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Evermore (The Immortals #1)
by Alyson NoelSeventeen-year-old Ever is the sole survivor of a car crash that killed her entire family. Living with her aunt in Southern California, she's plagued by the ability to hear the thoughts of those around her, and haunted by the ghost of her little sister. She tries to tune everyone out, shunning her old lifestyle as the pretty, popular cheerleader, but somehow she can't hide from Damen, the new guy at school. Stunningly handsome, clever and not a little bit intimidating, there's something about him that doesn't quite add up. Ever realises he's hiding something, but nothing could prepare her for the truth - especially when the truth involves past lives, murderous enemies, everlasting love and the secret of eternal youth . . .
Even As We Speak: Criticism
by Clive JamesEffervescent, energetic and eclectic, this is one of the late Twentieth Century's finest minds (and bellies) on show. Even As We Speak is a compelling collection of essays in which Clive James focusses on Australian poetry; on television today; on the rise and fall of various icons; on the question of the culpability of the ordinary German in the holocaust; and there is a compellingly provocative and much-talked about piece on the death of Diana.
Opal Sunset: Selected Poems 1958-2008
by Clive JamesOpal Sunset gathers together fifty years of Clive James’s poetry, and will undoubtedly enhance his reputation as one of the most versatile and accomplished of contemporary writers. Indeed – as with Other Passports, The Book of My Enemy and Angels Over Elsinore before it – Opal Sunset proves Clive James to be as well suited to the intense demands of the poetic form as he is to prose. Readers new to his verse will not be surprised to find him a master of the comic set-piece and surreal excursion, while those who are familiar with his previous collections will already be aware of his fluency and apparently effortless style, his technical skill and thematic scope. Ultimately, however, the highest recommendation one can give is that Clive James is, in these poems, unmistakably himself – an assured and dazzling wordsmith.
Wish Me Luck
by Margaret DickinsonWish Me Luck is a tale of love and heartache in the Second World War. Sequel to Without Sin, Wish Me Luck will delight Margaret Dickinson's legions of fans.Fleur Bosley didn't believe in love at first sight, at least not until she bumped into Robbie Rodwell on a railway station in the blackout of wartime Britain. Posted to a newly-built Lincolnshire airfield, Robbie as a wireless operator on bombers and Fleur as a R/T operator in the watch office, their only escape is to the little cottage in the nearby village where Fleur is billeted with another WAAF, Ruth. The two girls become good friends, but Ruth, already hurt by the loss of one of the pilots, does not approve of wartime romances. And Ruth is not the only one to disapprove. When Fleur's mother hears Robbie's name she becomes hysterical and bans him from her home. The young couple are determined to grab their happiness where they can, but is it a kind Fate or a cruel one that has brought them together when secrets from the past threaten their future? Away from their families, there is fun and laughter, the aircrews determined to make the most of every day, every minute, but whenever they fly off into the night on a bombing raid, Fleur must keep watch until the early hours praying that Robbie's plane comes back . . .
Tyrant
by Valerio Massimo ManfrediValerio Massimo Manfredi's Tyrant starts in Sicily 412 BC: the infinite duel between a man and a superpower begins. The man is Dionysius, who has just made himself Tyrant of Syracuse. The superpower Carthage, mercantile megalopolis and mistress of the seas.Over the next eight years, Dionysius' brutal military conquests will strike down countless enemies and many friends to make Syracuse the most powerful Greek city west of mainland Greece. He builds the largest army of antiquity and invents horrific war machines to use against the Carthaginians, who he will fight in five wars.But who was Dionysius? Historians have condemned him as one of the most ruthless, egocentric despots. But he was also patron of the arts, a dramatist, poet and tender lover.
Plough the Furrow (Fleethaven Trilogy #1)
by Margaret DickinsonThe first in her much-loved Fleethaven Trilogy, Margaret Dickinson's Plough the Furrow begins the story of Esther, and her determination and dedication to the Lincolnshire farm land.Lincolnshire, 1910. Shunned by her own family, desperate for work and a place to stay, Esther Everatt walks through the night to Sam Brumby's farm, seeking the chance to earn her keep. Reluctantly, the old man takes her on.Able to work alongside any man, Esther soon earns Sam's grudging respect and affection, and at last feels she has found a home she can call her own. But her peace and security are cruelly shattered when old Sam dies: as a woman, she has no right to inherit the lease on the farm.Believing that her passion lies solely with the land and a place of her own, Esther prepares to risk everything to secure her future - seeking marriage with a local farmhand. But as war arrives to dash the hopes of a generation, Esther begins to discover that it is only the truest of love that can survive the passing of the seasons . . .
