Search results for ""Sparkling Books Ltd""

The Greatest Crash argues that the financial system which evolved from the early Italian bankers has now reached a roadblock. Evolution is needed. But bureaucratic design, delegated government, and group think, all combine to prevent evolution.

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Why were economies sluggish before the pandemic? Why have interest rates paid by businesses and households been rising even though deposit rates are nil? Does the policy of bailing out economies bring any dangers?British investment manager David Kauders FRSA puts forward three radical theories.

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The oldest democracy is now an obsolete model long overdue for replacement.90% of electors want political reform. But how to escape the mess? Britain should adopt a federal structure with a written constitution and an elected apolitical People's Council replacing autocratic and ineffective bodies. Growing concern about the relative economic deterioration of the United Kingdom led to realisation that the system of political governance is probably an unrecognised cause of British decline. Events over the last few years have provided a fertile supply of examples. All that was needed was some original thought, but nobody seemed to be facing facts. At the centre of these ideas lie four major concepts:1. The People's Council to replace the Privy Council, House of Lords, and some scrutiny functions of the present House of Commons2. A federal structure, with sovereignty defined as sovereignty of the people of each nation instead of the Crown in parliament. 3. Representation in United Kin

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True to Goldoni's mixture of comic wit and farce, the plot is a breathtakingly fast succession of twists and turns which only unravel in the very final lines with a surprise ending. Two friends are in love with the same young woman. Neither wants to place their friendship in jeopardy. How can love triumph without breaking off their friendship? Goldoni explores the conflicts brought about when Florindo has to choose between Lelio, his best friend, and Rosaura, his best friend's fiancee. Added to this conundrum are the issues of whether Ottavio, the old miser, will provide a dowry and the mature Beatrice's unashamed incessant pursuit of Florindo. The play is set in Bologna in Lelio's house. Florindo is a guest along with his faithful manservant. From the opening of the play, Florindo seeks to return home to Venice in order not to damage his friend's relationship. However, his departure is obstructed time and again by his hosts, leading to one complication after another. From the beginning, the plot is intense and fast-moving with inversions fed into the action in quick succession. This creates suspense which continues throughout the play as potential marriage partners are switched back and forth until the very ending when the audience finally discovers what the main characters' destiny will be. Will love or friendship prevail? The Venetian element is brought into this play through Florindo and his manservant, both Venetians. Apart from these two characters, all the others are portrayed as self-seeking, selfish and sly - whether servants or masters. The tension is kept at a constantly high level by the struggles between the characters. These struggles are not just brought about through love and friendship but are also generational and social. Furthermore, there is the added complication in the contrast of the characters' ideas of reality as they deceive one another. This creates dramatic irony and humour as the audience know more than any of the characters on stage.

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An ideal gift for mystery lovers.A Taste for Blood, set in and around London, by the acclaimed Sherlock Holmes expert David Stuart Davies.Ellipsis, set in London, a psychological thriller by Nikki Dudley.Lynnwood, by Thomas Brown, set in the New Forest, was listed for the 2014 People's Book Prize.Three great reads, for those who like to wrap their minds round unusual plots, presented as one omnibus print edition.

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Featuring private investigator Johnny (One Eye) Hawke, and his one-time colleague in the police force Detective David Llewellyn. Llewellyn is investigating the chilling crimes of a top psychiatrist and his scheming patient who the doctor believes has knuckled under his authority. In the meantime, Hawke is on the case of a mysterious suicide in Edgware Road... soon discovered as not your average suicide. The guts and insight of the two investigators bring both cases to a head - though you won't even begin to see how until you have turned the last pages.

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"Right on time," Daniel Mansen mouths to Alice as she pushes him to his death. Haunted by these words, Alice becomes obsessed with discovering how a man she didn't know could predict her actions. On the day of the funeral, Daniel's cousin, Thom, finds a piece of paper in Daniel's room detailing the exact time and place of his death. As Thom and Alice both search for answers, they become knotted together in a story of obsession, hidden truths and the gaps in everyday life that can destroy or save a person.

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When a school tragedy happens, you probably lay the blame on society, the Internet, TV or violent films. Not many of you think it could be the parents' or the teachers' fault, do you? But then, is it? We all have our say, spout off opinions according to our view of the world. In this novel, too, they all have their say, but who's right? At only sixteen Clem's world is turned upside down. His Willy-Loman-like father, a travelling salesman and a loser, is transferred from Eastbourne to Glasgow and along with him go Clem and his meek accommodating mother. But Glasgow is rough and Clem's posh English accent is not well-accepted in the sink school he attends. And he's a brilliant scholar. He soon becomes the target for McEvoy's group of thugs for whom slashing faces is the most important ambition in their depraved lives.

