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  A Chameleon - From their pens to...

  Anton Chekhov

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  Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born on 29th January 1860 in Taganrog, on the south coast of Russia.  
  His family life was difficult; his father was strict and over-bearing but his mother was a passionate story-teller, a subject Chekhov warmed to. As he later said; ‘our talents we got from our father, but our soul from our mother’.  
  At school Chekhov was distinctly average. At 16 his father mis-managed his finances and was declared bankrupt. His family fled to Moscow. Chekhov remained and eked out a living by various means, including writing and selling short sketches to newspapers, to finish his schooling. That completed and with a scholarship to Moscow University obtained he rejoined his family. 
  He was able to help support them by selling satirical sketches and vignettes of Russian lifestyles and gradually obtained further commissions. In 1884, he qualified as a physician and, although it earned him little, he often treated the poor for free, he was fond of saying ‘Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my mistress.’ 
  His own health was now an issue as he began to cough up blood, a symptom of tuberculosis.  Despite this his writing success enabled him to move the family into more comfortable accommodation.  
  Chekhov wrote over 500 short stories which included many, many classics including ‘The Kiss’ and ‘The Lady with a Dog’.  His collection ‘At Dusk’ won him the coveted Pushkin Prize when was only 26.  
  He was also a major playwright beginning with the huge success of ‘Ivanov’ in 1887.   
  In 1892 Chekhov bought a country estate north of Moscow. Here his medical skills and money helped the peasants tackle outbreaks of cholera and bouts of famine. He also built three schools, a fire station and a clinic.  It left him with less time for writing but the interactions with real people gained him detailed knowledge about the peasantry and their living conditions for his stories.  
  His most famous work, ‘The Seagull’ was received disastrously at its premiere in St Petersburg. It was later restaged in Moscow to highlight its psychological aspects and was a huge success. It led to ‘Uncle Vanya’, ‘The Three Sisters’ and ‘The Cherry Orchard’.  
  Chekhov suffered a major lung hemorrhage in 1897 while visiting Moscow. A formal diagnosis confirmed tuberculosis and the doctors ordered changes to his lifestyle.  
  Despite a dread of weddings the elusive literary bachelor quietly married the actress Olga Knipper, whom he had met at rehearsals for ‘The Seagull’, on 25th May 1901. 
  By May 1904 with his tuberculosis worsening and death imminent he set off for the German town of Badenweiler writing cheerful, witty letters to his family and assuring them his health was improving.  
  On 15th July 1904 Anton Chekhov died at Badenweiler.  He was 44.

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  The Masque of the Red Death

  Edgar Allen Poe

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  Pestilence and Squalor pervade every part of society. Yet, the mighty Prospero must have his party. Enjoy this tale on the folly of parties during an epidemic!

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  Hollow Needle The: Further...

  Maurice Leblanc

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  "The Hollow Needle: Further Adventures of Arsène Lupin," written by Maurice Leblanc, is a detective novel likely set in the early 20th century. The story revolves around the clever gentleman thief, Arsène Lupin, and a young amateur detective named Isidore Beautrelet, who becomes involved in a complex case featuring a robbery, a murder, and a series of clever deceptions. 
  The novel opens with a tense scene at the Château d'Ambrumésy, where two young women, Raymonde and Suzanne, are awakened by strange noises in the night. Their fears are confirmed when they encounter a mysterious man carrying something, leading to a violent struggle that results in a murder. 
  As the plot unfolds, the local gendarmes investigate the crime but quickly find themselves misled. Meanwhile, Beautrelet eagerly pursues his deductions, determined to solve the case before the infamous Arsène Lupin can escape detection. The initial chapters hint at a web of intrigue involving stolen art, treachery, and a race against time, all set against the backdrop of the pursuit of one of literature's most celebrated thieves.

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  Death Comes for the Archbishop

  Willa Cather

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  "The air would have helped him to die as it had helped him to live."
  
  In the mid-19th century, a young French priest, Jean Marie Latour, is sent to the vast, rugged wilderness of the New Mexico Territory as its first Apostolic Vicar. What follows is a quiet yet epic story of a life spent building a cathedral out of the red earth and desert rock. Accompanied by his devoted friend and vicar, Father Joseph Vaillant, Latour navigates a landscape of ancient traditions, solitary canyons, and the complex meeting of cultures.
  
  A Portrait of Spiritual Grace: Rather than a traditional plot-driven novel, Cather presents a series of vivid, tapestry-like vignettes. From the miraculous appearance of a hidden oasis to the encounter with the legendary scout Kit Carson, the novel explores the interior life of a man of culture and intellect as he adapts to the lonely beauty of the desert.
  
  The Heart of the Desert: Death Comes for the Archbishop is celebrated for its stunning prose, which captures the shifting colors of the mesa and the clarity of the Southwestern sky. It is a profound meditation on the passage of time, the resilience of faith, and the deep bonds of human companionship. Cather weaves together the history of Spanish explorers, Indigenous peoples, and French missionaries into a seamless, timeless narrative.
  
  
  Experience a world where the landscape is as alive as the characters. Purchase "Death Comes for the Archbishop" today and discover one of the most enduring voices in American literature.

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  The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth

  J. R. R. Tolkien

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  First ever audio edition of one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most important poetic dramas, that explores timely themes such as the nature of heroism and chivalry during war. 
  The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son was originally published in the 1953 edition of Essays and Studies. In December of that year, J.R.R. Tolkien took possession of a reel-to-reel tape recorder and, some time during the first few months of 1954, decided to record ‘the whole thing on tape’ as a way of ‘testing’ the performative quality of the dramatic dialogue between Tídwald and Torhthelm. 
  For the older Tídwald, Tolkien adopted a slower, deeper voice, perhaps akin to ‘the voice of Gandalf’ that W.H. Auden recalls hearing as an undergraduate, as noted in Humphrey Carpenter’s J.R.R. Tolkien, A Biography. For the younger, more idealistic Torhthelm, Tolkien used a lighter, more spirited tone to convey his youth. Christopher Tolkien notes that his father added sound effects, such as the ‘creaking and bumping of the waggon wheels, by moving a piece of furniture in his study’. 
  This recording, together with an introduction and the two accompanying essays read by Christopher Tolkien, was released on cassette tape in 1992, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of J.R.R. Tolkien and the 1001st anniversary of the Battle of Maldon. It was presented as a gift to the participants of the Tolkien Centenary Conference, Keble College, Oxford, and is now available as an audiobook for the first time. 
  This epic tale, penned by the Sunday Times bestselling author, J.R.R. Tolkien, is a testament to his mastery in the realm of fiction and mythology. The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son, a classic in its own right, is a riveting blend of European folklore and fantasy tales, brought to life through Tolkien's poetic prowess. 
  For fans of Andrzej Sapkowski (The Complete Witcher), and Robert Jordan (Towers Of Midnight), Frank Herbert (Dune), HL Fourie (The Writing of Middle Earth), Paul J Bennett (Servant of the Crown) 
  HarperCollins 2023

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  The Sun Also Rises

  Ernest Hemingway

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  This is a narration of the classic book, "The Sun Also Rises", by Ernest Hemingway.

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