Title search results
Showing 1 - 20 of 10675 items
Sanshiro
By Natsume Soseki. 2009
One of Soseki's most beloved works of fiction, the novel depicts the 23-year-old Sanshiro leaving the sleepy countryside for the…
first time in his life to experience the constantly moving 'real world' of Tokyo, its women and university. In the subtle tension between our appreciation of Soseki's lively humour and our awareness of Sanshiro's doomed innocence, the novel comes to life. Sanshiro is also penetrating social and cultural commentary.The Sandman (Penguin Little Black Classics)
By E.T.A. Hoffmann. 2012
"Strange man, how can you have eyes for sale? Eyes? Eyes?" 'The disturbing tale of a young man's obsession with…
the Sandman, stealer of eyes, which has inspired writers from Sigmund Freud to Neil Gaiman.One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.Salammbo
By Gustave Flaubert. 1977
In Iceland, the age of the Vikings is also known as the Saga Age. A unique body of medieval literature,…
the Sagas rank with the world’s great literary treasures – as epic as Homer, as deep in tragedy as Sophocles, as engagingly human as Shakespeare. Set around the turn of the last millennium, these stories depict with an astonishingly modern realism the lives and deeds of the Norse men and women who first settled in Iceland and of their descendants, who ventured farther west to Greenland and, ultimately, North America. Sailing as far from the archetypal heroic adventure as the long ships did from home, the Sagas are written with psychological intensity, peopled by characters with depth, and explore perennial human issues like love, hate, fate and freedom.The Saga of the Volsungs: The Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer
By Jesse Byock. 1990
The epic Viking Age stories that inspired J. R. R. Tolkien and Wagner's Ring cycleWritten in thirteenth-century Iceland but based…
on ancient Norse poetry cycles, The Saga of the Volsungs combines mythology, legend and sheer human drama. It tells of the cursed treasure of the Rhine, a sword reforged and a magic ring of power, and at its heart are the heroic deeds of Sigurd the dragon slayer, who acquires magical knowledge from one of Odin's Valkyries. One of the great books of world literature, the saga is an unforgettable tale of princely jealousy, unrequited love, greed, vengeance and the downfall of a dynasty. Translated with an Introduction by Jesse L. ByockThe Saga of the People of Laxardal and Bolli Bollason's Tale
By Leifur Eiricksson. 1997
The action of the saga takes place at the end of the tenth century, at about the time Scandinavia was…
converting from worship of Norse gods to Christianity. A masterpiece of medieval literature, the story focuses on two families — that of Hoskuld, a prominent farmer with several sons, and that of Gudrun, the most beautiful woman ever born in Iceland.The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki
By Jesse Byock. 1998
Composed in medieval Iceland, Hrolf's Saga is one of the greatest of all mythic-legendary sagas, relating half-fantastical events that were…
said to have occurred in fifth-century Denmark. It tells of the exploits of King Hrolf and of his famous champions, including Bodvar Bjarki, the 'bear-warrior': a powerful figure whose might and bear-like nature are inspired by the same legendary heritage as Beowulf. Depicting a world of wizards, sorceresses and 'berserker' fighters - originally members of a cult of Odin - this is a compelling tale of ancient magic. A work of timeless power and beauty, it offers both a treasury of Icelandic prose and a masterful gathering of epic, cultic memory, traditional folk tale and myths from the Viking age and far earlier.The Saga of Grettir the Strong
By Örnólfur Thorsson. 2005
Composed at the end of the fourteenth century by an unknown author, The Saga of Grettir the Strong is one…
of the last great Icelandic sagas. It relates the tale of Grettir, an eleventh-century warrior struggling to hold on to the values of a heroic age becoming eclipsed by Christianity and a more pastoral lifestyle. Unable to settle into a community of farmers, Grettir becomes the aggressive scourge of both honest men and evil monsters - until, following a battle with the sinister ghost Glam, he is cursed to endure a life of tortured loneliness away from civilisation, fighting giants, trolls and berserks. A mesmerising combination of pagan ideals and Christian faith, this is a profoundly moving conclusion to the Golden Age of the saga writing.The Sad End of Policarpo Quaresma
