современная зарубежная литература

приключения

книги о приключениях

биографии и мемуары

историческая литература

Whether close to home or far away, there are no safe harbours while Napoleon seeks to dominate the known world.Jack Aubrey, veteran of numerous battles, has been promoted to senior captain commanding a ship that has been sent out to reinforce the squadron blockading Toulon. Compared to the early days of the Napoleonic conflict, the action is slow, cold and dull. But a sudden turn of events takes Aubrey, and ship’s surgeon and spy Stephen Maturin, off on a hazardous mission to the Greek Islands, where the skill, daring and, indeed, luck of both men will be tested to the utmost.With so much at risk, will a Turkish alliance carry the day?‘I envy those who have never read Patrick O’Brian: an enormous pleasure awaits you.’ Irish Times‘Wonderfully spacious, generous, funny, intelligent books.’ JOHN LANCHESTER

мифы / легенды / эпос

The Ionian Mission

Aubrey-Maturin

Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written.H.M.S. Surprise follows the variable fortunes of Captain Jack Aubrey’s career in Nelson’s navy as he attempts to hold his ground against admirals, colleagues and the enemy, accepting a mission to convey a British ambassador to the East Indies. The voyage takes him and his friend Stephen Maturin to the strange sights and smells of the Indian sub-continent, and through the archipelago of spice islands where the French have a near-overwhelming superiority.Rarely has a novel managed to convey more vividly the fragility of a sailing ship in a wild sea. Rarely has a historical novelist combined action and lyricism of style in the way that O’ Brian does. His superb sense of place, brilliant characterisation, and a vigour and joy of writing lift O’Brian above any but the most exalted of comparisons.

литературоведение

HMS Surprise

Aubrey/Maturin Series

In Caesar and Hussein, Patrick O’Brian’s two debut novels appear in one volume for the first time, providing a revealing insight into the literary genius behind the Master and Commander series nearly 40 years later. Caesar was Patrick O’Brian’s first novel, written when he was just fourteen, and is the enchanting, bloodthirsty story of a unique Panda Leopard – whose father was a giant panda, his mother a snow leopard. With the dry wit and unsentimental precision that O’Brian would come to be loved for, we see the tragedies of Caesar’s childhood, his capture and taming, and finally his rise to fatherhood under the iron rule of human masters. The book was feted on publication and O’Brian described as the ‘boy-Thoreau’. Hussein was O’Brian’s second novel, a glittering adventure about a young mahout—or elephant handler—and his life among the elephants. A exotic story of love, murder, vengeance, snake-charming, sword-fighting, spying, stealing and triumph set against the evocative bazaars and temples of India at the height of the British Raj, Hussein was compared favourably by the New York Times to Kipling’s Kim, calling it ‘a gorgeous entertainment’. Patrick O'Brian later wrote of Hussein: ‘In the writing of the book I learnt the rudiments of my calling: but more than that, it opened a well of joy that has not yet run dry. ’ Caesar was first published in October 1930 and Hussein in April 1938 (interspersed by his enchanting book of short stories Beasts Royal in 1934). They were reprinted for the first time in April 1999 by the British Library, shortly before Patrick’s untimely death, and this new paperback edition brings these two enchanting novels together in one volume for the first time.

ужасы / мистика

социальная фантастика

мистика

серьезное чтение

пьесы, драматургия

русская драматургия

Caesar & Hussein: Two Classic Novels from the Author of MASTER AND COMMANDER

Out of print for many years, this is a brand new edition of the definitive companion to the acclaimed Aubrey-Maturin series of novels, written by the author himself. What was daily life in Nelson's navy really like, for everyone from the captain down to the rawest recruit? What did they eat? What songs did they sing? What was the schedule of watches? How were the officers and crew paid, and what was the division of prize-money? These questions and many more are answered in Patrick O'Brian's elegant narrative, which includes wonderful anecdotal material on the battles and commanders that established Britain's naval supremacy. Line drawings and charts help us to understand the construction and rigging of the great ships, the types and disposition of the guns, and how they were operated in battle. The meticulously researched text and imagery together provide an unparalleled insight into life during wartime in the Napoleonic era, and offer a wonderfully evocative companion to the world of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin.

