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The Odyssey
by Homer'The Odyssey is a poem of extraordinary pleasures: it is a salt-caked, storm-tossed, wine-dark treasury of tales, of many twists and turns, like life itself' GuardianThe epic tale of Odysseus and his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War forms one of the earliest and greatest works of Western literature. Confronted by natural and supernatural threats - ship-wrecks, battles, monsters and the implacable enmity of the sea-god Poseidon - Odysseus must use his bravery and cunning to reach his homeland and overcome the obstacles that, even there, await him. E. V. Rieu's translation of The Odyssey was the very first Penguin Classic to be published, and has itself achieved classic status. Translated by E. V. RIEU Revised translation by D. C. H. RIEU With an Introduction by PETER JONES
Odyssey
by Katrina Vincenzi-ThyneHistorian Julia Symonds is beginning to lose her patience with David, her patronising and overbearing fiancé, as they cruise around the Mediterranean. Then she is approached by the charismatic - and sexually sophisticated - Rupert and Merise, who need her help in their quest for the lost treasure of Ancient Troy.The exact location of the city's remains is a secret, known only to a ruthless criminal fraternity, and Julia must call upon her powers of seduction to extract the necessary information from its ringleader. Her previous shyness and inhibitions forgotten, she soon finds herself relishing the ensuing game of sensual deceptions - and the numerous other pleasures to which her new associates introduce her.
The Odes of Pindar
by Cecil Bowra'What Pindar catches is the joy beyond ordinary emotions as it transcends and transforms them' - C. M. BowraArguably the greatest Greek lyric poet, Pindar (518-438 B. C.) was a controversial figure in fifth-century Greece - a conservative Boiotian aristocrat who studied in Athens and a writer on physical prowess whose interest in the Games was largely philosophical. Pindar's Epinician Odes - choral songs extolling victories in the Games at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea and Korinth - cover the whole spectrum of the Greek moral order, from earthly competition to fate and mythology. But in C. M. Bowra's clear translation his one central image stands out - the successful athlete transformed and transfigured by the power of the gods.Translated with an introduction by C. M. Bowra.
The Odd Women
by George GissingVirginia and Alice Madden are 'odd women', growing old alone in Victorian England with no prospect of finding love. Forced into poverty by the sudden death of their father, they lead lives of quiet desperation in a genteel boarding house in London. Meanwhile, their younger sister Monica, struggles to endure a loveless marriage she agreed to as her only escape from spinsterhood. But when the Maddens meet an old friend, Rhoda Nunn, they are soon made aware of the depth of their oppression. Astonishingly ahead of its time, The Odd Women is a pioneering work of early feminism. Gissing's depiction of the daring feminist Rhoda Nunn, it is an unflinching portrayal of one woman's struggle to reconcile her own desires with her deepest principles.
Odd-Shaped Balls: Mischief-Makers, Miscreants and Mad-Hatters Of Rugby
by John ScallyRugby is not a game for those who think that centres are what you find in a box of Black Magic or who confuse Jonah Lomu with Joanna Lumley. At the same time, it is not a game for the bright: what kind of tortured mind would invent an oval ball? Of course, it helps if you know the rules and don't have any fear. In this respect you are in the same boat as most referees, particularly if you have a problem with your eyesight. Odd-Shaped Balls captures the humour, the agony and the ecstasy of one of the world's most popular sports. It snoops inside sweaty, smelly dressing-rooms, reveals the passions of coaches and fans - without whom rugby would cease to exist - and delves deep into the sport's archives to recall its heroes, villains and victims, all of whom are part of the daily currency. The book is no less than a who's who of the game, with both old and young getting the opportunity to have their say. Lining out is a cast of mischief-makers, miscreants and mad-hatters: from Max Boyce to Keith Wood; from Sean Fitzpatrick to Austin Healy; from Bill Beaumont and his streaker to Gavin Hastings; from Gareth Edwards to David Campese; and from the man in the scrum to the man at the bar. All exponents of surrealism, comic genius and savage wit, they offer a quirky insight into the sporting psyche as well as providing some riotous good laughs.With hundreds of funny stories, Odd-Shaped Balls is a light-hearted romp through decades of rugby tomfoolery that is guaranteed to put a smile on the face of all sports fans.
