Search results for ""Author Anonymous Author""

Fortnite is one of the fastest growing gaming franchises of all time with 150 million players. Now Fortnite fans of all ages can show their love of this popular game with the Fortnite Loot Pack, which includes pins, a patch, vinyl stickers, and magnets featuring iconic characters and items from the game!

Read more less

"After years of fierce battle, the Emperor Charlemagne’s army is finally on the brink of victory over the Saracens in Spain. Having proposed his stepfather Ganelon for the perilous task of serving as Charlemagne’s envoy in the negotiations over the surrender of the Saracen king Marsile, Count Roland gets a taste of his own medicine when, with peace secured, Ganelon suggests that Roland should lead the rearguard of the army on the difficult return journey over the mountain passes to France. Yet Marsile’s forces are massing, and Roland is unaware of just how deep Ganelon’s treachery runs. Probably written around three centuries after the events it describes, The Song of Roland is the earliest and finest example of the French chansons de geste – verse epics that celebrated heroic deeds and were sung or recited by wandering minstrels. Presented here along with the original Anglo-Norman French, this sparkling new translation by Anthony Mortimer offers the modern reader both an engrossing narrative and a compelling insight into the medieval value system."

Read more less

'This is a devastating book. It is matter-of-fact, makes no attempt to score political points, does not attempt to solicit sympathy for its protagonist and yet is among the most chilling indictments of war I have ever read. Everybody, in particular every woman ought to read it' ARUNDHATI ROY 'One of the most important personal accounts ever written about the effects of war and defeat' ANTONY BEEVOR Between April 20th and June 22nd 1945 the anonymous author of A Woman in Berlin wrote about life within the falling city as it was sacked by the Russian Army. Fending off the boredom and deprivation of hiding, the author records her experiences, observations and meditations in this stark and vivid diary. Accounts of the bombing, the rapes, the rationing of food and the overwhelming terror of death are rendered in the dispassionate, though determinedly optimistic prose of a woman fighting for survival amidst the horror and inhumanity of war. This diary was first published in America in 1954 in an English translation and in Britain in 1955. A German language edition was published five years later in Geneva and was met with tremendous controversy. In 2003, over forty years later, it was republished in Germany to critical acclaim - and more controversy. This diary has been unavailable since the 1960s and this is a new English translation. A Woman in Berlin is an astonishing and deeply affecting account.

Read more less

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a masterpiece of medieval English literature and one of the finest Arthurian tales in any language. Though its ingenious plotting and verbal artistry continue to dazzle readers, it is written in a challenging regional dialect and uses many words that were already archaic when the poem was written in the late fourteenth century. This edition is designed to make the poem, in its original Middle English, accessible to students and general readers. Following standards adopted for editing other Middle English poets, the edition lightly normalises spellings to make words more recognisable for a modern audience. Extensive marginal glossing of difficult words, thorough on-page explanatory notes, and a comprehensive glossary offer further support for readers. The historical appendices include other examples of medieval romance from France and Britain.

Read more less

Set in a primal past, the Mabinogi bridges many genres; it is part pre-Christian myth, part fairytale, part guide to how nobles should act, and part dramatization of political and social issues. This edition of what has become a canonical text provides a highly engaging new translation of the work, an informative introduction, and a set of background contextual materials that help place the Mabinogi in the context of medieval Welsh history and culture.

Read more less

R.M. Liuzza’s translation of Beowulf, first published by Broadview in 1999, has been widely praised for its accuracy and beauty. The facing-page translation is accompanied in this edition by genealogical charts, historical summaries, and a glossary of proper names. Historical appendices include related legends, stories, and religious writings from both Christian and Anglo-Saxon traditions. These texts help readers to see Beowulf as an exploration of the politics of kingship and the psychology of heroism, and as an early English meditation on the bridges and chasms between the pagan past and the Christian present.Appendices also include a generous sample of other modern translations of Beowulf, shedding light on the process of translating the poem. This new edition features an updated introduction and an expanded section of material on Christianity and paganism.

Read more less

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2020* *LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 2020* “If ever there was a book that needs to be read more than once, this is it.”—ArtsHub “A book that keeps on giving.”—Brona’s Books “Extraordinary.”—The Irish Times “Compelling, delightful and powerful.”—David’s Book World A family story about the unbreakable connection between the living and the dead Set in Iran in the decade following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, this moving, richly imagined novel is narrated by the ghost of Bahar, a thirteen-year-old girl, whose family is compelled to flee their home in Tehran for a new life in a small village, hoping in this way to preserve both their intellectual freedom and their lives. But they soon find themselves caught up in the post-revolutionary chaos that sweeps across their ancient land and its people. Bahar’s mother, after a tragic loss, will embark on a long, eventful journey in search of meaning. The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree speaks of the power of imagination when confronted with cruelty, and of our human need to make sense of trauma through the ritual of storytelling itself. Through her unforgettable characters, Azar weaves a timely and timeless story that juxtaposes the beauty of an ancient, vibrant culture with the brutality of an oppressive political regime. "Not only richly imaginative but also emotionally powerful." - 1st Reading's Blog “Her novel ... embodies Iranian life in a state of constant “oscillation”, bringing into play “opposing poles” — like life and death, religion and politics ... — to evoke the extent of damage by an oppressive political regime.” - The Indian Express

