Editorial: Diwan
Fountain of the Drowning is a multi-layered narrative set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a period when Egypt witnessed dramatic events, from the constructionof the Suez Canal to the British occuation, which brought about rapid modernaization and the Europeanization of social norms.
John Griffith Chaney was born on January 12th, 1876 in San Francisco. His father, William Chaney, was living with Flora Wellman when she became pregnant. Chaney insisted she have an abortion. Flora's response was to turn a gun on herself. Although her wounds were not severe the trauma made her temporarily deranged. In late 1876 his mother married John London and the young child was brought to live with them as they moved around the Bay area, eventually settling in Oakland where now, calling himself Jack, he completed grade school. Jack worked hard at several jobs, sometimes 12-18 hours a day, but his dream was university. He studied hard and borrowed the money to enrol in the summer of 1896 at the University of California in Berkeley. In 1897, at 21, Jack searched out newspaper accounts of his mother's suicide attempt and for the name of his biological father. He wrote to Chaney, then living in Chicago, who claimed he could not be Jack’s father because he was impotent and casually asserted that London's mother had relations with other men. Jack, devastated by the response, quit Berkeley and went to the Klondike. Other accounts suggest that his dire finances presented Jack with the excuse he needed to leave. In the Klondike Jack began to gather material for his writing but also accumulated many health problems, including scurvy, which together with hip and leg problems he would carry for the rest of his life. During the late 1890's Jack was regularly publishing short stories and by the turn of the century full blown novels. By 1904 Jack had married, fathered two children and was now in the process of divorcing. A stint as a reporter on the Russo-Japanese war of 1904 was equal amounts trouble and experience. But that experience was always put to good use in a continuing and remarkable output of work. In 1905 he married Charmian Kittredge who at last was a soul and companion who brought him some semblance of peace despite his advancing alcoholism and his incurable wanderlust. Twelve years later Jack had amassed both wealth and a literary reputation through such classics as ‘The Call of the Wild’, ‘White Fang’ and many others. He had a reputation as a social activist and was a tireless friend of the workers. Jack London died suffering from dysentery, late-stage alcoholism and uremia, aged only 40, on November 22nd 1916 at his property in Glen Elen in California. 01 - Jack London - A Short Story Collection - An Introduction 02 - To Build a Fire by Jack London 03 - A Wicked Woman by Jack London 04 - The Unparallelled Invasion by Jack London 05 - A Thousand Deaths by Jack LondonVer 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. The Emerald Isle is home to literary talent on a grand scale. And amongst their ranks are women of quite extraordinary ability who refuse to take second place to the men. Their voice is strong, their words beguiling, entrancing but often with a will of iron as they create works of character, of narrative and of quite sumptuous literature. Genius has many names. 1 - The Top 10 - The Irish Women - An Introduction 2 - A Rich Woman by Katharine Tynan 3 - An Irish Problem by Somerville and Ross 4 - Extradited by Isabella Valancy Crawford 5 - All Souls Eve by Dora Sigerson Shorter 6 - The Ghost at the Wrath by Rosa Mulholland 7 - An Outcast of the People by Bithia Mary Croker 8 - The Knitted Collar by Mary Anne Hoare 9 - The Last of Squire Ennismore by Charlotte Riddell 10 - The White Pigeon by Maria Edgeworth 11 - Cuchulain of Muirthemne. The Only Son of Aoife by Lady Augusta GregoryVer libro
Washington Square, written by Henry James and published in 1880, is a poignant exploration of love, family dynamics, and societal expectations set in mid-19th-century New York City. The novel centers on Catherine Sloper, the plain and introverted daughter of Dr. Austin Sloper, a wealthy and respected physician. Catherine's life is heavily influenced by her father's disapproval. Dr. Sloper, who lost his wife during childbirth, views Catherine as a disappointment; she lacks the beauty and brilliance he admired in her mother. This disappointment manifests in his dismissive treatment of her, stunting her emotional growth and leaving her socially awkward.The narrative takes a turn when Catherine meets Morris Townsend, a charming but financially unstable suitor at her cousin's engagement party. Despite her father's skepticism about Morris's intentions—believing him to be primarily interested in Catherine's inheritance—the two quickly fall in love and become engaged.Dr. Sloper vehemently opposes the match, fearing that Morris is a fortune hunter. In an attempt to separate them, he takes Catherine on an extended trip to Europe, hoping she will forget Morris.Ver libro
