Anthologies & Short Stories

Book SynopsisWith their penetrating psychological insight and their emphasis on human dignity, respect and forgiveness, Dostoyevsky''s early short stories contain the seeds of the themes that came to his major novels. Poor Folk, the author''s first great literary triumph, is the story of a tragic relationship between an impoverished copy clerk and a young seamstress, told through their passionate letters to each other. In The Landlady Dostoyevsky portrays a dreamer hero who is captivated by a curious couple and becomes their lodger. Mr Prokharchin, inspired by a true story, is a sly comedy centring on an eccentric miser, and Polzunkov is a powerful character sketch which, in common with the other tales in this volume, questions the very nature of existence.Table of ContentsPoor Folk and Other StoriesIntroductionNote on the TextPoor FolkThe LandladyMr. ProkharchinPolzunkovNotes

Read more less

Book SynopsisA collection of some of Tolstoy''s most powerful powerful storiesThe violent spiritual crisis in Tolstoy''s life that inspired his last period of creativity produced the stories in this compelling and startling collection. They portray the multifaceted nature of desire, from idealistic romance to sexual jealousy, from desperate lust to relentless longing. The K reutzer Sonata caused a public sensation with its indictment of so-called Christian marriage, a theme echoed in Family Happiness. In The Devil, a young man finds it impossible to resist a beautiful peasant woman with whom he had an affair before his marriage. And Father Sergius shows a man going to increasingly desperate ends in order to avoid the temptations of the flesh.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and

Read more less

Book SynopsisDorothy Parker, more than any of her contemporaries, captured the spirit of the Jazz Age in her poetry and prose, and The Collected Dorothy Parker includes an introduction by Brendan Gill in Penguin Modern Classics.Dorothy Parker was the most talked-about woman of her day, notorious as the hard-drinking bad girl with a talent for stinging repartee and endlessly quotable one-liners. The decadent 1920s and 1930s in New York were a time of great experiment and daring for women. For the rich, life seemed a continual party, but the excesses took their emotional toll. In the bitingly witty poems and stories collected here, along with her articles and reviews, she brilliantly captures the spirit of the decadent Jazz Age in New York, exposing both the dazzle and the darkness. But beneath the sharp perceptions and acidic humour, much of her work poignantly expresses the deep vulnerability of a troubled, self-destructive woman who, in the words of philosopher Irwin Edman, was '

Read more less

Book Synopsis''The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'' sees a baby born in 1860 begin life as an old man and then age backwards. F. Scott Fitzgerald hinted at this kind of inversion when he called his era ''a generation grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken''. Perhaps nowhere in American fiction has this ''Lost Generation'' been more vividly preserved than in Fitzgerald''s short fiction. Spanning the early twentieth-century American landscape, this collection captures, with Fitzgerald''s signature blend of enchantment and disillusionment, America during the Jazz Age.Trade ReviewA master of the American short story * Philadelphia Enquirer *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''A bold anthology ... alive with provocations and insights'' John Carey, Sunday Times''The Boy-scouts mistook my signal, and have killed the postman. I''ve had very little practice in this sort of thing, you see''The British short story tradition is probably the richest, most varied and historically extensive in the world. This new anthology celebrates the full diversity and energy of its writers, subjects and tones, from the story''s origins with Defoe, Swift and Fielding, to the ''golden age'' of the fin de siècle and Edwardian period, ending with the First World War. Including the most famous authors as well as some magnificent, little-known stories never republished since their first appearance in magazines and periodicals, these stories are by turns topical and playful, ghostly and theatrical, rumbustious and sublime.Edited with an introduction by Philip HensherTrade ReviewHensher's anthology is bigger, better and broader in several senses than anything else currently available * The Spectator *Almost 100 potent doses of the form which editor Philip Hensher claims very plausibly to be "the richest, most varied and most historically extensive national tradition anywhere in the world"... Hensher has spent a couple of years searching libraries and magazine archives and comes out staggering under a weight of treasures -- Claire Harman * Evening Standard *Like one of the legion of cantankerous, eccentric hosts we meet across this generous terrain, Hensher knows how to lay a grand spread...so enjoy the feast -- Boyd Tonkin * The Independent *Anyone reading this collection just for pleasure should start at the end of the second volume and work backwards...it would quickly bring you to four outstanding stories by women...each of these, though quickly over, leaves a lasting mark in the mind -- John Carey * The Sunday Times *Big and clever...three cheers then, for this chunky two-volume anthology, edited by Philip Hensher with imagination and a dash of mischievous wit -- Robert Douglas-Fairhurst * The Times *Made me shiver with pleasure -- Michele Roberts * The Financial Times *Charted a very personal view of the form's development from the early 18th century to the present day' -- Tim Martin * Telegraph *It's been a big year for anthologies and few come bigger than The Penguin Book of the British Short Story. Philip Hensher's introduction is spiky and thought-provoking and Volume I: From Daniel Defoe to John Buchan and Volume II: From P.G. Wodehouse to Zadie Smith (Penguin Classic, £25 each) offer readers the chance to enjoy the varieties and mutations of British stories across four centuries. -- Max Liu * Independent *In two handsomely designed volumes ... you have to admire Hensher's championing of unfamiliar names alongside established greats -- Neville Hawcock * FT *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Woolf is modern ... With Joyce and Eliot she has shaped a literary century'' Jeanette WintersonVirginia Woolf tested the boundaries of fiction in these short stories, developing a new language of sensation, feeling and thought, and recreating in words the ''swarm and confusion of life''. Defying categorization, the stories range from the more traditional narrative style of ''Solid Objects'' through the fragile impressionism of ''Kew Gardens'' to the abstract exploration of consciousness in ''The Mark on the Wall''.Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Sandra KempTrade ReviewWoolf is modern ... With Joyce and Eliot she has shaped a literary century -- Jeanette Winterson * The Times *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA darkly funny account of family life from the author of The Haunting of Hill House and The Lottery''Sometimes, in my capacity as a mother, I find myself sitting open-mouthed and terrified before my own children''As well as being a master of the macabre, Shirley Jackson was also a pitch-perfect chronicler of everyday family life. In Life Among the Savages, her caustically funny account of raising her children in a ramshackle house in Vermont, she deals with rats in the cellar, misbehaving imaginary friends, an oblivious husband and ever-encroaching domestic chaos, all described with wit, warmth and plenty of bite. ''Jackson''s family chronicles have a genuinely subversive aspect ... Read today, her pieces feel surprisingly modern - mainly because she refuses to sentimentalize or idealize motherhood'' The New York Times Book Review''Comic masterpieces, laced with hints of the discontent that lies beneath'' GTrade ReviewIs it ironic or fitting that some of the greatest American writing about that venerated and difficult activity, motherhood, comes from a horror writer? ... There is something rather magical about how Jackson managed to so transform suffering into comic masterpieces * Guardian *As warm as it is hilarious and believable ... Never has the state of domestic chaos been so perfectly illuminated * The New York Times Book Review *Warm and funny ... Read today, her pieces feel surprisingly modern - mainly because Jackson refuses to sentimentalize or idealize motherhood * The New York Times *Charming ... You'll see every parenting stance you've ever adopted, every parent-story trope you've ever told or heard, expressed more perfectly than you ever could have ... One of the great memoirists of family life * Slate *A housewife-mother's frustrations are transformed by a deft twist of the wrist into, not a grim account of disintegration and madness, still less the poisoning of her family, but light-hearted comedy -- Joyce Carol Oates

