Penguin Random House Group

Book SynopsisJoin The Very Hungry Caterpillar as he eats his way through many different lunch foods and learns all about colours.This bright and bold board book with die-cut holes is perfect for fans of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and it''s ideal for all toddlers discovering the joy of food.

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Book SynopsisWhat should it be, this whopping terrific exploding shocker for Grandma?This beautiful edition of George''s Marvellous Medicine, part of The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, features official archive material from the Roald Dahl Museum and is perfect for Dahl fans old and new.So, enter a world where invention and mischief can be found on every page and where magic might be at the very tips of your fingers . . .The Roald Dahl Classic Collection reinstates the versions of Dahl's books that were published before the 2022 Puffin editions, aimed at newly independent young readers.

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Book SynopsisI have secret plans and clever tricks.'This beautiful edition of The Enormous Crocodile, part of The Roald Dahl Classic Collection, features official archive material from the Roald Dahl Museum and is perfect for Dahl fans old and new.So, enter a world where invention and mischief can be found on every page and where magic might be at the very tips of your fingers . . .The Roald Dahl Classic Collection reinstates the versions of Dahl's books that were published before the 2022 Puffin editions, aimed at newly independent young readers.

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Book Synopsis''Part-detective story, part-cultural snapshot . . . all bound by Gibson''s pin-sharp prose'' Arena--------------THE FIRST NOVEL IN THE BLUE ANT TRILIOGY - READ ZERO HISTORY AND SPOOK COUNTRY FOR MORECayce Pollard has a new job. She''s been offered a special project: track down the makers of an addictive online film that''s lighting up the internet. Hunting the source will take her to Tokyo and Moscow and put her in the sights of Japanese hackers and Russian Mafia. She''s up against those who want to control the film, to own it - who figure breaking the law is just another business strategy.The kind of people who relish turning the hunter into the hunted . . .A gripping spy thriller by William Gibson, bestselling author of Neuromancer. Part prophesy, part satire, Pattern Recognition skewers the absurdity of modern life with the lightest and most engaging of touches. Readers of Neal Stephenson, Ray Bradbury and Iain M. Banks won''t be able to put this book down.--------------''Fast, witty and cleverly politicized'' Guardian''A big novel, full of bold ideas . . . races along like an expert thriller'' GQ''Dangerously hip. Its dialogue and characterization will amaze you. A wonderfully detailed, reckless journey of espionage and lies'' USA Today''A compelling, humane story with a sympathetic heroine searching for meaning and consolation in a post-everything world'' Daily Telegraph''Electric, profound. Gibson''s descriptions of Tokyo, Russia and London are surreally spot-on'' Financial Times

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Book Synopsis''Doesn''t come any more stylish than this'' Sunday Telegraph-----THE FIRST BOOK IN THE BRIDGE SERIES - READ IDORU AND ALL TOMORROW''S PARTIES FOR MORESan Francisco in the nearish future.Ex-cop Berry Rydell''s lost one job he didn''t much like and landed another he likes even less. Some sunglasses - actually high-end kit infused with super-sensitive data - were stolen from a courier, and a man named Warbaby''s been charged with retrieving them. And Warnaby needs Rydell''s help.But, with SFPD Homicide involved, an abandoned bridge populated by freaks and misfits, and some weirdness involving the Republic of Desire and a ''Death Star'', it''s turning out to be a very strange and dangerous scene indeed . . .Can Rydell navigate this unsteady reality in time to save the city . . . and himself?William Gibson, author of the classic Neuromancer and creator of cyberpunk, Trade ReviewAn American Ballard, using the tropes of science fiction to satirical and productively alienating effect * Guardian *One of the first authentic and vital novels of the 21st century * Washington Post on Pattern Recognition *A major novelist who seems to be hitting his peak * Chicago Tribune *

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Book SynopsisHow do we really make ourselves understood to other people? This book shows how, from puns to poetry, news bulletins to the Bible, Asterix to Swedish films, translation is at the heart of everything we do - and makes us who we are.Trade ReviewIn the guise of a book about translation this is a richly original cultural history ... A book for anyone interested in words, language and cultural anthropology. Mr Bellos's fascination with his subject is itself endlessly fascinating * The Economist *For anyone with a passing interest in language this work is enthralling ... A wonderful celebration of the sheer diversity of language and the place it occupies in human endeavour. Conducted by a man who clearly knows his stuff, it is a whirlwind tour round the highways and byways of translation in all its glorious forms, from literary fiction to car repair manuals, from the Nuremberg trials to decoding at Bletchley Park * The Scotsman *Bellos has numerous paradoxes, anecdotes and witty solutions ... his insights are thought provoking, paradoxical and a brilliant exposition of mankind's attempts to deal with the Babel of global communication -- Michael Binyon * The Times *[A] witty, erudite exploration...[Bellos] delights in [translation's] chequered past and its contemporary ubiquity...He would like us to do more of it. With the encouragement of this book, we might even begin to enjoy it -- Maureen Freely * Sunday Telegraph *Is That A Fish In Your Ear? is spiced with good and provocative things. At once erudite and unpretentious...[it is a] scintillating bouillabaisse -- Frederic Raphael * Literary Review *Is That A Fish in Your Ear? by David Bellos (father of Alex of Numberland fame) is a fascinating book on the world of translation that might well be this year's Just My Type -- Jonathan Ruppin, Foyles BooskhopSelected by The Times' 'Daily Universal Register' as a 'Try This' Book * The Times *A fascinating...very readable study of the mysterious art and business of translation...Bellos asks big questions...and comes up with often surprising answers...sparky, thought-provoking * Nigeness *Forget the fish-it's David Bellos you want in your ear when the talk is about translation. Bellos dispels many of the gloomy truisms of the trade and reminds us what an infinitely flexible instrument the English language (or any language) is. Sparkling, independent-minded analysis of everything from Nabokov's insecurities to Google Translate's felicities fuels a tender-even romantic-account of our relationship with words. -- —NATASHA WIMMER, translator of Roberto Bolaño’s Savage Detectives and 2666Is That a Fish in Your Ear? offers a lively survey of translating puns and poetry, cartoons and legislation, subtitles, news bulletins and the Bible -- Matthew Reisz * Times Higher Education Supplement *Please read David Bellos's brilliant book -- Michael Hofmann * Guardian *A clear and lively survey...This book fulfils a real need; there is nothing quite like it. -- Robert Chandler * Spectator *In his marvellous study of the nature of translation...[David Bellos] has set out to make it fun...Essential reading for anyone with even a vague interest in language and translation - in short, it is a triumph -- Shaun Whiteside * Independent *A dazzyingly inventive book -- Adam Thirlwell * New York Times *Witty and perceptive...stimulating, lucid, ultimately cheering -- Theo Dorgan * Irish Times *Superbly smart, supremely shrewd -- Carlin Romano * The Chronicle Review *Selected as a National Book Critics' Circle Award Criticism Finalist 2011 * NBCC *

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Book SynopsisNineteen-year-old Gwendolyn Hooper is newly married to a rich and charming widower, eager to join him on his tea plantation, determined to be the perfect wife and mother.But life in Ceylon is not what Gwen expected. The plantation workers are resentful, the neighbours treacherous. And there are clues to the past - a dusty trunk of dresses, an overgrown gravestone in the grounds - that her husband refuses to discuss.Just as Gwen finds her feet, disaster strikes. She faces a terrible choice, hiding the truth from almost everyone, but a secret this big can''t stay buried forever . . .Trade ReviewMy ideal read; mystery, love, heart-break and joy - I couldn't put it down -- Santa MontefioreBeautifully written and heart rending, this has a magical setting with a real sense of period. -- Katie FfordeA gloriously atmospheric and tension-filled novel that centres on the separation of a mother and her child. Immensely enjoyable, poignant and compelling -- Isabel WolffVibrant and compelling - Dinah Jefferies perfectly captures the flavour of colonial Ceylon -- Rosanna LeyI was spellbound from beginning to end -- Deborah RodriguezA wonderful book, deeply touching and an unforgettable read that swept me away. I loved it. -- Kate FurnivallDark secrets lie at every turn, hidden beneath layers of 1920s racism and the fearfulness of a crumbling colonial power, making for a thoroughly gripping tale. But what I loved most of all. . . is the moving way in which Dinah writes about the loss of children and the redemptive power of love. -- Liz TrenowA terrific emotional and atmospheric read -- Elizabeth BuchanDeeply atmospheric and utterly engrossing -- Lucy CruickshanksRich and incredibly evocative, historical fiction at its best...it's just spellbinding * Sunday Express *A full-blown escape into the past * Independent *A gripping tale of love, jealousy, greed and tragedy * Woman and Home *

