Search results for ""penguin books""

Black Milk is the affecting and beautifully written memoir on motherhood and writing by Turkey's bestselling female writer Elif Shafak, author of Honour, The Gaze and The Bastard of Istanbul which was long-listed for the Orange prize.Postpartum depression affects millions of new mothers every year, and- like most of its victims- Elif Shafak never expected to be one of them. But after the birth of her first child in 2006, the internationally bestselling Turkish author remembers how "for the first time my adult life . . . words wouldn't speak to me". As her despair finally eased, Shafak sought to resuscitate her writing life by chronicling her own experiences.In her intimate memoir, she reveals how she struggled to overcome her depression and how literature provided the salvation she so desperately needed.'An intimate, affecting memoir . . . Her passion for literature is contagious, and her struggle with postpartum depression and writer's block reinforces how carefully all of us must tread. Beautifully rendered, Shafak's Black Milk is an epic poem to women everywhere' Colleen Mondor

Read more less

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS POPULAR NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2014 A laugh-out-loud true story of the trials and tribulations of being a live-in nanny in 1980s London and inspired a major TV series starring Helena Bonham Carter.*****In 1982 Nina Stibbe, a 20-year-old from Leicester, moved to London to work as a nanny for a very particular family. It was a perfect match: Nina had no idea how to cook, look after children or who the weirdos were who called round. And the family, busy discussing such arcane subjects as how to swear in German or the merits (or otherwise) of turkey mince, were delighted by her lack of skills. Love, Nina is the collection of letters she wrote home gloriously describing her 'domestic' life, the unpredictable houseguests and the cat everyone loved to hate.***** 'I adored this book and could quote from it forever' Nick Hornby 'Funny and sharp: no book this year has made me laugh more' John Lanchester, Guardian 'The funniest book I've read in ages' Sunday Times 'An unassuming comic genius' Independent

Read more less

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER SOON TO BE A TV SERIES STARRING GEMMA ARTERTON AND RUPERT EVERETT'Simply unputdownable' Guardian'Hilarious' Daily Telegraph'Highly entertaining' Sunday Times _________________Make them laugh, and they're yours forever . . .Barbara Parker is Miss Blackpool of 1964, but she doesn't want to be a beauty queen. She wants to make people laugh.So she leaves her hometown behind, takes herself to London, and overnight she becomes the lead in a new BBC comedy, Sophie Straw: charming, gorgeous, destined to win the nation's hearts.Funny Girl is the story of a smash-hit TV show and the people behind the scenes. But when life starts imitating art, they all face a choice. How long can they keep going before it's time to change the channel? ______________'Warm, funny, touching . . . winningly perceptive about human relationships and changing social trends' Daily Telegraph'Like all Hornby's best work, it is both hugely enjoyable and deceptively artful' Spectator'A beguiling, thoroughly enjoyable read' Sunday Times'Hugely enjoyable' Sunday Mirror'Resolutely, winningly light-hearted' Observer'Hornby's sunniest novel' Metro

Read more less

Survivor on the River Kwai is the heartbreaking story of one of the last survivors of the Burma Railway.February 1942. A young British soldier is caught up in the worst defeat in the history of the British Army, the fall of Singapore. Reg Twigg spends the next three years in hell, moving from jungle camp to jungle camp and building the Burma Railway for the all-conquering Japanese. Beaten, tortured, starving and forced to watch his comrades die, Reg fights for his survival, stealing from his captors, trapping animals and even making his own tobacco. That Reg survived is testimony to his own courage and determination, his will to beat the alien brutality of camp guards who had nothing but contempt for him and his fellow POWs. He was a risk taker whose survival strategies sometimes bordered on genius. As moving and harrowing as The Last Fighting Tommy, with the drama of David Lean's The Bridge Over the River Kwai and the heart of The Forgotten Highlander, Survivor on the River Kwai is Reg's story - his pain, his triumphs and even his forgiveness.Reg Twigg was born at Wigston (Leicester) barracks on 16 December 1913. He was called up to the Leicestershire Regiment in 1940 but instead of fighting Hitler he was sent to the Far East, stationed at Singapore. When captured by the Japanese, he decided he would do everything to survive.After his repatriation from the Far East, Reg returned to Leicester. With his family he returned to Thailand in 2006, and revisited the sites of the POW camps. Reg died in 2013, at the age of ninety-nine, two weeks before the publication of this book.

Read more less

The man behind the paintings: the extraordinary life of J. M. W Turner, one of Britain's most admired, misunderstood and celebrated artistsJ. M. W. Turner is Britain's most famous landscape painter. Yet beyond his artistic achievements, little is known of the man himself and the events of his life: the tragic committal of his mother to a lunatic asylum, the personal sacrifices he made to effect his stratospheric rise, and the bizarre double life he chose to lead in the last years of his life.A near mythical figure in his own lifetime, Franny Moyle tells the story of the man who was considered visionary at best and ludicrous at worst. A resolute adventurer, he found new ways of revealing Britain to the British, astounding his audience with his invention and intelligence. Set against the backdrop of the finest homes in Britain, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution, this is an astonishing portrait of one of the most important figures in Western art and a vivid evocation of Britain and Europe in flux.

