ASPAL CLASSICS
Out Now
A Well Full of Leaves
by Elizabeth Myers
(Available on Amazon as ebook and paperback and also as an Apple ebook)
A Well Full of Leaves begins with the childhood of the heroine Laura and her three siblings in a dysfunctional family somewhere in the North of England in the 1920s. In spite of the dire circumstances in which she is brought up, Laura’s enthusiasm for life enables her to experience the ‘singing and the gold’ not only in nature but in the most mundane of her surroundings.
Mrs Christopher
by Elizabeth Myers
(Available as Amazon and Apple ebooks)
Mrs Christopher focusses on the nature of good and evil and reflects the author’s Christian faith as well as her literary genius. It opens dramatically with a murder which initially seemed to represent salvation for the blackmail victims of the deceased but turns out to be the ultimate test of their morality.
Elizabeth’s German Garden
by Elizabeth von Arnim
(Available as an Apple ebook)
In this semi-autobiographical novel Elizabeth recounts the pleasure she takes in her garden at Nassenheide, Pomerania in Germany. She delights in each season and experiences her garden as an escape from domestic life with her husband, whom she describes as the Man of Wrath, and her five children.
Expiation
by Elizabeth von Arnim
(Available as Amazon and Apple e-books)
The novel opens with the heroine, Millie, discovering that her wealthy and recently deceased husband has written her out of his will on account of her discreet but long-standing adultery during their marriage. As the plot unfolds we watch the husband’s wider family struggle to hide any consequent scandal and maintain their respectability in a south London middle-class suburb. The author paints a vivid picture of the social mores of the time and particularly the subservient role which women of the time were subjected to.
The Books of Downton Abbey
Volume One – by Aspal Press
(Available as Amazon and Apple ebooks)
In most of the episodes of the TV series Downton Abbey there are references to contemporary literature, and authors. Since some of the works referred to can be daunting in size, we are publishing a series of Readers which include extracts from the larger books and in some cases the entirety of the smaller ones. Our series is intended to give Downton devotees a ‘taste’ of some of the books referred to and to enable them to decide which works they would like to read in greater depth. Volume One contains extracts from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and The Duke’s Children by Anthony Trollope, and the whole of the poem Gunga Din by Rudyard Kipling.
The Books of Downton Abbey
Volume Two – by Aspal Press
(Available as Amazon and Apple ebooks)
This is the second volume of ‘The Books of Downton Abbey’, and continues the theme of the first volume – to give readers a ‘taste’ of the numerous literary works referred to in the Downton Abbey TV series. This volume includes an extract from Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (in its entirety), and an extract from Treasure Island by Sir Robert Louis Stevenson.
Aspal Jewish Classics
Classic novels written by Jewish authors and/or having as their subject Jewish life and society.
Reuben Sachs
by Amy Levy
(Available as Amazon and Apple e-books)
The central theme of Reuben Sachs, published in 1888, is the London Jewish Community of the late 19th century and in particular the relationship between Reuben Sachs and Judith Quixano. The novel highlight the differences between the so-called Sephardi Jews (from Spain via Amsterdam) and Ashkenzi Jews (from Poland and Eastern Europe). Reuben Sachs is Ashkenazi while Judith Quixano is a member of the well-established and integrated Sephardi community.
Miss Meredith
by Amy Levy
(Available as Amazon and Apple ebooks)
Elsie Meredith is one of three unmarried daughters of a widowed mother living in London in straightened circumstances. Elsie receives an offer of an engagement as governess with an aristocratic Italian family living in Pisa, the central Italian town with its famous leaning tower. With much trepidation she sets out on an adventure which includes both a romance and an unexpected ending. Much of the novel is focussed on Elsie’s growing appreciation of the beauties of the ancient town while she struggles with her feelings for the eldest son of the family who is visiting from the United States.