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Petronella moves to Charis Cottage hidden in the thick dark woods at the bottom of a track on the outskirts of Fort Willow. Everything is perfect. Except for one thing. Since she moved an enormous black tree has appeared in her back garden in the shape of a giant with a big black circle on the ground under it. Petronella finds out it is a deep pit and is terrified to go near its ridge. But one night... How is the tree linked to: - The creepy night-time visits by the Hooded Horseman? - The boy ghost, Percy, Petronella finds in her bed one night? - The invasion of ghosts of the ancient Strincas population all over Fort Willow?

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The original Anthony Rathe stories of courtroom criminal cases appeared on American public radio, syndicated by the late Jim French through his Imagination Theater. When Anthony Rathe Investigates continues where the radio stories finished. Prosecuting criminal cases, barrister Anthony Rathe convinced a jury to imprison an innocent man, who subsequently took his own life. Horrified at his mistake, Rathe abandons his glittering legal career, vowing to truly serve justice. A series of cases come his way. These four stories, linked by how Rathe is racked with guilt over the suicide, explore crime from a different angle: determination to find the truth, no matter how inconvenient to the investigating officer, Inspector Cook. The reader is invited to join Rathe in solving these complex mysteries. The first story, Burial for the Dead, exposes sordid family history that led to a murder in a church. In A Question of Proof, Inspector Cook needs Rathe to unravel an underworld murder; in Ties that Bind Rathe solves a crime of passion; and in The Quick and the Dead, modern slavery intrudes into his own personal life.

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In this clear and vivid book, Gustave Le Bon throws light on the unconscious irrational workings of group thought and mass emotion as he places crowd ideology in opposition to free-thinking and independent minded individuals. The ideas le Bon explores in this book are extremely relevant to today's society and were of pivotal importance in the early years of group psychology. The Sparkling Books edition has been annotated and edited based on the 1907 Alcan edition and previous translations.

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The Janjilons are not what they seem. They look like a type of monkey but they are really children. How did they turn into Janjilons? And could it happen to anyone? Behind this mystery is someone evil, Judge Ormerod who wants to be the next Duke of Westshire. With the help of three weird sisters, he has to rid the land of clever children from being an obstacle to him. The Janjilons work for him as the three sisters mete out punishment and keep them locked up. Petronella starts to look into these strange happenings. But time is running out because when the Judge no longer needs the Janjilons, they will be destroyed.

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"I have just stumbled onto the nicest surprise" - Susan Abraham "an atmospheric novel with thought provoking themes" - Bookish Magpie "A good read" - Book Pleasures "For those who know me, giving a book a 5 is something I don't do. My belief is if a book receives a 5 rating, it better be worthy of a Nobel Prize in literature. The Eloquence of Desire is one such book. Ms. Sington-Williams has written a book that flows rhythmically, lyrically, like poetry or a song, but touches on every facet of human nature. This is not an easy read. Filled with emotion and every facet of human nature laid bare before the reader, this story will grip your heart and bring your emotions to the foreground. I don't think anyone will come away from this story untouched." - Romance Writers United. "an engrossing and atmospheric novel... has the sharp edge, clarity and narrative drive of Somerset Maugham... Thoroughly recommended!" - Dr. Stephen Wyatt, Award-winning writer of Memorials to the Missing. The book Set in the 1950s, The Eloquence of Desire explores the conflicts in family relationships caused by obsessive love, the lost innocence of childhood and the terror of the Communist insurgency in Malaya. Richly descriptive and well-researched, the story told by Amanda Sington-Williams unfolds as George is posted to the tropics in punishment for an affair with the daughter of his boss. His wife, Dorothy, constrained by social norms, begrudgingly accompanies him while their twelve year old daughter Susan is packed off to boarding school. Desire and fantasy mix with furtive visits, lies and despair to turn the family inside out with Dorothy becoming a recluse, George taking a new lover, and Susan punishing herself through self-harm. The Eloquence of Desire is written in Sington-Williams' haunting and rhythmical prose.

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Who wouldn't want to live in an idyllic village in the English countryside like Lynnwood? With its charming pub, old dairy, friendly vicar, gurgling brooks, and its old paths with memories of simpler times.But behind the conventional appearance of Lynnwood's villagers, only two sorts of people crawl out of the woodwork: those who hunt and those who are prey.

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London 1908: A secret society stalks the murky streets, a deadly assassin lurks in the shadows and a series of unexplained deaths are linked by a mystery symbol. When boy-detective Peregrine Harker stumbles across a gruesome murder he sparks an incredible adventure.

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Felix walks the same way to work through Southampton every morning, and the same way home again in the evenings. His life up to this point feels like one day repeated over and over; a speck of silt caught in the city's muddied waters. Sometimes it is all he can do to sit and watch while the urban sprawl races indifferently around him. But when the city stares back at him, one evening after work, everything changes.He doesn't see the statue's head move, but he feels its eyes on him, studying him from its lofty perch in East Park. From then on he continues to glimpse it, or something like it, encroaching with every visitation. With it come memories, spilling through the streets, crawling through the dark, haunting his night-time flat, until he isn't quite sure what is real anymore and what is imagined, in this hard, grey place where the gulls watch him sleep...

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