Gregory George Notso Normal, and five of his buds, after a couple of beers at the American Legion Post, decide to take on the woke, politically correct crowd. These woke, politically incorrect whippersnappers fill the World Wide Web with their truth. Which in most cases is not the truth at all. Notso and the five form COPs, Curmudgeonly Old Poops. They decide to put the real truth, COP-truth out there. That will set the whippersnappers straight. It doesn’t take long, though, before the COPs run into trouble with the American Legion Post Commander, the police (real cops), and their own spouses, The Hermudgeons. On the other side of the ledger, the Old Poops develop a required reading list for membership in COPs. The Hermudgeons are amazed to discover their Poop husbands will turn off Gunsmoke to read books. The Hers read the books, too, and are even more amazed.Ver libro
Don't miss the next gripping instalment in the emotional Nightingale Family series from Fenella J Miller. A new family, an old fear... After the death of his wife, Sarah Nightingale marries Dan Cooper and becomes mother to his three little boys. They move to a fine house of their own and Sarah has never been happier with a family to finally call her own with maybe a baby of her own on the way… When Alfie Nightingale has a dalliance with a young girl called Betty, he’s obliged to do the right thing by her when she learns she's with child. Now there will be another baby in the family. But when one disaster follows another, Sarah and Alfie have dreadful choices to make if they and their families are to survive. A gripping and authentic tale of courage during bleak times, perfect for fans of Lizzie Lane, Patricia McBride and Rosie Clarke. Praise for Fenella J. Miller: 'Yet again, Fenella Miller has thrilled me with another of her historical stories. She brings alive a variety of emotions and weaves in facts relating to the era, all of which keep me reading into the small hours.' Glynis Peters 'Curl up in a chair with Fenella J Miller's characters and lose yourself in another time and another place.' Lizzie Lane 'Engaging characters and setting which whisks you back to the home front of wartime Britain. A fabulous series!' Jean Fullerton 'Loved every word of this book. Fenella is a great author and leaves her books with you wanting more. I can’t wait to read the next one.' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review Please Note: This book was originally published as Better Bend Than Break.Ver libro
There is more than one way to fight a war...An extraordinary story of grit, love and loss, based on the true history and real experiences of Australian nurses in World War 1. 'Heart-achingly raw yet filled with the beauty of the human spirit, this novel is a triumph that will linger in the heart and psyche.' Karen Brooks, author of The Good Wife of Bath In 1915, as World War 1 rages in Europe and the numbers of dead and injured continue to grow, Australian nurse, Sister Cora Barker, leaves her home in Australia for England, determined to use her skills for King and country. When she arrives at Harefield House - donated to the Australian Army by its expatriate Australian owners - she helps transform it into a hospital that is also a little piece of home for recuperating Australian soldiers. As the months pass, her mission to save diggers lives becomes more urgent as the darkest months of the war see injured soldiers from the battlefields of France and Belgium flood into Harefield in the thousands. When the hospital sends out a desperate call for help, a quiet young seamstress from the village, Jessie Chester, steps up as a volunteer. At the hospital she meets Private Bert Mott, a recovering Australian soldier, but the looming threat of his return to the Front hangs over them. Could her first love be her first heartbreak? Cora's and Jessie's futures, their hearts and their lives hang in the balance as the never-ending wave of injured and dying soldiers threatens to overwhelm the hospital and the hopes of a nation rest on a knife edge. The nurses war is a war against despair and death, fought with science and love rather than mustard gas and fear - but can they possibly win it? And what will be the cost? HarperCollins Australia 2022Ver libro
