Precious Bane
- 336 pages
- 12 hours of reading
A bold reissue of a stunning novel in the tradition of Thomas Hardy and the Brontes - and a perennial favourite on the Virago Modern Classics list.
Mary Webb Books
Mary Webb was an English novelist of the early 20th century, whose works were primarily set in the Shropshire countryside and among its people, whom she knew and loved deeply. Her writing is distinguished by vivid descriptions of nature and profound insights into the human heart. She possessed a deep empathy for all her characters, finding goodness and truth within each of them. Webb's distinctive style often features lyrical prose, intricately weaving the natural world with the emotional lives of her characters.
The gate clicked and she was there. She had never looked so frail, so provocative; she had never been more purposeful or less desirous of admiration. They went in. Lily was genuinely pleased; after the rambling ruin at home, impossible to keep in order even for more industrious hands than hers, the compact, neat little home was delightful. She thought how easy the work would be. She was not meant for the hardy magnificence of manual labour.
Seven for a Secret
- 260 pages
- 10 hours of reading
Mary Webb was an English romantic novelist of the early 20th century, whose novels were set chiefly in the Shropshire countryside and among Shropshire characters and people which she knew and loved well. Although she was acclaimed by John Buchan and by Rebecca West, who hailed her as a genius, and won the Prix Femina of La Vie Heureuse for Precious Bane (1924), she won little respect from the general public. It was only after her death that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Stanley Baldwin, earned her posthumous success through his approbation, referring to her as a neglected genius at a Literary Fund dinner in 1928. Her writing is notable for its descriptions of nature, and of the human heart. She had a deep sympathy for all her characters and was able to see good and truth in all of them. Among her most famous works are: The Golden Arrow (1916), Gone to Earth (1917), and Seven for a Secret (1922).
Příběh z anglického venkova na sklonku napoleonských válek. Dějovou linii tvoří osud mladého sedláka, který obětuje touze po bohatství své nejbližší i sebe. Dílo je svázáno s přírodou, doznívajícími starobylými tradicemi, zvyky a pověrami.
