ELT & Literary Studies Books
HarperCollins Publishers Index Book 13 The History of Middleearth
Book SynopsisComplete integrated indices of History of Middle-earth volumes to complement new series.For the first time every index from each of the twelve volumes of The History Of Middle-earth has been published together in a single volume to create a supreme index charting the writing of Tolkien's masterpieces The Lord of The Rings and The Silmarillion.This stunning work of reference complements the fascinating History of Middle-earth series, now repackaged to complement the distinctive and classic style of the black cover' A-format paperbacks of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.
£10.44
Oxford University Press The Complete Sonnets and Poems The Oxford
Book SynopsisThe Oxford ShakespeareGeneral Editor Stanley WellsThe Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative texts from leading scholars in editions designed to interpret and illuminate the works for modern readers- a new, modern-spelling text, collated and edited from all existing printings- on-page and facing-page commentary and notes explain language and allusions- detailed introductions consider the sonnets'' biographical and literary background, how the poems relate to the plays, dating and textual matters, and the mysteries of ''Mr W. H.'' and the ''Dark Lady''- includes poems attributed to Shakespeare in the seventeenth century- full index to introductions and commentary- durable sewn binding for lasting use''not simply a better text but a new conception of Shakespeare. This is a major achievement of twentieth-century scholarship.'' Times Literary Supplement 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 ReviewA long and detailed critique, which ends with excellent praise 'This Complete Sonnets and Poems is a distinguished addition to a distinguished series. It will repay comtinuing study, and act as a valuable point of reference for readers concerned more generally with Shakespeare's art and language. Colin Burrow's good sense, tact and balance as an editor are deeply impressive.' * H.R.Woudhuysen, TLS *
£8.54
Oxford University Press Alices Adventures in Wonderland and Through the
Book SynopsisThe two 'Alice' books are masterpieces of carefree nonsense for children and also embody layers of satire and allusion and mathematical, linguistic, and philosophical jokes. This new edition explores their complex status and the many interpretations of them, taking account of the most recent research and critical opinion.Trade ReviewOUP's edition makes a decent fist of contextualising and explaining a book that appeals to adults and children. * Colin Waters, Sunday Herald *
£6.64
HarperCollins Publishers The Great Gatsby
Book SynopsisThe Great American Novel of love and betrayal in the Jazz Age is now a major film.I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby's house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. Peoplewere not invited they went there.'Jay Gatsby's opulent Long Island mansion throngs with the bright young things of the Roaring Twenties. But Gatsby himself, young, handsome and mysteriously rich, never appearsto his guests. He stands apart from the crowd, yearning for something just out of reach Daisy Buchanan, lost years before to another man. One fateful summer, when the pair finally reunite, their actions set in motion a series of events that will unravel their lives, bringing tragedy to all who surround them.Widely considered F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, The Great Gatsby is a tale of excess and obsession, and a work of classictwentieth-century American literature.
£7.59
Orion Publishing Co Edda
Book SynopsisThe only English translation to include the complete work - a must-have for all students of early Norse literature.
£9.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Silence of the Sea Le Silence de la Mer
Book SynopsisThis first bilingual edition of France''s most enduring wartime novel introduces Vercors''s famous tale to a generation without personal experience of World War II who may not be able to read it in its original language. Now available in paperback, readers are assisted with a historical and literary introduction, explanatory notes, a glossary of French terms and a select bibliography.Trade ReviewNot only a distinguished piece of fiction but also a brilliant piece of reporting on French resistance.' Life'Saying something new about such a work was the central challenge faced by Brown and Stokes. To my surprise, they have succeeded in meeting this challenge. * French Review *
£14.99
Spark Henry V
Book SynopsisNo Fear Shakespeare gives you the complete text of Henry V on the left-hand page, side-by-side with an easy-to-understand translation on the right.
£7.99
Oxford University Press The Gothic
Book SynopsisThe Gothic is wildly diverse. It can refer to ecclesiastical architecture, supernatural fiction, cult horror films, and a distinctive style of rock music. It has influenced political theorists and social reformers, as well as Victorian home décor and contemporary fashion. Nick Groom shows how the Gothic has come to encompass so many meanings by telling the story of the Gothic from the ancient tribe who sacked Rome to the alternative subculture of the present day.This unique Very Short Introduction reveals that the Gothic has predominantly been a way of understanding and responding to the past. Time after time, the Gothic has been invoked in order to reveal what lies behind conventional history. It is a way of disclosing secrets, whether in the constitutional politics of seventeenth-century England or the racial politics of the United States. While contexts change, the Gothic perpetually regards the past with fascination, both yearning and horrified. It reminds us that neither societies nor individuals can escape the consequences of their actions.The anatomy of the Gothic is richly complex and perversely contradictory, and so the thirteen chapters here range deliberately widely. This is the first time that the entire story of the Gothic has been written as a continuous history: from the historians of late antiquity to the gardens of Georgian England, from the mediaeval cult of the macabre to German Expressionist cinema, from Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy to American consumer society, from folk ballads to vampires, from the past to the present. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION: A HISTORY OF THE GOTHIC IN THIRTEEN CHAPTERS; FURTHER READING
£9.49
Hachette Children's Group The Brontes Children of the Moors
Book SynopsisA highly-illustrated retelling of the Brontë sisters life in Haworth in the Yorkshire Dales told from Charlotte Brontë''s point of view.Produced to coincide with 200th anniversary of the birth of Charlotte Brontë, this book introduces the three extraordinary Brontë sisters: Charlotte, Emily and Anne. We also meet their brother Branwell. With a mix of strong story-telling and wonderful illustration, Mick Manning and Brita Granström relate the sister''s tragically short lives in the remote village of Haworth in the Yorkshire Dales. They explore how the girls were inspired to become writers and the sensation their books caused when people realised they had been written by women. Each of the sister''s greatest novels, Jane Eyre (Charlotte), The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Anne) and Wuthering Heights (Emily), are simply retold in engaging comic-strip form.The illustrations and text of this book really capture the life of the children of the moors and how the Trade ReviewThis awesome book tells us the story of Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne's life, through simple words and lovely images ... None of the most important events in the Brontës' lives is missing. * The Sisters Room *THE BRONTËS: CHILDREN OF THE MOORS is fun and beautifully illustrated. * Daily Express *There is a lot of information packed into this picture book * School Librarian *Text and pictures combine together to perfection to give us a real picture of famous people and their lives ... Told through the eyes of Charlotte Bronte, the powerful story-telling and wonderful illustrations recreate the sisters' tragically short lives in the remote village of Haworth in the Yorkshire Dales ... Each of the sisters' greatest novels, Jane Eyre (Charlotte), The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Anne) and Wuthering Heights (Emily) are simply retold in engaging comic-strip form * Parents In Touch *
£9.99
HarperCollins Publishers Geyte E Reading for IELTS With Answers
Book SynopsisIf your reading is preventing you from getting the score you need in IELTS, Collins Reading for IELTS can help.Don''t let one skill hold you back.Collins Reading for IELTS has been specially created for learners of English who plan to take the Academic IELTS exam to demonstrate that they have the required ability to communicate effectively in English at university. It is ideal for learners with band score 5 5.5 who are aiming for band score 6 or higher on the IELTS test (CEF level B1 and above).This major new edition has been thoroughly updated and improved to make it even easier to use. Now in full colour, the book has a new layout and a series of brand new features to help students feel fully prepared for their IELTS exam: Enhanced answer keys with further explanations of why answers are right or wrong, or ambiguous Watch out!' boxes that highlight common IELTS mistakes A revision checklist at the end of each section to remind students what they should do for each particular part of the examWhat is IELTS?The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is the most common test used by universities for foreign students to prove their language level. IELTS is also increasingly used for immigration purposes, with many countries requiring visa applicants whose first language is not English to submit an IELTS grade. The system tests candidates' Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking in four separate papers. Usually, students must gain a good mark in all four skills in order to gain entry to the course, job, or country of their choice. For this reason, candidates will often sit the exam numerous times to secure the score that they need.Powered by COBUILDThe 4-billion-word Collins corpus is the world''s largest database of the English language. It is updated every month and has been at the heart of Collins COBUILD for more than 30 years.
