Poetry Books

Book SynopsisFirst issued by Methuen in 1959, this play was the first title in the Modern plays series aimed at the burgeoning readership of young theatregoer This title and five others are reissued, representing the range and vitality of the list of titles in print .Trade Review'Some of Delaney's themes may feel dated but her writing still glitters dangerously and wittily. A Taste of Honey remains a passionate statement about real people trapped in poverty, deprived of ambition and vulnerable to manipulation by the fickleness of others.' Independent (19 November 2008) 'Brawling, boozing, teenage pregnancy and fractured families: Shelagh Delaney's benchmark drama, first staged by Joan Littlewood in London in 1958, has lost none of its relevance 50 years on... The quirkiness and passion of Delaney's young voice still rings out... It remains passionate and pungent.' The Times (19 November 2008) 'Its raw eloquence, sometimes almost lyrical, its tough, swaggering humour...its frank brutality and unblinking humanity.' Sunday Times (23 November 2008)

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Book SynopsisThe poems in this collection are written in the language of flowers. Louise Gluck received the Pulitzer Prize for The Wild Iris in 1993, and has also received the National Book Critics Award for Poetry and the Poetry Society of America's Melville Kane Award.

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Book SynopsisDonna Ashworth's new and updated collection TO THE WOMEN is coming soon. The book all women need by their side, To the Women is the perfect Mother's Day gift.THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER FROM THE NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WILD HOPE 'Buy it for yourself, buy it for everyone you know - it's amazing.' DAVINA MCCALL, Instagram'Powerful and comforting ... Donna's words could change your life.' DAWN FRENCH'Absolutely beautiful ... whenever I'm feeling lost, I reach for Donna Ashworth's words and feel found.' BRYONY GORDON'Some people have the Bible by their bed. Others a self-help manual. I have Donna Ashworth.' SUSANNAH CONSTANTINEIn this powerful new collection of wisdom and poetry, Donna Ashworth helps us to find strength and courage on the days we feel lost, to pick ourselves up when times are hard, to soothe fear and self-doubt when we are in their grip, and to let in more life and love as we brave our challenges.Every day we are bombarded by thoughts, feelings and information that make us feel anxious and afraid. We worry we don't measure up, we are scared of failure and we find it hard to be ourselves. We also feel powerless watching the world getting messier. Fear is a limiting factor for many of us and if we don't challenge it we can find ourselves keeping out more of the good stuff in life than the bad.With poems such as 'One Day You'll See', 'Growing in Moonlight', 'The Comparing' and 'Always There', bestselling author Donna Ashworth helps us to see that whatever we are facing, no matter how small or afraid we feel, we make the biggest difference in this world and to our own happiness when we are brave enough to show up as ourselves.

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Book SynopsisWhy fear Shakespeare? By placing the words of the original play next to line-by-line translations in plain English, this popular guide makes Shakespeare accessible to everyone. And now it features expanded literature guide sections that help students study smarter.

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Book Synopsis#IAmHerTribe creator Danielle Doby shares her poetry for the first time in a collection long anticipated by her followers. Positive and powerful, I Am Her Tribe is a collection of poetry drawing on the viral Instagram handle and online hashtag that serves to create moments of connection through empowerment and storytelling. Focusing on inspiration, Doby's poetry invites its reader to 'Come as you are. Your tribe has arrived.  Your breath can rest here.' both soft  and fierce can coexist and still be powerful

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Book SynopsisAt a restaurant party thrown by Marlene of the Top Girls Employment Agency are Isabella Bird, the 19th-century traveller, Lady Nijo, courtesan to a 13th-century Japanese Emperor, Brueghel's Dull Gret, Pope Joan and Patient Griselda, wife of Chaucer's Clerk.Trade Review"Top Girls has a combination of directness and complexity which keeps you both emotionally and intellectually alert. You can smell life, and at the same time feel locked in an argument with an agile and passionate mind." The Sunday Times, John Peter

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Book SynopsisA reissue of Nobel Prize-winner Dario Fo's play, Accidental Death of an Anarchist - a sharp satire on police corruption. The play concerns the case of an anarchist railway worker who, in 1969, 'fell' to his death from a police headquarters' window.

