Серия книг «Collector's Library» — 260 книг — стр. 5

No thinker has had a more profound influence on Western civilisation than Aristotle. In the Middle Ages many questions were settled by appeal to his authority alone, and his position was so pre-eminent that he was often referred to simply as ‘the philosopher’. His work represents a vast, encyclopaedic treatment of virtually every field of knowledge: logic, rhetoric, ethics, politics, metaphysics, poetry, biology, zoology, physics and psychology. The depth and clarity of his understanding are remarkable, and nowhere more so than in the Nicomachean Ethics and Politics.

No thinker has had a more profound influence on Western civilisation than Aristotle. In the Middle Ages many questions were settled by appeal to his authority alone, and his…

Set in Scotland in 1751, Kidnapped tells of how young David Balfour, orphaned, and betrayed by his uncle Ebenezer who should have been his guardian, is kidnapped, and falls in with Alan Breck, the unscrupulous but heroic champion of the Jacobite cause. The novel revolves around their friendship and their differences, suggesting a metaphor for Scotland itself. Modern critics see the novel as more than a boy’s adventure yarn; at the heart of it lies what Henry James described as the ‘really excellent’ chapters of the flight in the heather that raise the novel to greatness. The illustrations by William Hole are from the first edition.

Set in Scotland in 1751, Kidnapped tells of how young David Balfour, orphaned, and betrayed by his uncle Ebenezer who should have been his guardian, is kidnapped, and falls in…

Plato is outstanding among philosophers, more or less inventing philosophy as we know it in the West. In the Republic he begins with the question ‘What is justice?’, but this question soon broadens into an investigation of what is real and how we can know it, so defining the three main areas of philosophy – ethics, metaphysics and epistemology (the theory of the method or grounds of knowledge). But Plato is remarkable also for the beauty of his writing. The allegory of the cave at the beginning of Republic Book 7 is among the most powerful images in the history of literature. And in the Protagoras and Gorgias his portraits of the intellectual élite of the Greek world in the 5th century BC are without parallel. Translated by Benjamin Jowett.

Plato is outstanding among philosophers, more or less inventing philosophy as we know it in the West. In the Republic he begins with the question ‘What is justice?’, but this…

The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, a cycle of 154 linked poems, were first published or ‘entered’ at Stationers’ Hall by the publisher Thomas Thorpe on 20th May 1609. This 400th-anniversary edition contains all of the poems and they deal with many of Shakespeare’s most common themes: jealousy, betrayal, melancholy, and are written in the same beautiful and innovative language that we have come to know from his plays. They ache with unfulfilled longing, and for many they are the most complete and moving meditations on love ever written.

The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, a cycle of 154 linked poems, were first published or ‘entered’ at Stationers’ Hall by the publisher Thomas Thorpe on 20th May 1609. This…

In 1848 a wave of revolutions broke over Europe. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, in the "Communist Manifesto", urged the workers of all countries to unite. But the movement collapsed and Marx became an exile in London, where he spent the next twenty years developing his great critique of the capitalist system.
His monumental "Capital" was constructed as a scientific study of political economy, but its driving force was Marx's sense of the burning injustices imposed on the working class by the Industrial Revolution, and their alienation from the society that their labour made possible. Marxism became a great secular creed, with dramatic consequences for the history of the last century. Even today, with the rich Western countries relying increasingly on low-wage production in the Third World, many features of Marx's analysis remain disturbingly relevant.

In 1848 a wave of revolutions broke over Europe. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, in the "Communist Manifesto", urged the workers of all countries to unite. But the movement…

This is the story of Dorothy and her little dog Toto, who are carried away from Kansas by a cyclone and transported to the wonderful world of Oz. She meets three companions – the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion – and the three journey to the Emerald City of Oz to ask the Wizard of Oz to give them their hearts’ desires, which in Dorothy’s case is to return home to Kansas. On their way to Oz and while fulfilling the tasks that the surprising Wizard asks of them they encounter witches, winged monkeys, the Deadly Desert, fighting trees and magic shoes.

This is the story of Dorothy and her little dog Toto, who are carried away from Kansas by a cyclone and transported to the wonderful world of Oz. She meets three companions – the…

The Limericks packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical,
But the good ones I’ve seen
So seldom are clean
And the clean ones so rarely are comical.

This scintillating anthology has over 1,000 limericks – clean, dirty, filthy and obscene. It contains limericks historical, geographical, wistful, whimsical, clerical and medical – and almost all of them fantastical. Compiled by two of Britain’s most knowing limericists, this book will delight and entertain all but the most straitlaced. Illustrated by various artists.

