Shewring's superb prose translation comes as close to the spirit of the original Greek as our language will allow. ABOUT THE ...

Part of Penguins" beautiful hardback " Clothbound Classics" series designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith these delectable & collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. The epic tale of Odysseus & his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War forms one of the earliest & greatest works of Western literature. Confronted by natural & supernatural threats
- shipwrecks battles monsters & the implacable enmity of the sea-god Poseidon
- Odysseus must use his wit & native cunning if he is to reach his homeland safely & overcome the obstacles that even there await him."

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This book describes the epic journey of Odysseus the hero of Ancient Greece... After ten years of war Odysseus turns his back on Troy & sets sail for home. But his voyage takes another ten years & he must face many dangers
- Polyphemus the greedy one-eyed giant Scylla the six-headed sea monster & even the wrath of the gods themselves
- before he is reunited with his wife & son.

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Since it was first performed in Athens in the 420s BC Oedipus the King has been widely regarded as Sophocles' greatest tragedy & one of the foundation stones of western drama. Taken as a model by Aristotle in his Poetics it became a yardstick for future generations. Since the play's rediscovery in the Renaissance audiences
- including Sigmund Freud
- have found new interpretations & meanings in Sophocles' portrayal of the Theban king inexorably pursuing the truth only to discover that he has killed his father & married his mother. This translation by Don Taylor accurate yet poetic was made for a BBC TV production of the Theban Plays in 1986 which he also directed. Commentary & notes by Angie Varakis.

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Up in the house that sits on the hill a strange spell is brewing... To Meridia growing up with her father Gabriel who vanishes daily in clouds of mist & her bewitching mother Ravenna the outside world is a refuge. So when as a young woman her true love Daniel offers her marriage it seems an escape to a more straightforward existence. Yet behind the welcoming facade of her new home lies a life of drudgery & a story even stranger than that she left behind. Aged retainers lurk in the background; swarms of bees appear at will & of course theres her indomitable mother-in-law Eva hiding secrets that it will take Meridia years to unravel. Surrounded by seemingly unfathomable mysteries can Meridia unlock the intrigues of the past & thus protect her own familys future? An epic tale of two families told by an unforgettable voice. A modern fable a gothic page-turner but most of all a passionate story about the power of love to conquer all that comes its way. ...

After many years of hardship & bravery the human race faces its greatest challenge. The sweeping war between titanic races -- a conflict that has obliterated planets extinguished entire stars exterminated whole races -- is reaching its end game. Allies become betrayers strangers become fast friends & enemies clash in a struggle that will rock the galaxy. For years the alien Klikiss robots have pretended to be humanitys friends but their seeming help" has allowed them to plant an insidious Trojan Horse throughout the Earth Defence Forces & the sudden rebellion of Earths own companies leaves millions dead & the Terran Hanseatic League defenceless. In a desperate attempt to save his own race the Ildiran Mage-Imperator Jorah is forced into a devils bargain with the evil hydrogues which will require him to ambush & destroy what remains of the human race. But the gypsy Roamer clans & the green priests of the towering worldforest -- scattered stepchildren of humanity -- have found innovative ways to fight as well as strange allies of incomprehensible power. As the climactic battle is engaged the Ildiran Solar Navy the Earth Defence Forces the Roamers green priests Klikiss robots & hydrogue warglobes collide in a fury that will destroy many & change the landscape of the Spiral Arm forever." ...

Of Human Bondage" is the first & most autobiographical of Maugham's masterpieces. It is the story of Philip Carey an orphan eager for life love & adventure. After a few months studying in Heidelberg & a brief spell in Paris as would-be artist Philip settles in London to train as a doctor. & that is where he meets Mildred the loud but irresistible waitress with whom he plunges into a formative tortured & masochistic affair which very nearly ruins him." ...

Anne Rices extraordinary new novel summons the world of fifteenth-century Rome: a city of beauty & terror of art & sin. In this extraordinary setting Toby ODare former government assassin is called upon by the angel Malchiah to solve a terrible crime of poisoning & to seek out the truth behind the presence of an earthbound restless spirit
- a diabolical dybbuk
- that is causing chaos in the city. Toby is plunged into the luscious world of the Italian Renaissance sent to charm & calm this troublesome spirit. But he soon discovers himself in the midst of dark plots & surrounded by a darker & more dangerous threat as the veil of ecclesiastical terror closes in around him. As Toby once again embarks on a powerful journey of atonement he is reconnected with his own past with matters light & dark fierce & tender with the promise of salvation & with a deeper & richer vision of love.

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The key literary figure in the pubs of post-war Fitzrovia Maclaren-Ross pulled together his dispersed energies to write two great books: the posthumously published Memoirs of the Forties" & this spectacular novel of the Depression " Of Love & Hunger"
- harsh vivid louche & slangy it deserves a permanent place alongside " Coming Up for Air" & " Hangover Square.""
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Streetwise George & his big childlike friend Lennie are drifters searching for work in the fields & valleys of California. They have nothing except the clothes on their back & a hope that one day they'll find a place of their own & live the American dream. But dreams come at a price. Gentle giant Lennie doesn't know his own strength & when they find work at a ranch he gets into trouble with the boss's daughter-in-law. Trouble so bad that even his protector George may not be able to save him. ...