Contemporary fiction: literary and general

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'A contemporary masterpiece'GUARDIANCreepy and fascinating' STEPHEN KINGA psycho-geograpical tour de force'FINANCIAL TIMESTHE BASIS FOR A MAJOR MOTION PICTUREA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE NEBULA AWARD FOR BEST NOVELWith an introduction by Karen Joy FowlerIn Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer's now-classic Southern Reach series, Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades and nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilisation. Expedition after expedition into Area X has failed to uncover its mysteries and the true nature of its danger to the world.Now a twelfth expedition makes the attempt, a group of four women: an anthropologist, a surveyor, a psychologist and the narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain, record all observations of their surroundings and of one another, and, above all, avoid being contaminated by Area X.A harrowing cosmic mystery at the vanguard of eco-fiction, Annihilation has only become more pertinent to our reality ten years after its first publication.''Powerful and echoing'' NEW STATESMAN''Genuinely potent and dream-haunting'' GUARDIANArresting, unsettling, and unforgettable'NEW YORKERTrade Review Praise for ANNIHILATION and the SOUTHERN REACH TRILOGY: ‘I’m loving the Southern Reach Trilogy … Creepy and fascinating’ Stephen King ‘Hauntingly weird and brilliantly new … These are contemporary masterpieces and career-defining novels’ Adam Robert, Books of the Year, Guardian ‘This trilogy is a modern mycological masterpiece … Remarkable … Tense, eerie and unsettling … VanderMeer writes much better prose than Poe ever did … This is genuinely potent and dream-haunting writing. VanderMeer has arrived’ Guardian ‘A teeming science fiction that draws on Conrad and Lovecraft alike … Annihilation shows signs of being the novel that will allow VanderMeer to break through to a new and larger audience’ Sunday Telegraph ‘A lasting monument to the uncanny … You find yourself afraid to turn the page’ Guardian ‘VanderMeer’s novel is a psycho-geographical tour de force, channelling Ballard and Lovecraft to instil the reader with a deep, delicious unease’ Financial Times ‘What a haunting book this is, lodging deep in the memory in similar fashion to otherworldly classics such as David Lindsay’s A Voyage To Arcturus … Annihilation is so disquietingly strange as to defy summarisation. Read it’ Daily Mail ‘Astonishing, frightening, spectacular … I hope the trilogy will come to be seen not only as the instant sci-fi classic it is, but also as Literature’ New Statesman ‘Immersive, insightful and often deeply bloody creepy, this is a startlingly good novel … A major work’ ***** SFX Magazine ‘A tense and chilling psychological thriller about an unravelling expedition and the strangeness within us. A little Kubrick, a lot of Lovecraft, the novel builds with an unbearable tension and claustrophobic dread that lingers long afterwards. I loved it’ Lauren Beukes ‘Original and beautiful, maddening and magnificent’ Warren Ellis

Read more less

Book Synopsis''If Gossip Girl and Made in Chelsea had a baby, it would be this book.'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''How many loves do you get in a lifetime?''She is a beautiful, affluent, self-involved and mildly neurotic London socialite.He is Britain''s most photographed bad-boy who broke her heart.Magnolia Parks and BJ Ballentine are meant to be, and everyone knows it.She dates other people to keep him at bay; he sleeps with other girls to get back at her for it. But at the end of their every sad endeavour to get over one another, it''s still each other they crawl back to.But now their dysfunction is catching up with them, pulling at their seams and fraying the world they''ve built; a world where neither has ever let the other go completely.As the cracks start to show and secrets begin to surface, Magnolia and BJ are finally forced to face the formidable question they''ve beeTrade Review*Blockbuster Book Trends of the Year* * EVENING STANDARD **Millie Bobby Brown's Book Recommendations 2023* * ELLE **Most Exciting New Romance Books* * CULTURESS **Books on BookTok: Creators Look Ahead to their Top Books of 2023* * THE BOOKSELLER **The Viral Booktok Series Giving Us All The Gossip Girl Feels! (But Better)* * FUCHSIA MAGAZINE *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe No. 1 bestselling author Stephen King's timeless coming-of-age novella, The Body - set in Castle Rock and originally published in his 1982 short story collection Different Seasons, and adapted into the film classic Stand by Me - is now available as a stand-alone publication.We'd all listened to the Ray Brower story . . . he was a kid our age The small town of Castle Rock is tuning in to the news of a young boy who has gone missing from a nearby town.Gordie Lachance and his three friends set off along the railway tracks on a quest, determined to become famous by officially finding the boy's body. But their journey becomes a rite of passage, and as they cross the railway trestle and the tracks begin to hum, the boys encounter an intimation of their own mortality.Adapted into the 1986 classic film Stand By Me, The Body is an iconic exploration of friendship, loneliness and adventure, an unforgettable coming-of-age story by master chronicler of small-town adolescence and universal experience, Stephen King.Trade ReviewKing readers know that he is an absolute master of the long story * DAILY EXPRESS *The genius of King is not the fecundity of his imagination, great though it is, but the empathy he can create between reader and character * THE SCOTSMAN *An incredibly gifted writer * GUARDIAN *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisIt all happened so quickly. First, animals became infected with the virus and their meat became poisonous. Then governments initiated the Transition. Now, 'special meat' - human meat - is legal. Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans - only no one calls them that. He works with numbers, consignments, processing. One day, he's given a gift to seal a deal: a specimen of the finest quality. He leaves her in his barn, tied up, a problem to be disposed of later. But she haunts Marcos. Her trembling body, and watchful gaze, seem to understand. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost - and what might still be saved.Trade Review'Horribly effective... This provocative novel expertly wields a double-edged cleaver... 'in the end, meat is meat, it doesn't matter where it's from'; it's a statement of both dystopic extremity and banal everyday fact' - Guardian 'A compelling dystopian novel' - Independent 'This is a hideous, bold and unforgettable vision of the future. Just make sure you've eaten before picking it up' - i-D magazine 'Told with a chilly aloofness that makes the horror of it all the more disturbing' - Financial Times 'A thrilling dystopia that everyone should read' - Dazed 'A skin crawling yet compelling read' - Refinery29