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers Hardy Women
Book SynopsisA TOP BOOK FOR 2024 IN: THE OBSERVER, INDEPENDENT, SUNDAY TIMES AND BOOKSELLER''He understands only the women he invents the others not at all''Thomas Hardy is one of the most beloved and most-read British authors. His influence on literature and the minds of his readers is singular. But how is it that the novelist who created some of the most memorable and modern female characters in literature had such troubled relationships with real women?In this highly innovative book, acclaimed biographer Paula Byrne re-examines Hardy's life through the eyes of the women who made him mother, sisters, girlfriends, wives, muses. The story veers from shocking scenes such as his obsession with the sight of a woman hanged, to poignant vignettes of unfulfilled passion, to fascinating details of working women's lives in the nineteenth century.Hardy Women is the story of how the magnificent fictional women he invented would not have been possible without the hardship and hardiness of the real ones who Trade Review EARLY PRAISE FOR HARDY WOMEN ‘Absorbing… a treat for Hardy fans and unhappy wives’ The Times ‘Novelist and poet Thomas Hardy created some of literature’s most enduring female characters . . . but it is the real women who shaped the life of the tortured genius that a book vividly reanimates’ Independent 'By turns infuriating and inspiring, but always fascinating, this page-turner of a book offers a genuinely fresh perspective on one of Victorian Britain’s most famous writers' Gareth Russell, author of The Palace ‘A fascinating re-examination of the life of Thomas Hardy through the eyes of the women who profoundly influenced him-his mother, his sisters, girlfriends, wives and muses. Drawing on access to some neverbefore-seen passages in Hardy's journals, she shows that it is through these hardy women that we can truly appreciate his much-loved works’ The Bookseller, Editor’s Choice
£21.25
Oxford University Press Postcolonialism
Book SynopsisPostcolonialism explores the political, social, and cultural effects of decolonization, continuing the anti-colonial deconstruction of western dominance. This Very Short Introduction discusses both the history and key debates of postcolonialism, and considers its importance as a means of changing the way we think about the world.Robert J. C. Young examines the key strategies that postcolonial thought has developed to engage with the impact of sometimes centuries of western political and cultural domination. Situating the discussion in a wide cultural and geographical context, he draws on examples such as the status of indigenous peoples, of those dispossessed from their land, Algerian rai music, and global social and ecological movements. In this new edition he also includes updated material on race, slavery, and postcolonial gender politics. Above all, Young argues that postcolonialism offers a political philosophy of activism that contests the current situation of global inequality, which in a new way continues the anti-colonial struggles of the past and enables us to decolonize our own lives in the present.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readableTable of Contents1: Subaltern knowledge 2: History and power, from below and above 3: Space and land 4: Hybridity 5: Postcolonial feminism 6: Globalization from a postcolonial perspective 7: Translation
£9.49
Batsford Ltd The Illustrated Letters of the Brontës: The
Book SynopsisThe story both of the real world of the Brontës at Haworth Parsonage, their home on the edge of the lonely Yorkshire moors, and of the imaginary worlds they spun for themselves in their novels and poetry. Wherever possible, their story is told using their own words – the letters they wrote to each other, Emily and Anne's secret diaries, and Charlotte's exchanges with luminaries of literary England – or those closest to them, such as their brother Branwell, their father Patrick Brontë, and their novelist friend Mrs Gaskell. The Brontës sketched and painted their worlds too, in delicate ink washes and watercolours of family and friends, animals and the English moors. These pictures illuminate the text as do the tiny drawings the Brontë children made to illustrate their imaginary worlds. In addition, there are facsimiles of their letters and diaries, paintings by artists of the day, and pictures of household life. This beautifully illustrated book offers a unique and privileged view of the real lives of three women, writers and sisters.
£16.16
Allen & Unwin Manderley Forever: The Life of Daphne du Maurier
Book SynopsisBestselling novelist Tatiana de Rosnay pays homage to Daphne du Maurier, the writer who influenced her deeply, in this startling and immersive new biography. A portrait of one writer by another, Manderley Forever meticulously recounts a life as mysterious and dramatic as the work it produced, and highlights du Maurier's consuming passion for Cornwall.De Rosnay seamlessly recreates Daphne's childhood, rebellious teens and early years as a writer before exploring the complexities of her marriage and, finally, her cantankerous old age. With a rhythm and intimacy to its prose characteristic of all de Rosnay's works, Manderley Forever is a vividly compelling portrait and celebration of an intriguing, hugely popular and (in her time) critically underrated writer.Trade ReviewVivid, dreamlike...the strength of de Rosnay's biography is that it makes me want to visit (or revisit) her subject's books. * Daily Mail *Ms. de Rosnay has written a biography that does justice to its heroine. * Wall Street Journal *immersive, as thrilling as any of du Maurier's plots...brilliant * Irish Independent *Clever and highly original...insightful and endearing * The Lady *It's impressive how Tatiana was able to recreate the personality of my mother, including her sense of humour. It is very well written and very moving. I'm sure my mother would have loved this book. * Tessa Montgomery d’Alamein, daughter of Daphne du Maurier *A fascinating, in-depth portrait...Through de Rosnay's novel-like narrative, exhaustive research and unbridled imagination, du Maurier's spirit comes alive on the page. * Publishers Weekly *
£11.69
Oxford University Press Orley Farm
Book SynopsisThere was a power of endurance about her, and a courage that was almost awful.Did Lady Mason forge a codicil to her husband''s will, allowing Orley Farm to pass to her son or not? Orley Farm centres on this case of forgery, and the anguish and guilt of Lady Mason. Surrounding this enigmatic woman and her apparent crime are her elderly lover, Sir Peregrine Orme; her principled but thoughtless son, Lucius; and, not least, a group of determined lawyers. Orley Farm contains the plot with which Trollope was most pleased. Drawing on family experience of the loss of an inheritance, the novel tackles the tremendous question of property fraud. The result, as George Orwell observed, is one of the most brilliant novels about a law suit in English fiction. Orley Farm dates from a confident period of its authorâs life. It breathes an air of writerly assurance, with Trollope at the height of his competitiveness with Dickens. In this work Trollope claims the Victorian legal novel as his own.Table of ContentsBiographical Preface Introduction Note on the Text Select Bibliography A Chronology of Anthony Trollope ORLEY FARM Appendix 1: Dates in the Novel Appendix 2: Anthony Trollope Cross-Examined in the Kerry Summer Assizes Explanatory Notes
£12.34
Little, Brown & Company The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Vol. 3 (manga)
Book SynopsisHas Tanya finally done it...!? The cushy office desk job assignment she's been waiting for at the Military University is finally hers to enjoy. That is...until there's a hiccup in her assignment!
