Simonetta Perkins

Considered by Hartley to be the most accomplished of his works, Simonetta Perkins is a brilliantly observed tale of desire and guilt. Set against a glorious Venetian backdrop, it explores the nature of physical temptation, creating a complex psychological work deeply reminiscent of Henry James. Visiting Venice with her mother, Bostonian ingénue Lavinia Johnstone soon tires of their fellow American tourists and her mother’s unstinting attempts to find her a husband. Increasingly, she withdraws into herself, her diary being the only outlet for her deep-seated frustrations. And it is in her diary that she begins to explore the extraordinary sensations that she experiences when her gaze falls on an extremely attractive Venetian gondolier. L.P. Hartley, a proliflc story writer and novelist, is best remembered for his masterpiece The Go-Between.

In this lucid book a distinguished scholar and critic measures British fiction from World War I through the convulsive effects of the Depression and World War II, and the importance of the writing that has been done since Finnegan's Wake. Webster presents a moving account of the shattering impact of the Great War upon British writers, particularly Rose Macaulay, Aldous Huxley, Evelyn Waugh, and Ivy Compton-Burnett. The cynicism and despair which afflicted them also bore heavily on the novelists of the thirties and forties—Graham Greene, Joyce Cary, L. P. Hartley, C. P. Snow, who endured the disorder and violence of the Depression and World War II. Though all of these writers spoke with individual voices ranging from pessimism to joyful affirmation, they were all marked ineradicably by the turmoil of the period. The book closes with an overview of the writers who have developed since World War II. Penetrating, fresh, affirmative in its values, the book is an important assessment of this protean group of writers.

First published in 1983, A Guide to Twentieth Century Literature in English is a detailed and comprehensive guide containing over 500 entries on individual writers from countries including Africa, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the UK. The book contains substantial articles relating to major novelists, poets, and dramatists of the age, as well as a wealth of information on the work of lesser-known writers and the part they have played in cultural history. It focuses in detail on the character and quality of the literature itself, highlighting what is distinctive in the work of the writers being discussed and providing key biographical and contextual details. A Guide to Twentieth Century Literature in English is ideal for those with an interest in the twentieth century literary scene and the history of literature more broadly.

Part 1, Books, Group 1, v. 23 : Nos. 1-128 (Issued April, 1926 - March, 1927)

Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History: From Antiquity to the Mid-Twentieth Century is a comprehensive and fascinating survey of the key figures in gay and lesbian history from classical times to the mid-twentieth century. Among those included are: * Classical heroes - Achilles; Aeneas; Ganymede * Literary giants - Sappho; Christopher Marlowe; Arthur Rimbaud; Oscar Wilde * Royalty and politicians - Edward II; King James I; Horace Walpole; Michel de Montaigne. Over the course of some 500 entries, expert contributors provide a complete and vivid picture of gay and lesbian life in the Western world throughout the ages.