Leo Tolstoy The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories

This second volume of Tolstoy's shorter fiction, selected by the critic Sharon Cameron, contains 'Family Happiness', 'The Devil' and 'The Kreutzer Sonata', three of Tolstoy's unhappy-marriage stories as well as 'Father Sergius', a story of a loss of identity in ambitious pursuit of holy virtue and 'Master and Man'. Tolstoy's antidotes to delusion, fear, jealousy and even madness have an ethical thread pulled through the fabric of different themes and genres • This riverrun edition reissues the translation of Louise and Aylmer Maude, whose influential versions of Tolstoy first brought his work to a wide readership in English

This volume includes Family Happiness; The Kreutzer Sonata; The Devil and Father Sergius. The four stories are all about love, but they take very different attitudes towards it. Tolstoy knows that jis readers have fallen in love and also, often, fallen out of it; they have wanted to kill their loved ones; they have lusted vigorously; or desperately sought the approval and even worship of others - Tolstoy depends on our own memories to entagle us in his tragic stories

On a train journey, Pozdnyshev tells his story to a stranger: how his relationship with his wife gradually deteriorated from one of love and passion to jealousy and resentfulness, culminating in a mad act of desperation while she practised Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata with her violin teacher • An uncompromising examination of lust, suspicion and infidelity which was once forbidden by censors in Russia and banned in the US due to its shocking content, Tolstoy’s controversial novella – here presented in a new translation, along with ‘The Prisoner of the Caucasus’, ‘Master and Man’ and ‘After the Ball’ – is now considered one of the masterpieces of Tolstoy’s late period

When the Selfish Giant decides to build a wall around his garden to prevent the children from playing in it, it becomes barren and stuck in perpetual winter. It takes a wonderful event and the heart of a young boy for him to realize the error of his ways.A classic tale for children, ‘The Selfish Giant’ is presented here with all of Oscar Wilde’s other fairy stories – ‘The Happy Prince’, ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’, ‘The Devoted Friend’, ‘The Remarkable Rocket’, ‘The Young King’, ‘The Birthday of the Infanta’, ‘The Fisherman and His Soul’ and ‘The Star-Child’ – brought to life by Philip Waechter’s bright and imaginative illustrations

Howard Lovecraft (1890—1937) was an American writer who achieved posthumous fame through his influential works of horror fiction. Despite the fact that he was virtually unknown before he died, today he is known as the most influential author in his genre. "The Dunwich Horror and Other Stories" is a collection of wonderful short stories such as "The Rats in the Walls", "The Strange High House in the Mist" and others. These stories, full of mystery and fantastic creatures, have captured the minds of readers all over the world

Таинственный город Каркоза, полный древних проклятий и тёмной магии. Ужасная пьеса «Король в жёлтом», сводящая своих читателей с ума. Полубог из другого измерения, жаждущий захватить мир • Приводящие в ужас и наполненные потусторонними кошмарами рассказы Роберта Чамберса оказали большое влияние на становление жанра хоррор. Они вдохновили поколения писателей, среди которых Роберт Ирвин Говард, Карл Эдвард Вагнер и Говард Филлипс Лавкрафт, а также Ник Пиццолатто – создатель сериала «Настоящий детектив» • В сборнике «The Yellow Sign and Other Stories» ценители жанра хоррор найдут рассказы «Восстановитель репутаций», «Маска», «Во дворе дракона», «Создатель Лун», «The Harbour-Master» и др • Книга на английском языке • A mysterious city called Carcosa filled with ancient curses and dark magics

When the Americans Mr and Mrs Otis and their four children move into Canterville Chase, its previous occupant Lord Canterville warns them that the ghost of his ancestor still haunts the house. Their disbelief is soon shattered by the nightly sound of rattling chains in the hallways and the appearance of mysterious bloodstains in the living room. However, the ghost struggles to intimidate his new victims, as they counter his ghoulish behaviour with typically transatlantic pragmatism, offering lubricator for his chains and cleaning up the stains with detergent. As the spirit is deserted by his capacity to scare, Virginia, the Otises’ daughter, gets to know him and learns the tragic tale behind his sad fate • Sparkling with his trademark wit, this classic tale is one of Oscar Wilde’s finest stories and is presented here with three other comic mystery stories, ‘Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime’, ‘The Sphinx without a Secret’ and ‘The Model Millionaire’, all of which were first published together in 1891

Sara, the American wife of a French aristocrat, has had two encounters with her compatriot Cedric Killian, one a youthful idyll in North Carolina and the other during the First World War, when he was a soldier about to go to battle. When, years later and after the death of her husband, Cedric contacts her out of the blue, Sara finds herself eager to see him again – against the wishes of her in-laws – and to find out the secret of this man she loves yet knows so little about • A poignant tale of thwarted love, ‘The Intimate Strangers’ explores many of Fitzgerald’s favourite themes, such as the constraints of society on romance and the American fascination for Old Europe. This volume also includes other lesser-known stories he wrote from the mid-1930s until the end of his life, revealing new facets to the author of The Great Gatsby and Tender Is the Night

William Sydney Porter known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American short story writer. His stories are known for their surprise endings. Most of O. Henry's stories are set in his own time, the early 20th century. Many take place in New York City and deal for the most part with ordinary people: policemen, waitresses, etc. This book includes wonderfull stories like "The Trimmed Lamp", "A Madison Square Arabian Night", "The Pendulum" and other interesting tales

When the young and sensitive Auguste Saint-Clair notices an Etruscan vase on the mantelpiece of his beloved Mathilde, he becomes gradually consumed by jealousy at the thought that it could be the gift of another man, and the situation escalates dramatically as he demands proof from her that she loves only him • A classic piece of French short fiction, ‘The Etruscan Vase’ is here presented alongside three other stories: ‘The Vision of Charles XI’, a dark tale of premonition set in the Swedish royal palace, ‘Tamango’, an account of a slave-ship revolt, and ‘The Blue Room’, a supernatural farce and one of Merimee’s final works; as well as two non-fiction pieces: ‘A Hanging’, a description of a real-life public execution, and ‘H.B.’, a tribute to Stendhal

This collection features several disturbing tales from one of horror's true masters. Including such terrifying tales as 'The Great God Pan', 'The Bowmen' and the uncanny atmosphere of 'The Black Seal', these stories are filled with eldritch relics, supernatural horrors and occult corruptions • At the heart of all these stories are the fascinating characters brought face to face with these primeval terrors. Whether eccentric academics or men filled with hubris, their encounters with the supernatural uncover the consequences of delving too deep into the forgotten mysteries of the world • Machen's evocative writing is sure to send a chill down every reader's spine