ELT & Literary Studies Books
Oxford University Press Sybil
Book SynopsisSybil, or The Two Nations is one of the finest novels to depict the social problems of class-ridden Victorian England. The book''s publication in 1845 created a sensation, for its immediacy and readability brought the plight of the working classes sharply to the attention of the reading public. The ''two nations'' of the alternative title are the rich and poor, so disparate in their opportunities and living conditions, and so hostile to each other. that they seem almost to belong to different countries. The gulf between them is given a poignant focus by the central romantic plot concerning the love of Charles Egremont, a member of the landlord class, for Sybil, the poor daughter of a militant Chartist leader.Trade Reviewperfect timing for this new edition ... with a brilliant introduction that throws fresh light on Disraeli's views, explains the novel's culutural roots and defends its place as an accomplished work of fiction in its own right * The Lady *Table of ContentsIntroduction Note on the Text Select Bibliography Chronology SYBIL Explanatory Notes
£11.39
Penguin Books Ltd Goodbye to All That
Book SynopsisAn autobiographical work that describes firsthand the great tectonic shifts in English society following the First World War, Robert Graves''s Goodbye to All That is a matchless evocation of the Great War''s haunting legacy, published in Penguin Modern Classics.In 1929 Robert Graves went to live abroad permanently, vowing ''never to make England my home again''. This is his superb account of his life up until that ''bitter leave-taking'': from his childhood and desperately unhappy school days at Charterhouse, to his time serving as a young officer in the First World War that was to haunt him throughout his life. It also contains memorable encounters with fellow writers and poets, including Siegfried Sassoon and Thomas Hardy, and covers his increasingly unhappy marriage to Nancy Nicholson. Goodbye to All That, with its vivid, harrowing descriptions of the Western Front, is a classic war document, and also has immense value as one of the most candid self-portraitTrade ReviewA remarkable book ... Essential reading for the centenary of the first world war—GuardianOne of the most candid self-portraits of a poet, warts and all, ever painted—The Times Literary SupplementWe see the dark heart of the book even more clearly, and hear it beating even more loudly, in this original edition than we do in the comparatively careful and considered terms of the later one—Andrew Motion
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd A History of My Times
Book SynopsisXenophon''s History recounts nearly fifty turbulent years of warfare in Greece between 411 and 362 BC. Continuing the story of the Peloponnesian War at the point where Thucydides finished his magisterial history, this is a fascinating chronicle of the conflicts that ultimately led to the decline of Greece, and the wars with both Thebes and the might of Persia. An Athenian by birth, Xenophon became a firm supporter of the Spartan cause, and fought against the Athenians in the battle of Coronea. Combining history and memoir, this is a brilliant account of the triumphs and failures of city-states, and a portrait of Greece at a time of crisis.Table of ContentsA History of My TimesIntroductionSelect BibliographyA Note on the NotesA History of My TimesBook OneBook TwoBook ThreeBook FourBook SixBook SevenAppendixMaps:1. The Aegean2. Asia Minor3. Northern Peloponnese and North West Greece4. Central Greece5. Area of the Isthmus and the Saronic Gulf6. Central and Southern Peloponnese7. ChalcidiceIndex
£11.69
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Tacitus Annals XIV A Selection
Book SynopsisThis is the OCR-endorsed edition covering the Latin A-Level (Group 2) prescription of Annals XIV, 113, giving full Latin text, commentary and vocabulary, with a detailed introduction that also covers the prescribed material to be read in English for A Level.Tacitus is one of the great Roman historians. His Annals, written in the early-2nd century CE, described the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Gaius, Claudius and Nero, covering the years 1468 CE. In this selection he provides a memorable vignette of Nero's decadence and cruelty in the failed and then successful murder of his own mother, Agrippina. The drama of Nero's reign must be read in the context of Tacitus' perspective as an author writing within living memory of the events he describes, events which shaped the further development of imperial rule.Supporting resources are available on the Companion Website: https://www.bloomsbury.pub/OCR-editions-2024-2026Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Text Commentary Notes Vocabulary
£12.34
HarperCollins Publishers Much ADO about Nothing
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably.'One of Shakespeare's most witty and enjoyable comedies, Much Ado About Nothing is a play that explores courtship, romance and marriage through a number of relationships. Most famously, that of the irrepressible Beatrice and Benedick as they trade their wits against one another, criticising the notion of marriage, yet slowly falling in love with one another as they do so.
£5.62
Penguin Books Ltd Sidneys The Defence of Poesy and Selected
Book SynopsisControversy raged through England during the 1570-80s as Puritans denounced all manner of games & pastimes as a danger to public morals. Writers quickly turrned their attention to their own art and the first & most influential response came with Philip Sidney''s Defense. Here he set out to answer contemporary critics &, with reference to Classical models of criticism, formulated a manifesto for English literature. Also includes George Puttenham''s Art of English Poesy, Samuel Daniel''s Defence of Rhyme, & passages by writers such as Ben Jonson, Francis Bacon & George Gascoigne.
