Search results for ""bloomsbury publishing""

Saturnine and quick-tempered, the formidable North Sea is often overlooked – even by those living within a stone’s throw of its steel-grey waters. But as playground, theatre of war and cultural crossing-point, it has shaped the world in myriad ways, forged villains and heroes, and determined the fates of nations. It’s not all grim, though: the seaside holiday was born on North Sea beaches, and artists, poets and writers have been as equally inspired by glinting sun on the wave-tops as they have the drama of a winter storm. With a wry eye and a warm coat, Tom Blass travels the edges of the North Sea meeting fishermen, artists, bomb disposal experts, burgermeisters – and those who have found themselves flung to the sea’s perimeters quite by chance. In doing so he attempts to piece together its manifold histories and to reveal truths, half-truths and fictions otherwise submerged...

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As if finding out that you're no ordinary schoolgirl but a fairy princess wasn't enough, now Tamisin has been stolen away by fairies! In this delightful sequel to Fairy Wings, the fairy princess Tamisin has been kidnapped from her home in the human world by Oberon, king of the fairies, who thinks he's her father. When Tamisin's boyfriend, Jak, finds out, he sets off to rescue her. In this funny and heart-warming chase through the land of fairies, goblins, sphinxes, unicorns and many more, Tamisin and Jak must look for each other, and find their way back to the human world.

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When a rogue Russian spy warns her of a plot to hack into the West's military satellite systems, MI5's Liz Carlyle finds her past catching up with her... Geneva, 2012. A Russian intelligence officer approaches MI5 with vital information about the imminent cyber-sabotage of an Anglo-American Defence programme, but refuses to talk to anyone but Liz Carlyle. At a tracking station in Nevada, US Navy officers watch in horror as one of their unmanned drones plummets out of the sky, and panic spreads through the British and American Intelligence services. Is this a Russian plot to disable the West's defences? Or is the threat coming from elsewhere? As Liz and her team hunt for a mole inside the MOD, the trail leads them from Geneva, to Marseilles and into a labyrinth of international intrigue, in a race against time to stop the Cold War heating up once again... THE DEVIL'S BARGAIN, the brand-new thriller from Stella Rimington, is out now.

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A story of becoming an artist, by the godmother of rock'n'roll: the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids Patti Smith 'A poet of distinction' New York Times 'Glorious' NPR 'Rare and ferocious' Salon 'Shockingly beautiful' New York Magazine Everything contained in this little book is true, and written just like it was. The writing of it drew me from my strange torpor and I hope that in some measure it will fill the reader with a vague and curious joy... In this small, luminous memoir, the National Book Award-winner Patti Smith revisits the most sacred experiences of her early years, with truths so vivid they border on the surreal. The author entwines her childhood self - and its 'clear, unspeakable joy' - with memories both real and envisioned from her twenties on New York's MacDougal Street, the street of cafés. Woolgathering was completed in Michigan, on Patti Smith's 45th birthday and originally published in a slim volume from Raymond Foye's Hanuman Books. Twenty years later, Bloomsbury is proud to present it in a much augmented edition, featuring writing that was omitted from the book's first printing, along with new photographs and illustrations.

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As a schoolboy he secretly hated his drab, ordered world; now, at the age of forty, he is finally fleeing from a life he can no longer handle when he stumbles upon the circus. Not knowing why, only that he must, he follows after it, determined to build a new home and family. The Trapeze Artist draws together the past, present and future of one life to create a work of startling dexterity and vision - a haunting and heartbreaking account of a child, a boy, a man, desperate to free himself from the suffocating weight of his desires, his family and his grief. It speaks of what it is to grow up gay in a straight world, to be unable to communicate with those you love, and above all, the longing to break away, and to swing higher and higher...

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________________________________ 'Putin [and] his friends ... are gangsters on a scale that makes Al Capone or the Corleones seem small-time ... Lucas is right to castigate our folly in treating all this so lightly.' - Max Hastings, Sunday Times 'This important book is a sequel to the author's last indictment of the Putin regime, The New Cold War, which came out four years ago. Deception is, if anything, even more devastating.' - Standpoint 'Urgent and heartfelt.' - The Times _____________________________________ From the capture of Sidney Reilly, the 'Ace of Spies', by Lenin's Bolsheviks in 1925, to the deportation from the USA of Anna Chapman, the 'Redhead under the Bed', in 2010, Kremlin and Western spymasters have battled for supremacy for nearly a century. In Deception Edward Lucas uncovers the real story of Chapman and her colleagues in Britain and America, unveiling their clandestine missions and the spy-hunt that led to their downfall. It reveals unknown triumphs and disasters of Western intelligence in the Cold War, providing the background to the new world of industrial and political espionage. To tell the story of post-Soviet espionage, Lucas draws on exclusive interviews with Russia's top NATO spy, Herman Simm, and unveils the horrific treatment of a Moscow lawyer who dared to challenge the ruling criminal syndicate there. Once the threat from Moscow was international communism; now it comes from the siloviki, Russia's ruthless 'men of power'.

