A powerful and entracing romance, set in the Celtic twilight of 10th century Ireland: a new MISTS OF AVALON for readers of historical fantasy. The forests of Sevenwaters have cast their spell over Sorcha's daughter Liadan, who, like her mother, has inherited the talent to heal and to see into the spirit world. The forest spirits warn Liadan that she must remain for ever at Sevenwaters if the sacred isles are to be won back from the Britons who took them by force. For the Lord and Lady of the forest spirits have seen in Liadan's future a doomed romance, death; a child; and a terrible choice to be made. Liadan is taken captive by the Painted Man, who is revealed to be a man quite unlike his legend. Liadan is drawn to him, despite the ancient prophesy of doom, but can she reclaim her life and defy the spirits, or will a curse fall upon Sevenwaters because of her forbidden love? Will the fight for the sacred isles end in tragedy? History and fantasy, myth and magic, legend and love come together in this magical story.

Following on from the 1950s collection, this is the second collection of Brian Aldiss’ short stories, taken from the 1960s. A must-have for collectors. Part four of four. This collection gathers together, for the very first time, Brian Aldiss’ complete catalogue of short stories from the 1960s, in four parts. Taken from diverse and often rare sources, the works in this collection chart the blossoming career of one of Britain’s most beloved authors. From the first robot to commit suicide to the tale of a little boy who finds more companionship from his robot Teddy than from his parents – a story which was the literary basis for the first act of Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster feature film A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. This book proves once again that Aldiss’ gifted prose and unparalleled imagination never fail to challenge and delight. The four books of the 1960s short story collection are must-have volumes for all Aldiss fans, and an excellent introduction to the work of a true master. THE BRIAN ALDISS COLLECTION INCLUDES OVER 50 BOOKS AND SPANS THE AUTHOR’S ENTIRE CAREER, FROM HIS DEBUT IN 1955 TO HIS MORE RECENT WORK.

The second of a two-book set that contains the early myths and legends which led to the writing of Tolkien’s epic tale of war, The Silmarillion. This second part of The Book of Lost Tales includes the tale of Beren and Lúthien, Túrin and the Dragon, and the only full narratives of the Necklace of the Dwarves and the Fall of Gondolin, itself the finest and most exciting depiction of a battle that Tolkien ever wrote. Each tale is followed by a commentary in the form of a short essay, together with texts of associated poems, and contains extensive information on names and vocabulary in the earliest Elvish languages. This series of fascinating books has now been repackaged to complement the distinctive and classic style of the ‘black cover’ A-format paperbacks of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.

Romance and scandal abound in this warm and witty tale of the young Octavia Darcy. Perfect for Austen addicts everywhere! ‘I am a woman of independent means, definitely in possession of a good fortune, but I am not in the least in want of a husband!’ So declares Octavia Darcy. Raised as a poor relation, she is sent off to India to be married, only to have her brief happiness as the second wife of Captain Darcy dashed by his early death. But an unexpected legacy leaves her extremely well off and for the first time ever she can decide her own fate. Suddenly everyone wants to know her and pay court to her. Who can she rely on? Luckily her new-found acquaintance with her Darcy cousins takes her to Netherfield Hall, which has an argumentative but undoubtedly intriguing new tenant…

For all women of a dangerous age, a warm and witty two-book collection from the author of The Secrets Women Keep What Women Want Bea is grappling with a job in jeopardy, a stroppy teenage son and the prospect of dating again. Kate is contending with an empty nest and a marriage which has lost its sheen. And then there is Ellen. Widowed at a young age, she is finally ready to date. But her choice of man will put her friendship with Bea and Kate to the ultimate test. Women of a Dangerous Age Lou is celebrating her new-found freedom following the breakdown of her marriage. To celebrate, she travels to India, where she befriends Ali. Ali is a serial mistress. But when she returns home, she discovers her latest lover is not the man she took him for. As Lou and Ali put their pasts behind them, they discover a world of possibilities, until the shocking realisation that they have far more in common than they thought.

