The Oxford Book of Days

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The Oxford Book of Days explores the fascinating history that underpins our familiar Western calendar. In the traditions of almanacs and Chambers's original Book of Days, the authors have collected together a rich body of historical fact, legend, lore, and literature for each day of the year, but this astonishing range of information is interfused with wit and scholarship to provide an authoriative, beautifully written reference work. From 1 January to 31 December, with additional notes on seasons, months, and the days of the week, this is a unique work to be referred to constantly and to be treasured.

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Night And Day - Review by an author
The Transforming Power of Art
Great writing
An Absolute Masterpiece
Great book

Night and Day (Oxford World's Classics)
Virginia Woolf
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192837842

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Katherine Hilbery, torn between past and present, is a figure reflecting Woolf's own struggle with history. Both have illustrious literary ancestors: in Katherine's case, her poet grandfather, and in Woolf's, her father Leslie Stephen, writer, philosopher, and editor. Both desire to break away
from the demands of the previous generation without disowning it altogether. Katherine must decide whether or not she loves the iconoclastic Ralph Denham; Woolf seeks a way of experimenting with the novel for that still allows her to express her affection for the literature of the past.
This is the most traditional of Woolf's novels, yet even here we can see her beginning to break free; in this, her second novel, with its strange mixture of comedy and high seriousness, Woolf had already found her own characteristic voice.

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A brilliant exploration of love by a brilliant author.

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Night And Day - Review by an author.......2007-02-15

For those of you who have disdain for vanity publishers, as some call the self-published authors, be advised that much of Virginia Woolf's work was self-published through the Hogarth Press. She has been hailed as one of the greatest novelists of the twentieth century and one of the foremost Modernists, though she disdained some artists in this category. Woolf is considered one of the greatest innovators in the English language. In her works she experimented with stream-of-consciousness, the underlying psychological as well as emotional motives of characters, and the various possibilities of fractured narrative and chronology. Her literary achievements and creativity are influential even today. Historic London is the setting of Night and Day. The novel and its characters center around one place in particular the Hilbery home, an eighteenth-century house built on the Thames riverfront in Chelsea, London, a house that doubles as the literary shrine for a great Victorian poet, Richard Alardyce. The emotionally strained and serious Katharine Hilbery gives an American visitor a tour of her poet grandfather's study in the presence of her former fiance. This room is both a "religious temple" devoted to Richard Alardyce and a commercial showroom for which she is the "show-woman" of remains not for sale. Katharine, preoccupied by the interruption of feelings into her life, guides the American through the collection inattentively, thus rendering the effusive American's enthusiasm absurd. This bewildered pilgrim and the home's other specimens--Katharine Hilbery's father, an influential editor of a literary journal; her mother, an energetic though disarranged steward of her poet-father's memory; and their circle of visitors who cannot abide living writers--all point to a critique of a literary establishment and its morbid maintenance of the literary past as the only worthwhile present. Night and Day is a portrait of Virginia Woolf's and (her sister) Vanessa Bell's family home at Hyde Park Gate, ruled by Leslie Stephen, who, as an influential man of letters and steward to the Victorian literary establishment, is Mr. and Mrs. Hilbery combined. ... "He received her assurance with profound joy. Quietly and steadily there rose up behind the whole aspect of life that soft edge of fire which gave its red tint to the atmosphere and crowded the scene with shadows so deep and dark that one could fancy pushing farther into their density and still farther, exploring indefinitely." Woolf's reputation declined sharply after World War II, but her eminence was re-established with the surge of Feminist criticism in the 1970s. After a few more ideologically based altercations, not least caused by claims that Woolf was anti-semitic and a snob, it seems that a critical consensus has been reached regarding her stature as a novelist. Virginia Woolf's peculiarities as a fiction writer have tended to obscure her central strength. The intensity of Virginia Woolf's poetic vision elevates the ordinary, sometimes banal settings of most of her novels, even as they are often set in an environment of war. For example, Mrs. Dalloway (1925) centres on the efforts of Clarissa Dalloway, a middle-aged society woman, to organize a party, even as her life is paralleled with that of Septimus Warren Smith, a working-class veteran who has returned from the First World War bearing deep psychological scars. To the Lighthouse (1927) is set on two days ten years apart. The plot centers around the Ramsay family's anticipation of and reflection upon a visit to a lighthouse and the connected familial tensions. One of the primary themes of the novel is the struggle in the creative process that beset painter Lily Briscoe while she struggles to paint in the midst of the family drama. The novel is also a meditation upon the lives of a nation's inhabitants in the midst of war, and of the people left behind. The Waves (1931) presents a group of six friends whose reflections, which are closer to recitatives than to interior monologues proper, create a wave-like atmosphere that is more akin to a prose poem than to a plot-centered novel. Her last work, Between the Acts (1941) sums up and magnifies Woolf's chief preoccupations: the transformation of life through art, sexual ambivalence, and meditation on the themes of flux of time and life, presented simultaneously as corrosion and rejuvenation - all set in a highly imaginative and symbolic narrative encompassing almost all of English history. Recently, studies of Virginia Woolf have focused on feminist and lesbian themes in her work, such as in the 1997 collection of critical essays, Virginia Woolf: Lesbian Readings, edited by Eileen Barrett and Patricia Cramer. The Hours is a 2002 Academy Award winning film and Best Picture nominee about three women of different generations and times whose lives are interconnected by Virginia Woolf's novel, Mrs. Dalloway. All the action takes place within the span of one day.
Trish New, author of The Thrill of Hope and South State Street Journal.