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

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. Walking ahead of him on the heath, his wife turns to look at him over her shoulder, 'Topaz eyes glinting. Scorched face. Vixen.'In language harvested from nature, Sarah Hall tells a story of metamorphosis, of wildness and fecundity, and of a man reaching for reason, who cannot let go of the creature he loves.Bringing together past, present and future in our ninetieth year, Faber Stories is a celebratory compendium of collectable work.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA collection of stories that celebrate the humour, darkness and depth of emotion of the queer and trans experience that’s not typically represented: liminal or uncertain identities, queer conception and queer joy. In this delightful debut collection of prize-wining stories, queer, gender-nonconforming and trans characters struggle to find love and forgiveness, despite their sometimes comic, sometimes tragic mistakes. In one story, a young lesbian tries to have a baby with her lover using an unprofessional sperm donor and a high-powered, rainbow-coloured cocktail. In another, a fifth-grader explores gender identity by dressing as an ox – instead of a matriarch – for a class Oregon Trail reenactment. Meanwhile a nonbinary person on the eve of top surgery dangerously experiments with an open relationship during the height of the COVID crisis. With insight and compassion, debut author Lydi Conklin takes their readers to a meeting of a queTrade Review‘What a gorgeous ode to queer life in all its awkward, tragic, hilarious, erotic, and joyful forms! I savoured each one of these stories, laughed and gasped aloud, and marvelled at their pitch-perfect dialogue and masterful sentences. Lydia Conklin's debut collection offers one of the strongest new voices in recent memory and one that is certain to belong in the canon of contemporary queer literature.’ -- Melissa Febos, author of Whip Smart and Abandon Me'Lydia Conklin writes with humor and tenderness about the way we love now. Rainbow Rainbow is an impressive and beautiful collection.' -- Lorrie Moore, author of Bark'Rainbow Rainbow is a debut that many of us have long been waiting for. The sentences in this collection leap off the page with delightfully vivid animation, and the queer and trans characters in each story take journeys that cover a breathtaking range of emotional distance. Lydia Conklin, above all, understands the power of humor, to surprise and tickle us, to regale and disarm us, and, in the end, to devastate us with truths that are full of mystery and melancholy.' -- Jamel Brinkley, author of the National Book Award nominated A Lucky Man'Rainbow Rainbow is a triumph, and Lydia Conklin is a marvel. Each story is full of wonder and trouble. I felt as if I knew these characters, recognized them in all their queer complexity, missed them when the book was done.' -- Justin Torres, author of We the Animals‘If you’ve already had the great luck of reading Lydia Conklin’s fiction, you know their work to be dazzling and indelible. Now, at last, their stories about queer, trans, and gender-nonconforming people have been brought together in this radiant collection you’ll want to revisit again and again. A book for the ages.’ -- R.O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries'Conklin brings nuance and compassion to the subject matter and displays a captivating interest in human contradiction. Conklin’s command of structure ensures that each story has a satisfying arc, but most impressive is the author’s precise and evocative prose . . . This talented writer is brimming with skills and heart.' * —Publishers Weekly (starred review) *'Highlights queer, gender-nonconforming, and trans characters. Most are seeking some sense of connection . . . Conklin portrays them all with warmth and compassion.' * Time, A Most Anticipated Book of the Year *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Not just the first of the tough school of crime-writing but the best'' THE TIMESDashiell Hammett is the true inventor of modern detective fiction and the creator of the private eye, the isolated hero in a world where treachery is the norm. The Continental Op was his great first contribution to the genre and these seven stories, which first appeared in the magazine Black Mask, are the best examples of Hammett''s early writing, in which his formidable literary and moral imagination is already operating at full strength. The Continental Op is the dispassionate fat man working for the Continental Detective Agency, modelled on the Pinkerton Agency, whose only interest is in doing his job in a world of violence, passion, desperate action and great excitement.Trade ReviewHis name remains one of the most important and recognisable in the crime fiction genre. Hammett set the standard for much of the work that would follow * INDEPENDENT *Seven brilliant short stories based on the author's experience as a detective * THE WEEK *He put these people down on paper as they are, and he made them talk and think in the language they customarily used * Raymond Chandler *He is master of the detective novel, yes, but also one hell of a writer * BOSTON GLOBE *The first fully "hard-boiled" hero in American letters * NEW YORKER *Hammett's prose is clean and entirely unique. His characters are as sharp and economically defined as any in American literature * NEW YORK TIMES *Great crime fiction started with Hammett -- James EllroyNot just the first of the tough school of crime-writing but the best * THE TIMES *Seven brilliant short stories based on the author's experience as a detective * THE WEEK *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThere is no detective like DI Rebus - brilliant, irascible and endlessly frustrating both to his friends and his long-suffering bosses. For over two decades he has walked through the dark places of Edinburgh . . .Now Rebus''s life is revealed through this complete collection of stories, from his early days as a young DC in ''Dead and Buried'' right up to the dramatic, but not quite final, retirement in ''The Very Last Drop''.This is the ultimate Ian Rankin treasure trove - a must for aficionados as well as a superb introduction to anyone looking to experience DI John Rebus, and the dark and twist-filled crimes he has to investigate, for the very first time.Trade Review"Excellently crafted short stories." * TIMES *"An enjoyable collection, frequently displaying the playfulness that is characteristic