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Publisher: Wizard's Wood Press
Drunken mermaids -- a clan cursed to become crows -- a magic book that even the Nameless Necromancer fears -- and more in this reprint collection of thirteen stories and a poem.
Herman Melville was born in New York City on 1st August 1819. At the age of 7 Melville contracted scarlet fever which permanently diminished his eyesight. Add this to a contemporary description of being "very backwards in speech and somewhat slow in comprehension" and his opportunities for success seemed limited. His father died when he was 12 leaving the family in very straitened times. 2 years later Melville took a job in a bank and followed up with a failed stint as a surveyor. He went to sea and travelled across to Liverpool and then to the Pacific on adventures which included a mutiny, being jailed and falling in love with a South Pacific beauty. He was also a figure of opposition to the coercion of native Hawaiians to the Christian religion. These experiences helped provide the novels ‘Typee’, ‘Omoo’, and ‘White-Jacket’. By 1851 his ambitious masterpiece, ‘Moby Dick’, was ready to be published. It never sold out its initial print run of 3,000 and Melville’s earnings on his masterpiece was a mere $556.37. In succeeding years his reputation waned, life was increasingly difficult. His family was growing and a stable income was essential. Melville took the advice of friends to try public lecturing, as others had, to increase his revenues. He embarked on three successful lecture tours, speaking on Roman statuary and sightseeing in Rome. In 1876 he was at last able to publish privately his 16,000 line epic poem ‘Clarel’. It was to no avail. The book had an initial printing of 350 copies, but sales failed miserably. It was only in late 1885 that Melville was at last able to retire after his wife inherited several legacies, enough to provide them with a reasonable income. Herman Melville, novelist, poet, short story writer and essayist, died at his home on 28th September 1891 from cardiovascular disease.Show book
The story of the Swedish detective’s beginnings, told in five gripping short mysteries: “An indispensable chapter to the saga” (Booklist Online). Here are the stories that trace, chronologically, Kurt Wallander’s growth from a rookie cop into a young father and then a middle-aged divorcé, illuminating how he became a first-rate detective and highlighting new facets of the character who “remains one of the most impressive and credible creations of crime fiction today” (The Guardian). “Wallander’s First Case” introduces us to the twenty-one-year-old patrolman on his first homicide case: his next-door neighbor, seemingly dead by his own hand. In “The Man with the Mask”, Wallander is a young father confronting an unexpected threat on Christmas Eve. On the brink of middle age, he is troubled by a distant wife as he unravels the poisoning of a lonely vacationer in “The Man on the Beach.” Newly separated in “The Death of the Photographer,” Wallander investigates the brutal murder—and the well-concealed secrets—of the local studio photographer. In the title story, he is a veteran detective uncovering unexpected connections between a downed mystery plane and the assassination of a pair of elderly sisters. Written from the unique perspective of an author looking back on the life of his own character, these mysteries are vintage Henning Mankell and essential reading for fans of the fiction series or the BBC program Wallander starring Kenneth Branagh. The Pyramid is a wonderful display of Mankell’s virtuosity powers as “the unrivalled master of Swedish crime fiction and one of the finest practitioners of the genre anywhere” (Toronto Star).Show book
“A powerful, irresistible collection” of short stories about outsiders by the bestselling author of Red Clocks (Publishers Weekly). A teenage boy discovers his blind mother making a pass at his new best friend. A woman works in a factory by day and tends to a menagerie of sick animals by night. An aspiring witch is disillusioned by her spiritual shortcomings. A girl from a town so small it doesn’t exist on any map runs away with a rock band—all the while attempting to chart her way back home. The odds stacked against them, the lovingly rendered outsiders in these stories find connectedness and redemption in the unlikeliest of circumstances. Even the most surreal and ethereal moments take on a surprising familiarity, and the darkest experiences are imbued with unexpected hope. To become engrossed in Zumas’s world is a strange and beautiful delight. “Zumas gives socially awkward, mysteriously gifted and self-destructive outcasts spellbinding, unflinching voice in her debut collection. The heroes in this collection are trapped; some are resigned to years of caregiving, many are institutionalized and nearly all haunt the fringes of normalcy (or disregard the normal altogether).” —Publishers Weekly “Attention unrequited lovers, sisters of suicidal brothers, children of the legally blind: you are not alone. Leni Zumas understands your quiet agony.” —Miranda July, author of No One Belongs Here More Than YouShow book
Left impoverished upon the death of her aunt, Emma Watson has no option but to be reunited with her estranged father and siblings. Initially delighted with her new life—including the fashionable society balls to which she now has access—Emma soon realizes that her family harbors many ill feelings, not least those springing from the sisters' hopes—and disappointments—in snaring a husband. So when the eligible and suitably rich Tom Musgrove begins to transfer his affections from her sister Margaret to Emma, the result can only be further sibling rivalry and unrest. A delightful, exquisitely drawn portrait of family life, The Watsons is Jane Austen at her storytelling best. Author of the masterpieces Pride and Prejudice and Emma, Jane Austen (1775–1817) is one of the most beloved novelists of all time.Show book
Wyatt can't help it: he screws things up, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose. But taking a shortcut home one day, he finds himself caught in the middle of a bizarre, dangerous situation, with one chance – maybe – to save a life.A HarperAudio production.Show book
A poor schoolteacher decides to spend the summer vacation at a remote country inn, where he falls gradually in love with not only the tavern's way of life, but also the landlord's daughter, the lovely Miss Fouracres. Meanwhile the landlord is sinking into drink and despair, driven by his obsession over an incident at a hotel he ran several years ago. An incident which now threatens to raise its ugly head again....Show book
