The Painted Fox is a timeless fable by celebrated Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko, first published in 1899 as part of the collection When the Animals Could Talk. Since then, the mischievous adventures of the cunning, quick-witted Fox named Mykyta have been entertaining readers both young and old alike. The story is inspired by the ancient Indian tale of the Blue Jackal from the Panchatantra.Mykyta the Fox, the slyest and craftiest fox...

Many of the stories in this volume deal with the life of a young boy growing up in Galicia, in the far east of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the mid-1800s. They depict the poverty and difficult conditions in the region at that time. Although autobiographical in nature, Ivan Franko wrote that the stories could not unreservedly be considered a part of his autobiography, because in all of them he had allowed himself a fair amount of creative freedom.Franko’s stories often deal with p...

A historical romance depicting the life and system of government of the people in the Carpathian region of Ukraine during the 13th century, at the time of the Mongol invasion. Includes a brief outline of Ukrainian history.

Boryslav in Flames by Ivan Franko is a pioneering novel that depicts the rise of the labour movement in Western Ukraine. The story unfolds against the backdrop of the industrial revolution in the Austro-Hungarian Empire during the 1860s. As industry burgeons in Boryslav, a nascent working class emerges, inspired by socialist ideals – a unique phenomenon in mostly agrarian Galicia.Central to the narrative is Benedio, a lowly mason’s assistant who organizes the striking work...

Many of the stories in this volume deal with the life of a young boy growing up in Galicia, in the far east of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the mid-1800s. They depict the poverty and difficult conditions in the region at that time. Although autobiographical in nature, Ivan Franko wrote that the stories could not unreservedly be considered a part of his autobiography, because in all of them he had allowed himself a fair amount of creative freedom.Ivan Franko's sto...

Faces of Hardship is an anthology of short stories and novellas by Ukrainian writer, translator, and political activist Ivan Franko, showing the unpopular, uncomfortable, and unattractive sides of life in late 19th - early 20th century Ukraine and Russia in vivid color.This collection includes the following works:Your Own FaultAt the BottomThe Story of a CoatTwo BuddiesTo the Ligh...

In The Witches of Kyiv and Other Gothic Tales by Orest Somov the supernatural is present throughout Ukraine, from a cemetery in Kyivan Rus, to an isolated forest cottage in the seventeenth century Kozak era, to the society ballrooms of Somov’s own world – the early nineteenth century. Gothic horror appears in many guises including witches, warlocks, demons and vengeful ‘rusalka’. Strange soothsayers and malevolent visitors represent the forces of good and evil. In...

Read this stunning new translation of Boris Pasternak's Nobel Prize-winning masterpiece from Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, the acclaimed translators of War and Peace and Anna Karenina.Banned in the Soviet Union until 1988, Doctor Zhivago is the epic story of the life and loves of a poet-physician during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. Taking his family from Moscow to what he hopes will be shelter in the Ural Mountains, Yu...

An "absorbing and fast-moving" saga of Korea as experienced by one unforgettable family, from the Nobel Prize–winning author ( The New York Times )."The year was 4214 after Tangun of Korea, and 1881 after Jesus of Judea." So begins Pulitzer Prize–winning author Pearl S. Buck's The Living Reed, an epic historical novel seen through the eyes of four generations of Korean aristocracy.As the chronicle begins,...

An epic historical adventure set in a pseudo 8th century China, from the author of the 2008 World Fantasy winner, Ysabel. Under Heaven is a novel of heroes, assassins, concubines and emperors set against a majestic and unforgiving landscape.An epic historical adventure set in a pseudo 8th century China, from the author of the 2008 World Fantasy winner, Ysabel. Under Heaven is a novel of heroes, assassins, concubines and emperors set against a majestic and unforgiving landscape....

One of the great allegorical masterpieces of world literature, Cancer Ward is both a deeply compassionate study of people facing terminal illness and a brilliant dissection of the 'cancerous' Soviet police state. Withdrawn from publication in Russia in 1964, it became, along with One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, a work that awoke the conscience of the world. As Robert Service wrote of its appeal in the Independent, 'In waging his struggle against Soviet co...

The Adventures of Hope is a story about a dog and her love for her family. Hope is a very fierce and loyal dog who has taken it upon herself to be the protector of the children as they venture into the world full of unforeseen dangers; Hope is there to protect them and keep them safe, at all costs.