Daunt Books

Your Basket

Shops

News Flash

The 2013 Winners are In!



Daunt Books Children's Short Story Competition 2013

Southern & Mediterranean Europe

• Italy
• Spain
• Portugal
• Greece
• Balkans

• 

  Serbia by Bradt

  Price: £15.99    Add to Basket

  A magnificently thorough guide covering all aspects and areas. Mitchell knows his stuff and writes in a pleasing style to boot.

• 

  The Serbs: History, Myth & the Destruction of Yugoslavia by Tim Judah

  Price: £13.99    Add to Basket

  Judah was Balkans correspondent for the Times and witnessed firsthand much of the turmoil of the early-90s conflict. Here he offers a fine history of the Serbs alongside a gripping personal description of the war, aiming to establish a context for their role in the disintegration of Yugoslavia - a goal he meets admirably. His book on Kosovo is equally good.

• 

  Montenegro by Bradt

  Price: £14.99    Add to Basket

  The best guide available for Montenegro. Comprehensive, thoughtfully arranged and well written.

• 

  Chronicle in Stone by Ismail Kadare

  Price: £8.99    Add to Basket

  A stunning tale of war through a child's eyes. In a mosaic of dreams and games, Kadare's young narrator both reflects and distorts events as his ancient and magical town falls prey to the turmoil of World War II. Brilliant.

• 

  Footsteps by Richard Holmes

  Price: £8.99    Add to Basket

  A truly marvellous book which recounts Richard Holmes' journey through France and Italy following in the footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson, Shelley, Mary Wolstonecraft and Wordsworth. Holmes combines travel writing, biography and memoir with astonishing success.

• 

  Italy's Sorrow by James Holland

  Price: £9.99    Add to Basket

  A rare and truly fantastic acccount of the war in Italy between 1944 and 1945 and its terrible consequences on the innocent civilians. An assured historical description of a horrifying time.

• 

  The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani

  Price: £9.99    Add to Basket

  A true delight and one of our absolute favourites, Bassani tells of an aristocratic family who offer their luxurious estate as a safe haven for persecuted Jews as anti-semitic sentiment mounts. Reflecting on his experiences long after the war has ended, the narrator relates a poignant and life-affirming tale.

• 

  Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar

  Price: £8.99    Add to Basket

  A novel of impeccable research and sustained empathy, narrated by Emperor Hadrian as he faces his looming demise. Taking the form of a long valedictory letter to his successor Marcus Aurelius, this is a profound and sensuous work, harnessing the weight of history in an enduring philosophical journey.

• 

  Journey by Moonlight by Antal Szerb

  Price: £7.99    Add to Basket

  A 20th century classic from the Hungarian master. On honeymoon in Venice, Mihaly soon finds his marriage, and then his whole existence, spinning swiftly out of control. Accidentally abandoning his wife at a provincial railway station he embarks on an existential journey across Italy. Funny, atmospheric and deftly plotted, this is one of our favourites.

• 

  The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri

  Price: £6.99    Add to Basket

  One of our favourite series, Andrea Camilleri's tremendously entertaining Sicilian detective novels evoke all the colour, vigour and culinary brilliance of island life. In this first volume, Inspector Montalbano must investigate the suspicious death of an aspiring aristocratic politician.

• 

  The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampudesa

  Price: £8.99    Add to Basket

  It is 1860 and the charismatic Prince of Salina - known as 'The Leopard' - must decide whether to resist Garibaldi's invasion of Sicily or accept with dignity the end of his reign. The prose here is a wonder, the characters a delight. L.P. Hartley called this utterly superb novel 'perhaps the greatest of the century' - we certainly would not disagree.

• 

  We Saw Spain Die by Paul Preston

  Price: £9.99    Add to Basket

  The best contemporary history of the Spanish Civil War, Paul Preston tells the story of the journalists who watched it happen. Cumbersome in places, it is nonetheless passionate, rigorous and absolutely riveting.

• 

  A Small Death in Lisbon by Robert Wilson

  Price: £7.99    Add to Basket

  A wonderful thriller comprising a dual narrative, the first strand set amidst the chaos of WWII Lisbon while the second follows a contemporary detective investigating the brutal murder of a teenage girl in the same city. Wilson's characters and atmospheres are rendered exquisitely, but never at the expense of the potent plot.

• 

  The War that Killed Achilles by Caroline Alexander

  Price: £20.00    Add to Basket

  Caroline Alexander's fascinating book which explores the enduring power of the Iliad, what it says about the horror of war and its particular relevance to modern warfare.

• 

  Roumeli: Travels in Northern Greece by Patrick Leigh Fermor

  Price: £9.99    Add to Basket

  In the second of the great travel writer's unmissable Greek masterpieces, Fermor recounts with trademark charm and clarity his exploration of the country's rugged northern territories.

• 

  Black Lamb & Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia by Rebecca West

  Price: £18.99    Add to Basket

  Simply one of the most magnificent works of travel writing ever conceived. West's epic masterpiece, first published in 1942, remains the most interesting on the region, with a depth to the writing to rival the finest works of the 20th Century. Highly recommended.