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The Embroidered Sunset
by Joan Aiken'Miss Aiken’s book is immensely enjoyable – her gift for gothic romantic charm is as effectively deployed as ever' TLSLucy Culpepper doesn’t take no for an answer. An aspiring pianist she dreams of being taught by the renowned Max Benovek and will defy all odds – life threatening illness, a missing great aunt, and a disgruntled uncle – to achieve it.After finding out her Uncle Wilbie has used up her college fund, Lucy discovers a selection of enchantingly beautiful paintings in the attic. Being the miserly man he is, Wilbie wants to keep any possible profits for these paintings and bargains on sending Lucy to England to find the artist – Great-aunt Fennel. Knowing Benovek lives in London she snaps up the opportunity and undertakes the adventure of a lifetime. But though Benovek proves easy to find and immediately takes Lucy to heart, she sets off to Yorkshire only to find that her old aunt Fennel has vanished. Lucy’s search entangles her in a mystery of murder and deceit . . . can they discover who is the real aunt Fennel?Awardwinning author Joan Aiken brings a shocking finale to a witty and entertaining plot full of unexpected twists and turns in modern suspense novel, The Embroidered Sunset.
The Five-Minute Marriage
by Joan AikenDelphie Carteret is forced into a dangerous marriage of convenience in Joan Aiken’s stunning regency drama, The Five Minute Marriage. Delphie has been disinherited from her family’s life of luxury and wealth, and as her mother's health and wits deteriorate she has no choice but to seek help from distant relatives. However when she arrives at the family’s grand house she discovers part of their fortune is rightfully hers, and the only way to obtain her inheritance is through a sham marriage to her cousin.Unknowingly Delphie has tangled herself in a web of family rivalry and deceit which goes back for generations. Other members of the family are not just in debt but in the Marshalsea - the debtors' prison described by Dickens. Forced to maintain the charade of her marriage, Delphie is finally drawn into a dramatic fight for her life, and a surprisingly romantic finale on the roof of the family mansion . . .Joan Aiken has woven together an enchanting plot of romance and rivalry that will grip readers till the very end. Fans of Georgette Heyer should definitely make this novel their next read.
Milly-Molly-Mandy's Schooldays (The World of Milly-Molly-Mandy #2)
by Joyce Lankester BrisleyJoin the little girl in the candy-striped dress as Milly-Molly-Mandy gets to know a teacher, goes excavating and tries sledging – whatever she and her friends are up to, you're sure to have fun when they're around!The much-loved stories of Milly-Molly-Mandy and her everyday adventures in the countryside have charmed generations of children since their first publication in 1928. Perfect for reading aloud, the five stories in Joyce Lankester Brisley's Milly-Molly-Mandy's Schooldays will bring back happy memories for parents and grandparents, and introduce younger readers to an enduringly popular heroine and her friends little-friend-Susan, Billy Blunt and Toby the dog. Enjoy more of Milly-Molly-Mandy's fun adventures with More of Milly-Molly-Mandy and Milly-Molly-Mandy Again.
Peril at End House: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Poirot #8)
by Agatha ChristieAgatha Christie’s ingenious murder mystery, reissued with a striking cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.
Chedsy Place
by Richmal CromptonBringing together a memorable cast of characters, Chedsy Place is a warm and witty novel, filled with the humour, piercing observation and remarkable characterization that makes Richmal Crompton one of the world's best-loved writers.When Richard Beaton inherits Chedsy Place, he feels nostalgic as he returns to his beloved family home. For him it is locked in the past – a place of warm childhood memories – and he cannot afford to keep it. But for his wife, Celia, walking round the grand house sparks the kernel of an idea: to restore it to its former glory by opening its doors once more for Christmas – only this time, to paying guests.Horrified by the idea, Robert watches as the guests arrive from far and wide: the domineering Judith Kimball with her shy secretary Sidney Lattimer, and the chauffeur, who takes a shine to Sidney; the Paynter family with their excitable twin daughters, Cicely and Angela; Miss Nettleton, who travels indomitably about the British Isles seeing the sights; Mrs Stephenson-Pollitt, who retires 'into the silence' each afternoon to seek communion with the spirits, and her nephew, Brian, who is destined for the clergy but must battle with his conscience when he meets Angela. As the guests settle in for Christmas, Robert knows that Chedsy Place will never be the same again . . .
