Mistress of Geese


Book Description

Mistress of Geese is a collection of folk horror tales about isolation, loneliness, destructive powers of nature, magic and creatures lurking in the dark. The undiscovered, occasionally almost uninhabited remote areas of the old European land of Croatia hold secrets only the bravest of women can find. The only question is, will they survive the discovery or be taken into darkness as the land demands? Jela lives in complete, self-imposed isolation, but when a malevolent curse falls down on the neighbouring town of Lepoglava, she needs to-quite simply-follow the geese. Bura lives in a remote village, hidden in the Velebit mountain range in the late 1950s, when she gets lost in the woods, which have suddenly gone unrecognizable. Four friends visiting the Istrakon sci-fi convention in Pazin get into magical trouble when they drink something they shouldn't have touched. Luka and Kate believed they had a perfect plan to trick strict village rules. Years later, Ema and Laura go on a perfect vacation in Dalmatia... except that the powers lurking in the depths of the sea have other plans for them, and so does the village itself. Augusta is caught in a fairy tale in the worst possible way-as a maiden sacrifice to the river dragon for the safety of her postapocalyptic village. But Lian, as it turns out, isn't really a dragon and Augusta has something else to bargain with, other than her life-something much, much more dangerous.




The Wild Goose


Book Description

Mori Ogai (1862–1922), one of the giants of modern Japanese literature, wrote The Wild Goose at the turn of the century. Set in the early 1880s, it was, for contemporary readers, a nostalgic return to a time when the nation was embarking on an era of dramatic change. Ogai’s narrator is a middle-aged man reminiscing about an unconsummated affair, dating to his student days, between his classmate and a young woman kept by a moneylender. At a time when writers tended to depict modern, alienated male intellectuals, the characters of The Wild Goose are diverse, including not only students preparing for a privileged intellectual life and members of the plebeian classes who provide services to them, but also a pair of highly developed female characters. The author’s sympathetic and penetrating portrayal of the dilemmas and frustrations faced by women in this early period of Japan’s modernization makes the story of particular interest to readers today. Ogai was not only a prolific and popular writer, but also a protean figure in early modern Japan: critic, translator, physician, military officer, and eventually Japan’s Surgeon General. His rigorous and broad education included the Chinese classics as well as Dutch and German; he gained admittance to the Medical School of Tokyo Imperial University at the age of only fifteen. Once established as a military physician, he was sent to Germany for four years to study aspects of European medicine still unfamiliar to the Japanese. Upon his return, he produced his first works of fiction and translations of English and European literature. Ogai’s writing is extolled for its unparalleled style and psychological insight, nowhere better demonstrated than in The Wild Goose.




The Temple of the Wild Geese


Book Description

The Temple of the Wild Geese, a semi-autobiographical account of Mizukami's childhood, tells the tale of Jinen, a Buddhist monk raised by villagers after his mother, a beggar, abandoned him. Sent to live at a temple at the age of ten, his resentment smolders for years until it explodes in a shocking climax. In Bamboo Dolls of Echizen, no woman is willing to marry the diminutive Kisuke, a bamboo artisan, until Tamae, a prostitute, comes to pay her respects at the grave of Kisuke's father. In Tamae, Kisuke sees shadows of his own mother, who died when he was young, and the two eventually marry. Since Kisuke seeks only motherly affection from Tamae, the two never become lovers. Instead, Tamae devotes herself to caring for Kisuke as a mother would, and he thrives as a renowned maker of bamboo dolls.




The Esthonian Review


Book Description




Chatterbox


Book Description




The Fox Wife


Book Description

Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . . Manchuria, 1908. In the last years of the dying Qing Empire, a courtesan is found frozen in a doorway. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and handsome men. Bao, a detective with an uncanny ability to sniff out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach—until, perhaps, now. Meanwhile, a family who owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments but can’t escape the curse that afflicts them—their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. When a disruptively winsome servant named Snow enters their household, the family’s luck seems to change—or does it? Snow is a creature of many secrets, but most of all she’s a mother seeking vengeance for her lost child. Hunting a murderer, she will follow the trail from northern China to Japan, while Bao follows doggedly behind. Navigating the myths and misconceptions of fox spirits, both Snow and Bao will encounter old friends and new foes, even as more deaths occur. New York Times bestselling author Yangsze Choo brilliantly explores a world of mortals and spirits, humans and beasts, and their dazzling intersection. Epic in scope and full of singular, unforgettable characters, The Fox Wife is a stunning novel about old loves and second chances, the depths of maternal love, and ancient folktales that may very well be true.




