The Notting Hill mystery is a detective novel written by Charles Warren Adams under the pseudonym of Charles Felix in 1863. Having enjoyed some critical success at the time of its publication, it was totally forgotten and then rediscovered in 2012, when the identity of its author was finally uncovered. Preceding works by Wilkie Collins or Émile Gaboriau, The Notting Hill mystery is now considered to be the first ever crime novel. This debate about who was first hides the true value of the book. It was astonishingly ahead of its time. It is a crime case presented as a collection of (...)
Critiques
The Thirty Nine steps
Par Les Éditions de Londres, 22 juin 2013 dans Critiques
John Buchan's The Thirty-Nine steps is a 1915 spy novel set in London and Scotland, during the few weeks preceding the outbreak of World War One. Made famous by Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 cinematographic adaptation, The Thirty-Nine steps is Buchan's most famous work. Originally an attempt at creating a “dime-novel” or a “shocker”, the novel is often considered as one of the greatest adventure or spy novels of all times, and it probably invents the genre. Rediscover The Thirty-Nine steps with its original preface and biography in this new edition by (...)
Can we disarm?
Par Les Éditions de Londres, 21 juin 2013 dans Critiques
Can we disarm? is a 1899 political essay by Joseph McCabe and Georges Darien. In this little-known visionary essay, the English religious philosopher and the French anarchist libertarian offer the reader a fascinating insight into the logic of European States. They analyse the reasons for keeping pretorian armies, the impact of the Franco-Prussian war on military and social doctrines, describe why sovereigns and governments then decided to create national armies, the link with capitalism and labour markets, the implications for skyrocketing national debts and they conclude by offering (...)
Lord Arthur Savile's crime
Par Les Éditions de Londres, 21 juin 2013 dans Critiques
Oscar Wilde's Lord Arthur Savile's crime was originally published in 1891 as a collection of short stories. A fun crime story, when the criminal tries to beat his future by embracing it in his own way, with a marvellous twist at the end, it is one of the best examples of Wilde's multifaceted talent. Rediscover Lord Arthur Savile's crime in this new edition with an original preface and biography by Les Éditions de Londres.
Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Par Les Éditions de Londres, 21 juin 2013 dans Critiques
Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a short novel or a novella set in London and published in 1886. Supposedly written in one night, then burnt and rewritten, it is central to Stevenson's works. In this “gothic”, Poe-esque tale of dual personality, of good fighting evil, filled with religious overtones, and cast in the shadow of Stevenson's own Edinburghian childhood, the reader finds what he wishes: a literary introduction to psychoanalysis, a reflection on the dual nature of man, an attack on Victorian society, or simply his own self. (...)
In Russian and French prisons
Par Les Éditions de Londres, 21 juin 2013 dans Critiques
In Russian and French prisons is a 1887 essay by Piotr Kropotkin. It is more than a crude and detailed description of the Russian prison system and its comparison to Western European jails. It is also a very personal document by the famous Anarchist Prince, a description of hell rooted in his own experience. Finally, it is one of the first criminology essays ever written. At a time when prison was mainly a means of control of the undomesticated poor, Kropotkin shows prison is a natural outcome of an unjust social system. Discover this edition enriched with original preface and biography.
Directions to servants
Par Les Éditions de Londres, 21 juin 2013 dans Critiques
Jonathan Swift's Directions to servants is an entertaining satire of relationships between servants and masters in the Eighteenth century. It is a late work in Swift's life. Not the most well-known, less dark than earlier satires and pamphlets, Directions to servants is an unknown little gem of humour and gentle mockery, also providing an interesting insight into true life in the Eighteenth century. We invite you to discover this great work of one of our favourite writers in this edition by Les Éditions de Londres.
Volpone or the Fox
Par Les Éditions de Londres, 21 juin 2013 dans Critiques
Ben Jonson's Volpone is a fine example of Elizabethan theatre and one of the greatest satirical comedies ever written. In this 1606 tale of greed, lust and utter cowardice, Ben Jonson explores the travails of the human soul. He also created some of the most memorable theatre characters with Volpone or Mosca and invented some of the most memorable scenes in theatre: Mosca talking Corbaccio into disinheriting his own son or convincing Corvino to gift his own wife. Volpone is one of the finest plays of the time. Rediscover it in this new edition by Les Éditions de Londres.
Sonnets
Par Les Éditions de Londres, 21 juin 2013 dans Critiques
William Shakespeare's Sonnets are the most beautiful example of love poetry ever written. With their uplifting spirit, coherence, intensity and dealing with the passing of age, of time, the evanescence of beauty offset by the permanence of true feelings, the Sonnets are a keystone of the English language literature. Composed at a time when “Sonnet craze” was rampant in England, the Sonnets, like many other Shakespearan works, raise as many questions as answers: W.H., the Fair Youth, the Dark Lady, were they to be publicised? Rediscover the Sonnets in this new edition by (...)
Magna Carta
Par Les Éditions de Londres, 20 juin 2013 dans Critiques
The Magna Carta is one of the most famous constitutional documents in the world. To the Americans, it has a sacrosanct bearing and it is seen as a major source of inspiration for the US Constitution. To the British, it is a 1215 charter which twenty-five feisty Barons forced on a hated King, and it represents an important milestone in a long series of documents (Charter of Liberties, Charter of the Forest, Habeas Corpus, Petition of Right, the Bill of Right, Act of Settlement...) which together form the unique uncodified constitution of the United Kingdom. Most and foremost, it is the attempt (...)