Other books that might interest you

• 

  Llon a Lleddf a Storiau Eraill

  Sara Maria Saunders

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Llon a Lleddf a Storïau Eraill (Happy and Sad and Other Stories), a selection of the short stories of Sara Maria Saunders (S.M.S.; 1864-1939). All the stories turn around the inhabitants of the imaginary villages of Llanestyn and Pentre Alun and also draw on the religious revivals in Llangeitho and its environs during 1858-9 and 1904-5. S.M.S., like her fictional characters, was the product of the 'seiat' (prayer meeting) and so her characters are perfectly equipped to discuss their faith and religious experiences in Biblical and psychological terms, and always to the rhythms of their rich Cardiganshire dialect. S.M.S. portrayed her characters with as much humour as tenderness, thus creating a literary community that appealed to an audience of her contemporaries. Indeed, Si ôn the Cobbler and Benja Jones the Tailor were familiar names on religious hearths in Wales, and readers eagerly anticipated their latest antics - despite the opinion of many Methodists that reading fiction was a sin! In her stories S.M.S. not only matures as a committed evangelical, but as a feminist writer in the age of the 'New Woman'. She broke new ground with her portrayal of women who were strong, responsible, and intelligent, and who kept a beady eye on the spiritual condition of chapelgoers and the wider community. The constant refrain of her fiction are the blessings that spring from prayer, freely available to the rural poor of both sexes in Cardiganshire. Theses stories will appeal to those who remember Sunday School and chapel as well as those who still attend religious services.

  Show book

• 

  Million Dollar Baby - Stories...

  F.X. Toole

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  F. X. Toole knew boxing. Between bouts, he wrote, and two years before his death he published this collection of stories, giving readers an unprecedented look at the gritty life around the ring. He tells of a cutman with a sweet tooth, young fighters with dreams of celebrity, and a talented boxer who goes to Atlantic City for his biggest bout, only to be humiliated by the prejudices of a callous promoter. In "Million $$$ Baby," the inspiration for the Oscar-winning Clint Eastwood film, an aged trainer takes on a female fighter, guiding her through disappointment, pain, and tragedy. And in "Rope Burns," Toole realizes his epic vision, showing that even the purest fighter can succumb to the pressures of the world outside the sport. Throughout these stories, boxing's violence is redeemed by the respect these men and women share, as they strap on gloves and prepare their bodies for the ultimate test.

  Show book

• 

  Soulcatcher - And Other Stories

  Charles Johnson

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Short stories inspired by the history of slavery in America, by the National Book Award–winning author of Middle Passage. Nothing has had as profound an effect on American life as slavery. For blacks and whites alike, the experience has left us with a conflicted and contradictory history. Now, famed novelist Charles Johnson, whose Middle Passage won the National Book Award, presents a dozen tales of the effects and experience of slavery, each based on historical fact, and each about those Africans who arrived on our shores in shackles. From Martha Washington’s management of her slaves, bequeathed to her at the death of the first president, to a boy chained in the bowels of a ship plying the infamous passage from Africa to the South laden with human cargo, from a lynching in Indiana to a hunter of escaped slaves searching the Boston market for his quarry, from an early Quaker meeting exploring resettlement in Africa to the day after Emancipation—the voices, terrors, and savagery of slavery come vividly and unforgettably to life. “[These] highly detailed short historical fictions bring to life this most shameful period in our nation’s history.” —The New York Times Book Review

  Show book

• 

  A Newspaper Story

  O. Henry

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  O. Henry was the pen name of William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), an American writer of outstanding short stories known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization, and surprise endings.'A Newspaper Story' is an ingenious tale about a lost newspaper blowing through the streets of New York. Each passer-by who comes into contact with any part of it is personally impacted by one of the stories in the paper - but not in the way one would expect.

  Show book

• 

  Almost Redemption - Inspired...

  Vicky Wall

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  A collection of engaging and entertaining stories that give Supreme Court rulings a spiritual and religious twist.   The progressive Court has pushed religion out of the marketplace of ideas and traditions to protect small groups of citizens who take offense at religious traditions. These protected classes now define a new American tradition that emphasizes sexual freedoms and that runs counter to the Constitution. By creating laws that appear to enhance the lives of women and men, the judiciary has instead created a spiritual vacuum.  Almost Redemption provides readers with compelling stories that are crafted from actual, historically authentic circumstances and that will leave them captivated and engaged. These fictional stories are based on real-life events and are written by an author who knows both the law and literature.

  Show book

• 

  Self-Help

  W. W. Jacobs

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  W. W. Jacobs was best known for his humorous tales of sailors, often related by his most popular and enduring character: the night-watchman on the wharf in Wapping, recounting the preposterous adventures of his acquaintances Ginger Dick, Sam Small, and Peter Russet. These three characters, pockets full after a long voyage, would take lodgings together determined to enjoy a long spell ashore; but the crafty inhabitants of dockland London would soon relieve them of their funds, assisted by the sailors' own fecklessness and credulity.In this story, Sam Small meets a man in a pub who claims to be a detective in need of a sailor to help him catch a pickpocket. Ginger Dick and Peter Russet point out that the whole plot is a set-up which will result in Sam being robbed himself. Sam refuses to listen to them, so Ginger and Peter decide to take matters into their own hands...

  Show book