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The prairie vole, a small rodent from the mid-western plains of the USA, has it made. Not only do prairie voles pair off for life but they spend hours grooming and cuddling in their burrows. At their peak, they will make love for two-day marathons! They are great parents too, with the male vole completely involved in caring for his pups. In contrast, their cousins the meadow voles mate indiscriminately and live solitary lives, with the female meadow vole left to bring up her offspring alone. Because neuroscientists are so interested in the radical difference between these two lifestyles, we know more about the brain make-up of prairie voles than any other creature. Thanks to them, we are now beginning to understand the biochemical pathways of love shared by all species of animals, including ourselves, and the key to a more fulfilling sex life. Marital Therapist Andrew G Marshall combines this latest scientific research with twenty-five years professional experience of helping couples turn around their love lives. In Make Love Like a Prairie Vole, he has created a programme that will not only transform routine into passionate sex but also leads to the kind of lovemaking that will bind you and your partner together as a couple.

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORANGE PRIZE FOR FICTION 2012 Iasi, Romania, the early 1950s. A nameless man is found on the steps of a hospital. Deaf and mute, he is unable to communicate until a young nurse called Safta brings paper and pencils with which he can draw. Slowly, painstakingly, memories appear on the page. The memories are Safta's also. For the man is Augustin, son of the cook at the manor house which was Safta's family home. Born six months apart, they grew up with a connection that bypassed words. But while Augustin's world remained the same size Safta's expanded to embrace languages, society - and a fleeting love, one long, hot summer. But then came war, and in its wake a brutal Stalinist regime, and nothing would remain the same.

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The ghosts of the British Empire continue to haunt today's international scene and many of the problems faced by the Empire have still not been resolved. In Iraq, Kashmir, Burma, Sudan, Nigeria and Hong Kong, new difficulties, resulting from British imperialism, have arisen and continue to baffle politicians and diplomats. This powerful book addresses the realities of the British Empire from its inception to its demise, skewering fantasies of its glory and cataloguing both the inadequacies of its ideals and the short-termism of its actions.

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Prince Dakkar, son of an Indian rajah, has issues with authority. Expelled from the world's finest schools, he is sent to an unconventional educator, Count Oginski. Dakkar plans his escape immediately. But something about the Count intrigues him, including a top-secret project which he shares with Dakkar - a submarine. But others are interested in the Count's invention and what it might achieve and, when masked men kidnap the Count, leaving Dakkar for dead, he doesn't know who was responsible. It could have been British Intelligence, or perhaps a sinister figure known only as Cryptos. Either way, Dakkar is determined to rescue the Count. Taking the prototype submarine, he sets off for adventure. Cue shark attack, giant sea creatures, spies and an evil megalomaniac. From his undersea refuge, Dakkar plans to take them all on . . . with a bit of help from a Girl.

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Welcome back to Mighty High – the school for superheroes. Our heroes, Stan, Minnie, Miles and, of course, Pudding the Wonder Dog, face their toughest challenge yet – a weatherman gone bad! Thunderbot is determined to hold the country to ransom by controlling the weather – he even threatens to put the Queen in danger! With gadgets a-plenty, our young superheroes must battle through ice, snow, tornadoes and lightning strikes – but can they save the day? With fully integrated black and white illustrations throughout, this laugh-out-loud series is perfect for young readers.

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Following the revelation that Ebony is an angel, and Nathaneal’s narrow victory in battle with Prince Luca, the two are enjoying their newfound love. But Ebony’s friend Jordan is bitterly angry that he has lost the girl of his dreams. Then suddenly Prince Michael arrives to arrest Nathaneal for breaking Avena’s law when he revealed his powers on Earth in his bid to save Ebony from Luca. Nathaneal is forced to return to Avena without Ebony to stand trial. Jordan seizes the opportunity to plant doubt in Ebony’s mind about Nathaneal and her own angelic nature. Desperate to find out what has happened to her adoptive parents, Ebony is persuaded by Jordan to believe that new teacher Mr Xavier, who claims to be her uncle, can introduce her to her real father. Disaster inevitably follows and Ebony finds herself at the centre of another epic battle in the realm of Avena itself. Fantastical and powerfully emotional, this angelic romance series is rapidly winning enthusiastic fans.

