Alma Books – The Bell Bookshop

Across Sicily With Garibaldi’s Thousand

Emma — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The 1860 Expedition of the Thousand, in which a group of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto, near Genoa, landing on the west coast of Sicily and advancing to its capital Palermo in a bid to liberate the island from Bourbon rule, is perhaps the defining moment of the unification of Italy, and a testament to the bravery, resilience and vision of the country’s last condottiere.

Drawing on a wealth of contemporary diaries and other first-hand accounts by the protagonists of the events, and interspersing them with his own penetrating remarks, best-selling author Tim Parks retraces the journey of the “Mille” through the ragged landscape of Sicily under the blazing summer heat, bringing back to life an entire world in all its intricate complexity. Along the way he revisits old controversies and provides answers to many unresolved questions – as well as offering a vivid commentary on the Italy of today.

Supernatural Tales

Emma — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Alongside his celebrated Gothic horror story ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, this volume contains all of Robert Louis Stevenson’s supernatural tales, showcasing both his mastery of the genre and his interest in the otherworldly and the weird ways the human brain can distort reality.

Also included are ‘The Body Snatcher’, the chilling tale of an avenging ghost; ‘Olalla’, one of the great horror stories in the English language and possibly one of the best werewolf stories ever written, and ‘The Waif Woman’, in which Stevenson tries to recreate the style of an Icelandic saga and explore the destructive effects of greed.

Contents: ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, ‘Markheim’, ‘Thrawn Janet’, ‘Olalla’, ‘The Bottle Imp’, ‘The Isle of Voices’, ‘The Body Snatcher’, ‘The Waif Woman’

ABOUT ALMA CLASSICS: Alma Classics is committed to making available a wide range of literature from around the globe. Most of the titles are enriched by an extensive critical apparatus, notes and extra reading material, as well as a selection of photographs. The texts are based on the most authoritative edition and edited using a fresh, accessible editorial approach. With an emphasis on production, editorial and typographical values, Alma Classics aspires to revitalize the whole experience of reading classics.

The Fantastic Tales of Fitz-James O’Brien

Emma — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In the field of supernatural and fantastic literature, certain names come readily to mind – E.T.A. Hoffmann, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft – but that of Fitz-James O’Brien has been unjustly overlooked and nearly forgotten since his premature death in 1862, during the American Civil War.

‘The Diamond Lens’, O’Brien’s most famous short story, can be regarded as a forerunner of modern science fiction; ‘What Was It?’ is said to have served as a model for H.G. Wells’s The Invisible Man; and ‘The Wondersmith’ is a marvellous tale of Hoffmannesque invention. Taken together, O’Brien’s stories give him an important place in the development of American fiction and remain as fresh today as when they were first written more than a hundred and fifty years ago.

Contents: ‘The Pot of Tulips’, ‘The Dragon Fang Possessed by the Conjuror Piou-lu’, ‘Seeing the World’, ‘The Diamond Lens’, ‘The Lost Room’, ‘The Wondersmith’, ‘What Was It?

Supernatural short stories

Emma — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

One of the main forces in early nineteenth-century literature, Sir Walter Scott was not
only among the greatest novelists of his time, but influenced generations of writers,
including literary giants such as Stendhal and Tolstoy. Though chiefly remembered
for his historical epics Ivanhoe, Rob Roy and Guy Mannering, Scott penned a
number of short stories which have been unjustly eclipsed by the enduring fame of
his longer works.

Mostly set in the Highlands of Scotland and presenting a vast array of memorable
characters, the stories in this collection are tinged with an element of the
supernatural or explore themes of murder and guilt, revealing the author’s great
talent in the shorter-fiction form. This volume also includes a long excerpt from
Scott’s Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft, which questions how much credit can
be given to ghost stories and alleged supernatural occurrences.

