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By Jacqueline Simpson, Jennifer Westwood. 2008
Shiver at the story of the malevolent apparition of 50 Berkeley Square no one has survived seeing. Listen for the…
tapping cane, when Jeremy Bentham’s mummified body walks through the corridors of University College. Watch out for the Roman centurion who still patrols the causeway linking Mersea Island to Essex. Shudder at the ghosts of kings and queens that keep returning to their old home at Windsor. Beware the black dog of Shap Fell: a sighting presages fatal accidents. England’s history echoes with stories of unquiet spirits and hauntings, of headless highwaymen and grey ladies, of premonitions of death and indelible blood-stains. Here, county by county and place by place, Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson gather together all the most interesting supernatural tales from The Lore of the Land. From a ghostly army marching across Cumbria to landlords’ appeals against rates (because no one will rent their haunted house), from the phantom hitchhiker of the Blackwall Tunnel to Francis Drake’s drum summoning him when England is in danger, these fascinating and unforgettable stories are part of our legendary past – and present.By Richard Stokes. 1976
The Penguin Book of English Song anthologizes the work of 100 English poets who have inspired a host of different…
composers (some English, some not) to write vocal music. Each of the chapters, arranged chronologically from Chaucer to Auden, opens with a precis of the poet's life, work and, often, approach to music. Richard Stokes's notes and commentaries constantly illuminate the language and themes of the poems and their settings in unexpected ways. An awareness of how Ben Jonson based his famous poem 'Drinke to me, onely, with thine eyes' on a Greek original, for example, increases our enjoyment of both the poem and the traditional song; knowledge of Thomas Hardy's relationships with women deepens our appreciation of songs by Ireland, Finzi, Britten and others; Charles Dibdin's 'Tom Bowling', played each year at the Last Night of the Proms, takes on a deeper resonance when we know that it was written after the death of his brother Tom, a sea captain struck by lightning in the Indian Ocean.Many composers of different nationalities appear, but the book remains quintessentially British, and includes pieces that have an established place in our national consciousness: 'Rule, Britannia' (James Thomson), 'Abide with me' (Henry Francis Lyte), 'Auld lang syne' (Robert Burns), 'Jerusalem' (William Blake), 'Once in royal David's city' (Mrs C. F. Alexander), and even 'Twinkle, twinkle, little star' (Jane Taylor). The poems are printed in their original versification and spelling, enabling us to trace the development of the English language as the book progresses.The volume presents a huge amount of information about English Song that will enlighten all those who delight in the fusion of words and music. The presence of minor as well as major poets and the unique principle of selection make The Penguin Book of English Song a highly original anthology of English verse.By Prof Stephen Regan, Andrew Motion. 2018
'A tremendous sentimental education of a book ... a literary adventure ... chosen with a scholarly discernment mixed with a…
wild-card flair ... fascinating and unignorable' Kate Kellaway, Observer (Poetry Book of the Month)'If you have any weakness at all for poetry, this book will draw you in, then devastate you' Susie Goldsbrough. The TimesElegy is among the world's oldest forms of literature. Born in Ancient Greece, practised by the Romans, revitalized by the poets of the Renaissance and continuing down to the present day, it speaks eloquently and affectingly of the experience of loss and the yearning for consolation. It gives shape and meaning to memories too painful to contemplate, and answers our desire to fix in words what would otherwise slip our grasp.In The Penguin Book of Elegy, Andrew Motion and Stephen Regan trace the history of this tradition, from its Classical roots in the work of Theocritus, Virgil and Ovid down to modern compositions exploring personal tragedy and collective grief by such celebrated voices of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries as Dylan Thomas, Elizabeth Bishop, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Denise Riley.The only comprehensive anthology of its kind in the English language, The Penguin Book of Elegy is a profound and moving compendium of the fundamentally human urges to remember and honour the dead, and to give comfort to those who survive them.By Jennifer March. 1958
The figures and events of classical myths underpin our culture and the constellations named after them fill the night sky.…
Whether it’s the raging Minotaur trapped in the Cretan labyrinth or the twelve labours of Hercules, Aphrodite’s birth from the waves or Zeus visiting Danae as a shower of gold, the mythology of Greece and Rome is full of unforgettable stories. All the stories of the Greek tragedies – Oedipus, Medea, Antigone – are there; all the events of the Trojan wars and of Odysseus and Aeneas’ epic journeys; the founding of Athens and of Rome… These are the strangest tales of love, war, betrayal and heroism ever told and, while brilliantly retelling them, this book shows how they echo through the works of much later writers from Chaucer and Shakespeare to Camus and Ted Hughes. Full of attractive illustrations and laid out in eighteen clear chapters (the titles include ‘Dangerous Women’ and ‘Heroes’), Dr Jennifer March has written a fascinating guide to the myths of classical civilization that is as readable as a novel.By Jack F Chandu. 1988
