Alma Books Ltd Books

Description: This collection brings together in a single volume the four books that feature the famous young rabbit with the blue jacket and a penchant for mischief and disobedience: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies and The Tale of Mr Tod. From Peter's early adventures in the kitchen garden of Mr Mc Gregor to his late exploits in the rescue of his cousin Benjamin's baby bunnies, these stories show why Beatrix Potter remains one of the most beloved children's authors this country has ever produced. Alma Books Ltd The Peter Rabbit Stories - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

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ISBN: 9781847499127

Description: In the autumn of 1852, Ivan Goncharov, then the renowned author of The Same Old Story, was invited by Admiral Putyatin to join him as his secretary on an expedition to the Far East on board the frigate Pallada, calling at London and Cape Town before sailing on to Java, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Shanghai, the Philippines and Korea. As the flagship and its small flotilla advanced through the seas and called at various ports, Goncharov kept detailed log and diary entries and wrote letters home to friends recounting his experiences - material which would later form the basis of a full-length account of his voyage. Goncharov's pages brim with memorable scenes and unforgettable characters, and are suffused with the wit and humour of his most famous novel, which the author was gestating at the time - so much so that he even considered turning the notes of his journey into 'The Travels of Oblomov'. Widely acclaimed long after its publication - with Mikhail Bulgakov describing the book as 'immortal" - and here presented in a sparkling new translation by Stephen Pearl, The Frigade Pallada is further proof of Goncharov's narrative genius. Alma Books Ltd The Frigate Pallada - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

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ISBN: 9781847498953

Description: The poetry of Eluard is that of the real world and its natural sensations and feelings. The main themes that stand out are love, brotherhood and kindness. His imagery is characterized by its appeal to the senses and the importance of concrete objects and of everyday things. In these translations by Gilbert Bowen, the best work of Paul Eluard, perhaps the most popular of twentieth century French poets, has been collected in a bilingual edition. This edition contains a representative selection of poems from different periods and different aspects of his vast output. Alma Books Ltd Selected Poems: Éluard - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

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ISBN: 9780714550770

Description: Richard Strauss turned his genius to opera at the turn of the twentieth century, and this guide contains the texts and introductions to his first two masterpieces in what was, for him, a new genre. Despite obvious similarities - both operas consisting of one act, centred upon one female title role - the works are quite different in subject and treatment. Salome, based on Oscar Wilde's notorious play, has a kaleidoscopic range of orchestral colour and a lurid climax. Elektra, derived from the myths of the ancient Greeks and the first collaboration between Strauss and Hofmannsthal, is a study in neurosis, ripe for Jungian comparative analysis. Contents: Richard Strauss and the Unveiling of 'Salome', Paul Banks; Salome: Libretto by Hedwig Lachmann; Salome: English translation by Tom Hammond; Hofmannsthal's 'Elektra': from Drama to Libretto, Kenneth Segar; Elektra and the 'Elektra Complex', Christopher Wintle; Elektra: Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal; Elektra: English translation by Anthony Hose; Strauss's Orchestra in 'Salome' and 'Elektra', Jonathan Burton. Alma Books Ltd Salome/Elektra - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

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ISBN: 9780714544380

Description: This collection of lesser-known early short fiction - ranging from absurd humorous sketches to psychological dramas and tragic tales - demonstrates Anton Chekhov's mastery of the genre, with stories about marital infidelity, betrayal, deception and love in its various forms. Although varying in tone and purpose, what these tales have in common is a profound and subtle understanding of the human condition, in its farcical and melancholy aspects, couched in Chekhov's trademark minimalist style. Alma Books Ltd The Woman in the Case - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

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ISBN: 9781847494757

Description: Set in a modern, urban Paris, the prose pieces in this volume constitute a further exploration of the terrain Baudelaire had covered in his verse masterpiece, The Flowers of Evil: the city with all its squalor and inequalities, the pressures of time and mortality, and the liberation provided by the sensual delights of intoxication, art and women. Published posthumously in 1869, Paris Spleen was a landmark publication in the development of the genre of prose poetry - a form which Baudelaire saw as particularly suited for expressing the feelings of uncertainty, flux and freedom of his age - and one of the founding texts of literary Modernism. Alma Books Ltd Paris Spleen: Dual-Language Edition - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

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ISBN: 9781847499035

Description: After his university studies and a short stint in the army and the civil service, thirty-something Boris Pavlovich Raisky enjoys the life of an artist, frequenting St Petersburg's elegant circles, dabbing at his paintings, playing a little music and entertaining thoughts of writing a novel. But for a man like him, who has achieved nothing so far and by his own admission is 'not born to work", the bustle of the capital proves too much, so he decides to visit his country estate of Malinovka. There he hopes to rediscover the joys of a simpler and more authentic life - but when he becomes emotionally involved with his beautiful cousin Vera and meets the dangerous freethinker Mark Volokhov, the scene is set for a chain of events that will lead to disappointment, confrontation and, ultimately, tragedy. Conceived twenty years before its initial publication in 1869, and regarded by its author as his best work, Malinovka Heights (previously translated in English as The Precipice) is Goncharov's crowning achievement as a novelist and a triumph of psychological insight. Here presented for the first time in unabridged form in a sparkling new translation by Stephen Pearl, Goncharov's final novel deserves to be reassessed as one of the most important classics of nineteenth-century Russian literature.

