Olivia Manning

'Fantastically tart and readable' Sarah Waters'An important 20th-century writer who paints a complex relationship between gender and power with wit and sensitivity' Lauren Elkin'These books are clearly among the very best fiction about the Second World War' The Sunday Times'One of the most gifted English writers of her generation' New York TimesAs Rommel advances in wartorn Egypt, the lives of the civilian population come under threat. One such couple are Guy and Harriet Pringle, who have escaped the war in Europe only to find the conflict once more on their doorstep, providing a volatile backdrop to their own personal battles.The civilian world meets the military through the figure of Simon Boulderstone, a young army officer who will witness the tragedy and tension of war on the frontier at first hand.An outstanding author of wartime fiction, Olivia Manning brilliantly evokes here the world of Egypt and the Levant - Syria, Lebanon and Palestine - with perception and subtlety, humour and humanity

Osenju 1939 goda, cherez neskolko nedel posle vtorzhenija Germanii v Polshu, anglijskie molodozheny Gaj i Garriet Pringl priezzhajut v Bukharest, izvestnyj togda kak "vostochnyj Parizh". Zhiteli etogo mnogolikogo goroda, pogruzhennogo v neopredelennost vojny i politicheskoj nestabilnosti, tsepljajutsja za jarkuju povsednevnuju zhizn, poka Rumyniju i ostalnuju Evropu okhvatyvaet khaos. Tem vremenem Garriet nachinaet po-nastojaschemu uznavat svoego muzha, universitetskogo professora-ekstraverta, srazu vkljuchivshegosja v ozhivlennoe obschenie s mnozhestvom ljudej, i pytaetsja najti svoe mesto v svoeobraznoj kompanii chopornykh diplomatov, bogatykh dam, soblaznitelnykh plutov i kareristov.Osnovannaja na lichnom opyte avtora, eta kniga stala nachalom znamenitoj "Balkanskoj trilogii", blagodarja kotoroj Olivija Menning voshla v istoriju literatury XX veka. Dostovernoe vossozdanie istoricheskikh obstojatelstv, shirokaja palitra kharakterov, tonkij jumor - vsjo eto delaet "Velichajshee blago" odnim iz luchshikh evropejskikh romanov o Vtoroj mirovoj vojne.Perevodchik: Gorjanina DarjaRedaktor: Baltrushajtis D. V.

Posle vstuplenija Rumynii v vojnu na storone stran Osi Pringly ustremljajutsja iz Bukharesta v Gretsiju v sostave gruppy bezhentsev, sostojaschej iz vysokopostavlennykh lits, russkikh beloemigrantov, zhurnalistov i moshennikov. Odnako v Afinakh suprugam predstoit stolknutsja s novym vyzovom, ne menee surovym, chem raspolzajuschajasja po Evrope vojna. Tonkie nabljudenija Olivii Menning o ljubvi, brake i druzhbe posredi istoricheskoj katastrofy skladyvajutsja v panoramu dramaticheskikh obstojatelstv povrezhdennoj zhizni i zhivoe svidetelstvo epokhi.Perevodchik: Gorjanina Darja

Britanskaja pisatelnitsa Olivija Menning priekhala na Balkany vmeste s muzhem v nachale Vtoroj mirovoj vojny i ne vozvraschalas v Angliju do 1945 goda, pereezzhaja iz Rumynii v Gretsiju, a iz Gretsii v Egipet. Etim stranstvijam posvjaschena ee Balkanskaja trilogija, kotoruju Entoni Bjordzhess nazval luchshim svidetelstvom o vojne v britanskoj khudozhestvennoj literature. Menning ne byvala ni na poljakh srazhenij, ni v gospitaljakh, ne borolas s rezhimom ili s vrazheskimi zakhvatchikami. Ona pytalas vystroit v rasshatyvajuschemsja mire obychnuju zhizn, ne poddavajas panike. Takova i ee geroinja Garriet - zhenschina, kotoraja skoree molchit i nabljudaet, chem dejstvuet. V "Balkanskoj trilogii" vokrug Garriet, skvoz prizmu ee myslej i chuvstv chitateljam otkryvaetsja panorama spetsificheskogo svetskogo obschestva - otorvannykh ot zhizni aristokratov, bezvlastnykh diplomatov, razorjajuschikhsja bankirov, rasterjannykh zhurnalistov i prosto emigrantov, sumevshikh nenadolgo skrytsja ot vojny i vsegda gotovykh vnov sorvatsja s mesta.Perevodchik: Gorjanina DarjaRedaktor: Baltrushajtis D. V.