Enbury Heath
by Stella Gibbons'Don't show proper feelin', does it, not turnin' up for 'is dad's funeral?'Siblings Sophia, Harry and Francis have lost both their parents in the last six months. Attending the funeral for their estranged father, they wonder what will become of them now that the last connection to their difficult childhood has been severed. What have they inherited - financially and emotionally - to guide them to adulthood, and build a new home together? Enbury Heath is a semi-autobiographical account of the years which Gibbons and her brothers spent living in a cottage in Hampstead Heath: a wonderfully astute, bittersweet novel about family, grief, money, and the pleasures of London.
Penguin Readers Level 2: Ballet Shoes (ELT Graded Reader)
by Noel StreatfeildPenguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online.Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content.The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary.Ballet Shoes, a Level 2 Reader, is A1+ in the CEFR framework. Sentences contain a maximum of two clauses, introducing the future tenses will and going to, present continuous for future meaning, and comparatives and superlatives. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages.Sisters Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil do not have parents, but they have a very kind uncle. The sisters learn to dance, act and sing at a dancing school. But soon they have no money. What will happen to them?Visit the Penguin Readers websiteExclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.
The Wall
by Mary Roberts RinehartA childhood haven becomes a house of death.'Rinehart's literary distinction lies in the combination of love, humour and murder that she wove into her tales ... She helped the mystery story grow up' New York Times Sunset House has been Marcia's summer home for her entire life. Both of her parents died there, and she and her brother spent their youth exploring its rambling hallways and seaside grounds. They love the old house, but Marcia's sister-in-law has never taken to it. Juliette loathes the sea, and soon comes to loathe her husband, filing for divorce - and demanding alimony that could only be paid by the sale of Sunset House. A few days later Juliette disappears. And a week after that, her body is discovered.Marcia must work quickly to keep her beloved childhood home from being forever spoiled. Whilst somewhere in Sunset House a murderer plans the next move...
The Twins at St Clare's: Book 1 (St Clare's)
by Enid BlytonSchooldays at St Clare's are never dull for twins Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan in Enid Blyton's much-loved boarding school series.In book one, the twins are simply not having it. St Clare's is beneath them and they're determined to cause a stir. But life at St Clare's is not as easy as they thought. They have several surprises and arguments before they admit their troubles are of their own making, and settle down to make friends. Expect mischief at St Clare's!Enid Blyton has been delighting readers for more than seventy years. Her best-loved characters include Noddy the wooden boy, Timmy the dog from The Famous Five and heroine Darrell Rivers from Malory Towers.Between 1941 and 1946, Enid Blyton wrote six novels set at St Clare's. This edition features the original text and is unillustrated.
The O'Sullivan Twins at St Clare's: Book 2 (St Clare's)
by Enid BlytonSchooldays at St Clare's are never dull for twins Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan in Enid Blyton's much-loved boarding school series.In book two, it's the start of the Easter Term and the twins are looking forward to meeting all their friends at St Clare's once more. They are determined to be obedient and studious, but the new girls prove to be so much fun. Poor Mam'zelle had better watch out.Expect mischief at St Clare's!Between 1941 and 1946, Enid Blyton wrote six novels set at St Clare's. This edition features the original text and is unillustrated.
