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Everyone wants to be famous, don't they? Not Jessica Granger. Her father was the movie star who played the world's favourite James Bond and, worse, her mother was voted sexiest-ever Bond Girl for her role as Heavenly Melons. Like it or not, fame is in he

How do you cope in a world without your mother? When Barbara realizes time is running out, she writes letters to her four daughters, aware they'll be facing the trials and triumphs of life without her at their side. But how can she leave them when th ey still have so much growing up to do? Take Lisa, in her mid-thirties but incapable of making a commitment; or Jennifer, trapped in a stale marriage and buttoned up so tight she could burst. While twenty something Amanda is the traveler, always dist anced from the rest of the family. And Hannah. A teenage girl on the verge of womanhood, about to be parted from the mother she adores.But by drawing on the wisdom in Barbara's letters, the girls might just find a way to cope with her loss. And in co ming to terms with their bereavement, can they also set themselves free to enjoy life with all the passion and love each deserves? The bestselling Elizabeth Noble returns with a tale of families, friends ...and the glorious, endless possibilities of life.

The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis is the complete collection of short fiction from the world-renowned Lydia Davis. It is the winner of the Man Booker international prize 2013. "Big rejoicing: Lydia Davis has won the Man Booker International prize. Never did a book award deliver such a true match-winning punch. Best of all, a new audience will read her now and find her wit, her vigour and rigour, her funniness, her thoughtfulness, and the precision of form, which mark Davis out as unique. Daring, excitingly intelligent and often wildly comic [she] reminds you, in a world that likes to bandy its words about, what words such as economy, precision and originality really mean. This is a writer as mighty as Kafka, as subtle as Flaubert and as epoch-making, in her own way, as Proust. A two-liner from Davis, or a seemingly throwaway paragraph, will haunt. What looks like a game will open to deep seriousness; what looks like philosophy will reveal playfulness, tragicomedy, ordinariness; what looks like ordinariness will ask you to look again at Davis' writing. In its acuteness, it always asks attentiveness, and it repays this by opening up to its reader like possibility, or like a bush covered in flowerheads. She's a joy. There's no writer quite like her". (Ali Smith).

The author who most epitomises the decadent jazz age and 'the lost generation' of post-World War One America, Fitzgerald remains a best-selling author worldwide. Collected here in this covetable and must-have boxed set are four of his major works, including `The Great Gatsby`.

A culturally-influential and celebrated author, Kafka is generally considered to be one of the most accomplished writers of the twentieth century. The term 'Kafkaesque' takes its place in the English vernacular, demonstrating his huge impact on modern thought. In this covetable and must-have boxed set are collected together three of his major works, including the magnificent "Metamorphosis and Other Stories".

A culturally-influential and celebrated author, Kafka is generally considered to be one of the most accomplished writers of the twentieth century. The term 'Kafkaesque' takes its place in the English vernacular, demonstrating his huge impact on modern thought. In this covetable and must-have boxed set are collected together three of his major works, including the magnificent "Metamorphosis and Other Stories".

What if you had a second chance at first love? Susannah and Rob were childhood sweethearts. But as with most early love affairs, they broke up, moved on and now find themselves in very different places. And not entirely happy - who is? A chance meeti ng between them sends shockwaves through their lives. What happens when your first love makes a surprise reappearance? Is fate telling you it's time for a second chance ...or should you simply walk away and let the past become ancient history? But Su sannah and Rob just aren't able to forget the way they were ...and the world is about to discover the consequences of their reunion.

The Bridge, San Francisco, after the quake: Ex-cop Berry Rydell has been hired by Colin Laney - who is hooked deep into the network of things - to go to San Francisco and act in such a way that he comes to the attention of a certain unspecified individual. This, Laney promises Rydell, could prove life-threatening. And now Rydell's been sent a package. Something that belonged to Laney, something that others with guns, blades and very bad attitudes want. And suddenly Rydell's running, trying get to the old Bridge, the shantytown where a man can get lost, be forgotten and wait for the end of the world - which is the other thing that Laney promised . . . William Gibson is a prophet and a satirist, a black comedian and an outstanding architect of cool. Readers of Neal Stephenson, Ray Bradbury and Iain M. Banks will love this book. This is the third novel in the Bridge trilogy - read Virtual Light and Idoru for more.

