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Maus Now: Selected Writing
by Art Spiegelman Hillary ChuteA richly illustrated book in which leading cultural critics, authors, and academics reflect on the radical achievement and innovation of Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece Maus'The most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust' Wall Street Journal___________________________________________________________________________It is hard to overstate Art Spiegelman's effect on postwar American culture. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author is one of our most influential contemporary artists, and his masterpiece Maus has shaped the fields of literature, history, and art. Collecting responses to the work that confirm its unique and terrain-shifting status, Maus Now is a new collection of essays that sees writers such as Philip Pullman, Robert Storr, Ruth Franklin, and others approaching the complexity of Maus from a wide range of viewpoints and traditions.Offering translations of important French, Hebrew, and German essays on Maus for the first time, this collection edited by American literary scholar Hillary Chute - an expert on comics and graphic narratives - assembles the world's best writing on this classic work of graphic testimony.___________________________________________________________________________'The first masterpiece in comic book history' The New Yorker on Maus'No summary can do justice to Spiegelman's narrative skill' Adam Gopnik on Maus'Like all great stories, it tells us more about ourselves than we could ever suspect' Philip Pullman on Maus
Nothing Ever Just Disappears: Seven Hidden Histories
by Diarmuid Hester'With originality and subtlety, Diarmuid Hester examines how the gay imagination deals with place and with displacement, allowing for mystery and a kind of magic' Colm Toibin'Hester is a fizzingly brilliant writer' Robert Macfarlane'Haunted and haunting - totally riveting' Chris KrausAt the turn of the century, in the shade of Cambridge's cloisters, a young E. M. Forster conceals his passion for other men, even as he daydreams about the sun-warmed bodies of ancient Greece. Under the dazzling lights of interwar Paris, Josephine Baker dances her way to fame and fortune and discovers sexual freedom backstage at the Folies Bergère. And on Jersey, in the darkest days of Nazi occupation, the transgressive surrealist Claude Cahun mounts an extraordinary resistance to save the island she loves, scattering hundreds of dissident artworks along its streets and shorelines.Nothing Ever Just Disappears brings to life the stories of seven remarkable figures and illuminates the connections between where they lived, who they loved, and the art they created. It shows that a queer sense of place is central to the history of the twentieth century, and powerfully evokes how much is lost when queer spaces are forgotten. From the lesbian London of the suffragettes to James Baldwin's home in Provence, to Jack Smith's New York, Kevin Killian's San Francisco and the Dungeness cottage of Derek Jarman, this is a thrilling new history and a celebration of freedom, survival and the hidden places of the imagination.
The Gardener's Year (Macmillan Collector's Library #343)
by Karel CapekThe Gardener’s Year is a charming and light-hearted insight into the life of an amateur gardener. Structured loosely around what to plant, grow or cultivate each month, Karel Capek takes us on a rollicking journey through a year in his own small garden.Complete and unabridged. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, pocket-sized classics with ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features lively black and white illustrations by Czech artist Josef Capek and is translated by M. and R. Weatherall.From making puddles with an untamable hose to sowing luxuriant weeds instead of grass, Capek reveals how a gardener grows into his surroundings ‘spurred on by each new failure’. Subverting the tradition of a ‘how to’ gardening book, he teaches his readers about the magic of seeds, the perils of planting vegetables and the thrilling surprises of a rock garden. As the year progresses and frail buds turn from flowering stems to drooping bulbs and falling leaves, Capek’s small garden buzzes with life, wisdom and humour.
Maggie: A Love Story
by John Sanford'She was small, she was slight, with limber hands and fingers and white and consonant teeth; hazel was the colour of her eyes, and she wore size three shoes on her high-arched feet. There was more, though, more than pigmentation, more than fineness of form and feature: she was the repository of winning ways, as if all the graces had devolved on her…' Thus did John Sanford write of Marguerite Roberts, the 'Maggie' of this lyrical and moving memoir. His wife for more than half a century, she was a screen-writer of much distinction and one of the highest-paid in Hollywood. With uncommon generosity and with an unflagging belief in Sanford's ability, she supported him through the writing of his twenty books, all of them acclaimed by the critics but overlooked by the public. He has been called 'the undiscovered treasure of American literature'.