детская познавательная и развивающая литература

Men-of-War

A classic tale of nautical adventure from the author of the acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series, now published in eBook for the very first time to commemorate the Patrick O’Brian centenary.When Sullivan and Ross decide to go shark fishing among the atolls of the Great Barrier Reef little do they know what awaits them. With their schooner beached for cleaning they take a small whaler out to sea, but when the very devil of a storm turns the whole of the sea white, it drives them to the nearest atoll for shelter. It is only when they set out once again that they discover the seas are now filled with sharks, driven to a bloodlust by the smell of their butchered fellows that clings to the whaler. Becalmed and surrounded by the world's most fearsome predators, Sullivan and Ross discover that the hunters and become the hunted.First published under a pseudonym, this classic tale of nautical adventure will thrill every fan of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series of Napoleonic sagas. Together with 'Two's Company' and 'No Pirates Nowadays', it is also a captivating companion to his novel, THE ROAD TO SAMARCAND, which also features Sullivan and Ross.

культура и искусство

кинематограф / театр

познавательная информация

профессиональные секреты

киноискусство

кино

культовые фильмы

Noughts and Crosses: A Short Story

Three of Patrick O’Brian’s glorious adventure novels in one ebook for the first time. If you love the Aubrey-Maturin series then you’ll adore these.These three novels set the way for the Aubrey-Maturin and match the series in their rich detail, adventurous prose and comic nuance that all Patrick O’Brian readers can expect from the master of historical fiction.The Road to Samarcand finds newly orphaned Derrick thrown into the care of his gruff Uncle Sullivan, the captain of The Wanderer. Captain Sullivan, their cousin the Professor and his new ward set off for Central Asia with their sights set on treasure. Chinese warlords loom and the glint of a priceless piece of Jade send the group up into the mountains of Tibet stalked by something they do not know and cannot name.The Golden Ocean sees Peter Palafox, son of a poor Irish parson, signing up as a midshipman on Anson's 1740 circumnavigation of the globe, never before having seen a ship. Together with his life-long friend Sean, Peter sets out to seek his fortune, embarking on a journey of danger, disappointment, foreign lands and excitement.The Unknown Shore sees midshipman Jack Byron and his friend Tobias Barrow, an alarmingly naive surgeon's mate aboard The Wager. The ship is parted from Anson's squadron in the fierce storms off Cape Horn and struggles up the coast of Chile until she hits rocks and sinks. Isolated, the survivors are soon driven to drunkenness, mutiny, and bloodshed. But a handful of men make their way northward under the guidance of a band of Indians, at last finding safety in Valparaiso. This is a saga of survival and Aubrey-Maturin series fans might recognise Jack and Toby as precursors of the famed heroes of the great Aubrey-Maturin series.

Patrick O’Brian 3-Book Adventure Collection: The Road to Samarcand, The Golden Ocean, The Unknown Shore

A classic tale of nautical adventure from the author of the acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series, now published in eBook for the very first time to commemorate the Patrick O’Brian centenary.As their schooner inches through the dense yellow fog of the northern Pacific, Ross is beginning to regret agreeing to Sullivan's latest plan. Their search for the island of Sakhalien, to hunt for precious sea-otters, is leading them nowhere. The appearance of a fellow ship should be cause to lift their mood, yet the captain and swarthy Malay crew of the Santa Maria leave Ross feeling all the more uneasy. But when their paths cross once again it is Sullivan's nephew, Derrick, who has good cause to doubt that there are no pirates nowadays.First published under a pseudonym, this classic tale of nautical adventure will thrill every fan of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series of Napoleonic sagas. Together with 'Noughts and Crosses' and 'Two's Company', it is also a captivating companion story to his novel, THE ROAD TO SAMARCAND, which also features Derrick, Sullivan and Ross.

No Pirates Nowadays: A Short Story

A scholarly, passionate and brilliantly-written biography of Pablo Picasso by Patrick O’Brian, the famous author of the much-loved Aubrey-Maturin series, reissued in a stunning new cover.Patrick O’Brian’s outstanding biography of Picasso explores comprehensively the life of this awe-inspiring artist. Enormously productive and hugely successful, Picasso continues to attract avid, insatiable public interest. O’Brian was a close friend and a neighbour of Picasso’s, and the book reflects the closeness of their friendship and the immense erudition and warm wit of Patrick O’Brian.The man that emerges from the pages is full of contradictions: hard yet tender, mean yet generous, affectionate but cold, professing communism but retaining an essentially Catholic mentality, private despite his relish of fame. Critically, O’Brian’s is the only biography to fully appreciate the distinctly Mediterranean origins of Picasso’s character and art.Sex and money, eating and drinking, friends and quarrels, comedies and tragedies, suicides and wars tumble over each other in the vast chaos of Picasso’s experience, He was ‘a man almost as lonely as the sun, but one who glowed with much the same fierce, burning life.’

