Showing results for "john gardner"

This classic guide, from the renowned novelist and professor, has helped transform generations of aspiring writers into masterful writers—and will continue to do so for many years to come.John Gardner was almost as famous as a teacher of creative writing as he was for his own works. In this practical, instructive handbook, based on the courses and seminars that he gave, he explains, simply and cogently, the principles and techniques of good writing. Gardner’s lessons, exemplified w...

The novel that reintroduced the Napoleon of crime to the Victorian underworldOnce again, the game is afoot …What really happened in Switzerland between Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes in 1891? And why is Holmes, now in London at 221B Baker Street, curiously uncooperative with Scotland Yard's inquiries? Furthermore, why has Moriarty planned a grand meeting with the international crime syndicate? These are the questions that make up the larger mystery of the sinister Pr...

With riches accumulated from an American crime spree, Professor Moriarty proceeds to annihilate his enemies. He murders the leaders of Europe's underworld one by one, then prepares his most hideous revenge for his arch-enemy, Sherlock Holmes. Will he succeed in this most terrible plan? In this vivid, suspenseful novel of London-underworld crime, John Gardner has created another brilliant novel in his acclaimed series pitting the Napoleon of Crime, James Moriarty, against mystery fiction's ...

Licence Renewed is first of 'master storyteller' John Gardner's novels featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent.Bond has been assigned to investigate one Dr. Anton Murik, a brilliant nuclear physicist who is thought to have been meeting with a terrorist known as Franco. Together they plan to hijack six nuclear power plants around the world and start a global meltdown. Unless Bond can stop them . . .

This classic and much lauded retelling of Beowulf follows the monster Grendel as he learns about humans and fights the war at the center of the Anglo Saxon classic epic."An extraordinary achievement."—New York TimesThe first and most terrifying monster in English literature, from the great early epic Beowulf, tells his own side of the story in this frequently banned book. This is the novel William Gass called "one...

An iconic collection that showcases Gardner as a master craftsman navigating an uncertain worldIn this exceptional book, author John Gardner explores the literary form as a vehicle of vision, and creates heroes that personify his tremendous artistic ideals: A Boston schoolmaster abandons his dreams of owning a farmhouse in rural Illinois only to be taken on a voyage across the seas and into self-discovery, faith, and love; an artist's rapturous enthusiasm inspires ...

"Fearless, illuminating" criticism from a New York Times–bestselling author and legendary teacher, "proving . . . that true art is moral and not trivial" ( Los Angeles Times).Novelist John Gardner's thesis in On Moral Fiction is simple: "True art is by its nature moral." It is also an audacious statement, as Gardner asserts an inherent value in life and in art. Since the book's first publication, the passion behind Gardner's assertion has...

The pinnacle of Gardner's medieval scholarship: a fascinating re-creation of the world of one of history's greatest writersIn this exquisite biography, John Gardner brings to life Geoffrey Chaucer, illuminating his writings and their inspiration like never before. Through exhaustive research and expert storytelling, Gardner takes readers through Chaucer's varied career—from writing The Canterbury Tales to performing diplomatic work at the Parliament—and cr...

An inspired book of short stories that explores the profound relationship between life and artWhile mourning the loss of his son in the Vietnam War, an Italian chef reflects on the importance of art for future generations. An American boy retreats inward after he kills his younger brother in a farming accident, finding solace in classical music and a friendship with his teacher. Placing the artist at the center of his stories, Gardner produces a series of beautiful ...

The classic work on the art of fiction by the "refreshingly unpredictable" novelist and literary critic ( Publishers Weekly)In this posthumously published collection of his essays and reviews, acclaimed novelist John Gardner discusses the craft of fiction writing, taking to task some of his best-known contemporaries in the process. Gardner criticizes some for writing disingenuous fiction, and commends others who produce literature that acts as a life-affir...

New York Times Bestseller and National Book Award Finalist: In an upstate New York town, a man tries to save a teenage girl—and his own soul.Henry Soames runs a diner in an eccentric rural community in the Catskills. He is anxious and overweight, and at age forty-two, suffers from poor health. When Callie Wells, Soames's seventeen-year-old employee, is impregnated by a local boy on his way to college, it becomes apparent that both are in n...

John Gardner's sweeping portrait of the collision of opposing philosophical perspectives in 1960s America, centering on the appearance of a mysterious stranger in a small upstate New York townOne summer day, a countercultural drifter known only as the Sunlight Man appears in Batavia, New York. Jailed for painting the word "LOVE" across two lanes of traffic, the Sunlight Man encounters Fred Clumly, a sixty-four-year-old town sheriff. Throughout the course of this im...