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Book SynopsisThe definitive collection of America's bestselling poet. Rumi's finest poems of love and lovers will open your heart and soul to the lover inside and out.Trade Review"Another perfect gem from the master translator of Rumi's poetry." -- Roger Housden, author of Ten Poems to Change Your Life and Chasing Rumi "It's a mystery how heart can come into apparently simple English." -- Robert Bly, National Book Award-winning poet and translator

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction, Bibliography and Glossary by Dr Paul Wright, Trinity College, Carmarthen. 'I mean to show things really as they are, not as they ought to be'. wrote Byron (1788-1824) in his comic masterpiece Don Juan, which follows the adventures of the hero across the Europe and near East which Byron knew so well, touching on the major political, cultural and social concerns of the day. This selection includes all of that poem, and selections from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, and the satirical poems 'English Bards and Scotch Reviewers' and 'A Vision of Judgement'. Paul Wright's detailed introductions place Byron's colourful life and work within their broader social and political contexts, and demonstrate that Byron both fostered and critiqued the notorious 'Byronic myth' of heroic adventure, political action and sexual scandal.

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Book SynopsisThis smart new paperback edition contains the fully-reset text of three medieval English poems, translated by Tolkien for the modern-day reader and containing romance, tragedy, love, sex and honour. It features a beautifully decorated text and includes as a bonus the complete version of Tolkien's acclaimed lecture on Sir Gawain.Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl are two poems by an unknown author written in about 1400. Sir Gawain is a romance, a fairy-tale for adults, full of life and colour; but it is also much more than this, being at the same time a powerful moral tale which examines religious and social values.Pearl is apparently an elegy on the death of a child, a poem pervaded with a sense of great personal loss: but, like Gawain it is also a sophisticated and moving debate on much less tangible matters.Sir Orfeo is a slighter romance, belonging to an earlier and different tradition. It was a special favourite of Tolkien's.The three translations represent the complete rhymTrade Review‘The introduction to Gawain is a little masterpiece.’Times Higher Educational Supplement ‘This magnificent Arthurian tale of love, sex, honour, social tact, personal integrity and folk-magic is one of the greatest and most approachable narrative poems in the language. Tolkien’s version makes it come triumphantly alive, a moving and consoling elegy.’Birmingham Post

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Book SynopsisRead Shakespeare’s plays in all their brilliance—and understand what every word means! Don’t be intimidated by Shakespeare! These popular guides make the Bard’s plays accessible and enjoyable.Each No Fear guide contains: The complete text of the original play A line-by-line translation that puts the words into everyday language A complete list of characters, with descriptions Plenty of helpful commentary

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Book SynopsisThis new edition is based on the quarto, the version closest to the original manuscript. The introduction illminates the plays' origins and practicalities of composition, its reception and influence. Detailed notes pay especial attention to language and staging, and the volume includes King Lear's first derivative, a contemporary ballad, and guides to appreciation of the play and its multiple offshoots.Trade Review'This is a supremely student-friendly edition that will have far-reaching implications. Teachers throughout the English-speaking world will soon begin adopting Wells's edition for their courses.' * Eric Rasmussen, Shakespeare Survey *

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Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!For I ne''er saw true beauty till this night.'Arguably the greatest love story ever told, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet continues to touch modern audiences with its passionate depiction of the tragic romance between two young lovers. With a bitter feud between their respective families, Romeo and Juliet's love is troubled from the start, and through their relationship, Shakespeare shows the fine line between love, hatred, comedy and tragedy.

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Book Synopsis‘The best leave you with a renewed sense of how extraordinary it is that poetry can, over the course of one sentence, flood your circuit board with loss, or anger, or love’ Independent From J.J. Abrams to John le Carré, Salman Rushdie to Jonathan Franzen, Daniel Radcliffe to Nick Cave, Ian McEwan to Stephen Fry, Stanley Tucci to Colin Firth, and Seamus Heaney to Christopher Hitchins, 100 men confess to being moved to tears by poems that haunt them. This remarkable collection of poems, from the sixteenth century to the present day, delivers private insight into the souls of men whose writing, acting and thinking are admired around the world.