Read more less

The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft is the acclaimed bestselling biography by Claire TomalinWinner of the Whitbread First Book PrizeWitty, courageous and unconventional, Mary Wollstonecraft was one of the most controversial figures of her day. She published A Vindication of the Rights of Women; travelled to revolutionary France and lived through the Terror and the destruction of the incipient French feminist movement; produced an illegitimate daughter; and married William Godwin before dying in childbed at the age of thirty-eight. Often embattled and bitterly disappointed, she never gave up her radical ideas or her belief that courage and honesty would triumph over convention.'Tomalin is a most intelligent and sympathetic biographer, aware of her impetuous subject's many failings, yet with the perception to present her greatness fairly. She writes well and wittily' Daily Telegraph'A vivid evocation not only of what Mary went through but also of how women lived in the second part of the eighteenth century. Most of all, however, Tomalin makes Mary Wollstonecraft unforgettable' Evening StandardFrom the acclaimed author of Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self, Charles Dickens: A Life and The Invisible Woman, this celebrated biography is the definitive account of Mary Wollstonecraft's life.Claire Tomalin is the award-winning author of eight highly acclaimed biographies, including: The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft; Shelley and His World; Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life; The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens; Mrs Jordan's Profession; Jane Austen: A Life; Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self; Thomas Hardy: The Time-Torn Man and, most recently, Charles Dickens: A Life. A former literary editor of the New Statesman and the Sunday Times, she is married to the playwright and novelist Michael Frayn.

Read more less

From the acclaimed author of Charles Dickens: A Life comes a celebrated biography that casts new light on the remarkable diaries of Samuel Pepys.Samuel Pepys achieved fame as a naval administrator, a friend and colleague of the powerful and learned, a figure of substance. But for nearly ten years he kept a diary which recorded, with unparalleled openness and sensitivity, exactly what it was like to be a young man in Restoration London.Within and beyond the narrative of his extraordinary career, Claire Tomalin explores Pepys' inner life - his relations with women, his fears and ambitions, his political shifts, his agonies and his delights.'A rich, thoughtful and deeply satisfying account' Evening Standard'Sex, drink, plague, fire, music, marital conflict, the fall of kings, corruption and courage in public life, wars, navies, public execution, incarceration in the Tower: Samuel Pepys's life is full of irresistible material' Guardian'In Claire Tomalin, Pepys has found the biographer he deserves. Her perceptive, level-headed book finally restores to the life of the diarist its weight and dignity' New Statesman

Read more less

Katherine Mansfield is the celebrated biography be bestselling author Claire Tomalin'One of the best biographies I have ever read: a perfect match of author and subject. It should become a classic' Alison LuriePursuing art and adventure across Europe, Katherine Mansfield lived and wrote with the Furies on her heels; but when she died aged only thirty-four she became one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. Sexually ambiguous, craving love yet quarrelsome and capricious, she glittered in the brilliant circles of D. H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf, her beauty and recklessness inspiring admiration, jealousy, rage and devotion. Claire Tomalin's biography brings us nearer than we have ever been to this courageous, greatly gifted, haunted and haunting writer.'Generous, dispassionate, even-handed, setting out probably as plainly as anyone ever will Katherine's high hopes, the odds she faced and the impossible obstacles that ditched her in the end' Hilary Spurling, Daily Telegraph'Provides the finest and most subtly shaded portrait so far' John Gross, New York TimesFrom the acclaimed author of Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self, Charles Dickens: A Life and The Invisible Woman, this virtuoso biography is invaluable reading for lovers of Katherine Mansfield everywhere.Claire Tomalin is the award-winning author of eight highly acclaimed biographies, including: The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft; Shelley and His World; Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life; The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens; Mrs Jordan's Profession; Jane Austen: A Life; Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self; Thomas Hardy: The Time-Torn Man and, most recently, Charles Dickens: A Life. A former literary editor of the New Statesman and the Sunday Times, she is married to the playwright and novelist Michael Frayn.

Read more less

SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLERFrom one of our great thinkers on modern life and the human condition - an unforgettable story of love and marriage from the author of bestselling novel Essays in Love as well as The Consolations of Philosophy, Religion for Atheists and The School of Life'The Course of Love probes the very heart of marriage, its shifts and squalls, its great adventure, with such forensic tenderness. I laughed a lot, too' Deborah MoggachModern love is never easy. Society is obsessed with stories of romance, but what comes after happily ever after?This is a love story with a difference. From dating to marriage, from having kids to having affairs, it follows the progress of a single ordinary relationship: tender, messy, hilarious, painful, and entirely un-Romantic. It is a love story for the modern world, chronicling the daily intimacies, the blazing rows, the endless tiny gestures that make up a life shared between two people. Moving and deeply insightful, The Course of Love offers us a window into essential truths about the nature of love.'Engaging, sympathetic, acutely perceptive... There's a refreshing honesty in what de Botton has to say' Guardian'Anyone who is, has been, or would ever like to be, in a satisfying, successful relationship, would do well to read de Botton' Irish Independent 'He debunks the myth of the happily ever after with a painfully familiar, often hilarious detailing of petty arguments, the occasional extra-marital fling, the moments of loneliness and the declining frequency of sex... It's not only hugely enjoyable but life enhancing too' Daily Mail

Read more less

INSPIRATION FOR THE THRILLING AMAZON PRIME SERIES JACK RYAN . . . Jack Ryan Jr. returns in Locked On, the gripping thriller from Tom Clancy. ****The Ryans - father and son - are fighting on two fronts . . . When a deadly terrorist alliance creates the potential to blackmail any world power into submission, it's got to be stopped before it is too late. That's just the trigger Jack Ryan Jr needs to take his work for shadowy intelligence agency The Campus from the back room to the sharp end: black ops.Meanwhile, his father, Jack Ryan Sr, campaigning for re-election as US President, is up against a privately funded vendetta to discredit him. Caught at the heart of the conspiracy is former Navy SEAL, John Clark. And Ryan Sr soon discovers that being his friends could have deadly consequences. With the breakneck speed and military action scenes that have made him the premier thriller writer of our time, Tom Clancy delivers a novel of high-tech warfare in which the enemy within may be even more devastating than the enemy without.Locked On follows the gripping Dead or Alive and The Teeth of the Tiger as the explosive third novel in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan Jr. series.Praise for Tom Clancy:'Truly riveting, a dazzling read' Sunday Express'A brilliantly constructed thriller' Daily Mail

Read more less

Ryan Giggs first played for Manchester United in the season before the Premiership began; back when Bryan Robson was still captain. He took possession of United's left wing and never loosened his grip. Over a fourteen year career so far, he's seen them all come and go: Cantona, Schmeichel, Beckham and the rest. Sir Alex Ferguson said of Giggs 'I knew we had an outstanding talent when we gave him his debut.' That was back in 1991, but it remains as true in 2005 as it ever was. Giggs has been a pivotal figure in United's dominance of the Premiership. There have been rivals but no other team can match the their sustained record of success over recent years. And Giggs is the only player to have played in all eight of those title winning campaigns. Off the pitch, Ryan Giggs has always closely guarded his private life. But here he opens up for the first time, sharing details of the sometimes turbulent childhood that shaped him and the relationships that have mattered to him to reveal the man behind the famous number 11 red shirt. One thing seems clear: the Old Trafford crowd will be singing 'Giggs will tear you apart again!' for a few years yet ...

