Contemporary Fiction Books

Book SynopsisFaber Stories, a landmark series of individual volumes, presents masters of the short story form at work in a range of genres and styles. Lips the colour of blood, the sun an unprecedented orange, train wheels that sound like guilt, and guilt, and guilt': these are just some of the things Mary Ventura begins to notice on her journey to the ninth kingdom.But what is the ninth kingdom?' she asks a kind-seeming lady in her carriage. It is the kingdom of the frozen will,' comes the reply. There is no going back.'Sylvia Plath's strange, dark tale of independence over infanticide, written not long after she herself left home, grapples with mortality in motion.Bringing together past, present and future in our ninetieth year, Faber Stories is a celebratory compendium of collectable work.

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Book SynopsisFROM THE AUTHOR BEHIND BRAND NEW APPLE TV HIT SHINING GIRLSWINNER OF THE 2011 ARTHUR C CLARKE AWARD''A major, major talent'' GEORGE R.R. MARTIN_______Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit and a talent for finding lost things. But when a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheque, she''s forced to take on her least favourite kind of job - missing persons.Being hired by reclusive music producer Odi Huron to find a pop star should be her ticket out of Zoo City, the festering slum where the criminal underclass and their animal companions reside.Instead it catapults Zinzi deeper into the maw of a city twisted by crime and magic, where she''ll be forced to confront the dark secrets of former lives - including her own._______''Beukes is very *very* good. It feels effortless, utterly accomplished'' William Gibson''Beukes brings a secret tenderneTrade Review[Beukes] brings a secret tenderness and humanity to her off-kilter portrait of the here and now * Guardian *Lauren Beukes is very, *very* good. It feels effortless. Utterly accomplished -- William GibsonA fabulous outing from an extremely promising writer ... [It] has so much fabulous wordplay, imaginative settings and scenarios, and such a dark and cynical heart that I was totally riveted by it -- Cory DoctorowBeukes's energetic noir phantasmagoria ... crackles with original ideas ... Beukes skilfully employs all the twists of first-rate noir ... powerful indeed -- Jeff Vandermeer, New York TimesBeukes delivers a thrill ride that gleefully merges narrative styles and tropes, almost single-handedly pulling the "urban fantasy" subgenre back towards its groundbreaking roots * Publishers Weekly *Energetic and imaginative ... Packed with colour, dark humour and thought-provoking ideas, Zoo City is an absolute must for anyone with a taste for the wilder edges of the genre * SFX Magazine *Original and unputdownable * Cosmopolitan *An unpredictable and helluva awesome read * Heat *Lauren Beukes is Jeff Noon crossed with Raymond Chandler. I loved it, it's going to be huge -- Paul CornellI couldn't put this down. It's weird, thrilling, funny... filled with sleazy characters and lots of bad attitude -- Mike NicolAn unfamiliar land full of familiars, a broken Johannesburg peopled with damaged wonders... If our words are bullets, Lauren Beukes is a marksman in a world of drunken machine-gunners -- Bill WillinghamZoo City is pure originality ... a book that had me reading it revelling in Beukes' magical way with words * SF Signal *At times the witty and lyrical prose is sheer magic, the story captivating and the characters exotic, cruel and beautiful while the backdrop of Johannesburg seethes with hidden, lurking dangers around every corner, Zoo City is quite simply captivating * SciFi & Fantasy Books *

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Book SynopsisA Times Best Book of 2019. 'Paver is one of Britain's modern greats. This sinister, gothic chiller shows why' BIG ISSUE, Books of the Year 2019. "Something has been let loose..." In Edwardian Suffolk, a manor house stands alone in a lost corner of the Fens: a glinting wilderness of water whose whispering reeds guard ancient secrets. Maud is a lonely child growing up without a mother, ruled by her repressive father. When he finds a painted medieval devil in a graveyard, unhallowed forces are awakened. Maud's battle has begun. She must survive a world haunted by witchcraft, the age-old legends of her beloved fen – and the even more nightmarish demons of her father's past. Spanning five centuries, Wakenhyrst is a darkly gothic thriller about murderous obsession and one girl's longing to fly free by the bestselling author of Dark Matter and Thin Air. Wakenhyrst is an outstanding new piece of story-telling, a tale of mystery and imagination laced with terror. It is a masterwork in the modern gothic tradition that ranges from Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker to Neil Gaiman and Sarah Perry.Trade Review[Michelle Paver's] storytelling is irresistible * The Times, Historical Fiction Book of the Month *It's a ghost story to put beside the classics of an earlier era... Compelling' * Evening Standard *Original and engrossing... Paver masterfully blends together two narratives... Spanning fen devils, mystics and the lot of women in Edwardian England' * Observer *This book has been haunting me... Very gripping' * BBC Radio 2 Book Club *[A] superb, supernatural novel... Paver deliciously ratchets up the tension as Maud struggles for autonomy in the face of her father's deranged obsessions' * Daily Mail *A brilliantly atmospheric read (be warned: it's also terrifying!) with a brave, forward-thinking heroine I loved * Good Housekeeping *Paver is back on top form' * The Bookseller, Editor's Choice *A spine-chilling masterpiece * Woman and Home *This dark, gothic tale will hook you in with its atmospheric setting of a house on the edge of the Suffolk fens, and its themes of superstition, witchcraft and religion * Sun. *Wakenhyrst is many things all at once – a chilling Gothic horror, a coming of age tale, a story of madness and loneliness, and most of all an account of how one girl manages to look out for herself when no-one else will. Paver successfully balances these themes as only a confident writer can. With fully realised characters and motivations, she draws you deeper and deeper into the story, even as the sense of dread grows stronger with every turn of the page * Scotland on Sunday. *Dark, atmospheric and beautifully written * Candis *This perfectly constructed "modern Gothic" is laced with a real sense of menace – and a healthy dose of feminism * Heat *A demonic presence lurks in the fens in this tale about murder, loneliness and an abusive relationship * The Times, The Best Books of 2019 *This is true goose-bump material' 8/10 * Sunday Post *This dark, gothic tale will hook you in with its atmospheric setting * Fabulous Magazine *Gothic thriller spanning five centuries. A woman living with her repressive father faces a battle against witchcraft and sorcery when a strange icon is discovered in a churchyard * Love It Magazine *There is a thick air of mystery to the story. The household is shrouded in secrets. I really liked the sinister, gothic feel I got from Wakenhyrst and I'll be looking out for more!' * A Knight's Reads *Paver herself said it was the best book she's written, and you can see why: it's compulsively readable and savagely intelligent * The Roaring Bookworm *This book is steeped in atmosphere as well as the stench and slime of the fen itself, a place barely touched by the outside world, and it is beautifully written and deliciously, gorgeously creepy * For Winter Nights *A clever, creepy Gothic tale * Saga *

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Book SynopsisLeni crossed her arms, said nothing, and watched the fight unfold. She was like a bored onlooker at a boxing trial, wasting no energy on the undercard, saving her passion for the moment when the real champions would step into the ring. And yet, at some point, she began to cry. Just tears, without any sound. Water falling from her eyes as water was falling from the sky. Rain disappearing into rain.The Wind That Lays Waste begins in the great pause before a storm. Reverend Pearson is an evangelist preaching the word of God across northern Argentina with Leni, his teenage daughter, in tow. When their car breaks down, fate leads them to the workshop of an ageing mechanic, Gringo Brauer, and his assistant, a boy called Tapioca. Over the course of a long day, curiosity and a sense of new opportunities develop into an unexpected intimacy. Yet this encounter between a man convinced of his righteousness and one mired in cynicism and apathy will become a battle for the very souls of the young pair: the quietly earnest and idealistic mechanic’s assistant, and the restless, sceptical preacher’s daughter. As tensions among the four ebb and flow, beliefs are questioned and allegiances tested, until finally the growing storm breaks over the plains.Selva Almada’s exquisitely crafted debut, with its limpid and confident prose, is profound and poetic, a near-tangible experience of the landscape amid the hot winds, wrecked cars, sweat-stained shirts and damaged lives, told with the cinematic precision of a static road movie, like a Paris, Texas of the south. With echoes of Carson McCullers, The Wind That Lays Waste is a contemplative and powerfully distinctive novel that marks the arrival in English of an author whose talent and poise are undeniable.Trade ReviewEdinburgh International Book Festival First book Award (Winner)Book Cover of the Year (Saltire Awards) (Winner)"Like Flannery O’Connor and Juan Rulfo, Almada fills her taut, eerie novel with an understanding of rural life, loneliness, temptation and faith." —BBC Culture"Billed as a ‘promising voice’ in Latin American literature, this tale delivers readily on that promise." —Booklist"The drama of this refreshingly unpredictable debut . . . smolders like a lit fuse waiting to touch off its well-orchestrated events. . . . A stimulating, heady story." —Publishers Weekly"The story packs a punch in its portraits of a man who exalts heaven and another who protests." —Kirkus"A dynamic introduction to a major Latin American literary force." —Shelf Awareness, starred review"[The Wind That Lays Waste] delivers exactly that compressed pressurised electricity of a gathering thunderstorm: it sparks and sputters with live-wire tension." —TANK Magazine"The Wind That Lays Waste is elegant and stark, a kind of emblem or vision fetched from the far edges of things, arrested and stripped to its essence, as beautiful as it is unnerving. "" —Paul Harding , author of TINKERS"The Wind That Lays Waste is a mesmerizing novel, at once strange and compelling."" —Bonnie Jo Campbell , author of MOTHERS, TELL YOUR DAUGHTERS"The quality and resolve of her prose produce a power of suggestion that is unique to Selva Almada." —El País"The best novel written in Argentina in the last few years? Don’t know, and don’t care, but you must read Selva Almada." —El País"Almada’s prose has a touch of the Faulkner of As I Lay Dying but passed through the filters of the dirty light of the cotton fields and the clean clothes worn by country people to Sunday mass."" —Germán Machado"A distinctive debut: atmospheric, tension-packed, and written in vivid, poetic language." —Books from Scotland"Perhaps most powerful in the book is Almada’s focus on detail―she skillfully renders the story of a day in brief chapters that reveal the thoughts and fleeting encounters of characters, who are largely living inside themselves." —Ploughshares"Almada’s nuanced approach leaves room to explore her characters’ pasts in some detail, but, crucially, these individuals . . . are not defined by their mistakes." —ZYZZYVA"What seems fantastical soon turns hyper-realistic, in a style that is reminiscent of Juan Rulfo or Sara Gallardo." —La Nación**********Praise for Selva Almada"Almada combines reportage, fiction, and autobiography to explore femicide in Argentina in her acute, unflinching latest." —Publishers Weekly, starred review"Almada’s prose is sparse, but the details count. Her ear for dialogue and especially gossip is pitch perfect. Her eye for detail is hawkish." —LA Review of Books"Part journalism, part history, part autobiography, part relentless nightmare." —Shelf Awareness, starred review"Not an easy book, but it feels like an important one – a work of investigative writing about how easily women’s lives are obscured." —The Scotsman"An unassuming yet intensely felt narrative. (4 stars)" —The Arts Desk"This is a powerful read...[Almada's] effective use of fiction ensures a deep empathy in her readers which strict reportage sometimes fails to evoke." —The Big Issue"Genre-defying, with beautifully crafted and reflective prose." —The F Word"You’ll walk away from this book with a vivid memory of where you were, how you were feeling, and what the weather was like on the day that you read Dead Girls." —Books and Bao"The literary quality of the text shines." —Sound and Vision"The prose strikes a perfect tone – clinical and punchy when necessary, angry and lyrical, brutal yet humanistic." —TN2"Exquisite prose that vibrates with a deep, melodious rage." —The Monthly Booking"It’s crisp, bracing, and beautiful." —White Review"It is a profound novel and call to action still relevant as activists continue to take to the streets throughout Latin America to decry, ‘ni una más’ (not one more)." —The Skinny"A tense, precise chronicle that treats seriously a still serious subject." —El Cultural"A powerful read, shedding a stark light on the horrors of gender violence." —The Big Issue"This is not a book that will make you feel at peace with the world, but that is precisely where its strength and persuasion lie." —Translating Women"Challenge[s] the true crime obsession in an indirect way. " —Pendora Magazine"What makes the book compelling is how the author explores issues of domestic violence, state complicity, machismo and family negligence, along with class and social inequalities, in a non-sentimental prose which is all the more effective as result." —Morning Star"Part coming-of-age, part detective work, partly a web of rumors, Almada’s story fuses a variety of genres to create a work that splits the seams of personal narrative, journalism, and fiction." —NACLA"The devastating conclusion of the narrator is that the women who survive are unlikely to have made it unscathed but they are lucky ones – lucky to be alive." —NB Magazine"Fate has in Dead Girls the perfume of a Greek tragedy: immutable, irreversible, lethal." —El País"Far from the detective story, this is an intimate tale, a certain negative of the autobiography of a young woman looking at other young women and how all of them are perceived by a society where misogyny and violence against them is still an everyday affair." —Pagina/12"Selva Almada reinvents the imaginative rural world of a country. She is an author gifted with a very uncommon power and sensitivity." —Rolling Stone (Argentina)"Dead Girls is a brutal, necessary story in which Almada describes the crimes, states the facts and lays bare the horror of these femicides." —Tony's Reading List"Gripping, shocking and sad." —The Book Satchel

