England in the early part of the twentieth century was rich in utopian ventures - diverse and intriguing in their scope and aims. Two world wars, an economic depression, and the emergence of fascist states in Europe were all a spur to idealists to seek new limits - to escape from the here and now, and to create sanctuaries for new and better lives. Dennis Hardy explores this fascinating history of utopian ideals, the lives of those who pursued them, and the utopian communities they created. Some communities were fired by a long tradition of land movements, others by thoughts of more humane ways of building towns. In turn there were experiments devoted to the arts; to the promotion of religious doctrine; and to a variety of political causes. And some were just 'places of the imagination'. Utopian England is about just one episode in the perennial search for perfection, but what is revealed has lessons that extend well beyond a particular time and place. So long as there are failings in society, so long as rationality is not enough, there will continue to be a place for thinking the impossible, for going in search of utopia.
To celebrate the centenary of the first garden city at Letchworth, the Town and Country Planning Association has performed a service to planners everywhere by initiating the republication in facsimile form of the very scarce original first edition of To-Morrow. Accompanied by a running scholarly commentary on the text, and by a newly-written editorial introduction and postscript, jointly written by three leading commentators on Howard's life and work To-Morrow will immediately become a compulsory purchase for every serious student and practitioner of planning and for teachers and students of modern social, economic and political history.
An exploration of Hardy's linguistic "awkwardness", a subject that has long puzzled critics. Dennis Taylor's study shows that Hardy's language must be understood as a distinctive response to the philological and literary issues of his time, including the founding of the "Oxford English Dictionary".
Dennis Lehane returns to the streets of Mystic River with this love story wrapped in a crime story wrapped in a journey of faith—the basis for the major motion picture The Drop, from Fox Searchlight Pictures directed by Michaël Roskam, screenplay by Dennis Lehane, and starring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, and James Gandolfini. Three days after Christmas, a lonely bartender looking for a reason to live rescues an abused puppy from a trash can and meets a damaged woman looking for something to believe in. As their relationship grows, they cross paths with the Chechen mafia; a man grown dangerous with age and thwarted hopes; two hapless stick-up artists; a very curious cop; and the original owner of the puppy, who wants his dog back. . . .
When sixteen-year-old Nathan Nathan was transported in one of the first convict ships to Australia, it was the best thing that could have happened; not only for him but, later, for all of his nine children and numerous members of his extended family who saw their future in the Antipodes. They all made good and some eventually returned to England - not to the impoverished East End, where it had all started, but to large houses in fashionable parts of London. Their various stories are the stuff of fiction. Dennis Hardy has written various books, on topics ranging from utopian communities to holiday camps; from cities of the Mediterranean to a new town in Australia. But this time he has looked to his own ancestors for inspiration. In the course of the diaspora, they moved from country to country, escaping anti-Semitism in its various forms. He asks why so many then found their way to England? Was this to be their own version of the promised land? Far from being a traditional family history, this is about the timeless journey of Jews in search of peace and freedom. England has proved to be a tolerant society and the Jewish community has generally fared well. Its people have been able to get on with their lives. But recent examples of anti-Semitism offer a chilling reminder that the old enemy has not disappeared. Writing this book has been an opportunity to put this in context; to show that this is nothing new, and one must be forever alert. The narrative is about the future as well as the past.
Now available with a contemporary look, a must-have collection of riveting short stories from the New York Times bestselling author of Mystic River and Shutter Island. “Locations are vivid and crisp, characters are memorable and, most importantly, the story lines dig into you and leave their mark.” —Boston Herald When it comes to contemporary crime fiction there’s no territory quite as dangerous and unpredictable as that of New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane. These five short stories and a play are Lehane at his visceral best. In “Running Out of Dog,” a vet returning from Vietnam is asked to redirect the violent skills he learned overseas to deal with his hometown’s rampant population of strays. “ICU” follows a hunted man who finds refuge in the oddest place imaginable. Surprises await a gang of Texas high-school football jocks who lay siege to a luxury home in the suburbs in “Gone Down to Corpus.” And in “Mushrooms,” a simple theft triggers a series of murders that forces a disillusioned young girl to consider her next move. This collection also includes “Until Gwen” and its stage adaptation, Coronado, which expands on the trenchant tale of a morally bankrupt conman father, his ill-fated son, and the woman they have in common. In Lehane’s capable hands, each story faces unflinchingly the darkest depths of the human experience—sin and redemption, loss and longing, flesh and blood—delivering a knockout punch that’ll have readers reeling.
Goodnight Campers! traces the development of the British holiday camp from its origins at the turn of the century and tells the complete story of a fascinating part of our popular culture.
For a limited time, read New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River for a reduced price, and receive the first two chapters of his last bestseller, Moonlight Mile. In Mystic River, when they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus, and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car pulled up to their street. One boy got into the car, two did not, and something terrible happened—something that ended their friendship and changed all three boys forever. Now, years later, murder has tied their lives together again . . .
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