Search results for ""quercus publishing""
Quercus Publishing Vernon Subutex Two: "Funny, irreverent and scathing" GUARDIAN
**Sunday Times Best Books of 2018**"Funny, irreverent and scathing" Guardian"Virginie Despentes is a true original, a punk rock George Eliot" ALEXANDRA KLEEMAN, author of You Too Could Have a Body Like MineRock star Alexandre Bleach might be dead, but he has a secret. It's a secret that concerns several people, but the only person who can unlock it is Vernon Subutex, former record shop proprietor turned homeless messiah and guru, last seen hallucinating and feverish on a bench in the parc des Buttes Chaumont.Aïcha wants to know the truth behind the death of her mother, Vodka Satana. And if she finds the bastards responsible, she wants to make them pay, whatever Céleste thinks of her plan.Céleste wants Aïcha to get a grip and stop hanging around with Subutex's gang of disciples. The Hyena wants to find the Bleach tapes. She wants to untangle her complicated feelings about Anaïs, her boss' assistant. And speaking of her boss, she does not want Laurent Dopalet to discover how badly she has double-crossed him.Laurent Dopalet wants the Hyena to find and destroy the Bleach tapes. He wants to forget he ever knew Vodka Satana. He wants people to stop graffitiing his apartment with ludicrous allegations. Above all, he wants people to understand: NONE OF THIS IS HIS FAULT.THE SEQUEL TO VERNON SUBUTEX 1, SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE 2018.Translated from the French by Frank Wynne
£9.99
Quercus Publishing They Were Divided: The Transylvanian Trilogy, Volume III
"Perfect late night reading" JAN MORRIS "Banffy is a born storyteller" PATRICK LEIGH FERMOR "Totally absorbing" MARTHA KEARNEY "So evocative" SIMON JENKINSThe final volume of Miklos Banffy's panoramic trilogy of the dying years of the Habsburg empire.They Were Divided reflects the rapidly disintegrating course of events in Central Europe. In the foreground once again the lives of Balint, with his ultimately unhappy love for Adrienne, and his fatally flawed cousin, Laszlo Gyeroffy, who dies in poverty and neglect, are told with humour and a bitter-sweet nostalgia for a paradise lost through folly. The sinister and fast moving events in Montenegro, the Balkan wars, the apparent encirclement of Germany and Austria-Hungary by Britain, France and Russia, and finally the assassination of Franz Ferdinand all lead inexorably to the youth of Hungary marching off to their death and the dismemberment of their once great country.Volume three of the epic, sweeping and wholly immersive trilogy that began with They Were Counted, and continued with They Were Found Wanting.Translated from the Hungarian by Patrick Thursfield and Katalin Banffy-JelenWith a Foreword by Patrick Leigh-FermorWINNER OF THE WEIDENFELD TRANSLATION PRIZE
£12.99
Quercus Publishing Robert Louis Stevenson in Samoa
Shortlised for the Saltire Society Non Fiction Book of the Year Award Almost every adult and child is familiar with his Treasure Island, but few know that Robert Louis Stevenson lived out his last years on an equally remote island, which was squabbled over by colonial powers much as Captain Flint's treasure was contested by the mongrel crew of the Hispaniola.In 1890 Stevenson settled in Upolu, an island in Samoa, after two years sailing round the South Pacific. He was given a Samoan name and became a fierce critic of the interference of Germany, Britain and the U.S.A. in Samoan affairs - a stance that earned him Oscar Wilde's sneers, and brought him into conflict with the Colonial Office, who regarded him as a menace and even threatened him with expulsion from the island.Joseph Farrell's pioneering study of Stevenson's twilight years stands apart from previous biographies by giving as much weight to the Samoa and the Samoans - their culture, their manners, their history - as to the life and work of the man himself. For it is only by examining the full complexity of Samoa and the political situation it faced as the nineteenth century gave way to the twentieth, that Stevenson's lasting and generous contribution to its cause can be appreciated.
£12.99
Quercus Publishing The Crow Garden
'A chilling atmosphere of skulls, séances, secrets and hysteria' The Times Set a guard upon your soul . . . When Nathaniel Kerner takes up his new position as a mad-doctor at Crakethorne Manor, the proprietor, more interested in phrenology and his growing collection of skulls than his patients' minds, hands over the care of his most interesting case. Mrs Victoria Harleston's husband accuses her of hysteria and says he will pay any price to see her well. But she accuses him of something far more terrible . . . Nathaniel becomes increasingly obsessed with Victoria and her condition: is she truly delusional or is she hiding secrets that should never be uncovered? 'A Gothic masterpiece' The Lady
£10.04
Quercus Publishing Powder: The Greatest Ski Runs on the Planet
The most impressive, thrilling and scenic ski runs from one of the world's leading ski experts.Long descents, big verts, challenging pistes and stunning scenery, Powder is the definitive guide to the best and most feared ski runs on the planet. Whether you're a serious off-piste skier or a novice with alpine ambitions, this visually stunning guide will undoubtedly inspire the winter Olympian in all of us. Along with classic runs in Chamonix, Whistler and Jackson Hole, Powder will also take you to offbeat and exotic locations such as the Himalayas, the Atlas Mountains and the 2014 Olympic destination of Sochi in Russia - places notable not only for the fantastic skiing and snowboarding, but also for their extraordinary scenery. Powder is the ultimate bucket list for any snowsports enthusiast, challenging beginners and experts alike to take on the most breathtaking runs the world has to offer. Contents include: Mt St Elias, Alaska; Whitehorn 2, Lake Louise, Canada; Inferno, Mürren, Switzerland; Tortin, Verbier, Switzerland; Aiguille Rouge, Les Arcs, France; Klein Matterhorn Descent, Cervinia, Italy; Lyngen Peninsula, Norway; Sochi Olympic Downhill, Rosa Khutor, Russia; Mizuno no Sawa, Niseko, Japan; Everest, Mt Everest, Nepal; The Motatapu Chutes, Treble Cone, New Zealand; Fast One, Mt Buller, Australia; Mt Vinson, Antarctica.
