On a poor farm near Starkfield in western Massachusetts, Ethan Frome struggles to wrest a living from the land, unassisted by his whining and hypochondriacal wife Zeena. When Zeena's young cousin Mattie Silver is left destitute, the only place she can go is Ethan's farm.
This book presents a searching exploration of individual and collective identity, and the observations and emotions of life, from the simplicity and surging optimism of youth to the vacancy and despair of middle-age.
The Celtic roots of Irish folklore are enriched with Nordic legend and colour. Here gathered in this collection are tales of giants and warriors, of old hags and fair maidens, and of the boyhood of the great hero Fionn Mac Uail (Finn MacCool).
For years a young man known only as Philippe has languished in the Bastille, ignorant of the crime for which he has been condemned, until a visitor reveals the circumstances of his imprisonment. It is a story of concealed identity, dishonour and treachery that could destroy the French monarchy.
E. F. Benson was a master of the ghost story and now all his rich, imaginative, spine-tingling and beautifully written tales are presented together in this bumper collection.
Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations is the first book of modern political economy, and still provides the foundation for the study of that discipline. Along with important discussions of economics and political theory, it mixes plain common sense with large measures of history, philosophy, psychology and sociology.