Something snapped. He let the arrow fly. The night Thomas Rhymer’s young sister is stolen away by shadows and smoke, he discovers there’s more to life than the fields and forests he knows so well. If he has any hope of rescuing Alissa, he must first cross into a realm where magic is lifeblood, and where shadows dance with dragonfire. With the help of the seelie faery Thistledown, Thomas embarks on a treacherous quest, deep into the heart of war-raved Albion. But getting his sister back means pledging aid to Mab, the usurped Queen of the Old Ways, against the tyranny of the Dark Prince. Yet danger and deceit lie around every corner, and some secrets are better left untold.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, Joseph Conrad is celebrated as a forerunner of modernist fiction, whose innovative narrative style and anti-heroes had a significant influence on the course of English literature. This comprehensive eBook presents the only complete works of Joseph Conrad in digital format, with numerous illustrations, rare texts appearing for the first time, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Conrad's life and works * Concise introductions to the novels and other texts * ALL 19 novels, with individual contents tables * Images of how the books were first printed, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * All of the collaborative works with Ford Madox Ford * Includes the rare unfinished novel SUSPENSE, available in no other collection * Special chronological ordering of the short stories * Easily locate the short stories you want to read * Includes Conrad's essays - spend hours exploring the author’s critical works * The complete memoirs - explore the author’s life in detail * Special criticism section, with 11 essays by critics such as Virginia Woolf, Henry James and John Galsworthy evaluating Conrad’s contribution to literature * Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres * UPDATED with new introductions, new formatting of ALL the texts and corrections Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles CONTENTS: The Novels and Novellas ALMAYER’S FOLLY AN OUTCAST OF THE ISLANDS THE NIGGER OF THE NARCISSUS LORD JIM THE INHERITORS TYPHOON HEART OF DARKNESS ROMANCE NOSTROMO THE SECRET AGENT UNDER WESTERN EYES CHANCE VICTORY THE SHADOW-LINE THE ARROW OF GOLD THE RESCUE THE NATURE OF A CRIME THE ROVER SUSPENSE The Short Stories THE BLACK MATE THE IDIOTS THE LAGOON AN OUTPOST OF PROGRESS THE RETURN KARAIN: A MEMORY YOUTH FALK AMY FOSTER TO-MORROW THE END OF THE TETHER GASPAR RUIZ THE INFORMER THE BRUTE AN ANARCHIST THE DUEL IL CONDE A SMILE OF FORTUNE THE SECRET SHARER FREYA OF THE SEVEN ISLES PRINCE ROMAN THE PLANTER OF MALATA THE PARTNER THE INN OF THE TWO WITCHES BECAUSE OF THE DOLLARS THE WARRIOR’S SOUL THE TALE The Essays NOTES ON LIFE AND LETTERS LAST ESSAYS The Memoirs THE MIRROR OF THE SEA A PERSONAL RECORD The Criticism JOSEPH CONRAD by Virginia Woolf MR. CONRAD: A CONVERSATION by Virginia Woolf Extract from ‘ENGLISH PROSE’ by Virginia Woolf Extract from ‘THE NEW NOVEL: 1914’ by Henry James TRIBUTES TO CONRAD by John Galsworthy REMINISCENCES OF CONRAD by John Galsworthy EXTRACT OF A LETTER by George Gissing JOSEPH CONRAD by John Cowper Powys TWO ARTICLES by Arnold Bennett JOSEPH CONRAD by Robert Lynd JOSEPH CONRAD. A PERSONAL REMEMBRANCE by Ford Madox Ford Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles

Three Sisters was written for the Moscow Art Theatre and was directed by Staniskavski himself on first opening. The play is often included in Chekhov's list of four outstanding plays and part of the classic repertoire of many world theatres. The play follows Chekhovian tradition of subtle character development and humour which often makes it a challenge for both performers and directors.

This edition of 'Hamlet' is an adaptation of Shakespeare's eponymous play 'The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'. Set in Denmark, the story dramatises the revenge Prince Hamlet is called to wreak upon his uncle, Claudius, by the ghost of Hamlet's father, King Hamlet. Narrated in plain modern English, capturing the very essence and key elements of the original Shakespeare's drama.

WANT TO LEARN THE INS AND OUTS OF TULIP GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS? Here Is A Preview Of What You'll Learn... The Planning and Preparation Plant the Tulip Bulbs Caring for the Tulips Planting Your Tulips in a Pot Providing the Right Amount of Water to Your Tulips Providing the Right Sunlight for Tulips to Grow Working with Multi-Headed Tulips Much, Much, More!

