As the dream of the celt opens, it is the summer of 1916 and roger casement awaits the hangman in londons pentonville prison dublin lies in ruins after the disastrous easter rising led by his comrades of the irish volunteers he has been caught after landing from a german submarine for the past year he has attempted to raise an irish brigade from prisoners of war to fight alongside the germans against the british empire that awarded him a knighthood only a few years before and now his petition for clemency is threatened by the leaking of his private diary and his secret life as a gay manvargas-llosa, with his incomparable gift for powerful historical narrative, takes the reader on a journey back through a remarkable life dedicated to the exposure of barbaric treatment of indigenous peoples by european predators in the congo and amazonia casement was feted as one of the greatest humanitarians of the age now he is about to die ignominiously as a traitor

As the dream of the celt opens, it is the summer of 1916 and roger casement awaits the hangman in londons pentonville prison dublin lies in ruins after the disastrous easter rising led by his comrades of the irish volunteers he has been caught after landing from a german submarine for the past year he has attempted to raise an irish brigade from prisoners of war to fight alongside the germans against the british empire that awarded him a knighthood only a few years before and now his petition for clemency is threatened by the leaking of his private diary and his secret life as a gay manvargas-llosa, with his incomparable gift for powerful historical narrative, takes the reader on a journey back through a remarkable life dedicated to the exposure of barbaric treatment of indigenous peoples by european predators in the congo and amazonia casement was feted as one of the greatest humanitarians of the age now he is about to die ignominiously as a traitor

All About Love offers radical new ways to think about love by showing its interconnectedness in our private and public lives. In eleven concise chapters, hooks explains how our everyday notions of what it means to give and receive love often fail us, and how these ideals are established in early childhood. She offers a rethinking of self-love (without narcissism) that will bring peace and compassion to our personal and professional lives, and asserts the place of love to end struggles between individuals, in communities, and among societies. Moving from the cultural to the intimate, hooks notes the ties between love and loss and challenges the prevailing notion that romantic love is the most important love of all. Visionary and original, hooks shows how love heals the wounds we bear as individuals and as a nation, for it is the cornerstone of compassion and forgiveness and holds the power to overcome shame. For readers who have found ongoing delight and wisdom in bell hooks's life and work, and for those who are just now discovering her, All About Love is essential reading and a brilliant book that will change how we think about love, our culture-and one another.

'Sharp and still relevant' - Zadie Smith'A mosaic of wise, urgent and moving pieces' - Kit de Waal'A book to be savoured and re-read' - Derek Owusu________Recognized as one of the great poets of modern times, and as a deeply respected and influential political and cultural activist and social critic, Linton Kwesi Johnson is also a prolific writer of non-fiction. In Time Come, he selects some of his most powerful prose – book and record reviews published in newspapers and magazines, lectures, obituaries and speeches – for the first time. Written over many decades, it is a body of work that draws creatively and critically on Johnson’s own Jamaican roots and on Caribbean history to explore the politics of race that continue to inform the Black British experience.Ranging from reflections on the place of music in Caribbean and Black British culture as a creative, defiant response to oppression, to his penetrating appraisals of music and literature, and including warm tributes paid to the activists and artists who inspired him to find his own voice as a poet and compelled him to contribute to the struggle for racial equality and social justice, Time Come is a panorama of an exceptional life. A collection that ventures into memoir, it underscores Johnson’s enduring importance in Britain’s cultural history and reminds us of his brilliant, unparalleled legacy.With an introduction by Paul Gilroy'An outstanding collection' - Caryl Phillips'A necessary book from a writer who continues to inspire' - Yomi Sode'Incisive, engaging, fearless' - Gary Younge

Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage is a long poem about a traveling young man who journeys across the world to combat his disillusionment with his own society. Since the title character is a "childe", it means he was a noble who forgoes his destiny back home for the exciting unknown. It's also eerily similar to Lord Byron's own life story, of a man who traveled across Europe to take part in other nations' wars.

For the last twenty years, George Saunders has been teaching a class on the Russian short story to his MFA students at Syracuse University. In A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, he shares a version of that class with us, offering some of what he and his students have discovered together over the years. Paired with iconic short stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, the seven essays in this book are intended for anyone interested in how fiction works and why it’s more relevant than ever in these turbulent times. In his introduction, Saunders writes, “We’re going to enter seven fastidiously constructed scale models of the world, made for a specific purpose that our time maybe doesn’t fully endorse but that these writers accepted implicitly as the aim of art—namely, to ask the big questions, questions like, How are we supposed to be living down here? What were we put here to accomplish? What should we value? What is truth, anyway, and how might we recognize it?” He approaches the stories technically yet accessibly, and through them explains how narrative functions; why we stay immersed in a story and why we resist it; and the bedrock virtues a writer must foster. The process of writing, Saunders reminds us, is a technical craft, but also a way of training oneself to see the world with new openness and curiosity. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is a deep exploration not just of how great writing works but of how the mind itself works while reading, and of how the reading and writing of stories make genuine connection possible.

