Vanitas: Polite Stories - Enriched edition

Vernon Lee

Maison d'édition: DigiCat

Synopsis

In 'Vanitas: Polite Stories', Vernon Lee weaves a tapestry of intricate narratives that explore the ephemeral nature of beauty, art, and existence. Through a collection of tales rich in emotional resonance and aesthetic contemplation, Lee employs a lyrical, almost decadent prose style that invites readers into a world of refined sensibilities and philosophical musings. Set against the backdrop of the late 19th century—a time flourishing with artistic movements and existential inquiry—these stories engage with themes of mortality and the fleetingness of life, characteristic of the literary trend known as 'vanitas' in art and literature. Vernon Lee, the pseudonym of the British writer Violet Paget, was a pioneering figure in the exploration of aestheticism and the psychology of art. With a rich educational background in philosophy and literature, Lee's personal experiences and travels across Europe profoundly influenced her perspective, infusing her work with a deep appreciation for culture and the human experience. Her unique voice often bridges the gap between the supernatural and the psychological, making her insights into the human condition compelling and relevant. 'Vanitas: Polite Stories' stands as an essential addition to the libraries of readers engaged with fin-de-siècle literature, art history, and those who appreciate intricate storytelling. With its blend of elegance and profundity, this collection promises to captivate and provoke thought, inviting readers to reflect on the transient beauty of life and art.

In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience:
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.

Disponible depuis: 01/08/2022.

Longueur d'impression: 142 pages.

D'autres livres qui pourraient vous intéresser

Have Mercy On Us

Lisa Cupolo

Each of the ten stories in Have Mercy on Us is an illuminating window into a human life. In the way of all the best fiction, these stories enlarge our understanding of what it means to be alive, with characters who leap off the page. In this award-winning collection, the people are varied in age, race, and origin. An old man travels to a village in Kenya in an attempt to bring his estranged son home; against her mother’s wishes, a young woman attends the funeral of the father she never met, hoping to forge a relationship with her eight siblings; a woman long married to a renowned artist whose infidelity is nearly blatant, takes things into her own hands in a brilliantly realized moment of independence; in an imagined, loving portrait, the writer Zora Neale Hurston is shown near the end of her life in 1948, working as a maid in a motel in Ft. Pierce, Florida. Spare, romantic without being sentimental, these powerful stories are, above all, about love, and the impossible and remarkable ways we yearn for connection. Cupolo’s writing is rich with vision, insight and grace—cause for celebration.

Voir livre

Not In Time - A Visionary Story...

Beca Lewis

What if you could see the past — not as memory, but as something alive beneath your feet? 
Moon Castillo has hidden her impossible gift for thirty years. She sees what used to be, layered over what is — ancient waterways, vanished forests, people who walked this land centuries ago. She's told no one. She's built a careful, logical life to keep it buried. 
But when a failing dam, missing records, and a seventy-year-old cover-up threaten her town, the visions she's spent a lifetime denying become the only path to the truth. With the help of Estelle Lightfoot, a Mohican elder who has been waiting for someone exactly like her, Moon must do the one thing that terrifies her most — trust what she sees. 
The past isn't behind her. It's beneath her feet. 
Not in Time: A Visionary Story of Liquid Time is the fourth book in The Visible and The Invisible series.

Voir livre

The Short Stories of William...

William Hope Hodgson

William Hope Hodgson was born in Essex, England on November 15th, 1877.

Over his short career he produced a large body of work which explored and covered many genres. From horror, to science fiction, to stories on the sea, where he had spent much of his early life.

In 1899, at the age of 22, he opened W. H. Hodgson's School of Physical Culture, in Blackburn offering tailored exercise regimes for personal training.

Eventually the business shut down and he immersed himself in writing. An article in 1903 ‘Physical Culture versus Recreative Exercises’ led the way into fiction writing. In 1904 came his first short story ‘The Goddess of Death’. It was the beginning of an intensely creative period in his life.

He wrote novels, poetry and many, many short stories including series on the Sargasso Sea and Captain Gault.

One of his most memorable creations was his Carnacki, Supernatural Detective creation. This fused together his passion for sleuthing and interest in the Occult. It was a memorable success.

When war drew its shadow over Europe Hodgson received a commission as a Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery. In 1916 he was thrown from a horse and suffered a serious head injury; he received a mandatory discharge, and returned to writing.

Hodgson recovered sufficiently to re-enlist but at the Battle of Ypres in April 1918 he was killed by an artillery shell.
01 - William Hope Hodgson - A Short Story Collection - An Introduction
02 - Carnacki, The Ghost Finder - No1 - The Gateway of the Monster by William Hope Hodgson
03 - The Shamraken Homeward-Bounder by William Hope Hodgson
04 - The Voice in the Night by William Hope Hodgson

Voir livre

Clean Sweeps

Jonathan Maberry

In this short story from New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry, a reporter accompanies a special ops team on a dangerous mission against space pirates.

Voir livre

Write in Water - An Ann Kinnear...

Matty Dalrymple

A suspect suicide note. A dinghy washed up on the rocky Maine coast. An angry man determined to send his dead wife a message. When Ann Kinnear travels to an isolated island in Blue Hill Bay to convey that message, will she discover the private truth behind the public story of a death on the water? 
Men's evil manners live in brass; their virtues 
We write in water. 
—William Shakespeare, "Henry VIII" 
An Ann Kinnear Suspense Short from Matty Dalrymple, author of the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels and the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers.

Voir livre

Pelagia - Between the Stars and...

Steve Holloway

Former special forces agent turned particle physicist Ben Holden is on the run. 
The New Caliphate will stop at nothing to get their hands on his wife’s scientific research, which is believed to hold the key to unleashing chaos in the West and advancing their cause. 
But in reality it’s Ben’s biometrics that have the potential to unlock the information they so desperately need. Within the oceanic world of Pelagia, in the year 2066, Ben finds sanctuary among the sea settlers of the South Pacific Pelagic Territory, but his respite is short-lived.

Voir livre