Bittersweet & startling, A SWEET OBSCURITY is a novel of childhood, love & the consequences of how lives are lived. ` Intriguing & impressive. A memorable study of a child forced cruelly, even tragically, to grow up too soon` Sunday Times Since her mother`s death, nine year old Dido has been living with her eccentric aunt, acting as peacekeeper between Eliza, her estranged husband Giles & his girlfriend. They are each cruelly burdened in different ways. Chance draws them down to Cornwall, where a country idyll offers to lighten their urban cares. Eliza falls in love with local farmer, Pearce, an event that causes the four adults to re-assess their lives, with some painful & unforeseen consequences for adults & child alike. ...

A Guardian ` Readers` Choice` Best Book of 2017; Birdsong is the soundtrack to our world. We have tried to capture its fleeting, ephemeral beauty, & the feelings it inspires, for millennia.; In this captivating & lively account, Richard Smyth explores science, music, literature, landscape & the thousand different ways in which birdsong has moved us. A bright song on a lonely street can lift our mood, bringing comfort, wonder or joy. But can we learn to listen, really listen, to what the birds are saying? Or do they just tell us back our own tales? ...

`A real & rare gem, this is the must-have book on Venice & its cooking`
- Anna del Conte Skye Mc Alpine, author of the successful
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` Hi! My name is Nao, & I am a time being. Do you know what a time being is? Well, if you give me a moment, I will tell you.` Ruth discovers a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the shore of her beach home. Within it lies a diary that expresses the hopes & dreams of a young girl. She suspects it might have arrived on a drift of debris from the 2011 tsunami. With every turn of the page, she is sucked deeper into an enchanting mystery. In a small cafe in Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao Yasutani is navigating the challenges thrown up by modern life. In the face of cyberbullying, the mysteries of a 104-year-old Buddhist nun & great-grandmother, & the joy & heartbreak of family, Nao is trying to find her own place
- & voice
- through a diary she hopes will find a reader & friend who finally understands her. Weaving across continents & decades, & exploring the relationship between reader & writer, fact & fiction, A Tale for the Time Being is an extraordinary novel about our shared humanity & the search for home.

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` Hi! My name is Nao, & I am a time being. Do you know what a time being is? Well, if you give me a moment, I will tell you.` Ruth discovers a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the shore of her beach home. Within it lies a diary that expresses the hopes & dreams of a young girl. She suspects it might have arrived on a drift of debris from the 2011 tsunami. With every turn of the page, she is sucked deeper into an enchanting mystery. In a small cafe in Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao Yasutani is navigating the challenges thrown up by modern life. In the face of cyberbullying, the mysteries of a 104-year-old Buddhist nun & great-grandmother, & the joy & heartbreak of family, Nao is trying to find her own place
- & voice
- through a diary she hopes will find a reader & friend who finally understands her. Weaving across continents & decades, & exploring the relationship between reader & writer, fact & fiction, ”A Tale for the Time Being” is an extraordinary novel about our shared humanity & the search for home.

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Lucie Manette has been separated from her father for eighteen years while he languished in Paris` most feared prison, the Bastille. Finally reunited, the Manettes` fortunes become inextricably intertwined with those of two men, the heroic aristocrat Darnay & the dissolute lawyer Carton. Their story, which encompasses violence, revenge, love & redemption, is grippingly played out against the backdrop of the terrifying brutality of the French Revolution. ...

Charles Dickens` ”A Tale of Two Cities” portrays a world on fire, split between Paris & London during the brutal & bloody events of the French Revolution. This ” Penguin Classics” edition of is edited with an introduction & notes by Richard Maxwell. ` It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...` After eighteen years as a political prisoner in the Bastille the aging Dr Manette is finally released & reunited with his daughter in Engl&. There, two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, & Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette. From the tranquil lanes of London, they are all drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror & soon fall under the lethal shadow of La Guillotine. This edition uses the text as it appeared in its first serial publication in 1859 to convey the full scope of Dickens`s vision, &

Includes:: the original illustrations by H.K. Browne (” Phiz”). Richard Maxwell`s introduction discusses the intricate interweaving of epic drama with personal tragedy. Charles Dickens is one of the best-loved novelists in the English language, whose 200th anniversary was celebrated in 2012. His most famous books, including ” Oliver Twist”, ” Great Expectations”, ”A Tale of Two Cities”, ” David Copperfield” & ” The Pickwick Papers”, have been adapted for stage & screen & read by millions. If you enjoyed ”A Tale of Two Cities”, you might like Dickens` ” The Old Curiosity Shop”, also available in ” Penguin Classics”.

