In 1872 the mistress of a neighbouring landowner threw herself under a train at a station near Tolstoy's home. This gave Tolstoy the starting point he needed for composing what many believe to be the greatest novel ever written.
In writing Anna Karenina he moved away from the vast historical sweep of War and Peace to tell, with extraordinary understanding, the story of an aristocratic woman who brings ruin on herself. Anna's tragedy is interwoven with not only the courtship and marriage of Kitty and Levin but also the lives of many other characters. Rich in incident, powerful in characterization,…
A vivid portrayal of pre-industrial New York City, with reflections on love and marriage within upper-class social hierarchy. Everything I like about Henry James with easier prose and subtler narrative, with an epilogue that brings some surprises.
Edith Wharton's novel reworks the eternal triangle of two women and a man in a strikingly original manner. When about to marry the beautiful and conventional May Welland, Newland Archer falls in love with her very unconventional cousin, the Countess Olenska. The consequent drama, set in New York during the 1870s, reveals terrifying chasms under the polished surface of upper-class society as the increasingly fraught Archer struggles with conflicting obligations and desires. The first woman to do so, Edith Wharton won the Pulitzer Prize for this dark comedy of manners which was immediately recognized as one of her greatest achievements.
Fascinating historical episode about the mysterious death of the celebrated British explorer Captain Cook. Well researched, engagingly written, and providing original takes on a controversy about the causes of his sudden, violent demise at the hands of Hawaiians after an initial warm reception.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR FOR 2024 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW • A “thrilling and superbly crafted” (The Wall Street Journal) account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook’s death in Hawaii, and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day.
“Hampton Sides, an acclaimed master of the nonfiction narrative, has taken on Cook’s story and retells it for the 21st century.”—Los Angeles Times
On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest…
A panoramic overview of characterization of old age in European and American art, stressing the range of valuations of the condition, ranging from wisdom to folly. Consideration of the stages of aging in earlier periods, age in foundational narratives, portraits of the elderly, but also the question of "old age style" for eminent painters and sculptors (e.g. Rembrandt, Goya) in the twilight of their long careers, when they experimented with bold new techniques and images.
