A literary Cheers—filled with British charm and witComprised of an entertaining series of vignettes that occur at the Pelican Pub in Downish, England, Poet's Pub is a humor-filled collection of stories by award winner Eric Linklater—one of the original titles commissioned by Penguin Classics founder Allen Lane—and again available to American readers. When an Oxford poet named Saturday Keith assumes control of the Pelican Pub, what he desires most ...

In the early years of the Second World War an army officer is sent to the Faroe Islands to investigate rumours of a collaboration with the Nazi regime in Norway. What he finds changes lives, not least his own.No one who reads this book will forget the frozen corpse tied to a chair in an icehouse guarded by two drunken seamen, or the raging storm which batters their, ship as they carry the body to Shetland.That's just the beginning. As the tale takes grip, the reader becomes...

A Carnegie Medal winner, this delightful fantasy will appeal to children who love Alice in Wonderland and The Wind in the Willows.Major Palfrey is leaving for the wars, and he tells his two girls, Dinah and Dorinda, to be good while he is gone. But the sisters aren’t sure they can be. As Dorinda explains, “When we think we are behaving well, some grown-up person says we are really quite bad. It’s difficult to tell which is which.”Sure enou...

This hilarious novel charts the rise and fall (and perhaps the rise again) of Magnus Merriman-would-be lover, writer, politician, idealist and crofter-moved by dreams of greatness and a talent for farcical defeat.Convinced that 'small nations are safer to live in than big ones', Magnus becomes a Nationalist candidate for the parliamentary seat of 'Kinluce'.With details based on Linklater's own experiences in an East Fife by-election in 1933, the way is set for a satirical a...

It is a tale of defeat, but when defeat is characterised by valour of a certain pitch and quality, its memory may outlast a tale of victory. And like the Burghers who came with ropes about their necks, to offer their lives that a whole people might be spared, the men who fought at Calais, and helped to save a British army, will surely be remembered.In the introduction to The Defence of Calais, Eric Linklater called it an 'interim report', a 'half-told tale'. This ...

Are the people of Britain capable of serving the new world, of writing with honour a new chapter of history? The answer, conclusively, is Yes.… But Socrates, in the third of the pieces, has still to be satisfied that the Allies are truly conscious of their purpose. A four-fold rule of law is not enough: the peace within that rule must not be an idle peace, but creative. If that is not explicitly our intention and desire, then why are we fighting?The Raft and S...

The Next Great War begins, and soon all Europe is involved. The war lasts a year - and then the women, robbed of husbands and sweethearts and sons, grow doubtful of the benefits of military policy, and begin to think that victory will come too late to do them any good.But what can they do? A remedy was discovered by Aristophanes about 2350 years ago. It is re-discovered and re-applied. And it is again successful.This is an Aristophanic comedy, and takes some Aristophanic li...

The Highland Territorials were made up of the 51st Division, who had fought bravely in the Great War, and entered WWII with a fearsome and loyal reputation. Here Erik Linklater draws from letters and War diaries alongside the official table of movements to construct a vivid picture of the battles, triumphs, and ultimately defeat, of the Highland Division in France. Not only do we see the tactical movements, but we get a closer look from the individual's point of view: Men so tired that the...

The Northern Garrisons visits the soldiers of WWII in some of the most barren and inhospitable of outposts. Eric Linklater, in his mission to document the lives, trials and achievements of these men, travelled to Shetland, Orkney, the Faeroes and Iceland. In Iceland Linklater notes how quickly the soldiers must adapt to their surroundings whilst trying to engage a local population that is somewhat indignant at being 'occupied'. But when taking a closer look, we see the resilience ...

The earlier adventures of Juan Mosely – a lineal descendant of Byron's Don Juan – continue on an amorous adventure to China where he becomes involved in politics and welfare and deals with them in his own practical and fantastic way."Witty and amusing...Brilliant at times -- erratic -- original -- and for a somewhat sophisticated taste." -Kirkus Review

Originally published in 1935 and authored by a supporter of Scottish Nationalism, this book ascribes many of Scotland’s misfortunes in history to the sectarian wars and those of Edward I, as well as the havoc wrought by the Industrial Revolution and the decay of Scotland’s successive cultures. Reduced to political impotence by the early 20th Century and severed from that contact with Europe which fostered its early culture, the author feels its national life dwindled. Many of the themes su...

Martyrs to hypochondria and general seediness, J. and his friends George and Harris decide that a jaunt up the Thames would suit them to a 'T'. But when they set off, they can hardly predict the troubles that lie ahead with tow-ropes, unreliable weather-forecasts and tins of pineapple chunks - not to mention the devastation left in the wake of J.'s small fox-terrier Montmorency. Three Men in a Boat was an instant success when it appeared in 1889, and proved so popular that Jerome reunited ...