Search results for ""Author Martin Wagner""

Spending their summer holidays at their grandparents' house by the sea, Sam and her two brothers play a series of dangerous games, pitted against each other yet united in their secrecy from the grown-ups. But when they discover a fierce dog mysteriously trapped in an electrical substation, they face their first real challenge, one from which they cannot walk away. Meanwhile, on a long weekend in Germany, their aunt, Kate, and her new lover find themselves playing games of their own. In the red-light district of Munich, will Kate's surprising challenge for her boyfriend strengthen or destroy their relationship? Many years ago, Sam's grandfather, Richard, also played an unusual game, encouraged by a stranger, as part of a scientific experiment. The choices he made then have haunted him ever since. As Sam delves into her grandfather's secret she discovers that where free will turns to blind obedience, true horror lies.

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A Stage for Debate presents a detailed analysis of the repertoire of the leading German-language stage of the nineteenth century, Vienna’s Burgtheater. The book explores the extent to which the Burgtheater repertoire contributed to important political and cultural debates on individual liberty, the role of women in society, and the understanding of national and regional identity. The relevance of the Burgtheater as a forum for political debate is assessed not by the degree to which the performed plays transgressed established norms, but by the range of positions that were voiced on a given topic. Martin Wagner investigates the roughly 1,000 plays from across Europe that were introduced to the Burgtheater’s repertoire between 1814 and 1867 by combining a general overview with detailed interpretations of especially successful plays. Wagner reveals that the Burgtheater was significantly more involved in contemporary debates than the stereotype of this stage as an artistically refined but apolitical institution suggests. Drawing from theatre studies and German and Austrian studies more broadly, A Stage for Debate revises the history of one of Europe’s leading theatres.

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When 9-year-old Joe is unexpectedly elected prime minister, he quickly discovers that to negotiate the pitfalls of modern politics, you have to compromise. But how can he stay true to what he believes? A bittersweet tale for old and young of an idealist who went astray from the author of the acclaimed The Little Driver.

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It’s all in a day’s work for high-flying literary agent Alexander; manuscripts to read, deals to be done, celebrity clients to be taken out to lunch… but first there is an author to deal with whose latest book the agent thinks is, frankly, not up to scratch. However he hadn't counted on the author's resourcefulness...

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Illuminates the condensation of authoritarian rule in crisis around the globe. Crises reveal the fragility of political order and challenge the powerful. How do authoritarian regimes deal with this? In many cases, they aim to achieve two contradictory goals simultaneously preserving stability amidst crisis and reviving their political order via crisis. What are authoritarian strengths and weaknesses in coping with crisis compared to democratic regimes? What can explain their adaptability and persistence? This volume aims to assemble a broad variety of perspectives. Deriving questions from political science, history, literature studies, sociology, and area studies, the authors examine present and past regimes in Africa, East and Central Asia, Eastern and Western Europe, and Latin America. These case studies illuminate the condensation of authoritarian rule in crisis.

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First representative English collection of the Sturm und Drang writer Lenz, suited for the classroom and anyone interested in German literature, the European Enlightenment, or the theory and practice of theater. Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (1751-1792) is, after Goethe, the most important writer of the German Sturm und Drang. Crucial in the reinvention of German literature through the reception of Shakespeare, his works contain a scathing critique of the ethical, political, and sexual regimes then prevailing in German and Eastern European territories. Both aesthetically and politically, Lenz strongly influenced later German writers - most notably Georg Büchner and Bertolt Brecht. In Germany, Lenz is still widely read and performed. Given his importance and lasting reception, it is surprising that many of his texts are not available in English. While his best-known dramas have been translated, many of his essays have not, and none of his stories or poems have been. This is especially astonishing given the growth of English-language Lenz scholarship over recent decades. This volume contains new - and, in many cases, first - English translations of Lenz's most important plays, stories, essays, and poems. It is the first representative English collection of Lenz's works. Providing reliable translations of Lenz's key writings and succinct glosses of historical and literary references, this book is a valuable resource for classroom use and for anyone interested in German literature, the European Enlightenment, or the theory and practice of theater. Martin Wagner is Assistant Professor of German at the University of Calgary. Ellwood Wiggins is Assistant Professor of German at the University of Washington.

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