English Books

I was sick of all the thesauruses in my office that are set up in dictionary-alphabetic format and turned to Amazon for the traditional concept-based thesaurus of my youth. I got it with "Bartlett's Roget's Thesaurus."

The indexing alone is well worth the money you'll pay for this, but if that's not enough, you might like the list of categories, (will and behaivior, spatial relations, negotiations & fiscal relations, etc.) that are included both by concepts and alphabetically. In addition, there are a lot of lists included, from breeds of cattle to stations of the cross to varieties of beans. Makes for some interesting reading.

If *that* hasn't convinced you, the actual thesaurus part of it is darn good. Many times I turn to this reference book to prompt creativity, to expand on ideas, etc. The contemporary terms and phrases and relationships between words and concepts are quite good. If you appreciate good resources, this is going to be a great desk item for you.

After several days of research, during which I sought recommendations in books for writers and tested a dozen competitors, I have found Bartlett's Roget's Thesaurus the clear winner. Compared to its rivals, it is cheaper, but printed on better paper with a more legible typeface. It has a useful thumb index and a clean layout unlike the others. Its wordlists, topics, and lists are more relevant.

Best of all, it's more intuitive than the others--not only in the process of looking up a word, but in the list of words found. And at the end of most wordlists are references to related concepts that increase the smart, intuitive feel to the book, a feature lacking in the competition. I consistently found the right word and/or wordlist more easily with Roget's Bartlett's than with Roget's International 6th.

The crucial step to finding the right word is when looking in the index. Fortunately, Bartlett's lists every single word in the index, whereas Roget's International 6th does not. Not finding a word in a thesaurus index is disconcerting, and substituting that word for a simpler, indexed one doesn't always lead in the right direction. Also, instead of distinguishing between nouns and verbs in the index, as Roget's International 6th does with hard-to-read type, Bartlett's streamlines the search by using descriptive phrases that distinguish, for example, "pedal" the part of a keyboard instrument from "pedal" meaning propel. This helps to pinpoint the right wordlist.

Despite its unwieldy name, Bartlett's Roget's does not exactly combine both reference tools. There is only about one quotation from Bartlett's every two pages, making the quotations more of a decorative distraction than a useful reference. But I see nothing wrong with the innocuous added bonus in a thesaurus that easily beats the others.

Wonderful reference! With more than 350,000 references, I have no problem finding the word I'm looking for. This thesaurus has words both indexed and categorized so that related words are even closer at hand. Makes serendipity more likely. I especially like the lists included throughout the book. If I look up "hero," I also get a list of famous heros in history. Bartlett's Roget's Thesaurus can make writing much more interesting and fun.

Indispensable! I gave my old copy of this to my nephew going away to college. What a mistake for me! I was in graduate school at the time and had another thesaurus in dictionary form..and figured that would be fine. Yuck. I found myself wishing I had this version again..so I just bought another one.

The way I use it is not to come up with words to impress people (well, not usually) but rather to remember a word that I want to use, but can't exactly recall (must be my age). I know you all have done it and can relate to that great feeling of finally finding that word! The conceptual setup is perfect for this becuase sometimes you can get close with a guess, but you need that whole section on weight (for example) to really pinpoint your word (not just synonyms for heavy).

There are a lot of quaint reference guides out on the market today, but as a professional writer and teacher this is always the thesaurus I reach for. Not only are you provided with nearly half a million synonyms, but Rogets make the definition conise and meaningful.

You will find this book an essential part of your reference section be it 2 books or 200 books in volume. It makes little difference if you are writing a term paper or a business letter, you are foolish not to have this vital tool.

I loved this book. It was a very good read hard to put down. I can't wait to see what happens next with the Dixon Family!

I enjoyed reading the first book but the characters seemd one dimensional - this sequel fleshes them out a bit more. Kendra paints tasteful love scenes with her married couples and celebrate marital lovemaking as well as any Songs of Solomon quote - this is often overlooked by some Christian writers as if Christian people don't make love.
The hiccups that any married couple especially one that is having a baby is realistically portrayed which is better than the perfect courtship that Jessica and Greg experienced in book one (seemed too fairy taleish). This book reminds us how easy it is to lose one's faith and how easy it is practise Christianity when all is well and on the up and up but when one is faced with trials that is when the rubber meets the road.
The mothers contiunue to provid the comedy in the book especially the part when they confront Evelyn. Poor Evelyn does not the see contradiction asking God for a husband that is already married - mmmmm

I loved the original book-and was anxious to read this follow up book... well, I was not disappointed...I love the characters Greg and his wife Grace......I love their best friends.....
I was so sad when the story ended-I just love Kendra's writing and I think God has really blessed her and us the reader's.

