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A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together. Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell. Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.

An enormous escaped rhinoceros from London Zoo has eaten James' parents. And it gets worse! James is packed off to live with his two really horrible aunts, Sponge and Spiker. Poor James is miserable, until something peculiar happens and James finds himself on the most wonderful and extraordinary journey he could ever imagine...This is a new and delectable Deluxe edition of this wonderful classic.

What happens when the five luckiest children in the entire world walk through the doors of Willy Wonka's famous, mysterious chocolate factory? What happens when, one by one, the children disobey Mr. Wonka's orders? In Dahl's most popular story, the nasty are punished and the good are deliciously, sumptuously rewarded. This is a delectable new Deluxe edition of this wonderful classic.

Whether visiting the King of the Lozis at a bend in the Zambezi river or crossing the United States in a railway car of unsurpassable luxury, relating his experiments with biblical dieting, or detailing the illneses and diseases suffered in half a lifetime of travel, Paul Theroux, the fresh-air fiend himself, is always an entertaining and honest guide. Full of startling encounters and memorable scenes, fascinating and sometimes bizarre locations, and enlightening musings on themes as various as sexual attraction and the point of travel writing itself, this extensive collection of his shorter pieces is a rich and remarkable book from a superb writer.

Nanny required to take care of needs of busy professional London family When penniless student Ali Sparrow answers Bryony and Nick Skinner's advertisement her life changes overnight. She is catapulted into the privileged and excessive world of London's

Penguin brings you the finest short stories by the greatest writers. The Golden Age of the English short story lies from its first wide acceptance in the middle of the nineteenth century until the middle of the twentieth, a period when there were a great many outlets in Britain for shorter fictions. This collection celebrates this period through some of the most widely known writers of the time. Each of these concise, evocative, subtle and satisfying stories is a little jewel, providing a smal l window into another world.

Nanny required to take care of needs of busy professional London family When penniless student Ali Sparrow answers Bryony and Nick Skinner's advertisement her life changes overnight. She is catapulted into the privileged and excessive world of London's

This is Wilde's masterful and wonderfully entertaining exploration of art and morality, in a chic new deluxe edition. Enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, Dorian Gray exchanges his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Influenced by his friend Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life; indulging his desires in secret while remaining a gentleman in the eyes of polite society. Only his portrait bears the traces of his decadence. The novel was a succes de scandale and the book was later used as evidence ...

The short story has become one of the major forms of modern literary expression - in some ways the most modern of them all'. The story of the British short story since the Second World War is one of change and revolution and this powerful and moving collection brilliantly demonstrates the evolution of the form. Containing thirty-four of the most widely regarded postwar British writers, it features tales of love and crime, comedy and the supernatural, the traditional as well as the experimental. This many-storied, many-splendored collection is a brilliant portrait of the generation of writers who have immediately influenced the brightest, sharpest and most intriguing writers who continue to emerge today.

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American literature and the short story might be said to have come of age at about the same time, and this, along with something in the bustling and energetic American temperament, might go some way towards explaining why the two go together as well as they do'. This title includes twenty-one short stories from some of the best American writers over the last two hundred years that provide a mesmerizing, multi-faceted portrait of a country, a people and the unique literature produced by this most exuberant of nations.

In his first non-fiction work since Fever Pitch, Nick Hornby writes about 31 songs that either have some great significance in his life - or are just songs that he loves. He discusses, among other things, guitar solos and losing your virginity to a Rod St

George Orwell was perhaps the twentieth century's best chronicler of English culture and one of our most significant political thinkers. In this covetable boxed set are collected together four of his essential works, including the seminal novel Nineteen E

The script for major new film An Education, the story of the bizarre relationship between 1960s teenager Jenny (played by Carey Mulligan) and older man David (Peter Sarsgaard), after she accepts a lift on her way home from music practice one day. Bas ed on Observer journalist Lynn Barber's real-life experience as recounted in her book An Education, the film won the Audience Award for best film at the Sundance Film Festival and tremendous acclaim at the Berlin Film Festival too. It will be release d in the UK in October 2009 and promises to be the season's Slumdog Millionaire. Hornby's charming script is included in An Education: The Screenplay, along with stills from the film and a long introduction in which he wittily describes the process o f converting someone's very personal memoir into a hit film.

Dirk Pitt is in the Middle East doing routine survey work when a spot of lucks leads him to an Ottoman wreck with a very curious cargo. While investigating the find, Pitt interrupts a night raid on Istanbul's Topkapi Palace Museum. Suddenly he's at t he centre of a race to acquire a series of ancient and legendary artifacts. Meanwhile, a series of mosques across Turkey and Egypt are blown up, stoking tensions that may push the whole region to the brink of war.As Pitt comes to realize that the sea rch for these artifacts and the bombings are related, he finds himself in a desperate bid to prevent a brother and sister team restoring the glory days of the Ottoman Empire for their own fanatical ends . . .Packed with breathtaking suspense and fire d by an extraordinary imagination, Crescent Dawn is a barnstorming read for all fans of action, suspense and intrigue.

A dramatic, moving depiction of social defiance and social deference, of passion and human frailty. Set in the harsh Puritan community of seventeenth-century Boston, this tale of an adulterous entanglement that results in an illegitimate birth reveal s Nathaniel Hawthorne's concerns with the tension between the public and the private selves. Publicly disgraced and ostracized, Hester Prynne draws on her inner strength and certainty of spirit to emerge as the first true heroine of American fiction. Arthur Dimmesdale stands as a classic study of a seld divided; trapped by the rules of society, he suppresses his passion and disavows his lover, Hester, and their daughter, Pearl.