Amok And Other Stories

A doctor in the Dutch East Indies torn between his medical duty to help and his own mixed emotions; a middle-aged maidservant whose devotion to her master leads her to commit a terrible act; a hotel waiter whose love for an unapproachable aristocratic beauty culminates in an almost lyrical death and a prisoner-of-war longing to be home again in Russia. In these four stories, Stefan Zweig shows his gift for the acute analysis of emotional dilemmas. His four tragic and moving cameos of the human condition are played out against cosmopolitan and colonial backgrounds in the first half of the twentieth century.

A DOCTOR IN the Dutch East Indies torn between his medical duty to help and his own mixed emotions; a middle-aged maidservant whose devotion to her master leads her to commit a terrible act; a hotel waiter whose love for an unapproachable aristocratic beauty culminates in an almost lyrical death and a prisoner-of-war longing to be home again in Russia. In these four stories, Stefan Zweig shows his gift for the acute analysis of emotional dilemmas. His four tragic and moving cameos of the human condition are played out against cosmopolitan and colonial backgrounds in the first half of the twentieth century.

These four stories illustrate the wide range of Zweig’s subject matter dating from quite early in his career as a writer of fiction (The Governess, rooted in a world of strict Edwardian morality), to late (Did He Do It?, almost an English detective story set near Bath, where Zweig lived in exile). In addition The Miracles of Life, set in 16th-century Antwerp during the time of Protestant iconoclasm, and Downfall of a Heart both address the theme of anti-Semitism. Pushkin Collection editions feature a spare, elegant series style and superior, durable components. The Collection is typeset in Monotype Baskerville, litho-printed on Munken Premium White Paper and notch-bound by the independently owned printer TJ International in Padstow. The covers, with French flaps, are printed on Colorplan Pristine White Paper. Both paper and cover board are acid-free and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified.

THE COMBATANTS Two godlike blood enemies engaged in a war older than history. THE BATTLEGROUND An out-of-control nuclear plant whose cataclysmic destruction will spell the end of the Earth. REFUGE None - on a planet swept up in the awesome terror of the last panic.

Collected in one volume for the first time: 22 classic short stories of love and death, betrayal and hope—from a master storyteller hailed as “the Updike of his day” (New York Observer) In this magnificent collection of Stefan Zweig’s short stories, the very best and worst of human nature is captured with sharp observation, understanding, and vivid empathy. Ranging from love and death to faith restored and hope regained, these stories present a master at work, at the top of his form. Perfectly paced and brimming with passion, these 22 tales from one of the great storytellers of the 20th century are translated by the award-winning Anthea Bell. Included: Forgotten Dreams In the Snow The Miracles of Life The Star Above the Forest A Summer Novella The Governess Twilight A Story Told in Twilight Wondrak Compulsion Moonbeam Alley Amok Fantastic Night Letter from an Unknown Woman The Invisible Collection Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman Downfall of the Heart Incident on Lake Geneva Mendel the Bibliophile Leporella Did He Do It? The Debt Paid Late

Compulsion, In the Snow and Wondrak all concern Zweig's strong anti-war feelings following the First World War. The artist Ferdinand, central figure of Compulsion, partly reflects Zweig's own experience. In The Snow tells of the plight of a group of Jews who freeze to death while trying to escape a medieval pogrom. In Wondrak, a woman, disfigured since birth, attempts to save her only child from being drafted into the military. In this newly available English translation the reader discovers the essential humanist preoccupations of the author of Amok and Twenty-four Hours in the Life of a Woman: his compassion towards human suffering, his horror of war and his faith in idealism, generosity, love values that can, in an instant, illuminate an entire existence. Pushkin Collection editions feature a spare, elegant series style and superior, durable components. The Collection is typeset in Monotype Baskerville, litho-printed on Munken Premium White Paper and notch-bound by the independently owned printer TJ International in Padstow. The covers, with French flaps, are printed on Colorplan Pristine White Paper. Both paper and cover board are acid-free and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified.

Sally McBride's haunting, mesmerizing short fiction has been captivating audiences for nearly forty years. It's been published in Asimov’s, Amazing, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Realms of Fantasy, Northern Frights, Tesseracts, On Spec, and many more magazines, anthologies and best-of collections. It's won Canada's Aurora Award and been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards. Her stories have been reprinted time and again. Now, for the first time, fourteen of her best-loved stories are collected together in this volume. Therapy for an alien stranded on Earth from infancy, land and sea remaking humanity in its own image, smart buildings, memory manipulation, and more. Prepare to get transported to a fantastic future, a terrifying present, or look at history and myth in a whole new light.