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Книги издательства «Wordsworth»
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«Marcel Proust (1871-1922) spent the last fourteen years of his life writing «la recherche du temps perdu». It is an intimate epic, an excavation of the self, and a comedy of manners by turns and all at once. Proust is the twentieth century's Dante, presenting us with a unique, unsettling picture of ourselves as jealous lovers and unmitigated snobs, frittering our lives away, with only the hope of art as a possible salvation. He offers us a form of redemption for a sober and secular age. Scott Moncrieff's delightful translation was for many years the only access to Proust in English. A labour of love that took him nearly as many years as Proust spent writing the original. Moncrieff's translation strives to capture the extraordinary blend of muscular analysis with poetic reverie that typifies Proust's style. It remains a justly famous classic of translation.» |
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Marcel Proust (1871-1922) spent the last fourteen years of his life writing la recherche du temps perdu. It is an intimate epic, an excavation of the self, and a comedy of manners by turns and all at once. Proust is the twentieth century's Dante, presenting us with a unique, unsettling picture of ourselves as jealous lovers and unmitigated snobs, frittering our lives away, with only the hope of art as a possible salvation. He offers us a form of redemption for a sober and secular age. Scott Moncrieff's delightful translation was for many years the only access to Proust in English. A labour of love that took him nearly as many years as Proust spent writing the original. Moncrieff's translation strives to capture the extraordinary blend of muscular analysis with poetic reverie that typifies Proust's style. It remains a justly famous classic of translation. |
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«Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) is one of the most important and innovative figures of the European Middle Ages. Writing his «Comedy» (the epithet «Divine» was added by later admirers) in exile from his native Florence, he aimed to address a world gone astray both morally and politically. At the same time, he sought to push back the restrictive rules which traditionally governed writing in the Italian vernacular, to produce a radically new and all-encompassing work. The «Comedy» tells of the journey of a character who is at one and the same time both Dante himself and Everyman through the three realms of the Christian afterlife: Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. He presents a vision of the afterlife which is strikingly original in its conception, with a complex architecture and a coherent structure. On this journey Dante’s protagonist – and his reader – meet characters who are variously noble, grotesque, beguiling, fearful, ridiculous, admirable, horrific and tender, and through them he is shown the consequences of sin, repentance and virtue, as he learns to avoid Hell and, through cleansing in Purgatory, to taste the joys of Heaven.» |
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Scotland has a notoriously rich and diverse cultural tradition when it comes to the supernatural. Many of her greatest writers from Sir Walter Scott and James Hogg to Robert Louis Stevenson and John Buchan have explored the country's unique folkloric heritage to spine-chilling effect. From Highlands to Lowlands, from blasted heath or remote glen to wretched hovel or austere castle, the very topography lends itself somehow to the strange and unexplainable. Leading off Edinburgh's colourful Royal Mile, which runs from the Palace of Holyrood to the gaunt castle on the rock, there are many narrow 'wynds' — passages ancient and mysterious. As soon as you leave the sunshine and enter these dark and reeking ways you know that you are in a city full of ghosts and spirits — unhappy souls condemned for ever to roam this antique city. Tormented spectres like them throng the pages of this disquieting collection. Lock your door, turn up the lights, put extra logs on the fire and as you start to read, utter a fervent prayer: From ghoulies and ghosties And long-leggety beasties And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us! If this plea fails to work and they choose to come for you, despair; there is no hope; there is no escape. In truth, dear reader, if you are of a nervous disposition and liable to fearings and fantasies we are not sure this book is entirely suitable for you. You have been warned. |
