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Engram
by Keith BakerAfter four years in a coma following a near-fatal car crash, Meg Winter suddenly, miraculously, regains consciousness. But as she begins to pick up the pieces of her life, one area of the past remains a mysterious, impenetrable blank. She has no memory of the crash, and no idea how she came to be in a car with a man whose name means nothing to her. But someone, it seems, is very concerned that her memories might return. Suddenly Meg finds herself in a deadly race against time to solve the mystery of that fateful night and discover why her memories are so dangerous – before someone puts her back to sleep forever . . . Keith Baker delivers shock after shock in Engram, a chilling portrayal of how memory and trauma interlace. 'Vivid and frightening . . . an intelligent thriller.' The Times Literary Supplement
Inheritance (Isis Cassettes Ser.)
by Keith BakerIt’s 1996 and Northern Ireland have endured the political violence of the Troubles for twenty years. The RUC police force have fought, been killed, and only some have made it to the other side.Twenty years later, having survived the Troubles, retired RUC officer McCallan is killed in a gas explosion in his caravan. Jack MCallan has inherited a deadly key to his father’s past and begins to uncover the sinister truth about his death, but stumbles across a conspiracy of daring and awesome greed . . . Keith Baker’s grit and dry humour guide us through this thriller on the edge of our seats. His brilliant debut Inheritance will make you second guess everything you thought you knew.‘Keith Baker's debut novel is a breathtaking exception. He comes racing out of the traps with a book that is possibly the best of its kind to be written so far about the North.’ The Irish Times.
Reckoning
by Keith BakerRetired Tom Gallagher is traumatized by his past, an FBI agent in control of a disastrous operation, haunted by the guilt of innocent deaths. He returns home to Dublin searching for a fresh start and a chance to re-establish his relationship with his daughter Kate, who’s no longer the shy fourteen year old he remembers. But he is about to face a ghost he thought was long buried . . . Keith Baker delivers cinematic live-action scenes with deadpan humour, bringing the characters in Reckoning to life and chilling the reader to the very last page.'Move aside Jack Higgins, here comes Keith Baker.' Tribune Magazine
The Way We Wore: A Life in Clothes
by Daphne SelfeDaphne Selfe has been photographed by Mario Testino, Nick Knight and David Bailey. She has modelled for Dolce and Gabbana, Red or Dead and high-street chains such as TK Maxx, and regularly appears in newspaper fashion pages and glossy magazines. She is one of Britain's most in-demand supermodels and has worked non-stop for almost twenty years. But what makes her really rather extraordinary is that she is now in her late eighties.Daphne grew up in an age when dresses were lovingly run up for you by your mother, when needlework for even the most basic outfit was an art form, and when a new Simplicity Pattern was almost more exciting than a new dance tune. Perhaps as a result, she has had a lifelong love affair with clothes and fashion. The Way We Wore is a heart-warming account of that love affair, taking readers from the organdie party frocks of a 1930s childhood to the pages of Vogue.In it, Daphne shares a wealth of anecdotes from her peripatetic childhood, following her teacher father from school to school, from her modelling career, which began as a department store house model, and from her long and happy marriage. The result is a vivid and inspiring memoir from a woman who has always embraced life and who continues to do so in her ninth decade with as much zest as in her first.
The Brewer of Preston
by Andrea CamilleriFrom Andrea Camilleri, the bestselling author of the Inspector Montalbano mysteries, comes The Brewer of Preston, a hilarious standalone comedy.1870s Sicily. Much to the displeasure of Vigàta's stubborn populace, the town has just been unified under the Kingdom of Italy. They're now in the hands of a new government they don't understand, and they definitely don't like. Eugenio Bortuzzi has been named Prefect for Vigàta, a regional representative from the Italian government tasked to oversee the town. But the rowdy and unruly Sicilians don't care much for this rather pompous mainlander nor the mediocre opera he's hell-bent on producing in their new municipal theatre. The Brewer of Preston, it's called, and the Vigàtese are revving up to wreak havoc on the performance's opening night . . .