I just finished reading the last two releases by Ms. Norman-Bellamy and I must say that she never ceases to amaze me with the unique way that she uses her craft. My workaholic lifestyle doesn't afford me the time to read as much as I would like to or even as much as I used to, but when my wife walked into the house recently and placed CROSSING JHORDAN'S RIVER and BECAUSE OF GRACE, in the center of my desk, I knew it was time for a break. My wife and I had read both of her previous novels and enjoyed them and these two were just incredible reads that we found hard to put down. Both of us agreed that we can see an improvement and growth in this writer's already great style and ability to tell a story. She'll always have two loyal fans in us.

My favorite kinds of books usually involve a detective and a crime. However, when it comes to Kendra Norman-Bellamy titles, I keep coming back for more. I have read all of her books that have been released to-date and Kendra Norman-Bellamy is yet honing her craft, getting better and better with each new book. The characters really jump off of the pages and come to life. This author really has her thumb on the pulse of the Black man. The characterization is superb. If I didn't know any better, I would think that Kendra Norman-Bellamy was a man prentending to be a woman writing books about men.

This book is effectively an ABC for kids. Published in the 1960s it still provides a valuable teaching aid to get young children learning their alphabet. Each letter has anassociated series of words and story attached to it. With characters such as "Aaron" the alligator, and Abigail a girl, simple sentences are conveyed with quirky illustrations to help children learn various concepts. From "Abigail crosses the road" to "Aunt Ada likes Lions" the book leads the young reader from A through to Z where we learn that "Zero is very cold for zebras". A fun way for any child to learn to read.

I got this book 32 years ago when my first daughter was born. We began "playing with" the dictionary when she was around 1, and it was such a source of laughs for both of us. She did learn her letters. At 18 months , while walking through a marked parking lot, she surprised my friends by saying "Mommy, standing on "A". I gave the dictionary full credit!

Now this same person is expecting her first child. The Dictionary is on it's way to her house right now.

Excellent book. My three-year old learned all of her letters in a fun and amuzing way. She was intrigued by the pictures and the activities the characters were perfoming. I highly recommend it for any preschooler.

Kristina, Mother of Tiffany

While all of the books with the Dr. Seuss label can be considered essential reading for children, this one is more essential than most of the others. In terms of books used to help children learn to read, I found it to be unequaled in value. I still have the copy my daughter read and it is worn to the point where the spine is falling apart. Not through misuse, but from being opened and the pages flipped over and over again.
In the beginning, I read it to her, but it did not take long until she was sitting by herself looking through the pages and saying the words. Each word is accompanied by an illustration and in most cases a brief sentence where the word is used. Many of the illustrations incorporate the usual Seuss silliness, such as the green alligator carrying a sign stating, "I am a horse." All of which is designed to give the meaning of the word "true."
One of the best books I have ever seen to help children learn to read, I cannot include enough superlatives to express my opinion of it.

This dictionary is in my book box of Seuss favorites.It really is a PD Eastman book.In March schools led by the NEA selected to promote Dr. Seuss on his birthday. A literacy celebration to promote reading.That is why I had my classroom Suess box out and re-found this book.


("Ten years ago, NEA started a reading revolution. From a one-day celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday to a year-round literacy campaign reaching nearly every home, school, and community, NEA's Read Across America is building a nation of readers. " Or so their site reads.)

It's a kind of teachers uniting to read with children and take a literacy stand yearly shout out. Now it's had ten years to blossom and expand and be a part of Spring in schools. I assumed at its start that each year they would broaden this to another author until years later we found ourselves focusing National Attention on a wide variety of authors, but that was an incorrect assumption as Dr. Seuss remained the primary focus.
And that's cool too. The program does encourage literacy generally. It's worth checking their site to find out more about Read Across America.

Somewhere inside of this it seemed the NEA was finding a phonics answer to promote reading to sidestep whole language, which I found a sad nod to those with limited views, but who cares really? It's worked in schools and it makes March more pleasant as you cook up Green Eggs and Ham or read the story of Horton or think about the Lorax, put on your big Cat in The Hat shoes, or wonder about the "differences" in our world as you read "Red Fish, Blue Fish" and how "from here to there and there to here funny things are everywhere," yeah no kidding. And I don't think Dr. Seuss really meant ha, ha funny. I really don't.

In my book boxes, as I said, is a 1964 copy of a Seuss/Eastman dictionary. I'm going to order several. Children in my room at the five group reading tables enjoy reinforcing their ABC order, reading the short and funny entries and they are beginning to grasp the construct of a dictionary by using the clever text and looking up things. Dr.Seuss or rather Eastman buries good jokes in his pictures and words too for added fun. There's lots of alliteration. A "blackbird is at the blackboard" under the entry for "black". "Drops are dripping" under "drip". "James at the jam jar" under "jam". Oh...none of that sounds as funny as it is, you need a copy to see.

Right now things are coming together for my readers but there needs to be a little motivational push to get them inside a book. Because at first reading is work. So when they read his little twists and turns, or the pictures have funny little almost naughty sneezers and loud, louder, loudest concepts it tickles them pink. And then I can begin the process of putting very young children into alphabetical order contextualized inside dictionaries and then move them from this into their child dictionaries and resource materials. Those really are so much drier and not as accessible. This helps.