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Book SynopsisMeaningful and moving the classic million-copy bestselling love story from Cecelia Ahern.Some people wait their whole lives to find their soul mates. But not Holly and Gerry. Childhood sweethearts, they could finish each other's sentences. No one could ever imagine them without each other.When Gerry dies, Holly is devastated. But Gerry has left her a bundle of notes, one for each month of her year, each signed ''PS, I Love You''.As the notes are opened, the man who knows Holly better than anyone teaches her that life goes on. With some help from friends and family, Holly laughs, cries and finds that life is for living but it helps if there''s someone watching over you.Everyone LOVES PS, I Love You:Heartbreaking and uplifting'ExpressSensational'CosmopolitanGuaranteed to tug on your heartstrings'GlamourA moving, beautiful novel' Sunday TelegraphTrade Review ‘This exceptional novel about bereavement, friendship and lost love is both heartbreaking and uplifting’ Express ‘A sensational debut novel that proves true love never dies’ Cosmopolitan ‘Heartbreak, intrigue and love letters from beyond the grave – Ahern has a sure and sympathetic hand’Irish Times ‘A bittersweet storyline guaranteed to tug on your heartstrings’Glamour ‘A moving, beautiful novel’ Sunday Telegraph Acclaim for Cecelia Ahern:‘Bursting with narrative verve and ear for language…a writer hitting their prime’ Waterstones.com ‘Cleverly constructed, full of flavour and moving’ Daily Mail ‘Beautiful and unexpected … both thought-provoking and life-affirming’ Sunday Express ‘Intricate and emotional … really completely lovely’ Grazia

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Book SynopsisThe explosive conclusion to the epic saga that started with THE STARS NOW UNCLAIMED, the space opera SFX calls 'a glorious romp'!Always outnumbered, always outflanked. That’s the motto of the Justified, the small band of mercenaries who are determined to set the universe to rights after accidentally unleashing a cataclysm upon it. Find the fight before it finds you. But they’re not the only people who are trying to change the order of the universe. A group of psychotic beings, the Cyn, seem determined to stop the Justified.Hit them before they hit you. This little band of heroes are going to have to travel to the farthest reaches of the universe in order to stop the Cyn and save the world. But there’s a balance to the universe… and they’re just about to upset it. Hard.*** Praise for Drew Williams and

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Book SynopsisIncludes a sparkling new introduction to this deliciously wicked novel from Veronica Henry, talking about what this book and Jackie means to her. ‘Jackie bought a bit of glitter, sparkle and sunshine into our humdrum existence’ VERONICA HENRY'Jackie Collins’s daring, unapologetic stroke of the pen, combined with her glorious wit, has single-handedly given creative license to new generations of authors and storytellers.' COLLEEN HOOVER There have been many imitators, but only ever one Jackie Collins.  With millions of her books sold around the world, and thirty-one New York Times bestsellers, she is one of the world’s top-selling novelists. From glamorous Beverly Hills bedrooms to Hollywood movie studios; from glittering rock concerts to the yachts of billionaires, Jackie chronicled the scandalous lives of the rich, famous, and infamous from the inside looking out. 'A tru

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Book SynopsisAs the bombs rain down in the Second World War, one young girl is evacuated to the English countryside. Struggling to make sense of her new wartime life, she is given a copy of a book of ancient Norse myths and her inner and outer worlds are transformed.Linguistically stunning and imaginatively abundant, Byatt's mesmerising tale - inspired by the myth of Ragnarok -is a landmark piece of storytelling from one of the world's truly great writers.The Myths series brings together some of the world's finest writers, each of whom has retold a myth in a contemporary and memorable way. Authors in the series include Karen Armstrong, Margaret Atwood, A.S. Byatt, David Grossman, Natsuo Kirino, Alexander McCall Smith, Philip Pullman, Ali Smith and Jeanette Winterson.Trade ReviewLyrical and urgent * * The Times * *Brilliant, highly intelligent, fiercely personal . . . Gorgeous -- Ursula K. Le GuinByatt has made . . . an entire world, compressed but energetically alive in all its details. When we have artists like this, who needs gods? * * Observer * *Byatt's prose is majestic, the lush descriptive passages - jewelled one minute, gory the next - a pleasure to get lost in * * Sunday Telegraph * *Byatt's writing, impassioned and liberated from the strictures of the novel, has never been so beautiful * * Telegraph * *Byatt's prose, compact and lyrical, treats the gods with dignity . . . Ragnarok is a clever, lucid, lovely book * * Guardian * *Surely among the most beautiful and incisive pages Byatt has ever written * * Independent * *Byatt enters with gusto and an almost Ted Hughes-like relish for savagery into this primitive world of sorcery and trickery * * Sunday Times * *Byatt peels back the cover of the book that the girl reads and takes us deep inside it as she delights in reimagining the twilight of the gods and the destruction of the world . . . Like Wagner before her, she dares to dream how the world might end . . . this rewriting of the Ragnarok is a story for our time of overpopulation and anthropomorphic climate change, and of all time * * Financial Times * *Byatt's retelling of Ragnarok is permeated with the loving familiarity of long acquaintance * * Evening Standard * *

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of In Five Years'We've been waiting for an hour.' That's what Audrey says. She states it with a little bit of an edge, her words just bordering on cursive. That's the thing I think first. Not, Audrey Hepburn is at my birthday dinner, but Audrey Hepburn is annoyed.What if your dream dinner party were to actually happen? For New Yorker Sabrina, fantasy becomes reality when she arrives at her thirtieth-birthday celebration to find not only her best friend but also her long-dead father, her admired philosophy professor, the love of her life - and silver-screen icon Audrey Hepburn. Unbelievable though this may seem, as the wine and conversation start to flow it becomes clear that these individuals have each played a crucial role in the course Sabrina's life has taken - and that they have come together at this moment in time for a reason...Follow Sabrina over one evening and ten years as she grapples with the definition of romance, the expectations of love - and how to navigate her way to happiness in this bittersweet romance for our times.'wistful, delicious, romantic, magical' Gabrielle Zevin, New York Times bestselling authorTrade ReviewI could not put down this book! Loved, loved, loved it. So much romance, so much Hollywood gossip, so much fun. * Sarah Mlynowski, author of TEN THINGS WE DID (AND PROBABLY SHOULDN'T HAVE) on FAMOUS IN LOVE *Fantasy becomes reality in this exhilarating love story you won't want to put down. * Susane Colasanti, author of WHEN IT HAPPENS on FAMOUS IN LOVE *Serle establishes a glamorous premise in a gorgeous setting, as well as an enticing romance-within-a-romance framework. * Publishers Weekly on FAMOUS IN LOVE *Imagine that you could gather the people you've loved-dead or alive-at one table, for one night, with a chance to heal yourself once and for all. The Dinner List is a heartbreakingly romantic book framed by such an evening. It's Serle's unflinching investigation into the triumph and failings of love that makes this book one of a kind. A touch magic, a touch tragic, and absolutely compelling from beginning to end. * Stephanie Danler, author of Sweetbitter *I read The Dinner List in a single day, unable to tear myself away from this unconventional dinner party. Rebecca Serle draws you in with this clever and delightful story and then (when you least expect it) offers up some of the sharpest insights on first loves, friendships and family. This book is completely original and wildly entertaining. * Jennifer Close, author of The Hopefuls *I have five words for Rebecca Serle's The Dinner List: wistful, delicious, romantic, magical, love. * Gabrielle Zevin, author of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE WOMEN''S PRIZE FOR FICTION''Tense, dark and intensely gripping . . . written so seductively that passages sing out from the page '' Sunday TimesCathy and her brother, Rob, don''t know why they have been abandoned by their parents. Alone in their grandfather''s decaying country house, they roam the wild grounds freely with minds attuned to the rural wilderness. Lost in their own private world, they seek and find new lines to cross.But as the First World War draws closer, crimes both big and small threaten the delicate refuge they have built. Cathy will do anything to protect their dark Eden from anyone, or anything, that threatens to destroy it.''An electrifying and original talent, a writer whose style is characterized by a lyrical, dreamy intensity'' Guardian''Stops you in your tracks with the beauty of its writing'' Observer''Has a strong and sensuous magic'' The TiTrade ReviewA marvellous novel about forbidden passions * Daily Mail *An intensely gripping book...written so seductively that some passages sing out from the page, like music for the eyes * Sunday Times *A hugely involving story which often stops you in your tracks with the beauty of its writing * Observer *An electrifying and original talent, a writer whose style is characterized by a lyrical, dreamy intensity * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisThe unstoppable Ruby Darke returns as old enemies threaten her family in The Edge, a gripping gangland thriller from top ten bestselling author Jessie Keane.With a mind sharper than a razor blade it was only a matter of time before Ruby Darke fought her way to the top. From humble beginnings she became the queen of London’s retail, but she didn’t get there by obeying the law.Now with her son Kit and daughter Daisy finally by her side she’s ready to start a new chapter in her life, but, unknown to all of them, enemies are circling.There aren’t many who threaten Ruby Darke and live to tell the tale. But this time, she may just have met her match.If you live on the edge, you may just die on it . . .This heart-racing series starts with Nameless and Lawless.Trade ReviewPerfect for fans of Martina Cole and Lynda La Plante * Glamour *Swift-moving intrigue * Woman & Home *

