34 results for "Literary Fiction"

The Spy

Maksim Gorky,Thomas Seltzer
"The Spy: The Story of a Superfluous Man" by Maksim Gorky plunges readers into the turbulent heart of Russia during a period of revolution and political upheaval. This gripping historical fiction, set against the backdrop of the 1905-1907 Russian Revolution, explores themes of political intrigue and the shadowy world of espionage. Gorky, a master of Russian literature, crafts a compelling narrative that resonates with timeless relevance. Delve into a society rife with secrets and betrayals, where the lines between loyalty and treachery blur. "The Spy" offers a glimpse into the complex forces that shaped Russia's destiny. This meticulously prepared print edition preserves the integrity of Gorky's original work, making it a valuable addition to any collection of classic literature and historical fiction. Experience the drama and tension of a nation on the brink in this powerful story of a man caught in the crossfire. 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.
Creative Media Partners, LLC 2025-03-28 222 pages

The Leader

Gillian Freeman
'Brilliant study of neo-Nazi anti-Semitism ... Gillian Freeman is among the finest contemporary novelists.' - Brigid Brophy, New Statesman 'Undoubtedly the best of her novels ... an exact and finely observed account of the lunatic right-wing fringe in Britain. I recommend this very strongly.' - Oxford Mail 'Gillian Freeman's perception of psychological and sociological drives is combined with an ability to communicate them in suspenseful entertainments.... The implications grip the imagination.' - Kirkus Reviews 'Horrifying reconstruction of how a new Hitler might arise.' - Times Literary Supplement Vincent Wright is a failure. Now in his mid-thirties, he's stuck in a dead-end job as a bank clerk and still lives with his mother. But he knows who is to blame for the shortcomings in his life: blacks, Jews, and immigrants, who are responsible for most of what's wrong with Britain today. After meeting a retired army officer who shares his passion for collecting Nazi paraphernalia, Vincent has a brilliant idea: the nation needs a new leader to rescue it from its decline - why not him? As he travels the country, giving speeches and using his charisma and oratorical gifts to recruit like-minded followers to his new Britain First party, we watch in horror while Vincent begins his terrifying and seemingly inexorable rise to power.... With the recent surge in popularity of far-right political parties across Europe, Gillian Freeman's sixth novel, The Leader (1965), remains as chillingly relevant today as when first published. This edition, the first in more than 40 years, includes a new introduction by Alwyn W. Turner. Freeman's classics The Liberty Man (1955) and The Leather Boys (1961) are also available from Valancourt Books.
Valancourt Books 2014 224 pages

Do not resuscitate: the life and afterlife of Maurice Saatchi

Saatchi, Maurice Nathan
Maurice Saatchi is dead. He is standing in front of the Gates of Heaven. Arrival halls worse than Heathrow Airport. Queues. Overcrowding. A tidal wave of Paradise seekers. ID scans. Voice and facial recognition. X-ray examinations. Background checks. It all seems like a bad dream. His tests expose abnormalities. He is charged with multiple breaches of immigration law and detained pending a full jury trial. The verdict will reveal the biggest secret of all time: why some people go to Heaven and others to Hell. Do Not Resuscitate is a bold statement. Maurice Saatchi, a towering figure in the worlds of business and politics, frames his unsparing self-portrait with the conceit of a celestial trial in which his application to pass through the Gates of Heaven is heard before a jury featuring luminaries like Marilyn Monroe, Pablo Picasso, Chairman Mao, and Margaret Thatcher. In seeking admission to Heaven, Saatchi offers a defence like no other.
ERIS 2022 127 pages

Moving kings

Cohen, Joshua
The year is 2015, and 21-year-olds Yoav and Uri have just completed their compulsory military service in the Israel Defense Forces. In keeping with national tradition, they take a year off for rest, recovery, and travel. They come to New York City and begin working for Yoav's distant cousin, David King-a proud American patriot, Republican, and Jew, and the recently divorced proprietor of King's Moving Inc., a heavyweight in the Tri-State area's moving and storage industries. What starts off as a profitable if eerily familiar job-an "Occupation"-quickly turns violent, when they encounter one homeowner seeking revenge
Fitzcarraldo Editions 2017-07 237 pages

