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AMOS BARTON
₨ 910Rather than confront the hostility his new parishioners show him, the Reverend Ernest Lindley becomes ever more isolated along with his family. It seems inevitable that his daughters should enter suitable loveless marriages but the youngest is the one who will divide his already broken family.
ISBN: 1843910837
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
THE DIALOGUE OF THE DOGS
₨ 910The Dialogue of the Dogs is an inspired work of psychological observation by the master of the picaresque novel. In it, Cervantes displays all the clarity and warmth that marks the rich prose of Don Quixote. Given the gift of speech for a day, two dogs set about satirising humans, their supposed superiors. In an exchange reminiscent of the ancient Greek Dialogues, they recount their experiences under their various masters – but whether butcher, constable, merchant or gypsy, each is decried as corrupt to the core. Through the scathing Berganza and the critical Scipio, Cervantes delivers an ingenious critique of the morality of sixteenth-century Spain, and a timeless and telling portrayal of the heart of man.
ISBN: 1843910659
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
CARMEN
₨ 910When Jose meets a gypsy woman, he is intrigued by her exoticism, but he has no idea that his chance encounter with ‘the pretty witch’ will have disastrous consequences. With her magic and her malevolent spirit, Carmen exerts a powerful charm on the submissive and unwitting Jose, who is drawn into a seedy underworld of bandits and smugglers until he is driven to the ultimate revenge. In Carmen, Merimee introduced a classic literary type: the femme fatale who exploits her sexuality and mysterious air to ensnare and ultimately destroy the weak and unsuspecting man who is unfortunate enough to cross her path.
ISBN: 1843910969
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
JONATHAN WILD THE GREAT
₨ 910A hilarious black comedy of manners and morals, based on the career and crimes of a real-life eighteenth-century gangland criminal, Jonathan Wild the Great is one of the finest satires in the English language.
Jonathan Wild is truly ‘great’: spurning the callow and spiritless ways of ‘lower’ men, he treads his own path to fame and glory – by way of theft, fraud and betrayal. Against a backdrop of such colourful characters as Miss Molly Straddle, the cardsharp Count La Ruse, and the ‘base’ and ‘weak’ Mr Thomas Heartfree, Wild’s passage from cradle to gallows is told with a humour that belies the subtlety of the novel’s ironic themes, and the vigour and sparkle characteristic of Fielding’s best works.
ISBN: 1843910896
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,466 -
SIMONETTA PERKINS
₨ 910Considered by Hartley to be his finest work, ‘Simonetta Perkins’ is a brilliantly observed tale of desire and guilt. Set against a glorious Venetian backdrop, it explores the very nature of physical temptation, to create a complex, psychological work, deeply reminiscent of Henry James.
ISBN: 1843910918
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
JOHN THE VALIANT
₨ 910Arguably the greatest and most popular poem in the Hungarian language, Petofi’s spirited folk epic, recounting the adventures of Johnny Grain-o’-corn, a young and ‘valiant’ shepherd boy, is an engaging and highly readable story with all the charm and romance of an immortal fairy tale. After a reluctant goodbye to the beautiful Nelly, Johnny embarks on a series of incredible adventures that take him through forests, lands and seas, and in the company of bandits, giants and wicked witches. As he reunites a French princess with her father, he must choose whether to accept the king’s gracious offer to ascend to the throne of France, or to return to his beloved Nelly.
ISBN: 1843910845
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,773 -
THE RAPE OF THE LOCK AND A KEY TO THE LOCK
₨ 910An ingenious satire of the battle of the sexes and the follies of a self-centred young lady, The Rape of the Lock, together with its mock-interpretation A Key to the Lock, is, in fact, a subtle commentary on the contemporary social world and high-society preoccupations, and a cleverly veiled proposal for reform. When Belinda awakes from a strange dream and sets about her favourite occupation, the toilette, little does she suspect that a tragedy of Homeric proportions is about to unfold around her. As she walks through the beau monde, admired as a goddess and protected by an entire host of sylphs, she is unaware that evil powers are at work to rob her of a precious lock of hair. Belinda must command all her female guile to protect this lock for, once surrendered, her life will never be the same again.
