The Skeptical Romancer

The Skeptical Romancer PDF Author: W. Somerset Maugham
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307947637
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Get Book Here

Book Description
W. Somerset Maugham was one of the seminal writers of the twentieth century, and his travel writing has long been considered among his finest work. Now, acclaimed travel writer Pico Iyer maps out a masterful tour of these vivid, evocative pieces that are collected here for the first time. Maugham worked as a secret agent in Russia, published novels in London, staged plays in New York, and traveled throughout Europe, Asia, India, and the United States, chronicling his travels, wherever he went, with exceptional insight. Beginning with “In the Land of the Blessed Virgin” and culminating in “A Partial View,” Iyer selects vignettes of Maugham’s razor-sharp prose that track his transformation from a boyish traveler in Spain to a worldly man of letters. This is Maugham at his most keenly observant, direct, and powerful.

The Skeptical Romancer

The Skeptical Romancer PDF Author: W. Somerset Maugham
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307947637
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Get Book Here

Book Description
W. Somerset Maugham was one of the seminal writers of the twentieth century, and his travel writing has long been considered among his finest work. Now, acclaimed travel writer Pico Iyer maps out a masterful tour of these vivid, evocative pieces that are collected here for the first time. Maugham worked as a secret agent in Russia, published novels in London, staged plays in New York, and traveled throughout Europe, Asia, India, and the United States, chronicling his travels, wherever he went, with exceptional insight. Beginning with “In the Land of the Blessed Virgin” and culminating in “A Partial View,” Iyer selects vignettes of Maugham’s razor-sharp prose that track his transformation from a boyish traveler in Spain to a worldly man of letters. This is Maugham at his most keenly observant, direct, and powerful.

The Skeptical Romancer

The Skeptical Romancer PDF Author: W. Somerset Maugham
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0307272125
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
W. Somerset Maugham was one of the seminal writers of the twentieth century, and his travel writing has long been considered among his finest work. Now, acclaimed travel writer Pico Iyer maps out a masterful tour of these vivid, evocative pieces that are collected here for the first time. Maugham worked as a secret agent in Russia, published novels in London, staged plays in New York, and traveled throughout Europe, Asia, India, and the United States, chronicling his travels, wherever he went, with exceptional insight. Beginning with “In the Land of the Blessed Virgin” and culminating in “A Partial View,” Iyer selects vignettes of Maugham’s razor-sharp prose that track his transformation from a boyish traveler in Spain to a worldly man of letters. This is Maugham at his most keenly observant, direct, and powerful.

Of Human Bondage

Of Human Bondage PDF Author: W. Somerset Maugham
Publisher: Graphic Arts Books
ISBN: 1513288253
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 573

Get Book Here

Book Description
Of Human Bondage (1915) is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Inspired by his experiences as an orphan and young student, Maugham composed his masterpiece. Adapted several times for film, Of Human Bondage is a story of tragedy, perseverance, and the eternal search for happiness which drives us as much as it haunts our every move. Orphaned as a boy, Philip Carey is raised in an affectionless household by his aunt and uncle. Although his Aunt Louisa tries to make him feel welcome, William proves an uncaring, vindictive man. Left to fend for himself most days, Philip finds solace in the family’s substantial collection of books, which serve as an escape for the imaginative boy. Sent to study at a prestigious boarding school, Philip struggles to fit in with his peers, who abuse him for his intelligence and club foot. Despite his struggles, he perseveres in his studies and chooses his own path in life, moving to Heidelberg, Germany and denying his uncle’s wish that he attend Oxford. As he struggles to become a professional artist, Philip learns that one’s dreams are often unsubstantiated in the world of the living. Of Human Bondage is a tale of desire, disappointment, and romance by a master stylist with a keen sense of the complications inherent to human nature. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of W. Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage is a classic work of British literature reimagined for modern readers.

Collected Stories

Collected Stories PDF Author: William Somerset Maugham
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : British
Languages : en
Pages : 896

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this edition of short fictional works by the prestigious twentieth century author, writer Ashenden turns secret agent in World War I, the chasms of misunderstandings between colonizers and natives comes to a head, and a poetry writing woman clashes with her, the only hardcover edition of short stories by one of the twentieth century's most enduringly popular fiction writers. Though W. Somerset Maugham was also famous for his novels and plays, it has been argued that in the short story he reached the pinnacle of his art was his true métier. These expertly told tales, with their addictive plot twists and vividly drawn characters, are both galvanizing as literature and wonderfully entertaining. In the adventures of his alter ego Ashenden, a writer who, like Maugham himself, turned secret agent in World War I, as well as in stories set in such far flung locales as South Pacific islands and colonial outposts in Southeast Asia, Maugham brings his characters vividly to life, and their humanity is more convincing for the author's merciless exposure of their flaws and failures. Whether the chasms of misunderstanding he plumbs are those between colonizers and natives, between a missionary and a prostitute, or between a poetry writing woman and her uncomprehending husband, Maugham brilliantly displays his irony, his wit, and his genius in the art of storytelling.

