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Hubert Selby Jr., acclaimed author of the classic novel Last Exit to Brooklyn, tells the powerful story of an extraordinary bond between an African-American teen seeking vengeance in the wake of tragedy and an old man who guides him toward redemptionGrowing up in New York Citys soul-killing South Bronx ghetto, Bobby, a young black teenager, has only known violence, poverty, and despair. But there is one true light in his life: his girlfriend, Maria. On their way to school one morning, they are set upon by a vicious street gang. Bobby, beaten bloody and senseless, survives, rescued by an old German man who is himself a survivor of the Nazi death camps. The man calls himself Moishe, though he claims not to be Jewish, and he takes the damaged boy under his wing, determined to help heal his physical and psychological wounds. An unlikely friendship is born, strengthened by a shared sense of loss and lifes tragic injustices. But Moishes message of learning to forgive the unforgivable falls on deaf ears, because there is a hole in Bobbys heart that only revenge can fill. Hubert Selby Jr.s extraordinary novel is a devastating work of raw power and stylistic brilliance that captures the pain and hardship of twentieth-century urban life. Unflinching and unrelenting, in the vein of his acclaimed masterwork, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Selbys The Willow Tree is a dark tale tempered by hope: a story of love, death, rage, violence, and salvation. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hubert Selby Jr. including rare photos from the authors estate.

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When a madman begins using the work of Botticelli as inspiration for his gruesome tableaus, a New York museum curator is the only man who can stop himMike Manship is an up-and-coming curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. With a Botticelli retrospective fast approaching, Manship is poised to become the Mets director if he can secure three final drawings from Italy. Standing in his way is Ludovico Borghini, a neo-fascist count with a fanatical devotion to his Italian heritage and a deadly obsession with the Renaissance masters work. Between them are the three masterpieces and the alluring Isobel Cattaneo, a direct descendant of Botticellis greatest muse, Simonetta.Borghini is determined to maintain possession of the drawings, and in the grips of his mania, he kidnaps Cattaneo, whom he suspects of aiding Manship. As the search for Cattaneo reaches a fever pitch, Manship discovers that Borghini is a much more twisted nemesis than he could ever have anticipatedone whose depravity reaches chilling depths.

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A WWII soldier embarks on affairs with two very different men in a landmark novel that transcends categorizations (The Telegraph).  After being wounded at Dunkirk in World War II, Laurie Odell is sent back home to a rural British hospital. Standing out among the orderlies is Andrew, a bright conscientious objector raised as a Quaker. The unspoken romance between the two men is tested when Ralph, a friend of Lauries from school, re-enters his life, introducing him into a milieu of jaded, experienced gay men. Will Laurie reconcile himself to Ralphs embrace, or can he offer Andrew the idealized, Platonic intimacy he yearns for? This novel has been called one of the foundation stones of gay literary fiction, ranking alongside James Baldwins Giovannis Room and Gore Vidals The City and the Pillar. Celebrated for its literary brilliance and sincere depiction of complex human emotions, The Charioteer is a stirring and beautifully rendered portrayal of love. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary Renault including rare images of the author.

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The New York Timesbestselling author of The King Must Die continues the story of the mythical Greek hero, Theseus, the founder of Athens. In The Bull from the Sea, the story of Theseus resumes with the heros return from Knossos. In the wake of his fathers suicide, Athens is now Theseuss to rule. With his close friend Pirithoos, Theseus sets out for the land of the Amazons, falling in love with their beautiful leader, Hippolyta. Her boldness and sense of honor match his own, but though theyre happy and bear a son, tragedy lies ahead. The Athenians mistrust the foreign Hippolyta, and Theseus is forced to marry Phaedra, his betrothed. War wracks the land, and brings with it death that will change the Athenian king forever. As the darkness gathers, a valiant heros life draws poignantly to a close. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary Renault including rare images of the author.

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An intriguing and invaluable biography of Alexander the Great by the novelist whose fiction redefined Ancient Greece (The New York Times). Acclaimed writer Mary Renault is widely known for her provocative historical novels of Alexander the Great and his lovers. But she also authored this nonfiction classic, a fresh, illuminating look at a man whose legend has remained larger than life for more than two thousand years.   From his dysfunctional family dynamics to his molding under Aristotle, from his shocking rise to power at age twenty to the staggering violence of his military campaigns, Renault is clear-eyed about Alexanders accomplishments and his flaws. Infectious in its enthusiasm, this is a penetrating study of an unrivaled conqueror, enduring icon, and fascinating man.   Hailed as both a splendid achievement in nonfiction (The Plain Dealer) and the perfect companion to her Alexander novels (The Wall Street Journal), Renaults engrossing and accessible biography stands alone in the pantheon of Alexander the Great literature.This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary Renault including rare images of the author.