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Simón Cardoso has been dead for thirty years when his wife, Emilia Dupuy, finds him in a New Jersey diner. Testimonies confirmed that Simón had been one of the thousands of victims of Argentina's military regime, executed for being a 'subversive'; yet this man is identical to the man she lost three decades ago. While skirting around the mystery, Eloy Martínez masterfully peels away layer upon layer of history - both personal and political. And just as Simón's disappearance comes to represent the thousands of disappearances that were such a common occurrence during the dictatorship, so Emilia's refusal to accept his death mirrors the country's unwillingness to face its reality. The final work of the late Martínez, Purgatory is his most moving, most autobiographical novel.

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Shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction ‘A tremendous novel - droll, savvy, original. An invigorating blast of fiction' William Boyd ‘A superbly entertaining brain-twister' The Times A hurricane sweeps off the Gulf of Mexico and in the back-country of Alabama, assembles a passenger jet out of old bean-cans and junkyard waste. An eccentric mathematician - last heard of investigating the physics of free will and ranting about the devil - vanishes in the French Pyrenees. And the thuggish operatives of a multinational arms conglomerate are closing in on Alex Smart - a harmless Cambridge postgraduate who has set off with hope in his heart and a ring in his pocket to ask his American girlfriend to marry him. At the Directorate of the Extremely Improbable - an organisation so secret that many of its operatives aren't 100 per cent sure it exists -- Red Queen takes an interest. What ensues is a chaotic chase across an imaginary America, haunted by madness, murder, mistaken identity, and a very large number of unhealthy but delicious snacks. The Coincidence Engine exists. And it has started to work. The Coincidence Engine is consistently engaging - one of the most enjoyable, entertaining debut novels you'll come across for ages.

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I walked out into the autumn morning and smelt a bonfire behind the exhaust fumes. I only had to cross the road to walk into the tall glass cube that would be my art school for the next three years.Evie has left her father, her life in Cornwall and her childhood behind her to begin a very different sort of life in London. At first the great city provides her with a world of inspiration. Her imagination is fired by the history, and the scenes of London. With Rob, Bianca and ‘the ballerina', Evie discovers the ancient and ever-changing city and her paintings are filled with colour and fantasy as she indulges her need to escape.This new life seems safe and peaceful until the moment her alcoholic father arrives and spins this new world around so that the past is again her present. Evie struggles to carry on with the life she has been building but her fears and memories are never far away. The dreams and the nightmares come together on the canvas of Evie's young life and it is her new friends, the city she has fallen in love with, and most of all, her growing friendship with a talented young sculptor, that must hold her together.This is the story of a daughter, an artist and the moment when you realise your life is your own. Helena McEwen draws together the themes of art, love, friendship and memory with a painter's skill, in a story filled with hope.

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Emma Vaile is the most powerful ghostkeeper in centuries. Which is great when she's battling the wraith-master Neos, but terrible when she's flirting with fellow ghostkeeper (and love interest) Bennett. When ghostkeepers fall in love, the weaker one loses all power, and that's something Bennett is not willing to accept. Heartbroken and alone, Emma tries to lose herself in school. A new team of ghostkeepers has arrived - one a snarky teen boy, the other a visiting scholar - and Emma finds solace in training for the battle against Neos. But as the team grows stronger, they are threatened by an unknown force. As chilling and page-turning as Deception, this sequel will grab readers and hold them to the last page. No one is safe from suspicion as Emma closes in on the traitor.

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Everyone needs this book if they want to know how to get out of difficult situations whether at home or abroad. Written by Rosie Garthwaite, whose career as a journalist started in war-torn Basra, this book combines practical advice with contributions from many journalists and commentators including Rageh Omar and John Simpson, who share their own experience and advice on surviving in difficult and dangerous situations. Topics include how to avoid being misunderstood; how to avoid bombs and booby traps; how to escape from a riot; how to deal with frostbite and heat exhaustion; how to avoid trouble in sex, love and war; and how cope if you have had a traumatic experience. The author conveys this wealth of practical, sensible advice in a very direct and personal way. In addition, readers hear the voices of many well-known journalists who share their experiences and advice in a very direct and personal way. This book is an enjoyable read as well as a true survival manual which can be enjoyed by both men and women (usually ignored by the ‘boys' own' market) and by all ages especially travellers venturing away from home or to extreme destinations for the first time.Medical information has been vetted by Médecins Sans Frontières, one of the world's leading medical charities which specializes in warzones and other trouble spots.