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ISBN: 9781847498380

Description: Assembling at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, twenty-nine pilgrims begin their journey to Canterbury Cathedral. To entertain themselves on their long road, their host suggests that they regale each other with stories, with the teller of the best tale set to earn a free supper. The pilgrims correspond to all sections of medieval society, from the crusading knight to the drunken cook, and their tales span a range of genres, including the comic ribaldry and deception of ' The Miller's Tale' and the story of chivalry and courtly romance told by the Franklin. Unfinished at the time of his death, The Canterbury Tales are here presented in their original Middle-English. This edition contains a wealth of material and over 3,000 notes which will help all students of Chaucer's masterpiece. Alma Books Ltd The Canterbury Tales: Fully Annotated Edition - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

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ISBN: 9781847497413

Description: Blake occupies a very special place in the pantheon of English Romanticism: just as innovative and brilliant as a painter and draughtsman as in the field of poetry, he created works that are often difficult to categorize and that, while harking back to a classical and biblical past, also look forward to the future - with authors such as T.S. Eliot, Aldous Huxley and the Beat poets among his many modern admirers. This volume includes an essential selection of Blake's poetry, from the lesser-known Poetical Sketches to his celebrated Songs of Innocence and of Experience and the prophetic works inspired by the French Revolution, covering over two decades of poetical activity and displaying the author's originality and independence of mind at their sparkling best. Alma Books Ltd Selected Poetical Works: Blake - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

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ISBN: 9781847498212

Description: A glorious exercise in cheeky punmanship, The Wonderful Wonder of Wonders sees Jonathan Swift in fine scatological form. Flying by the seat of his pants, the great author treats us to a condensed biography of his posterior, enlivened by some inspired wordplay. Most famous for his celebrated masterpiece, Gulliver's Travels, Swift was the foremost satirist of his day. Also including a selection of Swift's other lesser-known works, and a very peculiar proposal to make money from public toilets, this volume will be a hilarious and illuminating read for any fans of Ireland's most illustrious wit.

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ISBN: 9781847496874

Description: Tales of Adventure and Medical Life, one of the collections Arthur Conan Doyle published at the end of his career, anthologizes some of his best short fiction outside of the Sherlock Holmes canon. As well as various tales of escapades in Egypt, London and the far-flung regions of northern Scotland, he included stories which deal with a subject that, as a physician himself, he had a unique perspective on: the medical profession. London surgeons and country doctors, male and female, are described as they deal with business and sentimental issues and encounter incredible situations - both comic and tragic. Conan Doyle displays his dazzling storytelling talents while providing a fascinating glimpse into his profession and times. Alma Books Ltd Tales of Adventures and Medical Life - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

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ISBN: 9781847494207

Description: One of Stevenson's most famous and enduringly popular works, the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde describes the mysterious relationship between a respectable and affable doctor and his brutal associate. Set in the grimy streets of Victorian London, this tale of murder, split personality and obscure science, with its chilling final revelation, became an instant horror classic when it was first published in 1886, and has enthralled and terrified generations of readers ever since. This volume also contains seven other Gothic stories by Stevenson - such as 'The Body Snatchers', 'Markheim' and 'Olalla' - showcasing the author's mastery of the horror genre and his interest in both the otherworldly and the strange ways the human brain can distort reality. Alma Books Ltd Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Stories - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

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ISBN: 9781847493781

Description: Presented as a series of letters between the humble copying clerk Devushkin and a distant relative of his, the young Varenka, Poor People brings to the fore the underclass of St Petersburg, who live at the margins of society in the most appalling conditions and abject poverty. As Devushkin tries to help Varenka improve her plight by selling anything he can, he is reduced to even more desperate circumstances and seeks refuge in alcohol, looking on helplessly as the object of his impossible love is taken away from him. Introducing the first in a long line of underground characters, Poor People, Dostoevsky's first full-length work of fiction, is a poignant, tragi-comic tale which foreshadows the greatness of his later novels.

