Search results for ""Gallic Books""

''An extraordinary achievement'' A. L. KennedyEdward Carey''s witty and entrancing story of a young woman trapped in a ramshackle English playhouse - and the mysterious figure who threatens its very survival.Norwich, 1901. Edith Holler spends her days among the eccentric denizens of the Holler Theatre, warned by her domineering father that the playhouse will literally tumble down if she should ever leave.Fascinated by tales of the city she knows only from afar, young Edith decides to write a play of her own about Mawther Meg, a monstrous figure said to have used the blood of countless children to make the local delicacy, Beetle Spread. But when her father suddenly announces his engagement to a peculiar woman named Margaret Unthank, Edith scrambles to protect her father, the theatre, and her play - the one thing that’s truly hers - from the newcomer’s sinister designs. Teeming with unforg

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A prize-winning author's magical realist fable about greed and corruption in Venezuela, Black Sugar gives a fascinating view of the country's social and economic development throughout the twentieth century through the story of a family of sugarcane growers. It tells of buried treasure and the legendary privateer Henry Morgan.

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'Brilliantly captures the innocence of childhood and the devastating consequences when that innocence is shattered’ Claire Fuller 'I was haunted by the voice and landscape of The Choke and have been recommending it all summer' Sarah Moss Justine Lee was born breech, entering the world on her knees. She reads words the wrong way round. But she sees things more clearly than the adults around her think. Raised by her Pop since her parents left, Justine helps feed the chooks and makes dens down by the narrow stretch of the Murray River they call the Choke, dodging the violent games of her half-brothers. When Justine hears her dad’s coming home at Christmas, she feels a mixture of excitement and dread. He's a dangerous man, and his presence will close in on Justine’s young life, like the riverbanks at the Choke. She must find a way to flow onwards, breaking the cycle of violence and poverty through friendship, resilience and her own strength. Both heart-rending coming-of-age story and poignant tribute to the power of nature, The Choke will delight fans of Where the Crawdads Sing.

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WINNER OF THE PRIX LANDERNEAU DES LECTEURS 2018 Described as 'eerie and sensual' by The Guardian, Wild Dog tells the story of a young couple who discover dark secrets in the remote French countryside. 'Reads like a modern fairy tale' New York Journal of Books Franck and Lise, a French couple in the film industry, rent a cottage in the quiet hills of the French Lot to get away from the stresses of modern life. In this remote corner of the world, there is no phone signal. A mysterious dog emerges, looking for a new master. Ghosts of a dark past run wild in these hills, where a German lion tamer took refuge in the First World War … Franck and Lise are confronted with nature at its most brutal. And they are about to discover that man and beast have more in common than they think. A literary sensation in France, Wild Dog is a dark, menacing tale of isolation, human nature and the infinite savagery of the wild.

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A fearless novel that tackles a difficult subject, I laugh me broken tells the story of a woman finding the courage to face her genetic heritage. When Ginny makes contact with her estranged relatives and discovers that her genetic heritage may contain a devastating fault, she bolts to Berlin, leaving her loving fiance in the dark. Rather than face up to the life-changing implications of this news, she loses herself in the transient, hedonistic city. As she meets its inhabitants and absorbs their tangle of stories, she tries to gather the courage to take the genetic test that will either free her or define her future. I laugh me broken is a sharply-drawn, courageous novel exploring the human condition, the inescapability of the past and the choices that are ours to make.

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''Historical crime fiction at its most beguiling'' Financial Times''Not to be missed'' SJ BennettIn the hotly anticipated follow-up to The Tumbling Girl, Minnie and Albert take on a new crime-solving quest in the world of a Victorian music hall.The Variety Palace Music Hall is in trouble, due in no small part to a gruesome spate of murders that unfolded around it a few months previously. Between writing, managing the music hall and trying to dissuade her boss from installing a water tank in the building, Minnie Ward has her hands full. Her complicated relationship with detective Albert Easterbrook doesn’t even bear thinking about. But when a new string of murders tears through London, Minnie and Albert are thrown together once more. Strangely, the crimes seem to