Another literary tour of Italy

Emma — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Following the critical and commercial success of A Literary Tour of Italy, acclaimed novelist Tim Parks presents a new selection of his latest essays on Italian literature, offering a lively, accessible and stimulating diorama of the cultural landscape of Italy.Containing pieces on major figures such as Dante, Machiavelli, Leopardi and Manzoni, as well as articles on some of Italy’s best-known modern authors – from Pirandello and Pavese to Pasolini, Levi and Calvino, through to more recent writers such as Camilleri, Saviano and Ferrante – this book will delight and interest any lover of Italian culture, and confirms Tim Parks as one of the finest and most perceptive essay writers of his generation.

The Chinese conundrum

Emma — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

According to many experts, China is already the largest economy on the planet – yet its relations with the rest of the world have deteriorated in recent years, and are now at an all-time low. Is this a passing phase caused by the shockwaves of the Covid pandemic and the personalities of leaders in China and in the USA, or are the current divergencies going to become wider and more entrenched, as China grows economically and develops technological leadership? Can the West learn from its past mistakes and engage successfully with China on many common interests, or are we on the verge of a new Cold War? In The Chinese Conundrum, Vince Cable – author of the the Sunday Times number-one bestseller The Storm: The World Economic Crisis and What it Means – provides an answer to these and many other topical questions of global politics and economy, examining the long history of relationships between China and the West, as well as the change in attitudes on both sides of the divide, with a particular focus on the possible repercussions of the recent election of Joe Biden as president of the United States. The result is a gripping, insightful and accessible investigation into the intricacies of today’s economic and geopolitical situation.

The Chinese Conundrum

Emma — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

According to many experts, China is already the largest economy on the planet – yet its relations with the rest of the world have deteriorated in recent years, and are now at an all-time low. Is this a passing phase caused by the shockwaves of the Covid pandemic and the personalities of leaders in China and in the USA, or are the current divergencies going to become wider and more entrenched, as China grows economically and develops technological leadership? Can the West learn from its past mistakes and engage successfully with China on many common interests, or are we on the verge of a new Cold War? In The Chinese Conundrum, Vince Cable – author of the Sunday Times number-one bestseller The Storm: The World Economic Crisis and What it Means – provides an answer to these and many other topical questions of global politics and economy, examining the long history of relationships between China and the West, as well as the change in attitudes on both sides of the divide, with a particular focus on the possible repercussions of the recent election of Joe Biden as president of the United States. The result is a gripping, insightful and accessible investigation into the intricacies of today’s economic and geopolitical situation.

Quest: Stories of Journeys From Around Europe by the Aarhus 39

Emma — Thu, 25 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Quest, a volume of seventeen stories aimed at children, will whisk you away from dark bedrooms to new dimensions and fantasy realms, via the Russian countryside and modern Rome. You’ll encounter talking field mice, invisible friends, flying kraiks, white elephants, runaway books and wardrobes that act as magic portals. Hopping across all sorts of genres and showcasing authors from all over Europe – from the Basque country and Cyprus to Iceland and the Czech Republic – this book is certain to broaden horizons and engage the reader in all kinds of fun.

Hay Festival is delighted to present Aarhus 39, a two-volume collection of the best emerging writers for young readers from across wider Europe. Three of among Europe’s best loved children’s authors – Matt Haig (UK), Kim Fupz Aakeson (Denmark) and Ana Cristina Herreros (Spain) – have selected thirty-nine writers under the age of forty, and invited them to write an original story on the theme of “journey”. These new stories, together with the specially commissioned illustrations that accompany them, are a celebration of great new writing for young people and reflect issues facing them in contemporary Europe. Reading stories of other people’s lives and journeys extends understanding and empathy to new generations.

Odyssey: Stories of Journeys From Around Europe by the Aarhus 39

Emma — Thu, 25 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000

“Odyssey, a volume of twenty-one stories aimed at young adults, offers a variety of takes on the theme of travelling – at times funny and playful, at others dramatic and poignant – covering a wide range of themes relevant to teenagers across Europe such as coming of age, sexuality, migration, identity and displacement. Whether you’re after realism or escapism, tales about inner cities, sunny holidays or sci-fi ventures into the future, this book will have something for everyone.