£14.24
Penguin Books Ltd The Penguin Book of Dragons Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisTwo thousand years of legend and lore about the menace and majesty of dragons, which have breathed fire into our imaginations from ancient Rome to Game of ThronesA Penguin ClassicThe most popular mythological creature in the human imagination, dragons have provoked fear and fascination for their lethal venom and crushing coils, and as avatars of the Antichrist, servants of Satan, couriers of the damned to Hell, portents of disaster, and harbingers of the last days. Here are accounts spanning millennia and continents of these monsters that mark the boundary between the known and the unknown, including: their origins in the deserts of Africa; their struggles with their mortal enemies, elephants, in the jungles of South Asia; their fear of lightning; the world’s first dragon slayer, in an ancient collection of Sanskrit hymns; the colossal sea monster Leviathan; the seven-headed “great red dragon” of the Book of Revelation; the Loch NeTrade ReviewI love the way Scott Bruce has scoured so much ancient lore to bring us this treasury of dragon-related information, and I shall turn to it frequently -- Philip PullmanScholarly and thrilling. By collecting some of the foundational - and also most surprising - historical sources on these guardians of the 'boundary between the known and unknown', Scott Bruce has created the new indispensable resource for anyone who cares about dragons -- Adam Gidwitz, New York Times bestselling author of A Tale Dark and Grimm and The Inquisitor’s Tale
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd A Guest at the Feast
Book SynopsisA Guest at the Feast uncovers the places where politics and poetics meet, where life and fiction overlap, where one can be inside writing and also outside of it.From the melancholy and amusement within the work of the writer John McGahern to an extraordinary essay on his own cancer diagnosis, Tóibín delineates the bleakness and strangeness of life and also its richness and its complexity. As he reveals the shades of light and dark in a Venice without tourists and the streets of Buenos Aires riddled with disappearances, we find ourselves considering law and religion in Ireland as well as the intricacies of Marilynne Robinson''s fiction.The imprint of the written word on the private self, as Tóibín himself remarks, is extraordinarily powerful. In this collection, that power is gloriously alive, illuminating history and literature, politics and power, family and the self.Trade ReviewDroll, careful reflections on Ireland, illness and religion in a welcome collection of essays . . . [the] melancholy elegance of the prose guarantees the reader's enjoyment * Guardian *Erudite, forensic, moving and wry . . . the breadth of the collection is impressive: a snapshot of Irish society over decades; Buenos Aires, in the wake of thousands of 'disappeared' people; Covid-era Venice . . . a lesson in how the right words in the right order can get to the truth of the matter * Irish Times *[These essays] are always interesting and intelligent, written in an admirably clear prose free of academic jargon . . . journalism at its best. I learned a lot from them and am grateful for that. It's a collection to which I will surely return, just as I do to Orwell's, Ian Jack's, Ferdinand Mount's and Patrick Marnham's * Scotsman *A feast for the reader . . . the novelist applies his inquisitive and empathetic mind in wide-ranging series of essays, from the political to the poignant . . . [Toibin] seeks no lessons; he tries only to be good company on the page. (He succeeds.) * Irish Independent *Erudite essays from one of the world's finest writers . . . Throughout, the poetry of Tóibín's prose is as impressive as always. In [the] title piece, he writes that his mother was 'what most of us still write for: the ordinary reader, curious and intelligent and demanding, ready to be moved and changed.' Readers like her will savor every page of this book * Kirkus Reviews, starred *The clarity of the novelist's descriptive ability shines through essays on topics ranging from his treatment for cancer to the joys of an empty Venice . . . On every subject, Tóibín's writing is what people these days inevitably describe as nuanced, a word that has become a kind of shorthand for expressing a person's rare ability to understand . . . the foibles of others -- Rachel Cooke * Observer, Book of the Day *I love everything Colm Tóibín has written -- Nicola Sturgeon * New Statesman *I wanted to read out loud, to fully savour writing that is so careful and so lyrical -- Laura Hackett * Sunday Times *Reading Irish novelist, playwright and poet Colm Tóibín is always a delight * Independent *Both epic and intimate . . . a moving portrait of three generations of sprawling, loving, fractious family life . . . a triumph * Financial Times on The Magician *A work of art, an emotional reckoning with a century of change * The Times on The Magician *
£10.44
Random House USA Inc Plainwater
Book Synopsis
£14.39
Ebury Publishing The Love Poems Of Rumi
Book SynopsisBorn Jalal ad-Din Mohammed Balkhi in Persia early in the thirteenth century, the poet known as Rumi expressed the deepest feelings of the heart through his poetry. This volume consists of new translations edited by Deepak Chopra to evoke the rich mood and music of Rumi''s love poems. Exalted yearning, ravishing ecstasy, and consuming desire emerge from these poems as powerfully today as they did on their creation more than 700 years ago. ''These poems reflect the deepest longings of the human heart as it searches for the divine. They celebrate love. Each poetic whisper is urgent, expressing the desire that penetrates human relationships and inspires intimacy with the self, silently nurturing an affinity for the Beloved. Both Fereydoun Kia, the translator, and I hope that you will share the experience of ravishing ecstasy that the poems of Rumi evoked in us. In this volume we have sought to capture in English the dreams, wishes, hopes, desires, and feelings of a Persian poet
£11.69
Cambridge University Press New Orleans
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£15.19
Cambridge University Press Dublin
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£15.19
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Virgil Aeneid IV A Selection
Book SynopsisThe only exam-board approved book for OCR's Latin AS and A-Level prescription of Virgil's Aeneid Book IV for examination in 20262028.