Read more less

The fourteenth-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the greatest classics of English literature, but one of the least accessible to most twentieth-century readers. Written in an obscure dialect, it is far more difficult to digest in the original than are most other late medieval English works. Yet any translation is bound to lose much of the flavour of the original.This edition of the poem offers the original text together with a facing-page translation. With the alliterative Middle English before the reader, James Winny provides a non-alliterative and sensitively literal rendering in modern English. This edition also provides an introduction, explanatory and textual notes, a further note on some words that present particular difficulties, and, in the appendices, two contemporary stories, The Feast of Bricriu and The Knight of the Sword, which provide insight on the poem.

Read more less

One of the New York Times’ 20 Books to Read in 2020 “A tonic . . . Splendid . . . A respite . . . A summer cocktail of a book.”—Washington Post“Unforgettable . . . Behind her brilliantly witty and uplifting message is a remarkable vulnerability and candor that reminds us that we are not alone in our struggles—and that we can, against all odds, get through them.”—Lori Gottlieb, New York Times best-selling author of Maybe You Should Talk to SomeonePart memoir and part joyful romp through the fields of imagination, the story behind a beloved pseudonymous Twitter account reveals how a writer deep in grief rebuilt a life worth living.Becoming Duchess Goldblatt is two stories: that of the reclusive real-life writer who created a fictional character out of loneliness and thin air, and that of the magical Duchess Goldblatt herself, a bright light in the darkness of social media. Fans around the world are drawn to Her Grace’s voice, her wit, her life-affirming love for all humanity, and the fun and friendship of the community that’s sprung up around her. @DuchessGoldblat (81 year-old literary icon, author of An Axe to Grind) brought people together in her name: in bookstores, museums, concerts, and coffee shops, and along the way, brought real friends home—foremost among them, Lyle Lovett. “The only way to be reliably sure that the hero gets the girl at the end of the story is to be both the hero and the girl yourself.” — Duchess Goldblatt

Read more less

The perfect gift for any young animal-lover, this beautifully illustrated spotter guide is an ideal introduction to the world of creepy crawlies!Illustrated in a bright, contemporary style, this is a modern guide to the most common minibeasts from the glorious glow-worm to the buzzy bumblebee, taking in such favourites as snails, slugs, worms and woodlice along the way. This information book for young children is packed with information and fun facts – everything you need to know to help you learn about and identify bugs and beasties. With key facts about size, habitat, diet and population, there are detailed descriptions of each creature and tips to help you spot them in your own park or garden. There is even a special, "Did you know?" section on each minibeast, which all young entomologists will love!

Read more less

On 15 August 778, Charlemagne’s army was returning from a successful expedition against Saracen Spain when its rearguard was ambushed in a remote Pyrenean pass. Out of this skirmish arose a stirring tale of war, which was recorded in the oldest extant epic poem in French. The Song of Roland, written by an unknown poet, tells of Charlemagne’s warrior nephew, Lord of the Breton Marches, who valiantly leads his men into battle against the Saracens, but dies in the massacre, defiant to the end. In majestic verses, the battle becomes a symbolic struggle between Christianity and paganism, while Roland’s last stand is the ultimate expression of honour and feudal values of twelfth-century France.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Read more less

The gorgeously illustrated contemporary edition of an ancient Chinese text—for fans of fantastic beasts everywhere Fantastic Creatures of the Mountains and Seas is a new translation for contemporary readers of a classic Chinese text that is at once the geography of an ancient world, a bestiary of mythical creatures, and a book of cultural and medicinal lore. Illustrated throughout with more than 180 two-color drawings that are so sinuous they move on the page, it is a work for lovers of fantasy and mythology, ancient knowledge, fabulous beasts, and inspired art. The beings catalogued within these pages come from the regions of the known world, from the mountains and seas, the Great Wastelands, and the Lands Within the Seas that became China. They include spirits and deities and all sorts of strange creatures—dragons and phoenixes, hybrid beasts, some with human features, some hideous or with a call like wood splitting, or that portend drought or flood or bounty; others whose flesh cures disease or fends off nightmares, or whose pelt guarantees many progeny. Drawn from The Classic of Mountains and Seas, Fantastic Creatures is the work of two members of China's millennial generation, a young scholar and writer once known as the youngest "Genius of Chinese Cultural Studies" and an inspired illustrator trained in China and the United States, who together managed to communicate with the soul of a 4,000-year-old beast and have brought forth its strange beauty. Their work has been rendered into English by the foremost translator of modern Chinese literature in the West.

