. Soon his days begin to revolve around seeing this boy and he is too distracted to pay attention to the ominous rumours that have begun to circulate about disease spreading through the city.Trade ReviewThe real theme is fading creativity and the search for inspiration...A deep and highly complex drama of the psyche * Financial Times *This complex fin-de-siecle masterpiece...seems eerily to pre-echo the destructive decadence that would shortly shatter European civilisation itself * The Times *Thomas Mann's story of obsession and spiritual malaise * Observer *What Mann understands and laughs at, though it grips him, is the quasi-sexual attraction of beauty and philosophy...Death in Venice is one of the undisputed classics of contemporary European literature * Independent *Mann's obsessive story explores the complex, haunted relationship between an ageing writer and a beautiful Polish boy * Express *

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Book SynopsisAll 51 Hercule Poirot short stories presented in chonological order in a single volume plus a bonus story not seen for more than 70 years.My name is Hercule Poirot and I am probably the greatest detective in the world.'The dapper, moustache-twirling little Belgian with the egg-shaped head, curious mannerisms and inordinate respect for his own little grey cells' has solved some of the most puzzling crimes of the century. Appearing in Agatha Christie's very first novel in 1920 and her very last in 1975, Hercule Poirot became the most celebrated detective since Sherlock Holmes, appearing in 33 novels, a play, and these 51 short stories.Arranged in their original publication order, these short stories provide a feast for hardened Agatha Christie addicts as well as those who have grown to love the detective through his many film and television appearances.This new edition now also includes Poirot and the Regatta Mystery, an early version of an Agatha Christie story not published since 1936Trade Review‘Little masterpieces of detection. Poirot and Agatha Christie at their inimitable best.’Sunday Express

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Book SynopsisJohn Cheever's Collected Stories explores the delicate psychological frameworks of 20th century suburbia.WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY HANIF KUREISHIThis outstanding collection by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist John Cheever shows the power and range of one of the finest short story writers of the last century. Stories of love and of squalor, they include masterpieces such as ''The Swimmer'' and ''Goodbye, My Brother'' and date from the time of his honourable discharge from the Army at the end of the Second World War.Trade ReviewI’ve read nothing better this year than The Stories of John Cheever. -- Peter McKay * Daily Mail, Book of the Year *Cheever's accomplishment in his exacting art is proportionally large, as solid as it is brilliant, and likely to endure * New York Review of Books *Currently I'm reading John Cheever's Collected Stories. My God, he was good -- David Mitchell'The Swimmer' is a masterpiece of mystery, language and sorrow -- Michael ChabonI reread Cheever's 'The Swimmer' late the other night. It had the effect that reading Cheever always has: it made me want to get up and start the futile task of trying to write something as measured yet mysteriously, heart-judderingly unexpected for myself -- Gordon Burns * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisOriginally written to entertain, move or chill, the eight short stories in this collection accompanied by parallel English translations now also help students gain deeper insights into French literature and life.Arranged in approximate order of difficulty, the range of stories is wide, from the stylized wit of Raymond Queneau to the beautifully written ambiguities of Philippe Sollers, from Pierre Gascar's exploration of childhood as a background to a tale of infidelity to Henri Thomas's gentle, ironic look at war. All make wonderful reads in either language.

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Book SynopsisErnest Hemingway was born in Chicago in 1899, the second of six children. In 1917, he joined the Kansas City Star as a cub reporter. The following year, he volunteered as an ambulance driver on the Italian front, where he was badly wounded but decorated for his services. He returned to America in 1919, and married in 1921. In 1922, he reported on the Greco-Turkish war before resigning from journalism to devote himself to fiction. He settled in Paris, associating with other expatriates like Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein. He was passionately involved with bullfighting, big-game hunting and deep-sea fishing. Recognition of his position in contemporary literature came in 1954 when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, following the publication of The Old Man and the Sea. He died in 1961.Trade Review'Stamped with the urgency of Hemingway's style - revealing tenderness of feeling beneath descriptions of brutality' * Guardian *In a class by itself - the country, at all hours shines bright and clear in these pages * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThese five rich, witty and magical stories from the author of Out of Africa include one of her most well known tales, Babette's Feast', which was made into the classic film. It tells the story of a French cook working in a puritanical Norwegian community, who treats her employers to the decadent feast of a lifetime. There is also a real-life Prospero and his Ariel in Tempests', a mysterious pearl-fisher in The Diver' and a brief, tragic encounter in The Ring'. All the stories have a mystic, fairy-tale quality, linked by themes of angels, the sea, dreams and fate. They were among the last to be written by Isak Dinesen, and show her as a master of short fiction.

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Book SynopsisA bold mix of realism, allegory, adventure, and progressive politics, this collection features Jack London’s most profound and moving literary works   The Call of the Wild, London’s elemental masterpiece about a dog learning to survive in the wilderness, sees pampered pet Buck snatched from his home and set to work as a sled-dog during the Klondike Gold Rush. White Fang, set in the frozen tundra and boreal forests of Canada’s Yukon territory, is the story of a wolf-dog hybrid struggling to survive in a human society every bit as brutal as the natural world. This volume of London’s famed Northland novels also includes an early feminist story “The Night-Born,” and a pro-labor story “South of the Slot.” These works echo and enrich the themes of The Call of the Wild and White Fang with their unique emphases on the primordial, the instinctual, and the quest for social justice. London’s narr

