First published in 1968, The Four Beauties is Bates's last collection of novellas offering a mixture of comedy, adventure, a semi-autobiographical piece and an exploration of a dark love triangle. 'The Simple Life' is set at a country cottage offering the joys of a humble existence, and focuses on a bitter alcoholic wife who finds temporary pleasure in a seventeen-year-old boy. A reminiscence of newspaper reporter, reflecting Bates's own experiences at the Northamptonshire Chronicle, 'The Four Beauties' concerns the narrator's complicated relationship with three lovely and highly-sexed daughters, as well as their mother. A television adaptation Country Matters was aired in March 1973. 'The Chords of Youth' sees Bates revive the character of Aunt Leonora, first introduced in the 1965 story 'The Picnic', in this comic novella in which she entertains a visiting German, mistaking him for an old flame. Linguistic confusion, abundant food and wine, and a pompous English bureaucrat contribute to the humorous unfolding of the story. In contrasting tone, 'The White Wind' is a late novella featuring a young man coming to terms with life's realities, with considerable action and violence and an irascible man serving as the captain of a boat. The element of a dedicated doctor vainly trying to get Pacific islanders to take their medicines is based on Bates's own Tahitian travels.

"Left to rot in an Iranian prison and under the shadow of death, Kamaal tells fellow-insurgent Drew the story of the four drunk beauties ... The two men follow the beauties' wild chase through Iran in pursuit of a killer, a quest undertaken to prevent a catastrophe. And all the while the ancient and modern flavours of a country - its poetry, architecture and music - come to life ..."--P. [4] of cover.

From the 1990's to 2003 the author followed four marionette theatre companies in the Quanzhou area. Based on this unique fieldwork the author describes both the theatrical and social context of the marionette theatre. He shows it as a complex entity in which elements of religion, ritual, language, history and social structure all come together. The study includes an analysis of the companies' organization, libretti, music and puppets, as well as of the social and religous context of the performances and their ritual aspects. Its important insights into the functioning of a traditional form of theatre in the economically advanced region of southern Fujian provide a fascinating window on contemporary China.

She had just said goodbye at daybreak, but now she was his sister-in-law! He wanted to escape, but his sister-in-law chased him for thousands of miles with her big belly! What should he do? Was he inferior to the beasts, or was he to accept them all? What kind of life would the top young master, who had never been touched by a single leaf, have in front of the two sisters? Please wait and see!

Ye Yunxiao had been ordered to go down the mountain to protect Miss Qian Jin, but he discovered that danger was everywhere around Miss Qian. In order to better protect the beauty, he could only helplessly announce: This beauty is already pregnant, and she is even my child!

Award-Winning Regency Romance Author on the Rise Griffith, Duke of Riverton, likes order, logic, and control, and he naturally applies this rational approach to his search for a bride. He's certain Miss Frederica St. Claire is the perfect wife for him, but while Frederica is strangely elusive, he can't seem to stop running into her stunningly beautiful cousin, Miss Isabella Breckenridge. Isabella should be enjoying her society debut, but with her family in difficult circumstances, her uncle will only help them if she'll use her beauty to assist him in his political aims. Already uncomfortable with this agreement, the more she comes to know Griffith, the more she wishes to be free of her unfortunate obligation. Will Griffith and Isabella be able to set aside their pride and face their fears in time to find their own happily-ever-after?

NAMED A RECOMMENDED BOOK OF 2018 BY Buzzfeed • The Wall Street Journal • The Millions • Southern Living • Bustle • Esquire • Entertainment Weekly • Nylon• Mashable • Libary Journal • Thrillist “Cassaras’s propulsive and profound first novel, finding one’s home in the world—particularly in a subculture plagued by fear and intolerance from society—comes with tragedy as well as extraordinary personal freedom.” -- Esquire A gritty and gorgeous debut that follows a cast of gay and transgender club kids navigating the Harlem ball scene of the 1980s and ’90s, inspired by the real House of Xtravaganza made famous by the seminal documentary Paris Is Burning It’s 1980 in New York City, and nowhere is the city’s glamour and energy better reflected than in the burgeoning Harlem ball scene, where seventeen-year-old Angel first comes into her own. Burned by her traumatic past, Angel is new to the drag world, new to ball culture, and has a yearning inside of her to help create family for those without. When she falls in love with Hector, a beautiful young man who dreams of becoming a professional dancer, the two decide to form the House of Xtravaganza, the first-ever all-Latino house in the Harlem ball circuit. But when Hector dies of AIDS-related complications, Angel must bear the responsibility of tending to their house alone. As mother of the house, Angel recruits Venus, a whip-fast trans girl who dreams of finding a rich man to take care of her; Juanito, a quiet boy who loves fabrics and design; and Daniel, a butch queen who accidentally saves Venus’s life. The Xtravaganzas must learn to navigate sex work, addiction, and persistent abuse, leaning on each other as bulwarks against a world that resists them. All are ambitious, resilient, and determined to control their own fates, even as they hurtle toward devastating consequences. Told in a voice that brims with wit, rage, tenderness, and fierce yearning, The House of Impossible Beauties is a tragic story of love, family, and the dynamism of the human spirit.