ELT & Literary Studies Books

19211 products


  • Aesops Fables

    HarperCollins Publishers Aesops Fables

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow.'Living in Ancient Greece in the 5th Century BC, Aesop was said to be a slave and story-teller. His much-loved, enduring fables are revered the world over and remain popular as moral tales for children. With infamous vignettes, such as the race between the hare and the tortoise, the vain jackdaw, and the wolf in sheep's clothing, the themes of the fables remain as fresh today as when they were first told and give an insight into the Ancient Greek world.

    5 in stock

    £5.62

  • Bright Star Green Light The Beautiful and Damned

    HarperCollins Publishers Bright Star Green Light The Beautiful and Damned

    10 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    10 in stock

    £18.75

  • The Aeneid

    Penguin Books Ltd The Aeneid

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisVirgil''s masterpiece and one of the greatest works in all of literature, now in a beautiful clothbound edition designed by Coralie Bickford-SmithVirgil''s Aeneid, inspired by Homer and the inspiration for Dante and Milton, is an immortal poem that sits at the heart of Western life and culture. Virgil took as his hero Aeneas, legendary survivor of the fall of Troy and father of the Roman race. In telling a story of dispossession and defeat, love and war, he portrayed human life in all its nobility and suffering, in its physicality and its mystery.Trade Review"A new and noble standard bearer . . . There's a capriciousness to Fagles's line well suited to this vast story's ebb and flow." -The New York Times Book Review (front page review) "Fagles's new version of Virgil's epic delicately melds the stately rhythms of the original to a contemporary cadence. . . . He illuminates the poem's Homeric echoes while remaining faithful to Virgil's distinctive voice." -The New Yorker "Robert Fagles gives the full range of Virgil's drama, grandeur, and pathos in vigorous, supple modern English. It is fitting that one of the great translators of The Iliad and The Odyssey in our times should also emerge as a surpassing translator of The Aeneid." -J. M. Coetzee

    3 in stock

    £15.29

  • The Merchant of Venice The Oxford Shakespeare

    Oxford University Press The Merchant of Venice The Oxford Shakespeare

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisWhat was Shakespeare''s attitude to Semitism? The Introduction to this edition of The Merchant of Venice opens by addressing this vital issue raised by the play, and goes on to study the sources, background, and date, includuing a discussion of Sigmund Freud''s essay on ''The Three Caskets''. Professor Halio interprets the play''s contradictions, inconsistencies, and complementarities, especially as these relate to the overarching theme of bonds and bondage. A survey of the play''s stage history ranges from discussions of its early staging to important twentieth-century productions and performances outside England, particularly in Israel.The text, based on a fresh examination of the early editions, is presented in modernized spelling and punctuation. Unfailingly lucid and helpful, this is an ideal edition for students, actors, and the general reader. 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 annotation, generally proficient, is admirably frank in rendering sexual doubles entendres and is frequently illuminating in its references to modes of staging ... As in the other volumes of this Oxford Shakespeare series, there is a good range of pictorial material and a very useful index ... this edition of The Merchant of Venice is creditable, lucid, and practical. * Cedric Watts, University of Sussex, Review of English Studies, Vol. 47, No. 186, May '96 *

    10 in stock

    £7.99

  • English for Everyone Business English Practice

    Dorling Kindersley Ltd English for Everyone Business English Practice

    7 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    7 in stock

    £9.49

  • Pincher Martin Faber Modern Classics

    Faber & Faber Pincher Martin Faber Modern Classics

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisChristopher Martin, the sole survivor of a torpedoed destroyer, is stranded upon a rock in the middle of the Atlantic. Pitted against him are the sea, the sun, the night cold and the terror of his isolation. Through the long hours with only himself to talk to, Martin must try to assemble the truth of his fate, piece by terrible piece.

    1 in stock

    £12.39

  • Nine Authentic Ghost Stories

    The Bodleian Library Nine Authentic Ghost Stories

    7 in stock

    7 in stock

    £12.34

  • Crumps Barn Studio Dream Logic

    10 in stock

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

    10 in stock

    £11.69

  • Wordsworth Editions Ltd The Iliad and the Odyssey

    Book SynopsisTranslated by George Chapman, with Introductions by Jan Parker. Hector bidding farewell to his wife and baby son, Odysseus bound to the mast listening to the Sirens, Penelope at the loom, Achilles dragging Hector's body round the walls of Troy - scenes from Homer have been reportrayed in every generation. The questions about mortality and identity that Homer's heroes ask, the bonds of love, respect and fellowship that motivate them, have gripped audiences for three millennia. Chapman's Iliad and Odyssey are great English epic poems, but they are also two of the liveliest and readable translations of Homer. Chapman's freshness makes the everyday world of nature and the craftsman as vivid as the battlefield and Mount Olympus. His poetry is driven by the excitement of the Renaissance discovery of classical civilisation as at once vital and distant, and is enriched by the perspectives of humanist thought.