Picasso: A Biography

Beasts Royal is the second book written by Patrick O’Brian – made available, at last, for the first time since the 1930s and elegantly repackaged.On the indigo waters of the South Sea, the crew of a schooner are attacked by a man-eating tiger-shark. In the humid depths of the African jungle, a thirty-foot python plots to rid himself of his rival, a wily old crocodile. Amid the heat and dust of the Punjab, the snake-charmer Hussein escapes into the forest on the elephant that he trained when a mahout in his youth.With the dry wit and unsentimental precision O’Brian would come to be loved for, we see the drama and tragedies of the natural world unfold for these, as well as other birds and beasts, in these twelve tales of animal adventure that would appear together in 1934 as the author’s second book.O’Brian’s debut, Caesar, had been published in 1930 and became an instant success, seeing him hailed as the ‘boy-Thoreau’. His second novel, Hussein, would expand upon one of the stories included in this collection and has been praised by Martin Booth of The Daily Telegraph as being ‘…as fresh today as when it was written.…so rich in detail, it is breathtaking.’ As with Caesar and Hussein, Beasts Royal sheds fascinating light on the formation of the literary genius behind the Aubrey-Maturin series of historical adventure tales, for which he is deservedly famous.

исторические исследования

крепостное право

история Руси

быт XIX века

Россия XIX века

крестьянство

об истории серьезно

Beasts Royal: Twelve Tales of Adventure

A classic tale of nautical adventure from the author of the acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series, now published in eBook for the very first time to commemorate the Patrick O’Brian centenary.The lighthouse was one of the most lonely in the world, guarding a dangerous reef in the cold northern seas. It therefore seemed a good idea to Sullivan and Ross that they both be its keepers; after all, two's company. But long months of isolation and boredom can test even the stoutest of friendships. So when a great storm deposits the carcass of a huge whale on the rocks, attracting to it flocks of hungry seabirds and packs of deadly sharks, and later the arrival of two unexpected guests, it provides the two friends with a welcome distraction from their tedium. Yet as the months drag on, they find that there is only so long that man can live in peace with his fellow.First published under a pseudonym, this classic tale of nautical adventure will thrill every fan of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series of Napoleonic sagas. Together with 'Noughts and Crosses' and 'No Pirates Nowadays', it is also a captivating companion to his novel, THE ROAD TO SAMARCAND, which also features Sullivan and Ross.

Two’s Company: A Short Story

A classic Patrick O’Brian novel, now in ebook format for the first time.When Derrick’s missionary parents are tragically murdered he is entrusted to his gruff uncle Sullivan, Captain of The Wanderer. After surviving a killer typhoon on the South China Sea, and accompanied by their eccentric elderly cousin, they set off across land to discover the treasures of Central Asia.Derrick befriends a fierce Mongol warrior and must help him battle a ruthless Chinese warlord. Given a gift of priceless jade, the group is pursued into the inhospitable mountains of Tibet where they are caught between fierce mountain monks and a terrifying unnamed creature that stalks them through the snow.

The Road to Samarcand

The first novel Patrick O’Brian ever wrote about the sea – and the precursor to the famous Aubrey/Maturin series – is now available in ebook format for the first time.The Golden Ocean is the first novel Patrick O’Brian ever wrote about the sea. The novel shares the same sense of excitement and the rich humour of the Aubrey/Maturin novels, invoking the eloquent style and attention to historical detail that O’Brian readers admire so much.The protagonist of this story is Peter Palafox, son of a poor Irish parson, who signs on as a midshipman, never before having seen a ship. He is a fellow who would have delighted the young Stephen Maturin or Jack Aubrey… and quarrelled with them as well. Together with his life-long friend Sean, Peter sets out to seek his fortune, embarking on a journey of danger, disappointment, foreign lands and excitement.Written in 1956, this is a tale certain to please not only the many admirers of O’Brian, but any reader with an adventurous soul.