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It is the year 5012 and the Milky Way galaxy is under attack. After the Universal War, a war that almost brought about the destruction of every known universe, the planets in the Milky Way banded together to create the Intergalactic Force - an elite fighting team sworn to protect and defend the galaxy. Only the brightest and most promising students are accepted into the Intergalactic Force Academy, and only the very best cadets reach the highest of their ranks and become . . . STAR FIGHTERS! Deadly Mission To avenge the attack on earth, Peri and Diesel, have sided with the Meigworians in the new intergalactic conflict. They agree to rescue a Meigworian Prince, held captive by the Xions. But as they leave, the Meigwor insist that Otto, a gigantic Meigworian bounty hunter must accompany them, and Selene should stay behind to help fix the Phoenix. Our heroes capture the Prince and narrowly escape Xion, but the book ends with a twist - the prince says he is in fact the prince of Xion, not Meigwor, and they've just kidnapped him.

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How much of a survivor, in fact, survives? How much must remain of a survivor for him also to be called a man? You tell me to remember. All over again. To remember. Perhaps there is nothing left there, doctor. Perhaps it is all gone.Bernardo Greene is attempting to rebuild his life. Imprisoned and tortured by Pinochet's regime for introducing his students to political poetry, he has arrived at Copenhagen's centre for rehabilitating torture victims at the age of forty-nine, to begin, to begin again.Across from the King's Garden, Michela Ibsen also seeks a new beginning. She has survived an abusive marriage and the death of a child, but does not know whether this makes her strong, or even whole. Her latest boyfriend is young, vain and dangerously possessive.Why do men hit me? Why is it happening again?Michela's eyes meet Bernardo's over a cup of coffee in the café across the lake. During a long Scandinavian summer of endless days and pin-point nights, these two lost souls begin to heal, to forgive and to trust themselves to love.A novel about passion in the wake of loss, pain in the wake of truth, and salvation in the wake of despair, In the Company of Angels is the mesmeric and quietly devastating masterpiece from internationally celebrated author Thomas E. Kennedy.

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The year is 1930 and the British are in Arabia. Ivor Willoughby, a young Orientalist, embarks on an ambitious quest to find his father, an officer abroad with the British Army. In all of Ivor's life, Robert has returned to England only once, bedraggled and wild-eyed with tales of As'ir, a land of Sheikhs and white-turbaned bandits, where he is fighting alongside Captain Lawrence and is known by the name ‘Ullobi'.After that single meeting which left such a mark on his son, Robert is never heard from again. Ten years on, Ivor must find out what became of him. So he sets out on the journey of a lifetime. Travelling to Cairo to join the Locust Bureau, then circuitously to Abha, Yemen, and along the Red Sea coast, Ivor searches everywhere for clues about Ullobi, but no one appears to remember him. Or perhaps they are afraid to admit to it. Along the way Ivor hears whispers of a woman warrior called Na'ema who was once a slave. Her story seems tantalisingly connected with his father's, and Ivor finds himself in the misty heights of Ayinah looking for an Abyssinian seer who was carried on the same slave ship as Na'ema in 1914 and might unlock the mystery...In this dazzling epic, William Newton brings to life Lawrence's Arabia in fascinating and vivid detail. The Mistress of Abha is a tale of Empire, of wild daring, of devastating love and an utterly surprising heroine.

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Since its purchase in 1604 by Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, the house at Knole, Kent, has been inhabited by thirteen generations of a single aristocratic family, the Sackvilles. Here, drawing on a wealth of unpublished letters, archives and images, the current incumbent of the seat, Robert Sackville-West, paints a vivid and intimate portrait of the vast, labyrinthine house and the close relationships his colourful ancestors formed with it.Inheritance is the story of a house and its inhabitants, a family described by Vita Sackville-West as ‘a race too prodigal, too amorous, too weak, too indolent and too melancholy; a rotten lot, and nearly all stark staring mad'. Where some revelled in the hedonism of aristocratic life, others rebelled against a house which, in time, would disinherit them, shutting its doors to them forever. It's a drama in which the house itself is a principal character, it's fortunes often mirroring those of the family. Every detail holds a story: the portraits, and and all the junk which the subjects of those portraits left behind, point to pivotal moments in history; all the rooms, and the objects that fill them, are freighted with an emotional significance that has been handed down from generation to generation. Now owned by the National Trust, Knole is today one of the largest houses in England, visited by thousands annually and housing one of the country's finest collections of second-hand Royal furniture. It's a pleasure to follow Robert Sackville-West, as he unravels the private life of a public place on a fascinating, masterful, four-hundred-year tour through the memories and memorabilia, political, financial and domestic, of his extraordinary family.