Twisted Strands
by Margaret DickinsonIt is 1914, and Eveleen Hardcastle, now in in her early thirties, has married Richard. As the First World War breaks out, Eveleen, a sophisticated young woman, is left to manage the factory while Richard goes off to fight for his country. Eveleen's mother Mary has found happiness at last in her marriage to Josh. Her young granddaughter, Bridie, still lives at home, and is beautiful, but has a spirited, strong will which her grandmother finds hard to control. Bridie is secretly besotted with her godfather, Andrew, whom she is convinced she will marry when she is older. While the war plays out, Bridie becomes a nurse, looking after wounded soldiers billeted in the local Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire stately homes and there finds a vocation that is both rewarding and gives her a maturity beyond her years . . .The follow-up to Tangled Threads, Margaret Dickinson's Twisted Strands follows the dramatic highs and lows of the Hardcastle family as they endure the upheaval caused by war.
Without Sin
by Margaret DickinsonMeg Kirkland fears her impudent tongue has caused her father's dismissal from his job and forced her whole family from their home on Middleditch Farm. Worse still, her father abandons them outside the workhouse, leaving Meg to care for her devastated mother, Sarah, and little brother as tragedy continues to haunt the family. Isaac Pendleton, Master of the workhouse, rules the lives of all those within its walls but when Sarah becomes his latest mistress, Meg is disgusted. Her loyal friend, Jake, born and bred in the workhouse, has a maturity and understanding beyond his years. Yet it is Meg's fiery independence that encourages Jake to leave the workhouse and seek employment on Middleditch Farm. His future is assured, but who will take care of Meg? The pretty, vivacious girl, once so innocent, becomes a calculating and manipulative young woman who will stop at nothing to get her own way even if it means betraying those she has loved.Without Sin is Margaret Dickinson's spirited historical saga of a passionate young woman who learns to fight for her own survival in a cruel world. It is followed by Wish Me Luck, a heartfelt wartime romance.
Reap The Harvest (Fleethaven Trilogy #3)
by Margaret DickinsonFollowing the disastrous floods of 1953, Ella Hilton is compelled to live at Brumbys' Farm with her grandmother, Esther, and is soon acutely aware of the mysterious surrounding her family's past.As Ella grows up and falls in love herself, the story of three generations of women - Esther, Kate and Ella - comes full circle and history seems destined to repeat itself in tragedy.In Reap the Harvest, Margaret Dickinson brings the 1950s vividly to life in a story of secrets and love, buried under years of pride and misunderstanding.
Child of a Dream: Child Of A Dream (Alexander #1)
by Valerio Massimo ManfrediAlexander: Child of a Dream is Valerio Massimo Manfredi's magnificent story of one of history's greatest characters and his quest to conquer the civilized world.Who could have been born to conquer the world other than a god?Mesmeric beauty, consuming desires, an insatiable hunger. Then premature death. This is the story of a boy, born to a great king – Philip of Macedon – and his sensuous queen, Olympias. It tells of the stern discipline of Philip and the wild passions of Olympias, and how, together, they formed Alexander, a young man of immense, unfathomable potential, capable of subjugating the known world to his power, and thought of by his contemporaries as a god.Alexander's swift ascent to manhood, as a protégé of Aristotle and close friend of Ptolemy and Hephiaeston, and the start of his great adventure to conquer the civilized world is recounted in this awe-inspiring novel.This is a wonderful evocation of the far-off and fascinating civilization of ancient Greece, revealed in vibrant tones and scholarly detail.
Tangled Threads
by Margaret DickinsonFor Eveleen Hardcastle life gets no better than growing up on Pear Tree Farm in the Lincolnshire countryside. Her family works hard for the Dunsmore estate and Eveleen finds it impossible to resist the charms of their employer's son, Stephen Dunsmore. But Jimmy, ever quick to antagonize, ensures that his sister's clandestine trysts do not remain so for long.Mary Hardcastle reacts to the news of her daughter's affair with a shocking ferocity, which seems to be borm more of bitterness than maternal protectiveness. But what is it that fuels Mary's resentment towards her daughter? Unable to ignore her own feelings, Eveleen continues to meet Stephen in secret. But deception has a cruel price to pay when her beloved father is found dead from a heart attack. And worse yet, Stephen, far from providing Eveleen with the comfort she craves, deserts her in her hour of need and callously evicts the Hardcastles from the farm.Suddenly homeless, Eveleen is left to take the family reins and she fights to make a new life for her family in Nottinghamshire. And then she makes a stunning discovery about her mother's past which changes all their lives for ever . . .Tangled Threads is a gripping romantic saga from Margaret Dickinson, followed by the sequel Twisted Strands.
