The Casuarina Tree

The Casuarina Tree
Author: WILLIAM SOMERSET. MAUGHAM
Publisher: E-Artnow
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-08-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9788027303113

The Casuarina Tree is a collection of short stories set in the Federated Malay States during the 1920s by W. Somerset Maugham. The stories are loosely based on Maugham's experiences traveling in the region for about a year. The strong thread running through the stories is alienation and contrast - between people and cultures. For most of the characters, after a crisis in their circumstances, life seems to take up where it left off and closes over the revelations that brought on the drama. Maugham was considered persona non grata among the expatriate British community in the Federated Malay States following the publication of The Casuarina Tree as he was felt to have betrayed confidences and to have painted the community in an unflattering light through his focus on scandal. The major themes are class division, racial difference, adultery, personal competitiveness, and human nature in reaction to fate. Contents: - Before the Party - P. & O. - The Outstation - The Force of Circumstance - The Yellow Streak - The Letter

The Casuarina Tree

The Casuarina Tree
Author: W. Somerset Maugham
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2022-01-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1504068734

A collection of six stories—including the acclaimed “The Outstation”—by the renowned twentieth-century author of the classic Of Human Bondage. Set in the Federated Malay States during the 1920s, these stories portray the lives of the English living abroad and the clashes that occur with the native Malaysians—and among themselves. In “Before the Party,” a widow who lies about the cause of her husband’s death in Borneo is confronted by her family and blithely reveals the truth of his untimely death. “P. & O.” follows a woman sailing home to England to seek a divorce; struggling with fears of aging and loneliness, she finds a way to be at peace with herself after a fellow passenger succumbs to a mysterious illness. Though in Borneo for decades, a British Resident Officer holds tightly to English customs and traditions, but his snobbery and classism come under attack when he is saddled with a boorish new assistant in “The Outstation.” In “The Force of Circumstance,” the new marriage of a British official and his wife reaches a breaking point when she learns of his not-so-secret past in Sembulu. “The Yellow Streak” follows two British men who are swept away by a tidal bore on a river in Borneo; though they both survive, one is nearly driven to madness by his suspicions that his companion knows he left him to drown. “The Letter” opens in Singapore with a British woman accused of murder in an act of self-defense; when evidence comes to light that proves she is lying, her lawyer and her husband must face their convictions—and the woman they thought they knew . . .

Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan

Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan
Author: Toru Dutt
Publisher: Graphic Arts Books
Total Pages: 86
Release: 2021-09-28
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 1513212044

Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan (1882) is a collection of poems by Toru Dutt. Compiled after her death and published in London, Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan is an invaluable work of art from a pioneering figure in Indian history and Bengali literature. Born in Calcutta to a family of Bengali Christians, Toru Dutt was raised at the crossroads of English and Indian cultures. In addition to her native Bengali, she became fluent in English, French, and Sanskrit as a young girl, eventually writing novels and poems in each language. Despite her limited body of work, Dutt’s legacy as a groundbreaking writer remains firm in India and around the world. “Savitri was the only child / Of Madra's wise and mighty king; / Stern warriors, when they saw her, smiled, / As mountains smile to see the spring.” In rhyming English verse, Bengali poet Toru Dutt presents some of the oldest and most sacred stories from ancient India. Translated from Sanskrit into the popular ballad form, Dutt introduces an English audience to the story of Savitri, originally from the epic Mahabharata, as well as the tale of Lakshman, which comes from the Hindu epic Ramayana. Alongside these poems appear Dutt’s versions of Bengali folklore—“Joghadhya Uma”—and poems written during her stay in Europe. “Near Hastings” is a particularly beautiful example of her original verse depicting an otherworldly encounter along the English seacoast: “Near Hastings, on the shingle-beach, / We loitered at the time / When ripens on the wall the peach, / The autumn's lovely prime.” With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Toru Dutt’s Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan is a classic work of Bengali literature reimagined for modern readers.

I Know Where I Am When I'm Falling

I Know Where I Am When I'm Falling
Author: Amanda Holmes
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2014-05-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1783333227

Opening in 1969 in New England, I KNOW WHERE I AM WHEN I'M FALLING is as rich in relationships as the colours and textures of the time. Ruby Lambert, is the eldest daughter in the eccentric Lambert family who get caught up in the life of Angus Aleshire, a charming, smart and athletic boy who they try to help and who shares Ruby's unconventional bent and love of the piano. Ruby and Angus fall in love but Angus has a dark side. His boyish charms start to wear thin losing him family and friends along the way and when his clever schemes and misbehavior get him in trouble, culminating with an art heist, he tries even Ruby’s love for him. The story spans thirteen years, and poses uncomfortable questions about the blindness of love, nurture versus nature and life through rose tinted glasses. Ruby struggles to square her vision of Angus’s potential with the unsettling and mounting reality.

In Defense of Plants

In Defense of Plants
Author: Matt Candeias
Publisher: Mango Media Inc.
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2021-03-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1642504548

The Study of Plants in a Whole New Light “Matt Candeias succeeds in evoking the wonder of plants with wit and wisdom.” ―James T. Costa, PhD, executive director, Highlands Biological Station and author of Darwin's Backyard #1 New Release in Nature & Ecology, Plants, Botany, Horticulture, Trees, Biological Sciences, and Nature Writing & Essays In his debut book, internationally-recognized blogger and podcaster Matt Candeias celebrates the nature of plants and the extraordinary world of plant organisms. A botanist’s defense. Since his early days of plant restoration, this amateur plant scientist has been enchanted with flora and the greater environmental ecology of the planet. Now, he looks at the study of plants through the lens of his ever-growing houseplant collection. Using gardening, houseplants, and examples of plants around you, In Defense of Plants changes your relationship with the world from the comfort of your windowsill. The ruthless, horny, and wonderful nature of plants. Understand how plants evolve and live on Earth with a never-before-seen look into their daily drama. Inside, Candeias explores the incredible ways plants live, fight, have sex, and conquer new territory. Whether a blossoming botanist or a professional plant scientist, In Defense of Plants is for anyone who sees plants as more than just static backdrops to more charismatic life forms. In this easily accessible introduction to the incredible world of plants, you’ll find: • Fantastic botanical histories and plant symbolism • Passionate stories of flora diversity and scientific names of plant organisms • Personal tales of plantsman discovery through the study of plants If you enjoyed books like The Botany of Desire, What a Plant Knows, or The Soul of an Octopus, then you’ll love In Defense of Plants.

Traditional Trees of Pacific Islands

Traditional Trees of Pacific Islands
Author: Craig R. Elevitch
Publisher: PAR
Total Pages: 818
Release: 2006
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 0970254458

"This book is for the person who lives in the tropics or subtropics and is interested in native plants, who wants to know about plants that are useful, who loves to watch plants grow, and who is willing to work with them. Such a person might ask questions like, Where will they grow? How do I grow them? Are they good to eat? How are they used? What are their names? These questions and more are answered here."--Préface