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn international bestselling sensation.Trade ReviewA mordantly funny and loopily freewheeling debut novel about ageing disgracefully * Sunday Times *Imaginative, laugh-out-loud . . . a brilliant satire on the foibles of mankind * Telegraph *Scandi-crime's signature darkness is here dispelled by Allan Karlsson, the eponymous centenarian, who with unlikely sprightliness hops out of the window of his old people's home one afternoon. . . . Fast-moving and relentlessly sunny. . . . Like Allan, the plot is pleasingly nimble and the book's endearing charm offers a happy alternative to the more familiar Nordic noir * Guardian *The anti Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. . . . Jonasson's lighthearted novel shows the softer side of Sweden. . . . hilarious * Marie Claire *[A] silly and wonderful novel. [The scenes] will just keep readers amused almost non-stop, and that's a feat few writers achieve. A great cure for the blues, especially for anyone who might feel bad about growing older * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) *[A] laugh-out-loud debut. . . . Historical figures like Mao's third wife, Vice President Truman, and Stalin appear, to great comic effect. Other characters-most notably Albert Einstein's hapless half-brother - are cleverly spun into the raucous yarn, and all help drive this gentle lampoon of procedurals and thrillers * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *Eccentric, unusual and far-fetched in the best possible way * Bookseller *This quirky novel is a sly, satirical look back at international relations in the 20th century through the eyes of an old man who has seen it all * Library Journal *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''A gripping thriller'' Sunday Times''Imaginative and unexpected'' The Times''A cracking, uber-topical spy thriller'' Financial Times''Enthralling and fast-moving... the stuff headlines are made of'' Daily Mail_______________________________The world is on the brink of crisis. The Cold War is playing out once more on the global stage.The Worlds'' governments will do whatever it takes to stay at the top... To those who don''t really know her, Kate Henderson''s life must seem perfectly ordinary. But she is in fact a senior MI6 officer, who right now is nursing the political equivalent of a nuclear bomb.Kate''s most recent mission has yielded the startling intelligence that the British Prime Minister has cancer - and that one of the leading candidates to replace him may be a Russian agent of influence.Up against the clock to uncover the Russian mole, Kate risks everything to get to the truth. But with her reputation to uphold, her family hanging by a thread and a leadership election looming, she is quickly running out of options, and out of time.Secret Service is a fresh-from-the-headlines thriller for fans of Homeland, Crisis and The Bodyguard.The next two thrilling instalments in the Kate Henderson series, DOUBLE AGENT and TRIPLE CROSS, are available now.Trade ReviewA gripping thriller * The Sunday Times *Enthralling and fast-moving . . . packed with details of modern tradecraft in the twilight world of spooks, against a background of politics at its most Machiavellian, it is the stuff headlines are made of * Daily Mail *Teems with twists and the denouement is imaginative and unexpected * The Times *An excellent thriller straight out of today's headlines ... a fast, riveting yarn * The Sun *A cracking, uber-topical spy thriller …Bradby deftly works in current fears of Moscow infiltrating our institutions amid a plot full of twists and turns * Financial Times *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIf you could find one missing thing, what would it be?As a firefighter, Ava sees the devastation caused when homes are ruined. If she uncovers precious possessions that escaped a blaze unscathed, she returns them to their owner. When Cassie and her son lose everything in a fire, they have nothing and nowhere to go. On impulse, Ava offers them refuge by staying with her.After three failed rounds of IVF, Ava and her husband are divided on how to start their own family. Needing to find answers about her own adoption and birth family, Ava embarks on a journey to Ireland with Cassie by her side for support.But not every reunion is a happy one, and the best intentions can have the most heart wrenching results. Can Ava get back what was lost? Or will she learn that sometimes the thing you need most is what you have already found?An emotional and powerful tale of friendship and family, the perfect read for fans of Dani Atkins, Jojo Moyes and Cecelia Ahern.