    £7.08

  • The World of The Great Gatsby

    Orion Publishing Co The World of The Great Gatsby

    Book SynopsisPiece together one of Jay Gatsby's notorious parties, where figures both real and fictional from Fitzgerald's life and work are hidden among the enigmatic guests. Find Daisy Buchanan weeping over a pile of silk shirts, Gatsby gazing towards the green light of his dreams, Ernest Hemingway working at his typewriter and the all-seeing eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg surveying the wreckage as you puzzle towards the story's tragic conclusion.PART OF THE WORLD OF JIGSAW PUZZLE SERIES which immerse puzzlers in the worlds of their favourite writers and works.FEATURING AN ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATION packed with detail and a large poster with an introduction to the novel by Kirk Curnutt, executive director of the F. Scott Fitzgerald SocietyA GOOD-SIZED PUZZLE that measures 48.5 x 68 cm (19 x 27 in.) when completed.

    £18.35

  • Zofloya

    Oxford University Press Zofloya

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis is the first edition for nearly 200 years of an unduly neglected work, originally published in 1806, by an intriguing and unconventional woman writer. A Gothic tale of lust, betrayal, and multiple murder set in fifteenth-century Venice, the novel's most daring aspect is its anatomy of the central character, Victoria's, intense sexual attraction to her Moorish servant Zofloya. A minor scandal on its first publication, and a significant influence on Byron andShelley, it contradicts idealized stereotypes in women's writing and challenges the received idea of the Gothic genre's representation of passive, victimized women.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Note on the Text; Select Bibliography; A Chronology of Charlotte Dacre; Engraving of Charlotte Dacre as Rosa Matilda; ZOFLOYA, OR THE MOOR; Appendix; A Note on Names; Explanatory Notes

    10 in stock

    £8.54

  • Paintings in Proust A Visual Companion to In

    Thames & Hudson Ltd Paintings in Proust A Visual Companion to In

    4 in stock

    Book SynopsisEric Karpeles's lavishly illustrated and comprehensive guide offers a feast for the eyes as it celebrates the close relationship between the visual and literary arts in Proust's masterpiece. Karpeles has identified and located all of the paintings to which Proust makes exact reference. Where only a painter's name is mentioned to indicate a certain mood or appearance, he has chosen a representative work to illustrate the impression that Proust sought to evoke. Botticelli's angels, Manet's courtesans, Mantegna's warriors and Carpaccio's saints stand among Monet's water lilies and Piranesi's engravings of Rome, while Karpeles's insightful essay and lucid contextual commentary explain their significance to Proust. The book closes with extensive notes and a comprehensive index of all painters and paintings mentioned in the novel. With over 200 beautifully reproduced paintings, drawings and engravings, and accompanying texts drawn from the Moncrieff/Kilmartin/Enright translation of In Search of Lost Time, this book is an essential addition to the libraries of Proustians worldwide and a handsome volume in its own right.Trade Review'Will thrill any Proust lover' - Financial Times'Will undoubtedly be greeted with the literary equivalent of a hosanna' - The New York Times'Intelligent and passionate … a window into Proust’s sharp, eccentric wit' - The Irish Times'Indispensable to the [Proust] addict, but also enticing for the casual browser' - ObserverTable of ContentsIntroduction • Volume I: Swann’s Way • Volume II: Within a Budding Grove • Volume III: The Guermantes Way • Volume IV: Sodom and Gomorrah • Volume V: The Captive • Volume VI: The Fugitive • Volume VII: Time Regained • Notes • Index of Painters and Paintings

    4 in stock

    £17.00

  • Ethan Frome

    Oxford University Press Ethan Frome

    7 in stock

    Book Synopsis`It was not so much his great height that marked him ... it was the careless powerful look that he had, in spite of a lameness checking each step like the jerk of a chain.'' Set against the bleak winter landscape of New England, Ethan Frome tells the story of a poor farmer, lonely and downtrodden, his wife Zeena, and her cousin, the enchanting Mattie Silver. In the playing out of this short novel''s powerful and engrossing drama, Edith Wharton constructed her least characteristic and most celebrated book. In its unyielding and shocking pessimism, its bleak demonstration of tragic waste, it is a masterpiece of psychological and emotional realism. In her introduction the distinguished critic Elaine Showalter discusses the background to the novel''s composition and the reasons for its enduring success. 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 Reviewwith each volume having an introduction by an acknowledged expert, and exhaustive notes, the World's Classics are surely the most desirable series and, all-round, the best value for money * Oxford Times *This love story has an emotional intensity made all the more poignant by the inarticulate reticence of Wharton's characters - a ménage à trois consisting of Frome, his querulous wife and her young girl cousin. With quiet assurance, Wharton conveys passion, malaise and tragedy with memorable impact. * Sophia Sackville-West, Evening Standard (London) *Ethan Frome is one of Edith Wharton's most famous novels and rightly so. It is exquisitely written by an author with remarkable observation and imagination. Ethan Frome is a novel which extinguishes hope and blows away happiness but it is so powerful as an analysis of waste that it is nothing short of a masterpiece. * Madeleine Burton, Herts Advertiser *