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«When fifteen-year-old orphan John Trenchard is banished by his Aunt Jane, he goes to live at the local inn with the mysterious Elzevir Block, whose son has been killed by Customs Officers. Unofficially adopted by Block, John comes to learn the reasons for the noises in the graveyard at night, of 'Blackbeard' Mohune's lost treasure and Elzevir Block's secret. This dashing tale of eighteenth-century Dorset smugglers will be enjoyed by all who love stories of derring-do written in the tradition of «Treasure Island».» |
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«Welcome to the breathtaking adventures of Sexton Blake! For the greater part of the 20th century, the countless escapades of super sleuth Sexton Blake kept millions of readers on the edge of their seats. Together with his faithful sidekick, the youthful Tinker, and his intelligent bloodhound, Pedro, he stood firm against an onslaught of crime and villainy, defeating his enemies with his extraordinary powers of deduction, iron fists and unyielding determination. This thrilling collection presents seven exploits from his ‘golden age’: «The Slave Market» In the dangerous depths of Africa, Blake races to the rescue of an old school friend! «A Football Mystery» Blake and Tinker join the England team to beat the cheating opposition! «The Man From Scotland Yard» Blake has his first encounter with the greatest super-villain he would ever meet! «The Law of the Sea» Blake goes down with the ship in his own version of the sinking of the Titanic! «The Brotherhood of the Yellow Beetle» Blake grapples with oriental cunning in the form of Prince Wu Ling! «A Case of Arson» A master crook is at work but Blake is on his trail! «The Black Eagle» A wronged man is out for vengeance. Can Blake stop him before it's too late? Sexton Blake, consulting detective!» |
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«I thought I saw a human face, about the most terrible my fancy could have called up, looking fixedly into the room. The face gazed towards the bed, and in the imperfect light looked like a livid mask, with chalky eyes’. Master of the ghost story genre M.R. James commented that the, ‘final terrific murder-scene and escape can hardly be forgotten’ by those who have read «Uncle Silas». Neither does the opening disappoint. As the November winds wail in ivied chimneys we are drawn into a Victorian Gothic atmosphere of menacing, sombre gloom and ebony shadows. Sheridan Le Fanu leaves us in no doubt that we are in for a feast of exciting drama, luring us into the intensely claustrophobic world of the nineteenth century sensational novel. Le Fanu is amongst the top-notch exponents of the creepy, the criminal and the oppressive. In this tale of the orphaned teenage heiress Maud Ruthyn, fearing for her life at the hands of her sinister uncle, he has created a rattling good plot with the depth of a social novel and the power of high romance.» |
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«Edgar Allan Poe received scant recognition for his efforts, until the publication of «The Raven» in 1845. The poem's popularity gave him a new visibility in literary circles. This title presents a collection of his tales and poems.» |
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«The Brothers Grimm rediscovered a host of fairy tales. Together with their well-known tales of «Rapunzel», «The Goose Girl», «Sleeping Beauty», «Hansel and Gretel» there are darker tales which deserve to be better known. This is a collection of their tales.» |
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Kafka’s final novel was written during 1922, when the tuberculosis that was to kill him was already at an advanced stage. Fragmentary and unfinished, it perhaps never could have been finished; perhaps the tensions between K., the Castle and the village, K.’s struggle for acceptance or recognition by the mysterious Castle authorities or by the people of the village, never will and never can be resolved. Like much of Kafka’s work, The Castle is enigmatic and polyvalent. Is it an allegory of the sprawling Austro-Hungarian Empire as it disintegrates into modern nation states, or a quasi-feudal system giving way to a new freedom for the subject? Is it the search by a central European Jew for acceptance and integration into a dominant culture? Is it a spiritual quest for grace or salvation, or an individual’s struggle between his sense of independence and his need for approval? Is K. is an opportunist, a victim, or an outsider battling against an elusive authority? Is the Castle a benign source of authority or a whimsical system of control? Like K., the reader is presented with conflicting perspectives that rehearse the existential dilemmas and uncertainties of literary modernity. |
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«What Katy Did at School and What Katy Did Next» continue the story of the high-spirited and rebellious American girl, Katy Carr, and her family, who first appeared in «What Katy Did». «What Katy Did at Schoo»l is a compelling tale of the intrigues of life at the New England girls’ boarding school which Katy attends. Her trials and adventures are all interwoven with a sense of fun and gently ironic good humour. «What Katy Did Next» describes a tour by Katy of Europe as she evolves from the child of earlier books into a spirited young woman, and brings to a satisfying close this delightful trilogy.» |