£16.14
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc George Orwells Perverse Humanity
Book SynopsisThis is the first book to focus primarily on George Orwell's ideas about free speech and related matters freedom of the press, the writer's freedom of expression, honesty and truthfulness and, in particular, the ways in which they are linked to his political vision of socialism. Orwell is today claimed by the Left and Right, by neo-conservatives and neo-socialists. How is that possible? Part of the answer, as Glenn Burgess reveals, is that Orwell was an odd sort of socialist. The development of Orwell's socialism was, from the start, conditioned by his individualist and liberal commitments. The hopes he attached to socialism were for a fairer, more equal world that would permit human freedom and individuality to flourish, completing, not destroying, the work of liberalism. Freedom of thought was a central part of this, and its defence and use were essential parts of the struggle to ensure that socialism developed in a liberal, humane form that did not follow the totalitarian path of Trade ReviewGlenn Burgess has written with great perception about how intensely Orwell valued free speech and how determined he was to defend it. This study makes us vividly aware of aspects of Orwell, particularly his activism, that have been hitherto comparatively neglected. It will be read with great interest by the many who wish to know more about and understand better a writer whose impact has continued to grow over the years. * Peter Stansky, Professor Emeritus of History, Stanford University, USA, and author of The Socialist Patriot: George Orwell and War *Glenn Burgess synthesizes a massive number of primary and secondary texts and constructs an original and clear argument around them on a vitally important area – namely Orwell’s ideas about socialism, free speech, freedom of thought, press freedom and censorship. It amounts to an important and fascinating addition to Orwellian scholarship. * Richard Lance Keeble, Professor of Journalism, University of Lincoln, UK *Table of ContentsPrologue: ‘Ownlife, it was called, meaning individualism and eccentricity’ 1. Orwell and the Culture Wars 2. How to Be Yourself (or Not): Orwell’s Early Novels 3. The Expression on a Human Face 4. Individualism, Liberty, Socialism Part I: Orwell’s Socialism 1.. Before Orwell; Before Socialism: A Tory Anarchist? 2. The Birth of George Orwell’s Socialism 3. The Development of Orwell’s Socialism (a). Peace, Empire and Internationalism (b). Revolution and Political Violence (c). Nostalgia, Progress, and Utopia Part II: Orwell and Freedom of Thought 1. From Eric Blair to George Orwell: Englishness and Freedom 2. Libel, Obscenity and Politics: Orwell’s Early Experience of Censorship 3. ‘All Propaganda is Lies’: Orwell, BBC Propaganda and Intellectual Responsibility 4. Writing for Freedom: Tribune, Animal Farm and Free Speech 5. Activist for Intellectual Freedom: (I) The Freedom Defence Committee 6. Activist for Intellectual Freedom: (II) The League for the Dignity and Rights of Man 7. Propaganda Again: Orwell, His List and the Information Research Department (IRD) 8. Freedom and Truth: Nineteen Eighty-Four Index
£20.89
Verso Books Nightwalking
Book Synopsis
£12.34
Can of Worms Press What Ho P. G. Wodehouse on Love
Book Synopsis
£12.28
Manchester University Press Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and
Book SynopsisBeginning theory has been helping students navigate through the thickets of literary and cultural theory for over two decades. This new and expanded fourth edition continues to offer readers the best single-volume introduction to the field. The bewildering variety of approaches, theorists and technical language is lucidly and expertly unravelled. Unlike many books which assume certain positions about the critics and the theories they represent, Beginning theory allows readers to develop their own ideas once first principles and concepts have been grasped. The book has been updated for this edition and includes a new introduction, expanded chapters, and an overview of the subject ('Theory after "Theory"') which maps the arrival of new 'isms' since the second edition appeared in 2002 and the third edition in 2009.Trade Review'There is no other book that offers such a comprehensive account of the field, combined with thoughtful, detailed exposition of the theoretical approaches under discussion. Far from being a modest survey of contemporary literary theory, it has had a vital role in shaping the way that theory is taught in Britain and North America.'English Association Newsletter‘In the fourth edition of his popular introduction to literary theory, Barry (emer., Aberystwyth Univ., Wales) amends and updates earlier versions (1995, 2002, 2009) and adds sections on newer theories such as consilience and posthumanism. The book is written explicitly for students of English literature, and in citing examples Barry tends to stick to the canonical—Wordsworth, Austen, Shakespeare, et al.—which renders the book less useful than it might be for students of other literatures and languages. Nevertheless, Barry’s readable text focuses helpfully on putting students at ease and giving them tools to think through difficult concepts and theories. In addition, practical exercises familiarize students new to the discipline with different ways of using theory to analyze literature. Most of the changes to the new edition are insubstantial, and some newer theories and practices, such as those relating to technology, are given short shrift. The majority of the references and suggestions for further reading are also the same as those used in earlier versions. Even so the book provides an approachable, understandable introduction to literary theory and would be useful to those not already in possession of the third edition.’M. Anderson, Southern Oregon University, Choice connect, Vol. 56, No. 2, October 2018 -- .Table of ContentsPreface to the fourth editionIntroduction1 Theory before 'theory'2 Structuralism 3 Post-structuralism and deconstruction 4 Postmodernism 5 Psychoanalytic criticism 6 Feminist criticism7 Queer theory8 Marxist criticism 9 New historicism and cultural materialism 10 Postcolonial criticism 11 Stylistics 12 Narratology 13 Ecocriticism14 Literary theory – a history in ten events15 Theory after 'Theory'AppendicesWhere do we go from here? Further readingIndex
£11.99
Oxford University Press Persuasion
Book Synopsis''She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older - the natural sequel of an unnatural beginning.''Anne Elliot seems to have given up on present happiness and has resigned herself to living off her memories. More than seven years earlier she complied with duty: persuaded to view the match as imprudent and improper, she broke off her engagement to a naval captain with neither fortune, ancestry, nor prospects. However, when peacetime arrives and brings the Navy home, and Anne encounters Captain Wentworth once more, she starts to believe in second chances. Persuasion celebrates romantic constancy in an era of turbulent change. Written as the Napoleonic Wars were ending, the novel examines how a woman can at once remain faithful to her past and still move forward into the future. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''
£5.99
Cengage Learning, Inc Pathways Listening Speaking and Critical Thinking
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£25.65
Oxford University Press Sir Gawain and The Green Knight
Book Synopsis''The finest translation in and for our time'' (Kevin Crossley-Holland) Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, with its intricate plot of enchantment and betrayal is probably the most skilfully told story in the whole of the English Arthurian cycle. Originating from the north-west midlands of England, it is based on two separate and very ancient Celtic motifs of the Beheading and the Exchange of Winnings, brought together by the anonymous 14th century poet. His telling comprehends a great variety of moods and modes - from the stark realism of the hunt-scenes to the delicious and dangerous bedroom encounters between Lady Bercilak and Gawain, from moments of pure lyric beauty when he evokes the English countryside in all its seasons, to authorial asides that are full of irony and puckish humour. This new verse translation uses a modern alliterative pattern which subtly echoes the music of the original at the same time as it strives for fidelity. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford WorlTrade ReviewThe Oxford World's Classics edition offers students an excellent introduction to this classic text and also important notes and chronologies.
