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The Progress of a Biographer (Routledge Revivals)
by Hugh KingsmillFirst published in 1949, The Progress of a Biographer follows a general principle that there are absolute truths, which an individual can in some degree apprehend and live by, but which churches and institutions can only obscure and pervert. This principle is followed for the sketches in this book, most of which were written between the end of World War II and the spring of 1948. The subjects range from P. G. Wodehouse to Karl Marx, from W. B. Yeats to Thackeray, and from Rainer Maria Rilke to Lloyd George. Believing that to understand a man’s work, one must form a coherent impression of the man, the author has tried to suggest the leading characteristics and governing impulses of his subjects. His intention has been to clarify rather than to criticise, though doubtless the affect may sometimes be one of criticism falling short of clarification. The book will be of interest to students across disciplines but will particularly appeal to students of English literature.
The Progress of a Biographer (Routledge Revivals)
by Hugh KingsmillFirst published in 1949, The Progress of a Biographer follows a general principle that there are absolute truths, which an individual can in some degree apprehend and live by, but which churches and institutions can only obscure and pervert. This principle is followed for the sketches in this book, most of which were written between the end of World War II and the spring of 1948. The subjects range from P. G. Wodehouse to Karl Marx, from W. B. Yeats to Thackeray, and from Rainer Maria Rilke to Lloyd George. Believing that to understand a man’s work, one must form a coherent impression of the man, the author has tried to suggest the leading characteristics and governing impulses of his subjects. His intention has been to clarify rather than to criticise, though doubtless the affect may sometimes be one of criticism falling short of clarification. The book will be of interest to students across disciplines but will particularly appeal to students of English literature.
Finding Peggy
by Meg Henderson*Now features never-before-published extra chapter*Glasgow in the 1950s was a deprived and often violent place. Meg Henderson was part of a large family, and when the tenement block in which they lived collapsed they had to move to the notorious Blackhill district where religious sectarianism and gang warfare were part of daily life. Yet despite appalling conditions , there was warmth, laughter and a remarkable spirit, andMeg's mother and her Aunt Peggy, both idealistic and emotional women, shielded her from the effects of her father's heavy drinking. A hopeless romantic, Peggy searched for a husband until late in life and then endured a harsh, unhappy marriage. When she died horrifically in childbirth her death devastated the family and destroyed Meg's childhood. Only later, after the death of her own mother, was Meg able to discover the shocking facts behind the tragedy.
Diary of the Dark Years, 1940-1944: Collaboration, Resistance, and Daily Life in Occupied Paris
by Jean GuéhennoWinner of the French-American Foundation Translation Prize for Nonfiction Jean Guéhenno's Diary of the Dark Years, 1940-1945 is the most oft-quoted piece of testimony on life in occupied France. A sharply observed record of day-to-day life under Nazi rule in Paris and a bitter commentary on literary life in those years, it has also been called "a remarkable essay on courage and cowardice" (Caroline Moorehead, Wall Street Journal). Here, David Ball provides not only the first English-translation of this important historical document, but also the first ever annotated, corrected edition. Guéhenno was a well-known political and cultural critic, left-wing but not communist, and uncompromisingly anti-fascist. Unlike most French writers during the Occupation, he refused to pen a word for a publishing industry under Nazi control. He expressed his intellectual, moral, and emotional resistance in this diary: his shame at the Vichy government's collaboration with Nazi Germany, his contempt for its falsely patriotic reactionary ideology, his outrage at its anti-Semitism and its vilification of the Republic it had abolished, his horror at its increasingly savage repression and his disgust with his fellow intellectuals who kept on blithely writing about art and culture as if the Occupation did not exist - not to mention those who praised their new masters in prose and poetry. Also a teacher of French literature, he constantly observed the young people he taught, sometimes saddened by their conformism but always passionately trying to inspire them with the values of the French cultural tradition he loved. Guéhenno's diary often includes his own reflections on the great texts he is teaching, instilling them with special meaning in the context of the Occupation. Complete with meticulous notes and a biographical index, Ball's edition of Guéhenno's epic diary offers readers a deeper understanding not only of the diarist's cultural allusions, but also of the dramatic, historic events through which he lived.