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Book SynopsisThe fourteenth century was a time of fabled crusades and chivalry, glittering cathedrals and grand castles. It was also a time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world of chaos and the plague.Here, Barbara Tuchman masterfully reveals the two contradictory images of the age, examining the great rhythms of history and the grain and texture of domestic life as it was lived: what childhood was like; what marriage meant; how money, taxes and war dominated the lives of serf, noble and clergy alike.Granting her subjects their loyalties, treacheries and guilty passions, Tuchman recreates the lives of proud cardinals, university scholars, grocers and clerks, saints and mystics, lawyers and mercenaries, and, above all, knights. The result is an astonishing reflection of medieval Europe, a historical tour de force.Trade ReviewA beautiful, extraordinary book . . . Tuchman at the top of her powers . . . She has done nothing finer * Wall Street Journal *Wise, witty, and wonderful . . . a great book, in a great historical tradition * Commentary *Beautifully written, careful and thorough in its scholarship . . . What Ms. Tuchman does superbly is to tell how it was. . . . No one has ever done this better * New York Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisA funny, frantic, utterly refreshing brew' Sunday TelegraphDetective Inspector Jack Frost, officially on duty, is nevertheless determined to sneak off to a colleague''s leaving party. But first the corpse of a well-known local junkie is found blocking the drain of a Denton public lavatory - and then the daughter of a wealthy businessman is reported missing. And now a wave of crime threatens to submerge sleepy Denton.A robbery occurs at the town''s notorious strip joint, the pampered son of a local MP is suspected of a hit-and-run offence and, to top it all, a multiple rapist is on the loose. But the manic Frost manages to assure his superior that all is under control.Now he has only to convince himself...Trade ReviewA funny, frantic, utterly refreshing brew * Sunday Telegraph *What impresses most is the extraordinarily vivid interplay between the police characters. Frost himself is spendidly drawn * The Times *

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Book SynopsisJilly Cooper is a journalist, author and media superstar. The author of many number one bestselling books, she lives in Gloucestershire. She has been awarded honorary doctorates by the Universities of Gloucestershire and Anglia Ruskin, and won the inaugural Comedy Women in Print lifetime achievement award in 2019. She was also appointed DBE in 2024 for services to literature and charity.Trade ReviewJilly is about bringing joy into your life: daft, silly, boozy joy . . . There is no one else like Cooper. * Guardian *Jilly Cooper is a national treasure. * Country Life *Her comedies of manners rival Nancy Mitford, if not Jane Austen. * Daily Mail *[Jilly Cooper has a] near-magical ability to conjure up a world and populate it with people for whom you feel a deep affection. * Observer *Jilly has given more pleasure to more girls and women than anyone else alive today... [with her] familiar warmth and irrepressible humour. * The Lady *

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Book SynopsisDavid Eddings (1931-2009) published his first novel, High Hunt, in 1973, before turning to the field of fantasy with The Belgariad, soon followed by The Malloreon. Born in Spokane, Washington, and raised in the Puget Sound area north of Seattle, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, in 1954, and a master of arts degree from the University of Washington in 1961. He served in the US Army, worked as a buyer for the Boeing Company, and was both a grocery clerk and a college English teacher. He lived in Nevada until his death, at the age of 77.Trade ReviewA classic coming-of-age epic -- Christopher Paolini

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Book SynopsisHe shows how many of self-help's suggested routes to happiness and success - such as positive thinking, self-belief and setting goals - can be disastrous to follow and, indeed, actually cause anxiety.Happy aims to reclaim happiness and to enable us to appreciate the good things in life, in all their transient glory.Trade ReviewWitty, useful and beautifully written... this book grapples expansively with the most profound questions any of us face * The Sunday Times *Brilliant. Really brilliant and just crammed with wisdom and insight. It will genuinely make a difference to me and the way I think about myself. I'm going to recommend it to everyone I know. -- Stephen FryBrown tries to resurrect the original Stoic ambitions here: not just to live well but to die well, too. His book is thoughtful, insightful and ultimately, well, helpful. * Sunday Times Books of the Year *Til now, we've known Derren Brown as a supreme illusionist and magician. Now he surprises us with a new and brilliant identity: as a philosopher. Not just any philosopher. Brown takes philosophy back to its truest task: that of helping us to live and die well. His book is deeply informative, moving, wise and full of love. It sets out to change lives - and it will. Derren has pulled off a properly implausible trick: that of making the deepest ideas relevant, humane and urgent. -- Alain de BottonIn this wise and perceptive book Derren Brown has conjoined personal experience, profoundly sensible psychology and the magic of philosophy to produce a really excellent account of how to be happy - really, maturely, properly happy. This is a wonderfully educative - and enjoyable! - book, and should be on everyone's reading list, always. -- A.C. Grayling

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Book SynopsisThis thought-provoking, compulsive novel shows how a simple story has the power to move you in the most extraordinary ways. From Richard & Judy bestselling Catherine Ryan Hyde, perfect for fans of Mark Haddon, Mitch Albom and Alice Sebold.''Hyde''s book delivers a profound vision: The simple magic of the human heart'' - SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE''The philosophy behind this book is so intriguing, and the optimism so contagious... a book that lingers long after the last page''- DENVER POST''The story is quick read, told with lean sentences and an edge... Hyde pulls off a poignant, gutsy ending without bathos'' - LOS ANGELES TIMES*********************************************************************************THE EXTRADORINARY STORY OF A PERFECT IDEA...It all started with the social studies teacher''s extra-credit project: Think of an idea for world change, aTrade ReviewHeartwarming, funny, and bittersweet... A quiet, steady masterpiece with an incandescent ending * Kirkus Reviews *The philosophy behind this book is so intriguing, and the optimism so contagious... a book that lingers long after the last page * Denver Post *Hyde's book delivers a profound vision: The simple magic of the human heart * San Francisco Chronicle *The story is quick read, told with lean sentences and an edge... Hyde pulls off a poignant, gutsy ending without bathos * Los Angeles Time *

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Book SynopsisBerlin 1920Two babies are born.Two brothers. United and indivisible, sharing everything. Twins in all but blood.As Germany marches into its Nazi Armageddon, the ties of family, friendship and love are tested to the very limits of endurance. And the brothers are faced with an unimaginable choice....Which one of them will survive?Ben Elton''s most personal novel to date,Two Brothers transports the reader to the time of history''s darkest hour.

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Book SynopsisTHE ACCLAIMED INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER BY THE NOBEL PRIZE WINNING AUTHOR.''A masterpiece'' - The Times''The Arab Tolstoy'' - Simon Sebag Montefiore''Shamelessly entertaining'' - Guardian''Luminous'' - New York TimesA sweeping and evocative portrait of both a family and a country struggling to move toward independence in a society that has resisted change for centuries. Set against the backdrop of Britain''s occupation of Egypt immediately after World War I, Palace Walk introduces us to the Al Jawad family.Ahmad, a middle-class shopkeeper runs his household strictly according to the Qur''an while at night he explores the pleasures of Cairo. A tyrant at home, Ahmad forces his gentle, oppressed wife and two daughters to live cloistered lives behind the house''s latticed windows, while his three very different sons live in fear of his harsh will.The first book of the classic Cairo Trilogy, thTrade ReviewA masterpiece * The Times *It is Mahfouz's wonderful ability to delineate human beings from their outer appearances which gives Palace Walk its universal appeal. I shall read it again and again * Guardian *There is nothing in world literature quite like Palace Walk... This is writing worthy of a Tolstoy, a Flaubert or a Proust * Independent *Naguib Mahfouz's CAIRO TRILOGY puts all contemporary writers in the shade. He is the Arab Tolstoy -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * Twitter *Luminous... All the magic, mystery and suffering of Egypt in the 1920s are conveyed on a human scale * The New York Times Book Review *

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Book SynopsisDiscover the remarkably honest and captivating story of one of the world''s greatest ever singing talents, Sir Tom Jones ''Brilliantly told'' SUNDAY TIMES ''A terrific, star-studded journey'' DAILY EXPRESS ______ ''For a lot of years, I''ve answered a lot of questions, but have never told my story before . . .'' In a business where dreams are often short-lived, Sir Tom Jones has maintained his sensational career across six decades. But how did a boy from a Welsh coal-mining family attain success across the globe over the course of decades? In this, his first ever autobiography, Tom revisits his past and tells the tale of his journey from wartime Pontypridd to LA and beyond. He reveals the stories behind the ups and downs of his fascinating and remarkable life, from the early heydays to the subsequent fallow years to his later period of artistic renaissance. It''s the storTrade ReviewA story brilliantly told ... Hold up your banners: "Sir Tom F****** Jones". Yeah! -- Bryan Appleyard * Sunday Times *Packed with the kind of showbiz tales you don't get any more ... Jones is a charming, matey voice and the book is a terrific, star-studded journey through the world of entertainment. Even after meeting some of the greats, such as Elvis and Sinatra, Jones still retains an innocence and freshness that is rare * Daily Express *Over the Top and Back is a great read and funny. It charts his youth in the coal mining town of Pontypridd. It captures his Welshness * Sunday Telegraph *a book that gets to Jones's core * Daily Mirror *The book lays bare a career that has spanned 60 years, Tom revisits his past and tells tales from his journey from wartime Pontypridd to LA and beyond. He reveals the ups and downs of his remarkable life, from his early heyday to his subsequent fallow years to his later period of artistic renaissance * Wales on Sunday *You tell the story of an Electrolux vacuum cleaner with the same gusto as you talk about Elvis Presley, and that's why it's brilliant Tom * Chris Evans *Tom Jones really has had the most astonishing life, one which he recounts here with verve, energy and a vivid eye for detail - this is a hugely enjoyable read * The Daily Mail *This lively, thoughtful and entertaining account does justice to a remarkable life and career * Sunday Express *A story, brilliantly told... hold up your banners: "Sir Tom F****** Jones". Yeah! * Brian Appleyard, Sunday Times *A brilliant read full of charm and anecdote that captures the spirit of each decade as well as giving a great behind-the-scenes snapshot of the music world. -- Fanny Blake * Woman & Home *