£7.99
HarperCollins Publishers The Tempest Paperback
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.We are such stuffAs dreams are made on; and our little lifeIs rounded with a sleep.'Magical and dreamlike in its tone, Shakespeare's The Tempest begins with a storm of epic proportions and a shipwreck. Banished from Italy, Prospero lives on a remote island with his daughter. Using his magic, he vows to seek revenge on the injustice dealt to him by his brother, but in doing so, Shakespeare questions the difficulty of distinguishing men' from monsters', and the realities of justice.
£5.62
Oxford University Press Mansfield Park
Book SynopsisFanny Price is taken to live at Mansfield Park, the home of her wealthy uncle. She gradually falls in love with her cousin Edmund, but when the dazzling and sophisticated Crawfords arrive, and amateur theatricals unleash rivalry and sexual jealousy, Fanny has to fight to retain her independence. This new edition places Mansfield Park in its Regency context and elucidates the theatrical background that pervades the novel.
£5.99
Oxford University Press A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Book SynopsisOne of the most significant literary works of the twentieth century, and one of the most innovative. Young Irish Catholic, Stephen Dedalus, rejects religion and national ties to develop unfettered as an artist. Stronly autobiographical, the novel is one of the founding texts of Modernism and the precursor of Ulysses.Trade Reviewhandsome new editions . . . . eminently readable with good, clear typefaces and text unencumbered by note numbersTable of ContentsIntroduction ; Bibliography ; Chronology ; Publication history/Note on the text ; Explanatory notes
£6.99
Pan Macmillan Daily Rituals Women at Work: How Great Women Make
Book Synopsis'That word, "vacation," makes me sweat.' Coco Chanel on taking a break'You must do it irregardless, or it will eat its way out of you.' Zora Neale Hurston on writing'One has to choose between the Life and the Project.' Susan Sontag on choosing artFrom Vanessa Bell and Charlotte Brontë to Nina Simone and Jane Campion, here are over one hundred and forty female writers, painters, musicians, sculptors, poets, choreographers, and filmmakers on how they create and work.Barbara Hepworth sculpted outdoors and Janet Frame wore earmuffs as she worked to block out noise. Kate Chopin wrote with her six children ‘swarming around her’ whereas the artist Rosa Bonheur filled her bedroom with the sixty birds that inspired her work. Louisa May Alcott wrote so vigorously – skipping sleep and meals – that she had to learn to write with her left hand to give her cramped right hand a break.From Isak Dinesen subsisting on oysters, champagne and amphetamines, to Isabel Allende's insistence that she begins each new book on 8 January, here are the working routines of over 140 brilliant female painters, composers, sculptors, writers, filmmakers and performers.Filled with details of the large and small choices these women made, Mason Currey's Daily Rituals Women at Work is a source of fascination and inspiration.'An admirably succinct portrait of some distinctly uncommon lives' - Meryle SecrestTrade ReviewUtterly fascinating . . . This book is the ultimate retort to the flaneurs who dream about the novel/screenplay/painting they would create if only they had the time -- Daisy Goodwin, Sunday Times on Daily Rituals: How Great Minds Make Time, Find Inspiration and Get to WorkI just can't recommend this book enough -- Lena Dunham on Daily Rituals: How Great Minds Make Time, Find Inspiration and Get to WorkA trove of entertaining anecdote and thought-provoking comparison -- Daily Telegraph, on Daily Rituals: How Great Minds Make Time, Find Inspiration and Get to WorkA chance to see what great lives look like when the triumphs, dramas, disruptions and divorces have been all but boiled away. It will fascinate anyone who wonders how a day might best be spent, especially those who have wondered of their artistic heroes, as a baffled Colette once did of George Sand: how the devil did they manage? -- Guardian, on Daily Rituals: How Great Minds Make Time, Find Inspiration and Get to WorkMason Currey has carefully compiled the daily habits and personal foibles of 161 great writers, artists, scientists and thinkers, including one who stood on his head to cure creative block. By the end of this book, our carpet-glue habit looks normal -- DBC Pierre, Guardian, on Daily Rituals: How Great Minds Make Time, Find Inspiration and Get to WorkA fascinating little book -- Financial Times on Daily Rituals: How Great Minds Make Time, Find Inspiration and Get to Work
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC John Ruskin An Illustrated Life of John Ruskin
Book SynopsisJohn Ruskin was one of the most influential writers of the nineteenth century. His study of art and architecture in Britain and Europe led him to consider of the conditions of the people who lived in his world, and his interests embraced social and political economy. His ideas propounded in books like Unto This Last had a profound effect: William Morris, Bernard Shaw and many other early socialists practised his teachings. It also shows where the effects of his teaching can be seen today, in green belts, town planning, smokeless zones, the Rent Restrictions Act and the National Trust.
