Hugh Thomson Books

Fanny Price, a teenaged girl of low social rank brought up on her wealthy relatives' countryside estate, feels the sharp sting of rejection when her cousin Edmund, the only person who treats her as an equal, is won over by a flirtatious, exciting--and unprincipled--London girl.

From Stonehenge and the Empire State Building to Angkor Wat and the Pyramids, this book surveys every continent to discover the most impressive, exotic, and intriguing manmade wonders of the world Arranged in order of longitude, this spectacular guide to the 50 most breathtaking constructions on the planet reveals the awesome architectural achievements that people have created over the centuries. This is also the story of the extraordinary peoples and civilizations that created these buildings and the key roles they played as centers of religion, culture, or trade. Most selections are from previous centuries, reminders that whatever the achievement of our own technologically advanced civilization, previous cultures were capable of extraordinary monuments.

This edition is a new collection of Hugh Thomson illustrations selected from the edition of Pride and prejudice originally published in 1894 by George Allen.

Jane Austen's sparkling and witty novels continue to entrance readers today--as proven by the rapturous reception given the many film and TV adaptations of her work. Pride and Prejudice, Austen's most well-loved story, tells of Lizzy Bennet and her five sisters as they search for true love-a love Lizzy nearly loses because of pride. Fanny, of Mansfield Park, comes to live with her aunt and uncle in their elegant mansion. But she finds herself both out of place and in love with her handsome cousin Edmund. Can shy Fanny win him from the outgoing and charming Miss Crawford? Persuasion, Austen's last final novel, explores the consequences of giving in to the opinions of others, rather than following one's own heart. Delightfully illustrated with delicate line drawings.

The romantic clash of two opinionated young people provides the sustaining theme of Pride and Prejudice. Vivacious Elizabeth Bennet is fascinated and repelled by the arrogant Mr. Darcy, whose condescending airs and acrid tongue have alienated her entire family. Their spirited courtship is conducted against a background of assembly-ball flirtations and drawing-room intrigues. This famous novel captures the affections of class-conscious 18th century English families with matrimonial aims and rivalries. Source: back cover

As You Like It is one of Shakespeare's finest romantic comedies, variously lyrical, melancholy, satiric, comic and absurd.

"Sometimes the Dashwood girls do not seem like sisters. Elinor is all calmness and reason, and can be relied upon for practical, common sense opinions. Marianne, on the other hand, is all sensibility, full of passionate and romantic feeling. She has no time for dull common sense--or for middle-aged men of thirty-five, long past the age of marriage. True love can only be felt by the young, of course. And if your heart is broken at the age of seventeen, how can you expect ever to recover from the passionate misery that fills your life, waking and sleeping?"--Page 4 of cover

Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth have met and separated years before. Their reunion forces a recognition of the false values that drove them apart.

Tradition holds that Shakespeare wrote the comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor at the request of Queen Elizabeth, who was fond of the character Falstaff and wanted to see him in love on stage. However, Shakespeare cleverly subverts this expectation, as Falstaff is not in love with the two Windsor wives but rather with their husbands' money. His plan to acquire this wealth ultimately fails, and in the comedic conclusion of the play, he is ritually punished and ridiculed in Windsor Park. The Merry Wives of Windsor is unique as Shakespeare's only comedy set in England and his only middle-class comedy. It captivates with its bursts of linguistic wit, as each character possesses a distinct and individual speech. The Welsh priest Hugo Evans distorts English with his accent and comically twisted phrases, while Dr. Caius, a Frenchman, mangles English with his French pronunciation and idioms. Mistress Quickly speaks in her own unique manner, and of course, Sir John Falstaff stands out as one of Shakespeare's greatest comedic characters.

The lost cities of South America captivate the imagination, with the ruins of the Incas and other pre-Columbian civilizations scattered across largely uncharted territories, especially in the Eastern Andes. Two decades ago, Hugh Thomson embarked on a journey into the cloud-forest to rediscover a ruin that had been lost after its initial discovery, marking his entry into the intriguing realm of Inca archaeology. Since then, he has traversed numerous interconnecting paths laid by the Incas, exploring remnants of a civilization that remains only partially understood. Thomson's gripping narrative incorporates the stories of past explorers, including Hiram Bingham, who uncovered Machu Picchu; Robert Nichols, who tragically lost his life searching for the mythical temple-site "Paiti"; and the modern explorer Gene Savoy, known for his discoveries of impressive sites like Espíritu Pampa, the last refuge of the Inca court post-Spanish Conquest. The exploration delves into the Inca people and their heartland, vividly bringing to life their extraordinary culture and the complexities of their often hostile world.

A sensitive and moving portrait of life and manners in an English country village during the 1830s, Cranford recounts the events and activities in the lives of a group of spinsters and widows.