Read more less

The Tombs is the thrilling fourth Fargo adventure by Clive Cussler. It's a prize beyond imagination. When an archaeologist excavating a top secret historical site realizes the magnitude of his discovery he requests help from treasure hunters Sam and Remi Fargo. And in rushing to join him, the husband and wife team are thrown into their most daring quest to date.The clues point to the hidden tomb of Attila the Hun, the High King who was reportedly buried with a vast fortune of gold and jewels and plunder, a bounty that has never been found. But as Sam and Remi piece together the puzzle, the trail takes them through Hungary, Italy, France, Russia, and Kazakhstan and not to a single tomb, but five. And into the path of deadly danger. They are not the only ones hunting for the High King's riches.The Fargos will find themselves pitted against a thieving group of amateur treasure hunters, a cunning Russian businessman, and a ruthless Hungarian who claims direct descent from Attila himself . . . and will stop at nothing to claim the tombs'riches as his own.Packed with heart-pounding action and boundless invention, The Tombs is an exceptional thriller from the grand master of adventure. The Tombs is the fourth of Clive Cussler's Fargo Adventures, and follows Lost Empire and The Kingdom.Praise for Clive Cussler:'The guy I read' Tom Clancy

Read more less

WINNER OF THE GRAND PRIX DU LIVRE D'IDÉESThe French: serious and frivolous, charming and infuriating, rational and mystical, pessimistic, pleasure-loving - and perhaps more than any other people, intellectual. This original and entertaining book shows exactly what makes the French so ... French.

Read more less

A playful, form-bending novel from the Booker Prize-shortlisted, Women's Prize-winning author of How to be both and the critically acclaimed Seasonal quartet 'Playful and audacious' Independent Narrated by a character who is haunted - literally - by a former lover, Artful slips slyly between fiction and essay, guiding the reader thrillingly through a sequence of ideas on art and literature. With Smith's trademark humour, inventiveness, poignancy and critical insight, this is unique experiment in form, style, life, love, death, immortality and what art can mean. Based on four electrifying lectures given by the author at Oxford University, and exploring the explosive connections between art, story, memory and grief - Artful is a tidal wave of ideas to blast away the cobwebs and change how you see the world. *****'Artful is a revelation; a new kind of book altogether . . . makes you glad to be alive' Jackie Kay 'Powerful and moving' London Review of Books 'Blending of criticism and fiction, Artful belongs in a genre of its own . . . Joyful for anyone interested in the art of writing, and living, well' Anita Sethi, New Statesman

Read more less

A compilation of the subversive, important and entertaining writer of Hunter S. Thompson - renowned American writer of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'It would not do to be found in the desert under these circumstances: firing wildly into the cactus from a car full of drugs...'Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone showcases the evolution of the writer of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Hell's Angels, through his work at the magazine that he helped to put on the map. Jann S. Wenner, Hunter Thompson's editor and friend for nearly thirty-five years, has chosen the pieces, including many never collected before. They show how Thompson's Rolling Stone writing, when taken as a whole, forms an extended, allusive autobiography of the writer himself as he pursues his lifelong obsession, the king-hell story of them all: The Death of the American Dream.

Read more less

'An achingly funny anti-hero' Daily Mail'My comfort read. The best diaries ever written - with apologies to Samuel Pepys, Bridget Jones and me' ADAM KAYIn the SIXTH book in Sue Townsend's hilarious and iconic series, Adrian, Leicester's most unlikely ex-con, faces the nit-infested reality of being a single parent . . . __________ Monday January 3, 2000 So how do I greet the New Millennium? In despair. I'm a single parent, I live with my mother . . . I have a bald spot the size of a jaffa cake on the back of my head . . . I can't go on like this, drifting into early middle-age. I need a Life Plan . . . The 'same age as Jesus when he died', Adrian Mole has become a martyr: a single-father bringing up two young boys in an uncaring world. With the ever-unattainable Pandora pursuing her ambition to become Labour's first female PM; his over-achieving half-brother Brett sponging off him; and literary success elusive, Adrian tries to make ends meet and find a purpose. But little does he realise that his own modest life is about to come to the attention of those charged with policing The War Against Terror . . .__________ 'One of the great comic creations of our time. Almost every page of his diaries bring a smile to the face' Scotsman 'The funniest person in the world' Caitlin Moran

Read more less

If you were fascinated by The Five, you'll love this gripping and atmospheric historical thriller set in Victorian London in the wake of Jack the Ripper.A killer is haunting London's streets . . .A year after Jack the Ripper claimed his last victim, London is in the grip of a wave of terror. The newly formed Murder Squad of Scotland Yard battles in vain against the tide of horror.When the body of a detective is found in a suitcase, his lips sewn together and his eyes sewn shut, it becomes clear that no one is safe from attack. Has the Ripper returned - or is a new killer at large? And for Walter Day, the young policeman assigned the case, is time running out?Praise for The Yard:'If Charles Dickens isn't somewhere clapping his hands for this one, Wilkie Collins surely is.' New York Times