£8.99
Oxford University Press In the Shadow of Girls in Blossom
Book Synopsis''I was at one of those periods in youth--vacant, without any particular love object--when, like a lover seeing his beloved in all things, we desire, we seek, we see Beauty everywhere.''In the Shadow of Girls in Blossom, the second volume of Proust''s In Search of Lost Time (1913-27), is a novel of exploration and (self-) discovery, continuing the story of the narrator''s youth and adolescence. From the enclosed spaces of the fin-de-siècle social world that revolves around Madame Swann, we move to the fictional town of Balbec on the Normandy coast, a place where the social classes intermingle with mutual fascination. Against the ever-changing backdrop of the sea--a constant reminder of beauty, mutability, and the vastness of the world beyond individual human affairs--the narrator encounters individuals who will shape his experience and indelibly colour his outlook on that world. He finds a friend in the aristocratic Robert de Saint-Loup and is perplexed by his enigmatic uncle the Baron
£9.89
HarperCollins Publishers Finn and Hengest
Book SynopsisTolkien's famous translations and lectures on the story of two fifth-century heroes in northern Europe.Professor J.R.R.Tolkien is most widely known as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but he was also a distinguished scholar in the field of Mediaeval English language and literature. His most significant contribution to Anglo-Saxon studies is to be found in his lectures on Finn and Hengest (pronounced Hen-jist), two fifth-century heroes in northern Europe.The story is told in two Old English poems, Beowulf and The Fights at Finnesburg, but told so obscurely and allusively that its interpretation had been a matter of controversy for over 100 years. Bringing his unique combination of philological erudition and poetic imagination to the task, however, Tolkien revealed a classic tragedy of divided loyalties, of vengeance, blood and death.Tolkien's original and persuasive solution of the many problems raised by the story ranged widely through the early history and legend ofTrade Review ‘How, given little over half a century, did one man become the creative equivalent of a people?’ Guardian
£9.49
Oxford University Press Germinal
Book SynopsisZola''s masterpiece of working life, Germinal (1885), exposes the inhuman conditions of miners in northern France in the 1860s. By Zola''s death in 1902 it had come to symbolise the call for freedom from oppression so forcefully that the crowd which gathered at his State funeral chanted ''Germinal! Germinal!''.The central figure, Etienne Lantier, is an outsider who enters the community and eventually leads his fellow-miners in a strike protesting against pay-cuts - a strike which becomes a losing battle against starvation, repression, and sabotage. Yet despite all the violence and disillusion which rock the mining community to its foundations, Lantier retains his belief in the ultimate germination of a new society, leading to a better world. Germinal is a dramatic novel of working life and everyday relationships, but it is also a complex novel of ideas, given fresh vigour and power in this new translation. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made availableTrade Review'masterpiece' Oxford Times'A good translator uses the language of his day; the original text remains fixed, but translations must move with the times. Collier's, though differing from, and not always improving on, Tancock's, is likely to have the same startling effect on the reader coming fresh to it today as his prdecessor's had forty years ago.' F.W.J. Hemmings, French Studies, Vol. 48, Part 4
£8.99
Oxford University Press The Belly of Paris
Book Synopsis''Respectable people... What bastards!''Unjustly deported to Devil''s Island following Louis-Napoleon''s coup-d''état in December 1851, Florent Quenu escapes and returns to Paris. He finds the city changed beyond recognition. The old Marché des Innocents has been knocked down as part of Haussmann''s grand programme of urban reconstruction to make way for Les Halles, the spectacular new food markets. Disgusted by a bourgeois society whose devotion to food is inseparable from its devotion to the Government, Florent attempts an insurrection. Les Halles, apocalyptic and destructive, play an active role in Zola''s picture of a world in which food and the injustice of society are inextricably linked.The Belly of Paris (Le Ventre de Paris) is the third volume in Zola''s famous cycle of twenty novels, Les Rougon-Macquart. It introduces the painter Claude Lantier and in its satirical representation of the bourgeoisie and capitalism complements Zola''s other great novels of social conflict and urban poverty. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Trade ReviewThe translation by Brian Nelson for the Oxford World's Classics edition is excellent, and I really like the cover image which is a detail from The Square in Front of Les Halles by Victor-Gabriel Gilbert. * ANZ LitLovers LitBlog, Lisa Hill *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Metaphysics Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisAristotle's probing inquiry into some of the fundamental problems of philosophy, The Metaphysics is one of the classical Greek foundation-stones of western thought The Metaphysics presents Aristotle's mature rejection of both the Platonic theory that what we perceive is just a pale reflection of reality and the hard-headed view that all processes are ultimately material. He argued instead that the reality or substance of things lies in their concrete forms, and in so doing he probed some of the deepest questions of philosophy: What is existence? How is change possible? And are there certain things that must exist for anything else to exist at all? The seminal notions discussed in The Metaphysics - of 'substance' and associated concepts of matter and form, essence and accident, potentiality and actuality - have had a profound and enduring influence, and laid the foundations for one of the central branches of Western philosophy. In this editionTable of ContentsThe Metaphysics - Aristotle Translated with an Introduction by Hugh Lawson-TancredPrefaceIntroductionTHE METAPHYSICSBook AlphaBook Alpha the LesserBook BetaBook GammaBook DeltaBook EpsilonBook ZetaBook EtaBook ThetaBook IotaBook KappaBook LambdaBook MuBook NuBibliography
£11.69
Boydell & Brewer Ltd Lancelot-Grail: 8. The Post Vulgate Cycle. The
Book SynopsisThe Post-Vulgate Cycle reworks the Vulgate Cycle from the end of The Story of Merlin. The sequel opens with Arthur's unwitting incest with his sister, and his establishment, with Merlin's help, of his title to the kingdom. The story of the events leading up to the Dolorous Blow is then recounted, as well as its consequences. A sequence of adventures follows, largely involving Gawain and his brothers; Lancelot appears only at the end of the continuation, as does Perceval, whose story concludes the romance. For a full description of the Post-Vulgate Cycle see the blurb for the complete set.