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Longlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2021 The outcast in a family of former competitive swimmers must prepare for the end of her mother’s life in this sharp, sparkling debut from a bold New Zealand talent. 'Tackles the subject of assisted dying with wit and pathos' The Independent ‘Darkly funny, desperately sad, brilliantly written. I absolutely loved it’ Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground When an affair ends badly and takes her career down with it, 26-year-old Erin leaves Auckland to spend the holiday weekend with her aunt, uncle, and terminally ill mother at their suburban family home. On arrival she learns that her mother has decided to take matters into her own hands and end her life – the following Tuesday. Tasked with fulfilling her mother’s final wishes, Erin can only do her imperfect best to navigate difficult feelings, an eccentric neighbourhood, and her complicated family of former competitive swimmers. She must summon the strength she would normally find in the water as she prepares for the loss of the fiery, independent woman who raised her alone, and one last swim together in the cold New Zealand Sea.

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Longlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2021 The outcast in a family of former competitive swimmers must prepare for the end of her mother's life in this sharp, sparkling debut from a bold New Zealand talent. When an affair ends badly and takes her career down with it, 26-year-old Erin leaves Auckland to spend the holiday weekend with her aunt, uncle, and terminally ill mother at their suburban family home. On arrival she learns that her mother has decided to take matters into her own hands and end her life - the following Tuesday. Tasked with fulfilling her mother's final wishes, Erin can only do her imperfect best to navigate difficult feelings, an eccentric neighbourhood, and her complicated family of former competitive swimmers. She must summon the strength she would normally find in the water as she prepares for the loss of the fiery, independent woman who raised her alone, and one last swim together in the cold New Zealand Sea.

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A laugh-out-loud satire on dogma, which tests the limits of freedom of expression. Everybody at the Women's Institute in the village of Upper Bottom is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a very special guest speaker: the world famous evolutionary biologist Professor Richard Dawkins. But with a blizzard setting in, their visitor finds himself trapped in the nearby town of Market Horten, with no choice but to take lodgings with the local Anglican vicar. Will the professor be able to abide by his motto - cordiality always - while surrounded by Christians? Will he ever reach Upper Bottom? And can his assistant, Smee, save the day? A laugh-out-loud satire on dogma, which tests the limits of freedom of expression. Everybody at the Women's Institute in the village of Upper Bottom is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a very special guest speaker: the world famous evolutionary biologist Professor Richard Dawkins. But with a blizzard setting in, their visitor finds himself trapped in the nearby town of Market Horten, with no choice but to take lodgings with the local Anglican vicar. Will the professor be able to abide by his motto - cordiality always - while surrounded by Christians? Will he ever reach Upper Bottom? And can his assistant, Smee, save the day?

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From the author of The Red Notebook, described as 'Parisian perfection' by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, The Readers' Room is a thrilling murder mystery set in the world of publishing. ‘The plot blends mystery with comedy to great effect’– Daily Mail When the manuscript of a debut crime novel arrives at a Parisian publishing house, everyone in the readers’ room is convinced it’s something special. And the committee for France’s highest literary honour, the Prix Goncourt, agrees. But when the shortlist is announced, there’s a problem for editor Violaine Lepage: she has no idea of the author’s identity. As the police begin to investigate a series of murders strangely reminiscent of those recounted in the book, Violaine is not the only one looking for answers. And, suffering memory blanks following an aeroplane accident, she’s beginning to wonder what role she might play in the story ... Antoine Laurain, bestselling author of The Red Notebook, combines intrigue and charm in this dazzling novel of mystery, love and the power of books.

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'You can't possibly remember. You weren't even a year old...' Edouard looks back on his 1920s childhood spent in Paris and Monte Carlo. Within a bourgeois yet unconventional upbringing, 'Teddy', an observant and sensitive boy, must deal with not just the universal trials of growing up, but also the sudden tragedy that strikes at the heart of his family.

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It's a few days before Christmas in Versailles. Olivier has come to bury his mother, but the impending holidays and icy conditions have delayed the funeral. While trapped in limbo at his mother's flat, a chance encounter brings Olivier back in touch with childhood friend Jeanne and her blind brother, Rodolphe. Rodolphe suggests they have dinner together, along with a homeless man he's taken in. As the wine flows, dark secrets are spilled, and there's more than just hangovers to deal with the next morning...