Alberto's Lost Birthday
by Diana RosieA little boy and his grandfather embark on a quest to find the old man's missing birthday in Diana Rosie's debut novel, Alberto's Lost Birthday.Alberto is an old man. But he doesn't know how old - he remembers nothing before his arrival at an orphanage during the Spanish civil war. He rarely thinks about his missing childhood, but when seven-year-old Tino discovers his grandfather has never had a birthday party, never blown out candles on a birthday cake, never received a single birthday present, he's determined things should change. And so the two set out to find Alberto's birthday.Their search for the old man's memories takes them deep into the heart of Spain - a country that has pledged to forget its painful past. As stories of courage, cruelty and love unfold, Alberto realises that he has lost more than a birthday. He has lost a part of himself. But with his grandson's help, he might just find it again.
The Last of the Tsars: Nicholas II and the Russian Revolution
by Robert Service‘A timely and important book . . . he brings to it rare clarity and common sense. His book is a fast-paced account of the last sixteen months of the tsar’s life; brief, sharp, but laced with well-judged feeling for the dramas of the time.’ Catherine Merridale, ObserverIn March 1917, Nicholas II, the last Tsar of All the Russias, abdicated and the dynasty that had ruled an empire for three hundred years was forced from power by revolution. In this masterful and forensic study, Robert Service examines the last year Nicholas's reign and the months between that momentous abdication and his death, with his family, in Ekaterinburg in July 1918.Drawing on the Tsar's own diaries and other hitherto unexamined contemporary records, The Last of the Tsars reveals a man who was almost entirely out of his depth, perhaps even willfully so. It is also a compelling account of the social, economic and political foment in Russia in the aftermath of Alexander Kerensky's February Revolution, the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917 and the beginnings of Lenin's Soviet republic.
The Other Mrs Walker
by Mary Paulson-EllisWaterstones Scottish Book of the YearThe Other Mrs Walker is the beguiling debut from Mary Paulson-Ellis, for fans of Kate Atkinson and Sarah Waters.Somehow she'd always known that she would end like this. In a small square room, in a small square flat. In a small square box, perhaps. Cardboard, with a sticker on the outside. And a name . . . An old lady dies alone and unheeded in a cold Edinburgh flat on a snowy Christmas night. A faded emerald dress hangs in her wardrobe; a spilt glass of whisky pools on the floor.A few days later a middle-aged woman arrives back in the city she thought she’d left behind, her future uncertain, her past in tatters.She soon finds herself a job at the Office for Lost People, tracking down the families of those who have died neglected and alone.But what Margaret Penny cannot yet know, is just how entangled her own life will become in the death of one lonely stranger . . .'One of the strongest debuts of the year' Herald'Full of twists and turns' Independent'A wonderful, inventive debut . . . I can't wait to see what this author has up her sleeve next' Fanny Blake, Daily Mail
'48
by James Herbert'48 by international bestseller James Herbert explores a horrifying alternative end to the Second World War.In 1945, Hitler unleashed the Blood Death on Britain as his final act of vengeance.Those who died at once were the lucky ones. The really unfortunate took years. The survivors - people like me, who had the blood group that kept us safe from the disease - were now targets for those who believed our blood could save them.I survived for three years. I lived alone, spending my days avoiding the fascist Blackshirts who wanted my blood for their dying leader. Then I met the others - and life got complicated all over again . . .
Operation Chaos: The Vietnam Deserters Who Fought the CIA, the Brainwashers, and Themselves
by Matthew Sweet'A remarkable story of subterfuge and brainwashing that few Hollywood scriptwriters could have made up' Simon Heffer, author of The Age of DecadenceIn 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War, an exodus begins. A thousand American deserters and draft-resisters escape the brutal fighting for the calm shores of Stockholm. These defectors are young, radical and want to start a revolution. The Swedes treat their new guests like rock stars - but the CIA is going to put a stop to that.It's a job for the deep-cover men of Operation Chaos and their allies - agents who know how to invade radical organizations and crush them from the inside. And within a few months, the GIs have turned on each other - and the interrogations and recriminations begin. A gripping espionage story filled with a host of extraordinary and unbelievable plays, Operation Chaos is the incredible but true account of the men who left the war, how they betrayed each other and how they became lost in a world where anything seemed possible - even the idea that the CIA had secretly programmed them to kill their friends.