The Transforming Power of Art.......2004-11-25

Here is an artist at work, painting the nuances of the heart, creating living people, reacting to the subtleties of mood, ambiance, the weather, and external perceptions that make up how we live and who we are. No matter what you think of these people, you have a chance to live with them and understand them, feel their conflicts, their love, and their pains. Virginia Woolf is the ballast that offsets all the one-book-wonder authors, the cynics, the nasty moderns, and those authors who have given up on anything positive in the world. Like Shakespeare, her work will live on long after so many others are forgotten. That's because she offers us art, hope, vision, and the truth about our humanity. It's all here in this book, if you choose to read it.

Great writing.......2003-10-24

As in the other Virginia Woolf books I have read, what strikes me first and foremost is the wonderful writing. The descriptions are phenomenal, starting with the surroundings and continuing with the character's facial expressions. Some of the passages are pure poetry and the characters are beautifully and consistently drawn out. Oddly, although we know that Katharine is beautiful, we do not get a description of her, or of any other person in the story, with the exception of William Rodney.

Woolf became a little heavy when it went into the minds of the characters who are in crises, but as one reaches the end of the book, all is forgiven.

An excellent read!

An Absolute Masterpiece.......2002-04-27

Great book.......1999-12-23

Virginia Woolf does such a wonderful job of revealing the many facets of an individual. In this book, she applies that task to couples in love. It is a marvel that she not only identifies the many nuances of a glance, a word, a movement, but that she also conveys them to the reader in a perfect sentence. This book, unlike some of her others, seems written to appeal to a broader audience. It is "easier" than some of her other fiction, but is by no means a bore for Woolf fans.

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"How hopeless under ground/ Falls the remorseful day."
Goodbye to Morse
And so we say goodbye.
And so a great mind leaves us for that long good night...
The last of Inspector Morse

The Remorseful Day
Colin Dexter
Manufacturer: Wheeler Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1568958838

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Over 13 novels and a popular television series later, Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse has taken his place alongside Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Lord Peter Wimsey, Philip Marlowe, and a handful of other famous sleuths. Like most of them, Morse possesses an uncanny intelligence, especially in matters of crime and crosswords, but Dexter has always made sure that his detective remains fully a man--flawed and uncertain despite an outward bravado. In this final, difficult story, Morse's humanity unfolds much as his cases do: with the slow revelation of secrets and surprises that frequently catch the reader off guard.

The novel begins with events now a year old. Yvonne Hamilton had been found in her home murdered--handcuffed and naked. The Thames Valley Police had supposed robbery, but their suspects had dissolved and all the leads had dried up. A year later, while Morse is on furlough, two anonymous calls to Chief Superintendent Strange open the possibility of a new line of inquiry. Strange wants his best man on the case. Morse, however, shows a surprising reluctance to embroil himself in what seems to be a classic Morsean puzzle. When he finally does reopen the investigation, his unorthodox approach worries even his longtime sidekick, Sergeant Lewis--who begins to suspect that his boss has a personal connection to the victim. What could Morse be up to? And--as many readers will be asking throughout--what could possibly bring his career to a close?