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Book SynopsisIf you think often about the past or battle with overthinking and self-esteem, girl made of glass is for you. This collection is about finding yourself, forgiving yourself, and loving yourself. It explores the many ways our past haunts us, but will leave you feeling hopeful about your future.girl made of glass is a poetry collection about how our past—past mistakes, relationships, and regrets—can linger into our future. Broken into four parts, this book is about finding, forgiving, and loving ourselves. The Nightmares explores our past and the moments that haunt us. The Mirror delves into insecurity and how we might haunt ourselves. The Shattering investigates relationships and how they can break us. The Enchantment delivers an uplifting conclusion of self-love and growth.

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Book SynopsisCelebrate the incredible journey of Phoebe Waller-Bridge's outrageously funny, blazingly forthright Fleabag, from fringe theatre hit to international cultural phenomenon, in this special edition – featuring the original playscript, never-before-seen colour photos, and exclusive bonus content by Phoebe, director Vicky Jones and key members of the creative team. In 2013, Fleabag made its debut as a one-woman show in sixty-seater venue the Big Belly, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe's Underbelly. It was an immediate hit, going on to enjoy two runs at London's Soho Theatre, national and international tours, whilst picking up prizes including Critics' Circle, The Stage, Fringe First and two Off West End Theatre Awards, plus an Olivier Award nomination. The 2016 TV adaptation propelled Fleabag and Phoebe to worldwide fame, earning critical acclaim and further accolades including Writers' Guild, Royal Television Society and BAFTA Television Awards. A second series followed in 2019, winning an amazing six Emmy Awards (including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series), along with a sold-out run of the original play in New York. This special edition of the play is released alongside Fleabag's first West End run at Wyndham's Theatre, London. It is introduced by Deborah Frances-White, stand-up comedian, writer and host of The Guilty Feminist podcast.Trade Review'Throbs with a concentrated, combustible vitality… Fleabag keeps all contradictory shards and shades of feeling in play at the same time. That's why it's so gloriously disruptive' * New York Times *'Never has being a modern woman seemed so painfully funny, brutal, and hopeless all at once' * The Atlantic *'Filthily funny… the character is a fascinatingly complex creation' * Guardian *'Sucker-punch funny... I've never seen a play quite like it' * Scotsman *'It has the pinpoint observational comedy of great standup, the fearless honesty and shamelessness of a raw confessional and the subtlety to draw you in… both gut-bustingly funny and gut-wrenchingly sad' * Hollywood Reporter *'Filthy, funny, snarky and touching' * Telegraph *'A legitimately hilarious show' * The New Yorker *'Frank and sometimes brutally funny... devastatingly good' * The Times *'Phoebe Waller-Bridge's one-woman show Fleabag is unbelievably rude, astoundingly filthy and she's almost certainly going to go to hell for it' * Time Out *'Penetrating, pitch-black and nastily brilliant' * Metro *'Funny, vibrant, and blunt as a hammerhead' * New York Magazine *

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Book SynopsisThis elegant hardback edition presents Emily Dickinson''s best loved poetry, featuring a silver-embossed cover design, gilded page edges and beautiful patterned endpapers. A deeply personal collection of poetry, the raw emotion and mastery of Emily Dickinson''s poems cannot be denied. Her unique style, with its short lines, unusual punctuation and succinct nature, is quite unlike anything else.This collection of over 250 poems feature a range of subject matters, from love and death to beauty, isolation and the nature of time. There is something for everyone in this selection of poetry from one of America''s most accomplished writers.Includes: • ''Hope is the thing with feathers'' • ''Because I could not stop for Death'' • ''Success is counted sweetest'' • ''Wild Nights- Wild Nights!''This elegant pocket-sized gift edition is presented with a silver embossed cover design, beauti