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Earthy, thoughtful, funny stories of love and despair, destiny and dumb luck, by the author of Last Exit to Brooklyn and Requiem for a Dream (Library Journal). Hubert Selby Jr. made an indelible mark on contemporary American literature with Last Exit to Brooklyn, a controversial novel that explored life at the lowest strata of urban society. But even before that novel altered the landscape of American fiction, Selby was honing his literary craft with short fiction that cast the human condition in a stark light, stories known for their harrowing portrayal of mere mortals chasing their delusions down the drain (Salon.com).   The stories here represent Selby at his best, whether hes exploring a married commuters fantasy about a stranger he sees every morning on the subway or wryly spinning the tale of a salesman whose life is dictated by Chinese fortune cookies. In these pages, a homeless man clings to his old army coat during a bitter lost weekend; and a young mans successful attempt to impress a girl on their first date comes back to haunt him. In the intimate, sometimes shocking portraits collected in Song of the Silent Snow, Selby finds the delicate balance between joy and despair, revealing humanity in the darkest corners of existence.   Selbys writing never diminished; it always increased. His body of work is among the very highest of contemporary writers. He did not get the acknowledgment that he deserved, but he will. John Rechy, author of City of Night  This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hubert Selby Jr. including rare photos from the authors estate.  

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This novel of ancient Greece, featuring Plato and a young actor, by the bestselling author of the Novels of Alexander the Great, is a shining light (Hilary Mantel, Man Booker Awardwinning author of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies). In the fourth century BC, Nikeratos is an actor, a devotee of Plato, and a friend of Dion of Syracuse. Their relationship gives Nikeratos rare proximity to the Greek political stage at a moment when ambitions are about to collide. In Syracuse, the young tyrant Dionysios the Younger rules, but Dion is determined to bring democracy and strength to the city. In an effort to curb Dionysioss excesses, Dion has Plato pose as a tutoronly to learn that the corrupt youth wont be so easily contained. With a combination of erudition and storytelling force, Renault immerses the reader in intrigue and crafts a vibrant Syracuse that leaps off the page. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary Renault including rare images of the author.

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New York Times Bestseller: This retelling of the Greek myth of Theseus, king of Athens, is one of the truly fine historical novels of modern times (The New York Times).  In myth, Theseus was the slayer of the child-devouring Minotaur in Crete. What the founder-hero might have been in real life is another question, brilliantly explored in The King Must Die. Drawing on modern scholarship and archaeological findings at Knossos, Mary Renaults Theseus is an utterly lifelike figurea king of immense charisma, whose boundless strivings flow from strength and weaknessbut also one steered by implacable prophecy. The story follows Theseuss adventures from Troizen to Eleusis, where the death in the books title is to take place, and from Athens to Crete, where he learns to jump bulls and is named king of the victims. Richly imbued with the spirit of its time, this is a page-turner as well as a daring act of imagination. Renaults story of Theseus continues with the sequel The Bull from the Sea.This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary Renault including rare images of the author.

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The New York Timesbestselling portrayal of the life of ancient Greeces lyric poet. [Renault's] historical novels . . . are among the finest ever written (The Washington Post Book World). Simonides of Keos lived during the fifth and sixth centuries BC, a fertile period for the arts, when myths were being acted out and verse had just begun to be written down. In this evocative portrayal of Simonides, the poet is learning to master his craft and secure fickle patrons, and his travels place him at the scene of many central historical events. This fact, along with his friendship with gallivanting, brilliant Anakreon, makes him a perfect guide to the age. The Praise Singer is faithfully grounded in history, with all the immediacy of Mary Renaults acclaimed novels of the ancient world, offering an unforgettable portrait of such events as the Persian invasion of Ionia, the reign of Pisistratos in Athens, and the fall of Hippias and Hipparchos.This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary Renault including rare images of the author.

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New York Times bestseller: A highly superior historical novel about the bond that grows between two men in ancient Athens (Saturday Review). Alexias is a young aristocrat living during the end of Athenss Golden Age. Prized for his beauty and athletic prowess, Alexias studies under Sokrates with his closest friend, Lysis. Together, the young men come of age in an Athens on the verge of great upheaval. They attend the Olympics, partake in symposia, fight on the battlefields of the Peloponnesian War, and fall in love. The first of Mary Renaults celebrated historical novels of ancient Greece, The Last of the Wine follows Alexias and Lysis into adulthood, when Athens is defeated by Sparta, the Thirty Tyrants take hold of the city, and the lives of both men are changed forever. Through their friendship, Renault opens a vista onto ancient Greek life, uncovering its vibrancy, culture, and political strife, and offers an unforgettable story of love, honor, loyalty, and the remarkable bond between two men. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary Renault including rare images of the author. Mary Renault is a shining light to both historical novelists and their readers. She does not pretend the past is like the present, or that the people of ancient Greece were just like us. She shows us their strangeness; discerning, sure-footed, challenging our values, piquing our curiosity, she leads us through an alien landscape that moves and delights us. Hilary Mantel

