- Table View
- List View
Witch-Doctors (Classics To Go)
by Charles BeadleExcerpt: In a bayou in the south-eastern corner of the Victoria Nyanza was the station of Ingonya, a brown scab on the face of the green earth. The round mud huts of the askaris were like two columns of khaki troops marching rigidly on each side of the parade ground. To the north, upon a slight rise of ground, were the white men's quarters; the non-commissioned officers had four bungalows to the south of the orderly room and Court House; and beyond a green plot flanked by a store house and an ordnance building, was a bigger bungalow, florid in the amplitude and colour of the red pillared verandah, the residence of the Kommandant, Herr Ober-Lieutenant Hermann von Schnitzler und zu Pfeiffer. On the northern side, overlooking the swamp and the distant lake, was a flagpole, before which paced an ebon sentry in a uniform of white knickers, tunic and lancer cap, red faced. The glow of sunrise stained the green of the moon with crimson. A trumpet blared. From the rear of the Residence marched with stiff-legged precision a squad of askaris and the stocky figure of a non-commissioned officer in a white helmet. Simultaneously appeared on the verandah of the large bungalow the tall form of a white man in pink silk pyjamas. The sergeant barked. The squad presented arms. A coloured ball slid up the flagpole.
Wisdom's Daughter: The Life And Love Story Of She-who-must-be-obeyed (Classics To Go #4)
by H. HaggardIn the fourth and final book in the She sequence, the beautiful and immortal Ayesha tells her tale of power, wisdom, love, and deception, in her own words. Arabian by birth, Ayesha's natural beauty was the cause in her father's kingdom of many wars and conflicts between jealous princes and suitors, leading to a rumour that she was cursed. Swearing an oath of celibacy, to serve Isis the Goddess of the Spirit of Nature and turn away from Aphrodite the Goddess of Love, she seeks to protect herself, until Greek soldier of fortune Kallikrates comes to her for sanctuary and her resolve weakens. But Kallikrates does not arrive alone—he is pursued by the Pharaoh's daughter who is wildly jealous of Ayesha's beauty and vows to destroy her. Only by staying true to Isis does Ayesha survive, and as a reward Isis leads her to the hidden kingdom of Kôr in Africa, to herald in a new Golden Age. The kingdom of Kôr hides many secrets, including The Flame of Eternal Life where ultimately Ayesha's vanity, obsession, and desire lead to her downfall. (Goodreads)
Maigret and the Informer: Inspector Maigret #74 (Inspector Maigret #74)
by Georges Simenon'The father of contemporary European detective fiction' Ann Cleeves'You see, I mainly work at night. I've ended up getting to know everybody. They're used to me in Pigalle, I exchange a few words with this person or that person. I go into the bars and cabarets where they give me a quarter bottle of Vichy without waiting for me to order anything.'An anonymous tip-off regarding the death of a restaurant owner sends Maigret into the world of Parisian nightlife, a notorious criminal gang and a man known as 'the Flea'.Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been pubished in a previous translation as Maigret and the Flea.'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century' Guardian
Gilgi, One of Us (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Irmgard KeunA brilliant, bestselling feminist novel from Weimar Germany, from the author of Child of All Nations'A formidable literary talent ... Sharp yet naïve, Gilgi is utterly human' Irish TimesGilgi knows where she's going in life: she's ambitious, focused and determined, even when her boss tries it on with her, even when her parents reveal a terrible secret on her twenty-first birthday. Then she meets the charming but feckless Martin and, for the first time, Gilgi finds herself bewilderingly and dangerously derailed. Irmgard Keun's electrifying debut was an instant sensation in Weimar Germany, with its frank, fearless exploration of sex, work and love.Translated by Geoff Wilkes'How contemporary the novel feels, with its portrait of a woman fighting to maintain control over her life and her body' The New York Times
Literature, Pedagogy, and Climate Change: Text Models for a Transcultural Ecology (Literatures, Cultures, and the Environment)
by Roman BartoschLiterature, Pedagogy, and Climate Change: Text Models for a Transcultural Ecology asks two questions: How do we read (in) the Anthropocene? And what can reading teach us? To answer these questions, the book develops a concept of transcultural ecology that understands fiction and interpretation as text models that help address the various and incommensurable scales inherent to climate change. Focussing on text composition, reception, storyworlds, and narrative framing in world literature and elsewhere, each chapter elaborates on central educational objectives through the close reading of texts by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Teju Cole and J.M. Coetzee as well as films, picture books and new digital media and their aesthetic affordances. At the end of each chapter, these objectives are summarised in sections on the ‘general implications for studying and teaching’ (GIST) and together offer a new concept of transcultural competence in conversation with current debates in literature pedagogy and educational philosophy.