Kahlil Gibran: Beyond Borders
by Kahlil G. Gibran Jean GibranA comprehensive illustrated biography of Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American artist, poet and author of the best-selling inspirational fiction The Prophet. Kahlil Gibran was a Lebanese-born artist, poet, writer and polymath who emigrated to America as a young man in the 1890s, where he became a successful artist and prose poet. His book The Prophet (1923), a series of twenty-six philosophical essays written in poetic English prose became a world-wide bestseller after a sluggish start, selling 40 million copies, and becoming a particular favourite of the 1960s counterculture. As a writer, Gibran encouraged a renaissance in Arab literature; as an artist he painted hundreds of canvases including portraits of artistic celebrities. Raised a Maronite Catholic, his spirituality thought embraces elements of other traditions including Sufi mysticism and the Baha'i faith.
Mozart
by Sir Sacheverell SitwellA concise and beautifully evocative appreciation of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s career and genius by the famed writer and poet Sacheverell Sitwell.From Mozart’s first precocious attempts at composing at the age of four or five, through to his tragic death at the age of just 35, Sitwell traces this most famous of composers’ life with depth and humanity. Exploring Mozart's genius in minute and effusive detail, he expounds on everything from The Marriage of Figaro to the Requiem in beautiful prose.Sitwell’s friendships with the great composers and musicians of the early twentieth century - and his innate understanding of the physical and social settings that Mozart composed for - make this a truly unique biography that is yet to be superseded.
Alone Over the Tasman Sea
by Francis ChichesterI had no money, could get no floats, my navigation was uncertain, plane inadequate.A true story filled with danger, adventure and achievement, Alone Over The Tasman Sea is Sir Francis Chichester's telling of his 1931 seaplane solo-flight over the Tasman Sea from New Zealand to Australia - the first of its kind.Told with dry wit and humour, Chichester recounts his perilous journey across uncharted sea and between remote islands, and how he overcame the many obstacles along the way.During an era when flight was still in its dangerous infancy, Chichester's pure reliance on his friends Instinct and Reason make this a fascinating tale of risk-taking, perseverance and courage.
Every Man A King: The Autobiography Of Huey P. Long
by Huey P. LongHuey Long (1893-1935) was one of the most extraordinary American politicians, simultaneously cursed as a dictator and applauded as a benefactor of the masses. A product of the poor north Louisiana hills, he was elected governor of Louisiana in 1928, and proceeded to subjugate the powerful state political hierarchy after narrowly defeating an impeachment attempt. The only Southern popular leader who truly delivered on his promises, he increased the miles of paved roads and number of bridges in Louisiana tenfold and established free night schools and state hospitals, meeting the huge costs by taxing corporations and issuing bonds. Soon Long had become the absolute ruler of the state, in the process lifting Louisiana from near feudalism into the modern world almost overnight, and inspiring poor whites of the South to a vision of a better life. As Louisiana Senator and one of Roosevelt's most vociferous critics, "The Kingfish," as he called himself, gained a nationwide following, forcing Roosevelt to turn his New Deal significantly to the left. But before he could progress farther, he was assassinated in Baton Rouge in 1935. Long's ultimate ambition, of course, was the presidency, and it was doubtless with this goal in mind that he wrote this spirited and fascinating account of his life, an autobiography every bit as daring and controversial as was The Kingfish himself.
Every Man A King: The Autobiography Of Huey P. Long
by Huey P. LongHuey Long (1893-1935) was one of the most extraordinary American politicians, simultaneously cursed as a dictator and applauded as a benefactor of the masses. A product of the poor north Louisiana hills, he was elected governor of Louisiana in 1928, and proceeded to subjugate the powerful state political hierarchy after narrowly defeating an impeachment attempt. The only Southern popular leader who truly delivered on his promises, he increased the miles of paved roads and number of bridges in Louisiana tenfold and established free night schools and state hospitals, meeting the huge costs by taxing corporations and issuing bonds. Soon Long had become the absolute ruler of the state, in the process lifting Louisiana from near feudalism into the modern world almost overnight, and inspiring poor whites of the South to a vision of a better life. As Louisiana Senator and one of Roosevelt's most vociferous critics, "The Kingfish," as he called himself, gained a nationwide following, forcing Roosevelt to turn his New Deal significantly to the left. But before he could progress farther, he was assassinated in Baton Rouge in 1935. Long's ultimate ambition, of course, was the presidency, and it was doubtless with this goal in mind that he wrote this spirited and fascinating account of his life, an autobiography every bit as daring and controversial as was The Kingfish himself.
