First Love and Other Novellas
ISBN : 9780141180151
Written in 1946, in what he later called la frenzy of writing', these four novellas are among the first substantial works resulting from Beckett's decision to use French as his language of literary composition. Richly humorous, they offer a fascinating insight into preoccupations which remained constant throughout the work of a writer who transformed the art of the novel and contemporary theatre. The aim of this new edition is to provide, as far as is possible, the most accurate texts, in English of the novellas.
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - And Other Tales of Terror
ISBN : 9780141439730
Published as a shilling shocker, Robert Louis Stevenson's dark psychological fantasy gave birth to the idea of the split personality. The story of respectable Dr Jekyll's strange association with damnable young man' Edward Hyde; the hunt through fog-bound London for a killer; and the final revelation of Hyde's true identity is a chilling exploration of humanity's basest capacity for evil. The other stories in this volume also testify to Stevenson's inventiveness within the Gothic tradition: Olalla, a tale of vampirism and tainted family blood, and The Body Snatcher, a gruesome fictionalisation of the exploits of the notorious Burke and Hare. This edition contains a critical introduction by Robert Mighall, which discusses class, criminality and the significance of the story's London setting. It also includes an essay on the scientific contexts of the novel and the development of the idea of the Jekyll and Hyde personality.
Architect's apprentice, the
ISBN : 9780241970942
'There were six of us: the master, the apprentices and the white elephant. We built everything together...' Sixteenth century Istanbul: a stowaway arrives in the city bearing an extraordinary gift for the Sultan. The boy is utterly alone in a foreign land, with no worldly possessions to his name except Chota, a rare and valuable white elephant destined for the palace menagerie. So begins an epic adventure that will see young Jahan rise from lowly origins to the highest ranks of the Sultan's court. Along the way he will meet deceitful courtiers and false friends, gypsies, animal tamers, and the beautiful, mischievous Princess Mihrimah. He will journey on Chota's back to the furthest corners of the Sultan's kingdom and back again.