A nine-year-old English girl must look after the dysfunctional adults in her life in this novel from the bestselling British author of Notes from an Exhibition Everyone needs Dido. All the adults in her life—grown-ups who act like children—depend on her for their happiness and stability. The nine-year-old orphan lives with her aunt Eliza, who adopted Dido when her mother died. A depressed musicologist unable to balance her brilliant academic career with motherhood, Eliza ruined her marriage with an illicit affair and is now paying the price. Her estranged husband, Giles, is an opera singer whose girlfriend, Julia, uncovers a shocking secret while concealing one of her own. As Dido shuttles between Eliza’s squalid flat and Giles’s elegant townhouse, she acts as both tactful diplomat and insightful analyst. Until something happens that powerfully impacts her young life. Narrated from the alternating viewpoints of Eliza, Giles, Julia, and Pearce, a Cornish cattle farmer who falls in love with Eliza, A Sweet Obscurity plays out like one of the Tudor madrigals at its heart: Each character is a counterpoint to another. And the theme running through their intersecting lives is Dido, who is supposed to save them all. But who will save Dido?

Bittersweet and startling, A SWEET OBSCURITY is a novel of childhood, love and the consequences of how lives are lived. 'Intriguing and impressive. A memorable study of a child forced cruelly, even tragically, to grow up too soon' Sunday Times Since her mother's death, nine year old Dido has been living with her eccentric aunt, acting as peacekeeper between Eliza, her estranged husband Giles and his girlfriend. They are each cruelly burdened in different ways. Chance draws them down to Cornwall, where a country idyll offers to lighten their urban cares. Eliza falls in love with local farmer, Pearce, an event that causes the four adults to re-assess their lives, with some painful and unforeseen consequences for adults and child alike.

During the heyday of McCarthyism, the Chicago Tribune, offended by something he had written, contemptuously dismissed Paul Boller as "an obscure professor" - he was then teaching at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Some forty-five years later, reflecting on the incident, Boller wrote an essay on what it was like to be an obscure professor at one of America's less publicized campuses in a conservative community during the late 1950s and early 1960s. That essay became the foundation for this collection of autobiographical selections reflecting the interests and pursuits of a man who gained national recognition, both inside the academic community and beyond, but still values his obscurity. Whether it is a study of the much-maligned Calvin Coolidge or an account of his Navy service as a translator of Japanese during World War II, Boller brings to his writing a fresh approach and a lively and wry wit.

Permanent Obscurity is a youthful bohemian satire, a story of alienated nonconformists, a Thelma & Louise story. This pulp epic could be labeled a black comedy. It could be labeled anticonsumer and subversive. Welcome to the psychosexual world of Permanent Obscurity. Inspired by the underground sexploitation films of the 1960s, this bold updating of the roughies subgenre largely takes place in New York City's East Village (ca. 2006), and it chronicles the rise and fall of a unique and intense friendship. Dolores and Serena, two chemically dependent, down-and-out artists set out to take control of their lives by making a fetish-noir/femdom movie. Of course, things don't exactly turn out as planned.

Three generations of a British family struggle through war, intolerance, infidelity, and illness in this “extraordinary blockbuster” (Time Out London). In the Roundel, an odd, secluded, eight-sided house in the English countryside, Edward Pepper and Sally Banks build a life. Hoping they’ve left hardship behind—they met when Sally, a doctor, treated Edward for tuberculosis after he escaped from Nazi Germany to England—they raise a family together. The German-Jewish composer has his devoted wife’s support—though he is sidetracked by the temptations of the movie industry. But for Edward and Sally, their children, and their children’s children, tragedy and joy will always go hand-in-hand, as they maneuver through a world of often bitter and brutal realities. And as the decades pass, a family shaped in equal measure by love and human failing will find itself sorely tested by mistrust, tyranny, misunderstanding, and an AIDS diagnosis. It will take more than the strength they found in their wartime romance to fight the battles of everyday life. The critically acclaimed novels of Patrick Gale have been compared to the writings of literary giants from Iris Murdoch to Gabriel García Márquez. Powerful, moving, and magnificent, this multigenerational family saga is one of Gale’s most compassionate and memorable works, a truly masterful fiction that Armistead Maupin, author of Tales of the City, calls “achingly true and beautiful.”

“More completely than any author before him, Richard Amory explores the tormented world of love for man by man . . . a happy amalgam of James Fenimore Cooper, Jean Genet and Hudson’s Green Mansions.”—from the cover copy of the 1969 edition Published well ahead of its time, in 1966 by Greenleaf Classics, Song of the Loon is a romantic novel that tells the story of Ephraim MacIver and his travels through the wilderness. Along his journey, he meets a number of characters who share with him stories, wisdom and homosexual encounters. The most popular erotic gay book of the 1960s and 1970s, Song of the Loon was the inspiration for two sequels, a 1970 film of the same name, at least one porn movie and a parody novel called Fruit of the Loon. Unique among pulp novels of the time, the gay characters in Song of the Loon are strong and romantically drawn, which has earned the book a place in the canon of gay American literature. With an introduction by Michael Bronski, editor of Pulp Friction and author of The Pleasure Principle. Little Sister’s Classics is a new series of books from Arsenal Pulp Press, reviving lost and out-of-print gay and lesbian classic books, both fiction and nonfiction. The books in the series are produced in conjunction with Little Sister’s Book and Art Emporium, the heroic Vancouver bookstore well-known for its anti-censorship efforts.