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Book SynopsisThis is William Shakespeare's full and unabridged play in comic book form. This full colour graphic novel presents "The Scottish Play" just as Shakespeare intended: in its original and unabridged format. Ideal for purists, students and readers who will appreciate the unaltered text. "Macbeth" is probably the most dramatic of Shakespeare's tragedies and this version will give you a brand new and totally fulfilling view of the sheer genius of Shakespeare's story telling. Witchcraft, superstition, murder - it's all here! Featuring stunning artwork, and full of action, atmosphere and intrigue from start to finish; this new treatment of The Bard's wonderful tragedy will have you on the edge of your seat. It's 11th century Scotland. Macbeth, Thane of Glamis, is one of King Duncan's greatest war captains. Upon returning from a battle with the rebellious Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth and Banquo encounter three witches, who prophecy that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and then King. They also prophecy that Banquo will become the father of kings. When Lady Macbeth hears this, she is determined to push her husband to take fate into his own hands and make himself king by murdering Duncan. Macbeth is reluctant to harm Duncan. But, when the King makes arrangements to visit Macbeth's castle, the opportunity presents itself. Pressed on by his wife, Macbeth kills Duncan and blames the King's drunken attendants, who he also kills. However, Macbeth is racked with guilt and begins to see apparitions. When the body is discovered, Malcolm and Donalbain, the King's sons, are suspicious of Macbeth and flee for their lives. To everyone else, it looks as if the sons have been the chief conspirators and Macbeth is crowned King of Scotland. Banquo's suspicions grow, based on his encounter with the witches and Macbeth is wary of the second prophecy concerning Banquoa's offspring. Macbeth hires assassins to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. Banquo is murdered that night, but Fleance escapes. The bloody ghost of Banquo appears to Macbeth at a feast, tormenting his already guilty conscience. In addition, Macduff, once a comrade of Macbeth, has fled after the King's sons to England, as he also suspects Macbeth. In revenge, Macbeth butchers Macduff's entire household. Macduff and the King's sons raise an army in England and march against Macbeth, who is given another prophecy by the witches, as he prepares for the assault. They tell him his throne is safe until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane and he will not die by the hand of any man born of a woman. Macbeth now feels invincible. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, has been slowly driven mad by her dreams, in the wake of Duncan's murder. She sleepwalks and eventually kills herself. Macbeth learns that many of his lords are deserting and joining Malcolm's army, which approaches Dunsinane under cover of boughs, which they've cut from the trees of Birnam Wood. Macbeth and Macduff eventually meet on the bloody battlefield. Macbeth laughs derisively, relating the witches' prophecy. But Macduff retorts that he was from his mother's womb untimely ripp'd and not (technically) of woman born. The play ends with the death of Macbeth and Malcolm is crowned King of Scotland.Trade Review"I'm fascinated by your approach to the play and its language. I find them gripping, dramatic and, although for me the original Shakespeare is always my reason for turning to these plays, I think that what you are doing in illuminating and making perhaps more lucid, especially for young people, is clever and meaningful." Patrick Stewart, ActorTable of ContentsDramatis Personae Prologue Macbeth Act 1 Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4 Scene 5 Scene 6 Scene 7 Act 2 Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4 Act 3 Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4 Scene 5 Scene 6 Act 4 Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Act 5 Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4 Scene 5 Scene 6 Scene 7 Scene 8 William Shakespeare The Real Macbeth Macbeth & The Kings of Scotland The History of Shakespeare's Macbeth Page Creation Shakespeare Around The Globe

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Book SynopsisA timeless collection of hundreds of poems that resonate to the American spirit.  Leaves of Grass is a timeless collection of poems and essays penned by influential nineteenth-century writer Walt Whitman. This profound compilation explores topics such as nature, mysticism, mortality, transcendentalism, and democracy. Inspired by personal experiences and observations, Whitman spent almost four decades piecing together the complete work, sharing societal ideals and epiphanies about life that still resonate with readers today. This sturdy leather-bound edition of the complete Leaves of Grass also includes Whitman’s preface to the original 1855 edition, in which he expounds on his personal philosophy of writing poetry.

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Book SynopsisA fresh interpretation of George Orwell's classic story ofrebellion and treachery, first performed by the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain.