£27.00
Quercus Publishing The Tears of Dark Water: Epic tale of conflict, redemption and common humanity
Daniel and Vanessa Parker are an American success story. He is a Washington, D.C. power broker, and she is a doctor with a thriving practice. But behind the façade, their marriage is a shambles, and their teenage son, Quentin, is self-destructing. In desperation, Daniel dusts off a long-delayed dream - a sailing trip around the world. Little does he know that the voyage he hopes will save them may destroy them instead. Half a world away, on the lawless coast of Somalia, Ismail Ibrahim is plotting the rescue of his sister, Yasmin, from the man who murdered their father. Driven to crime by love and loyalty, he hijacks ships for ransom money. There is nothing he will not do to save her, even if it means taking innocent life. Paul Derrick is the FBI's top hostage negotiator. His twin sister Megan, is a celebrated defense attorney. When Paul is called to respond to a hostage crisis at sea, he has no idea how far it will take them both into their traumatic past - or the chance it will give them to redeem the future. Across continents and oceans, through storms and civil wars, their paths converge in a single, explosive moment. It is a moment that will test them, and break them, but that will also leave behind a glimmer of hope: that out of the ashes of tragedy the seeds of justice and reconciliation can grow, not only for themselves but also for Somalia itself.
£9.99
Quercus Publishing Not That Kind of Love: the heart-breaking story of love and loss by Greg Wise
'A remarkable account of illness, loss and the power of sibling love' The Times'Wise's reflections on compassion fatigue are worth the price of this book alone, but what you take away is something splendid and unwearying: a sibling's devotion that feels remarkably like what we mean when we talk of a stage of grace.' Telegraph'Inspirational... profoundly uplifting' Daily Mail'Heartbreaking and inspiring in equal measure' Express'This is a fantastic book ... Remarkable' Lorraine Kelly_______A moving, thought-provoking and surprisingly humorous book which is both a description of a journey to death and a celebration of the act of living.Based on Clare Wise's blog, which she started when she was first diagnosed with cancer in 2013, Not That Kind of Love charts the highs and lows of the last three years of Clare's life. The end result is not a book that fills you with despair and anguish. On the contrary, Not That Kind of Love should be read by everybody for its candour, and for its warmth and spirit. Clare is an astonishingly dynamic, witty and fun personality, and her positivity and energy exude from every page.As she becomes too weak to type, her brother - the actor Greg Wise - takes over, and the book morphs into a beautiful meditation on life, and the necessity of talking about death.As Greg Wise writes in the book: 'Celebrate the small things, the small moments. If you find yourself with matching socks as you leave the house in the morning, that is a cause for celebration. If the rest of the day is spent finding the cure for cancer, or brokering world peace, then that's a bonus.'
£8.99
Quercus Publishing The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k: The bestselling book everyone is talking about
'Genius' Cosmopolitan 'The best book I have read recently ...Absolutely blinding. Read it. Do it.' Daily Mail The bestselling book everyone is talking about - our favourite anti-guru Sarah Knight reveals the surprising art of caring less and getting more. Are you stressed out, overbooked and underwhelmed by life? Fed up with pleasing everyone else before you please yourself? Then it's time to stop giving a f**k. This irreverent and practical book explains how to rid yourself of unwanted obligations, shame, and guilt - and give your f**ks instead to people and things that make you happy. From family dramas to having a bikini body, the simple 'NotSorry Method' for mental decluttering will help you unleash the power of not giving a f**k and will free you to spend your time, energy and money on the things that really matter. The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k: How to stop spending time you don't have with people you don't like doing things you don't want to do. 'Self-help with an edge' Vogue 'I love Knight's book before I even start reading it' Sunday Times Magazine Coming this December from our favourite anti-guru Sarah Knight: Get Your Sh*t Together - the must-have follow up and perfect companion to bestselling The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k.
£14.99
Quercus Publishing Eden in Winter
Two months after the suspicious and much-publicized death of his father on the island of Martha's Vineyard, it is taking all of Adam Blaine's character to suture the deep wounds - both within his family and himself - torn open by the tragedy. Moreover, as the court inquest into Benjamin Blaine's death continues, it is taking all of Adam's cunning to protect those closest to him from figures who still suspect that Adam's father was murdered by one of his kin. But the sternest test of all is Adam's proximity to Carla Pacelli - his late father's mistress; and a woman who, despite being pivotal to his family's plight, Adam finds himself increasingly drawn to. The closer he gets to this beautiful, mysterious woman, the further Adam feels from his troubles. Yet the closer he also comes to revealing the secrets he's strived to conceal, and condemning the people he's fought so hard to protect.
£10.99
Quercus Publishing The Woman Who Wouldn't Die: A Dr Siri Murder Mystery
Intrepid coroner Dr Siri is used to playing the lead in the dramas of his life. But this time his wife is centre stage. Madame Daeng is privy to a secret and it puts her in grave danger. And that's not all. When Siri whisks his wife away for a romantic weekend they walk straight into another mystery, meeting a woman who's been shot twice but is still clinging to life. Who would want to kill her and why? Dr Siri will have his work cut out to unravel this case, while keeping Madame Daeng away from those who want to harm her. But he soon discovers there's much more to his wife than meets the eye...
£9.99
Quercus Publishing Natalie and Romaine: The Lives and Loves of Natalie Barney and Romaine Brooks
Natalie Barney,'the wild girl of Cincinnati', and Romaine Brooks were both rich, American and grandly lesbian. They met in Paris in 1915 and their tempestuous affair lasted more than fifty years. By the end of their lives together, Natalie and Romaine had entertained, slept with, fallen in love with, tutored or tortured a range of figures including Gertrude Stein, Colette, Edith Sitwell, Gabriele d'Annunzio and the ballerina Ida Rubinstein. But among this tumult there was an enduring and loving relationship that supported a liberating spirit of culture, style and candour. In this vivid double biography, Souhami writes with complexity and skill, drawing the reader into a different world and capturing for ever her subjects' extraordinary lives.