Read more less

Book SynopsisGrace lives alone in a village on the east coast of Northern Ireland, filling her days with swimming, fishing, quilting and baiting the tourists who arrive from the city with more money than sense. One of the tourists is Evan, who is taking an enforced holiday from his family in Belfast as he grieves the death of his infant daughter. But before a week is out, he is trapped there by lockdown.When Grace grudgingly saves Evan from drowning at sea, and his quirky young son arrives to stay, all three are pulled together and forced into a reckoning with their personal traumas that draws them back into the world.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis**AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME**FROM THE NOBEL PRIZE WINNING, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF NEVER LET ME GOSHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZEWINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR1948: Japan is rebuilding her cities after the calamity of World War II, her people putting defeat behind them and looking to the future. The celebrated painter Masuji Ono fills his days attending to his garden, his two grown daughters and his grandson, and his evenings drinking with old associates in quiet lantern-lit bars. His should be a tranquil retirement. But as his memories continually return to the past - to a life and a career deeply touched by the rise of Japanese militarism - a dark shadow begins to grow over his serenity. An exquisite novel.' ObserverPitch-perfect. . . a tour de force of unreliable narration.' GuardianA work of spare elegance: refined, understated, economic.' Sunday Times

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisHope never dies… The dramatic novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of NOBODY’S GIRL. After losing everything in the Blitz, Hilda Stone and her 14-year-old daughter Ellen are desperate for a miracle. But their world is shattered when a telegram informs them that Doug - their beloved husband and father - has been lost at sea. In the depths of despair, Hilda is one day approached by a strange woman with a message - and both she and Ellen are astounded when the prediction becomes a reality. Years later, the teenaged Ellen makes a shocking mistake - but is rescued by the man who later becomes her husband, and the family finally find peace. But their joy is cut short when Ellen's baby daughter is killed in a tragic accident. Blaming herself for the accident, Ellen remembers the woman's prediction all those years ago and searches desperately for proof of an afterlife. Her search becomes an obsession and she reaches rock bottom - until she is given a sign. But will it provide the answers Ellen so desperately seeks?Trade ReviewPraise for Lost Angel: ‘Lost Angel is a heart-breaking yet essentially uplifting and inspiring story, full of warmth, hope and the indomitable human ability to overcome adversity.’Lancashire Evening Post ‘emotive story of loss and hope’Peterborough Evening Telegraph Praise for Nobody’s Girl and Sins of the Father: ‘This pageturner is a gritty tale of survival.’ Tesco magazine 'Heartbreakingly poignant and joltingly realistic. From the first page the characters and their lives drew me in. It combines wonderfully accurate historical detail with true gritty realism in a book that fans of misery lit won't want to miss.' Annie Groves, author of Daughters of Liverpool ‘Full of drama and heartache.’Closer ‘A gritty tale.’ Bella Praise for Lost Angel: ‘A moving tale of love, hope and family.’ Closer

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe complete edition of a timeless classic, includes the recently rediscovered Part Four and Last Words' by Richard Bach.Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the most celebrated inspirational fable of our time, tells the story of a bird determined to be more than ordinary.Most gulls don't bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight how to get from shore to food and back again,' writes author Richard Bach in this allegory about a unique bird named Jonathan Livingston Seagull. For most gulls it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight.' Flight is indeed the metaphor that makes this story soar.This bestselling modern classic is a fable about seeking a higher purpose in life, even if your flock, tribe or neighbourhood finds your ambition threatening (at one point our beloved gull is even banished from his flock). By not compromising his higher vision, Jonathan learns the meaning of love and kindness and gets the ultimate payoff transcendence.The dreamy illustrations by Russell Munson provide just the right illustrations for this spirituality classic that has inspired thousands of readers to follow their own path in life and so fulfill their true potential.Trade Review‘Richard Bach with this book does two things.He gives me Flight.He makes me Young.For both I am deeply grateful.’RAY BRADBURY

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA thrilling quest for the throne of Norway and, at long last, revengeAfter years of voyaging around the world, the Wolves of Odin are going home. Far from the green crew led by an unblooded, wily lad that departed Sigtun, they return a renowned, feared war-band, led by Jarl Halfdan Loki-Born. They have come back to hunt down the last man responsible for the death of Halfdan's father, the wicked Christian priest Hjalmvigi.But upon sailing into harbour, they see a familiar sight at the dock: their first ship, Sea Wolf. Its thief, the legendary Harald Hardraada last seen escaping Constantinople with a hold full of treasure can't be far away.He isn't. They quickly find him planning his next grand scheme: seizing the throne of Norway from its king, Magnus. And he needs the help of a renowned, feared war-bandA gripping Viking adventure packed with political intrigues and battles, perfect for fans of Giles Kristian.

Read more less

Book SynopsisKahlil Gibran's The Prophet is a collection of 26 poetic essays in English, filled with religious inspiration. It features 12 illustrations by the author and took over 11 years to complete. Considered his masterpiece, it marks the peak of Gibran's literary career, earning him the title 'the Bard of Washington Street'.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisDeeply atmospheric and sensual, The Gentleman From Peru weaves achingly poignant insight into a story of regret, fate and epic love. READERS ADORE THE GENTLEMAN FROM PERU:'A wonderful story of love, loss and regret .