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Book SynopsisThe landmark, original publication of Allen Ginsberg’s HOWL & Other Poems HOWL & Other Poems, the prophetic book that launched the Beat Generation, was published by Lawrence Ferlinghetti at City Lights Books in 1956. Considered the single most influential work of post-WWII United States poetry, the City Lights edition of HOWL has remained in print for more than 60 years, with well over 1,000,000 copies in print.  A strident critique of middle-class complacency, consumerism, and capitalist militarism, HOWL also celebrates the pleasures and freedoms of the physical world, including a tribute to homosexual love. In addition to “Howl,” poems in the book include: “A Supermarket in California,” “Sunflower Sutra,” “America,” “In the Baggage Room at Greyhound,” “Transcription of Organ Music,” and “Wild Orphan,” among others. A History of HOWL: City Lights founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti first heard Allen Ginsberg read “Howl” at the Six Gallery event in San Francisco, 1955, which featured writers Philip Lamantia, Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen, and Michael McClure, introduced by poet Kenneth Rexroth. Jack Kerouac was present, but did not read, encouraging and cheering the other poets on. Ferlinghetti was so impressed by Ginsberg’s performance, he immediately telegrammed him, referencing Ralph Waldo Emerson’s response to Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, “I greet you at the beginning of a great career. When do I get the manuscript?”  When the first edition of HOWL arrived from its British printers, it was seized almost immediately by U.S. Customs, and shortly thereafter the San Francisco police arrested its publisher and editor, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, together with the City Lights Bookstore manager, Shigeyoshi Murao. The two were charged with disseminating obscene literature, and the case was sent to trial. Ferlinghetti partnered with the ACLU to launch a defense of HOWL, and a parade of distinguished literary and academic witnesses appeared in court to persuade the judge of its merits. In the end, famously conservative Judge Clayton Horn ruled that the poem was not obscene, but rather, as he stated emphatically, HOWL was a work of “redeeming social significance.”  The landmark decision signaled a sea change in American culture, and the City Lights edition of HOWL became a vital cornerstone in the ongoing struggle for free expression and representation. It continues to attract generation after generation of readers.Table of Contents"Howl" for Carl Solomon - introduction by William Carlos Williams; "Howl"; footnote to "Howl"; a supermarket in California; transcription of organ music; sunflower sutra; America; in the baggage room at greyhound; an asphodel; song; wild orphan; in back of the real.

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Book SynopsisThis title includes all of Burns' poems and songs, with a helpful glossary explaining difficult words, a chronology of Burns's life and a bibliography.

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Book SynopsisA revised hardcover edition of the Number One Sunday Times bestseller home body by rupi kaur, author of the Number One Sunday Times bestsellers milk and honey and the sun and her flowers. Rupi's long-awaited hardcover edition debuts exclusive poems and is beautifully clothbound and foil stamped. rupi kaur constantly embraces growth, and in home body, she walks readers through a reflective and intimate journey visiting the past, the present and the potential of the self. home body is a collection of raw, honest conversations with oneself – reminding readers to fill up on love, acceptance, community, family, and embrace change. illustrated by the author, themes of nature and nurture, light and dark, rest here.   i dive into the well of my body and end up in another world everything i need already exist

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Book SynopsisWatch rupi kaur live now on Prime Video.“Rupi Kaur is the Writer of the Decade.” – The New RepublicA hardcover gift edition of milk and honey, the #1 New York Times bestselling poetry and prose collection by rupi kaur, which has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. milk and honey is a collection of poetry and prose about survival. About the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity.This clothbound edition features deckled edge paper, a woven ribbon marker, and a foreword written by the author.  The book is divided into four chapters, and each chapter serves a different purpose. Deals with a different pain. Heals a different heartache. milk and honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look.Trade ReviewRupi Kaur's first book, Milk and Honey is the poetry collection every woman needs on her nightstand or coffee table. Accompanied by her own sketches, the beautifully honest poems read like the everyday, collective experiences of today's modern woman. (Erin Spencer, Huffington Post)Rupi Kaur’s writing echoes of artistry and wisdom which is seen in the work of those that have been writing for years. (Samira Sawlani, Media Diversified)Rupi’s poetry is simple, relatable, gorgeous, and grounded in the everyday experiences of young women. (Rachel Grate, Hello Giggles)The honest words of Rupi Kaur leave you continuously wanting more as she writes with eloquence and poise. Her work will send you to past thoughts and realities you might not have known you had. (Sienna Brown, WildSpice Magazine)"A must-have poetry collection about healing and hope." (Bustle)"At age 24, Rupi Kaur has been called the voice of her generation." (USA Today)“Rupi Kaur has vision beyond her years … Her work is simply but powerfully expressed, and viscerally captures both universal human experience and the particular struggles of a young woman today." (Huffington Post)“Discussing themes of love, loss, and healing, Milk and Honey finds a way to connect to every reader. “ (Business Insider)"Milk and Honey brings any tormented reader to an enlightened state of self-reflection that may have taken years to accomplish alone.” (Elite Daily)