By Lima Barreto. 2014
'The seed of madness exists in all of us and with no warning may attack, overpower, crush and bury us…
... ' Policarpo Quaresma - fastidious civil servant, dedicated patriot, self-styled visionary - is a defender of all things Brazilian, full of schemes to improve his beloved homeland. Yet somehow each of his ventures, whether it is petitioning for Brazil's national language to be changed, buying a farm to prove the richness and fertility of the land, or offering support to government forces as they suppress a military revolt - results in ridicule and disaster. Quixotic and hapless, Quaresma's dreams will eventually be his undoing. Funny, despairing, moving and absurd, Lima Barreto's masterpiece shows a man and a country caught in the violent clash between illusion and reality, hope and decline, sanity and madness.Ruth
By Elizabeth Gaskell. 2004
Ruth Hilton is an orphaned young seamstress who catches the eye of a gentleman, Henry Bellingham, who is captivated by…
her simplicity and beauty. When she loses her job and home, he offers her comfort and shelter, only to cruelly desert her soon after. Nearly dead with grief and shame, Ruth is offered the chance of a new life among people who give her love and respect, even though they are at first unaware of her secret - an illegitimate child. When Henry enters her life again, however, Ruth must make the impossible choice between social acceptance and personal pride. In writing Ruth, Elizabeth Gaskell daringly confronted prevailing views about sin and illegitimacy with her compassionate and honest portrait of a 'fallen woman'.Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida
By Robert Chandler. 2005
From the reign of the Tsars in the early 19th century to the collapse of the Soviet Union and beyond,…
the short story has long occupied a central place in Russian culture. Included are pieces from many of the acknowledged masters of Russian literature - including Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and Solzhenitsyn - alongside tales by long-suppressed figures such as the subversive Kryzhanowsky and the surrealist Shalamov. Whether written in reaction to the cruelty of the bourgeoisie, the bureaucracy of communism or the torture of the prison camps, they offer a wonderfully wide-ranging and exciting representation of one of the most vital and enduring forms of Russian literature.Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov
By Robert Chandler, Elizabeth Chandler, Sibelan Forrester, Anna Gunin and Olga Meerson, Olga Meerson. 2012
'She turned into a frog, into a lizard, into all kinds of other reptiles and then into a spindle'In these…
tales, young women go on long and difficult quests, wicked stepmothers turn children into geese and tsars ask dangerous riddles, with help or hindrance from magical dolls, cannibal witches, talking skulls, stolen wives, and brothers disguised as wise birds. Half the tales here are true oral tales, collected by folklorists during the last two centuries, while the others are reworkings of oral tales by four great Russian writers: Alexander Pushkin, Nadezhda Teffi, Pavel Bazhov and Andrey Platonov. In his introduction to these new translations, Robert Chandler writes about the primitive magic inherent in these tales and the taboos around them, while in the afterword, Sibelan Forrester discusses the witch Baba Yaga. This edition also includes an appendix, bibliography and notes. Translated by Robert Chandler and Elizabeth ChandlerWith Sibelan Forrester, Anna Gunin and Olga MeersonRussian Émigré Short Stories from Bunin to Yanovsky
By Bryan Karetnyk. 1931
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2018 READ RUSSIA PRIZE Imagine that many of Russia's greatest writers of the twentieth century were entirely…
unknown in the West, and only recently discovered in Russia itself. Strange as it may seem, it is in fact true, and their rediscovery is setting the literary world alight. Names such as Gaito Gazdanov and Vasily Yanovsky have excited great interest in Russia, and with stories of gambling, drug abuse, love, death, suicide, madness, espionage, glittering high society and the seedy underworld of Europe's capitals, their appeal is extremely broad. Many of these writers' works are only now being published in Russia for the first time, alongside those of leading contemporary authors - and to great critical acclaim. And we aren't just talking about two or three obscure authors; there are, quite literally, dozens of them.Rupert of Hentzau
By Anthony Hope. 2008