£10.44
Faber & Faber The White Goddess
Book SynopsisThis labyrinthine and extraordinary book, first published more than fifty years ago, was the outcome of Graves''s vast reading and curious research into strange territories of folklore, mythology, religion and magic. Erudite and impassioned, it is a scholar-poet''s quest for the meaning of European myths, a polemic about the relations between man and woman, and also an intensely personal document in which Graves explored the sources of his own inspiration and, as he believed, all true poetry.This new edition has been prepared by Grevel Lindop, who has written an illuminating introduction. The text of the book incorporates all Graves''s final revisions, as well as his replies to two of the original reviewers, and a long essay in which he describes the months of inspiration in which The White Goddess was written.
£17.09
Faber & Faber The Complete Poems of Philip Larkin
Book SynopsisThis entirely new edition brings together all of Philip Larkin''s poems. In addition to those in Collected Poems (1988), and in the Early Poems and Juvenilia (2005), some unpublished pieces from Larkin''s typescripts and workbooks are included, as well as verse (by turns scurrilous, satirical, affectionate, and sentimental) tucked away in his letters. The manuscript and printed sources have been scrutinized afresh; more detailed accounts than hitherto available of the sources of the text and of dates of composition are provided; and previous accounts of composition dates have been corrected. Variant wordings from Larkin''s typescripts and the early printings are recorded.For the first time, the poems are given a comprehensive commentary. This draws critically upon, and substantially extends, the accumulated scholarship on Larkin, and covers closely relevant historical contexts, persons and places, allusions and echoes, and linguistic usage. Due pro
£21.25
Penguin Books Ltd The Birds and Other Plays The
Book SynopsisFive comedies from Ancient Greece that freely blend satire and slapstickOffering a window into the world of ordinary Athenians, Aristophanes' The Birds and Other Plays is a timeless set of comedies, combining witty satire and raucous slapstick to wonderful effect. The plays in this volume all contain Aristophanes' trademark bawdy comedy and dazzling verbal agility. In The Birds, two cunning Athenians persuade the birds to build the utopian city of 'Much Cuckoo in the Clouds' in the sky, blockading the Olympian gods and installing themselves as new deities. The Knights is a venomous satire on Cleon, a prominent Athenian demagogue, who vies with a humble sausage-seller for the approval of the people; while The Assembly-Women deals with the battle of the sexes as the women of Athens infiltrate the all-male Assembly in disguise. The lengthy conflict with Sparta is the subject of Peace, inspired by the hope of a settlement in 421 BC, and Table of ContentsThe Birds and Other PlaysAbout the Author7Aristophanes in Antiquity9Aristophanes, Comedian and Poet21The Knights29Peace91The Birds147The Assemblywoman215Wealth265Notes313Select Bibliography336
£10.44
Oxford University Press Selected Speeches
Book Synopsis''Even if everyone else succumbs to slavery, we must still fight for our freedom.''Admired by many in the ancient world as the greatest of the classic Athenian orators, Demosthenes was intimately involved in the political events of his day. As well as showing a master orator at work, his speeches are a prime source for the history of the period, when Athens was engaged in a doomed struggle against the rising power of Macedon under the brilliant father and son, Philip and Alexander. Demosthenes wrote for the courts, both for political trials in which he was involved and for other cases in which he acted as ghost-writer for plaintiff or defendant, and his lawcourt speeches give an unrivalled glimpse of the daily life of ancient Athens. He also played a central role in education in Greece and Rome from the Hellenistic period onward, and was imitated by the greatest of Roman orators, Cicero.This selection includes the fullest range of Demosthenes'' speeches, for trials both public and privTrade Review[Demosthenes' speeches] impress with their emotional intensity, brilliance and variety of argument (dishonest or not), irony, forceful imagery, wit and general sense of mastery of the spoken word, in Robin Waterfields fine new translations. * Peter Jones, Classics for All *Table of ContentsDELIBERATIVE SPEECHES; TRIALS IN PUBLIC CASES; PRIVATE AND GHOST-WRITTEN SPEECHES
£11.69
Oxford University Press The SketchBook of Geoffrey Crayon Gent.
Book SynopsisIn The Sketch-Book Washington Irving explores the uneasy relationship of an American writer to English literary traditions. He sketches a series of encounters with the cultural shrines of the parent nation, and in two brilliant experiments with tales transplanted from Europe creates the first classic American short stories, `Rip Van Winkle' and `The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow'.