Following on from the 1950s collection, this is the second collection of Brian Aldiss’ short stories, taken from the 1960s. A must-have for collectors. Part two of four. This collection gathers together, for the very first time, Brian Aldiss’ complete catalogue of short stories from the 1960s, in four parts. Taken from diverse and often rare sources, the works in this collection chart the blossoming career of one of Britain’s most beloved authors. From stories of discordant astronauts, approaching a star-swallowing vortex, to a mother and son, in danger of becoming ever younger when they are captured by an alien race and taken to a world where time runs backward, this book proves once again that Aldiss’ gifted prose and unparalleled imagination never fail to challenge and delight. The four books of the 1960s short story collection are must-have volumes for all Aldiss fans, and an excellent introduction to the work of a true master. THE BRIAN ALDISS COLLECTION INCLUDES OVER 50 BOOKS AND SPANS THE AUTHOR’S ENTIRE CAREER, FROM HIS DEBUT IN 1955 TO HIS MORE RECENT WORK.

A wonderfully inventive and entertaining journey through time and the history of chocolate! The Discovery of Chocolate is a fabulous tale, as rich and exotic as the gorgeous creation that Diego de Godoy first discovers when he arrives in Mexico with Cortes and his conquistadors. Diego arrives in the New World in search of treasure. What he finds is love, and chocolate, and an elixir of life. Separated from his lover, he must wander the world, and the centuries, in search of the fulfillment that he first knew in Mexico. In a series of dramatic episodes that are evocative, witty and thought-provoking, from revolutionary Paris to Freud’s Vienna, Fry’s Bristol and Hershey’s Pittsburgh, Diego and his ever-faithful greyhound, Pedro, seek the perfection of chocolate and the meaning of life.

David Nobbs’ classic is now available as an ebook . Why should up-and-coming, thirty-two-year-old executive Robert Bellamy get himself the sack? What made him draw a caricature of the Exports Manager on the wall of the non-executive gents? Why is he his own worst enemy? Is it because he nearly ran away from boarding school on his third day or because, when he was fourteen, his mother developed a fatal friendship for a man who looked like Hitler? Does his sense of inadequacy stem from his once being mistaken for a draft of 350 men? Or from his failure long ago to do justice to the facilities at Mme Antoinette's Maison d'Amitié (Paris branch)? Has he been too slow with Sonia, too fast with Frances? Whatever the reason, one act of brinkmanship seems to lead to another. Robert finds himself involved in a series of embarrassing farewells and confusing interviews and open and shut court case as he drifts towards the prospect of a stiflingly happy Christmas and an intolerably cheerful New Year.

Watch out Bridget Jones and Ally McBeal – Johnathan Burlip wants you to know his side of the story! For Johnathan Burlip, solicitor and virtuoso shirt ironer, nothing is ever simple. Girlfriends, dysfunctional families, petulant bosses – all cause him grief and confusion. Marooned in modern London, Johnathan finds himself rudely ejected from the comfortable life of corporate lawyer, leaving him spinning out of control towards an undistinguished legal career in Finsbury Park, where the clientele and professional challenges are somewhat different. While he participates in a love story for our times, Johnathan is tormented on his journey by a chorus of politically correct parents, well-manicured mobsters, a bionic hamster and a cat with only one (curtailed) life.

The third collection of Brian Aldiss’ short stories, taken from the 1960s. A must-have for collectors. This collection gathers together, for the very first time, Brian Aldiss’ complete catalogue of short stories from the 1960s, in four parts. Taken from diverse and often rare sources, the works in this collection chart the blossoming career of one of Britain’s most beloved authors. From stories of discordant astronauts, approaching a star-swallowing vortex, to a mother and son, in danger of becoming ever younger when they are captured by an alien race and taken to a world where time runs backward, this book proves once again that Aldiss’ gifted prose and unparalleled imagination never fail to challenge and delight. The four books of the 1960s short story collection are must-have volumes for all Aldiss fans, and an excellent introduction to the work of a true master. THE BRIAN ALDISS COLLECTION INCLUDES OVER 50 BOOKS AND SPANS THE AUTHOR’S ENTIRE CAREER, FROM HIS DEBUT IN 1955 TO HIS MORE RECENT WORK.

