Legacies of the Stone Guest


Book Description

The story of Don Juan first appeared in writing in seventeenth-century Spain, reaching Russia about a century later. Its real impact, however, was delayed until Russia’s most famous poet, Alexander Pushkin, put his own, unique, and uniquely inspirational, spin on the tale. Published in 1830, TheStone Guest is now recognized, with other Pushkin masterpieces, as part of the Russian literary canon. Alexander Burry traces the influence of Pushkin’s brilliant innovations to the legend, which he shows have proven repeatedly fruitful through successive ages of Russian literature, from the Realist to the Silver Age, Soviet, and contemporary periods. Burry shows that, rather than creating a simple retelling of an originally religious tale about a sinful, consummate seducer, Pushkin offered open-ended scenes, re-envisioned and complicated characters, and new motifs that became recursive and productive parts of Russian literature, in ways that even Pushkin himself could never have predicted.




Legend & Legacy


Book Description

In his The Autocrat at the Breakfast Table, Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote: "The world's great men have not commonly been great scholars, nor its great scholars great men." The Rev. Seymour St. John, D.D., (1912-2006) proved the exception to this rule. A gifted scholar, vigorous teacher, intrepid administrator, passionate athlete, and devoted man of the cloth, Seymour was also - as virtually all who knew him agree - a wonderfully gifted individual and, in the final analysis, a truly great man. The profound impact of St. John upon on an entire generation of students during his tenure at Choate - later Choate Rosemary Hall - cannot be overstated. St. John assembled one of the finest faculties in the world, expanded the school's infrastructure and constituency, and cemented Choate's place in the forefront of northeastern preparatory schools. Seymour's friends included I.M. Pei, Jack Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Douglas Dillon, Paul Mellon, George H.W. Bush, and playwright Edward Albee. St. John's uncle, Charles Seymour, was President of Yale (from which Seymour graduated Phi Beta Kappa); his mother a Greek scholar; his father the longtime Headmaster of Choate before Seymour's tenure. Seymour St. John distinguished himself as a naval officer in Europe during World War II. He won a battle star for his participation in D-Day. Later on, he was instrumental in reinvigorating ravaged continental shipping and fishing ports, and otherwise worked to bring order to the abject chaos that was postwar Europe. Ranging in terrain from Wallingfort, Ct. to Haversham, RI, Jupiter Island, Florida, and the far corners of the world, this superb biography, based on private papers held by Seymour's widow Marie L. St. John, chronicles the story of a brilliant and vital man whose life was a blessing not only to himself, but to all whom he encountered.




Tolstoy in Context


Book Description

Likened to a second Tsar in Russia and attaining prophet-like status around the globe, Tolstoy made an impact on literature and the arts, religion, philosophy, and politics. His novels and stories both responded to and helped to reshape the European and Russian literary traditions. His non-fiction incensed readers and drew a massive following, making Tolstoy an important religious force as well as a stubborn polemicist in many fields. Through his involvement with Gandhi and the Indian independence movement, his aid in relocating the Doukhobors to Canada, his correspondence with American abolitionists and his polemics with scientists in the periodical press, Tolstoy engaged a vast array of national and international contexts of his time in his life and thought. This volume introduces those contexts and situates Tolstoy—the man and the writer—in the rich and tumultuous period in which his intellectual and creative output came to fruition.







The Vasco Legacy


Book Description




The Don Giovanni Moment


Book Description

Mozart's Don Giovanni is an operatic masterpiece full of iconic and mythical tensions that still resonate today. The work redefines the terms of power, seduction, and morality, and the resulting conflict between the aesthetic and the ethical is deeply rooted in the Enlightenment and romanticism. The Don Giovanni Moment is the first book to examine the aesthetic and moral legacy of Mozart's opera in the literature, philosophy, and culture of the nineteenth century. The prominent scholars in this collection address the opera's impact on the philosophical visions of Kierkegaard, Goethe, and Williams and its influence on the literary and dramatic works of Pushkin, Hoffmann, Mörike, Byron, Wagner, Strauss, and Shaw. Through a close and careful analysis of Don Giovanni's literary and philosophical reception and its many appropriations, rewritings, and retellings, these contributors treat the opera as a vantage point from which theory and philosophy can reconsider romanticism's central themes. As lively and passionate as the opera itself, these essays continue the spirited debate over the meaning and character of Don Giovanni and its powerful legacy. Together they prove that Mozart's brilliant artistic achievement is as potent and relevant today as when it was first performed two centuries ago.




Legacy


Book Description

When Henry Hutton's winning poker hand lands him the deed to one hundred and sixty acres in Canada, he sets out to carve a haven in the Ontario wilderness for his girls. His granddaughters and nieces have no idea they are the sole beneficiaries of a sprawling compound, complete with an impressive hunting lodge and living quarters. With destiny calling, they leave their lives in Reno behind to embark on a journey of self-discovery and forgiveness. But their arrival in Canada brings more than they expected when they encounter two strangers who share a childhood secret. A secret that will alter the women's lives forever.




The Legacy of Longdale Manor


Book Description

Two women--a century apart--embark on a journey to healing, faith, forgiveness, and romance. In 2012, art historian Gwen Morris travels to England's Lake District to appraise the paintings and antiques of an old family friend, hoping to prove herself to her prestigious grandfather. While at Longdale Manor, she meets David Bradford--the owner's handsome grandson--who is desperate to save the crumbling estate by turning it into a luxury hotel. When Gwen stumbles upon a one-hundred-year-old journal and an intricately carved shepherd's staff similar to one in a photo of her parents, she's left searching for answers. In 1912, after her father's death, Charlotte Harper uncovers a painful family secret she can only confess to her journal. She and her family travel to the Lake District to stay on a sheep farm, hoping eventually to find a home with Charlotte's grandfather at Longdale Manor, but old wounds and bitter regrets make it a difficult challenge. As Charlotte grows closer to shepherd Ian Storey and rebuilds her shattered faith, she must decide whether she will ever trust in love again. Praise for The Legacy of Longdale Manor "This novel will stir your faith--and your desire to visit England's Lake District!"--JULIE KLASSEN, bestselling author "Turansky opens the door of Longdale Manor and invites readers to explore the secrets hidden inside."--MELANIE DOBSON, award-winning author "A beautiful book to warm and lift the heart."--CATHY GOHLKE, Christy Hall of Fame author




The Demdike Legacy


Book Description

The murder of Jennifer Southern in her cottage on the outskirts of a Lancashire village re-ignites a legacy of witchcraft that was thought to have ended four hundred years ago when the Pendle Witches were hanged at Lancaster Castle in 1612. But their descendants have lived on, following the old ways and keeping themselves to themselves until now it seems someone is determined to wipe them out. As the death toll rises, events finally force the police to work with the modern-day witches in a bid to hunt down the killer.




The Vagabond's Legacy


Book Description

Chronically irresponsible Duncan Flowers has a rude awakening when his junky, unlocked car falls prey to a thief, who also makes off with the beat-up viola that Duncan inherited from his eccentric drifter of a grandfather. Duncan wants nothing more than to put the unfortunate event behind him, but the sacred trust that binds him to his grandfather's instrument is not easily broken. The viola's true nature soon pulls Duncan into unimagined intrigue involving a powerful real estate magnate, a renowned British antiquities expert, a master instrument maker and an aspiring fast-buck artist. To unlock the secret of his grandfather's legacy and to overcome the lingering demons of his broken marriage, Duncan must be prepared to rise out of his rut and take on the forces aligned against him. And his biggest obstacle just might be himself.