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Fire from Heaven, The Persian Boy, and Funeral Games

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A New York Timesbestselling trilogy about the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and its leader from an author hailed by Hilary Mantel as a shining light. Fire from Heaven is a gripping account of the formative years of Alexanders life. The story tells of his complex relationship with his parents; of his two great bondsto his horse, Oxhead, and to his dearest friend and eventual lover, Hephaistionand of the army he commands when he is barely an adult. Coming of age during the battles for southern Greece, Alexander the Great first takes someones life at age twelve and swiftly eliminates his rivals as soon as he comes to power, emerging in this novel as a captivating and complex figure. The iconic Persian Boy centers on the Macedon king as seen through the eyes of his lover and most faithful attendant, the eunuch Bagoas. When Bagoas is very young, his father is murdered and he is sold as a slave to King Darius of Persia. Then, when Alexander conquers the land, he is given Bagoas as a gift, and the boy is besotted. This passion comes at a time when much is at stakeAlexander has two wives, conflicts are ablaze, and plots on his life abound. The result is a riveting account of a great conquerors years of triumph and, ultimately, heartbreak. In Funeral Games, a bloody struggle for power rages after the death ofAlexander, leaving an empire that extends from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River. The power players include Ptolemy, two father-son teams, and a cadre of influential womennot least of whom is Eurydike, whose plan is to marry Alexanders disabled brother, Arridaios. Brimming with outsize personalities, brazen plots, and a sweeping sense of history, Funeral Games brings to vivid life the world of Alexander the Great, and the seismic tumult in the wake of his death. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary Renault including rare images of the author. Mary Renault is a shining light to both historical novelists and their readers. She does not pretend the past is like the present, or that the people of ancient Greece were just like us. She shows us their strangeness; discerning, sure-footed, challenging our values, piquing our curiosity, she leads us through an alien landscape that moves and delights us. Hilary Mantel

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Brave Medraut is a fitting heir to the thronebut he can never be kingin this fantasy retelling of the legend of Mordred from the author of Code Name Verity. Medraut is the eldest son of High King Artos, and would-be heir to the British throneif not for an unfortunate circumstance of birth. Instead, his weak and unskilled half-brother, Lleu, is chosen as successor. Medraut cannot bear the thought of being ruled by the boy who has taken what he believes is rightfully his.   Consumed by jealousy, he turns to Morgause, the high kings treacherous sister, who exploits Medrauts shame and plots to take over the throne. But when Medraut discovers Lleus inner strength and goodness, he finds his battle is not just with the kingdom, but with the demons inside himself. Now he must choose where his allegiances truly lie.   Perfect for readers of Robin McKinley and Jane Yolen, The Winter Prince is an engrossing novel that fantasy lovers and devotees of Arthurian legends will enjoy, from an author who has won honors ranging from the Carnegie Medal to the Edgar Award (Booklist).   This ebook features an illustrated biography of Elizabeth Wein including rare images from the authors personal collection.  

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The acclaimed travel writer recounts six decades of adventures around the globe, from conversations with Hemingway to his war service in North Africa. The consummate gentleman adventurer, writer Norman Lewis spent more than half a century exploring the globe and chronicling the amazing things he found. In The World, the World, with his usual literary deftness and narrative skill,Lewis recounts a life spent traveling. Beginning with a life-altering encounter on a train in 1937, Lewis takes us from his eclectic Gordon Street home in London to the far reaches of Indochina, Vietnam, Guatamala, India, and more. He also documents his time in the British Intelligence Corps, his encounters with the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Ian Fleming, and his publishing experiences with Jonathan Cape. At once witty, insightful, and poignant, The World, the World is an essential volume for established Lewis fans and new readers alike.

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Crossing Spain on the Brink of Civil War

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An account by the finest travel writer of the last century of his journey through 1930s Spain in search of an ancestral tomb (The New Yorker). In the 1930s, Norman Lewis and his brother-in-law, Eugene Corvaja, journeyed to Spain to visit the familys ancestral tomb in Seville. Seventy years later, with evocative and engrossing prose, Lewis recounts the trip, taken on the brink of the Spanish Civil War. Witnesses to the changing political climate and culture, Lewis and Corvaja travel through the countryside from Madrid to Seville by bus, car, train, and on foot, encountering many surprises along the way. Dodging the skirmishes that will later erupt into war, they immerse themselves in the local culture and landscape, marveling at the many enchantments of Spain during this pivotal time in its history.