The Water Diviner
by Andrew Anastasios Meaghan Wilson-AnastasiosWhen the Great War ends, Joshua Connor, a grieving farmer and sometime water diviner from the Mallee in Victoria, sets out to fulfil his wife's dying wish - to travel to Gallipoli to recover the bodies of his three sons and bury them in consecrated ground. Crescent collides with cross, and hope with reason as he discovers that his eldest son, Art, may still be alive. When Connor makes a desperate dash into the perilous heart of Anatolia one question haunts him: If Art is alive, why hasn't he come home?Andrew Anastasios and Meaghan Wilson-Anastasios' The Water Diviner is not a war novel, not even an anti-war novel. Instead it focuses on the battles that go on inside the hearts and minds of a small group of Australians and Turks as they struggle to bury their dead and rebuild their lives after the First World War. The story is based on first-hand resources, diaries and official records, and has been adapted as a feature film starring Russell Crowe.
The Windfell Family Secrets (Windfell Manor Trilogy #2)
by Diane AllenA moving Yorkshire saga, The Windfell Family Secrets is the much anticipated follow up to Diane Allen's The Mistress of Windfell Manor.Twenty-one years have passed since Charlotte Booth fought to keep Ferndale Mill and her home at Windfell Manor following her traumatic first marriage. Now, highly regarded in local society and happily married to her childhood sweetheart, Archie Atkinson, she seeks only the best for their children, Isabelle and Danny. But history has a habit of repeating itself when Danny's head is turned by a local girl of ill repute, despite his promise of marriage to the far more respectable Harriet Armstrong. Meanwhile, the beautiful and secretive Isabelle shares all the traits of her biological father, the notorious Joseph Dawson. And when she announces that she is to marry John Sidgwick, the owner of High Mill in Skipton, her mother quickly warns her against him. An ex-drinking mate of her late father who faces bankruptcy, Charlotte fears his interest in Isabelle is founded more upon self-preservation than any notions of love. What she doesn't realize is how far he's willing to go to protect his future . . .
Daughter of the Dales (Windfell Manor Trilogy #3)
by Diane AllenA moving Yorkshire saga, Daughter of the Dales is the much anticipated finale in Diane Allen's Windfell Manor Trilogy.The death of the family matriarch, Charlotte Atkinson, at Windfell Manor casts a long shadow over Charlotte’s husband Archie and her two children, Isabelle and Danny. With big shoes to fill, Isabelle takes over the running of Atkinson’s department store but her pride – and heart – is tested when her husband James brings scandal upon the family and the Atkinson reputation.Danny’s wife Harriet is still struggling to deal with the death of their first two children – a death she blames Isabelle for. But Danny himself is grappling with his own demons when a stranger in town brings to light a long-forgotten secret from his past.Meanwhile, Danny and Harriet’s daughter Rosie has fallen under the spell of local stable boy, Ethan. But will he stand by her or will he cause her heartache? And can Isabelle restore the Atkinson reputation and her friendship with Harriet, to unite the family once more?
An Atlas of Countries That Don't Exist: A Compendium of Fifty Unrecognized and Largely Unnoticed States
by Nick MiddletonAcclaimed travel writer and Oxford geography don Nick Middleton takes us on a magical tour of countries that, lacking diplomatic recognition or UN membership, inhabit a world of shifting borders, visionary leaders and forgotten peoples.Most of us think we know what a country is, but in truth the concept is rather slippery. From Catalonia to the Crimea, and from Africa's last colony to the European republic that enjoyed just a solitary day of independence, the places in this book may lie on the margins of legitimacy, but all can be visited in the real world.Beautifully illustrated by fifty regional maps, each shadowy country is literally cut out of the page of this book. Alongside stories, facts and figures, An Atlas of Countries That Don't Exist brings to life a dreamlike world of nations that exist only in the minds of the people who live there.
