Classic Love

Love is Angela Carter's fifth novel and was first published in 1971. With surgical precision it charts the destructive emotional war between a young woman, her husband and his disruptive brother as they move through a labyrinth of betrayal, alienation and lost connections.

After vowing to avoid women, the king and three of his friends have to host a princess and her three ladies. The four men fall in love and decide to court the women. In the end, the women must return to their kingdom for a year after which they will marry the king and his friends, providing they remain true to them.

These four tales are based on very old stories collected and retold by Lin Yutang in Famous Chinese Short Stories, originally published in 1948. Lin wrote dozens of books in Chinese and English, and has been recognized for his witty and warm style of writing, and for bringing Chinese culture to an English-speaking audience. We have selected four of his best stories for inclusion in this book, and have retold them to appeal to modern listeners and use a limited vocabulary of just 700 different Chinese words.

It is hay-making time on the Wookey farm. Two brothers are building the haystack, but thinking about other things – about young women, and love. There are angry words, and then a fight between the brothers. But the work goes on, visitors come and go, and the long hot summer day slowly turns to evening. Then the sun goes down, covering the world with a carpet of darkness. From the hedges around the hayfield comes the rich, sweet smell of wild flowers, and the hay will make a fine, soft bed.

The late film icon and screen legend Kirk Douglas was married to Anne Buydens for more than six decades. Here they both look back on a lifetime filled with drama both on and off the screen. Sharing priceless correspondence with each other as well as the celebrities and world leaders they called friends, Kirk and Anne is a candid portrayal of the pleasures and pitfalls of a Hollywood life lived in the public eye. Compiled from Anne's private archive of letters and photographs, this is an intimate glimpse into the Douglases' courtship and marriage.

Pretty, unworldly Sophia is twenty-one years old and hastily married to a young painter called Charles. An artist's model with an eccentric collection of pets, she is ill-equipped to cope with the bohemian London of the 1930s, where poverty, babies (however much loved) and her husband conspire to torment her. Hoping to add some spice to her life, Sophia takes up with Peregrine, a dismal, ageing critic, and comes to regret her marriage - and her affair.

Zuleika Dobson, internationally famous prestidigitator visits her grandfather, the Warden of Judas College, Oxford. But Zuleika, "though not strictly beautiful" is a devastatingly attractive young woman, and proves utterly irresistible among the all-male undergraduate body - including the snobbish and trend-setting young Duke of Dorset. Thus begins a chain of events that culminates in a very watery end to the Eights Week boat races...

On the shores of Lake Erie sits the enchanted little town of Chancellor where fairy tales live, dreams come true, and happily ever afters always reign supreme. In this three book boxed set, you'll find a heart-warming collection of sweet romance fractured fairy tales. From mermaids to witches to faeries, the residents of Chancellor are far from ordinary. Enjoy these twisted fairy tales loosely based on The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and classic witch tales.

Classic stories of gods, goddesses, heroes and monsters come to life in a stunning tableau of Norse myths, including those of the thunder god Thor, the one-eyed god and Allfather Odin, and the trickster god Loki. The lyrical storytelling of award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli dramatizes the timeless tales of ancient Scandinavia.

Imagine a world where the whispers of ancient Rome come alive, where intrigue and bravery shape the destiny of empires. Jeanette Vigon's adaptation brings the monumental story of "Julius Caesar" to young listeners, transforming Shakespeare's historical drama into an unforgettable adventure.

هو فن من فنون الأدب الروسي،مجموعة قصصية تتكون من 54 قصة،تسلط الضوء على مواقف كشافة قد توهم النظر بأنها سطحية و عابرة،بواسطة مزيج أسلوبي يمكن أن ندعوه بالفكاهة التهكمية الحزينة،فهي لا تقوم على أساس الحب كما يوهم العنوان،ففيها الكثير من الحماقات والخيبات وأيضاً الإبتسامات والضحكات .ف.

This is the heartbreaking and passionate tale of true love's blindness and destruction by the bestselling author of the Victorian era, who romances were beloved of figures as diverse as Gladstone, Churchill, and Queen Victoria herself.

We have collected for you the most beautiful love stories fairy tales ever written. This collection begins with tales from Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Perrault, two absolute masters of the genre, whose stories have been universally read ever since, and by tales collected by the Brothers Grimm, who compiled ancestral folktales known for their beauty and wisdom. Let children develop their imagination and sensitivity with these touching tales of love.

Ptah, a versatile and highly confident martial artist, has been the welterweight champion of his division for the past five years. His prowess in the ring is near legendary, and he is popularly known as Ptah the Wizard. As a member of the Dogon clan, Ptah's family has been instrumental in establishing the multimillion dollar earnings for fighters that truly proved themselves in the arena.

“I’m a virgin. And you need to relieve me of that.” What respectable guy could say no to that? Yeah, she was my best friend. But she was also the hottest chick I’d ever known. I thought it would be simple. I thought we’d have a good time, then pretend like it never happened. It turns out, I was an idiot. Now, she wants nothing to do with me, but I’m determined. I’ve spent the last five years without her, and I refuse to waste another day.

Dr. Joseph Murphy was a proponent of the New Thought movement, developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by many philosophers and deep thinkers who studied this phenomenon and preached, wrote, and practiced a new way of looking at life. By combining a metaphysical, spiritual, and pragmatic approach to the way we think and live, they uncovered the secret of attaining what we truly desire. In this three-book set, Dr. Joseph Murphy shows you how to live your best life now.

Sensual, rebellious Anna falls deeply and passionately in love with the handsome Count Vronsky. When she refuses to conduct the discreet affair that her cold, ambitious husband - and Russian high society - would condone, she is doomed. Set against the tragic love of Anna and Vronsky, the plight of the melancholy nobleman Konstantine Levin unfolds. In doubt about the meaning of life - a mirror of Tolstoy’s own spiritual crisis - Konstantine is haunted by thoughts of suicide.

Multiple award-winners Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have gathered together 22 tales of unearthly temptations wickedly concocted by some of today's most potent literary conjurers - including Neil Gaiman, Jan Yolen, Michael Swanwick, and Joyce Carol Oates. Here are stories of incubi and succubi, of forbidden fruits harvested in erotic gardens, of pleasures that persist beyond death. So heed the sirens' song. Lie back, relax, and submit to the darkest delights you have ever experienced.

When the beautiful Jessica Pruitt arrives in Venice to star in a film based on The Merchant of Venice, she is preoccupied: She has recently lost custody of her daughter, and as an older actress she is increasingly aware of the difficulty of landing leading roles. One day, as she wanders through an old Jewish ghetto, Jessica is magically transported to 16th-century Venice where she finds herself the heroine of "Will" Shakespeare's play. Immediately attracted to the younger playwright, Jessica enters into an intensely passionate love affair that defies time and place.

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. They can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made. If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something.