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The renowned travel writer delivers a scathing account of how some missionary sects deal with indigenous peoples in their bid for the conquest of souls (Library Journal).   Acclaimed travel essayist Norman Lewis spent his life traversing the globe and offering thoughtful commentary on the cultures he visited. In The Missionaries, he turns his critical lens on those missionaries who embed themselves in indigenous cultures to convert the locals to Christianity. What begins with the well-meaning goal of improving the lives of native people, though, often has the opposite effect. Focusing mainly on tribes in South America, but also in Indochina and the Pacific Islands, Lewis demonstrates how various missionary organizations betray their originating principals andwhether knowingly or notcontribute to the destruction of entire cultures on a scale equivalent to that of genocide.

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A brilliant, sharp-edged novel of the Jazz Age by its most famous chroniclerWith his impeccable lineage and Harvard education, twenty-five-year-old Anthony Patch is one of the sparkling lights of New York society. The presumptive heir to an enormous fortune, he marries the tempestuous Kansas City socialite Gloria Gilbert, and the two embark on a life of wild extravagance and profligate pleasure, assuming that whatever they cannot afford today they will be able to pay for tomorrow. But when Anthonys inheritance disappears, so too does his sense of invincibility. A brief tour in the Great Warwhere he finds comfort in another womans armscannot correct Anthonys downward trajectory, and the marriage that began with such glittering promise ends in shambles.Fitzgeralds next novel, The Great Gatsby, would be his masterwork. But The Beautiful and Damned, with its evocative parallels to his relationship with Zelda and its prescient portrait of a man tumbling from dazzling heights to gloomy depths, is arguably his most personal. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

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Two grieving sisters resolve to break a spell cast by evil fairiesAfter the death of their mother, Olivia and Nellie are shipped off to their great-aunts house for the summer. Nine-year-old Olivia is not excited about the tripshe has to keep one eye on kind but eccentric Aunt Minty and the other on her younger sister, Nellie, whos been behaving oddly. But the summer takes an interesting turn when Olivia discovers an old fairy tale: the story of a group of children who, at a garden tea party, are turned into flowers. The garden sounds an awful lot like the one at Aunt Mintys housecould the flower children be real? If Olivia and Nellie can only locate the old tea set from the story, they might be able to break the spell.

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Consummate travel writer Norman Lewiss most remarkable travel essays, collected in one volumeYoud find it of immense interest, I assure you, and full of amazing adventures. So says a British colonial official to Norman Lewis while imploring him to visit Yemen at a time when the country is rarely visited by Western travelers. And indeed, this splendid collection of Lewiss travel essays is full of amazing adventures.Spanning sixty years and many countries, Lewiss writing dives deep into the cultures he visits and brings them to life with eloquent depictions of his personal experiencesfrom the Huichols of western Mexico to the hunter-gatherer-poet Indians of Paraguay; from the streets of Naples to the steppes of Russia during the Soviet era; and more.

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Experience the far reaches of the world in this eclectic collection of travel essays by acclaimed writer Norman LewisThe Happy Ant-Heap is Norman Lewiss powerful and stylish collection of decades worth of travel writing. Lewiss deft social commentary captures life from all corners of the worldfrom the tales of a Cuban fighter pilot to the courtroom trial of the all-powerful Sicilian Mafia, and from oyster divers in Yemen to a flirtation with a possible murderess in Greece. Featuring some of his most remarkable adventures, The Happy Ant-Heap is a whirlwind tour around the globe from a writer at the pinnacle of his craft.

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Sinai Tapestry, the brilliant first novel of the Jerusalem Quartet,is an epic alternate history of the Middle East in which the discovery of the original Bible links a disparate group of remarkable people across time and spaceIn 1840, Plantagenet Strongbow, the twenty-ninth Duke of Dorset, seven-feet-seven-inches tall and the greatest swordsman and botanist of Victorian England, walks away from the family estate and disappears into the Sinai Desert carrying only a large magnifying glass and a portable sundial. He emerges forty years later as an Arab holy man and anthropologist, now the author of a massive study of Levantine sexand the secret owner of the Ottoman Empire.Meanwhile, Skanderbeg Wallenstein has discovered the original Bible, lost on a dusty bookshelf in the monastery library. To his amazement, it defies every truth held by the three major religions. Nearly a century later, Haj Harun, an antiquities dealer who has acted as guardian of the Holy City for three thousand years, uncovers the hidden Bible.Sinai Tapestry is the first volume of the Jerusalem Quartet, which continues with Jerusalem Poker, Nile Shadows,and Jericho Mosaic.