of the author" * INDEPENDENT *"Rebus is genuinely fun to read no matter how dark his cases become... a deeply satisfying read and evokes the spirit of Edinburgh and Scotland in all its glory." * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY *"They are neat, pleasing, inventive... well made, a pleasure to read, one after the other, the work of a practiced and professional craftsman." * SCOTSMAN *An essential volume for Rebus fans. * CRIME FICTION LOVER *In this bumper volume he [Rankin] has collected all his Rebus short stories and the results are an undisputed delight... We witness Rebus in his early days as well as the later burdened-by-life incarnation and these vignettes with both new adventures and insights into existing cases with a new perspective, broaden our appreciation of the iconic Edinburgh cop. -- Maxim Jakubowski * LOVE READING *"A dangerous book to have on your bedside table - you just want to keep reading on and on into the wee small hours of the night - and a dangerous book to lend: make sure you get it back." * CORNFLOWER BOOKS *'These murky tales exploring the deep recesses of the criminal psyche are well worth a read.' * DAILY EXPRESS *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTales of the Jazz Age features eleven of F. Scott Fitzgerald's best-loved short stories and 'novelettes' including 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' and 'The Diamond as Big as the Ritz'. Set in the Jazz Age, Fitzgerald's own term for the Roaring Twenties of newly confident, post-war America, this collection shows a comic genius at work, fashioning every genre from low farce to shrewd social insight, along with fantasy of extraordinary invention. These stories illuminate the unique talent who went on to write The Great Gatsby, and to become one of the enduring icons of American literature.This beautiful Macmillan Collector's Library edition features an afterword by Ned Halley.Designed 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.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'In this thrilling debut collection Alexia Arthurs is all too easy to love.' - Zadie SmithTenderness and cruelty, loyalty and betrayal, ambition and regret – these are the tensions at the heart of Alexia Arthurs’ debut book about Jamaican immigrants and their families back home. Some stories ask big questions about the things that define a person, others explode small moments of deep significance and lasting effect. Sweeping from close-knit island communities to the streets of New York City, How to Love a Jamaican offers a portrait of a nation, a people, and a way of life.Vibrant, lyrical and intimate, this collection of eleven short stories shows Alexia Arthurs to be one of the most dynamic and exciting young authors writing today. It includes the story ‘Bad Behavior’, for which she won the Paris Review’s Plimpton Prize.Trade ReviewAlexia Arthurs' How to love a Jamaican is sharp and kind, bitter and sweet. It stays in the yard, delicately attentive to the ways of country folks, and it leaves home with them, too, as they head to 'foreign' - that place across the water where barrels get filled to be sent back home and people are never quite as happy as they expected to be. In these kaleidoscopic stories of Jamaica and its diaspora we hear many voices at once: some cultivated, some simple, some wickedly funny, some deeply melancholic. All of them convince and sing. All of them shine. In this thrilling debut collection Alexia Arthurs is all too easy to love. -- Zadie SmithAlexia Arthurs is a writer of beauty, wit, and precision; these stories will grab you by the heart. This is a boss collection. -- NoViolet Bulawayo, author of We Need New NamesI am utterly taken with these gorgeous, tender, heartbreaking stories. Arthurs is a witty, perceptive, and generous writer, and this is a book that will last -- Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other PartiesWhat a thrill to recognize myself and the women I love in Alexia Arthurs’ stunning debut story collection, How to Love a Jamaican. This fantastic young writer conjures the fierce wit of Jamaica Kincaid and the deft storytelling of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Entrancing and unforgettable. -- Naomi Jackson, author of The Star Side of Bird HillAlexia Arthurs is a voice so many of us have been waiting for — funny, achingly specific and wonderfully universal. She explores what it means to belong, what it means to recognize yourself in the most unexpected places, and what humans do with the pain of longing. -- Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of We Love You, Charlie FreemanFrom a world weary Jamaican pop star in desperate need of the restorative powers of home to a queer woman returned to the Island after decades in the US, a host of seekers and sojourners fill the pages of Alexia Arthurs' sweeping debut. This collection is brimming with tenderness, hard realities and an intimacy that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page. -- Ayana Mathis, author of the The Twelve Tribes of HattieI really enjoyed this gorgeous collection of short stories from Jamaican-American author Arthurs, which move between Jamaica and the US. Particularly affecting is "Mash Up Love", where a successful elder son still strives to impress his mother although his deadbeat brother is seen as the prodigal son, and "Bad Behaviour", where a wild Brooklyn teenager is sent back to Jamaica to live with her grandmother. Zadie Smith is also a fan. -- Alice O'Keeffe * Bookseller *While the stories have a rawness to them, exploring topics such as sexual orientation, parental relationships, self-discovery, and drug use, Arthurs also offers a sure feel of the mysticism of the Caribbean . . . Stylistically reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s Paradise, this successful literary debut will appeal to readers of literary and Caribbean fiction. * Library Journal *Jamaican immigrant and return-migration stories told with unsentimental honesty. Eleven short stories examine the immigrant experience through the prism of place, food, gender, and generations . . . thankfully devoid of violin-swelling nostalgia, these stories unravel the knot of being in a place but not quite belonging and the sense of missing but not quite understanding what was lost . . . [a] strong debut collection, which beckons the reader back, again and again. A lovely collection of stories that rewards subsequent readings. * Kirkus Review *A must-read this summer * Elle.com *

