Blaise Pascal famously said that 'all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone".
In 1790 a young French aristocrat living in Turin is confined to a ... read more
First published in 1908, the brilliance of this superb novel is undiminished. A love story, or rather two, that starts in the Pension Bertolini in Florence. Catering for English tourists, it... read more
A sparkling, intelligent novel, first published in 1964 and just re-issued by Faber & Faber. It is set over the course of a decadent fancy dress party on a snowy New Year's Eve, with all the... read more
A neurotic Italian businessman obsessed by his own hypochondria, Zeno Cosini recounts his early years to his psychoanalyst Dr S. With a cigarette clutched permanently between his fingers, he... read more
SA was the pen name of Marta Felicina Faccio (1976-1960); this is her unforgettable autobiographical novel, published in her native Italy in 1906. Both an education sentimentale and a very e... read more
There are extraordinarily few books set on the island of Majorca. This is the first English translation of a novel published in Spanish in 1960, four years after Lorenç Villalonga’s The D... read more
The tale of Cheeseman, a seedy small-time crooner who is bizarrely catapulted to fame by the media machine. First published in 1931, its success caused the author to leave Germany; she died ... read more
The bickering begins on Christmas morning in this incredibly dysfunctional family. Originally published in 1935 and since described as Jane Austen on drugs.
The characters in this affecting and magnificent tale of C19th village life are superbly imagined through exquisite, often very funny dialogue. The characters in this magnificent tale of vil... read more
Set in the 1950s - a chilly patch in the Cold War: Colonel Methuen takes on an assignment in the Balkans and quickly finds himself pursued by both Royalists and Communists. Long out of print... read more
Blaise Pascal famously said that "all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone".
In 1790 a young French aristocrat living in Turin was confined to a ... read more
The first novel by this great Russian author is about buried feelings, early love and youth, approached tangentially by badinage between two old friends.
Berberova was one of the great Russian emigrée writers, best known for her short stories and memoir. This novel - about the experiences of a group of exiles, is its first translation into E... read more