ISBN: 1843910926
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,466 -
THE THREE-CORNERED HAT
₨ 910One of the best-loved Spanish novels of all time, The Three-Cornered Hat is a hilarious tale of lust, intrigue and corrupt authorities set in eighteenth-century Andalusia. When the hideous and lascivious corregidor Don Eugenio takes a fancy to the formidable – and formidably desirable – Senora Frasquita, the wife of a local miller, the couple set about foiling his plans for a seduction. There ensues a fast-paced comedy of moonlight flits, clothes swapping, mistaken identity, and slapstick accidents as the characters struggle in vain to maintain both dignity and marital harmony. Calm is eventually restored in a scene of unmasking and mutual forgiveness of truly operatic proportions.
ISBN: 1843910802
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
THE LOVER’S WATCH
₨ 910A charming and witty volume of instruction for the aspiring lover, detailing hour by hour the correct way to spend a day apart. Iris is well aware of the hours of reflection and sighing due to her as a beautiful and sought-after woman, as well as the dangers and temptations that await a man whose lover is absent. Thus the hour between eight and nine, before Damon is enjoined to rise, may be spent in ‘Agreeable Reverie’, of which the principle subject is, of course, Iris, whilst five o’clock is the hour of ‘Dangerous Visits’ when Damon will be a prey to the wiles and machinations of his female acquaintances. Interspersed with beautiful – and instructive – verses, The Lover’s Watch is a sharp-witted and ironic observation of the universal manners of love, and an indispensable manual for all eager suitors.
ISBN: 1843910748
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
THE DUEL
₨ 379One of the few works written in Casanova’s native Italian, The Duel is an important example of the infamous Lothario’s vivid prose and inimitable style. Having escaped from the infamous Piombi Prison in Venice, Casanova became an exile, travelling through Western Europe and being given shelter on account of his fame. The story recounts the duel he fought with a Polish nobleman, Count Branicky, who had insulted Casanova over a ballerina. Describing the deadly encounter and the surprising events it precipitated with sardonic and even blase wit, Casanova proves his literary prowess.
ISBN: 1843910322
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
LOIS THE WITCH
₨ 379Recently orphaned, Lois is forced to leave the English parsonage that had been her home, and sail to America. A Godfearing and honest girl, she has little to fear in this new life. Yet as she joins her distant family, she finds jealousy and dissention are rife, and her cousins quick to point the finger at the ‘impostor’. With the whole of Salem gripped by a fear of the supernatural, it seems her home is where she is in most danger. Lonely and afraid, the words of an old curse return to haunt her.
ISBN: 1843910497
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 910 -
THE FATAL EGGS
₨ 910An inspired work of science fiction and a biting political allegory, Bulgakov’s The Fatal Eggs tells of a brilliant scientist whose experiments with life spiral terribly – and fatefully – out of control. Quite by chance, Professor Persikov discovers a new form of light ray whose effect, when directed at living cells, is to accelerate growth in primitive organisms. But when this ray is shone on the wrong batch of eggs, the Professor finds himself both the unwilling creator of giant hybrids, and the focus of a merciless press campaign. For it seems the propaganda machine has turned its gaze on him, distorting his nature in the very way his ‘innocent’ tampering created the monster snakes and crocodiles that now terrorise the neighbourhood.
ISBN: 1843910632
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
DIRECTIONS TO SERVANTS
₨ 910Taking the form of a handbook of manners, and addressed to each servant individually, Directions to Servants is the ultimate upstairs/downstairs battle. With scathing wit, Swift pits master against servant in an endless struggle for order, frugality and the best bits of the roast. His servants are lazy, profligate, and acquisitive: always on the lookout for a shilling to be made on the sale of leftovers, or a half-bottle of wine to share with the cook. Written in Swift’s final years of sanity, Directions to Servants is a last hilarious outpouring of cynicism at a lifetime’s accumulation of poor service.