Face Down among the Winchester Geese


Book Description

When her husband becomes one of the suspects in the murder of several Southwark prostitutes (known as Winchester Geese), Lady Appleton vows to uncover the identity of the real killer in order to prove her husband’s innocence. The year is 1563. Historical mystery by Kathy Lynn Emerson; originally published by St. Martin’s Press and Kensington Books







Lady's Realm


Book Description




Delphi Works of Andrew Lang (Illustrated)


Book Description

As well as editing the famous Fairy Books, Andrew Lang created a diverse oeuvre of short story collections, novels, poetry and a scholarly corpus of essays and non-fiction books. This Delphi edition offers a comprehensive range of Lang’s prolific works, with thousands of beautiful illustrations, as well as the usual bonus texts. (Current version: 2) * the complete Fairy Books, all fully-illustrated with their original Victorian artwork – first time in digital print * special contents table for the Fairy Books * ALL the novels, with contents tables * images of how the books first appeared, giving your eReader a taste of the Victorian texts * many short story collections, with beautiful illustrations * ARABIAN NIGHTS fully illustrated – first time in digital print * 13 poetry collections, with contents tables and illustrations * special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the poetry – find that special poem quickly and easily! * features 29 non-fiction books, each with contents tables * includes two biographical essays on Lang – explore the writer’s literary life! * many images relating to Lang’s life and works * scholarly ordering of texts in chronological order and literary genres, allowing easy navigation around Lang’s immense oeuvre CONTENTS: The Fairy Books THE BLUE FAIRY BOOK THE RED FAIRY BOOK THE GREEN FAIRY BOOK THE YELLOW FAIRY BOOK THE PINK FAIRY BOOK THE GREY FAIRY BOOK THE VIOLET FAIRY BOOK THE CRIMSON FAIRY BOOK THE BROWN FAIRY BOOK THE ORANGE FAIRY BOOK THE OLIVE FAIRY BOOK THE LILAC FAIRY BOOK The Fairy Tales LIST OF THE TALES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER LIST OF THE TALES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER Other Story Collections MUCH DARKER DAYS IN THE WRONG PARADISE AND OTHER STORIES HE THE GOLD OF FAIRNILEE PRINCE PRIGIO THE TRUE STORY BOOK PRINCE RICARDO OF PANTOUFLIA ANGLING SKETCHES THE BOOK OF DREAMS AND GHOSTS ARABIAN NIGHTS THE DISENTANGLERS THE RED TRUE STORY BOOK TALES OF TROY AND GREECE THE ANIMAL STORY BOOK THE BOOK OF ROMANCE THE RED ROMANCE BOOK THE RED BOOK OF HEROES by Mrs. Lang TALES OF ROMANCE THE STRANGE STORY BOOK by Mrs. Lang The Novels THE MARK OF CAIN THE WORLD’S DESIRE PARSON KELLY The Poetry Collections BALLADS, LYRICS, AND POEMS OF OLD FRANCE THE ODYSSEY THEOCRITUS BION AND MOSCHUS BALLADS IN BLUE CHINA HELEN OF TROY THE ILIAD RHYMES A LA MODE AUCASSIN AND NICOLETE A COLLECTION OF BALLADS GRASS OF PARNASSUS BAN AND ARRIERE BAN THE NURSERY RHYME BOOK NEW COLLECTED RHYMES The Poetry LIST OF POEMS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER LIST OF POEMS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER The Non-Fiction OXFORD THE LIBRARY and many more - too many to list The Biographies ANDREW LANG by Edmund Gosse SPENCER WALPOLE AND ANDREW LANG by Horace G. Hutchinson