The Last Days of New Paris
by China MiévilleWeaving together the historical and the imagined, China Miéville's The Last Days of New Paris is a surreal and extraordinary work, from the author of The City & The City.1941. In the chaos of wartime Marseille, American engineer and occult disciple Jack Parsons stumbles onto a clandestine anti-Nazi group, including Surrealist theorist André Breton. In the strange games of dissident diplomats, exiled revolutionaries, and avant-garde artists, Parsons finds and channels hope. But what he unwittingly unleashes is the power of dreams and nightmares, changing the war and the world for ever.1950. A lone Surrealist fighter, Thibaut, walks a new, hallucinogenic Paris, where Nazis and the Resistance are trapped in unending conflict, and the streets are stalked by living images and texts - and by the forces of Hell. To escape the city, Thibaut must join forces with Sam, an American photographer intent on recording the ruins, and make common cause with a powerful, enigmatic figure of chance and rebellion: the exquisite corpse.But Sam is being hunted. And new secrets will emerge that will test all their loyalties - to each other, to Paris old and new, and to reality itself.
The Many Deaths of Jew Süss: The Notorious Trial and Execution of an Eighteenth-Century Court Jew
by Yair MintzkerA groundbreaking historical reexamination of one of the most infamous episodes in the history of anti-SemitismJoseph Süss Oppenheimer—"Jew Süss"—is one of the most iconic figures in the history of anti-Semitism. In 1733, Oppenheimer became the "court Jew" of Carl Alexander, the duke of the small German state of Württemberg. When Carl Alexander died unexpectedly, the Württemberg authorities arrested Oppenheimer, put him on trial, and condemned him to death for unspecified "misdeeds." On February 4, 1738, Oppenheimer was hanged in front of a large crowd just outside Stuttgart. He is most often remembered today through several works of fiction, chief among them a vicious Nazi propaganda movie made in 1940 at the behest of Joseph Goebbels.The Many Deaths of Jew Süss is a compelling new account of Oppenheimer's notorious trial. Drawing on a wealth of rare archival evidence, Yair Mintzker investigates conflicting versions of Oppenheimer's life and death as told by four contemporaries: the leading inquisitor in the criminal investigation, the most important eyewitness to Oppenheimer's final days, a fellow court Jew who was permitted to visit Oppenheimer on the eve of his execution, and one of Oppenheimer's earliest biographers. What emerges is a lurid tale of greed, sex, violence, and disgrace—but are these narrators to be trusted? Meticulously reconstructing the social world in which they lived, and taking nothing they say at face value, Mintzker conjures an unforgettable picture of "Jew Süss" in his final days that is at once moving, disturbing, and profound.The Many Deaths of Jew Süss is a masterfully innovative work of history, and an illuminating parable about Jewish life in the fraught transition to modernity.
The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought
by Dennis C. RasmussenThe story of the greatest of all philosophical friendships—and how it influenced modern thoughtDavid Hume is widely regarded as the most important philosopher ever to write in English, but during his lifetime he was attacked as “the Great Infidel” for his skeptical religious views and deemed unfit to teach the young. In contrast, Adam Smith was a revered professor of moral philosophy, and is now often hailed as the founding father of capitalism. Remarkably, the two were best friends for most of their adult lives, sharing what Dennis Rasmussen calls the greatest of all philosophical friendships. The Infidel and the Professor is the first book to tell the fascinating story of the friendship of these towering Enlightenment thinkers—and how it influenced their world-changing ideas.The book follows Hume and Smith’s relationship from their first meeting in 1749 until Hume’s death in 1776. It describes how they commented on each other’s writings, supported each other’s careers and literary ambitions, and advised each other on personal matters, most notably after Hume’s quarrel with Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Members of a vibrant intellectual scene in Enlightenment Scotland, Hume and Smith made many of the same friends (and enemies), joined the same clubs, and were interested in many of the same subjects well beyond philosophy and economics—from psychology and history to politics and Britain’s conflict with the American colonies. The book reveals that Smith’s private religious views were considerably closer to Hume’s public ones than is usually believed. It also shows that Hume contributed more to economics—and Smith contributed more to philosophy—than is generally recognized.Vividly written, The Infidel and the Professor is a compelling account of a great friendship that had great consequences for modern thought.
