How Clarissa, in resisting parental pressure to marry a loathsome man for his money, falls prety to Lovelace, is raped and dies, is the bare outline of a story that blossomed in all directions under Richardson's hands. He was, self-confessedly and happily, 'a poor pruner.' Written in letters, the novel contains all the urgency and tension of personal communications set down 'to the moment, ' compelling our confidence but also our distrust. Its rich ambiguities - our sense of Clarissa's scrupulou...
When Henrietta finds herself excluded from seeing her grandchildren, she decides to write to them to explain their Afro-Caribbean origins in slavery. She tells the story of her childhood in Bermuda, of marrying a British soldier, bringing up six children in Gibraltar and moving to England on her husband's retirement from the army. Writing the letters reveals unexpected and challenging truths about herself and her family, which give her food for reflection. Do her grandchildren ever receive the l...
Aldiss' first novel republished after many years out of print. In a small provincial city, Peter lives with his long-suffering Aunt Anne and his eccentric Uncle Leo, and works in a bookshop called Brightfount's, which he describes as a `shabby outpost of literacy'. Cutting the apron strings, he moves into a bed-sit and composes these witty diaries, in which he includes amusing remarks about publishers, authors, booksellers and customers, a revelation about his dotty uncle, and his effo...
We Germans takes the form of a letter written by the now 90-year-old soldier to his grandson, telling him of his experiences in the war, and his grappling with the extent to which he feels guilt and shame about his own behaviour, and the behaviour of Germany. The novel is interrupted at various points by the grandson, who offers his own perspective on his grandfather. Starritt delicately and deftly explores the moral considerations of a young soldier in that position, what he or anyone else wou...
Henderson is a Man of Empire. He has seen the world ebb and flow. When he dies, he leaves behind a treasure trove of objects, of momentoes to a life well-lived. To his grand-daughter, Liv, he has always been a shadowy figure whose stories exist on an almost mythical plane, until, clearing her mother's house, she discovers his diaries, which offer a glimpse into a world beneath the polished facade of Victorian England. Some years later Liv finds herself writing to the daughter she hasn't seen sin...
“Vi Khi Nao's fictional language is full of magical slippages ... an esoteric sadness seeps up through surface deadpan and pizzazz." —Jonathan Lethem A mesmerizing epistolary tale of a sensual queer love affair set against the backdrop of Las Vegas' gritty underbelly. The Italy Letters is a slim, powerful shot of literary fantasia from one of America’s best-kept secrets. Long an underground favorite, visionary writer Vi Khi Nao weaves an unforgettable and highly distinctive story of a love a...
Our reissue of Bel Kaufman’s bestselling 1964 novel timelessly depicts the shambolic joys and myriad frustrations of a young teacher. With an introduction by Diane Ravitch. Sylvia Barrett arrives at New York City’s Calvin Coolidge High fresh from earning literature degrees at Hunter College and eager to shape young minds. Instead she encounters broken windows, a lack of supplies, a stifling bureaucracy, and students with no interest in Chaucer. Her bumpy yet ultimately rewarding journey is dep...
In his new novel, Paulo Coelho, bestselling author of The Alchemist and Adultery, brings to life one of history's most enigmatic women: Mata Hari. HER ONLY CRIME WAS TO BE AN INDEPENDENT WOMAN When Mata Hari arrived in Paris she was penniless. Within months she was the most celebrated woman in the city. As a dancer, she shocked and delighted audiences; as a courtesan, she bewitched the era’s richest and most powerful men. But as paranoia consumed a country at war, Mata Hari’s li...
A special edition of The Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield reissued with a bright retro design to celebrate Pan’s 70th anniversary. The Provincial Lady should lead a charmed, upper-middle class life in her Devonshire village but with a husband reluctant to do anything but doze behind The Times, mischievous children and trying servants, it’s a challenge keeping up appearances on an inadequate income, particularly in front of the infuriating and haughty Lady Boxe. Delightfully witty, the Provinci...
'Beautiful World, Where Are You is Rooney's best novel.' THE TIMES *The Sunday Times and Global number one bestseller**Winner of Novel of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards*Alice, a novelist, meets Felix, who works in a warehouse, and asks him if he'd like to travel to Rome with her. In Dublin, her best friend Eileen is getting over a break-up and slips back into flirting with Simon, a man she has known since childhood.Alice, Felix, Eileen and Simon are still young - but life is catching...
The sensational final instalment in comic legend Sue Townsend's hilarious and iconic Adrian Mole series'Effortlessly hilarious. Brilliant satire and tragedy' Times'My comfort read. The best diaries ever written - with apologies to Samuel Pepys, Bridget Jones and me' ADAM KAYRead as Adrian continues to struggle with his love life, endures a painfully awkward school play and contemplates the unsettling prospect of applying genital poultice . . .__________Sunday 1st JulyNO SMOKING DAY. A momentous...
Widely regarded as Sorrentino's finest achievement, Mulligan Stew takes as its subject the comic possibilities of the modern literary imagination. As avant-garde novelist Antony Lamont struggles to write a "new wave murder mystery," his frustrating emotional and sexual life wreaks havoc on his work-in-progress. As a result, his narrative (the very book we are reading) turns into a literary "stew" an uproariously funny melange of journal entries, erotic poetry, parodies of all kinds, love letters...
In time for the centennial of his birth, one of the Nobel Prize winner’s finest achievements A Penguin Classic This is the story of Moses Herzog—a great sufferer, joker, mourner, charmer, serial writer of unsent letters, and a survivor, both of his private disasters and those of the age. Winner of the National Book Award when it was first published in 1964, the novel was hailed as “a masterpiece” (The New York Times Book Review). This beautifully designed Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition of He...
'The equivalent of someone pouring Welsh honey into your heart' MILLY JOHNSON'Gorgeous characters, heart-breakingly real, warm and funny pitch-perfect story' MIRANDA DICKINSON'Uplifting and romantic, I couldn't put it down!' DEBBIE JOHNSON'Gorgeous and big-hearted, perfect to escape with this summer!' HOLLY MARTIN'Laura's writing is breathtakingly beautiful and packed with wit and warmth' CATHY BRAMLEY'Relatable, fun, perfect summer escapism!' HELEN ROLFEOne summer to change her life... Wanda Wi...
Saddened with his country's loss of freedom, disillusioned with life and racked with loneliness and ennui, university student Jacopo Ortis can only find some comfort in the company of his friends and in his love for Teresa. But when his studies call him back to Padua and he is separated from her, Jacopo's torments become unbearable, and he feels that there is only one way out of his misery - a symbolic gesture against fate, God and all the tyrants of this world. Allegedly based on the real-life...