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the grit of a frontier man’s dog, from pampered lapdog to wayward mongrel, from faithful guard dog to strong willed pet they’re all here in Classic Dog Stories – the perfect gift for dog lovers everywhere.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning pocket size classics. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is edited by anthologist Ned Halley.In this entertaining collection, dogs of all kinds are brought to life. Working dogs, dogs who are mistreated by humans, dogs who save lives and the ones that make us laugh; they all leap and bound on the page in stories by our most accomplished writers, including Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf, Jack London and Jerome K. Jerome.

Read more less

An entertaining and wide-ranging collection of science-fiction short stories featuring space aliens, spectacular inventions, futuristic technologies and vividly imagined worlds.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, cloth-bound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. Classic Science Fiction Stories is selected and introduced by academic and science-fiction writer Adam Roberts.Classic Science Fiction Stories highlights not only famous writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, H. G. Wells and H. P. Lovecraft, but also gives voice to lesser known but equally inventive writers such as Florence McLandburgh and Ambrose Bierce. Spanning the 1750s to the early twentieth century, these mesmerizing and expertly crafted stories are by turns intriguing, terrifying and, at times, downright comic. Together they show how science fiction took root to develop into the global phenomenon it is today.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Taut, beautiful and savage' GuardianA man travels to his son's school to deal with the fallout of a violent attack and to make sure his son will not lose his college place. But what exactly has his son done? And who is to blame? A young woman trying to make it in LA, working in a clothes shop while taking acting classes, turns to a riskier way of making money but will be forced to confront the danger of the game she's playing.And a family coming together for Christmas struggle to skate over the lingering darkness caused by the very ordinary brutality of a troubled husband and father. Subtle, sophisticated and displaying an extraordinary understanding of human behaviour, these stories from the best-selling author of The Girls are unforgettable.______________________PRAISE FOR DADDY:'It is her piercing understanding of modern humiliation that makes these stories vibrate with life...brilliant' Brandon Taylor'Razor-sharp' Evening Standard'Cline's talent at uncovering the seedy and somehow bringing it to beautiful light is brilliant' Daisy Johnson'Something about Cline's intimate tone, her talent for conjuring the feeling of being alive, is entirely and uniquely her own' Rachel Kushner'A stunning collection of stories that plunges deep into the dark corners of the human experience' DazedTrade ReviewCline is an astonishingly gifted stylist, but it is her piercing understanding of modern humiliation that makes these stories vibrate with life...brilliant -- Brandon Taylor * New York Times *Fans of Cline will delight in the author's razor-sharp observations and penchant for storytelling * Evening Standard *Cline is particularly good at locking in the witty detail that speaks volumes... These expertly constructed stories withhold key information... the pleasures here lie in an appreciation of Cline's skilful and absorbing craft * Sunday Times *These stories live in the odd corners of the world, Cline's talent at uncovering the seedy and somehow bringing it to beautiful light is brilliant. These are understated gems -- Daisy JohnsonWhen I read Emma Cline I think of Mary Gaitskill's psychological acuity and of Joy Williams's sardonic gravitas. And yet something about Cline's intimate tone, her talent for conjuring the feeling of being alive, is entirely and uniquely her own -- Rachel Kushner

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisSalman Rushdie, a self-described ‘emigrant from one place and a newcomer in two’, explores the true meaning of home. Writing with insight, passion and humour, he looks at what it means to belong, whether roots are real and homelands imaginary, what it is like to reconfigure your past from fragments of memory and what happens when East meets West. Selected from the books Shame, Imaginary Homelands and East, West by Salman Rushdie VINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.A series of short books by the world’s greatest writers on the experiences that make us human Also in the Vintage Minis series: Love by Jeanette WintersonLiberty by Virginia WoolfRace by Toni Morrison Sisters by Louisa May AlcottTrade ReviewImagine our joy when Vintage announced that it is publishing a collection of easily digestible books from the world’s most celebrated writers on the experiences that make us human… They look good and read well. That’s win/win in our book. * Stylist *