The Limericks packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical,
But the good ones I’ve seen
So seldom are clean
And the clean ones so rarely are comical.

This…

Following his adventures foiling the plans of the Black Stone gang in The Thirty-Nine Steps, Richard Hannay is called in to investigate rumours of an uprising in the Muslim world, and undertakes a perilous journey through enemy territory to meet up with his friend Sandy Arbuthnot in Constantinople. Once there, he and his friends must thwart the Germans’ plans to use religion to help them win the war, climaxing at the battle of Erzurum. As well as being a gripping adventure story, Greenmantle is surprisingly modern in the concept of using a Jihad to mobilise Muslim forces, and is disturbingly relevant to the modern world.

Following his adventures foiling the plans of the Black Stone gang in The Thirty-Nine Steps, Richard Hannay is called in to investigate rumours of an uprising in the Muslim world,…

Oscar Wilde is remembered today primarily as a brilliant and witty playwright and the author of the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. As a result, his shorter pieces of fiction have tended to be neglected, which is a shame for they not only display the same kind of scathing wit, imaginative flourish and engaging narratives as his other work, but present a wider range of subjects and ideas. As well as such comic tales as The Canterville Ghost and Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, there are the marvellous fairy stories and fantasies such as The Selfish Giant, The Happy Prince and The Star Child. The challenge and pleasure of these stories is the simultaneous appeal to both child and adult with their themes of love, truth and sacrifice which are as relevant today as when they were written. In this collection are to be found some of the brightest gems from the treasure trove of Oscar Wilde's writings.

Oscar Wilde is remembered today primarily as a brilliant and witty playwright and the author of the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. As a result, his shorter pieces of fiction…

Hard Times is perhaps the archetypal Dickens novel, full as it is with family difficulties, estrangement, rotten values and unhappiness. It was published in 1854 and it is the story of the family of Thomas Gradgrind, and occurs in the imaginary Coketown, an industrial city inspired by Preston. Gradgrind is a man obsessed with misguided 'Utilitarian' values that make him trust facts, statistics and practicality more than emotion and is based upon James Mill (the Utilitarian leader). He directs his own children, Louisa and Tom, in this same way: enforcing an artless existence upon them. Contemporary critics such as Macaulay savaged the book for its supposed 'sullen socialism' but it has become well thought-of since the favour of George Bernard Shaw. Illustrated by Harry French

Hard Times is perhaps the archetypal Dickens novel, full as it is with family difficulties, estrangement, rotten values and unhappiness. It was published in 1854 and it is the…

Black Beauty tells the story of the horse's own long and varied life, from a well-born colt in a pleasant meadow to an elegant carriage horse for a gentleman to a painfully overworked cab horse. Throughout, Sewell rails – in a gentle, 19th-century manner – against animal maltreatment. Readers will follow Black Beauty's fortunes, good and bad, with gentle masters as well as cruel. Children can easily make the leap from horse–human relationships to human–human relationships, and begin to understand how their own consideration of others may be a benefit to all.

Black Beauty tells the story of the horse's own long and varied life, from a well-born colt in a pleasant meadow to an elegant carriage horse for a gentleman to a painfully…

Cranford" is a rich, comic and illuminating portrait of life in a small town in early Victorian times. Mrs Gaskell presents us with a society that was disappearing because of the onward march of the Industrial Revolution. While the dark clouds of urbanisation and the advance of the railway hover threateningly on the horizon, the inhabitants of Cranford, predominantly women, resolutely refuse to embrace change. Gaskell shows that in their apparently simple ordered lives they face many emotional dilemmas and upheavals. It is the drama of the minutiae that is both appealing and illuminating, revealing as it does that great emotions can by stirred by what to the outside world are minor matters.

Cranford" is a rich, comic and illuminating portrait of life in a small town in early Victorian times. Mrs Gaskell presents us with a society that was disappearing because of the…

John Buchan wrote The Thirty-Nine Steps at the beginning of the First World War. In it he introduces his most famous hero, Richard Hannay, who, despite claiming to be an 'ordinary fellow', is caught up in the dramatic race against a plot to devastate the British war effort. Hannay is hunted across the Scottish moors by police and spy-ring alike, and must outwit his intelligent and pitiless enemy in the corridors of Whitehall and, finally, at the site of the mysterious thirty-nine steps. The best-known of Buchan’s thrillers, The Thirty-Nine Steps has been continuously in print since first publication and has been filmed three times, most notably by Alfred Hitchcock in 1935.