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis**Elphie, the spellbinding prequel to Wicked, is out now**The global bestseller that inspired the hit musical phenomenon.Now a major movie and record-breaking box office sensation. ?? ??In this classic tale of good and evil, what if we weren''t told the whole story? Long before Dorothy follows the yellow brick road and triumphs over the Wicked Witch of the West, a little girl with emerald-green skin is born in the land of Oz. Elphaba grows up to be smart and prickly, a lonely outsider with an extraordinary talent for magic. Arriving at university, she dares to believe she might finally fit in. But Oz isn''t the haven she''d dreamed of. Some of its citizens are in grave danger, and Elphaba is determined to protect them from the Wizard''s power. And when the world declares her a wicked witch, Elphaba takes matters into her own hands...This is the original novel by Gregory Maguire, first published in 1995. It is a reimagined prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and contains adult content. ?? Fall under the WICKED spell this year ??''One of my absolute favourite books! A completely different take on the classic'' ''Kept me on the edge of my seat from the second I picked it up''''I have a penchant for fairytale retellings that are a bit dark and misunderstood villains and this ticked all my boxes''''This is a real Oz, it makes you believe in it''''A real joy to sink into a very different world''''You see the Wicked Witch and Dorothy in a whole new light''''Funny, sad and unputdownable''''Honestly, it''s better than The Wizard of Oz!''''Wonderfully written, witty and thought provoking'' ''A favourite of mine for many many years''

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book Synopsis***PRE-ORDER NOW! THE HILARIOUS AND HEARTWARMING SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER***''Keyes is a powerhouse'' The Sunday TimesThis book is hilarious, relatable, sexy and moving by turn and I inhaled it within a day. Fabulous' ***** Reader Review ''What heaven . . . wish it could go on forever'' Nigella Lawson---Anna has just lost her taste for the Big AppleShe has a life to envy. An apartment in New York. A well-meaning (too well-meaning?) partner. And a high-flying job in beauty PR. Who wouldn't want all that?Anna, it turns out.Trading a minor midlife crisis for a major life event, she switches the skyscrapers of Manhattan for the tiny Irish town of Maumtully (population 1,217), helping old friends Brigit and Colm set up a luxury coastal retreat.Tougher than it sounds. Newflash: the locals hate the idea. So much so, there have been threats and violence.Ann

Read more less

Book Synopsis*PRE-ORDER BRIDGET COLLINS'' STUNNING NEW NOVEL, THE SILENCE FACTORY, NOW*LOSE YOURSELF IN THE BREAKOUT SENSATION OF THE YEARSHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019Spellbinding' GuardianMagic' Erin KellyImmersive' Sunday TimesAstounding' Anna MazzolaEmmett Farmer is a binder's apprentice. His job is to hand-craft beautiful books and, within each, to capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory.If you have something you want to forget, or a secret to hide, he can bind it and you will never have to remember the pain it caused.In a vault under his mentor's workshop, row upon row of books and secrets are meticulously stored and recorded.Then one day Emmett makes an astonishing discovery: one of the volumes has his name on it.Trade Review‘The Binding is a dark chocolate slice of cake with a surprising, satisfying seam of raspberry running through it. It is a rich, gothic entertainment that explores what books have trapped in them and reminds us of the power of storytelling. Spellbinding’ Tracy Chevalier ‘Truly spellbinding … readers will sink gratefully into the pleasures of its pages … Like a wonderful meal made from a few simple ingredients: the feeling in your chest when you hold someone in your arms for the first time; the sight of a host of bluebells. In recent years, the state of the world has threatened to make us forget the simple pleasures of kisses and bluebells and thick novels that tell stories of heartbreak. Here is a book to help us remember’ Guardian ‘Intense, immersive … A stirring, highly original piece of storytelling and world-making’ Sunday Times ‘With a twisting narrative that explores humans’ darkest moments and morals, Collins has created a fascinating fantasy world that evokes the atmosphere of Sarah Waters’ books with a nod to Philip Pullman. And, with a love story holding much of the story’s emotion together, this is definitely a book you’ll want to lose yourself to for hours on end’ Stylist ‘Part fantasy, part faux-history, part heart-in-your throat love story, it’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets The Miniaturist’ Grazia ‘More of an experience than a book, written with such grace and wisdom. Utterly brilliant’ Joanna Cannon, author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep ‘Pure magic. The kind of immersive storytelling that makes you forget your own name. I wish I had written it’ Erin Kelly, author of He Said/She Said ‘An original concept, beautifully written. Collins’ prose is spellbinding’ Laura Purcell, author of The Silent Companions ‘A real treat … gothic, imaginative and dark’ The Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisLucinda Riley was born in 1965 in Ireland and, after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first novel aged twenty-four. Her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and continue to strike an emotional chord with cultures all around the world. The Seven Sisters series specifically has become a global phenomenon, creating its own genre.Her books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Italian Bancarella Prize, the Lovely Books Award in Germany, and the Romantic Novel of the Year Award. In 2020 she received the Dutch Platinum Award for sales over 300,000 copies for a single novel in one year a prize last won by J. K. Rowling for Harry Potter.In collaboration with her son Harry Whittaker, she also devised and wrote a series of books for children called The Guardian Angels.Though she brought up her four children mostly in Norfolk in England, in 2015 she fulfilled her dream of buying a remote farmhouTrade ReviewRiley brings us a cast of exquisitely drawn characters and as you slip effortlessly into their lives and share their hopes, dreams and fears, prepare to be intrigued, moved to tears [...] and ultimately uplifted -- Lancashire Evening Post, on The Butterfly RoomA brilliant page-turner just soaked in glamour and romance -- Daily Mail, on The Seven SistersA masterclass in beautiful writing -- The Sun, on The Sun Sister