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Book SynopsisThe world first publication of a previously unknown work by J.R.R. Tolkien, which tells the extraordinary story of the final days of England's legendary hero, King Arthur.The Fall of Arthur, the only venture by J.R.R. Tolkien into the legends of Arthur King of Britain, may well be regarded as his finest and most skilful achievement in the use of the Old English alliterative metre, in which he brought to his transforming perceptions of the old narratives a pervasive sense of the grave and fateful nature of all that is told: of Arthur's expedition overseas into distant heathen lands, of Guinevere's flight from Camelot, of the great sea-battle on Arthur's return to Britain, in the portrait of the traitor Mordred, in the tormented doubts of Lancelot in his French castle. Unhappily, The Fall of Arthur was one of several long narrative poems that he abandoned in that period. In this case he evidently began it in the earlier nineteen-thirties, and it was sufficiently advanced for him to send Trade ReviewPraise for The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún: “This is the most unexpected of Tolkien’s many posthumous publications; his son’s ‘Commentary’ is a model of informed accessibility; the poems stand comparison with their Eddic models, and there is little poetry in the world like those” Times Literary Supplement “The compact verse form is ideally suited to describing impact… elsewhere it achieves a stark beauty” Telegraph

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Book SynopsisRead Shakespeare’s plays in all their brilliance—and understand what every word means! Don’t be intimidated by Shakespeare! These popular guides make the Bard’s plays accessible and enjoyable.Each No Fear guide contains: The complete text of the original play A line-by-line translation that puts the words into everyday language A complete list of characters, with descriptions Plenty of helpful commentary

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Book SynopsisRead Shakespeare’s plays in all their brilliance—and understand what every word means! Don’t be intimidated by Shakespeare! These popular guides make the Bard’s plays accessible and enjoyable.Each No Fear guide contains: The complete text of the original play A line-by-line translation that puts the words into everyday language A complete list of characters, with descriptions Plenty of helpful commentary

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Book SynopsisThis edition is the prescribed text for the English Mastery Secondary programme. Hortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer, and Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. In these three intimately connected stories, hope and humanity meet stubborn reality, tracing the tangled history of Jamaica and Britain. Andrea Levy's epic novel Small Island, adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson, journeys from Jamaica to Britain in 1948 – the year that HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury. It premiered at the National Theatre, London, in April 2019, directed by Rufus Norris. 'Honest, skilful, thoughtful and important. This is Andrea Levy's big book' Guardian on Andrea Levy's Small IslandTrade Review'A landmark in the National Theatre's history: a tumultuous epic about first-generation Jamaican immigrants... skilfully adapted... one of the most important plays of the year' * Guardian *'In this inspiring adaptation, which compresses the book into a gripping three-hour state-of-the-nation epic, Small Island has found its ideal home... the show acknowledges struggle and strife on all sides, flies the flag for compassion and achieves a hard-won (and still to be fought for) inclusivity' * Telegraph *'A passionate engagement with the past that's sure to resonate with audiences at a time when the very idea of Britain is under such fierce scrutiny' * Evening Standard *'This is a show that shoots arrows of empathy and engagement out towards its audience and they respond... from a novel dealing with the past [comes] a play for today' * WhatsOnStage *'A moving stage adaptation of the late Andrea Levy's great novel about the Windrush generation... Edmundson does some supreme work compacting a sprawling book into a pacy three-hours-ten-minutes - she has a knack for skilfully distilling story... a ferociously entertaining three hours of theatre' * Time Out *'Beautifully translated to stage by adaptor Helen Edmundson, using thrilling theatrical solutions to honour Levy's epic - and still urgent - tale... a stirring spectacle that never loses sight of the people at its heart' * Broadway World *

