《简·奥斯汀经典作品集》(精)：简·奥斯汀，英国著名女作家。从18世纪末到19世纪初，庸俗无聊的“感伤小说”和“哥特式小说”充斥英国文坛，而奥斯汀的小说破旧立新，一反常规地展现了当时尚未受到资本主义工业革命冲击的英国乡村中产阶级的日常生活和田园风光。她的作品往往通过喜剧性的场面嘲讽人们的愚蠢、自私、势利和盲目自信等可鄙可笑的弱点。奥斯汀的小说出现在19世纪初叶，一扫风行一时的假浪漫主义潮流，继承和发展了英国18世纪优秀的现实主义传统，为19世纪现实主义小说的高潮做了准备。虽然其作品反映的广度和深度有限，但她的作品如“两寸牙雕”，从一个小窗口中窥视到整个社会形态和人情世故，对改变当时小说创作中的庸俗风气起了好的作用，在英国小说的发展史上有承上启下的意义，被誉为地位“可与莎士比亚平起平坐”的作家。本书收录了简·奥斯汀的六部经典作品。本书为英文版。本书收集奥斯汀的所有小说作品，包括《傲慢与偏见》《理智与情感》《曼斯菲尔德庄园》《爱玛》《诺桑觉寺》《劝导》《苏珊夫人》和《爱情和友谊》。《傲慢与偏见》故事围绕贝内特家中几位待嫁女孩婚姻问题展开。作者巧妙地刻画出先入为主的“第一印象”的荒谬和迷失，以及经过认识然后洞察真相的过程。毛姆将此书列入“世界十大小说”金榜内。《理智与情感》是奥斯汀写的第一部小说，它属于奥斯汀最富于幽默情趣的作品之一。小说以两位女主角曲折复杂的婚事风波为主线，透过“理智与情感”的幽默对比，提出了道德与行为的规范问题。《曼斯菲尔德庄园》是奥斯汀的转型之作，仍以男女青年的恋爱婚姻为题材。但是比较而言，本书情节更为复杂，突发性事件更加集中，社会讽刺意味也更加浓重。《曼斯菲尔德庄园》是奥斯丁生前获利最多的小说，销售速度也比《傲慢与偏见》快。《爱玛》被认为是奥斯汀最成功、最伟大的作品。一个喜欢给人做媒的可爱的姑娘，在为别人安排“良缘”时发现自己爱上了对方。本书结构精微巧妙，喜剧气氛弥漫全书，趣味横生。《诺桑觉寺》除了爱情纠纷之外，小说自始至终还贯穿着对“哥特小说”的嘲讽，因此可谓“双主题”小说。《劝导》奥斯汀最后一部完整的小说，比以前的作品写得更有思想和感情深度，被许多评论家视为奥斯丁最好的作品。《苏珊夫人》和《爱情和友谊》是奥斯汀的两部短篇小说，本书一并收录。本书附有大量精美插图，符合读者审美。 　　据讲解员介绍，奥斯汀出生于一个乡村牧师家庭，父亲能即兴赋诗。奥斯汀从小在家阅读父亲收藏的古典文学书籍和流行小说，并练习各种文体的写作。14岁时，她就写成了她的处女作《爱情和友谊》。1801年夏，奥斯汀热恋中的男友不幸去世，使她深陷痛苦之中。翌年，她曾接受一个大地产主的求婚，但第二天早晨又改变了主意。因为奥斯汀意识到：单纯为了财产和地位而结婚是错误的；何况，自己根本不爱他，怎能共同生活？结果，她终生未婚。简·奥斯汀的小说蜚声世界文坛，在18世纪—19世纪英国小说的发展史上，起着承上启下的重要作用。她的作品中关于年轻女性婚姻和爱情的别具一格的描写给人留下最深刻的印象。尽管没有财产的妇女的社会出路问题是英国小说中的“老生常谈”，但奥斯汀在其小说中对这一主题却旧题新做，作了独特的喜剧性处理。在名著《傲慢与偏见》里，她曾用戏谑的口吻说班奈特太太的“毕生大志”就是把五个女儿都嫁出去。这部小说著名的第一章描写班奈特太太一听说有个阔少定居在附近，就盘算着如何把一个女儿打发给他。不管是哪一个，任他挑选。这段鞭辟入里的刻画，便是奥斯汀喜剧风格的典范。

When Robert Kincaid drives through the heat and dust of an Iowa summer and turns into Francesca Johnson's farm lane looking for directions, the world-class photographer and the Iowa farm wife are joined in an experience of uncommon truth and stunning beauty that will haunt them forever. The romantic classic of the 1990's.

'A beautifully crafted and disturbing story of two women victims of the wrath of men. As unforgettable as The Kite Runner, this novel places us in Afghanistan with an open heart' Isabel Allende 'I loved this book - I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. It is incredibly moving and a real insight into the madness and suffering of Afghanistan - in particular its women' Fiona Bruce 'Hosseini proves his credentials as a superstar storyteller. This follow up to The Kite Runner will have fans rampaging into bookshops desperate for their copy. Yet again he weaves a masterful story around the lives of two extraordinary and compelling characters brought together in adversity' Mariella Frostrup 'From further east comes, at long last, Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns in which the universally adored author of The Kite Runner returns with a study of love and self-sacrifice in a modern Afghan family' Sunday Telegraph `The novel offers extraordinarily harrowing insights into the lives of Afghan women over the past three decades .... If he cut his teeth by writing about his countrymen, it is the plight of Afghanistan's women that has brought him to realise his full powers as a novelist' `Hosseini has stuck with his winning formula: compelling, unflashy storytelling centred around two sympathetic protagonists struggling in difficult times ... nothing beats a good story' `Hosseini is at his best in some of his description of the landscape and his account of the developing relationship of the two wives, which begins with hostility and slowly blossoms into a concord ...'

What is it in a story that takes it to the New York Times Best Seller List for three years or 156 weeks? When I read this book, that was what I wanted to know. I look at the book on the shelf and think, "What was there that I just did not get?" The love story set in the 1960s is about Robert Kincaid, a renowned photographer, and a Francesca Johnson, a farm wife. The story is based on her diaries and the personal effects he had sent to her after he died. She is secluded and alone much of the time. When Robert comes to photograph the bridges, her family is away at the state fair. They are, like Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers who will only remain in each other's hearts and minds for all of their life, though they only shared four days. Her diaries indicate that for about thirty years Francesca maintained the emotional contact she committed to Kincaid by seeing his photography in National Geography, news clippings, and reading the articles written about him. It is easy to be in love for four days. Anyone can. New love is exciting, romance is thrilling, and a new lover's touch is magical. Yes, it will last forever -- if you do not have to wake up to reality. It was simple to see this aspect of the enchantment about their story. Francesca wrote of the agony that she felt when choosing whether to go with Kincaid or stay with her family, her children. This was the crux of her story; stay with her husband and children, or run off with a stranger. I could never understand that, my child is first. Today the book is on my daughter's shelf, and she knows more about the emotions that drove Kincaid and Francesca than I ever will. I am too practical; but she tells me I have never loved as they did -- and she just might be right because I still wonder why this book sold millions. Suspend disbelief and enjoy the romantic interlude. Perhaps I should have seen the movie (I am a Clint Eastwood fan). For me the book was worth three stars, but the millions of people who loved this book and movie cannot all be wrong, so it must be a five. I guess I will give it a four. Victoria Tarrani from Amazon.com

Here's the collection of columns that inspired the addictive and multiple award-winning HBO series! Sex and the City offers a tantalizing glimpse of the openings, launch parties, and celebrity affairs that keep society amused.