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The magnificent attitude of not giving a damn ... and to seek the moment's happiness as fervently and persistently as possible. It's New York during the Jazz Age. Anthony and Gloria Patch are a rich and beautiful couple who drink and dance away their days in glorious decadence as they wait for an inheritance to materialize. Gloria has always relied on her beauty to get her everything she wants (including a wealthy husband), while Anthony is Harvard-educated with a yen for the finer things of life. Blinded by the notion of future wealth, they push the boat out further and further until they find themselves far from shore and baling fast. This is a brilliant study of a marriage that begins to reel under the effects of too much booze as the doomed couple fall into indolence and out of love. First published in 1922, The Beautiful and Damned drew heavily on F. Scott Fitzgerald's own life and helped established his reputation as one of the great American novelists.
In a compelling novel that is so strongly grounded in reality it is hard to believe it is fiction, Martha Griffith Browne tells the story of the female slave Ann in the style of a traditional slave narrative. From its initial publication, readers have been entranced by the emotionally powerful narrative and many have believed it to be an authentic account. Browne's Autobiography of a Female Slave presented a masterful abolitionist narrative that strikes home even today.
H.P. Lovecraft was a pioneer of modern horror fiction, his uncanny tales melding haunting gothic prose with colossal fantasy. This collection brings together 25 of his 'Dream Cycle' tales which take place in an alternate dimension that is visited through dreams. These include: * Polaris * The Case of Charles Dexter Ward * The Color Out of Space * The Outsider * The Cats of Ulthar Lovecraft has inspired countless horror and science fiction writers, including Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and China Mieville, and his storytelling remains enthralling, vivid and terrifying.
H.P. Lovecraft marries creeping horror and colossal fantasy in his gothic tales. These brilliant narratives show humanity confronted with ineffable creatures and grim geographies, as individuals lift the veil to discover hidden realities. This collection brings together 11 of Lovecraft's short stories, including 'Call of the Cthulhu', 'The History of the Necronomicon' and 'Rats in the Walls', where we encounter ancient and cosmic terrors. The mythologies and landscapes in these tales have inspired countless tales and remain true classics of American literature.
In one of the earliest works of science fiction, H. G. Wells brings to life the joys of space travel and humanity's boundless curiosity. When penniless businessman Mr Bedford moves to Kent in the hopes of writing a play, he meets mad scientist Mr Cavor who is developing an anti-gravity metal. One man seeking his fortune and the other scientific discovery, this unlikely pair journey to the moon using Mr Cavor's new invention. But what creatures lurk beneath its cratered surface? The First Men in the Moon is a swashbuckling adventure about the discovery of extra-terrestrial life. However, undercutting this action is a poignant exploration of ethics in the face of scientific progress. Wells is a master science fiction writer and his works have influenced the genre for more than a century.
Could it be possible? This old saint in the forest hath not yet heard of it, that God is dead! The ancient Persian prophet Zarathustra descends from a life of solitude on the mountain to announce to the world that God has been supplanted by the Superman , the divine in human form. In one of the most radical and influential works of modern philosophy, Friedrich Nietzsche lays out the new standards of morality after the death of God . Frequently misrepresented (and hijacked to dangerous purpose by Nazi intellectuals), Thus Spake Zarathustra is a work of profound brilliance and poetic mastery which still provides meaning in today's complex and changing world.
In 1271 Marco Polo set out on a journey to China to meet the Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan. He returned with stories that would take a lifetime to tell. Featuring exotic creatures, strange customs, extraordinary legends, and political intrigues, The Travels of Marco Polo reveals the fantastical treasures of the East in the words of the legendary medieval explorer. Conjuring up a forgotten world filled with mystery where wonder lurks around every corner, Marco Polo tells his tale with extraordinary clarity and energy.
For a time I believed that mankind had been swept out of existence, and that I stood there alone, the last man left alive. In this thrilling tale of alien invasion, H. G. Wells rewrites the science fiction genre. Following the travails of an unnamed narrator, The War of the Worlds reveals the true terror of life under an implacable and enigmatic foe. Armed with terrifying killing machines, black smoke and Heat-Rays, the Martians arrive in London and quickly subdue the resistance put up by British forces. Faced with extraordinary odds and a world changed beyond all recognition, nothing less than the survival of the human race is at stake. This gorgeous edition with its modern graphic cover design is the perfect collectable for any book lover.
It is the turn of the 20th century and Russia is changing rapidly - the serfs have been emancipated, a new middle class is arising and the aristocracy is struggling to come to terms with their reduced role in society. Seeking to preserve a life of leisure and luxury, Madame Ranevsky must consider selling her estate, including her family's precious cherry orchard. But when faced with these hard decisions, Ranevsky remains in denial. Charting a period of tumultuous change, Chekhov creates a cast of tangible and unforgettable characters whose destiny is both tragic and inevitable. A touching masterpiece, The Cherry Orchard was Chekhov's final play and perhaps his best.