Another World
by Pat BarkerIn Pat Barker's Another World, the First World War casts its shadow down the generations.At 101 years old, Geordie, a proud Somme veteran, lingers painfully through the days before his death. His grandson Nick is anguished to see this once-resilient man haunted by the ghosts of the trenches and the horror surrounding his brother's death. But in Nick's family home the dark pressures of the past also encroach on the present. As he and his wife Fran try to unite their uneasy family of step- and half-siblings, the discovery of a sinister Victorian drawing reveals the murderous history of their house and casts a violent shadow on their lives...'Gripping in the best, most exquisite sense of the word - as if something wicked were holding you in its clutches' Mail on Sunday'Brilliant... without question the best novel I have read this year... once again, World War I extends its dark shadows across Pat Barker's extraordinary writing' Val Hennessy, Daily Mail'One of the best things she has ever done' Ruth Rendell'Utterly compelling... she is a novelist who probes deep, revealing what people prefer to keep hidden' Allan Massie, Scotsman'Demonstrates the extraordinary immediacy and vigour of expression we have come to expect from Barker . . . brilliant touches of observation, an unfailing ear for dialogue, a talent for imagery that is darting and brief but unfailingly apt... this is a novel that doesn't allow you to miss a sentence' Barry Unsworth, The New York Times Book Review'Intensely feeling... Geordie is a beautifully realised character, tough, humorous, and finally enigmatic' Helen Dunmore, The Times
Friends And Relations: A Novel (Penguin Modern Classics Series)
by Elizabeth BowenTwo sisters, two weddings, just months apart. These marriages produce a tangle of friends, relations and lovers that starts to unravel ten years later, during one intense week. Two of Bowen’s most memorable characters are in attendance: Lady Elfrida, a creature of privilege, and Theodora Thirdman, a gawky teenager with zero self-awareness. The sunset of prosperity is upon this complacent, moneyed class, but Bowen’s precise and beautiful prose pins real pain and comedy upon its inhabitants.
Miss Marple 3-Book Collection 1: The Murder at the Vicarage, The Body in the Library, The Moving Finger
by Agatha ChristieThe first three full-length Miss Marple novels, set before and during the Second World War, see the world's most accomplished amateur sleuth unravelling the dark side of human nature to uncover three cases of Murder Most Foul!
Summer Term at St Clare's: Book 3 (St Clare's #Vol. 3)
by Enid BlytonSchooldays at St Clare's are never dull for twins Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan in Enid Blyton's much-loved boarding school series.In book three, Pat and Isabel look forward to their first summer term at St Clare's. They soon make friends with new girl Carlotta, who has a secret past that she's desperate to hide. But sneaky Prudence finds out and tells everybody. How will the class react?There'll be mischief at St Clare's!Between 1941 and 1946, Enid Blyton wrote six novels set at St Clare's. This edition features the original text and is unillustrated.
Claudine at St Clare's: Book 7 (St Clare's #Vol. 5)
by Enid BlytonSchooldays at St Clare's are never dull for twins Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan in Enid Blyton's much-loved boarding school series.In book seven, Eileen's mother is the new Matron and Mam'zelle's niece, Claudine, joins St Clare's and causes havoc wherever she goes. The twins are enchanted by rebellious Claudine and her mad-cap plans, but will she last the term?Expect more mischief at St Clare's!Between 1941 and 1946, Enid Blyton wrote six novels set at St Clare's. This edition features the original text and is unillustrated.