It Shouldn’t Happen to a Manager
by Harry RedknappAfter 40 years in football management, there’s not a lot I haven’t seen. There’ve been big highs, but a fair share of lows too. When I have to make difficult decisions, I make a point of avoiding newspapers, phone-ins, Twitter – all of it. But there’s always a load of armchair-pundits waiting to start on me. Being a manager has never been easy, but between the fans and the media it often feels impossible to get it right.In It Shouldn’t Happen to a Manager, I talk about how different the job is now from what it was like when I used to play. For one, managers used to drive up and down motorways all day to scout for players – now there’s so much analysis and global scouting. It’s a different thing, completely. In this book, I share everything I’ve learnt from a lifetime of both wins and losses, and wisdom from greats like Cloughie and Ferguson. I’ll tell you about what actually happens in the dressing room, including when Clough smashed the door off its hinges; the bust-ups at full-time, like when I kicked a tray of sandwiches on Don Hutchinson’s head; and the times when I had to swap an arm round a player’s shoulder for a boot up the arse. It’s my guide to being a manager, the Harry way.
Reading Lessons: The books we read at school, the conversations they spark and why they matter
by Carol AthertonAn English teacher's love letter to reading and the many ways literature can make us, and our lives, better.How can a Victorian poem help teenagers understand YouTube misogyny? Can Jane Eyre encourage us to speak out? What can Lady Macbeth teach us about empathy? Should our expectations for our future be any greater than Pip’s? And why is it so important to make space for these conversations in the first place?In a career spanning almost three decades, English teacher Carol Atherton has taught generations of students texts that will be familiar to many of us from our own schooldays. But while the staples of exam syllabuses and reading lists remain largely unchanged, their significance – and their relevance – evolves with each class, as it encounters them for the first time.Each chapter of Reading Lessons invites us to take a fresh look at these novels, plays and poems, revealing how they have shaped our beliefs, our values, and how we interact as a society. As she recalls her own development as a teacher, Atherton emphasizes the vital, undervalued role a teacher plays, illustrates how essential reading is for developing our empathy and makes a passionate case for the enduring power of literature.'Beautifully written, sensitive and full of warmth ... A vital point of reflection for anyone who has taught, or been taught, English literature' Jeffrey Boakye'A love letter to literature itself ... At a time when English is under attack as an academic subject, Carol Atherton’s powerful defence of it reminds us what we are in danger of losing' Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, author of The Turning Point
Adrian Mole: The Collected Poems
by Sue Townsend'It's really, really, really funny' David Walliams Mole Press - a brand new imprint of Penguin Books - is proud to announce the first publication of The Collected Poems of Adrian Mole to mark the author's 50TH birthday.--------------------------- 'Edgy politics, tortured eroticism, misunderstood intellect, changing Britain - a whiff of the sublime. Mole's contribution is significant' Daily Telegraph Featuring poems scattered over nearly thirty years of writing and salvaged from the diaries 'authored' by one Sue Townsend, this slim volume features more than thirty pieces of Adrian's unique art. From his timeless first documented poem - The Tap - via classic odes to his muse, first and only true love Pandora (I adore ya), we follow Adrian's life in verse form. We not only witness his burgeoning political anger in works like Mrs Thatcher (Do you weep, Mrs Thatcher, do you weep?) but also see in later poems his merciless examination of the hollow shell of masculinity as well as documenting his declining libido in tragic pieces like To My Organ. For the first time in a single volume, these are the collected poems of misunderstood intellectual and tortured poet Adrian Mole. 'I ruthlessly exploited Adrian. But he can't afford to sue me' Sue Townsend 'Wonderfully funny and sharp as knives' Sunday Times 'One of the great comic creations' Daily Mirror 'The funniest person in the world' Caitlin Moran
Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime
by Agatha ChristieIncludes a new introduction from Sophie Hannah, bestselling author of THE MONOGRAM MURDERSAgatha Christie was not only the biggest selling writer of detective stories the world has ever known, she was also a mystery in herself, giving only the rarest interviews, declining absolutely to become any sort of public figure, and a mystery too in the manner in which she achieved her astonishing success.H R F Keating, a crime novelist and respected reviewer of crime fiction, brought together a dozen distinguished writers from both sides of the Atlantic to throw light on this double mystery. Some analyse the art itself; some explain the reasons for her success, not just the books, but also in film and theatre.The approaches are penetrating, affectionate, enthusiastic, analytical, funny - even critical. Together, they give an almost unique insight into the life and work of the First Lady of Crime.