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Book SynopsisThroughout her career, prize-winning novelist Jane Gardam has been writing glorious short stories, each one hallmarked with all the originality, poignancy, wry comedy and narrative brilliance of her longer fiction. Passion and longing, metamorphosis and enchantment are Gardam''s themes, and like a magician she plucks them from the quietest of corners: from Wimbledon gardens and cold churches, from London buses and industrial backstreets. A mother watching her children on the beach dreams of a long-lost lover, an abandoned army wife sees a ghost at a moorland gate, a translator adrift in Geneva is haunted by the unspeakable manifestation of her own fears, and a colonial servant wreaks a delicious revenge on her monstrous masters. Gardam''s cast is wide and wonderful, saints and mystics, trollops and curmudgeons, yearning mothers and lost children, beloved figures such as Old Filth and less familiar - but equally unforgettable - characters like Signor Settimo, the sad-eyed proTrade ReviewI adored Jane Gardam's The Stories. She does fiction as it should be done, with confidence and insight. -- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie * Observer *She has the Austeneaque quality of being satisfying and disquieting, conventional and experimental . . . conversational, lucid, realist yet fantastical, she can be outrageously funny, gradually revealing her characters by what is not said, and not seen . . . one of our greatest living writers -- Amanda Craig * Independent on Sunday *It is good, too, to be reminded that Gardam is as brilliant a short story writer as she is a novelist . . . Gardam, like Penelope Fitzgerald, knows the supreme art of what and exactly how much to leave out . . . this is a deeply, impeccably humane and pleasurable book -- Neel Mukherjee * Independent *Beautifully formed short stories . . . Gardam writes with wit, harnessing an expert use of dialogue to bring her characters to life . . . written by arguably one of our greatest living writers, the moments depicted in The Stories will certainly resonate long after the last page has been turned * Daily Express *Gardam's narratives are sharp and disconcerting . . . intimate and confiding . . . a compelling mixture of the strange and the familiar - well-told tales in which love, death and sorrow are properly valued. These moving and diverting meditations on the past offer a simple lesson: they don't make them like that any more. This collection is very welcome. * Sunday Times *Pure delight * The Times *Each one of these narratives - none of them afraid of looking into the great terrifying secrets of love and grief, death, ageing and faith in a mere handful of pages - make the heart race. Sly, sharp and mischievous . . . It is Gardam's gift for the ecstatic, for showing us what a place of wonders is the world and the hearts that dwell in it, that endows this collection with a dangerous and formidable energy. She gives us miracle heaped upon miracle -- Christobel Kent * Guardian *There is little Gardam doesn't know about being in love, or any of the other vicissitudes of ordinary life . . . her funniness does not cease to sparkle, but she moves as surely as she entertains * Telegraph *It is Jane Gardam's particular gift to be able to shine a light through these unexpected peepholes, straight into the human heart . . . marvellous * Spectator *Gardam's dialogue is a constant delight . . . Every character, however silent or minor, is accorded proper attention . . . Gardam's huge and firmly controlled imagination makes everything possible, everything credible . . . Of all the glories, here, 'Telegony' is the most compelling and it demonstrates Gardam's range of genius, with powerful characters, wit, doom, detailed settings and astonishing outcomes * Literary Review *Full of wit, unexpected turns of events and splendid writing -- A. S. Byatt * Guardian *Sharp, funny, mischeivous and often menacing, [the stories] grab you by the throat. Gardam's fiction is always much more than it at first seems. Behind a superficial ordinariness is something extraordinary. Rather like the fiction of another celebrated Jane -- Peter Stanford * Tablet *Illuminating, unshowy and often funny, [the stories] bear comparison with those by Chekhov, Trevor and Munro and offer limitless, suitcase-friendly rereading -- Caroline Jackson * Tablet *One of the finest living writers in the English language -- Neel Mukherjee * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisThe People's Friend magazine has been delighting its readers for over 154 years it's the oldest women's weekly magazine in the world and still going strong. The brand is known and trusted worldwide. Enjoy the Friend's unique charm with 25 brand-new stories, poems, nostalgia and watercolour paintings. It has hours of feel-good fiction that you'll want to dip into again and again! Perfect for people who love to read quality fiction and are looking for uplifting, feel-good entertainment.

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Book SynopsisFrom the No. 1 bestselling author of THE MISSING AND THE DEAD comes the short novel: 22 DEAD LITTLE BODIES, plus two short stories: STRAMASH and DI STEEL''S BAD HEIR DAY, and a novella: THE 45% HANGOVER, all featuring his most popular characters DS Logan McRae and DCI Roberta Steel.They say small is beautiful', but as Stuart MacBride demonstrates in these four tales, it can also be dark, violent, disturbing, and sometimes really quite rude.So pour yourself a wee dram, curl up on the sofa and enjoy DS Logan McRae and his sometime boss, friend, mother substitute, and nemesis, DCI Steel at their best.Here you'll find Logan's week from hell; Steel's own personal nightmare before Christmas; an explosive shootout on a remote Scottish island; and the ultimate test of their relationshipTrade ReviewPraise for Stuart MacBride: ‘New Logan McRae novels are close to the top of my unmissable list, and yet again MacBride delivers. His chaotic cop hero is at his best. Superb storytelling’ Sun ‘Another from MacBride’s fantastic series of Logan McRae novels. A real page-turner’ Sunday Mirror ‘Stuart’s meticulous research shows. At times it feels like you are sitting in the back of a police car overhearing conversations between real policemen’ Sunday Sport ‘Another riveting page-turner … emotional and affecting.’ Independent on Sunday ‘Skilful storytelling … strong characterisation … both intriguing and engrossing’ Laura Wilson, Guardian ‘The multiple plots move fast’ Independent ‘MacBride is the natural heir to the late and much lamented Reginald Hill’ Andrew Taylor, Spectator ‘MacBride is a damned fine writer – no one does dark and gritty like him’ Peter James ‘Fierce, unflinching and shot through with the blackest of humour; this is crime fiction of the highest order’ Mark Billingham ‘Some of the grittiest crime-writing in the field’ Independent ‘Admirers of tough, modern crime novels will be in seventh heaven – or should that be hell?’ Express ‘Ferocious and funny’ Val McDermid ‘Hard-hitting prose with a bone-dry humour and characters you can genuinely believe in, Stuart MacBride’s novels are a real treat’ Simon Kernick

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Book SynopsisThis is an all new version of the popular PARALLEL TEXT series, containing eight pieces of contemporary fiction in the original Italian and in English translation. Including stories by Calvino, Benni, Sciascia and Levi, this volume gives a fascinating insight into Italian culture and literature as well as providing an invaluable educational tool.Table of ContentsShort Stories in ItalianIntroductionThe Long CrossingLeonardo Siascia (1921-89)Translated by Avril BardoniItalyGoffredo Parise (1929-86)Translated by Nick RobertsThe Girl with the PlaitDacia Maraini (1936- )Translated by Sharon WoodThe Last Channel Italo Calvino (1923-87)Translated by Tim ParksLilithPrimo Levi (1919-87)Translated by Ruth FeldmanThe Island of KomodoSusanna Tamaro (1957- )Translated by Charles Caroe and Chris RobertsWomen by the PoolSandra Petrignani (1952- )Translated by Sharon WoodA Naughty SchoolboyStefano Benni (1947- )Translated by Nick RobertsSaturday AfternoonsAntonio Tabucchi (1943- )Translated by Edward WilliamsNotes on Italian textsAcknowledgments

