Alison Lurie Knihy

Román Poslední láska patří do okruhu velmi oblíbených konfrontací britského a amerického způsobu života - vzpomeňme například na Hostující profesory od Davida Lodge. Také tento román se odehrává v akademickém prostředí a jejími protagonisty jsou universitní učitelé. V milostném příběhu stárnoucí neprovdané americké profesorky, která se na studijním pobytu v Londýně zamiluje do amerického „prosťáčka”, a v paralelně se odvíjející milostné historii jejího mladšího kolegy, jenž propadne kouzlu náladové anglické herečky, provádí Alison Lurie důkladné srovnání dvou anglosaských kultur a zároveň ještě důkladnější exkurszi do „hlubin” lidských duší, jež - nazírány z mnoha úhlů a rozmanitých pohledů - postupně odkrývají svou složitost a křehkost.... celý text

Jenny has devoted her life to her husband, the naturalist Wilkie Walker. She is as rare a creature as the endangered species he works to preserve. But this year, as winter comes on, Wilkie seems distant and depressed. In desperation Jenny persuades him to visit Key West, but the sun and tropical scenery do nothing to cheer him up.

This collection showcases a diverse array of European folktales featuring strong, resourceful heroines who defy traditional gender roles. The young protagonists are active and courageous, capable of battling giants, solving riddles, and outsmarting evil forces. These tales, often overlooked in earlier compilations, highlight the wit and bravery of women, presenting them as dynamic characters rather than passive figures. Through these stories, readers are introduced to a rich tapestry of female empowerment in folklore.

Most of the enduring works of great children's literature are subversive in one way or another, maintains the author. In this book she looks at authors who have written with dangerous directness to the young.

Faculty wife Emily Stockwell Turner is beautiful, rich, and principled. However, five years in a marriage devoid of passion is enough to propel Emmy, despite her principles, into an affair with silver-tongued Will Thomas, a self-confessed libertine. The shocking, unforeseen consequences of their affair shatter Emmy's most cherished delusions about friendship, romance, and the ties that bind.

This is another novel by the author of Foreign Affairs.

Janet Smith, a self-confessed sensitive lady writer, compares Illyria, a luxurious retreat for artists, to heaven when she first arrives. But before long she starts to see its guests as children, madmen and demons, as she makes disturbing discoveries about everyone there - including herself.

When two families spend a weekend on an idyllic farm, it becomes increasingly difficult to tell which of the party are adults and which are children. By the author of Love and Friendship, Imaginary Friends, Real People, Foreign Affairs and The Truth About Lorin Jones.

In the name of sociological research, two scientists infiltrate the ranks of the Truth Seekers--a rather ridiculous small-town cult whose credo involves sex, spiritualism, and a flying saucer messiah. Exposed to the persuasive energies of a sensuous high priestess, the men of science are forced to question seriously their superstitious belief that they can chart, understand, and control the workings of the human mind.

Jenny has devoted her life to her husband, the famous naturalist Wilkie Walker. But this year, as winter comes on, Wilkie seems distant and depressed. In desperation Jenny persuades him to visit Key West, but the sun and tropical scenery do nothing to cheer him up. As he grows even stranger, Jenny becomes involved with some intriguing local characters including Gerry, an ex-beatnik poet, and Lee, the dramatically attractive manager of a women-only guest house. Wife, secretary, confidante, housekeeper - might Jenny at last break free from her role as Wilkie's support act? WITH A NEW PREFACE FROM ALISON LURIE 'Full of sparkish - indeed Muriel Sparkish - observations and gently subversive wit... Lurie beautifully handles the ecstatic liberation of lesbian love' Independent

Paul and Katherine a young couple newly arrived in Los Angeles from the ordered but restrained environs of Harvard are forced to reexamine everything that gave their life meaning back in the "real" world. Informed by a brilliant interpretation of East and West Coast lifestyles and attitudes, this novel is an insightful and tellingly funny account of marital dysfunction.

