He has just read with disbelief what he considers to be a criminally unfair biography of David Debrizzi, the renowned French concert pianist. Resting comfortably on the terrace of a Swiss sanatorium, La Valoise takes a pen in hand to rebut Sir Geoffrey's Life. He weeds through its distortions and omissions, its exaggerations and personal attacks, and supplies the version of the truth that he intended to incorporate into his own biography, The Death of David Debrizzi. 'Never have I begrudged you your Life,' writes La Valoise, 'any more than you would deny me my Death... Given the state of my health, and the treachery of my bastard of a British publisher - who loathes me merely because I am French - I feel it is safe to say that your Life will stand alone on the shelves for posterity, while my Death will remain untold.' Paul Micou's third novel at last gives La Valoise his say.

    A quarter of a century after his death, his masterpiece, The Master and Margarita, became a worldwide bestseller. In Manuscripts Don't Burn the title a line from his famous novel, J.A. E. Curtis presents a gripping chronicle of Bulgakov's life, using as source material, among other documents, a partial copy of one of his diaries which was presumed lost and uncovered decades later in the KGB’s archives. That diary and those of his third wife record the nightmarish precariousness of life during the Stalinist purges. Also included are letters to Stalin, in which Bulgakov pleads to be allowed to emigrate; letters to his siblings; intimate notes to his second and third wives; and letters to and from other writers such as Gorky and Zamyatin.

    The years have brought to him an increasing number of odd jobs, to which he has wittily responded. Here he contemplates our national monuments, the female body, the Fourth of July, the Gospel of Matthew, other writers, moralists, aspects of science, and more.

    These beautifully produced volumes feature prose and poetry of high literary, academic, and artistic merit, written by and about Christian artists of significant stature.

    Guthrie shares the secrets and techniques that have made him famous. The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist presents 36 short, practical chapters, illustrated with examples of dos and don'ts on such subjects as: Viewpoint, Characters, Dialogue, Overwriting, and much more.

    Art historians also have considered illuminated manuscripts as important repositories for works of art. But in recent decades new interest has developed in the over-all physical format of the medieval book and its historical context - how manuscript books were made and how they have deepened our understanding of the intellectual and social milieu of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.One of the richest storehouses of early manuscripts is Yale University's Beinecke Library. Its collection provides the basis for Barbara Shailor's fully illustrated study of the medieval book and its place in society.Shailor first examines the manuscript books as an archaeological artifact of a period when mass-production was unknown and every volume had to be written and assembled by hand. She then groups books by genre - both religious and secular - to show how the contents of a volume and its function within society influenced its physical appearance and the way in which it was produced. A brief look at the transition from manuscript to printed book concludes the survey.Originally published by the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library in 1988, this work has quickly become an indispensable guide for scholars in a wide range of medieval studies.

    Used by most book dealers and serious collectors in the country, this guide explains how to identify first editions of books and covers a wide range of subjects, including Americana, early printed books, literature, mysteries, science fiction, children's books, natural history, photography, and travel. Prices range from $200 for Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain, to $750,000 for the original London 1865 edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and beyond. Bibliography.

    Drawing memorably on his own experience as a teacher and a reader, he offers a multitude of stimulating ideas for opening the rewards of thoughtful reading to all children.Concerned with the practical aspects of creating an environment that supports children as they become readers, he provides suggestions on school book fairs and displays, reading areas, author visits, and book selection. But having enabled children to become readers is only part of the issue, and he also addresses ways of keeping track of children's reading and helping them develop responses to what they read. Concise and elegantly written, The Reading Environment will be a valuable book for preservice and inservice teachers, and its distinctive blend of reflective and active comment make it an enlightening reminder to parents, media specialists, and librarians. Tell Me: Children, Reading, and Talk is the companion volume to The Reading Environment.

    Yet each was remarkably beautiful. Designed by William Morris, printed on hand-presses, ornamented with initials and borders by Morris, and illustrated often by Edward Burne-Jones, these few Kelmscott Press books are famous everywhere today. Why they have so profoundly affected twentieth-century theories of book design and what cultural significance the founding of the Kelmscott Press played are some of the questions the author considers.

    From the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, western societies served a long apprenticeship in the culture of the written word. Although mastery of reading and writing was far from evenly distributed, many tradesmen, shopkeepers, and artisans possessed these skills. A specialized literature came into being whose aim it was to regulate and control ordinary forms of letter-writing by instilling in people the difficult techniques that this writing entailed. As a result, tensions evolved in the structured practice of letter-writing. Although writers wished to stay within the guidelines set forth by secrétaires or by collections of model letters, they also wanted to be spontaneous. Correspondence explores these tensions over a long span of time by examining model letter collections.Contents:Introduction: An ordinary kind of writing / Roger Chartier1. The letter-writing norm, a mediaeval invention / Alain Boureau 2. Secrétaires for the people? / Roger Chartier --3. Letter-writing manuals in the nineteenth century / Cécile Dauphin.Translation of 3 chapters from La correspondance: les usages de la lettre au XIXe siècle (1991).