This classic medieval romance of chivalry by an outstanding figure in a brilliant period of Georgian literature has affinities with both the Persian tradition and that of the West.

The Knight in the Panther Skin, Book One: Avtandil's QuestStorms gather on the far reaches of the Arabian frontier. The King grows old, and the throne lacks an heir. To avert disaster, he appoints his only daughter as regent, but just days after her coronation, a Black Knight appears from edges of the realm.He wears the skin of a panther and rides a midnight steed. When the King and his foster son Avtandil give challenge, the stranger butchers countless soldiers before vanishing before their eyes. Despite searching the empire, no one can find a trace of him or where he went. It's as if the man never existed.To learn the secret of the Knight in the Panther Skin, Avtandil is given an impossible quest. He must risk all he has ever loved and undertake a perilous journey to lands no Arabian has ever seen. Alone and lost to himself, he has no choice but to scour the edges of the world in search of his quarry. But first, he must overcome himself.If he succeeds, he will return home to the heart of his beloved. Yet, failure will bring all he has ever loved to ruin. His home will become no more than a wasteland of the hopes and dreams he once had. The problem is, no one knows how to find the Black Knight, or if he is a man or a monster?

The first comprehensive and objective history of the literature of Georgia, revealed to be unique among those of the former Byzantine and Russian empires, both in its quality and its 1500 years' history. It is examined in the context of the extraordinarily diverse influences which affected it - from Greek and Persian to Russian and modern European literature, and the folklore of the Caucasus.

Reproduction of the original: Georgian Folk Tales by Marjory Wardrop

Dark Ages: Vampire takes you to the nights before the Camarilla, when kine truly had reason to be afraid of the dark. The vampires of this bygone age ride the dark as lords, play their games with the crowned heads of Europe, and travel to the mysterious lands of the East as they wage their ages-old war. The diablerie of saulot, the waking of Mithras, the destruction of Michael the patriarch, the return of the Dracon -- it all means the time of reflection is over. The Inquisition stirs and the time to act is now. Across Europe, monarchs of the night set princes and barons at each other's undying throats. Young vampires take to the field ready to claim their domain and become powerful lords in their own right. Blood calls to blood. Rules for playing vampire knights.

A rookie reporter, searching for his first big story, re-opens a murder case that once saw crowds of protestors surround Tbilisi's central police station... A piece of romantic graffiti chalked outside a new apartment block sends its residents into a social media frenzy, trying to identify the two lovers implicated by it.... A war-orphaned teenager looks after his dying sister in an abandoned railway carriage on the edge of town, hoping that someday soon the state will take care of them... In the 26 years since Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union, the country and its capital, Tbilisi, have endured unimaginable hardships: one coup d'état, two wars with Russia, the cancer of organised crime, and prolonged periods of brutalising, economic depression. Now, as the city begins to flourish again – drawing hordes of tourists with its eclectic architecture and famous, welcoming spirit – it's difficult to reconcile the recent past with this glamorous and exotic present. With wit, warmth, heartbreaking realism, and a distinctly Georgian sense of neighbourliness, these ten stories do just that. 'Acts as an introduction to a literature quite neglected by the Anglophone world... the language consistently has the direct, clean and unadorned quality of great fiction.' – Luke Kennard. ‘A soaring, searing collection – important new stories that are sure to live long in the memory.’ – Eley Williams, author of Attrib. Published with the support of the Georgian National Book Center and the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia.

When Marjory Wardrop joined her diplomat brother, Oliver, in Georgia in 1894, they found themselves witnessing the birth pangs of a modern nation. Recognising the significance of these transformative years, they actively participated in the work of Ilia Chavchavadze and other leaders of the independence movement, culminating in Georgia's declaration of independence in 1918.Becoming increasingly fascinated by Georgian history and culture, the Wardrops gathered a significant collection of manuscripts dating from the eleventh to the twentieth century, including a seventeenth-century manuscript of Georgia's national epic poem, 'The Man in the Panther's Skin', which Marjory famously translated. A remarkable number of items in the collection, now housed at the Bodleian Library, illuminate an important aspect of medieval and modern Georgia.Through these items - manuscripts, royal charters, correspondence, notebooks and a draft of the 1918 declaration of Independence - Nikoloz Aleksidze narrates a history of Georgian literature and culture, from the importance of epic and folk tales, to the Georgian Church's battle against persecution, to the political activism of women in Georgia at the end of the nineteenth century.Richly illustrated with rare and previously unpublished images from the collection, this book not only offers a unique insight into Georgian culture and political history and but also tells the remarkable story of an eccentric English diplomat and his talented sister, whose monument now stands outside the parliament building in Tbilisi

Contains stories from the age of chivalry, knights and holy quests.