Troubador Publishing strana 6 z 16

It’s a day like any other, and you’re queuing at the level-crossing. Or, are you hoping to go on retreat and get away from it all. Maybe you know that kindly old lady with her magnificent black cat. But do you really know what’s going on inside the head of that man who’s just rescued an elderly couple from an ongoing train? What do you make of that sober-looking priest? Are these people – and others you’ll meet – what they seem? Perhaps they are. But, if not, what would you do? The sort of help needed may be well beyond the scope of Google, or even the emergency services. But perhaps I’ve got it all wrong, and you’re one of those rare people who see beyond the everyday. Who is ready to listen and believe. You may even have seen something yourself: the tip of an angel’s wing, or a figure that simply melts away. Or, maybe, just maybe, you’re sitting in front of a blank sheet of paper or an empty screen, and could do with a little supernatural help and inspiration. If so, these stories are for you. After all, in the end, it’s all a Question of Belief.

Samuel Bass is fighting for his country, for himself, for forbidden love and for African Americans held in bondage. Leaving his wife and children, Samuel joins General Washington's newly formed Continental Army. Fighting at the battle of Germantown, he is badly wounded. Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens, aide-de-camp to General Washington, rescues him from death and takes him to the home of a Quaker family in nearby Philadelphia to recover. Here he falls in love with the young woman slave assigned to care for him. Thus begins a tumultuous and, at times, dangerous journey into inner conflict, divided loyalties and a personal mission to provide equal education for everyone, regardless of their colour. In this sweeping narrative, the author skillfully gives an imaginative portrayal of one man’s life set against the background of American War for Independence but which, at the current time of global tension, addresses issues and conflicts that still resound today, such as the struggle for power and the destructive influence of widespread racial prejudice.

Thirty-one men held the position of Foreign Secretary during the twentieth century, usually – though not invariably – being one of the two or three most significant figures in Cabinet. This book provides profiles for each of them, both as standalone essays and as part of the wider story of how the holders of the office have developed from being landed grandees to run-of-the-mill politicians; from largely independent practitioners of foreign policy to playing a supporting role behind their Prime Ministers; and how they oversaw Britain’s decline from the preeminent global superpower to a second-tier state with sharply circumscribed freedom of action. The book will examine the journey from Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, scion of an ancient family, through to Robin Cook, grandson of a miner.

When the General Strike leaves the miners in South Wales with no work, a family of five converts their small front room into a grocery shop which quickly takes over their lives. When their father passes, it falls to older sister Edith to run the shop, while her younger sisters, Alice and Doll, must get jobs in service in London with Lord and Lady Sutherburt. There they meet the men who come to have significant roles in their lives. As the years pass, the world changes, and the sisters must learn to cope with love and loss through times of poverty, war, disaster and upheaval. Will the class divisions that present them with difficult bridges to cross ever weaken?

Tales from The Dell is a wonderfully heart-warming and charming collection of children’s animal stories, beautifully written and well suited for children and adults alike. The writing is complimented by beautiful original artwork of the characters. The author’s affinity for wildlife shines through, with the stories intended to educate youngsters about the behaviours and characteristics of some of our furry and feathered friends, as well as giving youngsters and adults alike great pleasure.

LEAN ON NO ONE is a journey through the achievements and legacy of Elizabeth Garver Jordan, a woman who defined female ambition, creativity, empowerment and above all, lived life on her own terms. As the influence of public media via newspapers and magazines rapidly grew in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Jordan’s innovative approaches raised public awareness of the challenges of social and gender inequality. In her positions at Pulitzer’s New York World and Harper’s Bazar, she significantly boosted journalistic and literary opportunities for women and inspired a new generation through her own articles and serialised short stories. Jordan recognized how both work and literary collaborations could promote positive change as well as entertaining reading, especially concerning female empowerment. The themes and experimentation in her short stories, novels of intrigue, crime and romance, a play and film productions still resonate with readers today. Her work stands alongside those of her contemporaries with whom she had close personal and professional associations such as Frances Hodgson Burnett and Henry James. Jordan’s independence, determination and active collaboration in the media, political, literary and personal aspects of her life not only benefitted herself but also many others. Her underestimated contribution needs to be fully revealed and acknowledged.

Ten summers have passed by in Northernland since the demise of the evil Queen Helistra. A time of healing and tending the land for her people and for the Forestalls to replenish the Plateau and Great forests of the devastation she had left behind. It had not been spoken of, but two questions remained unanswered hanging over the heads of the Forestalls since her death. Why had they never found the body of Ringwold and where did Queen Helistra groom Grimstone’s rune staff in her evil, all those years ago? Questions that had always bothered the Forestall Martyn, more so now when suddenly the repentant rune staff of Grimstone’s within the reborn Ancient One started to have dreams and for a dwarf, whose people had left Northernland hundreds of years before, to suddenly appear on its shores once more from a distant land called Seikyre! His story of what was happening on Seikyre enough for the Ancient One to send help across waters they had never dared set sail upon since the dwarves disappearance, only to find what was awaiting them would see Northernland put in peril once more!

‘His huge flattened tail means he’ll catch up to you, and his meat-hook-like claws mean you will suffer.’ The Sail-back is book one from the second pair of Dinosaur Fights gamebooks, where you will use a soul time-portal to transport your spirit back in time 95,805,293 years ago to inhabit and control the body of a real dinosaur and have it fight its greatest enemy in the prehistoric world. In this thrilling game, your soul will be sent into the body of the famous Spinosaurus, possibly the largest predator to ever walk the earth. You will use jaws, claws and strength to answer the ultimate question: can you defeat the second largest predator, Carcharodontosaurus?