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Book SynopsisDoris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, invites us to imagine a mythical society free from sexual intrigue, free from jealousy, free from petty rivalries: a society free from men.An old Roman senator embarks on what may be his last endeavour: the retelling of the story of human creation. He recounts the history of the Clefts, an ancient community of women living in an Edenic, coastal wilderness, in the valley of an overshadowing mountain. The Clefts have no need, or knowledge, of men childbirth is controlled through the cycles of the moon, and their children are always female. But with the birth of a strange, new child a boy the harmony of their community is thrown into jeopardy.At first, the Clefts are awestruck by this seemingly malformed child, but as more and more of these threateningly unfamiliar males appear, they are rejected, and are exposed on the nearby mountainside, sacrificed to the patrolling eagles overhead. Unbeknownst to the Clefts, however, these baby males survive, aided by the eagles, and thrive on the other side of the mountain. It is not until a curious young Cleft named Maire goes beyond the geographical, and emotional, divide of the mountain that this disquieting fact is uncovered forcing the Clefts to accept the prospect of a now shared world, and the possible vengeance of the wronged males.In this fascinating and beguiling novel, Lessing confronts head-on the themes that inspired much of her early writing: how men and women, two similar and yet thoroughly distinct creatures, manage to live side by side in the world, and how the specifics of gender affect every aspect of our existence.Trade Review‘Lessing skilfully manipulates multiple perspectives…a bold, inventive and challenging book from a writer who continues to enlighten and astonish as she approaches her tenth decade.’ Independent 'A work of elegance, wit, humour and mystery. It may even be considered, one day, as one of her finest works…This is a deeply serious novel, but it's also humane, warm and witty…Doris Lessing, in her ninth decade, is writing fiction that is as hypnotic, perceptive and original as any wunderkind a quarter her age' Glasgow Herald ‘The author's reach continues to thrill…there's witchery in the Old She yet.’ Daily Telegraph ‘A narrative with the compelling stamp of Lessing's late tales.’ The Times ‘Doris Lessing writes movingly of the human desire for change…she conveys a powerful belief in the impermanence of any situation in which human beings find themselves and the paradoxically unchanging nature of human relations.’ Observer ‘Lessing's engaging tale is told with the simplicity of an aural history committed to memory.’ New Statesman ‘Her prose is pleasingly incantatory…the novel has a pleasing gravitational pull on a purely poetic level.’ Metro ‘Lessing writes, as ever, with such calm and assured authority…a fascinating, at times disturbing book; one can't imagine any other writer bringing it off.’ The Scotsman 'Lessing has always observed human behaviour with the dispassionate eye of a Martian naturalist…Her prose thrives on a bigness which comes from her imaginative origins on the Veld of her African childhood, and her rangy plots take vast, fast strides over the horizon, collapsing lifetimes like pocket telescopes …”The Cleft” is a return to…the Tempest-like condensation of themes that has always enlarged her work' Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisA collection of stories, including two of Wilde's most famous: 'The Canterville Ghost', in which a young American girl helps to free the tormented spirit that haunts an old English castle and 'The Happy Prince', who was not as happy as he seemed. Often whimsical and sometimes sad, they all shine with poetry and magic.

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Book SynopsisThe Lady with the Little Dog and Other Stories 1896-1904 is an enchanting collection of tales which showcase Anton Chekhov at the height of his power as a writer. This Penguin Classics edition is translated by Ronald Wilks with an introduction by Paul Debreczeny.In the final years of his life, Chekhov produced some of the stories that rank among his masterpieces, and some of the most highly-regarded works in Russian literature. The poignant ''The Lady with the Little Dog'' and ''About Love'' examine the nature of love outside of marriage - its romantic idealism and the fear of disillusionment. And in stories such as ''Peasants'', ''The House with the Mezzanine'' and ''My Life'' Chekhov paints a vivid picture of the conditions of the poor and of their powerlessness in the face of exploitation and hardship. With the works collected here, Chekhov moved away from the realism of his earlier tales - developing a broader range of characters and subject matter, while forging Table of ContentsThe Lady with the Little Dog and Other Stories, 1896-1904IntroductionFurther ReadingChronologyNote on TextPatronymicsThe House with the MezzaninePeasantsMan in a CaseGooseberriesAbout LoveA Visit to FriendsIonychMy LifeThe Lady with the Little DogIn the RavineDisturbing the BalanceThe BishopThe BridePublishing History and Notes

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Book SynopsisElizabeth Gaskell''s chilling Gothic tales blend the real and the supernatural to eerie, compelling effect. ''Disappearances'', inspired by local legends of mysterious vanishings, mixes gossip and fact; ''Lois the Witch'', a novella based on an account of the Salem witch hunts, shows how sexual desire and jealousy lead to hysteria; while in ''The Old Nurse''s Story'' a mysterious child roams the freezing Northumberland moors. Whether darkly surreal, such as ''The Poor Clare'', where an evil doppelgänger is formed by a woman''s bitter curse, or mischievous like ''Curious, if True'', a playful reworking of fairy tales, all the stories in this volume form a stark contrast to the social realism of Gaskell''s novels, revealing a darker and more unsettling style of writing.Table of ContentsEdited by Laura KranzlerChronologyIntroductionFurther ReadingNote on the TextsDisappearancesThe Old Nurse's StoryThe Squire's StoryThe Poor ClareThe Doom of the GriffithsLois the WitchThe Crooked BranchCurious, if TrueThe Grey WomanAppendixNotes

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Book SynopsisContains stories from the world of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and is illustrated by Charles Vess. This book includes the characters of a conceited Regency clergyman, an eighteenth-century Jewish doctor and Mary, Queen of Scots, as well as two characters from Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: Strange himself and the Raven King.Trade Review'An unholy alliance of Austen and Angela Carter' Daily Mail 'These tales read as if Jane Austen had rewritten the Brothers Grimm ... wonderful' Spectator 'Witty rejoinders and genteel manners to contrast nicely with the darker tones of hauntings, shape-changing and black magic ... Clarke is a natural storyteller' Sunday Telegraph 'It is the poise and lightness of Clarke's prose that draws the reader in' Daily Telegraph

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Book SynopsisIn New American Stories, the beautiful, the strange, the melancholy, and the sublime all comingle to show the vast range of the American short story . In this remarkable anthology, Ben Marcus has corralled a vital and artistically singular crowd of contemporary fiction writers. Collected here are practitioners of deep realism, mind-blowing experimentalism, and every hybrid in between. Luminaries and cult authors stand side by side with the most compelling new literary voices. Nothing less than the American short story renaissance distilled down to its most relevant, daring, and unforgettable works, New American Stories puts on wide display the true art of an American idiom.

