At 'The Hollyhocks' old people's home, the inhabitants are 'waiting for the scythe'. But while they are waiting...Lady Celia is running a blackmailing business on the side, Mr Cross keeps a tally of fellow residents' deaths on the back of his wardrobe, and then there is the rabid old Scots nationalist, and Mrs Green, a woman with a mysterious past. Hardly surprising in this environment that Mrs Bellamy decides she can't take any more and slits her throat. When Matron hushes it up because it would be bad for business, Lady Celia sees an opportunity to expand her blackmailing operation. Meanwhile two new incomers disturb the life of the home further; Mrs Feinberg, a sprightly Jewish woman of whom the other residents are immediately suspicious, and the elegant Mr Rufus. Hidden pasts, unusual sexual preferences and wickedly dark humour are mixed to delicious effect in Bernice Rubens' wonderful new novel.

Cool, elegant, pure, and yet surprisingly eccentric, the thirteen stories in Between the Flags explore contradictions of American experience since World War II. This retrospective of B.H. Friedman's work begins with "As I Am I Will Be," as its central character, Little Boy, faces civilian life after the war. It ends with the title story, in which a nameless man fights for his life against the sea and afterward realizes how little of his identity he carries away. Between these two periods - the forties and the eighties, youth and old age - life stories filled with regret, humor, and subtle complications. They complement the stories collected in Coming Close (1982), also published by Fiction Collective. Friedman's characters struggle with the ways in which their lives are bounded. The desire to recover the sexual energy of youth propels one character into a confrontation with priapism. An art critic and the painter she made famous nourish and then finally consume each other's talents. In "Whisper," a man cherishes the anonymity that allows him to move freely in his pursuit of "zeros" (money). "Whisper," a prescient parable for the eighties, was expanded into a novel and recommended for a National Book Award by William Gass. Except for "Reunion in Spain," which is published here for the first time, all of these stories appeared previously in distinguished literary magazines.

Ewald, Broccoli and the exotic Elvira are three young friends on the run - from the horrifying possibility of living mundane lives. They all want just one thing - to be magnificent, on screen or off it, but ideally in front of thousands of people. So Broccoli, self-styled svengali and 'President of the Society of Geniuses', begins Operation Brando, an insanely ambitious plan to make them the biggest stars Hollywood has ever known.Sadly, things don't quite follow this plan and their path to global obscurity is by turns hilarious, absurd and tragic. Operation Brando begins badly and gets rapidly worse: Broccoli is only able to secure auditions for his disciples as extras in risible youth theatre productions and lousy commercials. He thinks Ewald would be perfect for the non-speaking role of a spotty kid, for instance, who has only to fall down stairs to get the part, but even this stretches Ewald's talents a little too far. All three suffer badly from the burning need to be somebody else, somebody none of them are quite able to be, and this focus on the abyss separating desire and reality makes for a richly comic and ultimately moving novel by one of Europe's most exciting young authors.

"Robert Annys: Poor Priest: A Tale of the Great Uprising" by Annie Nathan Meyer transports readers to the heart of medieval England during a time of immense social and religious upheaval. This historical novel delves into the world of the Lollards, a religious movement advocating for reform within the Church. Against the backdrop of the Great Uprising, also known as the Peasants' Revolt, the story explores themes of faith, poverty, and resistance. Meyer's meticulously researched work brings to life a pivotal period in English history, offering a glimpse into the lives and beliefs of those who challenged the established order. For readers interested in historical fiction, religious fiction, and the struggles of the Middle Ages, "Robert Annys: Poor Priest" provides a compelling and insightful narrative. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The Twelfth Hour (1907) is a novel by Ada Leverson. Having established herself as a journalist and short story writer, Leverson published her debut novel to moderate acclaim. Entertaining and effortlessly witty, Leverson's prose paints a stunning portrait of the Edwardian era, a time when hope and relative peace proved prosperous for many. Often compared to her close friend Oscar Wilde, Leverson, a pioneering Jewish woman, remains a unique and refreshing voice in English literature. Felicity, Sylvia, and Savile Crofton all feel the pressure placed on upper-class youths to marry wisely. At 25, Felicity appears to have found herself a good husband, a man of wealth and social standing who on closer appearance seems more interested in leisure than love. Determined not to fall into a similarly unhappy marriage, her 20-year-old sister Sylvia hopes to thwart her father's wish that she marry millionaire Mr. Ridokanski. Although he is only 16, Eton student Savile is deeply in love with a famous opera singer--from a distance--but also feels obliged to entertain the affections of Dolly Clive, a girl his own age. Finding company in their own unique miseries of the heart, the Crofton siblings hatch a plan to achieve happiness for themselves, satisfaction for their father, and whatever it is young people are meant to owe to society. The Twelfth Hour is a humorous tale of romance and desire from Ada Leverson, an underappreciated novelist of the Edwardian era. This edition of Ada Leverson's The Twelfth Hour is a classic work of British literature reimagined for modern readers. Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book. With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