'In the end, out of nothing at all, an enormous fabric of guilt will be conjured up.' One morning Josef K. is arrested for a crime he did not commit. In fact, he is never even told the nature of the offense. His life is thrown into turmoil as he becomes enmeshed in a struggle to prove his innocence. As the confounding case unfolds, K. is ultimately powerless - battling against a remote and uncaring bureaucracy. Due to its posthumous publication, The Trial's original text is largely unedited. In this new translation, Isabel Tucker emends certain details while retaining the enigmatic and surreal style which marks Kafka's brilliance. Filled with psychological tension and disconcerting parallels with the modern world, The Trial is a dystopian masterpiece by one of the greatest writers in the German-language.
A woman receives two severed ears in a cardboard box, a government-worker is found dead on the London Underground, and two men go insane in a Cornish cottage. In His Last Bow, the world's favourite eccentric sleuth investigates a series of compelling mysteries. Taking on dastardly villains in thrilling adventures, Sherlock Holmes and his partner John Watson leave no stone unturned as they seek to unravel their opponents' despicable plots. The concluding story in this collection presents the iconic detective's final adventure. Set during World War I, Holmes' cosy retirement is interrupted by a call to investigate a potential German spy. It also includes a fantastic epilogue on his life that brings closure to one of literature's most brilliant characters.
I thought life was going to be a brilliant comedy, and you were to be one of the many graceful figures in it. While imprisoned in 1895-7 for gross indecency , the brilliant poet and playwright Oscar Wilde wrote a long, impassioned letter to his estranged young lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. Later published as De Profundis, Wilde's letter describes the unbearable pains and blissful pleasures of his love, as well as his views on art, Christianity, and incarceration. Heavily abridged in most editions, De Profundis is here reproduced in full. This work is a telling insight into this charismatic and sensitive author's life and times.
It was a squid of colossal dimensions ... its arms stretched a distance twice the length of its body and were writhing like the serpentine head of the furies . Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is an epic adventure story from the 'Father of Science Fiction', Jules Verne. On an expedition to hunt down a sea monster, Professor Arronax and his companions instead encounter the eccentric and ruthless Captain Nemo and his marvellous submarine. Held captive in the Nautilus and drawn into Captain Nemo's mission of revenge, they travel across the ocean - from the submerged city of Atlantis, to the coral reefs of the Red Sea and the hazardous waters of the Antarctic. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is one of the greatest tales of the imagination ever and provides an unmissable adventure for every reader.
I grew convinc'd that truth, sincerity, and integrity in dealings between man and man were of the utmost importance to the felicity of life. In this fascinating account of the life of one of America's greatest statesmen, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin describes this Founding Father's rise from his humble beginnings in Philadelphia to his role at the centre of international politics. A famous polymath and inventor, Franklin was a major force in the American Enlightenment of the late 18th century. His learned contemplations on religion, philosophy, virtue, and society are as relevant today as they were during his own time.
The progressive development of man is vitally dependent on invention. Visionary, pioneer, and eccentric genius, Nikola Tesla was the quintessential scientist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Two of his creations, the induction motor and the Tesla coil, underpin the technology of the modern world. First published as six articles in the Electrical Experimenter magazine, My Inventions tells the story of Tesla's life, from his humble beginnings in Croatia to his migration to the United States, and describes his revolutionary feats of invention and pivotal breakthroughs in the world of engineering. This book takes you on an inspirational journey into one of the world's greatest and most unconventional minds.
On the bleak streets of Dublin, a young boy grieves over the death of an irreligious priest, a woman elopes with her lover, and a professor considers the nature of death: these are some of the unfortunate denizens of James Joyce's imagination. This powerful collection of short stories from one of Ireland's greatest writers includes such brilliant tales as 'Araby', 'The Sisters' and 'The Dead'. Gracefully written and born of deeply personal experiences, the stories in this collection are often bleak and troubling. Together they provide an unflinching portrait of the city, as Joyce lays out the brutal realities of Irish life on the eve of independence. A controversial and genre-defying depiction of the everyday, Dubliners is an essential read from one of Ireland's most celebrated literary figures.
The legal subordination of one sex to the other is wrong itself, and now one of the chief hindrances to human improvement. In this powerful and revolutionary argument for the equality of the sexes, John Stuart Mill accuses society of wasting the potential of an entire sex. From his vantage point in 19th-century England, he observes that historically women have been treated little better than slaves. Mill discusses marriage, education, and law as the chief obstacles to the progress of humanity. Eloquently written and passionately argued, The Subjection of Women was a clarion call to progressives everywhere as Mill set out a path toward a more equal society.
Maxim Gorky's short stories provide a candid and unflinching portrayal of life among the downtrodden of Russian society. Drawing on experiences from the author's own early life, which was characterised by poverty and abuse, his tales feature resourceful thieves, delinquent tramps, and browbeaten workers. These stunning, thought-provoking short stories helped forge Gorky's reputation as a major proponent of literary socialist realism. This brilliant collection includes the classic tales, The Outcasts, Makar Chudra, Twenty-Six and One, At the Salt Marsh, Chelkash and Song of the Falcon.