This Night's Foul Work (Commissaire Adamsberg #5)
by Sian Reynolds Fred VargasOn the outskirts of Paris, two men have been found with their throats cut. In Normandy, two stags have been killed and their hearts cut out. Meanwhile a seventy-five-year-old nurse who has murdered several of her patients has escaped from prison. Is there a connection between the three cases?In this mystery, Commissaire Adamsberg is pitted against nemeses past and present: Ariane Lagarde, France's foremost pathologist and Adamsberg's enemy since they argued over a case twenty-three years earlier, and Louis Veyrenc, a new recruit with a grudge, who has been assigned the job of protecting the Commissaire's ex-girlfriend. As the different strands of Vargas's compelling story begin to intertwine, events move towards a gripping climax...Shortlisted for the Duncan Lawrie International Dagger.
Vienna Blood: (Liebermann Papers 2) (Liebermann Papers #2)
by Frank TallisIn the grip of a Siberian winter in 1902, a serial killer in Vienna embarks upon a bizarre campaign of murder. Vicious mutilation, a penchant for arcane symbols, and a seemingly random choice of victim are his most distinctive peculiarities. Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt summons a young disciple of Freud - his friend Dr. Max Liebermann - to assist him with the case. The investigation draws them into the sphere of Vienna's secret societies - a murky underworld of German literary scholars, race theorists, and scientists inspired by the new evolutionary theories coming out of England. At first, the killer's mind seems impenetrable - his behaviour and cryptic clues impervious to psychoanalytic interpretation; however, gradually, it becomes apparent that an extraordinary and shocking rationale underlies his actions ...Against this backdrop of mystery and terror, Liebermann struggles with his own demons. The treatment of a patient suffering from paranoia erotica and his own fascination with the enigmatic Englishwoman Amelia Lydgate raise doubts concerning the propriety of his imminent marriage. To resolve the dilemma, he must entertain the unthinkable - risking disgrace and accusations of cowardice.
Fatal Lies: (Liebermann Papers 3) (Liebermann Papers #3)
by Frank TallisVienna, 1903. In St. Florian's military school, a rambling edifice set high in the hills of the City's famous woods, a young cadet is found dead - his body lacerated with razor wounds. Once again, Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt calls on his friend - and disciple of Freud - Doctor Max Liebermann, to help him with the investigation. In the closed society of the school, power is everything - and suspicion falls on an elite group of cadets, with a penchant for sadism and dangerous games. When it is discovered that the dead boy was a frequent guest of the deputy headmaster's attractive young wife - other motives for murder suggest themselves. A tangled web of relationships is uncovered, at the heart of which are St. Florian's dark secrets, which Liebermann, using new psychoanalytic tools such as dream interpretation and the ink-blot test, begins to probe. At the same time, a shocking revelation makes it impossible for Liebermann to pursue the object of his affections, the Englishwoman Miss Lydgate, and he finds himself romantically involved with the passionate and elemental Trezska Novak - a mysterious Hungarian concert violinist, gifted with uncannily accurate intuitions. Again, all is not what it seems, and Liebermann is drawn into the perilous world of espionage - and must make choices, the outcome of which will threaten the entire stability of the Habsburg Empire. Fatal Lies - volume three of the Liebermann Papers - is about sex, the will to power, and deception.
Stanley's Café (Stanley)
by William BeeIt's another busy day at Stanley's Cafe. He's baking a very special cake - but whose birthday can it be?Join Stanley and friends for a tasty adventure in this colourful new series from William Bee...
Stanley the Builder (Stanley)
by William BeeWhat a job for Stanley - he's building a house for his friend, Myrtle. He will need his digger and his bulldozer and his cement mixer! He will also need his friend, Charlie to help. But will they manage to build the whole house?Join Stanley and friends for a hard-working adventure in this colourful new series from William Bee...