Like the work of few other mystery writers, Dexter's Morse series has consistently blended the dignity of high art with the grimness of crime and punishment. While it's a cliché to say that he transcends the genre, he has certainly expanded its range to novels that entertain while they instruct--even when that instruction is grammatical. The Remorseful Day is indeed a remorseful farewell, a delicately handled conclusion to a series that will now remain artfully complete, not lingering beyond its time. --Patrick O'Kelley

Book Description

"Where does all this leave us, sir?"
"Things are moving fast."
"We're getting near the end, you mean?"
"We were always near the end."

For a year, the murder of Yvonne Harrison at her home in the Cotswold village of Lower Swinstead has baffled the Thames Valley CID. But one man has yet to tackle the case--and it is just the sort of puzzle at which Chief Inspector Morse excels.

So why is he adamant that he will not lead the reinvestigation, despite two anonymous phone calls that hint at new evidence? And why, if he refuses to take on the case officially, does he seem to be carrying out his own private inquiries?

When Sergeant Lewis learns that Morse was once friendly with Yvonne Harrison, he begins to suspect that the man who has earned his admiration, and exasperation, over so many years knows more about her death than he is letting on. When Morse finally does take over, the investigation leads down highways and byways that are disturbing to all concerned.

And then there is that final twist!

The Remorseful Day is full of the wonderful, unique touches that characterize Colin Dexter's novels. There is the brilliant, cranky Morse, the stubborn Sergeant Lewis, determined to best his boss at his own game, and, of course, the lovingly described town of Oxford, where grand colleges and old traditions are confronted by the new and the nasty. And throughout, there is today's world, as seen by Chief Inspector Morse.

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"How hopeless under ground/ Falls the remorseful day.".......2006-04-28

As he brings his thirteen-volume Inspector Morse series (and his own writing career) to a poignant close with this 1999 novel, author Colin Dexter selects the title of this final book from an A. E. Housman poem, which celebrates the brilliance of sunrise and the sad inevitability of sunset--an appropriate symbol of the passage of time, an image of life and death, and a play on Morse's name. Here Dexter reveals far more about Chief Inspector Morse than in any of his previous novels, as Morse faces an especially complex and difficult case, at the same time that he is privately dealing with health issues.

A gruff and uncompromising man of unquestioned integrity and honesty, Morse is a music buff with a love for literature and syntax, a man who frequently corrects the grammatical errors of Sgt. Lewis, his loyal, hard-working, and less educated assistant. Suffering from "indigestion" and diabetes, Morse blithely ignores the dietary regimen recommended by his doctors, experimenting with his insulin dosage while continuing to indulge his love of scotch whisky, both at home and in local pubs, where he and the tee-totalling Lewis often conduct their interviews.

In this case, Morse surprises Sgt. Lewis by being less than enthusiastic about investigating a "cold case," a murder the previous year of a nurse, Yvonne Harrison, who was found handcuffed, gagged, and nude in her bed. Morse knew Yvonne when he himself was hospitalized, and Sgt. Lewis begins to suspect, for the first time ever, that Morse may be hiding information about the case, for his own reasons. Lewis continues to investigate as conscientiously as he can, mostly on his own, though this case, with its unusually large number of suspects, possible motives, red herrings, additional murders, wrong turns, financial maneuverings, and missing evidence, is one that cries out for better cooperation between Morse and Lewis.

Ultimately tying up all the loose ends and resolving the issue of Morse's honesty, Dexter creates dramatic and moving scenes, showing the depth of the unexpressed feelings between Morse and Lewis and their respect for each other. For the first time, Morse reveals his vulnerability, and Lewis, seeing this, becomes stronger and more self-confident. Always concerned with bringing about justice and protecting those who are innocent, Morse, despite appearances, obeys his personal code throughout this valedictory novel, leaving a lasting legacy for the lovers of this series. n Mary Whipple

Goodbye to Morse .......2006-03-25

Colin Dexter has provided readers with some of the best detective fiction ever written. With framed degrees in Classics hanging on his wall and some crossword competition trophies standing on his mantelpiece, Dexter was qualified to bring much greater depth and literary value to the writing of detective fiction than the majority of its practitioners when he began work on his first Chief Inspector Morse novel in the early 1970s.