Spring Rain: A wise and life-affirming memoir about how gardens can help us heal
by Marc HamerAn inspiring and life-affirming story of a difficult childhood transformed into happy adulthood through the power of nature and gardensBeloved author Marc Hamer writes about finding refuge in his tiny back garden in this highly original story of childhood, old age, and the restorative power of gardens. As a child, he kindled a deep love of the earth by watching plants and insects and exploring the world through a stack of old encyclopaedias he found in the shed. Now an old man, he creates a garden for himself in the neglected plot behind his house.A little book with a big heart: the insights glow as vivid as a flowerbed. If you want to be inspired, or you've lost your belief in the goodness of this world, this could be for you.'A sublime meditation on life, love, nature and family, woven with the wisdom gained through a life well lived' Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell'Patterned with Hamer's gifts for observation, compression, and tone' New Yorker'Rich and tender' New York Times'A book of great but tender power' Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast
Unfinished Adventure: Selected Reminiscences from an Englishwoman's Life
by Evelyn SharpUnfinished Adventure, published in 1933, is Evelyn Sharp's autobiography. It is a remarkable book recounting a remarkable life. Born in 1869, Evelyn Sharp was the sister of the folk song and dance expert, Cecil Sharp. A journalist, writer, pacifist and suffragist, Evelyn Sharp writes vividly about all aspects of her life: her school-days, Paris in 1890 , the Yellow Book, the Manchester Guardian, her conversion to Suffragism, her imprisonment in Holloway, her war work, her relief work in Germany and Russia in the nineteen-twenties, and finally, in her own words, 'The Greatest of All Adventures': the day she completed this book she married the campaigning writer and journalist, H. W. Nevinson.A. S. Byatt has described Evelyn Sharp as 'perspicacious, witty and a very good writer.' Evelyn Sharp and her autobiography deserve to be better knownFaber Finds is very pleased to be reissuing An Unfinished Adventure at the same time as the Manchester University Press publish Angela John's biography, Evelyn Sharp: Rebel Woman, 1869-1955
Daddyji: Continents of Exile: 1 (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Ved MehtaBook 1 in Ved Mehta's Continents of Exile series. Nearly 50 years in the making, Continents of Exile is one of the great works of twentieth-century autobiography: the epic chronicle of an Indian family in the twentieth century. From 1930s India to 1950s Oxford and literary New York in the 1960s-80s, this is the story of the post-colonial twentieth century, as uniquely experienced and vividly recounted by Ved Mehta. On its surface, Daddyji serves as a lucid biographical portrait of Amolak Ram Mehta, an esteemed Indian public servant, written by his son. But as Ved Mehta's story unwinds, it becomes apparent that something else is being recreated - the intricacies and intimacies of a lost world, of pre-Partition Lahore.
Liszt
by Sir Sacheverell SitwellIn this classic work on music biography, Sacheverell Sitwell narrates Franz Liszt’s rapid ascent to European fame - and the effect that this incredible early success as a wonderfully gifted pianist had on his later life - with insight, sympathy and humanity, One of the very first studies of Liszt to be published in English, this remarkable biography uses the full force of Sitwell's poetic talent to bring this brilliant and difficult man’s world vividly to life, and captures the artistic mood of the era in extraordinary detail.Perceptive, engaging and full of personality, Liszt rightfully takes its place as one of the most important accounts of its subject's life.
Mrs Annie Besant: A Modern Prophet (Routledge Library Editions: Women's History)
by Theodore BestermanHaving already published a bibliography on Annie Besant, Theodore Besterman in this book continued with the story of her life. She was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator who lived between 1847 and 1933.Originally published in 1934, this work is fascinating for anyone with an interest in Annie Besant's life specifically or in any of the areas in which she became a household name.