    7 in stock

    £6.99

  • Beowulf

    Penguin Books Ltd Beowulf

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisBeowulf is the greatest surviving work of literature in Old English, unparalleled in its epic grandeur and scope. It tells the story of the heroic Beowulf and of his battles, first with the monster Grendel, who has laid waste to the great hall of the Danish king Hrothgar, then with Grendel''s avenging mother, and finally with a dragon that threatens to devastate his homeland. Through its blend of myth and history, Beowulf vividly evokes a twilight world in which men and supernatural forces live side by side. And it celebrates the endurance of the human spirit in a transient world.Alexander''s translation is marked by a conviction that it is possible to be both ambitious and faithful [and] ...communicates the poem with a care which goes beyond fidelity-to-meaning and reaches fidelity of implication. May it go on ... to another half-million copies. - Tom Shippey, Bulletin of the International Association of University Professors of EnglishTrade ReviewMichael Alexander is much the best translator from Old English. His Penguin Beowulf is much to be recommended -- A.N. Wilson

    3 in stock

    £9.25

  • Decreation

    Vintage Publishing Decreation

    4 in stock

    Book SynopsisIn her first collection in five years, Anne Carson contemplates ''decreation'' - an activity described by Simone Weil as ''undoing the creature in us'' - an undoing of self. But how can we undo self without moving through self, to the very inside of its definition? Where else can we start?Anne Carson''s Decreation starts with form - the undoing of form. Form is various here: opera libretto, screenplay, poem, oratorio, essay, list, montage. The undoing is tender, but tenderness can change everything, or so the author appears to believe.By turns exhilarating and bewildering, lucid and hermetic, Anne Carson is a maverick with a thrilling range of skills. As Charles Simic says, ''Carson takes risks, subverts literary conventions, and plays havoc with our expectations. She is a wonder: an unconventional, often difficult poet who has a huge following among today''s readers of poetry and whose work has been honoured with our most prestigious literary awards.''

    4 in stock

    £15.29

  • The Business 2.0 Upper Intermediate Level

    Macmillan Education The Business 2.0 Upper Intermediate Level

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe Student's Book Pack contains the Student's Book which introduces learners to the basic business principles and vocabulary, allowing them to build solid foundations and self-confidence. The eWorkbook accompanies the pack providing students with extra language practice, tests, writing tips, audio and video you can download for on-the-go learning.

    15 in stock

    £43.29

  • G K Chesterton a Reappraisal

    Methuen Publishing Ltd G K Chesterton a Reappraisal

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisG K Chesterton - A Reappraisal

    15 in stock

    £27.00

  • English Language and Literature Spelling

    Pearson Education English Language and Literature Spelling

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisFind everything you need to achieve your full potential with York Notes for GCSE Study Guides, now updated for GCSE (9-1).

    15 in stock

    £7.87

  • Hashtag

    Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Hashtag

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisBest Books of 2019Scholarly KitchenObject Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.Hashtags can silence as well as shout. They originate in the quiet of the archive and the breathless suspense of the control room, and find voice in the roar of rallies in the streets. The #hashtag is a composite creation, with two separate but related design histories: one involving the crosshatch symbol and one about the choice of letters after it.Celebration and criticism of hashtag activism rarely address the hashtag as an object or try to locate its place in the history of writing for machines. Although hashtags tend to be associated with Silicon Valley invention myths or celebrity power users, the story of the hashtag is much longer and more surprising, speaking to how we think about naming, identity, and being human in a non-human world.Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.Trade ReviewThe hashtag is everywhere--but why and what does it do? In this small book, Liz Losh insightfully answers this question through historical research, case studies, and rhetorical analyses that explore the possibilities, dangers, and limitations of #CommunicateThis; #HijackThis; #DoesThisReallyMakeADifference. Brilliant and compellingly written, it takes on #controversies and helps us understand how gender, race, and labor matter. * Wendy Chun, Canada 150 Research Chair in New Media, Simon Fraser University, Canada, and author of Updating to Remain the Same: Habitual New Media (2017) *This is the story you didn’t know existed--the story of how one little symbol enabled efficient and powerful communication among human beings and between computers. The hashtag is one of the most interesting communicative inventions of this century. Dr. Losh explains how it got this way in clear language and with an eye for detail. * Siva Vaidhyanathan, Robertson Professor of Media Studies, University of Virginia, USA, and author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy (2018) *Table of Contents#HASHTAG #OCTOTHORPE #INVENTOR #PERSON #PLACE #SLOGAN #BRAND #ORIGIN #INTERSECTION #NOISE #CHATTER #FILE #METADATA #ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Notes Index

    15 in stock

    £9.49

  • Jane Austens Bookshelf

    Bonnier Books Ltd Jane Austens Bookshelf

    Book Synopsis'Everything a reader could desire: wit, passion, mystery, brilliant detective work, a love of rare books, a deep dive into literary history and, best of all, the restoration of reputation for a group of great women authors whose names should never have been forgotten' Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, LovePublishing to coincide with the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth. It all started with a book that made me curious. When rare books dealer Rebecca Romney found an emerald clothbound edition of Evelina by Frances Burney, she was happy to discover that she'd stumbled across a novel by one of Jane Austen's favourite authors. Inspired by the connection between the two writers, she returned to Austen's books with a new lens, picking out clues sprinkled throughout her works that pointed to the writers she had admired. Austen read William Shakespeare, John Milton, Daniel Defoe, and Samuel Richardson, all authors Rebecca had read. But Austen also read Frances Burney, Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Lennox, Hannah More, Charlotte Smith, Elizabeth Inchbald, Hester Piozzi, and Maria Edgeworth, all authors Romney hadn't. These female writers all sat proudly on Austen's bookshelf, but have disappeared from ours. Romney became fascinated with these writers and wanted to answer three important questions: What were the stories behind the lives of these women? Why have they disappeared from our bookshelves? Who wrote them out of history? She had a mission, an obligation: she needed to collect Jane Austen's bookshelf.