A fun, feelgood romp of country life from bestselling author Daisy Waugh When the restless, rootless Fanny Flynn lands the job as Head Teacher of Fiddleford Village Primary School it feels more like a last resort than another of her new beginnings. She's a great teacher and all the villagers claim to be behind her. But are they really? In no time she's locked in a feud with the gruesome Mrs Guppy, stalked by the pushy newcomers from the Old Rectory, plotted against by Kitty, the predatory children's author at Laurel Cottage, and demonised by her pathologically lazy Deputy Head… Yet Fanny has fallen in love with Fiddleford. Together with her troublesomely handsome best friend, Louis, and with a little help from the deliciously scented Solomon Creasey, Fanny vows to make this new beginning her last…

Bestseller interna?ional Descoperi?i volumul al VI-lea dintr-o serie de c?r?i pentru copii a c?ror popularitate a dep??it orice a?tept?ri! ?Pisicile r?zboinice” s-au v?ndut ?n mai mult de 14 milioane de volume ?n peste 20 de ??ri ?i au ap?rut pe lista ?New York Times” a celor mai v?ndute titluri. De genera?ii ?ntregi, patru clanuri de pisici s?lbatice convie?uiesc ?n p?dure, departe de oameni. Au un cod al onoarei ?i pre?uiesc loialitatea. Se antreneaz? ca r?zboinici pentru a-?i proteja Clanurile. Folosesc remedii naturiste pentru a se vindeca. Respect? legile statornicite de ?nainta?i. Sunt ghidate ?n ac?iunile lor de spiritele str?mo?ilor r?zboinici, reuni?i ?n Clanul Stelelor. Ro?covanul este un fost pisoi de cas? care s-a dovedit a fi puternic ?i descurc?re? ?n s?lb?ticie. Dup? ce a fost acceptat ca ucenic ?n Clanul Tunetului sub numele de Lab? de Foc, a primit titulatura de r?zboinic ?i numele Inim? de Foc. Mai departe, vitejia l-a adus p?n? la pozi?ia de secund ?n clan. Pe m?sur? ce conduc?toarea Stea Albastr? se simte tot mai r?u, Inim? de Foc este nevoit s? preia fr?iele. ?n cele din urm?, cel care fusese c?ndva un pisoi de cas? va ajunge chiar liderul Clanului Tunetului, sub numele de Stea de Foc. Dar, tocmai acum, luptele pentru onoare ?i teritoriu devin din ce ?n ce mai ?ncr?ncenate, iar ?ndoielile ?i tr?darea afecteaz? toate clanurile. Pisicile din p?dure tr?iesc vremuri ?ntunecate... Clanul Tunetului este nevoit s? porneasc? la lupt? ?mpotriva lui Stea de Tigru, conduc?torul Clanului Umbrelor. Comploturile ?i setea lui ne??rmurit? de putere arunc? toate cele patru clanuri ?ntr-un r?zboi s?ngeros. Stea de Foc se preg?te?te s?-?i ?nfrunte du?manul, ?ns? pericolul cel mai mare p?nde?te ?n umbr?, lovind pe nea?teptate. Din r?ndul clanurilor se vor ridica noi eroi, iar unii dintre ace?tia ??i vor g?si sf?r?itul... Cele mai sumbre prevestiri ale str?bunilor r?zboinici din Clanului Stelelor se transform? ?n realitate. Pentru a-?i salva clanul, Stea de Foc trebuie s? ?n?eleag? profe?ia lor: ?Cele patru vor deveni dou?. Leul ?i tigrul se vor ?nfrunta ?n lupt?, iar s?ngele va domni ?n p?dure”. Volumul cuprinde h?r?i ?i simboluri din via?a pisicilor r?zboinice. ?O poveste plin? de aventur?, care v? va ?ine cu sufletul la gur?.” - Publishers Weekly ?Un episod palpitant din aventurile pisicilor r?zoinice, care va fi cu siguran?? pe placul cititorilor.“ - ALA Booklist ?Povestea este mereu surprinz?toare; personajele sunt ?nzestrate cu tabieturi ?i comportamente feline autentice.” - VOYA Din aceea?i serie: Pisicile R?zboinice. Cartea I - ?n inima p?durii Pisicile R?zboinice. Cartea II – Foc ?i ghea?? Pisicile R?zboinice. Cartea III – P?durea secretelor Pisicile R?zboinice. Cartea IV – Furtuna Pisicile R?zboinice. Cartea V – O cale primejdioas? ?n cur?nd, apare seria ?Noua profe?ie”! Genera?ia urm?toare se confrunt? cu o profe?ie sumbr?, care amenin?? nu numai clanurile de pisici, ci ?ntreaga p?dure.