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Book SynopsisA vivid and brutal reimagining of Homer's Iliad, set in the Troubles of the late twentieth century.Trade ReviewA lively, convincing demotic that captures an Irish idiomatic flow and an echo of Homer's formalities and hexametric lines. It begs to be read aloud * The Times *The language is enough to keep you enthralled . . . a violent pounding demotic as memorable in its way as Homer's hexameter * Guardian *A bold, imaginative second novel * The Spectator *Energetic . . . an ingenious refitting that illuminates both conflicts * Guardian, Books of the Year 2018 *Country explodes with verbal invention, rapid juxtaposition, brutality and fun . . . Hughes's linguistic dexterity, his ear for dialogue, his understanding of character, the energy of his prose * TLS *Reading this book is like sitting in the pub listening to a good friend tell you stories. It does what only the best retellings can and makes you see the myth anew * Daisy Johnson *This is a hard, rigorous and necessary book which grinds out its beauty as the song cycles of empire and resistance fall silent, choked in their own blood * Irish Times *A brutal and gripping thriller in its own right . . . a consistently engrossing read, written in Ulster-flavoured prose as rich and evocative as you would expect from a professional thespian * Irish Independent *Consistently thrilling . . . By enlisting the visceral power of The Iliad to illustrate the violence of the Troubles . . . Hughes has written a striking, memorable book * Literary Review *Prose that crackles with the vernacular of hard men, yet remains compulsively readable throughout . . . a classic story, and a gritty contemporary thriller, this book is an extraordinary achievement * Stuart Neville *This powerful novel is full of blistering writing that leaps off the page and is perhaps the first great fiction about The Troubles since Dermot Healy * Boundless *I couldn't put Country down. Tears through the pages at a cracking pace with sharp, smart prose and excellent dialogue * Paul McVeigh *Hughes has to contort some and plot elements to match the exigencies of themes such as honour, religion, slavery and warrior/royal behaviour in the 8th century pre-Christian Mediterranean world. But he does this so cleverly and audaciously that the reader goes with him - for the sheer fun of it, if nothing else . . . In a way, his colloquialised retelling (a tour de force of voice, reminiscent of the heights achieve by Patrick McCabe in The Butcher Boy) is truer to the hexameter rhythms of the original poem * Irish Examiner *Exceptionally good * Books Ireland *Clear-voiced and visceral . . . This enjoyable novel gives voice to fine characters that are challenging, selfish, brutal and worth your time * Irish Daily Mail *Thrillerishly bite-sized chapters hurtle towards an explosive climax * The Observer *Hughes brilliantly reconciles Homeric rhythms with his muscular modern idiom * Lucy Hughes-Hallett, New Statesman Best Books of 2018 *Country struck me as this year's most daring Troubles novel * Ian Sansom, TLS Books of the Year *

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Book Synopsis**Don''t miss Jenny Holmes''s latest wartime series, The Air Raid Girls. Part 3 - The Air Raid Girls: Wartime Brides - is available now!**----------------------------''Anything to Anywhere!'' That''s the motto of the Air Transport Auxiliary, the brave team of female pilots who fly fighter planes between bases at the height of WWII. Mary is a driver for the ATA and although she yearns to fly a Spitfire, she fears her humble background will hold her back. After all, glamorous Angela is set to be the next ''Atta Girl'' on recruitment posters. Bobbie learned to fly in her father''s private plane and Jean was taught the queen''s English at grammar school before joining the squad. Dedicated and resilient the three girls rule the skies: weathering storms and dodging enemy fire. Mary can only dream of joining them - until she gets the push she needs to overcome her self-doubt.Trade ReviewPraise for Jenny Holmes * : *Vibrant and heart-warming, Jenny Holmes makes Chapel Street come alive. * Sunday Express on The Shop Girls of Chapel Street *Gritty and uplifting, it's a tale of triumph over adversity * Choice on The Mill Girls of Albion Lane *

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Book Synopsis"I wasn't sure I liked the sound of it. Even my vivid imagination could hardly fathom a place as tight, or dense, or narrow as Shanghai." It's April 1939 and, with their lives in Berlin and Vienna under threat, Esther and Kitty – two very different women – are forced to make the same brutal choice. Flee Europe, or face the ghetto, incarceration, death. Shanghai, they've heard, Shanghai is a haven – and so they secure passage to the other side of the world. What they find is a city of extremes – wealth, poverty, decadence and disease – and of deep political instability. Kitty has been lured there with promises of luxury, love, marriage – but when her Russian fiancé reveals his hand she’s left to scratch a vulnerable living in Shanghai's nightclubs and dark corners. Meanwhile, Esther and her little girl take shelter in a house of widows until the protection of Aaron, Esther’s hot-headed former lover, offers new hope of survival. Then the Japanese military enters the fray and violence mounts. As Kitty's dreams of escape are dashed, and Esther's relationship becomes tainted, the two women are thrown together in the city's most desperate times. Together they must fight for a future for the lives that will follow theirs. PRAISE FOR THE LIVES BEFORE US: 'The Lives Before Us opens up a captivating new world in a war I thought I knew about, a raucous Casablanca transposed to the East, filled with the intrigues of outcasts and determined survivors.' – ALEX CHRISTOFI, author of Glass 'Juliet Conlin brings wartime Shanghai to vividly to life with a wealth of fascinating detail.' – SARA SHERIDAN, author of The Ice Maiden 'Chronicles the courage and endurance of two women in wartime Shanghai, separated, then reunited, in a dangerous and desperate place. Strongly drawn characters quickly demand attention, and empathy, and their compelling story charts a little known aspect of the Second World War, and of a persecution felt far beyond Europe.' – SARAH MAINE, author of The House Between TidesTrade Review'The Lives Before Us opens up a captivating new world in a war I thought I knew about, a raucous Casablanca transposed to the East, filled with the intrigues of outcasts and determined survivors.' – ALEX CHRISTOFI, author of Glass ; 'Juliet Conlin brings wartime Shanghai to vividly to life with a wealth of fascinating detail.' – SARA SHERIDAN, author of The Ice Maiden ; 'Chronicles the courage and endurance of two women in wartime Shanghai, separated, then reunited, in a dangerous and desperate place. Strongly drawn characters quickly demand attention, and empathy, and their compelling story charts a little known aspect of the Second World War, and of a persecution felt far beyond Europe.' – SARAH MAINE, author of The House Between Tides

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE PRIX ANAÏS NIN Jeanne moves from room to room. In the anonymous hotel bedrooms of Paris - Hotel Agate, Hotel Prince Albert, Hotel Prince Monceau, Hotel Coypel, Hotel Nord & Champagne - she undresses man after man, forgetting faces, names, pleasures, thoughts, and all physical attributes but one. In her head, a palace of memories is being built, image by new image, lover by new lover. There is no pathologizing Jeanne; she resists it. There is no way to impose a story on Jeanne; she escapes it. There is no pitying Jeanne, no lusting after Jeanne, no uncovering the secret to Jeanne; she won't allow it. Jeanne moves from room to room.Trade Review[T]ranslator Laura Francis does a fine job of capturing Leger's poise and poetry... t's a reminder of how rare it still is to have a female gaze on the aesthetic aspects of sex... Leger's writing is doing something different...cool, detached, specific... Genuinely fresh * Observer *A sustained assault on the authority of the phallus. . . Like a flickering pornographic video breaking up into pixels, [Jeanne] dissolves before us. . . In being nobody in particular, she can be anybody. . . there is a serious argument here * Sunday Times *[The Collection is a] provocative novel...creating a new kind of sex writing, in the surreal shapes and syntax of a direct yet viscous, particulate prose. . . In Laura Francis's supple translation, Leger's novel challenges, mesmerises, and impresses... it knowingly complicates its genre, offering a tantalising glimpse of a female desire unburdened by the debt of explanation...daring, direct and richly imagined * Arts Desk *Utterly brilliant. I love how Leger has taken a depersonalised perspective to open up such an intimate subject - this intrinsically erotic disparity has produced a completely fresh cliché-free kind of sex writing -- Claire-Louise BennettWith her unapologetic, searching heroine, and her refusal to answer 'why', Nina Leger opens up spaces of possibility in the reader. She draws us into a complex world of pleasure with a language as striking and sharp as the erotic imagination at play is tender, vulnerable and wild -- Saskia VogelI revelled in Jeanne's mesmeric, nihilistic sex life. The Collection is filled with slight-of-hand sensuality. Choreographic in its treatment of the gendered gaze -- Eli GoldstoneLeger's rendering of Jeanne's penile preoccupation is virtuosic and precise while also surprising, even surrealist. . .The Collection is short and focused... [Leger's] book is urgently necessary: because there are still men out there who don't understand how rare and revolutionary it is for a woman to write about what their penises look like to her. For a woman to adopt the surrealist approach, and show, for once, a man in pieces * Guardian *[A] bold, mischievous novel. . . truly fresh. . . a distinctive and evocative novel. . . A book for adventurous readers * Dublin Sunday Business Post *I am gripped by its weirdness...Jeanne's insatiable libido and darkly comic fixation on grotesque penises in The Collection defy the patriarchal archetype of female desire * frieze *

