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Magic and Desire
by Janine Ashbless Olivia Knight Portia Da CostaThree novellas of forbidden desire and otherworldly passions, from the leading names in erotic fiction, including the Sunday Times bestselling author Portia Da Costa.The House of Dust by Janine Ashbless: A young Queen who must descend into the Underworld to bring her lover back from the dead...Ill Met by Moonlight by Portia Da Costa: A handsome, yet enigmatic stranger who yearns to experience human love and desire...The Dragon Lord by Olivia Knight: And a Princess with a sizzling secret which is about to be unleashed...
The Manuscript Found in Saragossa
by Jan PotockiAlphonse, a young Walloon officer, is travelling to join his regiment in Madrid in 1739. But he soon finds himself mysteriously detained at a highway inn in the strange and varied company of thieves, brigands, cabbalists, noblemen, coquettes and gypsies, whose stories he records over sixty-six days. The resulting manuscript is discovered some forty years later in a sealed casket, from which tales of characters transformed through disguise, magic and illusion, of honour and cowardice, of hauntings and seductions, leap forth to create a vibrant polyphony of human voices. Jan Potocki (1761-1812) used a range of literary styles - gothic, picaresque, adventure, pastoral, erotica - in his novel of stories-within-stories, which, like the Decameron and Tales from the Thousand and One Nights, provides entertainment on an epic scale.
Me & My Monsters: Monster Manners (Me & My Monsters)
by Rory GrowlerEddie can't believe it when he found THREE FURRY MONSTERS living in his basement. Fiend, Haggis and Norman are teh stinkiest and craziest friends he could wish for! When Eddie sees a chance for the monsters to live upstairs he decides to teach them human manners so they can stay for good. But when Fiend, Haggis and Norman start acting like serious grown-ups the whole family want things to go back to normal - QUICKLY!
Maestro
by Peter SlaterA young Spanish cello player, Ramon, journeys to the castle of master cellist Ernesto Cavello in the hope of private tuition from the great musician. Ramon's own music is technically perfect, but his playing lacks a certain essence - and so, Maestro Cavello arranges for Ramon to undergo a number of sexual trials.This is a modern day Gothic novel full of dark sensuality and eroticism - and distinctly Catholic decadence.
Me Moir - Volume One
by Vic ReevesVic Reeves' vivid, enchanting, and utterly hilarious childhood memoir is a comic masterpiece.Before there was Vic Reeves, there was a boy called James Moir who was much the same as any other lad.Obsessed with owning a pet crow, a master at writing his name and terrified of his father's immense moustache. Growing up in Yorkshire and then CountyDurham, the boy who would be Reeves somehow managed to escape the attentions of 'Randy Mandy' and get a crash course in pig castration, before having encounters with Jimi Hendrix and the Yorkshire Ripper.Peopled with weird and wonderful characters, Vic Reeves' memoir is authentic, witty and inventive, and as unique as you'd expect from one of Britain's most exceptional comedy talents.
The Last Straw
by Christina ShellyWhen Dennis Mann loses his job, his life hits a hiatus of junk food and daytime TV, much to the consternation of his wife Helen and her wealthy mother Samantha. Soon, the women realise that he would be more use to them as a feminised sissy maid, and set about enforcing their will with the aid of the mysterious Last Straw Society. It seems the women have found the way to mine the seams of Denis' dark perversity forever. Will his contempt for the aims of the Society prove a match for the waves of masochistic desire its members have awakened in him.
A Little Dinner Before the Play
by Agnes JekyllWhether extolling the merits of a cheerful breakfast tray, conjuring up a winter picnic of figs and mulled wine, sharing delicious Tuscan recipes, or suggesting a last-minute pre-theatre dinner, the sparkling writings of the society hostess and philanthropist Agnes Jekyll describe food for every imaginable occasion and mood. Originally published in The Times in the early 1920s, these divinely witty and brilliantly observed pieces are still loved today for their warmth and friendly advice and, with their emphasis on fresh, simple, stylish dishes, were years ahead of their time.
Madwoman on the Bridge (Storycuts)
by Su TongThe madwoman was wearing a white velvet cheongsam. Standing on the bridge, she revelled in her own faded splendour. Normal people pay no attention to madwomen, but one woman from Shaoxing stayed on the bridge that afternoon to talk to this one; what was she coveting?Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection Madwoman on the Bridge.
