The critical essays of V.S. Pritchett are unparalleled for their wit, geniality, subtlety and profound good sense. His survey of writers ranges from Fielding and Smollett to Conrad, D.H. Lawrence, Nathanael West and William Golding... from Balzac to Dostoevsky and Gorky, with wonderful detours for minor figures. Pritchett's commentaries are short and incisive and are written from the point of view of the engaged reader rather than from the specialized approach of the scholar and formal analyst of literary structure. Not since Virginia Woolf's Common Reader and Edmund Wilson's Shores of Light has there been a collection of critical writings so marked by swiftness of thoughts, lucidity of expression and balance, and sanity of judgement. The result is a revitalizing study of the novel, by a discerning and distinguished writer whose special gift is to reveal new aspects of the greater novels and the lesser. Views: 510
Vigil in the Night represents something of an event for fans of A. J. Cronin. Here, published for the first time in book form, is his poignant and moving tale of two nurses—of Anne, who devoted herself to serving others, and of her younger sister, Lucy, who meant to get everything in life for herself. When Lucy’s negligence causes the tragic death of a young patient, Anne takes the blame to protect her young sister—an act that threatens to destroy the brilliant nursing career that lies before her. But then Anne meets an idealistic young surgeon who takes an interest in her, and although one of the oldest and most honored traditions of the medical profession is that the relationship between doctors and nurses remain strictly impersonal, doctors and nurses are, after all, human beings—and sometimes that tradition breaks down. Views: 510
P. L. Travers introduced Mary Poppins to the world in 1934. Ever since, the no-nonsense English nanny has been beloved by children and adults everywhere.
Originally published in 1962 and long unavailable, Mary Poppins from A to Z offers a unique glimpse of the famous Poppins cast. Twenty-six vignettes--one for each letter of the alphabet--weave unexpected tales of Mary Poppins, the Banks children, and other characters from Travers's timeless novels. As an added twist, each vignette is filled with fun and unusual words that start with the featured letter.
In full color for the first time, this enchanting new edition will delight both old and new fans of the inimitable Mary Poppins. Views: 510
THE HIGH STAKES OF LOVE
Skilled in the art of card playing, Deborah Grantham, a gambler's daughter, uses that skill as her sole means of support as mistress of her aunt's elegant and exclusive gaming club in 18th-century London. The beautiful young mis must find a way to restore herself and her aunt to respectability, preferably without accepting either of two repugnant offers. One is from an older, very rich and rather corpulent lord whose reputation for licentious behavior disgusts her; the other from the young, puppyish scion of a noble family whose relatives are convinced she is a fortune hunter.
Lady Mablethorpe was aghast. Her young son Adrian was marrying Miss Deborah Grantham--a gambling-club wench! Thus she sent her trusted nephew, the vastly wealthy, clever, and imperturbable Max Ravenscar, speeding to the faro tables to buy the hussy off. To Ravenscar's surprise, Deborah turned out to be remarkably handsome, witty, and--he could scarcely believe it--well-bred. Nevertheless, he expected she'd be grateful for the price he offered to give up her young suitor. Arrogant Ravenscar comes to buy her off, an insult so scathing that it leads to a volley of passionate reprisals, escalating between them to a level of flair and fury that can only have one conclusion.... Views: 510
Review‘I’ve read “The Laughing Policeman” six or eight times. Each time I reach the final twist on the final page, I shiver afresh.’ Jonathan Franzen‘Tantalizing…the splendid story of an apparently motiveless crime.’ New York Times Book Review‘An influential police procedural with a precision-engineered plot that can grip and shock a reader…the plotting, pacing and characterisation are all exquisite: and the halting translation and the dated, just plain weird sexual politics somehow seem only to make it more compelling.’ Independent on Sunday‘For Beck, as with Maigret, each investigation is less a riddle to be answered than a human situation to be understood…it's all done with immense accomplishment. A welcome addition to the Martin Beck casebook.’ Matthew Coady, Guardian‘They changed the genre. Whoever is writing crime fiction after these novels is inspired by them in one way or another.’ Henning Mankell‘If you haven’t read Sjöwall/Wahlöö, start now.’ Sunday Telegraph‘Pick up one book…and you become unhinged. You want to block out a week of your life, lie to your boss, and stay in bed, gorging on one after another.’ ObserverReview‘An influential police procedural with a precision-engineered plot that can grip and shock a reader…the plotting, pacing and characterisation are all exquisite: and the halting translation and the dated, just plain weird sexual politics somehow seem only to make it more compelling.’ Independent on Sunday‘For Beck, as with Maigret, each investigation is less a riddle to be answered than a human situation to be understood…it's all done with immense accomplishment. A welcome addition to the Martin Beck casebook.’ Matthew Coady, Guardian‘If you haven’t read Sjowall/Wahloo, start now.’ Sunday Telegraph‘I’ve read “The Laughing Policeman” six or eight times. Each time I reach the final twist on the final page, I shiver afresh.’ Jonathan Franzen‘Tantalizing…the splendid story of an apparently motiveless crime.’ New York Times Book Review‘The decalogue about the Swedish Chief Inspector Martin Beck created by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo during the 1960s and 1970s are indeed classic police fiction. They changed the genre. Whoever is writing crime fiction after these novels is inspired by them in one way or another.’ Henning Mankell Views: 510
From master storyteller Graham Greene comes the tale of Anthony Farrant, who has boasted, lied and cheated his way through jobs all over the world. Then his adoring twin sister, Kate, gets him taken on as the bodyguard of Krogh, her lover and boss, a megalomaniac Swedish financier. All goes well until Krogh gives orders that offend Anthony's innate decency. Outraged and blind to risk, he leaks information to Minty, a shabby journalist and fellow victim of life, a decision that will lead to disastrous consequences.