The first shots are fired when Erica discovers that her husband is sleeping with a blond student named Wendy. Brian tries to make peace by announcing that he is breaking off the affair, and his wife promises to forgive him, but both fail to observe the terms of the truce. Erica frets and spies; Brian not only takes up with Wendy again, but makes her pregnant; and the war between the Tates is joined.

Lurie's essays provide a humorous and candid exploration of her experiences at Radcliffe during WWII, highlighting the challenges faced by women in academia. She reflects on her initial struggles as a writer and the eventual recognition she achieved, fostering connections with notable figures like Robert Silver and Edward Gorey. Through insightful and often amusing commentary, she delves into themes such as literary deconstruction and beloved children's literature, offering readers a rich and entertaining perspective on her life's journey.

The classic book about the clothes we wear and what they say about us.Even before we speak to someone in a meeting, at a party, or on the street, our clothes often express important information (or misinformation) about our occupation, origin, personality, opinions, and tastes. And we pay close attention to how others dress as well; though we may not be able to put what we observe into words, we unconsciously register the information, so that when we meet and converse we have already spoken to one another in a universal tongue.Alison Lurie, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, is our savvy guide and interpreter on this tour through the history of fashion. She provides fascinating insights into how changing sex roles, political upheavals, and class structure have influenced costume. Whether she is describing the enormous amount of clothing worn by early Victorian women or illuminating the significance of the long robes worn by aging men throughout history to connote eminence, her analysis is playful, clever, and always on target.

Alison Lurie is known for the sophisticated satire and Pulitzer-winning prose of her novels and stories. In Familiar Spirits, she lovingly evokes two true-life intimates who are now lost to her. In her signature mix of comedy and analysis Lurie recalls Merrill and his longtime partner, David Jackson and their lives together in New York, Athens, Stonington, Connecticut, and Key West.Familiar Spirits reveals both the worldly and other worldly sources of what Merrill called his "chronicles of love and loss". Merrill was known for the autobiographical element in his work and here, we are introduced to the over thirty years of Ouija board sessions that brought gods and ghosts into his and David Jackson's lives, and also into Merill's brilliant book length poem, The Changing Light at Sandover. Lurie suggests that Jackson's contribution to this work was so great that he might, in a sense, be recognized as Merrill's coauthor. Her account of Merrill and Jackson's long and inspired relationship with the supernatural and its tragic end will not only surprise many readers, but stand as a poignant memorial to her lost friends.

In 1981 Alison Lurie published The Language of Clothes , a meditation on costume and fashion as an expression of history, social status and individual psychology. Amusing, enlightening and full of literary allusion, the book was highly praised and widely anthologized. Now Lurie has returned with a companion book, The Language of Houses , a lucid, provocative and entertaining look at how the architecture of buildings and the spaces within them both reflect and affect the people who inhabit them. Schools, churches, government buildings, museums, prisons, hospitals, restaurants, and of course, houses and apartments―all of them speak to human experience in vital and varied ways. The Language of Houses discusses historical and regional styles and the use of materials such as stone and wood and concrete, as well as contemplating the roles of stairs and mirrors, windows and doors, tiny rooms and cathedral-like expanses, illustrating its conclusions with illuminating literary references and the comments of experts in the field. Accompanied by lighthearted original drawings, The Language of Houses is an essential and highly entertaining new contribution to the literature of modern architecture.

Alan Mackenzie's bad back is ruining both his and his wife Jane's lives. After years of happy marriage, these two attractive and intelligent people have stopped making love and are starting to resent each other. However, the arrival of a new couple in town - the beautiful and egoistic writer Delia and her cynical husband Henry - heralds a period of dramatic change for the Mackenzies. Truth and Consequences is a comedy about love and its disguises, and identity and change - about the small disasters and sudden attractions that can turn even the most stable relationship upside down.