'Poised and pitch-perfect throughout' Mail on Sunday Set in Cornwall, the bestselling novel of artistic compulsion, marriage, and the secrets left behind. 'This book is complete perfection' Stephen Fry Celebrated artist Rachel Kelly dies alone in her Penzance studio, after decades of struggling with the creative highs and devastating lows that have coloured her life. Her family gathers, each of them searching for answers. They reflect on lives shaped by the enigmatic Rachel - as artist, wife and mother - and on the ambiguous legacies she leaves them, of talent, torment and transcendent love. 'An uplifting, immensely empathetic novel' Guardian What readers love about NOTES FROM AN EXHIBITION: ' A shifting, multi-layered, beautifully textured portrait of not-quite ordinary family life' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'The word that shimmers with me is empathy. Gale has such a sensitive understanding of how minds and hearts work and react on one another amid the chaos and sometimes intense joys of real living' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'I loved the exhibition-style notes at the beginning of each chapter, which heralded a hint of the chapter's contents. Beautifully woven back and forth in time to reveal the complexities of fascinating family members and their relationships' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Bestselling British author Patrick Gale casts an empathetic and ferocious eye on the domestic wounds inflicted by families and lovers in this dark comedy. One minute Deborah Curtis’s husband, Julian, is alive, a handsome figure leaving their rented house in an African principality, kissing his wife goodbye in the early morning sunshine. The next moment he’s dead, the ground shaking in the aftermath of a deafening explosion. Months later, Deborah is still recovering from the assassination of her spouse and the collateral damage to her own body and soul. Bestselling author Judith Lamb is living with her partner of eight years in an isolated farmhouse on the Cornish moors, struggling with her latest novel. Her American lover, the tall, statuesque Joanna Verdura, is currently on assignment in Seneca. After reading about a diplomat killed by a car bomb meant for someone else, Joanna feels a strong compulsion to visit the dead man’s widow. After all, Deborah is Judith’s younger sister. Although she has been estranged from Judith for years, Deborah doesn’t resist when Joanna whisks her off to Cornwall to grieve in peace, far from the political spotlight. But Joanna has unleashed a demon: the sisters’ buried past. As old unresolved wounds bleed into the present, a history of abuse comes to light. Forced to confront painful memories, the women’s secrets and lies collide in a shattering, unbearably moving climax in a cat sanctuary. From the bestselling author of Notes from an Exhibition, told in the very different voices of its three female characters, The Cat Sanctuary is an ultimately redemptive tale about family and forgiveness and the love and steadfast devotion needed to find grace.

Mystique of the Darkness: 100+ Gothic Classics is an unparalleled anthology that captures the essence and evolution of Gothic literature, stretching from the haunting halls of medieval castles to the psychological depths of the human mind. This collection showcases a remarkable range of literary styles, from the epistolary novels of the 18th century to the symbolic poetry of the Romantic era, and the early inklings of horror fiction. It highlights significant works that have shaped the Gothic tradition, offering readers a vast panorama of darkness, melancholy, and sublime terror. The diversity within this collection echoes the multifaceted nature of the Gothic genre itself, encapsulating its ability to transcend time and resonate across various cultural landscapes. The contributing authors and editors are titans of literature, each bringing their unique voice and perspective to the anthology. From the brooding romances of the Brontë sisters to the intricate narrative structures of Edgar Allan Poe, and the philosophical depth of Friedrich Schiller, these authors collectively embody the historical, cultural, and literary movements that the Gothic genre has traversed. Their works reflect the socio-political anxieties of their times, the exploration of the supernatural, and the deep investigation into the complexities of human nature. This convergence of diverse voices not only enhances the richness of the collection but also provides a comprehensive overview of the genre's evolution and its lasting impact on literature and culture. Mystique of the Darkness: 100+ Gothic Classics is an indispensable collection for readers passionate about exploring the shadowy corners of the human psyche and the eerie corridors of the past. It offers a unique opportunity to engage with a multiplicity of perspectives, styles, and themes, each contributing to the tapestry of the Gothic genre. This anthology is a treasure trove of literary masterpieces, ensuring an enriching experience for scholars, students, and enthusiasts alike. It invites readers to delve into the depths of darkness and discover the beauty and terror that lie within, fostering a deeper appreciation for one of literature's most enduring traditions.