ISBN: 1843910624
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
THE GREEN DWARF
₨ 910A witty and engrossing early work, The Green Dwarf displays the precocious intelligence, lively imagination and flair for storytelling which Charlotte Brontë brought to perfection in her later fiction. Lady Emily Charlesworth is in love with Leslie, a struggling artist. Lord Percy – a fierce, arrogant aristocrat – will do anything to lay his hands on Leslie’s chosen bride. As war breaks out between Verdopolis, Brontë’s imaginary political state, and Senegal, the lovers do battle for control of beautiful Emily’s heart. With its exotic mélange of political intrigue, amorous subterfuge and Gothic scenery, The Green Dwarf demonstrates the dynamic and experimental nature of Charlotte Brontë’s ‘long apprenticeship in writing’.
ISBN: 1843910489
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
INCOGNITA
₨ 379This is the only available edition of a brilliant novel by the leading Restoration dramatist and author of The Way of the World. Masked balls, mistaken identity, and fanciful deceits run riot in this hilarious tale of love and intrigue by the master of the Restoration comedy. Returning to Florence on the occasion of his eighteenth birthday, Aurelian – together with his sworn companion Hippolito – dons his disguise in anticipation of the famous Florentine ball. Once there, the two are soon separated, and each finds himself paired off with a beautiful – and masked – woman. Whilst Aurelian yearns to learn the true identity of his ‘love’, Hippolito is mistaken for another and brazenly plays along with the conceit. Chaos abounds as masks are dropped, truth revealed, and, somehow, all ends happily.
ISBN: 1843910691
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 910 -
RAPPACCINI’S DAUGHTER
₨ 910Taking up his place at the University of Padua, the youthful Giovanni Guasconti is enchanted to discover a nearby garden of the most exquisite beauty. In it abides a young woman, perhaps the most beautiful Giovanni has ever seen. Yet as he looks out from an upstairs window, he soon learns that, far from stemming from the gentle hand of Mother Nature, the garden – and the matchless Beatrice – are in fact the result of a monstrous abomination of creativity.
ISBN: 1843910357
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
IN A GERMAN PENSION
₨ 910Katherine Mansfield’s In a German Pension is a remarkable collection of short stories, displaying all Mansfield’s skill in the genre.
Written shortly after Mansfield visited Germany as a young woman, these short stories form a series of satirical sketches of German characters. From a young wife’s preoccupation with her husband’s stomach, to a society lady’s inability to see beyond the latest fashion, Mansfield depicts everyday events and the minute changes of human behaviour in the most exquisite detail. In a German Pension reveals her as a true disciple of Chekhov.
ISBN: 1843910411
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
THE LAKE OF THE BEES
₨ 910Described by Storm himself as a ‘pearl of German poetry’, The Lake of the Bees is one of his earliest novellas. In it, he explores the bitter-sweet sorrow of memory. An old man looks back on his life and remembers Elizabeth – the only woman he ever loved. The two of them had shared their childhood, shared their summer holidays, hunts for strawberries in the forest, family picnics. Yet somehow all had been lost, and the joy, excitement and hope slowly replaced by the melancholy resignation and inertia that comes from broken dreams. Now at the end of his life, all he is left with is the knowledge of what might have been.
ISBN: 1843910446
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
AMOS BARTON
₨ 910This volume is a single-volume edition of George Eliot’s fictional debut.
ISBN: 1843910519
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
THE TOUCHSTONE
₨ 910Stephen Glennard, an impoverished lawyer in the glamorous and money-driven society of New York, has one valuable possession: the letters written to him by the eminent and now deceased author Margaret Aubyn. He has seldom read the letters – he took their writer for granted herself – but they assume an importance for Glennard when it becomes clear that their financial worth will ensure his future stability and pay for his marriage to the beautiful Alexa Trent. What he fails to realise is that Aubyn’s ghost, once unleashed upon the reading public, will exercise an influence over his own life that reduces all his hopes and pleasures to ashes.
ISBN: 1843910667
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
A FANTASY OF DR.OX
₨ 910Writing with a philosophical eye worthy of the eighteenth century, and the subtle irony of Voltaire, Verne tells the tale of Dr Ox – one of his most inspired, and insane, visionaries.
ISBN: 1843910675
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
LIFE IN THE COUNTRY
₨ 379Life in the Country is Verga’s heartfelt attempt to record the very essence of Sicilian life. Rich in colour and poignant in style, the result is a masterpiece of Naturalistic writing.
A licentious woman coerces her son-in-law into agreeing to an illicit affair; a young boy, forced to work down a mine to make his living, is robbed of his childhood and ultimately his life; a soldier toys with the affections of local girls, and unleashes a sea of passion and vengeance from within the village folk – read together, these stories form a remarkable chronicle of country life, in all its harsh reality.
ISBN: 184391042X
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 910 -
GARGANTUA
₨ 910Gargantua introduces Pantagruel’s father – another wondrous giant. As he tells Gargantua’s life story – from his birth and education to his later life – Rabelais uses the events of the giant’s life to parody medieval and classical learning, mock traditional ecclesiastical authority, and proffer his own thoughts on humanism and society. Marked with the same warm humour, obsession with food, and scatological wit of Pantagruel, Gargantua is a further striking burlesque on Rabelais’ contemporaries and a glorious outpouring of Renaissance plenitude.
ISBN: 1843910578
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
COMING BACK
₨ 1,230March 2002: the repatriation of Afghan refugees begins. It is one of the largest migrations in history, an exodus of biblical proportions, yet this time people are not fleeing, but returning to their own country, where they find demolished houses, mined fields and no water supplies.
ISBN: 1843919044
Publisher: HESPERUS -
THE FOX
₨ 910Sharply observed and expertly constructed, D.H. Lawrence’s ‘The Fox’ explores the dual themes of power and supremacy in the aftermath of the World War I.
ISBN: 1843910284
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 1,847 -
THE KING OF PIRATES
₨ 910Following the success of Robinson Crusoe, Defoe composed a further tale of high adventure at sea. The result was this lesser-known work, an inspired and hugely enjoyable “first-hand” account of pirate life. In response to an alleged letter accusing him of the worst possible deeds, Captain Avery pens a reply seeking to exonerate himself from all such charges. He sees fit to provide a full account of life as captain of a pirate ship. Yet far from being the archetypal, murderous villain, his letters reveal him simply to be a lovable rogue–albeit one with something of a penchant for fine jewels.
ISBN: 184391011X
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 1,847 -
WHO KILLED ZEBEDEE?
₨ 379Undisputed master of ‘sensation fiction’ Wilkie Collins was also a remarkable chronicler of the dark underside to Victorian London. Chilling in the extreme, these short stories of murder and suspense are perfect examples of his craft. Settling himself in front of the station fire, a young policeman is little prepared for the account of bloody murder that will be relayed that night. For it seems that Mrs Crosscapel’s lodging-house is a place of dark secrets and buried passions – emotions that will soon cloud even his own judgement. As with the other short stories included, ‘Who Killed Zebedee?’ is a brilliant and highly original tale of horror and the macabre.
ISBN: 1843910195
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 1,847 -
IN THE CAGE
₨ 379This tale of unrequited love, ‘In the Cage’, is a miniature masterpiece depicting – as in the great novels of Henry James – a moral consciousness torn between emotional impulses and the demands of society.
ISBN: 184391025X
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 1,847 -
LAST LETTERS OF JACOPO ORTIS
₨ 910Written as an epistolary monologue, Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis is a compelling portrayal of a troubled mind. Published here for the first time in the English language, it is presented with Foscolo’s highly acclaimed poem, Of Tombs. Banished from his homeland and from the woman he loves, Jacopo Ortis lives with the insufferable feelings of disillusionment and betrayal. Gone are his youthful dreams of literary glory, and in their place only his embittered laughter at fortune, at men, and at God. In the anguish of his state he feels himself compelled to make one final, titanic and tragic gesture to the rulers of his age.