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Major Ernest Pettigrew is perfectly content to lead a quiet life in the sleepy village of Edgecombe St Mary, away from the meddling of the locals and his overbearing son. But when his brother dies, the Major finds himself seeking companionship with the village shopkeeper, Mrs Ali. Drawn together by a love of books and the loss of their partners, they are soon forced to contend with irate relatives and gossiping villagers. The perfect gentleman, but the most unlikely hero, the Major must ask himself what matters most: family obligation, tradition or love? Funny, comforting and heart-warming, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand proves that sometimes, against all odds, life does give you a second chance.

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At the end of her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe - a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who'd been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married. (Both survivors of difficult divorces. Enough said.) But providence intervened one day in the form of the U.S. government, who - after unexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing - gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipe would never be allowed to enter the country again. Having been effectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by delving completely into this topic, trying with all her might to discover (through historical research, interviews and much personal reflection) what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is. The result is Committed - a witty and intelligent contemplation of marriage that debunks myths, unthreads fears and suggests that sometimes even the most romantic of souls must trade in her amorous fantasies for the humbling responsibility of adulthood. Gilbert's memoir - destined to become a cherished handbook for any thinking person hovering on the verge of marriage - is ultimately a clear-eyed celebration of love, with all the complexity and consequence that real love, in the real world, actually entails.

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When Alton's ageing, blind uncle asks him to attend bridge games with him, he agrees. After all, it's better than a crappy summer job in the local shopping mall, and Alton's mother thinks it might secure their way to a good inheritance sometime in the future. But, like all apparently casual choices in any of Louis Sachar's wonderful books, this choice soon turns out to be a lot more complex than Alton could ever have imagined. As his relationship with his uncle develops, and he meets the very attractive Toni, deeply buried secrets are uncovered and a romance that spans decades is finally brought to conclusion. Alton's mother is in for a surprise!

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At the turn of the twentieth century, Nathan Walker comes to New York City to take the most dangerous job in the country: digging the tunnel far beneath the Hudson that will carry trains from Brooklyn to Manhattan. In the bowels of the riverbed, the workers - black, white, Irish and Italian - dig together, the darkness erasing all differences. But above ground, the men keep their distance until a dramatic accident on a bitter winter's day welds a bond between Walker and his fellow workers that will both bless and curse three generations. Almost ninety years later, Treefrog stumbles on the same tunnels and sets about creating a home amongst the drug addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes and petty criminals that comprise the forgotten homeless community.

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Lauren, Jack, Ruby and Billy live by the seaside with their mum and dad. But their parents are always arguing, and then their dad moves out. Lauren and Jack decide they have to get them together again. And so begins Operation Eiffel Tower . . . in which the four children try to raise money to give their mum and dad a treat in an attempt to make them happier. First they want to send their parents to Paris, but quickly realise they can never afford that, so instead they set up a dinner for two under the Eiffel Tower in the local crazy golf attraction. But will it get their parents talking again?A funny and very moving story that tackles important issues with a light touch.

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Mr Chicken has left the safe world of Harriet's story and sets off on a global adventure. He's visiting Paris and, like a good tourist, he's doing all the famous sites, accompanied by his friend, Yvette. But it's not easy blending in when you're a giant yellow plucked chicken. This is a funny and wonderfully strange picture book.

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Following the publication of bestselling Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly and Gravy, Michael Rosen has followed up with a brilliant new book of poems that are funny, thought-provoking and always with Michael''s immediately accessible and child-centred voice. The poems included are a mix of classic favourites and also many brand new poems.The cheeky, full-colour illustrations by much loved Babette Cole make the perfect partnership.

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LULU: OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD 'Simply told, full of familiar activities with wonderful attention to detail ... Very pretty to look at too' The Children's Bookseller on Lulu books Readers embark on a glorious day accompanying Lulu. She introduces us to her family, house, garden, toys, friends and favourite activities as we turn the pages and lift the flaps in this bright and bold picture book for the very young. Packed full of familiar activities and objects, this exciting identification book, with a story in the vein of bestseller Richard Scarry, will be welcomed by all whether they're already Lulu fans or are new readers.