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At first it feels like a terrible mistake: they're the only residents and it's raining non-stop. Then three neighbours arrive, the sun comes out, and life becomes far more interesting and agreeable. Until, that is, some gypsies set up camp just outside their gated community -

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From the author of The Red Notebook, described as 'Parisian perfection' by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, Vintage 1954 is a nostalgic tale of time travel. 'A glorious time-slip caper... Just wonderful' Daily Mail When Hubert Larnaudie invites some fellow residents of his Parisian apartment building to drink an exceptional bottle of 1954 Beaujolais, he has no idea of its special properties. The following morning, Hubert finds himself waking up in 1950s Paris, as do antique restorer Magalie, mixologist Julien, and Airbnb tenant Bob from Milwaukee, who's on his first trip to Europe. After their initial shock, the city of Edith Piaf and An American in Paris begins to work its charm on them. The four delight in getting to know the French capital during this iconic period, whilst also playing with the possibilities that time travel allows. But, ultimately, they need to work out how to get back to 2017, and time is of the essence...

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From the author of The Red Notebook, described as 'Parisian perfection' by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, Red is My Heart is a stunning collection of words and images in collaboration with Parisian street artist, Le Sonneur, about how to mend a broken heart. 'Enchanting' Washington Post How can you mend a broken heart? Do you write a letter to the woman who left you – and post it to an imaginary address? Buy a new watch, to reset your life? Or get rid of the jacket you wore every time you argued, because it was in some way … responsible? Combining the wry musings of a rejected lover with playful drawings in just three colours – red, black and white – bestselling author of The Red Notebook, Antoine Laurain, and renowned street artist Le Sonneur have created a striking addition to the literature of unrequited love. Sharp, yet warm, whimsical and deeply Parisian, this is a must for all Antoine Laurain fans.

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LONGLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2024SHORLISTED FOR THE EDWARD STANFORD VIKING AWARD FOR FICTION 2024‘Perfect for the poolside or sitting outside a café with a pastis and olives’ The TimesPart swashbuckling adventure on the high seas and part modern-day love story set in the heart of Paris, An Astronomer in Love is an enchanting tale of adventure and the power of love from best-selling author Antoine Laurain.In 1760, Guillaume le Gentil, real-life astronomer to King Louis XV, sets out for the oceans of India to document the transit of Venus. The weather is turbulent, the seas are rough and his quest may be more complicated than initially thought. 250 years later, estate agent Xavier Lemercier chances upon Guillaume’s telescope in a property he's sold. As he looks out across the rooftops of Paris, he discovers an intriguing woman with a zebra in her apartment. Then the woman walks through the doors of his office, and his life changes forever . . .

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'Gripping' Daily Mail'Chloe Lane’s writing continues to astound me' Clare Fuller, author of The Memory of AnimalsA searingly intimate exploration of marriage, motherhood and desire from a bold New Zealand talent. Georgie’s marriage has stagnated. But in a Florida almost claustrophobic with life, there’s no room to attend to it: forests burn, termites abound, teeth break, and there’s something in her husband’s eye. Then she finds a body in the woods. As the repercussions of her discovery and a doomed affair come to land, Georgie is forced to confront her past, examining the often heartbreaking power of the things we witness and the scars they leave behind.

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'Splendid' Wall Street Journal'A wry, warm and proper rib-tickling slice of dirty Victorian gothic’ Julia Crouch 1876, Victorian London. Minnie Ward, a feisty scriptwriter for the Variety Palace Music Hall, is devastated when her best friend is found brutally murdered. She enlists the help of private detective Albert Easterbrook to help her find justice. Together they navigate London, from its high-class clubs to its murky underbelly. But as the bodies pile up, they must rely on one another if they’re going to track down the killer – and make it out alive . . .The first in a sharp, witty series of Victorian mystery novels, The Tumbling Girl is sure to delight fans of Sarah Waters, Elizabeth Macneal, and Miss Scarlet and the Duke.