£12.99
Quercus Publishing The Greek Myths: Stories of the Greek Gods and Heroes Vividly Retold
The Greek Myths contains some of the most thrilling, romantic and unforgettable stories in all human history. From Achilles rampant on the fields of Troy, to the gods at sport on Mount Olympus, from Icarus flying too close to the sun, to the superhuman feats of Heracles, Theseus and the wily Odysseus, these timeless tales exert a fascination and inspiration that have endured for millennia. There are few people as steeped in the Ancient World as Robin and Kathryn Waterfield, and in their hands the heroism, humour, mystery, sensuality and brutality of the Greek Myths are brought brilliantly to life.
£11.69
Quercus Publishing Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era
'I wish it was science fiction, but I know it's not.' Jaan Tallinn, co-founder of Skype'If you read just one book that makes you confront scary high-tech realities that we'll soon have no choice but to address, make it this one.' Washington Post Corporations and government agencies around the world have for years been pouring billions into achieving AI's Holy Grail - human-level intelligence. But once AI has attained it, scientists argue, it will have survival drives much like our own. We may be forced to compete with a rival more cunning, more powerful, and more alien than we can imagine.First published ten years ago, Our Final Invention predicted much of the artificial 'intelligence explosion' that is now ripping through our culture, and was named by Elon Musk as one of five books everyone should read about the future. Now with an urgent new preface, James Barrat's landmark work explores the ethics, history and future perils of the heedless pursuit of advanced AI. Until now, human intelligence has had no rival. Can we coexist with beings whose intelligence dwarfs our own? And will they allow us to?
£10.99
Quercus Publishing A Promise of Peridot
From Kate Golden, author of the instant bestseller and viral phenomenon A Dawn of Onyx, comes the next seductive, sweeping, action-packed installment in her addictive Sacred Stones trilogy.A prophecy of death. A weapon of hope. A sacrifice of love.Arwen Valondale is sailing for the mysterious Kingdom of Citrine after the battle of Siren''s Bay. Reeling from shocking revelations and her newfound powers, Arwen directs all of her pain and rage toward the man who betrayed her: King Kane Ravenwood.Kane''s presence is unavoidable as he travels with Arwen and her friends to seek the Blade of the Sun, a legendary weapon inextricably tied to her fate and the future of the realm. Even an uneasy truce proves difficult as Arwen fights against her unresolved feelings for Kane, who is willing to become darkness itself to protect her.As Arwen faces creatures, foes, and magic beyond her wildest imaginings, she must discover the secrets of her past to de
£14.99
Quercus Publishing Harmony: poems to find peace
From TikTok phenomenon Whitney Hanson, a brand-new collection of poems exploring the progression of a life through the elements of musicIn this collection of all new poems, Whitney Hanson explores the progression of a life through the lens of music. We each begin with a simple note, but as life progresses, we're led to the next note, and the next - all of which combine to form the melody of a song and the cadence of a life. As life becomes more complicated and complex, we find that loss, grief, and heartache can muffle our music, making the world go silent. But as Whitney's poems show, all of these rests and pauses in the music are part of the magnificent composition of life.Broken into four sections - melody, rest, crescendo, and harmony - the poems in Harmony explore childhood, friendship, grief, acceptance, and peace. The result is a collection that emphasizes the beauty of living a life at peace with all its musical variations.
£15.29
Quercus Publishing Home: poems to heal your heartbreak
From Tiktok phenomenon Whitney Hanson, a revised edition of her bestselling Home, now with a new introduction and more than a dozen new poems"the bees aren't going to go awaybut they are going to change with yousometimes they will be chaoticsometimes they will restsometimes they will give you sweet honeyand sometimes they will remind youof how much love can stingbut if you can find a home within yourselfand make peace with your beesyou will be alright"--from HomeResonant, raw, and vibrant, Home is a lyrical map to navigating heartbreak. Tracing the stages of healing - from the despair that comes with the end of a relationship to the eventual light and liberation that comes with time - the poems in Home provide comfort and solace, while revitalizing your soul - and helping you make peace with your bees.'I would buy it again!' 5* reader review'This book is everything I needed and more' 5* reader review'Best poet out there' 5* reader review'This book did wonders for my mental health and heartbreak' 5* reader review'Can't wait for what Whitney writes next' 5* reader review
£14.99
Quercus Publishing The Malevolent Seven: "Terry Pratchett meets Deadpool" in this darkly funny fantasy
From the bestselling author of THE GREATCOATS: seven war mages with dark pasts must come together to fight an unknown enemy - but the stakes are higher than anyone can imagine . . . and someone's setting the seven up for a fall. Picture a wizard. Go ahead, close your eyes. There he is, see? Skinny old guy with a long straggly beard. The hat's a must, too, right? Big, floppy thing. Wouldn't want a simple steel helmet or something that might, you know, protect the part of him most needed for conjuring magical forces from being bashed in with a mace (or pretty much any household object). Yep. Behold the mighty wizard. Now open your eyes and let me show you what a real war mage looks like . . . but be warned: you're probably not going to like it, because we're violent, angry, dangerously broken people who sell our skills to the highest bidder and be damned to any moral or ethical considerations. My name is Cade Ombra, and though I currently make my living as a mercenary wonderist, I used to have a far more noble-sounding job title - until I discovered the people I worked for weren't quite as noble as I'd believed. Now I'm on the run and my only friend, a homicidal thunder mage, has invited me to join him on a suicide mission against the seven deadliest mages on the continent. Time to recruit some very bad people to help us on this job . . .
£14.99
Quercus Publishing User Experience Design: An Introduction to Creating Interactive Digital Spaces
'A great introduction to the subject and a fascinating read.'- James Friedlander-Boss, Brand Experience Manager, vvast'An accessible but comprehensive introduction to UX Design.' - Dave Watson, Norwich University of the ArtsWe all engage with digital user experience design and user interfaces every day - if you are reading this on an e-commerce platform then you are doing it right now. This is an invaluable introduction for designers and creatives on how to create successful digital environments for users.The discipline of design is increasingly carried out in the virtual sphere, with a greater emphasis on user interaction and user experience than ever before. This book takes students through the crucial stages and skills that are needed for creating successful interactive digital environments, including:- Data collection- User analysis - Testing- Creating valid content- Design for different devices and platforms- Prototyping and visualizationVisual examples range from screen shots to diagrams and physical prototypes, while case studies featuring digital agencies and creatives from around the world show how they approach each project.