£37.99
Pearson Education Othello everything you need to catch up study and prepare for the 2025 and 2026 exams
This book has features to help students improve their grade. It has features that address the specific needs of students studying for the new AS and A2 exams. Text boxes in the margin labelled 'Context' describe the literary, historical, cultural, religious, or philosophical context of specific references in the text.
£7.99
HarperCollins Publishers Where the Past Begins
Book SynopsisFrom New York Times bestselling author Amy Tan, a memoir on her life as a writer, her childhood and the symbiotic relationship between fiction and emotional memory.In Where the Past Begins, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club and The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan is at her most intimate in revealing the truths and inspirations that underlie her extraordinary fiction.By delving into vivid memories of her traumatic childhood, confessions of self-doubt in her journals and heartbreaking letters to and from her mother, she gathers together evidence of all that made it both unlikely and inevitable that she would become a writer. Through spontaneous storytelling, she shows how a fluid fictional state of mind unleashed near-forgotten memories that became the emotional nucleus of her novels.Tan explores shocking truths uncovered by family memorabilia the real reason behind an I.Q. test she took at age six, why her parents lied about their education, mysteries surrounding her maternal grandmoTrade Review‘Tan writes about her parents with love and frustration and without sentimentality, and some of the book’s most effective sections are the ones that examine how her view of them was affected by discoveries made later in their lives or after their deaths. She also writes with great insight about her own creative process, and how it has been affected by everything from listening to music to chance encounters…This is a compelling exploration of both the personal and creative life of a fascinating woman’ Sunday Business Post ‘Remember Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother, the terrifying pushy-mother manifesto written by Chinese-American Amy Chua? Well, this book, by the other famous Chinese-American Amy, bestselling novelist Amy Tan, could be called Post-Battle Hymn Of The Damaged Daughter Of A Tiger Mother. Fascinating’ Daily Mail ‘It is a privilege to be given permission to rummage in any writer’s attic. Where The Past Begins yields treasure under the dust sheets… the introduction is breathtaking – all of Tan’s gifts, the ability to layer images, to command your attention, to shock you with a sudden slipping in of the knife are on display here’ Financial Times ‘She elaborates on the act of writing, the mechanics and results of her own imagination…Tan’s epiphanies and revelations often revive supressed memories…much of her questioning is focused on her mother’s life, parts of which may sound familiar to readers of Tan’s fiction’ Guardian ‘Richly varied, thought-provoking book. Where the Past Begins will surely gratify Tan’s many fans, and likely win her numerous new ones’ US Today Praise for Amy Tan: ‘Chinese-Americans are among the most dynamic, and socially cohesive, ethnic groups in the US … Tan is one of their leading voices’ Sunday Times ‘Tan is a prodigal with her talent. She weaves a dazzling web of unfamiliar colours, smells, tastes and landscapes’ Sunday Telegraph
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Merchant Of Venice
Book SynopsisThe Merchant of Venice is perhaps most associated not with its titular hero, Antonio, but with the complex figure of the money lender, Shylock. The play was described as a comedy in the First Folio but its modern audiences find it more problematic to categorise. The vilification of Shylock 'the Jew' can be very uncomfortable for a post-holocaust audience and debates continue as to whether Shakespeare's portrayal of this complex man is sympathetic or anti-semitic. John Drakakis' comprehensive introduction traces the stage history of the figure of the Jew and looks boldly at twenty-first century issues surrounding it. He also explores other themes of the play such as father/daughter relations, the power of money and the forceful character of Portia, to offer readers an energetic, original and revelatory reading of this challenging play.