Read more less

Book SynopsisRanging from Hans Christian Anderson to Karl Ove Knausgaard, have yourself a nordic noel with the very best Scandinavian Christmas talesHave yourself a truly Scandinavian Christmas... Of visions and prophesies seen in dark, dark woods. Of toys and trees come to life. Of trolls raising chaos, and of families torn apart -- only to be brought back together by festive cheer.In this collection, classic tales from Hans Christian Andersen and Nobel Prize winner Selma Lagerlof blend with modern day stories from Karl Ove Knausgaard and Vigdis Hjorth. Each touch on the warm and wild spirit of Christmas, where the cosiness and contentment of the season can often give way to the unexpected, magical and sometimes mystical.A smorgasbord of strange literary gifts, let A Scandinavian Christmas transport you to a winter wonderland in which fantasy, the fantastic and the festive combine for your reading delight.'These evocative, atmospheric tales...capture the spirit of Christmas' Sunday ExpressTrade ReviewThese evocative, atmospheric tales...capture the spirit of Christmas -- Charlotte Heathcote * Sunday Express, *Christmas Gift Guide 2021* *A strange and beguiling series of stories, penned Scandinavia's literary greats, spanning three centuries... Beautifully decorated, this is a hardback any household would be proud to have adorn their coffee table * UK Press Syndication *A hygge Christmas is assured with these folksy traditional and modern stories... Best enjoyed with a steaming glass of glögg -- Rose Shepherd * Saga Magazine, *Christmas Gift Guide 2021* *A gorgeous collection of classic tales from everyone from Hans Christian Anderson to Karl Ove Knausgaard. Magical tales of winter wonderlands of dark woods, you'll love this smorgasbord of festive short stories! -- Ed Susan * My Weekly, *Christmas Gift Guide 2021* *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Christmas season is one of comfort and joy, sparkling lights and steam rising from cups of mulled wine at frosty carol services. A season of goodwill, as families and friends come together to forget their differences and celebrate. Unless, of course, you happen to be harbouring a grudge. Or hiding a guilty secret. Or you want something so much you just have to have it - whatever the cost. In A Very Murderous Christmas, ten of the best classic crime writers come together to unleash festive havoc, with murder, mayhem and twists aplenty. From a murder aboard a snow-bound train to a pantomime costume that takes on a life of its own, these are mysteries as rich and satisfying as a Christmas dinner.Trade ReviewPraise for Murder Under the Christmas Tree: 'Offers excellent value as the roll call of authors included is really very impressive indeed.' * Shotsmag *Praise for Murder Under the Christmas Tree: 'This killer selection is the icing on the (Christmas) cake ... this is all your Christmases come at once for fans of the genre.' The Lady * The Lady *With Cecily Gayford in charge, we are on safe ground. Each of her top-notch writers, ranging from Ian Rankin in a playful mood to the darkly reflective Val McDermid, brings a distinctive and imaginative edge to Christmas crime * Daily Mail *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisFlorence's world-famous Renaissance is brought to life in this anthology through the eyes of its most illustrious chroniclers. Beginning with Dante's vision of Inferno, teeming with his Florentine enemies, to the artist Cellini's swashbuckling adventures in High Renaissance Italy, and including the pioneering writings of Boccaccio, Ficino, Guicciardini and Vasari, this selection shows that in literature, as in art, Florence was a trailblazer. The city's long tradition of mesmerizing foreigners is celebrated in selections from Tobias Smollet, Henry James, D.H. Lawrence and Stendhal (whose rapturous impressions gave name to 'Stendhal syndrome'), while indigenous writers such as Curzio Malaparte and Vasco Pratolini paint a far grittier portrait of Florence under the looming cloud of Fascism and World War II. Salman Rushdie's dazzling novel The Enchantress of Florence takes inspiration from the city's gilded Renaissance past, while Mary McCarthy's masterful travelogue captures a bustling 20th century market city. George Eliot, Rainer Maria Rilke, Iris Origo and Penelope Fitzgerald are among the other brilliant writers whose stories illuminate the many faces of this fascinating city.

Read more less

Book SynopsisScottish Stories is a treasury of great writing from a richly literary land, where the short story has flourished for over two centuries. Here are chilling supernatural stories from Robert Louis Stevenson, Eric Linklater and Dorothy K. Haynes; side-splittingly funny stories from Alasdair Gray and Irvine Welsh; a stylish offering from urban realist William McIlvanney. Iain Crichton Smith evokes the Gaelic-speaking highlands, George Mackay-Brown the Orkney islands, Andrew O'Hagan working-class Glasgow; while Leila Aboulela, originally from Sudan, ponders the relations between colonizers and colonized from her home in Aberdeen. Though there is no one 'Scottishness' that binds the authors together, writes editor Gerard Carruthers, each has a Scottish footprint or accent. And perhaps more importantly, all are masters of their form.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisBeautiful Emma Rouault yearns for the life of wealth, passion and romance she has encountered in popular sentimental fiction, and when her doctor, the well-meaning but awkward and unremarkable Charles Bovary, begins to pay her attention, she imagines that she may be granted her wish. However, after their marriage, Emma soon becomes frustrated with the boredom of provincial life and finds herself seeking escape and contemplating adultery. As Emma’s efforts to make a reality of her fantasies become more dangerous, both she and those around her must face the shattering consequences of her actions. Causing widespread scandal when it was published in 1857, Madame Bovary is Gustave Flaubert’s masterpiece and one of the landmark works of nineteenth-century realist fiction.Trade ReviewMr Moncrieff has succeeded in rendering Madame Bovary in a flowing, modern style while not losing the flavour of Flaubert's French. * The Use of English *It has a perfection that not only stamps it, but that makes it stand almost alone. -- Henry James

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTwenty-nine international creatives raise their pens, celebrating the power of protest. In the face of historical and current injustice, 'Demos Rising' elevates the collective voice of the people, striving for democracy and freedom of speech for all. 5% of profits go to Amnesty International. Poetry, stories and artwork: a powerful and poignant tribute to the pressing issues of our time from people that dare to strive for a better world.Trade Review"Writers have always faced a problem of how to respond to political events. From World War One, to the Holocaust, 9/11 to the Arab Spring, regional conflicts to climate change. Fly on the Wall's anthology 'Demos Rising' powerfully uses different forms - poetry, prose, images - from a diverse set of writers, to speak truth to power. Ranging from poems about extinction rebellion, violence against women, saving trees by living amongst them, and a piercing verbatim poem about channel crossings from various perspectives. This extends into stories of dehumanising migrant work and institutions such as 'specialist units' that prop up corrupt states. All of which is complemented by a set of striking images of demonstrations and forbidden love. This is an essential book for chaotic times. One that will make you angry, sad, but also fired up to take action in a world on fire. To go out there and join the demos, whether with pen or sword." - Peter Raynard, Poet