Odd Boy Out: The ‘hilarious, eye-popping, unforgettable’ Sunday Times bestseller 2021
by Gyles BrandrethThe compelling, witty and remarkably honest autobiography from beloved star of Just a Minute, QI, Have I Got News For You and Celebrity GoggleboxTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Hilarious, ribald, eye-popping, unforgettable, will make you laugh out loud' DAILY MAIL'Warm, witty, charming. A moving and very affectionate family history. An enthusiast for life' THE TIMES________Enter the world of Gyles Brandreth - broadcaster, actor, writer, former politician - as he takes us on an extraordinary journey into his past.From growing up in an apparently well-to-do but strapped-for-cash middle-class English family to his adventures in swinging London, Gyles encounters princes, presidents, pop stars and prime ministers, gets involved in everything from setting up Scrabble championships to examining Danish sex shops, and thrills us with countless tales of family, friends and acquaintances, both famous and infamous.Filled with incredible and sometimes shocking stories, Odd Boy Out is the story of Gyles Brandreth's fascinating life told with his unique wit and charm.________'Staggeringly brilliant, funny and touching, I loved it' JOANNA LUMLEY 'Light-hearted and dark events alike are described with his customary jaunty style, making them funny, moving an sometimes deeply shocking ' Sheila Hancock
Odalisque
by Fleur ReynoldsBeautiful but scheming, successful designer Auralie plots to bring about the downfall of her virtuous cousin, Jeanine. Recently widowed, but still young and glamorous, Jeanine finds her passions being rekindled by Auralie's husband. But she is playing into Auralie's trap - and a world of erotic depravity? Set against a backdrop of sophisticated elegance, a tale of family intrigue, forbidden passions and depraved secrets unfolds.
Octopuses: A Ladybird Expert Book (The Ladybird Expert Series #32)
by Dr Helen ScalesPart of the ALL-NEW LADYBIRD EXPERT SERIES- Why is it octopuses, and not octopi or octopodes?- How did octopuses evolve to be so clever?- How can octopuses see and speak with their skin? EXAMINE these crafty hunters of the seabed - shape-shifting, skin-signalling and using complex tools - their remarkable abilities are still being uncovered.BENDY BODIES, BIG BRAINSWritten by celebrated marine biologist and documentarian Helen Scales, Octopuses is an enthralling introduction to these utterly unique creatures, the myths and fiction they have inspired, and what they can tell us about the roots of intelligence.
Octavia: a light-hearted, hilarious and gorgeous novel from the inimitable multimillion-copy bestselling Jilly Cooper
by Jilly Cooper OBEFall in love with Jilly Cooper, one of Britain's most popular authors, in this up-beat and unmissable rom-com. Octavia is used to having anything (or anyone) she wants - but will she get her just desserts this time? Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Marian Keyes, Dolly Alderton and Jane Fallon.'Jilly is about bringing joy into your life: daft, silly, boozy joy ... There is no one else like Cooper' -- Guardian'The Jane Austen of our time' - HARPERS & QUEEN'Joyful and mischievous' -- Jojo Moyes'Fun, sexy and unputdownable' -- Marian Keyes'Outstanding read. If I could have given this book ten stars, I would have.' -- ***** Reader review'Utterly timeless! Love it!' -- ***** Reader review'Guaranteed to lift the spirits of every female who reads it. Brilliant!!' -- ***** Reader review'Couldn't put it down' -- ***** Reader review********************************************************************As soon as Octavia catches a glimpse of Jeremy in the nightclub, she knows she just has to have him. It doesn't matter that he's just got engaged to an old school friend of hers: good natured Gussie. His look suggested bed rather than breakfast, and made her weak at the knees...Rich and stunning, Octavia is used to men falling in love with her at a moment's notice and an invitation to join Gussie and Jeremy for a cozy weekend on a canal barge comes like a gift from the gods. How can she fail to hook Jeremy?But the other part of the foursome is whizz-kid business tycoon Gareth Llewellyn, a swarthy Welshman with all the tenderness of a scrum-half...definitely not Octavia's type!And one way and another, he certainly manages to thwart her plans...
The Ocean of Time: Roads to Moscow: Book Two (Roads to Moscow #2)
by David WingrovePart Two of The Roads to MoscowThe War For Time Continues.From the frozen tundra of 13th Century Russia to the battle of Paltava in 1709 and beyond, Otto Behr has waged an unquestioning, unending war across time for his people.But now a third unidentified power has joined the game across the ocean of time, and everything Otto holds dear could be unmade...
Obsession: It was a secret that must never be told…
by Susan Lewis__________________________________Corrie Browne is an ordinary girl with extraordinary ambitions. Determined to find the father she has never known, her search takes her from the quiet Suffolk village where she lives, to a new life in London, a fast-paced television career - and to three people who come to dominate her life.Luke, charismatic, blond and charming, is the only one to make Corrie feel welcome at TW TV and the only one to recognise her talent. Cristoff, an internationally famous film director, is the man who teaches her everything he knows about sex and passion. And Annelise is her boss and friend - a woman about whom Corrie knows a secret that must never be revealed. Three colleagues - all of whom are to play an important role in Corrie's search for love and success.One of whom intends Corrie's ultimate destruction.