Where Earth Meets Sky
by Annie MurrayBeautiful, dark-haired Lily was abandoned in a Birmingham slum as a tiny child. With few clues as to her identity, she endured a childhood of loneliness and loss. Now, at eighteen, she applies for a post as nanny with the family of a Captain Fairford, a soldier in Ambala in northern India, and his highly strung wife Susan. Lily is drawn into the emotional life of the Fairford family and adores her charge, two-year-old Cosmo.When, in 1907, Captain Fairford orders a new Daimler car, it is brought out by a young motor mechanic, Sam Ironside. Sam and Lily fall deeply in love, but it is only later that Lily learns that Sam is married and she feels utterly betrayed. When Cosmo is then sent back to Birmingham for school, Lily finds another post with a Dr McBride and his invalid wife in a beautiful Himalayan hill station. The place is idyllic, and Lily settles in for a quiet life. However, she is unprepared for the pain and misunderstandings that follow and force her to run from everything she has known . . .Where Earth Meets Sky by Annie Murray takes us from Edwardian England and the British Raj, through the darkness of the Great War to the glamour of Brooklands Race Track in the 1920s. Spanning two continents, it is a story of enduring friendships and two hearts which cannot be kept apart.
Heroes
by Valerio Massimo ManfrediA castaway tossed onto a deserted beach is the last survivor of a world that no longer exists. He has a terrible, fascinating story to tell - the true reason for which the Trojan War was fought ... The protagonist of this tale is Diomedes, the last of the great ancient Greek Homeric heroes, who seeks to return to his beloved homeland after years of war against Troy. But destiny has other plans for him. Betrayed by his wife, who plots to murder him and persecuted by hostile gods, he has no choice but to turn his sails west, towards Hesperia, the mysterious mist-shrouded land that will one day be called Italy. He ventures boldly into this new world, for he carries with him the magic Talisman of Troy, a mysterious, powerful idol that can make the nation that possesses it invincible ...
The Meaning of Recognition: New Essays 2001-2005
by Clive JamesLiterary critic, cultural commentator, TV personality, journalist, poet, political analyist, satirist and Formula One fan: Clive James is a man (and master) of many talents, and the essays collected in The Meaning of Recognition are testament to that fact. Whether discussing Bing Crosby, Bruno Schulz or Shakespeare, he manages to prioritise style and substance simultaneously, his tone never less than pitch-perfect, his argument always considered. With each phrase carefully crafted and each piece offering cause for thought, the resulting volume – which takes the reader from London to Bali, theatre to library, from pre-election campaigning to sitting in front of the TV at home, watching The Sopranos and The West Wing – is remarkable not only for its range and insight, but also its intimacy and honesty. A contemporary everyman, James is also unmistakably himself, and The Meaning of Recognition shows him at his witty, learned – and heartfelt – best.
Falling: Odd Girl Out, Something In Disguise, Falling, And Getting It Right (Paragon Softcover Large Print Bks.)
by Elizabeth Jane HowardFrom the bestselling author of the Cazalet Chronicles comes Elizabeth Jane Howard's Falling.Harry Kent is a sensitive man in late middle age, a reader and a thinker, without means perhaps but not without charm.Daisy has recovered from her unhappy past by learning to be self-sufficient, and viewing trust as a weakness. But there is still a part of her that yearns to be cared for once more.It is this part that Henry sees, and with dedicated and calculated patience he works at her defences. So despite all attempts to resist his attentions, Daisy finds herself falling under Henry's spell . . .
Odinn's Child: The Heroes Of The North Live On (Viking #1)
by Tim SeverinOdinn's Child by Tim Severin is the stunning first volume in the captivating Viking trilogy - an epic historical adventure in a world full of Norse mythology and bloodthirsty battles.Our story begins in the year 1001 and the toddler, Thorgils Leiffson, son of Leif the Lucky and Thorgunna, arrives on the shores of Brattahlid in Greenland to be brought up in the foster care of a young woman - Gudrid. Thorgils is a rootless character of quicksilver intelligence and adaptability. He has inherited his mother’s ability of second sight and his destiny lies beyond the imagination of those around him. Virtually orphaned, he is raised by various mentors, who teach him the ancient ways and warn him of the invasion of the ‘White Christ’ into the land of the ‘Old Gods’. Thorgils is guided by a restless quest for adventure and the wanderlust of his favoured god, Odinn. His fortunes take him into many dangerous situations as well as to the brink of death by execution, in battle, disease and shipwreck . . .