    £11.69

  • Jacaranda Books Art Music Ltd Ghost Season

    4 in stock

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

    4 in stock

    £9.49

  • Lysistrata and Other Plays

    Penguin Books Ltd Lysistrata and Other Plays

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe Acharnians/The Clouds/Lysistrata''We women have the salvation of Greece in our hands''Writing at a time of political and social crisis in Athens, the ancient Greek comic playwright Aristophanes was an eloquent, yet bawdy, challenger to the demagogue and the sophist. In Lysistrata and The Acharnians, two pleas for an end to the long war between Athens and Sparta, a band of women on a sex strike and a lone peasant respectively defeat the political establishment. The darker comedy of The Clouds satirizes Athenian philosophers, Socrates in particular, and reflects the uncertainties of a generation in which all traditional religious and ethical beliefs were being challenged. Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Alan H. SommersteinTable of ContentsLysistrata and Other PlaysChronologyIntroductionFurther ReadingTranslator's NoteNote on the TextPreface to The AcharniansTHE ACHARNIANSPreface to The CloudsTHE CLOUDSPreface to LysistrataLYSISTRATANotes

    5 in stock

    £10.44

  • The Madwoman in the Attic

    Yale University Press The Madwoman in the Attic

    7 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    7 in stock

    £19.92

  • A Midsummer Nights Dream The Oxford Shakespeare

    Oxford University Press A Midsummer Nights Dream The Oxford Shakespeare

    20 in stock

    Book SynopsisA Midsummer Night's Dream is perhaps the best loved of Shakespeare's plays. It brings together aristocrats, workers, and fairies in a wood outside Athens, and from there the enchantment begins. In the introduction to this edition, Peter Holland pays particular attention to dreams and dreamers, and to Shakespeare's construction of a world of night and shadows. Both here and in his commentary he explores the play's extensive performance history to illustrate the wide range of interpretations of which it is capable.Trade ReviewThe commentary is admirably lucid and undogmatic on textual variants ... The introduction is of the kind that ponders and explores. Holland's method is to take each aspect or element of the play and consider it in the light of earlier traditions ... his critical position emerges unobtrusively but persuasively from the attested facts. * M.M. Mahoud, YES, 27, 1996 *

    20 in stock

    £7.59

  • King Richard III: Third Series

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC King Richard III: Third Series

    4 in stock

    Book SynopsisRichard III is one of the great Shakespearean characters and roles. James R Siemon examines the attraction of this villain to audiences and focuses on how beguiling, even funny, he can be, especially in the earlier parts of the play. Siemon also places King Richard III in its historical context; as Elizabeth I had no heirs the issue of succession was a very real one for Shakespeare's audience. The introduction is well-illustrated and provides a comprehensive account of the play and of critical approaches to it. The edition also provides a clear and authoritative playtext, edited to the most rigorous standards of scholarship, with detailed notes and commentary on the same page. With a wealth of helpful and incisive commentary the Arden Shakespeare is the finest edition of Shakespeare you can find, giving a deeper understanding and appreciation of his work.Trade Review'There is much to admire about Siemon's labours here, and taken in its own edition is a fine resource for those wanting to read a well annotated text of the play or to go deeply into the performance and textual histories of the play...' Shakespeare Bookshop Newsletter (December 2009)

    4 in stock

    £11.67

  • Powers of Horror

    Columbia University Press Powers of Horror

    Book SynopsisJulia Kristeva offers an extensive and profound consideration of the nature of abjection. Drawing on Freud and Lacan, she analyzes the nature of attitudes toward repulsive subjects and examines the function of these topics in the writings of Celine, Proust, Joyce, and other authors.Trade ReviewDazzling. * SubStance *Julia Kristeva’s Powers of Horror, which theorizes the notion of the ‘abject’ in a series of blisteringly insightful analyses, is as relevant, as necessary, and as courageous today as it seemed in 1984. -- Peter Connor, Barnard CollegeCritics who seek an alternative to sexist and, in general, imperialist practices in psychoanalytic writing will want to read [this book]. * Discourse *Table of ContentsI. Approaching Abjection2. Something to Be Scared Of3. From Filth to Defilement4. Semiotics of Biblical Abomination5.... Qui Tollis Peccata Mundi6. Céline: Neither Actor nor Martyr7. Suffering and Horror8. Those Females Who Can Wreck the Infinite9. "Ours to Jew or Die"10. In the Beginning and Without End...11. Powers of Horror