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Book SynopsisJoin young Horatio Hornblower in the thrilling naval adventure from the author of The Good Shepherd, now a major-motion picture starring Tom Hanks ''A joyous creation, a perfection in words. Young Hornblower is, simply, one of the most complete creations of character in fiction'' Conn Iggulden, The Independent_______1793, the eve of the Napoleonic Wars, and Midshipman Horatio Hornblower receives his first command . . . As a seventeen-year-old with a touch of sea sickness, young Horatio Hornblower hardly cuts a dash in His Majesty''s navy.Yet from the moment he is ordered to board a French merchant ship in the Bay of Biscay and take command of crew and cargo, he proves his seafaring mettle on the waves.After a character-forming duel, several deadly chases and some dramatic captures and escapes, the young Hornblower is soon forged into a formidable man of the sea. This is the first Trade ReviewI recommend Forester to every literate I know -- Ernest HemingwayI find Hornblower admirable, vastly entertaining -- Sir Winston ChurchillOne of the best. Everyone interested in war, or in human nature, should read * Times Literary Supplement *Absolutely compelling. One of the great masters of narrative * San Francisco Chronicle *A master of the genre * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisTHE ELECTRIFYING END TO A STORY TEN YEARS IN THE MAKINGIn this dramatic conclusion, the Legacies, Loric, Earth Garde and even the Mogadorians come together for a final, deadly showdown. After the battle in Switzerland, the Fugitive Six find their loyalties torn, splitting them into two factions. Taylor, Nigel and Kopano join Nine to return to the Academy, but nothing is the same. Fear and resentment of the Human Garde has been growing and the Academy is under siege. The United Nations has decreed that all humans with Legacies must be implanted with inhibitors, a move that will take away their power and their human rights. The team have no choice but to fight back.Fractured and facing capture or annihilation on all sides, they must sacrifice everything in a war that pitches them against the rest of the world.The fate of the Human Garde and the world they knew has never been more uncertain.Praise for PiTrade ReviewPraise for Pittacus Lore * - *Tense, exciting and full of energy * Observer *Relentlessly readable * The Times *A franchise to eclipse Harry Potter * Big Issue *Number Four is a hero for this generation * Michael Bay *

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Book SynopsisCurl up with the big-hearted and hilarious final instalment in the Rosie Project series about overcoming life''s obstacles with a little love and a lot of overthinkingTHE INTERNATIONAL MILLION COPY BESTSELLER ''Incredibly funny, life-affirming and warm-hearted'' HEAT''A fast-paced enjoyable journey. Genuinely heartwarming'' INDEPENDENT''Hilarity is the order of the day in this joyful read'' PRIMA''A fun and satisfying read'' SUNDAY EXPRESS''Laugh out loud'' MAIL ON SUNDAY __________Can you fit in when you were born to stand out?Don Tillman - scientist, husband, father, and world''s greatest problem-solver - is facing his toughest task yet.He and his wife Rosie have been told their son, Hudson, needs an autism assessment.Having faced a lifetime of not fitting in, Don fears for his son and decides only he can help.BuTrade ReviewThis funny novel tackles tough questions about family and love with a light touch and a big heart * Daily Mail Must Reads *Fans of The Rosie Project will love this ... It's heart-warming and clever * Daily Mail *Offers a touching and intelligent insight into autism, while Don's hilarious escapades keep the laughs coming * i *Graeme Simsion tackles some of the heavy issues of our day - autism, gender roles, political correctness - but his light touch makes this novel a fun and satisfying read * Sunday Express *Hilarity is the order of the day in this joyful read * Prima *The final book in Simsion's much-loved Rosie series . . . Uplifting * Mail on Sunday *A fast-paced, enjoyable journey. Genuinely heartwarming . . . He is certainly ending on a high note * Independent *All three of the Rosie novels made me laugh out loud. Ultimately the story is about getting inside the mind and heart of someone a lot of people see as odd, and discovering that he isn't really that different from anybody else -- Bill Gates, 2020 Summer BooksSuperb. A perfect mix of humour, heart and insight * Gavin Extence, bestselling author of The Universe Versus Alex Wood *Excellent . . . beautifully and sensitively written, you will enjoy every sentence * Living Edge *Don Tillman is surely one of the most recognisable, distinctive narrators in modern fiction ... While this book is deeper and more thought-provoking than the first, there are many moments of humour and unexpected joy ... Uplifting, eye-opening and definite food for thought on whether we need to adapt to the world, or whether something the world is a better place in accommodating us as we are * My Weekly *UpLit novels to light up your life * Red Online *Entertaining and thought-provoking * BookTrib *What is normal, and who among us gets to decide what is? Or is it enough to simply be comfortable in one's own skin? These are the heavy questions at the crux of this lighthearted book about identity and the consequences of seeing other people through the lens of labels * San Francisco Chronicle *The message of inclusiveness and embracing differences is lovely. In the end, The Rosie Result is about learning to be comfortable with who you are * National Public Radio *Behind all the steady wit and the rolling jokes, this is a thoughtful and provocative novel. [Readers] will love it as much as they did The Rosie Project * Sydney Morning Herald *Praise for The Rosie Project Series * : *Compulsively readable. A poignant, universal story about how best to reconcile head and heart * Observer *Sublime, pitch-perfect, extremely funny * Independent *Brilliant, important, good-hearted * Guardian *Exuberantly life-affirming * Sunday Times *The book offers a touching and intelligent insight into autism, while Don's hilarious escapades keep the laughs coming * Morecambe Visitor *All three books in Simsion's series made me laugh out loud and were wonderfully endearing, genuine and open-hearted - everything I look for in a story * Post (Bristol) *Behind all the steady wit and the rolling jokes, this is a thoughtful and provocative novel. [Readers] will love it as much as they did The Rosie Project * Sydney Morning Herald *Compulsively readable. A poignant, universal story about how best to reconcile head and heart * Observer *Sublime, pitch-perfect, extremely funny * Independent *Brilliant, important, good-hearted * Guardian *Exuberantly life-affirming * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisAnother hilarious DAISY adventure from the bestselling author behind the OI FROG series. Here comes trouble! Daisy is going on a school trip to Bobbington Hall! But the trouble with school trips is that teachers will be there too. So Daisy can't go exploring! There will be: Suits of armourOlden toiletsSecret passages The trouble is, they're proving really hard to find! But what will happen when Daisy does find the secrets of Bobbington Hall?

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Book SynopsisWhy do:· Dutch babies seem so content, and sleep so well?· Dutch parents let their kids play outside on their own?· The Dutch trust their children to bike to school?· Dutch schools not set homework for the under-tens?· Dutch teenagers not rebel?· What is the secret of bringing up the happiest kids in the world? In a recent UNICEF study of child well-being, Dutch children came out on top as the happiest all-round. Rina Mae Acosta and Michele Hutchison, both married to Dutchmen and bringing up their kids in Holland, examine the unique environment that enables the Dutch to turn out such contented, well-adjusted and healthy babies, children and teens. Read this book if you want to find out what lessons you can learn from Dutch parents, to ensure your kids turn out happy!Trade ReviewClear and concise, with plenty of anecdotes from family life to illustrate the argument, this is one of the most convincing parenting books to come across my desk in the last year. * Sunday Times *An eye-opening and badly-needed dose of perspective. In my next life, I want to be Dutch. -- Pamela Druckerman * author of French Children Don't Throw Food *A fascinating book - one I wish I had read sooner! In fact, the more I read the more I became tempted to move our entire family to the Netherlands... -- Sarah Turner * author of The Unmumsy Mum *Considering 2016 was the year Brits embraced the cosy Danish concept of hygge,then 2017 may be the year in which we tire of candles and adopt the rougher and readier Dutch version: gezelligheid.......Entertaining.....I would say all parents should read this book. * Daily Mail *What a joy to discover that the eternal secret to happy kids just might stem from routine, family time, independence, reasonable expectations — and chocolate sprinkles. * New York Post *

