"Stories that unite into a ... vision of a country that is both a crucible of history and a maze of contemporary confusions"-- Dust jacket flap.

Introduces unconventional clergyman Sidney Chambers, who teams up with roguish Inspector Harry Keating to investigate a suspicious suicide, a jewelry theft, the unexplained demise of a jazz promoter, and a shocking art forgery.

"Spanning Gaiman's career to date, The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction is a ... collection from one of the world's most beloved writers, chosen by those who know his work best: his devoted readers. A ... representation of Gaiman's ... imaginative fiction, this ... volume includes excerpts from each of his five novels for adults--Neverwhere, Stardust, American Gods, Anansi Boys, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane--and nearly fifty of his short...

A collection of more than twenty-five short fictional works follows a theme of the intersections between life and death, perception and reality, and darkness and light.

Maria Messina presents the captivating and brutal realities of women living in early-twentieth-century Italy. Behind Closed Doors portrays the habits and gestures, the words spoken and those left unsaid, of individuals caught between the traditions they respect and a desire to ease the social restrictions in their lives. Messina's stories reveal a world in which women are shuttered in their houses, virtual servants to their families, and working men...

Thirteen tales of horror and hilarity from a master storyteller.

Five tales of creatures who live and die by fire from both the present day and the prehistoric past.