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«Count Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) is best known for «War and Peace» and «Anna Karenina», commonly regarded as amongst the greatest novels ever written. He also, however, wrote many masterly short stories, and this volume contains four of the longest and best in distinguished translations that have stood the test of time. In the early story 'Family Happiness', Tolstoy explores courtship and marriage from the point of view of a young wife. In 'The Kreutzer Sonata' he gives us a terrifying study of marital breakdown, in 'The Devil' a powerful depiction of the power of sexual temptation, and, in perhaps the finest of all, 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich', he portrays the long agony of a man gradually coming to terms with his own mortality.» |
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With a word of warning to those of nervous a disposition, Wordsworth presents this spellbinding collection of chilling Celtic tales of the macabre, all drawn from the rich and varied literary tradition of a culture long enchanted by things supernatural, 'a land where ghosts and ghost-seers are so common'. Featuring the imaginative writing of such towering masters of the genre as Sheridan Le Fanu, Bram Stoker, Patrick Kennedy, Thomas Crofton Croker and George Moore, this volume of ghoulish masterpieces from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is an encapsulation of the arcane lore, magical landscape and fantastic creativity of the Irish. Don't attempt to read these horrifying tales alone in an empty house. Your blood will run cold as the unreal becomes real and the impossible all too possible. Indelible images will possess your imagination and haunt your dreams. Make sure all the lights are on and the doors are bolted. |
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«This selection of Lawrence's work underlines the intensity and innovation that made him one of the most distinctive and important of twentieth-century writers. «Sons and Lovers» — semi-autobiographical, is a powerful exploration of family, class, sexuality and the suffocating relationships of a man with a demanding mother and two very different lovers. «Women in Love» — perhaps Lawrence's most mature novel, was met with disgust by the critics, seeing only a sorry tale of sexual depravity in the love of the sisters, Ursula and Gudrun, for Rupert and Gerald. «Lady Chatterley's Lover» — Lawrence's novel, written in poetic and sexually explicit language, deals with the passionate relationship between Lady Constance Chatterley and Oliver Mellors, her emotionally and physically crippled husband's forthright and powerfully masculine gamekeeper. A watershed in twentieth-century literary fiction, its sensational content has earned the novel an enduring readership and notoriety. Other stories featured in this volume include «The Captain's Dol»l, «The Fox», «The Ladybird», «St Mawr», «The Princess», «The Virgin and the Gypsy» and «The Escaped Cock».» |
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«'Nothing is so improbable as what is true' Of all the writers of ghost and horror stories, Ambrose Bierce is perhaps the most colourful. He was a dark, cynical and pessimistic soul who had a grim vision of fate and the unfairness of life, which he channelled into his fiction. And in his death, or rather his disappearance, he created a mystery as strange and unresolved as any that he penned himself. But more of that later. Ambrose Gwinett Bierce was born in a log cabin on 21st June 1842, in Horse Creek, Meigs County, Ohio, USA. He was the tenth of thirteen children, ten of whom survived infancy. His father, an unsuccessful farmer with an unseemly love of literature, had given all the Bierce children names beginning with 'A'. There was Abigail, the eldest; then Amelia, Ann, Addison, Aurelius etc. So oddness was a part of Bierce's life from the beginning. Poverty and religion of the extreme variety were the two chief influences on young Ambrose's childhood. He not only hated this period of his life, he also developed a deep hatred for his family and this is reflected in some of his stories which depict families preying on and murdering one another. For example the unforgettable opening sentence of «An Imperfect Conflagration» seems to sum up his bitter attitude: 'Early in 1872 I murdered my father — an act that made a deep impression on me at the time'.» |