Attack at Dawn: Reliving the Battle of Narvik in World War II
by Ron CopeOn March 1, 1940, Adolf Hitler ordered the invasion of Norway. Having swept across Europe at a terrifying pace, the Nazi assault on Scandinavia was designed to secure the valuable source of iron ore being delivered by rail from Sweden to the Norwegian port of Narvik. To complete the task, Hitler sent ten large, modern destroyers, with 220 Alpine Troops on each. Five smaller British H Class destroyers were sent up the fjord in retaliation by the Allied forces, with little knowledge of what to expect. On April 10, the first battle of Narvik began. Royal Naval Captain, Bernard Warburton-Lee, led his flotilla at midnight into the fjord. They had to navigate the four hour passage undetected, under darkness and in driving snow storms. The harbour - eerily silent on their arrival - quickly erupted into a torpedo attack. Back into the fjord, the destroyers Hardy, Hunter, Hotspur, Havock and Hostile were confronted by five German destroyers, coming from both the front and rear. This resulted in a ferocious sea battle with the loss of Hardy and Hunter and damage to the enemy ships. Those crew members who managed to abandon ship and swim ashore, under bombardment from the Germans, had to endure a ten mile march and pray for safe passage back to Britain in order to survive. Author Ron Cope delivers a comprehensive and gripping account of the Narvik battle, juxtaposing the myriad strategic difficulties encountered by the British Navy, with the vivid and insightful personal accounts of the brave survivors involved, most of whom were under the age of twenty-three. Including first-hand testimony from Cope's own father Cyril, a then twenty-one year old Torpedoman, and documents shared for the first time by the family of Captain Warburton-Lee, Cope presents an arresting account of this crucial British naval victory, as told by the sailors who were there. "Meticulously researched, Attack at Dawn relates the vivid real-life experiences of the British sailors who took part in the extraordinarily bold attack by five British destroyers against superior German forces at Narvik... and the desperate running battle that ensued as they tried to make their escape". John Warburton-Lee, grandson of Captain Bernard Warburton-Lee. V.C.
The Cats on Hutton Roof
by Marilyn Edwards'A colourful series that celebrates the many ways animals enrich our relationships and our lives' Karin SlaughterMarilyn and husband Michael have known many happy years at Moon Cottage, with their cats Fannie, Titus and Pushkin. However, the time has come to make a dream come true, and for the family to move to beautiful Cumbria.However, as all cat-lovers will know, the feline companions in our lives do not always share our dreams, and getting Fannie, Titus and Pushkin on board with the change will be its very own challenge. . .Capturing the highs and the lows which come with living with cats, The Moon Cottage cat series is a testimony and a tribute to that unique and rewarding relationship which exists between humans and their feline companions in which cats, in their splendid complexity, remain among us, but not of us.**Fully illustrated throughout**Praise for the Moon Cottage cat series:'My all-time favourite cat book' Jacqueline Wilson'Cat lovers will adore this book . . . A tender story of love between the author and her cats' Celia Haddon'All the many delights and a few of the heartaches of a life with cats are told with charm and wit. A vivid, honest, observant and involving book' Desmond Morris
The Coach House Cats
