Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in Literature & Fiction

Master storyteller H.H. Munro—better known by the pen name "Saki"—is famous for his witty, mischievous, and macabre stories of suspense. Saki specialized in impudent practical jokes, devilish trickery, and incredible yarns, and his writing became popular in the early 1900s for its witty and satirical look at the pretensions and ignorance of bourgeois English society.

In Deadly Housewives, critically acclaimed mystery writer Christine Matthews has gathered 13 of the biggest names in women's mystery and suspense for an intriguing short story collection. These previously unpublished stories illuminate a different dark corner of the housewife-psyche, including sex, marriage, abandoned careers, jealousy, kids, and female friendship.

When Prince Baudouin's infant son, Alexander, grows to manhood, he sets out for Camelot to avenge his father's death. Years before, his father was murdered in cold blood by Alexander's jealous uncle, the King of Cornwall. Young Alexander journeys to Camelot seeking justice, but his path is diverted, first to a dark tower where he is bewitched by the sorceress Morgan Le Fay. He then meets a beautiful young woman named Alice, who has also encountered many dangers on her pilgrimages to the Holy Land. As they travel together, their connection grows beyond their separate purposes.

Brought to life in more than a dozen mini-portraits are such legendary figures as Apollo, Athena, Aphrodite, Hera, Prometheus, Zeus, and many more.

Lieutenant Sheila Worthy has been viciously slain, and it's up to Major Kara Guidry, the top lawyer in the Judge Advocate General's office, to track down her killer. But Guidry finds she must tread lightly. Rumors have linked the dead lieutenant to General William Beckwith, who was Kara's instructor at West Point and is now on the short list to become the Army's next Chief of Staff. Guidry must also contend with Beckwith's rivals, who would like nothing more than to see the general discredited.

This profound portrait of family life takes listeners inside the hearts and minds of members of the Quick family, whose raw-edged emotions are stirred up by a visit home. An inexplicably violent death and painful confrontations leave every family member forever changed. Rich in insight and psychological entanglements, A Southern Family is a masterful tale of anger and pain, of love and hatred, and ultimately of healing, understanding, and wisdom.

Roger Folger, age 61, recently lost his wife, Stella, but her spirit hasn't wandered far. In an all-too-earthly way, Roger converses with her disembodied voice in the privacy of the home they shared for many years, and you can bet Stella talks back. Roger fills her in on the latest about their kids and neighbors, while she tells Roger what heaven's like—picture the Ritz-Carlton in Florida, managed by Saint Peter. Worried that Roger is lonely, Stella decides that he needs a new woman in his life. But once he begins to date, Stella grows jealous.

If he had been just another married man, and she a beautiful woman—it would have been just a passionate affair. But he was the president. Will this dangerous liaison change the course of history? Matthew Underwood—former anchorman and now U.S. President—is dangerously indifferent to his job until he meets the female head of the tiny country of Lampang. After they fall in love, Underwood becomes mired in Lampang's internal politics—and a nosy reporter, not to mention the jealous First Lady, threaten everything.

How have women poets approached the question of eros throughout history? This collection explores the poetry of both physical and spiritual longing and fulfillment from ancient Greece to New York's East Village. In 50 poems, more than a dozen women poets express all the facets of desire. Included in this collection are Sappho, Mirabai, Hilda Dolittle [H.D.], Emily Dickinson, Anne Waldman, Olga Broumas, Brenda Coultas, Julie Patton, Eleni Sikélianòs, and Marina Tsvetayeva, as well as Pulitzer Prize-winners Jorie Graham, Mary Oliver, and Anne Sexton.

Veteran radio repertory company ZPPR Productions is guaranteed to give you goose bumps! Ranging from comic to horrific, these bite-sized thrillers include suspenseful contemporary dramas, satiric murder mysteries, and tongue-in-cheek parodies.

This rich and nuanced portrait of eighteenth-century China follows a Chinese girl's path to enlightenment. At the midpoint of the Manchus' long sway over the largest empire in China's history, a young girl stands reluctantly on the brink of womanhood. Lotus, the Empress Dowager's servant, decides to follow a spiritual path through the Forbidden City. She travels down routes of erotic fancy in search of a place called Mandala, where life's troubles are left behind.