Read more less

Book SynopsisSet mostly in the north of the UK, in a near future. Women march together in protest at a government reneging on climate promises. Two glorified paper pushers in Spain help British ex-pats escape a heatwave that will soon lay waste to most of southern Europe. A twitter storm erupts in the panic of a real tempest. In the northeast, a beloved allotment sinks below the waterline. Sea levels rise, toxic rain falls and the earth poisons the food that grows in it. The elite, and winners of the life lottery, are evacuated to giant towers. As a notional government tries to keep control at ground level, eco warriors, protestors and radical ‘allotmenteers’ proliferate. In the towers, new blueprints for the regime of the future are drawn up. For many, a decision has to be made between living safe or living free.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis"this is no fairy story but a story of human beings" In Charlie Hill's satirical short story collection, people stare. Behind twitching curtains. Behind the lens of a camera. With an eye reminiscent of Samuel Beckett, Charlie Hill invites you to be privy to strange social experiments, laugh at the pomp of the privileged classes and dwell in space, floating in the introspection of your solitary thoughts. As these stories delve into questions of human nature, you just might recognise yourself...Trade Review'Wonderful - a collection of brilliantly inventive absurdist tales from our increasingly fictional reality. If Kafka had come from Birmingham and written about climate change, feminism, war, food, parenting and space travel, then the result might well have resembled The State of Us. The best sort of hilarious and poignant satire*' - Joanna Kavenna, novelist; 'An excellent collection that captures something essential about humanity...Hill has an auteur's eye for a perfectly-timed hard cut.' - Will Ashon, Author of 'Clear Water' (Faber); 'tremendous storytelling verve' - Ruth Gilligan; 'Charlie Hill is a real writer' - Jim Crace

Read more less

Book SynopsisCanadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery is the author of the children's book ''Anne of Ingleside''. Toronto's McClelland and Stewart and the Frederick A. Stokes Company released it for the first time in July 1939. (New York). It is also Montgomery's last book to be published. Anne Shirley appears in 10 of these volumes. In terms of publication order, Anne of Ingleside came before Rainbow Valley. The Anne stories are also included in the short story collection of The Blythes Are Quoted, which was written in 1941/42 but wasn't released until 2009. The book's copyright in the US was extended in 1967. Anne travels to Avonlea to see Diana Wright and Anne Cordelia. She returns to the old Morgan house, now named 'Ingleside'. The book spans a period of about six years and includes adventures for each of Anne's five children as well as their aunt Mary Maria Blythe. In many of the stories, the Ingleside children are taken in by children who tell lies to seem more interesting. Gilbert has become distant from Anne, and she fears that he may no longer love her. Shirley, the third son of the Blythes, appears in the book but strangely does not receive a solo spotlight story of his own.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book comprises stories from Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia, written especially for young adults. This specially curated anthology of short stories from Asia explores the human spirit and lives of the common man separated by time, space and culture, and yet united in the human spirit to overcome the difficulties that they face in life. It provides an insight into the rich and diverse landscape of Asia, as well as heritage and cultural practices. It also challenges pre-conceived notions of biases and beliefs about other cultures and opens up room for discussion on the differences that define the human race. A Tapestry of Colours 2 encourages readers to reflect on their own values, perspectives and identities, and reflect on how their own experiences, beliefs and actions Impact society.

Read more less

Book SynopsisCosy crime fiction is a popular phenomenon, with its safe but intriguing boundaries. This latest addition to the Gothic Fantasy series is packed with armchair detectives, murders in the vicarage, family secrets unravelling in gossipy ears, and the ingredients of a genteel bloodbath in an otherwise delightful village. Contains a fabulous mix of classic and brand new writing, with contemporary authors from the US, Canada, and the UK. New, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, Joshua Boyce, Sarah Holly Bryant, Jeffrey B. Burton, C.B. Channell, Gregory Von Dare, Amanda C. Davis, Michael Martin Garrett, Philip Brian Hall, E.E. King, Tom Mead, Trixie Nisbet, Annette Siketa , B. David Spicer, Nancy Sweetland, Louise Taylor, and Elise Warner. These appear alongside classic stories by authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle, R. Austin Freeman, Arthur Morrison, Baroness Orczy, Catherine Louisa Pirkis and G.K. Chesterton.

Read more less

Book SynopsisEssential to Virginia Woolf's development as a novelist, these short stories are among the most interesting and accomplished fictions she wrote.Table of ContentsIntroduction Note on the Text Note on Publication and Spelling Select Bibliography A Chronology of Virginia Woolf The Mark on the Wall Kew Gardens An Unwritten Novel Solid Objects A Hanuted House Monday or Tuesday Blue and Green The String Quartet A Society In the Orchard Woman's College From Outside The New Dress 'Slater's Pins Have No Points' The Lady in the Looking-glass: A Reflection Explanatory Notes

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘All decent people live beyond their incomes nowadays, and those who aren't respectable live beyond other people's’. Saki (H.H. Munro) stands alongside Anton Chekhov and O Henry as a master of the short story. His extraordinary stories are a mixture of humorous satire, irony and the macabre, in which the stupidities and hypocrisy of conventional society are viciously pilloried. This collection includes Sredni Vastor and The Unrest Cure. ‘We all know that Prime Ministers are wedded to the truth, but like other married couples they sometimes live apart’