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA MUST-READ FOR FANS OLD AND NEW, THIS STUNNING 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION IS THE PERFECT WAY TO REDISCOVER THE 1.5 MILLION COPY, NO. 1 BESTSELLING PHENOMENON''Fleet-footed, bracingly honest, funny, sexy, heart-breaking'' JOJO MOYES''A huge international phenomenon'' BBC RADIO 4 BOOKCLUB''Irresistible. Pitch-perfect, bitingly funny'' DAISY BUCHANAN''The voice of a generation'' DAILY MIRROR''Extraordinary'' IAN RANKIN''A true modern classic'' NINA STIBBEFEATURING INTRODUCTIONS FROM LISA TADDEO, DAVID NICHOLLS, NINA STIBBE AND MORE___________Meet Rachel Walsh.She''s been living it up in New York City, spending her nights talking her way into glamorous parties before heading home in the early hours to her adoring boyfriend, Luke.But her sensible older sister showing up and sending her off to actual rehab wasn''t quite part of her plan.She''s only aTrade ReviewKeyes has given us another rollicking good read, guarantee to make you snort into your cocktail * Mumsnet, Best Summer Reads *One of the funniest novels I've ever read -- Jill Mansell * Good Housekeeping *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''One of the best books I''ve ever read'' Richard Osman''Tender and elegant'' Guardian''Unlike anything else in modern English literature'' D.J. Taylor, SpectatorA damaged survivor of the First World War, Tom Birkin finds refuge in the quiet village church of Oxgodby where he is to spend the summer uncovering a huge medieval wall-painting. Immersed in the peace and beauty of the countryside and the unchanging rhythms of village life he experiences a sense of renewal and belief in the future. Now an old man, Birkin looks back on the idyllic summer of 1920, remembering a vanished place of blissful calm, untouched by change, a precious moment he has carried with him through the disappointments of the years. Adapted into a film starring Colin Firth, Natasha Richardson and Kenneth Branagh, A Month in the Country traces the slow revival of the primeval rhythms of life so cruelly disorientated by the Great War.With an introduction by Penelope FitzgeraldTrade ReviewThe book I keep coming back to, it's one of the best books I've ever read. I've never met anyone who didn't love it. -- Richard OsmanTender and elegant * Guardian *Unlike anything else in modern English Literature -- D.J. Taylor * Spectator *Carr's blessedly small tale of lost love is also a small hymn about art and the compensating joy of the artist, both in giving and receiving. It stays with us, too, and is oddly haunting * New Yorker *Carr has the magic touch to re-enter the imagined past -- Penelope Fitzgerald

Read more less

Book SynopsisA Sunday Times Paperback of the YearA provocative, razor-sharp, and timely novel about a beloved English professor facing a slew of accusations against her husband from his former students – a situation that becomes more complicated when she herself develops an obsession of her own . . .When I was a child, I loved old men, and I could tell that they also loved me.And so we meet our deliciously incisive narrator: a popular English professor whose husband, a charismatic professor at the same small liberal arts college, is under investigation for his inappropriate relationships with his former students. The couple have long had a mutual understanding when it comes to their extramarital pursuits, but with these new allegations, life has become far less comfortable for them both.And when our unnamed narrator becomes increasingly infatuated with Vladimir, a celebrated, married young novelist who’s just arrived on campus, their tinder-box world comes dangerously close to exploding.Julia May Jonas takes us into charged territory, where the restrictions of morality bump up against the impulses of the human heart. Darkly funny and moving, Vladimir maps the personal and political minefield of our current moment, exposing the messy contradictions of power and desire.'This astonishing debut . . . I was utterly hooked by this twisty, sexy, shocking treat of a novel' – The Sunday TimesTrade ReviewFemale ageing and desire, sexual agency in the era of #MeToo, the relationship between morality and art, even a nod to Stephen King's Misery: it's all here in this sexy stealthy slippery debut, one of the year's hottest reads. * The Daily Mail *This deliciously dark American debut . . . A boisterous campus novel with an outrageously acerbic narrator, it delivers uncomfortable truths * The Guardian *This impressive debut . . . A twisty and thought-provoking tale * The Sunday Times/The Times *Haunted by the spirit of Nabokov, this sly satire challenges today’s “insistence on morality in art” * The Daily Telegraph *This astonishing debut is anything but another #MeToo morality tale . . . I was utterly hooked . . . [by] this twisty, sexy, shocking treat of a novel . . . How on earth will Julia May Jonas better this? * The Sunday Times *Darkly comic . . . Jonas’s novel is full of sly satire . . . The first-person narrative is beautifully rich, and the novel is playing enjoyable games with the ghost of Nabokov throughout * The Daily Telegraph *Vladimir is peppered with subversions . . . Jonas artfully fashions a protagonist mired in contradictions . . . [An] intelligent knowing portrayal of a woman's midlife crisis * The Observer *This slippery debut challenges to often electrifying effect the moral pieties concerning women, sex and power that have sprung up in the wake of #MeToo . . . A welcome addition to the growing number of #MeToo novels, many of which feel in comparison a little tired * The Daily Mail *It is delicious to spend so much time with a narrator who wants the way this one does, who wants so badly she’ll send her life up in flames. * Vanity Fair *Jonas's assured debut may be operating in Nabokov's long shadow, but it's difficult not to gobble up the unadorned, plot-driven prose, with its hints of kidnap and bondage, at a greedy pace * The Literary Review *[An] engaging debut . . . [Jonas’s] storylines are full of nuance, loopholes, granular details that refuse easy definition * The Irish Times *'Vladimir contains far too many uncomfortable truths to be merely fun, but . . . it is, by turns, cathartic, devious and terrifically entertaining.’ * New York Times *'Vladimir goes into such outrageous territory that my jaw literally dropped at moments while I was reading it. There’s a rare blend here of depth of character, mesmerizing prose, and fast-paced action.’ * Boston Globe *In darkly funny terms, Jonas creates a portrait of a narcissist reckoning with her age and vanity, but also the limits of her power. * Time *‘What is more delicious than the despicable narrator? . . . Jonas, with a potent, pumping voice, has drawn a character so powerfully candid that when she does things that are malicious, dangerous and, yes, predatory, we only want her to do them again.’ * Los Angeles Times *If Netflix’s The Chair, Lisa Taddeo’s bestseller Three Women, and the most compelling passages of Ottessa Moshfegh’s Death in Her Hands had a love child (just go with me here), it would be this fiction debut . . . Vladimir leaves the reader with more questions than answers—about sex, and sexual politics—in the most delicious way. * Entertainment Weekly *Funny, wise and instantly engaging, Vladimir is how I like my thrill rides: brainy and sexy. -- Maria Semple, author of Where'd You Go BernadetteVladimir is a thrilling debut – smart, sharp, and über provocative. I devoured it with fascination and awe. -- Lily King, author of Writers & LoversA whip smart and ferociously clever tale of swirling allegiances, literary rivalries, and romantic tripwires detonating hidden mines – Vladimir is an extraordinary debut. -- Adrienne Brodeur, author of Wild GameDroll, dry, and pacy, Vladimir is deliciously unsparing and enormous fun. -- Lionel Shriver, author of We Need To Talk About KevinBrilliant and very funny -- Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Empire of Pain