    £18.00

  • How The Irish Saved Civilization

    Hodder & Stoughton How The Irish Saved Civilization

    3 in stock

    Book Synopsis''Shamelessly engaging, effortlessly scholarly, utterly refreshing''Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler''s Ark''A small treasure''New York Times ''This sweepingly confident overview is more entertainingly told than any previous account''Sunday TelegraphIreland played the central role in maintaining European culture when the dark ages settled on Europe in the fifth century: as Rome was sacked by Visigoths and its empire collapsed, Ireland became ''the isle of saints and scholars'' that enabled the classical and religious heritage to be saved.In his compelling and entertaining narrative, Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Irish monks and scrines copied the mauscripts of both pagan and Christian writers, including Homer and Aristotle, while libraries on the continent were lost forever. Bringing the past and its characters to life, Cahill captures the sensibility of the unsung Irish who relaunched civilisation.Trade ReviewHOW THE IRISH SAVED CIVILISATION is a shamelessly engaging, effortlessly scholarly, utterly refreshing history of the origins of the Irish soul and its huge contribution to Western culture ... For its portrait of St Patrick alone, it will resonate in the memory. * Thomas Keneally *Lyrical, playful, penetrating and serious ... an entirely engaging, delectable voyage into the distant past, a small treasure * Richard Bernstein in the New York Times *This sweepingly confident overview is more entertainingly told than any previous account ... An elegant book * P.J. Kavanagh in the Sunday Telegraph *

    3 in stock

    £10.44

  • Papyrus: THE MILLION-COPY GLOBAL BESTSELLER

    Hodder & Stoughton Papyrus: THE MILLION-COPY GLOBAL BESTSELLER

    20 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe bestselling phenomenon - an enthralling 6,000-year journey through the history of books and readingA FINANCIAL TIMES, ECONOMIST AND MAIL ON SUNDAY BOOK OF THE YEARSHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH ACADEMY BOOK PRIZE 2023'Outstanding, universal and unique' NEW YORK TIMES'A literary phenomenon.' TLS'Masterly.' ECONOMIST'Mindboggling' TELEGRAPHLong before books were mass-produced, scrolls hand copied on reeds pulled from the Nile were the treasures of the ancient world. Emperors and Pharaohs were so determined to possess them that they dispatched emissaries to the edges of the earth to bring them back.In Papyrus, celebrated classicist Irene Vallejo traces the dramatic history of the book and the fight for its survival. This is the story of the book's journey from oral tradition to scrolls to codices, and how that transition laid the very foundation of Western culture. And it is a story full of heroic adventures, bloodshed and megalomania - from the battlefields of Alexander the Great and the palaces of Cleopatra to the libraries of war-torn Sarajevo and Oxford.An international bestseller, Papyrus brings the ancient world to life and celebrates the enduring power of the written word.Trade ReviewA literary phenomenon . . . didactic and daring . . . elegant and richly digressive. * Times Literary Supplement *'Outstanding, universal and unique' * New York Times *[A] bestselling phenomenon... Irene Vallejo recounts the birth of literary culture in the ancient world while interweaving dynamic, thrilling tales that underscore and celebrate the power of words to change the world. * Financial Times, Books of the Year *A mindboggling history of the earliest books... Vallejo is a novelist and she has a storyteller's ability to animate her subjects... and the story she tells is impressively rip-roaring. She draws a six-thousand-year line from the clay tablets of Mesopotamia to the e-reader tablets of today and leaves her readers inspired, invigorated and sincerely grateful for the invention of the book.' * Henry Eliot, Daily Telegraph *Packed with fascinating insights into literacy in the ancient world... Vallejo is a diligent scholar, excelling with her accounts of the human experience of books in the era. * i news *Irene Vallejo, a Spanish journalist and scholar, has a writer's passion for books and a classicist's fascination with the way they came to be. She is also imaginative, lively and contemporary. In her hands written texts are not only a sensual pleasure, but living and frequently disruptive... Ms Vallejo has a notable talent for evoking ancient scenes. Her description, for example, of the poet Martial returning to Spain from Rome, near the end of the book, is masterly. * Economist *This prize-winning Spanish title has a classy jacket and impressive heft, which is only fitting really, since it celebrates the book as an object. More enticingly still, novelist and essayist Vallejo enlivens history with imagination and personal anecdote as she traces the book's lineage from scrolls made of aquatic plant pith to codices and tablets, digressing to show how its development is interwoven with the development of western civilisation. Is Papyrus available as an ebook? Yes, but I'll bet any reader drawn to it is going to want to save up for the hardcover. * Observer *In this generous, sprawling work... Vallejo sets out to provide a panoramic survey of how books shaped not just the ancient world but ours too. While she pays due attention to the physicality of the book... Vallejo is equally interested in what goes on inside its covers. And also, more importantly, what goes on inside a reader when they take up a volume and embark on an imaginative and intellectual dance that might just change their life. As much as a history of books, Papyrus is also a history of reading. * Guardian *An excellent, illuminating celebration... Vallejo's vigorous celebration of book culture excels at illuminating the ancient world through contemporary references - including to Margaret Atwood, Bob Dylan and Taxi Driver - and draws revealing parallels between antiquity and today.' * The Irish Times *[A] masterpiece . . . I am absolutely sure that it will continue to be read when its readers today are already in the afterlife. * Mario Vargas Llosa *