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThough W. Somerset Maugham was also famous for his novels and plays, it has been argued that in thethe short story he reached the pinnacle of his artwas his true métier. These expertly told tales, with their addictive plot twists and vividly drawn characters, are both galvanizing as literature and wonderfully entertaining. In the adventures of his alter ego Ashenden, a writer who (like Maugham himself) turned secret agent in World War I, as well as in stories set in such far-flung locales as South Pacific islands and colonial outposts in Southeast Asia, Maugham brings his characters vividly to life, and their humanity is more convincing for the author's merciless exposure of their flaws and failures. Whether the chasms of misunderstanding he plumbs are those between colonizers and natives, between a missionary and a prostitute, or between a poetry-writing woman and her uncomprehending husband, Maugham brilliantly displays his irony, his wit, and his genius in the art of storytelling.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis final classic collection of stories reveals Somerset Maugham''s unique talent for exposing and exploring the bitter realities of human relationships. Brilliant tales of love, infidelity, passion and prejudice, the stories range from ''The Lotus Eater'' in which a man has a vision of a life of bliss in the Mediterranean, to the astringent tales of ''The Outstation'' and ''The Back of Beyond'' in Malaya and South East Asia. Largely set in favourite Maugham country, this colourful collection brilliantly evokes the numbered days of the British Empire.Trade ReviewThe short story was Maugham's true métier, and some of the stories he wrote are among the best in the language -- Anthony BurgessOne of my favourite writers -- Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the essential one-volume edition of Tales from 1,001 Nights, drawn from the acclaimed landmark translation published in 3 volumes by Penguin Classics in 2008. It contains ''Aladdin'', ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'', ''Sindbad the Sailor'' and many others of the most enjoyable and beloved tales from the Arabian Nights.This new translation was described as ''magnificent'' and ''the most ambitious and thorough translation'' in the Guardian and lauded in the Telegraph as ''outstanding''. The Sunday Times said ''The new Penguin edition is the one to have''.Trade Review“For the past decade, Penguin has been producing handsome hardcover versions of their classics (…) both elegant and quirky in shocks of bright color” –The New York Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Collected Stories of Lydia Davis is the complete collection of short fiction from the world-renowned Lydia Davis.WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE 2013.''Big rejoicing: Lydia Davis has won the Man Booker International prize. Never did a book award deliver such a true match-winning punch. Best of all, a new audience will read her now and find her wit, her vigour and rigour, her funniness, her thoughtfulness, and the precision of form, which mark Davis out as unique.Daring, excitingly intelligent and often wildly comic [she] reminds you, in a world that likes to bandy its words about, what words such as economy, precision and originality really mean. This is a writer as mighty as Kafka, as subtle as Flaubert and as epoch-making, in her own way, as Proust. A two-liner from Davis, or a seemingly throwaway paragraph, will haunt. What looks like a game will open to deep seriousness; what looks like philosophy will reveal playfulness, tragicomedy, ordinariness; what looks like ordinariness will ask you to look again at Davis''s writing. In its acuteness, it always asks attentiveness, and it repays this by opening up to its reader like possibility, or like a bush covered in flowerheads.She''s a joy. There''s no writer quite like her'' Ali Smith''What stories. Precise and piercing, extremely funny. Nearly all are unlike anything you''ve ever read'' Metro''I loved these stories. They are so well-written, with such clarity of thought and precision of language. Excellent'' William Leith, Evening Standard''Remarkable. Some of the most moving fiction - on death, marriage, children - of recent years. To read Collected Stories is to be reminded of the grand, echoing mind-chambers created by Sebald or recent Coetzee. A writer of vast intelligence and originality'' Independent on Sunday''A body of work probably unique in American writing, in its combination of lucidity, aphoristic brevity, formal originality, sly comedy, metaphysical bleakness, philosophical pressure and human wisdom'' New Yorker''Davis is a high priestess of the startling, telling detail. She can make the most ordinary things, such as couples talking, or someone watching television, bizarre, almost mythical. I felt I had encountered a most original and daring mind'' Colm Toibin, Daily TelegraphLydia Davis is the author of one novel and seven story collections, the most recent of which was a finalist for the 2007 National Book Award. She is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and was named a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government for her fiction and her translations of modern writers including Maurice Blanchot, Michel Leiris and Marcel Proust.Trade ReviewRich, deeply involving, extraordinary, remarkable * The Times *I loved these stories. They are so well-written, with such clarity of thought and precision of language. Excellent * Evening Standard *Brilliant, exciting, thrilling, extremely funny * Daily Telegraph *Davis is a magician. Few writers working now make the words on the page matter moreBig rejoicing: Lydia Davis has won the Man Booker International prize. Never did a book award deliver such a true match-winning punch. Best of all, a new audience will read her now and find her wit, her vigour and rigour, her funniness, her thoughtfulness, and the precision of form, which mark Davis out as unique.Daring, excitingly intelligent and often wildly comic [she] reminds you, in a world that likes to bandy its words about, what words such as economy, precision and originality really mean. This is a writer as mighty as Kafka, as subtle as Flaubert and as epoch-making, in her own way, as Proust. A two-liner from Davis, or a seemingly throwaway paragraph, will haunt. What looks like a game will open to deep seriousness; what looks like philosophy will reveal playfulness, tragicomedy, ordinariness; what looks like ordinariness will ask you to look again at Davis's writing. In its acuteness, it always asks attentiveness, and it repays this by opening up to its reader like possibility, or like a bush covered in flowerheads.She's a joy. There's no writer quite like her. -- Ali Smith

Read more less

Book SynopsisIrvine Welsh, 'poet laureate of the chemical generation', exposes the seamy underbelly of rave’s utopian dream. Lloyd, our permanently pilled-up protagonist, pushes his weekends to breaking point and beyond in this frazzled trip through Scottish clubland. He experiences the vertiginous uppers and downers of the Second Summer of Love, dabbles in a spot of disc jockeying and closes in, gradually, on some kind of redemption…Selected from Irvine Welsh's novel Ecstasy.VINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.A series of short books by the world’s greatest writers on the experiences that make us humanAlso in the Vintage Minis series:Home by Salman RushdieDreams by Sigmund FreudEating by Nigella LawsonWork by Joseph Heller

