Editorial: Pocket Classic
Contains Active Table of Contents (HTML) The first table of contents (at the very beginning of the ebook) lists the titles of all novels included in this volume. By clicking on one of those titles you will be redirected to the beginning of that work, where you'll find a new TOC that lists all the chapters and sub-chapters of that specific work.
Arthur Llewelyn Jones was born in Caerleon, Monmouthshire on the 3rd March 1863. Machen came from a long line of clergymen, and when he was two, his father became vicar of a small parish about five miles north of Caerleon, and Machen was brought up at the rectory there. In his early years he received an excellent classical education, but family poverty ruled out university, and he was sent to London to sit exams to attend medical school but failed the exams. He did show literary promise with the publication of the poem ‘Eleusinia’ in 1821. But life in London was difficult and it was only in 1884 that he published again and was taken on to translate several French works which thereafter became the standard editions for many years. In 1887, his father died. That same year he married Amelia Hogg, a maverick music teacher with a passion for the theatre. He also began to receive legacies from Scottish relatives which allowed him to devote more time to writing. After publishing in literary magazines in 1894 he published his first book ‘The Great God Pan’. Its sexual and horrific content very much helped sales. Over the next decade or so he wrote some of his best work but was unable to find a publisher mainly due to the collapse of the decadent market over Oscar Wilde’s scandalous trial. In 1899, his wife died and during his long recovery he took up acting and travelled around the country as part of a travelling company. Three years later he was publishing again and had remarried. Re-publishing of earlier works helped anchor both his reputation and his income. By the time the Great War opened Europe’s wounds he returned to the public eye with ‘The Bowmen’ helped by the publicity around the ‘Angel of Mons’ episode. However, by the late 20’s new works had dried up and his back catalogue was no longer a source of regular income. In 1932 he received a Civil List pension of ₤100 per annum but other work was not forthcoming. His finances finally stabilised with a literary appeal in 1943 for his eightieth birthday and allowed him to live his remaining years in relative comfort. Arthur Machen died on 15th December 1947 in Beaconsfield. He was 84.Ver libro
Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted ‘Top Tens’ across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions – Why that story? Why that author? The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme. Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature. Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made. If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something. A new century dawns, one in which America would become pre-eminent as its industrial might and military power rose above all others. In literature too its authors tackled new forms and new ideas, they shied away from little, immersing themselves and their readers in the promise of a new Century. 1 - The Top 10 - The 1900's - The Americans - An Introduction 2 - The Great Good Place by Henry James 3 - Eve's Diary by Mark Twain 4 - To Build a Fire by Jack London 5 - Paul's Case by Willa Cather 6 - The Gift of the Magi by O Henry 7 - The Scapegoat by Paul Laurence Dunbar 8 - A Dark Brown Dog by Stephen Crane 9 - The Defense of Strikerville by Damon Runyon 10 - The Screaming Skull by F Marion Crawford 11 - Ariel's Triumph by Booth TarkingtonVer libro
I am one of the many admirers of Shakespeare's genius. I have even written a book about his unique ability to remain relevant to our contemporary concerns. The work was titled The Modernity of Shakespeare1 and it was very well received, and even earned a very laudatory foreword by W ole Soyinka, Nobel laureate in Literature, and professor of English literature. So it is no surprise that when I founded the New Library of Alexandria in Egypt, I also organized an annual Shakespeare event - usually organized on the 23rd of April if at all possible - in which many eminent literary critics participated. And as we focused on the plays rather than the long poems or the sonnets, some actors and occasionally cinematographers also participated. Students from the departments of English in many universities across Egypt, also invariably participated. At that annual event I usually presented a special lecture on Shakespeare. This went on for almost 15 years.Ver libro