£22.50
Quercus Publishing Winter Swimming: The Nordic Way Towards a Healthier and Happier Life
***As featured on Dr Rangan Chatterjee's FEEL BETTER, LIVE MORE podcast***"Loads of practical guidance, all the scientific studies . . . beautiful photos and illustrations" Dr Rangan Chatterjee A beautifully illustrated exploration of cold-water traditions in Scandinavia and around the world, and a factual, scientific account of why winter swimming gives such a boost to body and soul.Whether in lake, lido, river or sea, we know the benefits of swimming outdoors and in nature - environmentally friendly and accessible, it can influence our happiness, our energy and our inner tranquility, and give us that winter glow.Danish scientist Dr Susanna Søberg leads us step by step into the icy water and explains the "cold-shock response", the massive endorphin rush as our body reacts and adapts to very cold temperatures through the winter season. Not only do our circulation, heart, lungs and skin respond positively, but our immune system, metabolism and mental health too. In particular she explains how our "brown fat" is activated to benefit multiple health conditions.Winter swimming is fast becoming one of our most popular pastimes. This beautifully illustrated exploration of cold-water traditions in Scandinavia and around the world shows how it can have a significant positive impact on our physical and mental health, confidence and well-being, providing such a boost to body and soul.Praise for Winter Swimming:"Full of brilliant insights . . . an inspiring book" Stylist Christmas Gift Guide 2022"It's all the encouragement you need to dip a toe in icy waters" Woman & Home"Packed with stunning photography" Red Magazine"A perfect gift" My Weekly"A blend of how, and why, and what . . . A beautiful celebration . . . Visual inspiration for anyone hovering on the edge" Sunday Independent"Take an uplifting dip into Winter Swimming" Stylist's "Ultra List"Translated from the Danish by Elizabeth DeNoma
£22.50
Quercus Publishing A Chateau Under Siege
France''s favourite country cop, Bruno, faces a dangerous threat to the town he polices and the people he protects. Loved by millions, the Dordogne Mysteries are the perfect mix of mystery and escapism.The event of the Périgord tourist season is the re-enactment of the liberation of the historic town of Sarlat from the English in 1370. But it all goes wrong when the man playing the part of the victorious French general collapses in a pool of blood.The question for chief of police Bruno is was this an accident - or deliberate? The stakes rise when Bruno learns that the man, Kerquelin, was running Frenchelon, the secret French electronic intelligence base nearby, after being recruited from a brilliant Silicon Valley career.As he investigates, Bruno discovers that Kerquelin''s wound was faked, that he is alive and well and secretly negotiating a massive deal to build a semi-conductor industry in France. But then a whole new and dangerous player emerges,
£10.99
Quercus Publishing Anti-Semitism Revisited: How the Rabbis Made Sense of Hatred
"Anti-Semitism revisited in a wholly original way" Philippe Sands"Rippling with ideas on every page" Jewish Chronicle"Tackles the issue [of anti-semitism] from the perspective of a country where its manifestations have been more vicious and deadly" Financial TimesRabbi Delphine Horvilleur analyses the phenomenon of anti-semitism as it is viewed by those who endure it and who, through narration and literature, succeed in overcoming it. Jewish texts are replete with treatments of anti-semitism, of this endlessly paradoxical hatred, and of the ways in which Jews are perceived by others. But here, the focus is inverted: Anti-Semitism Revisited explores the hatred of Jews as seen through the lens of the sacred texts, rabbinical tradition and Jewish lore. Delphine Horvilleur gives a voice to those who are too often deprived of one, examining resilience in the face of adversity and the legacy of an ancient hatred that is often misunderstood. An engaging, hopeful and very original examination of anti-semitism: what it means, where it comes from, what are the ancient myths and tropes that are weaponised against Jewish people, and how do we take them apart.Translated from the French by David Bellos
£9.67
Quercus Publishing The Great Commanders of the Early Modern World 1567-1865
What qualities made the Duke of Wellington a strategic genius? How did Oliver Cromwell, a gentleman farmer create an army that overthrew a king and changed the course of British history? Why was Simon Bolivar able to overcome early reverses to become the greatest figure in the Latin American struggle against Spanish colonialism? The answers to these and a myriad other fascinating questions can be found in Great Commanders of the Early Modern World, a sumptuous chronological survey of the 25 greatest commanders of the early modern world. Compiled by an distinguished team of historians (including such names as Antonia Fraser, Saul David and Stephen Brumwell) working under the general editorship of Andrew Roberts, Great Commanders of the Early Modern World is an authoritative and beautifully illustrated account of the lives and careers of the 25 greatest military commanders of the period, from the Duke of Marlborough to Napoleon Bonaparte, from Robert Clive to Carl von Clausewitz, and from Frederick the Great to Shaka Zulu. Every commander is profiled in a concise and informative 3000-word article which not only brings its subject vividly to life via a lively, fact-driven narrative, but also analyses and assesses his tactical and strategic gifts. As accessible and informative as it is rigorous and scholarly, Great Commanders of the Early Modern World is the perfect introduction to its subject for the layperson - but also a stimulating and thought-provoking read for those with greater knowledge of military history. With its companion volumes, focusing on the great commanders of the ancient, medieval and modern eras, it forms an indispensable guide to the greatest generals the world has seen.
£12.99
Quercus Publishing The Secret History of the World
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERThe complete history of the world, from the beginning of time to the present day, based on the beliefs and writings of the secret societies.Jonathan Black examines the end of the world and the coming of the Antichrist - or is he already here? How will he make himself known and what will become of the world when he does? - and the end of Time. Having studied theology and learnt from initiates of all the great secret societies of the world, Jonathan Black has learned that it is possible to reach an altered state of consciousness in which we can see things about the way the world works that hidden from our everyday commonsensical consciousness. This history shows that by using secret techniques, people such as Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton and George Washington have worked themselves into this altered state - and been able to access supernatural levels of intelligence. This book will leave you questioning every aspect of your life and spotting hidden messages in the very fabric of society and life itself. It will open your mind to a new way of living and leave you questioning everything you have been taught - and everything you've taught your children.