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A deliciously Gothic and atmospheric novel, one for fans of Susan Hill and Andrew Michael Hurley 'A writer who never ceases to surprise' Jenny Offill, author of Weather On a November evening in Victorian London, the moneyed but listless Edward Monteith stokes the fire at his local gentlemen's club, listening to stories of supernatural experiences and theories of life after death. His curiosity leads him to a seance, where he falls under the spell of a beautiful flower seller. But Victorian society does not look kindly on love between a gentleman of means and a Romani girl, and when he faces being cut off by his family, Edward makes a decision with horrifying consequences. Two years later Edward is married and anticipating the birth of his first child, in a beautiful house lined with orange blossom trees. But the wrongs of the past are not so easily forgotten, and the boundary between the living and the dead begins to thin... A deliciously chilling Gothic novel, The Bone Flower is a deeply human story about guilt, betrayal and the cruelty of social expectations. A dark, uncanny love story from the author of Polari prize-shortlisted Prodigal and The Children's Home, The Bone Flower will delight fans of Edward Carey and Essie Fox.

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A riveting collection of short stories by the French feminist Marie-Louise Gagneur. Much acclaimed amongst her contemporaries and yet all but forgotten today, Marie-Louise Gagneur was a defining voice in French feminism. These stories, translated into English for the first time, critique the restrictions of late nineteenth-century society and explore the ways in which both men and women are hurt by rigid attitudes towards marriage. In An Atonement, the Count de Montbarrey awakes one morning to find his wife dead, leaving him free to marry the woman he really loves. Could the Count have accidentally killed his wife? And how can he atone for his crime? Three Rival Sisters tells the story of the rivalry between Henriette, Renee and Gabrielle as they compete for the affections of one man. But marriage does not necessarily guarantee happiness, as the sisters are about to find out. Steeped in wit, empathy and biting social criticism, and with echoes of Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Kate Chopin, the stories show Gagneur to be worthy of renewed attention.

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The sequel to The Foundling Boy sees Jean learning to make his way in a world of murky allegiances after the French defeat of 1940. 'A delight' Independent on Sunday In the aftermath of French defeat in July 1940, twenty-year-old Jean Arnaud and his ally, the charming conman Palfy, are hiding out at a brothel in Clermont-Ferrand, having narrowly escaped a firing squad. At a military parade, Jean falls for a beautiful stranger, Claude, who will help him forget his adolescent heartbreak but bring far more serious troubles of her own. Having safely reached occupied Paris, the friends mingle with art smugglers and forgers, social climbers, showbiz starlets, bluffers, swindlers and profiteers, French and German, as Jean learns to make his way in a world of murky allegiances. But beyond the social whirl, the war cannot stay away forever... In this sequel to the acclaimed novel The Foundling Boy, Michel Deon's hero comes to manhood not through combat but by discovering truths about desire and possession, sex and love, and the nuances that lie between crudely drawn battle lines.

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Shortlisted for the Polari Prize Charles Lambert brings us an innovative family drama exploring the nature of trust, death, and the things we do in the name of love. 'A writer who never ceases to surprise' Jenny Offill, author of Weather Meet Jeremy, a hapless fifty-something who is scraping together a living in Paris writing soft-core pornography as 'Nathalie Cray'. When his all-but-estranged sister tells him their father is dying, he reluctantly travels back to his parental home in the English countryside. Confronted with a life he had always sought to escape, Jeremy begins an emotionally fraught journey into his family’s chequered past – back to the unexpected death of his mother in a provincial Greek hospital years earlier, and even further back, to the moment at which the Eldritch family fell apart. A bold take on the queer coming-of-age story, Prodigal deftly reconsiders everything we think we know about the nature of trust, death, and what we do to each other in the name of love.

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When a lion at a breeding park mauls an old school friend of his, Con must step in as the keeper of Sekhmet, the last remaining black-maned lioness in the world. In a Cape Town where fences keep people and wildlife apart, park officials and investors fret about their flagship big-cat project. And while Con grows steadily more bonded to his enigmatic charge, a cult of animal lovers seek to claim her as their own.