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Iliad
Book SynopsisThe great war epic of Western literature, translated by acclaimed classicist Robert Fagles, and featured in the Netflix series The OAA Penguin Classic Dating to the ninth century B.C., Homer’s timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably to the wrenching, tragic conclusion of the Trojan War. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox observes in his superb introduction that although the violence of the Iliad is grim and relentless, it coexists with both images of civilized life and a poignant yearning for peace. Combining the skills of a poet and scholar, Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, brings the energy of contemporary language to this enduring heroic epic. HTable of ContentsThe IliadTranslator's PrefaceIntroductionIntroductionThe Spelling and Pronunciation of Homeric NamesMapsHomer: The IliadBook 1: The Rage of AchillesBook 2: The Great Gathering of ArmiesBook 3: Helen Reviews the ChampionsBook 4: The Truce Erupts in WarBook 5: Diomodes Fights the GodsBook 6: Hector Returns to TroyBook 7: Ajax Duels in HectorBook 8: The Tide of Battle TurnsBook 9: The Embassy to AchillesBook 10: Marauding Through the NightBook 11: Agamemnon's Day of GloryBook 12: The Trojans Storm the RampartBook 13: Battling for the ShipsBook 14: Hera Outflanks ZeusBook 15: The Achaean Armies at BayBook 16: Patroclus Fights and DiesBook 17: Menalaus' Finest HourBook 18: The Shield of AchillesBook 19: The Champion Arms for BattleBook 20: olympian Gods in ArmsBook 21: Achilles Fights the RiverBook 22: The Death of HectorBook 23: Funeral Games for PatroclusBook 24: Achilles and PriamNotesThe Genealogy of the Royal House of TroyTextual Variants from the Oxford Classical TextNotes on the TranslationSuggestions for Further ReadingPronouncing Glossary
£12.34
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Blood Wedding
Book SynopsisFederico García Lorca was born in 1898, in Andalusia, Spain. A poet and dramatist, and also a gifted painter and pianist, his early popular ballads earned him the title of 'poet of the gypsies'. In 1930 he turned his attention to theatre, visiting remote villages and playing classic and new works for peasant audiences. In 1936, shortly after the outbreak of Civil War, he was murdered by Nationalist partisans. His body was never found.Trade Review'Lorca is one of the few indisputably great dramatists of the twentieth century' Observer 'Lorca's great poetic play - the first of his ground-breaking folk trilogy of Spanish Life' Lyn Gardner, Guardian, 30.7.09 'Lorca's drama of forbidden passion, family feud and devouring maternal love and grief is succulent with symbolism' Sam Marlowe, The Times, 30.7.09 'Federico Garcia Lorca's Spanish love-and-death masterpiece...mixes up the rough and tumble of Andalucian peasant realism with surrealist images and stiff poetic formalism' Siobhan Murphy, Metro (London), 29.7.09
£10.99
HarperCollins Publishers SuperCannes
Book SynopsisA high-tech business park on the Mediterranean is the setting for a most disturbing crime in this reissue featuring an introduction by Ali Smith.People are so immersed in their work they wouldn't notice the end of the world.A high-tech business park lies hidden in the hills above Cannes an ultra-modern utopia where residents live a life of luxury and seclusion.But when Jane Sinclair arrives in Eden-Olympia for a new medical post, a disturbing mystery awaits. What caused her apparently sane predecessor to murder ten people in a shooting spree that made headlines around the world? As her husband Paul explores his new surroundings, he begins to uncover a thriving subculture of crime that is spiralling out of control.Both novel of ideas and complex thriller, Super-Cannes is an extraordinary satire from the author of Empire of the Sun', The Drowned World' and Crash'.Trade Review‘Sublime…An elegant, elaborate trap of a novel, which reads as a companion piece to “Cocaine Nights” but takes ideas from that novel and runs further. The first essential novel of the 21st century’ Independent ‘Possibly his greatest book. “Super-Cannes” is both a novel of ideas and a compelling thriller that will keep you turning the pages to the shocking denouement. Only Ballard could have produced it’ Sunday Express ‘In this tautly paced thriller he brilliantly details how man’s darker side derails a vast experiment in living, and shows the dangers of a near-future in which going mad is the only way of staying sane’ Daily Mail ‘Vintage Ballard, a gripping blend of stylised thriller and fantastic imaginings’ Guardian
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Beowulf
Book SynopsisThe translation of Beowulf by J.R.R. Tolkien was an early work, very distinctive in its mode, completed in 1926: he returned to it later to make hasty corrections, but seems never to have considered its publication.This edition is twofold, for there exists an illuminating commentary on the text of the poem by the translator himself, in the written form of a series of lectures given at Oxford in the 1930s; and from these lectures a substantial selection has been made, to form also a commentary on the translation in this book.From his creative attention to detail in these lectures there arises a sense of the immediacy and clarity of his vision. It is as if he entered into the imagined past: standing beside Beowulf and his men shaking out their mail-shirts as they beached their ship on the coast of Denmark, listening to the rising anger of Beowulf at the taunting of Unferth, or looking up in amazement at Grendel's terrible hand set under the roof of Heorot.But the commentary in this book includes also much from those lectures in which, while always anchored in the text, he expressed his wider perceptions. He looks closely at the dragon that would slay Beowulf snuffling in baffled rage and injured greed when he discovers the theft of the cup'; but he rebuts the notion that this is a mere treasure story', just another dragon tale'. He turns to the lines that tell of the burying of the golden things long ago, and observes that it is the feeling for the treasure itself, this sad history' that raises it to another level. The whole thing is sombre, tragic, sinister, curiously real. The treasure is not just some lucky wealth that will enable the finder to have a good time, or marry the princess. It is laden with history, leading back into the dark heathen ages beyond the memory of song, but not beyond the reach of imagination.'Sellic Spell, a marvellous tale', is a story written by Tolkien suggesting what might have been the form and style of an Old English folk-tale of Beowulf, in which there was no association with the historical legends' of the Northern kingdoms.Trade Review“This is long-awaited, and hugely exciting for Tolkien readers” The Guardian “If he had never written The Lord of the Rings he would have been famous in academic circles for writing one published lecture on Beowulf called The Monsters and the Critics. It turned things upside down. Beowulf was probably the medieval text that influenced him the most and the commentary and lectures are ‘nuggets of gold’”The Independent “A tantalising prospect. Tolkien’s translation of Sir Gawain is a master class in linguistic chicanery – Middle English meets Middle Earth… it will be interesting to see if it gives Heaney's Beowulf a run for its money”Simon Armitage, The Guardian
£56.25
HarperCollins Publishers The Tolkien Quiz Book
Book SynopsisA revised and expanded reissue containing over 1,200 brain-teasing questions on the legendary works of J.R.R. Tolkien, published to coincide with the release of the third and final The Lord of The Rings movie.How many Hobbits joined the Fellowship of the Ring?What colour is the Orcs' skin?Why did Gandalf have difficulty in opening the West-door of Khazad-dum?Who betrayed Berien and Luthien to Thingol?What was Farmer Giles' full name?The worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, from the saga of Middle-earth to a brief visit to Wootton Major, are so rich and varied that they inspire legions of followers of different ages. This peerless revised and expanded quiz book offers over 1,200 questions and answers, including easy starter questions and more difficult tie-breakers, to test the range and depth of your knowledge. And whereas every right answer will confirm your mastery over your subject, every wrong answer will be a learning experience all of its own!
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers The Story of Kullervo
Book SynopsisThe world first publication of a previously unknown work of fantasy by J.R.R. Tolkien, which tells the powerful story of a doomed young man who is sold into slavery and who swears revenge on the magician who killed his father.Kullervo son of Kalervo is perhaps the darkest and most tragic of all J.R.R. Tolkien's characters. Hapless Kullervo', as Tolkien called him, is a luckless orphan boy with supernatural powers and a tragic destiny.Brought up in the homestead of the dark magician Untamo, who killed his father, kidnapped his mother, and who tries three times to kill him when still a boy, Kullervo is alone save for the love of his twin sister, Wanona, and guarded by the magical powers of the black dog, Musti. When Kullervo is sold into slavery he swears revenge on the magician, but he will learn that even at the point of vengeance there is no escape from the cruellest of fates.Tolkien wrote that The Story of Kullervo was the germ of my attempt to write legends of my own', and was a major matter in the legends of the First Age'; his Kullervo was the ancestor of Túrin Turambar, tragic incestuous hero of The Silmarillion. In addition to being a powerful story in its own right, The Story of Kullervo published here for the first time with the author's drafts, notes and lecture-essays on its source-work, The Kalevala, is a foundation stone in the structure of Tolkien's invented world.Trade ReviewPraise for J.R.R. Tolkien:‘One marvels anew at the depth, breadth and persistence of J.R.R. Tolkien’s labour. No one sympathetic to his aims – the invention of a secondary universe – will want to miss this chance to be present at the creation.’Publishers Weekly
£56.25
Dorling Kindersley Ltd The Shakespeare Book
Book SynopsisFeatures witty illustrations and inspirational quotes. This title covers every work, from the comedies of Twelfth Night and As You Like It to the tragedies of Julius Caesar and Hamlet, and lost plays and less well-known works of poetry.