Read more less

*** CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS AUTHOR OF THE YEAR 2022***Discover this hilarious, heart-warming story about how far one woman will go to find herself, from the No. 1 bestselling author of Grown Ups'Keyes writes brilliantly, as always, about love, grief, jealousy and friendship' Daily Mail'Funny, compassionate, well-observed and irreverent' Time Out_________Meet Maggie Walsh.Unlike the rest of her family, Maggie has always done everything right. At thirty-three she has a proper job, is happily married to Garv and never puts a foot wrong.So when she makes a break for Hollywood with her best friend, Emily, her family and friends don't know what to think.In the City of Angels, Maggie gets to do things she's never done before: mixing with film stars, pitching scripts, partying non-stop.No one ever expected predictable Maggie to do something so unpredictable. And in LA, Maggie can be whoever she wants to be. But sooner or later, Maggie must face the life - and the people - she left behind, and discover whether finding herself, means losing the people she loves . . .Love the Walsh sisters? Don't miss out on the eagerly awaited sequel to Rachel's Holiday: AGAIN, RACHEL . . ._________'Witty, wicked, yet moving. A novel to both laugh and cry over' Ireland on SundayFAMOUS FANS AND WHY THEY LOVE MARIAN KEYES'Marian's writing is the truth. With big laughs' Dawn French'A giant of Irish writing' Naoise Dolan'Will make you laugh and make you cry, but will also reveal the truth of who you really are' Louise O'Neill'Keyes weaves the joy and pain of life in a unique and magical way' Cathy Rentzenbrink'One of the most honest writers writing today' Pandora Sykes'Compassionate, tender, incisive writing' Lucy Foley'Her talent for tackling serious issues with such humanity and wit is balm for the soul' Nigella Lawson'Marian Keyes is a brilliant writer. No one is better at making terrifically funny jokes while telling such important, perceptive and agonizing stories of the heart. She is a genius' Sali Hughes'Irresistible, profound. Keyes's comic gift is always evident' Independent'Joyful. Keyes' clever way with words and extraordinary wit. People stared at me as I laughed to myself' C.L. Taylor'A born storyteller' Independent on Sunday

Read more less

Laugh out loud with the gorgeously romantic rural comedy from the bestselling author of A Cornish SummerPolly is content and settled in married life, until one comment shakes everything up.'You've gone all fat and complacent because you've got your man, haven't you?'Polly Penhalligan is outraged at the suggestion that since getting married to Nick and settling into their beautiful manor farmhouse in Cornwall she has let herself go. But watching a lot of telly and gorging on biscuits, not getting dressed until lunchtime and waiting for pregnancy to strike are not the signs of someone living an active and fulfilled life. So Polly does something rash.She allows her home to be used as a location for a TV advert. Having a glamorous film crew around will certainly put a bomb under the idyllic, rural life. Only perhaps she should have consulted Nick first . . .Because before the cameras have even started to roll - and complete chaos descends on the farm - Polly's marriage has been turned upside down.This time she really has gone too far . . .'An addictive cocktail of wit, frivolity and madcap romance' Time Out

Read more less

Indulge in this wonderfully warm and witty story of love, loss and laughter from the bestselling author of A Cornish Summer and A Rural Affair'What could be nicer than living in the country?'Lucy Fellowes is in a bind. She's a widow living in a pokey London flat with two small boys and an erratic income. But when her mother-in-law offers her a converted barn on the family's estate - she knows it's a brilliant opportunity for her and the kids.But there's a problem. The estate is a shrine to Lucy's dead husband Ned. The whole family has been unable to get over his death. If she's honest, the whole family is far from normal. And if Lucy is to accept this offer she'll be putting herself completely in their incapable hands. Which leads to Lucy's other problem. Charlie - the only man since Ned who she's had any feelings for - lives nearby. The problem? He's already married . . .Praise for Catherine Alliott:'A joy . . . you're in for a treat' Daily Express'I literally couldn't put this down. An addictive cocktail of wit, frivolity and madcap romance' Time Out

Read more less

A TEENAGE GIRL IS MISSING. THE CLOCK IS TICKING. FIND HER, BEFORE HE DOES . . .'I LOVE THIS BOOK' LEE CHILD _______ With the police struggling, CSI Darby McCormick is shocked to discover a terrified woman hiding in the shadows of a crime scene. A woman who was abducted herself, five years before, and has managed to escape. She could be their only lead. But what Darby doesn't know is that a serial killer has been prowling America for decades. A killer she's met before . . . Once, long ago, he tore her life apart. Now he wants to finish the job. _______ Praise for Chris Mooney: 'One of the best thriller writers working today' Lee Child 'This will keep you up past your bedtime' Karin Slaughter 'If you want a thriller that will chill your blood, break your heart and make your pulse race, Chris Mooney is your man' Mark Billingham 'Harrowing, gripping, haunting, gut-wrenching and beautifully written' Harlan Coben 'I devoured The Missing in one greedy, breathless sitting. This is a scary, breakneck ride with thrills that never let up' Tess Gerritsen

Read more less

'Poverty is a very exacting teacher and I had been taught well'The post-war urban jungle of the Glasgow tenements was the setting for Molly Weir's childhood. From sharing a pull-out bed in her mother's tiny kitchen to running in terror from the fever van, it was an upbringing that was cemented in hardship. Hunger, cold and sickness was an everyday reality and complaining was not an option. Despite the crippling poverty, there was a vivacity to the tenements that kept spirits high. Whether Molly was brushing the hair of her wizened neighbour Mrs MacKay, running to Jimmy's chip shop for a ha'penny of crimps or dancing at the annual fair, there wasn't a moment to spare for self-pity. Molly never let it get her down as she and the other urchins knew how to make do with nothing.And at the centre of her world was her fearsome but loving Grannie, whose tough, independent spirit taught Molly to rise above her pitiful surroundings and achieve her dreams.