Sworn Brother: The Heroes Of The North Live On (Viking #2)
by Tim SeverinSworn Brother by Tim Severin is the thrilling second volume in the Viking trilogy - an epic adventure in a world full of Norse mythology and bloodthirsty battles.London, 1019: a few months have passed since Thorgils has escaped the clutches of the Irish Church only to find himself at the centre of a capricious love affair with Aelfgifu, wife of Knut the Great, ruler of England, and one of the most powerful men of the Viking empire. A passionate relationship between two unlikely lovers begins to unfold, which forebodes uncontrollable consequences… When Thorgils is finally on the run again, he meets Grettir, an outlaw who is feared by most for his volatile and brooding behaviour. The two men become travel companions and sworn brothers – which binds them together beyond death, but at the gates of Byzantium Thorgils' loyalty is put to the ultimate test . . .
King's Man (Viking #3)
by Tim SeverinKing's Man by Tim Severin is the thrilling third volume in the captivating Viking trilogy - an epic adventure in a world full of Norse mythology and bloodthirsty battles.Constantinople, 1035: Thorgils has become a member of the Varangian lifeguard and witnesses the glories of the richest city on earth but also the murderous ways of the imperial family. Under the leadership of warrior chief Harald Sigurdsson he is set up as the unwitting bait in a deadly ambush to destroy Arab pirates harassing the Byzantine shipping lanes in the Mediterranean. When Harald eventually ascends the throne of Norway, his liegeman Thorgils is despatched on a secret mission to Duke William of Normandy with a plan to coordinate the twin invasions of England. On 20 September 1066 Harald’s fleet of three hundred ships sails up the Ouse, confident of success, but a prophetic dream warns Thorgils that Duke William has duped his allies and the Norsemen are heading for disaster at Stamford Bridge. Thorgils embarks upon a race against time to reach and warn his liege lord before the battle begins. But will Odinn’s devout follower really be able to anticipate what fate has decreed and save the heritage of his Viking ancestors?
The Tower
by Valerio Massimo ManfrediValerio Massimo Manfredi's The Tower is a modern thriller solving an ancient mystery. AD 70. A ferocious, mysterious force hidden in a solitary tower annihilated a squad of Roman soldiers advancing through the Sahara desert. There was a single survivor: the Etruscan diviner Avile Vipinas, who later described the horror of the creature in the tower and suggested how it could be destroyed.Nearly 2,000 years later, to find the tower and solve its unutterable mystery, three men venture into the heart of the Sahara: an archaeologist following the traces of his father, a colonel from the Foreign Legion thirsting for revenge, and a priest who puts his faith to the ultimate test. Just what is the dark being that slumbers in the tower?
The Oracle
by Valerio Massimo ManfrediValerio Massimo Manfredi's The Oracle is a modern thriller inspired by an ancient prophecy.1973. Professor Periklis Harvatis, working alone and late into the night on an important archaeological dig, unearths a magnificent golden vase upon which the enigmatic images of a long-lost second Odyssey are engraved, showing the mystery of Ulysses' final voyage. But in the very same chamber, the Professor sees something so frightening that less than seven hours later he dies . . . but not before he has ensured the safety of the vase. Ten years later, a series of gruesome deaths connected to the rape and murder during the student protests in Athens of a Greek woman, on the same night as Professor Harvatis's discovery, is perplexing the authorities. Each atrocity is accompanied by a dire quotation from the ancient sources, exposing an ingeniously cruel mind.Who is behind these murders? How are these two events connected? And what is the significance of the age-old prophecy of the Odyssey?
Pauper's Gold
by Margaret DickinsonMargaret Dickinson's Pauper's Gold is the heartfelt story of triumph over adversity, in the cotton mills of Derbyshire.Hannah Francis has been forced to leave her beloved mother and the life she knows in the silk mill town of Macclesfield and is set to become an apprentice at a cotton mill in the Derbyshire dales. It is a cruel blow for such a young girl, but her three travelling companions are even younger than she is, and Hannah is determined to keep their spirits up and remain in good cheer. Once she is settled in the mill, Hannah discovers that the hours of work are long, and the daily routine is dangerous, arduous and harsh, but her bright singing and capacity for joy lighten the load for everyone. Hannah soon becomes a favourite with the other mill workers. Friendships are forged and an innocent love starts to blossom. But can such a fragile love survive cruel reality? It is not long before she attracts the eye of Edmund Critchlow, the man who owns them all, body and soul - the man from whom no pretty mill girl is safe. Times are hard in the cotton industry as civil war rages across America affecting even the mill owner and the lives of all his workers . . .