As I said, this taught my brother to read and I remember for a time that he would recall words he knew were in here and then go put them in his writing using the dictionary to spell them in order to write better sentences. You can't ask much more than that. Excellent then and 43 years later this old lady teacher recommends this as a classroom resource. Too bad it is not reprinted in hardback as classroom sets. I'd get it in a blink of an eye.

Loved this book. As a prison memoir, it does not shock or scare. Korean prisons, despite their lack of heat, cannot compete with Thai, Turkish or American prisons on the fear scale. This book delivers much more; it is the best that I have ever read on the subject of foreigners negotiating, stumbling, fubmbling and bumbling their way through South Korea. Thomas captures the maddening dualities, how he is constantly faced with both special treatment and petty humiliations. One minute, he is in awe of the maturity, cohesion, the genrosity, gentleness and, above all, the charm of Koreans. The next he is driven up the wall by their uniformity, closed-mindedness, bullying, brutality and pride. Every foreigner that has lived in Korea on Korea's terms has lived Thomas's story. Obviously, few have lived as much on Korea's terms as Thomas. And fewer still have written about the experience with more intelligence, even-handedness and wit.

The most touching and disturbing part of the book deals with the author's friendship with a character identified only as Green. Green, married to a Korean prostitute, is serving time for murdering his own half-Korean children. Upon his parole, Green is deported and immediately relocates to Koreatown in Los Angeles, finding a home where outsiders are not supposed to have a place. Why would he choose to get as close as he possibly could to his former captors? After reading Thomas's extraordinary book, you will understand why.

This book is riveting. It chronicles a worst nightmare come true with a tone that is wise, witty and utterly accessible. I can't recommend it highly enough. I was entranced by the various transformations of optimism that this author traipses through on his seemingly horrific yet 'can't look away' journey.

Heard Thomas on a pod-cast of the Diane Rehm show. Thought it was interesting and got a copy. This is one of the best books I have ever read. I was so captivated with his writting that I had a hard time putting it down to get other things done. The writting is easy on the eyes, flows well and just slips off the page. In this coming of age story we not only have the story but a true transformation. Highly recommend it.

This book is incredible! I agree with the other reviewer who pointed out that one particular negative review on this book seemed grossly uninformed. To sum up just how that review errs, this book is not at all "uneventful"; the entire point of the memoir is just how humbled Thomas *did* feel by his experience; and while he does comment on ethnic diversity in the prison, he by no means sees his fellow convicts as "losers." Please don't do yourself a disservice by assuming that this book is nothing more than some whiny, poorly adjusted, rich boy's lament.

As for my own reactions to Brother One Cell, I feel that everyone can take something from it. While receiving a prison sentence is obviously no small deal, the appeal of this book is broader than many might assume. Some readers who never had to deal with a jail term may still find that it strikes a chord, have they ever found themselves faced with a prolonged set of difficult circumstances far away from home. The soul-searching that Thomas does, the way he articulates his pain over being kept apart from his loved ones, his insistence on "going it alone" despite his feelings of isolation, and his discussions of the fear of losing himself (on a fundamental and psychological level) are all of universal interest. He talks at length about the internal change that leads him to value the most mundane of acts -- things that he does not have in jail -- such as reading whatever he wants, looking at members of the opposite sex, walking around outside, and so much more.

I feel that there are probably a number of people out there who could relate to the types of emotional and psychological changes explored and documented in this book. He even mentions (in varying amounts of detail) experiences such as phantom pains, flashbacks, and his unique relationship with Korea and feelings about the time he spent there. The author starts off by showing us the aimless vagabond he once was, allows us to accompany him very intimately through his periods of rage and depression following his arrest, and concludes with a sense that Korea is now very much a part of who he is.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the following
-prison memoirs
-unique glimpses into seldom-seen aspects of Korean culture
-anyone familiar with Korean culture who is interested in outsiders' impressions of it
-stories of self-discovery
-culture shock
-autobiographical accounts of the profound personal changes borne out of unrelenting hardships faced in relative isolation (as well as the changes in an individual's perspective on said hardships as time wears on)

The latter reason to read this book appeals not only to those who have been forever changed by circumstances that their loved ones will never truly know, but it could also be of immense help to anyone trying to understand their loved one's experience and the depth of the impact it has left.

Brother One Cell is fascinating--this book is raw, yet compassionate and, above all else, honest. Just as other reviewers have noted, I too can see this book taking a place on required reading lists; it is only a matter of time before it becomes a classic.

First things first. If your name is listed in red ink, and almost everybody else's is in black, it does not mean that you've won a prize. Do not try to collect your package from the window. Cullen did and he wound up serving 3 and a half years in a series of Korean Houses of D.