£16.99
The University of Chicago Press Metaphors We Live By
Book SynopsisGeorge Lakoff and Mark Johnson suggest that basic metaphors used in everyday speech not only affect the way we communicate ideas, but actually structure our perceptions and understandings from the beginning.
£15.20
HarperCollins Publishers The Life of Crime
Book SynopsisNow revised and expanded for its first paperback publication, The Life of Crime was the winner of four major prizes for the best critical/biographical book related to crime fiction: the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity and H.R.F. Keating Awards; and was shortlisted for both the Agatha and Gold Dagger AwardsIn this groundbreaking history of crime fiction, acclaimed expert Martin Edwards traces the evolution of the genre from the eighteenth century to the present, offering a brand-new perspective on the world''s most popular form of storytelling.The Life of Crime is the result of a lifetime of reading and enjoying all types of mystery fiction from around the world. Martin Edwards has drawn on his experience as an award-winning novelist to capture the breadth and complexity of crime writing, telling the story of the genre''s development and evolution in a way that will fascinate and entertain anyone who delights in a good mystery.With crime fiction being read more widely than ever, The Life of Cr
£13.49
Oxford University Press La Reine Margot
Book SynopsisLa Reine Margot (1845) is a novel of suspense and drama, re-creating the violent world of intrigue, murder and duplicity of the French Renaissance. Dumas fills his canvas with a gallery of unforgettable characters, unremitting action and the engaging generosity of spirit which has made him one of the world's greatest and best-loved story-tellers. This is a modernized version of a classic translation of 1846 by the award-winning translator, DavidCoward.
£999.99
Oxford University Press Four Major Plays
Book Synopsis`I have made a terrible discovery ... I have not yet been born ... I live off borrowed substance; what I have within me is not mine.'' In his four last plays Federico García Lorca offered his disturbed and disturbing personal vision to Spanish audiences of the 1930s - unready, as he thought them, for the sexual frankness and surreal expression of his more experimental work. The ill-fated lovers of Blood Wedding, the desolate Yerma, the fading spinster Rosita, and Bernarda Alba''s abused household of women all inhabit a familiar Andalusia. Their predicaments are starkly plotted, with a stagecraft rooted in classical theatrical tradition. In such figures Lorca addresses the cultural and political ferment of his time with a fiercely libertarian assault on ''old and wrong moralities'', fusing the personal and the political through his virtuoso mastery of images. Yet all that mastery can barely keep at bay the anguished contradictions of these doomed human lives. Hence the authentic sense of danger - the duende, to use his own word of Lorca''s theatre, finely conveyed here in John Edmunds''s fluent and rhythmic new translations that lend themselves admirably to performance. 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 ReviewHis versions are accurate ... faithful ... fluent and idiomatic; they look like utterances of English ... Readers can be sure that the texts will not lead them astray, but they will also be grateful for the quite excellent introductory essay by Nick Round. This is a characteristically gritty display of erudition and common sense ... extremely well-prepared edition. * Times Literary Supplement *Table of ContentsBlood Wedding ; Yerma ; The House of Bernada ; Dona Rosita the Spinster
£999.99
Oxford University Press The Waves ne Oxford Worlds Classics
Book Synopsis''I, who would wish to feel close over me the protective waves of the ordinary, catch with the tail of my eye some far horizon.''Intensely visionary yet absorbed with the everyday; experimental, daring and challenging, The Waves is regarded by many as Virginia Woolf''s greatest achievement. It follows a set of six friends from childhood to middle age as they experience the world around them and explore who they are and what it means to be alive. As the contours of their lives are revealed, a unique novel is slowly unveiled. Enfolded within Woolf''s lyrical and mysterious language, the mundane takes on a startling new significance while distant pasts are no less in play than the clamorous sounds and kaleidoscopic sights of the modern city. Yet precisely where the alluringly enigmatic pages of The Waves are leading, and what deeper meanings are held within its undulant chapters and shimmering interludes, are questions that have never ceased to enthral readers and critics alike.In this neTrade ReviewOxford World Classics has produced a terrific reissue of Virginia Woolf's novel The Waves. There are helpful endnotes, biographical information, a selected bibliography and an introduction... a beautiful, rich novel that cannot be completely grasped in one reading. It begs to be read again and again. When I finished it I was surprised by how emotionally charged and churned up I was. I felt abandoned on the shore as the tide went out, left to wait for its return, for a wave to grab me and pull me back out to sea. * Shiny New Books, Stefanie Hollmichel *Bradshaw's introduction helps the reader to see just how readable it actually is. * Lindsay Martin, Virginia Woolf Bulletin *
£7.59
WW Norton & Co The Canterbury Tales Seventeen Tales and the
Book Synopsis
£16.40
Orion Publishing Co Lines in the Sand
Book SynopsisA collection of the very best recent journalism of A. A. Gill, 'by miles, the most brilliant journalist of our age' (Lynn Barber).Trade ReviewGill's broadsides, his impatience, his scathing penportraits were, it becomes particularly clear when you read his work en bloc, the byproduct of his desire that we should wriggle free of conformity, embrace pleasure, eat our fill -- Alex Clark * GUARDIAN *Lines in the Sand, a treat for his many fans, gathers the best of Gill's journalism from 2011 to 2016. Ranging from travel reportage to serio-comic appreciations of Savile Row tweed and the delights of condensed milk, the pieces are lit up by the author's trademark literary flourishes and waspish put-downs -- Ian Thomson * EVENING STANDARD *Serene, painfully wise ... glimpses of a loftier truth are the glory of Gill's essays, and they open metaphysical vistas in journalistic junkets or stunts contrived for the sake of a feature article ... His essays - so delicate in their connoisseurship of nature and culture, so tender in their sketches of family, friends and anonymous strangers in refugee camps, so brightly witty and yet so unexpectedly profound - affirm the manifold pleasures of being alive, which is why they enrich the life of anyone who reads them, and in Gill's absence will go on doing so -- Peter Conrad * OBSERVER *As Lines in the Sand, his final collection of journalism - published just a few weeks after his death from cancer, aged 62 - makes clear, Mr Gill's opinions actually held prejudice, piety and pretension to account ... Mr Gill's overriding message throughout these pieces is that experience should be gulped down, pleasure embraced, and conformity shunned ... "There's a basic human need to tell someone what we saw, where we've been," Mr Gill writes, and