Mrs Annie Besant: A Modern Prophet (Routledge Library Editions: Women's History)
by Theodore BestermanHaving already published a bibliography on Annie Besant, Theodore Besterman in this book continued with the story of her life. She was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator who lived between 1847 and 1933.Originally published in 1934, this work is fascinating for anyone with an interest in Annie Besant's life specifically or in any of the areas in which she became a household name.
Rachmaninoff's Recollections (Routledge Revivals)
by Oskar von RiesemannThis book, first published in 1934, contains the recollections of the varied and coloured life of a great pianist and composer, who is one of the most striking figures of the musical world. Rachmaninoff dictated his memoires to the author of this book, and much of the story is therefore told in the first person. The final chapter is Riesemann’s own contribution. It is an estimate of Rachmaninoff’s qualities as composer; it shows knowledge of all his more important works; and it shows discrimination. The whole book is an authoritative and interesting study of a popular artist.
Rachmaninoff's Recollections (Routledge Revivals)
by Oskar von RiesemannThis book, first published in 1934, contains the recollections of the varied and coloured life of a great pianist and composer, who is one of the most striking figures of the musical world. Rachmaninoff dictated his memoires to the author of this book, and much of the story is therefore told in the first person. The final chapter is Riesemann’s own contribution. It is an estimate of Rachmaninoff’s qualities as composer; it shows knowledge of all his more important works; and it shows discrimination. The whole book is an authoritative and interesting study of a popular artist.
Enbury Heath
by Stella Gibbons'Don't show proper feelin', does it, not turnin' up for 'is dad's funeral?'Siblings Sophia, Harry and Francis have lost both their parents in the last six months. Attending the funeral for their estranged father, they wonder what will become of them now that the last connection to their difficult childhood has been severed. What have they inherited - financially and emotionally - to guide them to adulthood, and build a new home together? Enbury Heath is a semi-autobiographical account of the years which Gibbons and her brothers spent living in a cottage in Hampstead Heath: a wonderfully astute, bittersweet novel about family, grief, money, and the pleasures of London.
Evelyn Prentis Bundle: A Nurse in Time/A Nurse in Action
by Evelyn PrentisDesperate circumstances were something Evelyn Prentis had to get very used to when she began her life as a nurse. It was in 1934 that Evelyn left home for the first time to enrol as a trainee at a busy Nottingham hospital in the hope of £25 a year. A Nurse in Time is Evelyn's affectionate and funny account of those days of dedication and hardship, when never-ending nightshifts, strict Sisters and permanent hunger ruled life, and joy was to be found in a late-night pass and a packet of Woodbines.The second memoir in this collection is A Nurse in Action. Surprising Matron as well as herself, Evelyn Prentis managed to pass her Finals and become a staff-nurse. Encouraged, she took the brave leap of moving from Nottingham to London - brave not least because war was about to break. Not only did the nurses have to cope with stray bombs and influxes of patients from as far away Dunkirk, but there were also RAF men stationed nearby - which caused considerable entertainment and disappointment, and a good number of marriages ...But despite all the disruption to the hospital routine, Evelyn's warm and compelling account of a nurse in action, shows a nurse's life would always revolve around the comforting discomfort of porridge and rissoles, bandages and bedpans.
Not Far From Brideshead
by Daisy DunnOxford thought it was at war. And then it was. After the horrors of the First World War, Oxford looked like an Arcadia - a dreamworld - from which pain could be shut out. Soldiers arrived with pictures of the university fully formed in their heads, and women finally won the right to earn degrees. Freedom meant reading beneath the spires and punting down the river with champagne picnics. But all was not quite as it seemed. Boys fresh from school settled into lecture rooms alongside men who had returned from the trenches with the beginnings of shellshock. It was displacing to be surrounded by aristocrats who liked nothing better than to burn furniture from each other's rooms on the college quads for kicks. The women of Oxford still faced a battle to emerge from their shadows. And among the dons a major conflict was beginning to brew. Set in the world that Evelyn Waugh immortalised in Brideshead Revisited, this is a true and often funny story of the thriving of knowledge and spirit of fun and foreboding that characterised Oxford between the two world wars. One of the protagonists, in fact, was a friend of Waugh and inspired a character in his novel. Another married into the family who inhabited Castle Howard and befriended everyone from George Bernard Shaw to Virginia Woolf. The third was an Irish occultist and correspondent with the poets W. H. Auden, Louis MacNeice and W. B. Yeats. This singular tale of Oxford colleagues and rivals encapsulates the false sense of security that developed across the country in the interwar years. With the rise of Hitler and the Third Reich came the subversion of history for propaganda. In academic Oxford, the fight was on not only to preserve the past from the hands of the Nazis, but also to triumph, one don over another, as they became embroiled in a war of their own.