The Christmas Court
by Joanna CourtneyThe Christmas Court by Joanna Courtney is a festive historical short story from the author of The Chosen Queen.King Edward's royal court has gathered at Westminster to welcome William of Normandy to England. As the ambitious Norman duke takes his place amongst the English lords, rumour and speculation are rife. It appears that William has an ulterior motive for making his timely visit to his childless royal cousin . . .Freya and Alodie are new to court and the entertainments of the burgeoning Wessex city of London are far more intriguing than the political machinations which surround the gathering. The vast Christmas markets along the sprawling banks of Chelsea village offer endless delights. For the two young friends, enchanted by the wassails, evergreens and festive crowds, the Normans are more of an enticement than a danger.As the feasting and dancing begin, Freya finds herself falling for a man from the wrong side of the Narrow Sea and, with the help of a little mistletoe and wine, 1051 becomes a Christmas to remember . . .The Christmas Court is a perfect short story for fans of Philippa Gregory and Elizabeth Chadwick
The Games: A Global History of the Olympics
by David GoldblattThe Olympic Games have become the single greatest festival of a universal and cosmopolitan humanity. Seventeen days of sporting competition watched and followed on every continent and in every country on the planet. Simply, the greatest show on earth. Yet when the modern games were inaugurated in Athens in 1896, the founders thought them a "display of manly virtue", an athletic celebration of the kind of amateur gentleman that would rule the world. How was such a ritual invented? Why did it prosper and how has it been so utterly transformed?In The Games, David Goldblatt - winner of the 2015 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award - takes on a breathtakingly ambitious search for the answers and brilliantly unravels the complex strands of this history. Beginning with the Olympics as a sporting side show at the great Worlds Fairs of the Belle Epoque and its transformation into a global media spectacular, care of Hollywood and the Nazi party, The Games shows how sport and the Olympics had been a battlefield during the Cold War, a defining moment for social and economic change in host cities and countries, and a theatre of resistance for women and athletes of colour once excluded from the show. Illuminated with dazzling vignettes from over a century of Olympic competition - this stunningly researched history captures the excitement of sporting brilliance and the kaleidoscopic experience of the Games. It shows us how this sporting spectacle has come to reflect the world we hope to inhabit and the one we actually live in.
Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer to the Crown novels #1)
by Zen ChoWinner of the 2016 British Fantasy Society Award for Best NewcomerShortlisted for the 2016 British Fantasy Society Award for Best Novel Shortlisted for the 2016 Locus First Novel Award Sorcerer to the Crown is the first in Zen Cho's thrilling magical adventure series, the Sorcerer Royal Trilogy. In Regency London, Zacharias Wythe is England's first African Sorcerer Royal. He leads the eminent Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers, but a malicious faction seeks to remove him by fair means or foul. Meanwhile, the Society is failing its vital duty - to keep stable the levels of magic within His Majesty's lands. The Fairy Court is blocking its supply, straining England's dangerously declining magical stores. And now the government is demanding to use this scarce resource in its war with France. Ambitious orphan Prunella Gentleman is desperate to escape the school where she's drudged all her life, and a visit by the beleaguered Sorcerer Royal seems the perfect opportunity. For Prunella has just stumbled upon English magic's greatest discovery in centuries - and she intends to make the most of it.At his wits' end, the last thing Zachariah needs is a female magical prodigy! But together, they might just change the nature of sorcery, in Britain and beyond.
I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: The short and gilded life of Tara Browne, the man who inspired The Beatles’ greatest song
by Paul HowardFew people rode the popular wave of the sixties quite like Tara Browne. One of Swinging London's most popular faces, he lived fast, died young and was immortalized for ever in the opening lines of 'A Day in the Life', a song that many critics regard as The Beatles' finest. But who was John Lennon's lucky man who made the grade and then blew his mind out in a car?Author Paul Howard has pieced together the extraordinary story of a young Irishman who epitomized the spirit of the times: racing car driver, Vogue model, friend of The Rolling Stones, style icon, son of a peer, heir to a Guinness fortune and the man who turned Paul McCartney on to LSD.I Read the News Today, Oh Boy is the story of a child born into Ireland's dwindling aristocracy, who spent his early years in an ancient castle in County Mayo, and who arrived in London just as it was becoming the most exciting city on the planet. The Beatles and the Stones were about to conquer America, Carnaby Street was setting the style template for the world and rich and poor were rubbing shoulders in the West End in a new spirit of classlessness. Among young people, there was a growing sense that they could change the world. And no one embodied the ephemeral promise of London's sixties better than Tara Browne.Includes a sixteen-page plate section of stunning colour photographs.