A critically acclaimed "New York Times" bestseller, this spirited and wickedly insightful narrative maps the progress of fourteen-year- old Jane Rosenal as she navigates the perilous terrain of love, sex, and relationships, capturing-with perfect pitch-what it's like to be a young woman in America today.

An ageing king makes a capricious decision to divide his realm among his three daughters according to the love they express for him. When the youngest daughter refuses to take part in this charade, she is banished, leaving the king dependent on her manipu

Everyone hates the perfect family. So you'll love the Battles. Mo is about to hit the big 50, and some uncomfortable truths are becoming quite apparent: She doesn't understand either of her teenage kids, which as a child psychologist, is fairly embarras

"My Family and Other Animals" is the bewitching account of a rare and magical childhood on the island of Corfu by treasured British conservationist Gerald Durrell, beautifully repackaged as part of the Penguin Essentials range. 'What we all need,' said Larry, 'is sunshine...a country where we can grow.' 'Yes, dear, that would be nice,' agreed Mother, not really listening. 'I had a letter from George this morning - he says Corfu's wonderful. Why don't we pack up and go to Greece?' 'Very well, dear, if you like,' said Mother unguardedly. Escaping the ills of the British climate, the Durrell family - acne-ridden Margo, gun-toting Leslie, bookworm Lawrence and budding naturalist Gerry, along with their long-suffering mother and Roger the dog - take off for the island of Corfu. But the Durrells find that, reluctantly, they must share their various villas with a menagerie of local fauna - among them scorpions, geckos, toads, bats and butterflies. Recounted with immense humour and charm "My Family and Other Animals" is a wonderful account of a rare, magical childhood. "Durrell has an uncanny knack of discovering human as well as animal eccentricities". ("Sunday Telegraph"). "A bewitching book". ("Sunday Times"). Gerald Durrell was born in Jamshedpur, India, in 1925. He returned to England in 1928 before settling on the island of Corfu with his family. In 1945 he joined the staff of Whipsnade Park as a student keeper, and in 1947 he led his first animal-collecting expedition to the Cameroons. He later undertook numerous further expeditions, visiting Paraguay, Argentina, Sierra Leone, Mexico, Mauritius, Assam and Madagascar. His first television programme, "Two in the Bush" which documented his travels to New Zealand, Australia and Malaya was made in 1962; he went on to make seventy programmes about his trips around the world. In 1959 he founded the Jersey Zoological Park, and in 1964 he founded the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust. He was awarded the OBE in 1982. Encouraged to write about his life's work by his brother, Durrell published his first book, "The Overloaded Ark", in 1953. It soon became a bestseller and he went on to write thirty-six other titles, including "My Family and Other Animals", "The Bafut Beagles", "Encounters with Animals", "The Drunken Forest", "A Zoo in My Luggage", "The Whispering Land", "Menagerie Manor", "The Amateur Naturalist" and "The Aye-Aye and I". Gerald Durrell died in 1995.

