National Network for Equitable Library Service

A Treasonable Growth was Ronald Blythe's first book and only novel. Set in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, shortly before the Second World War, Blythe described it as his "Forsterian novel" and even admitted to walking with E. M. Forster while working on it, though he never mentioned it to him. Freda Bellingham, founder of Copdock School, ensnares the unsuspecting Richard Brand to save her failing foundation. At twenty-four, Richard is a perilous mix of gauche, good, and uncommitted, quickly finding himself drawn into the tangled world of Copdock School.

Handsome would-be poet Lucien Chardon is poor and naive, but highly ambitious. Failing to make his name in his dull provincial hometown, he is taken up by a patroness, the captivating married woman Madame de Bargeton, and prepares to forge his way in the glamorous beau monde of Paris. But Lucien has entered a world far more dangerous than he realized, as Madame de Bargeton's reputation becomes compromised and the fickle, venomous denizens of the courts and salons conspire to keep him out of their ranks.

A collection of short stories from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of classic American southern literature. Combining stories set in the rural south, Eudora Welty’s own special province, and stories with a European locale, which give a wider range to her fiction, The Bride of Innisfallen demonstrates the remarkable talent of one of the finest short story writers of our time.

From a New York Times–bestselling author, short stories of the privileged class, spanning a century of New York history: "Urbane, humorous... a treat to read." —Library Journal. Sublime master of manners, exquisite critic of the upper crust, and beloved American author Louis Auchincloss is at his wry, brilliant best with this collection of ten short stories about New York aristocracy. Drawing on a century of Manhattan high society, Auchincloss weaves a set of perfectly crafted, intimate portrayals of the struggles and dramas of the elite.

In ancient Egypt, women enjoyed a legal, social, and sexual independence unrivaled by their Greek or Roman counterparts—or, in fact, by most women until the late nineteenth century. They could own and trade property, work outside the home, marry foreigners, and live alone without the protection of a male guardian.

Life at the prestigious Q High School for Girls in Tokyo exists on a precise social axis: a world of insiders and outsiders, of haves and have-nots. Beautiful Yuriko and her unpopular, unnamed sister exist in different spheres; the hopelessly awkward Kazue Sato floats around among them, trying to fit in. Years later, Yuriko and Kazue are dead - both have become prostitutes and both have been brutally murdered. Natsuo Kirino, celebrated author of Out, seamlessly weaves together the stories of these women's struggles within the conventions and restrictions of Japanese society.

"Five charming novellas ... which have astonishing freshness, color, and warmth."—The New Yorker First published in 1686, this collection of five novellas by Ihara Saikaku was an immediate bestseller in the bawdy world of Genroku Japan. The book's popularity has only increased with age, making it a literary classic like Boccaccio's Decameron or the works of Rabelais. Each of the five stories follows a determined woman on her quest for amorous adventure: The Story of Seijuro in Himeji—Onatsu, already wise in the ways of love at the tender age of sixteen.

Close to Spider Man marks the debut of an exciting new literary talent—a collection of connected stories whose female narrators seek out lives for themselves amidst the lonely, breathtaking landscape of the Yukon. The young women in Ivan Coyote's deeply personal stories are looking to make a break from their circumstances, but the North is in their bones—so are their connections to family, friends, and other women.

The stories in this volume demonstrate Dostoyevsky's genius for fusing caricature, irony, and the grotesque to create a powerful dark humour. The Gambler is a breathtaking portrayal of an intense and futile obsession.

Crackling Mountain and Other Stories features eleven outstanding works by Osamu Dazai, widely regarded as one of 20th-century Japan's most gifted writers. Dazai experimented with a wide variety of short story styles and brought to each a sophisticated sense of humor, a broad empathy for the human condition, and a tremendous literary talent. The eleven stories in this collection of Japanese literature present the most fully rounded portrait available of a tragic, multifaceted genius of modern Japanese letters.