Ever since I read a Giant Robot article about Asian and Asian-American inmates stockpiling ramen, ketchup packets, soy sauce packets and other odds and ends to create ersatz versions of the dishes they craved, I've been fascinated with prisoner resourcefulness. In this respect Brother One Cell is a very satisfying travelogue. Cullen is a big, unseasoned foreigner, not yet fluent, completely inexperienced as a criminal, who must learn to survive as a prisoner - how to talk to people, how to make sure he gets his mail, how to deal with mosquitos, extreme cold and fluorescent lights that stay on 24 hours a day...

Even more satisfying is the transformative mental and phillosophical journey upon which the author embarks, at first unconsciously and then with growing determination. The appreciation and grace at which he eventually arrives is a good reminder for those of us who've been spoiled by taken-for-granted freedom, cooshy living conditions and Get Out Of Jail Free cards we didn't necessarily deserve.

I am a stay at home mom to two small children, and I was looking for a book to make me smile when things get stressful. This book is fine if you are a deeply religious person -- but if you are not, you will find it talks more about Jesus than it does about the stresses of raising children. I believe in God and am a good Catholic girl...but half way through the book, it's like "okay, I get it..you pray to God a lot and yeah for you! Now can you discuss raising children a little?"

Sorry - I just don't understand the deep level of belief the writer has, I guess....

The book begins with a journal countdown to her child's birth. Every chapter begins with a scripture then she shares her experiences as a mother and wife and ends with a prayer. Her experiences and thoughts about them make you feel as if you're reading about yourself. Nice book with good advice and appropriate scriptural references for direction.

I loved this book! Elisabeth and I must have been separated at birth--or else, she's reading my journal. :) Seriously, her honesty was refreshing and her commitment to Christ, her husband and her kids was so encouraging. Elizabeth reminded me about my own need to slow down and appreciate the simple wonders in life. I sometimes let those moments of "special ordinariness" slip by...and it's my loss. Thanks for nudging me back on the right path, Elisabeth! I will recommend this book to other moms, because it's nice to know that we're not alone, and that someone else struggles with the chaos of parenting.

This is such a great book and one that I could truly relate to. I am a stay at home Mom to two wonderful children, ages 2 and 4. I could completely relate to Elisabeth's words. I appreciated her honesty as well. Wonderful!

I am a friend of a friend of the writer of this book. My friend shared it with me. I think it is a wonderful, funny, heart-touching book. I am not a mother yet and it had many great things to say to me anyway. This is definitely a great book to purchase and read for yourself and give as a gift to a friend.

I simply had to have this book. I have started on a creative writing career hoping to specialise in supernatural fiction. So who better to read than the acknowedged doyen of the genre? MR James was an absolute master of the craft. Many years ago the BBC dramatised one of his short stories every Christmas Eve and continued the practice for several years. Even as a mature adult these plays used to scare me witless! Michael Hordern's wonderful depiction of paralysis in sheer terror at the end of "Whistle and I'll come to you my lad", is indelibly engraved in my memory. But the television can only depict one man's interpretaion. Believe me, the imagination does so much more. So the stories are infinitely more enthralling. This volume contains all the greats: the nightmarish Count Magnus, Whistle.., Number 13, the haunting Mezzotint and perhaps the most chilling ghost story ever written, A Warning to the Curious. The thing about MR James was that he wrote so well and with such a sensitivity for how to make the supernatural thriller "work". Apart from the inevitably dated settings, it is entirely possible to imagine the events he relates as a plausible part of one's own daily experience! This volume contains a very useful essay (Explanatory Notes)by the author on the elements of the most effective ghost stories. The valuable insights offered therein are alone worth the price. This volume contains a representative sample of his best known work and I am compelled to recommend it in the highest terms. But a warning to "the curious": this is potent story telling. The reader who having once picked it up, will not be the same when they put it down again; if they can (heh, heh, heh,heh).

I bought this book in Paris. It was the cheapest most interesting book in English, so I grabbed it for the flight. It's one of the best book buys I've ever had.
This stuff is genuinely spooky. There are images here
that will stick with you for a long time, and this guy puts in a lot of interesting historical details that make
the stories seem all the more plausible. Can't
recommend this book enough.

O whistle, an' I'll come to you, my lad;
O whistle, an' I'll come to you, my lad;
Tho' father and mither should baith gae mad,
O whistle, an' I'll come to you, my lad.
(Burns.)

Over the last Twenty years I've purchased many books and got rid of many (After reading them then donating them to charity shops), but this is the only one I've repurchased.
I could never get the scenarios and characters out of my head, the way M R James succinctly describes a scene or a, "terrifying agent of supernatural malice" have resided in my head as much as I would have liked them to leave.
If lots of Gore is your thing you may be disappointed by these stories, but for those of us who like a well written story told with panache and subtlety, then these are for us.
~~~~
For several years in the early 70's when the BBC made "A Ghost Story for Christmas" it was always the M R James stories that disturbed me the most. But even though I was disturbed by them I was always too fascinated to switch the TV off, and whilst the BBC interpretations were good they never quite captured the atmosphere of the written page.
Most of the "Heroes" (For want of a better word) of these stories are intellectuals from the dusty halls of some Academy or other, who are afflicted by intellectual pride or the even graver sin (In M R James stories)of curiosity! They investigate things that should be left well alone.
~~~~
My personal favourites are "The Mezzotint", and "Oh Whistle, and I'll Come to you, my Lad".
The endings of a few of these stories are not completely resolved, and it's because of that, they stay in the mind longer.
It has always amused me that some of the most creepy and ungodly stories ever written in the English language were written by this most devout Christian of men.
For maximum effect to be read late on a stormy night, and by candlelight!