£15.99
Quercus Publishing Death of a Translator: A young reporter's journey to the heart of Afghanistan's forgotten war
"I have never read anything that so fully and perfectly captured the personal experience and the personal aftermath of war" P. J. O'RourkeA young, devil-may-care Englishman reporting on the Soviet war makes a fateful commitment to a swashbuckling Afghan guerrilla commander. Not only will he go inside the capital secretly and live in the network of safe houses run by the resistance, he will travel around the city in a Soviet Army jeep, dressed as a Russian officer. Waiting in the mountain camp, from where Niazuldin's band of fighters lived and planned their hit-and-run attacks on Soviet troops, Ed Gorman discovers what it means to experience combat with men whose only interest is to be killed or martyred.After that summer in Kabul province the young freelancer became a staff reporter for The Times, covering conflicts in Northern Ireland, the Gulf, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Balkans, but Afghanistan never let him go. Death of a Translator is a searingly honest description of a mind haunted and eventually paralysed by the terror of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder."Death of a Translator is a powerful and personal read. Ed Gorman discusses his experiences in an incredibly open and moving way. His story is an example to us all" - Brigadier Ed Butler CBE, DSOWith a new preface by Ed Gorman
£11.55
Quercus Publishing Of Men and Angels
'Arditti is a master storyteller who uses his theological literacy sparingly to deliver a challenging but enthralling read' GuardianAward-winning, bestselling author Michael Arditti's tenth novel, documenting the history of homophobia and religion.God's vengeance on the wicked city of Sodom is a perennial source of fascination and horror. Michael Arditti's passionate and enthralling new novel explores the enduring power of the myth in five momentous epochs.A young Judean exile transcribes the Acts of Abraham and Lot in ancient Babylon; the Guild of Salters presents a mystery play of Lot's Wife in medieval York; Botticelli paints the Destruction of Sodom for a court in Renaissance Florence; a bereaved rector searches for the Cities of the Plain in nineteenth century Palestine; a closeted gay movie star portrays Lot in a controversial biblical epic in 1980s Hollywood. With its interrelated narratives and interwoven documents, Of Men and Angels is both formally inventive and imaginatively rich. Abounding in characters as vivid as they are varied, from temple prostitutes and palace eunuchs, through fanatical friars and humanist poets, to Bedouin tribesmen, Russian exiles and, of course, angels, this is a novel of breathtaking scope, penetrating insight and profound human sympathy.
£9.99
Quercus Publishing See You Tomorrow
"Intense, riotous, funny, sexy and thrilling . . . Renberg is a great writer" MATT HAIG"An exceptional novel . . . majestic page-turner" KARL OVE KNAUSGAARDPal has a shameful secret that has dragged him into huge debt, much more than he can ever hope to pay back on his modest salary as a civil servant. He's desperate that nobody finds out especially not his teenage daughters or his ex-wife. It's time to get creative. Sixteen-year-old Sandra also has a secret. She's in love with the impossibly charming delinquent Daniel William, a love so strong and pure that nothing can get in its way. Not her concerned parents, not Jesus, and certainly not some other girl. Cecilie has the biggest secret of them all, a baby growing inside her. She can only hope that her boyfriend Rudi is the child's father. But although she loves him intensely, she feels trapped in their small-time criminal existence, and dreams of an escape from it all. Over three fateful September days, these lives cross in a whirlwind of brutality, laughter, tragedy and love that will change them forever. A fast-paced, moving and darkly funny page-turner about people who are trying to fill the holes in their lives, See You Tomorrow combines horror and hope, heavy metal music and literary marvels to become a startlingly original, eerie and hilarious novel about friendship, crime, loneliness and tragic death.Translated from the Norwegian by Sean KinsellaWINNER OF AN ENGLISH PEN AWARD
£9.04
Quercus Publishing Gold, Frankincense and Dust: A Commissario Soneri Investigation
Parma. A multiple pile-up occurs on the autostrada into the city. A truck transporting cattle skids off the road. Dozens of cows and bulls go on the rampage, injured and crazed. In the chaos, the burned body of a young woman is found at the side of the road. Her death has no apparent link to the carnage. Commissario Soneri is assigned the case. It is a welcome distraction: his mercurial lover Angela has decided to pursue other options, leaving him even more morose than usual. The dead woman is identified as Nina Iliescu, a Romanian immigrant whose beauty had enchanted a string of wealthy lovers. Temptress, muse, angel - she was all things to all men. Her murder conceals a crime and a sacrilege, and even in death she has a surprise waiting for Soneri.
£9.99
Quercus Publishing When Memory Dies
The Buddha taught that to live is to experience suffering. Few family sagas, especially first ones, have captured this aspect of suffering and so many other truths in as lyric a fashion as "When Memory Dies". Through the viewpoints of three generations of a Sri Lankan family (taking the reader from 1920 through the 1980s), Sivanandan explores a culture destroyed first by colonization, then through the ethnic divisions that are released when the country achieves independence. The family, which lives at a level of poverty that makes survival a constant struggle, must also balance love for one another with a deep love of their homeland. Without bending to romanticism or proselytization, the author evokes a compelling and very human story of a lost country. It is a vision as beautifully told as it is unrelenting in its devotion to truth. In the process, the work also supplies a rich historic background to the often underreported news accounts of the massacres and upheavals in Sri Lanka.