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The Aylmer Vance stories date from the Edwardian period, and there are echoes in them of the Sherlock Holmes adventures which had proved so popular in the preceding decade. The friendship between Aylmer Vance and Dexter is not unlike that between Sherlock Holmes and Watson, and the two investigators approach the world of the supernatural in the same fearless and enquiring spirit in which Conan Doyle's heroes approach the world of crime. The parallel is not exact: Dexter, with his clairvoyant powers, is a more useful (and intelligent) ally than Watson, and Vance for the most part does not 'solve' mysteries the way Holmes does. What we get instead is a loosely-connected series of stories in which surprise is the major element, a world where not all ghosts are bad, where it is not always clear whether they are ghosts, and where being dead may for some be better than being alive. |
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«Wilde's works are suffused with his aestheticism, brilliant craftsmanship, legendary wit and, ultimately, his tragic muse. He wrote tender fairy stories for children employing all his grace, artistry and wit, of which the best-known is «The Happy Prince». Counterpoints to this were his novel «The Picture of Dorian Gray», which shocked and outraged many readers of his day, and his stories for adults which exhibited his fascination with the relations between serene art and decadent life. Wilde took London by storm with his plays, particularly his masterpiece «The Importance of Being Earnest». His essays — in particular «De Profundis» — and his «Ballad of Reading Gaol», both written after his release from prison, strikingly break the bounds of his usual expressive range. His other essays and poems are all included in this comprehensive collection of the works of one of the most exciting writers of the late nineteenth century.» |
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«Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814 – 1873) was one of the great masters of Victorian of mystery and horror fiction, and can be regarded as the father of the modern ghost story. «In a Glass Darkly» (1872), one of his most celebrated volumes, purports to be the casebook of Dr Hesselius, a pioneer psychologist. These five tales represent some of Le Fanu’s most accomplished work, which rises above the staid conventions of the age. Although drawing on Gothic conventions – the book features both ghosts and vampires – Le Fanu redefined the parameters of supernatural fiction. He had little interest in the crude depiction of other worldly phenomena in order to provide the reader with a pleasurable frisson of fear. Le Fanu concern rather lay in the examination of the results of supernatural experience on the psyche of his protagonist, in this he paved the way for the work of Henry James and M. R. James. This volume is an indispensable cornerstone of modern horror and remains one of the finest collections of unsettling fiction in the language.» |
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«Dorothy Kathleen Broster (1877-1950) is best known for her historical novels. But there is a darker side to her writing, glimpsed in her early poems — 'The Second of September 1792' is a fine example — and finding full expression in the stories she wrote after she had become a highly successful novelist. Sometimes — as in «The Window» or «The Pestering», or «All Soul's Day» — these are what we might call 'explainable' ghost stories: apparitions or hauntings whose origin is to be found in some violent or unjust action in the past. Other stories, «Couching at the Door» and «From the Abyss», have little or no explanation, even in supernatural terms. Add to these an elegant reworking of the «Persephone» myth, «The Taste of Pomegranates», the downright bloodthirsty «Clairvoyance», and the psychological studies, «The Promised Land» and «The Pavement» which so well merit the heading «Madness and Obsession», and you have a collection to disturb and unsettle the strongest nerves.» |
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«'I saw him take a different shape before my eyes. His loose draperies fell about him...and there issued out of them a monstrous creature of the beetle tribe...' From out of the dark and mystic Egypt come The Beetle, a creature of horror, 'born of neither God nor man', which can change its form at will. It is bent on revenge for a crime committed against the devotees of an ancient religion. At large in London, it pursues its victims without mercy and no one, it seems, is safe from its gruesome clutches. Richard Marsh's weird, compelling and highly original novel, which once outsold «Dracula», is both a horror masterpiece and a fin de siecle melodrama embracing the fears and concerns of late Victorian society. Long out of print, The Beetle is now available in this Wordsworth edition, ready to chill you to the marrow and give you nightmares.» |
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