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Book Synopsis‘We’re in the back of a car belonging to the men our mothers told us to never get in the back of a car of. I close my eyes and wonder how many girls will come to my funeral.’Vincent Patrick Duffy has already checked out. Trapped between Skintown’s narrow horizons, he chops ribs and chickens in a takeaway, dreaming of escape, joint after freshly rolled joint. A mindless act of kindness leads to the unlikeliest of business opportunities. Where the government has failed, might the second summer of love and a little pill with a dove on it be the broom to sweep away the hatred and replace it with love, so much love? Skintown is Vinny’s drink- and drug-fuelled odyssey through fighting, fishing, rioting, romance, reconciliation and acid house. Bristling with a restless energy and drunk on black humour, this superb debut is a wild ride.Trade ReviewA supercharged riot of a debut novel, zinging with confidence and intelligence. -- Joseph O'ConnorCiaran McMenamin writes brilliantly. His characters are achingly vivid and entirely credible and the pacing is Olympian. Horrifying and hilarious, Skintown is a compulsive read. -- Liz NugentMcMenamin writes with verve and honesty. . . it lures the reader into the madcap night and then delivers a hairpin twist. -- Sarah Gilmartin * The Irish Times *Exhilarating. . . . A TNT-powered head-rush of a novel soaked in the smell of burning tyres and set to the MDMA beat of 1990s rave culture. . . . Vinny is a hugely witty companion. * Metro *I read the first page of this and was immediately hooked. It's rattlingly written, hugely immersive, funny too. Adored it. -- Rick O'Shea * Rick O'Shea Book Club *

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Book SynopsisTHE MUST-READ SUMMER 2020 RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK'If you wished Normal People had tackled female friendship, try Expectation' GRAZIA'Profoundly intelligent and humane. Deserves to feature on many a prize shortlist' GUARDIAN'A brilliant exploration of friendship, feminism and thwarted ambition' PANDORA SYKES______________________What happened to the women we were supposed to become?Hannah, Cate and Lissa are young, vibrant and inseparable. Living on the edge of a common in East London, their shared world is ablaze with art and activism, romance and revelry - and the promise of everything to come. They are electric. They are the best of friends.Ten years on, they are not where they hoped to be. Amidst flailing careers and faltering marriages, each hungers for what the others have. And each wrestles with the same question: what does it take to lead a meaningful life? The most razor-sharp and heartbreaking novel of the year, EXPECTATION is a novel about finding your way: as a mother, a daughter, a wife, a rebel. ___________________'Thoughtful, beautifully written, honest. A sensual book. I URGE YOU TO READ IT' MARIAN KEYES'Beautiful, sharp, moving. I urge you to read it'' ELIZABETH DAY'A brilliant exploration of friendship, feminism and thwarted ambition' PANDORA SYKES'I loved it ... 10 out of 10' BRYONY GORDON'Will resonate with approximately 99% of women' RED MAGAZINE summer pick'One of the most intensely readable novels this year' METRO'One of our most gifted contemporary writers' WATERSTONES'SO GOOD. A 'What they did next' story of characters from a Sally Rooney novel' SARAH FRANKLIN'The story of 3 college friends, if you're a fan of Sally Rooney, you'll love EXPECTATION' IRISH EXAMINER'A must-read' FABULOUS MAGAZINE'A generation-defining book on motherhood, ambition and sex. Like NORMAL PEOPLE with female friendship under the microscope.' ERIN KELLY'Few novels leave me so genuinely breathless with their brilliance' HANNAH BECKERMAN'Sublime' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, Book of the Year'A marvellously tangy London novel' DAILY MAIL'A grown-up, honest take on female camaraderie. Packed with talking points' MAIL ON SUNDAY'Hugely absorbing, massively enjoyable' LISSA EVANS'Totally unputdownable, immersive, sharp, FAB' HARRIET EVANS'Beautifully observed study of female friendship and a moving account of the collision between aspiration and reality' DAILY MAIL MUST-READ'Fantastically well-realised portrait of female friendship's joys and pains from an exciting new voice in British fiction' DAILY TELEGRAPHTrade ReviewProfoundly intelligent and humane. Deserves to feature on many a prize shortlist * Guardian *A brilliant exploration of friendship, feminism and thwarted ambition * Pandora Sykes *One of the most intensely readable novels I've encountered this year * METRO *I loved it . . . 10 out of 10! * BRYONY GORDON *Will resonate with approximately 99 % of all women * RED magazine summer pick *Thoughtful, beautifully written, honest. A sensual book. I URGE YOU TO READ IT * MARIAN KEYES *Brilliant portrayal of long-term female friendships . . . I was gripped. * Prima *A Sally Rooney-esque evocative examination of female friendship * BEST SUMMER READS, i-newspaper *The real joy of this novel – while exploring just what second wave feminism has done for this generation of women (“you’ve had everything… we changed the world for you. For our daughters. And what have you done with it?”) – is in it’s writing; the dialogue and the honesty behind these characters who are doing their best, who are trying to live up to the fictional counterparts that they themselves have created… It’s the perfect summer reading * STYLIST MAGAZINE *Absolutely encapsulates what it means to be a young woman today, and beyond * Grazia Magazine *Hope’s writing is sublime and her characters so well fleshed out they will feel like friends at the end * Good Housekeeping Book of the Year *BEST BOOKS FOR JULY: Expectation has defied all my expectations and completely redefined the friendship novel. Each of the characters resonated with me and I’m in awe of the way Anna Hope captures what it means to be a woman, right here, right now, with all the precision of a surgeon’s knife. * Red Magazine Book of the Year *EDITOR'S CHOICE: I enjoyed this contemporary novel about the gulf between the expectation of how life will turn out and the reality... [it] taps into the current conversation about finding fulfilment and living a meaningful life. -- Alice O'Keeffe * The Bookseller *Jaw-droppingly good * SARRA MANNING *Anna Hope has a way of getting inside difficult and painful moments, turning them inside out. I felt I knew these women as my own friends. Taut, electric, complex, funny. * RACHEL JOYCE bestselling author of THE UNEXPECTED PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY *Few novels leave me genuinely breathless with their brilliance. EXPECTATION is one of them. This book is beautiful. I am in AWE * HANNAH BECKERMAN *Succulent, tender and honest, EXPECTATION is about the relationships between women: love, loss, triumph and betrayal. It was one of those books that knowingly flirted, then seduced me and then utterly ravished me * TOR UDALL *A generation-defining book, honest and relatable on motherhood, ambition and sex. Like NORMAL PEOPLE with female friendship under the microscope * ERIN KELLY, bestselling author of HE SAID/SHE SAID *I loved it. Raw, honest, unputdownable. * TAMMY COHEN *I tore through EXPECTATION at the weekend. Exceptional gorgeously written and reads like a love letter to London. I highly recommend it * STACEY HALLS, bestselling author of THE FAMILIARS *I absolutely loved this. What really appealed to me was the depiction of the parents, about legacy and about what the mother's generation leaves for the one that comes after * ANNE YOUNGSON *An intimate and touching portrayal of female friendship that shows it's okay to just be * NINA POTTELL *So fresh, human, kind and relatable * JENNY COLGAN *Such a dark, relatable, elegant take on how time alters female friendships: how we become THESE people and our friends become THOSE people. Anyway, I loved it. You probably will, too * LIZA KLAUSSMANN, author of Tigers in Red Weather *A must-read. Will make you want to hug the women in you life * FABULOUS MAGAZINE Book of the Year *A deftly crafted hymn to the comfort and frustration of female friendship from one of our most gifted contemporary writers * WATERSTONES *Sensual and evocative, deeply attuned to both the inner lives of the protagonists * CULTUREFLY *The prose is beautiful, the characters achingly real, their flawed decisions enraging and yet somehow still relatable. This wonderful book will resonate with every woman who reads it * LOUISE O'NEILL *A quietly political story that suggests historic battles have left women with new impossible burdens of expectation. A marvellously tangy London novel * DAILY MAIL *Hope beautifully examines how female friendship, its issues entirely relatable, ebbs and flows over time in this wise and engaging read * SUNDAY EXPRESS *

