Classics

Please visit our Book Bulletin 2019 crowdfunding project at CrowdPatch to buy recommendations for our Winter 2019 catalogue and to volunteer your skills, experience and contacts. All funds raised will support not-for-profit Jolabokaflod CIC’s forthcoming programme of events.

Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
(UK: Penguin Classics, @classicpenguins, 2003; USA: Penguin Classics, @PenguinClassics, 2002)

When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships, gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life.

Recommended by:
Morgane Meistermann, Accounts Payable Manager and Purchasing Assistant, AFA (Ateliers Fabrication Agendas)

Educated to Masters-degree level in science and business management, Morgane works for AFA, a Paris-based manufacturer of marketing promotion resources and leather goods. The company designs, manufactures and publishes customised diaries and notebooks in various formats (e.g. pocket diaries, desktop diaries, personal organisers, notebooks, directories and calendars). The company also produces advertising items (e.g. tote bags) and personalised leather goods (e.g. wallets and purses, key fobs).

The Master and Margarita
Mikhail Bulgakov
(UK: Vintage Classics, @vintagebooks, 2010; USA: Vintage Books, @VintageAnchor, 1996)

The devil makes a personal appearance in Moscow accompanied by various demons, including a naked girl and a huge black cat. When he leaves, the asylums are full and the forces of law and order in disarray. Only the Master, a man devoted to truth, and Margarita, the woman he loves, can resist the devil’s onslaught.

Recommended by:
Kylie Shore-Oliver, Operations & Administration Manager, Australia-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce

Kylie Shore-Oliver is responsible for the smooth day-to-day running of the Chamber of Commerce, managing the accounts and handling office management as well as numerous other tasks. Kylie has a background in international relations and has previous experience in business development and luxury retail. The Chamber is the independent UK-based membership organisation connecting the business community and professionals with interests in both Australia and the UK, with a diverse membership and network as well as trusted partnerships across the Australian and British Governments.

Great Expectations
Charles Dickens
(UK: Penguin Classics, @classicpenguins, 2004; USA: Penguin Classics, @PenguinClassics, 2002)

A terrifying encounter with an escaped convict in a graveyard on the wild Kent marshes; a summons to meet the bitter, decaying Miss Havisham and her beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella; the sudden generosity of a mysterious benefactor – these form a series of events that change the orphaned Pip’s life forever, and he eagerly abandons his humble origins to begin a new life as a gentleman. Dickens’s haunting late novel depicts Pip’s education and development through adversity as he discovers the true nature of his ‘great expectations’.

Recommended by:
Anonymous recommendation: at the inaugural Jolabokaflod Gala Party

Trilby
George du Maurier
(UK: Oxford World Classics, @OWC_Oxford, 2009; USA: Oxford World Classics, @OWC_Oxford, 2009)

Trilby O’Ferrall, an artist’s model in Paris, falls under the spell of the compelling Svengali, a musician who trains her voice through hypnosis and turns her into a singing star. The pair travel throughout Europe on successful concert tours: Trilby as La Svengali, the famous singer, and Svengali as the accompanying orchestra conductor – but broken relationships have consequences. The story of Trilby’s total subjugation to Svengali has passed into the realm of popular mythology.

Recommended by:
Craig Dudley, Actor | Showreel: Craig Dudley; Artistic Director: The Ensemble Theatre Company of New York

Craig serves as the Artistic Director of The Ensemble Theatre Company of New York. He graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and received a scholarship to the American Theatre Wing. He was mentored for over 20 years by Philip Burton, father to Richard Burton, and has enjoyed an illustrious acting career. He is currently planning a UK tour of the TETCNY production of Diversions and Delights, John Gay’s one-man play about the life of Oscar Wilde.

The Count of Monte Cristo
Alexandre Dumas
(UK: Everyman’s Library, @EverymansLib, 2009; USA: Penguin Classics, @PenguinClassics, 2003)

On the day of his wedding, Edmond Dantes, master mariner, is arrested in Marseille on trumped-up charges and spirited away to the cellars of the Chateau d’If, an impregnable sea fortress in which he is imprisoned indefinitely. Escaping from the chateau by a series of daring manoeuvres, he unearths a great treasure on the island of Monte Cristo, buried there by a former fellow prisoner who bequeaths to him the secret of its whereabouts. Thus armed with unimaginable wealth and embittered by his long imprisonment, he resolves to devote his life to tracking down and punishing those responsible.

Recommended by:
Anita Maguire, Project Manager and Executive Assistant: Cosmoparticle Hub, Physics and Astronomy, UCL (University College London): at the inaugural Jolabokaflod Gala Party

Anita is the Project Manager at UCL supporting the Cosmoparticle Physics (CPP) Initiative at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, including the CASPEN exchange programme, and is also Executive Assistant to Hiranya Peiris, Professor of Astrophysics.

The Great Gatsby
F Scott Fitzgerald
(UK: Wisehouse Classics, @WisehousePub, 2016; USA: Scribner, @ScribnerBooks, 2003)

This novel follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story primarily concerns the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion and obsession for the beautiful former debutante Daisy Buchanan.

Recommended by:
Rob Hastings, Deputy Features Editor, The i [online newspaper]: at the inaugural Jolabokaflod Gala Party

Rob is a versatile national newspaper writer and editor, with experience that varies from reporting on the drought in Somaliland to covering the Rio 2016 Olympics, from interviewing former FBI Director, James Comey, to investigating private detectives.

New Grub Street
George Gissing
(UK: Oxford World Classics, @OWC_Oxford, 2016; USA: Oxford World Classics, @OWC_Oxford, 2016)

Scholarly, anxious Edwin Reardon had achieved a precarious career as the writer of serious fiction. On the strength of critical acclaim for his fourth novel, he has married the refined Amy Yule. But the brilliant future Amy expected has evaded her husband. The catastrophe of the Reardon’s failing marriage is set among the rising and falling fortunes of novelists, journalists, and scholars who labour ‘in the valley of the shadow of books’.

Recommended by:
Craig Dudley, Actor | Showreel: Craig Dudley; Artistic Director: The Ensemble Theatre Company of New York

Catch-22
Joseph Heller
(UK: Vintage Classics, @vintagebooks, 2011; USA: Simon & Schuster, @simonschuster, 2011)

Set in the closing months of World War II, this is the story of a bombardier named Yossarian who is frantic and furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. His real problem is not the enemy – it is his own army which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. If Yossarian makes any attempts to excuse himself from the perilous missions then he is caught in ‘Catch-22’: if he flies he is crazy, and doesn’t have to; but if he doesn’t want to he must be sane, and has to do so. That’s some catch …

Recommended by:
David Stark, Founder, Editor and Publisher, SongLink and Cuesheet

David is a music-business professional with over 35 years experience in publishing, comprising creative networking between artists, writers, producers, managers, labels, and film/tv composers. He is also accomplished at journalism, editing publications, photography, occasional songwriting and studio production, playing drums, organising showcases, judging song contests worldwide, acting as researcher for industry awards and events. David also works as a 60s/70s music consultant for radio, television and the press. His areas of speciality are: song placement via SongLink International; and film, television and other media music placement via Cuesheet.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover
DH Lawrence
(UK: Wordsworth Classics, @WordsworthEd, 2005; USA: Bantam Classics, @ModernLibrary, 1983)

This is the story of how the wife of Sir Clifford Chatterley responds when her husband returns from the war paralysed from the waist down, namely by developing a tender love for her husband’s gamekeeper.

This complex novel, famously replete with four-letter words and explicit descriptions of sexual intercourse, is open to a variety of conflicting interpretations.

Recommended by:
David Wardrop, Independent Civic and Social Organisation Professional | Chairman, United Nations Association (Westminster branch); Director, We the Peoples Film Festival; Editor, HammarskjoldInquiry.info; Mentor, World G18 Somalia: : at the inaugural Jolabokaflod Gala Party

As the only UK charity devoted to building support for an effective UN, the United Nations Association UK believes the starting point for realising this vision is stimulating action in the UK. Their mission is to make the case for an effective UN to British policy-makers and the public. David chairs the Westminster branch and is a member of the UNA Policy Committee.

David also serves as Director of the We the Peoples Film Festival, held every November in London. Formed in 2006, the film festival strives to increase awareness and support in the UK and global film industry for the development work of the UN, its agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations. They believe that raising awareness for development, security & peace and human rights encourages future generations to make a positive difference to people’s lives in the UK and across the world.

In the mid 1990s, as head of the UK’s Friends of UNESCO campaign, David was an early and vociferous advocate for the UK book trade to celebrate World Book and Copyright Day commercially. The legacy of this effort is World Book Day in the UK.

David is also the Director of Strategies for Peace, a group of retired military officers working in the fields of conflict prevention and conflict resolution, Chairman of the International Friends of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the library located on the site of the ancient world’s most famous library, and Secretary of the Hammersmith & Fulham Local Agenda 21 Forum.

To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
(UK: Arrow, @arrowpublishing, 2010; USA: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, @HarperPerennial, 2005)

‘Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’ A lawyer’s advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee’s classic novel – a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man’s struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much.

Recommended by:
Carl Christopher-Ansari, Director, Ten Foot Giant: at the London Book Fair

Carl runs the boutique advertising, content and event production agency, Ten Foot Giant. He is an experienced, MCIM-chartered marketer working at many tiers, from global multinationals to start-up companies. He is passionate about leading projects in multimedia, which deliver good returns on investment.

Julie Farquhar, Production Manager, The Folio Society: at the inaugural Jolabokaflod Gala Party

Julie is an experienced publishing professional who manages the production team at The Folio Society, founded in London in 1947. The publishing house publishes carefully crafted editions of the world’s finest literature, believing that great books deserve to be presented in a form worthy of their contents. For over 70 years, The Folio Society has celebrated the unique joy to be derived from owning, holding and reading a beautiful printed edition.

Myles McMorrow, Co-founder, Tech Circus: at the inaugural Jolabokaflod Gala Party

Myles is an xperienced conference curator, events and sponsorship manager, with a demonstrated history of managing clients up to and including C-Suite stakeholders. He co-founded Tech Circus (formally called The Digital Showcase), which is London’s leading digital networking events, conferencing and training company. The company hosts a range of well-attended monthly digital Meetup events, including: The UX Crunch, Creative Crunch and The SEO & Search Social. In 2017 Tech Circus launched the UX.LIVE conference; and in 2018 they launched The FinTech Design Summit.

Neil Ruckman, Storyteller, Writer, Exams Consultant and Special Needs Teacher

Neil is a drama practitioner and storyteller wth over 30 years of experience. He has directed a number of plays, including a UK wide tour of Mark’s Gospel. He has performed as a storytelller at a range of arts festivals, including the inaugural International Storytelling Festival in Rome (both solo and with early music group, Fontanella). He has been involved in arts projects and organisations with a faith perspective. including JC2000, Cre8.Ed and Seeds). He currently teaches drama, film studies, creative writing and psychology from primary to university level. He works for a number of exam boards and is a voluntary leader at The Stable (a Christian church).

Of Human Bondage
W Somerset Maugham
(UK: Vintage Classics, @vintagebooks, 2000; USA: Digireads.com, @digireads, 2017)

This is the story of Philip Carey, an orphan eager for life, love and adventure. After a few months studying in Heidelberg, and a brief spell in Paris as would-be artist, Philip settles in London to train as a doctor. There he meets Mildred, a loud but irresistible waitress with whom he plunges into a formative, tortured and masochistic affair that nearly ruins him.

Recommended by:
Andrew Maitland Southern, Author and Director | Writer and Director: Unsubscribe; Creative Director, ProMOTION Engine; Writer/Director, Model Films

Andrew is an author, journalist and filmmaker. He has written articles for Trebuchet, a magazine platform for popular non-fiction (especially arts and culture). He writes and directs with several production companies, including the YouTube television channel, Unsubscribe.

Lolita
Vladimir Nabokov
(UK: Penguin Classics, @classicpenguins, 2000; USA: Vintage Books, @VintageAnchor, 1989)

Poet and pervert, Humbert Humbert becomes obsessed by 12-year-old Lolita and seeks to possess her, first carnally and then artistically, out of love, ‘to fix once for all the perilous magic of nymphets’. Is he in love or insane? A silver-tongued poet or a pervert? A tortured soul or a monster? Or is he all of these?

Recommended by:
David Stark, Founder, Editor and Publisher, SongLink and Cuesheet

Nineteen Eighty-Four (UK) | 1984 (USA)
George Orwell
(UK: Penguin Modern Classics, @classicpenguins, 2004; USA: Signet Classics, @SignetBooks, 1961)

Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker Julia, but soon discovers the true price of freedom is betrayal.

Recommended by:
Ali Chemi: at the London Book Fair

At the time of making this recommendation, Ali did not send Book Bulletin any information about himself or his projects, so we are unable to promote his interests and/or causes.

Requiem for a Wren
Nevile Shute
(UK: Vintage Classics, @vintagebooks, 2009; USA: Vintage Classics, @vintagebooks, 2009)

Alan Duncan returns to his family home in Australia after the war and several years of study in England. But his homecoming is marred by the mysterious suicide of his parents’ quiet and reliable parlour-maid. A search through her belongings in search of clues leads to heartbreaking revelations about the woman’s identity, the death of Alan’s brother Bill, and, above all, the disappearance of his brother’s fiancée, Janet.

Recommended by:
Dan Calladine, Head of Media Futures, Carat Global Management | Founder, London Pop-ups
Dan says: ‘A pacy love story/mystery about a man searching for the love of his life during and after World War II.’

Dan Calladine is a media industry maven who tracks online and offline media trends and the effectiveness of media strategy for Carat, a media agency within the Dentsu Aegis Network. He is an expert commentator on media, having been interviewed by BBC Radio 4, the Financial Times, Campaign and The Guardian, among other channels and publications. Dan is an expert on social media, including and social media tracking: he is a keen user, being active on YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest. Dan also heads and runs London Pop-ups, a online listings hub for pop-up events in the capital city.

War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy
(UK: Oxford World Classics, @OWC_Oxford, 2010; USA: Vintage Classics, @vintagebooks, 2008)

Tolstoy’s epic masterpiece intertwines the lives of private and public individuals during the time of the Napoleonic wars and the French invasion of Russia. The fortunes of the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys – of Pierre, Natasha and Andrei – are intimately connected with the national history that is played out in parallel with their lives. Balls and soirées alternate with councils of war and the machinations of statesmen and generals, scenes of violent battles with everyday human passions in a work whose extraordinary imaginative power has never been surpassed. The prodigious cast of characters, both great and small, seem to act and move as if connected by threads of destiny as the novel relentlessly questions ideas of free will, fate, and providence. Yet Tolstoy’s portrayal of marital relations and scenes of domesticity is as truthful and poignant as the grand themes that underlie them.

Recommended by:
Leena Normington, Digital Content Producer | Social Media Producer, Vintage Books; YouTube: Creator for Change Fellow 2017, and Vlogger: Leena Norms (also known as ‘Just Kiss My Frog’)

Leena is an experienced producer of podcasts and online video, media presenter, social media consultant, copywriter and workshop leader. She is one of five winners of the Trailblazer Award in 2019, which celebrates young talent under the age of 30 in publishing. Leena creates content that suits the Vintage PRH imprint’s social platforms. On any given day she’ll be editing a podcast, creating a YouTube video, plotting a thread of tweets or building a fun reading list for the Vintage website. Leena also manages the imprint’s social channels so that it has a constant stream of content being uploaded on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, iTunes, YouTube and more. She makes sure everything is scheduled and looking good; and that Vintage responds to readers’ questions and suggestions.

Orlando
Virginia Woolf
(UK: Vintage Classics, @vintagebooks, 2016; USA: Mariner Books, @HMHbooks, 1973)

As his tale begins, Orlando is a passionate young nobleman whose days are spent in rowdy revelry, filled with the colourful delights of Queen Elizabeth I’s court. By the close, he will have transformed into a modern, 36-year-old woman and three centuries will have passed. Orlando will not only witness the making of history from its edge, but will find that his unique position as a woman who knows what it is to be a man will give him insight into matters of the heart

Recommended by:
Christine Grant, Limited Editions Marketing Manager, The Folio Society: at the inaugural Jolabokaflod Gala Party

Christine is a creative, problem-solving marketing manager specialising in high-quality fiction and non-fiction books promoted via print and electronic campaigns. She works for The Folio Society, a publishing house founded in London in 1947 that produces carefully crafted editions of the world’s finest literature, believing that great books deserve to be presented in a form worthy of their contents. For over 70 years, The Folio Society has celebrated the unique joy to be derived from owning, holding and reading a beautiful printed edition.

Germinal
Émile Zola
(UK: Oxford World Classics, @OWC_Oxford, 2008; USA: Oxford World Classics, @OWC_Oxford, 2008)

Zola’s masterpiece of working life, Germinal (1885), exposes the inhuman conditions of miners in northern France in the 1860s. By Zola’s death in 1902 it had come to symbolise the call for freedom from oppression so forcefully that the crowd which gathered at his State funeral chanted ‘Germinal! Germinal!’

The central figure, Etienne Lantier, is an outsider who enters the community and eventually leads his fellow miners in a strike protesting against pay-cuts – a strike which becomes a losing battle against starvation, repression, and sabotage. Yet despite all the violence and disillusion which rock the mining community to its foundations, Lantier retains his belief in the ultimate germination of a new society, leading to a better world.

Recommended by:
Anonymous recommendation: at the inaugural Jolabokaflod Gala Party

	Christopher Norris on Secret Santa 2022
	Bronwyn on Secret Santa 2022
	Richard on Let’s get the Icelanders…

Please visit our Book Bulletin 2019 crowdfunding project at CrowdPatch to buy recommendations for our Winter 2019 catalogue and to volunteer your skills, experience and contacts. All funds raised will support not-for-profit Jolabokaflod CIC’s forthcoming programme of events.

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