Rudolf Rassendyll, having heroically saved the kingdom of Ruritania and nobly given up the hand of the beautiful Princess Flavia,…
has returned to his normal life in England. But when, three years later, Flavia, now the unhappily married Queen of Ruritania, sends him a love letter, it is stolen by the exiled villain Rupert Hentzau. Rudolf’s former adversary has been waiting for the chance to have his revenge, and this provides the perfect opportunity to stir up trouble. Rudolf must return to the troubled kingdom to defeat Hentzau, where he is embroiled once more in a world of deception, intrigue, deadly swordfights and torn loyalties. With the stakes higher than ever, will he pay the ultimate price?Roxana: Or, The Fortunate Mistress
By Daniel Defoe. 2009
Beautiful, proud Roxana is terrified of being poor. When her foolish husband leaves her penniless with five children, she must…
choose between being a virtuous beggar or a rich whore. Embarking on a career as a courtesan and kept woman, the glamour of her new existence soon becomes too enticing and Roxana passes from man to man in order to maintain her lavish society parties, luxurious clothes and amassed wealth. But this life comes at a cost, and she is fatally torn between the sinful prosperity she has become used to and the respectability she craves. A vivid satire on a dissolute society, Roxana (1724) is a devastating and psychologically acute evocation of the ways in which vanity and ambition can corrupt the human soul.A Room of One's Own (Penguin Great Ideas)
By Virginia Woolf. 2004
Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other.…
They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are.Romola
By George Eliot. 2005
One of George Eliot's most ambitious and imaginative novels, Romola is set in Renaissance Florence during the turbulent years following…
the expulsion of the powerful Medici family during which the zealous religious reformer Savonarola rose to control the city. At its heart is Romola, the devoted daughter of a blind scholar, married to the clever but ultimately treacherous Tito whose duplicity in both love and politics threatens to destroy everything she values, and she must break away to find her own path in life. Described by Eliot as 'written with my best blood', the story of Romola's intellectual and spiritual awakening is a compelling portrayal of a Utopian heroine, played out against a turbulent historical backdrop.The Romance of Tristan: The Tale of Tristan's Madness
By Beroul. 1970
One of the earliest extant versions of the Tristan and Yseut story, Beroul's French manuscript of The Romance of Tristan…
dates back to the middle of the twelfth century. It recounts the legend of Tristan, nephew of King Mark of Cornwall, and the king's Irish wife Yseut, who fall passionately in love after mistakenly drinking a potion. Their illicit romance remains secret for many years, but the relentless suspicion of the king's barons and the fading effects of the magic draught eventually lead to tragedy for the lovers. While Beroul's work emphasizes the impulsive and often brutal behaviour of the characters, its sympathetic depiction of two people struggling against their destiny is one of the most powerful versions of this enduringly popular legend.A new translation and abridgement of one of the four classical Chinese novels - an epic story of warring factions…
in the era of China's Han dynastyPart historical and part legend, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms dramatizes the lives of feudal lords and their retainers, recounting their personal and military battles, intrigues, and struggles to achieve dominance for almost a hundred years. It is one of the most beloved works of East Asian literature, and the most famous historical novel in China.Roderick Hudson
By Henry James. 1986
When wealthy Rowland Mallet first sees a sculpture by Roderick Hudson, he is astounded and pronounces it to be a…
work of genius, and is equally entranced by the sculptor's beauty, spirit and charisma. Wishing to give the impoverished artist the opportunity to develop his talent, he takes Roderick from America to Rome, where he becomes the talk of the city. But Roderick soon loses his inspiration and Rowland loses control of his protégé, while both fall in love with women they cannot ever have. Can Roderick be saved from the path to self-destruction he seems set on? One of Henry James's first novels, Roderick Hudson (1875) is a compelling depiction of the artistic temperament and of a young man who, like Icarus, flies too close to the sun.