The science of using a pendulum or a divining road, also known as dowsing, consists of obtaining information from or…
through the subconscious, by subconsciously making a pendulum or divining rod move. From finding lost objects to making contact with your subconscious, once you have mastered the use of the pendulum you will find countless opportunities for its use.These step-by-step instructions and exercises are easy to follow. Most people find that they achieve results by the third day of practice. No special aptitude is required; anyone who is prepared to apply themselves seriously will learn how to use the pendulum successfully.By Henrik Ibsen. 1996
A new Penguin edition of Ibsen's two great verse plays, in masterful versions by one of our greatest living poets,…
Geoffrey Hill. These two powerful and contrasting verse dramas by Ibsen made his reputation as a playwright. The fantastical adventures of the irrepressible Peer Gynt - poet, idler, procrastinator, seducer - draw on Norwegian folklore to conjure up mountains, kidnappings, shipwrecks and trolls in an exuberant examination of truth and the self; while Brand, an unsparing vision of an idealistic priest who lives by his steely faith, explores free will and sacrifice. This volume brings together the poet Geoffrey Hill's acclaimed stage version of Brand with a new poetic rendering of Peer Gynt, published for the first time.This Penguin edition includes an interview with Geoffrey Hill about recreating Ibsen in English, an introduction by Janet Garton and editorial materials by Tore Rem.By Dante. 2007
Having plunged to the uttermost depths of Hell and climbed the Mount of Purgatory in parts one and two of…
the Divine Comedy, Dante ascends to Heaven in this third and final part, continuing his soul’s search for God, guided by his beloved Beatrice. As he progresses through the spheres of Paradise he grows in understanding, until he finally experiences divine love in the radiant presence of the deity. Examining eternal questions of faith, desire and enlightenment, Dante exercised all his learning and wit, wrath and tenderness in his creation of one of the greatest of all Christian allegories.By Visnu Sarma, Visnu Sarma. 1993
First recorded 1500 years ago, but taking its origins from a far earlier oral tradition, the Pancatantra is ascribed by…
legend to the celebrated, half-mythical teacher Visnu Sarma. Asked by a great king to awaken the dulled intelligence of his three idle sons, the aging Sarma is said to have composed the great work as a series of entertaining and edifying fables narrated by a wide range of humans and animals, and together intended to provide the young princes with vital guidance for life. Since first leaving India before AD 570, the Pancatantra has been widely translated and has influenced a cast number of works in India, the Arab world and Europe, including the Arabian Nights, the Canterbury Tales and the Fables of La Fontaine. Enduring and profound, it is among the earliest and most popular of all books of fables.By William Shakespeare. 1967
'If we wish to know the force of human genius we should read Shakespeare' William HazlittA soldier of great standing…
and a newly married man, Othello seems to be in an enviable position. And yet, when his supposed friend sows doubts in his mind about his wife's fidelity, he is gradually consumed by suspicion. In this tragedy of strange, ornate beauty and remarkable psychological power, innocence is corrupted, and goodness and happiness are wantonly destroyed.Used and Recommended by the National TheatreGeneral Editor Stanley WellsEdited by Kenneth Muir Introduction by Tom McAlindonBy Aphra Behn. 2003
Aphra Behn, the poet, playwright, novelist and political satirist was the first truly professional woman writer in English. This selection,…
edited and introduced by Professor Janet Todd, demonstrates the full sophistication and vitality of Aphra Behn's genius. It contains the plays The Rover and The Widow, Ranter (the first English play to be set in the American colonies) together with Love Letters to a Gentleman, a choice of poems and two short novels - The Fair Jilt and Oroonoko - which are among the most innovative prose writings of the seventeenth century.By Euripides. 1972
Written during the long battles with Sparta that were to ultimately destroy ancient Athens, these six plays by Euripides brilliantly…
utilize traditional legends to illustrate the futility of war. The Children of Heracles holds a mirror up to contemporary Athens, while Andromache considers the position of women in Greek wartime society. In The Suppliant Women, the difference between just and unjust battle is explored, while Phoenician Women describes the brutal rivalry of the sons of King Oedipus, and the compelling Orestes depicts guilt caused by vengeful murder. Finally, Iphigenia in Aulis, Euripides' last play, contemplates religious sacrifice and the insanity of war. Together, the plays offer a moral and political statement that is at once unique to the ancient world, and prophetically relevant to our own.By Aeschylus. 1959
Aeschylus (525-c.456 bc) set his great trilogy in the immediate aftermath of the Fall of Troy, when King Agamemnon returns…
to Argos, a victor in war. Agamemnon depicts the hero's discovery that his family has been destroyed by his wife's infidelity and ends with his death at her callous hand. Clytemnestra's crime is repaid in The Choephori when her outraged son Orestes kills both her and her lover. The Eumenides then follows Orestes as he is hounded to Athens by the Furies' law of vengeance and depicts Athene replacing the bloody cycle of revenge with a system of civil justice. Written in the years after the Battle of Marathon, The Oresteian Trilogy affirmed the deliverance of democratic Athens not only from Persian conquest, but also from its own barbaric past.By Ian Pearce. 1986