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Charles Darnay & Sydney Carton are alike in appearance, different in character & in love with the same woman. In the midst of the French Revolution, Darnay, who has fled to London to escape the cruelty of the French nobility, must return to Paris to rescue his servant from death. But he endangers his own life & is captured. Carton may be able to help, but will his resemblance be enough to save Darnay`s life? This title provides an enticing introduction by bestselling author, Roddy Doyle. ...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.... These well-known & loved lines begin Dickens`s most exciting novle, set during the bloodiest moments of the French Revolution. When former aristocrat Charles Darnay learns that an old family servant needs his help, he abandons his safe haven in England & returns to Paris. But once there, the Revolutionary authorities arrest him not for anything he has done, but for his rich family`s crimes. Also in danger: his wife, Lucie, their young daughter, & her aged father, who have followed him across the Channel. The world`s greatest works of literature are now available in these beautiful keepsake volumes. Bound in real cloth, & featuring gilt edges & ribbon markers, these beautifully produced books are a wonderful way to build a handsome library of classic literature. These are the essential novels that belong in every home. They`ll transport readers to imaginary worlds & provide excitement, entertainment, & enlightenment for years to come. All of these novels feature attractive illustrations & have an unequalled period feel that will grace the library, the bedside table or bureau. ...

`I wouldn`t scream if I were you. Unless you want the whole world to learn about your husband & his mistress.` Agatha Christie, in London to visit her literary agent, boards a train, preoccupied & flustered in the knowledge that her husband Archie is having an affair. She feels a light touch on her back, causing her to lose her balance, then a sense of someone pulling her to safety from the rush of the incoming train. So begins a terrifying sequence of events. Her rescuer is no guardian angel; rather, he is a blackmailer of the most insidious, manipulative kind. Agatha must use every ounce of her cleverness & resourcefulness to thwart an adversary determined to exploit her genius for murder to kill on his behalf. ` Wilson not only knows his subject but he deftly moves the tale away from mere literary ventriloquism & into darker territory. Great fun, too` Observer ` The queen of crime is the central character in this audacious mystery, which reinvents the story of her mysterious disappearance with thrilling results` Guardian `A thoroughly clever entertainment & a fitting homage to the great author, but it has a chilling melancholy all its own` The Tablet What readers are saying about A Talent for Murder: ` The initial premise of the story is pure genius, & when the reader realises by the end of chapter one whose head they are inside, goose bumps are guaranteed to occur` Greg, Goodreads, 4 stars `A darkly twisting tale of murder & manipulation` Erin Britton, Net Galley, 4 stars ` This is a must-read for crime fiction fans, & Agatha Christie fans especially who will discover a new side to the Queen of Crime herself!` Vincent, Goodreads, 5 stars `I enjoy Agatha Christie & this book did not disappoint. I devoured this book in two days` Annie, Goodreads, 4 stars ` Great mystery & action novel featuring Agatha Christie as you`ve never seen her before. Part biography/part thrill ride this is one novel I didn`t want to end` Nikkia Neil, Net Galley, 5 stars ` An intriguing homage that stirs the imagination of the amateur sleuth in all of us.. . A Talent for Murder is one novel that definitely deserves attention & praise` Elspeth G. Perkin, Goodreads, 4 stars ` This was a really good read especially for fans of Agatha Christie & even those who have never read her books` Teresa, Goodreads, 4 stars ` So, so enjoyable! Great for book club discussion due to the ”real” mystery behind it` Kaylee Mitchell, Goodreads, 5 stars `A fun read for Christie fans` Roman Clodia, Net Galley, 4 stars `I`ll admit to being totally drawn along by this novel; I couldn`t wait to keep reading & find out how it would all turn out. I really would recommend this book as an interesting account of Christie`s missing eleven days; you will be entertained` Kate Baty, 4 stars, Net Galley ` An exciting novel, a must for all Christie fans! Did you see what was happening? Did you spot the red herrings? The obvious clues. No? I didn`t & that is probably what makes this a very clever novel` Joanne D`arcy, Net Galley, 5 stars `A very enjoyable read, in the tradition of Christie herself, well researched & inventive.. . plenty of unexpected plot twists to keep you on your toes. What fun!` Lisa Friel, Net Galley, 4 stars ` Unusual & entertaining` Tina Stringer, Net Galley 4 stars ` Entertaining, feasible plotting & an authentic narrative make this a highly enjoyable read` J Graham, Net Galley, 4 stars ...