    20 in stock

    £11.04

  • A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies

    Penguin Books Ltd A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisBartolomé de Las Casas was the first and fiercest critic of Spanish colonialism in the New World. An early traveller to the Americas who sailed on one of Columbus's voyages, Las Casas was so horrified by the wholesale massacre he witnessed that he dedicated his life to protecting the Indian community. He wrote A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies in 1542, a shocking catalogue of mass slaughter, torture and slavery, which showed that the evangelizing vision of Columbus had descended under later conquistadors into genocide. Dedicated to Philip II to alert the Castilian Crown to these atrocities and demand that the Indians be entitled to the basic rights of humankind, this passionate work of documentary vividness outraged Europe and contributed to the idea of the Spanish 'Black Legend' that would last for centuries.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700&Table of ContentsA Short Account of the Destruction of the IndiesAcknowledgementsMap of America (1540)IntroductionA Note on Editions and on this TranslationA Short Account of the Destruction of the IndiesSynopisPrologue(Preface)HispaniolaThe Kingdoms of HispaniolaThe Islands of Puerto Rico and JamaicaCubaThe MainlandThe Province of NicaraguaNew SpainNew Spain (continued)The Province and Kingdom of GuatemalaNew Spain, Pánuco and JaliscoThe Kingdom of YucatánThe Province of Santa MartaThe Province of CartagenaThe Pearl Coast, Paria and TrinidadThe River YuyapariThe Kingdom of VenezuelaThe Mainland in the Region Known as FloridaThe River PlateThe Great Kingdoms and Provinces of PeruThe Kingdom of New Granada(Conclusion)Index

    15 in stock

    £9.99

  • Persuasion: Chiltern Edition

    Chiltern Publishing Persuasion: Chiltern Edition

    15 in stock

    Book Synopsis Chiltern Publishing creates the most beautiful editions of the World?s finest literature. Your favourite classic titles in a way you have never seen them before; the tactile layers, fine details and beautiful colours of these remarkable covers make these titles feel extra special and will look striking on any shelf. This book has matching lined and blank journals (sold separately) . They make a great gift when paired together but are also just as beautiful on their own. Persuasion is a novel by Jane Austen in which the 27-year-old Anne Russell, who broke off a youthful engagement with Captain Frederick Wentworth, reconciles with him before the two again become engaged. Years after their engagement, Anne and Wentworth meet again. Anne still cares for him, but he is aloof to her. Anne is courted by her cousin, Mr. William Elliot, a widower, though Anne is not interested in Elliott, Wentworth is jealous of Elliot?s interest in Anne. Wentworth writes Anne a long, emotional letter, and soon they are engaged again..

    15 in stock

    £17.00

  • Faber & Faber Selected Poems of T. S. Eliot

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisAs a poet, editor and essayist, T. S. Eliot was one of the defining figures of twentieth century poetry. This selection, which was made by Eliot himself, includes many of his most celebrated works, including The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and The Waste Land.Other volumes in this series: Auden, Betjemen, Plath, Hughes and Yeats.

    Out of stock

    £999.99

  • The Awakening

    HarperCollins Publishers The Awakening

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics.

    Out of stock

    £5.62

  • Oxford University Press Literary Theory

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisWhat is literary theory? Is there a relationship between literature and culture? In fact, what is literature, and does it matter? These are some of questions addressed by Jonathan Culler in this Very Short Introduction to literary theory. Often a controversial subject, said to have transformed the study of culture and society in the past two decades, literary theory is accused of undermining respect for tradition and truth and encouraging suspicion about the political and psychological implications of cultural projects rather than admiration for great literature. Here, Jonathan Culler explains ''theory'', not by describing warring ''schools'' but by sketching key ''moves'' theory has encouraged, and speaking directly about the implications of theory for thinking about literature, human identity, and the power of language. In this new edition Culler takes a look at new material, including the ''death of theory'', the links between the theory of narrative and cognitive science, trauma theory, ecocriticism, and includes a new chapter on ''Ethics and aesthetics''. This lucid introduction is useful for anyone who has wondered what all the fuss is about or who wants to think about literature today.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.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition It is impossible to imagine a clearer treatment of the subject, or one that is, within the given limits of length, more comprehensive. Culler has always been remarkable for his expository skills, and here he has found exactly the right method and tone for his purposes. * Sir Frank Kermode *A must read for all literature students. * Bookwise *Table of Contents1. What is theory? ; 2. What is literature and does it matter? ; 3. Literature and cultural studies ; 4. Language, meaning, and interpretation ; 5. Rhetoric, poetics, and poetry ; 6. Narrative ; 7. Performative language ; 8. Identity, identification, and the subject ; 9. Ethics and aesthetics ; Appendix: Theoretical schools and movements ; References ; Further Reading ; Index

    3 in stock

    £9.49

  • World's Greatest Speeche

    Prakash Books World's Greatest Speeche

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisStep into the world of history-makers with this edition, enriched with the eloquence of individuals who shaped and reshaped their destinies. Experience the artistry of master orators as their meticulously crafted speeches transcend the boundaries of time and space, captivating the minds and hearts of their audiences. A literary gem for all, this exquisite hardbound edition features a ribbon bookmark, gilded edges, and stunning endpapers.Inspiring words that shaped history?