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom prize-winning, bestselling author Colson Whitehead, a magnificent, wrenching, thrilling tour de force chronicling a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum SouthTrade ReviewIt has invaded both my sleeping and waking thoughts . . . Each character feels alive with a singular humanity . . . Whitehead is on a roll, the reviews have been sublime -- Bim Adewunmi * Guardian *An engrossing and harrowing novel * Sunday Times *[A] brutal, vital, devastating novel...This is a luminous, furious, wildly inventive tale that not only shines a bright light on one of the darkest periods of history, but also opens up thrilling new vistas for the form of the novel itself -- Alex Preston * Observer *This thrilling tale of escape from a deep south plantation takes in terror, beauty and the history of human tragedy..This uncanny novel never attempts to deliver a message - instead it tells one of the most compelling stories I have ever read. Cora's strong, graceful hands touch on the greatest tragedies of our history * Cynthia Bond, Guardian *It's so good it's hard to praise it without whipping out the cliches: it's an elegant, devastating powerhouse of a book, following a young black woman all over America as she tries to escape the horrors of slavery. When it was published with Oprah's imprimatur, in August, it was universally acclaimed. It deserved it -- Michelle Dean * Guardian *One of the best, if not the best, book I've read this year . . . Whitehead never exploits his subject matter, and in fact it's the sparseness of the novel that makes it such a punch in the gut -- Sarah Shaffi * Stylist *My book of the year by some distance...It's a profound and important novel, but more than anything it's an absurdly good read, gripping you in its tightly wound plot, astonishing you with its leaps of imagination. If Whitehead doesn't win every prize going next year, I'll appear on Saturday Review in my underpants -- Alex Preston * Observer, Best Fiction of 2016 *Whitehead is a superb storyteller . . . [he] brilliantly intertwines his allegory with history . . . writing at the peak of his game . . . Whitehead's achievement is truly remarkable: by giving the Underground Railroad a new mythology, he has found a way of confronting other myths, older and persistent, about the United States. His book cannot have enough readers * Telegraph *It is an extraordinary novel, a rich, confident work that will deservedly win - on the basis of literary merit as well as moral purpose . . . History and human experience as well as an artist's obligation to tell the truth have shaped a virtuoso novel that should be read by every American as well as readers across the world. And it will be, it should be -- Eileen Battersby * Irish Times *An utterly transporting piece of storytelling -- Alex Heminsley * The Pool *Bestselling author Colson Whitehead's novel is a searing indictment of slavery with a detailed inventory of man's inhumanity to man - and Cora's flight is a harrowing and shocking trip for the reader * Daily Mail *A stunning, brutal and hugely imaginative book. It's a favourite of both Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama. It is painful history re-imagined in a powerful and brilliant way * Emerald St *Recommended by none other than Obama AND Oprah, The Underground Railroad arrives deserving every last drop of hype that's come its way . . . There are many twists and turns in Cora's long, treacherous journey towards freedom and while The Underground Railroad is at times brutal and disturbing, it's also hopeful and an addictive, compulsive read. After reading it, a corner of your heart will always belong to Cora. An instant classic -- Sarra Manning * Red *Reaches the marrow of your bones, settles in and stays forever . . . a tour de force -- Oprah WinfreyThis bravura novel reimagines that same network as a real subterranean railway, upon which a girl named Cora flees the slave-catcher Ridgeway. Throughout, horrific experiences are rendered in lapidary prose, but it's Cora's daring that provides the story's redemptive oomph * Mail on Sunday *Inventive and hard-hitting * Metro *It is a bold way of reimagining the slave experience and, in the capable hands of Whitehead, succeeds triumphantly * Mail on Sunday *Brutal, tender, thrilling and audacious -- Naomi Alderman * Guardian *An enchanting tale . . . full of vivid images, learned allusions and astute observations . . . The most important and acclaimed American novel of the past year * London Review of Books *I stayed up way too late to finish this... It will be haunting me in the best way * Celeste Ng, author of Everything I Never Told You *A fantastical picaresque through the dark side of