Most people think of fairy tales as having been created anonymously and almost magically long ago, and later discovered and recorded by scholars such as the Brothers Grimm. In fact original fairy tales are still being written. Over the last century and a
An instant classic in the literature of friendship: the witty, affectionate 40-year correspondence between a great story-writer and her New Yorker editor. For forty years, until her death in 1978, Sylvia Townsend Warner (poet, novelist, and short-story wr
Beginning with the remarkable essay "Contre Sainte-Beuve", this surprising and stimulating critical collection includes Proust on the contemporary writing of his era, on painting and painters, and on such literary masters of the nineteenth century as Tols
After a decade in one South Seas mission, a London bank-clerk-turned-minister sets his heart on serving a remote volcanic island. Fanua contains neither cannibals nor Christians, but its citizens, his superior warns, are like children—immoral children.
The classic book about the clothes we wear and what they say about us.Even before we speak to someone in a meeting, at a party, or on the street, our clothes often express important information (or misinformation) about our occupation, origin, personality
In sixteen spirited essays, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Alison Lurie, who is also one of our wittiest and most astute cultural commentators, explores the world of children's literature--from Lewis Carroll to Dr. Seuss, Mark Twain to Beatrix Potter--an
"Are those artists, Mom, or are they real people?" asks a child visiting Illyria, a luxurious retreat for successful and not-so-successful writers, painters, and musicians. On the first day of her stay, Janet Smith likens Illyria to heaven--and its guests
The War Between The Tates subtly dissects the disintegration of a perfect marriage. Brian Tate and his wife Erica seem to have it all: a strong relationship, beautiful children, good friends and enough money. But when Brian, a middle-aged professor of pol
Faculty wife Emily Stockwell Turner is beautiful, rich, and principled. However, five years in a marriage devoid of passion and virtuosity is enough to propel Emmy, despite herself, into an affair with cocky, silver-tongued Will Thomas, a music instructor