    10 in stock

    £17.99

  • Doctor Faustus

    WW Norton & Co Doctor Faustus

    7 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    7 in stock

    £15.52

  • Why Read the Classics

    Penguin Books Ltd Why Read the Classics

    20 in stock

    Book SynopsisWhy Read the Classics? is an elegant defence of the value of great literature by one of the finest authors of the last century. Beginning with an essay on the attributes that define a classic (number one - classics are those books that people always say they are ''rereading'', not ''reading''), this is an absorbing collection of Italo Calvino''s witty and passionate criticism.Trade ReviewEnthusiasm and intelligence: these are the essential qualities of the critic. Calvino, himself a novelist of rare quality, possessed both generously. This is a book to read for itself, and also because it will send you back to other books to read, either again in a new way, or for the first time... Superb * Daily Telegraph *This volume itself is a classic book at bedtime, a seductive invitation to forgotten opportunities or rereading * The Times *A master’s guidance on everything from the ancient Greeks to Ernest Hemingway, proving that “a classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.” This timeless description applies to Calvino’s own books too -- John Self

    20 in stock

    £9.49

  • Shakespeare The Bards Guide to Abuses and

    Running Press Shakespeare The Bards Guide to Abuses and

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisBaffle your friends with your erudite knowledge of Shakespearean English, all while casually insulting them. This deluxe collection of Shakespeare''s most dazzling insults is neatly separated into sections for quick retrieval when a stinging retort is demanded. Become the master of your own villainy with creative insults that will show those rogues and ruffians who''s in charge!

    7 in stock

    £7.82

  • Leaving Home

    Pan Macmillan Leaving Home

    3 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    3 in stock

    £10.79

  • Advanced Fiction

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Advanced Fiction

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisConfident with the basics of your craft? Looking to take your writing to the next level? Advanced Fiction gives you the tools to hone your skills by thinking more deeply and systematically about deploying them on the page. Friendly and down-to-earth, Amy Weldon guides you through the realities of craft and process, combining a broad anthology of landmark stories with instruction on the more advanced aspects of fiction writing.Featuring interactive prompts, exercises and suggestions for further reading, this book guides you from larger philosophical issues to subtler technical ones, from topics as diverse as the intricate principles of storytelling to navigating artistic and political landscapes conscientiously and building a writing career. Beginning with a brief recap of the basics, the text goes on to examine:- The psychology of writing and revising- Practical methods for drafting and notebook-keeping- Taking personal and technical risks with ideas, images, and forms- Making rTable of ContentsChapter One: What Makes Advanced Fiction Writing “Advanced?” Student Craft Studio: Shannon Baker, “Habits” Craft Studio: James Joyce, “Araby” (1914) Exercises Chapter Two: Getting It Down: Self-Organizing, From Mind to Page Exercises Chapter Three: Mystery, Conviction, Form, and Risk Student Craft Studio: Levi Bird, “On Stable Ground” Craft Studio: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1892) Exercises Chapter Four: Writing in Color: Culture, Identity, and Art Student Craft Studio: Ian Wreisner, “The New Chicago” Craft Studio: Rebecca Makkai, from The Great Believers: A Novel (2018) Exercises Chapter Five: Invisible Engines: Purpose, Psychic Distance, and Point of View Student Craft Studio: Andrew Tiede, “Till Death” Craft Studio: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “The American Embassy” (2003) Exercises Chapter Six: Building a World – For Your Readers and Yourself Student Craft Studio: Joel Murillo, “Cracker Jack” Kari Myers, “Fields of Ash” Craft Studio: Angela Carter, “The Tiger’s Bride” (1979) Exercises Chapter Seven: Trust the Process: Revising, Editing, and Writing At Length Teacher Craft Studio: Amy Weldon, “The Serpent” (2018) Exercises Chapter Eight: Creative Writing and Your Future Student Career Studio: Andrew Chan, Derek Lin, Reed Johnson, MD, and Annika Dome MFA Studio: Keith Lesmeister, “East of Ely” (2017) Dr Weldon’s Fiction Prescriptions