by Marilyn Edwards'A colourful series that celebrates the many ways animals enrich our relationships and our lives' Karin SlaughterIt's become obvious that the time has come to have Pushkin, the Russian Blue tom, and Titus, the ginger moggy queen, neutered. This was indeed the plan for Fannie, the tortoiseshell, but with her longed-for pregnancy well under way it must now be postponed. Fannie's due date for her kittens arrives and, in the time-honoured tradition of cats and the best laid plans, unexpected problems arise.Following this drama, the household finds itself in turmoil again with the arrival of a black Bengal kitten, called Gilly, who disrupts the peace of both cats and people resident in The Coach House. . . With a fine eye and ear for the world of natural history, Marilyn Edwards writes about rural living with charm and passion - but it is her observation of cats and their ways that make her books so utterly magical.**Fully illustrated throughout**Praise for the Moon Cottage books:'My all-time favourite cat book' Jacqueline Wilson'Cat lovers will adore this book . . . A tender story of love between the author and her cats' Celia Haddon'All the many delights and a few of the heartaches of a life with cats are told with charm and wit. A vivid, honest, observant and involving book' Desmond Morris
Just Kids illustrated
by Patti SmithPatti's Smith's exquisite prose is generously illustrated in this full-color edition of her classic coming-of-age memoir, Just Kids. New York locations vividly come to life where, as young artists, Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe met and fell in love: a first apartment in Brooklyn, Times Square with John and Yoko's iconic billboard, Max's Kansas City, or the gritty fire escape of the Hotel Chelsea. The extraordinary people who passed through their lives are also pictured: Sam Shepard, Harry Smith, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg. Along with never-before-published photographs, drawings, and ephemera, this edition captures a moment in New York when everything was possible. And when two kids seized their destinies as artists and soul mates in this inspired story of love and friendship.
The Secret Diary & Growing Pains of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾: The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 ¾ And The Growing Pains Of Adrian Mole (The\adrian Mole Ser. #1)
by Sue TownsendGet yourself TWO BOOKS IN ONE for this amazing price.'I not only wept, I howled and hooted and had to get up and walk around the room and wipe my eyes so that I could go on reading' Tom SharpeTHE MUST-HAVE CHRISTMAS GIFT for devoted Adrian Mole fans.Celebrate Adrian Mole's 50th Birthday with this new double edition, featuring the FIRST TWO BOOKS in the hilarious collection and see life through the spectacles of a misunderstood boy growing up in the early 1980s.---------------------------Friday January 2ndI felt rotten today. It's my mother's fault for singing 'My Way' at two o'clock in the morning at the top of the stairs. Just my luck to have a mother like her. There is a chance my parents could be alcoholics. Next year I could be in a children's home. Meet Adrian Mole, a hapless teenager providing an unabashed, pimples-and-all glimpse into adolescent life. Telling us candidly about his parents' marital troubles, The Dog, his life as a tortured poet and 'misunderstood intellectual', his love for the divine Pandora and his horror at learning of his mother's pregnancy, Adrian's painfully honest diary is a hilarious and heartfelt chronicle of misspent adolescence.Features the complete texts of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ and The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole. 'I've never experienced a greater sense of recognition than when reading The Secret Diary' David Nicholls'Every sentence is witty and well thought out, and the whole has reverberations beyond itself' The Times 'Townsend has held a mirror up to the nation and made us happy to laugh at what we see in it' Sunday Telegraph'One of the great comic creations' Daily Mirror'The funniest person in the world' Caitlin Moran
When Men & Mountains Meet: Like the desire for drink or drugs, the craving for mountains is not easily overcome (H.W. Tilman: The Collected Edition)