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Book Synopsis“If you enjoyed Sarah’s Key and Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, then this wonderful book by Ann Mah is for you.”   -- Tatiana de RosnaySweetbitter meets The Nightingale in this page-turning novel about a woman who returns to her family’s ancestral vineyard in Burgundy and unexpectedly uncovers a lost diary, an unknown relative, and a secret her family has been keeping since World War II.To become one of only a few hundred certified wine experts in the world, Kate must pass the notoriously difficult Master of Wine examination. She’s failed twice before; her third attempt will be her last chance. Suddenly finding herself without a job and with the test a few months away, she travels to Burgundy to spend the fall at the vineyard estate that has belonged to her family for generations. There she can bolster her shaky knowledge of BurgunTrade Review“It’s apropos that this novel is set in Burgundy, because it shares the layers, depth, nuance and structure of the wines from that region.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune ”A made-for-vacation read.” — Goop “Suspenseful, rich in detail about French food, culture, history and of course wine, the real power of The Lost Vintage lies in its thoughtful and humane rendering of difficult but important truths.” — Therese Anne Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald “Fans of World War II historical fiction have a new title to add to their book club reading list this summer....You’ll easily start and finish the entire book in the span of a long weekend.” — Bon Appétit “Charismatic...resonates on many levels, and [Mah’s] engaging story will appeal to readers who enjoy the family sagas of Kate Morton and Kristin Hannah.” — Booklist “If you enjoyed my Sarah’s Key and Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, then this wonderful book by Ann Mah is for you. I read it in one greedy gobble, couldn’t put it down, and can’t recommend it enough.” — Tatiana de Rosnay, bestselling author of Sarah’s Key “The world needs novels like The Lost Vintage: page-turning tales that remind us both of the power of the human spirit and the mystery of the human heart. It’s a remarkable novel.” — Chris Bohjalian, bestselling author The Flight Attendant and The Sandcastle Girls “Poised to become this season’s essential female-centered adventure.” — The Hollywood Reporter “A sensual and heartbreaking story of family secrets, lost love, and retribution that unfolds in the magical vineyards of Burgundy. Utterly gripping. I couldn’t put it down.” — Danielle Trussoni, New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Angelology “In elegant prose, Ann Mah spreads before her readers a sumptuous feast—a gripping mystery, a heartfelt love story, and a fascinating historical account. Awash in beautifully rendered detail, The Lost Vintage effortlessly glides between the vineyards of modern day Burgundy and the terrors of Nazi-occupied France. Graceful and compelling.” — Cathy Marie Buchanan, New York Times bestselling author of The Painted Girls “Ann Mah’s The Lost Vintage is as rich and complex as a fine French Burgundy — the perfect read for mystery lovers, history buffs, wine drinkers, Francophiles, and anyone interested in visiting the French wine country from a comfortable chair at home. Charmant!” — Meg Waite Clayton, bestselling author of The Wednesday Sisters and The Race for Paris “Ann’s Mah’s The Lost Vintage is a delightful novel--part love story, part mystery--that unfolds layer after layer of nuance and depth until its symphonic finish and reads like nothing so much as one of the vintage Burgundy wines that are so much part of the story.” — Tilar J. Mazzeo, New York Times bestselling author of The Widow Clicquot “Settle down with a glass of your favorite wine and allow yourself to be swept away in this beautiful tale of love, loss, courage and self-discovery.” — Shilpi Somaya Gowda, bestselling author of The Golden Son “A gorgeous novel of French food, wine, and a mystery from the past rapidly unravelling. I couldn’t stop reading and wanted to savor every word.” — Allie Larkin, bestselling author of Stay “Mah’s detailed descriptions of life on a family vineyard...are so robust that a novice wine drinker may progress to aficionado status by the end...Will delight Francophiles and readers who enjoy historical fiction with a twist by such authors as Lauren Willig or Christina Baker Kline.” — Library Journal (starred review)

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD'Maximilian Ponder is lying face up, dead, on the dining table in his own front room. This is something you really should know, right from the start. 'Max would also have wanted you to know that this is a Henri II style, French, walnut extending dining table, standing on solid turned legs with fretwork decor to the middle, also with ebony and sandalwood inlay, designed by the French furniture maker Nicolas Rastin and probably dating from around 1900 ...'Maximilian Ponder shut himself away for thirty years in an attempt to record every memory he ever had. Now he lies dead, surrounded by his magnum opus - The Catalogue - an exhaustive set of notebooks and journals that he hopes will form the map of one human mind. But before his friend Adam Last can call the police and inform them of Max's death, one rather gruesome task remains in order for Max's project to be complete. Interspersed with sections from The Catalogue, Adam tells the story of the man he knew - a man whose life changed dramatically the day he buried a dead labrador and fought a duel with his father. What emerges is both the story of a friendship, and also of a lifelong obsession, a quest to understand the human mind, memory and what constitutes a life.Trade ReviewAn original and quirky debut * BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH *Written with gusto - a daring, quirky tale. * GOOD BOOK GUIDE *

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Book SynopsisMartha searches for a way forward beyond grief, but finds herself drawn into tensions between entrepreneur Eugene Riordan and local hill farmer Paddy O'Connell, while also coming to know a young poet, Colm. Caught between its history and its future, the Celtic Tiger reels with change, and Martha faces redemptive choices that will change her life forever.Trade Review'An elegiac story of loss and valediction... Woolfian echoes pulse through haunting the reader' Guardian'A wool-soaked odyssey on the Iveragh peninsula I could feel and smell the rain all the way through, and when the sun broke in now and then, I felt that too... tremendous and moving' Irish Times'A gently absorbing novel... wistful but never morose - tugging the heartstrings without milking the double bereavement at the novel's heart' Daily Mail'A beautifully-written and evocative novel about grief and greed, art and life, isolation and emotion' Amanda Craig'A ravishing tale of an emotional journey in the wild beauty of Ireland... Read this book for the delicacy of its central story , the sheer delight of being led into the drama of this edge of the world with its landscape beaten by hectic weather and lit by unfiltered sunlight, and for the pleasure of Hubbard's intensely honed, sharply insightful story-telling' Angela Neustatter'Ambitious and heartfelt... brings a poet's lyric gift to a compelling story' Shena Mackay'A lyrical evocation of Ireland's fragile, ancient coastline reveals a poet's sensibility. This multi-layered story of love and loss, of a woman 'erased by grief', who finds solace in the heart of a community that is threatened from within, is exceptionally moving. This book will stay with you' Eleanor Fitzsimons'Has a unique and beautiful emotive quality that shines through its delicately constructed prose in a love-letter to Ireland, memory and parenthood, taking advantage of its mature narrator to speak with resonance and depth. In a contemporary world of instant connections, Rainsongs returns to an age just prior to the boom of social media 2007 in an exploration of what it means to be truly alone... champions the role of literature in an increasingly disconnected modern world' London Magazine

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Book Synopsis''Complex, intelligent, hugely intriguing - Alan Furst is in a class of his own'' William Boyd ''Furst''s ability to recreate the terrors of espionage is matchless'' Robert Harris''Furst never stops astounding me'' Tom HanksChosen as one of the 50 Best Modern Crime Novels by Marcel Berlins, crime reviewer, The TimesBulgaria, 1934. Khristo Stoianev sees his brother kicked to death by a gang of fascist thugs. Taking a risk on the promise of Communism, he flees to Moscow and is trained as an agent of the NKVD, the Soviet secret intelligence service. His first mission is to go to Catalonia, where he is soon caught up in the bloody horrors of the Spanish Civil War. Warned that he is about to become a victim of Stalin''s purges, Khristo must again take flight, this time to Paris, where he is a small player on the wrong end of a social scene that is simultaneously decadent and doomed. One of the twentieth centuryTrade Review'Alan Furst's spy fiction is serious, even solemn: a good but never light read' - LITERARY REVIEW'[Furst's] stories combine keen deductive precision with much deeper, more turbulent and impassioned aspects of character... Mr. Furst... is an incomparable expert at this game' - NEW YORK TIMES'Furst's tales... are infused with the melancholy romanticism of CASABLANCA, and also a touch of Arthur Koestler's DARKNESS AT NOON' - SCOTSMAN'Throughout, the author's delight in the process of espionage shines through' - TLS

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Book SynopsisA family scattered. Lovers torn apart. A painting that unites them all.When Jozef is commissioned to paint a portrait of the younger daughter of Kraków's grand Oderfeldt family, it is only his desperate need for money that drives him to accept. He has no wish to indulge a pampered child-princess or her haughty, condescending parents and almost doesn't notice Alicia's bookish older sister, Karolina. But when he is ushered by a servant into their house on Kraków's fashionable Bernadynska street in the winter of 1937, he has no inkling of the way his life will become entangled with the Oderfeldts''. Or of the impact that the German invasion will have upon them all.As Poland is engulfed by war, and Jozef's painting is caught up in the tides of history, Alicia, Karolina and their parents are forced to flee their Jewish identity transformed into something dangerous, and their comfortable lives overturned Spanning countries and decades The Light at the End of the Day is a heart-breaking novTrade Review‘Psychologically acute and emotionally absorbing, this distinctive tale of a privileged Polish-Jewish family overcome by the horrors of war is full of unforgettable characters. The Oderfeldts’ refusal to believe what is happening to them at every turn has something urgent to say to us now’ Rachel Hore, author of Last Letter Home 'A beautiful and tragic story of love, cruelty and loss. Wasserberg is a natural storyteller with hypnotic descriptive powers. In her company you feel completely held, as if in the palm of a hand' Megan Bradbury. author of Everyone is Watching ‘A masterpiece of storytelling. Eleanor Wasserberg is a skilled portrait artist of the human instinct, and her characters are perfectly balanced in their intricate colours, beauty, and flaws. This book broke my heart’ Nick Bradley, author of The Cat and the City 'Haunting, magnificent and deeply personal. It will stay with you' Rachel Edwards, author of Darling ‘Among so many other books set in this period, I found this story to have something new to share. The Oderfeldts are the sort of family you would usually love to hate, flawed and spoiled by their privilege, but watching them lose everything felt like a tragedy. This is a story that highlights the strength that can exist within all of us and the importance of friendship when there is nothing else left’ Louise Hare, author of This Lovely City ‘Superb – the terrifying chaos of the Second World War is brilliantly realised by Wasserberg, whose very fine writing ensures that even minor characters are brought compellingly to life. Rich in evocative detail, and heartrending’ Frances Liardet, author of We Must Be Brave

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Book SynopsisThis novel by one of Turkey's most highly regarded writers tells the story of a granddaughter's reckoning with the suppressed and traumatic memories of her grandmother, who survived a genocidal massacre in the Dersim region of southeast Turkey in 1938. Based on Sema Kaygusuz's relationship to her own grandmother, the novel embeds the turmoil of contemporary mass violence within mythic and deep historical timescapes, cracking open the modern history of Turkey to ask greater questions about good and evil, about exile and survival, about resilience in an age of everyday horror.

