Alma Books The Age of Innocence Уортон Эдит

'Wharton's dazzling skills as a stylist, creator of character, ironical observer and unveiler of passionate, thwarted emotions have earned her a devoted following’ Sunday Times • Newland Archer and May Welland are the perfect couple. He is a wealthy young lawyer and she is a lovely and sweet-natured girl. All seems set for success until the arrival of May's unconventional cousin Ellen Olenska, who returns from Europe without her husband and proceeds to shake up polite New York society. To Newland, she is a breath of fresh air and a free spirit, but the bond that develops between them throws his values into confusion and threatens his relationship with May

An impoverished member of the privileged high society of old New York, Lily Bart is beautiful and socially agreeable, but she is almost thirty and still unmarried. Now she is keen to secure a wealthy husband to confirm her status, but the debts she contracts at the card table, her reduced circumstances and the constant gossip she attracts from malevolent tongues through her heedless behaviour and faux pas make her prospects look bleak. As suitor after suitor appears and fades away, and she is drawn further and further down a spiral of loneliness and unhappiness, she realizes that she is just one step away from losing everything she has • Published in 1905 to immediate critical and commercial success, Edith Wharton’s enduringly popular novel of manners is a brilliant evocation of the economic and social changes wrought by the Gilded Age, as well as a universal satire on the constraints and follies of upper-crust conventions

The return of the beautiful Countess Olenska into the rigidly conventional society of New York sends reverberations throughout the upper reaches of society • Newland Archer, an eligible young man of the establishment is about to announce his engagement to May Welland, a pretty ingenue, when May's cousin, Countess Olenska, is introduced into their circle. The Countess brings with her an aura of European sophistication and a hint of scandal, having left her husband and claimed her independence • Her sorrowful eyes, her tragic worldliness and her air of unapproachability attract the sensitive Newland and, almost against their will, a passionate bond develops between them. But Archer's life has no place for passion and, with society on the side of May and all she stands for, he finds himself drawn into a bitter conflict between love and duty

«Эпоха невинности» Эдит Уортон — это история любовного треугольника и при этом широкая картина нью-йоркского высшего общества конца 70-х годов XIX века. Ньюленд Арчер — амбициозный и респектабельный адвокат, ведет обыденную жизнь, собирается жениться на красавице Мэй Уэлланд, а в глубине души он желает страсти среди своих рутинных дней. Но вот из Европы в Нью-Йорк возвращается кузина Мэй, графиня Эллен Оленска, после публичного скандала со своим мужем. Эллен Оленска очень красива, весь ее образ окутан тайнами, и для консервативного нью-йоркского общества ее поведение и взгляды недопустимы. Ньюленд очарован Эллен, он влюбляется в нее • Книга на английском языке • Edith Wharton's novel reworks the eternal triangle of two women and a man in a strikingly original manner

Роман Эдит Уортон "Эпоха невинности", удостоенный Пулитцеровской премии, - это одновременно пронзительная история о несостоявшейся любви и необычайно яркое, восхитительно сатирическое повествование об исчезнувшем мире • Это издание содержит предисловие писательницы, удостоенной множества наград, Рэйчел Каск • Будучи отпрыском одной из ведущих семей Нью-Йорка, Ньюленд Арчер родился в жизни, полной роскошных привилегий и строгих обязанностей. Но приезд графини Оленской, свободной души, которая дышит облаками европейской утонченности, заставляет его усомниться в пути, на который его направило воспитание. По мере того как его увлечение ею растет, он обнаруживает, насколько трудно вырваться из уз общества, которое сформировало его • Книга на английском языке

The House of Mirth follows the tragic fall of Lily Bart, a beautiful socialite who loses her footing in the savage social-climbing world of New York high society in the nineteenth century • Lily Bart has no fortune, but she possesses everything else she needs to make an excellent marriage: beauty, intelligence, a love of luxury and an elegant skill in negotiating the hidden traps and false friends of New York's high society. But time and again Lily cannot bring herself to make the final decisive move: to abandon her sense of self and a chance of love for the final soulless leap into a mercenary union. Her time is running out, and degradation awaits. Edith Wharton's masterful novel is a tragedy of money, morality and missed opportunity