his dispatches - opinionated, experienced - are told with eloquence and elan, from war zones and home counties camp sites, to, finally, the cancer ward ... Elsewhere, he writes of Lord Snowdon: "His immensely sympathetic eye was often a surprise to people who knew only his waspish tongue." There could be no better epitaph for Mr Gill himself. -- Stuart Husband * MR PORTER *AA Gill was that rare writer, famously able to serve up waspishness and compassion in the same sentence. Both are on full display in Lines in the Sand ... Written with style and ubiquitous wit, this collection of essays is only further proof that Gill's voice will be sorely missed -- Laura Garmeson * FINANCIAL TIMES *I can't think of a writer whose style so exactly replicated their conversation as A. A. Gill. Reading his weekly dispatches was just like being with him in person, which is why so many readers took his death late last year very personally. People - even people who had never met him - felt they'd lost their funniest, most outrageous chum. Opening a paper without an article by him is like going to your store cupboard and finding that there's no chilli or salt: everything is blander without him. Two collections which came out this year, Lines in the Sand and The Best of A A. Gill, showcase him at his finest. Adrian showed incredible courage, wit and generosity of heart during his final weeks. Once my husband, always my friend, he is irreplaceable, on and off the page -- Cressida Connolly * THE SPECTATOR Books of the Year *Thankfully, the late A A Gill was neither diplomatic or sensitive. Collecting together the last five years of Adrian Anthony's many highlights, Lines in the Sand sees him wasp around the world with passion, honesty and glorious, wickedly funny words. He's already much missed * WANDERLUST *The late AA Gill was a journalist who you either loved or hated, but was impossible to ignore, and this is an excellent selection of his writing, spanning the wide range of his interests, from food and television to travel and family. Even when facing his own mortality, Gill was uninhibited and brutally honest This collection does him proud * CHOICE *
£9.99
Faber & Faber Selected Poems
Book SynopsisAn essential selection from the range and bulk of Robert Graves''s poetry, edited by Ulster poet Michael Longley. This edition restores Graves to view as a major twentieth century poet, and demonstrates his manifold achievement as war poet, as love poet, and as - in the round - a secular visionary whose poems are ''inimitable, eccentric marvels - some of which are extraordinary, many are masterly, all are like nothing else ever written'' (Randall Jarrell).This edition of Robert Graves''s poems is scrupulously selected from across the full range of his lifetime''s verse. It opens with an illuminating introduction in which Longley makes a persuasive case for the importance of this remarkable poet.
£13.49
Faber & Faber Keats
Book SynopsisFirst published in 1997, Keats was the first major biography of this tragic hero of Romanticism for some thirty years, and it differs from its predecessors in important respects. The outline of the story is well known - has become, in fact, the stuff of legend: the archetypal life of the tortured genius, critically spurned and dying young. What Andrew Motion brings to bear on the subject is a deep understanding of how Keats fitted into the intellectual and political life of his time. Important friendships with such anti-establishment figures as William Hazlitt and Leigh Hunt are given their full due, and the closeness of his own spirit, as expressed in his poems, to the ferment all around is made clear. Many significant facts about Keats''s schooldays and medical training, in particular, enrich the picture. Keats emerges as a more political figure than he is usually portrayed, but his personal sufferings, too, come into closer focus. Most importantly, Andrew Motion -
£17.09
Vintage Publishing Shakespeare for Grownups
Book Synopsis''Rather jolly and very helpful' The TimesNeed to swot up on your Shakespeare? The ultimate guide to the Bard, perfect for the Shakespeare aficionado and general reader alike. If you've always felt a bit embarrassed at your precarious grasp on the plot of Othello, or you haven't a clue what a petard (as in hoist with his own petard') actually is, then fear not, because this, at last, is the perfect guide to the Bard. From the authors of the number-one bestselling Homework for Grown-ups, Shakespeare for Grown-ups is the essential book for anyone keen to deepen their knowledge of they Trade ReviewRather jolly and very helpful * The Times *This fascinating and fun volume delves into all things Shakespeare and will appeal to novices and experts alike... light, accessible, and engaging... Included in this book are synopses of all of Shakespeare's works and his life and times, key influences, language and style, controversies, and famous quotations. An entertaining and highly informative read, this is essential for students and scholars, theatergoers wanting to familiarize themselves with a particular work, and general readers who are simply curious about one of the most famous and influential playwrights of all time * Library Journal *
£10.44
Oxford University Press Horror
Book SynopsisVery Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Four o''clock in the morning, and the lights are on and still there''s no way we''re going to sleep, not after the film we just saw. The book we just read. Fear is one of the most primal human emotions, and one of the hardest to reason with and dispel. So why do we scare ourselves? It seems almost mad that we would frighten ourselves for fun, and yet there are thousands of books, films, games, and other forms of entertainment designed to do exactly that.As Darryl Jones shows, the horror genre is huge. Ranging from vampires, ghosts, and werewolves to mad scientists, Satanists, and deranged serial killers, the cathartic release of scaring ourselves has made its appearance in everything from Shakespearean tragedies to internet memes. Exploring the key tropes of the genre, including its monsters, its psychological chills, and its love affair with the macabre, this Very Short Introduction discusses why horror stories disturb us, and how society responds to literary and film representations of the gruesome and taboo. Should the enjoyment of horror be regarded with suspicion? Are there different levels of the horrific, and should we distinguish between the commonly reviled carnage of contemporary torture porn and the culturally acceptable bloodbaths of ancient Greek tragedies?Analysing the way in which horror manifests multiple personalities, and has been used throughout history to articulate the fears and taboos of the current generation, Darryl Jones considers the continuing evolution of the genre today. As horror is mass marketed to mainstream society in the form of romantic vampires and blockbuster hits, it also continues to maintain its former shadowy presence on the edges of respectability, as banned films and violent internet phenomena push us to question both our own preconceptions and the terrifying capacity of human nature.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.First published in hardback as Sleeping with the Lights on.