Angus Wilson's first volume of short stories, The Wrong Set was first published in 1949 to immense critical acclaim. The collection is a brilliantly funny exposure of the protective devices with which people seek to mask deep-laid egotism. There is the wallowing in self-adulation on the part of the 'crazy Cockshott family', as they delight to dub themselves. There is the search for really nice standards on the part of Vi, singer at the 'Passion Fruit' nightclub - as hopelessly bemused a spirit as ever lived in sin at Earl's Court and attempted to lecture a young Communist nephew with untidy hair and spectacles. There is the humbug of the bullying new curator at the provincial Art Gallery. And the staff dance at the South Kensington hotel, where lives the lady who spends her life trying to achieve 'a Knightsbridge appearance on a Kensington purse', and where, as the evening progresses and the drinks begin to tell, the lady-like faades and gentlemanly... Views: 55
"The Thirteen Kings of Crooked Chicago Finance!" That's what the terrorist calling himself THE STAR OF THE NIGHT called the thirteen richest moguls of Chicago when he sent them threatening letters which included decks of cards missing certain kings. Now it's up to technical draftsman Jason Folwell to solve a most perplexing mystery, and only Harry Stephen Keeler could have imagined the webwork machinations behind this most unusual tale involving the machinations of big business and the heartless men who rule the game. Views: 55
Stories about children are not always for children. In The Watercress Girl, H. E. Bates masterfully depicts a childhood which, by proxy, reveals the mystifying world of the adult. Through a series of short, lyrical stories, the complexities of the world are seen with crystalline purity through the eyes of children. We experience the joyous and painful clarity of youth, full of fears, hopes and make-believe, and the trust and mistrust of the adult world.A little boy, charmed by the golden-throated Miss Mortenson, witnesses her fall from grace in The Pemberton Thrush. Three children become entangled in a forbidden love when they witness a man attempting suicide in A Great Day for Bonzo, and a father reveals more of his past than he intends to in The Far Distant Journey. Views: 55
One L, Scott Turow's journal of his first year at law school introduces and a best-seller when it was first published in 1977, has gone on to become a virtual bible for prospective law students. Not only does it introduce with remarkable clarity the ideas and issues that are the stuff of legal education; it brings alive the anxiety and competivenesswith others and, even more, with oneselfthat set the tone in this crucible of character building. Turow's multidimensional delving into his protagonists' psyches and his marvelous gift for suspense prefigure the achievements of his celebrated first novel, Presumed Innocent, one of the best-selling and most talked about books of 1987.Each September, a new crop of students enter Harvard Law School to begin an intense, often grueling, sometimes harrowing year of introduction to the law. Turow's group of One Ls are fresh, bright, ambitious, and more than a little daunting. Even more impressive are the faculty: Perini, the dazzling, combative professor of contracts, who presents himself as the students' antagonist in their struggle to master his subject; Zechman, the reserved professor of torts who seems so indecisive the students fear he cannot teach; and Nicky Morris, a young, appealing man who stressed the humanistic aspects of law.Will the One Ls survive? Will they excel? Will they make the Law Review, the outward and visible sign of success in this ultra-conservative microcosm? With remarkable insight into both his fellows and himself, Turow leads us through the ups and downs, the small triumphs and tragedies of the year, in an absorbing and throught-provoking narrative that teaches the reader not only about law school and the law but about the human beings who make them what they are.In the new afterword for this edition of One L, the author looks back on law school from the perspective of ten years' work as a lawyer and offers some suggestions for reforming legal education. Views: 55
The dynamic new President of the United States, James J. Halliday, seems determined to singlehandedly turn an embittered nation around from economic, political, and social ruin. No one could be prouder than his devoted press secretary Meric Albano. But is the President accomplishing this monumental task alone? After one of the President’s rare public appearances, a derelict is found dead nearby. A derelict who not only looks like the President, but whose blood, retinas, even fingerprints match those of the man in charge. Is the real President, the man Albano swore loyalty to, still in office? Is this part of a plot to topple American democracy? That’s what Albano has to find out—if he doesn’t, his life, as well as his country, will be destroyed… Views: 55
A few weeks after marrying an attractive young widow, Gordon Cloade is tragically killed by a bomb blast in the London blitz. Overnight, the former Mrs. Underhay finds herself in sole possession of the Cloade family fortune. Shortly afterwards, Hercule Poirot receives a visit from the dead man's sister-in-law who claims she has been warned by 'spirits' that Mrs. Underhay's first husband is still alive. Poirot has his suspicions when he is asked to find a missing person guided only by the spirit world. Yet what mystifies Poirot most is the woman's true motive for approaching him... Views: 55