Bukharest, 1940 god. Gorod zamer v ozhidanii vtorzhenija. Gaj i Garriet Pringl vsjo javstvennee chuvstvujut ugrozu svoemu polozheniju. Garriet ischet bezopasnosti, a Gaj smotrit na proiskhodjaschee idealisticheski i tem samym tolko usilivaet ee strakh. Kogda v Bukharest vkhodjat nemtsy, suprugam prikhoditsja razluchitsja; Garriet v otchajannoj popytke obresti nadezhnoe ubezhische uezzhaet v Afiny.Vo vtorom romane "Balkanskoj trilogii", svoego zanovo otkrytogo shedevra, Olivija Menning prepodnosit nam dramatichnyj i koloritnyj portret goroda, okhvachennogo burej vojny, i molodoj pary, pytajuschejsja sokhranit svoj brak pod natiskom bedstvij.Perevodchik: Gorjanina Darja

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

'Her gallery of personages is huge, her scene painting superb, her pathos controlled, her humour quiet and civilised' Anthony Burgess'So glittering is the overall parade - and so entertaining the surface - that the trilogy remains excitingly vivid; it amuses, it diverts and it informs, and to do these things so elegantly is no small achievement' Sunday Times'A fantastically tart and readable account of life in eastern Europe at the start of the war' Sarah WatersThe Balkan Trilogy is the story of a marriage and of a war, a vast, teeming, and complex masterpiece in which Olivia Manning brings the uncertainty and adventure of civilian existence under political and military siege to vibrant life.At the heart of the trilogy are newly-weds Guy and Harriet Pringle, who arrive in Bucharest - the so-called Paris of the East - in the autumn of 1939, just weeks after the German invasion of Poland. Guy's lecturing job awaits, alongside friends and the ever-ardent Sophie - but for Harriet, alone and naive, it's a strange new life. Other surprises follow: Romania joins the Axis, and before long German soldiers overrun the capital. The Pringles flee south to Greece, part of a group of refugees made up of White Russians, journalists, con artists, and dignitaries. In Athens, however, the couple will face a new challenge of their own...

'Her gallery of personages is huge, her scene painting superb, her pathos controlled, her humour quiet and civilised' - Anthony Burgess'Glittering characterisation, sharp and eloquent writing' - Sunday Telegraph'Wonderfully entertaining' - ObserverBucharest, 1940. The city is on the brink of invasion and Guy and Harriet Pringle find their position growing ever more dangerous. Harriet longs for safety, while Guy's idealism frustrates his new wife. But when the Germans march in, Guy believes they must separate in a desperate bid to find safety, so Harriet leaves for Athens. The Spoilt City is a dramatic and colourful portrait of a city in turmoil, and of a young couple struggling to make their marriage work in the face of adversity.

'So glittering is the overall parade - and so entertaining the surface - that the trilogy remains excitingly vivid' - Sunday Times'Wonderfully entertaining' - ObserverAthens, 1941. Harriet Pringle feverishly awaits news of her husband, trapped in the spoilt city of Bucharest. Yet when the young couple are reunited, Guy once again becomes absorbed in his work, leading Harriet to seek the attention of a handsome young officer. But when Greece is defeated and Europe starts to crumble around them, Guy and Harriet are forced to find a new strength amidst the devastation. Manning's exquisite observations on love, marriage and friendship during wartime are brought vibrantly to life.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY RACHEL CUSK'A fantastically tart and readable account of life in eastern Europe at the start of the war' Sarah Waters'Wonderfully entertaining' ObserverAutumn, 1939.

