LITMIR.BIZ

First Published in 1903, Erskine Childers’ “The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service”, is one of the earliest examples of an espionage novel and was immensely influential in the creation of this popular genre. Childers led an interesting and adventurous life, becoming an amateur sailor as a young man before enlisting in the military and serving in the Boer War and eventually the First World War. In “The Riddle of the Sands”, a gripping and thrilling story begins with a minor official in the Foreign Office, Carruthers, and his complete boredom with his occupation. Although his prospects are good, he feels an emptiness in his life, and this in large part encourages him to accept an invitation to go sailing with his friend Davies. Davies suspects German naval activity in the Baltic, and the two overcome numerous obstacles, both by suspicious German patrol boats and tricky inshore sailing, to discover information that threatens the lives and safety of their countrymen back home. Childers’s tale is a masterpiece of suspense and intrigue, as well as a patriotic tale of men willing to die for their country in a dangerous time of secret plots and burgeoning war. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

Подробнее

Catharine Maria Sedgwick was a prominent American novelist of the 19th century whose work did a great deal to bring women’s issues into the public sphere. Her progressive narratives, set against the Puritanical morally conservative values of her time, advocated for greater female equality. Set in 17th century New England, “Hope Leslie” tells the tale of a young New England Puritan woman and her dynamic experiences in recently founded America. The novel is noted for its groundbreaking and sympathetic treatment of Native Americans. Hope Leslie, the protagonist, works her way through romance and cultural conflict in this intense historical drama. The work has become central to scholarship of early gender studies and race relations as it examines with scrutiny the seeds of these cultural issues. “Hope Leslie” helped to alter the fabric of American literature, situated among the likes of Charles Brockden Brown and James Fenimore Cooper. The novel that made Catharine Maria Sedgwick famous, “Hope Leslie”, remains a classic of early American fiction.

Подробнее

French novelist and short story writer, Gustave Flaubert, was considered to be a master of style, obsessively devoted to finding the right word in every piece of literature he produced. As a child he expressed great imagination and took in all the stories he could from his nurse and neighbors, and in doing so, he prepared himself for a life consumed by literature and history. In addition to his “Madame Bovary”, his first published novel and the one considered to be his masterpiece, Flaubert is remembered for his great historical romance, “Salammbô”. This novel draws largely from Book I of Polybius’ “Histories”, and combines the history of the First Punic War and the mythology of ancient Carthage in a fashion that has never been equaled. Flaubert sealed his reputation with the publication of this sophisticated novel in 1862, as audiences were entranced with its lush and brilliantly detailed descriptions of a little-known, but fascinating, period of history. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

Подробнее

Honore de Balzac “Cousin Bette” is generally considered to be one of the writer’s most famous novels, his last great work before his death. It is a classic novel of revenge, passion, and vices. Along with her friend Valérie, the title character Bette strategizes for the overwhelming destruction of men in general and her cousin-in-law Baron Hector Hulot specifically. Hulot sacrifices his family and fortune on a series of extramarital seductions, and when he becomes interested in Valérie, she and Bette concoct a plan that will cost the Hulot family their happiness. Bette’s actions lead her entire family to self-destruct due to her insatiable rage and manipulative tactics. Balancing the immoral characters is the virtuous Adeline, Hulot’s wife. Her moral nature and forgiving personality give the dysfunctional family a touch of decency. The story examines the typical moralistic themes that are mirrored in Balzac’s earlier works. Also present are Balzac’s uncensored opinions and depictions of society, contrasted with the stereotypes of men and women during the high points of French culture during the 19th century. Critics also praise the novel for its realism and use of historical content and accuracy. This edition follows the translation of Ellen Marriage, pseudonymously as James Waring, and includes a biographical afterword.

Подробнее

D. H. Lawrence’s controversial 1915 novel “The Rainbow” is the story of three generations of the Brangwen family. While it may be considered tame by today’s standards, due to its frank treatment of human sexuality, “The Rainbow” was banned and Lawrence was prosecuted on an obscenity charge in England when it was first published. The novel follows the lives and loves of the Brangwen family in the Midlands of England, at the borders of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, from the 1840s to 1905. The story begins with Tom Brangwen, from a family of many sons, and his love for Lydia, a Polish refugee and widow. The novel then focuses on Will Brangwen, one of Tom’s nephews and his destructive marriage to Anna, Lydia’s daughter from her first marriage. The final, longest, and most sensational part of the book follows Will and Anna’s daughter, Ursula, and her search for fulfillment and freedom in the conformist society around her. Ursula is a truly modern woman, a passionate and sexual person who is struggling to find meaning and connection in the changing and increasingly urban landscape around her. Through richly personal characterizations, “The Rainbow” deals profoundly with the complex nature of human relations. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

Подробнее

Orlando, first published in 1928, is a high-spirited romp inspired by the tumultuous family history of Woolf's partner, the aristocratic poet and novelist Vita Sackville-West, it is arguably one of Woolf's most popular and accessible novels: a history of English literature in satiric form. The book describes the adventures of a poet who changes sex from man to woman and lives for centuries, meeting the key figures of English literary history. Considered a feminist classic, the book has been written about extensively by scholars of women's writing and gender and transgender studies.

Подробнее

Following the death of a friend, British poet and pets' mortician Dennis Barlow finds himself entering the artificial Hollywood paradise of the Whispering Glades Memorial Park. Within its golden gates, death, American-style, is wrapped up and sold like a package holiday. There, Dennis enters the fragile and bizarre world of Aimée, the naïve Californian corpse beautician, and Mr Joyboy, the master of the embalmer's art…<P> A dark and savage satire on the Anglo-American cultural divide, «The Loved One» depicts a world where love, reputation and death cost a very great deal.

Подробнее

"Black Mischief" was Evelyn Waugh's third novel, published in 1932. The novel chronicles the efforts of the English-educated Emperor Seth, assisted by a fellow Oxford graduate, Basil Seal, to modernize his Empire, the fictional African island of Azania, located in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Africa.<P> Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (1903–1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer of books. His most famous works include the early satires Decline and Fall (1928) and A Handful of Dust (1934); the novel Brideshead Revisited (1945); and the Second World War trilogy Sword of Honour (1952–61). Waugh is recognised as one of the great prose stylists of the English language in the 20th century.

Подробнее

Babbitt (1922), by Sinclair Lewis, is a satirical novel about American culture and society that critiques the vacuity of middle-class life and the social pressure toward conformity. The controversy provoked by Babbitt was influential in the decision to award the Nobel Prize in literature to Lewis in 1930.

Подробнее

Arrowsmith tells the story of bright and scientifically minded Martin Arrowsmith as he makes his way from a small town in the Midwest to the upper echelons of the scientific community. First published in 1925, it won the 1926 Pulitzer Prize (which Lewis declined).

Подробнее