In London, before the First World War, where in society love and money predominate, Bertha and Nigel had been inseparable. But then Nigel felt he had to focus on the economics of life, and after all Bertha's family were quite modestly off. Whereas the heiress Mary, also interested in him but not anywhere near so charming, was very well set up. His decision was made. Though initially heartbroken, Bertha realises quickly that she has escaped from a delusion. Equanimity returns, and she finds in Percy Kellynch a devoted lover, though one a little more sober and less racy. They marry, as do Nigel and Mary, and over time the two become friends again, though now with wise awareness on Bertha's side. Nigel begins to see his error, as Mary's jealousy and her wish to supervise his life take their toll. He finds comfort in simply seeing Bertha initially, but inevitably begins to wish for more. Bertha is not interested, having moved on, but, if noticed, Nigel's attentions could be misconstrued... In the meantime, Bertha is also looking out for the future of a young friend, Madeline Irwin, who is smitten with Rupert Denison, a young man with rather too much of a penchant for patronising and "educating" young women. Madeline is impulsive, a little inexperienced and quite needy. Her headlong qualities precipitate problems very readily. As Bertha negotiates several crises arising from Nigel's reviving attachment, she also tries to assist Madeline in avoiding her own self-created disasters. Much depends on Bertha's talent for good management and wise counsel in the perils of both their lives. She is determined to win over adversity, but it will be a strong test of her skills.... Bird of Paradise, Leverson's fifth novel, as radiant with wit and wisdom as those which preceded it, was first published in 1914.

Aboard the former HMES Remora, now the pirate ship Dread Remora, Captain Nate Demming struggles to keep his crew focused on their mission. Tensions run high as they are forced to attack other ships to maintain their new identity, and a disgraced former officer's grumbling begins to border on mutinous-and to gain support. When the Dread Remora earns the attention of a peacekeeping force-ships performing the same job the HMES Remora might have under other circumstances-can Demming keep his ship safe from dangers without and within and find a way to salvage his honor and that of his crew? The Honor of the Dread Remora is part of the epic Scattered Earth saga, and the second novel in the exciting space-opera saga of The Dread Remora!

Here are eighteen interviews with this novelist & historian that portray him to be both an admirable writer & spellbinding talker & reveal his evolution into a great narrative artist.

Often regarded as her finest and most literary work, "Mr. Right Is Dead" is Rona Jaffe's collection of short stories from 1965. Containing five stories and one novella, each story has the savvy and sharp tone that characterize the best of Rona Jaffe's writing. The title novella centers on a call girl with "a heart of gold," who acquires lovers and money with her innocent charm, and closes with "Rima The Bird Girl," about a woman who assumes a new identity each time she has an affair. Each story carries its own unique and engaging voice; altogether they are about women looking for self-fulfillment and salvation through lovers, money, and fleeting worldly pleasures. "Mr. Right Is Dead" is about those searching desperately for "the best of everything" and learning a great deal about love, and its falsities, along the way.