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Book SynopsisTroll Bridge, a tale from the mind of Sunday Times bestselling writer Neil Gaiman, has been beautifully adapted for the first time by Eisner Award-winning writer/artist Colleen Doran. This striking graphic novel will delight fans of Alan Moore, Dave McKean and beyond. Young Jack''s world is full of ghosts and ghouls, but one monster - a ravenous and hideous troll - haunts him long into manhood. As the beast sups upon a lifetime of Jack''s fear and regret, Jack must find the courage within himself to face the fiend once and for all.Trade ReviewA rich imagination...and an ability to tackle large themesA quirky delightFunny, scary and perverse by turns - Time Out on SMOKE AND MIRRORS

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Book Synopsis'Read not more than one of her stories a day, and allow them to work their spell slowly: they are made to last' Guardian When her father marries his second wife, Chrissy gets a new step sister. Three years older than her, Queenie is beautiful and kind, someone everybody wants to be friends with. Chrissy worships her. But when Queenie runs away at eighteen, their lives quietly diverge. Joyce Carol Oates has described Alice Munro's work as 'tales of domestic tragicomedy that seemed to open up, as if by magic, into wider, deeper, vaster dimensions.' Queenie is Munro at her subtle, heart-breaking best. 'One of the great short story writers not just of our time but of any time' New York Times Book ReviewTrade ReviewThe greatest living short story writer -- A. S. ByattA true master of the form -- Salman RushdieAmong the major writers of English fiction of our time -- Margaret AtwoodShe has taken an art form, the short story ... and she has cultivated it almost to perfection -- Peter Englund, Nobel Committee for LiteratureSome of the most honest, intuitive and exacting fiction, long or short, of our time * The Times *She writes with a beautiful, mathematical clarity, an elemental humanity and a marvellous, limpid, funny apprehension of what goes on * Sunday Telegraph *Munro changed our sense of what the short story can do as radically as Chekhov ... she penetrates in words into the hidden roots of how we choose to live, and why we act * New Yorker *It has a remarkable effect ... it can be read during an average day's commute and yet creates an entire and intricate world, that is as ordinary as it haunting ... What stands out is Munro's shrewd, detailed observations of their world. -- Arifa Akbar * Independent *

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Book SynopsisA ''bumper collection of short stories'' (Sunday Telegraph} from the No. 1 bestselling master of the form, now with a stunning new cover look.The Stephen King Amusement Park - an unnerving experience, with rides every which way to hell . . . and a few to glory.A solitary finger pokes out of a drain. Novelty teeth turn predatory. The Nevada desert swallows a Cadillac. Meanwhile, the legend of Castle Rock returns . . . and grows on you. What does it all mean? What else could it mean? Stephen King is here with a powerful collection of stories - a vast, many-chambered cave of a volume.The long reach of Stephen King''s imagination will take you on a roller coaster to places you''ve never been before. You will lose sleep. But Stephen King, writing to beat the devil, will do your dreaming for you.Stories include:-Dolan''s Cadillac-The End of the Whole Mess-Suffer the Little Children-The Night Flier-Popsy-It Grows on You<Trade ReviewA bumper collection of short stories...You can't help admiring King's narrative skills and his versatility as a story-teller * Sunday Telegraph *Merely by tickling the keys on his word processor King can make flesh creep half a world away. But where he differs from so many chill merchants is that his horror is rarely gratuitous and often informed with a wry humour * The Times *

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Book SynopsisFor the past two centuries these delightful stories, gathered together and written down by brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, have entertained and frightened children and adults alike. The lives of Tom Thumb, Cinderella, Rumplestiltskin and the Frog Prince form part of our common heritage: they stimulate the imagination and the heart, and linger at the back of our minds for a lifetime. They are funny, disturbing, wise and compassionate. They speak of joy and terror, happiness and revenge, love and violence.Designed to appeal to the booklover, Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure. This edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales is complete and unabridged, and features Arthur Rackham's masterly illustrations, all hand-coloured by Barbara Frith, one of Britain's leading colourists.

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Book SynopsisThe art of telling a ghost story is a refined one, and Montague Rhodes James was a master of the genre. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful hardbacks make perfect gifts for book lovers, or wonderful additions to your own collection. This edition features an afterword by author and playwright David Stuart Davies.M.R. James draws the reader into narratives which, seeming innocuous, become darker and darker in gentle turns – until confronting the reader with some of the most unforgettably frightening images in British literature. Complete Ghost Stories contains every timeless masterpiece from each of his four collections: Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904), More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1911), A Thin Ghost and Others (1919), and A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories (1925).

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Book Synopsis''I was conscious of a most horrible smell of mould, and of a cold kind of face pressed against my own...''Considered by many to be the most terrifying writer in English, M. R. James was an eminent scholar who spent his entire adult life in the academic surroundings of Eton and Cambridge. His classic supernatural tales draw on the terrors of the everyday, in which documents and objects unleash terrible forces, often in closed rooms and night-time settings where imagination runs riot. Lonely country houses, remote inns, ancient churches or the manuscript collections of great libraries provide settings for unbearable menace, from creatures seeking retribution and harm. These stories have lost none of their power to unsettle and disturb.This edition presents all of James''s published ghost stories, including the unforgettable ''Oh, Whistle and I''ll Come to You, My Lad'' and ''Casting the Runes'', and an appendix of James''s writings on the ghost story. Darryl Jones''s introduction and notes provide a fascinating insight into James''s background and his mastery of the genre he made his own.Trade ReviewPleasant chills guaranteed. * John Connolly, Buzzfeed *A gorgeous volume. * Allen Stroud, Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation *This is simply a delight to behold, never mind delve into! ... this new volume doesn't just feature James' works there is also an invaluable insight into his life by editor Darryl Jones * On: Yorkshire Magazine *Table of ContentsIntroduction Select Bibliography Chronology of M. R. James Canon Alberic's Scrap-book Lost Hearts The Mezzotint The Ash-Tree Number 13 Count Magnus 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' The Treasure of Abbot Thomas A School Story The Rose Garden The Tractate Middoth Casting the Runes The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral Martin's Close Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance The Residence at Whitminster The Diary of Mr Poynter An Episode of Cathedral History The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance Two Doctors The Haunted Dolls' House The Uncommon Prayer-Book A Neighbour's Landmark A View from a Hill A Warning to the Curious An Evening's Entertainment There was a Man Dwelt by a Churchyard Rats After Dark in the Playing Fields Wailing Well The Experiment The Malice of Inanimate Objects A Vignette Appendix: M. R. James on Ghost Stories Explanatory Notes