Read more less

Book SynopsisSaki’s Cats rounds up the tales about cats, big and small, by the undisputed master of the short story. ‘Tobermory’, one of Saki’s most famous pieces, demonstrates the danger that would ensue from granting cats the power of speech – animals have long lurked unseen, eavesdropping, in the background. The tom in ‘The Philanthropist and the Happy Cat’ is the only one to enjoy his meal, as is the leopard in ‘The Guests’. In ‘The Penance’ and ‘Mrs Packletide’s Tiger’, hunters who put cats in their sights are humiliated and blackmailed. ‘The Achievement of the Cat’ considers how cats have come to be served by the human race. In addition to the short stories about cats, Saki’s Cats also collects Saki’s juvenile letters to his sister Ethel about the tiger cub he adopted while living in Burma. The feisty felines of these tales are the only clear winners, and, with a characteristic smirk and dash of his pen, it is Edwardian Society that Saki sends slinking off, tail between its legs.Trade Review'His stories and novels appear as delightful and [...] sophisticated as they did when he first published them.' (Noel Coward)Table of Contents'Saki's Tiger', 'Tobermory', 'The Philanthropist and the Happy Cat', 'The Penance', 'The Guests', 'Mrs Packletide's Tiger', 'The Achievement of the Cat', Note on the Text, Notes, A Brief Biographical Note on Saki

Read more less

Book SynopsisMy Man Jeeves by P.G Wodehouse is a collection of comedic work featuring three of Wodehouse’s famous characters. Bertie is an idle rich man, who is always ready to help his friends. However, he would never be able to do so without the help of his odd but intelligent valet, Jeeves. Said to be the prototype for Bertie, Reggie Pepper is also rich Englishman dedicated to assisting his friends, however, unlike Bertie, he often has to act as the brains in any situation he is in, as he does not have a useful assistant like Jeeves. This collection of stories is split between these characters: four feature Bertie and Jeeves while the other half focuses on Reggie. Leave it to Jeeves, the first story in the collection, follows Bertie and Jeeves’ adventures in America. When one of Bertie’s friends request help convincing his uncle to accept his soon-to-be bride, Jeeves and Bertie are happy to supply a plan. However, the situation becomes complicated when their scheme leads to the uncle liking the young woman a little too much. Much like the introductory story, Jeeves and the Hardboiled Egg depicts the strange circumstances the duo finds themselves in. In attempt to help Bertie’s friend, Bicky, out of a tough financial situation after lying to his uncle, Jeeves concocts a plan involving a chicken farm and a convention of Americans. In a similar spirit of silly unconventionality, Reggie Pepper assists his forgetful friend, Bobby, in Absent Treatment. When Bobby’s wife, Mary, declares that she will not see Bobby until he can remember her birthday, Bobby and Reggie investigate astrogeology and scour through their records to discover her birthdate. Described as witty and heart-warming, My Man Jeeves by P.G Wodehouse is a timeless classic perfect for anyone in need of a good laugh. With well developed, good-natured characters, My Man Jeeves provides an escape into simple comedy. This edition of P.G Wodehouse’s My Man Jeeves features a striking new cover design and is printed in a stylish font, making it both readable and modern.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAs Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.The Metamorphosis - the masterpiece of Franz Kafka -was first published in 1915 and is one of the seminal works of fiction of the twentiethcentury. The novel iscited as a key influence for many of today's leading authors; as Auden wrote:"Kafka is important to us because his predicament is the predicament of modern man".Traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, wakes to find himself transformed into a large, monstrous insect-like creature. The cause of Gregor''s transformation is never revealed, and as he attempts to adjust to his new condition he becomes a burden to his parents and sister, who are repelled by the horrible, verminous creature Gregor has become.A harrowing, yet strangely comic, meditation on human feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and isolation,The Metamorphosishas taken its place as one of the most widely read and influential works of twentieth-century fiction.The Legend Classics series:Around the World in Eighty DaysThe Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Importance of Being EarnestAlice''s Adventures in WonderlandThe MetamorphosisThe Railway ChildrenThe Hound of the BaskervillesFrankensteinWuthering HeightsThree Men in a BoatThe Time MachineLittle WomenAnne of Green GablesThe Jungle BookThe Yellow Wallpaper and Other StoriesDraculaA Study in ScarletLeaves of GrassThe Secret GardenThe War of the WorldsA Christmas CarolStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeHeart of DarknessThe Scarlet LetterThis Side of ParadiseOliver TwistThe Picture of Dorian GrayTreasure IslandThe Turn of the ScrewThe Adventures of Tom SawyerEmmaThe TrialA Selection of Short Stories by Edgar Allan PoeGrimm Fairy TalesThe AwakeningMrs DallowayGulliver's TravelsThe Castle of OtrantoSilas MarnerHard Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisLittle-known folk tales from Welsh settlements in America: a colonial history told through stories from Welsh, American and Native cultures

Read more less

Book SynopsisNo one has written more feelingly and more beautifully than Nescio about the madness and sadness, courage and vulnerability of youth: its big plans and vague longings, not to mention the binges, crashes, and marathon walks and talks. No one, for that matter, has written with such pristine clarity about the radiating canals of Amsterdam and the cloud-swept landscape of the Netherlands. Who was Nescio? Nescio—Latin for “I don’t know”—was the pen name of J.H.F. Grönloh, the highly successful director of the Holland–Bombay Trading Company and a father of four—someone who knew more than enough about respectable maturity. Only in his spare time and under the cover of a pseudonym, as if commemorating a lost self, did he let himself go, producing over the course of his lifetime a handful of utterly original stories that contain some of the most luminous pages in modern literature. This is the first English translation of Nescio’s stories.

Read more less