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The appearance of a hastily-constructed barbed wire entanglement through the heart of Berlin during the night of 12-13 August 1961 was both dramatic and unexpected. Within days, it had started to metamorphose into a structure that would come to symbolise the brutal insanity of the Cold War: the Berlin Wall. A city of almost four million was cut ruthlessly in two, unleashing a potentially catastrophic East-West crisis and plunging the entire world for the first time into the fear of imminent missile-borne apocalypse. This threat would vanish only when the very people the Wall had been built to imprison, breached it on the historic night of 9 November 1989. The Berlin Wall reveals the strange and chilling story of how the initial barrier system was conceived, then systematically extended, adapted and strengthened over almost thirty years. Patrolled by vicious dogs and by guards on shoot-to-kill orders, the Wall, with its more than 300 towers, became a wired and lethally booby-trapped monument to a world torn apart by fiercely antagonistic ideologies. The Wall had tragic consequences in personal and political terms, affecting the lives of Germans and non-Germans alike in a myriad of cruel, inhuman and occasionally absurd ways. The Berlin Wall is the definitive account of a divided city and its people.

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Whether your partner left or it's you who decided to end the relationship, breaking-up is painful, difficult and sometimes overwhelming. Friends and family urge you to forget the past and reach for the future. However, it is never that simple. Before you can move on, you need to understand what went wrong, mourn the loss and, most importantly, to heal. In this compassionate book, marital therapist, Andrew G Marshall takes you from hearing the bad news or making the decision to leave, through the fall-out from the split, the first steps of recovery and finally onto making a new life. He covers: - Knowing when to stop trying and accept the inevitable. - Why the break-up hurts so much. - Emotional first-aid to make it through the worst times. - The difference between looking back and learning, and becoming trapped in the past. - What helps and what hinders recovery. - Making sense of your break-up. - Helping your children cope. - Learning how to fly high again. With over 25 years' experience as a marital therapist, Marshall draws on hundreds of case studies, and provides sensible, compassionate and practical advice. (Some of the exercises in this book have appeared in I Love You But I'm Not In Love With You by Andrew G. Marshall, published by Bloomsbury)

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God may be dead, but getting through finals will take a miracle Starter for Ten meets Essays in Love in a funny, thought-provoking philosophical novel about the power – and the dangers – of confidence The nineteenth-century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said that whatever does not kill us makes us stronger. Nietzsche was obviously never forced to down an entire jar of stilton by a six-foot, fifteen-stone rugby player... Ellie Taber’s final year at university is hurtling to a close at alarming speed. Defeated by her philosophy dissertation and uncertain as to why she can’t quite commit to her faultlessly supportive boyfriend, she is disenchanted with university life. Charlie, on the other hand, is determined to use his final year to become the man he was always meant to be. He plans to play the field, do just enough work to secure his degree, finally develop his brilliant business idea and basically have an awesome time. They are both in for a surprise.

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Maiquel is an ex-contract killer who's been a fugitive for ten years - ever since his girlfriend Erica ran off with his daughter, took up with an evangelical pastor and disappeared from his life. When his aunt dies, leaving him a house and a savings account, Maiquel has a fresh chance to find the lost world of his onetime family. Breaking all the rules in the book, including his own, he sets out on a relentless journey to seek revenge.

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'Design - For Life!' ...'And Live - For Design!' (Magic Mottoes 2 & 3) Can Interior Design make you a better person? Alizia Tame(t) believes it can. In this book she will take you on a journey through the most private Interior of all: her thoughts and feelings. Everyone has heard of her creations - the Bridge Hallway, the Funnel Office, the Dawson House with its sofas that run on rails: now you can experience the life that lies behind them. Meet her husband Jem - the postmodern potter - who is in many ways her inspiration. Share the thrills and anxieties of juggling family and career. Discover the truth about her partnership with Fisher Paul and Simon Sanders at IntArchitec, the world's most innovative Design practice. Remember that when your world flips upside-down it is sometimes the most surprising people who turn out to be your friends ...For while Alizia has a Design for everything from relationships to work to motherhood, the people who matter most to her refuse to fit. As the gloss she has put on her life begins to crack she realises there may not, after all, be a Magic Motto for everything. And where can she find happiness then? Designs for a Happy Home is the sparkling story of a sometimes impossible, often infuriating but ultimately loveable heroine whose pilgrim's progress through modern marriage is at once funny, poignant and unforgettable.

