Following a chance meeting with Mr and Mrs Parker, Charlotte Heywood accompanies them to their home in Sanditon, extravagantly vaunted by her hosts as the future epicentre of society summers. On arrival, our heroine finds herself confronted with a deserted town, which nevertheless begins to fill with holidaymakers.
Describes the life of Solomon Northup, a free Black man from Saratoga, N.Y., who was kidnapped in 1841 and forced into slavery in Louisiana for twelve years.
Something had followed them home from Russia - a thought-provoking and chilling drama, Mind of Winter will leave you with a lingering sense of unease before reaching its shocking conclusion.
Three English boys, shipwrecked on a deserted island, create an idyllic society despite typhoons, wild hogs, and hostile visitors, until evil pirates kidnap one of the youths and they must face their fears.
Two authors. One idea. Who will be the first to write the best book in the world? This hilarious new Scandinavian sensation from Swedish author Peter Stjernström is a witty satire that can't be missed! Titus Jensen is waiting for his big break. But he's middle-aged, has rather a fondness for alcohol and no one seems to take his writing seriously enough. Eddie X is cool. Eddie X is a hit with the ladies and loves being the centre of attention. A radical poet and regular on the festival circuit, he is looking for his next big project to gain more adoring fans. One night, after a successful literary event at which Titus reads from The Diseases of Swedish Monarchs and Eddie X waxes lyrical to the thrashing tones of metal band The Tourettes, the unlikely pair get horribly drunk together and hatch a plan. There's only one thing for a budding writer to do to get worldwide recognition: write the best book in the world - a book so amazing that it will end up on all the bestseller lists in every category imaginable, thriller, self-help, cookery, business, dieting. a book that combines everything in one! But there is only room for one such amazing book and as the alcohol-induced haze clears Titus and Eddie X both realise they are not willing to share the limelight. Who will win the race to write the best book in the world, and to what unimaginable lengths will they go to get there first.? Hilariously quirky but surprisingly touching, The Best Book in the World will take you on a meandering race to the finish line, throwing plenty of satirical punches along the way.
Debut psychological thriller by award-winning Finnish author Pekka Hiltunen. When Lia witnesses a disturbing scene on the way to work, she, like the rest of the city of London, is captivated and horrified. As the weeks pass and no leads are found, the story quickly disintegrates but Lia can't easily forget.
An original, subtle and touching novel, telling the tragic and often comic routine of one man's life and fate. A beautifully tragic and thought-provoking tale, The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman perfectly reflects the elegance and style of Murakami and the skill and plotting of Julian Barnes. Bilodo lives a solitary daily life, routinely completing his post round every day and returning to his empty Montreal apartment. But he has found a way to break the cycle – Bilodo has taken to stealing people's mail, steaming open the envelopes and reading the letters inside. And so it is he comes across Ségolène's letters. She is corresponding with Gaston, a master poet, and their letters are each composed of only three lines. They are writing each other haikus. The simplicity and elegance of their poems move Bilado and he begins to fall in love with her. But one day, out on his round, he witnesses a terrible and tragic accident. Just as Gaston is walking up to the post-box to mail his next haiku to Ségolène, he is hit by a car and dies on the side of the road. And so Bilodo makes an extraordinary decision – he will impersonate Gaston and continue to write to Ségolène under this guise. But how long can the deception continue for? Denis Thériault weaves a passionate and elegant tale, comic and tragic with a love story at its heart. Philosophical, rich in description and detail, it cannot fail to move.
Set at the turn of the century, The Time of Man tells the moving story of Ellen Chesser, a young woman with a mind of her own. She and her family travel from one small community to another in rural Kentucky, eking out a living as itinerant farmworkers. Initially she feels isolated and lonely, resenting the hardship of her life and longing to be with her childhood friends. Yet slowly she learns what it means to fall in love and forges lasting friendships with other young people at the local dances. She is left stunned, therefore, when the man she is to marry comes to her to confess a dark secret. His past is shameful to him and heartbreaking for her, but Ellen's independent spirit and strength of character sustain her in the aftermath. When further accusations come to light, they threaten to disturb the tranquility of her life and that of the community where she lives forever. Written in the subtle, soaring prose for which Elizabeth Madox Roberts was known, The Time of Man is a spectacular coming of age story. As she grows older, Ellen Chesser is forced to confront the darker side of human nature but ultimately manages to overcome the difficulties she faces with a resolute dignity.
It all starts on the one-hundredth birthday of Allan Karlsson. Sitting quietly in his room in an old people';s home, he is waiting for the party he-never-wanted-anyway to begin. The Mayor is going to be there. The press is going to be there. But, as it turns out, Allan is not. Slowly but surely Allan climbs out of his bedroom window, into the flowerbed (in his slippers) and makes his getaway. And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving criminals, several murders, a suitcase full of cash, and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, we learn something of Allan';s earlier life in which - remarkably - he helped to make the atom bomb, became friends with American presidents, Russian tyrants, and Chinese leaders, and was a participant behind the scenes in many key events of the twentieth century. Already a huge bestseller across Europe, The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared is a fun and feel-good book for all ages.
The six Bastable children try to restore their family's fortune using a variety of schemes taken from books, including finding buried treasure, rescuing someone from bandits, and starting a newspaper.
Newly edited collection of tales compiled by Dickens and featuring works by Wilkie Collins, Adelaide Anne Procter, Harriet Parr, Percy Fitzgerald and the Rev James White.
On his one-hundredth birthday Allan Karlsson makes his escape from the old people's home and embarks on an unlikely and momentous adventure. The international bestselling phenomenon by Swedish sensation Jonas Jonasson.
Beginning with an introduction to the perils of ill-educated discourse, this work seeks to offer a remedy for conversational disasters. It also tells that one is always equipped with the correct response no matter the situation, and the means with which to stoke up conversation when it lapses into an awkward silence.
Believing William Legrand to have gone insane following an insect bite, his friend initially decries his quest for gold as the ramblings of a madman. Yet when Legrand's conviction refuses to waiver, they set off on a bizarre journey, accompanied by Jupiter, Legrand's loyal and equally sceptical servant.
Embarking in the Tropics, the ship's Captain makes the instant acquaintance of the seemingly genial Mr Jacobus and his irritable brother. The Captain is at a loss to determine which he should befriend. Yet as events unfold, he becomes in thrall to the less scrupulous of the two and finds himself the unwilling partner in an unorthodox transaction.
Wessex was the 'partly-real, partly-dream' county that formed the backdrop for most of Hardy's writings - named after an Anglo-Saxon kingdom and modelled on the counties of Berkshire, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. The poems deal with Hardy themes of disappointment in love and life and the struggle to live a meaningful life.
