Modern Fiction

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, unique tales inspired by traditional literary forms appeared frequently in socialist-leaning British periodicals, such as the Clarion, Labour Leader, and Social Democrat. Based on familiar genres, these stories were meant to entertain readers of all ages - and some challenged the conventional values promoted in children’s literature for the middle class. Acclaimed critic and author Michael Rosen brings together more than 40 of the best and most enduring examples of these stories in one beautiful volume.

Shyima Hall was born in Egypt on September 29, 1989, the seventh child of desperately poor parents. When she was eight, her parents sold her into slavery. Shyima then moved two hours away to Egypt's capitol city of Cairo to live with a wealthy family and serve them eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. When she was ten, her captors moved to Orange County, California, and smuggled Shyima with them. Two years later, an anonymous call from a neighbor brought about the end of Shyima's servitude - but her journey to true freedom was far from over.

Der Geschmack einer Madeleine, das Licht einer Laterna Magica, der Duft der Weißdornhecke: Schlüsselerlebnisse, die im Kopf des Erzählers Marcel unwillkürlich Erinnerungen hervorrufen. Kunstfertig und detailgetreu entsteht das Panorama des alten Combray und der Stadt Paris mit ihren Salons und Bällen. Kurz: einer Zeit, die verloren und doch gegenwärtig scheint.

High in the Himalayas near Darjeeling, the old mountaintop palace shines like a jewel. When it was the General's 'harem' palace, richly dressed ladies wandered the windswept terraces; at night, music floated out over the villages and gorges. Now, the General's son has bestowed it on an order of nuns, the Sisters of Mary. Well-intentioned yet misguided, the nuns set about taming the gardens and opening a school and dispensary for the villagers.

In 1979 the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith withdrew Hans Kung's missio canonica. Pope Paul VI approved the censure saying, "We are obligated to declare that in his writings he fell short of integrity and the truth of the Catholic faith." Through a 1980 agreement with the Vatican, Kung is now permitted to teach, but only under secular auspices. In this acclaimed Modern Library Chronicle, Kung examines the Catholic Church through its many reformations, focusing on the people and events...

1960. The border between East and West Germany has closed. For Elisabeth - a young painter - the GDR is her generation's chance to build a glorious, egalitarian socialist future. For her brother Uli, it is a place of stricture and oppression. Separating them is the ever-wider chasm of the party line; over them loom the twin spectres of opportunity and fear, and the shadow of their defector brother Konrad. In prose as bold as a scarlet paint stroke, Brigitte Reimann battles with the clash of idealism and suppression, familial loyalty and desire.

Maeve O'Reilly Kensington has fully recovered from her heart-pounding escape from a murderer last summer. Now she and her husband, Will, are happily adapting to life as parents of an eight-month-old while also preparing for the birth of their second daughter. Will's catering business, A Thyme for All Seasons, is booming and Maeve's midwifery practice has blossomed under new hospital leadership.

More than 24 hours of Druids, dragons, demigods, and danger fill this modern Arthurian epic omnibus set! Legacies are forged through sacrifice.

Tiger-shifter Lord Bane Dunsaney released Nick Fairfax from the deal that bound the young man to his service for a year. Then Bane fled, afraid that the beast inside of him would harm Nick if he stayed. He never thought to see Nick again. Little did Bane know, Nick has chosen to stay at his estate, Moon Shadow, to await the return of the lord who has his heart.

How do you get people to appreciate what is right in front of them? In The Tale of the Mandarin Duck, it takes a mysterious, beautiful duck and a clear-eyed kid to point out the obvious! This audiobook will have listeners of all ages coming back to visit the fantastical interpretation of New York City and its odd ducks - both feathered and human.

Nick Fairfax believes that his romance with Lord Bane Dunsaney is over. Bane has chosen revenge against Nick’s family over his love for Nick. And Bane’s secret - that he is the guardian of a tiger spirit - has also caused a wedge between them with Nick still in the dark about Bane’s true nature. Can they overcome these seemingly insurmountable problems and find their happily ever after? Cursed: Beloved is the third and final book in the Cursed series.

When new bride Kaveri Murthy reluctantly agrees to investigate a minor crime during the blood moon eclipse to please her domineering mother-in-law, she doesn't expect to stumble upon a murder - again. With anti-British sentiments on the rise, a charismatic religious leader growing in influence, and the fight for women's suffrage gaining steam, Bangalore is turning out to be a far more dangerous place than Kaveri ever imagined, and everyone's motives are suspect.

Svenska kulter består av skräcknoveller som skildrar en tillvaro ganska lik vår egen. Fast ändå inte. I Anders Fagers Sverige vandrar fasor mitt ibland oss lyckligt ovetande och andra världar med andra regler och härskare, existerar parallellt. Att läsa Svenska kulter är som att träda in i ett spegelland. Saker är bekanta, men samtidigt skruvade.

Zella has been faithful to the Program her entire life, never doubting Mother’s choice to keep her in isolation since birth. As the first “Child of the Lighthouse,” she’s always had a responsibility to be an example to the others—be grateful, be obedient. But after seventeen long years up in her lighthouse all alone, it’s getting a lot harder to push down her secret—and forbidden—dreams of living a normal life, no matter the risks she’s heard of. She secretly dreams of freedom.

Savanna Royce is a weekend Goth-girl who’s always been fascinated with vampires. She doesn’t really believe in them, of course, but that changes when she’s bitten by a rogue vamp and left for dead. Fortunately, two-hundred-and-seventy-eight-year-old vampire Kaige Travers is there to rescue her. Unwilling to let her die, he turns Savanna into a vampire to save her life—not knowing if she’ll thank him or hate him for it.

On August 10, 1632, five men in flowing black robes convened in a somber Roman palazzo to pass judgment on a deceptively simple proposition: that a continuous line is composed of distinct and infinitely tiny parts. With the stroke of a pen the Jesuit fathers banned the doctrine of infinitesimals, announcing that it could never be taught or even mentioned. The concept was deemed dangerous and subversive, a threat to the belief that the world was an orderly place, governed by a strict and unchanging set of rules.

They call me the Royal Rebel. As the youngest princess, and daughter of the King's brother, I'm known for pushing boundaries. With fashion. With my family. With men. I don't play by their rules. I make up my own. That changes when I run into Colin Bennick at a wedding reception. With his title and connections, he's everything I've tried to avoid in a man. But with his sexy, dark-haired looks—and the ink on his forearm—he has definitely caught my attention.

This is a story from the Canterbury Tales III: Modern Verse Translation collection.

Esther is nearing thirty, with a great job and a flat she shares with her two best friends, Bibi and Louise. But her life is missing that special someone. Tired of being single and sick of bad date after bad date, she thinks she’s found the answer to her romance problem in an old women's magazine. According to the magazine’s dating column, there are seven archetypes a woman will date before finding Mr. Right.

Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, a collection of narratives written between 1387 and 1400, tells of a group of 30 people from all layers of society who pass the time along their pilgrimage to Canterbury by telling stories to one another, their interaction mediated (at times) by the affable host - Chaucer himself. Naxos AudioBooks’ third volume presents the tales of six people, here in an unabridged modern verse translation (by Frank Ernest Hill, 1935).