Alma Books Tales of Unrest Конрад Джозеф

On a boat in the Thames estuary, Marlow tells his travelling companions of his reconnaissance expedition for a Belgian trading company to its most remote outpost in central Africa, which brought him on the trail of the elusive Kurtz, a brilliant idealist gone rogue. His account relates not only the perils he encounters on his quest, but also the deterioration of his state of mind as he is confronted with a world that is hostile and alien to him • Renowned for its stylistic boldness and dramatic descriptions, Heart of Darkness is a stark yet subtle examination of the powers of the subconscious and the workings of western imperialism. This edition includes Conrad’s Complete Congo Diary

The shop owner Adolf Verloc, member of an anarchist group and secret agent for a foreign government, is summoned to meet Mr Vladimir, the country’s ambassador, who asks him to carry out a terrorist attack at a famous London landmark. Verloc has misgivings, but Mr Vladimir knows how to make people do what he wants, and when the plan goes wrong, it is Verloc – as well as his young wife, Winnie – who must deal with the consequences • A story of espionage, intrigue and corruption based on a real-life attempted terrorist attack in Victorian London, The Secret Agent was one of literature’s first political thrillers, and is widely considered to be among Conrad’s most compelling works

Tales of Adventure and Medical Life, one of the collections Arthur Conan Doyle published at the end of his career, anthologizes some of his best short fiction outside of the Sherlock Holmes canon. As well as various tales of escapades in Egypt, London and the far-flung regions of northern Scotland, he included stories which deal with a subject that, as a physician himself, he had a unique perspective on: the medical profession • London surgeons and country doctors, male and female, are described as they deal with business and sentimental issues and encounter incredible situations – both comic and tragic. Conan Doyle displays his dazzling storytelling talents while providing a fascinating glimpse into his profession and times • Contains: ‘The Debut of Bimbashi Joyce’, ‘The Surgeon of Gaster Fell’, ‘Borrowed Scene’, ‘The Man from Archangel’, ‘The Great Brown-Pericord Motor’, ‘The Sealed Room’, ‘A Physiologist’s Wife’, ‘Behind the Times’, ‘His First Operation’, ‘The Third Generation’, ‘The Curse of Eve’, ‘A Medical Document’, ‘The Surgeon Talks’, ‘The Doctors of Holyland’, ‘Crabbe’s Practice’

A collection of early short stories which helped make Fitzgerald’s name, Tales of the Jazz Age combines period pieces – the most notable of which is the novella-length ‘May Day’ – with more fanciful creations, such as the fantastical ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’, recently made into a Hollywood film. Also containing the now classic story ‘The Diamond as Big as the Ritz’, as well as lesser-known sketches and tales, this diverse selection, compiled by Fitzgerald himself from material published in newspapers and magazines, showcases both the variety of his writing and early examples of the themes and characters which would find their way into his later novels

Although he is best known to the public as the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories and other pioneering works of detective fiction, Arthur Conan Doyle successfully contributed to other genres, such as historical fiction, as demonstrated by this collection he compiled in 1922 • These vivid and enthralling stories – which take the reader to Roman Britain, ancient Carthage, Mecca at the time of the Prophet Muhammad and many other evocative settings – showcase the author’s knack for bringing to life diverse times and places and crafting enduring narratives. Tales of Long Ago is an entertaining and invaluable read for all those interested in this lesser-known facet of Conan Doyle’s writing • Contains: ‘The Last of the Legions’, ‘The Last Galley’, ‘Through the Veil’, ‘The Coming of the Huns’, ‘The Contest’, ‘The First Cargo’, ‘An Iconoclast’, ‘Giant Maximin’, ‘The Red Star’, ‘The Silver Mirror’, ‘The Homecoming’, ‘A Point of Contact’

A master of many literary genres, Arthur Conan Doyle excelled particularly in the short-story form, and was acclaimed in his day as much for his detective stories as for his thrilling tales of mystery and the supernatural. While the adventures of Sherlock Holmes have become part of our collective imagination, these stories - concerned with ghosts, obscure scientific experiments and other unexplained phenomena - are now unjustly neglected