ISBN: 1843910020
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 1,847 -
LIFE OF A GOOD-FOR-NOTHING
₨ 910The Life of a Good-For-Nothing is a delightful picaresque tale and a classic of German literature. Despaired of by his father and impatient with his lot, a young man hears the enticing call of life on the road. Leaving his home and all that he knows, he embarks upon a journey in search of adventures and glory. One day enjoying fortune and plenty, the next at the mercy of villains and rogues, his life becomes one full of chance and wonder.
ISBN: 1843910047
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 1,847 -
THE ENCHANTED ISLES
₨ 910Melville’s ‘The Enchanted Isles’ is a descriptive work written following a tour of the Galapagos – the islands that formed the inspiration for Charles Darwin’s early work on evolutionary theory.
ISBN: 1843910152
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 1,847 -
REBECCA AND ROWENA
₨ 910A satire of Victorian admiration for all things medieval, this early work by Thackeray is decidedly contrary – a self-confessed ‘middle-aged novel’ that begins where most novels end: with marriage. Rebecca and Rowena calls into question the ending of Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, exploring the miserable marriage of Sir Wilfred to the ‘icy, faultless, prim’ Rowena. In an irreverent and theatrical plot, in which the dead come back to life, marriage is exposed as really quite dull, and imperialism is mocked mercilessly, Thackeray ridiculously reunites Ivanhoe with his first love, Rebecca, claiming they were wrongly separated in the earlier novel.
ISBN: 1843910187
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 1,847 -
ZASTROZZI
₨ 910Zastrozzi is Shelley’s first published novel and a work of pure Gothic fantasy. Melodramatic in the extreme, it is a fascinating and entertaining piece with many glimpses of Shelley’s later poetic genius. Zastrozzi, the arch-villain of the tale, is sworn to avenge the wrongs done to his mother. Prepared to go to any lengths to execute his horrific plans, he enlists the help of the willing Matilda. Together they vow to destroy Verezzi and Julia, the subjects of their wrath, and embark upon a fateful chain of events that can lead only to catastrophe.
ISBN: 1843910292
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157 -
MADEMOISELLE DE SCUDERI
₨ 910Mademoiselle de Scudéri is one of the earliest examples of the classic murder mystery. Characterised by Hoffmann’s remarkable ingenuity and attention to detail, it has been the inspiration for a host of thriller and crime writers. Parisian goldsmith Monsieur Cardillac is a genius at his craft. Greatly admired throughout Paris, he is renowned for his works of exquisite and matchless beauty. So much so, that it seems the desire to possess his creations is enough to drive even to murder.
ISBN: 1843910241
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 1,847 -
THOUGHTS
₨ 910Penned by the greatest Italian poet and thinker of the nineteenth century, these precious musings contain immense philosophical and psychological insight. Ranging from mankind to nature, and from social order to the individual soul, they reveal a mind of brilliance, and a man struggling to reconcile all that he sees around him. Sharply observed and expertly constructed, Leopardi’s Thoughts remain remarkable in their timeless appeal.
ISBN: 1843910128
Publisher: HESPERUS -
SCRIBLERUS
₨ 910Rich with hilarious episodes, ‘Scriblerus’ is an ingenious satire of false learning and bad taste that has much to say to the pseudo-intellectual world of today.
ISBN: 1843910012
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 1,847 -
TOM SAWYER DETECTIVE
₨ 910Twain’s two most famous creations, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, are reunited for a high-spirited and engaging tale of mystery and murder in deepest Arkansas. When Tom and Huck are invited to stay on Tom’s uncle’s farm in Arkansas, they jump at the opportunity to escape the tedium of a long winter at home. A chance encounter on a steamboat downriver, though, leads to a complex plot of diamond heists, mistaken identity and murder, involving the two boys in a bigger adventure than even they had in mind. Huck’s typical bemused and timid observation provides a poignant contrast to Tom’s frenetic ingenuity, as the mystery begins tortuously to unravel, and it is in these two wryly affectionate portrayals that Twain breathes life and warmth into his charming and unjustly neglected story.
ISBN: 1843910810 – Paperback
Publisher: HESPERUS
ISBN: 1843910810
Publisher: HESPERUS₨ 2,157