£10.30
Quercus Publishing Parallel Lines: A Journey from Childhood to Belsen
"I have read few autobiographies more extraordinary . . . Astonishing" OBSERVER"A classic. I preferred it to Primo Levi's If This is a Man" EDWARD WILSON"A child's clear-eyed journey to hell" ANNE SEBBAThis is a story of a young boy's journey from a sleepy provincial town in Hungary during the Second World War to the concentration camp in Bergen-Belsen. After a winter in Bergen-Belsen where his father died, he and his mother were liberated by the Americans outside a small German village, and handed over to the Red Army. They escaped from the Russians, and travelled, hiding on a goods train, through Prague to Budapest. Unlike other books dealing with this period, this is not a Holocaust story, but a child's recollection of a journey full of surprise, excitement, bereavement and terror. Yet this remains a testimony of survival, overcoming obstacles which to adults may seem insurmountable but to a child were just part of an adventure and, ultimately, recovery. After having established a career in the West, the author decided to revisit the stages on his earlier journeys, reliving the past through the perspective of the present. Along the way, ghosts from the past are finally laid to rest by the kindness of new friends.With an introduction by Lisa Appignanesi
£10.04
Quercus Publishing Lorraine Connection
The players in this deadly-serious game of Monopoly will stop at nothing.In Pondange, Lorraine, the Korean Daewoo group manufactures cathode ray tubes. Working conditions are abysmal, but as it's the only source of employment in this bleak former iron and steel-manufacturing region, the workers daren't protest. Until a strike breaks out, and there's a fire at the factory. But is it an accident? The Pondange factory is at the centre of a strategic battle being played out in Paris, Brussels and Asia for the takeover of the ailing state-owed electronic giant, Thomson. Unexpectedly the Matra-Daewoo alliance wins the bid. Rival contender Alcatel believes there's foul play involved and brings in the big guns led by its head of security service. Intrepid private cop Charles Montoya is called to Lorraine to investigate, and explosive revelations follow - dirty tricks, blackmail and murder.
£9.04
Quercus Publishing A River in May
A magnificent debut novel, which follows in the spirit of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, in which an alienated student named Lopez joins the Vietnam war to escape from his past and himself. Forced out of self-pity by the brutality and injustice surrounding him, Lopez begins to shed his layers of acquired culture, identifying instead with the Vietnamese and their cause. 'Stylistically sophisticated, visually and emotionally present; the pace is good and the author knows how to hold the reader's attention.' y
£10.99
Quercus Publishing The Sins of our Fathers: Arctic Murders Book 6
"Larsson is one of the best current practitioners of Scandinavian crime fiction" Financial Times"A masterful storyteller . . . An astute social commentator" Sunday ExpressWinner of the Best Swedish Crime Novel of the Year 2021 (Swedish Crime Writers' Academy)Winner of the Storytel Award for Best Suspense Novel 2021Winner of the Adlibris Award for Best Suspense Novel 2021 Forensic pathologist Lars Pohjanen has only a few weeks to live when he asks Rebecka Martinsson to investigate a murder that has long since passed the statute of limitations. A body found in a freezer at the home of the deceased alcoholic, Henry Pekkari, has been identified as a man who disappeared without a trace in 1962: the father of Swedish Olympic boxing champion Börje Ström. Rebecka wants nothing to do with a fifty-year-old case - she has enough to worry about. But how can she ignore a dying man's wish?When the post-mortem confirms that Pekkari, too, was murdered, Rebecka has a red-hot investigation on her hands. But what does it have to do with the body kept in his freezer for decades? Meanwhile, the city of Kiruna is being torn down and moved a few kilometres east, to make way for the mine that has been devouring the city from below. With the city in flux, the tentacles of organized crime are slowly taking over . . .Fragile yet fierce Rebecka Martinsson returns in a spellbinding addition to the Arctic Murders series, now a Walter Presents drama for television.Translated from the Swedish by Frank Perry
£10.99
Quercus Publishing The Lonely Hearts Hotel: the Bailey's Prize longlisted novel
'Joyful, funny and vividly alive' Emily St John Mandel'The Lonely Hearts Hotel sucked me right in and only got better and better . . . I began underlining truths I had hungered for' Miranda July'Makes me think of comets and live wires . . . raises goosebumps' Helen Oyeyemi'A fairytale laced with gunpowder' Kelly Link The Lonely Hearts Hotel is a love story with a difference. Set throughout the roaring twenties, it is a wicked fairytale of circus tricks and child prodigies, radical chorus girls, drug-addicted musicians and brooding clowns, set in an underworld whose economy hinges on the price of a kiss. It is the tale of two dreamers, abandoned in an orphanage where they were fated to meet. Here, in the face of cold, hunger and unpredictable beatings, Rose and Pierrot create a world of their own, shielding the spark of their curiosity from those whose jealousy will eventually tear them apart. When they meet again, each will have changed, having struggled through the Depression, through what they have done to fill the absence of the other. But their childhood vision remains - a dream to storm the world, a spectacle, an extravaganza that will lift them out of the gutter and onto a glittering stage. Heather O'Neill's pyrotechnical imagination and language are like no other. In this she has crafted a dazzling circus of a novel that takes us from the underbellies of war-time Montreal and Prohibition New York, to a theatre of magic where anything is possible - where an orphan girl can rule the world, and a ruined innocence can be redeemed.
£9.99
Quercus Publishing The Devil's Recruit: Alexander Seaton 4, from the author of the prizewinning Seeker series
1635, Aberdeen. A girl lies dead in a frozen garden. A young man goes missing after a drunken brawl. A sinister cloaked figure watches from the shadows. The missing student, son of a Highland chief, is in Alexander Seaton's class. When the young man's companion turns up bruised and bloodied, suspicion mounts that he has murdered his friend. But Alexander is convinced that there's another explanation. Drawn ever deeper into the mystery, Alexander realises that the man in the shadows is known to him and that the strange events in the town are linked to his own past.
£10.30
Quercus Publishing Where Women are Kings: from the author of The Language of Kindness
Elijah, seven years old, is covered in scars and has a history of disruptive behaviour. His adoptive mother Nikki believes that she and her husband Obi are strong enough to accept his difficulties - and that being white will not affect her ability to raise a black son. Elijah's birth mother Deborah loves her son like the world has never known. Elijah thinks it's his fault they can't be together. Each of them faces more challenges than they could have dreamed, but just as Elijah starts to settle in, a shocking event rocks their fragile peace and the result is devastating.
£9.99
Quercus Publishing Six Graves to Munich
In the final days of the Second World War, Michael Rogan, an American intelligence officer, is tortured by a group of seven senior Gestapo officers who need to discover the secrets he alone can give them. Ten years later, when he has recovered from the appalling injuries he suffered, and determined to revenge the death of his wife at the hands of the same men, he begins a quest to track down and kill each one of his tormentors. Dark, violent, and graphic, this is an addictive thriller about how far one man will go to exact his own justice. Written a year before Puzo completed The Godfather, published under a pseudonym and only very recently brought to light, Six Graves to Munich bears all the hallmarks of a master storyteller.