Manslave
by J D Jensen"Our eyes were not permitted to look either to our left or rigth; our noses must always touch the cold marble;our rumps always to be thrust high and tightly back, our knees and feet widely placed. We would hear only th vague whisper of the Royal Sister's silk slippers as she walked slowly behind our sprawled feet. Sometimes we might just catch the faint sound of the split-bamboo cane brushing against her robes."Ruled by the Grand Lady, The Pavilion of The Divine Orchid Ladies is a dangerous place for sevants and concubines alike. Escape is impossible; survival an ever tenuous state. Neglected by the aging emperor, the Honourable Sisters resort to alternative but forbidden pleasures. And within this turmoil of petty jealousies, cruel perversities and formidable mistresses, the manslave Shani must so often serve as a plaything, lover, whipping boy, and so much else. His position is made even more precarious when he becomes torn between his devotion and fascination for His Royal Mistress, and his love for the maidservant, Li Mei.
Me And My Monsters: Monsters in the Basement (Me & My Monsters)
by Rory GrowlerEddie and his family have just moved into their new home at 12 St Olave's Avenue. But what they don't know, is that their house is already inhabited by three furry monsters - Fiend, Haggis and Norman! They live in the basement and are the naughtiest, stinkiest, craziest friends Eddie could wish for! But how long can he keep them a secret from his parents and sister?
Last Steps: The Late Writings of Leo Tolstoy
by Leo Tolstoy1910. Anna Karenina and War and Peace have made Leo Tolstoy the world's most famous author. But fame comes at a price. In the tumultuous final year of his life, Tolstoy is desperate to find respite, so leaves his large family and the hounding press behind and heads into the wilderness. Too ill to venture beyond the tiny station of Astapovo, he believes his last days will pass in isolation. But as we learn through the journals of those closest to him, the battle for Tolstoy's soul will not be a peaceful one. Jay Parini introduces, translates and edits this collection of Tolstoy's autobiographical writing, diaries, and letters related to the last year of Tolstoy's life published to coincide with the 2009 film of Parini's novel The Last Station: A Novel of Tolstoy's Final Year.
The Little Demon
by Fyodor SologubA dark classic of Russia's silver age, this blackly funny novel recounts a schoolteacher's descent into sadism, arson and murder.Mad, lascivious, sadistic and ridiculous, the provincial schoolteacher Peredonov torments his students and has hallucinatory fantasies about acts of savagery and degradation, yet to everyone else he is an upstanding member of society. As he pursues the idea of marrying to gain promotion, he descends into paranoia, sexual perversion, arson, torture and murder. Sologub's anti-hero is one of the great comic monsters of twentieth-century fiction, subsequently lending his name to the brand of sado-masochism known as Peredonovism. The Little Demon (1907) made an immediate star of its author who, refuting suggestions that the work was autobiographical, stated 'No, my dear contemporaries ... it is about you'. This grotesque mirror of a spiritually bankrupt society is arguably the finest Russian novel to have come out of the Symbolist movement.Fyodor Sologub was born in St Petersburg in 1863. His first two novels Bad Dreams (1896) and The Little Demon (1907) were drawn from his own experiences as schoolmaster in a remote provincial town. For many years Sologub could not find a publisher for The Little Demon but when in 1907 the novel was at last published - to immediate and resounding success - he was able to leave his restricting career and devote himself to literature. In 1921 his wife committed suicide and Sologub died a few years later in 1927. Ronald Wilks studied Russian language and literature at Trinity College,Cambridge, after training as a Naval interpreter, and later Russian literature at London University. He has translated many works from Russian for Penguin Classics, including books by Gorky, Gogol, Pushkin, Tolstoy and Chekhov.
Madwoman On The Bridge And Other Stories
by Su TongSet during the fall-out of the Cultural Revolution, these bizarre and delicate stories capture the collision of the old China of vanished dynasties, with communism and today's tiger economy.The mad woman on the bridge wears a historical gown which she refuses to take off. In the height of summer she stands madly on the bridge. Until a young female doctor, bewitched by the beauty of the mad woman's dress, plots to take it from her, with tragic consequences.
