General Books : Classics

This latest addition to this successful series offers a new selection of myths, featuring Arthur's knights of the round table, his love for Queen Guinevere and, of course, the ultimate betrayal by his friend, and most trusted knight, Sir Launcelot. All awaken the magical and exciting world of King Arthur. Many medieval writers, especially from France and Wales, wrote stories about the great British leader that was King Arthur. Legends, folklore and myths from this period come together to paint a picture of who he was. Some describe him as a great warrior, defending Britain from its enemies, while others suggest Arthur had magical qualities. Throughout this mystery, King Arthur has become an iconic figure, known for his court and knights, all over the world. This collection offers a selection of myths, featuring Arthur's knights of the round table, his love for Queen Guinevere and of course the ultimate betrayal by one of his most trusted knights, Sir Launcelot. All awaken the magical and exciting world of King Arthur. FLAME TREE 451: From mystery to crime, supernatural to horror and myth, fantasy and science fiction, Flame Tree 451 offers a healthy diet of werewolves and mechanical men, blood-lusty vampires, dastardly villains, mad scientists, secret worlds, lost civilisations and escapist fantasies. Discover a storehouse of tales gathered specifically for the reader of the fantastic. AUTHOR: Jake Jackson has written, edited and contributed to over 20 books. Related works include Myths and Legends (Metro Books) studies of Babylonian creation myths, the philosophy of time and William Blake's use of mythology in his visionary literature. SELLING POINTS: Captures the drama and mystery of ancient legends A carefully considered selection of chivalry and knighthood from Celtic, French and medieval sources. Features an introduction to the characters, landscape and culture Part of a new series on The World's Greatest Myths and Legends 10 illustrations

ISBN: 9781839641718
Publication date: 15/04/2020
Price: $19.99
Author: Jackson, Jake
Format: Paperback

VINTAGE VOYAGES- A world of journeys, from the tallest mountains to the depths of the mind

Led by the reliably under-insightful Binder, a team of seven British men including Dr Prone (constantly ill); Jungle the route finder (constantly lost), Constant the diplomat (constantly arguing) and 3,000 Yogistani porters, set out to conquer the highest peak in the Himalayas.

An outrageously funny spoof about the ascent of a 40,000-and-a-half-foot peak, The Ascent of Rum Doodle has been a cult favourite since its publication in 1956.

ISBN: 9781784875299
Publication date: 06/06/2019
Price: $24.00
Author: Bowman, W E
Format: Paperback

The Beautiful and Damned, F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel, tells the story of Anthony Patch, a 1920s socialite and presumptive heir to a tycoon's fortune. Anthony and his wife Gloria are young and gorgeous, rich and leisured, and dedicate their lives to the reckless pursuit of happiness. But this intimate story turns tragic, as their marriage disintegrates under the weight of their expectations, dissipation, jealousy and aimlessness. Fitzgerald skilfully portrays the east-coast elite as the Jazz Age begins its ascent, engulfing all classes into what will soon be known as Cafe Society. As with all of Fitzgerald's novels, it is a brilliant character study written in breathtaking prose. It is also a gripping account of the complexities of marriage, largely based on Fitzgerald's relationship with his wife, Zelda. This Macmillan Collector's Library edition features an afterword by Ned Halley. Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

ISBN: 9781509826384
Publication date: 08/09/2016
Price: $14.99
Author: Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Format: Hard Back

Feel the swing and sway of the Jazz Age in this collection of stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and Damned explores the world of America's upper class during World War I and the beginning of the Jazz Age. Loosely based on Fitzgerald's relationship with his wife, Zelda, the novel centers around Anthony Patch, a young East Coast socialite who is heir to his grandfather's fortune and lacks motivation to pursue a meaningful career. In his attempt to find his place in society while waiting for his inheritance, Anthony loses himself to alcoholism; neglects his wife, Gloria; and struggles with the realities of everyday life. This volume also includes seven short stories by Fitzgerald published in the early 1920s, including "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

ISBN: 9781684126583
Publication date: 11/03/2019
Price: $35.00
Author: Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Format: Leather

VINTAGE CLASSICS MURDOCH- Funny, subversive, fearless and fiercely intelligent, Iris Murdoch was one of the great writers of the twentieth century. To celebrate her centenary Vintage Classics presents special editions of her greatest and most timeless novels.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SARAH PERRY

'In this holy community she would play the witch.'