Under New Management: How Leading Organisations Are Upending Business as Usual
by David BurkusNearly 70 per cent of employees in the UK aren't performing at their full potential. At the roots of this problem are the policies and systems built to 'manage' these employees, which were designed for a different era - the industrial economy. In the tradition of Jim Collins' bestselling Good to Great, in Under New Management David Burkus, psychologist, professor of management at the College of Business at Oral Roberts University and author of The Myth of Creativity, shines a light on the companies that are experimenting with new and different models and policies for leading teams and managing people. From Amazon to Virgin, Volkswagen to Whole Foods, these companies have developed a new set of best practices that may look counter-intuitive, but have become an integral part of what makes them so high-performing, and that have established employee engagement and customer loyalty. The purpose of this book and its research is to challenge you and your company on whether the time has come to re-examine some of the most fundamental concepts in management today. The business of business is all about change and keeping up with the latest trends. Here's your chance to see for yourself what kinds of management changes you should be thinking of.
The Outside Lands: A Novel
by Hannah Kohler'Astonishing - jagged, fresh and startlingly alive' Daily MailJeannie is nineteen when the world changes, Kip only fourteen. The sudden accident that robs them of their mother leaves them adrift, with only their father to guide them. Jeannie seeks escape in work and later marriage to a man whose social connections propel her into an unfamiliar world of wealth and politics. Ill-equipped and unprepared, Jeannie finds comfort where she can. Meanwhile Kip's descent into a life of petty crime is halted only when he volunteers for the Marines.By 1968, the conflict in Vietnam is at its height, and with the anti-war movement raging at home, Jeannie and Kip are swept along by events larger than themselves, driven by disillusionment to commit unforgiveable acts of betrayal that will leave permanent scars.The Outside Lands is the story of people caught in the slipstream of history, how we struggle in the face of loss to build our world, and how easily and with sudden violence it can be swept away. With extraordinary skill and accuracy, Hannah Kohler takes us from 1960s California to Vietnam, capturing what it means to live through historic times. This powerful debut novel announces Kohler as a remarkable new literary talent.
The Staircase Girls: The secret lives, heartaches and joy of the Cambridge ‘bedders’
by Catherine SeymourJoyce leaned her black Triumph bicycle against a wall, and shivered in the foggy, early dawn light. Glancing up at the enormous wooden, carved gate, she hesitated. This was a secret world she was about to enter... For 16 year old Joyce, who lived in one of the poorest streets in Cambridge, the college building where she was about to enter represented privilege, wealth, a life she'd never live. As a bedder, Joyce would be working up and down one of the stone staircases, making the beds of the male students, sweeping floors, dusting desks. She never expected to also find herself mothering, chastising and sometimes even covering up for 'her boys'.The Staircase Girls takes us into the lives of Joyce and other bedders, like Nance, Maud, Rose and Audrey. They endured the Second World War and then had to contend with poverty, ill health and bereavement. They loved, lost and loved again. But their friendships gave them strength, and their work gave them happiness - and even a lasting connection with their charges, some of whom would go on to run the country. Revealing their untold stories for the first time, this is a vivid, poignant account of these remarkable women's lives.
The Never King
by James AbbottA new legend begins in The Never King, a thrilling fantasy adventure by James Abbott.Xavir Argentum is rotting in gaol. Sentenced to life in the squalor of Hell’s Keep, punishment for an atrocity he didn’t commit, the once legendary commander is all but forgotten. His elite band of warriors are dead – and the kingdom he was poised to inherit is oppressed by the tyrant who framed him. For half a decade now, Xavir has ruled nothing but a prison gang.Yet vengeance comes to those who wait. When a former spymaster infiltrates the Keep, bearing news of his old enemy’s treachery, plans are forged. A few are compelled to restore peace – an exiled queen, an outcast witch, and an unlikely alliance of rogues and heroes. But peace and vengeance make poor companions. And first, Xavir must make his escape . . .