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Book Synopsis''Perfect, feel-good fiction'' Sarah Morgan''Full of Shalvis'' signature verve and wit; it touches on sisterhood and forgiveness while also serving up plenty of romance. The perfect beach read for any romance reader'' BooklistThe heartwarming new novel from New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis. The Lemon Sisters is a story of friendship, love and family, where two completely opposite sisters - who are still nursing wounds from the past - realize they need each other more than they think. For fans of Susan Mallery, Kristan Higgins and Robyn Carr.When life gives you lemons...Brooke Lemon has always led the life she wanted, wild adventures - and mistakes - included, a fact that her perfect sister Mindy never understood. So when Mindy shows up on Brooke''s doorstep in the throes of a breakdown with her three little kids in tow, asking to switTrade ReviewIf you're picking up a Jill Shalvis book, you're in for a treat -- Julie CohenMy go-to read for humour and heart -- Susan MalleryWill make you laugh and fall in love -- Rachel Gibson

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Book SynopsisWhat happens when the one you love is not the one you’re with? The Sunday Times bestselling author of The Sun in Her Eyes and Thirteen Weddings wonders whether we can ever forget the one that got away in her “absorbing and emotional narrative” (Heat) about romance and reconciliation.“Will you marry me?” I think of you, then. I think of you every day. But usually in the quietest part of the morning, or the darkest part of the night. Not when my boyfriend of two years has just proposed. I look up at Richard with his hopeful eyes. “Lily?” he prompts. It’s been ten years, but it feels like only yesterday that you left. How can I say yes to Richard with all my heart when most of it has always belonged to you? I take a deep breath and will myself to speak… Ten years ago when Lily was just sixteen, she fell in love with soTrade ReviewPraise for Paige Toon ‘You’ll love it, cry buckets and be uplifted’ MARIAN KEYES ‘Tender, heartbreaking and magical’ GIOVANNA FLETCHER ‘Heart-warming, wistful and full of joy’ LINDSEY KELK ‘Poignant and lovely, warm and wise’ MILLY JOHNSON ‘Family secrets, new horizons and a gorgeous continent-crossing romance... prepare to be swept away!’ LUCY DIAMOND ‘Warm, inspiring, like a holiday mood in book form’ MHAIRI MCFARLANE ‘For smart, romantic fiction, look no further than the new book from bestselling Paige Toon’ RED ‘Achingly romantic and brilliantly written... Five Stars!’ HEAT ‘Simply gorgeous’ SUN ‘You won’t be able to put down this emotional read’ CLOSER ‘Paige Toon is the queen of will-they/won't-they romance, setting up an ending that will leave you in bits’ SUNDAY EXPRESS ‘Full of living-in-the-moment and what-might-have-been contrasts, this tender read pulls at the heart strings’ FABULOUS

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Book SynopsisTwo women. Two children. But whose is whose?''An emotionally charged and thought-provoking read that any parent will relate to'' Woman''s WeeklyWhen two strangers, Tess and Annie, undergo IVF at an American clinic, their embryos are mixed up and each woman gives birth to the wrong child.The women only discover the devastating error three years later. Tess wants to swap the children back; Annie doesn''t. As the pair wrangle, neither of them expect what unfolds.*******PRAISE FOR THE SWAP''A gripping, heartbreaking and original story which asks some important questions about motherhood and keeps you guessing until the very end, absolutely loved it.'' - Clare Empson, author of HIM''A wonderfully written, thought provoking and moving read. I raced through the pages, desperate to know the outcome. Such a clever, originalTrade ReviewPraise for The Swap * : *An emotionally charged and thought-provoking read that any parent will relate to * Woman's Weekly *A gripping read. * CLOSER *An insightful and emotionally charged read * Woman's Own *A thought-provoking and tense tale * Woman & Home *This is a real heartbreaker of a read. * HEAT *Gripping * BELLA *I read the book in one weekend and emerged wanting to hug my loved ones a little bit tighter. A compelling, thought-provoking, emotional thriller of a book -- Katie MarshA gripping, heartbreaking and original story which asks some important questions about motherhood and keeps you guessing until the very end, absolutely loved it. -- Clare Empson, author of HIMA wonderfully written, thought provoking and moving read. I raced through the pages, desperate to know the outcome. Such a clever, original idea. I loved it. * Claire Douglas *Oh how it was worth the wait! Fiona has crafted an emotive and credible read . . . Harrowing in parts, but uplifting in others, Fiona keeps the pace constant . . . deeply moving and beautifully written. -- Louise Jensen, author of THE SURROGATE and THE DATEThe hook on the cover - Two Women. Two Children. But Whose is Whose? - would grab anyone, but it's the gorgeous writing, the stunning attention to detail, and the searingly difficult themes explored that kept me. I read this in just two days. The impossible dilemma is so sensitively addressed, and yet Mitchell has still created an addictive, page-turner. An unforgettable book. -- Louise Beech, author of THE LIONJust finished the brilliant THE SWAP by Fiona Mitchell and my heart aches. It explores the gut-wrenching dilemma of two women following an IVF mix-up. A gripping tale written with great sensitivity and humour, even in its darkest moments. Book club gold. * Francesca Jakobi, author of BITTER *Praise for The Maid's Room:A modern-day The Help * Emerald Street *A brilliant and eye-opening read * Prima *A beautifully written and deeply moving novel . . . crafted with a mixture of grim detail, dark humour and poignancy, at times it's hard to believe that this book is a work of fiction. Genuinely excellent. ***** * Heat *I loved The Maid's Room with its exquisite writing, married with a shocking and powerful story line that had me gripped and moved until the uplifting conclusion. A fascinating read about survival and the strength and resilience of the human heart. * Katie Marsh, author of A LIFE WITHOUT YOU and THIS BEAUTIFUL LIFE *

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Book Synopsis** The New York Times bestseller **'To be taken hostage by Fatima Mirza’s heartrending and timely story is a gutting pleasure... She captures your mind and heart with an urgency that defies you to stop reading. I guarantee you will be different when you close the book' Sarah Jessica Parker'I loved this book' Anne Tyler'The depth of the storytelling and the beauty of the language makes this debut something to treasure' John BoyneAn Indian–Muslim family is preparing for their eldest daughter's wedding. But as Hadia's marriage – one chosen of love, not tradition – gathers the family back together, there is only one thing on their minds: can Amar, the estranged younger brother of the bride, be trusted to behave himself after three years away?A Place for Us tells the story of one family and all family life: of coming to terms with the choices we make, of reconciingly past and present and of how the smallest decisions can lead to the deepest betrayals.Trade ReviewI'm particularly interested in stories of immigrants and I loved Fatima Farheen Mirza's A Place for Us, about an Indian family living in America -- Anne Tyler * Observer *Deeply moving... The story comes together gradually, through the perspective of various family members, as it weaves through different points in time. Mirza's writing is poignantly beautiful * Daily Mail *I loved every minute of this novel; Mirza's prose and her story squeezed my heart, and I had to take a very long, deep breath upon finishing the book. This is a writer to watch out for * Stylist *The depth of the storytelling and the beauty of the language makes this debut something to treasure. Highly recommended -- John BoyneTelling the story via multiple perspectives, the author paints an incredibly textured and compassionate portrait of the characters’ lives. Their love for one another is undeniable, yet their inability to communicate it is devastating. As they collectively and individually struggle with the expectations of their heritage as well as contemporary life, A Place For Us is a timeless, yet also timely, family epic -- Aisling O'Leary * Irish Times *

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Book Synopsis'Peerless in its wit, elegance and silliness.’ Evening Standard BOOKS OF THE YEAR A Sunday Times PAPERBACK OF THE YEAR__________________________________________________________________Storm clouds loom over Europe. Treason is afoot in the highest social circles. The very security of the nation is in peril. Jeeves, it transpires, has long been an agent of British Intelligence, but now His Majesty's Government must turn to the one man who can help . . . Bertie Wooster.'A most thrilling return of Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster . . . it vibrates with the spirit and the rhythms of his heart.''Remarkably good . . . in its similes, pace and general zing, this yarn is eerily Wodehousian.'Trade ReviewPeerless in its wit, elegance and silliness. It is the most successful homage to PG Wodehouse's Wooster and Jeeves stories to date. The footnotes are a joy of misplaced erudition. More of the same, please. -- Robert Fox * Evening Standard, BOOKS OF THE YEAR *Schott rises to the occasion with a rebooting of one of literature’s great double acts that captures His Master’s voice and, above all, the famous Wodehouse rhythm... A brilliant conceit: a network of spies in livery, silently watching the movers and shakers. * The Times *His sensitivity to the tics and cadences of his characters’ speech and ways of being is uncannily acute, and full of the same freshness and resonance of perception as Wodehouse’s own style. . . it vibrates with the spirit and rhythms of [Wodehouse’s] heart -- Matthew Adams * Sunday Times *An amusing and well-written homage to the master . . . Schott excels with a series of similes and metaphors every bit as striking as those Wodehouse came up with. A delight to read. * Observer *A most thrilling return of Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster. * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisA novel of mothers and daughters and secrets and friendship from the bestselling author of The Keeper of Lost Things.

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Book Synopsis''What a writer he was; he could flip over a sentence so gently, and showthe underbelly in a heartbeat. His work is always quietly compassionate'' Elizabeth StroutIn this final collection of ten exquisite, perceptive and profound stories, William Trevor probes into the depths of the human spirit. Here we encounter a tutor and his pupil, whose lives are thrown into turmoil when they meet again years later; a young girl who discovers the mother she believed dead is alive and well; and a piano-teacher who accepts her pupil''s theft in exchange for his beautiful music. These gorgeous stories - the last that Trevor wrote before his death - affirm his place as one of the world''s greatest storytellers.''Trevor is a master of both language and storytelling'' Hilary Mantel''He is one of the great short-story writers, at his best the equal of Chekhov'' John Banville''The greatest living writer of short stories in the English language'' New YorkerTrade ReviewNone but those with a complete mastery of fiction can walk this line. William Trevor was not "an Irish Chekhov" or even "the Irish Chekhov". He was and will remain the Irish William Trevor * Guardian *10 stories bring a literary career that lasted more than half a century to a consummate conclusion * Sunday Times *William Trevor's prose runs as clear as water yet tastes like gin * Economist *Extraordinary stories from ordinary lives * The Times *One of the great contemporary chroniclers of the human condition, in all its pathos, comedy and strangeness. As a writer he looked at the world with an always surprised but never scandalised eye, and his writer's heart was with those awkward and obscurely damaged souls who cannot quite manage the business of everyday life - all of us, that is * New Statesman *There are those rare, exceptional writers who are fortunate enough (like their readers) to burn bright and steady over many decades, expressing the same creative clarity at the end of their careers as they did at the beginning. William Trevor was one of those writers * LA Times *We honor him as the supreme master of his honest art * Cynthia Ozick *In the first few paragraphs of a story he could set an entire scene without seeming to, working on details, small moments, odd thoughts. As in the work of Alice Munro, there often seemed to be very little happening in his fiction, but then he was capable of offering the reader a sense of an immense dramaHis stories are formally beautiful and, at the same time, interested in the smallness of human lives. He was, as a writer, watchful, unsentimental, alert to frailty and malice. A master craftsmanTrevor is a master of both language and storytellingWe honor him as the supreme master of his honest art * Cynthia Ozick *Trevor is a master of both language and storytelling -- Hilary MantelHe is one of the great short-story writers, at his best the equal of Chekhov -- John BanvilleIn the first few paragraphs of a story he could set an entire scene without seeming to, working on details, small moments, odd thoughts. As in the work of Alice Munro, there often seemed to be very little happening in his fiction, but then he was capable of offering the reader a sense of an immense drama -- Colm TóibínThe strength of all his writing was an unshowy perfection of style, through which he expressed his unerring instinct for fairness. His total lack of self-importance allowed him to express what was important in the world around him. He was one of the greatest writers about justice and suffering, disguised as an ordinary person -- Bernard O’DonoghueA beautiful writer... I would not have become a writer at all had I not discovered his work. -- Yiyun LiThe man - the work - was brilliant, elegant, surprising, reliable, precise, stark, often sad, sometimes funny, shocking and even frightening -- Roddy DoyleHis stories are formally beautiful and, at the same time, interested in the smallness of human lives. He was, as a writer, watchful, unsentimental, alert to frailty and malice. A master craftsman -- Anne EnrightThere is no better short story writer in the English-speaking world * Wall Street Journal *Writers often get asked which authors they return to again and again, their comfort books if you will, the ones that make them remember why fiction matters. William Trevor, I have answered on countless occasions. His stories. Any of them -- John BoyneHe is, I think, sui generis, and in his 12 collections (and 13 novels, and two novellas: an exhibition of near-Updikean energy), he has created a version of the short story that almost ignores the form's hundred or so years of intricate evolution. These stories stay in the mind long after they're finished because they're so solid, so deliberately shaped and directed so surely toward their solemn, harsh conclusions -- William Boyd, reviewing Cheating at Canasta in the 'New York Times'A posthumous collection of stories by the Irish writer reflects his formidable craft * Observer *There are those rare, exceptional writers who are fortunate enough (like their readers) to burn bright and steady over many decades, expressing the same creative clarity at the end of their careers as they did at the beginning. William Trevor was one of those writers * LA Times *What you might call Trevor's parting shots are as robustly vivid and potent, as wistful and emotionally rigorous, as his more youthful oeuvre * Herald *William Trevor, master of the short story, was at the top of his game in his final decade * Telegraph *William Trevor's short fiction was the stuff of legend * Event Magazine *Trevor's prose style is effortless, elegant and economical, but manages to contain the most hugely difficult feelings: jealousy, guilt and yearning regret * Daily Mail *An Irish writer, an international writer, a great writer. Put bluntly, he is revered by writers -- Jhumpa LahiriExtraordinary stories from ordinary lives * The Times *One of the great contemporary chroniclers of the human condition, in all its pathos, comedy and strangeness. As a writer he looked at the world with an always surprised but never scandalised eye, and his writer's heart was with those awkward and obscurely damaged souls who cannot quite manage the business of everyday life - all of us, that is -- John Banville * New Statesman *10 stories bring a literary career that lasted more than half a century to a consummate conclusion -- Peter Kemp * Sunday Times *William Trevor's prose runs as clear as water yet tastes like gin * Economist *None but those with a complete mastery of fiction can walk this line. William Trevor was not "an Irish Chekhov" or even "the Irish Chekhov". He was and will remain the Irish William Trevor -- Julian Barnes * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis*** THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR *** The Cassidys' marriage is under pressure. Shauna wants another baby. Greg doesn't. She also has to endure her obnoxious in-laws who arrive at the drop of a hat and stay as long as they like. Shauna's glad to be moving abroad. She'll be free of them at last. Or will she? Carrie, Shauna's sister, feels put upon. The burden of looking after their elderly father rests on her and she's fed up. Even though she loves her siblings, resentment builds. Can Carrie finally stand up for herself? Shauna and Carrie's brother, Bobby, has a poisoned relationship with his father, who blames him for the death of his wife. Can they settle their differences? Or are some rifts just too painful to resolve? The last Christmas the family got together was a disaster. Can they finally put the past behind them as they prepare for another family gathering?A warm and witty novel about a family gathering that is f

