Harper Collins Publishers — Knigausa Bookstore: Russian Books

Harper.Fall of gondolin

Fri, 31 May 2024 22:27:08 +0000

Painstakingly restored from Tolkien’s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a standalone work, the epic tale of The Fall of Gondolin will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, Balrogs, Dragons and Orcs and the rich landscape and creatures unique to Tolkien’s Middle-earth. In the Tale of The Fall of Gondolin are two of the greatest powers in the world. There is Morgoth of the uttermost evil, unseen in this story but ruling over a vast military power from his fortress of Angband. Deeply opposed to Morgoth is Ulmo, second in might only to Manwe, chief of the Valar. Central to this enmity of the gods is the city of Gondolin, beautiful but undiscoverable. It was built and peopled by Noldorin Elves who, when they dwelt in Valinor, the land of the gods, rebelled against their rule and fled to Middle-earth. Turgon King of Gondolin is hated and feared above all his enemies by Morgoth, who seeks in vain to discover the marvellously hidden city, while the gods in Valinor in heated debate largely refuse to intervene in support of Ulmo’s desires and designs. Into this world comes Tuor, cousin of Turin, the instrument of Ulmo’s designs. Guided unseen by him Tuor sets out from the land of his birth on the fearful journey to Gondolin, and in one of the most arresting moments in the history of Middle-earth the sea-god himself appears to him, rising out of the ocean in the midst of a storm. In Gondolin he becomes great; he is wedded to Idril, Turgon’s daughter, and their son is Earendel, whose birth and profound importance in days to come is foreseen by Ulmo. At last comes the terrible ending. Morgoth learns through an act of supreme treachery all that he needs to mount a devastating attack on the city, with Balrogs and dragons and numberless Orcs. After a minutely observed account of the fall of Gondolin, the tale ends with the escape of Tuor and Idril, with the child Earendel, looking back from a cleft in the mountains as they flee southward, at the blazing wreckage of their city. They were journeying into a new story, the Tale of Earendel, which Tolkien never wrote, but which is sketched out in this book from other sources. Following his presentation of Beren and Luthien Christopher Tolkien has used the same «history in sequence» mode in the writing of this edition of The Fall of Gondolin. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, it was «the first real story of this imaginary world» and, together with Beren and Luthien and The Children of Hurin, he regarded it as one of the three «Great Tales» of the Elder Days.

Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, together with Sellic Spell

Tue, 21 May 2024 09:04:04 +0000

The translation of Beowulf by J.R.R. Tolkien was an early work, very distinctive in its mode, completed in 1926: he returned to it later to make hasty corrections, but seems never to have considered its publication. This edition is twofold, for there exists an illuminating commentary on the text of the poem by the translator himself, in the written form of a series of lectures given at Oxford in the 1930s; and from these lectures a substantial selection has been made, to form also a commentary on the translation in this book. From his creative attention to detail in these lectures there arises a sense of the immediacy and clarity of his vision. It is as if he entered into the imagined past: standing beside Beowulf and his men shaking out their mail-shirts as they beached their ship on the coast of Denmark, listening to the rising anger of Beowulf at the taunting of Unferth, or looking up in amazement at Grendel’s terrible hand set under the roof of Heorot. But the commentary in this book includes also much from those lectures in which, while always anchored in the text, he expressed his wider perceptions. He looks closely at the dragon that would slay Beowulf ‘snuffling in baffled rage and injured greed when he discovers the theft of the cup’ but he rebuts the notion that this is ‘a mere treasure story’, ‘another dragon tale’. He turns to the lines that tell of the burying of the golden things long ago, and observes that it is ‘the feeling for the treasure itself, this sad history’ that raises it to another level. ‘The whole thing is sombre, tragic, sinister, curiously real. The «treasure» is not just some lucky wealth that will enable the finder to have a good time, or marry the princess. It is laden with history, leading back into the dark heathen ages beyond the memory of song, but not beyond the reach of imagination.’ Sellic Spell, a ‘marvellous tale’, is a story written by Tolkien suggesting what might have been the form and style of an Old English folk-tale of Beowulf, in which there was no association with the ‘historical legends’ of the Northern kingdoms. Читать дальше…

Paddington Helps Out

Sun, 19 May 2024 15:31:04 +0000

«Oh dear,» said Paddington, as everyone turned to look at him accusingly. «I’m in trouble again.» Somehow trouble comes naturally to Paddington. What other bear could upset the whole cinema by standing on his seat to boo the ‘bad guy’ in the cowboy film? Or drip ice-cream on the people down below? Or flood the launderette and saw Mr Curry’s kitchen into little pieces? Only Paddington! But when Paddington’s head is so full of ideas, some things are bound to go wrong! Читать дальше…

Children of Hurin (B) illustr.