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ISBN: 9781847493125

Description: Inspired by Fitzgerald's own courtship of his future wife Zelda, 'The Last of the Belles' centres on the Southern beauty Ailie Calhoun from Tarleton, Georgia, who finds herself the object of attention of all the officers at a nearby army base, including the narrator, Andy. A wistful and melancholy exploration of unfulfilled dreams and lost youth, the story is considered one of Fitzgerald's finest pieces of short fiction. This volume also includes other acclaimed stories - such as 'Jacob's Ladder', 'The Swimmers' and 'The Bridal Party' - written by Fitzgerald between 1927 and 1931, during the prolonged period in which he was struggling to compose Tender Is the Night.

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ISBN: 9781847494054

Description: In Bulgakov's 'Diaboliad', the modest and unassuming office clerk Korotkov is summarily sacked for a trifling error from his job at the Main Central Depot of Match Materials, and tries to seek out his newly assigned superior, responsible for his dismissal. His quest through the labyrinth of Soviet bureaucracy takes on the increasingly surreal dimensions of a nightmare. This early satirical story, reminiscent of Gogol and Dostoevsky, was first published in 1924 and incurred the wrath of pro-Soviet critics. Along with the three other stories in this volume, which also explore the themes of the absurd and bizarre, it provides a fascinating glimpse into the artistic development of the author of The Master and Margarita. Alma Books Ltd Diaboliad and Other Stories: New Translation - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

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ISBN: 9781847494726

Description: After the death of her father, an exiled Iranian man of letters, the bookish twenty-two-year-old Zebra finds herself alone in New York and decides to retrace the steps of her traumatic flight with her family from their homeland in the 1990s, hoping that in the process she will be inspired to write a major manifesto on literature. Her first stop is Barcelona, where she meets the Italian Ludo, who becomes her lover, intellectual sparring partner and travelling companion in her picaresque meanderings around Catalonia. A natural-born raconteur, Zebra takes the reader on an irresistible journey through her thoughts, as she conceives elaborate theories about art and is increasingly convinced that her mother has been reincarnated as a cockatoo. Sparkling with wit and mischief and brimming with imaginative vignettes and unconventional musings, Call Me Zebra is a riotous, erudite, unpredictable novel about literature, lust and dislocation.

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ISBN: 9781846884580

Description: A Landmark in Musical History' is John Luke Rose's title for the introduction to this extraordinary piece of theatre. It belongs to the German tradition of mystical writing, and a short note on the poem itself by Martin Swales and Timothy Mc Farland elucidates some of Wagner's literary techniques. Anthony Negus, who assisted Reginald Goodall on the WNO production of Tristan and Isolde, has contributed a penetrating analysis of the musical structure of the opera, while Patrick Carnegy assesses the remarkable solutions to staging an opera which some argue is best experienced with your back to the performers. Alma Books Ltd Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde) - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

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ISBN: 9780714544106

Description: Das Rheingold, the opening of Wagner's four-part Ring of Nibelung, stands out as more genteel and picturesque than the others. But it immediately establishes the huge scale of the overall work, and the extraordinary musical language that will be displayed throughout. It is a miracle of musical history that Wagner's 1850 conception could be brought to completion, in an organic whole, some twenty-five years later. Stewart Spencer discusses the way in which Wagner fuses genuine mythology with his own invention and John Deathridge places the opera in the context of The Ring and its century. Alma Books Ltd Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold) - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

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ISBN: 9780714544366

Description: According to many experts, China is already the largest economy on the planet - yet its relations with the rest of the world have deteriorated in recent years, and are now at an all-time low. Is this a passing phase caused by the shockwaves of the Covid pandemic and the personalities of leaders in China and in the USA, or are the current divergencies going to become wider and more entrenched, as China grows economically and develops technological leadership? Can the West learn from its past mistakes and engage successfully with China on many common interests, or are we on the verge of a new Cold War? In The Chinese Conundrum, Vince Cable - author of the the Sunday Times number-one bestseller The Storm: The World Economic Crisis and What it Means - provides an answer to these and many other topical questions of global politics and economy, examining the long history of relationships between China and the West, as well as the change in attitudes on both sides of the divide, with a particular focus on the possible repercussions of the recent election of Joe Biden as president of the United States. The result is a gripping, insightful and accessible investigation into the intricacies of today's economic and geopolitical situation.

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ISBN: 9781846884702

Description: On the eve of the Crimean War, the young, headstrong Yelena, the daughter of aristocratic Russian parents, falls in love with a revolutionary from Bulgaria named Insarov. Facing the wrath and disapproval of her family, Yelena abandons her home to follow Insarov to Bulgaria. Their fateful match sets in motion a series of tragic events which challenge notions of love, revolution and idealism. A highly controversial work upon its original publication, Ivan Turgenev's On the Eve is now recognized as one of the masterpieces of Russian literature and an essential document of the upheaval that dominated Russian society in the years prior to the Crimean War. Turgenev's restrained, nuanced prose is rendered beautifully in Michael Pursglove's new translation. Alma Books Ltd On the Eve: New Translation - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk

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ISBN: 9781847496324