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Book SynopsisDeadly Deceit is Mari Hannah's third gripping crime novel featuring DCI Kate Daniels. Four a.m. on a wet stretch of the A1 and a driver skids out of control. Quick on the scene, Senior Investigating Officer Kate Daniels and partner DS Hank Gormley are presented with a horrifying image of carnage and mayhem that quickly becomes one of the worst road traffic accidents in Northumberland’s history. But as the casualties mount up, they soon realize that not all deaths were as a result of the accident . . . On the other side of town a house goes up in flames, turning its two inhabitants into charred corpses. Seemingly unconnected with the traffic accident, Kate sets about investigating both incidences separately. But it soon becomes apparent that all is not what it seems, and Kate and her colleagues are always one step behind a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to get what they want.Continue the criminal investigation series with <Trade ReviewIf proof were needed that Hannah's DCI Kate Daniels is a great addition to the Brit crime scene, then here it is, a third corking case to keep you up at night. * Rutland Times *

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Book SynopsisHow far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?Travis Parker has it all: a good job, loyal friends and his dream home in North Carolina. The last thing he''s looking for is a serious relationship. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door.Despite Travis''s attempts to be friendly, the alluring redhead simply will not warm to him. But Travis feels compelled to get closer to her, leading them both down a road where they will face tough decisions, shocking revelations and devastating consequences.Trade ReviewWill have you weeping for the joy and tragedy of it all * Daily Mail *A page-turner . . . Sparks's fans won't be disappointed * Glamour *Deeply moving, beautifully written * Booklist *Very moving * Closer *

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Book SynopsisThe prize-winning, bestselling debut novel from Anne Michaels, reissued with a striking new coverTrade Review'Monumental Fugitive Pieces is the most important book I have read for forty years' John Berger, Observer 'This is a novel to lose yourself in; let the language pour over you, depositing its richness like waves lapping sand onto a beach. Michaels is a novelist of unusual and compelling power' Erica Wagner, The Times 'Essential reading, both for its exceptional literary craft and for its exemplary and inspiring humanity' Spectator 'All except a handful of contemporary novels are dwarfed by its reach, its compassion, its wisdom A book to read many times' Geoff Dyer, Independent

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Book Synopsis`Do you have to stare like that?' I asked. `Think about the actors in porn. They've got no problem showing themselves off.' `Think about when I broke your nose,'I replied.Ellinor is thirty-six. She wears soft black sweatpants and a Michelin Man jacket. She fights. Smart and unsentimental, she tries her hand at online dating, only to be stranded by a snowstorm in Stockholm, far from her village in the south of Sweden. Ellinor finds herself at the heart of an intrigue involving an ex-wife who happens to be a blind medium, an overweight literary critic with a Houellebecq obsession, and a manuscript: a very important manuscript. Cut to Max Lamas, its author, who dreams of a polyglot lover, a woman who will understand him, in every tongue. His search takes him to Italy, where he befriends a marchesa on the brink of ruin, and where her granddaughter, Lucrezia, brings this tale to its final, shocking conclusion. The Polyglot Lovers, winner of the 2016 August Prize, Sweden's most prestigious literary prize, is a masterclass in comic plot and timing, as well as a delight for readers, thanks to Wolff's trademark deadpan wit.Trade Review`It's been a long time since I read something this unique, seething, wilful.' Svenska Dagbladet`What a novel! I'm totally charmed! I was completely absorbed by The Polyglot Lovers . . . it's really, really fabulous. Every sentence is great. [This] is a book to read and discover and read over and over again.' Boras Tidning ---- `Dizzying . . . Lina Wolff has written a many-voiced, meandering, feminist, arresting and rather provocative novel.' Kulturnytt, Sweden Radio --- `Wolff has written a kind of blackened, heart-rending satire on gender roles, in which the tempo of the pacily inventive - and downright gorgeous - prose complicates, enlivens and plays with the eloquent lovers she's taken it upon herself to portray.' Kristofer Folkhammar, Aftonbladet --- `You know when a novel is so thrilling that you just don't want it to end? That's what it was like reading Lina Wolff's third book The Polyglot Lovers. I have high expectations . . . and yet they were surpassed.' Sydsvenskan --- Praise for Lina Wolff --- `Wolff's prose has a quality of "otherness" entirely in keeping with the surreal atmosphere of the novel. This strange, provocative debut sits well alongside the work of Roxane Gay, Katherine Angel, Maggie Nelson, Zoe Pilger and Miranda July . . . a cool, clever and fierce addition to the canon of modern feminist literature.' Sarah Perry, The Guardian --- `A filmic offering . . . channelling the spirit of Pedro Almodovar. A thoroughly invigorating novel.' Lucy Scholes, The Independent ---- `The Polyglot Lovers is storytelling as a martial arts combination move, delivered with precision, style and glee.' Sjon ---- `Like Virginie Despentes and Elfriede Jelinek, Lina Wolff stares the reader right in the eyes and speaks in a voice uniquely her own: The Polyglot Lovers is clear, stark, devastating.' Joanna Walsh ---- `whip-smart and deliciously cynical ... smart, funny, and sad in turns' - Kirkus Reviews ---- `Lina Wolff is one of my favourite writers of our time. From apparently innocuous starting points, she weaves the darkness into her stories and lets men expose themselves as pitiable when they thought they were being witty and cynical. Her writing detonates just when you are smiling calmly.' - Yuri Herrera ---- `The Polyglot Lovers is electric - it crackles with wit, ferocity and intelligence. We are lucky to have Lina Wolff.' - Elizabeth Perry, City Books, Hove ---- `The Polyglot Lovers is a testament to the temperamental nature of love and power, and the complexities that come with asserting one's own agency. This book is proof that irreverence and wit have a place in feminist theory. I was captivated from page one.' - Cristina Rodriguez, Deep Vellum Books, Dallas, TX ---- `Reading The Polyglot Lovers, I was struck once again by just how sharp a writer Wolff is. There are few writers out there capable of besting her. If she has a kindred spirit in contemporary fiction, it's Ottessa Moshfegh, with whom she shares a darkly funny and unflinching sensibility.'- Gary Perry, Foyles, London ---- `The Polyglot Lovers is an audacious and often very funny reckoning with the ways men view women by a novelist of rare talents. Lina Wolff, equal parts ferocious and sly, has proven herself one of our indispensable writers with this uppercut of a book.' -Stephen Sparks, Point Reyes Books, Point Reyes, CA ---- `The Polyglot Lovers is a bracing and sharp exploration of identity, gender, and literature, told in prose and images that constantly unsettle the reader. It is also an exquisite act of literary revenge and should confirm Lina Wolff's status as a major voice in world literature.' - Josh Cook, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA ---- `An exquisite and insightful dive into the delights and horrors of our constant search for human connection, and what happens when women decide to set fire to the literary male gaze.'- Emma Ramadan, Riffraff, Providence, RI ---- `I absolutely loved it. Wolff's characters come to life with poignancy and dark humour. The Polyglot Lovers cuts to the heart.' - Tom Harris, Mr B's Emporium, Bath ---- `Lina Wolff's The Polyglot Lovers is a punch you in the face, grab you by the collar, and throw you across the room kind of novel. Brilliantly written, incisive and engaging, it is a stunning work. If you haven't yet (and why haven't you?) now would be a good time to add Wolff to your to-be-read pile.' - Tom Flynn, Volumes Bookcafe, Chicago, IL ---- `A sharp-eyed, sometimes surreal, often funny take on male-female power dynamics.' - Mary Ellen Quinn, Booklist ---- 'Keep an eye out for this one: The Polyglot Lovers is one of those rare birds that is both smart as hell and, in the parlance of our times, 'pace-y.' - Heather Cleary, Bookmarks ---- 'The edifice of male genius is annihilated in this galvanizing novel from Wolff. [...] Wolff orchestrates her divergent plots into riveting harmony, but more striking is the audacity with which she reveals Max and Ruben's reckless egoism. 'I'm an autodidact in male devastation,' Claudia declares before sticking the final pin in Max's inflated persona. Wolff's novel proves the necessity of cultivating such a specialty. Firing on all cylinders from beginning to end, this story pulses with intellect and vitality unmatched by the literary barons it deposes.' - Publishers Weekly ---- 'I loved The Polyglot Lovers by Lina Wolff (translated by Saskia Vogel), a funny, biting, and exhilaratingly shifty novel about literary revenge and the male ego.' - Gabe Habash ----`The Polyglot Lovers is an amusing take on modern life (literary and otherwise) and relationships between the sexes. All in all it makes for an interesting polychromatic fiction, a surprisingly ebullient story-carried along nicely by Wolff's entertaining and easygoing presentation-in a cleverly structured novel, its three separate parts neatly coming together by the end.' Michael Orthofer, The Complete Review ----`Wolff upsets the applecart, mercilessly mocking male hegemony and skewering literary pretensions. What could have been angry and strident is instead caustic and mischievous: both a bracing wind and a breath of fresh air. Wolff's constant supply of fire, bite and wit are compelling forces.' Malcolm Forbes, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)----`The edifice of male genius is annihilated in this galvanizing novel from Wolff...Firing on all cylinders from beginning to end, this story pulses with intellect and vitality unmatched by the literary barons it deposes.' Book of the Week, Publishers Weekly----`Mr. Houellebecq's books diagnose the soullessness of contemporary liberal democracies, where people futilely seek meaning for their lives in pornographic sex. The Polyglot Lovers shifts the focus from Mr. Houellebecq's destructive men to the women who are both victims of and accomplices to the cycle of narcissism. In Ms. Wolff's telling, intellectuals-the writers and theorists who wax poetically about falling in love-are the worst of the abusers.' Sam Sacks, `Fiction Chronicle', Wall Street Journal ----'The Polyglot Lovers is a quiet rapture - unsparing, startling, mesmeric, and told with the soberest of grins.' Yelena Moskovich, The TLS ----'The Polyglot Lovers' blithe disregard for social norms and finer feelings is exhilarating; it's pitiless and scathingly funny.' Lee Langley, The Spectator ---- 'A highly enjoyable absurdist comedy about love and desperation' Joanna, Kavenna, The Guardian ---- `Wolff's novel raises the following questions: how do we define literary genius, and who do we allow to define it for us?' Anna Vilner, The Arkansas International---- `The Swedish author of Bret Easton Ellis and Other Dogs enjoys nothing more than savaging the myths of male authorship. Here she lays into notions of male genius, as her protagonist, Ellinor, finds herself entangled with a literary critic who is fixated on a narcissistic author who is in turn obsessed with real-life enfant terrible of French letters, Michel Houellebecq.' Angel Gurria-Quintana, Financial Times