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After breaking records and becoming an international icon in the 1930s, Batten suddenly slipped out of view, disappearing to the Caribbean with her mother and eventually dying in obscurity in Majorca, buried in a pauper's grave.The compelling behind-the-scenes story of 'the Garbo of the skies' is a fascinating insight into the early days of flying, of mothers and daughters, fame and secrecy.

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When his son is killed by gangsters' crossfire on his way to school, Neapolitan taxi driver Matteo is consumed by despair. But just when he feels life has lost all meaning, he encounters a man who claims the living can find ways into the afterlife. And legend says that there's an entrance to the underworld beneath Naples. What if Matteo had a chance of bringing Pippo back from the dead?

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France's greatest food critic is dying, after a lifetime in single-minded pursuit of sensual delights. But as Pierre Arthens lies on his death bed, he is tormented by an inability to recall the most delicious food to ever pass his lips, which he ate long before becoming a critic. Desperate to taste it one more time, he looks back over the years to see if he can pin down the elusive dish. Revealing far more than his love of great food, the narration by this larger-than-life individual alternates with the voices of those closest to him and their own experiences of the man. Muriel Barbery's gifts as an evocative storyteller are put to mouth-watering use in this voluptuous and poignant meditation on food and its deeper significance in our lives. A delectable treat to savour.

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Based on a true story, Orpheus Builds a Girl is a novel of sisterly love, sinister obsession, and the battle for control of the story. A dark, chilling debut novel from award-winning writer Heather Parry. German doctor Wilhelm Von Tore shares with the reader the story of his one true love; a love written in the stars, decades in the making, a love so strong it transcended death itself. When Wilhelm emigrates to America he carries with him a vision of a dark-haired beauty, presented to him in his dreams by his beloved late Grandmother. In Key West, Florida, a beautiful young woman is taken to him in the grip of illness, and he recognises her immediately as his promised bride. Despite his efforts, the sickness takes hold and his beloved slips away from him. But Wilhelm will not be kept from his destiny, not even by death. Using research compiled over decades, he sets about attempting to restore his love to her body, so that they might be together forever. But there's another voice in this story: Gabriela, and she will not let this version of events go unchallenged. From between the cracks in Wilhelm's story Gabriela recounts her own memory of her sister Luciana, a fiery and difficult young woman, and the madman who robbed her from her grave.

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''Satire at its best'' ELEANOR CATTON, author of Birnam Wood''Outrageous, comic, disturbingly timely'' THE GUARDIAN A stubborn slacker is spurred to radical climate action by a snarky teenager with big ideas in this bold, darkly funny and brilliantly bizarre debut.Thirty-something Alice has an IQ of 159 (almost a genius) and lives at home with her mother, with whom she communicates only by Morse code. Meanwhile, the climate is in crisis. Wealthy immigrants are flocking to New Zealand for shelter, stealing land, driving up food prices and taking over. When Alice meets attractive wealthugee Pablo, she thinks she has found a way out of her dull existence. But then in walks his teenage daughter, Erika, an actual genius with impeccable eye makeup, and Alice finds herself drawn into action of the most radical - and dangerous - kind. Jus

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A disillusioned Parisian writer finds inspiration in the ordinary lives of his neighbours, the Martins. 'A wonderful surprise' L'Express Is it true that every life is the stuff of novels? Or are some people just too ordinary? This is the question a struggling Parisian writer asks when he challenges himself to write about the first person he sees when he steps outside his apartment. Secretly hoping to meet the beautiful woman who occasionally smokes on his street, he instead sets eyes on octogenarian Madeleine. She's happy to become the subject of his project, but first she needs to put her shopping away... Wondering if his project is doomed to be hopelessly banal, he soon finds himself tangled in the lives of Madeleine's family. Though calm on the surface, the Martins have secrets, troubles and woes, and the writer discovers that the most compelling story is that of an ordinary life.