When Elizabeth Bennet first met Mr. Darcy, she found him proud, distant, and rude—despite the other ladies' admiration of his estate in Derbyshire and ten thousand pounds a year. But what was Mr. Darcy thinking? Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice has long stood among the most beloved novels of all time. The story of Elizabeth Bennet's blossoming romance with "haughty, reserved, and fastidious" Fitzwilliam Darcy has enchanted readers for nearly two centuries. Now author Janet Aylmer loving retells Pride and Prejudice from a bold new perspective: seeing events as they transpire through the eyes of Darcy himself. One of world's great love stories takes on breathtaking new life, and one of fiction's greatest romantic heroes becomes even more sympathetic, compelling, attractive, and accessible, all through the imagination and artistry of a truly gifted storyteller. This edition includes many prints by the Victorian artist Hugh Thomson, which were used in an edition of Pride and Prejudice in 1894.

A dél-amerikai elveszett városok mindig is erőteljes hatással voltak az emberi képzeletre. Az inkák és más előkolumbiai civilizációk romjai több ezer négyzetkilométeren, még feltérképezetlen területeken találhatók, különösen a keleti Andokban, ahol a hegyek leereszkednek az Amazonas alföldjeire. Thomson lenyűgöző elbeszélésében bemutatja néhány kutató történetét: Machu Picchu felfedezőjét, Hiram Binghámot, a bátor Robert Nicholset, aki a legendás Paititi, a Madre de Dios vidékén található templom keresése közben vesztette életét, valamint a figyelemre méltó modern felfedezőt, Gene Savoyt, aki az utóbbi években számos jelentős lelőhelyet fedezett fel, köztük az Espíritu Pampát, az inkák udvarának utolsó székhelyét a spanyol hódítás után. A könyv az inkák életéről és hatalmas birodalmáról, dicsőségükről és hanyatlásukról mesél, élénk képet festve különleges kultúrájukról, és bepillantást nyújtva különös, néha kegyetlen világukba. Ugyanilyen színesen és lebilincselően mutatja be a leszármazottaik mai világát is.

Po své vysoce ceněné Bílé skále, v níž se zabývá říši Inků, se tento britský vědec a badatel tentokrát pouští napříč dějinami Peru. Popisuje rozmach a pád předinckých civilizací a provází tak čtenáře pěti tisíciletími peruánské historie – od teprve nedávno objevené caralské kultury přes pyramidy v Moche, chavínský labyrint a gigantické obrazce civilizace Nazca až po inckou pevnost Llactapata, ležící nedaleko Machu Picchu, kterou kdysi sám pomáhal znovuobjevovat. Erudici svých pětadvaceti let bádání a výzkumů začleňuje do čtivého, vzrušujícího příběhu vlastních průzkumných cest, čerstvých archeologických objevů a odhalených tajemství dávné minulosti Peru. Jak říká jeden z archeologů: „Představte si, že by v Egyptě ke všem významným objevům došlo teprve nedávno – přesně taková situace je dnes v Peru.“ Podle časopisu National Geographic patří Hugh Thomson ke vzácnému druhu badatelů; je to spisovatel, který bádá a nikoli badatel, který píše. Navíc dokáže psát s nebývalou a velmi sympatickou pokorou i o svých významných objevech a úspěších; během výprav do peruánských And se mu v nepřístupném terénu Vilcabamby podařilo nejen znovuobjevit na dlouhá desetiletí ztracenou pevnost Llactapata, ale i dosud neznámé skalní město Cota Coca, kam se Inkové pravděpodobně uchýlili po příchodu Španělů.

Příběh Machu Picchu a jeho zakladatelů Historie objevu nejslavnějšího města incké říše spolu s životními příběhy posledních čtyř inků. Autor (americký cestovatel a později i politik), slavný objevitel proslulého Machu Picchu (1911) projevoval již od svých studentských let velký zájem o Jižní Ameriku a její historii; po výhodném sňatku pak mohl zorganizovat badatelskou expedici a tuto oblast navštívit. Teprve po svém velkém objevu (jehož význam si zprvu plně neuvědomoval) se začal hlouběji věnovat studiu dějin říše Inků, což zahrnul i do této své knihy. Text je rozdělen do tří částí: první podává přehled dějin Inků a charakterizuje inckou civilizaci; druhá část popisuje autorovo první seznámení se zemí a pátrání po historických místech a třetí je pak věnována objevu a vykopávkám v oblasti Machu Picchu. Kniha je doplněna obsáhlým úvodem editora, bibliografií, rejstříkem, ilustrativními kresbami, mapkami a zejména fotografiemi - původními z Binghamovy expedice a dále barevnými snímky současné podoby místa, které v mnoha případech vynikají originálními záběry.