Stanley's Shop
by William BeeIt's time for Stanley's Shop to open! First there's the delivery to unload from the truck,then there's the customers to deal with... Hattie is buying (too much) cheese, Little Woo has his eye on some sweet treats and Myrtle needs some bread. How will they get all their shopping home? Stanley's delivery service, of course. It's another busy day for Stanley and friends.
The Woman Who Rides Like a Man: Song of the Lioness - Book Three (Song of Lioness #3)
by Tamora PierceA knight at last, Alanna of Trebond heads out to seek adventure in the desert of Tortall. Captured by desert tribesmen, she is forced to prove herself in a magical duel to the death. But her real challenge doesn't come until after she wins. As the first female shaman, Alanna must fight to change the ancient traditions of the stubborn desert tribes - for their own sake and for the sake of all Tortall. This third book in the Song of the Lioness quartet continues Alanna's saga as she strikes out alone and discovers herself anew . . .
Doctor Who: Star Tales
by Steve Cole Paul Magrs Jenny T Colgan Jo Cotterill Trevor Baxendale Mike Tucker‘Even though they’re gone from the world, they’re never gone from me.’The Doctor is many things – curious, funny, brave, protective of her friends...and a shameless namedropper. While she and her companions battled aliens and travelled across the universe, the Doctor hinted at a host of previous, untold adventures with the great and the good: we discovered she got her sunglasses from Pythagoras (or was it Audrey Hepburn?); lent a mobile phone to Elvis; had an encounter with Amelia Earhart where she discovered that a pencil-thick spider web can stop a plane; had a 'wet weekend' with Harry Houdini, learning how to escape from chains underwater; and more.In this collection of new stories, Star Tales takes you on a rip-roaring ride through history, from 500BC to the swinging 60s, going deeper into the Doctor's notorious name-dropping and revealing the truth behind these anecdotes.
A Christmas Carol BBC TV Tie-In: Book And Bible Study Guide Based On The Charles Dickens Classic A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens"Bah! Humbug!" A Christmas Carol is Charles Dickens's timeless festive tale of transformation, redemption and compassion. One Christmas Eve Ebenezer Scrooge, the uncharitable, loathsome miser, is visited by the spirit of his dead partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, now a ghost condemned to wander the Earth in chains as punishment for his greedy and self-serving lifestyle warns Scrooge, who soon falls into a deep sleep. Over the course of the night, Scrooge is visited by three further phantoms. the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future. Through these three visions, Scrooge learns the error of ways, and he awakes on Christmas day ready to right the wrongs of Christmases past. Accompanying a the three-part special from Steven Knight (Taboo, Peaky Blinders) starring Guy Pearce, Andy Serkis, Stephen Graham, Charlotte Riley, Joe Alwyn, Vinette Robinson, Jason Flemyng, Kayvan Novak and Lenny Rush. Written and executive produced by Steven Knight, executive produced by Tom Hardy, Ridley Scott, Dean Baker, David W. Zucker, Kate Crowe and Mona Qureshi for the BBC.
The House With The Green Shutters (Canongate Classics #63)
by George Douglas BrownThe most famous Scottish novel of the early twentieth century, The House with the Green Shutters has remained a landmark on the literary scene ever since it was first published in 1901. Determined to overthrow the sentimental 'kailyard' stereotypes of the day, George Douglas Brown exposed the bitter pettiness of commercial greed and small-town Scottish life as he himself had come to know it. More than this, however, his novel lays bare the seductive and crippling presence of patriarchal authority in Scottish culture at large, symbolised by the terrible struggle between old John Gourlay and his weak but imaginative son. Illuminated by lightning flashes of descriptive brilliance, Brown's prose evokes melodrama, Greek tragedy and postmodern alienation in a unique and unforgettably powerful reading experience.
