The Naylors (31 page)
 | Parlour Four and Other Stories A small boy is kind someone disabled, with unexpected consequences. A young lover presents a ring found on a French beach to the girl of his dreams, but doesn’t appreciate its history and value. Meanwhile in Oxford the Bodleian Library is mysteriously empty, whilst one of the dons very unwisely turns to writing fiction, but becomes a bestselling author. And in yet another tale, a cruel ending brings the absurdity of death into sharp focus. All of the stories in this collection focus on life’s ironies and absurdities and are told with Stewart’s usual wit and wisdom, with due attention to detail. |
 | A Use Of Riches Rupert Craine is a wealthy, cultured banker, who treats problems of high finance and additions to his collection of paintings with equal seriousness. He is aware, however, that his wife’s first husband, who was killed in the war in Italy, was a brilliant artist. Something strange occurs when drawings by the latter suddenly appear on the market and a telegram summons Craine and his wife to Italy. There, the past grotesquely and irresistibly explodes into the present. ‘The author manages to depict the English social maze through his hero’s intrigued and piercing gaze.’ |
 | A Villa In France Penelope, the daughter of a local priest, is lured to a villa in the south of France where she is the victim of a cruel hoax. As to how she came into the situation, we are first introduced to her as a child and the background is set out with Stewart’s usual wit and highly descriptive writing. Fulke Ferneydale, now a rich novelist, knew Penelope then – indeed, in her later teenage years he suddenly proposed to her, but she turned him down. At the time, he had something of a chip on his shoulder as his father was ‘in trade’, which is something Penelope’s father looked down upon in a snobbish manner, although it didn’t affect her. Accordingly, Ferneydale went off and married Sophie, although he subsequently managed to enjoy a string of mistresses and young boys. Penelope married Caspar, but he is withdrawn, scholarly and boring, not to mention materially unsuccessful. So what is to become of her in France? There are many twists to this tale, not least the final surprise. |
Non-Fiction
 | James Joyce The definitive biography of James Joyce by John Stewart, himself a successful and wide-ranging writer and critic, who was also a tutor and reader of English Literature at Oxford University. Stewart covers both Joyce’s life and works and gets to the heart of the influences in each of the various ‘periods’ in his writing. There is also included an extensive bibliography for further reference. |
 | Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy was considered a Victorian sage, but not everyone fully appreciated his worth and genius. T.S. Eliot stated that Hardy wrote ‘as nearly for the sake of self-expression as a man well can’ and that the outcome was not to be described as ‘particularly wholesome or edifying’. J.I.M. Stewart famously defended Hardy against these charges in a paper and has now expanded his views in this comprehensive biography. Stewart’s work is not, however, any form of apology for Hardy; he critically examines the life and work of the genius that emerged from humble origins and notes that he often wrote sensationally and outside of his own social experience. This volume describes the genesis of Hardy’s more famous works, along with the minor ones, and shows how the biographical background influenced his writing. What emerges is a picture of Hardy the artist, carefully building a symmetry in his works, along with immense narrative powers, and developing a deep understanding of rural life and community. Attention is also given to Hardy’s poetry and the manner in which this is distinguished from others poets of the age. This is a masterful biography from a man who in turn was an author and scholar of high literary ability and reputation. |
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