WANT TO LEARN THE INS AND OUTS OF GREENHOUSE GARDENING? Here Is A Preview Of What You'll Learn... Setting Up a Greenhouse Garden Growing Plants in Your Greenhouse Ways to Control the Climate in the Greenhouse Some of the Best Planting Methods in the Greenhouse How to Get Rid of the Pests Much, Much, More!

Welcome! Come on in! Take part in the project launch of ArtWorks, the new back to work initiative created and run by your friend and ours, the one, the only, the most fantastic… Vince Fine! And so begins the project launch from hell… Exploring issues of how society views those living on benefits, the ‘creative industries’ and what we should value in life, this dark comedy (running in real time) charts the fall from grace of the central comedic hero, Vince Fine, as he watches everything he’s ever dreamed of slip from his fingers. Includes some audience participation and interaction.

Prometheus, a Titan who defies the gods and gives fire to mankind, acts for which he is subjected to perpetual punishment. The Oceanids appear and attempt to comfort Prometheus by conversing with him. Prometheus cryptically tells them that he knows of a potential marriage that would lead to Zeus's downfall. A Titan named Oceanus commiserates with Prometheus and urges him to make peace with Zeus.

Inspired by the real life experiences of Rwandan refugees in the UK, the play tells the story of two people from entirely different worlds who meet at a Refugee Centre in London: Juliette is a young Rwandan asylum seeker, detemined to write a book on the genocide that killed her famiily; Simon is a middle-aged failing novelist, whose job is to help people write. The play follows their funny and touching relationship and tackles issues that face many refugees who live in the UK today. Nominated as Time Out Critics’ Choice, the play has been broadcast by the BBC World Service and was toured nationally by iceandfire in Autumn 2004 with the support of the Arts Council England.

Uncle Vanya is different from Chekhov's other major plays as it is essentially an extensive reworking of his own other play published a decade earlier, The Wood Demon. By elucidating the specific changes Chekhov made during the revision process—these include reducing the cast-list from almost two dozen down to nine, changing the climactic suicide of The Wood Demon into the famous failed homicide of Uncle Vanya, and altering the original happy ending into a more problematic.

The protagonist, Dikaiopolis, miraculously obtains a private peace treaty with The Spartans and he enjoys the benefits of peace in spite of opposition from some of his fellow Athenians.

The Divine Comedy World's Best Collection This is the best Divine Comedy Collection available, including the most famous translations of this legendary works plus many extra free bonus materials. The Divine Comedy The Divine Comedy (Italian: Divina Commedia), better known sometimes as ‘Dante’s Inferno’, ‘Dante’s Purgatory’ or ‘Dante’s Paradise’, is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri, considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and one of the greatest works of world literature. The poem’s imaginative and allegorical vision is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.On the surface, the poem describes Dante’s travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, but is a deep metaphor for the soul’s journey towards God The ‘Must-Have’ Complete Collection In this irresistible collection you get the 4 most famous and well known translations of Dante’s immortal work, in Prose and Verse, Plus Notes on the Poem, as well as a biography so you can experience the life of the man behind the words. We also include other bonus material. Works Included: Translated by Courtney Langdon Dante’s The Divine Comedy - Verse Hell (Inferno), Purgatory And Paradise Translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dante’s The Divine Comedy - Verse Hell (Inferno), Purgatory And Paradise Plus Six Sonnets On Dante’s Divine Comedy By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Translated by Rev. H. F. Cary, A.M. Dante’s The Divine Comedy - Verse Hell (Inferno), Purgatory And Paradise Translated by Charles Eliot Norton Dante’s The Divine Comedy - Prose Hell (Inferno), Purgatory And Paradise Your Free Special Bonuses Other Poetry Of Dante -?Dante’s lesser known, but equally as intriguing and important poetry, including: Love and the Gentle Heart O Intelligence Moving The Third Heaven Of Beauty and Duty The Thorn Forest Eclogues Dante - The Central Man Of All The World -?Biography of Dante?and Analysis of The Divine Comedy. Get This Collection Right Now This is the best Dante and Divine Comedy collection you can get, so get it now and start delving into this magnificent epic poem like never before!