Our Times in Rhymes: Being a Prosodical Chronicle of Our Damnable Age
by Sam LeithA parliament of fools, or a confederacy of dunces? Blethering celebrities and blundering politicians, royal babies and right royal cock-ups, milkshake madness and vegan sausage rolls - and, of course, the long and winding road to Brexit. If ever the times were ripe for a return to the high days of Augustan satire, it’s now – and the Spectator’s literary editor Sam Leith provides it. Our Times in Rhymes is a waspish, affectionate and very funny look at the state of our nation as it – let's be even-handed - teeters on the cliff-edge of a marvellous opportunity. Here is all the insanity and inanity of 2019, month by cherishable month, rendered in galloping comic verse and paired with satirical drawings by the brilliant cartoonist Edith Pritchett. It makes the perfect Christmas stocking filler for anyone who needs a good laugh at the damnable times we live in.
Die Sklavin (Classics To Go)
by Friedrich GerstäckerExcerpt: "Das Mail- oder Postboot war eben von New-Orleans angelangt und über die von demselben an's Ufer geschobene Planke strömten in ununterbrochenem Zuge fast alle Geschäftsleute und Müßiggänger der kleinen Stadt Bayou Sarah an Bord, um theils für sie angekommene Briefe und Packete in Empfang zu nehmen, theils ihre Neugierde zu befriedigen und an dem zierlich ausgeschmückten Schenkstande ein Glas Brandy und Eiswasser zu schlürfen. Der Capitain des Postboots, ein kleiner Franzose mit grauem Rock, schwarzem Filzhut und außerordentlich blank gewichsten Stiefeln, schien überall zu sein, und während ihm große Schweißtropfen an der gerötheten Stirn glänzten, schimpfte er in fürchterlich gebrochenem Englisch auf Gott und die Welt, vorzüglich aber auf den Postmeister, der ihm aus seinem Comptoir, eben als er kaum den Rücken gewandt, ein Packet Briefe in zu großem Amtseifer entführt und mit hinauf auf die Post genommen hatte. »God dam him!« wetterte der kleine Mann, mit der Faust auf das grünbeschlagene Pult niederschlagend, daß die Tinte hoch empor spritzte – »was hat der Pflasterschmierer (der Postmeister hatte zu gleicher Zeit eine Apotheke und einen Kramladen und ließ sich gern »Doctor« nennen) in meinem Comptoir zu suchen? Schleppt Briefe hinauf, eh? Denkt nachher Wunder, was er gethan hat; aber wart' – Du kommst mir wieder.« »Capitain! Briefe für mich angekommen?« fragte ein junger schlanker Mann, dem Erzürnten lachend dabei auf die Schulter klopfend. »Geht in die Hölle oder zum Quacksalber hinauf!« fluchte dieser weiter, ohne sich nur die Mühe zu nehmen, herumzuschauen, wer ihn angeredet habe. »Hallo! was ist wieder im Wind?« lachte der junge Pflanzer – »die Kessel voll zum Zerplatzen? Dampf genug, um drei gewöhnliche Boote in die Luft zu blasen! immer noch der Alte. Ihr Franzosen seid doch sonderbares Volk; gleich Feuer und Flamme, wie Dupont's Schießpulver!« »Der Postmeister hat die Briefe mit hinaufgenommen,« antwortete der Buchhalter statt des Capitains. »Dam him!« rief dieser und warf die Glasthür hinter sich in's Schloß, daß die Scheiben klirrten.”
Pale Horse, Pale Rider: The Short Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (Penguin Modern Classics Ser.)
by Katherine Porter Sarah ChurchwellFrom the gothic Old South to revolutionary Mexico, few writers have evoked such a multitude of worlds, both exterior and interior, as powerfully as Katherine Anne Porter. This collection gathers together the best of her Pulitzer Prize-winning short fiction, including 'Pale Horse, Pale Rider', where a young woman lies in a fever during the influenza epidemic, her childhood memories mingling with fears for her fiancé on his way to war, and 'Noon Wine', a haunting story of tragedy and scandal on a small dairy farm in Texas. In all of the compelling stories collected here, harsh and tragic truths are expressed in prose both brilliant and precise.
Charlotte's Web (PDF)
by E. B. White Garth WilliamsThe tale of how a little girl named Fern, with the help of a friendly spider, saved her pig Wilbur from the usual fate of nice fat little pigs.