More than at any other time since the era of the gladiators, entertainment in America today seems obsessed with murder, mayhem and gore. The Chainsaw Disembowelment Scene has been used in so many movies that it's almost a cliché, and I'm so jaded with seeing cadavers that I refuse to turn-on my TV.

How different are these stories by M. R. James. There are no monsters such as in H. P. Lovecraft, and the spectres which do appear never get to perform any injury - it's always a close call.

The focus here is on suspense. Not, though, that there are any surprises. We know that the strange old tome will yield its dreadful secret; that room 13 of the inn will be infested with demons; that the druid slide-whistle will summon some ghastly phantasm.

The pleasure of reading the work of M. R. James lies in his pretty writing - the lost art of the English language in its perfected form. Reading these stories is analogous to listening to a great musician perform florid music which is always in a minor key.

M.R. James is the quintessential, literary ghost story writer. His stories begin with such dark innocence, the reader wanders along, enjoying the prose, while the atmosphere thickens with the macabre. He is very Victorian in his approach, his paragraphs are skillyfully crafted. The only trouble the novice reader will encounter is adapting to his scholarly attention to detail. His prose is magnificent but heavy. The thrill is in the patient reading of his stories. Think of reading M.R. James in terms of drinking port... you sip port, you linger with it, you appreciate its aromas, its texture. You wouldn't think of knocking back a beautiful glass of port? No...Pick this book up, indulge yourself slowly with these stories and soon enough, ghostly memories will fill your imagination. The moods he casts heightens the pleasures of both the mind and the spirit.

This was my favorite book as a little girl, so when my sister had her first boy, I was anxiously waiting to buy it for him at the right time. This is a great book that will give both the parent and the child the giggles. The small size is wonderful, too! The one I had was oversized and didn't fit in the overnight bag, but this one is perfect for car trips and diaper bags!

My 1st grade teacher read all of Fred Gwynn's books to my class and I adored them. The eye-catching pictures were strange and fun, incapuslating our inexperienced understanding of the phrases that Mommy and Daddy say. Mrs. L then let us guess what Mommy or Daddy REALLY meant--the guessing was almost as fun as reading the book.

Examples: Mommy says not to interrupt her when she's playing bridge (the family pets walk across her as she bridges the gap between a couch and a chair) while Daddy says next time he paints the house he's going to give it two coats (maybe a tweed and a heavy winter wool one?).

Before I had children, I went back to the children's section of the library to enjoy them again. Now that I have children, I share my copies with them. The large full color pictures show the ridiculous picture that could result from taking a phrase literally--some of them will make you laugh out loud! Meanwhile, you can discuss what it really means and help children develop their analytical skills.

See also The King Who Rained (Stories to Go!) and Fred Gwynne: The Sixteen Hand Horse; The King Who Rained; A Little Pigeon-Toed; A Chocolate Mousse for Dinner

I love this book. I am a kindergarten teacher. The students in my class wanted me to read this book over and over again. I recommend this book to classroom teachers and moms. It is a funny story and the illustrations are amazing! I found it funny that "Herman Munster", Fred Gwynne wrote this story.

I love all Fred Gwynne's books for kids. The drawings are exceptionally well done, and the expressions on some faces are priceless. The book shifts our adult perspective a bit to remember what it was like as a kid to hear grown-ups use certain phrases, and the pictures they conjured up in literalist-child minds-- putting a wing on the house, or playing the piano by ear.

Great book for kids. Some concepts a little difficult to grasp for younger audience.

This book is an historical fiction readers dream, set in England just prior to the restoration period and during it. Julia Pallister lives with her feisty grandmother, a former lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I, and her mother Anne, a gentle mild mannered woman who lives only for the day when her husband returns home from exile with Prince Charles. Their home has been saved from sequestration by the Parliamentarians by the old love affair between Julia's grandmother and the neighbouring landowner, a Cromwell supporter, but, upon his death, the order is revoked and their home is taken over by a tyrannical Parliamentarian, Makepeace Walker who was one of the signators of the death warrant of CharlesI. After Julia's father is shot and killed by the Roundheads, Makepeace forces Anne into marriage by threatening to put the entire household out on the street. The story continues and takes in the Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666, Julia's youthful adoration of childhood friend, Christopher Wren and her eventual happy marriage to the grandson of her grandmother's old lover. I loved this book which was similar in time and setting to the great Forever Amber.