Margaret Anna Cusack (1829 –1899), who wrote under her religious name "Mary Francis Cusack" was first an Irish Anglican nun, then a Roman Catholic nun, and then a Religious Sister, and the founder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. By 1870 more than 200,000 copies of her works which ranged from biographies of saints to pamphlets on social issues had circulated throughout the world. Motivated by the sudden death of her fiancé, she joined a convent of Puseyite Anglican nuns. However, disappointed at not been sent to the Crimean War she converted to Roman Catholicism and joined the Order of St. Clare (also known as the Poor Clares), a community of Franciscan nuns. She left the Kenmare Poor Clares in November 1881. After leaving the convent, she began to establish shelters and vocational schools for female emigrants to the US and supported herself through lectures and writings. In 1884, during a personal interview with Pope Leo XIII to seek his support, Cusack obtained permission to leave the Poor Clares and found a new congregation, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. In 1888 she returned to the Anglican Communion after an altercation with her bishop and issued "The Nun of Kenmare: An Autobiography" the following year. Afterwards she wrote and lectured as tirelessly as ever, writing: "The Black Pope: History of the Jesuits" (1896). Views: 55
E-book exclusive extras:1) Christie biographer Charles Osborne's essay on The Clocks2) "The Poirots": the complete guide to all the cases of the great Belgian detectiveSheila Webb, typist-for-hire, has arrived at 19 Wilbraham Crescent in the seaside town of Crowdean to accept a new job. What she finds is a well-dressed corpse surrounded by five clocks. Mrs. Pebmarsh, the blind owner of No. 19, denies all knowledge of ringing Sheila's secretarial agency and asking for her by name—yet someone did. Nor does she own that many clocks. And neither woman seems to know the victim. Colin Lamb, a young intelligence specialist working a case of his own at the nearby naval yard, happens to be on the scene at the time of Sheila Webb's ghastly discovery. Lamb knows of only one man who can properly investigate a crime as bizarre and baffling as what happened inside No. 19 — his friend and mentor, Hercule Poirot. Views: 55
This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format. From Shakespeare s finesse to Oscar Wilde s wit, this unique collection brings together works as diverse and influential as The Pilgrim s Progress and Othello. As an anthology that invites readers to immerse themselves in the masterpieces of the literary giants, it is must-have addition to any library.ReviewMiles Franklin (born "Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin"; 1879 - 1954) was an Australian writer and feminist, who is best known for her autobiographical novel, My Brilliant Career, published in 1901. While she wrote throughout her life, her other major literary success, All That Swagger, was not published until 1936.She was committed to the development of a uniquely Australian form of literature, and she actively pursued this goal by supporting writers, literary journals, and writers' organisations. She has had a long-lasting impact on Australian literary life through her endowment of a major literary award known as the Miles Franklin Award.From the Back CoverWritten by a teenager living in the Australian bush in the 1890s and originally published in 1901, Miles Franklin's My Brilliant Career is a candid representation of the aspirations and frustrations of a young woman constrained by middle-class social arrangements, especially the pressure to marry. My Brilliant Career has continued to delight readers and to cause them to locate their personal realities in the struggle of Franklin's heroine, Sybylla Melvyn, to recognize and to pursue what she most wants and needs in her life. In addition to the rich selection of appendices, this edition includes maps of early twentieth-century Australia and a critical introduction that outlines political and economic developments relevant to the novel, traces the literary landscape upon which My Brilliant Career first appeared, and describes the reception and interpretation given the novel in the century after its initial publication (including the celebrated 1979 film adaptation). Views: 55
INFERNAL TRIANGLE GISLANE--Pale, aristocratic, stunningly beautiful, she was raised in luxury--until the discovery o fher African blood made her the helpless instrument of savage pleasure for every man who bought her. GEORGINA--The imperious English heiress whose jealousy was responsible for Gislane's enslavement, and who herself became captive to her own uncontrollable sexual desires. CORBEAU--The insatiable sensualist who was master of the great plantation of Rio Blanco, and whose idea was to make one woman his wife, the other his mistress, to be enjoyed at first apart, then together. Here is a searing, tempestuous saga of degradation and brutality in a world where every corruption was permitted and no lust went unsatisfied--a world where passion burned like the tropic sun, and drums of dooms beat restlessly in the night.... Views: 55
