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Nightmare Abbey follows the fortunes of Christopher Glowry, Esquire, a morose widower who lives with his only son Scythrop in his semi-dilapidated family mansion Nightmare Abbey, which is situated on a strip of dry land between the sea and the fens in Lincolnshire. Scythrop is recovering from a love affair which ended badly when Mr Glowry and the young woman's father quarreled over terms and broke off the proposed match. With a penchant for melancholy, gothic mystery and abstruse Kantian metaphysics, Scythrop throws himself into a quixotic mission of reforming the world and regenerating the human species, and dreams up various schemes to achieve these ends. Most of these involve secret societies of Illuminati. However, he is constantly distracted from these projects by his dalliance with two women – the worldly and flirtatious Marionetta and the mysterious and intellectual Stella – and by the constant stream of visitors to the abbey.

Skyros Publishing is dedicated to reproducing the finest books ever written and letting readers of all ages experience a classic for the first time or revisit a past favorite. Nightmare Abbey, written by Thomas Love Peacock, is a gothic satire which pokes fun of the romantic movement in English literature. Many of the characters in this classic story are based off of historical figures.

First published in 1818, “Nightmare Abbey” Is a novella by Thomas Love Peacock and his third long work of fiction. It is a Gothic satirical tale that follows Christopher Glowry, Esquire, a melancholic widower who lives with his only son Scythrop in Nightmare Abbey, a run-down mansion that has been in his family for generations. It explores in a comical way the romantic movement in contemporary English literature and its preoccupation with morbidity, misanthropy, and transcendental philosophical systems. This volume is highly recommended for lovers of Gothic literature and satirical writing, and it is not to be missed by those who have read and enjoyed other works by this author. Thomas Love Peacock (18 October 1785 – 23 January 1866) was an English poet, novelist, and important figure in the East India Company. A good friend of Percy Bysshe Shelley, they both had a significant influence on each other's work. Peacock was most famous for writing satirical novels, which usually involved characters sat around a table discussing contemporary philosophical ideas. Other notable works by this author include: “Maid Marian” (1822), “Gryll Grange” (1861), and “Melincourt” (1817). Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with intoductory essays by Sir Walter Raleigh and Virginia Woolf.

Maddalena and Aaliya Reiner have not been close as sisters, but the distance between them widens after the death of their mother. While Aaliya is irresistibly drawn into a passionate and hidden love affair, her sister finds comfort in marriage with a politically powerful and wealthy man. But desire can be deadly and the kingdom of Traegos is becoming a dangerous place. When the dark web of politics and power begins to ensnare the kingdom's inhabitants, choice and chance collide leaving the sisters with few options left to survive. The River and the Ravages is a story of identity and freedom, tragedy and betrayal. It's a novel about who we are seen to be versus who we believe ourselves to be, and the ways in which we will risk everything for love. The River and the Ravages is the start of a gripping fantasy trilogy. Contains mature content. Not suitable for younger readers. For more info visit www.jmlawler.com'Written in very clear and beautiful prose, JM Lawler's novel is both inspiring and entertaining. This is one of the finest books I have read on women's issues, a book with characters that are real.'READERS'FAVOURITE

Thomas Love Peacock was born on October 18th 1785 in Weymouth, Dorset. His education was never completed and mainly self-taught Thomas was made a clerk with Ludlow Fraser Company, merchants in the City of London in 1800. For Thomas life was work and the nurturing of his writing. When time allowed he would visit the Reading Room of the British Museum to study classic literature. In 1804 and 1806 he published two volumes of poetry, The Monks of St. Mark and Palmyra. By 1809 he has also published his great poem ‘The Genius of the Thames'. Peacock travelled to North Wales in January 1810 where he visited Maentwrog and met his future wife, Jane Gryffydh. By September 1815 had settled at Great Marlow and wrote Headlong Hall in 1815. It was published the following year. With this work Peacock found the true field for his literary gift in the satiric novel. Peacock continued to produce; the satirical novels Melincourt in 1817 and Nightmare Abbey in 1818. At the beginning of 1819, Peacock was summoned to London for probation with the East India Company. Peacock's test papers earned the commendation,'Nothing superfluous and nothing wanting.'This career was to run alongside his literary one for several decades. Peacock married Jane Griffith or Gryffydh in 1820. They went on to have four children. In 1820 Peacock wrote The Four Ages of Poetry, which argued that poetry's relevance was being eclipsed by science, a claim which provoked Shelley's Defence of Poetry. In the winter of 1825–6 he wrote Paper Money Lyrics and other Poems'during the prevalence of an influenza to which the beautiful fabric of paper-credit is periodically subject.'In 1829 he published The Misfortunes of Elphin, and in 1831 Crotchet Castle, the most mature and perhaps most appreciated of his works. By 1836 his official career was crowned by his appointment as Chief Examiner of Indian Correspondence. In about 1852 towards the end of Peacock's service in the India office, his taste for leisure and appetite for writing returned and with it his entertaining and scholarly Horæ Dramaticæ. In 1860 came the publication of his last novel; Gryll Grange. Later, that same year he added the appendix of Shelley's letters, a matter of great literary importance. Thomas Love Peacock died at Lower Halliford, on 23rd January, 1866, from injuries sustained in a fire in attempting to save his library. He is buried in the new cemetery at Shepperton.

First published in 1818 at a time when the Gothic genre was much in vogue, Nightmare Abbey is a novel by Thomas Love Peacock that displays many Gothic conventions. Peacock's characters are said to be based on his own friends and on other real people from the literary circles of the time. In addition, the novel is basically a satirical appraisal of the romantic and the transcendentalist movements flourishing in the late-eighteenth century. The plot follows Christopher Glowry and his son Scythrop who live in a family estate named Nightmare Abbey. Mr. Glowry is a very eccentric and melancholic man who likes to be surrounded by people who share his mood and obsessions. He has a taste for everything dark and gloomy and even his servants have such Gothic names as “Raven,” “Graves”, etc. The narrative particularly focuses on the character of Scythrop who is much like his father. Scythrop is obsessed with writing, research and the idea of “social regeneration” to which he devotes most of his time. The rest of his time is devoted to his two beloved females who do not know each other. While he publicly flirts with the one, he keeps the other in the tower's hidden chamber. Unfortunately for Scythrop, his secret is revealed suddenly to both women. The latter decide to leave him for good, which drowns him in depression.

In Gideon Defoe's fifth Pirates! adventure, the dashing Pirate Captain and his intrepid crew encounter perhaps the most swashbuckling poets in history: Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Shelley's fiancée, Mary Godwin. While visiting the shores of Lake Geneva to restore their spirits and their finances, the Pirate Captain and his crew encounter some surprising fellow adventurers, literary giants of their age: the swaggering Lord Byron, the oddly shifty Percy Shelley, and his smart, quite attractive fiancée, Mary. Together the poets and pirates embark upon a journey that leads from the curiously adventureless Switzerland into the darkest bowels of Oxford, and finally to the forbidding heart of eastern Europe. Amidst haunted castles and early feminism, the Pirate Captain will confront some important questions, namely: What is the secret behind his mysterious belly tattoo? Is “Zombuloid, the corpse-beast” a better name for a monster than “Gorgo: Half-man, half-seaweed?” And, most importantly, what happens when a pirate finally falls in love?