In the spring of 1937, Brooklyn’s Daniel Fuchs, twenty-seven years old and already the author of three remarkable novels (now collected as The Brooklyn Novels), came to Hollywood to bang out a treatment of one of his short stories. His thirteen-week contract turned into a permanent residence―and a lifelong love affair with the movie business. Fuchs worked with the best: Warner and M-G-M and RKO, Wilder and Huston and Joe Pasternak, Raft and Cagney and Doris Day. He spent his days crafting screenplays, but off the lot he continued to write prose, mainly stories for Collier’s and The New Yorker and non-fiction “Letters from Hollywood” for Commentary. The Golden West collects, for the first time, the best of Fuch’s writings about studio life, from a novice screenwriter’s anxious first impressions to a fifty-year veteran’s mellow memoirs. Fuchs may have loved Hollywood, but he saw life as it is, gold and tinsel both, and described it without falling into easy sentiment or condescending laughter.

Extending the story of the troubled life of Rosa, a character first developed by the author in "Longing," this novel describes her difficult relationship with her mother, Eleanor. Rosa's story unfolds as though in a parallel world: dogged by the same obsessions as her mother and resorting to sex and madness as elements of destruction. At the core of their tension is the illicit affair Eleanor has had with her daughter s husband, Antonio. Both Rosa and Eleanor find the defining focal point in the same man, whose gift for interpreting the longing of others means his own bitter destruction. Narrated in two voices from perspectives of both women, this novel describes both their lives in depth, covering a span of nearly 70 years during which the world around them undergoes enormous change."

A bizarre and compelling story of a contemporary woman's initiation into an ancient goddess-worshipping sect and its secret teachings. A first novel by an established writer of non-fiction with a solid reputation in the women's market.

The lovely suburban streets are quiet, until one day the lawn of the philosopher is stolen, strange rains come, and little Celia makes a crashing announcement in class that closes her school. The Mud Game is a charming, surreal, entertaining novel about the way television took over our lives one strange day but left us still singing.

A new edition of a “dazzlingly seductive” fever dream written in “brilliant poetic vernacular” ( Bookforum ) by a beloved poet and cultural critic, now with an introduction by Rachel Kushner. For five years, concert pianist Theo Mangrove has been living at his family’s home in East Kill, New York, recovering from a nervous breakdown that derailed his career, and attempting to relieve his relentless polysexual appetite in the company of male hustlers, random strangers, music students, his aunt, and occasionally his wife. As he prepares for a comeback recital in Aigues-Mortes, a walled medieval town in southern France, he becomes obsessed with the idea that the Italian circus star Moira Orfei must join him there to perform alongside him. Extravagantly (and tragicomically) describing his hallucinatory plans in a series of twenty-five notebooks, he assembles an incantatory meditation on performance, failure, fame, decay, and delusion. "If Debussy and Robert Walser had collaborated on an opera, it would sound like this. --John Ashbery

Set in a small town that houses little more than a research lab and an engineering school, the body of the lab's director is found in a pit used for maternal deprivation experiments with monkeys. A few days later, a graduate student is found murdered as well. Are these deaths connected? And who's responsible for these murders? Written by one of America's greatest poets, this mystery is a scathing social commentary with a criminal twist. Maxine Kumin is the author of poetry, novels, short stories, essays and a number of children's books. She has received several awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, the Poets' Prize, the Levinson Prize, and most recently, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. She lives in Warner, New Hampshire.

Tracker of lost memories and lost souls, the veteran San Francisco private eye Dan Kasdan manages, along his way from the 1960s to the 1990s, to find Priscilla, the love of his life, only to lose her. Kasdan, urged on by Priscilla, also finds himself entangled with Karim, the sleek pornographer and drug dealer who insists that only Dan is the right person to handle his transfers of cash and drugs. All three, Kasdan, Priscilla, and Karim, want more than what ordinary life can afford them. She Took My Arm As If She Loved Me is the story of the risks of love and age, played out against the turbulence of America's great metropolitan village, where freedom is no more easily come by than anywhere else.

A murder mystery featuring as sleuth an alternative 20th century Goethe. On winning the 1992 Nobel Prize for Literature, he travels to Stockholm where he investigates the murder of another winner of the prize. By the author of Kassandrus.