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Book SynopsisThe only novel from bestselling author Alice Munro, winner of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureCatching frogs, grazing knees, singing songs to save England from Hitler - that was childhood for Del Jordan, and now she's impatient for more. More than she can find in the encyclopedias sold by her mother, or in the half-understood innuendos dispensed by best friend Naomi, or in the whispers of boys during Friday night dances. Just like the girls in the movies, she wants to get started on real life. In her only novel, Alice Munro turns her eye to the frustrations, embarrassments, glee and bewilderment of adolescence, and to the brushes with sex, death, violence and birth that shape the lives of girls and women.'I am the perfect audience for her brand of quiet, seething feminism'Lena Dunham'Superb'Independent'In Munro's work, nothing can be predicted. Emotions erupt. Preconceptions crumble. Surprises proliferate'Margaret Atwood'Exact and unflinching'Guardian 'She is one of the handful of writers, some living, most dead, whom I have in mind when I say that fiction is my religion'Jonathan FranzenTrade ReviewI still feel that Alice Munro is mine. I am the perfect audience for her brand of quiet, seething feminism -- Lena DunhamMunro is so good that one gropes for superlatives * Daily Telegraph *Superb. Its dense weave of colour and texture offers manifold witty surprises and the poetry of place that is the hallmark of Munro’s stories -- Steve Davies * Independent *In Munro's work, nothing can be predicted. Emotions erupt. Preconceptions crumble. Surprises proliferate -- Margaret AtwoodHer prose is exact and unflinching, coolly anatomising vengeful grudges, dark crimes and curdled emotions * Guardian *The Nobel laureate’s mastery of the miniature is clear in this early portrait of small-town life -- Nicholas Lezard * Guardian *She is one of the handful of writers, some living, most dead, whom I have in mind when I say that fiction is my religion -- Jonathan FranzenShe knows us better than we know ourselves. She always has * Washington Times *Reading Munro's cut-crystal prose is unadulterated pleasure * Daily Telegraph *A compelling portrait of the artist as a young girl -- Maggie Doherty * The Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE 2017 SHORTLISTED FOR THE ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZE 2017'A magnificent study of one of history's most compelling and divisive figures' Richard J. EvansWhen Martin Luther nailed a sheet of paper to the church door of a small university town in 1517, he set off a process that changed the Western world for ever.Within a few years Luther’s ideas had spread like wildfire. His attempts to reform Christianity by returning it to its biblical roots split the Western Church, divided Europe and polarised people’s beliefs, leading to religious persecution, social unrest and war; and in the long run his ideas would help break the grip of religion on every sphere of life.Yet Luther was a deeply flawed human being: a fervent believer tormented by spiritual doubts; a prolific writer whose translation of the Bible would shape the German language yet whose attacks on his opponents were vicious and foul-mouthed; a married ex-monk who liberated human sexuality from the stigma of sin but who insisted that women should know their place; a religious fundamentalist, Jew-hater and political reactionary who called ‘for the private and public murder of the peasants’ who had risen against their lords in response to his teaching. And perhaps surprisingly, the man who helped create in the modern world was not modern himself: for him the devil was not a figure of speech but a real, physical presence.As an acclaimed historian, Lyndal Roper explains how Luther’s impact can only be understood against the background of the times. As a brilliant biographer, she gives us the flesh-and-blood figure. She reveals the often contradictory psychological forces that drove Luther forward and the dynamics they unleashed, which turned a small act of protest into a battle against the power of the Church.A New Statesman, Spectator, History Today, Guardian and Sunday Times Book of the YearTrade ReviewThis is a smart, accessible, authoritative biography of one of the most dynamic figures in European history. Lyndal Roper writes with clarity and discernment, so that nothing stands between the reader and her grimly fascinating subject; she earths the reformer, situating him psychically as well as geographically in a Germany she describes as vividly as if we lived there: mining towns as well as lecture halls, courts as well as cathedrals. She creates a context for a man who arouses both admiration and horror in the modern reader. Here he stands: never more vocal, more controversial, more compelling -- Hilary MantelA fine achievement, deeply researched and fluently written, and it brings its difficult and cantankerous subject to life as no other biography has... A magnificent study of one of history’s most compelling and divisive figures -- Richard J. EvansImpeccable scholarship and painstaking fair-mindedness characterize his deeply illuminating biography. Roper has mined the correspondence, and Luther’s charisma and complexity shine through the letters -- Andrew Pettegree * New York Times *Lyndal Roper's new book is a compelling and provocative attempt to restore some flesh and blood to this static icon...the work of one of the most imaginative and pioneering historians of our generation -- Alexandrda Walsham * Guardian *Lyndal Roper provides a fine scholarly narrative of Luther’s extraordinary life...She paints the picture of a “difficult hero”, with full attention to both light and shadow. A compellingly readable and richly documented study -- Rowan WilliamsExcellent and wholly absorbing biography… Roper’s biography, distinguished by the excellence of its writing and research, is the beginning of wisdom in all things Reformation, anti-Roman and, alas, proto-Hitlerite. -- Ian Thomson * Guardian *[Martin Luther is] exemplary history: imaginative yet empirical, rounded and profound. -- Malcolm Gaskill * Financial Times *Roper’s immaculate scholarship…gives a complex account of his inner life, without ever straying beyond what the evidence will allow. -- Kathryn Hughes * Guardian, Book of the Year *[It] deploys its considerable learning with the lightest of touches: a seductive, shimmering and significant retelling of a man whose rise to power was…as unlikely as it was extraordinary -- Thomas Penn * Guardian, Book of the Year *An impressive and fascinating read. -- David Crane * Spectator, Book of the Year *A superb evocation of Luther’s Germany… Roper captures so well his coarseness and cruelty. -- A.N. Wilson * New Statesman, Book of the Year *[A] magnificent book. * New Statesman *A revelation of psychological insight and breathtaking historical detail… Extensive and engaging biography… Very strong on the economic background and how it translates into spiritual questions… This book brings clarity to how complicate, strange, ennobling and disgusting the period was. -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *Roper…has an extraordinary talent for making complex theological issues not just clear but entertaining. -- Gerrard DeGroot * The Times *Beautifully written… Among the most interesting, provocative and original biographies of Luther to appear in recent years… This unfailingly inventive and compelling account is a welcome gust of fresh air… Anyone seriously interested in one of the most influential figures of the last half-millennium will need to make time to read this one. -- Peter Marshall * Literary Review *[It is] fresh and captivating… A closely focused and compellingly intimate study of Luther’s perceptions. -- Alexandra Shephard * History Today, Book of the Year *[A] rewarding biography… Roper brings him alive as a very human figure. -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times, Book of the Year *This is the book about Luther we’ve missed among all the holy books and the case studies: the whole engrossing story of a soul and a mind and the man who broke the old world and its old ways for ever. Lyndal Roper brings alive the struggle for ideas, adds a subtle sense of how human beings work, and distils a lifetime of scholarship to conjure Luther’s own world with its princes, demons, scandals and sheer brave defiance of a whole old order -- Michael Pye, author of The Edge of the WorldCompelling and above all deeply honest biography. -- David Crane * Spectator *This book will continue to bring the reformer and his theology to life for generations to come. -- Bridget Heal * History Today, Book of the Year *[An] excellent study. -- Jonathan Wright * BBC History Magazine ****** -- Christopher Howse * Sunday Telegraph *Roper’s Luther is an angry man: a renegade and a rebel… [She] paints a vivid picture of the political and economic context in Mansfeld, where Luther grew up, and of the situation of Wittenberg and its political governance. There are important findings here, particularly relating to Luther’s early life -- Charlotte Methuen * The Times Literary Supplement *Roper writes with the virtuosity of an unsurpassed archival researcher, the grace of an elegant stylist, and the compassion of a seasoned student of human nature. Her nuanced and insightful portrait brilliantly evokes the inner and outer worlds of the man Luther. The book is a complete triumph. -- Joel F. Harrington, author of The Faithful ExecutionerMagnificent and surely definitive – a work of immense scholarship, acute psychological insight and gloriously fluent prose. Lyndal Roper has got under the skin of her subject and the result is thrilling. -- Jessie Childs, author of Henry VIII’s Last Victim and God’s TraitorsRoper’s scholarly strengths plus 10 years of careful research have yielded a richly contextualised biography of a man whose influence has been and remains enormous, for good or ill or both. -- Brad Gregory * Tablet *This is a helpful and insightful examination of Luther’s attitudes and relationships… Highly recommended. -- Martin Wellings * Methodist Recorder *Roper portrays a deeply flawed but fascinating human being to rival any of the major personalities of Tudor England. -- Caroline Sanderson * Bookseller *I heartily commend Martin Luther… It is simply the best English-language biography of Luther I’ve read and I’d be amazed if its combination of rigorous scholarship and approachable tone is bettered. -- Francis Philips * Catholic Herald, Book of the Year *[A] superb new biography… A challenging and deeply stimulating study of a major historical figure. -- Elaine Fulton * History Today *

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Book SynopsisNow a major film starring Academy Award nominees Jim Broadbent (Iris) and Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)Winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2011 Tony Webster and his clique first met Adrian Finn at school. Sex-hungry and book-hungry, they would navigate the girl-less sixth form together, trading in affectations, in-jokes, rumour and wit. Maybe Adrian was a little more serious than the others, certainly more intelligent, but they all swore to stay friends for life.Now Tony is retired. He's had a career and a single marriage, a calm divorce. He's certainly never tried to hurt anybody. Memory, though, is imperfect. It can always throw up surprises, as a lawyer's letter is about to prove.Trade ReviewA masterpiece... I would urge you to read - and re-read - The Sense of an Ending * Daily Telegraph *Mesmerising... the concluding scenes grip like a thriller - a whodunit of memory and morality * Independent *A very fine book, skilfully plotted, boldly conceived... Barnes has achieved...something of universal importance -- Justin Cartwright * Observer *A precise, poignant portrait of the costs and benefits of time passing, of friendship, of love. A small masterpiece -- Erica Wagner * The Times *A wonderful story that is all too human and all so real * Irish Times *An extremely moving, a precise book about the imprecision of memory and how it constructs people, stories and histories. -- Alasitair Bruce * Guardian *From the moment that we hear from the woodworm which snuck aboard Noah’s ark to the final pages of the novel, Barnes interrogates moral dilemmas and motivations. These tales could easily be read is isolation, but are much better when consumed as a whole. * WeAreTheCity *A masterpiece... I would urge you to read - and re-read - The Sense of an Ending * Daily Telegraph *Mesmerising... the concluding scenes grip like a thriller - a whodunit of memory and morality * Independent *A very fine book, skilfully plotted, boldly conceived... Barnes has achieved...something of universal importance -- Justin Cartwright * Observer *