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition What comes across most vividly is [Jones's] passion for the subject: this is a book that makes a reader want to read, to watch, and to listen more carefully. Oxford University Press, too, are to be commended for the low retail price and the quality production ... This is a fine introduction to, and defence of, a typically various popular form. In an age of anxieties new and old, Jones's exploration of taboo, control, and the politics of fear, seems particularly timely and potent. * Sean Hewitt, The Irish Times *Darryl Jones' beautifully packaged book ... is the perfect gift for a horror-head. Written with enthusiasm and incredible research, it bounces between breakout and iconic moments across literature, film, folklore, science and psychology. Truly fascinating if sometimes scary reading. * Emerald Street *[A] beautifully designed publication, small enough to slip in a handbag and short enough to be read in one or two sittings ... For those outside the field whod like to know more, this is an excellent place to start and even for those within it, this is an object lesson in concision of thought and precision of argument. I enjoyed it a great deal. * Linnie Blake, Times Higher Education *a concise, knowledgeable survey of the entire phenomenon of horror * David Sexton, Evening Standard *Jones packs more into 181 pages than many similar volumes do that are three times the size ... This is an academic exploration that's refreshingly easy to read, with plenty of original and genuinely fascinating content to enjoy ... Whether you're a devotee who bloodily soaks up everything from the latest Stephen King novel to the newest James Wan opus or simply someone who likes to stay on top of the cultural zeitgeist, Sleeping With The Lights On is the best book about the intricacies of horror that we've read in a long time. * Ian White, Starburst *Equal parts love letter and academic invitation, this assemblage of analysts urges you to discover how horror's cultural connection truly affects our society, by inspecting the primal side of our fascination with the weird, the horrid and the downright disturbing. * Ahlissa Eichhorn, Fangoria Magazine *Intelligent but still accessible ... We dig the lightbulb-shaped diecut on the cover. * SFX *Although this volume ... is quite slim, Jones makes a convincing case, especially for newcomers and students making their first steps into the genre in an academic capacity ... a pleasant, quick and entertaining read. * Iain MacLeod, Gore in the Store *Jones' passion for and love of his subject matter shines through on every page of this deceptively slim volume ... The book is immensely readable, with all the pace, momentum, and drive of a compelling thriller ... If you are even the least bit interested in the horror genre this book is a fine purchase. It will educate, inform, and illuminate a genre that almost revels in its obfuscation and slipperiness. For the fan of horror, Sleeping with the Lights On is a great companion to discover aspects of the history of horror, to dig deeper into films and books you may not be aware of. But more than that; for the horror writers amongst us, it's an absolute necessity. It is inspirational and affirming, infectious in its enthusiasm. A must-buy if you take your craft seriously, if you're sincere about the business of horror. * Paul Michaels, This is Horror *This welcome contribution to horror's critical bibliography is an extensive resource, though short in length. Sleeping with the Lights On will be essential reading for fellow scholars of the dark arts, and it is easily accessible for the everyday reader and horror fan more generally ... This new book ... will undoubtedly inspire thought-provoking critical studies of horror's future; for now, it remains an unsettling but mesmerising story of culture's most strongest and oldest emotion. * Benjamin E. Noad, Gothic Imagination *This analysis is not as long as it might be, but it is ... engaging, thoughtful and informative. As such it is likely that even seasoned fantasy horror collectors will learn something new, or find a fresh perspective * Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation *Sleeping with the Lights On is a book that every fan of the genre should read, it is also a book that every fan of the genre should give to that one person they know who thinks the genre is a just shock for the sake of shock, devoid of all artistic or intellectual merit. If this book doesn't change their mind, then nothing will. * Ginger Nuts of Horror *a fascinating little book ... Even if horror is a seasonal (trick or) treat for you, you will come away with a greater appreciation of that which haunts and unsettles you. * Sublime Horror *A terrific examination of horror in all its incarnations - literature, movies etc. * Books Monthly *an excellent read short enough to be approachable but with plenty of breadth and depth in the discussions. * FictionFan's Book Reviews *A fascinating & succinct jaunt through the history of #Horror in six vampire-bite-sized sections. The writing is engaging & detailed. An essential addition to any coffin-side table ... * The Ghastling *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Monsters 2: The occult and the supernatural 3: Horror and the body 4: Horror and the mind 5: Science and horror 6: Afterword: horror since the millenium Further Reading Index
£9.49
Pearson Education York Notes for AQA GCSE 91 Rapid Revision Guide
Book Synopsis
£6.06
Faber & Faber The Collected Prose of T.S. Eliot Volume 4
Book SynopsisT. S. Eliot is regarded as the most important poetcritic of modern times, the twentieth century's Man of Letters' whose reputation was forged not only on the strength of his verse, but on the enduring influence of his critical writings. The Collected Prose presents those works that Eliot allowed to reach print in the order of their final revision or printing. Publishing across four volumes, the series aims to provide an authoritative and clean-text record of Eliot's approved texts and their revisions, beginning with his formative observations, written while he was at high school, and concluding in his final major opus, To Criticize the Critic, published in the months after his death.This fourth and final volume from 19511966, covers a period of concluding productivity in Eliot's writing. Although his poetry was all but complete, his theatrical and critical work flourished through a decade that included such books as Poetry and Drama (1951)
£40.00
Faber & Faber Joyces Women
Book SynopsisI love fire. Fire is the colour of genius.In this audacious new work, Edna O'Brien gives voice to the women who were central to the life of James Joyce.James Joyce had been my ultimate hero for sixty years, but to paint the canvas of his life was daunting. Therefore I decided to depict him as seen by the key figures in his life - Mother, Wife, Mistress of a fleeting moment, his patron Harriet Weaver and his beloved Daughter Lucia, of whom he said her mind was but a transparent leaf away from his.'Written to celebrate the centenary of Ulysses, Joyce's Women premiered at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in September 2022. This revised edition includes changes made by the author during rehearsals and previews of the play''s first production.
£9.49
Granta Books And When Did You Last See Your Father?
