March 26, 2013

ENGLISH BOOK CLUBENGLISH BOOK CLUBENGLISH BOOK CLUBENGLISH BOOK CLUB

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SUSAN HILL’S BIOGRAPHY

Born in Scarborough, she is a novelist, playwright,

and critic, who has also written several radio plays

and broadcasts frequently. Most of her novels and

short stories are about difficult emotional

relationships, but she writes with delicacy.

TEA

“Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more

agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as

afternoon tea. There are circumstances in which, whether you

partake of the tea or not the situation is in itself delightful. The

implements of the little feast had been disposed upon the lawn of

an old English country-house.”

Do you happen to know what novel does this fragment

belong to?

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in

possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

Does it ring a bell?

James Cushat-Prinkly was a young man who had always

had a settled conviction that one of these days he would

marry. His lack of initiative in this matter aroused a

certain amount of impatience among the women-folk of

his home circle. He turns out to single out one of his

choice.

If you have liked this story, there is a Collector’s Library

collection in the market offering the best of Saki

complete and unabridged.

SAKI’S BIOGRAPHY

Hector Hugh Munro, the British novelist and short-

story writer, travelled widely and became a

successful journalist. He is best known for his short

stories.

A BIT OF SINGING AND DANCING

Esme Fanshaw has suddenly been

released into longed-for liberty by the

death of her mother. Now she is “mistress of herself”.

Vocabulary

Shingle : palet, còdol. Dapper : pulcre.

Pickle : conserva en vinagre. Darn : sargit.

Cellist : violoncel.lista. Untapped:sense explotar.

Sleet : aiguaneu. thatch (hair): mata.

Sinewy : nerviüt. bereaved : afligit.

To scurry = to hurry to curtail : reduir.

Crooner : cantant melòdic. Nippy : esprimatxat.

Pedlar : venedor ambulant. To hoard : acumular.

To jab (with elbow) : colzada. Runner : catifeta.

book-keeping : contabilitat. Spruce : pulcre.

H. E. BATES’ BIOGRAPHY

Born in 1905, he began his working life as a journalist,

but he made his reputation as a writer with his stories

about English country life. He was one of the greatest

of the short-story form, with an exceptional talent for

portraying character sensitively and economically.

MR LOVEDAY’S LITTLE OUTING

An asylum for lunatics is the setting of this story in

which Mr Loveday is granted a privilege : to dispose

of an outing for himself. When Lady Moping visits

her husband at a mental institution, she meets the

charming and affable Mr Loveday. Amazed that

Loveday is, in fact, an inmate, she gets the other

patients to petition for his release. Loveday may

seem a reasonable man, but that doesn’t mean that

he’s been cured.

Vocabulary

Fowl : au de corral. Weak or strong tea

Lump of sugar : terròs de sucre.

Dainties : small delicate cakes.

To scuttle : vagarejar.

Marquee : carpa, marquesina.

Bough : branca. To anoint : ungir

Cuckoo (FAMILIAR USE) : guillat, tocat de l’ala.

EVELYN WAUGH’S BIOGRAPHY

Born in London in 1903, in the 1930s was

acknowledged as England’s leading satirical novelist.

Readers loved A Handful of Dust, which satirized the

social excesses of upper-class life in the 1920s and

1930s.

SAME TIME, SAME PLACE

Miss Treadwell lives alone, in a bed-sitter with very

meagre economic means. She tries to make ends meet,

because she’s proud and “one has to keep up with

appearances”.

Do you think Miss Treadwell would have accepted Mr

Thornhill’s proposal if he had known her true

circumstances? Or indeed, if he had known them,

would he have proposed marriage in the first place?

Vocabulary

Bed-sitter = a furnished sitting room with sleeping accomodations.

Well-off : adinerat.

Dog-kennel : caseta de gossos.

Tipple (FAM.) : beguda alcohòlica.

Mallard : ànec reial.

Geese (Pl. of geese): oca.

Moorhen : polla d’aigua.

RAYMOND CARVER’S BIOGRAPHY

Born in the USA. He contributed to many literary

magazines and won several awards for his poems

and short stories. His writing is direct, focusing on

ordinary working people. Often his characters are in

a state of uncertainty or indecision, between jobs,

for example, or in the middle of an accident.

THE COLONEL’S LADY

Eve, the wife of Colonel George Peregrine writes a

book of love poems which is a huge success. Eve is

soon in demand everywhere, but her book seems to

include revelations about her love life, and it has a

disastrous effect on her marriage. The colonel is

anxious to find out the identity of the young man

Eve’s poems were addressed to.

VOCABULARY

Busybody = meddler hag = an ugly or evil-looking woman.

Barren: eixorca cockney = a native of London.

Loins: lloms chicken = insistent on petty

discipline.

Bosh = nonsense gumption = common sense,

initiative.

Gibberish =confused speech or language.

Bolt = used to fasten the door : balda.

To titter: to laugh in a nervous, half-suppressed manner.

SOMERSET MAUGHAM ‘S BIOGRAPHY

He originally qualified as a surgeon but soon became

a full-time writer of plays, short stories, and novels.

In both world wars he served as a British Intelligence

agent, and travelled widely, incorporating many of

his experiences into his stories. He was a master

storyteller. Among his most famous novels is The

Razor’s Edge.

THE BATH

The birthday boy is been knocked down by a car. Of

course, the birthday party never happened.

It is an open ending. Would you like a more definite

ending? Decide how you want the story to end.

Vocabulary

Curb (AM. EN.) : vorera.

Cufflinks : bessons

Loafers (AM. EN.) : mocasí.

FRANK SARGESON’S BIOGRAPHY

An acute observer of people and situations, he

describes them in few words, but with great

sensitivity. His stories are written in simple, informal

style, usually in the first person.

MRS BIXBY AND THE COLONEL’S COAT

According to the narrator, marriage in North

America provides a marvellous opportunity for

women to enjoy themselves, while their unfortunate

husbands slave away to pay their bills...

Vocabulary

Payroll : nòmina.

Lecherous : luxuriós, lasciu.

Jiggery-pokery : trampes.

Flabbergasted : astorat, esmaperdut.

Hitch : obstacle, dificultat.

Finicky : picadís, escarafallós / (job) enfarfegador.

Mink : visó.

Probe : sonda.

Enamel : esmalt.

Horseradish: rabe picant.

Dandelion : dent de lleó.

To cast an inlay (DENTIST) : empastar.

Lilt : melodia alegre.

ROALD DAHL’S BIOGRAPHY

He served in the Royal Air Force during the Second

World War, and then in Intelligence. He started writing

short stories, at first on flying themes. His storytelling

is bizarre and disturbing, always with a nasty sting. His

children’s books are also very popular.

THEY GAVE HER A RISE

News of a disaster is always horrifying, but it brings a

particular terror if we are afraid that someone we

know might be involved. When Mrs Bowman hears

the explosion from the ammunition factory and then

the news that people have been killed, she

immediately goes into a state of shock.

Vocabulary

To work on the wharves : drassanes.

Crockery = earthenware : terrissa.

Smithereens = fragments, bits.