by H.W. Tilman‘We had climbed a mountain and crossed a pass; been wet, cold, hungry, frightened, and withal happy. One more Himalayan season was over. It was time to begin thinking of the next. “Strenuousness is the immortal path, sloth is the way of death.”’First published in 1946, the scope of H.W. ‘Bill’ Tilman’s When Men and Mountains Meet is broad, covering his disastrous expedition to the Assam Himalaya, a small exploratory trip into Sikkim, and then his wartime heroics.In the thirties, Assam was largely unknown and unexplored. It proved a challenging environment for Tilman’s party, the jungle leaving the men mosquito-bitten and suffering with tropical diseases, and thwarting their mountaineering success. Sikkim proved altogether more successful. Tilman, who is once again happy and healthy, enjoys some exploratory ice climbing and discovers Abominable Snowman tracks, particularly remarkable as the creature appeared to be wearing boots—‘there is no reason why he should not have picked up a discarded pair at the German Base Camp and put them to their obvious use'.And then, in 1939, war breaks out. With good humour and characteristic understatement we hear about Tilman’s remarkable Second World War. After digging gun pits on the Belgian border and in Iraq, he was dropped by parachute behind enemy lines to fight alongside Albanian and Italian partisans. Tilman was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his efforts—and the keys to the city of Belluno, which he helped save from occupation and destruction.Tilman’s comments on the German approach to Himalayan climbing could equally be applied to his guerrilla warfare ethos. ‘They spent a lot of time and money and lost a lot of climbers and porters, through bad luck and more often through bad judgement.’ While elsewhere the war machine rumbled on, Tilman’s war was fast, exciting, lightweight and foolhardy—and makes for gripping reading.
Man-eaters of Kumaon (Oxford India Paperbacks Ser.)
by Jim CorbettThis is the Merlin Unwin Books edition and is the only one currently available which contains the iconic Raymond Sheppard illustrations which capture with remarkable verve and accuracy the dramatic highlight of each story. All royalties from the sale of the Merlin Unwin Books hardback edition go to the Corbett tiger reserve in India.The presence of a man-eating tiger in the Indian province of Naini Tal spread fear and panic throughout the impoverished rural community. This tigress had already killed 434 villagers by the time Jim Corbett was approached to track and despatch her in 1907.These thrilling and moving tales are Corbett’s first-hand accounts as, over the ensuing 29 years and at the request of desperate locals, he expertly tracks and kills various specific tigers and leopards which had become man-eaters, driven to this by injury or extreme old age.No one understood the ways of the Indian jungle better than Corbett. A skilled tracker, he preferred to hunt alone and on foot, sometimes accompanied by his small dog Robin. Corbett derived intense happiness from observing wildlife and he was a fervent conservationist as well as a tracker and ace shot.He empathised with the impoverished people amongst whom he lived, in what is today Uttarakhand, and he established India’s first tiger sanctuary there.Corbett’s writing is as immediate and accessible today as it was when first published in 1944.
The Phoenix Land
by Miklos BanffyThe 1000-year-old kingdom of Hungary, which formed a major part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was dismembered by the Allies in 1918. Phoenix-like, the Hungarian people survived the horrors of war, the disappointment of the first socialist republic, the disillusion of the brief but terrifying rule of Bela Kun and the bitterness of seeing their beloved country dismembered by the Treaty of Trianon. This is the world Miklos Banffy, author of the hugely popular Transylvanian Trilogy (Arcadia), describes in his arresting memoir.