It is 1757, the third year of the French and Indian War. Deep in the forests of New York State, the brave woodsman Hawkeye and his loyal Mohican friends become involved in the bloody French and Indian War. Hawkeye, a colonial scout, Chingachgook, the Mohican chief, and Uncas, his son, risk their lives to guide two English sisters through hostile territory and evade the evil Huron chief, Magua, who is determined to destroy them. The thrilling events that lead to the final tragic confrontation between rival war parties create an unforgettable, spine-tingling picture of life on the frontier.

The disastrous banjo-playing of Bertram "Bertie" Wooster has driven the otherwise steadfast gentleman's gentleman Jeeves to give notice—because even butlers have limits. In anger, Bertie disappears to the country with his new valet Brinkley as a guest of Lord “Chuffy” Chuffnell, who has employed the services of the recently resigned Jeeves. Bertie soon finds himself in no shortage of trouble as he encounters his ex-fiancée Pauline, her formidable father, and the eminent looney-doctor Sir Roderick Glossop.

Though celebrated playwright Wendy Wasserstein was firmly rooted in New York's cultural life, her appeal is universal. Shiksa Goddess collects her urbane, inspiring, and deeply empathetic essays, all written when she was in her forties, and all infused with her trademark irreverent humor. The full range of Wasserstein's mid-life obsessions are covered in this eclectic collection—everything from Chekhov, politics, and celebrity to family, fashion, and real estate.

When Quasimodo appears before the masses as the "Pope of Fools," the crowd beholds an enormous cyclops-like creature—the hunchback's whole body seems a twisted grimace. Yet, with all his deformity, there is a certain grace and agility in him, and he possesses an endearing passion. When Esmerelda, the beautiful Romani woman, stands between his two executioners, Quasimodo makes the ultimate sacrifice.

There is no higher praise we can give people than to say they have good character. But what does this mean, really? What makes this quality so essential to achieving personal success and fulfillment? More importantly, how can we build our own character and live more satisfying lives? Reflecting society's diversity, the contributors to this unique collection of essays speak from various cultural and professional backgrounds to share their observations on living with integrity, honesty, and compassion.

Has Jeeves finally lost his grip? Wealthy, scatterbrained Bertie Wooster—with the aid of his ever-faithful butler, Jeeves—attempts to romantically link dreamy, soulful Gussie Fink-Nottle with soppy, sweet Madeline Bassett. But as soon as Bertie takes Gussie and Madeline's love connection into his own hands, things go disastrously wrong! Fortunately, Jeeves steps in to set matters straight. But the characters must endure tangled layers of comedic complications before they reach the invariably clever and satisfying finale.

Isabel Archer is a young American orphan who receives an inheritance from an uncle. Taken under her aunt's wings, she meets Madame Merle, her aunt's worldly friend, who instills in Isabel a sense of European sophistication, a trait that comes to overpower her own common sense. Isabel marries widower Gilbert Osmond, who projects refined tastes and intellectual detachment. Isabel is utterly captivated by Osmond's languid charm, and he is thrilled to have his superior prize.

During the course of a long summer, it becomes clear to two young, lost, and bored Korean War vets that their future lies outside Indianapolis—amid the gleaming towers of Manhattan, where they will find glory, fame, and lots of women. Set in the 1950s, this novel by acclaimed author Dan Wakefield seethes with pent-up frustration and confusion, and nearly every episode bubbles with hilarity.

A baffling series of incidents at the majestic Paris Opera sparks frightening rumors about a mysterious opera ghost. Performers are ill-at-ease when they sit alone in their dressing rooms, alleging to have seen the enigma in evening clothes moving about in the shadows. Then a young and beautiful prima donna is visited by a masked "Angel of Music" who teaches her to sing and jealously demands her devotion—but with a price. With an increasing pattern of fear and violence, the phantom of the opera begins to strike, but always with a beautiful young performer at the center of his deadly desires.