Miss Purdy's Class: A Captivating Novel Of Courage, Belief And Love
by Annie MurrayA tale of hardship and social injustice, Miss Purdy's Class by Annie Murray is a heartfelt saga with strong emotional relationships at its heart.In the New Year of 1936, Gwen Purdy, aged twenty-one, leaves her home to become a schoolteacher in a poor area of Birmingham. Her parents are horrified, but she has the support of her fiance, a recently ordained clergyman. Her early weeks in Birmingham are an eye-opener: at the school she faces a class of fifty-two children, some of whose homes are among Birmingham's very poorest. One of the teachers, the elderly Miss Drysdale, proves an inspiration, and Gwen begins to understand the appalling hardships endured by the children as she is drawn into their lives.Little Lucy Fernandez is a 'cripple' and an epileptic. Through her, Gwen meets Daniel Fernandez, the elder brother in a fatherless household. The family has roots in a Wales' small Spanish community, and Daniel is a young man as fierce and passionate in his emotions as in his social concerns. Gwen falls in love, and is quickly engaged in his battle to win rights for the working classes. As the Brigades are mobilized to fight the Spanish Civil War, Gwen has to face the fact that Daniel has secrets in his past which she would rather not face up to . . .
The Cemetery of Secrets
by David HewsonThe Cemetery of Secrets is an atmospheric mystery by the bestselling author of The Killing, David Hewson. In the ancient burial ground of San Michele on an island off Venice, a young woman’s casket is prised open, an object wrenched from her hands, and an extraordinary story begins. Young academic Daniel Forster arrives in Venice working for the summer in the library of a private collector. When his employer sends him to buy a stolen violin from a petty thief, he ignites a chain of violence, deception, intrigue and murder. Daniel is drawn into the police investigation surrounding a beautiful woman, a mysterious palazzo and a lost musical masterpiece dating back to 1733. Separated by centuries, two tales of passion, betrayal and danger collide transporting the reader from the intrigue of Vivaldi’s Venice to the gritty world of a modern detective. From the genius of prodigy to the greed of a killer, The Cemetery of Secrets builds to a shattering crescendo – and one last, breathtaking surprise.Previously titled Lucifer's Shadow.
Empire of Dragons
by Valerio Massimo ManfrediAnatolia, AD 260. The Roman outpost of Edessa is on its last legs after the Persian siege, and Roman Emperor Publius Licinius Valerianus agrees to meet his adversary to negotiate peace. But the meeting is a trap and the Emperor ends up in enemy hands, along with the commander of his personal guard, Marcus Metellus Aquila, and ten of his most valiant and trusted men. Their destiny is sealed: they will rot away in a mine, forced into slavery. But Metellus - legate of the Second Augusta Legion, hero of the empire - and his men break free and find shelter at an oasis, where they meet a mysterious, exiled prince. The Romans become the prince's private militia, agreeing to safeguard the prince's journey back to his homeland, Sera Maior, the mythical Kingdom of Silk - China. And so they begin an extraordinary and epic journey through the forests of India, the Himalayan mountains, the deserts of central Asia, all the way to the heart of China - as the very survival of the world's greatest two empires is at stake.
Sing As We Go
by Margaret DickinsonSing As We Go is a heart-rending wartime novel from the much-loved author of The Clippie Girls, Margaret Dickinson.Kathy Burton longs to escape the drudgery of her life as an unpaid labourer on her father's farm. With only the local church choir and the occasional dance at the village hall for amusement, she yearns for the bright lights. Spurning Morry Robinson's proposal of marriage, Kathy goes to work in the city and is captivated by the sophisticated and handsome floor manager, Tony Kendall.Kathy has fallen deeply and irrevocably in love and, even when the country is plunged into war, she can see no obstacle to their future. But she has reckoned without the devious mind of Tony's invalid mother, Beatrice Kendall.Determined that the possessive woman won't win, Kathy plans her wedding, but the day is ruined when Tony is called up. Feeling deserted, Kathy is forced to face yet further heartache alone. At last, she finds solace in joining a concert party entertaining service men and women. But behind the songs and the smiles, her heart is breaking . . .