Imber Court is a quiet haven for lost souls, a utopia for those who can neither live in the world, nor out of it. But beneath the gentle daily routines of this community run currents of supressed desire, religious yearning and a legend of disastrous love. Charming, indolent Dora arrives in their midst, and half-unwittingly conjures these submerged things to the surface.

ISBN: 9781784875206
Publication date: 04/07/2019
Price: $26.00
Author: Murdoch, Iris
Format: Paperback

Liberty fabric covered editions bring classics from the Faber backlist together with important modern titles, putting them in conversation and celebrating both the history and the future of Faber & Faber.

In 2019, Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar will be reissued as a special hardback edition with a Liberty fabric from the year of the novel's first publication (1963); Milkman, winner of the 2018 Man Booker Prize, will be reissued with a bespoke Liberty fabric cover, created uniquely for Anna Burns.

Sylvia Plath's groundbreaking semi-autobiographical novel offers an intimate, honest and often wrenching glimpse into mental illness. The Bell Jar broke the boundaries between fiction and reality and helped cement Sylvia Plath's place as an enduring feminist icon. Celebrated for its darkly humorous, razor sharp portrait of 1950s society, it continues to resonate with readers today as testament to the universal human struggle to claim one's rightful place in the world.

ISBN: 9780571355068
Publication date: 05/09/2019
Price: $32.99
Author: Plath, Sylvia
Format: Hardback

Composed by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon singer toward the end of the first millennium AD, Beowulf is an Old English epic recounting the adventures of Beowulf, a Geatish hero from present-day Sweden. He is called on by Hrothgar, King of the Danes, to defeat Grendel, the powerful monster that threatens his great hall.As one of the earliest extant poems in a modern European language, it depicts a feudal world of blood, victory, and death--a world that exalts heroes who travel great distances to prove their strength, at impossible odds, against supernatural demons and beasts.Ringing with the beauty, power, and artistry that have kept it alive for a thousand years, this venerable tale is now available as a portable, elegantly designed clothbound edition with an elastic closure and a new introduction.

ISBN: 9781631064234
Publication date: 27/09/2017
Price: $22.99
Author: Earle, John
Format: Plastic/Vinyl/Flexicover

A new, feminist translation of Beowulf by the author of The Mere Wife

Nearly twenty years after Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf - and fifty years after the translation that continues to torment high-school students around the world - there is a radical new verse interpretation of the epic poem by Maria Dahvana Headley, which brings to light elements never before translated into English.

A man seeks to prove himself as a hero. A monster seeks silence in his territory. A warrior seeks to avenge her murdered son. A dragon ends it all. These familiar components of the epic poem are seen with a novelist's eye towards gender, genre, and history. Beowulf has always been a tale of entitlement and encroachment - of powerful men seeking to become more powerful and one woman seeking justice for her child - but this version brings new context to an old story. While crafting her contemporary adaptation, Headley unearthed significant shifts lost over centuries of translation; her Beowulf is one for the twenty-first century.



' The Mere Wife includes some tantalising snippets of Beowulf as translated by Headley. Now we have the full version, and it is electrifying ... It is brash and belligerent, lunatic and invigorating, with passages of sublime poetry punctuated by obscenities and social-media shorthand ... With a Beowulf defiantly of and for this historical moment, Headley reclaims the poem for her audience as well as for herself.'
-Ruth Franklin, The New Yorker

'An iconic work of early English literature comes in for up-to-the-minute treatment ... Headley's language and pacing keep perfect track with the events she describes ... giving the 3,182-line text immediacy without surrendering a bit of its grand poetry. Some purists may object to the small liberties Headley has taken with the text, but her version is altogether brilliant.' STARRED REVIEW
-Kirkus Reviews

'Headley's Beowulf is kindred in spirit to The Mere Wife - highly conscious of gender and modernised to the hilt - but totally different in form. Instead of changing names or places, Headley sticks closely to the original Old English text while updating the vocabulary with flourishes of internet humour ... The feminism in Headley's translation is embedded in the texture and language of the poem itself rather than in its individual events or characters ... Her Beowulf is a tragicomic epic about the things men do to impress one another. It's as fierce an examination of masculine weakness as The Mere Wife was of feminine strength.'
-Jo Livingstone, Poetry Foundation

ISBN: 9781925713886
Publication date: 05/01/2021
Price: $35.00
Author: Headley, Maria Dahvana
Format: Paperback