Read more less

One of the finest of epic poems, and the only one to have survived from medieval Spain, "The Song of the Cid" recounts the adventures of the warlord and nobleman Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar both - 'Mio Cid'. A forceful combination of heroic fiction and historical fact, the tale seethes with the restless, adventurous spirit of Castile, telling of the Cid's unjust banishment from the court of King Alfonso, his victorious campaigns in Valencia and the crowning of his daughters as queens of Aragon and Navarre - the high point of his career as a warmonger. An epic that sings of universal human values, this is one of the greatest of all works of Spanish literature.

Read more less

"An elegant, precise, and accessible modern-English rendering of the two best examples of the early modern picaresque genre: the paradigmatic Lazarillo de Tormes and Quevedo's mordant El Buscón. Frye's translations are triumphant, capturing the cadence of popular early modern speech while remaining faithful to the original texts; his notes illuminate the diverse contexts in which the texts were written. Frye gives careful attention throughout to the historical background that propelled these two parallel but different monuments of Golden Age Spanish literature." --Teofilo Ruiz, UCLA

Read more less

Based on Ilan Stavans’ new translation which accurately captures the verve of the original, this Norton Critical Edition includes: an introduction and explanatory annotations; contextual materials highlighting the novella’s strong anticlerical views and its affinities with Don Quixote in depictions of social hierarchy in Renaissance Spain; as well as excerpts from Juan de Luna’s Lazarillo sequel; and eleven critical studies.

Read more less

Remember your visit to the British Museum for ever with this beautiful three-dimensional Panorama Pop, featuring the museum's greatest treasures.Remember your visit to the British Museum for ever with this beautiful three-dimensional Panorama Pop, featuring the museum's greatest treasures. Presented in a beautiful slipcase, the guide unfolds to a length of 1.5 metres and features 12 of the museum's greatest artifacts, spanning eras and civilizations, including the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon Sculptures, the Sutton Hoo Treasure, the Lewes Chessmen, the Easter Island statue and the Gayer Anderson Cat. A perfect gift or souvenir for anyone wishing to remember a visit to the city.

Read more less

"The Purana" is one of the two most important and popular Hindu texts, the other being the "Ramayana". It is part of the popular tradition, rather than a literary classic like the Upanishads or the Gita. It tells the story of the god Krishna, the supreme godhead of the Hindus and worshipped by them for over two and a half millennia. The most popular stories about him occur in this, the 10th book, which is the climax of the epic. The stories relate to Krishna's childhood and adolescence in the forests of Vrindavan among the herdspeople, delightful tales which lie behind much of Hindu art, appearing in painting, temple sculpture, drama, dance and song.

Read more less

Reveals the rich and complex histories and cultures of Burma/Myanmar from their early development and powerful imperial expansions to their positions as colonial subjects and then as a war-torn nation. From influential superpower to repressive regime, Myanmar – also known as Burma – has seen dramatic fluctuations in fortune over the past 1,500 years. Interconnected yet isolated, rich in natural resources such as jade, rubies and teak but with many of its peoples living below the poverty line, Myanmar is a country that defies categorisation. Its cultures have been shaped by their engagements with religious networks, expansionist empires and global trade routes from India and China to Africa, the Middle East and Europe. It was once home to different kingdoms, principalities and chiefdoms that interacted with one another and further afield. The colonial period under British rule saw dramatic changes and upon independence in 1948, the various parts of the country were brought together, many for the first time, into a single nation state. Since then Myanmar has been engulfed by long running civil wars. This beautiful book explores Myanmar’s complexities, focusing on the extraordinary and innovative arts of its diverse peoples to create a long history of the region. Featuring objects such as sparkling gems, sumptuous court dress, intricately carved furniture, elaborate silver vessels, satirical cartoons and contemporary art, from the 400s CE to the present day, this book is a testament to the creativity and variety of Myanmar’s many peoples.

Read more less

"An elegant, precise, and accessible modern-English rendering of the two best examples of the early modern picaresque genre: the paradigmatic Lazarillo de Tormes and Quevedo's mordant El Buscón . Frye's translations are triumphant, capturing the cadence of popular early modern speech while remaining faithful to the original texts; his notes illuminate the diverse contexts in which the texts were written. Frye gives careful attention throughout to the historical background that propelled these two parallel but different monuments of Golden Age Spanish literature." --Teofilo Ruiz, UCLA

Read more less