Wordsworth

H.D. Everett, 2006

Mrs H.D. Everett was the last in a long line of gifted Victorian novelists who knew how to grip the reader through the invasion of everyday life by the abnormal and dramatic, leaving the facts to produce their special thrills without piling on the agony. 'I always know', says one of her characters, 'how to distinguish a true ghost story from a faked one. The true ghost story never has any point and the faked one dare not leave it out.' From the chilling horror of «The Death Mask» to the shocking violence of «The Crimson Blind», from the creeping menace of Parson Clench to the mounting suspense of «The Pipers of Mallory», these thrilling stories were enthusiastically received by readers and critics when they first appeared, and are sure to delight and terrify the modern reader in equal measure. Подробнее

Daisy Miller and Other Stories

Henry James, 1994

»Daisy Miller» is one of Henry James's most attractive heroines: she represents youth and frivolity. As a tourist in Italy, her American freedom and freshness of spirit come up against the corruption and hypocrisy of European manners. From its first publication, readers on both sides of the Atlantic have quarrelled about her, defending or attacking the liberties that Daisy takes and the conventions that she ignores. All three tales in this collection, «Daisy Miller», «An International Episode» and «Lady Barbarina», express James's most notable subject, 'the international theme', the encounters, romantic and cultural, between Americans and Europeans. His heroes and heroines approach each other on unfamiliar ground with new freedoms, yet find themselves unexpectedly hampered by old constraints. In «An International Episode», an English lord visiting Newport, Rhode Island, falls in love with an American girl, but their relationship becomes more complicated when she travels to London. In the light-hearted comedy «Lady Barbarina», a rich young American seeks an English aristocratic bride. The unusual outcomes of these three tales pose a number of social questions about marriage and the traditional roles of men and women. Is an international marriage symbolic of the highest cultural fusion of values or is it an old style raid and capture? Is marriage to remain the feminine destination? Подробнее

Daniel Deronda

George Eliot, 1996

George Eliot's final novel, «Daniel Deronda» (1876), follows the intertwining lives of the beautiful but spoiled and selfish Gwendolene Harleth and the selfless yet alienated Daniel Deronda, as they search for personal and vocational fulfilment and sympathetic relationship. Set largely in the degenerate English aristocratic society of the 1860s, «Daniel Deronda» charts their search for meaningful lives against a background of imperialism, the oppression of women, and racial and religious prejudice. Gwendolen's attempts to escape a sadistic relationship and atone for past actions catalyse her friendship with Deronda, while his search for origins leads him, via Judaism, to a quest for moral growth. Eliot's radical dual narrative constantly challenges all solutions and ensures that the novel is as controversial now, as when it first appeared. Подробнее

David Copperfield

Charles Dickens, 1992

Dickens wrote of «David Copperfield»: 'Of all my books I like this the best'. Millions of readers in almost every language on earth have subsequently come to share the author's own enthusiasm for this greatly loved classic, possibly because of its autobiographical form. Following the life of David through many sufferings and great adversity, the reader will also find many light-hearted moments in the company of a host of English fiction's greatest stars including Mr Micawber, Traddles, Uriah Heep, Creakle, Betsy Trotwood, and the Peggoty family. Подробнее

Decameron

Giovanni Boccaccio, 2005

1348. The Black Death is sweeping through Europe. In Florence, plague has carried off one hundred thousand people. In their Tuscan villas, seven young women and three young men tell tales to recreate the world they have lost, weaving a rich tapestry of comedy, tragedy, ribaldry and farce. Boccaccio's Decameron recasts the storytelling heritage of the ancient and medieval worlds into perennial forms that inspired writers from Chaucer and Shakespeare down to our own day. Boccaccio makes the incredible believable, with detail so sharp we can look straight into the lives of people who lived six hundred years ago. His Decameron hovers between the fading glories of an aristocratic past — the Crusades, the Angevins, the courts of France, the legendary East — and the colourful squalor of contemporary life, where wives deceive husbands, friars and monks pursue fleshly ends, and natural instincts fight for satisfaction. Here are love and jealousy, passion and pride — and a shrewd calculation of profit and loss which heralds the rise of a dynamic merchant class. These stories show us early capitalism during a moment of crisis and revelation. Подробнее

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Edward Gibbon, 1998

Gibbon's «The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire», published between 1776 and 1788, is generally acknowledged to be a masterpiece of English historical writing. Gibbon takes the reader through the history of Europe from the 2nd-century AD, to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. This edition includes Gibbon's footnotes and quotations, together with brief explanatory comments, a precis of the chapters not included and a list of emperors. Подробнее