Holtodiglan

C?teva dintre calit??ile pe care eu le apreciez cel mai mult la o carte sunt simplitatea scriiturii, lipsa de preten?ii intelectuale (prin intermediul c?rora autorul ar vrea s? arate c?t e el de de?tept) ?i naturale?ea textului, adic? autenticitatea. ?#confuz” are toate aceste calit??i. ?n plus, cartea mai beneficiaz? de c?teva atuuri foarte importante: povestea este una universal?, plin? de ?nt?mpl?ri credibile, care se pot ?nt?mpla oric?rui om ?i care pot avea loc oriunde ?n lume, iar scriitura are o oralitate u?or de identificat ?nc? de la primele pagini. (Adrian Tele?pan) ?#confuz” nu e o carte despre homosexualitate. E o carte despre oameni. Despre drumul fiec?ruia spre el ?nsu?i. Despre puterea de a accepta ce g?se?ti atunci c?nd ajungi la tine. Despre a nu te (mai) min?i. Nu atunci c?nd e?ti singur ?i gol ?i te prive?ti ?n ochii sufletului. Pentru c?, atunci, nu ?i vei mai min?i nici pe al?ii. Iar ?sta e primul pas spre asumare. ?i numai a?a vei putea fi fericit. ?#confuz” e o carte despre fericire. Copile, via?a e prea scurt? pentru a fi nefericit. Vrei s? fii o alt? umbr? care trece indiferent? prin via??? (Laura Nureldin) ?ti?i melodiile alea pe care le auzi o singur? dat? ?i te treze?ti fredon?ndu-le o or? mai t?rziu? E semn c? au intrat ?n tine. Cam a?a e ?i cu cartea asta. Nu e Beethoven. E un c?ntec care pare n?scut la o chitar?, pe plaj?, l?ng? un foc de tab?r?, sub luna plin?. ?l ascul?i z?mbind ?i ??i d? o stare de plin. ??i r?m?ne pe piele ca ni?te fire de nisip. G?ndul nu ??i fuge ?n alt? parte. E?ti acolo, ascul?i ?i admiri sinceritatea omului care improvizeaz? la chitar? f?r? s? ?ncerce s? ??i demonstreze nimic. C?nt? liber despre ceva-ul lui, timpul trece pe nesim?ite, s?dind ?n tine o senza?ie de bine. S? mai c?n?i, Alex! S? mai c?n?i! (Natalie Ester) Dincolo de sui?uri ?i cobor??uri, de momente-surpriz? ?i certuri interminabile, de scene erotice pasionale ?i absurd cotidian, acest roman e un incredibil de reu?it portret al energiei s?lbatice, al confuziei mascate ?n obstina?ie, pe care numai la 20 de ani o po?i tr?i. ?i tu, drag? cititorule, ai fost confuz odat?. ?i ce bine a fost. Lectur? pl?cut?. (Lorena Lupu)