I believe this book was more romantic fiction than historical fiction however the novel itself was still enjoyable. The characters were vividly described but I would still like to know how things would have worked between Christiopher and Julia besides the perspective given by Katherine in the novel. How would the whole plot change? I would like to see companion book written. If you're a big fan of historical romance, this is a must.

"Rosalind Laker" is my great aunt and I have read many of her books. Of all of them this has to be the best of them all!

The story begins with Julia, youngest child of Royalists Robert and Anne Pallister, and her older brother Michael as they live in the constant fear of their estate being taken from them by Cromwell's Parliamentarians, as England's civil war rages around them. Michael and Robert both join Charles II's cause and subsequent tragedies strike the family leaving Robert's widow Anne to make a drastic choice to avoid loosing her family home forever to a Cromwell supporter. As Julia matures, the story follows her life and marriage as Charles II returns to rule England and on through the plague and great fire of London.

Unfortunately, what should have been a ripping good story just falls a bit flat to this reader. The author spends way too much time on Julia's childhood experiences, I would have preferred to have the background told in flashbacks and have the story start off as Julia reaches maturity (note to self - never ever complain about an author's backtracking to past history after getting the story going), we didn't see Julia wed and in London as Charles is crowned King until well after the first half of the book. I also would have preferred to have Julia and Adam more involved in Charles' court and its intrigues instead of being side line players in the action. Lastly, as much as I enjoy an author setting the scene and describing the clothes, furnishings, etc. so that I have a good sense of time and place, Laker goes way over the top describing everything in too minute of a detail and I found myself skimming quite a bit through those lengthy descriptions.

All in all, a pleasantly entertaining book to read if you are interested in the period or a fan of the author, but certainly not the best to be read in this period and most definitely doesn't come close to the standard set by Kathleen Winsor's awesome Forever Amber. Three stars.

This was the first Laker book I read and, I have to say, it is amazing! The details about the house, the era, the dress, everything is just superb. After reading this I was really into furniture with hidden compartments and, of course, reading more Rosalind Laker novels. Her books will never go out of style!

A number of reviewers of this book have compared Benson's ghost stories to Montague Rhodes James - justifiably, since they were probably the two greatest Victorian authors of supernatural short stories after Sheridan LeFanu and Algernon Blackwood. But there are also differences, some subtle and some less so. For instance, James's stories, drawing heavily from his own experience, frequently have a whiff of the ecclesiastical or academic about them, while Benson's tend to center on the middle-class, often somewhat smug Englishman going about his daily routine with no greater concerns than what to have for dinner and what seaside resort to spend the summer in. James's supernatural creatures are almost always malignant and frequently solid, as in "Canon Alberic's Scrapbook" or "Mr. Poynter's Diary", while Benson's, while they can be heard, felt and occasionally smelt, tend to be more traditionally misty and sometimes more anguished than malevolent. As the useful introduction by Richard Dalby points out, the trademarks of Benson's stories (overbearing fathers, malice-filled women, men whose closest friendships seem to be with other men and for whom love of the opposite sex has disastrous consequences) tell us a great deal about him as a person, whereas about all one gets about James from his stories is that he had a great love of ancient manuscripts, was religious and was a profound scholar.

Another difference is that while James occasionally shows a bit of dry irony, Benson more clearly has a sense of humor. As other reviewers mentioned, he frequently inserts psychic interludes dealing with mediums, seances, and somewhat exasperated spirits, but he also points out that the mediums and seances depend on fraudulent tricks (especially in "Mr. Tilly's Seance," where the disembodied spirit itself gets irritated at the medium's chicanery). His attitude seems to be that mediums and spiritualists are less to blame than those who swallow their bait - if you want to believe that Aunt Martha has nothing better to do with her afterlife than answer your impertinent questions, he seems to say, don't ask me for sympathy! In stories like "Spinach," he betrays a clear affection for the likable young sibling mediums, even if they are clearly at least partly frauds. And in one of the book's most hair-raising stories, "How Fear Departed from the Long Gallery," centering on an ancient murder that will make any parent's skin crawl, he argues that the attitude of the other-worldly apparition may depend on how you approach it, not the other way around.

Having said that, the one thing James and Benson have in common that separates them from lesser hack writers is that in both cases, the persons who tell the story are likely to be pottering along in their daily lives, totally oblivious to signs of trouble, when something sudden and terrible comes out of the darkness and either almost overwhelms them and carries them off, or actually does so, never more terribly than in "The Face." For those whose acquaintance with Benson may be restricted to "Mrs. Amworth" and "The Man Who Went Too Far," both frequently reprinted in anthologies, this book will open up a whole new, and somewhat frightening, world.

Benson was a good friend of classic ghost-story writer M.R. James, and was among those present that Christmas Eve when James read aloud his first ghost stories.

