From the barren farms of Italy to the cramped tenements of New York, the immigrant families struggle with an adopted life
- none
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Grace Hammer lives a sweet enough life with her four children in London's dank & dirty East End, dipping the pockets of wealthy strangers foolish enough to venture there. She keeps a clean house & a tight hold on her magpie nature, restricting her interests to wallets & pocket watches
- at night she dreams of shiny things. Unbeknown to Grace, her most audacious crime will soon return to haunt her & old enemies come knocking.

Out in the dark countryside Mr Blunt rocks in his chair, grinding his teeth, vowing furious retribution. He has never forgotten his scarlet treasure, or the harlot that stole it from him. At night he dreams of slitting her lily-white throat...


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Grace Hammer lives a sweet enough life with her four children in London's dank & dirty East End, dipping the pockets of wealthy strangers foolish enough to venture there. She keeps a clean house & a tight hold on her magpie nature, restricting her interests to wallets & pocket watches
- at night she dreams of shiny things. Unbeknown to Grace, her most audacious crime will soon return to haunt her & old enemies come knocking.

Out in the dark countryside Mr Blunt rocks in his chair, grinding his teeth, vowing furious retribution. He has never forgotten his scarlet treasure, or the harlot that stole it from him. At night he dreams of slitting her lily-white throat...


...

In books lauded as brilliant, exhilarating & profound, Roberto Calasso has revealed the unexpected intersections of ancient & modern through topics ranging from Greek & Indian mythology to what a legendary African kingdom can tell us about the French Revolution. In this first translation of his most important essays, Calasso brings his powerful intellect & elegant prose style to bear on the essential thinkers of our time, providing a sweeping analysis of the current state of Western culture.' Forty-nine steps' refers to the Talmudic doctrine that there are forty-nine steps to meaning in every passage of the Torah. Employing this interpretative approach, Calasso offers a 'secret history' of European literature & philosophy in the wake of Nietzsche, Marx & Freud. Calasso analyses how figures ranging from Gustav Flaubert, Gottfried Benn, Karl Kraus & Martin Heidegger to Walter Benjamin, Franz Kafka, Bertolt Brecht & Theodor Adorno have contributed to, or been emblematic of, the current state of Western thought. This book's theme, writ large, is the power of the fable
- specifically, its persistence in art & literature despite its exclusion from orthodox philosophy. In its breadth & the nature of its concerns, The Forty-nine Steps is a philosophical & literary twin to the widely praised Marriage of Cadmus & Harmony. Combining erudition with engaging prose & original insights, Calasso contributes a daring new interpretation of some of the most challenging writers of the past 150 years.
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The shy, young Duke of Sale has never known his parents, Instead, his Grace Adolphus Gillespie Vernon Ware (Gilly for short) has endured twenty-four years of rigorous mollycoddling form his uncle & valet. But his natural diffidence conceals a rebellious spirit. So when Gilly hears of Belinda, the beautiful foundling who appears to be blackmailing his cousin, he absconds with glee. No sooner has he entered this new & dangerous world than he is plunged into a frenzy of intrigue, kidnap & adventure.. . ...

The shy, young Duke of Sale has never known his parents, Instead, his Grace Adolphus Gillespie Vernon Ware (Gilly for short) has endured twenty-four years of rigorous mollycoddling form his uncle & valet. But his natural diffidence conceals a rebellious spirit. So when Gilly hears of Belinda, the beautiful foundling who appears to be blackmailing his cousin, he absconds with glee. No sooner has he entered this new & dangerous world than he is plunged into a frenzy of intrigue, kidnap & adventure.. . ...