American history * Daily Telegraph *Thrilling and unsentimental * Scotsman *The Underground Railroad is a noble descendant of the great narratives of slavery, and among the very finest of its novels -- Wesley Stace * Times Literary Supplement *An audaciously imagined and profoundly moving novel -- Eithne Farry * Express *Stunning and unsentimental . . . required reading -- Jenny Niven * Herald *A charged and important novel that pushed at the boundaries of fiction -- Justine Jordan * Guardian, Best Books of 2016 *Leaves the reader with a devastating understanding of the terrible human costs of slavery . . . with echoes of Toni Morrison's Beloved, Victor Hugo's Les Miserables and Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, and with brush strokes borrowed from Jorge Luis Borges, Franz Kafka and Jonathan Swift . . . Colson Whitehead has told a story essential to our understanding of the American past and the American present -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times *The Underground Railroad isn't the modern slave narrative it first appears to be. It is something grander and more piercing, a dazzling antebellum anti-myth...Whitehead's prose is quick as a runaway's footsteps * New York Review of Books *A book that resonates with deep emotional timbre. The Underground Railroad reanimates the slave narrative, disrupts our settled sense of the past and stretches the ligaments of history right into our own era . . . The story charges along with incredible power . . . The canon of essential novels about America's peculiar institution just grew by one -- Ron Charles * Washington Post *[The Underground Railroad] is really good - good, in fact, in just about every way a novel can be good . . . a grave and fully realized masterpiece, a weird blend of history and fantasy that will have critics rightfully making comparisons to Toni Morrison and Gabriel García-Márquez * Boston Globe *This book should be required reading in classrooms across the country alongside Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird. If this isn't Colson Whitehead's masterpiece, it's definitely the best book of the year and maybe the most important work of the decade * Chicago Tribune *Masterful, urgent . . . one of the finest novels written about our country's still unabsolved original sin -- Charles Finch * USA Today *The Underground Railroad has serious ambition, especially within the tradition of literary satire . . . With deadpan virtuosity and muted audacity, Whitehead integrates the historical details of slavery with the present * Los Angeles Review of Books *Whitehead is a fantastic novelist, one of the best in America today. (Certainly better than Franzen.)... Oprah is right: The Underground Railroad is Whitehead's best book yet... This is the rare critically acclaimed bestseller that deserves every ounce of its adoration, and more. The hype is real. You can believe Oprah, and its scores of other fans, including some guy who took The Underground Railroad on summer vacation and can't stop talking about its "terrific... powerful" portraiture of race in America. That fan's name is Barack Obama * Seattle Times *Magnetizing and wrenching . . . Each stop Cora makes along the Underground Railroad reveals another shocking and malignant symptom of a country riven by catastrophic conflicts, a poisonous moral crisis, and diabolical violence. Each galvanizing scene blazes with terror and indictment as Whitehead tracks the consequences of the old American imperative to seize, enslave, and profit . . . Hard-driving, lasersharp, artistically superlative, and deeply compassionate, Whitehead's unforgettable odyssey adds a clarion new facet to the literature of racial tyranny and liberation * Booklist *Startlingly original . . . Whitehead continues the African-American artists' inquiry into race mythology and history with rousing authority and razor-sharp ingenuity; he is now assuredly a writer of the first rank * Kirkus *In powerful, precise prose, at once spellbinding and ferocious, the book follows Cora's incredible journey north, step by step . . . the story is literature at its finest and history at its most barbaric. Would that this novel were required reading for every American citizen * Publishers Weekly *Colson Whitehead's staggering, haunted new novel . . . [is] a book that is fully expected to win all the awards this year - Pulitzer Prize, Booker Prize, National Book Award, etc - and it deserves every last one * Chapter 16 *Hard-driving, laser-sharp, artistically superlative, and deeply compassionate, Whitehead's unforgettable odyssey adds a clarion new facet to the literature of racial tyranny and liberation * Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence, shortlist announcement *