Read more less

If reason is what makes us human, then why do we humans often behave so irrationally? Taking us from desert ants to Aristotle, cognitive psychologists Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber explore how our 'flawed superpower' of reason works, how it doesn't, and how it evolved to help us develop as social beings. 'Original and provocative ... likely to have a big impact on our understanding of ourselves' Steven Pinker'Brilliant, elegant and compelling ... turns reason's weaknesses into strengths, arguing that its supposed flaws are actually design features that work remarkably well ... A timely and necessary book' Julian Baggini, Financial Times 'Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber have solved one of the most important and longstanding puzzles in psychology' Jonathan Haidt'Reason is more likely to confirm things that we want to be true, or which we already believe. So why does it exist? This book provides the answer' Alex Dean, Prospect

Read more less

Roberto Calasso is one of the most original and acclaimed of writers on literature, art, culture and mythology. In Baudelaire's Folly, Calasso turns his attention to the poets and writers of Paris in the nineteenth century who created what was later called 'the Modern.' His protagonist is Charles Baudelaire: poet of nerves, art lover, pioneering critic, man about Paris, whose groundbreaking works on modern culture described the ephemeral, fleeting nature of life in the metropolis - and the artist's role in capturing this - as no other writer had done. With Baudelaire's critical intelligence as his inspiration, Calasso ranges through his life and work, focusing on two painters - Ingres and Delacroix - about whom Baudelaire wrote acutely, and then turns to Degas and Manet, who followed in the tracks Baudelaire laid down in his great essay The Painter of Modern Life. In a mosaic of stories, insights, dreams, close readings of poems and commentaries on paintings, Paris in Baudelaire's years comes to life. In the eighteenth century, a 'folie' was a garden pavilion set aside for people of leisure, a place of delight and fantasy. Here Calasso has created a brilliant and dramatic 'Folie Baudelaire': a place where the reader can encounter Baudelaire, his peers, his city, his extraordinary likes and dislikes, and his world, finally discovering that it is nothing less than the land of 'absolute literature'.Born in Florence, Roberto Calasso lives in Milan, where he is publisher of Adelphi. He is the author of Tiepolo Pink, The Ruin of Kasch, The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, winner of the Prix Veillon and the Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger, Literature and the Gods, Ka and K.

Read more less

Nine-year-old Suleiman is just awakening to the wider world beyond the games on the hot pavement outside his home and beyond the loving embrace of his parents. He becomes the man of the house when his father goes away on business, but then he sees his father, standing in the market square in a pair of dark glasses. Suddenly the wider world becomes a frightening place where parents lie and questions go unanswered. Suleiman turns to his mother, who, under the cover of night, entrusts him with the secret story of her childhood.

Read more less

'So it happens, therefore, that every element says something to someone'Inspired by the rhythms of the Periodic Table, Primo Levi assesses his life in terms of the chemical elements he associates with his past. From his birth into an Italian Jewish family through his training as a chemist, to the pain and darkness of the Holocaust and its aftermath, Levi reflects on the difficult course of his life in this heartfelt and deeply moving book.

Read more less

In Mrs Dalloway, Virginia Woolf explores the events of one day, impression by impression, minute by minute, as Clarissa Dalloway's and Septimus Smith's worlds look set to collide - this classic novel is beautifully repackaged as part of the Penguin Essentials range.'She had a perpetual sense, as she watched the taxi cabs, of being out, out, far out to sea and alone; she always had the feeling that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day.'On a June morning in 1923, Clarissa Dalloway, the glittering wife of a Member of Parliament, is preparing for a party she is giving that evening. As she walks through London, buying flowers, observing life, her thoughts are of the past and she remembers the time when she was as young as her own daughter Elizabeth, her romance with Peter Walsh, now recently returned from India; and the friends of her youth. Elsewhere in London Septimus Smith is being driven mad by shell shock. As the day draws to its end, his world and Clarissa's collide in unexpected ways.In Mrs Dalloway Virginia Woolf explored the events of one day, impression by impression, minute by minute, and recorded the feel of life itself.'One of the most moving, revolutionary artworks of the twentieth century' Michael Cunningham'Woolf is Modern. She feels close to us.' Jeanette WintersonBorn in 1882, Virginia Woolf was the daughter of the editor and critic Leslie Stephen, and suffered a traumatic adolescence after the deaths of her mother, in 1895, and her step-sister Stella, in 1897, leaving her subject to breakdowns for the rest of her life. With her sister, the painter Vanessa Bell, she was drawn into the company of writers and artists such as Lytton Strachey and Roger Fry, later known as the Bloomsbury Group. Among them she met Leonard Woolf, whom she married in 1912, and together they founded the Hogarth Press in 1917. Her first novel, The Voyage Out, appeared in 1915, and her major novels include Mrs Dalloway (1925), the historical fantasy Orlando (1928), written for Vita Sackville-West, the extraordinarily poetic vision of The Waves (1931), and Between the Acts (1941). Woolf lived an energetic life, reviewing and writing and dividing her time between London and the Sussex Downs. In 1941, fearing another attack of mental illness, she drowned herself.