In all he has produced 13 Morse books and this, written in 1998, is the last of them. Expect detective fiction that has the literary quality of any of the best C20th novels. Don't expect equal sophistication in the crime content, however. The murders here are as sordid and sensational as those invented by Stephen King. This case concerns Yvonne Harrison who was found dead and almost naked handcuffed to her bed one year ago. Other murders follow. As if there is not enough mystery amongst all these elements, there is the mystery of Morse's attitude to the case. He refuses to head a reopening of the investigation, yet he is intent in forwarding his own private inquires. What has he to hide? What is to be hidden?

More curmudgeonly than ever, and more critical than ever of his loyal side-kick, Sargeant Lewis, Morse's journey to the truth parallels his own journey towards death.

The Morse books formed the basis for a highly-acclaimed TV series starring John Thaw. Audio book collectors can enjoy an unabridged version read by Terrence Hardiman. When delivering the dialogue, Terrence Hardiman skillfully adopts the voices of the principal actors in the TV series.

And so we say goodbye........2005-11-14

This was a bittersweet story. It's intricately plotted and the puzzle is one that would have even the best minds wondering, but the whole time that I was reading I realized that it was the last of a truly great series, and a truly great detective mind. The thing that I loved about Morse (both in the hooks and in the television series) is that he's just an ordinary man with ordinary flaws, but he had a brilliant mind. In this book Morse is working with Lewis to solve a year old murder case, and the deeper that they dig, the more Lewis realizes that the victim in this case was personally known to Morse and Morse might know a lot more about her and the case than he lets on. During the whole book, Morse is battling his own demons. He has a premonition that he isn't going to last long and his health continues to fail, but in spite of that he does solve the complex case, even though he doesn't get a chance to personally charge the murderer. This is such an excellent series, and I recommend it highly, but be prepared. Once you get to this book after reading carefully through the series, you will feel as sad as I do.

And so a great mind leaves us for that long good night..........2003-10-20

It never ceases to amaze me concerning certain circumstances. Shortly after PBS discontinued the series on Colin Dexter's books on Inspector Morse, John Thaw who played the part died. A similar track of events happened after PBS stopped making Sherlock Holmes series with Jeremy Brett, he also died. So forever will my mind see these two great actors in their final appearances as the intensely brilliant, very British, very demanding crime-solvers that they were in spite of the other parts they played throughout their lives.

And so when I read this final book of Dexter's concerning Inspector Morse's final days and his last case, I see a curmudgeon with a shock of white hair, an obvious limp, and a tendency to use big words wandering throughout this book. I also see a perplexed Kevin Whatley as Morse's very long-suffering sidekick Seargeant Lewis. And at the end when Morse is dead, and Lewis is struggling so hard to come to terms with information left behind that seems to implicate Morse as a less then perfect officer of the law, only to find out that Morse had been protecting their soon-to-retire senior officer and his dying wife...when Lewis breaks down and cries for his loss finally, my heart breaks with him.

Dexter was right to stop his series. His writing remained magnificently British to the end, but all series get stail and sometimes the authors just need the opportunity to move on to something else. And like with Jeremy Brett's death, even the production of a prequel could not be done, because the man who ultimately 'is' the part of Morse is no longer with us.

Since this is the last in the series, I gave it a five. Some of the earlier stories are better, and this one was a bit confusing in some spots. There seem to be suspects all over the place, and yet, some don't make sense. But the writing is so much better than most American mystery writers, and as I said, the end nearly brought me to tears. Morse himself, while treating his symptoms which he knows indicate a heart attack in happening with acid reflux medicine, he continues to be himself and solve the one case from which he tried to distance himself, because of personal involvement with the victim.

Morse never finds the happiness of human companionship in his life. But his life is full never-the-less with his job, with his music and reading, and with his relationship with Lewis (who is surprised at the end with being the recipient of an inheritance from this man he thought did not respect him. but who loved him nevertheless).