Love and Terror Novel

William Herrick
Now available as a New Directions paperbook, Love and Terror, William Herrick's second novel with ND, both reflects and anticipates today's headlines. Terrorist kidnappings, hijackings, and dramatic rescues all form a part of the plot, but Herrick's interest lies less in tension-filled heroics than in the human cost of flawed idealism. Through the notebook of the principal terrorist, Viktor X, the complex characters of Viktor and Gabriele, for whom love and terrorism are intertwined and inseparable, are revealed. And in a series of interviews with a nameless reporter, the lives of three disillusioned revolutionaries--"the old ones," now hostages to a new brand of revolution--gradually and movingly unfold. In his earlier Shadows and Wolves (New Directions, 1980), Herrick showed us the possibility of human solutions that transcend politics. In Love and Terror he shows us why any ideology, inflexibly adhered to, makes such solutions necessary.
New Directions Publishing 1982-02 248 pages

St. James and Goldstein at Yale

Seymour B. Sarason
I didn't know it then, but I know it now, that what I said to Harold was like crossing a Rubicon. I had declared myself, there was no turning back. I said what I said with feeling and to someone who up to that moment was like a god on Mt. Olympus. He became Harold St. James, secular savior and friend. I could talk to him. I didn't have to choose my words. I could be Izzy Goldstein. What will later become the legendary St. James-Goldstein duo at Yale begins on the day World War II breaks out in Europe. Harold St. James and Izzy Goldstein meet on the train to New Haven, Connecticut, and both learn that they will be working together in two different departments in the same building at Yale. Their oddball friendship becomes fodder for snide comments and campus newspaper articles. But it's a strong friendship that carries them through an initial anti-Semitism, Harold's marriage and his wife's premature death, the House Un-American Activities Committee, the Vietnam War, and the Black Panthers.
iUniverse 2005 308 pages

A Year at Hartlebury, Or, The Election

Benjamin Disraeli,Sarah Disraeli
The revelation that a long forgotten novel first published anonymously in 1834 is the work of Benjamin Disraeli and his sister Sarah is an exciting literary event. Newly discovered letters between brother and sister prove without doubt that it was written jointly by them. We do not have to look far for the reason for their secrecy. The vividly described election which forms the centrepiece of the story is clearly based on Disraeli's recent experiences as an unsuccessful candidate in two elections at High Wycombe. His political career had a long way to go and the last thing he wanted was to jeopardize it by revealing his motives in the past or his hopes for the future. The hero, Aubrey Bohun, has, like Disraeli, recently returned from mysterious travels in the East, but unlike him has his own castle and an income of £30,000 a year. Bohun obviously contains an element of wish fulfilment and allows the authors to incorporate in the novel elements of wish fulfilment and allows the authors to incorporate in the novel elements of a popular genre known in its day as 'silver fork' fiction – revelations of high life. Although there is much of this and of melodrama too, there is also some splendid social irony. Michael Foot says 'the volume is quite fit to takes its place in the true Disraeli canon and contains many gems which add fresh gleams to the portrait of Disraeli himself.' Two appendixes explain the literary detection that proved the book's authorship and the parallels between the politics of Aubrey Bohun and Disraeli.
University of Toronto Press 1983-12-15 230 pages

No Saints Or Angels

Ivan Klíma
Ivan Klima has been acclaimed by The Boston Globe as "a literary gem who is too little appreciated in the West" and a "Czech master at the top of his game." In No Saints or Angels, a Washington Post Best Book of 2001, Klima takes us into the heart of contemporary Prague, where the Communist People's Militia of the Stalinist era marches headlong into the drug culture of the present. Kristyna is in her forties, the divorced mother of a rebellious fifteen-year-old daughter, Jana. She is beginning to love a man fifteen years her junior, but her joy is clouded by worry -- Jana has been cutting school, and perhaps using heroin. Meanwhile Kristyna's mother has forced on her a huge box of personal papers left by her dead father, a tyrant whose Stalinist ideals she despised. No Saints or Angels is a powerful book in which "Mr. Klima's keen sense of history, his deep compassion for the ordinary people caught up in its toils, and his abiding awareness of the fragility and resilience of human life shine through.... Like Anton Chekhov, Mr. Klima is a writer able to show us what's extraordinary about ordinary life." (The Washington Times). "Ultimately, it's Prague, with its centuries of glory and misery, that gives No Saints or Angels its humane power." -- Melvin Jules Bukiet, The Washington Post Book World" A compassionate realist, [Klima] unflinchingly presents the problems facing modern Prague and civilization in general ... [and] fills it with mercy." -- Jennie Yabroff, San Francisco Chronicle "Stirring and valuable." -- Jules Verdone, The Hartford Courant
Grove Press 2002-09-19 272 pages

