'Lively' and Other Stories by Boris Mozhaev & A Memoir by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

The writing of Boris Mozhaev, available in English for the first time ever in this volume, stands out in terms of narrative style and bold sincerity amongst contemporary Russian writers already translated into English. His insight into Russian life, politics and society, and the rural community in particular, represents a unique voice among the great writers of the twentieth century, who fearlessly and, at great personal sacrifice, wrote what they knew to be the truth about everyday life in Russia. Mozhaev had to fight against Soviet censorship all his life and some of his works were suppressed for over twenty years before they were allowed to be published - always to great critical acclaim. When Mozhaev's story 'Lively' was published, shortly after Alexander Solzhenitsyn's famous story 'One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich', it was no less of a cause célèbre in Russian literary circles and society. Stylistically, he combines Chekhov's acute eye for detail, evident in his short stories with the wonderful humour and pathos of Gogol, expressed with a unique ear for rural wit and dialogue. Though the communist regime has collapsed and new leaders have emerged from the shadows, Mozhaev's stories still have a modern resonance and a chillingly poignant relevance, as those in power still conduct themselves with the same Soviet mindset and mentality as they did under the old regime. Mozhaev's writing, still regularly republished in Russia today, has not tarnished with time and it still bears its sharp, critical edge, as cutting as the day it was originally written. Through this volume of translations, Mozhaev is set to take his place amongst the great writers of contemporary Russia accessible to the English-speaking reader. The translator has provided a wealth of background information and copious notes to help the reader better to understand the satire and enjoy the stories.

Literature & Fiction

Mozhaev, Boris A

Solzhenitsyn, Alexander I

Literary

Hodgson Press

Dr Jonathan Miller has said that, ‘d’Holbach is an enormously important figure in the history of disbelief’, (BBC Television, A Brief History of Disbelief, 2005). Through this new translation of d’Holbach’s Christianity Unveiled – the first complete translation from the original French into English, together with a whole host of related documents never before translated – the reader will come to an in-depth appreciation of d’Holbach, the courageous atheist, his society, and the cultural milieu in which he wrote and published. His atheism and criticism of Christianity and sovereigns who pandered to the Church outraged not only the religious establishment but also the state, so much so that he had to publish his work anonymously for fear of being arrested and incarcerated in the Bastille. His radical, outspoken ideas also scandalized famous intellectuals and men of letters of his day, such as Voltaire. This edition contains a wealth of biographical material on d’Holbach and his circle, previously only available in French. Illustrated and annotated liberally, it sets all the documents in their biblical, historical, philosophical, political and cultural context. Chief amongst the supplementary documents are extracts from Bergier’s voluminous refutation, expressly commissioned by the Catholic Church and published with a special papal blessing in an attempt to counter d’Holbach’s trenchant criticism: Bergier was one of the Church’s foremost intellectual giants. Christianity Unveiled: A Controversy in Documents also contains a survey of key events in the history and formation of the Christian Church, its in-fighting and ruthlessness in dealing with rival philosophies and with those whom it regarded as heretics. An extensive Glossary of terms and persons mentioned in the translations is also provided. Never before have d’Holbach’s life and times been set in context in such a scholarly yet highly accessible form, shedding light on this key figure of the Enlightenment in Europe and rescuing from oblivion this momentous work which the Church had sought to bury forever.

Christianity Unveiled by Baron d'Holbach - A Controversy in Documents

Politics & Social Sciences

Baron d'Holbach, Paul-Henri Thiry

Philosophy

This edition takes the form of a dictionary of theological terms from the standpoint of the rationalist and atheist. It is also the first translation into English of the original work.

Portable Theology

Humor & Entertainment

Baron d'Holbach

Humor

This is a personal story about the vanished world of the USSR. It contains details of everyday life in the Soviet Union such as shortages, dealing with the KGB as well as with bedbugs and cockroaches, censorship, living in a Moscow flat with a rabbit called Floppy, drunkenness, dissidents and death.

All Them Cornfields and Ballet in the Evening

Miller, John.

Amy Allen, a teacher in Dublin in the Free State, the southern part of recently (1921) partitioned Ireland, wants to marry the man of her dreams, Phil Handy, and see her brother, Henry Allen, prosper on the family's flax estate, Shandoran, in County Cavan. Amy is up against it. Why and to what extent is revealed in a humorous yet tragic tale played out not just in Cavan and Dublin but the Orient as well. The rollercoaster times, nineteen twenties to early forties, are grist to the mill. So is the switch from Protestant to Catholic rule in southern Ireland; the realisation by a once powerful minority that the tables have finally turned. But it is the interwoven lives of its main characters, of Phil (a cynical, restless, readaholic), of Amy (level-headed and assured), of emotion-driven, vulnerable Henry, and of his fickle wife, Harriet - that drive the story on and keep the reader engrossed till its gripping, harrowing end.

Flaxfields

Romance

Bates, Deirdre

Historical

The authors along with 70 plus former 1950s national service Naval conscripts reveal how they learned Russian, spied on the Soviet military and shed light on the East-West conflict. Acclaimed dramatist and author ALAN BENNETT supplies the foreword. Everyone has heard of oral history; this may be the first ever email history. Nearly all the personal recollections were sent electronically. They recount the hazards of selection for the Navy; hilarious incidents in basic training; the perils of life at sea; grappling with a very foreign language leavened by films, novels and songs; training in top secret radio eavesdropping techniques; monitoring Soviet ships and planes exercising in the Baltic and North Seas; broadcasting to Russia or illuminating British readers, listeners and TV viewers about developments in the USSR.

The Coder Special Archive

History

Gerrard, Mike

Cash, Tony

Europe

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