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Book SynopsisRanging from one-page fantasies to novella-length studies of everyday existence, The Walk reveals the irresistible genius of one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. Under-appreciated even in his own lifetime, Robert Walser has nonetheless been recognised by such writers as W.G. Sebald, Susan Sontag, Franz Kafka, Herman Hesse and J.M. Coetzee. Like Kafka and Sebald, Walser wrote about the solitude and unease of human existence. Honest, wry and idiosyncratic, his stories are snapshots of the lives great artists, poor young men, beautiful women and talking animals alike. Ranging from the realist to the allegorical, the short fiction collected in this volume demonstrates Walser's uncanny ability to capture both life's strangeness and its small joys.Trade ReviewA clairvoyant of the small...Walser has been my constant companion -- W. G. SebaldIf he had hundred thousand readers, the world would be a better place -- Hermann Hesse, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature"Kleist in Thun" and "Helbling's Story" show him at his dazzling best -- J.M. Coetzee, winner of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureA truly wonderful, heartbreaking writer -- Susan SontagAn essential writer of our time -- Elias Canetti, winner of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureThe future will see Walser as a true literary representative of our age -- Max BrodA major twentieth-century prose artist...he sounds like nobody else -- Benjamin Kunkel * New Yorker *A writer of considerable wit, talent and originality * New York Times *His perception extended past sensory limits. He elevated the significance of the everyday * Bookslut *One of the greatest German-language writers of the twentieth century -- Juan José SaerWalser was one of those individuals who stand at a slight angle to the world: first impressions suggest words like quirky, or surreal. But, if anything, his art was a beautifully sane challenge to the systematic assault on the subjective and quotidian that was already grinding away when he entered the madhouse. In an age that found it possible to diagnose the inner life as a sticky mass of tics and neuroses, Walser became a polite but stubborn champion of an everyday life in which psyche may play a central role, but pathology is not necessarily a given. -- John BurnsideThe stories of a man in love with the world, but unable to take part in it * Economist Intelligent Life *A kind of grown-up fairy tale. His style is both direct and colloquial yet also poetic in its simplicity. -- Lesley McDowell * Sunday Herald *Walser is an original. The book's centrepiece, "Kleist in Thun" is at once a deft literary portrait, a vivid piece of nature writing, and an autobiographical insight into Robert Walser's own mental fragility. All in all, it is as beautiful and moving a story as I have ever read. * Independent on Sunday *Walser left a curiously brilliant and utterly original corpus of work, whose wry surrealism is reminiscent of Kafka, Beckett and indeed John Lennon ... a masterpiece -- Alfred Hickling * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisDerrick Storm has never faced anything like this before. Airliners are dropping from the sky, shot down by a terrifying futuristic weapon. The intelligence community is blindsided and scrambling for answers. The media is calling it another 9/11. But the terrorists have aimed their weapon at the one man who can't be brought down: Derrick Storm. After saving his own plane from certain doom, Storm is enlisted by the CIA to track down the force responsible for the tragedy. The trail takes him from the Panama Canal, where a wealthy businessman toasts the death of one of the victims; to the decks of a mega-yacht, where a shipping mogul mourns the loss of another; to the Sahara Desert, where bandits who are stealing treasures of Egyptian antiquity may be more than what they seem...

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Book SynopsisA Penguin Classics edition of three lesser-known Austen works, including Lady Susan, the basis for Whit Stillman's feature film Love and Friendship starring Kate Beckinsale and Chloë SevignyThese three short works show Austen experimenting with a variety of different literary styles, from melodrama to satire, and exploring a range of social classes and settings. The early epistolary novel Lady Susan depicts an unscrupulous coquette, toying with the affections of several men. In contrast, The Watsons is a delightful fragment, whose spirited heroine -­ Emma -­ finds her marriage opportunities limited by poverty and pride. Meanwhile Sanditon, set in a seaside resort, offers a glorious cast of hypochondriacs and spectators, treated by Austen with both amusement and scepticism.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With mo

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Book SynopsisA brand new omnibus of 55 short stories, presented for the first time in chronological order.Described by her friend Dolly Bantry as the typical old maid of fiction', Miss Marple has lived almost her entire life in the sleepy hamlet of St Mary Mead. Yet, by observing village life she has gained an unparalleled insight into human nature and used it to devasting effect. As her friend Sir Henry Clithering, the ex-Commissioner of Scotland Yard has been heard to say: She's just the finest detective God ever made.' and many Agatha Christie fans would agree.Appearing for the first time in The Murder at The Vicarage (1930) her crime-fighting career spanned over forty years when she solved her final case in 1977 in Sleeping Murder. With every tale flawlessly plotted by the Queen of Crime herself, these short stories provide a feast for hardened Agatha Christie addicts as well as those who have grown to love the detective through her many film and television appearances.Here, for the first tiTrade Review‘The plots are so good that one marvels… most of them would have made a full length thriller.’ Daily Mirror

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Book SynopsisDesigned to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure. Chosen and introduced by the playwright J. B. Priestley, these twelve marvellous sketches are accompanied by George Cruikshank’s evocative illustrations.Charles Dickens was one of the great chroniclers of London life. From the colourful chaos of dances and gin-shops to the sparse destitution of the pawnshop and the penitentiary, he captured the grime and the glory of the English capital with singular brilliance.Orphans and beggars, lord mayors and murderers, actors, criminals, cab drivers and prostitutes; all rub shoulders in this wonderful selection from Sketches by Boz.

