'This story, like so many stories, begins with a gift. That gift, like so many gifts, was a book...' In this luminous essay, Robert Macfarlane reflects on the unique emotional resonance of books given and received - and how such gifts have shaped his own life.

罗伯特·麦克法伦（Robert Macfarlane，1976— ） 剑桥院士，他的研究和写作领域侧重于自然与文学的关系、二战之后的英美小说、当代诗歌和维多利亚时期文学等等。 他的“行走文学三部曲”展现了当代旅行写作新的走向和所能达到的高度。其中首部《心事如山》获得了“卫报首作奖”、“泰晤士报年度最佳青年作家奖”和“萨默赛特·毛姆奖”；第二部作品《荒野之境》获得或被提名有将近十个奖项，由BBC制成纪录片。《古道》2012年出版，广受好评，不断出现在各种“年度好书”的推介中，获得“塞缪尔·约翰逊奖”提名。2013年他受邀担任布克奖评委会主席，成为布克奖史上最年轻的评委会主席。 麦克法伦的散文机智博雅，精巧而不晦涩，《格兰塔》前主编弗里曼称他为当代最好的行走文学作家。

The first plant enthusiasts to reach China found a wonderful array of unfamiliar garden plants that had been nurtured by Chinese gardeners for thousands of years. This is the story of the struggles, the daring and the dogged perseverance of those early collectors. Where would we be without magnolias, camellias, chrysanthemums, tree peonies, repeat-flowering roses, viburnums and...(展开全部)

The first plant enthusiasts to reach China found a wonderful array of unfamiliar garden plants that had been nurtured by Chinese gardeners for thousands of years. This is the story of the struggles, the daring and the dogged perseverance of those early collectors. Where would we be without magnolias, camellias, chrysanthemums, tree peonies, repeat-flowering roses, viburnums and...(展开全部)

This novel, which has always been regarded as one of Scott's finest, opens with the Edinburgh riots of 1736. The people of the city have been infuriated by the actions of John Porteous, Captain of the Guard, and when they hear that his death has been reprieved by the distant monarch they ignore the Queen and resolve to take their own revenge. At the cente of the story is Edin...(展开全部)

With a new introduction by James Wood Scobie, a police officer serving in a wartime west-African state, is distrusted — being scrupulously honest and immune to bribery. But then he falls in love, and in so doing, he is forced to betray everything he believes in, with drastic and tragic consequences.

With a new introduction by James Wood Scobie, a police officer serving in a wartime west-African state, is distrusted — being scrupulously honest and immune to bribery. But then he falls in love, and in so doing, he is forced to betray everything he believes in, with drastic and tragic consequences.

Elizabeth Bowen is widely considered to be one of the greatest novelists of this century. While her novels masquerade as witty comedies of manners, set in the lavish country houses of the Anglo-Irish or in elegant London homes, they mine the depths of private tragedy with a subtle ferocity and psychological complexity reminiscent of Henry James.The Death of the Heart, a story o...(展开全部)

伊丽莎白•鲍恩 Elizabeth Bowen，1899—1973 英国小说家，以其关于战时伦敦生活的小说而闻名。鲍恩于1899年出生于都柏林，中学时期就读肯特郡的唐屋中学。在伦敦艺术学校学习了一段时间后，她决定开始写作。1923年，出版短篇小说集《遭遇》（Encounters）。1937年，鲍恩成为爱尔兰文学院的一员。“二战”期间，鲍恩在伦敦的英国信息部工作，这段经历帮助她写出了关于战时伦敦生活最伟大的作品《炎热的一天》（In The Heat of the Day），1948年，她被授予大英帝国司令勋章（CBE）。 鲍恩一生创作了十部长篇小说、七十多个短篇小说，以及大量的文学评论和随笔。她的作品洞察入微，主要关注英格兰和爱尔兰中上阶层人群的情感和彼此之间的微妙关系。她早期创作的小说以机智和嘲弄著称，二十世纪三十年代之后的作品则表现出一种悲剧情感。...(展开全部)

It is London in the late 1930s, and into a coterie of rather grand early-middle-aged people the sixteen-year-old orphan Portia is plunged beyond her depth. Disconcertingly vulnerable, Portia is manifestly trying to understand what is going on around her and looking for something that is not there. Evident victim, she is also an inadvertent victimiser - her impossible lovingness...(展开全部)