£9.04
Quercus Publishing The Fighting Temeraire: Legend of Trafalgar (Hearts of Oak Trilogy Vol.1)
J.M.W. Turner's The Fighting Temeraire Tugged to her Last Berth to be Broken Up (1838) was his masterpiece. Sam Willis tells the real-life story behind this remarkable painting. The 98-gun Temeraire warship broke through the French and Spanish line directly astern of Nelson's flagship Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), saving Nelson at a crucial moment in the battle, and, in the words of John Ruskin, fought until her sides ran 'wet with the long runlets of English blood...those pale masts that stayed themselves up against the war-ruin, shaking out their ensigns through the thunder, till sail and ensign dropped.' It is a story that unites the art of war as practised by Nelson with the art of war as depicted by Turner and, as such, it ranges across an extensive period of Britain's cultural and military history in ways that other stories do not. The result is a detailed picture of British maritime power at two of its most significant peaks in the age of sail: the climaxes of both the Seven Years' War (1756-63) and the Napoleonic Wars (1798-1815). It covers every aspect of life in the sailing navy, with particular emphasis on amphibious warfare, disease, victualling, blockade, mutiny and, of course, fleet battle, for it was at Trafalgar that the Temeraire really won her fame. An evocative and magnificent narrative history by a master historian.
£16.99
Quercus Publishing The Merry Misogynist
Somebody in Laos is wooing and wedding country girls - and then killing them on honeymoon and binding their bodies to trees. The horror of what this monster does to his victims appals Dr Siri and his morgue team and they vow revenge. But they're distracted by the disappearance of itinerant Crazy Rajid. Siri has been getting premonitions that he's in danger. A trail of elaborate clues and remarkable disclosures about the Indian's past lead them to Vientiane's most ancient temple - and a terrible discovery.
£9.99
Quercus Publishing The Great British Bobby: A history of British policing from 1829 to the present
The Victorians called him 'Bobby' after Sir Robert Peel, the Home Secretary who created the Metropolitan Police in 1829. The generations that followed came to regard the force in which he served as 'the best police in the world'. If twenty-first century observers sometimes take a more jaundiced view of his efforts, the blue-helmeted, unarmed policeman remains an icon of Britishness, and a symbol of the relatively peaceful nature of our social evolution. In The Great British Bobby, Clive Emsley traces the development of Britain's forces of law and order from the earliest watchmen and constables of the pre-modern period to the police service of today. He examines in detail such milestones in police history as the establishment of the Bow Street Runners in the 1740s, the Police Acts of 1839, the introduction of women police officers during the First World War, and the Macpherson Report of 1999 into the death of Stephen Lawrence. Threaded through his narrative are case-studies of real-life Bobbies, drawn from police archives, evoking the day-to-day reality of the policeman's lot over two and a half centuries: the boredom of patrolling on foot in all weathers, the threats to life and limb of policing rough areas, and the diverse historical challenges of industrial unrest, the growth of cities, the arrival of the motor car and the ethnic diversification of society. From Robert Grubb, patrolling the mean streets of Georgian London with rattle and cudgel, to Norwell Roberts, the first black officer to be appointed to the Metropolitan Police, The Great British Bobby presents a cast of mostly honest coppers performing a testing role to the best of their ability. A distinguished historian and criminologist, Clive Emsley is ideally placed to tell - candidly but affectionately - the fascinating story of Britain's police force. The Great British Bobby is nothing less than a social history of Britain over the last 250 years, viewed through the prism of one of its most remarkable and distinctive institutions.
£12.99
Quercus Publishing Present Danger
MI5 officer Liz Carlyle is posted to Northern Ireland. From the moment she lands in Belfast, danger follows. She soon discovers that the peace process in the province is precarious. Then a source reports strange goings-on at a house on the Irish Sea owned by the Fraternity, an organisation Liz suspects of being a front for renegade former IRA men. Its head is Seamus Piggott, an Irish-American with a gun-running past. When another informant reports a plot is being hatched against the security forces, Liz and her colleague Dave Armstrong suspect Piggott is involved, along with a former French Intelligence officer. Moving from London to Belfast to the South of France, the latest Stella Rimington Liz Carlyle novel is a propulsive thriller filled with action and nail-biting suspense.
£9.99
Quercus Publishing Midsummer Nights: Tales from the Opera:: with Kate Atkinson, Sebastian Barry, Ali Smith & more
In celebration of the Glyndebourne Festival, Jeanette Winterson has brought together some of the best loved and most critically acclaimed authors writing today to pen stories inspired by opera. Includes an introduction by Jeanette Winterson, Alexander McCall Smith on Cosi Fan Tutte, Ali Smith on Fidelio, Andrew Motion on Peter Grimes, Andrew O'Hagan on Eugene Onegin, Anne Enright on La Boheme, Antonia Fraser on The Marriage of Figaro, Colm Toibin on Pearl Fishers, Jackie Kay on The Makropulos Affair, Joanna Trollope on L'Elisir d'Amore, Julie Myerson on Ariadne auf Naxos, Jeanette Winterson on La Fanciulla del West, Kate Atkinson on La Traviata, Kate Mosse on Pelleas et Melisande, Lynne Truss on The Turn of the Screw, Marina Warner on Dido and Aeneas, Paul Bailey on The Makropulos Affair, Posy Simmonds, 'Midsummer Night at Glyndebourne', Ruth Rendell on Theodora, Sebastian Barry on Natoma, Toby Litt on Don Giovanni.
£9.04
Quercus Publishing Madame Tussaud
When Marie moves from her family's waxwork museum into the palace of Versailles, her whole life is set to change...When Marie Tussaud learns the exciting news the royal family will be visiting her famed wax museum, the Salon de Cire, she never dreams that the king's sister will request her presence at Versailles: as a royal tutor in wax sculpting. As Marie familiarizes herself with Princess Elisabeth and begins to know Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, she witnesses the glamorous life of court, a very different world from her home on the Boulevard du Temple of Paris where bread can only be had on the black market and men sell their teeth to put food on the their tables. The year is 1788 and men like Desmoulins, Marat, and Robespierre are meeting in the salons of Paris speaking against the monarchy; there's whispered talk of revolution. Spanning five years from budding revolution to the Reign of Terror, Madame Tussaud brings us into the world of an incredible heroine whose talent for wax moulding saved her life and preserved the faces of a vanished kingdom.
