Witold Gombrowicz

The diary of Philip Henslowe, owner of the Rose Theatre in London during the 1590s, remains the most valuable source of information about the workings of the Elizabethan public theatres. Discussions of theatres and drama in the age of Shakespeare routinely refer to Henslowe, whose 'diary' touches on every aspect of the day-to-day operations of the Rose and the companies of actors, especially the Admiral's Men. The diary preserves the account-book of an Elizabethan theatre owner who was also the father-in-law of the leading actor, Edward Alleyn, and contains many miscellaneous and personal entries. The first edition of Henslowe's Diary, published in 1961, has long been out of print. It provides a thorough introduction to the manuscript, a full transcription of the document itself and several helpful appendices and indexes. For this second edition one of the original editors, R. A. Foakes, has added a new preface and reading list.

"Witold Gombrowicz (1904-1969), novelist, essayist, and playwright, was one of the most important Polish writers of the twentieth century." "Although Gombrowicz's unique, idiosyncratic writings include his three-volume Diary, this voluminous document offers few facts about his early life in Poland, before his books were banned there and he went into voluntary exile. Polish Memories - a series of autobiographical sketches Gombrowicz wrote for Radio Free Europe during his years in Argentina in the late 1950s - fills the gap in our knowledge. Written in a straightforward way without his famous linguistic inventions, it presents an engaging account of Gombrowicz's childhood, youth, literary beginnings, and fellow writers in interwar Poland and reveals how these experiences and individuals shaped his seemingly outlandish concepts about culture, art, society, and the self. In addition, the book helps readers understand the numerous autobiographical allusions in his fiction and brings a new level of understanding and appreciation to his life and work."--BOOK JACKET.

"A Kind of Testament is an autobiographical account of the life and work of one of Poland's most important novelists and playwrights. Written in France in 1968, this literary testimonial shows Witold Gombrowicz at his best as he investigates his own life and writing and explores, more generally, the place of a writer in the modern age."--BOOK JACKET.

"A balloonist finds himself set upon by erotic lepers ... a passenger on a ship notices a human eye on the deck ... a group of aristocrats enjoys a vegetarian dish made from human flesh ... a virginal young girl gnaws raw meat from a bone ... a notorious ruffian is terrorized by a rat. Welcome to the bizarre universe of Witold Gombrowicz, whose legendary short story collection is presented here for the first time in English. These tales are utterly unique in world literature."--BOOK JACKET.

A dark, quasi-detective novel, "Cosmos "follows the classic noir motif to explore the arbitrariness of language, the joke of human freedom, and man's attempt to bring order out of chaos in his psychological life.