Language: German/Deutsch, English
This is a collection for poetry and prose, fiction and non fiction in any language.
Category Archives: English
The Diary of a Provincial Lady
(first published 1930)
E. M. Delafield (1890-1943)
Language: English
“Notice, and am gratified by, large clump of crocuses near the front gate. Should like to make whimsical and charming reference to these and try to fancy myself as ‘Elizabeth of the German Garden’, but am interrupted by Cook, saying that the Fish is here, but he’s only bought cod and haddock, and the haddock doesn’t smell any too fresh, so what about cod? Have often noticed that Life is like that.”
First published in 1930, this charming, funny book is a warm portrait of a middle-class English family and their village life. Our heroine recounts the mundane delights and disasters of her household, dealing with constant money worries, the challenges of finding & keeping a really good parlourmaid, and how best to retain grace towards her fellow humans in the face of their astonishing range of foibles. It’s also a wonderfully genuine description of a marriage, with all the little ups and downs of rubbing along with the same person for so many years.
(Summary by Cori Samuel)
Poems of Puncture
(first published 1912)
Amanda McKittrick Ros (1860 – 1939)
Language: English
Amanda McKittrick Ros’s poetry and prose has earned notoriety for its highly individual syntax, creative punctuation, unique diction and particular use of alliteration. Listen to this verse – if you dare. … (summary by Newgatenovelist)
To The Lighthouse
(first published 1927)
Virginia Woolf (1882 – 1941)
Language: English
The Ramsey family, with house guests, visit the Isle of Skye at least twice. The plot is not at all the point though, as this is a book about how people think and feel and relate. There’s insight into the world of childhood thought and emotion, and a variety of views of adult cares and perceptions.
I hope this doesn’t make it sound ‘difficult’, it doesn’t need to be – just let the sentences flow and make your own sense of the words. It’s perhaps as close as a novel can come to the highly individual experience of looking at a painting. … (summary by Cori Samuel)
Fumes of Formation
(first published 1933)
Amanda McKittrick Ros (1860 – 1939)
Language: English
Amanda McKittrick Ros’s poems and prose are unique, and her determination to write saw her publish two novels and two volumes of verse in her lifetime. Whether you like it or loathe it, her style is inimitable. In her own words: ‘This inventive production was hatched within a mind fringed with Fumes of Formation, the Ingenious Innings of Inspiration and Thorny Tincture of Thought.’ … (Summary by Newgatenovelist)
Death of an Airman
(first published 1934)
Christopher St John Sprigg (1907 – 1937)
Language: English
The scene of this classic ‘whodunit’ story from the ‘Golden Age of detective fiction’ is a 1930’s Aero Club, filled with small open-cockpit aircraft and a host of eccentric characters. Experienced flight instructor George Furnace dies in a plane crash near the airfield, in full view of witnesses. The verdict at the inquest is ‘death by misadventure’. But an Australian bishop, who had signed up for flying lessons just before the incident, starts to question this. Could it have been murder? Or suicide? It takes some persistent work by police detectives Creighton and Bray, that takes them all over the UK and to France, to unravel the whole story.
Author Christopher St John Sprigg, also known under his pseudonym Christopher Caudwell (1907-1937) had a passion for aviation; he had previously published two beginners textbooks on the art of flying, so presumably he got his details right. Famous crime fiction novelist Dorothy L. Sayers wrote a glowing review for this novel at the time. (Summary by Anna Simon)
The Gardener and The Burden
(first published 1925)
Rudyard Kipling (1865 – 1936)
Language: English
Helen Turrell’s life has been one of respectability and duty, and she adopts and raises her illegitimate nephew upon her scapegrace brother’s death. When the young man’s promising future is cut short by the First World War, Helen travels to his grave for a final meeting.
(Summary by Newgatenovelist)
Multilingual Short Work Collection 002
by various authors
Language: various
This is a collection for poetry and short prose in English and German.
The Call of Cthulhu
(first published 1928)
H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937)
Language: English
“[The Call of Cthulhu] is a masterpiece, which I am sure will live as one of the highest achievements of literature. Mr. Lovecraft holds a unique position in the literary world; he has grasped, to all intents, the worlds outside our paltry ken.” — Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan.
The cover illustration is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license by Danilo Neira (http://dibujando.net/dib/cthulhu-96836)
Orlando
(first published 1928)
Virginia Woolf (1882 – 1941)
Language: English
A fictional biography following the adventures of Orlando: initially a gentleman, later a lady — always a poet — who romps through British history, living an unusually long and full life…. (summary by Cori)