Read more less

'A breath of fresh cold air . . . a dangerous edge to gladden fans of Lisbeth Salander' Boyd TonkinThe first in the Rebecka Martinsson series from the million-book bestselling author, for fans of Stieg Larsson, The Bridge and The Killing TV series.A church in the glittering frozen wastes of northern Sweden. Inside, a sacrifice: the body of a man - slashed to pieces, hands severed, eyes gouged out.The victim's sister is first to discover the body and she soon finds herself the police's only suspect. Terrified and confused, she calls on an old friend: hot-shot city lawyer Rebecka Martinsson.Can Rebecka dig beneath the surface of the community that she once fled, and find the truth? 'A chilling plot knee-deep in blood-spattered snow' Jim Kelly'A labyrinthine conspiracy, superlative storytelling' IndependentA nail biting, suspense-filled mystery' Sunday Telegraph

Read more less

'I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn't care who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be. I was calling on four million dollars.'Los Angeles Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wheelchair-bound General Sternwood to discover who is blackmailing him. A broken, weary old man, Sternwood just wants Marlowe to make the problem go away. However, with Sternwood's two wild, devil-may-care daughters prowling LA's seedy backstreets, Marlowe's got his work cut out. And that's before he stumbles over the first corpse.The Big Sleep is Raymond Chandler's first novel featuring laconic PI Philip Marlowe.'One of the greatest crime writers, who set standards others still try to attain' Sunday Times'Chandler grips the mind from the first sentence' Daily Telegraph 'One of the greatest crime writers, who set standards others still try to attain' Sunday Times'Chandler is an original stylist, creator of a character as immortal as Sherlock Holmes' Anthony BurgessDiscover the newest addition to the inimitable Philip Marlowe series - Only to Sleep by Lawrence Osborne - out 6 September 2018 in hardback and ebook from Hogarth.

Read more less

'I need a man good-looking enough to pick up a dame who has a sense of class, but he's got to be tough enough to swap punches with a power shovel.' In the first of the four cases in Trouble is My Business, Los Angeles PI Philip Marlowe is offered a job that leaves a bad taste in the mouth: smearing a girl who's 'got her hooks into a rich man's pup'. Before too long Marlowe's up to his neck in corpses and cops and he's taken pity on the girl. There's nothing like making trouble out of your business . . .The four novellas collected here are quintessential Raymond Chandler: slick, crystal-clear writing that pins the reader to the seat and won't let go until the last page is turned.'Age does not wither Chandler's prose' Literary Review'Chandler's prose flies off the pages like a burst from a Tommy gun. Chandler was perhaps the finest exponent of the fledgling genre now known as pulp fiction' Scottish Field'One of the greatest crime writers, who set the standards others still try to attain' Sunday Times 'Nobody can write like Chandler on his home turf, not even Faulkner . . . An original . . . A great artist' Boston Review'Raymond Chandler invented a new way of talking about America, and America has never looked the same to us since' Paul AusterDiscover the newest addition to the inimitable Philip Marlowe series - Only to Sleep by Lawrence Osborne - out 6 September 2018 in hardback and ebook from Hogarth.

Read more less

'Heady, lively, engaging...brings Montmartre's heyday back to life' Sunday Times'Brilliant' GuardianThe real revolution in the arts first took place not, as is commonly supposed, in the 1920s to the accompaniment of the Charleston, black jazz and mint juleps, but more quietly and intimately, in the shadow of the windmills - artificial and real - and in the cafés and cabarets of Montmartre during the first decade of the century. The cross-fertilization of painting, writing, music and dance produced a panorama of activity characterized by the early works of Picasso, Braque, Matisse, Derain, Vlaminck and Modigliani, the appearance of the Ballet Russe and the salons of Gertrude Stein.In Montmartre is the fascinating story of the birth of Modernism in Paris. Full of life, colour and squalour, and incredible painting and sculpture, Sue Roe vividly brings to life the bohemian Parisian art scene between 1900-1910.

Read more less

Milligan's Meaning of Life is a glorious celebration of the legendary Spike Milligan. Here you will find his most intimate and hilarious reflections on life.With his lightning-quick wit, unbridled creativity and his ear for the absurd, Milligan revolutionised British comedy. Throughout his life, Milligan also wrote prolifically - scripts, poetry, fiction, as well as several volumes of memoir, in which he took an entirely idiosyncratic approach to the truth. In this ground-breaking work, Norma Farnes, his long-time manager, companion, counsellor and confidante, gathers together the loose threads, reads between the lines and draws on the full breadth of his writing to present his life in his own words: an autobiography - of sorts.From his childhood in India, through his early career as a jazz musician and sketch-show entertainer, his spells in North Africa and Italy with the Royal Artillery, to that fateful first broadcast of The Goon Show and beyond into the annals of comedy history, this is the autobiography Milligan never wrote.'Milligan is the Great God to all of us' John Cleese'The Godfather of Alternative Comedy' Eddie IzzardSpike Milligan was one of the greatest and most influential comedians of the twentieth century. Born in India in 1918, he served in the Royal Artillery during WWII in North Africa and Italy. At the end of the war, he forged a career as a jazz musician, sketch-show writer and performer, before joining forces with Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe to form the legendary Goon Show. Until his death in 2002, he had success as on stage and screen and as the author of over eighty books of fiction, memoir, poetry, plays, cartoons and children's stories.

Read more less

Wes Anderson's Major Netflix adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, Sir Ben Kingsley, Richard Ayoade, Rupert Friend and Asa Jennings set for release October 2023!In the Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, seven tales of the bizarre and unexpected are told by the grand master of the short story, Roald Dahl.Enter a brilliant, sinister and wholly unpredictable world. Here you will find the suggestion of other-worldly goings on in a dark story about a swan and a boy; the surprising tale of a wealthy young wastrel who suddenly develops a remarkable new ability; and meet the hitchhiker whose light-fingers save the day.'An unforgettable read, don't miss it' Sunday TimesRoald Dahl, the brilliant and worldwide acclaimed author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and many more classics for children, also wrote scores of short stories for adults. These delightfully disturbing tales have often been filmed and were most recently the inspiration for the West End play, Roald Dahl's Twisted Tales by Jeremy Dyson. Roald Dahl's stories continue to make readers shiver today.

Read more less

Scare yourself silly this Halloween with fourteen terrifying ghost stories chosen by the master of the macabre, Roald Dahl'Spookiness is the real purpose of the ghost story. It should give you the creeps and disturb your thoughts . . .' Who better to choose the ultimate in spine-chillers than Roald Dahl, whose own sinister stories have teased and twisted the imagination of millions?Here are fourteen of his favourite ghost stories, including Sheridan Le Fanu's The Ghost of a Hand, Edith Wharton's Afterward, Cynthia Asquith's The Corner Shop and Mary Treadgold's The Telephone.Filled with fright and spine-tingling tension, these delightfully disturbing tales are the perfect companion for all this Halloween.