A Good Day for Climbing Trees (PDF)
by Jaco Jacobs Kobus GeldenhuysTwo unlikely heroes inspire a whole town by fighting to save a tree. Sometimes, in the blink of an eye, you do something that changes your life forever. Like climbing a tree with a girl you don't know. Marnus is tired of feeling invisible, living in the shadow of his two brothers. His older brother is good at breaking swimming records and girls’ hearts. His younger brother is already a crafty entrepreneur who has tricked him into doing the dishes all summer. But when a girl called Leila turns up on their doorstep one morning with a petition, it’s the start of an unexpected adventure. And finally, Marnus gets the chance to be noticed...
The Ghost of Thomas Kempe (PDF)
by Penelope LivelyThe classic ghost story from Penelope Lively, one of the modern greats of British fiction for adults and children alike. James is fed up. His family has moved to a new cottage - with grounds that are great for excavations, and trees that are perfect for climbing – and stuff is happening. Stuff that is normally the kind of thing he does. And he's getting blamed for it. But it's not him who's writing strange things on shopping lists and fences. It's not him who smashes bottles and pours tea in the Vicar's lap. It's a ghost - honestly. Thomas Kempe the apothecary has returned and he wants James to be his apprentice. No one else believes in ghosts. It's up to James to get rid of him. Or he'll have no pocket money or pudding ever again. An iconic ghost story for children, The Ghost of Thomas Kempe is adored by thousands of children.
The Tear Thief (PDF)
by Carol Duffy Nicoletta Ceccoli Juliet StevensonThe mysterious fairy-like Tear Thief, visible only as a reflection in a puddle, creeps into town at night, listening for the sound of crying. She snatches a tear from a boy in the bathtub, many from a girl in a tantrum, and some from fighting twins. In her collecting sack, the tears are jewels, colored according to their cause, but the most valuable are the tears of real sadness. When the Tear Thief passes a girl crying these tears, the girl sees her in a puddle and asks about why she collects them. The Tear Thief tells her that the light of the moon is made of tears, but the most beautiful light comes from the tears of sadness. The girl is crying because she has lost her dog. When she finds it and goes home, she sees the beauty of the moonlight and remembers the Tear Thief. Ceccoli's acrylic paintings fill the double pages with visual poetry, quiet scenes of city streets and rooftops along with an infrequent room with crying child. The smoothness of the paintings, mainly with shades of blue backgrounds, creates a hush. There is a strange magic over the story, with possible meanings to ponder Magical, moving and memorable, this book offers an ideal way of talking to children about their feelings. Ages: 4-9 Colour illustrations.
Markheim, Jekyll And The Merry Men: Shorter Scottish Fiction (Canongate Classics #61)
by Robert Louis StevensonShorter Scottish Fiction. Introduced by Roderick Watson. Ever since its first appearance in 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde has proved itself to be a tale of undiminished power for readers all over the world. It remains one of the great masterpieces of psychological fiction and yet it is not alone in Stevenson’s work, for he had explored similar themes in several other stories too, all inextricably linked with his native country. This collection makes a strong case for the essentially Scottish origins of Stevenson’s best short fiction, derived as it is from Calvinism’s feeling for the immanence of evil, and driven by a sense of man’s darker, divided self which goes back to Hogg’s Justified Sinner. Thus it is that the story of the respectable Dr Jekyll, even in a London setting, has links that stretch back to the narrow wynds of Edinburgh and the bleak moors and shores of the North. In this company stories of possession, doubleness and terror such as ‘The Merry Men’, ‘The Body Snatcher’, ‘Markheim’, ‘Thrawn Janet’ and others, reveal more clearly than ever their Scottish roots, and that fascination with the uncanny which brought the creator of Mr Hyde screamingly awake one winter’s night over a hundred years ago.
Hannibal: The Novel (Carthage Trilogy Ser. #1)
by Ross LeckieA battle is like lust. The frenzy passes. Consequence remains. Hannibal is an epic vision of one of history’s greatest adventurers, the almost mythical man who most famously led his soldiers on elephants over the Alps. In Ross Leckie’s unforgettable re-creation of the Punic wars, it is Hannibal, the Carthaginian general, who narrates the story, and who is carried by his all-consuming ambition through profoundly bloody battles against the great Roman armies of early empire. In this breathtaking chronicle of love and hate, heroism and cruelty, one of humanity's greatest adventurers is brought to life, who learns through suffering that man is but a shadow of a dream.