£9.99
Quercus Publishing Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo and the Making of the Animal Kingdom
Sean Carroll explores how evolution has shaped nature's wondrous complexity and diversity, from insects to octopuses, from mice to men.We not only share nearly 99% of our genes with chimps, we also have some 35% in common with daffodils. Throughout much of the animal and even plant kingdoms, almost the same ancient genes code for almost the same proteins. And further, to everyone's astonishment, the genes involved in making the complex eyes of fruitflies are close matches to those involved in making the very different eyes of octopuses and people. So what leads to the nature's 'endless forms most beautiful'? The key to this mystery is being unravelled by 'Evo Devo' or the new science of evolutionary development biology. By looking at how a single-celled egg gives rise to a complex, multi-billion celled animal, Evo Devo is illuminating exactly how new species - butterflies and zebras, trilobites and dinosaurs, apes and humans - are made and evolved. The key, it turns out, is all about location and timing... For anyone who has ever pondered 'where did I come from', Endless Forms Most Beautiful explores our history, both the journey we have all made from egg to adult, and the long trek from the origin of life to the very recent origin of our species.
£12.99
Quercus Publishing History without the Boring Bits: A Curious Chronology of the World
Conventional chronologies of world history concentrate on the reigns of kings and queens, the dates of battles and treaties, the publication dates of great books, the completion of famous buildings, the deaths of iconic figures, and the years of major discoveries. But there are other more interesting stories to tell - stories which can bring the past vividly and excitingly to life. Imagine a book that tells you the date of the ancient Roman law that made it legal to break wind at banquets; the name of the defunct medieval pope whose putrefying corpse was subjected to the humiliation of a trial before a court of law; the identity of the priapic monarch who sired more bastards than any other king of England; and last but not least the date of the demise in London of the first goat to have circumnavigated the globe - twice. Imagine a book crammed with such deliciously disposable information, and you have History without the Boring Bits. By turns bizarre, surprising, trivial, and enlightening, History without the Boring Bits offers rich pickings for the browser, and entertainment and inspiration aplenty for those who have grown weary of more conventional works of history.
£12.99
Quercus Publishing Legal Highs: Inside Secrets of the World's Newest and Deadliest Drugs
Legal Highs are without doubt the biggest drug scourge to blight the world since recreational drugs first hit the streets more than 100 years ago. Their growing menace opens up a new front in the drug war, shifting the battle line from the Colombian jungles, Moroccan valleys, Afghan hills and the Winnebagos of New Mexico to especially constructed laboratories on the outskirts of Shanghai and other cities across the globe.But who are the shadowy characters behind the extravagant new drugs such as 'bath salts' and 'Miaow Miaow'? The scientists, the rogue boffins, the factory sweat-shop workers, the smugglers, the suppliers, and, ultimately, the dealers who sell tens of millions of packets of these substances every week? Why are so many people from all walks of life now consuming Legal Highs in such large quantities? This book will go inside the lives of all these people to reveal for the first time the true stories behind the emergence of the most deadly narcotics the world has ever seen.
£9.04
Quercus Publishing The Bickford Fuse
Catch-22 meets The Brothers Karamazov in the last great satire of the Soviet EraThe Great Patriotic War is stumbling to a close, but a new darkness has fallen over Soviet Russia. And for a disparate, disconnected clutch of wanderers - many thousands of miles apart but linked by a common goal - four parallel journeys are just beginning.Gorych and his driver, rolling through water, sand and snow on an empty petrol tank; the occupant of a black airship, looking down benevolently as he floats above his Fatherland; young Andrey, who leaves his religious community in search of a new life; and Kharitonov, who trudges from the Sea of Japan to Leningrad, carrying a fuse that, when lit, could blow all and sundry to smithereens.Written in the final years of Communism, The Bickford Fuse is a satirical epic of the Soviet soul, exploring the origins and dead-ends of the Russian mentality from the end of World War Two to the Union's collapse. Blending allegory and fable with real events, and as deliriously absurd as anything Kurkov has written, it is both an elegy for lost years and a song of hope for a future not yet set in stone.Translated from the Russian by Boris Dralyuk
£10.99
Quercus Publishing Thief
From the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of Beneath a Scarlet SkyAs a CIA operative, Robin Monarch was the US government's most valuable asset. Nowadays, as a rogue international thief, he answers to only himself. So when Monarch finds himself in the darkest recesses of the Amazon jungle - very much against his own wishes - he is on unfamiliar terrain in more ways than one. THE PRIZE HE MUST STEAL. Deep within the Brazilian rainforest lies a secret of incalculable value to mankind. Robin Monarch must locate and extract this enigmatic treasure: not for greed or gain, but because a life, that of the woman dearest to him, is at stake. THE PERSON HE MUST SAVE. Sister Rachel Diego del Mar, the missionary who saved Monarch's life when he was a homeless orphan, has been kidnapped by a vengeful past adversary. If Monarch does not give his enemy the Amazon's secret, they will take her life. Unaccustomed to failure, and unprepared to let his nemesis prevail, Monarch has vowed to deliver - first the coveted prize, then his full, uncompromising retribution.
£9.99
Quercus Publishing The Canary Girls: The Bomb Girls 2
In love and war, who can you trust? 1944, Hampshire. Her face still bearing the scars from the explosion at the factory, Rita Brown is nonetheless back on her feet. She's caught the eye of local wide boy Blackie Bristow, who's sweeping her around the country in a life of shady glamour. But there's a war on, and life is not all fun and games. Some of the local men are taking advantage of the topsy-turvy world to break more than just hearts, and standing up to them comes with its own costs. Rita keeps calm and carries on with a little help from her friends at the factory. But then she discovers someone there has been leaking secrets to the Germans. With D-Day on the horizon, Rita must work out who she can rely on - and fast.
£9.04