Read more less

From THE BESTSELLING author Bernard Cornwell comes Redcoat . . . Philadelphia in 1777 is a city at war - not just between American troops and the British army, but within itself. For an occupied city throws together loyalist and patriot, soldier and civilian, man and woman; divides families and breeds treachery.Here ruthless Captain Kit Vane and beautiful Martha Crowl, passionate patriot Caroline and her idealist young lover Jonathon, unscrupulous Ezra Woollard and the brutal Sergeant Scammell, forge and break shifting allegiances that drive them to dangerous lengths. And caught between them Private Sam Gilpin, seduced into war by a dare and a red coat, must learn the bitter lessons of love, loss and the real meaning of loyalty.

Read more less

Johnny Rossendale has spent the last four years on the seas, away from the titled family he despises. But now he must turn his sailing cutter, the Sunflower, around and sail to Devon, where his mother lies dying.When Johnny makes landfall, though, he finds that his return is eagerly anticipated by some very sinister foes. After an attempt on his life, he realises that someone thinks a missing painting that belongs to the family is in his hands - and, worse, they are prepared to go to any lengths to get hold of it.But as Earl of Stowey, Johnny has eight centuries of robber-baron blood pumping through his veins. He won't let the family fortune fall into the hands of others without a fight . . .

Read more less

What Money Can't Buy is the Top Ten Sunday Times Bestseller from 'the superstar philosopher', Michael SandelShould we financially reward children for good marks? Is it ethical to pay people to donate organs? What about hiring mercenaries to fight our wars, outsourcing inmates to for-profit prisons or selling citizenship? In recent decades, market values have impinged on almost every aspect of life - medicine, education, government, law, even family life. We have drifted from having a market economy to being a market society. In What Money Can't Buy Michael Sandel asks: Isn't there something wrong with a world in which everything is for sale? And how do we protect the things that really matter?'Brilliant, easily readable, beautifully delivered and often funny ... an indispensable book' David Aaronovitch, The Times'In a culture mesmerised by the market, Sandel's is the indispensable voice of reason' John Gray, New Statesman'Provocative and intellectually suggestive ... little less than a wake-up call' Rowan Williams, Prospect'A star philosopher ... entertaining and provocative' Diane Coyle, Independent 'Let's hope that What Money Can't Buy, by being so patient and accumulative in its argument and examples, marks a permanent shift in these debates' John Lanchester, GuardianMichael J. Sandel is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University. His legendary 'Justice' course is the first Harvard course made freely available online (www.JusticeHarvard.org) and on television. Hiss work has been translated into 15 languages and been the subject of television series in the U.K., the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Sweden, and the Middle East. He has delivered the Tanner Lectures at Oxford and been a visiting professor at the Sorbonne, Paris. In 2010, China Newsweek named him the "most influential foreign figure of the year" in China. Sandel was the 2009 BBC Reith Lecturer, and his most recent book Justice is an international bestseller.

Read more less

Stay healthy and achieve your ideal weight with the help of this portable and personal blood type guide. ___________It's science! Different blood types mean different body chemistries. Eating foods that your blood type can process easily can help you lose weight and ward off illness - as well as giving you bags of energy.Based on your genetic make-up, EAT RIGHT 4 YOUR BLOOD TYPE means eating foods that are compatible with your individual chemistry. For example, if your blood type is O, then you will enjoy your best health on a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. Carry this handy checklist with you wherever you go, so you can make the right food choices in the supermarket, while eating out or on holiday. Inside are comprehensive listings of what's right for Type O in all of the main food, drink and supplement categories, so you can avoid putting on those extra pounds or feeling unwell from eating the wrong thing.Soon you'll be on your way to developing the perfect prescription plan for your type.

Read more less

TLS BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2016'Gray must be one of the best read of contemporary philosophers, trawling insouciantly through high-, middle- and low-brow literature with the sharp-eyed eclecticism of a magpie of genius' John Banville, Guardian'Like Isaiah Berlin with a thing for sci-fi' Tibor Fischer, SpectatorEveryone thinks they want to be free - or do they? John Gray's thought-stirring new book on freedom draws together insights from Gnosticism, science fiction, ancient sacrifice and the occult to show that freedom is an illusion and that, like fairground puppets, humans dream of escaping the burden of choice altogether.

Read more less

In 1930 the great economist Keynes predicted that, over the next century, income would rise steadily, people's basic needs would be met and no one would have to work more than fifteen hours a week. Why was he wrong?Robert and Edward Skidelsky argue that wealth is not - or should not be - an end in itself, but a means to 'the good life'. Tracing the concept from Aristotle to the present, they show how far modern life has strayed from that ideal. They reject the idea that there is any single measure of human progress, whether GDP or 'happiness', and instead describe the seven elements which, they argue, make up the good life, and the policies that could realize them.ROBERT SKIDELSKY is Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Warwick. His biography of Keynes received numerous prizes, including the Lionel Gelber Prize and the Council on Foreign Relations Prize for International Relations. He was made a life peer in 1991, and a Fellow of the British Academy in 1994.EDWARD SKIDELSKY is a lecturer in the Philosophy Department of the University of Exeter. He contributes regularly to the New Statesman, Spectator and Prospect. His previous books include The Conditions of Goodness and Ernst Cassirer: The Last Philosopher of Culture.

Read more less

From the author of Wreck this Journal, Keri Smith's How to be an Explorer of the World is an invitation to rediscover the world around you.Artists and scientists analyze the world around them in surprisingly similar ways, by observing, collecting, documenting, analyzing, and comparing. In this captivating guided journal, readers are encouraged to explore their world as both artists and scientists.The mission Smith proposes? "To document and observe the world around you. As if you've never seen it before. Take notes. Collect things you find on your travels. Document findings. Notice patterns. Copy. Trace. Focus on one thing at a time. Record what you are drawn to."With a series of interactive prompts and a beautifully hand-illustrated two-colour package, readers will enjoy exploring and discovering the world through this gorgeous book.