An appropriate ending to a wonderful series.

Karen Sadler

The last of Inspector Morse.......2002-12-12

A 318 page story separated into 80 chapters, a prolegomenon, and an epilogue, this is the last of the Inspector Morse novels. Morse is protrayed as an alcoholic diabetic who does not take care of his health. He gets a substantial portion of his calories from Glenfiddich and various brands of ale. He has been on medical leave, but is ordered, along with Sgt. Lewis, to take responsibility for investigating a case. A year before, a married woman with loose morals was found murdered in her bedroom. The case was never solved, but is now reopened when Chief Inspector Strange reports mysterious telephone calls.

The case takes some new twists and turns when people involved start turning up dead. Investigations reveal that the woman was not the only one sleeping around. Some evidence had conveniently disappeared during the initial investigation. The case is well known to Inspector Morse fans as it was a TV production. However, the written story has some differences from what was on TV, which is usually the case.

Book Description

Ten colourful 24-page books present content area readings in science, maths, history, and social studies.

The Oxford History of English Music. Vol. 2, From c. 1715 to the Present Day.(Review) (book review): An article from: Notes

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The Oxford History of English Music. Vol. 2, From c. 1715 to the Present Day.(Review) (book review): An article from: Notes
Jeremy Dibble
Manufacturer: Music Library Association, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Notes, published by Music Library Association, Inc. on March 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1575 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Oxford History of English Music. Vol. 2, From c. 1715 to the Present Day.(Review) (book review)
Author: Jeremy Dibble
Publication: Notes (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 2001
Publisher: Music Library Association, Inc.
Volume: 57 Issue: 3 Page: 600

Article Type: Book Review

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Discovering Castle Days (Discovery (Oxford))

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Discovering Castle Days (Discovery (Oxford))
J. Bradley Cruxton , and W. Doug Wilson
Manufacturer: Tandem Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0613948912

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THE OXFORD BOOK OF CHILDREN'S STORIES
Jan (selected and introduced by) [Sarah Fielding, Thomas Day, John Aikin, Anna Laetitia Barbauld, Mary Lamb, Alicia Catherine Mant, Mary Martha Sherwood, Catherine Sinclair, Frances Browne, Charlotte Maria Tucker, Lucretia P. Hale, et al] Mark
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJUZJS

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Oxford Book of Days
Bonnie; & Leofranc Holford-Strevens Blackburn
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKU236

Oxford Literacy Web: Fiction: Duck Green School Stories: Stage 6: Big Book Pack: Sports Day and the Songbird (Oxford Literacy Web)

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Oxford Literacy Web: Fiction: Duck Green School Stories: Stage 6: Big Book Pack: Sports Day and the Songbird (Oxford Literacy Web)
Michaela Morgan , and Elspeth Graham
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 0199173591

Book Description

The Oxford Literacy Web is an exciting new literacy programme designed to guide schools successfully through the primary years. Fitting the requirements of the National Literacy Strategy, National Curriculum in England and Wales, English Language 5-14 in Scotland, and Common Curriculum in Northern Ireland, the Oxford Literacy Web guides pupils through the core skills associated with learning to read and write with a diverse range of literary styles within the genres of fiction, non-fiction, rhymes, language, and poetry. The "Fiction" strand: there can be no better way to learn to read than through the Duck Green School and Variety story strands. Exciting stories, hilarious events, and dynamic illustrations combine to ensure diversity and enjoyment. In the Duck Green School stories, early school experiences are brought to life through a cast of lovable characters. Children can enjoy their own `soap opera' while learning specific vocabulary in context. In Stage 6 it's Sports Day and Josh is determined to win a race, some ducks have a treat when they come to school, and Cheep gets into a sticky situation. In the fantasy tales Cinderella is reinterpreted in Leela and the Lost Shoe, Gulliver's Travels is reinterpreted in The Rescue, and The Emperor's Nightingale is reinterpreted in The Songbird. Duck Green School stories introduce key word vocabulary in the context of a familiar setting and familiar characters. The two titles "Sports Day" and "The Songbird" are also available in Big Book format, but only as a pack of two titles.

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