Journalist, maverick, rebel and author of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" Hunter S. Thompson offers another novel of American counterculture in Hell's Angels, beautifully repackaged as part of the Penguin Essentials range. 'A phalanx of motorcycles came roaring over the hill from the west...the noise was like a landslide, or a wing of bombers passing over. Even knowing the Angels I couldn't quite handle what I was seeing. It was like Genghis Khan, Morgan's Raiders, the Wild One and the Rape of Nanking all at once.' In September, 1964 a cavalcade of motorbikes ripped through the city of Monterey, California. It was a trip destined to make Hell's Angels household names across America, infamous for their violent, drunken rampages and feared for the destruction left in their wake. Enter Hunter S. Thompson, the master of counter-culture journalism who alone had the ability and stature to ride with the Angels on their terms. In this brilliant and hair-raising expose, he journeys with the last outlaws of the American frontier. A mixture of journalism, story-telling and sheer bravado, Hell's Angels is Hunter S. Thompson at full throttle. "Excellent documentary non-fiction". ("Time Out"). "The maverick voice of American counterculture". ("Guardian"). "There are only two adjectives writers care about any more - "brilliant" and "outrageous" - and Hunter has a freehold on both of them". (Tom Wolfe). "The book that made Thompson's name". ("Loaded"). Hunter S. Thompson was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1937. He began his writing career as a sports columnist in Florida and went on to work on newspapers and magazines in New York, San Juan and Rio de Janeiro. His articles appeared in Esquire, "Rolling Stone" magazine and the "San Francisco Chronicle". He is the author of a number of books, including "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72", "The Great Shark Hunt", "Generation of Swine", "The Curse of Lono", "Songs of the Doomed", "Better Than Sex", "The Proud Highway" and "The Rum Diary". Hunter S. Thompson died in 2005.

The Icebound Land is the third thrilling book in John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series - over eight million sold worldwide. Kidnapped after the fierce battle with Lord Morgarath, Will and Evanlyn are bound for Skandia as captives aboard a fearsome wolfship. But Halt has sworn to rescue them, and he will do anything to keep his promise - even defy his King. Expelled from the Rangers he has served so loyally, Halt is joined by Will's friend Horace as he travels towards Skandia. On their way, they face many challenges - but Horace knows a thing or two about combat. Soon he begins to attract the attention of knights and warlords for miles around with his uncanny skill. Even so, will they be in time to rescue Will from a horrific life of slavery? Perfect for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, T.H. White's The Sword in the Stone, Christopher Paolini's Eragon series and Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series.

A remarkable book by the master. Reading it is a great experience. (Henning Mankell, "Daily Telegraph"). An English couple, Perry and Gail, are taking an off-peak holiday on the Caribbean island of Antigua. By seeming chance they bump into a Russian millionaire called Dima who owns a peninsula and a diamond-encrusted gold watch. He also has a tattoo on his right thumb, and wants a game of tennis. What else he wants propels the young lovers on a tortuous journey through Paris to a safe house in the Swiss Alps, to the murkiest cloisters of the City of London and its unholy alliance with Britain's Intelligence Establishment. "Chilling and astute...In "Our Kind of Traitor", there is not a hair out of place...le Carre has done it again for our nasty new age". ("The Times"). "A compelling tale of deceit, dialogue and the author's own despair...This is a story with frenzy at its heart". (James Naughtie, "Telegraph"). "John le Carre's bullet train of a new thriller is part vintage John le Carre and part Alfred Hitchcock...The author's most thrilling thriller in years". ("The New York Times").

A remarkable book by the master. Reading it is a great experience. (Henning Mankell, "Daily Telegraph"). An English couple, Perry and Gail, are taking an off-peak holiday on the Caribbean island of Antigua. By seeming chance they bump into a Russian millionaire called Dima who owns a peninsula and a diamond-encrusted gold watch. He also has a tattoo on his right thumb, and wants a game of tennis. What else he wants propels the young lovers on a tortuous journey through Paris to a safe house in the Swiss Alps, to the murkiest cloisters of the City of London and its unholy alliance with Britain's Intelligence Establishment. "Chilling and astute...In "Our Kind of Traitor", there is not a hair out of place...le Carre has done it again for our nasty new age". ("The Times"). "A compelling tale of deceit, dialogue and the author's own despair...This is a story with frenzy at its heart". (James Naughtie, "Telegraph"). "John le Carre's bullet train of a new thriller is part vintage John le Carre and part Alfred Hitchcock...The author's most thrilling thriller in years". ("The New York Times").