Ride on the Wind (Armchair Traveller Ser.)
by Francis ChichesterFrancis Chichester's name is synonymous with the spirit of adventure and courage at its highest level. Before taking to the sea, Chichester made a firm reputation for himself as an aviation pioneer. Ride on the Wind is the story of his adventures with his sea-plane, Elijah. After flying from London to Sydney, he simply decided to look for 'the most interesting countries I could find, uninhabited, hostile, or little known'. From Sydney, he embarked on an epic flight that included crossing into forbidden territory in Formosa in a raging storm, a narrow escape from Chinese pirates, another from a typhoon, and a spectacular crash in Japan - a remarkable achievement for a solo amateur pilot.A thrilling adventure and the story of a man's journey alone in a plane for several months, above uncharted territory, Ride on the Wind is at its heart a fascinating and vibrant record of a world that was once very different.
Running in the Family (New Canadian Library)
by Michael Ondaatje'During certain hours, at certain years in our lives, we see ourselves as remnants from the earlier generations that were destroyed... I think all of our lives have been terribly shaped by what went on before us.'Twenty-five years after leaving his native Sri Lanka for the cool winters of Ontario, a chaotic dream of tropical heat and barking dogs pushes Michael Ondaatje to travel back home and revisit a childhood and a family he never fully understood. Along with his siblings and children, Ondaatje gathers rumours, anecdotes, poems, records and memories to piece together this fragmented portrayal of his family's past, his father's destructive alcoholism and the colourful stories and secrets of ancestors both disgraced and adored throughout centuries of Sri Lankan society.In an exotic, evocative portrait of the heat, wildlife, sounds and silences of the Sri Lankan landscape, Ondaatje combines vivid recreations of a privileged, eccentric older generation with a deeply personal reconciliatory journey in which he explores his own ghosts, and how his family's extraordinary history continues to influence his life.
Siamese White
by Maurice CollisForemost among the biographies that Maurice Collis wrote during his wide-ranging literary career is Siamese White - an account of the career of Samuel White of Bath who, during the reign of James II, was appointed by the King of Siam as a mandarin of that country. The book superbly embodies that old adage - truth is stranger than fiction.'A magnificent story, full of interest and excitement, but there is more to it than that. Collis, who has lived for years on the scene of these high happenings, is able to give us a first-hand picture of a fascinating land: of a lovely archipelago, of rivers and rapids, of an immemorial track through jungles haunted by tigers and malaria.' Evening Standard
Banksy: The Autobiography
by Gordon BanksFor 10 years Gordon Banks was not only England's Number One, but was acknowledged to be the best keeper in the world - perhaps the best there's ever been. Banksy is more than just a football story: it's the story of a man who represents all that was admirable about the game in a golden era. This is the story of a genuine English hero. Of triumph and tragedy and a stirring, insiders account of the England team's finest years.
Camp Six: The 1933 Everest Expedition
by Frank SmytheFrank Smythe's Camp Six is one of the greatest Everest accounts ever written. It is the story of the 1933 Everest Expedition, in which Smythe, climbing alone after his partner Eric Shipton had turned back ill, reached a point perhaps higher than any man had done before - and some twenty years before the eventual first ascent. Rope-less, oxygen free and in terrible snow conditions, his climb was one of the greatest endeavours in the history of Everest. Camp Six is a compelling read: a gripping adventure on the highest mountain in the world and a fascinating window into early mountaineering and Himalayan exploration - including an illuminating colonial view of early travels in Tibet. It is essential reading for all those interested in Everest and in the danger and drama of those early expeditions. Frank Smythe was one of the leading mountaineers of the twentieth century, an outstanding climber who, in his short life - he died aged forty-nine -was at the centre of high-altitude mountaineering development in its early years. Author of twenty-seven immensely popular books, he was an early example of the climber as celebrity.