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One unforgettable night, thirteen-year-old Miles goes to the flats near his home in search of shellfish, only to discover something startling and remarkable: a giant squid. Instantly he becomes a local celebrity and is pursued by TV crews urging him to explain the phenomenon. His psychic friend Florence predicts that even more astonishing discoveries are to come, indicators of the highest tide in fifty years. Yet Miles worries more about matters closer to home: will his passion for his ex-babysitter Angie go unrequited? Will his arguing parents divorce? Is everything, even the bay, shifting from him?

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In Paris, there is a cafe, elegantly furnished with polished wooden tables and an awning of striped gold and green, whose walls are filled with vintage posters advertising drinks such as Green Fairy Liqueur, Mermaid Madeira and Red Devil Lemonade. And sitting on the bar is a large, silver, steam-powered espresso coffee machine. The cafe is owned by Monsieur Moutarde, and Monsieur Moutarde has made the most extraordinary discovery. With the help of his friend, Madame Pamplemousse, he has created a time-travel machine (for that is what the espresso coffee machine is). Very special, highly flavoured, intense ingredients are fed into the machine, where they are subatomically blended with quantum froth and space-time foam. The resulting liquid looks like a small black coffee but in fact transports the drinker through time and space. But this is a dangerous invention. For who knows what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands? Before long, Monsieur Moutarde, Madame Pamplemousse, her cat, Camembert, and her friend, Madeleine, are on the run through space and time to capture a T. rex's freshly caught drool and the tears of the rare sphinx - vital ingredients for a tonic that will both save them and revive the ailing spirit of Paris. This is a magical romp that will charm and delight.

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No matter what you teach, there is a 100 Ideas title for you! The 100 Ideas series offers teachers practical, easy-to-implement strategies and activities for the classroom. Each author is an expert in their field and is passionate about sharing best practice with their peers. Each title includes at least ten additional extra-creative Bonus Ideas that won't fail to inspire and engage all learners. _______________ Teaching mathematics in the secondary school can be very demanding, especially with the extra pressure of 'no notice' Ofsted inspections. In this fully updated book Mike Ollerton offers strategies and activities for you to integrate into your everyday teaching to ensure your lessons are consistently outstanding and include all the mathematics skills secondary students need to study. Topics include algebra, fractions, geometry and measurement, as well as domino and dice games and an exciting study of Fibonacci. Many of the ideas start from a very simple concept that can be developed into more challenging mathematics, allowing you to differentiate your teaching to inspire, challenge and motivate every student in your class. The book includes step-by-step instructions, diagrams to exemplify the techniques and teaching tips for the best ways to put the activities into practice. Your biggest problem will be deciding which idea to use first!

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Independent learning and child-initiated activities are at the heart of early learning. With these principles in mind, practitioners are working hard to support independence and a 'can do' attitude and this book aims to support that work. The wealth of ideas will help you to develop an environment where independent learning is celebrated and where children take responsibility for planning and organising their own activities. Hundreds of ways you can support independent learning are outlined, including an ICT strand running throughout to ensure an up-to-date approach to the range of experiences you are offering. Case studies in each chapter highlight how to implement good practice in your setting.

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Educators have for many years sought to understand why boys underperform in schools and what can be done about it. In Breaking through barriers to boys' achievement, Gary Wilson provides the full picture as to why boys of all ages underachieve and what can be done to start solving the problem. He presents the 28 barriers to boys' learning, including early language development, 'laddish' culture and lack of male role models. His emphasis is very much on turning out respectable young men who have a 'caring masculinity'. This revised and updated second edition includes new case studies, data and practical tips and advice. You will find tried-and-tested strategies which will help you to: - effectively engage boys in the life of the school - engage boys in the curriculum, with particular emphasis on literacy - create the right culture for learning - develop emotional intelligence in boys - develop self-esteem - provide opportunities for reflection - turn the 'peer police' into a positive force for good - teach in ways that will hit all the right buttons for boys, but will not disadvantage girls Breaking through barriers to boys' achievement provides a practical toolkit that will enable every teacher, department, key stage or school to determine precisely which barriers impinge upon their work with boys and to plan a way forward. It also provides a range of whole-school models for developing effective projects for raising boys' achievement.