Sybil: or the Two Nations

Disraeli, Benjamin
Sybil, a novel by Benjamin Disraeli, is a powerful representation of the social and political issues of 19th-century England. Through a narrative of love, class struggle, and national identity, Disraeli provides a compelling account of the challenges of the day. The story follows Sybil, a passionate young woman, as she navigates the complexities of English society and the struggles of the working class. Disraeli's writing is richly detailed and poignantly captures the social and political issues of the era, providing a unique insight into the past. With its vivid characters and thought-provoking themes, Sybil is an essential read for those interested in 19th-century England and its people. Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) was an English politician, statesman, and author who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice over his long and distinguished career. Disraeli is also remembered for his prolific literary career and renowned works of fiction, which often featured themes of ambition, power, and social climbing. Disraeli was born in London on December 21, 1804, to Isaac D'Israeli and Maria Basevi. He was educated at a variety of schools and universities, including Higham Hall and Trinity College, Oxford. In 1826, he left Oxford without a degree and embarked on a career in law. Despite his legal career, Disraeli was an avid reader and writer of fiction, and his first novel, Vivian Gray, was published in 1826. The book was well-received, and Disraeli continued to write political and social satire throughout his life. In 1837, Disraeli was elected to the House of Commons, where he aligned himself with the Conservative Party. In 1841, Disraeli's second novel, Coningsby, was published and was an instant success. This was followed by Sybil in 1845, and Tancred in 1847. His novels focused on social and political issues, such as the power of the aristocracy, the role of the Church, and the struggle between tradition and modernity. Throughout his political career, Disraeli continued to write and publish fiction, including Lothair in 1870, Endymion in 1880, and a collection of his works, The Works of Benjamin Disraeli, in 1883. His literary works have been praised for their insight into British society and class structure, and his novels remain popular to this day. Disraeli's legacy as both a politician and an author lives on in the United Kingdom, and his works continue to inspire readers and writers alike. His novels will remain a testament to his incredible talents and singular vision.
Independently published 2020-07-28 272 pages

Terry Dactyl

Sycamore, Mattilda Bernstein
"From iconic author and activist Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore comes a breathless search for intimacy and connection, from club culture to the art world, from the AIDS crisis to COVID-19. Terry Dactyl has lived many lives. Raised by boisterous lesbian mothers in Seattle, she comes of age as a trans girl in the 1980s in a world of dancing queens and late-night house parties just as the AIDS crisis ravages their world. After moving to New York City, Terry finds a new family among gender-bending club kids bonded by pageantry and drugs, fiercely loyal and unapologetic. She lands a job at a Soho gallery, where, after partying all night, she spends her days bringing club culture to the elite art world. Twenty years later, in a panic during the COVID-19 lockdown, Terry returns to a Seattle stifled by gentrification and pandemic isolation until resistance erupts following the murder of George Floyd, and her search for community ignites once again. In propulsive, intoxicating prose, Terry Dactyl traces an extraordinary journey from adolescence to adulthood, delivering a vital portrait of queer identity in all its peril and possibility"--
Coffee House Press 2025 262 pages

Celebration: A Novel

Swados, Harvey
In old age, a political firebrand looks back at a life filled with social and political turmoil. Samuel Lumen has reached the hearts of millions with his fearless advocacy for liberal causes. Now he’s almost ninety years old, and the ideas he espoused as a young man, radical at the time, are woven into the political landscape of America, even as they’ve been warped and diluted by younger generations. His ideological heirs want to honor his contributions with a banquet full of pomp and circumstance, but Lumen’s not so sure he’s ready to honor his heirs in return. Told through Lumen’s diary entries, Celebration recounts his rich life, filled with achievement, disappointment, and an ever-growing awareness of the costs of restless radicalism. Published posthumously, Celebration is a fitting capstone to Swados’ legendary career as a novelist and critic, and is an unforgettable look at the intersection of memory, nostalgia, and histories both personal and political.
Dell Laural Edition 1976-01-01 315 pages

The only problem

Spark, Muriel
Wealthy Canadian scholar Harvey Gotham lives in splendid isolation in France and is working on a book about Job. He loves his wife, Effie,dearly but she has taken to planting bombs in supermarkets and has joined an anarchist group. Here, Spark returns to the Book of Job, whichhad always fascinated her, and 'the only problem' - the problem of suffering. Why does God allow it? A despairing and exhilarating read, TheOnly Problem is a masterwork.This is one of the 22 novels written by Muriel Spark in her lifetime. All are being published by Polygon in hardback Centenary Editions betweenNovember 2017 and September 2018.
Polygon 2018 156 pages