The Easy Life
by Marguerite Duras'One of the 20th century's greatest thinkers and prose stylists' New York Times'A novel of the disquieting contours of family, and of the mind, and of life unceasing even in the midst of death by one of the most important, visionary writers of all time' Amina Cain, author of Indelicacy WITH A FOREWORD BY KATE ZAMBRENOThere's nothing to do about boredom, I'm bored, but one day I won't be bored anymore. Soon I'll know that it's not even worth the trouble. We'll have the easy life.Twenty-five-year-old Francine Veyrenattes, confined to the family farm, already feels that life is passing her by. But after Francine lets slip a terrible secret, culminating in the violent deaths of her brother and uncle, her world is shattered. Fleeing the farm for the seaside, Francine finds herself disintegrating. Lying in the sun with her toes in the sand, she restlessly wishes for things to be somehow easier, to have a life worth living. But then the calm and quiet is broken yet again – by another tragedy and a senseless death, in which Francine finds herself implicated. Cast out of paradise, and stranded between her home and the rest of the world, she must confront her rapidly dissolving sense of self if she is to find a way to survive.'It's a masterpiece, and a little known, if not unknown, masterpiece … Any serious reader of this author's work must begin with this novel' YVES BERGER
The Second Form at St Clare's: Book 4 (St Clare's #Vol. 4)
by Enid BlytonSchooldays at St Clare's are never dull for twins Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan in Enid Blyton's much-loved boarding school series.In book four, the twins have made it to second form. New girls Gladys and Mirabel have great talents for acting and music, and Elsie, the form's unpopular Head Girl, learns to be less spiteful.Expect more mischief at St Clare's!Between 1941 and 1946, Enid Blyton wrote six novels set at St Clare's. This edition features the original text and is unillustrated.
Fifth Formers of St Clare's: Book 8 (St Clare's #Vol. 6)
by Enid BlytonSchooldays at St Clare's are never dull for twins Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan in Enid Blyton's much-loved boarding school series.In book eight, the girls are in the fifth form, about to reach the sixth, but they are not too old for tricks and escapades, jokes and excitement. Especially amusing is French girl Antoinette who, like her sister Claudine, doesn't always understand the ways of St. Clare's.Expect more mischief at St Clare's!Between 1941 and 1946, Enid Blyton wrote six novels set at St Clare's. This edition features the original text and is unillustrated.
Penguin Readers Level 5: The Pursuit of Love (ELT Graded Reader)
by Nancy MitfordPenguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series. Please note that the eBook edition does NOT include access to the audio edition and digital book. Written for learners of English as a foreign language, each title includes carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises.Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content.The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary.The Pursuit of Love, a Level 5 Reader, is B1 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing present perfect continuous, past perfect, reported speech and second conditional. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly.The Pursuit of Love is about the love adventures of Fanny Logan's cousin, Linda Radlett, who is beautiful, brave and fun. Linda finally finds love and seems happy, but this is the 1930s and her country will soon go to war with Germany. What will happen to Linda then?Visit the Penguin Readers websiteRegister to access online resources including tests, worksheets and answer keys. Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock a digital book and audio edition (not available with the eBook).
Adrian Mole: The Collected Poems
by Sue Townsend'It's really, really, really funny' David Walliams Mole Press - a brand new imprint of Penguin Books - is proud to announce the first publication of The Collected Poems of Adrian Mole to mark the author's 50TH birthday.--------------------------- 'Edgy politics, tortured eroticism, misunderstood intellect, changing Britain - a whiff of the sublime. Mole's contribution is significant' Daily Telegraph Featuring poems scattered over nearly thirty years of writing and salvaged from the diaries 'authored' by one Sue Townsend, this slim volume features more than thirty pieces of Adrian's unique art. From his timeless first documented poem - The Tap - via classic odes to his muse, first and only true love Pandora (I adore ya), we follow Adrian's life in verse form. We not only witness his burgeoning political anger in works like Mrs Thatcher (Do you weep, Mrs Thatcher, do you weep?) but also see in later poems his merciless examination of the hollow shell of masculinity as well as documenting his declining libido in tragic pieces like To My Organ. For the first time in a single volume, these are the collected poems of misunderstood intellectual and tortured poet Adrian Mole. 'I ruthlessly exploited Adrian. But he can't afford to sue me' Sue Townsend 'Wonderfully funny and sharp as knives' Sunday Times 'One of the great comic creations' Daily Mirror 'The funniest person in the world' Caitlin Moran