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Book SynopsisJourney to Star Wars: The Force AwakensThe second Death Star has been destroyed, the Emperor killed, and Darth Vader struck down. Devastating blows against the Empire, and major victories for the Rebel Alliance. But the battle for freedom is far from over.As the Empire reels from its critical defeats at the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance—now a fledgling New Republic—presses its advantage by hunting down the enemy’s scattered forces before they can regroup and retaliate. But above the remote planet Akiva, an ominous show of the enemy’s strength is unfolding. Out on a lone reconnaissance mission, pilot Wedge Antilles watches Imperial Star Destroyers gather like birds of prey circling for a kill, but he’s taken captive before he can report back to the New Republic leaders.Meanwhile, on the planet’s surface, former rebel fighter Norra Wexley has returned to her native world—war weary, ready to reunite with her estranged son, and eager to build a new life in some distant place. But when Norra intercepts Wedge Antilles’s urgent distress call, she realizes her time as a freedom fighter is not yet over. What she doesn’t know is just how close the enemy is—or how decisive and dangerous her new mission will be.Determined to preserve the Empire’s power, the surviving Imperial elite are converging on Akiva for a top-secret emergency summit—to consolidate their forces and rally for a counterstrike. But they haven’t reckoned on Norra and her newfound allies—her technical-genius son, a Zabrak bounty hunter, and a reprobate Imperial defector—who are prepared to do whatever they must to end the Empire’s oppressive reign once and for all.Trade ReviewWendig tackles what is quite possibly the trickiest novel to navigate since Heir to the Empire with confidence and precision, introducing new characters and concepts while retaining the jury-rigged, gung-ho swagger of the original trilogy. Roll on chapter 2. * Jedi News *Do yourself a favour, you don’t want to be suffering from Jedi fatigue come December, avoid any further trailers for the new film and read this instead. Wendig has achieved an accomplishment I thought nigh on impossible. He has written a novel that has left me actively salivating for the next Star Wars movie. Well played Mr Wendig, well played. Turns out, thirty two years later, I haven’t changed a bit; I am still completely in thrall to my childhood favourites. If The Force Awakens manages to capture the same sense of adventure that is on display here, then the future of Star Wars is in safe hands * The Eloquent Page *highly readable, sharp continuation of the saga * Sci-Fi Bulletin *Chuck has kept the spirit of the original Star Wars movies – that cheesiness and goofiness we all loved so much – but at the same time made sure there is enough realism and grittiness so that it appeals to the tastes of readers today. 10/10 * Fantsy Fiction *It's clear from the start that Wendig really gets Star Wars, he manages to immerse the reader into that unique Star Wars feeling right from the start. The ambience is spot on. Aftermath is full of the strange creatures and dusty technology that helps to make up the Star Wars universe. He then populates this canvas with intriguing, lively, thoughtful characters that fit into the spaces seamlessly…The ending, when it comes is just superb and does what a book should, leave you wanting more - such as figuring out just who is really in charge of the remnants of the Empire. Star Wars Aftermath almost makes up for that sweeping canon reset, a few more like this and Disney will be completely forgiven. A wonderful Star Wars adventure by a gifted author. 5 * * SFBook.com *

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Book Synopsis____________________Extraordinary crimes require extraordinary detectives. Welcome to Private.When Santosh Wagh isn't struggling out of a bottle of whisky he's head of Private India, the Mumbai branch of the world's finest PI agency.In a city of over thirteen million he has his work cut out at the best of times. But now someone is killing women - seemingly unconnected women murdered in a chilling ritual, with strange objects placed carefully at their death scenes.As Santosh and his team race to find the killer, an even greater danger faces Private India - a danger that could threaten the lives of thousands of innocent Mumbai citizens…

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Book SynopsisEach day we saw the outside world in all its splendour, and each day that view served as a reminder that we had wasted and ruined our lives. Jim Quillen, AZ586 - a runaway, problem child and petty thief - was jailed several times before his twentieth birthday. In August 1942, after escaping from San Quentin, he was arrested on the run and sentenced to forty-five years in prison, and later transferred to Alcatraz. This is the true story of life inside America's most notorious prison - from terrifying times in solitary confinement to daily encounters with 'the Birdman', and what really happened during the desperate and deadly 1946 escape attempt.

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Book Synopsis‘Does one desire the Yule-tide spirit, sir?’‘Certainly one does. I am all for it.’Aunts, engagements, misunderstandings and hangover cures; this delightful collection from ‘the greatest chronicler of a certain kind of Englishness’ (Julian Fellowes) brings together a baker’s dozen of P. G. Wodehouse’s finest short stories.‘A comic master’ David Walliams‘A cavalcade of perfect joy’ Caitlin MoranTrade Reviewa great introduction to Wodehouse or a treat for established fans * Sunday Mirror *bound to be a festive seller but there’s lots to keep you chuckling throughout the year * The Times *

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Book SynopsisAmid wars, failed revolutions and the shifting of frontiers, the bit-part players often have the best tales to tell - an astonishing, genre-blurring travelogue from Italian master Claudio Magris.In the tiny borderlands of Istria and Italy, from the forests of Monte Nevoso, to the hidden valleys of the Tyrol, to a Trieste café, Microcosms pieces together a mosaic of stories - comic, tragic, picaresque, nostalgic - from life's minor characters. Their worlds might be small, but they are far from minimalist: in them flashes the great, the meaningful, the unrepeatable significance of every existence.Trade ReviewA haunting amalgam of travelogue, autobiography and impressionist sketch book -- Jonathan Keates * Literary Review *Claudio Magris is engaged on a seductively exciting journey of the imagination, which enriches and enthrals -- Eileen Battersby * Irish Times *Microcosms, in its subtly magical blend of the public and the personal, of the inner voice and the voices without, of the café and of the study, of the hearth and of the world, is a unique and wonderful achievement -- John Banville * New York Review of Books *A haunting series of evocations and recollections... the very antithesis of your run-of-the-mill travel book -- Jan Morris * Observer *

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Book SynopsisLucy Entwhistle and Everard Wemyss are both reeling from recent unhappiness when they meet and swiftly fall in love. Lucy is Wemyss’s ‘sweet girl’, and to Lucy, Everard is the whole world. The only blot on Lucy’s happiness is the shadowy figure of Wemyss’s first wife, Vera, who died in mysterious circumstances. But it is not until the happy couple return home and begin their life of wedded bliss that Lucy really begins to wonder: what did happen to Vera?Trade ReviewA sinister thriller * Independent *[Her books are] a revelation in their wit and... dry, unsentimental treatment of the relationship between men and women -- Barbara PymVon Arnim didn't have much patience with the male ego, and she didn't have much more for the women who bowed beneath it -- Mike Newell, director of 'The Enchanted April'

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE 1999 BOOKER PRIZEUma, the plain, spinster daughter of a close-knit Indian family, is trapped at home, smothered by her overbearing parents and their traditions, unlike her ambitious younger sister Aruna, who brings off a 'good' marriage, and brother Arun, the disappointing son and heir who is studying in America.Across the world in Massachusetts, life with the Patton family is bewildering for Arun in the alien culture of freedom, freezers and paradoxically self-denying self-indulgence.Trade ReviewDesai has a wicked, subtle humour...and her characters are beautifully described... Her writing is polished and mature, with a wit she cleverly underplays * Daily Telegraph *Anita Desai is one of Tolstoy's inheritors. Like his, her writing is sensuous, radical and uncannily perceptive... Fasting, Feasting is a hypnotically readable story, in language which has the precision of poetry...an ambitious, successful and disturbing novel * The Times *A compelling, mature work by India's finest writer in English * Independent *A quiet, low-key novel, notable for its vignettes...[which] are so sharp, so rich in detail, that the book packs a real polemic punch...Fasting Feasting is a fine showcase for the delicate, distinctive skills of Anita Desai * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThis is the story of a haunted Irish childhood.The setting is Derry in the Northern Ireland of the 40s and 50s, fraught with political hatred, family secrets and lethal intrigue. As a young boy tries to make sense of life, poverty and violence shift and obscure the facts; meanwhile his night-time reading of Irish legends weaves enchantment through reality. Claustrophobic but lyrically charged, breathtakingly sad but vibrant and unforgettable, this is one of the finest books about growing up – in Ireland or anywhere – that has ever been written.See also: The Green Road by Anne EnrightTrade ReviewReading In The Dark is a swift, masterful transformation of family griefs and political violence into something at once rhapsodic and heartbreaking. If Isaac Babel had been born in Derry, he might have written this sudden, brilliant book. * Seamus Heaney *Marvellous...almost impossible to put down -- Blake Morrison * Independent on Sunday *Go into your nearest bookshop and buy Reading In The Dark... A novel that no reader with any concern for their heart or mind should be without -- A. L. Kennedy * Scotsman *A wonderful evocation of childhood; a vibrant, unforgettable fragment that leaves you aching for more -- Robert McCrum * Observer *A profoundly emotive and seamlessly structured exploration of loss and regret. It is also funny and authentic. What more could one ask of a book? -- Antonia Logue * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisA MASTERFUL COLLECTION OF TWENTY-FIVE SHORT STORIES FROM THE INIMITABLE AUTHOR OF SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5, KURT VONNEGUT 'Vonnegut is George Orwell, Dr Caligari and Flash Gordon compounded into one writer...a zany but moral mad scientist' Time A diabolical government asserts control by eliminating orgasms. A scientist discovers the secret to unlocking instant happiness, with unexpected consequences. In an America where everyone is equal every which way, a tennage boy plans to overthrow the system. Welcome to the Monkey House gathers together twenty-five of Kurt Vonnegut's short stories from the 1950s and 1960s. Shot through with Vonnegut's singular humour, wit and bewilderment at humanity, this is a collection that celebrates a true master of short-form fiction.Trade ReviewA joyous ragbag of a collection * Observer *After Vonnegut, everything else seems a bit tame * Spectator *One of the master alchemists of modern American fiction * Sunday Times *A cool writer, at once throwaway and passionate and very funny * Financial Times *A brilliant wacky ideas-monger * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisTHE CELEBRATED SHORT STORY COLLECTION FROM THE AMERICAN POET AND WRITER OFTEN CALLED THE 'POET LAUREATE OF HARLEM'A black maid forms a close bond with the daughter of the cruel white couple for whom she works. Two rich, white artists hire a black model to pose as a slave. A white-passing boy ignores his mother when they cross each other on the street.Written with sardonic wit and a keen eye for the absurdly unjust, these fourteen stories about racial tensions are as relevant today as the day they were penned, and linger in the mind long after the final page is turned.'Powerful, polemical pieces' New York Times'Some of the best stories that have appeared in this country in years' North American ReviewTrade Review'Powerful, polemical pieces' * New York Times *'Some of the best stories that have appeared in this country in years' * North American Review *