Two sociologists infiltrate a cult from which madness might be the only escape Once the nation’s most popular sociologist, Tom McMann has fallen out of style lately. Desperate for a last shot at relevance, he targets the Truth Seekers, an up-and-coming cult that seems destined for the big time. An irresistible mixture of New Age cranks and sci-fi nerds, they are ruled over by Verena, a beautiful young telepath who believes she has a hotline to another planet. The Seekers are isolated, committed, and eccentric, but most importantly, they’re hiring. Assisted by his wide-eyed young colleague, Roger Zimmern, McMann infiltrates the Truth Seekers, hoping to see how the zealots respond if questioned by someone within their midst. But when Verena’s babblings start to make a little too much sense, the researchers must choose between losing their minds and buying one-way tickets to outer space. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Alison Lurie including rare images from the author’s collection.

" Sur fond de Californie des années 60, ce chassé-croisé des couples passé au regard laser d'Alison Lurie donne un étourdissant cocktail d'intelligence et de drôlerie ".

The first shots are fired when Erica discovers that her husband is sleeping with a blond student named Wendy. Brian tries to make peace by announcing that he is breaking off the affair, and his wife promises to forgive him, but both fail to observe the terms of the truce. Erica frets and spies; Brian not only takes up with Wendy again, but makes her pregnant; and the war between the Tates is joined.

Polly Alter, eine frisch geschiedene Kunsthistorikerin, nimmt den Auftrag an, die Biographie der verschwundenen Malerin Lorin Jones zu schreiben, die unter mysteriösen Umständen starb. Dabei erkennt sie, wie gefährlich es sein kann, sich in das Leben anderer zu vertiefen, während man selbst in der Luft hängt.

Pour des anglicistes américains, un congé d'études à Londres, c'est le rêve. Vinnie Miner et Fred Turner, deux professeurs de collège en Nouvelle-Angleterre, vont réaliser leur rêve anglophile, loin de la "barbarie" américaine. Le bonheur de lecture vient du fait que Alison Lurie décrit avec intelligence et humour l'ambiguïté des attitudes américaines vis-à-vis de l'Angleterre. Connivence feinte, hypocrisie, fascination réciproque ou rejet mutuel, complexe d'infériorité ou de supériorité. Tous ces sentiments conflictuels ne cessent de se croiser et font de ce livre réjouissant le plus anglais des romans américains. Alison Lurie a reçu pour ce livre le Prix Pulitzer en 1983.

En Gente de verdad seis personajes conviven durante dos semanas de verano en una gran casa de campo para concentrarse en su trabajo lejos de las presiones del mundo exterior. La diferencia entre lo aparente y lo real, entre los roles sociales y la propia identidad, flotará en el ambiente, aunque con cierto sentido del humor, para descubrirnos una historia de insatisfacción, de amor, de superación femenina y de vanidad.

Bei der Familie Tate war noch bis vor kurzem alles in Ordnung: die Ehe so wenig getrübt wie die Freude an den Kindern, das Heim behaglich. Mit einem Mal ist nichts mehr in Ordnung. In der Nachbarschaft entstehen scheußliche Häuser, die Kinder benehmen sich unerträglich, und Erica Tate muß entdecken, daß ihr Mann Brian sie mit einer Studentin betrügt. Sie will klug, großzügig handeln; es gelingt ihr nicht. Was belanglose Episode schien, ›eskaliert‹, das Aufbegehren der Frauen gegen die Männerherrschaft, der Protest der Campus-Jugend gegen die scheinbar Etablierten sind bereits Handlungen eines Krieges, eines Generationskrieges, eines Krieges der Geschlechter. Und dieser kleine, private Krieg entspricht dem großen, bösen Krieg im Fernen Osten, dem amerikanischen Trauma.

Eine Frau kurz vor der Heirat, die vom Geist ihrer Vorgängerin verfolgt wird, eine Ehefrau mit Diätvorsätzen, welche sich plötzlich nicht nur von süßen Versuchungen, sondern auch von dicken Leuten umstellt sieht, ein Toter, der seine Verlobte jedesmal heimsucht, wenn sie einen neuen Verehrer küssen will - Alison Luries Figuren mit ihrem vom 'normalen' Alltag gar nicht so weit entfernten Wahn.