Out, Out, Brief Candle! is the remarkable story of African children who have survived terrible fires and gone on to thrive at Children of Fire, a charity based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Martin Klammer recalls his time helping the children develop their personal writing and rehearse and perform Macbeth. Told with affection and humor, Out, Out, Brief Candle! is an inspiring story of an exceptional African “family.” The South African novelist and children’s writer Sindiwe Magona says of Out, Out, Brief Candle!: “This is a brave book. The ‘voices’ of these tender survivors of fire—their struggles, their fortitude—may bring us nearer to becoming more effective in minding the children given to us as a trust. Martin Klammer has brought the unheard cries of those whose lives have been forever altered by the scourge of fire to our ears and eyes. Are we listening? Do we see?”

At 13, Emily is tall, restless and impatient - ladylike she certainly isn't! Emily despises such things as needlework, but she has a vivid imagination and is a keen artist and, along with her talented sister, Charlotte, loves to write. But Emily stumbles upon a real-life story, when she encounters the vagabond Heslington while out walking her beloved dog, Captain, on the Yorkshire Moors. Heslington is hiding out in an abandoned cottage, on the run from someone, but claims he is guilty of nothing. All he can tell Emily is that he is passionately in love with a Miss Martha Holmes, but has been forbidden from seeing her. Martha's family believe Heslington is only after her money, but he is prepared to live like a pauper, he says, if he can only be with the girl he loves. Touched by his story, Emily finds herself drawn into the whole sorry mess, acting as a reluctant go-between for Martha and Heslington, but convinced she is doing the right thing. But when Heslington reveals his dark side, Emily finds herself doubting him, not knowing what to believe. Is Heslington the love-torn romantic hero of her imaginings or he is mad...?

Shakespeare's plays are usually studied by literary scholars and historians and the books about him from those perspectives are legion. It is most unusual for a trained philosopher to give us his insight, as Colin McGinn does here, into six of Shakespeare's greatest plays—A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, and The Tempest. In his brilliant commentary, McGinn explores Shakespeare's philosophy of life and illustrates how he was influenced, for example, by the essays of Montaigne that were translated into English while Shakespeare was writing. In addition to chapters on the great plays, there are also essays on Shakespeare and gender and his plays from the aspects of psychology, ethics, and tragedy. As McGinn says about Shakespeare, "There is not a sentimental bone in his body. He has the curiosity of a scientist, the judgement of a philosopher, and the soul of a poet." McGinn relates the ideas in the plays to the later philosophers such as David Hume and the modern commentaries of critics such as Harold Bloom. The book is an exhilarating reading experience, especially at a time when a new audience has opened up for the greatest writer in English.