Dr Ian Pearce is one of the foremost cancer specialists and is best known for his unorthodox treatment and pioneering…
work.Author of The Gate of Healing, Dr Pearce now writes an account of his personal spiritual journey which has led him away from the conventional, orthodox establishment point of view. A spiritual journey which has been responsible for sending him out on his mission of healing and holistic care.An inspirational, deeply profound work from a truly great man.By William Shakespeare. 2009
These are Shakespeare's greatest writings on power in all its forms - in love, in war, in politics and in…
the family. From Macbeth's vaulting ambition to Richard II's fragile grip on authority, from the violent rivalries of King Lear to the exquisite poetry of the love sonnets, these pieces show, with philosophical subtlety and psychological acuity, how we manipulate and dominate each other.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.By Paul Durcan. 1995
O Westport in the Light of Asia Minor was first published in a tiny edition in Dublin in 1975. It…
was Paul Durcan's first fully-fledged collection, and already displays an astonishingly mature, visionary power, shot through with the surrealism and heart-breaking comedy that have since become his hallmark. It won him the Patrick Kavanagh Award. Now Durcan's readers can discover what they have been missing. The poems are printed in the order he originally intended, and the volume concluded with six poems from his very first collaborative collection, Endsville (1967), with Brian Lynch.By John Fuller. 2002
Throughout his long and prolific career, John Fuller has been admired for the way in which he melds levity with…
serious reflection. In this beautiful new collection of twenty-one poems he proves himself, once again, a true master of this art. They take us from birth to death: from a baby's first delightful babblings, to the dignified, measured words of a man surveying his life and marriage, and looking forward into the unknown. There are moments of great joie de vivre, of pleasure in the earthy things of life; and yet, beyond, there is always a sense of a vaster, more elusive universe. The snorting of the horses in a field in 'Dreams', the egret on the rock in 'Sentinel': these are nature's mysteries. To make sense of these, we have language and music. Celebratory, playful, reconciled to the questions that will not be answered, these poems exude a miraculous kind of peace and understanding: 'A point of closure that allows the next/Inevitable sentence to begin'.By Adam Thorpe. 2003
Adam Thorpe's fourth collection continues his engagement with history: the living continuum that connects us with our near and distant…
past, nourishing and illuminating our present. Here are traces left of presence: Indian scratchings on rock, the nail-marks of destroyed frescoes, spoken fragments of war memories - petroglyphs that function as both memorials and re-awakenings, traceable with the finger of the imagination. And here, too, are images of the stilled, the stopped life: a snowed-up village, the paralysed victim of motor-neurone disease, a soft drink fermented in an old village cafe. From this rueful equilibrium of mid-life, Thorpe circles his own personal history, allowing regret and anticipation their Janus-like say. These are erudite, generous poems, formally versatile yet rich in startlingly original observation and a natural lyric grace. Performing his unique archaeology on lives lived, Adam Thorpe once again displays the range of his imagination and the depth of his humanity.By Charles Bukowski. 2003
Charles Bukowski was one of America's best-known writers abnd one of its most influential and imitated poets. Although he published…
over 45 books of poetry, hundreds of his poems were kept by him and his publisher for posthumous publication, This is the first collection of these unique poems, which Bukowski considered to be among his best work.By Charles Bukowski. 2003
Charles Bukowski was one of America's best-known writers and one of its most influential and imitated poets. Although he published…
over 45 books of poetry, hundreds of his poems were kept by him and his publisher for posthumous publication, This is the first collection of these unique poems.By Sam Willetts. 2010
The poems in this remarkable first collection have been hard won: 'Fruits of much grief they are,' as Donne said,…
'emblems of more.' Having lost ten years to heroin addiction and recovery, Sam Willetts emerges now - suddenly, and apparently from nowhere - as a fully-fledged and significant English poet.In a book deeply conscious of history, one series of poems tracks his mother's escape, as a young girl, from the Nazis, in a narrative that moves from a Stuka attack on the Smolensk Road to the Krakow ghetto, the destruction of Warsaw, to Nuremberg and Nagasaki and, finally, his mother's grave. Other poems address Englishness, secular Jewishness, and the childhood pleasures of Oxfordshire - an increasingly deceptive pastoral, stalked and eventually shattered by heroin, which brings a grim new existence among dealers and users. The redemption the poet finds, through detox and rehab, love and writing, is full of regret for the years and lives wasted, but also offers a lyrical rebirth of the senses: 'In a new light, a new moon/ that isn't made of scorched tinfoil/will turn your tide again'.Deft, economical and wonderfully original, this is work that celebrates the peaks and troughs of a lived life, the poems' vivid clarity feeling both fresh and fully earned. It is rare to find an unknown poet of such mature quality, and New Light for the Old Dark represents a brilliant dawning.