Showing titles in Literary History & Criticism

Dante Alighieri was early in recognizing that our age has a problem. His hometown, Florence, was at the epicenter of the move from the medieval world to the modern. The Divine Comedy was born in a time of troubling transition, which is why it still speaks today. In this narrative retelling and guide, from the gates of hell, up the mountain of purgatory, to the empyrean of paradise, Mark Vernon offers a vivid introduction and interpretation of a book that, 700 years on, continues to open minds and change lives.

Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is universally regarded as one of literature's finest achievements, as the great Russian novelist explores the inner workings of a troubled intellectual. Raskolnikov, a nihilistic young man in the midst of a spiritual crisis, makes the fateful decision to murder a cruel pawnbroker, justifying his actions by relying on science and reason, and creating his own morality system. Dehumanized yet sympathetic, exhausted yet hopeful, Raskolnikov represents the best and worst elements of modern intellectualism. The aftermath of his crime and Petrovich's murder investigation result in an utterly compelling, truly unforgettable cat-and-mouse game. This stunning dramatization of Dostoevsky's magnum opus brings the slums of St. Petersburg and the demons of Raskolnikov's tortured mind vividly to life.

Short Stories in Italian for Intermediate Learners has been written specifically for students from a low-intermediate to intermediate level, designed to give a sense of achievement and, most importantly - enjoyment! Mapped to B1-B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference, these eight captivating stories will both entertain you and give you a feeling of progress when listening.

We’re sisters who usually like the same books and tv shows and whatnot. So when the other sister refuses to read/watch something the other one loves it’s suuuuuper frustrating (because we have great taste, what’s not to love about what WE ALREADY LOVE?) That’s where ‘My Sister Made Me View It’ comes in. The other one has to watch/read/whatever she has been refusing to watch/read/whatever and then we podcast about it.

The story of Christopher Isherwood's life is one of pilgrimage: away from the constraints of inheritance and empire and toward authenticity and spiritual illumination. Isherwood—the author of Goodbye to Berlin, which inspired Cabaret, and A Single Man—was born the heir to a crumbling English estate. He died an icon of gay liberation in California while his partner, Don Bachardy, painted his death portrait.

From one of the most acclaimed and profound writers in the world of comics comes a thrilling and provocative exploration of humankind's great modern myth: the superhero. In this exhilarating work of a lifetime, Grant Morrison draws on art, science, mythology, and his own astonishing journeys through this shadow universe to provide the first true history of the superhero - why they matter, why they will always be with us, and what they tell us about who we are... and what we may yet become.

For over 500 years, The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli has been one of the most influential—and controversial—works ever written on leadership, politics, and human nature. This Complete Edition brings Machiavelli’s insights to today’s listener with a faithful line-by-line modernization that keeps the original tone, structure, and message fully intact. Designed to be both accessible and authentic, this edition allows modern listeners to engage directly with Machiavelli’s ideas—without the barriers of outdated language or dense phrasing.

P. D. James'sextraordinary memoir of her early life and time starting out as a novelist as well as diaries recording her in old age. In this intriguing and very personal book, part diary, part memoir, P. D. James considers the twelve months of her life between her seventy-seventh and seventy-eighth birthdays and looks back on her earlier life.

Join two siblings on an exciting journey as they dive into ancient myths and uncover how these tales shaped modern pop culture, all while reading Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians. New episodes every other Tuesday!

Brought to you by Penguin. The first collection of Booker Prize-winning writer Anne Enright's non-fiction writing about culture, literature and her own life For thirty years Anne Enright has been paying attention: casting her lucid and distinctive gaze across the world, literature and her own...

Winter, with its unsettling blend of the cosy and the sinister, has long been a popular time for gathering by the bright flame of a candle, or the warm crackling of a fire, and swapping stories of ghosts and strange happenings. Now eight best-selling, award-winning authors, master storytellers of the sinister and the macabre bring this time-honoured tradition to vivid life in a spellbinding collection of new and original haunted tales.

Bloomsbury presents A is for Arsenic by Kathryn Harkup, read by Nicky Diss. Shortlisted for the BMA Book Awards and Macavity Awards 2016 Fourteen novels. Fourteen poisons. Just because it's fiction doesn’t mean it's all made-up ... Agatha Christie revelled in the use of poison to kill off...

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. If it is a truth universally acknowledged that a good-looking girl cannot fail of attracting a clever young man does it follow that the reverse is also true? If the man comes of a terrifyingly dysfunctional family and the girl in question likes to see spooks and horrors round every corner, yes. Morland by name, Lackland by nature, Catherine, not altogether addicted to the heroine role in general, finds this greatness thrust upon her in the (fortunately, principally financial) fantasies of her would-be inamorato's father, the General. When the General finds ...

Penelope Lively has always been a keen gardener. This audiobook is partly a memoir of her own life in gardens: the large garden at home in Cairo where she spent most of her childhood, her grandmother's garden in a sloping Somerset field, then two successive Oxfordshire gardens of her own and the smaller urban garden in the North London home she lives in today. It's also a wise, engaging exploration of gardens in literature, from Paradise Lost to Alice in Wonderland.

Filled with the twists, pathos and unusual characters that sprang from this novelist's extraordinary imagination, The Mystery of Charles Dickens looks back from the legendary writer's death to recall the key events in his life. In doing so, A.N. Wilson seeks to understand Dickens' creative genius and enduring popularity. Following his life from cradle to grave, it becomes clear that Dickens's fiction drew from his own experiences. Dickens knew first-hand the poverty and pain his characters endured, including the scandal of a failed marriage.

Haruki Murakami's myriad fans will be delighted by this unique look into the mind of a master storyteller. In this engaging book, the internationally best-selling author and famously reclusive writer shares with listeners what he thinks about being a novelist; his thoughts on the role of the novel in our society; his own origins as a writer; and his musings on the sparks of creativity that inspire other writers, artists, and musicians.

Speak, Memory, first published in 1951 as Conclusive Evidence and then assiduously revised in 1966, is an elegant and rich evocation of Nabokov’s life and times, even as it offers incisive insights into his major works, including Lolita, Pnin, Despair, The Gift, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, and The Luhzin Defense.

The internet's resident librarian, Jack Edwards, presents... Inklings! The Inklings Book Club is a community for book lovers, championing storytellers from around the world. Subscribe for weekly author interviews and our spotlight monthly book club chat, where we'll be grilling authors on their writing process, inspiration, and future projects. To be involved with the group-read, search Inklings on the Fable app or join us on Instagram.

'Extraordinary. A fabulous read' SIMON SCHAMA 'Wonderful. He writes with eloquence and wit' NICHOLAS HYTNER Simon Russell Beale is one of Britain's most recognisable and well-loved actors. He has played many roles on stage, film, television and radio - ranging from Winston Churchill to Stalin...

Set in the fictional South American country of Costaguana, Nostromo explores the volatile politics and crippling greed surrounding the San Tomé silver mine. The story of power, love, revolutions, loyalty and reward is told with richly evocative description and brilliantly realised characters. But Nostromo is more than an adventure story; it is also a profoundly dark moral fable. Its language is as compellingly resonant as the sea itself; the characters absorbing and complex.