Read more less

The powerful, beautiful and chilling sequel to the bestselling Straw Dogs'By nature volatile and discordant, the human animal looks to silence for relief from being itself while other creatures enjoy silence as their birthright'Why do humans seek meaning to life? How do our imaginations leap into worlds so far beyond our actual reality? In this chilling and beautiful sequel to Straw Dogs, John Gray explores how we decorate our existence with countless fictions, twisting and turning to avoid acknowledging that we too are animals. Drawing on an extraordinary array of writers who are mesmerized by extremity, from Ballard to Conrad, Gray makes us re-imagine our place in the world.

Read more less

WINNER OF THE EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE 2016A comic masterpiece about love, art, greed and the banking crisis, from the author of Skippy DiesWhat links the Investment Bank of Torabundo, www.myhotswaitress.com (yes, hots with an s, don't ask), an art heist, a novel called For the Love of a Clown, a four-year-old boy named after TV detective Remington Steele, a lonely French banker, a tiny Pacific island, and a pest control business run by an ex-KGB man? You guessed it . . . The Mark and the Void is Paul Murray's madcap new novel of institutional folly, following the success of his wildly original breakout hit, Skippy Dies. While marooned at his banking job in the bewilderingly damp and insular realm known as Ireland, Claude Martingale is approached by a down-on-his-luck author, Paul, looking for his next great subject. Claude finds that his life gets steadily more exciting under Paul's fictionalizing influence; he even falls in love with a beautiful waitress. But Paul's plan is not what it seems-and neither is Claude's employer, the Bank of Torabundo, which inflates through dodgy takeovers and derivatives-trading until-well, you can probably guess how that shakes out.The Mark and the Void is a stirring examination of the deceptions carried out in the names of art, love and commerce - and is also probably the funniest novel ever written about a financial crisis.

Read more less

'As ambitious as it is remarkable. Balances on seesaws of innocence and violence, sanity and lunacy, hilarity and horror' The Times_____________________________'We will all melt like ice-cream in the sun!'British soldier, East Africa, 1914On the Western Front millions are being slaughtered. But in East Africa a ridiculous and utterly ignored campaign is being waged - one that continues after the Armistice because no one bothers to tell the participants to stop.As the conflict sweeps up Africans and colonials, so those left at home and those fighting abroad find themselves unable to escape the tide of history bearing down on them._____________________________'A towering achievement' John Carey'Compulsively readable' Blake Morrison, Observer 'Funny, assured, a seriocomic romp. A study of people caught in the side pockets of calamity that dramatizes their plights with humour, detail and grit' Harper's

Read more less

'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, here turns his hyper-acute imagination on the near future - to supercharged, nerve-shredding effect.-----'Audacious, witty and passionate. A wonderful read' Observer'A stunner . . . a terrifically stylish burst of kick-butt imagination' Entertainment Weekly'Studded with crackling insights into the relationship between technology, culture and morality' Time Out

Read more less

David Bell embodies the American dream. He's twenty-eight, has survived office coups, scandals, and beaten lesser rivals, to become an extremely successful TV exec. The images that flicker across America's screens, the fantasies that enthrall viewers, they are of his making.But David's dream is turning sour, nightmarish. He wants reality, to touch, feel and record what is real. He takes a camera and journeys across America in a mad, roving quest to discover and capture some sense of his own and his country's past, present and future.Americana is Don DeLillo's brilliant first novel.

Read more less

On a cold night in Holland two men meet and change each other's lives forever. Max Delius - a hedonistic, yet brilliant astronomer who loves fast cars, nice clothes and beautiful women - picks up Onno Quist, a cerebral chaotic philologist who cannot bear the ordinariness of everyday life. Despite their differences, they fast become great friends.And when they learn they were conceived on the same day, it is clear that their meeting is no coincidence. As the pair fall into and out of love with the same woman - Ada - so their lives become further intertwined. For all three are on a mysterious journey destined to shape human history. The Discovery of Heaven is internationally recognized as a masterpiece. Rich in philosophical, psychological, historical and theological enquiry, it is an extravagant, bold and satisfying novel of ideas.

Read more less

40th anniversary edition of Richard Adams' picaresque saga about a motley band of rabbits - Watership Down is one of the most beloved novels of our time.Sandleford Warren is in danger. Hazel's younger brother Fiver is convinced that a great evil is about to befall the land, but no one will listen. And why would they when it is Spring and the grass is fat and succulent? So together Hazel and Fiver and a few other brave rabbits secretly leave behind the safety and strictures of the warren and hop tentatively out into a vast and strange world.Chased by their former friends, hunted by dogs and foxes, avoiding farms and other human threats, but making new friends, Hazel and his fellow rabbits dream of a new life in the emerald embrace of Watership Down . . .'A gripping story of rebellion in a rabbit warren and the subsequent adventures of the rebels. Adams has a poetic eye and a gift for storytelling which will speak to readers of all ages for many years to come' Sunday Times'A masterpiece. The best story about wild animals since The Wind in the Willows. Very funny, exciting, often moving' Evening Standard'A great book. A whole world is created, perfectly real in itself, yet constituting a deep incidental comment on human affairs' GuardianRichard Adams grew up in Berkshire, the son of a country doctor. After an education at Oxford, he spent six years in the army and then went into the Civil Service. He originally began telling the story of Watership Down to his two daughters and they insisted he publish it as a book. It quickly became a huge success with both children and adults, and won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award and the Carnegie Medal in 1972. Richard Adams has written many novels and short stories, including Shardik and The Plague Dogs.

Read more less