£11.67
Vintage Publishing Novelist as a Vocation: An exploration of a
Book SynopsisWords have power. Yet that power must be rooted in truth and justice. Words must never stand apart from those principles.'You end this collection…vowing to never let life, or writing, get so complicated again' GuardianReaders who have long wondered where the mysterious novelist gets his ideas and what inspires his beautifully surreal worlds will be fascinated by this highly personal look at the craft of writing.In this engaging book, the internationally best-selling author shares with readers what he thinks about being a novelist; his own origins as a writer; and his musings on the sparks of creativity that inspire other writers, artists, and musicians.'Murakami is like a magician who explains what he's doing as he performs the trick and still makes you believe he has supernatural powers' New York Times Book Review'A fascinating glimpse of the peculiar writerly life' Sunday Times** A TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES and NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR**Trade Review[The] 11 essays here… deal with all the things that you’d like to ask [Murakami]…in the highly unlikely event that you were able to corner him at a book-signing session… You end this collection of beautiful essays vowing to never let life, or writing, get so complicated again * Guardian *
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Librorum Ridiculorum A compendium of bizarre
Book SynopsisA celebration of all the weird and wonderful books to be found at an antiquarian bookshop.Books have the power to enrich the soul, to enliven the senses, to expand our horizons and others are simply mad. This wonderful celebration of the oddest books ever published is a treat for all bibliophiles, booksellers and fans of the bizarre. It is an exploration of the most eccentric titles and covers from our past, that have inexplicably fallen out of print but should never be forgotten.Gems include:Scouts in BondageFrog Raising for Pleasure and ProfitPremature Burial and How It May Be PreventedDrummer Dick's Discharge
£10.44
Cornerstone Romantic Outlaws
Book Synopsis***AS READ ON BBC RADIO 4***NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER'A gripping account of the heartbreaks and triumphs of two of history's most formidable female intellectuals, Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley.Trade Review[A] unique double biography... An excellent and poignant book whose heroines breathe in its pages. -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *A mother and daughter who changed not only the way we think, but the way we are… extraordinary women, a dozen decades ahead of their time… Romantic Outlaws enables readers to compare the different ways in which these two remarkable women confronted their tragically different destinies… [A] thoughtful, intelligent, deeply-felt book’ -- Miranda Seymour * Sunday Times *A gripping account of the heartbreaks and triumphs of two of history's most formidable female intellectuals, Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley. Gordon has reunited mother and daughter through biography, beautifully weaving their narratives for the first time. -- Amanda Foreman * author of A World on Fire *Full of enriching paradox… Charlotte Gordon has managed to produce that rare thing, a work of genuinely popular history... It works beautifully. -- Melissa Benn * New Statesman *Wollstonecraft and Shelley were extraordinary women who led sensational lives. They were Romantic revolutionaries… retelling their story cannot fail to captivate and provoke. * Spectator *Unique... Marvellous, passionate stuff. -- David Aaronovitch * Books of the Year, Times *An exceptional achievement -- Michael Morpugo * Daily Telegraph *Read and be seriously inspired. * Stylist *An innovative dual biography that foregrounds the writing of two women who disregarded the moral codes of their eras and shaped their own destinies. Gordon’s parallel mapping of their lives reveals fascinating similarities in the ways writing sustained, and sometimes saved, them both. * Financial Times *Mother and daughter shadow and reveal each other. The retelling emphasises the extent to which Shelley’s life was shaped by her mother’s legacy but here is underlined in thought-provoking ways... In Gordon’s narrative, [Wollstonecraft and Shelley] appear at their best and bravest. * Observer *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Nicholas Nickleby Penguin Classics
Book Synopsis'The novel has everything: an absorbing melodrama, with a supporting cast of heroes, villains and eccentrics, set in a London where vast wealth and desperate poverty live cheek-by-jowl' Jasper Rees, The TimesWhen Nicholas Nickleby is left penniless after his father's death, he appeals to his wealthy uncle to help him find work and to protect his mother and sister. But Ralph Nickleby proves both hard-hearted and unscrupulous, and Nicholas finds himself forced to make his own way in the world. His adventures gave Dickens the opportunity to portray an extraordinary gallery of rogues and eccentrics: Wackford Squeers, the tyrannical headmaster of Dotheboys Hall, a school for unwanted boys, the slow-witted orphan Smike, rescued by Nicholas, the pretentious Mantalinis and the gloriously theatrical Mr and Mrs Crummels and their daughter, the 'infant phenomenon'. Like many of Dickens's novels, Nicholas Nickleby is characterised by his outrage at cruelty and social injustice, but
£8.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Histories Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisDescribes how a small and quarrelsome band of Greek city states united to repel the might of the Persian empire. Frequently giving rise to colorful digressions, this book blends fact and legend to offer a compelling Greek view of the world of the fifth century BC.Trade Review“De Sélincourt’s pacy, natural-sounding, rendering, as superbly revised and annotated by John Marincola…was a game-changer…still reads freshly and is a bestseller six decades after its first publication.”--Edith Hall, Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsThe HistoriesPrefaceIntroduction1. Herodotus' Life and Work2. The Subject-Matter of The Histories3. Herodotus' sources and Metho Histories4. Structure and Themes in The Histories5. Herodotus' Later ReputationFurther ReadingA Note on the TextMapsHerodotus The HistoriesBook OneBook TwoBook ThreeBook FourBook FiveBook SixBook SevenBook EightBook NineGlossaryStructural OutlineChronologyAbbreviationsNotesIndex
£12.99
Oxford University Press Nineteen EightyFour
