Category Archives: Travel Guides
Stranger To History
As a child, all Aatish Taseer ever had of his father was his photograph in a browning silver frame. Raised by his Sikh mother in Delhi, his father, a Pakistani Muslim, remained a distant figure. It was a fractured upbringing which left Aatish with many questions about his own identity. Stranger to History is the
Constantinople
An invaluable record of the metropolis as it used to be – a fascinating crossroads between Eastern and Western civilization and one of the most cosmopolitan cities of its time – as well as a vivid example of a European tourist`s reaction to it – part delight, part incomprehension – this book will provide an
Memories of London
Originally conceived as a series of newspaper articles and later published in volume form, De Amicis`s Memories of London brings back to life all the bygone charm of the capital of the British Empire. De Amicis`s impressions are paired here with a piece written by one of his contemporaries, the French writer Louis Laurent Simonin,
Money
Now bankrupt after some failed gambles, Aristide Saccard, the former kingpin of the Paris Stock Exchange, desperately wants to get back to the top of the financial pile. When his powerful brother, the government minister Eugene Rougon, refuses to help him, he forms a partnership with the engineer Hamelin and founds the Banque Universelle, which
Daughter of Dust
Leila understands from early on that she is not part of normal Sudanese society. Her mother cannot care for her, so she is banished to a strict orphanage, along with other children born outside marriage. At school, Leila and her best friend Amal are called `daughters of sin`. Her pretty sister, Zulima, is married off
The Plays: The Cherry Orchard, The Three Sisters, The Seagull and Uncle Vanya
The most widely staged dramatist after Shakespeare, Chekhov left a deep mark both on the development of Russian literature and world theatre, with plays that were remarkable not just for their dialogue but their atmosphere and the tensions expressed between the lines. Collected in this volume are Chekhov s four most celebrated plays – The
Something of the Night
Who can say what the night might bring? Mummy tucking you up with Teddy and a cup of Ovaltine? Fireworks and frivolity? A party? Music? Dancing? Or you could be reading in bed, between clean linen sheets before falling into deep and restful sleep and sweet dreams. And who knows; the night might bring romance,
Humorous Tales
First published in 1921, this volume collects some of the most comical stories Kipling published throughout his writing career. These tales derive their humour from absurd situations – a drunken Irish soldier waking up to find himself worshipped as a god in the Indian holy city of Benares, a monkey let loose in an English
Always the Children
Anne Watts grew up in a small village in north Wales in the 1940s. Inspired by school geography lessons that told of far-off lands, she broke out of the conventional options open to women in post-war Britain, defying her Merchant Navy father`s dated views. She trained as a nurse and midwife, joined the Save the
A Scandalous Secret
The truth will tear them apart! They had the perfect marriage! Glamour, money, and a beautiful home– the golden couple of Delhi, Neha and Sharat appear to have it all. But a dark secret from Neha`s past is about to resurface, a heartbreaking moment in her past that she has tried to block out. While
The Road of Bones
The Road of Bones is the story of Russia`s greatest road. For over 200 years, the route of the Vladimirka Road has been at the centre of the nation`s history, having witnessed everything from the first human footsteps to the rise of Putin and his oil-rich oligarchy. Tsars, wars, famine and wealth: all have crossed
Nomad – A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations
Nomad is a philosophical memoir, telling how Ayaan Hirsi Ali came to America in search of a new life, and the difficulties she faced in reconciling her two worlds. With vivid anecdotes and observations of people, cultures, and political debacles, this narrative weaves together Hirsi Ali`s personal story — including her reconciliation with her devout
The Dark Tourist
Ever since he can remember, Dom Joly has been fascinated by travel to odd places. In part this stems from a childhood spent in war-torn Lebanon, where instead of swapping marbles in the schoolyard, he had a shrapnel collection — the schoolboy currency of Beirut. Dom`s upbringing was interspersed with terrifying days and nights spent
Prisoner Of The State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang
Prisoner of the State is the story of the man who brought liberal change to China and who, at the height of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, tried to stop the massacre and was dethroned for his efforts. When China`s army moved in, killing hundreds of students and other demonstrators, Zhao was placed under
To the Lighthouse
When Mrs Ramsay tells her guests at her summer house on the Isle of Skye that they will be able to visit the nearby lighthouse the following day, little does she know that this trip will only be completed ten years later by her husband, and that a gulf of war, grief and loss will
The Temptress
In Kenya`s `Happy Valley` no one paid too much attention to the privileged colonial set as they farmed their estates, partied until dawn and indulged in extra-marital affairs. Not until Josslyn Hay, Earl of Erroll, was shot dead at the wheel of his Buick in the early hours of 24 January 1941. Some said the
Full Circle: How the Classical World Came Back to Us
So much about the society that is now emerging in the twenty-first century bears an astonishing resemblance to the most prominent features of what we call the classical world – its institutions, its priorities, its entertainment, its physics, its sexual morality, its food, its politics, even its religion. The ways in which we live our
Journey to the End of the Night
Told in the first person, the novel is based on the author`s own experiences during the First World War, in French colonial Africa, in the USA – where he worked for a while at the Ford factory in Detroit – and later as a young doctor in a working-class suburb in Paris. Celine`s disgust with
London Bridge
A major work by one of France`s most important authors of the twentieth centurey, London Bridge is a riotous novel about the London underworld during World War I. Picking up where its predecessor Guignol`s Band left off, Celine`s semi-autobiographical narrator recounts his disastrous partnership with a mystical Frenchman (intent on financing a trip to Tibet