    10 in stock

    £21.84

  • Heroes York Notes for GCSE Grades AG

    Pearson Education Heroes York Notes for GCSE Grades AG

    15 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    15 in stock

    £7.71

  • The Franciscan Publishing Company God Is Not A Man In The Sky

    15 in stock

    15 in stock

    £23.74

  • Yale University Press We Computers A Ghazal Novel

    7 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    7 in stock

    £15.99

  • The Stuff of Life

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Stuff of Life

    15 in stock

    Book Synopsis''An old teapot, used daily, can tell me more of my past than anything I recorded of it.'' Sylvia Townsend WarnerThere are many ways of telling the story of a life and how we''ve got to where we are. The questions of why and how we think the way we do continues to preoccupy philosophers. In The Stuff of Life, Timothy Morton chooses the objects that have shaped and punctuated their life to tell the story of who they are and why they might think the way they do. These objects are ''things'' in the richest sense. They are beings, non-human beings, that have a presence and a force of their own. From the looming expanse of Battersea Power Station to a packet of anti-depressants and a cowboy suit, Morton explores why ''stuff'' matters and the life of these things have so powerfully impinged upon their own. Their realization, through a concealer stick, that they identify as non-binary reveals the strange and wonderful ways that objects can form our worlds.Part memoir, part philoTable of ContentsChapter 0: Introducing Chapter 1: Electric Peanuts Chapter 2: Inner Bodyworker Chapter 3: Wimbledon Park Station Chapter 4: Oso Chapter 5: Arc Lights Chapter 6: CPAP Chapter 7: Antidepressants Chapter 8: Cowboy Costume Chapter 9: Concealer Chapter 10: Battersea Power Station Chapter 11: Clangers Chapter 12: Drum Kit Chapter 13: Avebury Ring Chapter 14: The Chicken Acknowledgments

    15 in stock

    £14.24

  • Union Square & Co. Little Women Deluxe Bookmark

    £9.11

  • Mrs Dalloway

    HarperCollins Publishers Mrs Dalloway

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.Clarissa Dalloway is a woman of high-society vivacious, hospitable and sociable on the surface, yet underneath troubled and dissatisfied with her life in post-war Britain. This disillusionment is an emotion that bubbles under the surface of all of Woolf's characters in Mrs Dalloway.Centred around one day in June where Clarissa is preparing for and holding a party, her interior monologue mingles with those of the other central characters in a stream of consciousness, entwining, yet never actually overriding the pervading sense of isolation that haunts each person.One of Virginia Woolf's most accomplished novels, Mrs Dalloway is widely regarded as one of the most revolutionary works of the 20th century in its style and the themes that it tackles. The sense that Clarissa has married the wrong person, her past love for another female friend and the death of an intended party guest all serve to amplify this stultifying existence.

    15 in stock

    £5.62

  • The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath And Ted Hughes

    Granta Books The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath And Ted Hughes

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisIs it ever possible to know 'the truth' about Sylvia Plath and her marriage to Ted Hughes, which ended with her suicide? In The Silent Woman, renowned writer Janet Malcolm examines the biographies of Sylvia Plath, with particular focus on Anne Stevenson's Bitter Fame, to discover how Plath became an enigma in literary history. The Silent Woman is a brilliant, elegantly reasoned inquiry into the nature of biography, dispelling our innocence as readers, as well as shedding a light onto why Plath's legend continues to exert such a hold on our imaginations.Trade ReviewOne of the deepest, loveliest, and most problematic things Janet Malcolm has written. It is so subtle, so patiently analytical, and so true that it is difficult to envisage anyone writing again about Plath and Hughes * Guardian *An astonishing writer with a grasp of nuance that can be electric * The Times *Intellectually explosive, morally challenging and enormous fun * Financial Times *Compulsively readable, the best thing Malcolm has ever done * LRB *Superbly written, flowing like a piece of music from theme to theme, recapitulating here, changing key there, always disguising the complexity of its underlying construction * Independent *The best-written and most stirring polemic of the year. Completely brilliant * The Times *The Silent Woman contains some of the best thinking I know on both the practical and the philosophical problems of biography -- Bernard Crick * New Statesman *Of the oceans of words written about Sylvia Plath, these are among the best... a master storyteller and a psychoanalyst rolled into one. Brilliant * Independent *The Silent Woman pioneered a new genre of biography in its exploration of Hughes and Sylvia Plath...The study ends with an exquisite twist that gives this book the urgency of fiction...insightful * Telegraph *The maestro of gripping nonfiction investigation * Sunday Times *Brilliant -- Megan Nolan * New Statesman *A bleakly entertaining j'accuse of biography as a genre * TLS *

    15 in stock

    £9.50

  • Illuminations

    Vintage Publishing Illuminations

    Book SynopsisIlluminations contains the most celebrated work of Walter Benjamin, one of the most original and influential thinkers of the 20th Century: 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction', ‘The Task of the Translator’ and 'Theses on the Philosophy of History', as well as essays on Kafka, storytelling, Baudelaire, Brecht's epic theatre, Proust and an anatomy of his own obsession, book collecting.This now legendary volume offers the best possible access to Benjamin’s singular and significant achievement, while Hannah Arendt’s introduction reveals how his life and work are a prism to his times.Trade ReviewFrom the evidence of this book I would suggest that Benjamin was one of the great European writers of this century * Observer *He explained the modern with an authority that fifty years of unpredictable change have not vitiated * New York Review of Books *Like Baudelaire, Benjamin brings the very new into shocking conjunction with the very old … He is in search of a surrealist history and politics, one which clings tenaciously to the fragment, the miniature, the stray citation, but which impacts these fragments one upon the other to politically explosive effect, like the Messiah who will transfigure the world completely by making minor adjustments to it

    £15.29

  • The Republic

    John Wiley and Sons Ltd The Republic

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe newest deluxe edition in the bestselling Capstone Classics Series This ancient classic has had a make-over. In recent years these Capstone Classic deluxe editions have caught the book buying public's imagination.Table of ContentsAn Introduction by Tom Butler-Bowdon vii About Tom Butler-Bowdon xxiii The Republic 1

    15 in stock

    £10.79

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