Showing results by narrator "Justin Avoth" in All Categories

Ever since its publication in 1651, Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan has unsettled and challenged how we understand the World. Condemned and vilified by each new generation, Hobbes' cold political vision continues to see through any number of political and ethical vanities. In his wonderfully stimulating book The New Leviathans, John Gray allows us to understand the World of the 2020s with all its contradictions, moral horrors and disappointments through a new reading of Hobbes' classic work.

In this riveting historical thriller, a deadly plot unfolds aboard a train hurtling towards Paris. From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Room, Emma Donoghue takes you on a heart-pounding ride in The Paris Express. 'Ratchets up the pace until it's hurtling along as fast as the train itself'...

Brought to you by Penguin. A revelatory exploration of how today’s right-wing authoritarianism emerged not in opposition to neoliberalism, but from within it After the end of the Cold War, neoliberalism, with its belief in the virtues of markets and competition, seemed to have triumphed...

Romance and anarchist violence collide in this thought-provoking thriller about the London underworld and the political unrest that seethes there. Set in the late 19th century and written in James’s elegant, impressionistic style, The Princess Casamassima follows the life of bookbinder Hyacinth Robinson. The illegitimate son of a French woman imprisoned for murdering his father, Hyacinth is raised by an impoverished seamstress in a poor area of London.

Brought to you by Penguin. How the modern world has understood the ancient Greeks and why they matter today The study of ancient Greek history has been central to the western conception of history since the Renaissance. The Muse of History traces the shifting patterns of this preoccupation in...

Felix Grandet, having married well and become a wealthy landowner and wine-grower, is a miser who watches like a hawk the sugar lumps and the bread slices. The question of who will marry his daughter and inherit his fortune fuels endless speculation in the town of Saumur. The arrival of Eugénie’s cousin sparks feelings and a resolve that puts her on a collision course with her father’s control. As the years pass and she must navigate the self-interest of potential suitors, we see how habits manifest themselves in a new generation.

'An underwater treasure-chest to be slowly unpacked, full of things I adore: nosy and loving families, epistolary romance, gorgeous worldbuilding, and anxious scholars doing their best to meet the world with kindness and curiosity' Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light A charming fantasy...

Louis-Ferdinand Céline thunders out from the grave with this long-lost novel. Looted by the Resistance during the liberation of Paris and resurfacing only in 2020, War is a major rediscovery. It begins in the chaotic battlefields of Flanders, with Bardamu (Céline’s fictional alter ego) surrounded by corpses. Wounded and shell-shocked, he wanders in hallucination, finding refuge at a hospital in Peurdu-sur-la-Lys and striking up a friendship with a Parisian pimp – however, the war continues to drive itself under his skin and destroy him.

In this witty fantasy romance, a widow blackmails her rakish necromancer neighbor to bring her husband back to life and save her home . . . only to find herself falling for him instead. Lady Hildegarde Croft is accustomed to changes in position. After all, she rose from maidservant to lady of...

Forced by her parents to take holy orders, 16-year-old Suzanne is trapped in a monastic life and endures harrowing physical, sexual and emotional abuse. The depiction of her struggle for autonomy is coated in the mysticism and madness of her environment, as the overwhelming effects of power are laid bare. Diderot, a key figure of the Enlightenment, uses the novel to question the moral authority of the Church and pour scorn on its complicity in oppression and intolerance.

Breaking a long silence, Oliver, a young Englishman, writes to his elder brother, Patrick. Oliver, the idealistic younger brother, is living in a Hindu monastery and has decided to take his final monastic vows. Patrick, a successful, long-married publisher, newly in love with a boy in Los Angeles, decides to visit Oliver to persuade him not to renounce the world.

The heroic story of the siege of Troy is as enthralling today as it ever was. The Greeks are entering the tenth year of their war with the Trojans, but their armies are fractured and their best warrior Achilles has abandoned the battle on a mission of revenge. Only the death of his best friend Patroclus persuades Achilles to return to battle and confront the Trojan leader Hector in single combat.

Drawing from two political and several literary homelands, this collection presents a remarkable series of trenchant essays, demonstrating the full range and force of Salman Rushdie's remarkable imaginative and observational powers. With candour, eloquence and indignation he carefully examines an expanse of topics; including the politics of India and Pakistan, censorship, the Labour Party, Palestinian identity, contemporary film and late-20th century race, religion and politics.

A unique and unbelievable first-hand account of how one man fought his way to the top of the criminal underworld... and what he needed to do to stay there. As you read this, someone somewhere is buying drugs. Across the globe, millions of people are involved in the brutal, cold-blooded world of...

“A magisterial history” (The Guardian) of humanity’s greatest natural disaster—the Black Death—that reveals the true global impact and terrible human cost of this calamity, from the renowned author of The Crusades and The Greatest Knight. “Terrific—and truly terrifying. Thomas...

The Fable of the Bees—a satirical poem, prose discussion, three essays and six dialogues completed in 1729—exposes human vices but defends them as a necessity within a wealthy society. Mandeville’s bees thrive until they start living by honesty and virtue… then they are impoverished. Mandeville did not play by the rules: he satirized the sins of society but also ridiculed the widespread hypocrisy of deploring these sins whilst reaping their benefits. He and his work were attacked for the rest of the century.

‘The sweetness of her glance—or rather, my evil star already in its ascendant and drawing me to my ruin—did not allow me to hesitate for a moment...’ So begins the story of Manon Lescaut, a tale of passion and betrayal, of delinquency and misalliance, which moves from early 18th-century Paris—with its theatres, assemblies, and gaming-houses—via prison and deportation to a tragic denouement in the treeless wastes of Louisiana. It is one of the great love stories, and also one of the most enigmatic.

The 18th Century Classics Collection steps into the vibrant and tumultuous world of 18th century Europe. With this captivating anthology of some of the most influential works of 1700s literature, we encounter biting satire, passionate romance, and political tumultuousness. From the philosophical musings of Candide to the dark, gothic suspense of The Monk, this collection provides an eclectic mix of narrative styles and genres, capturing the essence of an age marked by intellectual revolution, social upheaval, and profound artistic expression.

'Trees in Winter by Richard Shimell is a wonderful, beautiful book for anyone who loves printmaking and nature. In this book Richard demonstrates his great skill as a printmaker, artist and writer, with the story of the paths taken to find his art as engaging as the images themselves.' ANGELA...

'A fantastic read. Mind bending, gut wrenchingly tense and one of the most original stories I’ve read in years. It was an absolute treat' - John Marrs, author of The Vacation A New York Times Best Thriller Pick for 2022 Bestselling author Adam Hamdy returns with The Other Side of Night, an...