The English Novel, Vol I

The English Novel, Vol I PDF Author: Richard W. F. Kroll
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317895991
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 281

Get Book Here

Book Description
The English Novel, Volume I:1700 to Fielding collects a series of previously-published essays on the early eighteenth-century novel in a single volume, reflecting the proliferation of theoretical approaches since the 1970s. The novel has been the object of some of the most exciting and important critical speculations, and the eighteenth-century novel has been at the centre of new approaches both to the novel and to the period between 1700 and 1750. Richard Kroll's introduction seeks to frame the contributions by reference to the most significant critical discussions. These include: the question of whether and how we can talk about the 'rise' of the novel; the vexed question of what might constitute a novel; the relationship between the novel and possibly competing genres such as history or the romance; the relationship between early male writers like Defoe and popular novels by women in the early eighteenth century; the general ideological role played by novels relative to eighteenth-century culture (are they means of ideological conscription or liberation?); poststructuralist analyses of identity and gender; and the emergence of sentimental and domestic codes after Richardson. Since the modern European novel is often thought to have been formed in this period, these debates have clear implications for students of the novel in general as well as for those interested in the early enlightenment. Headnotes place each essay within the map of these wider concerns, and the volume offers a useful further reading list. Taken as a whole, this collection encapsulates the state of criticism at the present moment.

The Moon and Sixpence

The Moon and Sixpence PDF Author: William Somerset Maugham
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 324

Get Book Here

Book Description


Bump in the Night

Bump in the Night PDF Author: Meredith Spies
Publisher: Meredith Spies
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 248

Get Book Here

Book Description
Julian Weems doesn’t believe in aliens, cryptids, ESP, pineapple on his pizza, or ghosts. Oscar Fellowes is determined to change his mind about at least two of those things. Julian Weems is a professional skeptic. Scratch that—he’s a disgraced ex-professor who just plays one on TV. Specifically, on UnReality’s soon-to-be-hit, Bump in the Night. Alongside medium Oscar Fellowes, Julian is set to investigate (alleged!) hauntings and get to the bottom of some old mysteries. That thumping sound upstairs? Floorboards settling. The cabinets that won’t stay closed? Old hinges. The disembodied voices, flying dishes, and crying maid who disappears in front of your very eyes? Well, there’s explanations for those, too. Oscar has plenty of them. Just not anything Julian can accept. You don’t have to believe in ghosts for them to believe in you. Oscar Fellowes has dealt with skeptics his entire life. None of them have ever been quite like Julian Weems, though. He doesn’t have to be an empath to pick up on the mutual attraction between them and he’s willing to overlook—for now—Julian’s adamant refusal to accept what’s happening around them. The Hendricks family who died over a century ago haven’t left their house, and they want help. The dead demand justice before they can rest in peace and their anger seems strong enough to reach between worlds. Bump in the Night is a paranormal romance and book one in a series. It can be read as a standalone but has elements that will continue throughout the rest of the series, including a growing romance between the resident skeptic and professional medium.

The Skeptic and the Rabbi

The Skeptic and the Rabbi PDF Author: Judy Gruen
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1631523031
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Get Book Here

Book Description
As Judy Gruen walked down the aisle and into her Orthodox Jewish future, her bouquet quivered in her shaky hand. Having grown up in the zeitgeist that proclaimed, “If it feels good, do it,” was she really ready to live the life of “rituals, rules, and restraints” that the Torah prescribed? The Skeptic and the Rabbi is a rare memoir with historical depth, spirituality, and intelligent humor. Gruen speaks with refreshing honesty about what it means to remain authentic to yourself while charting a new yet ancient spiritual path at odds with the surrounding culture, and writes touchingly about her family, including her two sets of grandparents, who influenced her in wildly opposite ways. As she navigates her new life with the man she loves and the faith she also loves—surviving several awkward moments, including when the rabbi calls to tell her that she accidentally served unkosher food to her Shabbat guests—Gruen brings the reader right along for the ride. Reading this wry, bold and compelling memoir, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and when you’re finished, you may also have a sudden craving for chicken matzo ball soup—kosher, of course.

The Romance of Desire

The Romance of Desire PDF Author: Susan L. Field
Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press
ISBN: 9780838637388
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 198

Get Book Here

Book Description
At times, Emerson experiences the other as an adversary and at other times as a lover.The author suggests ways in which contemporary readers are also Emerson's other, entangled as we are in a complex romance with a writer who conveyed his longing more than message.

Rogues, Romance, and Exoticism in French Cinema of the 1930s

Rogues, Romance, and Exoticism in French Cinema of the 1930s PDF Author: Colleen Kennedy-Karpat
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1611476135
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 231

Get Book Here

Book Description
Many popular French films of the 1930s captured the world and brought it into neighborhood cinemas for filmgoers who craved adventure. These films often served as visual postcards from the French empire, which enjoyed an unprecedented visibility in domestic popular culture between the world wars. But the public appetite for the exotic also transcended imperial borders. Exoticist films displayed landscapes and different that lay beyond the metropole, many of which were not subject to European rule. This broad conception of the exotic meant that French narrative cinema represented both colonial and non-colonial settings and populations, developing a coherent set of tropes that were shaped, yet not entirely defined, by the politics of imperial rule. Empire alone cannot address the full range of the French exoticist imaginary that was projected onto movie screens in the 30s. Only by venturing beyond imperial boundaries can we fully understand how the French saw non-Westerners and, by extension, how they saw themselves during this tumultuous decade. Rogues, Romance, and Exoticism in French Cinema of the 1930s proposes a critical framework for exoticist cinema that includes and exceeds the limits of empire. From rogue colons to the m tisse in love, from the deserts of North Africa to the streets of Shanghai, this book identifies and analyzes recurring figures, common settings, major stars, plot devices, and narrative outcomes that dominated exoticist cinema at its popular peak.