penguin books ltd united kingdom (Plus de 11 000 résultats)

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Ask for It is a daring, lusty tale of a young woman's resistance and surrender to a man she jilted . . . England, 1770. As an agent to the Crown, Marcus Ashford has fought numerous sword fights and dodged bullets and cannon fire. But nothing arouses him more than his hunger for former fiance, Elizabeth . . . Years ago, she'd abandoned him for the boyishly charming Lord Hawthorne. But now Marcus has been ordered to defend Elizabeth from her husband's killers, and he has sworn to do so while tending to her other, more carnal needs. He will be at her service, in every sense. Fans of E L James will love this erotic romance from the multimillion bestselling author, Sylvia Day. Praise for Sylvia Day: 'Move over Danielle Steel and Jackie Collins, this is the dawn of a new Day' Amuse 'Several shades darker and a hundred degrees hotter than anything you've read before' Reveal. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER NUMBER ONE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER From one of our greatest voices in modern philosophy, author of The Course of Love, The Consolations of Philosophy, The Art of Travel and The School of Life 'A serious and optimistic set of practical ideas that could improve and alter the way we live' Jeanette Winterson, The Times 'A beautiful, inspiring book. offering a glimpse of a more enlightened path' Sunday Telegraph 'Smart, stimulating, sensitive. A timely and perceptive appreciation of how much wisdom is embodied in religious traditions and how we godless moderns might learn from it' Financial Times 'There isn't a page in this book that doesn't contain a striking idea or a stimulating parallel' Mail on Sunday Alain de Botton takes us one step further than Dawkins or Hitchens ventured - into a world of ideas beyond the God debate. All of us, whether religious, agnostic or atheist, are searching for meaning. And in this wise and life-affirming book, non-believer Alain de Botton both rejects the supernatural claims of the major religions and points out just how many good ideas they sometimes have about how we should live. And he suggests that non-believers can learn and steal from them. Picking and choosing from the thousands of years of advice assembled by the world's great religions, Alain de Botton presents a range of fascinating ideas and practical insights on art, community, love, friendship, work, life and death. He shows how they can be of use to us all, irrespective of whether we do or don't believe. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Robert Penn's It's All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels is a paean to the humble bike; it's the story of why we ride, and why this simple machine holds the power to transport us all. Robert Penn has ridden a bike most days of his life. He rides to get to work, to bathe in air and sunshine, to stay sane and to feel free. This is the story of his love affair with cycling and the journey to build his dream bike; a freewheeling pilgrimage taking him from Californian mountain bike inventors to British artisan frame builders, and from perfect components to the path of true happiness. 'A gem of a book . a joy' Economist 'Infectious, exhilarating, highly engaging' Independent 'Be swept along by Penn's enthusiasm, humour and refreshing candour' Sunday Telegraph 'Enriches your enjoyment of a ride' Sunday Times 'As a depiction of a world you might vote for, Penn's does not sound bad at all' Observer Robert Penn writes for the Financial Times, Observer and Conde Nast Traveller, as well as a host of cycling publications. He is the author of The Wrong Kind of Snow. Robert lives in the Black Mountains, South Wales with his wife and three children and commutes to work across a heather moor on a mountain bike. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. A moving tragedy of political intrigue and family strife, William Shakespeare's King Lear is edited by George Hunter, with an introduction by Kiernan Ryan in Penguin Shakespeare. 'How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!' The ageing King Lear, tired of office, decides to split his kingdom between his three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia; but the decision to allot their share based on the love they express for him proves to be a terrible mistake. When Cordelia refuses to take part in her father's charade, she is banished, leaving the king dependent on her manipulative and untrustworthy sisters. In the scheming and recriminations that follow, not only does the king's own sanity crumble, but the stability of the realm itself is also threatened. Cast out into the wilderness with a wise Fool and a cunning madman, it is only after losing what he values most that Lear understands the depth of his folly. This book contains a general introduction to Shakespeare's life and Elizabethan theatre, a separate introduction to King Lear, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, an essay discussing performance options on both stage and screen, and a commentary. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote about 38 plays (the precise number is uncertain), many of which are regarded as the most exceptional works of drama ever produced, including Romeo and Juliet (1595), Henry V (1599), Hamlet (1601), Othello (1604), King Lear (1606) and Macbeth (1606), as well as a collection of 154 sonnets, which number among the most profound and influential love-poetry in English. If you enjoyed King Lear, you might like Othello, also available in Penguin Shakespeare. 'The themes of love and loss, the futility of ambition, the pains of parenthood and the rewards of patience are treated with a magic touch' Ian Richardson. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. 'A lovely book . . . wise at heart and filled with colourful characters' Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat Salley Vickers, the top ten bestselling author of Miss Garnet's Angel and Dancing Backwards, returns with The Cleaner of Chartres, a perfect book club book, for readers who loved Joanne Harris's Chocolat. There is something special about the ancient cathedral of Chartres, with its mismatched spires, astonishing stained glass and strange labyrinth. And there is something special too about Agnes Morel, the mysterious woman who is to be found cleaning it each morning. No one quite knows where she came from - not the diffident Abbe Paul, who discovered her one morning twenty years ago, sleeping in the north porch; nor lonely Professor Jones, whose chaotic existence she helps to organise; nor Philippe Nevers, whose neurotic sister and newborn child she cares for; nor even the irreverent young restorer, Alain Fleury, who works alongside her each day and whose attention she catches with her tawny eyes, her colourful clothes and elusive manner. And yet everyone she encounters would surely agree that she is subtly transforming their lives, even if they couldn't quite say how. But with a chance meeting in the cathedral one day, the spectre of Agnes' past returns, provoking malicious rumours from the prejudiced Madame Beck and her gossipy companion Madame Picot. As the hearsay grows uglier, Agnes is forced to confront her history, and the mystery of her origins finally unfolds. The Cleaner of Chartres is a compelling story of darkness and light; of traumatic loss and second chances. Told with a sparkling wit and captivating charm, but infused throughout with deeper truths, it speaks of the power of love and mercy to transform the tragedies of the past. 'Subtle and utterly joyous.a contemporary moral and psychological drama every bit as absorbing as Miss Garnet's Angel' Sunday Times 'A magical and at times sinister story about love, loss, secrets and forgiveness . . .with Chocolat-type charm' Scotland on Sunday 'If you're looking for a book to take you by surprise, Salley Vickers' latest is the perfect choice' Psychologies Salley Vickers is the author of the word-of-mouth top 10 bestseller Miss Garnet's Angel and several other bestselling novels including Mr Golightly's Holiday, The Other Side of You and Dancing Backwards as well as a collection of short stories Aphrodite's Hat. She has worked as a cleaner, a dancer, a university teacher of literature and a psychoanalyst and is an Impac award winning novelist. She is currently a RLF fellow at Newnham College Cambridge and she divides her time between Cambridge and London. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Learning by heart is the best way to experience a poem, but the method has fallen from favour as part of the educational system. This small collection of the best English poems offers the reader the chance to re-engage with poetry. Filled with favourites, and thoughtfully selected by Laura Barber (editor of Penguin's Poems for Life and the forthcoming Penguin's Poems for Love) this anthologoy is an essential addition to everyone's repertoire. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Travels with Herodotus records how Kapuscinski set out on his first forays to India, China and Africa with the great Greek historian constantly in his pocket. He sees Louis Armstrong in Khartoum, visits Dar-es-Salaam, arrives in Algiers in time for a coup when nothing seems to happen (but he sees the Mediterranean for the first time). At every encounter with a new culture, Kapuscinski plunges in, curious and observant, thirsting to understand its history, its thought, its people. And he reads Herodotus so much that he often feels he is embarking on two journeys the first his assignment as a reporter, the second following Herodotus expeditions. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. 'More than 300 million people in the world speak English and the rest, it sometimes seems, try to.' Only Bill Bryson could make a book about the English language so entertaining. With his boundless enthusiasm and restless eye for the absurd, this is his astonishing tour of English. From its mongrel origins to its status as the world's most-spoken tongue; its apparent simplicity to its deceptive complexity; its vibrant swearing to its uncertain spelling and pronunciation, Bryson covers all this as well as the many curious eccentricities that make it as maddening to learn as it is flexible to use. Bill Bryson's classic Mother Tongue is a highly readable and hilarious tale of how English came to be the world's language. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Midnight in Peking is a gripping true murder mystery by Paul French THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER - AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4 'A first-rate murder story, a thrilling narrative. Hurtles along from one cliffhanger to the next' Spectator Peking, 1937: The teenage daughter of a British consul is brutally slaughtered. The police investigation is botched; as war looms British and Chinese authorities close ranks. A grieving father vows to uncover the truth - alone. Seventy-five years later, historian Paul French uncovers a stash of forgotten documents revealing the killer's identity . . . For those who loved The Suspicions of Mr Whicher and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil this is a riveting and evocative true crime classic. 'Gripping, spellbinding . . . drawing the reader from the very first pages into an unwholesome, macabre world' Guardian 'Part historical docudrama, part tragic opera . . . it is French's enormous achievement that he pieces together the puzzle. He tells this tale with the skill of an Agatha Christie' Financial Times 'Fascinating and irresistible. I couldn't put it down' John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil 'Vivid, pulsating, riveting. It is the storytelling flair that marks Midnight in Peking so highly: with its false leads and twists . . . it sucks the reader in like the best fiction' Scotsman Born in London, Paul French has lived in China for more than 10 years. He is a widely published analyst and commentator on China; his books include a history of North Korea, a biography of Shanghai adman and adventurer Carl Crow, and a history of foreign correspondents in China. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Organizations are a part of everyday life, whether in schools, hospitals, police stations or commercial companies. In this classics text, Charles Handy argues that the key to successful organizations lies in a better understanding of the needs and motivations of the people within them. Understanding Organizations offers an extended 'dictionary' of the key concepts -- culture, motivations, leadership, role-playing, co-ordinating and consultation -- and then shows how this 'language' can help us find new solutions to familiar problems. Few management writers have been as consistently challenging and influential as Charles Handy. Firmly established as one of the core business texts, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in organizations and how to make them work better. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. * 'Hilariously accurate. The funniest novel about the female mid-life crisis' The Times * Clara Hutt is forty-six years old, and in pretty good nick, considering. She has kick-ass underwear, a large and loving family, and a healthy sense of what matters in life. Until Gaby moves in. Gaby's an old school friend of Clara's who has just returned from LA. She may be a yoga mogul who lives off kale, and speaks a made-up fantasy novel language, but Gaby's no stranger to cosmetic surgery: she's almost fifty, but looks thirty-six at most. What with Gaby, and Clara's son's leggy girlfriend, Sky, wafting around the house in her stripy pants, Clara starts to wonder if a little Botox, a little filler, a nip and a tuck, would be so very wrong. Should she ignore the fear? Or is there another way to grow old gracefully - and how far is she prepared to go to find out? 'Had me reaching for the hankie as I wept with laughter from start to finish' Evening Standard 'A brilliant mix of humour and heart . . . offers a witty take on the ageing process, delivered in Knight's usual pithy, thought-provoking style' Grazia 'Tear-inducingly funny . . . we love this story' Closer 'Gleeful. A frank and funny novel of Harley Street makeovers and matronly madness' Independent India Knight is the author of three previous novels: My Life on a Plate, Don't You Want Me and Comfort and Joy. Her non-fiction books include The Shops, the bestselling diet book Neris and India's Idiot-Proof Diet, the accompanying bestselling cookbook Neris and India's Idiot-Proof Diet Cookbook and The Thrift Book. India is a columnist for the Sunday Times and lives in London with her three children. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Paul Krugman, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in economics, shows how today's crisis parallels the events that caused the Great Depression - and explains what it will take to avoid catastrophe. In 1999, in The Return of Depression Economics, Paul Krugman surveyed the economic crises that had swept across Asia and Latin America, and warned that those crises were a warning for all of us: like diseases that have become resistant to antibiotics, the economic maladies that caused the Great Depression were making a comeback.In the years that followed, as Wall Street boomed and financial wheeler-dealers made vast profits, the international crises of the 1990s faded from memory. But now depression economics has come to America: when the great housing bubble of the mid-2000s burst, the U.S. financial system proved as vulnerable as those of developing countries caught up in earlier crises - and a replay of the 1930s seems all too possible. In this new, greatly updated edition of The Return of Depression Economics, Krugman shows how the failure of regulation to keep pace with an increasingly out-of-control financial system set the United States, and the world as a whole, up for the greatest financial crisis since the 1930s. He also lays out the steps that must be taken to contain the crisis, and turn around a world economy sliding into a deep recession. Brilliantly crafted in Krugman's trademark style-lucid, lively, and supremely informed - this new edition of The Return of Depression Economics will become an instant cornerstone of the debate over how to respond to the crisis. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Take a trip to the country with Gervase Phinn's heartwarming tales of life as a school inspector in Yorkshire 'Gervase Phinn's memoirs have made him a hero in school staff-rooms' Daily Telegraph _______ As the newly appointed County Inspector of Schools in North Yorkshire, Gervase Phinn reveals in this warm and wonderfully humorous account, the experiences of his first year in the job - and what an education it was! He quickly learns that he must slow his pace and appreciate the beautiful countryside - 'Are tha'comin' in then, mester, or are tha' stoppin' out theer all day admirin' t'view?' He encounters some larger-than-life characters, from farmers and lords of the manor to teaching nuns and eccentric caretakers. And, best of all, he discovers the delightful and enchanting qualities of the Dales children, including the small boy, who, when told he's not very talkative, answers: 'If I've got owt to say I says it, and if I've got owt to ask I asks it.' With his keen ear for the absurd and sharp eye for the ludicrous, Gervase Phinn's stories in The Other Side of the Dale will not fail to make you weep with laughter. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2013 Colm Toibin's The Testament of Mary is a short, powerful novel about one of the most famous mothers in history. From the author of Brooklyn, in a voice that is both tender and filled with rage, The Testament of Mary tells the story of a cataclysmic event which led to an overpowering grief. For Mary, her son has been lost to the world, and now, living in exile and in fear, she tries to piece together the memories of the events that led to her son's brutal death. To her he was a vulnerable figure, surrounded by men who could not be trusted, living in a time of turmoil and change. As her life and her suffering begin to acquire the resonance of myth, Mary struggles to break the silence surrounding what she knows to have happened. In her effort to tell the truth in all its gnarled complexity, she slowly emerges as a figure of immense moral stature as well as a woman from history rendered now as fully human. Praise for The Testament of Mary: 'This is a short book, but it is as dense as a diamond. It is as tragic as a Spanish pieta, but it is completely heretical.Toibin maintains all the dignity of Mary without subscribing to the myths that have accumulated around her' Edmund White, Irish Times 'Depicting the harrowing losses and evasions that can go on between mothers and sons.Toibin creates a reversed Pieta: he holds the mother in his arms' Independent 'A beautiful and daring work.it takes its power from the surprise of its language, its almost shocking characterization' Mary Gordon, New York Times Colm Toibin was born in Ireland in 1955. He is the author of six novels, including The Blackwater Lightship, The Master, both of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and Brooklyn, which won the Costa Novel Award, and two collections of stories, Mothers and Sons and The Empty Family. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. I AM ZLATAN - the explosive, critically-acclaimed memoir of Manchester United star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, one of the world's most gifted and controversial footballers 'Why be a Fiat when you can be a Ferrari?' Welcome to planet Zlatan. This is the story of how a Swedish immigrant rose from poverty to become a football genius. In his own inimitable style, Zlatan recalls every struggle, every goal, and every training ground bust-up on his journey to dominate the world's top clubs, including Barcelona, PSG and now Manchester United. Full of wicked one-liners and amazing stories, Zlatan lifts the lid on some of the biggest names in football, including Guardiola, Messi and his new manager, Jose Mourinho. Moving, funny and totally frank, I am Zlatan is unlike any autobiography you have ever read. 'Wonderful - nothing less than a revelation. Ibrahimovic is the definitive modern sporting icon' - Matthew Syed 'The best sportsman's memoir since Andre Agassi. not just a bad boy's romp but the rise of a boy from the ghetto to the top of his profession and captain of his country. He is candid, funny and yes, wonderfully nuts' - The Times 'There's never a dull moment on Planet Zlatan. This is a snarling, fizzing, unrepentant firecracker of a book; if footballers' memoirs bore you, make an exception for this one' - Independent. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. The Child's Child is the new crime novel by bestselling, prize-winning author Barbara Vine, pen-name for the late bestselling author Ruth Rendell What sort of betrayal would drive a brother and sister apart? When Grace and her brother Andrew inherit their grandmother's house in Hampstead, they decide to move in together. It seems the obvious thing to do: they've always got on well, the house is large enough to split down the middle, and neither of them likes partying or loud music. There's one thing they've forgotten though: what if one of them wants to bring a lover into the house? When Andrew's partner James moves in, it alters the balance - with almost fatal consequences. Barbara Vine's is the pen-name of Ruth Rendell, and The Child's Child is the first book she has published under that name since The Birthday Present in 2008. It's an intriguing examination of betrayal in families, and of those two once-unmentionable subjects, illegitimacy and homosexuality. A taut, thrilling read, it will be enjoyed by readers of P.D. James and Ian Rankin. 'Cracking stuff. The Vine continues to flourish . . . (A) miracle of storytelling with her customary aplomb and cool composure' Express on The Child's Child 'The Rendell/Vine partnership has for years been producing consistently better work than most Booker winners put together' Ian Rankin Ruth rendall has published fourteen novels under the Vine name, two of which, Fatal Inversion and King Solomon's Carpet, won the prestigious Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award. Also available in Penguin by Barbara Vine: The Minotaur, The Blood Doctor, Grasshopper, The Chimney Sweeper's Boy, The Brimstone Wedding, No Night is Too Long, Asta's Book, King Solomon's Carpet, Gallowglass, The House of Stairs, A Dark-Adapted Eye. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. FROM THE BOOKER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OF GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER WINNER OF THE NESTA FELLOWSHIP AWARD 2003 'Wildly entertaining, deeply affecting' Ali Smith, author of How to be both and Autumn A coming-of-age tale to make the muses themselves roar with laughter and weep for pity -- sassy, razor-sharp and transformative. Londinium, AD 211. Zuleika is a modern girl living in an ancient world. She's a back-alley firecracker, a scruffy Nubian babe with tangled hair and bare feet - and she's just been married off a fat old Roman. Life as a teenage bride is no joke but Zeeks is a born survivor. She knows this city like the back of her hand: its slave girls and drag queens, its shining villas and rotting slums. She knows how to get by. Until one day she catches the eye of the most powerful man on earth, the Roman Emperor, and her trouble really starts . . . Silver-tongued and merry-eyed, this is a story in song and verse, a joyful mash-up of today and yesterday. Kaleidoscoping distant past and vivid present, The Emperor's Babe asks what it means to be a woman and to survive in this thrilling, brutal, breathless world. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Jeremy Clarkson invites us to Motorworld, his take on different cultures and the cars that they drive. There are ways and means of getting about that don't involve four wheels, but in this slice of vintage Clarkson, Jeremy isn't much interested in them. Back in 1996, he took himself off to twelve countries (okay, eleven - he goes to America twice) in search of the hows, whys and wherefores of different nationalities and their relationships with cars. There were a few questions he needed answers to: * Why, for instance, is it that Italians are more interested in looking good than looking where they are going? * Why do Indians crash a lot? * How can an Arab describe himself as 'not a rich man' with four of the world's most expensive cars in his drive? * And why have the otherwise neutral Swiss declared war on the car? From Cuba to Iceland, Australia to Vietnam, Japan to Texas, Jeremy Clarkson tells us of his adventures on and off four wheels as he seeks to discover just what it is that makes our motorworld tick over. _____________ Praise for Jeremy Clarkson: 'Brilliant . . . laugh-out-loud' Daily Telegraph 'Outrageously funny . . . will have you in stitches' Time Out 'Very funny . . . I cracked up laughing on the tube' Evening Standard. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Richard Hannay has just returned to England after years in South Africa and is thoroughly bored with his life in London. But then a murder is committed in his flat, just days after a chance encounter with an American who had told him about an assassination plot which could have dire international consequences. An obvious suspect for the police and an easy target for the killers, Hannay goes on the run in his native Scotland where he will need all his courage and ingenuity to stay one step ahead of his pursuers. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. An extraordinary tale of madness, genius and obsession, discover the true story of the two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary - and literary history! The compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary, begun in 1857, was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, discovered that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand of those words. But when the committee insisted on honouring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, a millionaire and American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane . . . charged with murder! _____________________ 'A weird and wonderful story of an eccentric friendship, and a slice of history' Sunday Times 'What a revelation. Beautifully told and awe-inspiring' Daily Mail 'Simon Winchester could not have told it better . . . a splendid book' Economist 'Masterful . . . one of those rare stories that combine human drama and historical significance' Independent. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. WINNER OF THE COSTA NOVEL OF THE YEAR SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE SALTIRE AWARD 'Joyous' The Times The Accidental pans in on the Norfolk holiday home of the Smart family one hot summer. There a beguiling stranger called Amber appears at the door bearing all sorts of unexpected gifts, trampling over family boundaries and sending each of the Smarts scurrying from the dark into the light. A novel about the ways that seemingly chance encounters irrevocably transform our understanding of ourselves, The Accidental explores the nature of truth, the role of fate and the power of storytelling. ***** 'Brilliant and engaging, frequently hilarious. . . Smith makes one look at the world afresh' Sunday Telegraph 'Funny, sexy, poignant, bewitching' Observer 'A beguiling page-turner . . . To read The Accidental is to be excited from first to last' Independent. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Nick Hornby's first novel, an international bestseller and instantly recognized by critics and readers alike as a classic, helps to explain men to women, and men to men. Rob is good on music: he owns a small record shop and has strong views on what's decent and what isn't. But he's much less good on relationships. In fact, he's not at all sure that he wants to commit himself to anyone. So it's hardly surprising that his girlfriend decides that enough is enough. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION A masterful, exuberant novel from the Booker Prize-shortlisted, Women's Prize-winning author of How to be both and the critically acclaimed Seasonal quartet 'Ali Smith has got style, ideas and punch. Read her' Jeanette Winterson Five people: four are living, three are strangers, two are sisters, one is dead. In her highly acclaimed and ambitious book, the brilliant Scottish writer Ali Smith brings alive five unforgettable characters and traces their intersecting lives. This is a short novel with big themes (time, chance, money, death) but an eye for tiny detail: the taste of dust, the weight of a few coins in the hand, the pleasurable pain of a stone in one's shoe . . . ***** 'As infectious as a pop song, the story bursts open from the very first page and demands to be read in one sitting' The Times 'Hotel World is essential reading from a major talent' Independent. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. In this very funny sports book (a cross between Nick Hornby and Bill Bryson) young journalist Lawrence Donegan tells the story of the summer he spent caddying for Scottish golfer Ross Drummond, ranked over 400 in the world,on the European Tour. Thisis the inside story of the geniuses,the cheats, the gurus and the hangers-on that make up the golf scene. "A joy to read. Not since Bill Bryson plotted a random route through small-town America has such a breezy idea for a book had a happier or funnier result" - Lynne Truss, The Times "Funny, beautifully observed and it tells you things about sport in general and golf in particular that nobody else had thought to pass on" - Patrick Collins, Mail on Sunday. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Discover a chilling twentieth century classic, delving into the dark and complex heart of childhood 'Some people are coming here today, now you will have a companion.' But young Edmund Hooper doesn't want anyone else in Warings, the rambling Victorian house he shares with his widowed father. Nevertheless Charles Kingshaw and his mother are soon installed and Edmund sets about persecuting his fearful new playmate. From the dusty back rooms of Warings through the gloomy labyrinth of Hang Wood to the very top of Leydell Castle, Edmund pursues Charles, the balance of power slipping back and forth between bully and victim. With their parents oblivious, the situation speeds towards a crisis. Darkly claustrophobic and morally ambiguous, Susan Hill weaves a classic tale of cruelty, power, and the dangerous games we play as children. 'A brilliant tour de force' Guardian 'Equalled for poignancy and horror only in Lord of the Flies' Sunday Telegraph 'Delves beneath the surface of complex young minds, exposing not only their vulnerabilty and tenderness, their cruelty and malevolence, but also how parents end up turning a blind eye to their pain' Anita Sethi. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. The Inheritance of Loss is Kiran Desai's extraordinary Man Booker Prize winning novel. High in the Himalayas sits a dilapidated mansion, home to three people, each dreaming of another time. The judge, broken by a world too messy for justice, is haunted by his past. His orphan granddaughter has fallen in love with her handsome tutor, despite their different backgrounds and ideals. The cook's heart is with his son, who is working in a New York restaurant, mingling with an underclass from all over the globe as he seeks somewhere to call home. Around the house swirl the forces of revolution and change. Civil unrest is making itself felt, stirring up inner conflicts as powerful as those dividing the community, pitting the past against the present, nationalism against love, a small place against the troubles of a big world. 