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There are so many ways practitioners can get children ready for writing and Alistair explores these in this step by step practical guide. Starting with the theory this book takes practitioners through the developmental stages, looks at gender differences in mark making and then provides some innovative ideas for intervention such as Dough Gym and writing like a Jedi! Alistair is convinced that once practitioners understand the developmental stages of becoming a mark maker (from palm gripping to shoulder pivot) and are given the tried and tested activities to use, they will see a significant difference in progress.

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The fourth DragonChild adventure. Tia is determined to retrieve the DragonQueen's six stolen Jewels of Power from the High Witches. She has the emerald that lets her speak to animals, the opal that lets her change shape and the topaz that controls the weather. Now she goes after the magical sapphire that allows teleportation. But that means facing the terrifying High Witch Skadi and her strange land filled with statues that watch...and move...and attack. Can Tia and her DragonBrother Finn retrieve the fourth jewel?

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A selection of brilliant folk tales about heroines from all around the world. In these stories it's the girls who save the day through their courage, cunning or kindness - whether they are facing up to wolves, demons, dragons, enemy tribes, or the sun itself! Handsome princes need not apply - these girls are doing it for themselves. With stories from every corner of the world (from Cameroon to Scotland, India, Japan and the Americas) this inclusive anthology of girl power is stunningly illustrated in paper-cut style.

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Problem Solving is one of the key thinking skills and is vital for successful learning. This fully revised edition will help you to understand the importance of developing a problem solving approach and what you can do to develop young children's problem solving skills. It shows how problem solving activities and discussions can happen everywhere in a setting, helping children to use their critical thinking skills in problems and challenges relevant to their interests and their stage of development.

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Set in a time of immense change, Dancing on the Edge tells the story of a black jazz group, the Louis Lester Band, as they rise to fame, entertaining guests at exclusive high society gatherings in 1930s London. While many recoil at the presence of black musicians in polite society, the capital's more progressive socialites, including younger members of the Royal Family, take the band under their wing. In this explosive five-part series, Stephen Poliakoff returns to television with his most ambitious work to date. Dancing on the Edge provides a new angle on an extraordinary time in history, giving us a piercingly original vision of Britain in the 1930s; a time of glamour, hardship, vibrant new music and financial meltdown. Combining the rich characterisation of Shooting The Past with the epic sweep of The Lost Prince and inspired by true stories of the era, Dancing on the Edge was produced by Ruby Film and Television for BBC2. Also included is the innovative epilogue to the whole drama, Interviewing Louis, where music journalist Stanley conducts a combative in-depth interview with Louis Lester. This funny and disturbing drama complements the main story perfectly while leading us towards a shocking and unexpected conclusion.

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Based on the motion picture Humpday (written & directed in 2009 by Lynn Shelton), Straight is a razor-sharp new comedy from acclaimed writer D. C. Moore about male friendship, sexuality and how the two things can be blurred more easily than one might think . . . Lewis and Waldorf were inseparable at university. Ten years on and a lot has changed. In the middle of a drunken night out, they make a bet that will take their friendship to whole new level. You'll never look at your best friend in the same way again . . . Adapted for the stage by award-winning writer D. C. Moore, author of Town, Honest, Alaska, and The Empire (all published by Methuen Drama) Straight premieres in the Crucible Lyceum Studio, directed by Richard Wilson.

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If there's a God, which at the moment I DOUBT, I want you to curse him. If there's any justice, I want them - both of them - in a car crash. Her husband's gone and her future isn't bright. Imprisoned in her marital home, Medea can't work, can't sleep and increasingly can't cope. While her child plays, she plots her revenge. This startlingly modern version of Euripides' classic tragedy explores the private fury bubbling under public behaviour and how in today's world a mother, fuelled by anger at her husband's infidelity, might be driven to commit the worst possible crime. The production is written and directed by one of the UK's most exciting and in-demand writers, Mike Bartlett, who has received critical acclaim for his plays including Earthquakes in London; Cock (Olivier Award), a new stage version of Chariots of Fire, and Love Love Love. This programme text coincides with a run at the Headlong Theatre in London from the 27th of September to the 1st of December 2012.

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Through close readings of a wide range of plays and poems, Kiernan Ryan's compelling polemic sets out to reclaim the idea of Shakespeare's timeless universality from reactionary and radical critics alike. Its argument is driven throughout by the belief that at this moment in history the need to recognise and activate the revolutionary potential of Shakespeare's drama is more urgent than ever. The volume has been shortlisted for the European Society for the Study of English 2016 Prize for the best critical study in the field of Literatures in the English Language.

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