Publisher: Charles River Editors
Lewis Carroll was a prominent English writer and mathematician. Carroll is now most famous for writing Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass. On top of his great works of fantasy fiction, Carroll was influential for his use of word play and logic. This edition of A Tangled Tale includes a table of contents.
100 ONE SENTENCE STORIES: STORIES OF EVERYDAY LIFE, INSIGNIFICANT YET BEAUTIFUL, CAN BE JUST AS POWERFUL AS THE EPIC TALES Short stories offer a concentrated dose of quality literary experience. They provide quick, accessible insights into the lives of other people, whether they're fictional or real. They can also be read quickly and easily, which is why they're especially popular among busy people who want to get in as much reading as possible without sacrificing quality. In addition to being great for getting more information in less time (and thus fitting into our fast-paced lives), short stories can also get into someone's head in ways that longer works can't—a fact borne out by the many instances where writers have published collections of their own fictional works over time. In effect, these writers have created their own little universes through which we can walk and explore. And that is exactly what we offer here.Show book
James Thomson was born in Port Glasgow, Scotland on the 23rd November 1834. At the age of 8 his sister died and his father suffered a stroke. Thomson was now sent south to be raised in a London orphanage, the Royal Caledonian Asylum on Chalk near Holloway. Shortly thereafter he was given the news that his mother had also now died. It was a bleak beginning to the next chapters of his life and would undoubtedly go a long way towards shaping both his character and his future. Thomson trained as an army schoolmaster at the Royal Military Asylum in Chelsea and served in Ireland. After a decade of Army life he left the military and moved to London to find work as a clerk. What Thomson also possessed was a powerful and unique writing gift. Unfortunately, his own demons curtailed him from leaving a larger literary legacy. But what he did leave are works that can be difficult but very rewarding, allowing us to observe, to understand and make sense of themes and issues that we might at first shy away from. He also used the suffix B V (Bysshe – taken from Percy Bysshe Shelley and Novalis - the pseudonym of Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg) this was to avoid confusion with the earlier Scottish poet of the same name. For Thomson life always had a complication. Stories, essays and poems were submitted to various publications during his life and undoubtedly the creative high point of his life is ‘The City of Dreadful Night’. Within its bleak verse are the struggles of Thomson’s own chaotic tortures with depression, insomnia and alcoholism in the uncaring world that surrounded him. It was published to favourable reviews from the critics but by now Thomson’s health was rapidly declining. James Thomson B V died, in London, at the age of 47, on 3rd June 1882, from a broken blood vessel in his bowel.Show book
Award-winning author Stewart O'Nan earned a place on Granta's list of Best Young American Novelists and coauthored the New York Times best-seller Faithful with Stephen King. In The Odds, O'Nan crafts the moving, quirky tale of a couple desperately trying to save their marriage. Eagerly fleeing their Cleveland suburb, Art and Marion Fowler empty their bank account and head to Niagara Falls for a second honeymoon. By day they sightsee, but at night they play the odds at the roulette wheel in the hopes of fixing their flagging finances and marriage.Show book
Elinor Mordaunt (1872-1942) was an English author, writer and traveller. She lived extensively in Mauritius, Australia and the East Indies, which provided the inspiration and background for many of her works.'The Goldfish' is a strange tale set in the murky underworld of the London docklands. Dor, a raffish petty criminal in London, has a treasured goldfish in a bowl, which his lover, Rosa, reluctantly takes care of, although she is secretly insanely jealous of the attention he lavishes on the fish. The goldfish was given to Dor by a Chinese man who conducted a strange ceremony over the two of them and declared that Dor cannot die while the goldfish still lives. And truly it seems that Dor has a charmed life, for several incidents occur, each of which should have resulted in his death. And then Rosa suspects that Dor is seeing another woman...and her rage knows no bounds....Show book
What’s worse than finding a dead body? Finding a dead body with a backpack full of drugs. The tides carry all kinds of things into Biscayne National Park, and most of them are bad. Kurt Hunter, the special agent in charge, has found more than his share of bodies, but the latest sends him into the world of drug cartels to find the killer. In nature, when voids are created they are quickly filled. The same thing happens in drug cartels. When a Miami kingpin goes down, another steps in and the playing field shifts. Everything Kurt thought he knew about the drug trade is moot as he must battle not only a new adversary but a new and deadly blend of drugs. Kurt and his crew are faced with a decision: Is it more important to find the killer or to get the drugs off the street? Filled with exotic locations, fast boats, and shady characters, Backwater Connection will be sure to entertain. Pick up your copy now.Show book
The author of False Gods and winner of the National Medal of Arts offers eight stories looking into the lives of the wealthy—but troubled—elite. Set in various decades throughout twentieth century, this entertaining short story collection reveals the inner lives of America’s upper classes in the polished, elegant prose that is Louis Auchincloss’s signature. The intricate balance of power in a marriage, the artist’s hunger for inspiration, the responsibilities of privileged youth on the eve of war—Auchincloss casts a knowing yet sympathetic eye on such dilemmas as they play themselves out in the salons, clubs, boarding schools, Park Avenue drawing rooms, and summer hideaways of the moneyed classes. In “The Man of Good Will,” an aging Seth Middletown finds himself unable to save a beloved grandson torn apart by the sixties — a boy carefully protected from a family secret. Dick and Joyce Emmons, in “The Lotos Eaters,” are surprised to find their new marriage subtly undermined by their own enchanted existence on a paradisal Florida island. A theatrical grande dame and an admiring young actor are “Priestess and Acolyte” —until they realize that the passions that rule them are irreconcilable. Evident on every page of the eight stories contained here are Auchincloss’s superb ear for dialogue and his ability to suggest what lies beneath the surface of human relationships. Tales of Yesteryear will give Auchincloss’s loyal readers cause to rejoice, and newcomers a delightful introduction to one of America's most distinguished authors. Praise for Tales of Yesteryear “His word is as graceful and insightful as it’s ever been. These eight stories, with their familiar social types and elegant settings, are vintage Auchincloss: moral tales that resonate with the history of our times, albeit from the top down . . . . Auchincloss belongs among the masters of American short fiction, as this volume demonstrates.” —Kirkus Reviews “Auchincloss’s keen social observation, pitch-perfect dialogue and gift for dramatic confrontation are as effective as ever.” —Publishers WeeklyShow book