Read more less

Book SynopsisAnd the Word was made steel and dwelt among us.'An invincible warrior. A saintly child. A demonic spirit cloaked in red. A Holy Land fallen into darkness.Amid the dust and mayhem of the Third Crusade, a fearsome knight, Thurstan Wildblood, a man with a hole where his soul should be', is charged with returning a female hostage to Christendom, specifically to Canterbury.Melinda of Jerusalem, they say, works miracles. She is touched by God and when she prays, astonishing cures are affected. The problem is that everyone seeks her as their prize. The crusaders captured her from an Islamic stronghold, and Sultan Saladin wants her back. The Christians themselves are divided. Richard the Lionheart believes her liberation' to England will justify this war of annihilation, but the Knights Templar are adamant the only place for her is Rome. Meanwhile, there are others in the Christian army, sell-swords and freebooters, who dream of ransom should she fall into their mercenary hands.Wildblood and his captive could not be facing more terrible odds, nor a more exhausting journey. And yet this indomitable knight has reasons of his own for undertaking the perilous quest. For he is certain he is damned. In the midst of carnage, he encountered a mysterious being Belphagor, the Bishop of Hell' who in return for a multitude already slain, granted him martial skills second to none.Wildblood has no concerns for the schemes of kings and bishops. He has strayed far from the light, and his only hope for redemption now lies in the delivery of this living saint to the holiest place he knows. But even Wildblood will be tested by the hardships and horrors that await him on the endless road home.He thinks he is familiar with evil. But he isn't. Not yet.A gripping medieval historical adventure perfect for fans of Christian Cameron and David Gilman.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisJilly Cooper is a journalist, author and media superstar. The author of many number one bestselling books, she lives in Gloucestershire.She has been awarded honorary doctorates by the Universities of Gloucestershire and Anglia Ruskin, and won the inaugural Comedy Women in Print lifetime achievement award in 2019. She was also appointed DBE in 2024 for services to literature and charity.Trade ReviewThe world of smart women, handsome army officers, romantic school girls, lustful grooms, insecure wives... they have fire in their bellies (and generally in their groins too) and a massive appetite for life -- Nicholas Coleridge * The Sunday Times *Polo is the best thing she's ever done * Daily Mail *A work of towering genius * Evening Standard *Compulsively readable and funny... the irrepressible Jilly remains irresistible * The Times *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES 1# BESTSELLER & BOOKER PRIZE WINNER*One of Goodreads Most Popular Books of the Past Decade*This is Britain as you''ve never read it.This is Britain as it has never been told.From Newcastle to Cornwall, from the birth of the twentieth century to the teens of the twenty-first, Girl, Woman, Other follows a cast of twelve characters on their personal journeys through this country and the last hundred years. They''re each looking for something - a shared past, an unexpected future, a place to call home, somewhere to fit in, a lover, a missed mother, a lost father, even just a touch of hope . . .''The most absorbing book I read all year'' Roxane Gay''[Bernardine Evaristo] is one of the very best that we have'' Nikesh Shukla''Beautifully interwoven stories of identity, race, womanhood, and the realities of modern Britain. The characters are so vivid, the writing is beautiful and it brims with humanity'' Nicola Sturgeon''A choral love song to black womanhood in modern Great Britain'' Elle''Bernardine Evaristo can take any story from any time and turn it into something vibrating with life'' Ali Smith''Exceptional. You have to order it right now'' StylistTrade ReviewGive [Evaristo] more prizes! All the prizes! It has the pace of a whistle stop tour and yet it seems no detail of the myriad of lives we encounter is missed. -- Graham Norton via TwitterIf you haven't discovered [Evaristo] yet, I urge you to read all and any of her books. Devoured one a day already and ordered more. Hilarious, compassionate, moving and brutally honest. -- Richard E Grant via TwitterBeautifully interwoven stories of identity, race, womanhood, and the realities of modern Britain. The characters are so vivid, the writing is beautiful and it brims with humanity. -- Nicola Sturgeon via TwitterWeaves through time and space with crackling originality * Vogue *Exuberant, bursting at the seams in delightful ways... Evaristo continues to expand and enhance our literary canon. If you want to understand modern day Britain, this is the writer to read * New Statesman *An exceptional book that unites poetry, social history, women's voices and beyond. Order it right now * Stylist *Evaristo's prose hums with life as characters seem to step off the page fully formed. At turns funny and sad, tender and true, this book deserves to win awards * Red *Brims with vitality * FT *With this rich composition, Evaristo deserves a toast * Literary Review *Masterful... A choral love song to black womanhood in modern Great Britain * Elle *'Girl, Woman, Other is about struggle, but it is also about love, joy and imagination. * Guardian *Threads together the diverse life stories of 12 black British women in ways that deliberately resist categorisation * Metro *Such a satisfying read, funny and true, the characters are so real you feel you know them already -- Miranda Sawyer via TwitterA warm, humorous and ambitious novel, and one that is enjoyably playful in style. It is both a product of its time and unlike any book ever written about Britain * Economist *My favorite book of 2019 . . . the most absorbing book I read all year. This novel is a master class in storytelling. It is absolutely unforgettable. When I turned the final page, I felt the ache of having to leave the world Evaristo created but I also felt the excitement of getting to read the book all over again. It should have won the Booker alone. It deserves all the awards and then some. -- Roxanne Gay'Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo is the best book in recent years to have embodied the idea that there are as many ways to be joyful as there are to be Black. Polyphonic and nuanced, it celebrates the lives of Black British women rather than commiserating with them, which is a crucial - and rare - distinction.' * Sara Collins *

Read more less