Широко признанный одним из величайших достижений Эдит Уортон, "Век невинности" - это не только тонкая сатира, но и порой мрачная и тревожащая комедия нравов, исследующая "вечный треугольник" любви • Действие происходит на фоне жизни высшего класса нью-йоркского общества 1870-х годов, и сочетание мощной прозы автора с тщательно проработанным и скрупулезным воспроизведением манер и стиля того периода восхищает читателей с момента первой публикации романа в 1920 году • В 1921 году "Эпоха невинности" удостоилась двойного отличия - она получила Пулитцеровскую премию, и это был первый случай, когда эту престижную награду получила женщина-автор • Книга на английском языке • Widely regarded as one of Edith Wharton's greatest achievements, The Age of Innocence is not only subtly satirical, but also a sometimes dark and disturbing comedy of manners in its exploration of the 'eternal triangle' of love

'We can't behave like people in novels, though, can we?' • Newland Archer and May Welland are the perfect couple. He is a wealthy young lawyer and she is a lovely and sweet-natured girl. All seems set for success until the arrival of May's unconventional cousin Ellen Olenska, who returns from Europe without her husband and proceeds to shake up polite New York society. To Newland, she is a breath of fresh air and a free spirit, but the bond that develops between them throws his values into confusion and threatens his relationship with May • Vintage Deco: Nine blazing, daring novels to celebrate the 1920s - 100 years on

The story of a naughty wooden puppet who has a penchant for lying and dreams of becoming a real boy, The Adventures of Pinocchio has entered our collective imagination and fascinated generations of young and adult readers since its first publication in 1883. Part fable, part coming-of-age novel, part cautionary tale, Pinocchio’s rollicking exploits through an unforgiving and often incomprehensible world – populated by unforgettable characters such as the Talking Cricket, Candlewick, Mangiafuoco and the Fairy with Turquoise Hair – have had a profound impact on our culture and attained universal significance as a mirror of the human condition • Here presented in a brand-new and lively translation by Stephen Parkin and illustrated beautifully by Peter Bailey, this edition of The Adventures of Pinocchio brings extra sparkle to one of the greatest and most celebrated works of children’s literature

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer charts the escapades of a thirteen-year-old boy growing up on the banks of the Mississippi. Testing the patience of his aunt Polly, the bold and sharp-witted Tom Sawyer frequently skips school in search of excitement, and the scrapes he gets into with his friend Huckleberry Finn range from innocent japes to more serious events such as the witnessing of a murder • One of the most popular and influential American novels, Mark Twain's masterpiece is at the same time a highly entertaining romp which celebrates youth and freedom and a more profound investigation of his times, touching on themes such as race, revenge and slavery. This volume includes Tom Sawyer, Detective, a sequel and pastiche of the detective genre, first published in 1896

The judge Ivan Ilyich Golovin has spent his life in the pursuit of wealth and status, devoting himself obsessively to work and often neglecting his family in the process. When, after a small accident, he fails to make the expected recovery, it gradually becomes clear that he is soon to die. Ivan Ilyich then starts to question the futility and barrenness of his previous existence, realizing to his horror, as he grapples with the meaning of life and death, that he is totally alone • Included in this volume is another celebrated novella by Tolstoy, The Devil, which addresses the conflicts between desire, social norms and personal conscience, providing at the same time a further exploration of human fear and obsession

When Cyril, Anthea, Robert and Jane find the Psammead, a magical sand fairy, in a pet shop in London, they have no idea that they are about to embark on their greatest adventure yet. The Psammead leads them to an Egyptian amulet that has the power to grant whatever their hearts desire. The problem is that the amulet is broken, and the other half – needed if their wishes are to be granted – is lost. Yet with their half of the amulet able to transport them through time, the children set out on a search for the missing half, and the realization of their wildest dreams… • From an encounter with Julius Caesar to a visit of the lost city of Atlantis, The Story of the Amulet – the final instalment in the Psammead Trilogy – is an unforgettable tale of magic and time travel that has been loved by children and parents alike for more than a century