Nell
by Nell McCafferty'Part Germaine Greer and part Mae West, she is not a woman you should spurn' Guardian'Nell's distinctive voice, both written and spoken, has had a powerful and provocative place in Irish society ... fascinating ... evocative ... riveting' Irish TimesJournalist Nell McCafferty has been an iconic figure in Ireland since the 1970s. Nell is the revealing story of the woman behind the image.Whether describing her challenging and tender relationship with her mother, Lily; her fears about being gay; war on the streets of her native Derry; the blossoming of feminism in Ireland; or the joy of finding a domestic haven with the love of her life, Nuala O'Faolain - and the pain of losing it, McCafferty doesn't spare anyone, least of all herself, in telling the truth of her life.The result is Nell: a journey that is moving, funny, inspiring and jaw-droppingly frank.'By turns, exasperating, illuminating, striking, self-indulgent, wrong-headed, praiseworthy, incorrigible and unignorable' Times Literary Supplement'A wistful, funny, moving, admirable, and complex autobiography by a woman who was present as modern Ireland was created' Irish Independent'At times wonderfully incisive, witty and sharp, at others poignant and emotional' Evening Herald'McCafferty has a rare gift for humanising political events and providing the kind of telling detail that scorches into the memory ... for the vignettes alone, the book is worth the purchase price' Sunday Business Post'McCafferty brings her usual passion, wit, fury and scorching honesty to her autobiography, making it a compelling and fascinating read' Belfast Telegraph'A gossipy good read' Sunday Tribune
Always Reaching: The Selected Writings of Anne Truitt
by Anne TruittAn expansive collection of texts providing insight into the inner life, creativity, and practice of the innovative American artist Anne Truitt Spanning more than fifty years, this comprehensive volume collects the letters, journal entries, interviews, lectures, reviews, and remembrances of the groundbreaking twentieth-century artist Anne Truitt (1921–2004). Alexandra Truitt, the artist’s daughter and a leading expert on her work, has carefully selected these writings, most of which are previously unpublished, from the artist’s papers at Bryn Mawr College as well as private holdings. Revelations about the artist’s life abound. Among Truitt’s earliest writings are excerpts from journals written more than a decade before her first artistic breakthrough, in which she establishes themes that would occupy her for decades. In later texts she shares uncommon insights into the practices of other artists and writers, both predecessors and peers. Like Truitt’s published journals, these writings offer a compelling narrative of her development as an artist and efforts to find her voice as a writer. They show that Truitt’s creative impulse to translate the inner workings of her mind into a symbolic language, so important to understanding her sculpture, predates her art.
Night Thoughts of a Country Landlady
by Edith Olivier"When the War drove her to fill the house with strange guests, it also drove her to fill her diary with strange thoughts... This broadened hospitality, and these unaccustomed contacts, completely changed for the time the character of English country life."In Night Thoughts of a Country Landlady, Edith Olivier explores the diaries left to her by her friend and neighbour, Miss Emma Nightingale. The account explores the arrival of both evacuees and soldiers to Miss Nightingale's village after the outbreak of World War II. Her musings on acting as a boarding house during this time are vivid and appealing chronicles of both rural life in World War II, and the varied and engaging individuals who were involved in this great struggle.This fascinating work is a record of the war as told through the people left behind in England to live their lives against its all-encompassing backdrop, and who did so with quiet contemplation and an overwhelming sense of hospitality.
A Life of One's Own: Nine Women Writers Begin Again
by Joanna BiggsI took off my wedding ring - a gold band with half a line of 'Morning Song' by Sylvia Plath etched inside - and for weeks afterwards, my thumb would involuntarily reach across my palm for the warm bright circle that had gone. I didn't throw the ring into the long grass, like women do in the movies, but a feeling began bubbling up nevertheless, from my stomach to my throat: it could fling my arms out. I was free.A few years into her marriage and feeling societal pressure to surrender to domesticity, Joanna Biggs found herself longing for a different kind of existence. Was this all there was? She divorced without knowing what would come next.Newly untethered, Joanna returned to the free-spirited writers of her youth and was soon reading in a fever - desperately searching for evidence of lives that looked more like her own, for the messiness and freedom, for a possible blueprint for intellectual fulfillment.In A Life of One's Own, Mary Wollstonecraft, George Eliot, Zora Neale Hurston, Virginia Woolf, Simone de Beauvoir, Sylvia Plath, Toni Morrison, and Elena Ferrante are all taken down from their pedestals, their work and lives seen in a new light. Joanna wanted to learn more about the conditions these women needed to write their best work, and how they addressed the questions she herself was struggling with: Is domesticity a trap? Is life worth living if you have lost faith in the traditional goals of a woman? Why is it so important for women to read one another?This is a radical and intimate examination of the unconventional paths these women took - their pursuits and achievements but also their disappointments and hardships. And in exploring the things that gave their lives the most meaning, we find fuel for our own singular intellectual paths.