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Book Synopsis'During certain hours, at certain years in our lives, we see ourselves as remnants from the earlier generations that were destroyed... I think all of our lives have been terribly shaped by what went on before us.'Twenty-five years after leaving his native Sri Lanka for the cool winters of Ontario, a chaotic dream of tropical heat and barking dogs pushes Michael Ondaatje to travel back home and revisit a childhood and a family he never fully understood. Along with his siblings and children, Ondaatje gathers rumours, anecdotes, poems, records and memories to piece together this fragmented portrayal of his family's past, his father's destructive alcoholism and the colourful stories and secrets of ancestors both disgraced and adored throughout centuries of Sri Lankan society.In an exotic, evocative portrait of the heat, wildlife, sounds and silences of the Sri Lankan landscape, Ondaatje combines vivid recreations of a privileged, eccentric older generation with a deeply personal reconciliatory journey in which he explores his own ghosts, and how his family's extraordinary history continues to influence his life.Trade ReviewBrightly coloured, sweet and painful, bloody-minded and otherworldly, [this book] achieves the status of legend -- Margaret AtwoodEloquent, oblique, witty, full of light and feeling....Ondaatje's knowledge of the fragility and luck of life is very clear. So, too, is the grace and originality of his prose * New Yorker *Ondaatje has produced a remarkable book....Shimmering through the haze of heat and memory is an impressionistic, sometimes surreal portrait of an exotic time and place now gone, a colonial paradise that had its own rhythms and imperatives * Globe and Mail *A beautiful, luscious book. Michael Ondaatje has depicted his extraordinary family, who delighted in masks and costumes and love affairs that 'rainbowed over marriages' in the kind of language that makes glory of their lives. He has gone on a poet's journey to Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and the reader who travels with him enters a truly magical world -- Maxine Hong KingstonWith a prose style equal to the voluptuousness of [Ondaatje's] subject and a sense of humor never too far away, Running in the Family is sheer reading pleasure * Washington Post *

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Book SynopsisMadame Bovary is one of the greatest, most beguiling novels ever written.Emma Bovary is an avid reader of sentimental novels; brought up on a Normandy farm and convent-educated, she longs for romance. At first, Emma pins her hopes on marriage, but life with her well-meaning husband in the provinces leaves her bored and dissatisfied. She seeks escape through extravagant spending sprees and, eventually, adultery. As Emma pursues her impossible reverie she seals her own ruin.'A great novel that is also an inexhaustible pleasure to read' GuardianA NEW TRANSLATION BY ADAM THORPEVINTAGE FRENCH CLASSICS - six masterpieces of French fiction in collectable editions.Trade ReviewA work of brilliance * Daily Mail *

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Book Synopsis'One of the great novels of the 20th century' ObserverIn April 1942, Hitler and Mussolini plan the huge offensive on the Eastern Front that will culminate in the greatest battle in human history.Hundreds of miles away, Pyotr Vavilov receives his call-up papers and spends a final night with his wife and children in the hut that is his home. As war approaches, the Shaposhnikov family gathers for a meal: despite her age, Alexandra will soon become a refugee; Tolya will enlist in the reserves; Vera, a nurse, will fall in love with a wounded pilot; and Viktor Shtrum will receive a letter from his doomed mother which will haunt him forever.The war will consume the lives of a huge cast of characters - lives which express Grossman's grand themes of the nation and the individual, nature's beauty and war's cruelty, love and separation.For months, Soviet forces are driven back inexorably by the German advance eastward and eventually Stalingrad is all that remains between the invaders and victory. The city stands on a cliff top by the Volga River. The battle for Stalingrad - a maelstrom of violence and firepower - will reduce it to ruins. But it will also be the cradle of a new sense of hope.Stalingrad is a magnificent novel not only of war but of all human life: its subjects are mothers and daughters, husbands and brothers, generals, nurses, political officers, steelworkers, tractor girls. It is tender, epic, and a testament to the power of the human spirit.'You will not only discover that you love his characters and want to stay with them - that you need them in your life as much as you need your own family and loved ones - but that at the end... you will want to read it again' Daily Telegraph THE PREQUEL TO LIFE AND FATE NOW AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME, STALINGRAD IS A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND NOW A MAJOR RADIO 4 DRAMAWINNER OF MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION "LOIS ROTH AWARD" FOR TRANSLATIONS FROM ANY LANGUAGETrade ReviewOne needs time and patience to read Stalingrad, but it is worth it. Moving majestically from Berlin to Moscow to the boundless Kazakh steppe… A multitude of lives and fates are played out against a vast panoramic history * Evening Standard, *Book of the Week* *If you have read Grossman before, you will already very likely know that you urgently want to read Stalingrad. If you haven’t, I can only tell you that when you do read this novel, you will not only discover that you love his characters and want to stay with them – that you need them in your life as much as you need your own family and loved ones – but that at the end, despite having finished an 892-page novel, you want to read it again * Daily Telegraph *This is a big event… [Stalingrad] gives voice to a dizzying array of experiences… [you] feel as though you are there, wandering through those devastated streets among the starving, dead, and mad * Daily Mail *A dazzling prequel… His descriptions of battle in an industrial age are some of the most vivid ever written… Stalingrad is Life and Fate’s equal. It is, arguable, the richer book – shot through with human stories and a sense of life’s beauty and fragility * Observer *Few works of literature since Homer can match the piercing, unshakably humane gaze that Grossman turns on the haggard face of war * The Economist *

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Book Synopsis'[The Gulag Archipelago] helped to bring down an empire. Its importance can hardly be exaggerated' Doris Lessing, Sunday TelegraphWITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY NATALIA SOLZHENITSYNA vast canvas of camps, prisons, transit centres and secret police, of informers and spies and interrogators but also of everyday heroism, The Gulag Archipelago is Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's grand masterwork. Based on the testimony of some 200 survivors, and on the recollection of Solzhenitsyn's own eleven years in labour camps and exile, it chronicles the story of those at the heart of the Soviet Union who opposed Stalin, and for whom the key to survival lay not in hope but in despair.A thoroughly researched document and a feat of literary and imaginative power, this edition of The Gulag Archipelago was abridged into one volume at the author's wish and with his full co-operation.'Solzhenitsyn's masterpiece...The Gulag Archipelago helped create the world we live in today' Anne ApplebaumTHE OFFICIALLY APPROVED ABRIDGEMENT OF THE GULAG ARCHIPELAGO VOLUMES I, II & III

