Bøker av Charles Williams

NOTHING IN HER WAY When Michael Belen runs into the cherubic con man named Wolford Charles in New Orleans, he has no idea he had just opened the door to his ex-wife Cathy. She and Charles and Judd Bolton are working a con on a man named Goodwin, who had been a partner with a contractor named Lachlan down in South America. Lachlan had worked a swindle which had wiped out Cathy and Michael’s parents, and now as far as Cathy is concerned, it’s payback time. From Goodwin to Lachlan, Belen commits himself to Cathy and her scheme. When a drug-addled gangster named Donnelly starts threatening her, Belen takes care of him. When Charles and Bolton try to work a double-cross, Cathy matches them with a cross of her own. They are the perfect team. Until they go up against Lachlan—and then all bets are off. RIVER GIRL All deputy sheriff Jack Marshall wants to do is escape his troubles when he heads upriver for a little fishing. What he finds instead is Doris, who lives in a shack on a small island with her sullen husband, Roger Shevlin. Back in town, Marshall can’t stop thinking about Doris, and keeps coming back to her shack while Shevlin is away, always looking for an excuse to visit. But Shevlin grows wise to his visits, and Marshall is forced to make a decision—to take Doris away or fight for her. Marshall’s decision is complicated by the fact that Sheriff Buford and his office are coming under close scrutiny for graft. Somebody needs to disappear before it all blows up, and Marshall begins to hatch a scheme—if he can pull it off, he can escape with Doris and they can both have their freedom. But things are never as easy as they seem...

DESCENT INTO HELL In a town preparing to put on a play by the celebrated Mr Stanhope, several people wrestle with inner and possibly outer demons. A poor loser of a man hangs himself, but his ghost still wanders the streets. A young girl fears what will happen when she meets her doppelganger, the one who comes closer and closer each time she sees her. A man jilted in love meets a succubus. And a grandmother hovers between life and death. Generally thought to be Williams's best novel, Descent into Hell deals with various forms of selfishness, and how the cycle of sin brings about the necessity for redemptive acts.

THE GREATER TRUMPS by Charles Williams The original Tarot deck is used to unlock enormous metaphysical powers by allowing the possessors to see across space and time, create matter, and raise powerful natural storms. Upon an ancient golden table, golden figurines perpetually move "by some magnetism of the Earth" to the "Great Dance" - that is, the rhythm of all things that happen in this world. The table and figurines are half of a set. The other half is the original Tarot cards. Together, it is believed, they have the power to explain eachother's mysteries, and maybe even manipulate time, space, and the elements. By some great coincidence, or movement of the Dance, two families are brought together who each have one half of the set. But when the pieces are reunited, all hell...and heaven break loose!

The Holy Grail surfaces in an obscure country parish in England and becomes variously a sacramental object to protect or a vessel of power to exploit. A group of three dark magicians attempt to use it as a power base and a means of destruction. The three who oppose them are an Archdeacon, a Duke, and a Clerk in a publishing house. The battle of good versus evil is played out over the acquisition of the Grail which passes between the two sides. The use of the Grail by the forces of evil displays characters that are not your stereotypical villains. There is the banality of evil about them that makes what they do even more scary. Of the three Inkling fantasy writers Charles Williams is the least known and appreciated. Yet, his series of supernatural fantasy novels are every bit as interesting and original as the books by C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.

A remarkable object has fallen into the hands of the abominable scientist Sir Giles Tumulty. Once positioned at the center of the crown of King Solomon, it is a stone of astonishing and terrifying power, capable of good and evil alike. Anyone who touches it can move through time and space, perform miracles, and heal or kill. The stone can replicate itself, and does so during the course of Sir Giles's inhuman experiments, subsequently falling into numerous unworthy hands throughout England. There are those who will attempt to use the stone for personal gain, only to discover that it is they themselves being used by a power beyond their comprehension; some will find themselves trapped in eternally repeating nightmares from which there is no escape; still others will be freed from their earthly burdens. And so begins the battle between the forces of darkness and light for control of the most dangerous object in existence. A gripping metaphysical thriller by Charles Williams.

An unremarkable civil servant becomes the target of a nefarious plot when he inherits an early set of tarot cards and will not surrender them to the gypsy master and his grandson who hope to unlock their mystic power.

Classic Charles Williams: A humanistic adept has discovered that by focusing his energies inward he can extend his life almost indefinitely. He undertakes an experiment, using African lore, to die and resurrect his own body, thereby assuring his immortality. His followers begin a revolutionary movement to destroy European civilization.

Amateurs versus professionals - a social history and memoir of English cricket from 1953 to 1963.

When Lothair Coningsby is bequeathed an antique pack of Tarot cards, he doesn't bargain for the trouble they will cause. These cards - including the Juggler, the Hanged Man, the Falling Tower and the mysterious, unmoving Fool - were designed to represent the dance of life itself, along with a set of golden images in Henry's possession.

Drawing, the most basic of the visual arts, is often seen as a natural ability, but it can be learnt. Working from observation in pencil, pen or charcoal helps you to see clearly, increases your visual awareness and enhances your ability to design in two dimensions.

If ideas are more dangerous than material things, what happens when ideas become matter?Near a crossroad in the country town of Smetham, a retired philosopher is felled by what appears to be a huge lion.

Relates the discovery of The Holy Grail in a country church and of the struggle between good and evil forces to possess it. This title includes accounts of black magic.

Made of the First Matter from the Garden of Eden, the Stone's power grows with the experience of the user and can heal all sicknesses, allow the user to travel in time, in addition to seeing the minds of others.

A masterly biography of a great Conservative Prime Minister (and publisher) - Harold Macmillan (1894-1986).