A short novel by the Nobel Prize-winning Russian author Ivan Bunin, written in 1909 and first published in 1910 by the Saint Petersburg magazine Sovremenny Mir (issues Nos. 3, 10-11) under the title Novelet. The Village caused much controversy at the time, though it was highly praised by Maxim Gorky (who from then on regarded the author as the major figure in Russian literature), among others, and is now generally regarded as Bunin's first masterpiece. Composed of brief episodes set in its author's birthplace at the time of the 1905 Revolution, it tells the story of two peasant brothers, one a brute drunk, the other a gentler, more sympathetic character. Bunin's realistic portrayal of the country life jarred with the idealized picture of "unspoiled" peasants which was common for the mainstream Russian literature, and featured the characters deemed 'offensive' by many, which were "so far below the average in terms of intelligence as to be scarcely human".

'BRINGS ALL THE BEAUTY OF DEEPEST FRANCE VIBRANTLY ALIVE' - Irish Independent on Sunday Bruno, Chief of Police's beloved Dordogne town of St Denis is tearing itself apart. Can he keep it together in the gripping eighth instalment in this internationally bestselling series? St Denis may be picturesque and sleepy, but it has more than its fair share of murder and mystery, as Bruno knows all too well. When Bruno is invited to the 90th birthday of a powerful local patriarch - a war hero with high-level political connections in France, Russia and Israel - he encounters a family with more secrets than even he had imagined. When one of the other guests is found dead the next morning and the family try to cover it up, Bruno knows it's his duty to prevent the victim from becoming just another skeleton in their closet. Even if his digging reveals things Bruno himself would rather keep buried. Meanwhile, very modern battles are being fought in St Denis between hunters defending their traditions and environmentalists protecting local wildlife. Neither side, it seems, is above the use of violent tactics. At the centre of it all, Bruno must use all his cunning and character to protect his community's future from its present - and its past.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1836.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1836.

The Patriarch addresses the modern world in light of the essential message of the Church, a Christianity of light and freedom. Whether he speaks about ecumenism, interfaith dialogue, or the need for a sacramental ecology, his words are both clear and prophetic.