The Prisoner Of Love

Starting in 1970, Jean Genet—petty thief, prostitute, modernist master—spent two years in the Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan. Always an outcast himself, Genet was drawn to this displaced people, an attraction that was to prove as complicated for him as it was enduring. Prisoner of Love, written some ten years later, when many of the men Genet had known had been killed, and he himself was dying, is a beautifully observed description of that time and those men as well as a reaffirmation of the author's commitment not only to the Palestinian revolution but to rebellion itself. For Genet's most overtly political book is also his most personal—the last step in the unrepentantly sacrilegious pilgrimage first recorded in The Thief's Journal, and a searching meditation, packed with visions, ruses, and contradictions, on such life-and-death issues as the politics of the image and the seductive and treacherous character of identity. Genet's final masterpiece is a lyrical and philosophical voyage to the bloody intersection of oppression, terror, and desire at the heart of the contemporary world.

Amidst the exciting preparations for the grand opening of Prince Albert's prized Crystal Palace, a young orphan, Sorilda, is being forced into marriage by her recently cuckolded uncle, the Duke of Nuneaton. Having sheltered lovely Sorilda since the tragic death of her parents, the usually fair-minded Duke has been driven to jealous retaliation by his deceitful new Duchess. Suspecting his close neighbour, the Earl of Winsford, of ungentlemanly conduct with his beautiful wife, the Duke issues an ultimatum. The Earl must renounce the Duchess and marry the Duke's flame-haired niece or face the public embarrassment of a scandal. Handsome, intelligent and fabulously wealthy, the Earl makes his choice and reluctantly marries Sorilda, his helpless bride. Angry at being pressured into such a union and aghast that he does not know, let alone love, his wife, the Earl remains distant and determined not to let Sorilda into his life. Enjoying the freedom from the miserable prison of her uncle's home, Sorilda's natural charm and positive nature soon force their way to the surface, despite the coldness of her bridegroom. Delighted by everything around her, it is not long before she has made her way into the hearts of everyone she meets. But, as London Society eagerly awaits the Great Exhibition, a spurned Duchess is busy plotting. Furious at being caught in a compromising situation, and filled with hatred for Sorilda, who has married the man she desires, she will not rest until she has her revenge.

This collection of poems navigates love’s place in the human experience. I place emphasis on “the place of love” because I believe that every poet is driven by a certain shade of love to birth the deepest of poetic pieces. For example, the poet, JP Clark, was driven by the “place of love” to write “Ibadan”. In this collection, the poet uses simple diction to navigate deep and complicated human emotions. We see that in the poem, “Seeds of Love”: The foundation of our love wasn’t strong; it was built on sinking sands, and as hail and sandstorms threatened, our love crashed like a sandcastle. And I think this is what makes this collection unique. Here, we see a poet who is content with the simplicity of language, the lightness of metaphors to express emotions. The poems find their relativity in the softness of their language. As expected, in exploring the “place of love”, these love poems are not just about the flowery feeling and the butterflies that love elicits; no, they mention the heartbreak, the hurt that comes along with it, for is love not about pain and betrayal too? This collection is not only about the “place of love”; as I mentioned earlier, driven by another shade of love, the poet also explores the “love of body” as seen in the poem, “My Body”: I have learnt to love my body with its scars, to treat it like a prized ornament, to worship it and give it the care it deserves. I have learnt to love myself. You will also see poems about the “love of place”, where the poet dissects the soul of his nation, where he mourns a nation that sends her children out to the harsh experience of becoming immigrants in another country. In all, this is a graceful collection of poems, thematically linked in their concerns, yet diverse in the kinds of emotions each one will provoke in the reader.

Barcelona, 1957. It is Christmas, and Daniel Sempere and his wife, Bea, have much to celebrate. They have a beautiful new baby son named Julián, and their close friend Fermín Romero de Torres is about to be wed. But their joy is eclipsed when a mysterious stranger visits the Sempere bookshop and threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in the city's dark past. His appearance plunges Fermín and Daniel into a dangerous adventure that will take them back to the 1940s and the early days of Franco's dictatorship. The terrifying events of that time launch them on a search for the truth that will put into peril everything they love, and will ultimately transform their lives.

Valor is under arrest for the attempted murder of the crown prince. Her parents are outcasts from the royal court, her sister is banished for theft of a national treasure, and now Valor has been sentenced to life imprisonment at Demidova, a prison built from stone and ice. But that's exactly where she wants to be. For her sister was sent there too, and Valor embarks on an epic plan to break her out from the inside. No one has escaped from Demidova in over three hundred years, and if Valor is to succeed she will need all of her strength, courage and love. If the plan fails, she faces a chilling fate worse than any prison ... An unforgettable story of sisterhood, valour and rebellion, Prisoner of Ice and Snow will fire you up and melt your heart all at once. Perfect for fans of Katherine Rundell, Piers Torday and Cathryn Constable.

A REPRINT OF FR. LASANCE'S-PRISONER OF LOVE-IN A BIGGER FONT SIZE TO MAKE IT EASIER TO READ. Containing helpful "instructions and reflections on our duties toward Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar" and numerous "prayers and devotions for Visits to the Blessed Sacrament" etc., this book is truly a must read to help increase one's devotion to Our Lord in the Holy Sacrament and "to make the Prisoner of Love better known and more fervently loved." It is our sincerest hope that through this reprint, God may be greater glorified! O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine!All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!

The Criminal Child offers the first English translation of a key early work by Jean Genet. In 1949, in the midst of a national debate about improving the French reform-school system, Radiodiffusion Française commissioned Genet to write about his experience as a juvenile delinquent. He sent back a piece that was a paean to prison instead of the expected horrifying exposé. Revisiting the cruel hazing rituals that had accompanied his incarceration, relishing the special argot spoken behind bars, Genet bitterly denounced any improvement in the condition of young prisoners as a threat to their criminal souls. The radio station chose not to broadcast Genet’s views. “The Criminal Child” appears here with a selection of Genet’s finest essays, including his celebrated piece on the art of Alberto Giacometti.