Louisa May Alcott Complete Works World's Best Collection This is the world’s best Louisa May Alcott collection, including the most complete set of Alcott’s works available plus many free bonus materials. Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist best known as author of the novel Little Women. She was raised by her transcendentalist parents and she grew up among many of the well-known intellectuals of the day such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau. Nevertheless, her family suffered severe financial difficulties and Alcott worked to help support the family from an early age. The ‘Must-Have’ Complete Collection In this irresistible collection you get a full set of Louisa May Alcott’s work with more than 100 works - All her books, All her novels, and All her short stories. Plus there is Extra Bonus Material and a full length Biography. Works Including: Little Women and its sequel Good Wives Little Men: Life At Plumfield With Jo’s Boys Jo’s Boys: Sequel To Little Men? Under The Lilacs? Flower Fables? A Modern Cinderella; Or The Little Old Shoe And Other Stories? The Candy Country Eight Cousins and??Rose In Bloom - A Sequel To ‘Eight Cousins' An Old-Fashioned Girl Your Free Special Bonuses Louisa May Alcott - Her Life, Letters, And Journals?- Edited By Ednah D. Cheney – A biography and collection of Alcott’s intriguing correspondence. The Poetry Of Louisa May Alcott?- A complete set of Alcott’s rare poems. Get This Collection Right Now This is the best Alcott collection you can get, so get it now and start enjoying and being inspired by her world like never before!

The Cherry Orchard is one of the best known plays by the prolific Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. It has been translated into practically all languages and is part of the classic repertoire of all world stages. Chekhov is known for his art of subtlety, humour, stream of consciousness technique, and fine balance which is often difficult to get right. Chekhov described the play as a comedy, with some elements of farce, though Stanislavski treated it as a tragedy. Since its first production, directors have contended with its dual nature. The play concerns an aristocratic Russian landowner who returns to her family estate just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage. Unresponsive to offers to save the estate, she allows its sale to the son of a former serf. The story presents themes of cultural futility – both the futile attempts of the aristocracy to maintain its status and of the bourgeoisie to find meaning in its newfound materialism. It dramatises the rise of the middle class after the abolition of serfdom in the mid-19th century and the decline of the power of the aristocracy.

When Oedipus, King of Thebes, realized he had married his own mother and had two sons and two daughters with her, he blinded himself and cursed his sons to divide their kingdom by the sword. The two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, in order to avoid bloodshed, agreed to rule Thebes in alternate years. After the first year, Eteocles refused to step down, leading Polynices to raise an army of Argives captained by the eponymous Seven to take Thebes by force. This is where Aeschylus' tragedy starts.

Strepsiades complains to the audience that he is too worried about household debts to get any sleep – his aristocratic wife has encouraged their son's expensive interest in horses. Strepsiades, having thought up a plan to get out of debt, wakes the youth gently and pleads with him to do something for him. Pheidippides at first agrees to do as he's asked then changes his mind when he learns that his father wants to enroll him in The Thinkery, a school for wastrels and bums that no self-respecting, athletic young man dares to be associated with.

Trygaeus, a middle-aged Athenian, miraculously brings about a peaceful end to the Peloponnesian War, thereby earning the gratitude of farmers while bankrupting various tradesmen who had profited from the hostilities. He celebrates his triumph by marrying Harvest, a companion of Festival and Peace, all of whom he has liberated from a celestial prison.

The play begins with a strange scene—a large net has been spread over a house, the entry is barricaded and two slaves are sleeping in the street outside. A third man is positioned at the top of an exterior wall with a view into the inner courtyard but he too is asleep. The two slaves wake and we learn from their banter that they are keeping guard over a 'monster'. The man asleep above them is their master and the monster is his father—he has an unusual disease.

