` One night, when I am old, sick, right out of semen, & don`t need things to get any worse, I hear the noises growing louder. I am sure they are making love in Zenab`s bedroom which is next to mine.` Waldo, a feted filmmaker, is confined by old age & ill health to his London apartment. Frail & frustrated, he is cared for by his lovely younger wife, Zee. But when he suspects that Zee is beginning an affair with Eddie, `more than an acquaintance & less than a friend for over thirty years, ` Waldo is pressed to action: determined to expose the couple, he sets himself first to prove his suspicions correct
- & then to enact his revenge. Written with characteristic black humour & with an acute eye for detail, Kureishi`s eagerly awaited novella will have his readers dazzled once again by a brilliant mind at work.
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` Hilariously funny & inventive, & I love the extraordinary creatures & the one thirty-sixth troll protagonist...` Cressida Cowell `A rip-roaring, swashbuckling, amazerous magical adventure. Comedy Gold.` Francesca Simon` This hotel gets five stars from me` Liz Pichon`A splundishly swashbungling tale of trolls, goblins & other bonejangling creatures. Put on your wellies & plunge into the strangest hotel you will ever encounter. This is a hotel I hope I never find! Wonderfully, disgustingly funny.` Jeremy Strong` What a fun hotel! Book me in immediately!` Kaye Umansky Welcome to The Nothing to See Here Hotel! A hotel for magical creatures, where weird is normal for Frankie Banister & his parents who run the hotel. When a goblin messenger arrives at The Nothing to See Here Hotel, announcing the imminent arrival of the goblin prince Grogbah, Frankie & his family rush into action to get ready for their important guest. But it soon becomes obvious that the Banister family are going to have their work cut out with the demanding prince & his never-ending entourage, especially when it turns out the rude little prince is hiding a secret... The first book in a fabulously funny series by bestselling author Steven Butler, with a host of whacky characters brought to life with illustration from the wonderful Steven Lenton! ...

The Notting Hill Mystery was first published between 1862 & 1863 as an eight-part serial in the magazine Once a Week, written under the pseudonym Charles Felix. It has been widely described as the first detective novel, pre-dating as it does other novels such as Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone (1868) & Emile Gaboriau's first Monsieur Lecoq novel (1869) that have previously claimed that accolade. The story is told by insurance investigator Ralph Henderson, who is building a case against the sinister Baron 'R___', suspected of murdering his wife in order to obtain significant life insurance payments. Henderson descends into a maze of intrigue including a diabolical mesmerist, kidnapping by gypsies, slow-poisoners, a rich uncle's will & three murders. Presented in the form of diary entries, family letters, chemical analysis reports, interviews with witnesses & a crime scene map, the novel displays innovative techniques that would not become common features of detective fiction until the 1920s. Now made available again, with George du Maurier's original illustrations included for the first time since the original serial publication, this new edition of The Notting Hill Mystery will be welcomed by all fans of detective fiction. ...

The Notting Hill Mystery has been widely described as the first detective novel. The story is told by the insurance investigator Ralph Henderson, who is building a case against the sinister Baron R___, suspected of murdering his wife in order to claim her life insurance. Henderson descends into a maze of intrigue, including a diabolical mesmerist, kidnapping by gypsies, slow-poisoners, a rich uncle`s will & three murders. Presented in the form of diary entries, family letters, chemical analysis reports, interviews with witnesses & a crime scene map, the novel displays innovative techniques that would not become common features of detective fiction until the 1920s. This novel launched the British Library Crime Classics series in 2012, & is now reissued with a striking new cover design ...

” Witty, engaging & informative. The sort of book you choose for a friend & end up wanting to keep.” (Rachel Joyce). ” Ideal for anyone who has ever wondered what on earth to read next.” (S J Watson). ” Brilliant...a perfect gift.” (Vogue). This is a medical handbook, with a difference. Whether you have a stubbed toe or a severe case of the blues, within these pages you`ll find a cure in the form of a novel to help ease your pain. You`ll also find advice on how to tackle common reading ailments
- such as what to do when you feel overwhelmed by the number of books in the world, or you have a tendency to give up halfway through. When read at the right moment, a novel can change your life, & The Novel Cure is an enchanting reminder of that power.
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Isabel Dalhousie is one of Edinburgh`s most generous (but discreet) philanthropists
- but should she be more charitable? She wonders,
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While Bruce Chatwin is best known as a master of travel literature, his three acclaimed novels must not be overlooked. Here we see a writer exploring human life, from its freedoms to its limits, in ever more exhilarating & unexpected ways. In On the Black Hill, twin brothers begin to realise that the world beyond their familiar fields is changing. In Utz, a scholar visits a communist state to meet an eccentric porcelain collector. & in The Viceroy of Ouidah, an ambitious slave trader makes a choice that could threaten his ultimate dream. ...

Could George`s escape away from his pesky brothers be a bit too successful? An ode to imagination
- & annoying but indispensable
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”I wrote to Macmillan to suggest a new idea: a ` Nursery Edition` of Alice with pictures printed in.” Lewis Carroll`s diary, 15th February, 1881 The Nursery Alice, originally published by Macmillan & Co. in 1890, was the very first colour edition of Alice. It was intended, wrote Carroll, ”to be read by Children aged from Nought to Five. To be read? Nay, not so! Say rather to be thumbed, to be cooed over, to be dogs`-eared, to be rumpled, to be kissed...” With this new, younger readership in mind, Carroll rewrote Alice, simplifying & abridging the original text, while Tenniel redrew, enlarged & coloured twenty of his iconic illustrations. The resulting book is a delightfully engaging experience, readers prompted to interact not only with the story but also with the images & even the physical book itself, in a way that is thoroughly modern. Gloriously reproduced for the anniversary year, the present edition retains the every word of the original & restores the exquisite delicacy of Tenniel`s artwork
- lost in reproductions across the decades
- along with the delightful cover artwork by Emily Gertrude Thomson. This gem of a book is the perfect introduction to Alice, a delight for readers of every age.

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This is the story that inspired the legendary ballet, presented in a beautiful hardcover edition perfect for giving as a gift. Written in 1816 by the German Romantic E. T. A. Hoffmann for his children, nephews & nieces, The Nutcracker captures better than any other story a child`s wonder at Christmas. Since its publication, it has inspired hundreds of artists & adaptations, most notably the legendary ballet, scored by Russian composer Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Today, the story
- & its enchanting images of sugar plums & nutcrackers, mistletoe & the Kingdom of the Dolls
- continues to cast its fantastical spell on readers of all ages. E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822) was one of the major figures of European Romanticism, specializing in tales of the fantastical & uncanny. He was also a music critic, jurist, composer & caricaturist. His Tales of Hoffmann, available in Penguin Classics,

Includes:: such masterpieces as ` Mademoiselle de Scudery`, one of the earliest example of crime fiction, & Hoffmann`s terrifying version of ` The Sandman`. Joachim Neugroschel won three PEN translation awards & the French-American Foundation Translation Prize. He translated Thomas Mann`s Death in Venice & Sacher-Masoch`s Venus in Furs, among other works, for Penguin Classics.



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