Parabol? invers? a fiului risipitor, cu accente autobiografice, "Acest p?m?nt", romanul cel mai tradus al lui Ant?nio Torres, a ap?rut ?n 1976. Fiul cel mai mare al unei familii cu doisprezece copii, o legend? ?n partea locului, revine dup? zeci de ani ?n satul natal. Dar b?rbatul se ?ntoarce doar pentru a??i lua via?a. Din acest punct al nara?iunii, tot restul, povestit din perspectiva fratelui s?u mai mic, ne descoper? faptul c? ora?ul?miraj nu e neap?rat spa?iul unui trai fericit ?i lipsit de griji. Nebunia, rela?iile complexe ?ntre p?rin?i ?i copii, chemarea p?m?ntului, tema migr?rii ?i a exodului spre ora? formeaz? coloana vertebral? a acestui roman cu accente céliniene.

Motanul, romanul din 1997 al lui Pat Gray, este o alegorie politic? plin? de umor. C?nd animalele se v?d r?mase singure ?n casa p?r?sit? de st?p?ni, huzurul pa?nic de p?n? atunci las? locul luptei pentru supravie?uire ?i putere. Ce ambi?ii are Motanul? Ce pune la cale ?obolanul? Ce g?nde?te meditativul ?oarece? Vom afla din aceast? poveste care a fost pe bun? dreptate comparat? de critici cu Ferma animalelor orwellian?.

Rendhagyó útinapló egy egzotikus világról és a n?i lélekr?l Akkor kezdtem ábrándozni a ?sz?késr?l”, amikor gyerekkoromban beszereztem egy már akkor is ciki pálmafás-tengerpartos posztert a zsebpénzemb?l, és felragasztottam a gyerekszobám falára, nem zavartatva magam szüleim d?bbent pillantásától. Attól kezdve a téli estéken odaképzeltem magam a kókuszpálma alá, ahol h?ség van, és – bár akkor még nem jártam tengerparton – szinte hallottam a tenger zúgását, egészen elalvásig. Elérkezett az id?, hogy beváltsam a magamnak tett ígéretet, és teljesülj?n a gyerekkori álmom: néhány éve télen ?megsz?ktem” kedvenc városomba, Bangkokba, és k?rbeutaztam Délkelet-?zsiát. Találkozásokról, naplementékr?l, ázsiai mesékr?l és elképeszt? sorsokról, egzotikus nagyvárosi lüktetésr?l, lakatlan szigetekr?l és egy másfajta életszemléletr?l szól ez a k?nyv, amit egy thai pálma alatt kezdtem írni. ?t forró, napsütéses téli hónap alatt sokat tanultam, és szinte minden megváltozott bennem és k?rül?ttem: a sors akaratából megtanultam elengedni, sorsfordító d?ntéseket hoztam, szembenéztem ?nmagammal, az újságíróval, a n?vel, az emberrel, mint talán még soha azel?tt. Ez a k?nyv nem a képzelet szüleménye, de ahányszor beleolvasok, a képzeletemben újra utazom, újra ott vagyok azok k?z?tt az emberek k?z?tt, akikt?l meg lehet tanulni ?LNI. Csupa nagybet?vel. Fej?s ?va

Proasp?t ajuns? ?n Japonia, Adriana ?ncearc? s? se integreze ?n via?a studen?easc?, cu rezultate ?ndoielnice. ?n cele din urm?, ??i g?se?te locul ?n r?ndul celorlal?i studen?i str?ini: australieni petrec?re?i, englezi plini de ei, finlandezi scandalagii ?i, bine?n?eles, singurul alt rom?n pe care ?l ?nt?lne?te acolo. ?mpreun?, exploreaz? temple, ?ncearc? diverse chimonouri, particip? la ceremonii, viziteaz? cluburi de jazz ?i travesti?i ?i filosofeaz? pe tema eternei fascina?ii japoneze. O perspectiv? plin? de umor asupra frumuse?ii, frustr?rilor ?i nebuniei vie?ii ?ntr-una dintre cele mai admirate culturi din lume.

Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leon Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger. Tolstoy clashed with editor Mikhail Katkov over political issues that arose in the final installment (Tolstoy's unpopular views of volunteers going to Serbia); therefore, the novel's first complete appearance was in book form. Widely regarded as a pinnacle in realist fiction, Tolstoy considered Anna Karenina his first true novel, when he came to consider War and Peace to be more than a novel. Fyodor Dostoevsky declared it to be "flawless as a work of art". His opinion was shared by Vladimir Nabokov, who especially admired "the flawless magic of Tolstoy's style", and by William Faulkner, who described the novel as "the best ever written". The novel is currently enjoying popularity, as demonstrated by a recent poll of 125 contemporary authors by J. Peder Zane, published in 2007 in "The Top Ten" in Time, which declared that Anna Karenina is the "greatest novel ever written" "..The novel opens with a scene introducing Prince Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky ("Stiva"), a Moscow aristocrat and civil servant who has been unfaithful to his wife Darya Alexandrovna ("Dolly"). Dolly has discovered his affair with the family's governess, and the household and family are in turmoil. Stiva's affair and his reaction to his wife's distress show an amorous personality that he cannot seem to suppress. In the midst of the turmoil, Stiva informs the household that his married sister, Anna Arkadyevna Karenina, is coming to visit from Saint Petersburg. Meanwhile, Stiva's childhood friend, Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin ("Kostya"), arrives in Moscow with the aim of proposing to Dolly's youngest sister, Princess Katerina Alexandrovna Shcherbatskaya ("Kitty"). Levin is a passionate, restless, but shy aristocratic landowner who, unlike his Moscow friends, chooses to live in the country on his large estate. He discovers that Kitty is also being pursued by Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky, an army officer. Whilst at the railway station to meet Anna, Stiva bumps into Vronsky who is there to meet his mother, the Countess Vronskaya. Anna and Vronskaya have traveled and talked together in the same carriage. As the family members are reunited, and Vronsky sees Anna for the first time, a railway worker accidentally falls in front of a train and is killed. Anna interprets this as an "evil omen." Vronsky, however, is infatuated with her. Anna is uneasy about leaving her young son, Sergei ("Seryozha"), alone for the first time.At the Oblonsky home, Anna talks openly and emotionally to Dolly about Stiva's affair and convinces her that Stiva still loves her despite the infidelity. Dolly is moved by Anna's speeches and decides to forgive Stiva. Kitty, who comes to visit Dolly and Anna, is just eighteen. In her first season as a debutante, she is expected to make an excellent match with a man of her social standing. Vronsky has been paying her considerable attention, and she expects to dance with him at a ball that evening. Kitty is very struck by Anna's beauty and personality and becomes infatuated with her just as Vronsky is. When Levin proposes to Kitty at her home, she clumsily turns him down, believing she is in love with Vronsky and that he will propose to her, and encouraged to do so by her mother who believes Vronsky would be a better match.At the big ball Kitty expects to hear something definitive from Vronsky, but he dances with Anna, choosing her as a partner over a shocked and heartbroken Kitty. Levin, crushed by Kitty's refusal, returns to his estate, abandoning any hope of marriage. Anna returns to her husband Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin, a senior government official, and her son Seryozha in Saint Petersburg. On seeing her husband for the first time since her encounter with Vronsky, Anna realises that she finds him unattractive, though she tells herself he is a good man.." ? ABOUT AUTHOR: Tolstoy was born in Yasnaya Polyana, the family estate in the Tula region of Russia. The Tolstoys were a well-known family of old Russian nobility. He was the fourth of five children of Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, a veteran of the Patriotic War of 1812, and Countess Mariya Tolstaya (Volkonskaya).