The Deerslayer

James Fenimore Cooper, 1995

»The Deerslayer» is the first of James Fenimore Cooper's «Leatherstocking Tales», and it introduces Natty Bumppo, the Deerslayer of the title, and the Mohican Chief Chingachgook. The action takes place in upstate New York during the French and Indian wars of the 1740s. The young frontiersman Natty Bumppo and his friend Hurry Harry go to the rescue of the trapper Thomas Hutter and his daughters, whose floating fort on Lake Glimmerglass is under attack by the Iriquois. The plot twists and turns, and the exciting action and the romantic interest of this historical adventure have made it a firm favourite with generations of readers. Cooper's evocation of the simple values of frontier life, combined with his mastery of the straightforward adventure story established him in the forefront of American writers. The other «Leatherstocking Tales» in chronological order, though not in order of composition, are «The Last of the Mohicans» (also published as a Wordsworth Classic), «The Pathfinder», «The Pioneers» and «The Prairie». Подробнее

Democracy in America

Alexis de Tocqueville, 1998

Democracy in America is a classic of political philosophy. Hailed by John Stuart Mill and Horace Greely as the finest book ever written on the nature of democracy, it continues to be an influential text on both sides of the Atlantic, above all in the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe. De Tocqueville examines the structures, institutions and operation of democracy, and shows how Europe can learn from American success and failures. His central theme is the advancement of the rule of the people, but he also predicts that slavery will bring about the 'most horrible of civil wars', foresees that the USA and Russia will be the Superpowers of the twentieth century, and is 150 years ahead of his time in his views on the position and importance of women. Подробнее

The Diamond as Big as the Ritz and Other Stories

F.Scott Fitzgerald, 1994

»The Diamond as Big as the Ritz» is an ominous fable about the pursuit of great wealth. Readers will be transported to a fabulous fantasy land of such opulence that its very existence has to remain a jealously guarded secret. Fatal consequences lie in store for 'bona fide' guests and uninvited visitors alike, while the sybaritic luxury of the place is evoked in an effortless prose style which is quintessentially F. Scott Fitzgerald. Also featured in this volume are «The Cut-Glass Bowl», «May Day», «The Rich Boy», «Crazy Sunday», «An Alcoholic Case», «The Lees of Happiness», «The Lost Decade» and «Babylon Revisited». Подробнее

The Diary of a Nobody

George and Weedon Grossmith, 1994

The diary is that of a man who acknowledges that he is not a «Somebody» — Charles Pooter of 'The Laurels', Brickfield Terrace, Holloway, a clerk in the city of London — and it chronicles in hilarious detail the everyday life of the lower middle class during the Great Victorian age. Подробнее

Concise English Dictionary Highly acclaimed for its competitive edge on other editions of its kind, the Wordsworth Concise English Dictionary is an authorative, user friendly and up-to-date lexicon of the world's most widely used language. It reflects the usage not just of the UK and the USA but also of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and all those parts of the world where English is the first language. The pefect reference book for everyday use, it provides definitions written in clear, jargon-free language readily accessible to every level of reader, and care has been taken to include coverage of current scientific and technical terminology, as well as literary and colloquial words and phrases. Impressively comprehensive, this dictionary contains 121,000 references and over 156,000 definitions, together with copious and invaluable appendices consisting of conversion tables, mathematical symbols, the Greek alphabet, Roman numerals and an extensive list of abbreviations. No citizen of the world today can afford to be without a dictionary of this quality. Подробнее

The Dictionary of Culinary and Menu Terms

Rodney Dale, 2008

The Wordsworth Dictionary of Culinary & Menu Terms contains over 12,000 entries and should prove useful to budding chefs and gourmands, fascinating to browsers and crossword enthusiasts, and a handy companion for hungry travellers or those wishing to avoid the potential pitfalls of self-catering and ordering meals in restaurants in foreign lands. In short, this book is essential reading for those who want to know the difference between chiorro, chiozzo, choko and chorizo, or who cannot tell a kaboucha from a kabanosi. Rodney Dale has assembled and arranged a rich diet of terms used for ingredients and recipes which are encountered in cuisine world-wide. This pabular vocabulary will be eagerly embraced by all those interested in and engaged in food and its preparation from whatever culture and tradition they may come. Подробнее

The Wordsworth Dictionary of Dreams

G.H Miller, 2008

Dreams have variously inspired and haunted kings, poets, inventors, artists, musicians, statesmen and others since the dawn of recorded experience. Gustavus Hindman Miller's Dictionary of Dreams first appeared in 1909, ten years after Sigmund Freud's pioneering work The Interpretation of Dreams, and is therefore an historical work on dream analysis first published at the time of a quantum leap in human consciousness. 10,000 entries cover Bananas to Cauliflowers, Measles to Mustard and Virgins to Zebras. Подробнее