Mansions of Misery: A Biography of the Marshalsea Debtors’ Prison
by Jerry WhiteFor Londoners of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, debt was a part of everyday life. But when your creditors lost their patience, you might be thrown into one of the capital’s most notorious jails: the Marshalsea Debtors’ Prison.In Mansions of Misery, acclaimed chronicler of the capital Jerry White introduces us to the Marshalsea’s unfortunate prisoners – rich and poor; men and women; spongers, fraudsters and innocents. We get to know the trumpeter John Grano who wined and dined with the prison governor and continued to compose music whilst other prisoners were tortured and starved to death. We meet the bare-knuckle fighter known as the Bold Smuggler, who fell on hard times after being beaten by the Chelsea Snob. And then there’s Joshua Reeve Lowe, who saved Queen Victoria from assassination in Hyde Park in 1820, but whose heroism couldn’t save him from the Marshalsea. Told through these extraordinary lives, Mansions of Misery gives us a fascinating and unforgettable cross-section of London life from the early 1700s to the 1840s.
Me And My Monsters: Monster Mess (Me & My Monsters)
by Rory GrowlerTen-year-old Eddie couldn't believe it when he found three furry monsters living in the basement of his house. Fiend, Haggis and Norman are the naughtiest, stinkiest, craziest friends he could wish for!But now his Mum, Dad and sister are in on the secret too, can the Carlson family learn to live with their newly adopted monsters? When Fiend, Haggis and Norman make one mess too many, Eddie's Mum tells them they need to learn to clean up . . . OR ELSE. Can Eddie teach the monsters to be tidy?
Little Darlings
by Jacqueline WilsonSunset lives a life of luxury with her beautiful ex-model mum, her world-famous rock star dad and her two little celebrity siblings. But life on the red carpet is no compensation for parents who constantly argue, intensive scrutiny from the media, and and having no real friends.Destiny, on the other hand, is an only child living on a rundown estate with a sickly but devoted mum who constantly tells her that she's really the daughter of a famous rock star . . .When the two girls meet in unlikely circumstances, they are surprised to find in each other something they've been missing all their lives . . .
Mansfield Park (The Penguin English Library)
by Jane Austen'We have all been more or less to blame ... every one of us, excepting Fanny'Taken from the poverty of her parents' home in Portsmouth, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with her cousin Edmund as her sole ally. During her uncle's absence in Antigua, the Crawford's arrive in the neighbourhood bringing with them the glamour of London life and a reckless taste for flirtation. Mansfield Park is considered Jane Austen's first mature work and, with its quiet heroine and subtle examination of social position and moral integrity, one of her most profound.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
The Last Son's Secret
by Rafel Nadal FarrerasA huge international bestseller, this heartbreaking tale of a tiny Italian village during two World Wars will stay with you forever.Among the olive groves and vineyards of southern Italy, a boy and a girl are born, moments apart. Far away in the trenches of World War I, their fathers have just died. Now all the men in Vitantonio’s family have been wiped out – all twenty-one. All except him.Growing up together, war seems far away for the two children. But Vitantonio’s mother will do anything to protect her son from the curse of death that seems to hang over the family – and so she tells a lie. It is a lie that will bind Vitantonio and Giovanna, the girl who shares his birthday, together over the years. But as the clouds of another war begin to gather on the horizon, it may ultimately drive them apart...
Little Boy Lost
by Shane DunphyCourage is sometimes found in the unlikeliest places ...Dominic is a sixteen year-old man-child: while he has the body of a prize-fighter, as a result of a terrible seizure when he was a small child he has been left with the mind of a child. In the centre where he spends his days, Dominic is a challenge and an inspiration: someone who struggles against the odds and whose every victory over his limitations is a cause for celebration. But when a new member of staff at the centre breaks a sacred trust, the fall-out is horrific and Dominic becomes a pawn in a dangerous game. Little Boy Lost is the story of Dominic's brave battle to face up to betrayal and show - one more time - that he is a survivor.
Madness Explained: Psychosis and Human Nature
by Richard P BentallA revised edition of Madness Explained, Richard Bentall's groundbreaking classic on mental illness In Madness Explained, leading clinical psychologist Richard Bentall shatters the modern myths that surround psychosis. Is madness purely a medical condition that can be treated with drugs? Is there a clear dividing line between who is sane and who is insane? For this revised edition, he adds new material drawing on the recent advances in molecular genetics, new studies of the role of environment in psychosis, and important discoveries on early symptoms preceding illness, among other important developments in our understanding.'Madness Explained is a substantial, yet highly accessible work. Full of insight and humanity, it deserves a wide readership.' Sunday Times 'Will give readers a glimpse both of answers to their own problems, and to questions about how the mind works' Independent Magazine Richard P. Bentall holds a Chair in Experimental Clinical Psychology at the University of Manchester. In 1989 he received the British Psychological Society's May Davidson Award for his contribution to the field of Clinical Psychology.