Benson didn't have the genius or the highly literate background of James, but he did know how to write a good ghost tale, and he did just that. His stories, as has been mentioned elsewhere, deal largely with a man or two men going on holiday and finding horror instead. Women often get the worst of it in his stories, either being innocent victims or horrifyingly evil antagonists; it doesn't often happen that a woman in one of his stories is a regular person who helps to solve whatever mystery is entangling the characters.

One classic in the misogynist vein is "The Room in the Tower", in which a young man experiences a recurring nightmare of visiting a school friend, whose frightening mother always speaks the same words: "Jack will show you to your room; I've given you the room in the tower." Our protagonist knows that he must, at all costs, avoid that room, but he always awakes before the evil inside can overcome him.

"The Step" is one of the finest ghost stories ever written, about a heartless English businessman in Egypt who begins to hear someone following him down the street, at night... and what happens when he confronts his pursuer.

For those who, like me, love the ghost stories of the Victorian and Edwardian era, this is a must.

E.F. Benson, perhaps best known for his amusing 'Mapp & Lucia' comedy-of-manners stories also wrote a respectable body of ghost stories which are gathered together in this excellent omnibus anthology. All make for quality reading as examples of the English supernatural genre but a few stand out as darkly-luminous masterpieces, unforgettable in their haunting hold upon the reader and written with real verve. 'The Room In The Tower' is an undeniably chilling narrative of vampirism featuring a truly terrifying female revenant - the words spoken recurrently by Mrs Stone to the protaganist: "Jack will show you to your room: i have given you the room in the tower" are enough to instil a frisson of pervasive dread every time one reads this story. 'The Sanctuary' is a delectably macabre tale of damned souls and secret diabolism at an English country house complete with a hidden Satanic chapel for nocturnal celebrations of Le Messe Noir. 'The Man Who Went Too Far' unfolds by awful degrees the seductive but injudicious immersion of an artist in the deeps of nature mysticism which can only culminate in the most hideous revelation of truth and the sign of the cloven hoof - it is marvellously written, exquisite prose and descriptive passages and has a most beguiling undercurrent. 'The Cat' likewise is utterly engrossing and 'Mrs Amworth' stands as a unusual classsic of the vampire tale. But these are just a few of the delights this packed volume offers to the curious reader, there are many other marvellous tales to cause one to look over one's shoulder as the clock strikes twelve and a sighing midnight wind scrapes the twigs of an overhanging bough against the window. Quintessentially English, wrought with a delicious lightness of touch and a hint of a stylish insouciance but nevertheless conveying a genuinely disturbing charge of the uncanny these tales will be read again and again. E.F.Benson's contribution to the field of supernatural terror is of a very high standard. This anthology is well-worth obtaining.

I have been soaking up horror anthologies like a sponge for well over two years now. I would have thought I would tire of them, but I just can't get enough of the atmosphere and the gloom these types of tales relate.

My current favorite is this dense book compiling the supernatural tales of E.F. Benson. At the moment I am only about of a third of the way through. Perhaps I should wait until I finish, but judging by the variety of stories here, I feel safe to say that I highly recommend this hefty volume.

Many may find some of these tales a little dated, for science may have disspelled a few of the subjects covered. But for the most part these are timeless tales, rich in description, drenched in dark moods and never failing to surprise with the seemingly endless ways Benson appears to construct a solid ghost story cleverly and elegantly.

I'm not given to superlatives, but I find it hard to express anything to say about this book where superlatives or comarisons to the greatest writers of this genre without seeming trite. There ARE a few contemporary authors of the Victorian-Edwardian Era, which the Benson Brothers bridged, who have a story or even several better than many in this collection, but just mentioning these names says more about how great E.F Benson is- I'm talking about J.S Le Fanu, M.R James, Villiers D'Isle Adam and in the modern era, the list is even more impressive: Flannery O'Conner, Thomas Liggoti, Clive Barker, Issac Bashevis Singer and Peter Straub(who has quietly taken over the crown as America's Horror Short Story king with two masterpieces "Houses Without Doors", "Magic Terror" and several novellas masquerading as novels). I urge you to read E.F Benson's Book of Ghost Tales, then demand that some publisher do a public serviced and re-publish Benson's two nearly(?)as talented brothers R.H and A.C Benson who, from the few tales I've read in anthologies and old magazines may well be as good or,dare I say it?...even better.

I bought about ten of these because they are so easy to carry around and are printed with easy to read type and sell at a very good price. I have many other editions of Shakespeare's plays but these are perfect for what I wanted. I have lots of other editions with introductions, evaluations, etc. and I don't really need that in my bag. These editions are a great way to read the plays without carrying around five pounds of book!

this is shakespeare's most accessible comedy. it's a farce about mistaken identities among identical twins. nothing complicated here. the play has it's funny moments. it's not the bard's best comedy; that's 'much ado about nothing', imho. but this is not a bad place to start.