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Book Synopsis* THE UNMISSABLE SHORT STORY COLLECTION FEATURING MODESTY BLAISE *'The finest escapist thrillers ever written' THE TIMES'Before Buffy, before Charlie's Angels, before Purdy and Emma Peel, there was Modesty Blaise' OBSERVERDiscover new Modesty Blaise stories in the final collection from legend Peter O'Donnell, spanning his heroine's career from running her criminal empire, the Network, to working for British Intelligence. Including 'Bellman', 'The Dark Angels', 'Old Alex', The Girl With the Black Balloon' and 'Cobra Trap', this collection reveals the untold tales of the world's most famous agent. From her youth in the criminal underworld, to fighting rebels in the jungles of central America and pitched battles on board a moving train, this collection featuring the classic duo of Modesty Blaise and her loyal lieutenant Willie Garvin is an essential part of any Modesty fan's library.Trade ReviewThese books are the finest escapist thrillers ever written * The Times *In the beginning there was Modesty. Cooler than the pretentious James Bond, tougher than the brain-dead Mike Hammer -- Lauren Henderson, author of Dead White FemaleBefore Buffy, before Charlie's Angels, before Purdy and Emma Peel there was Modesty Blaise. For almost 40 years, Peter O'Donnell's iconic heroine drop-kicked her way through a swath of villains and into a unique place in popular culture * Observer *One of the great partnerships in fiction, bearing comparison with that of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson -- Kingsley AmisO'Donnell is one of those rare popular writers, like Josephine Tey or P.G. Wodehouse, who inspire not just fandom but love * New York Times *Modesty Blaise was the comic-strip criminal genius, turned occasional secret service operative, who managed to combine timeless beauty and elegance with the ability to break every bone in your body... there's never been a better time to become acquainted * The Crack *The continuing renaissance of the immortal heroine: thrilling, humorous and timeless adventures, the Modesty Blaise series are seminal British crime * Crime Time *The stories of Modesty are better than James Bond and funnier * Tribune *

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Book SynopsisEdgar Allan Poe remains the unsurpassed master of works of mystery and madness in this outstanding collection of Poe's prose and poetry are sixteen of his finest tales, including 'The Tell-Tale Heart', 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' 'The Pit and the Pendulum,' 'William Wilson,' 'The Black Cat,' 'The Cask of Amontillado,' and 'Eleonora'. Here too is a major selection of what Poe characterized as the passion of his life, his poems - 'The Raven,' 'Annabel Lee,' Ulalume,' 'Lenore,' 'The Bells,' and more, plus his glorious prose poem 'Silence - A Fable' and only full-length novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.

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Book Synopsis''There was a rumour, too, that he was a devil-worshipper, or something of that sort, and also that he had the evil eye...'' Arthur Conan Doyle was the greatest genre writer Britain has ever produced. Throughout a long writing career, he drew on his own medical background, his travels, and his increasing interest in spiritualism and the occult to produce a spectacular array of Gothic Tales. Many of Doyle''s writings are recognised as the very greatest tales of terror. They range from hauntings in the polar wasteland to evil surgeons and malevolent jungle landscapes. This collection brings together over thirty of Conan Doyle''s best Gothic Tales. Darryl Jones''s introduction discusses the contradictions in Conan Doyle''s very public life - as a medical doctor who became obsessed with the spirit world, or a British imperialist drawn to support Irish Home Rule - and shows the ways in which these found articulation in that most anxious of all literary forms, the Gothic.Trade ReviewAs always in the Oxford Worlds Classic's editions, there is an informative introduction and extensive notes... An interesting and informative essay, happily written without any lit-crit jargon, making it both accessible and enjoyable for the general reader... I loved this collection. * Leah Galbraith, FictionFan Blog *Superb introduction. * Christopher Metress, English Literature in Translation *[An] informative introduction a book that fans of Conan Doyle's other work will likely find enjoyable: Sherlock Holmes it may not be, but the strongest of the tales included in the volume show how versatile Conan Doyle's talents were in the realm of popular fiction. * Oliver Tearle, Interesting Literature *Shows there was more to Conan Doyle than Moriarty, Dr Watson and The Hound of the Baskervilles. * Keith Richmond, ASLEF Journal *These Gothic Tales show Conan Doyle is the true master of the macabre and the gruesome. * Steve Craggs, Northern Echo *5*: Collected in a scholarly edition for the first time, these are 33 of Conan Doyle's finest Gothic short stories... Even if you have already read the tales in other volumes, it is worth buying this book for Jones's introduction alone: it explores the tensions and contrasts that defined the author's life, and how he articulated these themes in his work, offering the latest in literary criticism and historical research. * The Lady *This collection demonstrates still that Conan Doyle is still a master writer and... throws an interesting light on the career that wasnt Sherlock Holmes. * Nick Blackshaw, Starburst Magazine *Review from previous edition [A] beautifully designed edition * Times Literary Supplement *Table of ContentsIntroduction Note on the Text Select Bibliography Chronology The American's Tale The Captain of the 'PoleStar' The Winning Shot J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement John Barrington Cowles Uncle Jeremy's Household The Ring of Thoth The Surgeon of Gaster Fell A Pastoral Horror 'De Profundis' Lot No. 249 The Los Amigos Fiasco The Case of Lady Sannox The Lord of Château Noir The Third Generation The Striped Chest The Fiend of the Cooperage The Beetle-Hunter The Sealed Room The Brazilian Cat The New Catacomb The Retirement of Signor Lambert The Brown Hand Playing with Fire The Leather Funnel The Pot of Caviare The Silver Mirror The Terror of Blue John Gap Through the Veil How it Happened The Horror of the Heights The Bully of Brocas Court The Nightmare Room The Lift Explanatory Notes

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE EDGE HILL SHORT STORY PRIZE'One of the best collections you'll read this year' Sunday Times'Wild, witty stories . . . Exhilarating' ObserverIn this rapturous story collection we encounter a ragbag of west of Ireland characters, many on the cusp between love and catastrophe, heartbreak and epiphany, resignation and hope. These stories affirm Kevin Barry as one of the world's most accomplished and gifted writers, and show an Ireland in a condition of great flux but also as a place where older rhythms, and an older magic, somehow persist.Trade ReviewThe master short story teller turns messy emotions into riveting tales of wounded Irish folk . . . One of the best collections you'll read this year * * Sunday Times * *Wild, witty stories . . . The west of Ireland teems with canny characters and vivid language . . . Darkly glimmering . . . Their language is exhilarating, its verve evoking the very best of Barry's compatriots while further carving out a territory that's all his own * * Observer * *These are brilliant and vivid and uproarious stories. It's a rare writer who can call a tune like Kevin Barry -- LISA McINERNEYBarry often writes with sonorous wisdom . . . but as readers of his grimly hilarious novels will know, his language is just as precise when it is in the service of comedy . . . Exhilaratingly funny and poignant fables -- Jake Kerridge * * Sunday Telegraph * *These playful, serious and beautifully crafted stories allow Barry to experiment as we need great writers to do -- SARAH MOSS * * Irish Times * *The third short-story collection from a stylist to savour brings more exhilarating, darkly witty tales of oddballs yearning after love and enchantment in the wild west of Ireland * * Guardian, 50 hottest new books everyone should read * *An extraordinary writer . . . In his short stories Barry seems most fully and brilliantly himself . . . Unimprovable masterpieces . . . So rich and so flawlessly crafted - its best stories feel instantly canonical, as if we've already been reading them for years . . . The opening story is letter-perfect from its first line . . . Funny, moving, built with superior economy, this is the real thing . . . Barry remains the great romantic of contemporary Irish fiction. Like all of the most interesting artists, he gets better with every risk he takes. The courage may be his. But the rewards are all ours -- Kevin Power * * Irish Independent * *Full of the damaged characters, menacing rural scenery and darkly comic, slantwise prose that have become his trademark . . . At each turn, Barry makes his fiction a matter of life and death * * New Statesman * *Optimism and sorrow anchor the stories in this collection, where relationships take unexpected turns and characters befuddle one another and themselves. Barry's writing sparkles, as ever, moving speedily between pathos and humour to great effect * * New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice * *Barry is wickedly funny, slyly transgressive and consistently brilliant. He is constantly turning tricks with language before upending us on the thwarted desires of his characters and the dark energy of his landscapes. And underpinning it all, the melancholy of men that is Barry's hallmark -- MARY COSTELLO