While he is now mostly associated with his Sherlock Holmes stories, Arthur Conan Doyle was also celebrated for the many masterful tales he wrote outside of that cycle. In this collection, first published in 1922, he compiled various pieces of short fiction which fall into the categories of horror and detective fiction, two genres for which he has become a byword • These eclectic, captivating tales – dealing with topics such as mysterious jungles in the sky, seventeenth-century torture techniques, a bloodthirsty Brazilian cat and a train mysteriously disappearing between two stations – showcase Arthur Conan Doyle at his creative best • Contains: ‘The Horror of the Heights’, ‘The Leather Funnel’, ‘The New Catacomb’, ‘The Case of Lady Sannox’, ‘The Terror of Blue John Gap’, ‘The Brazilian Cat’, ‘The Lost Special’, ‘The Beetle-Hunter’, ‘The Man with the Watches’, ‘The Japanned Box’, ‘The Black Doctor’, ‘The Jew’s Breastplate’ and ‘The Nightmare Room’

A murderer is forced to reveal his crime by the sound of a beating heart, a mysterious figure wreaks havoc among a party of noblemen during the time of the plague, a grieving lover awakens to find himself clutching a box of his beloved blood-stained teeth, a man is obsessed with the fear of being buried alive - these are only some of the memorable characters and stories included in this volume, which exemplify Poe's inventiveness and natural talent as a storyteller • Immensely popular both during and after his lifetime, and a powerful influence on generations of writers and film-makers to this day, Edgar Allan Poe is still counted among the greatest short-story writers of all time and seen as one of the initiators of the detective, horror and science-fiction genres

Throughout his life, Rudyard Kipling was fond of dogs, and while they featured prominently in early tales such as ‘The Dog Hervey’ and ‘Garm – a Hostage’, he later came up with the innovative idea of writing a story from the perspective of a dog, resulting in the hugely successful ‘Thy Servant a Dog’, narrated by an Aberdeen terrier named Boots • This collection, published in the author’s lifetime, gathers Kipling’s dog stories written throughout his career, providing a warm tribute to man’s best friend and showcasing the lively storytelling talents of one of Britain’s most enduringly popular writers • Contains: ‘Private Learoyd’s Story’, ‘Garm – A Hostage’, ‘The Power of the Dog’, ‘Quiquern’, ‘ The Dog Hervey’, ‘Dinah in Heaven’, ‘The Woman in His Life’, ‘Four-Feet’, ‘Thy Servant a Dog’, ‘The Great Play Hunt’, ‘Toby Dog’, ‘The Supplication of the Black Aberdeen’, ‘His Apologies’, ‘A Sea Dog’

In 1807, Charles Lamb and his sister Mary wrote a collection of stories retelling twenty of Shakespeare's plays for children. While making sure that the pieces were accessible for a younger audience, they took care to stay faithful to the language and vocabulary of the Bard as much as possible • Ranging from the high drama of Romeo and Juliet to the delightful fancy of A Midsummer Night's Dream and the humour of As You Like it, this collection of vivid adaptations - here presented in a lavish new edition - has been a much loved children's classic for more than two hundred years, offering budding readers an accessible route to Shakespeare's works

Anne is an orphan with a penchant for daydreaming and distinctive flaming-red hair that catches the eye of everyone she meets. She is overjoyed to be sent to Green Gables, the Cuthberts' farm, which she imagines to be the home she has always dreamt of. When her new family, who had been expecting the arrival of a boy, display reservations about the newcomer, Anne must win them over with her charm, beauty and intelligence and find a way to fit in • Originally published in 1908, L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables has come to be acclaimed as one of the world's greatest children's tales. Its numerous sequels, adaptations and spin-offs are a testament to the beauty of this simple story, which continues to enchant readers to this day

The Lives of Haydn, Mozart and Metastasio – Stendhal’s first published work – owes its inspiration to the audacious pragmatism of its author. After the collapse of the Napoleonic empire, Henri Beyle was jobless, soon destined to become a refugee and in desperate need of money. His most abiding passion in life was music, so why not write about it? Unfortunately, however, he knew next to nothing about it. So, calmly and without the slightest pang of conscience, he resolved to plunder the works of other writers – in particular those of the musicologist Giuseppe Carpani, who was annoyed and said so vociferously • The result of Stendhal’s unscrupulous plagiarism is one of the most fascinating literary enigmas of all time. How is it that what started as a blatant act of piracy evolved into a work of enduring genius? Despite its unpropitious beginnings, this work represents the wrong-headedness of a genius – and the singular Louis-Alexandre-Cesar Bomet who signed the Lives was already, in everything that mattered, the man who was to be Stendhal, one of the most enduring literary figures of the nineteenth century