Shakespeare's vision grew tremendously over the course of his writing career. However, this play demonstrates that his uncanny power as an artist grew quickly and was present in some form from the very begining. It is exceedingly hard to buy the common notion that this was his first comedy when it is so much better than "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" in nearly every way. The dialogue is fast paced and screamingly funny. The characters interesting if broad and there are some surprising touches that, aside from being interesting in and of themselves, point down the road to later, darker comedies. Chief among these is the amazing opening, perhaps still unequaled in all comedy for the level of grimness. These are the first words uttered in a play long seen as a kind of sitcom of Shakespeare's plays: "Proceed, Solinus, to procure my fall, and by the doom of death end woes and all." The speaker is Egeon, a merchant about to be put to death for simply coming from the wrong country. The whole first scene feels like a cloud is hanging over it and there is a sense of fear-infused urgency that catches the mind off guard and makes the joyous, lunatic story all the more welcome while at the same time coloring it with real drama, making it all the more exciting. To be sure, there is little real depth and much of the play is like a sitcom but only the best of sitcoms and perhaps "Monty Python" at their most absurd is a better comparison. The plot is well chosen (from the Roman comic dramatist Plautus) and well handled. For some reason the play is not well known even among the early comedies which is a shame. It is probably the best of them, even surpassing the wonderful "The Taming of the Shrew". Aside from being an easy read, keep in mind the play is good to perform as it holds up well and doesn't suffer from being tinkered with. I've seen one production that was mostly straightforward but did a few weird things that worked like magic. They would've sunk almost any other Shakespeare comedy. I must also mention the last moment between the two clowns. It is as heart-warming and humane as it is funny. The master is already present AND growing. Do yourself a favor and pick up this play, you'll laugh your head off!

I recently re-read THE COMEDY OF ERRORS prior to attending The Colorado Shakespeare Festival's performance of this farce-like play under the summer stars here in Boulder. Based on Menaechmi by Plautus, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) produced this romantic comedy between the years 1592-93 and published it in the First Folio in 1623. While on its surface this early play may seem superficial and frivolous when measured against KING LEAR or HAMLET, it is not without its own unique depths. It also shows that the Bard had a sense of humor. It tells the hilarious story of two, identical twin brothers (Antipholus of Syracuse and Antipholus of Ephesus) and their identical twin servants (both named Dromio), all of whom were separated at sea during their infancy until redisdovering each other through a series of madcap mix-ups, mayhem, and mistaken identities in the apparently insane town of Epheseus. Meanwhile, Egeon (the father of the Antipholus twins), has been granted a day to raise local ransom for illegally entering Ephesus. In that day, the separated twins are reunited, Antipholus of Ephesus pays his father's ransom, and Egeon discovers his long-lost wife (Aemilia) living in the local priory. In the end, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS is as much about the power of family as the search for completing oneself. It is a play that reminds me that it is perhaps better to re-read and understand Shakespeare than to devour one bestseller after the next.

G. Merritt

One of the problems that great artists present to us is where to begin in getting to know their works. Their masterworks are often so full of what they have spent a lifetime developing that most of it is lost on those who have not yet put in a significant amount of effort becoming familiar with that artist's style and means of expression. Yet, if one begins with their apprentice works one may become discouraged because they lack the miracles of the masterworks. So, where does one begin?

Shakespeare offers the reader an additional challenge of an English that is removed in style and idiom from us by 400 years. It is not an insurmountable challenge. In fact, it is quite easy to overcome with a bit of time reading it and getting into the flow. It just seems strange in the beginning, but it really does become easy to read once you spend some time with it. However, getting over that small hill has kept many from enjoying the glories of Shakespeare.

This play, "The Comedy of Errors", is clearly an early work. It has many virtues, but despite them it does not offer much of what we really value in Shakespeare. It is a very fine play and is constructed very well. It is a wonderful first work to read of Shakespeare because it is short and has a very simple plot. The new reader does not have to spend much effort contemplating characters or the immense subtlety of language of the great works. Its charms are direct and what it has to offer is pretty much on the surface of the words.

The plot is, like all farces, ridiculous. It involves twin brothers who are served by twin slaves. They are separated early in life and when the play opens one set does not know the other exists. One set (the Antipholus and Dromio from Syracuse) visits Ephesus where the other set (the Antipholus and Dromio of Ephesus) lives. The play involves people confusing the two sets to the bewilderment of those suffering from the confusion. It really is quite funny. Of course, eventually, all is resolved to everyone's delight.

This edition, like all of the individual editions Arden offers of these plays, has a wonderful opening essay that offers a great deal of background on the play including a discussion of its performance history, sources, and discussion of the play itself. The appendices in the back offer excerpts from the sources and some brief information on the Gray's Inn performance of 1594.

If you desire to study Shakespeare and are willing to spend time reading many of his plays, "The Comedy of Errors" is a good work to start with just to ease into the language and get a feel for some of the conventions of Elizabethan theater. Just don't stop here. Shakespeare has so much more to offer that you owe it to yourself to continue your exploration of this supreme artist.