This is a revision of Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali, a best seller for 30 years. Retold by griots, the guardians of African Culture, this oral tradition has been handed down from the thirteenth century and captures all the mystery and majesty of medieval African kingship. It is the epic tale, based on an actual figure, of Sundiata (Sunjata). Part history and part legend, it tells how Sundiata fulfilled the prophesies that he would unite the twelve kingdoms of Mali into a powerful empire. This Revised Edition includes background information which provides a geographical, religious, social, and political context for the story. A 'who's who of characters' and 'a glossary of places' will enhance the reader's experience.

One of the most highly regarded novels of 1986, Vikram Seth's story in verse made him a literary household name in both the United States and India. John Brown, a successful yuppie living in 1980s San Francisco meets a romantic interest in Liz, after placing a personal ad in the newspaper. From this interaction, John meets a variety of characters, each with their own values and ideas of "self-actualization." However, Liz begins to fall in love with John's best friend, and John realizes his journey of self-discovery has only just begun.

"Morning and evening Maids heard the goblins cry: “Come buy our orchard fruits, Come buy, come buy... Experience the temptation, pleasure, punishment, and redemption of Christina Rossetti's brilliant poetic masterpiece. First published in 1862, the work is the phantasmagoric tale of two maidens seduced by lewd goblin men, and it provides a startling glimpse into the depths of the Victorian psyche. For children, the story offers a captivating adventure into a land of fantasy. For adults, it's a lyrical and sensual allegory of temptation, sacrifice, and salvation. Christina Rossetti (1830–1894) was one of the most important women poets writing in nineteenth-century England. She was born in London December 5, 1830, within a family of poets, artists, and critics. Today she is best remembered by her infamous poem 'Goblin Market' (1862), but also by 'Complete Poems' and 'Selected Poems of Christina Rossetti' (1970).

With an Introduction by Dr Tim Cook. Robert Browning (1812-1889) represents the intellectual and argumentative strand in English poetry in contrast to the more ornate style of Spenser and Tennyson. His poetry demonstrates how a poet must be a sharp perceptive observer of the complexity of the human condition. Perhaps his most moving poetry was written to express his feelings for his wife, the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, in which he deals in a very 'modern' way with the uncomfortable fact that we can never quite bridge the gap between ourselves and the people we love.

T. S. Eliot's verse dramatization of the murder of Thomas Becket at Canterbury, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Archbishop Thomas Becket speaks fatal words before he is martyred in T. S. Eliot's best-known drama, based on the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1170. Praised for its poetically masterful handling of issues of faith, politics, and the common good, T. S. Eliot's play bolstered his reputation as the most significant poet of his time.

With The Mysteries of Udolpho, Ann Radcliffe raised the Gothic romance to a new level and inspired a long line of imitators. Portraying her heroine's inner life, creating a thick atmosphere of fear, and providing a gripping plot that continues to thrill readers today, The Mysteries of Udolpho is the story of orphan Emily St. Aubert, who finds herself separated from the man she loves and confined within the medieval castle of her aunt's new husband, Montoni. Inside the castle, she must cope with an unwanted suitor, Montoni's threats, and the wild imaginings and terrors that threaten to overwhelm her. This new edition includes an introduction that discusses the publication and early reception of the novel, the genre of Gothic romance, and Radcliffe's use of history, exotic settings, the supernatural, and poetry.

Pippa Passes is a collection of dramatic monologues written by the British poet Robert Browning, first published in 1901. The title poem, Pippa Passes, tells the story of a young silk worker named Pippa who, on her one day off a year, wanders through the town of Asolo, Italy, observing the lives of the town's inhabitants and inadvertently influencing their actions. The other poems in the collection are also dramatic monologues, each spoken by a different character and exploring themes of love, jealousy, betrayal, and redemption. The collection is notable for its use of multiple voices and perspectives, as well as its vivid descriptions of the Italian countryside and its people. Browning's poetic style is characterized by his use of complex language and syntax, as well as his interest in exploring the psychology of his characters. Pippa Passes remains a significant work in Browning's oeuvre and in the history of English literature.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.