This fourth & final volume which completes the Cambridge edition of The Letters of Samuel Beckett covers the final twenty-four years of what was as Beckett saw it a surprisingly long life During these years he produced many of his finest & most concentrated works for theatre plays that included Not I Ohio Impromptu & Catastrophe; for television he wrote Eh Joe & Ghost Trio; while in prose he produced the late 'trilogy' that comprises Company Ill Seen Ill Said & Worstward Ho In 1969 Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature & the letters from this period show him struggling to cope with the pressures created by his ever-growing international fame The letters reveal how later he turned his mind to his legacy as seen through his interactions with biographers & archivists This volume also provides chronologies explanatory notes translations & profiles of Beckett's chief correspondents ...

A new selection of post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gough&s letters The Letters of Vincent van Gogh put a human face on one of the most haunting figures in modern Western culture In this Penguin Classics edition the letters are selected & edited by Ronald de Leeuw & translated by Arnold Pomerans in Penguin Classics Few artists& letters are as self-revelatory as Vincent van Gogh&s & this selection spanning his artistic career sheds light on every facet of the life & work of this complex & tortured man Engaging candidly & movingly with his religious struggles his ill-fated search for love his attacks of mental illness & his relation with his brother Theo the letters contradict the popular myth of van Gogh as an anti-social madman & a martyr to art showing instead a man of great emotional & spiritual depths Above all they stand as an intense personal narrative of artistic development & a unique account of the process of creation The letters are linked by explanatory biographical passages revealing van Gogh&s inner journey as well as the outer facts of his life This edition also

Includes:: the drawings that originally illustrated the letters Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853-1890) was born in Holland In 1885 he painted his first masterpiece The Potato Eaters a haunting scene of domestic poverty A year later he began studying in Paris where he met Gauguin Toulouse-Lautrec & Seurat who became very important influences on his work In 1888 he left Paris for the Provencal landscape at Arles the subject of many of his best works including Sunflowers If you enjoyed The Letters of Vincent van Gogh you might also like 100 Artists Manifestos available in Penguin Modern Classics& If there was ever any doubt that Van Gogh&s letters belong beside those great classics of artistic self-revelation Cellini&s autobiography & Delacroix&s journal this excellent new edition dispels it& The Times

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The classic World War II trilogy ' The finest fictional record of the war produced by a British writer' Anthony Burgess As Rommel advances in wartorn Egypt the lives of the civilian population come under threat One such couple are Guy & Harriet Pringle who have escaped the war in Europe only to find the conflict once more on their doorstep providing a volatile backdrop to their own personal battles The civilian world meets the military through the figure of Simon Boulderstone a young army officer who will witness the tragedy & tension of war on the frontier at first hand An outstanding author of wartime fiction Olivia Manning brilliantly evokes here the world of the Levant
- Egypt Jerusalem & Syria
- with perception & subtlety humour & humanity

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Chess fans saw a red queen brought to life in Harry Potter & the Philosopher&s Stone She came from what is perhaps the world&s most mysterious & imaginatively-crafted chess set -- 73 carved pieces probably dating to the 1200&s The famous Chess men (and women) comprise the world&s oldest complete chess set (or parts of several sets) The treasure trove was discovered 15 feet deep in the sand in Lewis in Scotland&s northern Outer Hebrides in the late 19th century Scandinavian outposts were known to be there as early as the 1200&s when the pieces were probably crafted That chess was played in the Middle Ages with such extraordinary works of art tantalizes the imagination Who were these people whose likenesses have been so whimsically & realistically depicted that they come alive for us today? Who played the game? These kings & queens bishops with miters on their heads knights mounted on rather small horses & holding spears & shields rooks with shields & a wild expression & pawns in the shape of obelisks -- all so very human Some of the pieces contain red stains suggesting perhaps that the sets had some colorings unlike modern black & white pieces " This is the first forensic account of modern research into the Chessmen" according to Ancientchesscom The "unmasked" in the book&s title refers to new controversies about their origin & about who might have owned
- & lost
- them
- & about the trade & state of society where they were crafted


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LOVED THE BLACKHOUSE? THE TRILOGY CONTINUES WITH THE LEWIS MAN AS FIN MACLEOD RETURNS IN AN INGENIOUS CRIME THRILLER ABOUT MEMORY & MURDERA MAN WITH NO NAMEAn unidentified corpse is recovered from a Lewis peat bog; the only clue to its identity being a DNA sibling match to a local farmer A MAN WITH NO MEMORYBut this islander Tormod Macdonald
- now an elderly man suffering from dementia
- has always claimed to be an only child A MAN WITH NO CHOICEWhen Tormod's family approach Fin Macleod for help Fin feels duty-bound to solve the mystery