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Book SynopsisPropped against the bank, his blond face undisfigured, except by the mud which I wiped from his eyes and mouth with my coat sleeve. Anyhow I hadn't expected the Battle of the Somme to be quite like this.This first-hand account of the face of battle is as beautifully written as it is historically significant.

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Book Synopsis‘The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong’ – Stephen King, author of It and The ShiningFrom the master of police procedural and bestselling author of Standing in the Shadows comes Wednesday's Child, book six in Peter Robinson’s Inspector Banks series.When two social workers, investigating reports of child abuse, appear at Brenda Scupham's door, her fear of authority leads her to comply meekly with their requests. Even when they say that they must take her seven-year old daughter Gemma away for tests. It is only when they fail to return Gemma the following day that Brenda realizes something has gone terribly wrong.At the same time, Banks is investigating a particularly unpleasant murder at the site of an abandoned mine. Gradually, the leads in the two cases converge, guiding Banks to one of the most truly terrifying criminals he will ever meet . . .Wednesday's Child is followed by the seventh book in this Yorkshire-based crime series, Dry Bones That Dream.

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Book Synopsis**Longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction 2018** 'Haunting ... poetic ... Full of sorrow and aching sweetness' Washington Post Gun Love is a hypnotic story of family, community and violence. Told from the perspective of a sharp-eyed teenager, it exposes America's love affair with firearms and its painful consequences.'My mother called anyone or anything that seemed alone, or ended up in the wrong place, a stray. There were stray people, stray dogs, stray bullets, and stray butterflies.'Fourteen-year-old Pearl France lives in the front seat of a broken down car and her mother Margot lives in the back. Together they survive on a diet of powdered milk and bug spray, love songs and stolen cigarettes. Life on the edge of a Florida trailer park is strange enough, but when Pastor Rex's 'Guns for God' programme brings Eli Redmond to town Pearl's world is upended. Eli pays regular visits to Margot in the back seat, forcing Pearl to find a world beyond the car. Margot is given a gift by Eli, a gun of her own, just like he's given her flowers. It sits under the driver's seat, a dark presence...'One of those rare books that the reader might wish to be a few dozen pages longer, to spend more time in this fully realised world ' Observer*Soon to be a film adaptation directed by Julie Taymor*Trade ReviewJennifer Clement's new novel is appallingly timely ... Ms Clement creates a weird poetry of murderous force. Chekhov’s narrative principle—that a gun hung on the wall in the first act must eventually go off—has become a metaphorical rule of storytelling. To reflect American reality, Ms Clement puts a gun on every wall in every room * The Economist *A neon fairytale... written in the punchy, exaggerated style of a graphic novel, it’s surprisingly enjoyable -- Lois Beckett * Guardian *Clement's book is charged with gut-punch sentences and indelible images, but [the] second act is particularly searing ... Propelled to its inevitable denouement less by plot than by the intensity of its author's prose and singular vision, this is an uncompromising snapshot of America's ills -- Stephanie Cross * Daily Mail *Clement's spare, often oblique style makes this book feel like a great lost murder ballad by the likes of Johnny Cash or Nick Cave ... excellent at describing the intensity of the love between a mother and child within a claustrophobic environment, and the disruption that a hostile male presence causes to this bond ... One of those rare books that the reader might wish to be a few dozen pages longer, to spend more time in this fully realised world -- Alexander Larman * The Observer *Haunting ... poetic ... Full of sorrow and aching sweetness, “Gun Love” provides a glimpse of people who dwell every day knee deep in the toxic waste of our gun culture. They may be America’s forgotten children, but after reading this novel, you are not likely to forget them -- Ron Charles * Washington Post *

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Book SynopsisThe Woman of Colour is a unique literary account of a black heiress' life immediately after the abolition of the British slave trade. Olivia Fairfield, the biracial heroine and orphaned daughter of a slaveholder, must travel from Jamaica to England, and as a condition of her father's will either marry her Caucasian first cousin or become dependent on his mercenary elder brother and sister-in-law. As Olivia decides between these two conflicting possibilities, her letters recount her impressions of Britain and its inhabitants as only a black woman could record them. She gives scathing descriptions of London, Bristol, and the British, as well as progressive critiques of race, racism, and slavery. The narrative follows her life from the heights of her arranged marriage to its swift descent into annulment and destitution, only to culminate in her resurrection as a self-proclaimed "widow" who flouts the conventional marriage plot.The appendices, which include contemporary reviews of the novel, historical documents on race and inheritance in Jamaica, and examples of other women of colour in early British prose fiction, will further inspire readers to rethink issues of race, gender, class, and empire from an African woman's perspective.Trade Review“This exemplary edition of The Woman of Colour, with its abundant historical context, explores vital interconnections of race, gender, and class. Its rich contribution to the debate about cultural identity and colonial power marks it as a classic.” — Moira Ferguson, University of Missouri Kansas City“Women of colour in eighteenth-century literature have become a ‘spectral presence,’ pushed into the invisibility of darkness, their voices unread or ignored. Now what has been in darkness is restored to light, as Olivia Fairfield can be heard anew. Born in Jamaica into a society in which one of her parents had enslaved the other, she is forced by law and custom to travel to the heart of colonial darkness in England itself. In a manner ‘polite yet aggressive,’ she makes her voice heard.” — Lise Winer, McGill UniversityTable of ContentsAppendix A: Lucy Peacock, “The Creole” (1786)Appendix B: Anonymous poem “written by a Mulatto Woman” (1794)Appendix C: Minor Heiresses of Color in British Long Prose Fiction Agnes Musgrave, Solemn Injunction (1798) Jane Austen, Fragment of a Novel (1817) Edmund Marshall, Edmund and Eleonora (1797) Robert Bissett, Douglas; or, The Highlander (1800) Mrs. Charles Mathews, Memoirs of a Scots Heiress (1791) Appendix D: Historical and Social Accounts of People of Color in Jamaica Bryan Edwards, The History, Civil and Commercial, of the British Colonies in the West Indies (1799) Edward Long, The History of Jamaica (1774) J.B. Moreton, West India Customs and Manners (1793) Appendix E: People of Color in British Epistolary Narratives Richard Griffith, The Gordian Knot (1769) Hester Thrale, “Letter to Mrs. Pennington” (1802) Clara Reeve, Plans of Education (1792) Appendix F: The Woman of Colour: Contemporary Reviews The British Critic (March 1810) The Critical Review (May 1810) The Monthly Review (June 1810) Appendix G: Jamaican Petitions, Votes of the Assembly, and an Englishman’s Will From Votes of the Honourable House of Assembly of Jamaica (1792) From Andrew Wright’ “Last Will and Testament” (1806) Select Bibliography

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Book Synopsis‘Te-Ping Chen’s Land of Big Numbers contains 10 illuminating, sharp stories set in China, penned by a former investigative reporter who worked in Beijing for several years’ The Independent‘In this magnificent collection of stories, the author and former Beijing-based correspondent vividly captures the desires and losses of a richly drawn cast while drawing on the realities of contemporary China’? CosmopolitanA dazzling debut collection which, deftly and urgently, tells the stories of those living in the biggest and most complicated country on earth.  A brother competes for gaming glory while his twin sister exposes the dark side of the Communist government on her underground blog; a worker at a government call centre is alarmed one day to find herself speaking to a former lover; a delicious new fruit arrives at the neighbourhood market and the locals find it starts to

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Book SynopsisA sweeping story of divided family, buried secrets and a love that will never die from the number one bestselling author of Songs of Love and War. Ellen Trawton has run away from London to the sweeping landscape of Connemara, hoping to find a place she can cut off all contact with the past. But beneath the wild beauty of the Irish landscape lie secrets which have been hidden for years… Conor Macausland cuts a dark, lonely figure. His young wife, Caitlin, died tragically at the old lighthouse, and her loss has devastated him. But when he and Ellen meet, a connection sparks between them. Ellen soon realizes that Conor’s past is not all it seems, and there’s more to her family history than she knew too. As the secrets are finally revealed, the truth must be told…  Trade Review‘This is Santa Montefiore at her best – an enchanting read overflowing with deliciously poignant moments. If you love a heartfelt, epic trilogy this is for you. I loved it and can’t wait for more’ -- Dinah Jefferies, author of The Tea Planter's Wife, on Songs of Love and War‘Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore. Everything she writes, she writes from the heart’ -- Jojo Moyes‘A multigenerational banquet of love: falling in, falling out, rediscovering,rekindling. The Beekeeper’s Daughter features sophisticated, irresistible backdrops and brilliantly drawn characters that made it one of the most engrossing reads of my year’ -- Elin Hilderbrand, author of The Matchmaker, on The Beekeeper's Daughter‘I raced through this feel-good romantic story, which spans continents and decades’ -- Fanny Blake * Woman & Home on The Beekeeper's Daughter *‘This deeply romantic saunter is an ideal summer read. Laced with secrets and forbidden liaisons, it is sure to keep you turning the pages’ * The Lady on The Beekeeper's Daughter *‘Santa Montefiore is the new Rosamunde Pilcher’ * Daily Mail *‘A superb storyteller of love and death in romantic places in fascinating times’ * Vogue *‘A gripping romance . . . it is as believable as the writing is beautiful’ * Daily Telegraph *‘Anyone who likes Joanne Harris or Mary Wesley will love Montefiore’ * Mail on Sunday *‘One of our personal favourites and bestselling authors, sweeping stories of love and families spanning continents and decades’ * The Times *‘Engaging and charming’ -- Penny Vincenzi