Born in Paris, Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) was largely raised by his mother and his maternal grandparents after his father died when he was two. He attended the renowned École Normale Supérieure, where he studied psychology, philosophy, ethics, sociology, and physics. In 1929, he met Simone de Beauvoir, who went on to become a celebrated feminist writer and philosopher, with whom he had a lifelong intellectual and romantic relationship. After serving briefly in the French army during World War II and spending nine months as a prisoner of war, Sartre lived under the Occupation in Paris, where in 1943 he wrote his best-known philosophic work, Being and Nothingness, one of the foundational texts of existentialism. Following the war, and for the rest of his life, Sartre was deeply engaged in left-wing, anti-colonialist politics, while producing a prodigious number of plays, novels, philosophical works, and critical essays. With the popularization of existentialism in the 1960s, Sartre became a household name, and his celebrity (or notoriety) was heightened in 1964 when he declined the Nobel Prize in Literature. In Simply Sartre, Professor David Detmer tells the story of Sartre’s life and work, focusing on the contemporary relevance of his ideas—ideas that maintain their power to inspire, entertain, enlighten, and enrage. Uniquely, Prof. Detmer covers all periods of Sartre’s career and his many different kinds of works, providing the general reader with the opportunity to fully appreciate Sartre’s many contributions to intellectual and political thought. For anyone interested in one of the towering figures of the twentieth century or the development of a philosophy that lies at the heart of modern human experience, Simply Sartre is an indispensable biographical work.Ver libro
Taking the Risk is Hilary Bradt's engaging, insightful, amusing and sometimes alarming memoir about serendipitous adventures in travel and publishing. A travel industry trail-blazer who co-founded Bradt Guides, Hilary looks back on 50 years of escapades, surprises, mishaps, disasters. and success. From her first solo trip aged three (on a British beach), she revisits six decades of hitchhiking, feeding the travel habit by working abroad, and starting a successful travel publishing company where knowing nothing proved a surprising asset. Barely into her twenties, Hilary Bradt thumbed lifts around the Middle East for three months before spending four years working and travelling in the US. Between 1973 and 1976 Hilary explored, and worked in, South America and Africa with her then husband George, often journeying through literally uncharted territory in their quest to find new hiking routes. The discovery of an ancient trail to Machu Picchu unexpectedly inspired their first guidebook. From 1977 the pair wrote several backpacking guides, and set up Bradt Guides. This was just as well, because Hilary's career in occupational therapy ended when potential employers noticed that time taken off for travel exceeded periods of employment. During the 1980s, Bradt Guides grew and became successful - but that didn't stop Hilary travelling, including as a tour leader. Join Hilary as she relives in detail the rigours of travel before the days of the internet or mobile phones, including smuggling her husband across an international border and frequently getting arrested despite efforts to be responsible tourists. Learn how Hilary's lack of experience made the early days of publishing quite unlike those of any other successful publisher. Laugh (or cry) at Hilary's ability to court media disasters while seeking the limelight, including waving around condoms on BBC TV. Taking the Risk comprises the collected stories of an inveterate, intrepid traveller whose joyous exploration of the world has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people - anyone who has owned a Bradt Guide. A unique book from a unique individual, it will delight anyone who has ever travelled or ever wondered what goes into making the books we read.Ver libro
This is small part of introduction of the book: In the realm of spiritual leadership and global influence, few figures command as much reverence and admiration as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. Born in 1935 in the quaint town of Takster, Amdo, Tibet, his journey has been a tapestry woven with threads of profound wisdom, unwavering compassion, and a commitment to peace that has resonated far beyond the borders of his homeland. This biography seeks to unravel the layers of the Dalai Lama's life, providing a comprehensive exploration of the man behind the title. As we embark on this literary journey, we will traverse the significant chapters of his existence — from the early years of recognition as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama to his escape from the Chinese-occupied Tibet in 1959, which marked a pivotal turning point in his life. Beyond the geopolitical landscape, we will delve into the Dalai Lama's educational pursuits, shedding light on the intellectual foundations that shaped his spiritual outlook. His commitment to learning and deepening his understanding of Buddhist philosophy has been a cornerstone of his leadership, paving the way for a spiritual journey that transcends the boundaries of tradition and embraces the universality of human experience.Ver libro