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A MISSING GIRL A DESPERATE FATHERA CASE WHICH WILL TEAR THEM APART' Plotting that takes the breath away' Ian Rankin'A fantastic thriller writer' Mark Billingham WHO IS DEADLIER Leonard Howell's worst nightmare has come true his daughter Caroline has been kidnapped He can't rely on the cops so Howell calls the only man he trusts to get her back THE MAN WHO KNOWS THE TRUTH Eddie Flynn knows what it's like to lose a daughter & vows to bring Caroline home safe Once a con artist now a hotshot criminal attorney Flynn is no stranger to the shady New York underworld OR THE ONE WHO BELIEVES A LIE? However as he steps back into his old life Flynn realizes that the rules of the game have changed
- & that he is being played But who is pulling the strings? & is anyone in this twisted case telling the truth? An ingenious plot gripping action & characters who leap off the page discover why readers love Steve Cavanagh' Cavanagh stands head & shoulders above the competition with his skilfully plotted action-packed & big-hearted Eddie Flynn novels highly intelligent twist-laden & absolutely unputdownable' Eva Dolan author of the critically acclaimed Tell No Tales' What a thriller! Breathlessly brilliant & fiendishly clever' Miranda Dickinson'A cleverly constructed legal thriller combined with a classic locked-room mystery Eddie Flynn is fast becoming one of my favourite fictional heroes & Cavanagh one of my favourite thriller writers' SJI Holliday author of Black Wood' Raymond Chandler could have created Eddie Flynn THE PLEA is Phillip Marlowe & Michael Connolly's Mickey Haller combined with a bit of Jim Thompson's THE GRIFTERS thrown in A superb read with a main character destined to be one of the most talked about in crime fiction' Howard Linskey author of The Search If you like John Grisham Lee Child & Michael Connelly you will LOVE the gripping & twisty Eddie Flynn series 1 The Defence 2 The Plea 3 The Liar Each Eddie Flynn thriller can be read as a standalone or in series order
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River's life is blown apart when his mum invites her new boyfriend into their home & their lives River is instantly suspicious of Jason
- he seems fake too good to be true At school River's routine fibs are escalating into something more serious & his teacher gives him a notebook in the hope he can channel his fantasies into creative writing instead & so River begins The Liar's Handbook & an investigation into Jason But what he uncovers is a terrible deception involving his biological father the police force & his mum's environmental campaign groupbut will anyone take his findings seriously? Particularly suitable for struggling reluctant & dyslexic readers aged 12
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From the critically-acclaimed author of PRINCE OF FOOLS comes the second volume of the brilliant new epic fantasy series THE RED QUEEN'S WAR ' If you like dark you will love Mark Lawrence & when the light breaks through & it all makes sense the contrast is gorgeous' ROBIN HOBB The Red Queen has set her players on the board Winter is keeping Prince Jalan Kendeth far from the luxuries of his southern palace & although the North may be home to his companion the warrior Snorri ver Snagason he is just as eager to leave For the Viking is ready to challenge all of Hel to bring his wife & children back into the living world He has Loki's key
- now all he needs is to find the door As all wait for the ice to unlock its jaws the Dead King plots to claim what was so nearly his
- the key into the world
- so that the dead can rise & rule


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' Fabulous' Lesley Pearse The Liberation is set in Italy in 1945 as British & American troops attempt to bring order to the devastated country & Italy's population fights to survive Caterina Lombardi is desperate
- her father is dead her mother has disappeared & her brother is being drawn towards danger One morning among the ruins of the bombed Naples streets Caterina is forced to go to extreme lengths to protect her own life & in doing so forges a future in which she must clear her father's name An Allied Army officer accuses him of treason & Caterina discovers a plot against her family Who can she trust & who is the real enemy now? & will the secrets of the past be her downfall? This epic novel is an unforgettably powerful story of love loss & the long shadow of war
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Drama following the adventures of John Wilmot (Johnny Depp) the second Earl of Rochester Known for his scandalous ways he lives life in pursuit of vice with little recourse Married but not satisfied he has a passionate romance with a young actress Elizabeth Barry (Samantha Morton) & writes a scurrilous play that lampoons its commissioner King Charles II (John Malkovich) ...