Books with author Matthew Lloyd Davies

Hours before his wedding, fifteen-year-old Conrad, heir to the house of Otranto, is crushed to death. His father, Manfred, Lord of Otranto, sees only one recourse to protect the family lineage. He will divorce his wife and marry the boy’s bride-to-be. Her wishes be damned.When the fearful and resistant Isabella takes flight, Manfred follows in mad pursuit. But it is he who must outrun a greater fear: a curse cast on his family generations ago.In 1764, with its wild-eyed tyrant, virtuous damsel, secret passages, and supernatural omens, The Castle of Otranto ushered in a new literary genre: the gothic novel.Revised edition: Previously published as The Castle of Otranto, this edition of The Castle of Otranto (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.

The latest Scandinavian publishing phenomenon is not a Stieg Larsson-like thriller; it's a book about chopping, stacking, and burning wood that has sold more than 200,000 copies in Norway and Sweden and has been a fixture on the bestseller lists there for more than a year. Norwegian Wood provides useful advice on the rustic hows and whys of taking care of your heating needs, but it's also a thoughtful attempt to understand man's age-old predilection for stacking wood and passion for open fires. An intriguing window into the exoticism of Scandinavian culture, the book also features enough inherently interesting facts and anecdotes and inspired prose to make it universally appealing.This U.S. edition is a fully updated version of the Norwegian original.

Who invented beds? When did we start cleaning our teeth? How old are wine and beer? Which came first: the toilet seat or toilet paper? What was the first clock? Every day, from the moment our alarm clock wakes us in the morning until our head hits our pillow at night, we all take part in rituals that are millennia old.Structured around one ordinary day, A Million Years in a Day reveals the astonishing origins and development of the daily practices we take for granted. In this gloriously entertaining romp through human history, Greg Jenner explores the gradual and often unexpected evolution of our daily routines. This is not a story of politics, wars, or great events. Instead, Jenner has scoured Roman rubbish bins, Egyptian tombs, and Victorian sewers to bring us the most intriguing, surprising, and sometimes downright silly nuggets from our past.Drawn from across the world, spanning a million years of humanity, this book is a smorgasbord of historical delights. It is a history of all those things you always wondered-and many you have never considered. It is the story of your life, one million years in the making.

When Ben receives a mysterious invitation to an odd museum, he’s swept into a peculiar world of forgotten secrets and wild magic in this illustrated novel.The invitation to the Gee Museum was delivered by bees. It wasn’t addressed to anyone, but Ben knows that it was meant for him. Why else would the images on the postcard have stirred up memories of his father, who was lost at sea long ago? Ben makes his way to the old dilapidated building to find a host of curious talking animals awaiting his arrival. They are certain he is the only one who can save the museum. But Ben and the animals in the Gee collection will have to outwit a devious rival museum owner and a greedy land developer. With a bit of luck, some strange magic, and a little help from his mom, Ben might succeed in ensuring the future of the museum — and finding the answers about his father that he’s been searching for his whole life. Helen Cooper’s first novel brims with mystery and hope, and her lovely illustrations bring the wonders of the Gee Museum to life.

A metallic cylinder falls to earth, landing in the sands of Horsell Common, Surrey, generating curiosity and awe. But what’s inside soon induces only terror. The story that unfolds is a breathless first-person account of an inconceivable reality: an extraterrestrial war has been waged on the planet. In a twist on cautionary turn-of-the-century invasion literature, H. G. Wells posits the Martian attack as an insurmountable apocalyptic event. The first of its kind and a foundational work, The War of the Worlds inspired a radio broadcast, television shows, graphic novels, and countless films; roused the imagination and stirred anxieties; and changed the landscape of science fiction for generations.AmazonClassics brings you timeless works from the masters of storytelling. Ideal for anyone who wants to read a great work for the first time or rediscover an old favorite, these new editions open the door to literature’s most unforgettable characters and beloved worlds.Revised edition: Previously published as The War of the Worlds, this edition of The War of the Worlds (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.

In 1632 an entire convent in the small French village of Loudun was apparently possessed by the devil. After a sensational and celebrated trial, the convent's charismatic priest Urban Grandier-accused of spiritually and sexually seducing the nuns in his charge-was convicted of being in league with Satan. Then he was burned at the stake for witchcraft.A remarkable true story of religious and sexual obsession, The Devils of Loudon is considered by many to be Brave New World author Aldous Huxley's nonfiction masterpiece.

When Ben receives a mysterious invitation to an odd museum, he's swept into a peculiar world of forgotten secrets and wild magic in this illustrated novel. The invitation to the Gee Museum was delivered by bees. It wasn't addressed to anyone, but Ben knows that it was meant for him. Why else would the images on the postcard have stirred up memories of his father, who was lost at sea long ago? Ben makes his way to the old dilapidated building to find a host of curious talking animals awaiting his arrival. They are certain he is the only one who can save the museum. But Ben and the animals in the Gee collection will have to outwit a devious rival museum owner and a greedy land developer. With a bit of luck, some strange magic, and a little help from his mom, Ben might succeed in ensuring the future of the museum - and finding the answers about his father that he's been searching for his whole life. Helen Cooper's first novel brims with mystery and hope, and her lovely illustrations bring the wonders of the Gee Museum to life.

One World Now seamlessly integrates major developments of the past decade into Peter Singer's classic text on the ethics of globalization, One World. Singer, often described as the world's most influential philosopher, here addresses such essential concerns as climate change, economic globalization, foreign aid, human rights, immigration, and the responsibility to protect people from genocide and crimes against humanity, whatever country they may be in. Every issue is considered from an ethical perspective. This thoughtful and important study poses bold challenges to narrow nationalistic views and offers valuable alternatives to the state-centric approach that continues to dominate ethics and international theory. Singer argues powerfully that we cannot solve the world's problems at a national level, and shows how we should build on developments that are already transcending national differences. This is an instructive and necessary work that confronts head-on both the perils and the potentials inherent in globalization.