One reinforced-concrete blockhouse in the heart of the forest is manned, this winter of 1939/40, by Lieutenant Grange with three men, who live in a chalet built over it. Cut off from the rest of the world, their senses heightened to capture the sounds and smells of the forest, the men create their own security as autumn turns to winter. Later, though, when winter turns to spring, when the sap rises and the panzer divisions attack, Lieutenant Grange meets the fate he has never believed he would escape. But if this is a story of soldiers, it is not about fighting. It is about solitude, about watching and waiting - and about love, the young Lieutenant's devotion to Mona, the child-widow discovered like a sprite in the forest one rainy night, who, in this surreal period of suspense, becomes his lover.

    A soldier contemplates the mysterious paradoxes of human existence as he struggles to resolve a moral dilemma--how to correct an injustice while remaining an uninvolved spectator to the events as they unfold.

    Rezzori surrounds Tildy with a host of fantastic characters, engaging us in a kaleidoscopic experience of a city where nothing is as it appears—a city of discordant voices, of wild ugliness, and heartbreaking disappointment, in which, however, “laughter was everywhere, part of the air we breathed, a crackling tension in the atmosphere, always ready to erupt in showers of sparks or discharge itself in thunderous peals."

    These short fictions capture Rodoreda's full range of expression, from quiet literary realism to fragmentary impressionism to dark symbolism. Few writers have captured so clearly, or explored so deeply, the lives of women who are stuck somewhere between senseless modernity and suffocating tradition-Rodoreda's "women are notable for their almost pathological lack of volition, but also for their acute sensitivity, a nearly painful awareness of beauty" (Natasha Wimmer).

    This study uses original sources, archaeological findings and psychological insight to provide an account of the lives of these mythical figures. The narrative is complemented by illustrations from vase paintings and genealogical tables of celebrated and lesser-known mythicl figures.

     It was there that he met the young Englishwoman, Mary Allison Walters. Mary was the British wife of Baron Jenő Miske-Gerstenberger – the Hungarian consul-general in Munich and Istanbul. This unassuming woman became a special operations executive during WWII and was responsible for smuggling top secret documents into Hungary. However, her luck soon ran out when she was caught and given the death penalty. Somehow, she managed to escape, only to be suddenly abducted and imprisoned once again. And this time she was in a Soviet camp in the middle of the frozen artic, forced to battle against the terrible conditions every day in order to survive. This shocking true story was recounted to Tickell through letters almost 50 years later, revealing how years of happiness can be torn to tatters by the brutality of war. This is the story of inspirational Miss May. Praise for Jerrard Tickell ‘…an eye for the adventure and drama… and often uncommon courage. Good.” – Kirkus Review ‘There is room for more authors of this quality.’ – The Daily Telegraph Jerrard Tickell was born in Dublin and wrote his first book at just 18. He was a member of the Royal Army Service Corps. His official duties took him all over the world including Egypt and practically every port in the Near East. His books, a number of which have been made into successful movies, include Moon Squadron, Island Rescue, and Hussar Honeymoon. He now lives with his wife Renée Haynes, the daughter of E.S.P. Haynes and Oriana Huxley Waller, and three sons in London. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.