West With The Night (Virago Modern Classics #269)
by Beryl MarkhamWEST WITH THE NIGHT appeared on 13 bestseller lists on first publication in 1942. It tells the spellbinding story of Beryl Markham -- aviator, racehorse trainer, fascinating beauty -and her life in the Kenya of the 1920s and 30s.Markham was taken to Kenya at the age of four. As an adult she was befriended by Denys Finch-Hatton, the big-game hunter of OUT OF AFRICA fame, who took her flying in his airplane. Thrilled by the experience, Markham went on to become the first woman in Kenya to receive a commercial pilot's license.In 1936 she determined to fly solo across the Atlantic -- without stopping. When Charles Lindbergh did the same, he had the wind behind him. Markham, by contrast, had a strong headwind against her and a plane that only flew up to 163 mph. On 4 September, she took off ... Several days later, she crash-landed in Nova Scotia and became an instant celebrity.
Country Moods and Tenses: A Non-Grammarian’s Chapbook
by Edith Olivier'. . . let the townsman say what he will, country life has more variety . . .'A contemporary of Cecil Beaton, Siegfried Sassoon and Rex Whistler, Edith Olivier is best known for her first book, the novella, The Love Child but was the author of a variety of both fiction and non-fiction, as well as becoming the mayor of Wilton, Wiltshire, in 1939.In this biographical memoir, written during the Second World War and subtitled 'A Non-Grammarian's Chapbook', Olivier takes the five grammatical moods - infinitive, imperative, indicative, subjunctive and conditional - and uses them to describe village and country life in her beloved Wiltshire as it was in 1941, the year of first publication. Covering a range of topics - from the folklore and traditions of the local area, to the weather and landscape itself - Edith Olivier's Country Moods and Tenses captures a moment and describes a world which has, in many ways, been lost to us.
Under the Sea-Wind (Canons)
by Rachel CarsonUnder the Sea-Wind marks the beginnings of one of the most significant careers in nature writing. In it Rachel Carson celebrates the mystery and beauty of birds and sea creatures in their natural habitat, conjuring the atmosphere of the shore and the open sea and the delicately balanced, fragile struggle for life along the shoreline.
Johnson without Boswell: A Contemporary Portrait of Samuel Johnson (Routledge Revivals)
by Hugh KingsmillFirst published in 1940, Johnson without Boswell is about Samuel Johnson, the dictator of eighteenth-century English letters. It has become almost axiomatic never to mention that mammoth of wit and wisdom without linking him at least in thought with his great biographer, James Boswell. But there were others who knew him well, and who set down what they knew – among them Johnson himself in his letters and autobiographical fragments, his great friend Mrs. Thale in her Anecdotes, and Sir John Hawkins in his Life. From these and others, excerpted and skilfully pieced together in this volume by Hugh Kingsmill, there emerges a portrait of Johnson more domestic and less alarming than Boswell’s. But something of curmudgeon still, who could terrorise his table-companions by brandishing a knife and bellowing that by God he could eat a bit more. The result is a volume richly readable and informative, which can be read with pleasure either wholly or in part, especially by students of English literature.
Johnson without Boswell: A Contemporary Portrait of Samuel Johnson (Routledge Revivals)
by Hugh KingsmillFirst published in 1940, Johnson without Boswell is about Samuel Johnson, the dictator of eighteenth-century English letters. It has become almost axiomatic never to mention that mammoth of wit and wisdom without linking him at least in thought with his great biographer, James Boswell. But there were others who knew him well, and who set down what they knew – among them Johnson himself in his letters and autobiographical fragments, his great friend Mrs. Thale in her Anecdotes, and Sir John Hawkins in his Life. From these and others, excerpted and skilfully pieced together in this volume by Hugh Kingsmill, there emerges a portrait of Johnson more domestic and less alarming than Boswell’s. But something of curmudgeon still, who could terrorise his table-companions by brandishing a knife and bellowing that by God he could eat a bit more. The result is a volume richly readable and informative, which can be read with pleasure either wholly or in part, especially by students of English literature.