The dominant motives in Calderon's dramas are characteristically national: fervid loyalty to Church and King, and a sense of honor heightened almost to the point of the fantastic. Though his plays are laid in a great variety of scenes and ages, the sentiment and the characters remain essentially Spanish; and this intensely local quality has probably lessened the vogue of Calderon in other countries. In the construction and conduct of his plots he showed great skill, yet the ingenuity expended in the management of the story did not restrain the fiery emotion and opulent imagination which mark his finest speeches and give them a lyric quality which some critics regard as his greatest distinction. Of all Calderon's works, "Life is a Dream" may be regarded as the most universal in its theme. It seeks to teach a lesson that may be learned from the philosophers and religious thinkers of many ages—that the world of our senses is a mere shadow, and that the only reality is to be found in the invisible and eternal. The story which forms its basis is Oriental in origin, and in the form of the legend of "Barlaam and Josaphat" was familiar in all the literatures of the Middle Ages. Combined with this in the plot is the tale of Abou Hassan from the "Arabian Nights," the main situations in which are turned to farcical purposes in the Induction to the Shakespearean "Taming of the Shrew." But with Calderon the theme is lifted altogether out of the atmosphere of comedy, and is worked up with poetic sentiment and a touch of mysticism into a symbolic drama of profound and universal philosophical significance. LIFE IS A DREAM DRAMATIS PERSONAE Basilio King of Poland.Segismund his Son.Astolfo his Nephew.Estrella his Niece.Clotaldo a General in Basilio's Service.Rosaura a Muscovite Lady.Fife her Attendant. Chamberlain, Lords in Waiting, Officers,Soldiers, etc., in Basilio's Service. The Scene of the first and third Acts lies on the Polish frontier: of the second Act, in Warsaw. As this version of Calderon's drama is not for acting, a higher and wider mountain-scene than practicable may be imagined for Rosaura's descent in the first Act and the soldiers' ascent in the last. The bad watch kept by the sentinels who guarded their state-prisoner, together with much else (not all!) that defies sober sense in this wild drama, I must leave Calderon to answer for; whose audience were not critical of detail and probability, so long as a good story, with strong, rapid, and picturesque action and situation, was set before them. about author: Pedro Calderon de la Barca was born in Madrid, January 17, 1600, of good family. He was educated at the Jesuit College in Madrid and at the University of Salamanca; and a doubtful tradition says that he began to write plays at the age of thirteen. His literary activity was interrupted for ten years, 1625-1635, by military service in Italy and the Low Countries, and again for a year or more in Catalonia. In 1637 he became a Knight of the Order of Santiago, and in 1651 he entered the priesthood, rising to the dignity of Superior of the Brotherhood of San Pedro in Madrid. He held various offices in the court of Philip IV, who rewarded his services with pensions, and had his plays produced with great splendor. He died May 5, 1681. At the time when Calderon began to compose for the stage, the Spanish drama was at its height. Lope de Vega, the most prolific and, with Calderon, the greatest, of Spanish dramatists, was still alive; and by his applause gave encouragement to the beginner whose fame was to rival his own. The national type of drama which Lope had established was maintained in its essential characteristics by Calderon, and he produced abundant specimens of all its varieties. Of regular plays he has left a hundred and twenty; of "Autos Sacramentales," the peculiar Spanish allegorical development of the medieval mystery, we have seventy-three; besides a considerable number of farces.

Brilliant adaptation of Charles Dickens biting novel H ard Times . Dominated by Gradgrind and Bounderby, Coketown’s prosperity is built on the cotton mills where thousands of men and women slave away for long hours and little pay. Gradgrind’s obsession with material progress damages his children Louisa and Tom, leading to scandal and disaster. ‘Hard Times’ celebrates the importance of the human heart in an age obsessed with materialism. Circus, music, and dark comedy all go into the rich mix of this truly Dickensian theatrical tale. Charles Way has written over 50 plays, specializing in writing for children, young people and family audiences. His plays are performed worldwide. He has won several major awards - A Spell of Cold Weather won the Writers Guild best children's play award in 2001 and in 2004 his play Red Red Shoes won the English Arts Council best children's play award. In Germany, his play Missing won the Children's Theatre prize and in the USA? he was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award. He was commissioned by the National Theatre to write Alice In The News , which children all over Britain have performed. He has also written many plays for radio, and a TV poem for BBC 2, No Borders , set in the Welsh borders, where he lives and has spent most of his creative life. ? " A stellar adaptation by Charles Way, moving, thoughtful and wonderfully drawn’.??????????????????????? What’s on Stage ***** ‘Way gives real depth to characters, replaces Dickens’ sentimentality with warmth and his censoriousness with moral indignation’. ?????????????????????????? The Independent ***** ‘daringly restructures Dickens’ plot, yet sticks to the motto of his lisping ringmaster Mr Sleary: “People mutht be amuthed.”’ ????????????????????????????????????????????The Observer ?

With grime music and Guyanese folk stories, Joseph Barnes-Phillip's semi-autobiographical story is a comic, tragic and honest portrayal of becoming a man. The story follows Rayleigh as he negotiates the tensions of growing up and taking responsibility – to his pregnant girlfriend, to his sick mother, to his church, to the multi-cultural community he grew up in and somewhere in the mix to himself. When the euphoric highs of teenage life in south London collide with his mum's terminal illness, all Rayleigh wants to do it watch anime in his pants and eat indomie. Love, life and masculinity meet head-on as Rayleigh tries to find his feet, torn between the new girl in his life and being there for his mum, while trying not to make the same mistakes as his dad.