Alma Books The Attack on the Mill and Other Stories Золя Эмиль

In contrast with the epic scope of the Rougon-Macquart novels, Zola’s short stories are concerned with the everyday aspects of human existence and the interests of ordinary people • From the cruel irony of ‘Captain Burle’ to the Rabelaisian exuberance of ‘Coqueville on the Spree’, these stories display the broad range of Zola’s imagination, using a variety of tones, from the quietly cynical to the compassionate, from the playful to the tragic • Contains • Dead Men Tell No Tales • Coqueville on the Spree • Captain Burle • Shellfish for Monsieur Chabre

When it is discovered that the reigning world chess champion, Mirko Czentovic, is on board a cruiser heading for Buenos Aires, a fellow passenger challenges him to a game. Czentovic easily defeats him, but during the rematch a mysterious Austrian, Dr B., intervenes and, to the surprise of everyone, helps the underdog obtain a draw. When, the next day, Dr B. confides in a compatriot travelling on the same ship and decides to reveal the harrowing secret behind his formidable chess knowledge, a chilling tale of imprisonment and psychological torment unfolds • Stefan Zweig’s last and most famous story, ‘A Game of Chess’ was written in exile in Brazil and explores its author’s anxieties about the situation in Europe following the rise of the Nazi regime

Edgar Allan Poe was a writer of uncommon talent; in The Murders in the Rue Morgue he created the genre of detective fiction while his genius for finding the strangeness lurking within us all has been an influence on everyone from Freud to Hollywood. This complete collection of all his short stories and novellas contains well-known tales 'The Pit and the Pendulum' and 'The Tell-Tale Heart' alongside hidden gems that both unsettle and enthrall the reader

В этом сборнике представлены некоторые из самых глубоких и трогательных аллегорических рассказов Джека Лондона • "Белый Клык" и "Зов предков" - пожалуй, наиболее известные повести Джека Лондона о волках, собаках и людях. Истории Белого Клыка, полупса-полуволка, и Бэка во многом схожи. Оба проходят суровую школу жизни, "выживают там, где может выжить только сильный" и оказываются перед выбором, каким законам следовать: дикой природы или человека. Выразительно, образно и метко писатель рассказывает о любви и преданности, хитрости и жестокости - людей и тех, кто называется их меньшими братьями • В этот том также входит "Батар", в котором обиженная собака мстит своему хозяину; и "Любовь к жизни", в которой раненый старатель, брошенный своим напарником, вынужден в одиночку пробираться домой через дикую местность, где за ним охотится волк-одиночка

This collection of Pushkin’s stories begins with ‘The Queen of Spades’, perhaps the most celebrated short story in Russian literature. The young Hermann, while watching some friends gambling, hears a rumour of how an officer’s grandmother is always able to predict the three winning cards in a game. He becomes obsessed with the woman and her seemingly mystical powers, and seeks to extract the secret from her at any cost • This volume, part of a new series of the complete works of Pushkin in English, also includes ‘Dubrovsky’, the story of a man’s desire to avenge himself after his land is unjustly taken from him by an aristocrat; ‘The Negro of Peter the Great’, a tale inspired by Pushkin’s maternal grandfather; and the unfinished story ‘Egyptian Nights’, a meditation on poetry and the poet

Gilbert's libretti of the comic operas composed by Arthur Sullivan are hugely well known, and lines such as "let the punishment fit the crime" have entered the English lexicon - but his short stories also deserve to be rediscovered by the modern reader. This collection, carefully curated by the secretary of the W.S. Gilbert Society, brings together the best of these sharp, clever, comical tales - many of which are published here for the first time since their first appearance in ephemeral magazines - enriched with the author's own illustrations • The stories feature many of the powerful motifs so associated with his work - fairies, elixirs, magic - and a wide variety of characters - from burglars to barristers and shopkeepers to gentlemen. This volume is shot through with the observational wit which drove Gilbert and Sullivan's works to fame, and constitutes a hugely enjoyable companion for fans of the pair's theatrical oeuvre

In this version of the classic song, the horn on the bus goes toot, the shovel on the digger goes up and down, and the engines on the plane go vroom • Parents can celebrate their child's milestones of early literacy with developmentally leveled, curriculum-based Rookie books, created for toddlers and preschoolers with the help of early childhood education experts

This collection of Pushkin’s stories begins with ‘The Queen of Spades’, perhaps the most celebrated short story in Russian literature. The young Hermann, while watching some friends gambling, hears a rumour of how an officer’s grandmother is always able to predict the three winning cards in a game. He becomes obsessed with the woman and her seemingly mystical powers, and seeks to extract the secret from her at any cost. This volume, part of a new series of the complete works of Pushkin in English, also includes ‘Dubrovsky’, the story of a man’s desire to avenge himself after his land is unjustly taken from him by an aristocrat; ‘The Negro of Peter the Great’, a tale inspired by Pushkin’s maternal grandfather; and the unfinished story ‘Egyptian Nights’, a meditation on poetry and the poet

In The Marquise of O-, a virtuous widow finds herself unaccountably pregnant. And although the baffled Marquise has no idea when this happened, she must prove her innocence to her doubting family and discover whether the perpetrator is an assailant or lover. Michael Kohlhaas depicts an honourable man who feels compelled to violate the law in his search for justice, while other tales explore the singular realm of the uncanny, such as The Beggarwoman of Locarno, in which an old woman's ghost drives a heartless nobleman to madness, and St Cecilia, which portrays four brothers possessed by an uncontrollable religious mania. The stories collected in this volume reflect the preoccupations of Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811) with the deceptiveness of human nature and the unpredictability of the physical world

Tales of the Tea Trade looks at the world of tea from a completely new perspective • Taking the reader on a fascinating journey directly into the lives of those who plant, pluck and process tea; going beyond the standard story of leaf to cup; this book offers readers a unique first-hand insight into the culture, ceremony, opportunities and threats surrounding an ancient art. Closer to home, Michelle and Rob Comins offer their perspectives on how Eastern tea rituals can find a place in our increasingly busy Western lives. Beyond this, the book explores the key ingredients that separate a ‘good’ from a ‘great’ tea, covers ethical sourcing and shows how readers can translate and recreate tea ceremonies at home • Chapters include The Story of Tea, The Tea Plant, The Main Types of Tea, The International Tea Industry, Tea and Health and Time for Tea

As usual with the Sherlock Holmes stories it is very hard to say which are the best - but there are many stories here which would get the vote - ranging from The Boscombe Valley Mystery to the wonderful Adventure of Silver Blaze, from the Adventure of the Norwood Builder to A Case of Identity, but above to the uniquely strange and macabre Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb