Thomas

The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold is a semi-autobiographical story, which tells of the mental breakdown of an ageing writer. Gilbert Pinfold takes a cruise to try to rebuild his shattered life, but what should his life be, and is he important to the world, anyway?

Flashman is back! When the memoirs of Sir Harry Flashman, the celebrated Victorian soldier and scoundrel, first came to light 30 years ago, we were introduced to adventures related with verve, dash, and meticulous historical detail. Now come three new episodes in the career of this eminent and disreputable adventurer.

Discover magazine recently called Richard Dawkins "Darwin's Rottweiler" for his fierce and effective defense of evolution. Prospect magazine voted him among the top three public intellectuals in the world (along with Umberto Eco and Noam Chomsky). Now Dawkins turns his considerable intellect on religion, denouncing its faulty logic and the suffering it causes.

"Laddie...write my biography. Bung it down on paper...at a conservative estimate, we should clean up at least 50,000 pounds apiece." Thus spake Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge to his long-suffering friend Corky Corcoran. Corky, whose literary efforts to date have consisted of weekly newspaper articles of the type, "Should Curates Kiss?" and a single music hall song, "Mother, She's Pinching My Leg," is reluctant.

Generally considered to be his masterpiece, Vanity Fair is Thackeray's resplendent social satire that exposes the greed and corruption raging in England during the turmoil of the Napoleonic wars. Subtitled "A Novel Without a Hero", it traces the changing fortunes of two unforgettable women: the scheming opportunist Becky Sharp, one of literature's most resourceful, engaging, and amoral heroines, and her foil, the faithful, naive Amelia Sedley.

This last novel in the Chronicles of Barsetshire series involves Mr. Crawley, the impoverished curate of Hogglestock, who is accused of theft when he uses a large check to pay off his debts. The scandal fiercely divides the citizens of Barsetshire and threatens to tear apart Mr. Crawley's family.