Have industrial-age technologies and visual discourses transformed us into spectators of the real, and can realist fiction make that transformation visible to us? This book brings Situationist Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle and an array of cultural criticism into dialogue with novels by Hardy, Forster, Woolf, Rushdie, Carey and Barnes to foreground literary realism’s critique of visual culture, including Gothic architectural revival, neoclassicism, tourism, historical pagea...

"One may tolerate a world of demons for the sake of an angel"-Jean-Antoninette ("Reinette") Poisson, aka Madame de Pompadour, "The Girl in the Fireplace"What a world of demons Doctor Who has presented us with over the past seven decades: from Daleks and Cybermen to Weeping Angels and the Silence, the greatest villains of the Who-niverse have achieved an iconic status all their own, cementing themselves in the minds of millions of viewers (why else would Parker Brothers h...

A VIVID, SWEEPING SAGA OF QUEER LOVE AND POLITICS IN ANCIENT GREECE, FROM THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION, FOR FANS OF SONG OF ACHILLES AND THE ODYSSEY'Renault's eye for intimacy is amazing' DOUGLAS STUART'Arresting and beautiful and moving . . . decades ahead of its time' LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKSYour love made me. Do not take it away; for without love I am a temple forsaken by i...

First published in 1939, a few years before his most influential works in theatre and philosophy, The Wall was Sartres first and only collection of short fiction. The title piece tells the story of a prisoner during the Spanish Civil War, on the eve of his execution by a firing squad, who is told he will be spared if he can betray the whereabouts of a fellow Republican. This leads him to question his cause and his loyalty, as the mental torment that he and two other inmates endure unfolds ...

THE ANCIENT GREEK STAGE BROUGHT THRILLINGLY TO LIFE BY THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION, PERFECT FOR FANS OF THE WOMEN OF TROY AND THE ODYSSEY'Mary Renault has made the classical era alive' GORE VIDAL'Her books have stood the test of time' INDEPENDENTThe artist flows into the mask the poet offers him; only so will the god possess him.Greece, fourth century ...

AD 838. Deep in the forests of Wessex, Dunston's solitary existence is shattered when he stumbles on a mutilated corpse.Accused of the murder, Dunston must clear his name and keep the dead man's daughter alive in the face of savage pursuers desperate to prevent a terrible secret from being revealed. Rushing through Wessex, Dunston will need to use all the skills of survival garnered from a lifetime in the wilderness. And if he has any hope of victory against the implacable enemies ...

Critically-acclaimed audiobook reader BARNABY EDWARDS (Doctor Who, The Voyage Of The Beagle, Space Danger) performs 11 tales of ghostly gothic spookiness. From tales of Vampyres and spirits, to devil’s deals and ethereal coachmen. Short but oh so sweet, these 11 stories from some of the most lauded authors of the Gothic period, prove that you only need a few pages to tell a truly terrifying tale.The Vampyre by John PolidoriHow It Happened by Arthur Conan DoyleThere ...

He fought and beheaded three Turkish adversaries in duels. He was sold into slavery, then murdered his master to escape. He was captured by pirates – twice – and marched to the gallows to be hanged, only to be reprieved seconds before the noose dropped over his head. And all this happened before he was thirty years old. This is Captain John Smith's life.

Set in the fictional cathedral town of Barchester, the novel revolves around the power struggles following the sudden death of the archdeacon, which creates a vacancy for the prestigious position of bishop.At the heart of the story is the conflict between the liberal, progressive Reverend Mr. Slope, who seeks to shape the future of the church, and the conservative, traditionalist characters like the formidable Eleanor Bold and her father, the dean. As the town is thrown into turmoil...

In this groundbreaking work of speculative fiction, Thomas More transports readers to the island of Utopia, a society built on rationality, equality, and communal living. Through the eyes of Raphael Hythloday, a traveler who recounts his adventures, More presents a stark contrast to the corrupt, class-stratified world of 16th-century Europe. The Utopians, living in perfect harmony with nature and one another, have abolished poverty, crime, and inequality, while embracing enlightened govern...

The Homer Collection includes two iconic classics by one of the oldest and yet most renowned writers in the history of literature, expertly narrated by Barnaby Edwards.As exhilarating today as they were at the time of being written, Homer's epic poems transport the listener on a courageous and daring journey at the heart of one of the most infamous wars in history. Discover the heroism and compassion of soldiers at the close of the Trojan War in The Ili...

The Definitive Strategy Collection brings together six of the most influential writings on strategy of all time. From ancient Greece and China to Machiavelli and Carl von Clausewitz's modern masterpiece, On War, this collection spans continents and eras to bring you the greatest wisdom and philosophy on the strategy and philosophy of conflict.The titles included in this collection, in chronological order of publication, are:The Ar...