The Golden Ocean

From the inimitable brilliance of O’Brian comes the tale of an ill-fated ship on Anson’s expedition around the world and the ensuing adventures of her survivors…After being parted from her squadron in the fearful storms off Cape Horn, the Wager struggles on alone up the ironbound coast of Chile, before she is driven onto rocks and sinks. The survivors include Jack Byron, a midshipman, and his eccentric protégé Toby, an alarmingly naive surgeon’s mate, whose vagaries afford endless diversion on the hard and dramatic journey to come.Faced with a surplus of rum, a disappearing stock of food, and a hard, detested captain, the survivors soon descend into trouble of every kind, including drunkenness, mutiny and bloodshed.

The Unknown Shore

This is the story of Richard Temple – prisoner of war, sometime adventurer, lover and artist – told with insight, empathy and drama by one of the world's master storytellers.Captive in a brutal German prison towards the end of World War II, Richard Temple has been stripped of everything that once defined him: pride, courage, his very identity have all been surrendered in a desperate bid to protect his secrets from the Nazis.But with the real Richard Temple suppressed to the point of near-extinction, a sudden respite in his torture allows him a moment of rare release, when he can lower his guard and remember who he is. Huddled in his cell, too badly beaten to move, the action of the novel takes place in the Richard’s mind as he retraces a convoluted course from an unhappy childhood, through a vague and uncertain adolescence to a complex, compromised adulthood, shot through with artistic sensibility and the myriad impulses that make a man.Patrick O'Brian's signature combination of narrative flair, intuitive sympathy and psychological insight make this a fascinating exploration of how passive resistance can be a form of courage and what it truly means to be a hero.

Richard Temple

Set amongst the rolling vineyards and gentle courtyards of a small seaside village in Catalonia, Patrick O'Brian's second novel is a poignant story of tumultuous love, complex faith and one man's desperate bid to reclaim his humanity.Summoned from his medical practice in China by a bevy of anxious aunts, Alain Roig returns to his Catalan hometown to discover he has been nominated by family members with vested interests in the ancestral property to prevent an impending marriage between his cold, ascetic cousin Xavier and Madeleine, a quiet, introspective village girl of unusual beauty. As Alain seeks to understand his cousin's complex motivations for wooing the unhappy girl, he is slowly drawn into Xavier's dark crisis of faith, the well-worn pattern of the sleepy Catalan days and the tight circle of village gossip that surrounds Madeleine.Throughout, Patrick O'Brian's slow, seductive narrative lures the reader into the landscapes, rhythms and passions of Catalonia, while his subtle, insightful characterisation paints a psychological portrait of a unique way of life and two very different men – one generous and impulsive, the other desperate to revive in his soul the dying flames of affection which he senses could be his salvation.With themes and characters that in many ways prefigure his enormously successful Aubrey/Maturin series, THE CATALANS demonstrates all the insight, lyricism and psychological drama that made O'Brian one of the best storytellers of his generation.

The Catalans

Now available in ebook format.'Testimonies', Patrick O'Brian's first novel, was written almost twenty years before the first of his famous Aubrey/Maturin series and tells the story of John Aubrey Pugh, an Oxford don who has given up his teaching post for a life in a secluded Welsh valley.

Testimonies

социология

The first ever collection of poems by the acclaimed author of the Aubrey/Maturin series of Napoleonic naval adventures.As we have stood with Jack and Stephen on the deck of the Surprise and other ships, readers around the world have been transported to a place and time at once familiar and exotic, routine and dramatic.At all times, Patrick O’Brian’s deep knowledge of the period and profound empathy with the landscape of the sea has ensured there is always a firm hand on the tiller. The writer’s command of language is combined with the poet’s eye for visual detail to remarkable, and unforgettable effect.In The Uncertain Land and Other Poems, those same strengths are vividly displayed as O’Brian leads us on a journey through his own life. Here, we see a writer full of a young man’s spirit, challenging life, and here an author reflecting an old man’s melancholy at youth gone; in between, as he describes the places that he lived and people that he encountered, are poems of sly observation, wry humour and delicate beauty.Through more than 100 poems, O’Brian reveals insights into the world that captivated him while he was at work on a succession of novels that would reach its apotheosis in the Aubrey/Maturin adventures, which would secure his reputation as ‘the Homer of the Napoleonic Wars’. Intensely personal, allusive and unique, this is the work of a lifetime, published now for the very first time.