Book SynopsisADAPTED INTO A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE, STARRING JIM BROADBENT "A painful, funny, frightening, moving, marvellous book ... everybody should read it" - Nick Hornby And when did you last see your father? Was it when they burnt the coffin? Put the lid on it? When he exhaled his last breath? When he last sat up and said something? When he last recognized me? When he last smiled? Blake Morrison's memoir is a candid, profoundly moving reflection on his relationship with his father, Arthur. Following Arthur's cancer diagnosis, Blake witnesses the slow erosion of the man he once knew. As his father's battle with the disease unfurls, Blake reflects on growing up with Arthur in Yorkshire and their relationship in the years since he left home. From Arthur's penchant for saving money - and the lengths he'd go to do so - to his wayward behavior on family holidays, Blake's fearless account resists an unwavering celebration of his father, showing him to be outlandish and recalcitrant, as well as capturing his humorous and caring qualities. The result is a rich, nuanced portrait of their relationship, capturing the accommodations and resentments that lie cloistered within familial love. And When Did You Last See Your Father? is a classic of the confessional memoir genre; a raw and shimmering interrogation of father-son relationships, masculinity, selfhood and pride. "This luminous tribute to a beloved dad made me laugh until I cried and cry till my nostrils were raw. A masterpiece - one of those books that you treasure forever" - Val HennessyTrade ReviewA painful, funny, frightening, moving, marvellous book ... everybody should read it -- Nick HornbyTender, honest, angry, loyal, this extraordinary book balances the life, illness and death of a forceful father with the feelings of his independent son * The Times *This luminous tribute to a beloved dad made me laugh until I cried and cry till my nostrils were raw. A masterpiece - one of those books that you treasure forever -- Val HennessyA marvellous piece of family literature. He says much about death and dying and more about life and living. Sometimes harrowing, sometimes funny, above all, unforgettably humane * Sydney Morning Herald *A splendid book ... it leaps with life * Irish Times *More than any novel could be, And when did you last see your father? is the once-only, all-or-nothing book of a poet: the life held up so close to one's face that one can smell it, touch it, marvel at the power of words to unlock and unravel, then pour helter-skelter over our heads this magical brainstorm of memories * Spectator *Joy and pain are both imminent and distant as the book rocks back and forth between life and death and, while it lasts, it is visceral and real * Observer *Wonderful, eternally moving... I don't think anyone has ever written better about the relationship between fathers and sons -- Tony Parsons * Mail on Sunday *
£9.50
The New York Review of Books, Inc On Writers and Writing
Book SynopsisA new selection of Henry James''s essays on the art of writing, from his famous essay "The Art of Fiction" to pieces on George Eliot, Ivan Turgenev, Honoré de Balzac, and others. Witty, erudite, and passionate, James''s essays are a delight for any lover of the written word.Best known as a master novelist, Henry James was also an incisive critic whose essays on the novel had as profound an influence on its development as did his fiction. Here, Pulitzer-finalist Michael Gorra, author of Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece, gathers some of the most virtuosic essays from across fifty years of James?s career. From his landmark essay ?The Art of Fiction,? an exhilarating treatise on the complexity of literary form, to ?The Lesson of Balzac,? a tender portrait of one of James?s greatest touchstones, to career-defining assessmentsof writers such as George Eliot and Ivan Turgenev, James reveals himself as a passionate and sensitive reader, one whose unerring ability to locate the currents within Anglophone literature was matched only by his uncommon prescience regarding its future. Slyly humorous and unabashedly opinionated, On Writers and Writing is a compelling artistic biography of a writer at his cogent and stylish best.
£19.96
HarperCollins Publishers The CaseBook of Sherlock Holmes
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.Featuring the last 12 stories ever written about the infamous detective, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes contains some of Conan Doyle's most villainous and unusual characters.The 1920s was a disenchanting era, and the darker mood of many of these stories reflects the environment at the time. Some even felt that the stories showed Conan Doyle exploring Spiritualism as it was an area he was interested in at the time and the mental derangement and physical disfigurements that crop up in many of the stories allude to the horrors of the First World War.The collection includes The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire', The Adventure of the Creeping Man' and The Adventure of the Lion's Mane'.
£5.62
HarperCollins Publishers The Bad Boy of Athens Classics from the Greeks to
Book SynopsisMendelsohn takes the classical costumes off figures like Virgil and Sappho, Homer and Horace He writes about things so clearly they come to feel like some of the most important things you have ever been told.' Sebastian BarryOver the past three decades, Daniel Mendelsohn's essays and reviews have earned him a reputation as our most irresistible literary critic' (New York Times). This striking new collection exemplifies the way in which Mendelsohn a classicist by training uses the classics as a lens to think about urgent contemporary debates.There is much to surprise here. Mendelsohn invokes the automatons featured in Homer's epics to help explain the AI films Ex Machina and Her, and perceives how Ted Hughes sought redemption by translating a play of Euripides (the bad boy of Athens') about a wayward husband whose wife returns from the dead. There are essays on Sappho's sexuality and the feminism of Game of Thrones; on how Virgil's Aeneid prefigures post-World War II history and why Trade Review Praise for The Bad Boy of Athens ‘Mendelsohn takes the classical costumes off figures like Virgil and Sappho, Homer and Horace … He writes about things so clearly they come to feel like some of the most important things you have ever been told.’ Sebastian Barry ‘Captivating …His is a vast intellect spanning centuries and genres with ease.’ BBC Culture “Mendelsohn's points are always passionately argued. He strikes the perfect balance between learned and playful … One fascinating essay after another from one of America's best critics.” Kirkus, starred review Praise for Daniel Mendelsohn ‘A scrumptious stylist … He writes better movie criticism than most movie critics, better theatre criticism than most theatre critics and better literary criticism than just about anyone’ Guardian ‘A brilliant storyteller, influenced by the Greek masters he so admires’ The Times ‘Mendelsohn is now, and has been for some time, the finest critic alive … [The essays] proceed from an unparalleled understanding of the Greek and Roman roots of storytelling, which he braids into reviews with a subtlety and patience that is beautiful to behold … A supremely entertaining book’ Toronto Star ‘Mendelsohn … is a gifted and entertaining writer. His prose is gorgeous and lyrical and his subjects are smartly considered and freshly revealed’ Vanity Fair ‘Absolutely vital in both senses of the word – required reading for anyone interested in dissecting culture’ The Daily Beast ‘A joy from start to finish … A wonderfully eclectic set of musings on the state of contemporary culture and the enduring riches of classical literature’ Publishers Weekly
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Scarlet Letter
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.Ah, but let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart.'A tale of sin, punishment and atonement, The Scarlet Letter exposes the moral rigidity of a 17th-Century Puritan New England community when faced with the illegitimate child of a young mother. Regarded as the first real heroine of American fiction, it is Hester Prynne''s strength of character that resonates with the reader when her harsh sentence is cast. It is in her refusal to reveal the identity of the father in the face of her accusers that Hawthorne champions his heroine and berates the weakness of Society for attacking the innocent.
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers The Secret Heart Le Carré and Me Tales From a
Book SynopsisA Telegraph Book to Read for Autumn 2022A Times Best Non-fiction Book for Autumn 2022A Daily Mail Book of the Year 2022A Waterstones Best Book of 2022: BiographyThe astonishing new portrait of the master of spy fiction, by the woman he kept secret for almost half his lifeJohn le Carré led a life entirely constructed of secrets. First as a British spook' during the Cold War, then as a world-renowned writer of espionage fiction, but also in his personal involvements. He guarded his private life with fierce determination, so that even when he finally permitted his life story to be written, there was still one element he insisted be excluded: the women.Married with children for virtually all his adult life, le Carré David Cornwell had a number of secret affairs, usually conducted abroad with women encountered by chance on his travels. These relationships were always intense, dramatic, even tragic, yet each was destined to last no more than a few months. But there was one love affair thatTrade Review.‘A posthumous love-letter to David Cornwell…le Carré’s private life seems to be perfectly aligned to his work.’The Daily Telegraph ‘Dawson is always aware of the complex duplicities le Carré is indulging in (she’s no fool) … A sly and clever book’William Boyd, New Statesman ‘A fascinating insight into how the betrayal, infidelity and lies that are at the heart of Le Carré’s spy novels were duplicated with exhausting precision in his private life’ Daily Mail ‘Those interested in le Carré will discover much fascinating detail … intelligent and perceptive’Adam Sisman, Spectator ‘A profound character study of a great writer’ The Times ‘Very sharp and funny’ Daily Telegraph
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