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of When I Hit You, shortlisted for the 2018 Women's Prize for FictionKarim and Maya:[x] share a home [x] worry about money [x] binge-watch films [x] argue all the time Karim, a young film-maker, carries with him the starry-eyed dreams of the Arab Revolution. Maya carries her own pressing concerns: an errant father, an unstable job, a chain-smoking habit, a sudden pregnancy. When Karim's brother disappears in Tunis, and Karim wants to go after him, Maya must choose between her partner and her home city, her future and her history...In a conversation between forms, fictions and truths, Exquisite Cadavers is a novel about a young couple navigating love in London, and a literary hall of mirrors about an author navigating the inspirations behind her work.___________________'An inventive fusion' Observer'A work of brilliance' Financial Times'Wonderful' LitHubTrade ReviewThank god for writing like this. For books like this. For this level of experimentation, combined with such control, such tenderness and wit. * Max Porter, author of Lanny *Exquisite Cadavers' experiment delivers a book that is slyly funny and profoundly thoughtful. It is common for critics and readers to belittle women by assuming they write out of catharsis rather than to create. Exquisite Cadavers is not just a fierce rebuttal. It's a work of brilliance. * Financial Times *An inventive fusion of fact and fiction. * Observer *Fascinating... The cleverness of Kandasamy's bricolage is that it allows her to explicitly separate fiction and memoir, while ensuring they're intimately intertwined. * Guardian *A smart, complex book. * Guardian *The key question about Exquisite Cadavers, however, is does all of this work? That is the hardest question to answer, because the terms are that it should be an experiment - there has never been a book quite like this. Better to ask, then, whether it surprises, grips, makes the reader take notice - all those things literature is supposed to do - to which the answer is, easily, yes, yes, and yes again. * The Irish Times *It's wonderful, a different view of difference. * LitHub *Kandasamy achieves the unachievable in this genre-defying, brilliant and satisfying double narrative. She subverts the mainstream by inserting her self into the margins of this timely novella. In doing so, she adds depth and intensity to an already gripping story of a mixed-race millennial couple grappling with identity, unexpected parenthood, zero-hour contracts and nearsightedness within academia. There is nothing Kandasamy can't do. * Zeba Talkhani, author of My Past is A Foreign Country *A rich and absorbing text full of allusion... Kandasamy's work becomes more bold and exciting with each new book. * The Skinny *Absorbing and innovative * The Herald *An extraordinary formally-inventive, beautiful at sentence-level novella. * Belfast Telegraph *This is hands-down the most emotionally resonant book I have read this year. In this fragmented literary experiment, Kandasamy flawlessly combines the political and the personal with her searing insight and dazzling literary prowess. * Book Riot *Wildly inventive and inimitable * Mint *A tightly packed experiment in literary fiction, toggling between life and art, the margin and the centre, stories and meta-stories * Open The Magazine *Astute metafictional observations * New Statesman *Defies all expectations of how prose should be laid out on the page. While it is ostensibly about a relationship, it also comments in the margins on Indian politics and the writer's own creative process. * Bernardine Evaristo, TLS *Both an excellent exercise in form and a deeply evocative love story. * Publisher's Weekly *Sharply observed, beautiful, smart writing. This book is an engagement with art and life on their own terms, demanding its readers level up their thinking * Booklist *The two-column format of the book presents questions about how we read, what story is, and what a novel can be. The lives of Maya and Karim, a young, London-based couple, are rendered in prose that is both poetic and ironic, while the voice of the author-character, sitting side-by-side, is at once philosophical and grimly witty. * Novuyo Tshuma, The Millions *

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Book SynopsisFaber Stories, a landmark series of individual volumes, presents masters of the short story form at work in a range of genres and styles. When Ray turns up to visit his old university friends Charlie and Emily, he's given a special task: to be so much his useless self that he makes Charlie look good by comparison.But Ray has his own buried feelings to contend with. Decades earlier, he and Emily would listen to jazz when they were alone, and now, as Sarah Vaughan sings through the speakers, he struggles to control everything the sound brings with it.In Kazuo Ishiguro's hands, a snapshot of domestic realism becomes a miniature masterpiece of memory and forgetting.Bringing together past, present and future in our ninetieth year, Faber Stories is a celebratory compendium of collectable work.