Sat, 18 May 2024 13:12:03 +0000

Painstakingly restored from Tolkien’s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a fully continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of The Children of Hurin will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, eagles and Orcs, and the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien. There are tales of Middle-earth from times long before The Lord of the Rings, and the story told in this book is set in the great country that lay beyond the Grey Havens in the West: lands where Treebeard once walked, but which were drowned in the great cataclysm that ended the First Age of the World. In that remote time Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in the vast fortress of Angband, the Hells of Iron, in the North; and the tragedy of Turin and his sister Nienor unfolded within the shadow of the fear of Angband and the war waged by Morgoth against the lands and secret cities of the Elves. Their brief and passionate lives were dominated by the elemental hatred that Morgoth bore them as the children of Hurin, the man who had dared to defy and to scorn him to his face. Against them he sent his most formidable servant, Glaurung, a powerful spirit in the form of a huge wingless dragon of fire. Into this story of brutal conquest and flight, of forest hiding-places and pursuit, of resistance with lessening hope, the Dark Lord and the Dragon enter in direly articulate form. Sardonic and mocking, Glaurung manipulated the fates of Turin and Nienor by lies of diabolic cunning and guile, and the curse of Morgoth was fulfilled. The earliest versions of this story by J.R.R. Tolkien go back to the end of the First World War and the years that followed; but long afterwards, when The Lord of the Rings was finished, he wrote it anew and greatly enlarged it in complexities of motive and character: it became the dominant story in his later work on Middle-earth. But he could not bring it to a final and finished form. In this book Christopher Tolkien has constructed, after long study of the manuscripts, a coherent narrative without any editorial invention.Читать дальше…

Paddington on Top

Sun, 04 Feb 2024 20:24:03 +0000

The irresistible paddington bear, who was found on paddington station, returns in this reissued novel, with a brand new cover design. Up until now, paddington has managed to avoid school. But the inspector himself catches up with him and packs him off. After one day, even the teacher wonders whether there is anything he can teach a certain bear from darkest peru. And when it comes to dancing the rumba as always, paddington takes the cake!stories of paddington bear have delighted children all over the world for more than fifty years.

More About Paddington

Sat, 03 Feb 2024 13:15:02 +0000

As Paddington says himself, «Things happen to me — I’m that sort of bear.» With his attempts at home decorating, detective work and photography, the Brown family soon find that Paddington causes his own particular brand of chaos.’I’ve always had great respect for Paddington… He is a British institution.’ Stephen Fry.

The Song Of Achilles (Песнь Ахилла)

Sun, 28 Jan 2024 11:00:39 +0000

Аннотация к книге «Song of Achilles» Miller M.:A New York Times Bestseller»At once a scholar’s homage to The Iliad and startlingly original work of art….A book I could not put down.» —Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch HouseA thrilling, profoundly moving, and utterly unique retelling of the legend of Achilles and the Trojan War from the bestselling author of CirceA tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer’s enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously conceived and executed page-turner, Miller’s monumental debut novel has already earned resounding acclaim from some of contemporary fiction’s brightest lights—and fans of Mary Renault, Bernard Cornwell, Steven Pressfield, and Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series will delight in this unforgettable journey back to ancient Greece in the Age of Heroes.»A captivating retelling of The Iliad and events leading up to it through the point of view of Patroclus: it’s a hard book to put down, and any classicist will be enthralled by her characterisation of the goddess Thetis, which carries the true savagery and chill of antiquity.» — Donna Tartt, The Times Читать дальше…

Harper.Complete Chronicles of Narnia HB

Sat, 16 Dec 2023 10:03:03 +0000

«The Chronicles of Narnia» have enchanted millions of readers over the last sixty years and the magical events described in C.S.Lewis’s immortal prose have left many a lasting memory. For here is a world where a witch decrees eternal winter, where there are more talking animals than people, and where battles are fought by Centaurs, Giants and Fauns. Now all seven Chronicles are bound together in this one magnificent volume with a personal introduction by Douglas Gresham, stepson of C.S.Lewis. Pauline Baynes’ original and much-loved illustrations have been made even more memorable by the addition of colour. This spectacular gift edition will guarantee that C.S.Lewis’s timeless world of Narnia will catch the imagination of yet another generation of readers.

The two towers. The Lord of Rings. №2. Tolkien J.R.R.

Sat, 22 Jul 2023 11:30:03 +0000

‘The Two Towers’ is the second part of JRR Tolkien’s epic masterpiece ‘The Lord of the Rings’. This paperback edition has the classic black cover featuring Tolkien’s own design and includes the definitive edition of the text. The Company of the Ring is sundered. Frodo and Sam continue their journey alone down the great River Anduin — alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go…JRR Tolkien’s great work of imaginative fiction has been labelled both a heroic romance and a classic fantasy fiction. By turns comic and homely, epic and diabolic, the narrative moves through countless changes of scene and character in an imaginary world which is totally convincing in its detail. Tolkien created a vast new mythology in an invented world which has proved timeless in its appeal. Part of a set of three paperbacks, this popular edition is once again available in its classic black livery designed by Tolkien himself.

Paddington at the Carnival (PB) illustr.

Sun, 02 Jul 2023 09:32:27 +0000

The irresistible Paddington Bear, who was found on Paddington station, returns in this re-issued picture book with an eye-catching new cover design It’s Springtime again and Mr Gruber is taking Paddington down to the canal to join in the the fun at the Spring Carnival. Hoping to win a boat ride for two, the friends enter the Busy Bee Adventure Trail. Paddington soon discovers that he’s very good at spotting things beginning with the letter B, but it seems that he’s not the only one with his eye on the prize! Читать дальше…