The Secret Diary & Growing Pains of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾: The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 ¾ And The Growing Pains Of Adrian Mole (The\adrian Mole Ser. #1)
by Sue TownsendGet yourself TWO BOOKS IN ONE for this amazing price.'I not only wept, I howled and hooted and had to get up and walk around the room and wipe my eyes so that I could go on reading' Tom SharpeTHE MUST-HAVE CHRISTMAS GIFT for devoted Adrian Mole fans.Celebrate Adrian Mole's 50th Birthday with this new double edition, featuring the FIRST TWO BOOKS in the hilarious collection and see life through the spectacles of a misunderstood boy growing up in the early 1980s.---------------------------Friday January 2ndI felt rotten today. It's my mother's fault for singing 'My Way' at two o'clock in the morning at the top of the stairs. Just my luck to have a mother like her. There is a chance my parents could be alcoholics. Next year I could be in a children's home. Meet Adrian Mole, a hapless teenager providing an unabashed, pimples-and-all glimpse into adolescent life. Telling us candidly about his parents' marital troubles, The Dog, his life as a tortured poet and 'misunderstood intellectual', his love for the divine Pandora and his horror at learning of his mother's pregnancy, Adrian's painfully honest diary is a hilarious and heartfelt chronicle of misspent adolescence.Features the complete texts of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ and The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole. 'I've never experienced a greater sense of recognition than when reading The Secret Diary' David Nicholls'Every sentence is witty and well thought out, and the whole has reverberations beyond itself' The Times 'Townsend has held a mirror up to the nation and made us happy to laugh at what we see in it' Sunday Telegraph'One of the great comic creations' Daily Mirror'The funniest person in the world' Caitlin Moran
Kaddish For An Unborn Child
by Imre Kertesz Tim Wilkinson‘A fine and powerful piece of work… Dark, at times cryptic, and hugely energetic’ Irish Times “No!" is the first word of this haunting novel. It is how a middle-aged Hungarian-Jewish writer answers an acquaintance who asks him if he has a child, and it is how he answered his wife years earlier when she told him that she wanted one. The loss, longing and regret that haunt the years between these two 'No!'s give rise to one of the most eloquent meditations ever written on the Holocaust. As Kertész's narrator addresses the child he couldn't bear to bring into the world, he takes readers on a mesmerising, lyrical journey through his life, from his childhood to Auschwitz to his failed marriage.
The Chocolate Cobweb
by Charlotte ArmstrongA young artist is searching for the truth about her past - but does she really want to know...?With an introduction by A J Finn, bestselling author of THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOWSuperb classic crime from 'the mistress of day-lit terror!' NEW YORK TIMES'Psychologically rich, intricately plotted and full of dark surprises' Megan AbbottWhen Amanda Garth was born, a nearly-disastrous mix-up caused the hospital to briefly hand her over to the prestigious Garrison family instead of to her birth parents. The error was quickly fixed, Amanda was never told, and the secret was forgotten for twenty-three years ... until her aunt thoughtlessly revealed it in casual conversation.But what if the real accident was Amanda being returned to the wrong parents? After all, she seems much more like the painter Tobias Garrison. Amanda is determined to discover the truth within her aunt's bizarre anecdote, but soon is trapped in a web of lies, suspicions and deadly secrets ...
Narcissa
by Richmal CromptonI don't think that people are people to her any longer. They're just mirrors. If she can see the right picture of herself in them, she likes them. If she can't, she dislikes them.Stella Markham is the apple of her aunt's eye: gentle, kind, beautiful and accomplished – the model of a perfect child. Her guardians love her and her playmates worship her. Sensitive and thoughtful, she is the very image of nineteenth century loveliness – that is, until things don't go her way. From Richmal Crompton, the bestselling author of the Just William stories, Narcissa follows Stella from childhood through courtship and motherhood, detailing the triumphs and tragedies of a woman who is willing to do anything to maintain the image of her own perfection, sacrificing those she loves to her own vanity.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Book And Pin (The Chronicles of Narnia #2)
by C. S. LewisIllustrations in this ebook appear in vibrant full colour on a full colour ebook device, and in rich black and white on all other devices.