Classic fiction: literary and general

Book SynopsisAlmost four centuries later, The Indiginous Hidalgo Don Quixote De La Mancha continues to be counted as a work of genius. It is the fame of his Don Quixote that has raised him in universal esteem to the height of the greatest literary creators, alongside Homer, Shakespeare and Dante. And, furthermore, with this uniqueness in his favor: while Homer, Shakespeare and Dante express themselves in established literary genres - epic, drama, medieval poetry - Cervantes projects the power of his fascination and influence on modern times as the creator of the modern novel. Don Quixote is not only this prototypical work of a multiform genre; It is also a great poetic creation that has worked in the spirit of modern man with the irresistible force of the most profound myths and symbols of his destiny.

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Book SynopsisTwo sisters living in London’s tough East End … will Jennifer and Kathy be tough enough to survive?Trade ReviewPraise for Kay Brellend from five-star reviews onAmazon.co.uk: Brilliant read! Really takes you through a journey of hardship love hate etc. Was gripped from beginning to end!!!By Woo This book was excellent, I didn't want it to end. Reading it made me feel like I was living in the era the book was set in.By Amanda Bicknell What a wonderful read…having been born near this area l could see the places and people as described, could not wait to read a few more chapters each night but was so sad when l finished it.By LondonSue loved this book the sort you pickup and can’t put back down, the setting and characters really come to life, it's as if you can see it and breath it. Wonderful.By K

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Book SynopsisThomas Hardy and Animals examines the human and nonhuman animals who walk and crawl and fly across and around the pages of Hardy''s novels. Animals abound in his writings, yet little scholarly attention has been paid to them so far. This book fills this gap in Hardy studies, bringing an important author within range of a new and developing area of critical inquiry. It considers the way Hardy''s representations of animals challenged ideas of human-animal boundaries debated by the Victorian scientific and philosophical communities. In moments of encounter between humans and animals, Hardy questions boundaries based on ideas of moral sense or moral agency, language and reason, the possession of a face, and the capacity to suffer and perceive pain. Through an emphasis on embodied encounters, his writings call for an extension of empathy to others, human or nonhuman. In this accessible book Anna West offers a new approach to Hardy criticism.Trade Review'… an important and welcome contribution to Hardy scholarship. … West's volume serves as a good beginning point … on this compelling and complex subject. … Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.' R. D. Morrison, CHOICE'Thomas Hardy and Animals is an outstanding piece of work that makes an important contribution to Hardy studies and to scholarship on animals in the Victorian period.' Jennifer McDonell, Victorian Studies'… West's excellent study provides a very welcome introduction to the 'creatures' that play so notable a part in Hardy's oeuvre.' Adrian Tait, The British Society for Literature and ScienceTable of ContentsIntroduction: Hardy's 'shifted [...] centre of altruism': an ethics of encounter and empathy; 1. What does it mean to be a creature?; 2. 'The only things we believe in are the sheep and the dogs'; 3. 'Artful' creatures, part one: animal language; 4. 'Artful' creatures, part two: can a snake have a face?; 5. 'Artful' creatures, part three: 'pre-posthumanist' Hardy; 6. Useful creatures: rethinking Hardy's humanitarianism.

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Book SynopsisRichard Connell was well-known for his masterful short stories and achieved great professional success, with his work often appearing in The Saturday Evening Post and Collier''s magazines. His most popular tale, The Dangerous Game, also published as The Hounds of Zaroff, is a perfect example of Connell''s impressive talent and distinct style. Still frequently adapted for stage and screen nearly a century after it first appeared, it is the fascinating and exciting tale of Sanger Rainsford, an experienced big-game hunter. Rainsford suddenly finds himself the hunted when he is ship-wrecked on a seemingly deserted island. There he finds General Zaroff, a retired military man, who has grown bored of hunting animals and now spends his time hunting human sailors who get stranded on his island. Rainsford must fight for his life against the clever Zaroff in Connell''s suspenseful and intriguing tale. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

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Book SynopsisSet in Kentucky among four generations of a family losing its craft, The Stonemason is a moving play from Cormac McCarthy, legendary author of Blood Meridian and The Road.'Expertly constructed and limpidly written' – Chicago TribuneBen Telfair admires and respects his grandfather for following the family trade with religious simplicity. Black and middle-class in the 1970s, he has acheived well. His father, on the other hand, has abandoned the old ways of hand-hewn stonemasonry – favouring building contract work. His nephew, likewise, disregards the old man's guidance.But his father is in debt. His nephew has turned to crime. And so it is that, as the family trade dies out, the family itself may see tragic consequences befall them.Praise for Cormac McCarthy:‘McCarthy worked close to some religious impulse, his books were terrifying and absolute’ – Anne Enright, Trade ReviewExpertly constructed and limpidly written, the play triumphs in its presentation of Papaw, whose earthy wisdom McCarthy makes altogether credible. * Chicago Tribune *Mr McCarthy has the best kind of Southern style, one that fuses risky eloquence, intricate rhythms and dead-to-rights accuracy. * New York Times *McCarthy is a born storyteller, a writer of natural, impeccable dialogue, a literary child of Faulkner. * New Republic *

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