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Book SynopsisThe first proven plan to reverse Alzheimer’s Disease. In The End of Alzheimer’s Dr Dale Bredesen offers real hope to anyone looking to prevent and even reverse Alzheimer’s Disease and the cognitive decline of dementia. Revealing that AD is not one condition but in fact three, he outlines 36 metabolic factors, including micronutrients, hormone levels and sleep, which together can trigger downsizing in the brain. Dr Bredesen then outlines a proven, step-by-step protocol to rebalance these factors, which patients can follow with the help of a healthcare professional (note: blood tests are required in order to tailor individual plans). There are also general lifestyle and dietary changes all readers can adopt to improve cognitive health. - Rewrites the science of Alzheimer’s Disease - Proven step-by-step advice to follow with your doctor - Offers real hope to patients, carers and health professionals - The first major breakthrough to stop Alzheimer’s in its tracksSurvival rates in many life-threatening conditions, such as cancer, have been steadily improving for years. But until now nobody had ever survived Alzheimer's Disease. The results, however, of Dr Bredesen’s protocol are impressive: of the first ten patients on the protocol, nine displayed significant improvement within three to six months; since then the protocol has yielded similar results with hundreds more. Dr Bredesen is also focusing on training UK healthcare professionals in his protocol with a further 200 professionals set to receive training this coming spring.Trade ReviewThe End of Alzheimer’s is a phenomenal book. Dr Dale Bredesen’s research is some of the most exciting work that I have seen in years and tackles the most important health issue of our time. It helps us understand this complex and devastating condition but is also the roadmap to prevent it in the first place. By tackling arguably the most important disease of our age, Dr Dale Bredesen is actually changing the way we look at all chronic disease. This is a masterpiece and a must-read book. * Dr Rangan Chatterjee, MRCP, MRCGP, author of 'The Four Pillar Plan' *The End of Alzheimer’s is a monumental work. Dr Bredesen completely recontextualizes this devastating condition away from a mysterious and unsolvable process to one that is both preventable and, yes, reversible. * David Perlmutter, MD, author, #1 New York Times best seller, Grain Brain, and Brain Maker *The End of Alzheimer’s is a masterful, authoritative, and ultimately hopeful patient guide that will help you prevent and reverse Alzheimer’s disease, whether you have the ApoE4 gene or not. My patients fear Alzheimer’s more than any other diagnosis. This is the book to transmute fear into action. * Sara Gottfried, MD, author of the New York Times best seller Younger *Dr Dale Bredesen is a world-class neuroscientist/neurologist who through his innovative and exacting research has discovered a safe and effective approach to the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease that will revolutionize the way we think about the disease. * Jeffrey Bland, PhD, Founder of the Institute for Functional Medicine *Dr Bredesen has provided enormous hope for the heretofore intractable clinical problem of Alzheimer’s. Bredesen’s early studies suggest that this approach can halt and in many cases reverse early Alzheimer’s. * Leroy Hood, MD, PhD, Winner of the National Medal of Science from President Barack Obama, and Founder, Institute for Systems Biology *Every citizen and medical professional interested in the brain and its health should read this seminal book. It should provide much of the basis for a true revolution in brain health medicine. * Michael Merzenich, PhD, Winner of the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience *A must read for anyone wondering what can be done for this dread disease, whether for themselves, a loved one, or a patient. * Nathan Price, PhD, Professor & Associate Director of the Institute for Systems Biology *Having spent several years implementing many of Dr. Bredesen's insights in my patients, I can assure you that following his advice can save yourself, your loved ones, and your friends from suffering from this preventable and reversible curse. * Steven Gundry, MD, Medical Director of The International Heart and Lung Institute and author of the New York Times best seller The Plant Paradox *This book represents a major turning point in our approach to Alzheimer’s disease. For the first time ever, patients and families affected by Alzheimer’s—as well as those at high risk for this devastating disease—truly have a reason to be hopeful. * Chris Kresser, MS, LAc, author of the New York Times best seller The Paleo Cure *The End of Alzheimer’s offers a new beginning in Medicine. Dr Bredesen translates the knowledge of science to the wisdom that helps to heal our people . . . and provide a vision for the end of Alzheimer’s. * Patrick Hanaway, MD, Founding Medical Director, Director of Research, Center for Functional Medicine, Cleveland Clinic *An experimental program that some patients say has literally reversed their symptoms and allowed them to live a normal life. * Maria Shriver on the Today Show *The End of Alzheimer's, for the first time, synthesizes the latest science into a practical plan that can reverse Alzheimer's and dramatically improve brain health and function. If you have a brain, read this book. * Mark Hyman, MD, Director, Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, author #1 New York Times best seller Eat Fat Get Thin *

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Book SynopsisMy name is Lady Grace Cavendish, and I'm Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's favourite Maid of Honour. Everyone thinks growing up at the Royal Court is all parties and feasts and jewels - but mysterious, dangerous things always seem to happen! And because I am small and smart and very good at sneaking around, the Queen has made me her very own special secret investigator.Last night was the Valentine's Ball, and I was supposed to pick a suitor there (boring!). But later on, one of them was found dead - with a dagger in his back! And it's up to me to solve the mystery and find the killer . . .Trade ReviewA gripping historical thriller * Sunday Times *The book truly catches the feel of the royal court and the unpredictable plot leads the reader on many wild goose chases * The Times *A wealth of historic detail * INIS (Children's Books Ireland) *The personal narrative, written with great attention to the details of Court life, is a fascinating and exciting read. * Sunday Tribune (Dublin) *The reader is quickly drawn into the intrigue and chilling atmosphere of court life. * Primary Times: Hampshire *

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Book SynopsisMy all-time favorite collection of poems . . . [Gibran's] poetry always roots me in my humanity. --Rupi Kaur, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Milk and Honey, The Sun and Her Flowers, and Home BodyA stunning new hardcover edition--with a full linen case, copper stamping, turquoise gilded edges, and colored endpapers--of one of the world's most beloved and popular spiritual classics, featuring a new foreword by Rupi KaurA Penguin Classics HardcoverThe most famous work of spiritual fiction of the twentieth century, The Prophet is rooted in Kahlil Gibran's own experience as an immigrant and provides inspiration to anyone feeling adrift in a world in flux. As a prophet named Almustafa is about to board a ship to travel back to his homeland after twelve years in exile, he is stopped by a group of people who ask him to share his wisdom before he leaves. In twenty-eight poetic essays, he does so, offering profound and timeless Trade Review“This book cracked my heart wide open. And I think it’s going to do the same to yours. . . . I’ve read The Prophet more times than I can count. I’ve owned and given away dozens of copies. I have one packed permanently in my travel bag. . . . The Prophet, and the man behind it, freed the poet in me. . . . Almost a hundred years later, it still feels as fresh and as relevant as ever. Why have I read it dozens of times? Because it doesn’t feel like reading. It feels like listening to my favorite song. . . . [Kahlil Gibran] is the conductor, the words are his orchestra, and he makes them dance off the page and land softly in your belly. . . . This book is not just for poetry lovers. It is for anyone wondering what this thing we call life is about. [It is] an anchor, a lifeline, and a friend.” —Rupi Kaur, from the Foreword “Cadenced and vibrant with feeling, the words of Kahlil Gibran bring to one’s ears the majestic rhythm of Ecclesiastes. . . . If there is a man or woman who can read this book without a quiet acceptance of a great man’s philosophy and a singing in the heart as of music born within, that man or woman is indeed dead to life and truth.” —Chicago Post “Exquisite . . . simply a masterpiece.” —The Independent (London) “Like most wisdom, most of what [Kahlil Gibran] has to tell is ancient, the possession of all men who have thought much and hard about fundamental things. . . . But on it all there is also the imprint of a rich and unusual personality. . . . Gibran offers no short-cuts to happiness, no easily mastered formulae for successful living. Essentially, he bids you look closely into your own heart and mind.” —The New York Times

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewPraise for * René Girard *The explosion of social media, the resurgence of populism, and the increasing virulence of reciprocal violence all suggest that the contemporary world is becoming more and more recognizably "Girardian" in its behavior -- Robert Pogue Harrison * The New York Review of Books *The man who helped us perhaps more than any other social thinker of our time to understand violence, death and martyrdom -- Jerry Bowyer * Forbes *Praise for * Evolution of Desire: A Life of René Girard by Cynthia L. Haven *Influential and comprehensive. Haven's Evolution of Desire is exemplary in its sensitivity ... Her readers are challenged but left free to make up their own minds -- Jonathan Benthall * TLS *A penetrating account of an important thinker - and as agile, profound, and affecting as its subject * Kirkus *Essential reading for Girard devotees and a perfect entrée for newcomers. Rich with details and ideas, Cynthia Haven's book gives everything it promises and something more: a personal account of a close friend. Highly recommended -- Maria StepanovaHere is a book that gives us Girard in all his genius and generosity. I can't recommend it enough -- Morgan Meis * The New Yorker *René Girard's provocative theories on violence, religion, desire, and scapegoating are intensely relevant to contemporary American society. Cynthia Haven offers an account of Girard's life and ideas that is as compelling as a good detective story. It should receive the widest possible readership -- David Streitfeld * Pulitzer Prize-winning writer for The New York Times *

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Book SynopsisA sunny, brilliantly witty comedy of manners, this edition of A Room with a View is part of the Penguin Essentials collection and features beautiful cover art by Chris Silas Neal''You love the boy body and soul, plainly, directly, as he loves you . . .'' Lucy has her rigid, middle-class life mapped out for her until she visits Florence with her uptight cousin Charlotte, and finds her neatly ordered existence thrown off balance.Her eyes are opened by the unconventional characters she meets at the Pension Pertolini: flamboyant romantic novelist Eleanor Lavish, the Cockney Signora, curious Mr Emerson and, most of all, his passionate son George.Lucy finds herself torn between the intensity of life in Italy and the repressed morals of Victorian England, personified in her terminally dull fiancé Cecil Vyse. Will she ever learn to follow her own heart?''He says, and even more implies, things that no other novelist does, and weTrade ReviewI loved it. My first intimation of the possibilities of fiction -- Zadie SmithHe says, and even more implies, things that no other novelist does, and we can go on reading Forster indefinitely * The Times *

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