Oblomov
by Ivan GoncharovIlya Ilyich Oblomov is a member of Russia's dying aristocracy - a man so lazy that he has given up his job in the Civil Service, neglected his books, insulted his friends and found himself in debt. Too apathetic to do anything about his problems, he lives in a grubby, crumbling apartment, waited on by Zakhar, his equally idle servant. Terrified by the bustle and activity necessary to participate in the real world, Oblomov manages to avoid work, postpone change and - finally - risks losing the love of his life. Written with sympathetic humour and compassion, Oblomov made Goncharov famous throughout Russia on its publication in 1859, as readers saw in this story of a man whose defining characteristic is indolence, the portrait of an entire class in decline.
Object-Oriented Ontology: A New Theory of Everything (Pelican Books)
by Graham HarmanWhat is reality, really?Are humans more special or important than the non-human objects we perceive?How does this change the way we understand the world?We humans tend to believe that things are only real in as much as we perceive them, an idea reinforced by modern philosophy, which privileges us as special, radically different in kind from all other objects. But as Graham Harman, one of the theory's leading exponents, shows, Object-Oriented Ontology rejects the idea of human specialness: the world, he states, is clearly not the world as manifest to humans. At the heart of this philosophy is the idea that objects - whether real, fictional, natural, artificial, human or non-human - are mutually autonomous. In this brilliant new introduction, Graham Harman lays out the history, ideas and impact of Object-Oriented Ontology, taking in everything from art and literature, politics and natural science along the way.Graham Harman is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at SCI-Arc, Los Angeles. A key figure in the contemporary speculative realism movement in philosophy and for his development of the field of object-oriented ontology, he was named by Art Review magazine as one of the 100 most influential figures in international art.
The Obedience of a Christian Man
by William TyndaleOne of the key foundation books of the English Reformation, The Obedience of a Christian Man (1528) makes a radical challenge to the established order of the all-powerful Church of its time. Himself a priest, Tyndale boldly claims that there is just one social structure created by God to which all must be obedient, without the intervention of the rule of the Pope. He argues that Christians cannot be saved simply by performing ceremonies or by hearing the Scriptures in Latin, which most could not understand, and that all should have access to the Bible in their own language - an idea that was then both bold and dangerous. Powerful in thought and theological learning, this is a landmark in religious and political thinking.
Obabakoak
by Bernardo AtxagaOne of only a hundred or so books originally written in the Basque language during the last four centuries, Obabakoak is a shimmering, mercurial novel about life in Obaba, a remote, exotic, Basque village. Obaba is peopled with innocents and intellectuals, shepherds and schoolchildren, whilst everyone from a lovelorn schoolmistress to a cultured but self-hating dwarf wanders across the page.Obabakoak is a dazzling collage of stories, town gossip, diary excerpts and literary theory, all held together by Atxaga's distinctive and tenderly ironic voice.
O Westport In The Light Of Asia Minor
by Paul DurcanO Westport in the Light of Asia Minor was first published in a tiny edition in Dublin in 1975. It was Paul Durcan's first fully-fledged collection, and already displays an astonishingly mature, visionary power, shot through with the surrealism and heart-breaking comedy that have since become his hallmark. It won him the Patrick Kavanagh Award. Now Durcan's readers can discover what they have been missing. The poems are printed in the order he originally intended, and the volume concluded with six poems from his very first collaborative collection, Endsville (1967), with Brian Lynch.
O Pioneers! (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Willa CatherThe first novel in the Great Plains trilogy, this is an ode to the American Midwest and the immigrants who transformed itTo the anger of her brothers, it is Alexandra who is entrusted to manage their family farm in the tough, hostile prairie of Hanover, Nebraska following the death of their father. As the years pass, Alexandra rises heroically to the challenge, finding strength in the savage beauty of the land even as loneliness and personal tragedies crowd in. A rapturous work of understated lyricism, Willa Cather's 1913 tale of a pioneer woman who tames the wild, hostile lands of the Nebraskan prairie is also the story of what it means to be American.
O Pioneers! (Great Plains Trilogy #1)
by Willa CatherWilla Cather's first Great Plains novel, is at once a love letter to Nebraska and the tale of a remarkable heroine who remains resilient in the face of tragedy. ‘She is undoubtedly one of the greatest American writers’ Observer Alexandra Bergson inherits the family farm when her father dies early. In spite of her brothers’ doubts, her ambitious vision for the land comes to fruition, but the price of success appears to be a small, quiet life. Then the equilibrium of country life is jeopardised by the return of Alexandra’s brother Emil and her childhood confidant, Carl Linstrum.
O Frabjous Day! (Penguin Little Black Classics)
by Lewis Carroll'I cried, "Come, tell me how you live!"And thumped him on the head.'Conjuring wily walruses, dancing lobsters, a Jabberwock and a Bandersnatch, Carroll's fantastical verse gave new words to the English language.