Book Synopsis1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) was George Orwell's final novel and was completed in difficult conditions shortly before his early death. It is one of the most influential and widely-read novels of the post-war period.Table of ContentsIntroduction Note on the Text Select Bibliography Chronology 1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four Explanatory Notes
£999.99
Oxford University Press Madame Bovary
Book SynopsisEmma Bovary yearns for a life of luxury and passion of the kind she reads about in romantic novels. But life with her country doctor husband in the provinces is unutterably boring, and she embarks on love affairs to realize her fantasies. This new translation by Margaret Mauldon perfectly captures Flaubert's distinctive style.Trade ReviewA superb new translation. s
£8.54
Oxford University Press A Sicilian Romance
Book SynopsisIn A Sicilian Romance (1790) Radcliffe began to forge the unique mixture of the psychology of terror and poetic description that would make her the great exemplar of the Gothic nove, and the idol of the Romantics.This early novel explores the cavernous landscapes and labyrinthine passages of Sicily''s castles and covents to reveal the shameful secrets of its all-powerful aristocracy. Julia and Emilia Mazzini live secluded in an ancient mansion near the Straits of Messina. After their father''s return to the island a neglected part of the house is haunted by a series of mysterious sights and sounds. The origin of these hauntings is only discovered after a series of breathless pursuits through dreamlike pastoral landscapes. When revelation finally comes, it forces the heroines to challenge the united forces of religious and patriarchal authority. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affTrade Review'Her own survey of the criticism is lucid and wide-ranging.' Times Literary Supplement
£7.59
Random House Christopher Isherwood Inside Out
Book SynopsisKatherine Bucknell edited all four volumes of Christopher Isherwood's Diaries (published by Chatto), a volume of letters between Christopher Isherwood and his partner Don Bachardy (The Animals), and W.H. Auden's Juvenilia: Poems 1922-1928. Co-editor of Auden Studies, a founder of The W. H. Auden Society, and director of the Christopher Isherwood Foundation, she is widely recognised as a leading authority on Isherwood. She is also the author of five novels. She was born in Vietnam, raised in America, and lives in London.
£28.00
Octopus Publishing Group The Ring Legends of Tolkien
Book SynopsisThe perfect Father''s Day giftTolkien''s One Ring, at the centre of one of the greatest fantasy tales ever told, is an undeniably iconic and powerful symbol in literature. Tracing centuries of ancient folklore, The Ring Legends of Tolkien is a deep and highly informed investigation into the inspiration behind Tolkien''s epic fantasy world, exploring the origins of the One Ring, as well as the extraordinary myths and legends that inspired Tolkien''s works.This work is unofficial and is not authorized by the Tolkien Estate or HarperCollins Publishers.
£15.29
National University of Ireland Eigse
Book Synopsis
£19.00
Pearson Education Blood Brothers York Notes for GCSE Workbook the
Book SynopsisOur brand-new York Notes for GCSE Workbooks offer a wide range of write-in tasks and exercises to boost your students’ knowledge of the text and help them practise for the new GCSE (9-1) English Literature exams.
£7.87
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Shakespeares Sonnets
Book SynopsisA revised edition of this acclaimed and best-selling edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets and updated throughout to take account of recent scholarship since its first publication in 1997.Trade Review"... this must now be the edition of first resort." Paul Hammond, Review of English Studies
£11.67
Vintage Publishing Mouth Full of Blood: Essays, Speeches,
Book Synopsis“She was our conscience. Our seer. Our truth-teller. She was a magician with language, who understood the power of words.” - Oprah WinfreyA vital non-fiction collection from one of the most celebrated and revered American writersSpanning four decades, these essays, speeches and meditations interrogate the world around us. They are concerned with race, gender and globalisation. The sweep of American history and the current state of politics. The duty of the press and the role of the artist. Throughout Mouth Full of Blood our search for truth, moral integrity and expertise is met by Toni Morrison with controlled anger, elegance and literary excellence.The collection is structured in three parts and these are heart-stoppingly introduced by a prayer for the dead of 9/11, a meditation on Martin Luther King and a eulogy for James Baldwin. Morrison’s Nobel lecture, on the power of language, is accompanied by lectures to Amnesty International and the Newspaper Association of America. She speaks to graduating students and visitors to both the Louvre and America’s Black Holocaust Museum. She revisitsThe Bluest Eye, Sula and Beloved; reassessing the novels that have become touchstones for generations of readers.Mouth Full of Blood is a powerful, erudite and essential gathering of ideas that speaks to us all. It celebrates Morrison’s extraordinary contribution to the literary world.Trade ReviewA large, rich, heterogeneous book, and hallelujah... Mouth Full of Blood is a bracing reminder of what words do, how carefully they should and can be used… magnificent [and] rigorously argued -- RO Kwon * Guardian *Morrison's voice rings out, bold and hopeful, welcoming us into a world where moral integrity reigns * Culture Whisperer *Mouth Full of Blood demonstrate[s] the writer’s enduring eagerness to examine the contradictions of being both “native” and “alien” to her own country… She takes pride in challenging a traditional literary canon… at every stage, the reader is grateful for an author allowing, encouraging even, such intimate access to their work, thought and reflections -- K Biswas * New Statesman *[Mouth Full of Blood] proves Morrison to be as astute and important an essayist as she is a novelist… These pieces are a wake-up call… [and] a brilliant insight into the mind and work of one of the world’s finest writers -- Anita Sethi * i *Morrison’s fierce yearning for literature to be a more true and just realm over time, is a gift… [Mouth Full of Blood] is startling in its relevance to the conflicts and challenges of the present moment. In a time of turmoil and political greed, her writings have the power to bring, not a false comfort, but the hard-won belief that words can reshape the world. Toni Morrison’s own words certainly have -- Nilanjana Roy * Financial Times *
£9.99