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A sublime psychological thriller from Polari Prize-shortlisted Charles Lambert. Fiona, sixteen, lives a life of glittering luxury, but her relationship with her mother is strained and difficult. When she discovers an old newspaper clipping of a woman and daughter, a little girl the mirror image of her own younger self, she sets off on a mission to find her true family. Her boyfriend Patrick, a charming fraudster, tracks down the doppelganger, and Fiona drops everything to find her. When Fiona arrives in Rome, she finds Maddy, living hand to mouth with her alcoholic mother. She wants nothing to do with the strange girl wearing her face, who seems to be stalking her every move. The two girls are caught in a push and pull; both fascinated and repulsed by one another, each coveting a life that seems beyond them. But they aren't the only people trying to control their fate, and the two girls will have to learn quickly that people aren't always as they seem, and that blood is thicker than water. Birthright is a dark, gripping literary thriller for fans of Consent by Annabel Lyon and The Push by Ashley Audrain.

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Described as 'accomplished, immersive, [and] moving' by New Zealand Listener, The Hope Fault is a crackling, complex family drama. 'Beautifully restrained' Radio New Zealand In Cassetown, Geologue Bay, Iris and her extended family ― her ex-husband and his wife and their new baby; her son and her best friend’s daughter ― gather on a midwinter long weekend, to pack up the family holiday house now that it has been sold. They are together for one last time, one last weekend, one last party. As the house is stripped bare, their secrets ― and the complex, messy nature of family relationships ― will be revealed. The Hope Fault is a celebration of the complexities of family ― aunties and steps and exes, and a baby in need of a name; parents and partners who are missing, and the people who replace them. It’s about the faultlines that run under the surface, and it’s about uncertainty ― the unsettling notion that the earth might shift, literally or metaphorically, at any moment. It’s a contemporary novel that plays with time and with ways of telling stories. It finds poetry and beauty in science, and pattern and magic in landscape.

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Longlisted for the 2014 Miles Franklin Literary Award Tracy Farr’s acclaimed debut novel is the fictional memoir of Dame Lena Gaunt: musician, octogenarian, junkie. ''Compelling reading'' The Listener  I hold one regret from that day: that I put my first love, my cello, aside. But it was to take up a bigger love, a greater thing; it was to step into the future. Music''s Most Modern Instrument. And I was to become Music''s Most Modern Musician. Tracy Farr''s debut novel is the fictional memoir of Dame Lena Gaunt: musician, octogenarian, junkie. Documentary filmmaker Mo Patterson approaches veteran musician Lena Gaunt after watching her play at a festival in Perth: her first performance in 20 years. While initially suspicious of Mo''s intentions and reluctant to have her privacy invaded, Lena finds herself sharing stories from her past. From a solitary childho

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[A] deservedly award-studded delight Strong Words Magazine ‘A smart, scathing and bleakly funny cross of folk horror, satire and historical fiction’ Toronto Star ‘Reads like a modern fairy tale’ New York Journal of Books 'Eerie and sensual' The Guardian 'So original, so beautifully done, and sinister and savage. I didn’t want it to end' Chris Whitaker Franck and Lise, a French couple in the film industry, rent a cottage in the quiet hills of the French Lot to get away from the stresses of modern life. In this remote corner of the world, there is no phone signal. A mysterious dog emerges, looking for a new master. Ghosts of a dark past run wild in these hills, where a German lion tamer took refuge in the First World War … Franck and Lise are confronted with nature at its most brutal. And they are about to discover that man and beast have more in common than they think. A literary sensation in France, Wild Dog is a dark, menacing tale of isolation, human nature and the infinite savagery of the wild.

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"A delicious jeu d’esprit" The Times"A sheer delight." The GuardianWith trademark style and charming whimsy, Antoine Laurain’s new novel of intrigue, murder and neighbourly curiosity is sure to delight fans old and new. Nathalia Guitry was a successful photographer. Until the day she caught a murder on camera. At therapy, Doctor Faber suggests a way out of her creative block: she must write stories about the people she sees in the building opposite, floor by floor. Starting with the actor turned YouTube life coach on the ground floor and going all the way to the fifth via a cartoonist and an ex-trader, Nathalia creates vivid accounts of her Parisian neighbours’ lives. But are her tales real or imaginary? As their sessions play out, the doctor becomes increasingly uncertain. And when she gets to the final floor, it’s up to Faber to