Mansfield Park
by Jane AustenFanny Price's rich relatives offer her a home at Mansfield Park so that she can be properly brought up. However, Fanny's childhood is a lonely one as she is never allowed to forget her place. Her only ally is her cousin Edmund. But when the glamorous and exciting Henry and Mary Crawford arrive in the area, Edmund starts to grow close to Mary and Fanny finds herself dealing with feelings she has never experienced before.'Full of the energies of discord - sibling rivalry, greed, ambition, illicit sexual passion and vanity' Margaret Drabble
McFly - Unsaid Things...Our Story
by Tom Fletcher Danny Jones Harry Judd Dougie PoynterThe intimate - and surprising - autobiography of Britain's most adored bandPrepare to meet the real McFly …In 2003, Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Harry Judd and Dougie Poynter came together and formed what would become one of the most popular and successful bands in the UK. Just teenagers at the time, they were catapulted into the limelight and had to adapt quickly to their new-found fame – and everything that came with it. Now, at last, they have decided to tell their story, in full and revealing detail.Speaking with candour and their trademark humour, Tom, Danny, Harry and Dougie share both the stories of their own lives and that of McFly. They give their personal insights into their contrasting childhoods, the individual paths that led them to the band, the struggles they have each overcome, their love lives and, of course, their music.Packed with previously untold stories, a lot of laughter and the occasional tear, Unsaid Things offers a privileged look into the lives of four guys who started out as bandmates and became best friends. Their unique camaraderie radiates from every page and by the end of the book, you’ll know them almost as well as they know each other … Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Harry Judd and Dougie Poynter have been together as McFly since 2003. They hold the record for being the youngest band to have a debut No 1 album in the UK. Their hits include: 'Five Colours in Her Hair', 'All About You', 'Please, Please' and 'Shine a Light'. They are one of the biggest bands in the UK.
The Last Roman in Britain (Storycuts)
by M C ScottWith the Dumnonii defeat of the Second Legion the Celtic victory is complete. But Hywell, Cunomar and Valerius must still find the lost Eagle of the Second and prevent Rome from attempting another attack. To prevent further conflict the Emperor Nero must be overthrown and replaced by someone of their choosing.Part of the Storycuts series.
Mansfield Park
by Jane Austen'Full of the energies of discord - sibling rivalry, greed, ambition, illicit sexual passion and vanity' Margaret DrabbleJane Austen's profound, ambiguous third novel is the story of Fanny Price, who is accustomed to being the poor relation at Mansfield Park, the home of her wealthy plantation-owning uncle. She finds comfort in her love for her cousin Edmund, until the arrival of charismatic outsiders from London throws life at the house into disarray and brings dangerous desires to the surface. Mansfield Park is Austen's most complex work; a powerful portrayal of change and continuity, scandalous misdemeanours and true integrity. Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Kathryn Sutherland
McCrae's Battalion: The Story of the 16th Royal Scots
by Jack AlexanderMcCrae's Own was the 'Heart of Midlothian Battalion' mentioned all too briefly in Martin Middlebrook's classic book The First Day on the Somme. Raised in Edinburgh shortly after the start of the Great War, it was perhaps the finest unit in Lord Kitchener's volunteer army - a brotherhood of sportsmen, bound together by their extraordinary colonel and their loyalty to a quaintly named Association Football club, the famous Gorgie 'Hearts'. McCrae's were blooded in the Battle of the Somme, losing three-quarters of their strength on the first day alone. The Colonel himself was invalided home. In time the battalion recovered. It came of age at Arras, endured the muddy horror of Passchendaele, and held the line unbroken in the face of furious German attacks on the Lys in 1918. For almost a century their story remained untold. It was all but lost forever. Now, after 12 years of exacting historical detective work, Jack Alexander has reclaimed the 16th Royal Scots for posterity. In this stirring book he draws upon interviews with veterans and a unique archive of letters, diaries and photographs, assembled from the families of more than 1,000 of Sir George McCrae's men.