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Book Synopsis'O, full of scorpions is my mind.' The spellbinding story of love and murder, power and paranoia, and the internal struggles of a married couple as they try to control their destiny, and one another… This official tie-in edition to the Donmar Warehouse's hotly anticipated 2023 revival of Shakespeare's extraordinary psychological drama features rich and revealing behind-the-scenes material exploring how the production was conceived and developed. Starring David Tennant and Cush Jumbo, and directed by Donmar Associate Director Max Webster, this bracingly fresh version used binaural sound technology to place the audience inside the minds of the Macbeths, asking us: are we are ever really responsible for our actions? In addition to the version of Shakespeare's text performed, this volume also includes a fascinating rehearsal diary, colour photos, and interviews with its leading cast and creative team: Tennant, Jumbo and Webster, plus designer Rosanna Vize, sound designer Gareth Fry and composer and musical director Alasdair Macrae.Trade Review'Magical and revelatory... Max Webster's production is so chilling and exhilarating that watching it is like discovering the play for the first time' * Telegraph *'Cool, cocky and utterly arresting... there is an intensely focused vision behind [this production]. Superbly directed by Webster, it is full of wolfish imagination and alarming surprise. The action takes place at under two hours' traffic yet it is not a classically fevered Macbeth but coolly creepy, and horrifying' * Guardian *'An ingenious and uncanny production full of shards of darkly glittering ingenuity... a sensory, helter-skelter plummet into horror, paranoia and psychological disintegration... a production of galvanising flair and originality, with two absorbing, highly charged and intricate performances at its centre. It's a murky psychodrama in which minds, bodies and body politic are shattered, and where nothing, thrillingly, is quite what it seems' * The Stage *'A Macbeth for the digital age... stylish and evocative... never for a moment can you tear your attention away... richly imaginative... The sense of mystery and of evil is all-encompassing... Macbeth has only to whisper his darkest thoughts and we are there, with his vaulting ambition, inside his head' * WhatsOnStage *'Astonishing... one of the most powerful and interesting takes on the play I've ever seen' * Sardines Magazine *'A radically inventive production that gives Shakespeare's tragedy a new lease of life' * Theatre Weekly *'The unique concept of this particular rendition propels the audience into 11th-century Scotland, and deeper into Macbeth's downfall than ever before... the technological risk pays off in big ways; witches whisper in your ears, ravens swoop from the skies and above all, the characters' innermost thoughts are spoken as if to you' * West End Best Friend *

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Book SynopsisElizabeth Smart's passionate fictional account of her intense love-affair with the poet George Barker, described by Angela Carter as Like Madame Bovary blasted by lightening A masterpiece'.One day, while browsing in a London bookshop, Elizabeth Smart chanced upon a slim volume of poetry by George Barker and fell passionately in love with him through the printed word. Eventually they communicated directly and, as a result of Barker's impecunious circumstances, Elizabeth Smart flew both him and his wife from Japan, where he was teaching, to join her in the United States. Thus began one of the most extraordinary, intense and ultimately tragic love affairs of our time. They never married but Elizabeth bore George Barker four children and their relationship provided the impassioned inspiration for one of the most moving and immediate chronicles of a love affair ever written By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept.Originally published in 1945, this remarkable book is now widely identTrade Review‘Like Madame Bovary blasted by lightening … A masterpiece.’ Angela Carter ‘At some point every good reader comes across By Grand Central Station I sat Down and Wept. And he or she recognises an emotion essential and permanent to us.’ Michael Ondaatje ‘A revelation…This short, powerful work has a profound influence on me and was one of the factors that made me want to be a writer.’ Beryl Bainbridge ‘I doubt if there are more than half a dozen such masterpieces of poetic prose in the world.’ Brigid Brophy ‘Explores a passion between a man and two women, one of them his wife – a love despairing and triumphant upon which the reader may gaze, awed, appalled, or even, perhaps, envious.’ The Times ‘Few writers have ever captured the full honesty of what passion means as shockingly and as piercingly as Smart. Today, its force still strikes us hard in the face, a beautiful and bloody blow.’ Lesley McDowell, Independent on Sunday ‘Constructed as a single, sustained climax, it is like a cry of ecstasy which, without changing volume or pitch, becomes a cry of agony.’ Spectator ‘The emotion, the truth and abject affliction comes through…to move the reader, and even to awe him.’ London Review of Books

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Book Synopsisthe tenth poetry collection from amanda lovelace deviates from the well-worn path of fairy tales & myths, instead bringing readers face to face with the person behind the poems that have made her beloved.from bestselling poetess amanda lovelace comes she followed the moon back to herself, an autobiographical standalone poetry collection that follows a woman who—through heartbreak, bottles of rosé, & the general messiness of life—felt like she completely lost who she was. each bitesize poem shines a light on where she’s been & how she’s managed to overcome it all, offering a dose of hope & moondust to all who join her on the journey back to herself.

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