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. Views: 509
Long ago, in a distant part of the galaxy, two alien races met—and fought a war of mutual extinction. The sole legacy of that war was the weapon that ended it: the death machines, the BERSERKERS. Guided by self-aware computers more intelligent than any human, these world-sized battle craft carved a swath of death through the galaxy—until they arrived at the outskirts of the fledgling Empire of Man. These are the stories of the frail creatures who must meet this monstrous and implacable enemy—and who, by fighting it to a standstill, become the saviors of all living things. This is Saberhagen’s classic book length collection of the first eleven Berserker stories. Meet Berserker hunter extraordinaire Johann Karlsen, his evil brother Felipe Nogara, The Third Historian of the Carmpan Race, gallant fighters of the killer machines and the deranged killer machine, Mr. Jester. Views: 509
The classic tale of a Nigerian woman who overcomes strict tribal domination only to encounter the hardships of immigration. Available again.In the late 1960's, Adah, a spirited and resourceful woman manages to move her family to London. Seeking an independent life for herself and her children she encounters racism and hard truths about being a new citizen. "Second Class Citizen pales a lot of academic feminist writing into insignificance." –The Guardian"Emecheta's prose has a shimmer of originality, of English being reinvented....Issues of survival lie inherent in her material and give her tales weight." —John Updike Views: 509
Pearl S. Buck’s absorbing and candid chronicle of her experience making a movie in 1960s Japan, while surviving the loss of her beloved husband
Pearl S. Buck’s children’s story, The Big Wave, about two young friends whose lives are transformed when a volcano erupts and a tidal wave engulfs their village, was eventually optioned as a movie. A Bridge for Passing narrates the resulting adventure, the story of the people involved in the movie-making process (including Polish director Tad Danielewski), their many complications while shooting, and the experience of working in Japan at a time when memories of the war remained strong. As much as all this, the book is a poignant reflection on personal crisis, and relates Buck’s grief over the death of her husband of twenty-five years, Richard Walsh, who was also her editor. A Bridge for Passing offers an intimate view of postwar Japan mixed with Buck’s heartrending meditation on loss and love.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Pearl S. Buck including rare images from the author’s estate. Views: 509
#4) "Listen, Bond," said Tiffany Case. "It’d take more than Crabmeat Ravigotte to get me into bed with a man. In any event, since it’s your check, I’m going to have caviar, and what the English call “cutlets”, and some pink champagne. I don’t often date a good-looking Englishman and the dinner’s going to live up to the occasion. " Meet Tiffany Case, a cold, gorgeous, devil-may-care blonde; the kind of girl you could get into a lot of trouble with—if you wanted. She stands between James Bond and the leaders of a diamond-smuggling ring that stretches from Africa via London to the States. Bond uses her to infiltrate this gang, but once in America the hunter becomes the hunted. Bond is in real danger until help comes from an unlikely quarter, the ice-maiden herself … Views: 509
Benny figures out some puzzling events in a department store. Views: 508
Commander Pirx, who drives space vehicles for a living in the galaxy of the future, here faces a new series of intriguing adventures in which robots demonstrate some alarmingly human characteristics. Translated by Louis Iribarne, assisted by Magdalena Majcherczyk and Michael Kandel. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book Views: 508
Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury is the fourth novel in the Lucky Starr series, six juvenile science fiction novels by Isaac Asimov that originally appeared under the pseudonym Paul French. The novel was first published by Doubleday & Company in March 1956. Since 1972, reprints have included a foreword by Asimov explaining that advancing knowledge of conditions on Mercury have rendered some of the novel's descriptions of that world inaccurate. Views: 508