Dictionary of Drink

Ned Halley, 2008

What is a slack-ma-girdle? Or a submarino? How did White Horse whisky get its name? Or Old Bawdy barley wine? How do you make a really dry martini? Or beer? Or champagne? The answers to these enquiries and thousands of others are revealed in this unique guide to every kind of alcohol, compiled by dedicated drinker and collector of little histories, Ned Halley, who is an award-winning writer on beer, a nationally syndicated wine columnist and author of numerous books on drink. In a straightforward A to Z format, The Wordsworth Dictionary of Drink identifies thousands of individual brewers, distillers and winemakers, as well as the names of their products. The dictionary aims to be of real, practical help in locating beers and ciders, wines and spirits of every hue to their maker and place of origin. Here, too, are descriptive terms used on labels, along with the less-formal words used by producers and purveyors to promote their products in the market place. Origins, from village breweries to entire wine-producing regions, are located by nation, province and district. In many cases, there is a mention of when a producer or product was established, perhaps a word about the founder or a brief explanation of a curious-sounding brand name. The book is laced with historical anecdotes, a thousand cocktail recipes, essys on topics from the Guiness dynasty to the principles of brewing, from the discovery of distilling to the history of exise duty — and illustrated with hundreds of drink labels from all around the world. Подробнее

Dictionary of English Spelling

Martin Manser, 2005

»The Wordsworth Dictionary of English Spelling» is the only spelling dictionary to give concise meanings throughout, and the only full-size spelling dictionary to have boxed features on spelling rules. Quicker, clearer, and easier to use than a conventional dictionary, it includes the latest additions to the English language (for instance, new words such as helpline, karaoke, synergy and teleworking). It is also comprehensive — featuring 50,000 spellings at a glance; informative — with concise meanings given throughout, and helpful, with 175 panels showing spelling rules and tips Подробнее

Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

Dr Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, 2001

The Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase & Fable explains the origins of the familiar and the unfamiliar in everyday speech and literature, including the colloquial and the proverbial, and embracing archaeology, history, religion, the arts, science, mythology, and characters from fiction. This invaluable dictionary, which revises and updates the original work of Dr Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, encompasses material from all over the English speaking world and cites many equivalents from other European countries. The inclusion of quotations which accompany and illustrate many of the entries adds hugely to the value of this legendary work of reference. Подробнее

Dictionary of Quotations

Connie Robertson, 2008

Quotations have exercised a particular fascination for humanity since the birth of recorded language and their potency in the age of the soundbite is stronger than ever. We revel in quotations, compete to know them, love them, hate them and inscribe them in books and on buildings, and this freshly revised and updated dictionary includes a wealth of new material among its 13,000 familiar, serious, outrageous, witty and thought-provoking entries. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Quotations is an essential work of reference for every writer, journalist and speech-maker, as well as being a treasure-trove for the browser and the simply curious. From the Roman poet Ovid's observation that 'Judgement of beauty can er, what with the wine and the dark' to Oscar Wilde's that 'Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes', there is a wide diversity of sayings to add spice to our conversation and enrich our daily lives. The book is alphabetically arranged by author and indexed by keyword for ease of use. Подробнее

Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms

Martin Manser, 1998

The Wordsworth Dictionary of Synonyms & Antonyms will enable readers to find the most appropriate word to use on a wide range of occasions. It is designed in particular for students, those writing reports, letters and speeches, and crossword solvers, but everyone who enjoys the richness and diversity of the English language will find a great deal to reward them within its covers. The dictionary contains approximately: 7,0000 main entry words 60,000 alternative words 6,000 antonyms (words opposite in meaning) which are clearly highlighted Special features include: Convenient alphabetical A-Z listing Numbered senses for words with more than one meaning British and American spelling variants Specially marked colloquial uses Подробнее

Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes, 1992

Cervantes' tale of the deranged gentleman who turns knight-errant, tilts at windmills and battles with sheep in the service of the lady of his dreams, Dulcinea del Toboso, has fascinated generations of readers, and inspired other creative artists such as Flaubert, Picasso and Richard Strauss. The tall, thin knight and his short, fat squire, Sancho Panza, have found their way into films, cartoons and even computer games. Supposedly intended as a parody of the most popular escapist fiction of the day, the 'books of chivalry', this precursor of the modern novel broadened and deepened into a sophisticated, comic account of the contradictions of human nature. Cervantes' greatest work can be enjoyed on many levels, all suffused with a subtle irony that reaches out to encompass the reader. Подробнее

Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes, 2008

According to tradition Cervantes first conceived his comic masterpiece in jail — his avowed intent being to debunk the romances of chivalry. From first publication Don Quixote was a best-seller, initially taken as a knockabout account of a mad Spanish gentleman and his cowardly peasant squire, but later reinterpreted as an enlightenment text, a representation of universal human nature, a myth of a tragic hero defending man's nobler aspirations, a study in alienation, a spiritual autobiography, a metaphor for Spain's imperial decline, an experimental novel that shaped later prose fiction, a tragedy and comedy in one, and a demonstration that ambiguity and uncertainty can lie at the centre of great art and that great art can be comic. Smollet's vigorous and lively translation brilliantly catches the feeling and tone of the Spanish original. It is a comic novelist's homage to a comic novelist. Подробнее

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