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The temples and teahouses of Kyoto are the scene of a Frenchwoman's emotional awakening in the stunning new novel by international bestseller Muriel Barbery. Rose has turned 40, but has barely begun to live. When the Japanese father she never knew dies and she finds herself an orphan, she leaves France for Kyoto to hear the reading of his will. In the days before Haru's last wishes are revealed, his former assistant, Paul, takes Rose on a tour of the temples, gardens and eating places of this unfamiliar city. Initially a reluctant tourist and awkward guest in her late father's home, Rose gradually comes to discover Haru's legacy through the itinerary he set for her, finding gifts greater than she had ever imagined. This stunning novel from international bestseller Muriel Barbery is a mesmerizing story of second chances, of beauty born out of grief and roses grown from ashes.

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'Roma Tearne is an exquisite writer and captivating storyteller' Aminatta FornaThrough endless years of glacial winter, artist Hera has known loss: her brother's arrest and imprisonment on terrorism charges, her mother's resulting death, and the collapse of normal life in a devastated London. Her one comfort has been her relationship with Raphael. As the thaw begins, can she track down her elusive lover?

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From the WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE 'A work of bewitching beauty and humanity' Chinua Achebe In 1948, a young J. M. G. Le Clezio left behind a still-devastated Europe with his mother and brother to join his father, a military doctor in Nigeria, from whom he had been separated by the war. In his characteristically intimate, poetic voice, the Nobel Prize-winning author relates both the child's dazzled discovery of freedom in the African savannah and the torment of recalling his fractured relationship with a rigid, authoritarian father. Now available to UK readers in English for the first time, The African is a poignant memoir of a lost childhood and a tribute to a father whom Le Clezio never really knew. His legacy is the passionate anti-colonialism that the author has carried through his life.

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Andrea Japp uses her remarkable knowledge of French history to tell an intricate and spellbinding story of a battle between church and state. 'An excellent read' Historical Novels Review 1304. The Church and the French Crown are locked in a power struggle. In the Normandy countryside, monks on a secret mission are brutally murdered and a poisoner is at large at Clairets Abbey. Young noblewoman Agnès de Souarcy fights to retain her independence but must face the Inquisition, unaware that she is the focus of an ancient quest.

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'Satire at its best' ELEANOR CATTON'Outrageous, comic, disturbingly timely' THE GUARDIANBold, darkly funny and brilliantly bizarre, She’s a Killer is the story of what happens when a stubborn slacker is forced to confront a very weird world.Thirty-something Alice has an IQ of 159 (almost a genius) and lives at home with her mother, with whom she communicates only by Morse code. Meanwhile, the climate is in crisis. Wealthy immigrants are flocking to New Zealand for shelter, stealing land, driving up food prices and taking over. When Alice meets attractive wealthugee Pablo, she thinks she has found a way out of her dull existence. But then in walks his teenage daughter, Erika, an actual genius with impeccable eye makeup, and Alice finds herself drawn into action of the most radical – and dangerous – kind. Just what is a slacker to do?

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The first in a sharp, witty series of Victorian mystery novels, The Tumbling Girl sees an unlikely duo team up to solve a grisly spate of murders. 1876, Victorian London. Minnie Ward, the feisty scriptwriter for the Variety Palace Music Hall, is devastated when her best friend is found brutally murdered. She enlists the help of private detective Albert Easterbrook, who already has his hands full trying to catch the notorious Hairpin Killer. But Minnie can't help getting involved in the investigation, and as the bodies begin to pile up, Albert's burgeoning feelings for his amateur partner start to interfere... A dazzling debut for fans of Sarah Waters and Elizabeth Macneal, and shows like Miss Scarlet and the Duke.