'A Magnificent novel of humane breadth and wisdom, comic tenderness and political acuteness' Hermione Lee, chair of the Man Booker Prize judges 'Poised, elegant and assured . . . breaks out into extraordinary beauty' The Times 'Desai's bold, original voice, and her ability to deal in a grand narratives with a deft comic touch that affectionately recalls some of the masters of Indian fiction, makes hers a novel to reread and remembered' Independent. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Vocabulary alone isn't enough. To survive in the most sophisticated - and the most scathing - nation on Earth you will need to understand the many peculiarities of the (very peculiar) French culture. And for that you need A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi. If you want to fit in with the French you'll have to know how to deal with sardonic waiters; why French children hate Charlemagne; the etiquette of kissing, joke-telling and drinking songs, what to do with a bidet, the correct recipe for a salade nicoise and, of course, how to convey absolute, shattering indifference with a single syllable (Bof!). Charles Timoney, the author of Pardon My French, provides a practical, pleasurable guide to the charms of the Gallic people - from their daily routines to their peerless gesticulations, from their come-ons to their put-downs. Read on and put the oh la la back into your French vacances. Your inner gaul will thank you for it. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. 'Wonderful. Immensely moving' Daily Telegraph As darkness settles on a forgotten castle at the foot of the Carpathian mountains, two men sit down to a final meal together. They have not seen one another in forty-one years. At their last meeting, in the company of a beautiful woman, an unspoken act of betrayal left all three lives shattered - and each of them alone. Tonight, as wine stirs the blood, it is time to talk of old passions and that last, fateful meeting. 'Extraordinary. Elegiac, sombre, musical and gripping. An immensely wise book' Observer 'A masterpiece. Works beautifully as a novel of suspense . whose denouement is as exciting as a detective tale. It is a thrill to read something so startlingly original' Evening Standard 'Utterly compelling. An extraordinary and beautiful novel' Scotsman 'One of those novels which stays in the memory long after it has been put down. A masterpiece' Sunday Telegraph. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Uncover hilarious and unique insights into the Brown family, in Brendan O'Carroll's first official book on his NTA winning comic creation Mrs Brown's Boys. Millions od us have wondered: how does Agnes Brown do it? Keeping her end up while seven grown-up children tear about the fecking place like the eejits don't have a home to go to. Packed with Mammy's tips for keeping a perfect family - or at least, just a family - as well as contributions from her children, neighbours and other hangers on, Mrs Brown's Family Handbook dispenses endless advice in her fecking fantastic style. You'll learn: Why every mammy's secret weapon is the tea towel The dos and don'ts of cleaning up Granddad What Dermot doesn't know about farting (not much) What Winnie knows about seks (not enough) All about the Five-Sausages-A-Day Diet (hint: contains sausages) From Maria, all about pain relief in child birth (if it's free, fecking take it) The must-have gift for any Mrs Brown fan, Mrs Brown's Family Handbook is perfect for equally large and chaotic families, or those in small families curious about what they're missing. Brendan O'Carroll is an Irish writer, producer, comedian, actor, director and author. He is best known for playing Agnes Brown in Mrs Brown's Boys, which won the best sitcom BAFTA in 2012 and best comedy at the National Television Awards 2020. He has written four films and nine comedy shows, including The Course (1995) and The Last Wedding (1999). He has also published seven novels, including The Mammy, The Scrapper and The Young Wan - a number of which have been translated into 12 languages. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Join Gervase Phinn in the classroom where he faces his greatest challenge: keeping a straight face as teachers and children alike conspire to have him laughing out loud . . . 'So funny, it will echo things that happen in your own life' 5***** Reader Review 'A wonderful, entertaining and enjoyable read. The humour is infectious' 5***** Reader Review ______ 'Could you tell me how to spell "sex" please?' Gervase Phinn thinks he's heard just about everything in his two years as a school inspector, but a surprising enquiry from an angelic six-year-old reminds him never to take children for granted. This year Gervase has lots of important things on his mind - his impending marriage to Christine Bentley (the prettiest headteacher for miles around), finding somewhere idyllic to live in the Yorkshire Dales, and the chance of a promotion. All of which generate their fair share of excitement, aided and abetted as usual by his colleagues in the office. Funny, uplifting and joyful, Head over Heels in the Dales is the third in Gervase Phinn's much-loved series. ______ 'Gervase Phinn's memoirs have made him a hero in school staff-rooms' Daily Telegraph 'A natural storyteller' Yorkshire Post. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.