From one of the classic writers of post-war English literature comes a stunning novel of love, betrayal and redemption. Married but obstinately set in their separate ways, Hugh and Kristy Foster know nothing of Al-Bustan, a far-flung island in the Indian Ocean.

In The Levant Trilogy Olivia Manning returns to the story of the young English couple Guy and Harriet Pringle, last seen, at the end of The Balkan Trilogy, departing from Athens ahead of the invading Nazi army. Now, in the spring of 1941, they arrive in Egypt as Rommel's forces slowly but surely approach Cairo across the Sahara from the west. Will the city fall? In the streets the people contemplate welcoming a new set of occupiers, while European refugees and well-heeled Anglo-Egyptians prepare to pack their bags. And at night, everyone who is anyone flocks to the city's famed hotels and seedy cabarets, seeking one last dance before the tanks roll in. Manning describes the Pringles' ever complicated marriage and their motley group of friends and foes with the same sharp eye that earned The Balkan Trilogy a devoted following. And she also traces the fortunes of a marvelously drawn new character, Simon Boulderstone, a twenty-year-old recruit who must grapple with the boredom, chaos, and fleeting exhilaration of war.

The Balkan Trilogy is the story of a marriage and of a war, a vast, teeming, and complex masterpiece in which Olivia Manning brings the uncertainty and adventure of civilian existence under political and military siege to vibrant life. Manning's focus is not the battlefield but the caf and kitchen, the bedroom and street, the fabric of the everyday world that has been irrevocably changed by war, yet remains unchanged. At the heart of the trilogy are newlyweds Guy and Harriet Pringle, who arrive in Bucharest--the so-called Paris of the East--in the fall of 1939, just weeks after the German invasion of Poland. Guy, an Englishman teaching at the university, is as wantonly gregarious as his wife is introverted, and Harriet is shocked to discover that she must share her adored husband with a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. Other surprises follow: Romania joins the Axis, and before long German soldiers overrun the capital. The Pringles flee south to Greece, part of a group of refugees made up of White Russians, journalists, con artists, and dignitaries. In Athens, however, the couple will face a new challenge of their own, as great in its way as the still-expanding theater of war.

Jerusalem in 1945 is a city in flux: refugees from the war in Europe fill its streets and caf s, the British colonial mandate is coming to an end, and tensions are on the rise between the Arab and Jewish populations. Felix Latimer, a recently orphaned teenager, arrives in Jerusalem from Baghdad, biding time until he can secure passage to England. Adrift and deeply lonely, Felix has no choice but to room in a boardinghouse run by Miss Bohun, a relative he has never met. Miss Bohun is a holy terror, a cheerless miser who proclaims the ideals of a fundamentalist group known as the Ever-Readies--joy, charity, and love--even as she makes life a misery for her boarders. Then Mrs. Ellis, a fascinating young widow, moves into the house and disrupts its dreary routine for good. Olivia Manning's great subject is the lives of ordinary people caught up in history. Here, as in her panoramic depiction of World War II, The Balkan Trilogy, she offers a rich and psychologically nuanced story of life on the precipice, and she tells it with equal parts compassion, skepticism, and humor.

Fourteen subtle and beautifully written stories of varying theme and setting are brought together in this brilliant collection: haunting studies of lonely childhoods, shrewdly perceptive portraits of adult relationships and black comedies of domestic deadlock - all infused with Olivia Manning's precise and consistent wit.

Pretty, brave and 18 years old, Ellie has come to London in search of adventure. She soon finds it in Quintin Bellot, the handsome but tired dilettante who finds her a job in fashionable Chelsea. But Quintin, the seducer of one dove, is also the husband of another.

Orphaned, friendless and bewildered, young Felix Latimer comes to wartime Jerusalem to lodge with Miss Bohun, one of the most redoubtable (and ridiculous) of comic horrors in English fiction.