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Book SynopsisA family rocked by tragedy, a love that lives through time, a story that will stay in your heart… The stunning new novel of love and secrets from the number one bestselling author Santa Montefiore.Dorset, 1933:Grace Hamblin is growing up on a beautiful rural estate. The only child of the beekeeper, she knows her place and her future - until her father dies unexpectedly and leaves her bereft and alone. Alone, that is, except for the man she loves, whom she knows she can never have.Massachusetts, 1973:Grace's beautiful, impetuous daughter Trixie Valentine is in love. Jasper is wild and romantic, a singer in a band on the brink of stardom. Then tragedy strikes and he must return to his home in England, promising to come back to Trixie one day, if only she will wait for him… Weighed down by memories, unaware of the secrets that bind them, both mother and daughter are searching for lost love. To find what they are longing for theTrade Review‘This is Santa Montefiore at her best – an enchanting read overflowing with deliciously poignant moments. If you love a heartfelt, epic trilogy this is for you. I loved it and can’t wait for more’ -- Dinah Jefferies, author of The Tea Planter's Wife, on Songs of Love and War‘Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore. Everything she writes, she writes from the heart’ -- Jojo Moyes‘A multigenerational banquet of love: falling in, falling out, rediscovering,rekindling. The Beekeeper’s Daughter features sophisticated, irresistible backdrops and brilliantly drawn characters that made it one of the most engrossing reads of my year’ -- Elin Hilderbrand, author of The Matchmaker, on The Beekeeper's Daughter‘I raced through this feel-good romantic story, which spans continents and decades’ -- Fanny Blake * Woman & Home on The Beekeeper's Daughter *‘This deeply romantic saunter is an ideal summer read. Laced with secrets and forbidden liaisons, it is sure to keep you turning the pages’ * The Lady on The Beekeeper's Daughter *‘Santa Montefiore is the new Rosamunde Pilcher’ * Daily Mail *‘A superb storyteller of love and death in romantic places in fascinating times’ * Vogue *‘A gripping romance . . . it is as believable as the writing is beautiful’ * Daily Telegraph *‘Anyone who likes Joanne Harris or Mary Wesley will love Montefiore’ * Mail on Sunday *‘One of our personal favourites and bestselling authors, sweeping stories of love and families spanning continents and decades’ * The Times *‘Engaging and charming’ -- Penny Vincenzi

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Book SynopsisSECRETS FROM THE PAST, UNRAVELLING IN THE PRESENT From the million-copy Sunday Times bestseller comes a gripping and moving story spanning 25 years and World War II, secrets, family and enduring love.The streets of Paris hide a dark past… September, 1937. Kitty Travers enrols at the Conservatoire on the banks of the Seine to pursue her dream of becoming a concert pianist. But then war breaks out and the city of light falls into shadow. Nearly twenty-five years later, Fay Knox, a talented young violinist, visits Paris on tour with her orchestra. She barely knows the city, so why does it feel so familiar? Soon touches of memory become something stronger, and she realises her connection with these streets runs deeper than she ever expected. As Fay traces the past, with only an address in an old rucksack to help her, she discovers dark secrets hidden years ago, secrets tha

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Book SynopsisFROM THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR A sweeping story of love that stretches across the years    The war has ended and Rita Fairweather is waiting for George Bolton, her childhood sweetheart, to return home to Devon. She wants their future to be a continuing reassurance of their past. But George comes back as a man changed by the horrors he has experienced.   Unable to settle back into a small-town life, George decides to travel to Argentina. And Rita promises to wait. But George faces irresistible temptation and an agonising choice. As the years pass, Rita keeps her word... but how long should she wait for the love of her life?***PRAISE FOR SANTA MONTEFIORE***   ‘Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore’ JOJO MOYES   ‘An enchanting read overflowing with deliciously poignant moments’ DINAH JEFFERIES on Songs of LTrade Review‘This is Santa Montefiore at her best – an enchanting read overflowing with deliciously poignant moments. If you love a heartfelt, epic trilogy this is for you. I loved it and can’t wait for more’ -- Dinah Jefferies, author of The Tea Planter's Wife, on Songs of Love and War‘Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore. Everything she writes, she writes from the heart’ -- Jojo Moyes‘A multigenerational banquet of love: falling in, falling out, rediscovering,rekindling. The Beekeeper’s Daughter features sophisticated, irresistible backdrops and brilliantly drawn characters that made it one of the most engrossing reads of my year’ -- Elin Hilderbrand, author of The Matchmaker, on The Beekeeper's Daughter‘I raced through this feel-good romantic story, which spans continents and decades’ -- Fanny Blake * Woman & Home on The Beekeeper's Daughter *‘This deeply romantic saunter is an ideal summer read. Laced with secrets and forbidden liaisons, it is sure to keep you turning the pages’ * The Lady on The Beekeeper's Daughter *‘Santa Montefiore is the new Rosamunde Pilcher’ * Daily Mail *‘A superb storyteller of love and death in romantic places in fascinating times’ * Vogue *‘A gripping romance . . . it is as believable as the writing is beautiful’ * Daily Telegraph *‘Anyone who likes Joanne Harris or Mary Wesley will love Montefiore’ * Mail on Sunday *‘One of our personal favourites and bestselling authors, sweeping stories of love and families spanning continents and decades’ * The Times *‘Engaging and charming’ -- Penny Vincenzi

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Book Synopsis*** SELECTED FOR THE ZOELLA BOOK CLUB ***Escape to the summer and feel the warmth of Paige Toon's storytellingPhoebe is caught between a rock and a hard place. Settle down and get married, or return to the French Alps to pursue her passion?  Eliza is in love with someone who is no longer hers. In fact, he probably never was… And her dream of becoming a successful musician seems to be vanishing before her eyes.Rose is out of a job and out of a boyfriend. To make matters worse, she’s been forced to move back in with her mother…   But these very different girls have one thing in common. Angus. The one they fell in love with…Praise for Paige Toon's novels: 'You'll love it, cry buckets and be uplifted' MARIAN KEYES 'I blubbed, I laughed and I fell in love... utterly heart-wTrade Review‘For smart romantic fiction look no further than the new book from bestselling Paige Toon… Prepare yourself for a massive twist’ * RED on The One We Fell in Love With *‘A beautiful story of love and loss’ * My Weekly on The One We Fell in Love With *Praise for Paige Toon ‘You’ll love it, cry buckets and be uplifted’ MARIAN KEYES ‘Tender, heartbreaking and magical’ GIOVANNA FLETCHER ‘Heart-warming, wistful and full of joy’ LINDSEY KELK ‘Poignant and lovely, warm and wise’ MILLY JOHNSON ‘Family secrets, new horizons and a gorgeous continent-crossing romance... prepare to be swept away!’ LUCY DIAMOND ‘Warm, inspiring, like a holiday mood in book form’ MHAIRI MCFARLANE ‘For smart, romantic fiction, look no further than the new book from bestselling Paige Toon’ RED ‘Achingly romantic and brilliantly written... Five Stars!’ HEAT ‘Simply gorgeous’ SUN ‘You won’t be able to put down this emotional read’ CLOSER ‘Paige Toon is the queen of will-they/won't-they romance, setting up an ending that will leave you in bits’ SUNDAY EXPRESS ‘Full of living-in-the-moment and what-might-have-been contrasts, this tender read pulls at the heart strings’ FABULOUS

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Book SynopsisThe heartwarming and feel-good read from the Sunday Times bestselling author‘The feeling you get when you read a Milly Johnson book should be bottled and made available on the NHS’ Debbie Johnson When Connie discovers that Jimmy Diamond, her husband of more than twenty years, is planning to leave her for his office junior, her world is turned upside down. Determined to salvage her pride, she resolves to get her own back. Along with Della, Jimmy's right-hand woman at his cleaning firm, Diamond Shine, and the cleaners who meet at the Sunflower Café, she'll make him wish he had never underestimated her. Then Connie meets the charming Brandon Locke, a master chocolatier, whose kindness starts to melt her soul. Can the ladies of the Sunflower Cafe help Connie scrub away the hurt? And can Brandon make her trust again?Praise for Milly Johnson: 'Every Trade Review‘An irresistibly warm and romantic read’ -- Sunday Express S Magazine on Sunshine Over Wildflower Cottage‘Another gem from Milly Johnson’ * The Sun on Sunshine Over Wildflower Cottage *

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Book Synopsis*** The epic and long-awaited new romance from the author of Letters to the Lost, winner of the RNA Award *** ‘An epic story of joyous hedonism and desperate heartache. Just beautiful’ Catherine Isaac 'Stunning' Veronica Henry 'Gorgeously written ... I loved it' Jill Mansell 'An enchanting, evocative read' The Sun1925. The war is over and a new generation is coming of age, keen to put the trauma of the previous one behind them.  Selina Lennox is a Bright Young Thing whose life is dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure; to parties and drinking and staying just the right side of scandal. Lawrence Weston is a struggling artist, desperate to escape the poverty of his upbringing and make something of himself.  When their worlds collide one summer night, neither can resist the thrill of the forbidden, the lure of a

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Book SynopsisEmily St. John Mandel was born in Canada and studied dance at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. She is the author of the novels Last Night in Montreal, The Singer's Gun, The Lola Quartet and Station Eleven and is a staff writer for The Millions. She lives in New York City.Trade ReviewMandel's talent is clearly visible from the get-go . . . The beauty of the novel is that its key truths are those the reader arrives at on his or her own, without the help of a straight-line narrative or a dominating perspective. Instead, Mandel feeds off of our need to make connections, even when the pattern they form doesn't really exist. We start with anxiety and end with it, thrumming in the background for us to listen in - or ignore, at both cost and reward * LA Times *The Singer's Gun begins like a straightforward crime thriller . . . But Emily St. John Mandel's new novel is something far rarer than this classic noir opening suggests. She introduces us to haunted, often fugitive individuals stranded in places from New York to Italy, from the past to the present. And her book strikes a perfect balance between introspection and action . . . an eminently satisfying thriller * Washington Post *Brilliant * Boston Globe *Mandel has a beautiful writing style * Independent on Sunday *Mandel is an exuberant storyteller * New York Times *In this intricate novel, her second after Last Night in Montreal, Mandel underscores the notion that everything in life comes with a price tag, and sometimes that cost is remarkably high. ... An intriguing and suspenseful read that will appeal to those who like mysteries * Library Journal *

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