Nymphs Of Dionysus
by Susan TinoffAncient Greece. Young, lovely and pampered, Chryseis determines to make the most of every erotic opportunity before her impending arranged marriage. Acantha, the proud, athletic female mercenary employed as a guardian of Chryseis's virtue, has little in common with her young charge - other than an almost insatiable appetite for debauchery.Disaster strikes during a sea voyage to the wedding and the women are washed up on the wrong side of their island destination. As they continue their journey they forge numerous lascivious new alliances, and the powerful sexual charge which underlies their dislike of each other becomes increasingly evident. But many dangers must also be faced - not least those posed by the mysterious and orgiastic followers of Dionysus.
The Nurses of Steeple Street (Steeple Street Series #1)
by Donna DouglasFROM THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE NIGHTINGALE SERIES COMES THE FIRST BOOK IN DONNA DOUGLAS' NEW NURSES OF STEEPLE STREET SERIES.Welcome to the district nurses’ home on Steeple Street, where everyone has a secret…Ambitious young nurse Agnes Sheridan had a promising future ahead of her until a tragic mistake brought all her dreams crashing down and cost her the love and respect of everyone around her. Now she has come to Leeds for a fresh start as a trainee district nurse. But Agnes finds herself facing unexpected challenges as she is assigned to Quarry Hill, one of the city’s most notorious slums. Before she can redeem herself in the eyes of her family, she must first win the trust and respect of her patients and fellow nurses.Does Agnes have what it takes to stay the distance? Or will the tragedy of her past catch up with her?Praise for The Nurses of Steeple Street Series:'Full of well drawn characters and intriguing relationships. Donna Douglas skilfully charts her heroine's attempts to be accepted . . . uncovering secrets, heartbreak and lost loves along the way!'Mary Gibson, author of Custard Tarts and Broken Hearts'Another fantastic Donna Douglas book - how does she do it? Full of colourful characters, wit, sadness, hope and wisdom.'
Nurses Enslaved
by Yolanda CelbridgeWhen European nurses are interned by the Japanese on the remote Pacific island of Okuna during World War Two, they are forced into cruel familiarity with their captors' almost feudal codes of punishment. But soon their submission becomes a matter of pride, forcing the camp's officers to question who's really in control, until only one thing's for sure - no one's in a hurry for the war to end.
A Nurse's Duty
by Maggie HopeTorn between love and duty...Following a disastrous marriage to a miner, Karen has devoted herself to a nursing career. Rising to the challenge of caring for the wounded soldiers returning home from the Great War, she has resigned herself to putting her vocation before any hope of a romantic life.However, she finds herself drawn to handsome, troubled Patrick Murphy. But Patrick is also a Catholic priest. Dare Karen risk scandal and her position by falling for the one man she cannot have...?
A Nurse's Courage: a gripping story of love and duty set during the First World War
by Maggie HoltIf you love watching Call the Midwife or reading Dilly Court and Donna Douglas, you will love much-loved author Maggie Holt's warm-hearted, captivating and intensely moving wartime saga in which a young nurse's life is forever changed by war. Perfect to settle down with!WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT A NURSE'S COURAGE!'I found this book extremely difficult to put down' - 5 STARS'Truly breathtaking' - 5 STARS'Fantastic book, from start to finish...recommend' - 5 STARS'Worth every penny' - 5 STARS'Great story- I couldn't put the book down, totally addicted to it' - 5 STARS***********************************************************************************HER COUNTRY NEEDED HER, BUT SO DID HE...Orphan Mabel Court's dreams come true when she enters the Booth Street Poor Law Infirmary as a probationer nurse. But it is August 1914, and her world is about to be turned upside down.She soon meets Norah McLoughlin, another probationer, and the two girls - together with Mabel's childhood friend Maudie, now a music-hall dancer - become firm friends.As war rages across Europe, they try to keep their spirits up but when Mabel's fiancé Harry Drover is wounded at the battle of the Somme, Mabel realises that the life she and Harry had always hoped for is now an impossibility.Then when Maudie falls pregnant by an officer, and Norah's young man is lost at sea, all three girls are forced to face the fact that life will never be the same again.The adventures continue in A Nurse at War.Previously published as A Child at the Door by Maggie Bennett.
Nursery Rhymes of London Town
by Eleanor FarjeonLittle boy, little boy, what is the matter?Madam, the sea has been turned into batter!Eleanor Farjeon’s delightful London nursery rhymes are known and loved all over the world, and told with characteristic humour and playfulness. Reimagine London with these charming and timeless rhymes for all ages.A charming, surprisingly funny collection that will be loved by adults and children alike.