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'Immensely captivating and original’ The Guardian'A poetically written domestic drama with a wonderful magical-realist twist' Daily MailHow do you make sense of the loss of those you love the most? Delia Rabbit is already struggling to juggle three wayward children, a damaged relationship with her mother and an ill-advised affair with one of her students. Then her sixteen-year-old son Charlie vanishes in the middle of a blistering Brisbane heatwave. The family reels from the loss, as twenty-year-old Olive descends into hedonism and eleven-year-old Benjamin clings ever tighter to his superhero obsession. However, Charlie’s disappearance is stranger than it seems. And while his family search desperately for him, he may be closer than they think . . . A multigenerational tale of motherhood, grief and the tribulations of adolescence, The Rabbits weaves a thread of magic into a classic family drama novel.

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When a flock of crows invades their shared apartment block, farmer-turned-debt collector Ludovic and fashion designer Aurore speak for the first time. With nothing but the birds in common, the two are destined for separate lives, yet are drawn inexplicably together. Though their story is set in Paris, the tale of Ludovic and Aurore is far from an idyllic romance. With one trapped in an unhappy marriage and the other lost in grief, the city of love has brought each of them only isolation and pain. As Aurore faces losing her business and Ludovic questions the ethics of his job, they begin a passionate affair. Love between such different people seems doomed to failure, but for these two unhappy souls trapped in ruthless worlds, perhaps loving one another is the greatest form of resistance.From the award winning author of Wild Dog, Lean on Me is explores the realities of unlikely love, and how connection and intimacy offer us an escape from all that is harsh and cold in our modern day lives. Winner of the prestigious Prix Interallié, Lean on Me is both a touching love story, an insightful look at the alienating effect of contemporary urban life.

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'There are four ways in but no way out ...'In 'Jack Squat', unemployed Gordon and his partner Omar see a money-making opportunity helping expats buy homes in southern Italy. But their scheme catches up with them after the first home they sell, curiously built with four entrances but no connecting doors inside, is revealed to have a dark history.In 'The Niche', mercilessly bullied schoolboy Billy Lender finds a hiding place in a nook in the school corridor and begins to hear whispers: the voice of a mysterious friend who will help him to plot a devastating revenge.

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Grace Ambrose, Brett Beamish and Reuben Swift appear to have little in common, but as each of them negotiates metropolitan life, they find their fates entwined. Arty, liberal-minded House of Commons secretary Grace has been counting the tea breaks in the same dull job for approaching a decade and feels she could do something better ...if only she knew what. New recruit Brett, a smooth, high-flying Australian, is on a mission to shake up the dusty backrooms of power - and on a collision path with Grace. Office life begins to look up when Grace receives an email from an admirer with musical and poetic talents ...but is soulful, enigmatic Reuben Swift really who he says he is?

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The photograph has fixed the three figures forever, two men and a woman bathed in bright sunshine. Parisian archivist Helene takes out a newspaper advert calling for information about her mother, who died when she was three, and the two men pictured with her in a photograph taken at a tennis tournament at Interlaken in 1971. Stephane, a Swiss biologist living in Kent, responds: his father is one of the people in the photo. More letters and more photos pass between them as they embark on a journey to uncover the truth their parents kept from them. But will the images and documents from the past fill the silences left by the players? Winner of fifteen literary awards, this dark yet touching drama deftly explores the themes of blame and forgiveness, identity and love.

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1775. Commissioner Nicolas Le Floch is on a diplomatic mission to Vienna, ostensibly to deliver a bust of Marie Antoinette to her mother, the Empress Maria Theresa. His real task, however, is to investigate the breakdown of French secret intelligence in Austria. The city is a hotbed of plotting - and Nicolas only just survives an attempt on his life. On his return to France, Paris is in turmoil. The soaring price of grain and bread is causing widespread social unrest, and Nicolas' first police case is the unexplained death of a baker. Could it be that events in the French capital are somehow connected to his experiences in Vienna...?

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In Paris 1890, Lady's maid Denise le Louarn fears the worst when her mistress, Odette de Valois, vanishes from the Pere-Lachaise cemetery during a visit to her husband's grave. All alone in the great metropolis, Denise knows just one person she can go to for help: Odette's former lover, Victor Legris. When the frightened girl turns up at his bookshop and tells him her story, Victor feels there must be a simple explanation for Odette's disappearance. But as he begins to look into the matter, it soon becomes clear that something sinister lies behind events at the Pere-Lachaise.

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