Bob Houston, the youngest agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, stepped out of the Department of Justice Building and turned toward home, his heart beating faster than it had in months. It hardly seemed real but he was now a full-fledged agent in the greatest man hunting division in the Federal Government. Bob paused a moment at the curb. Another man who had emerged from the justice building joined him. It was his uncle, Merritt Hughes, one of the most famous detectives in the department. He put his arm around Bob’s shoulders and shook him in a rough but friendly embrace.“Well, Bob, how does it feel to be a real federal agent?” he asked. It was a moment before Bob replied, and when he finally spoke the words came slowly.“I hardly know,” he confessed, “as yet it doesn’t seem real, but there is one thing I do know—I’m going to work night and day to make a success of this new job.” “Don’t worry about making a success,” advised his uncle. “You’ve got the stuff to make good or you wouldn’t have been taken into the department.”“When do you think I’ll get my first assignment on a new case?” asked Bob. “That’s hard to say,” replied the famous detective, “but if I were you I’d go home now and get a good night’s sleep. In this kind of a game you’d better sleep when you can.” “Then I’m headed for home now,” said Bob. “Good night, and thanks for all you’ve done for me.”With that the young federal agent strode off down the avenue, his lungs drinking in great gulps of the cool air of the fall night. Merritt Hughes stood on the curb of the justice building watching his nephew until Bob turned the corner a block away. Anyone noticing the federal agent would have seen a slight smile of pleasure on his lips and he might have guessed that Merritt Hughes was greatly pleased by the events which had happened in the preceding hours. As a matter of fact, Bob Houston, a plain clerk in the archives division of the War Department, temporarily a provisional federal agent, had been the key figure in preventing the theft of some of Uncle Sam’s most valuable radio secrets.

Aesop embodies an epigram not uncommon in human history; his fame is all the more deserved because he never deserved it. The firm foundations of common sense, the shrewd shots at uncommon sense, that characterise all the Fables, belong not him but to humanity. In the earliest human history whatever is authentic is universal: and whatever is universal is anonymous. In such cases there is always some central man who had first the trouble of collecting them, and afterwards the fame of creating them. He had the fame; and, on the whole, he earned the fame. There must have been something great and human, something of the human future and the human past, in such a man: even if he only used it to rob the past or deceive the future. The story of Arthur may have been really connected with the most fighting Christianity of falling Rome or with the most heathen traditions hidden in the hills of Wales. But the word "Mappe" or "Malory" will always mean King Arthur; even though we find older and better origins than the Mabinogian; or write later and worse versions than the "Idylls of the King." The nursery fairy tales may have come out of Asia with the Indo-European race, now fortunately extinct; they may have been invented by some fine French lady or gentleman like Perrault: they may possibly even be what they profess to be. But we shall always call the best selection of such tales "Grimm's Tales": simply because it is the best collection. The historical Aesop, in so far as he was historical, would seem to have been a Phrygian slave, or at least one not to be specially and symbolically adorned with the Phrygian cap of liberty. He lived, if he did live, about the sixth century before Christ, in the time of that Croesus whose story we love and suspect like everything else in Herodotus. There are also stories of deformity of feature and a ready ribaldry of tongue: stories which (as the celebrated Cardinal said) explain, though they do not excuse, his having been hurled over a high precipice at Delphi. It is for those who read the Fables to judge whether he was really thrown over the cliff for being ugly and offensive, or rather for being highly moral and correct. But there is no kind of doubt that the general legend of him may justly rank him with a race too easily forgotten in our modern comparisons: the race of the great philosophic slaves. Aesop may have been a fiction like Uncle Remus: he was also, like Uncle Remus, a fact. It is a fact that slaves in the old world could be worshipped like Aesop, or loved like Uncle Remus. It is odd to note that both the great slaves told their best stories about beasts and birds. But whatever be fairly due to Aesop, the human tradition called Fables is not due to him. This had gone on long before any sarcastic freedman from Phrygia had or had not been flung off a precipice; this has remained long after. It is to our advantage, indeed, to realise the distinction; because it makes Aesop more obviously effective than any other fabulist. Grimm's Tales, glorious as they are, were collected by two German students. And if we find it hard to be certain of a German student, at least we know more about him than We know about a Phrygian slave. The truth is, of course, that Aesop's Fables are not Aesop's fables, any more than Grimm's Fairy Tales were ever Grimm's fairy tales. But the fable and the fairy tale are things utterly distinct. There are many elements of difference; but the plainest is plain enough. There can be no good fable with human beings in it. There can be no good fairy tale without them.