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Book SynopsisWelcome to New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller Brandon Sanderson''s first collection of short fiction.These wonderful works, originally published individually, have been collected for the first time and convey the true expanse of the Cosmere. Telling the exciting tales of adventure Sanderson fans have come to expect, Arcanum Unbounded include the Hugo Award-winning novella ''The Emperor''s Soul'', an excerpt from the graphic novel ''White Sand'', and the never-before-published Stormlight Archive novella ''Edgedancer''.The collection will include nine works in all:''Edgedancer'' (Stormlight Archive)''The Hope of Elantris'' (Elantris)''The Eleventh Metal'' (Mistborn)''The Emperor''s Soul'' (Elantris)''Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania'' (excerpt; Mistborn)''White Sand'' (excerpt; Taldain)''Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell'' (Threnody) ''SixTrade Reviewanother brisk YA fantasy from Sanderson - inventive, action-stuffed and surprising until the end * SFX *This collection is required reading for Sanderson fans, offering plenty for new readers who are undeterred by learning too much. * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY *Steelheart is the literature equivalent of a blockbuster; episodic and fast-paced with surprises around every turn. * SCI FI NOW *Fans of Sanderson's other works will eagerly devour this collection, in which familiar characters return and familiar worlds are further explored. * KIRKUS REVIEWS *Full of action * THE SUN *as always, Brandon Sanderson creates a unique and interesting universe we get to explore alongside the protagonist...a fun, action packed ride for those of us who remain a child at heart. * Best Fantasy Books *The world of The Reckoners is suddenly presented in all its glory. It's an incredibly vibrant setting that showcases the entire breadth of Sanderson's talent. Expect to finish this one in single sitting. * Upcoming 4 Me *The stories are complex, fascinating, and filled to the brim with three-dimensional characters * Fantasy Book Review *Firefight is a visual, almost cinematic novel * Buzzy Mag *Firefight is a rollercoaster ride of action, entertainment, and humour * Smash Dragons *Firefight is filled with a spine-tingling adventure and heart-racing action that promises to satisfy fans both new and old * Fantasy Book Critic *Steelheart is the literature equivalent of a blockbuster; episodic and fast-paced with surprises around every turn. * SCI FI NOW *A terrifically tall tale, packaging the superhero action into compelling, punchy chapters that keep you reading. It's a fast, feisty read with characters that are skillfully drawn, assassinations, gunfights, physics bending motorcycle chases and a world you can't wait to hear more about. * SFX *Full of action * THE SUN *

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Book SynopsisGaza Writes Back is a compelling anthology of short stories from fifteen young writers in Gaza, members of a generation that has suffered immensely under Israel’s siege and blockade. Their experiences, especially during and following Israel’s 2008-2009 offensive known as “Operation Cast Lead”, have fundamentally impacted their lives and their writing. Their words take us into the homes and hearts of moms, dads, students, children, and elders striving to live lives of dignity, compassion, and meaning in one of the world’s most embattled communities. Readers will be moved by the struggles big and small that emerge from the well-crafted writing by these young people, and by the hope and courage that radiate from the authors’ biographies.

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Book SynopsisFrom the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of ‘The Shipping News’ comes a collection of short stories inspired by the harsh and unforgiving landscape of Wyoming. Throughout the collection, Annie Proulx invests these stories with an intelligence and black humour that transforms them into something new and surprising. In one story, a slight young man defies his mother’s insults to become a rodeo star, while in another, an octogenarian finds himself drawn back to the ranch that he quit decades before – against his better judgement. Elsewhere, Proulx demonstrates her taste for the macabre in a grisly tale of bad weather, gambling and amputation set a hundred years ago. Inventive, compassionate and wildly funny, these marvellous stories explore the unbreakable bond between a people and their land.Trade Review‘A stunning collection of eleven tales about the hard lives of the ranchers, cowpokes and country wives who struggle to survive in an unforgiving environment. Written in a wonderfully flexible style that can be both spare and extravagant, her book has been hailed by American critics as a masterpiece.’ Daily Telegraph ‘Like a mystic seeing the transfigured universe, she recreates the beauty of ordinary things.’ Independent on Sunday ‘The detail is meticulous, the prose poetic and Proulx's fiction teems with life. Above all, her stories engage the heart. Magical.’ Tatler ‘Proulx's style, compressed, elastic, hard-hitting, is inimitable: close to poetry but never self-indulgent. This is writing to be savoured.’ Sunday Telegraph ‘These are tales we can almost feel in our bones.’ Sunday Times ‘Individually, these 11 tales have a tautness and an urgency that are never less than exhilarating. Collectively, they encapsulate an entire, unremittingly bleak world. To find the pulse of humanity in such desperate lives betokens a writer of genius.’ Saturday Telegraph

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Book SynopsisChristmas tales from the world's favourite storyteller - perfect for the festive season.With an introduction from Veronica Henry, bestselling author of THE IMPULSE PURCHASETrade ReviewThere's nobody like Binchy for warming the cockles, and this collection of Christmas stories warms them to white heat. -- Kate Saunders * THE TIMES *With her gift for effortless characterisation and homely detail, she evokes power shifts in families, unwelcome discoveries, conspiracies, affairs, forgiveness, sorrow and the rebirth of optimism with her usual warmth and sympathy. -- Elizabeth Buchan * SUNDAY TIMES *Brilliant, family-oriented short stories ... Binchy fans will love it - i did! 5/5 * WOMAN'S OWN *We are all in her pages, all of us: mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, husbands, wives, children, friends, lovers ... It is this combination of Maeve's understanding of what it is to be human, and how to cope with life, that makes her so popular -- Veronica HenryA master storyteller -- Marian KeyesHer storytelling ability is second to none * SUNDAY EXPRESS *You can see why, for a legion of female readers, Maeve Binchy is a one-woman opiate of the people * EVENING STANDARD *

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Book SynopsisIntroducing the Bolivian writer Liliana Colanzi, You Glow in the Dark glimmers with an unearthly light and a nearly radioactive powerTrade Review"Liliana Colanzi won the International Ribera Del Duero Prize for You Glow in the Dark, further evincing the tremendous talent of this Bolivian writer whose fiction has opened up new spaces in our literature of the strange and the fantastic." -- Latin American Literature Today"Perhaps the best thing about the collection are the coincidences that thread through it . . . the luminosity of the book resides in these encounters and synchronicities, like the blue light that shines from the contaminated people in the last story, the blue of death, but also of a star or the bottom of the ocean." -- Rosamaría Durán - Otra Parte"A rare excellence: a capacity to combine the ambiguity of poetry with the clarity of a revelation. " -- Carlos Pardo - El País"Tinged with futuristic flourishes and set largely in the Bolivian Altiplano, these stories examine the aftermath of terrible trespasses, mostly only whispered about. The 'alien gaze' is a keen instrument for dissecting the human condition, and Colanzi employs it to great effect here." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred)"This slim story collection contains seven entries, each told in taut, sharp prose that will beguile, enthrall, and astound. … In 2017, Colanzi was named one of the 39 most promising Latin American writers under 39, and her talent and stature continue to grow." -- Diego Báez - Booklist"A shimmering collection focused on the ruinous consequences of human folly… Taken together, these stories paint an arresting portrait of corruption, industrialization, the power of nature, and supernatural forces." -- Publishers Weekly (starred)"In [Colanzi’s] tales, violence is something in the air or soil, something ready to take us over or occupy our lives at any moment." -- Chicago Review of Books

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