The Land I Came Through Last

Long regarded as one of Australia's greatest poets, Robert Gray (winner of every major Australian poetry prize, and widely studied in schools and universities) has now penned his autobiography. His life spans the landscape of our nation. This is the most important literary biography of 2008! Sure to be reviewed across the nation.

The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays. "The elegance of Patchett’s prose is seductive and inviting: with Patchett as a guide, readers will really get to grips with the power of struggles, failures, and triumphs alike." —Publisher's Weekly “Any story that starts will also end.” As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart. At the center of These Precious Days is the title essay, a surprising and moving meditation on an unexpected friendship that explores “what it means to be seen, to find someone with whom you can be your best and most complete self.” When Patchett chose an early galley of actor and producer Tom Hanks’ short story collection to read one night before bed, she had no idea that this single choice would be life changing. It would introduce her to a remarkable woman—Tom’s brilliant assistant Sooki—with whom she would form a profound bond that held monumental consequences for them both. A literary alchemist, Patchett plumbs the depths of her experiences to create gold: engaging and moving pieces that are both self-portrait and landscape, each vibrant with emotion and rich in insight. Turning her writer’s eye on her own experiences, she transforms the private into the universal, providing us all a way to look at our own worlds anew, and reminds how fleeting and enigmatic life can be. From the enchantments of Kate DiCamillo’s children’s books (author of The Beatryce Prophecy) to youthful memories of Paris; the cherished life gifts given by her three fathers to the unexpected influence of Charles Schultz’s Snoopy; the expansive vision of Eudora Welty to the importance of knitting, Patchett connects life and art as she illuminates what matters most. Infused with the author’s grace, wit, and warmth, the pieces in These Precious Days resonate deep in the soul, leaving an indelible mark—and demonstrate why Ann Patchett is one of the most celebrated writers of our time.

A celebrated pioneer of fantasy fiction, the Irish writer and dramatist Lord Dunsany produced seminal works such as ‘The King of Elfland’s Daughter’, noted for their imaginative power and intellectual ingenuity. Dunsany achieved great fame and success with his early short stories and plays, conjuring mysterious kingdoms of fairies and gods in richly coloured prose, while promoting a characteristic element of the macabre. For the first time in publishing history, this comprehensive eBook presents Dunsany’s complete fictional works, with numerous illustrations, many rare texts, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 2) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Dunsany’s life and works * Concise introductions to the novels and other texts * All 13 novels, with individual contents tables * Features many rare novels appearing for the first time in digital publishing, including THE CHARWOMAN’S SHADOW and THE BLESSING OF PAN * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the short stories * Includes all of the Jorkens short story collections published during Dunsany’s lifetime – please note: some of the posthumous tales cannot appear due to copyright restrictions. * Rare story collections available in no other eBook, including THE MAN WHO ATE THE PHOENIX * Easily locate the short stories you want to read * Dunsany’s scarce poetry collection, FIFTY POEMS, first time in digital print * Includes the two ‘Sirens’ autobiographies * Features a bonus biography – discover Dunsany’s literary life * Ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres * UPDATED with improved texts and more images CONTENTS: The Novels Don Rodriguez: Chronicles of Shadow Valley (1922) The King of Elfland’s Daughter (1924) The Charwoman’s Shadow (1926) The Blessing of Pan (1927) The Curse of the Wise Woman (1933) Up in the Hills (1935) Rory and Bran (1936) My Talks with Dean Spanley (1936) The Story of Mona Sheehy (1939) Guerrilla (1944) The Strange Journeys of Colonel Polders (1950) The Last Revolution (1951) His Fellow Men (1952) The Jorkens Series The Travel Tales of Mr. Joseph Jorkens (1931) Jorkens Remembers Africa (1934) Jorkens Has a Large Whiskey (1940) The Fourth Book of Jorkens (1947) Jorkens Borrows Another Whiskey (1954) Other Short Story Collections The Gods of Pegana (1905) Time and the Gods (1906) The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories (1908) A Dreamer’s Tales (1910) The Book of Wonder (1912) Fifty-One Tales (1915) Tales of Wonder (1916) Tales of War (1918) Unhappy Far-Off Things (1919) Tales of Three Hemispheres (1919) The Man Who Ate the Phoenix (1949) The Little Tales of Smethers and Other Stories (1952) The Short Stories List of Short Stories in Chronological Order List of Short Stories in Alphabetical Order The Plays Five Plays (1914) Plays of Gods and Men (1917) If (1921) Plays of Near and Far (1922) Seven Modern Comedies (1928) Plays for Earth and Air (1937) The Poetry Collection Fifty Poems (1929) The Non-Fiction Nowadays (1918) The Autobiographies While the Sirens Slept (1944) The Sirens Wake (1945) The Biography Dunsany the Dramatist (1917) by Edward Hale Bierstadt

Alex and Conner Bailey's world is about to change. When the twins' grandmother gives them a treasured fairy-tale book, they have no idea they're about to enter a land beyond all imagining: the Land of Stories, where fairy tales are real. But as Alex and Conner soon discover, the stories they know so well haven't ended in this magical land - Goldilocks is now a wanted fugitive, Red Riding Hood has her own kingdom, and Queen Cinderella is about to become a mother! The twins know they must get back home somehow. But with the legendary Evil Queen hot on their trail, will they ever find the way? The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell brings readers on a thrilling quest filled with magic spells, laugh-out-loud humour and page-turning adventure.

"Report of the Dominion fishery commission on the fisheries of the province of Ontario, 1893", issued as vol. 26, no. 7, supplement.