John Buchan wrote The Thirty-Nine Steps at the beginning of the First World War. In it he introduces his most famous hero, Richard Hannay, who, despite claiming to be an 'ordinary…

One of the first great spy novels, The Riddle of the Sands is set during the long suspicious years leading up to the First World War. In spite of good prospects in the Foreign Office, the sardonic civil servant Carruthers is finding it hard to endure the emptiness and boredom of his life in London. He reluctantly accepts an invitation from a college friend, Davies, the shyly intrepid yachtsman, and joins him on a sailing holiday in the Baltic. The story builds in excitement as Carruthers and Davies discover a German plot to invade England. Like much contemporary British spy fiction, The Riddle of the Sands reflects the Anglo-German rivalry of the early 20th century, and the intricacy of its conception and its lucid detail make it a classic of its genre.

One of the first great spy novels, The Riddle of the Sands is set during the long suspicious years leading up to the First World War. In spite of good prospects in the Foreign…

The short stories of Saki give brief but dazzling glimpses into the lives of the Edwardian rich: a class that virtually disappeared with the advent of the First World War.
In the splendour of Edwardian drawing rooms we encounter the opinionated and divinely dressed Reginald, the acid-tongued sophisticate Clovis and a host of other wealthy and well-to-do Englishmen and women from duchesses and dowagers to great-aunts, nannies and a talking cat. With delicious malice, Saki portrays the follies, eloquence, tradition and foibles of his characters. In a style that brings to mind the wit of Oscar Wilde, the satire of Swift and the macabre humour of Waugh, these stories nevertheless demonstrate that Saki`s voice was uniquely his own: wickedly amusing and as sharp and sparkling as cut glass.

The short stories of Saki give brief but dazzling glimpses into the lives of the Edwardian rich: a class that virtually disappeared with the advent of the First World War.
In…

Gabriel Oak is only one of three suitors for the hand of the beautiful and spirited Bathsheba Everdene. He must compete with the dashing young soldier Sergeant Troy and respectable, middle-aged Farmer Boldwood. And while their fates depend upon the choice Bathsheba makes, she discovers the terrible consequences of an inconstant heart. Far from the Madding Crowd was the first of Hardy's novels to give the name of Wessex to the landscape of south-west England, and is set against the backdrop of the unchanging natural cycle of the year, the story both upholds and questions rural values with a startlingly modern sensibility.

Gabriel Oak is only one of three suitors for the hand of the beautiful and spirited Bathsheba Everdene. He must compete with the dashing young soldier Sergeant Troy and…

Each volume in the "Collector's Library" series has a specially commissioned Afterword, brief biography of the author and a further reading list. The Afterword for this first collected edition of M. R. James's "Complete Ghost Stories" is by the well-known crime writer and eminent Sherlockian, David Stuart Davies. This is the only complete edition in print and it contains three further stories written after publication of M. R. James's "Collected Ghost Stories": "The Experiment", "The Malice of Inanimate Objects" and "A Vignette".

Each volume in the "Collector's Library" series has a specially commissioned Afterword, brief biography of the author and a further reading list. The Afterword for this first…

Middlemarch is a monumental novel, and as much a delight to read today as it has ever been. George Eliot's immortal creations, the saintly and beautiful Dorothea Brooke, the dry-as-dust Edward Casaubon and the anguished progressive Tertius Lydgate, shine forth as some of the most exquisitely drawn characters in all of English literature. Eliot was at first criticised for the 'inartistic' realism of her story, which she subtitled 'A Study of Provincial Life' as if to claim it as a scholarly contribution to the new science of sociology. But what she had really written was an eternal masterpiece of candid observation, emotional insight and transcending humour.

Middlemarch is a monumental novel, and as much a delight to read today as it has ever been. George Eliot's immortal creations, the saintly and beautiful Dorothea Brooke, the…

Peter, Roberta and Phyllis' lives change overnight when suddenly Father is taken away by two strangers. They move from the comfort of their London residence to a modest country cottage, and find that Mother is no longer able to entertain them as she must write slavishly to support the family. Once fairly wealthy, they are now 'poor' and must adapt accordingly. But with this change comes more freedom than they could ever have dreamt of, as they learn to entertain themselves and forge their own moral code.

So begins a tale of blissful independence and adventures aplenty with the railway line at the bottom of their garden becoming central to the children's lives. Not only do the railway line, its station and staff offer the trio a world of new friendships - with pride of place going to Perks, the porter - it also introduces them to the man who will help right the terrible wrong that blights their life.

Peter, Roberta and Phyllis' lives change overnight when suddenly Father is taken away by two strangers. They move from the comfort of their London residence to a modest country…