Search results

At first, Șerban Alexandru’s tetralogy Benedict and Maledict, of which Mallarmé is the first volume, might seem like an anti-realist or surrealist or even trans-realist experimental novel. In fact, it draws upon a much older, pre-realist tradition of Menippean satire that can be traced back through Laurence Sterne and Rabelais to Lucian of Samosata. Rather like in Béroalde de Verville’s Le Moyen de parvenir (1610), the narrator and myriad characters of Mallarmé, real and fictional, ancient and m...

Further from the Madding Crowd is a contemporary re-telling of Hardy’s classic romance, ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’. Many of the social issues Hardy championed have been largely resolved, but the romantic element remains as powerful as ever. The setting is a fictional Peak District rather than Wessex. The story relates the romantic pursuit of the beautiful but vain, Tara Beaumont-Smith by three disparate admirers. The serious and reliable Joshua Latham, the wily charmer, Bradley King and the lo...

From the USA Today-bestselling author of Beautiful Little Fools, Jillian Cantor's The Fiction Writer follows a writer hired by a handsome billionaire to write about his family history with Daphne du Maurier and finds herself drawn into a tangled web of obsession, marital secrets, and stolen manuscripts.The once-rising literary star Olivia Fitzgerald is down on her luck. Her most recent novel—a retelling of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca—was a flop, her boyfriend of nine years just dumped her and sh...

Pierce Egan (1772-1849) was born near London and lived in the area his whole life. He was a famous sports reporter and writer on popular culture. His first book, Boxiana, was a collection of articles about boxing. It was a huge success and established Egan's reputation for wit and sporting knowledge. He is probably best remembered today as the creator of Corinthian Tom and Jerry Hawthorn ('Tom and Jerry'). Published in 1821 and beautifully illustrated by the Cruikshank brothers, this book is the...

Pemberley is Mr Darcy's splendid house, and it is there that, amidst their relatives one Christmas, his pride and his wife Elizabeth's prejudice find themselves once again provoked.

Sometimes the truth lies in the things you cannot see.In 1830 a young novice called Catherine Labouré was granted a vision of the Virgin Mary. Nearly 200 years later, Sister Anne is also waiting for a sign. Which is why she accepts a mission to go to a tiny community on an island just off the coast of Brittany. Her only companion there is a sceptical, chain-smoking older nun who just wants to be left in peace.On the island she meets Hugo, the son of a devout family who prefers to look for the me...

A magnificent saga set in the Celtic twilight of 10th century Ireland, when myth was law and magic was a power of nature, brilliantly brought to life: the legendary story of an evil stepmother opposed by a seventh child. Lord Colum of Sevenwaters is blessed with seven children: Liam, a natural leader; Diarmid with his passion for adventure; twins Cormack and Conor each with a different calling; rebellious Finbar made old before his time by the gift of Sight; and the young compassionate...

Ragnarok is the story of the end of the world. It is a tale of the destruction of life on this planet and the end of the gods themselves: what more relevant myth could any modern writer choose? As the bombs rain down in the Second World War, one young girl is evacuated to the English countryside. She is struggling to make sense of her new wartime life. Then she is given a copy of Asgard and the Gods - a book of ancient Norse myths - and her inner and outer worlds are transformed. War, natura...