Holly Wild lives in a world of his own. He has his own internal jukebox inside his head. He is an orphan after his parents died in a car crash in Texas, while visiting the home of Buddy Holly. When they died Holly’s parents left him a Diner in Hammersmith, but it is very run-down, and he is struggling to keep the business afloat. Luckily Holly has the help of some weird and wonderful Earth Angels, some Troubadours from the past and most importantly a jukebox time machine. With it Holly can go back in time and meet his rock and roll heroes such as Billy Fury, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. Holly goes on a musical magical mystery tour of time and space which follows and seems strangely connected to the famous Magical Mystery Tour of the Beatles. Holly Wild has AS Aspergers Syndrome which the author was also diagnosed with as a child.

Originally released as 'The Puppet Tears', this edition of the author's very first novel – a tale of lost love and ultimate retribution – has been revised, extended and updated. Samual Grant has crafted for himself an enviable life: a career he loves, a beautiful home nestled deep in idyllic countryside, and the love and affection of Marianna Pascal – the lifelong focus of the most ardent of his obsessions. All seems well, until Marianna stumbles upon the chilling secret to his success, hidden away in the basement beneath their everyday lives. His dreams now in tatters, Samual must act fast to avoid losing everything he’s contrived into his skewed existence, straying further into the world of the occult than ever before to avoid losing everything he’s spent years amassing. But just how far is he willing to go to retain all that his diseased mind covets?

A heartwarming and beautiful picture book that tenderly explores the rollercoaster of emotions we all experience. Through a series of gentle, everyday moments—a sunny day in the park, a sleepless night, a piano exam, a frustrating fall, and a heartfelt goodbye—this moving story follows a child and his grown-up as they navigate joy, fear, excitement, anger, and love through time. Perfect for young readers and their grown-ups to share, this book offers a compassionate guide to understanding big feelings. Each scene is infused with warmth, wisdom, and the quiet magic of unconditional support. As the child grows into a grown-up himself, the circle of care continues, reminding how empathy, patience, and connection can be passed from one generation to the next. With lyrical language and emotionally rich storytelling, I Don’t Know What to Feel will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt overwhelmed, unsure, or simply human. This is more than a bedtime book—it’s a lifelong companion for children, parents, and caregivers alike. A perfect gift for new parents, growing families, or anyone looking to celebrate the beauty of feeling deeply.

In 1945 India, Partition is looming, and it is a dangerous and violent place. A fateful meeting and illicit romance between Joe Benedict and his boss’s wife Molly, starts an unstoppable sequence of events, as on their return to England they unwittingly become the founders of one of the most ruthless criminal gangs in London. Years later, London is ruled by violent gangs. Ambitious Nick Benedict and his best friend Subash, known as Basher, accidentally become involved with the dark side of Joe’s past. This leads Nick to become embroiled with the Magellis, a major London crime family. Eventually, battling for success against the Magellis, Krays and Richardsons, the Bombay Boys, (named for their Indian roots) fight to establish themselves in this violent world. The Bombay Boys is a savage and exciting journey filled with romance and thrills, as the family establish their territory in a gangster world that spans from London to New York, Las Vegas and even Sydney.

This remarkable book is the story of the author''s mother, Rachel, a girl born in the Jewish Quarter of Damascus, who in 1927 wins a scholarship to study in Versailles to become a teacher with the Alliance Israelite Universelle. Posted to Baghdad, she meets Victor, a young man from a wealthy Iraqi Jewish family, fresh from study in Germany.The book follows their relationship, through the enormous and appalling upheavals of the twentieth century. The Holocaust is at first only a terrifying rumour to Syrian and Iraqi Jews, whose immediate problems result from the rise, following the collapse of the Ottoman rule, of a predominantly Muslim Arab nationalism whose sources in European fascism and Nazism make it a threat not only to Jews but to all the religious and ethnic minorities of the region, including the ancient Christian sects. The book covers the entire sequence of events, including the rise of Israel and the defeat of the Arab armies sent to suppress it, which led to the dispossession and expulsion, by the new nationalism, of virtually the entire Jewish community, in a vast act of what would now be called ethnic cleansing.In all of this Victor, extraordinarily, retains his nostalgia for an earlier, pre-Nazi Germany, and in the 1950s re-establishes himself in Hamburg.

For Muntu, Alkebulan Farm is more than just soil – it’s history, identity, and inheritance. But as the once-thriving ancestral land falls into disrepair, so too does Muntu’s grip on his role as father, husband, and heir. As his neighbours close in with deceit, sabotage, and greed, Muntu’s silence risks becoming complicity in his own undoing. His wife, Tisa, can no longer watch in silence. In desperation, she calls on her brother, Kamau – a man with his own painful past and unfinished conflict with Muntu. Kamau’s return brings both hope and tension, rekindling buried wounds and forcing the fractured family to confront what has been lost… and what can still be saved. Set against a backdrop of rural uncertainty and communal erosion, this novel explores the cost of pride, the resilience of women, the innocence of children, and the land’s quiet demand for stewardship. In Alkebulan, survival is not guaranteed – but for those who remember what the soil is worth, it just might be earned.

Set in the evocative marshland of a North Norfolk coastal village, The Winkle Picker is the tale of nineteen-year-old Wilf Smee’s endeavours to escape the stifling influence of his father, Ned, picker of winkles. Ned approaches life much as he manipulates the removal of winkles from a shell; with deftness and an obsessive pleasure. It is not until Wilf meets a young Swedish researcher, Silje Olsson, and a callous incident occurs, that the tranquillity of the idyllic setting and Wilf’s fragile world is shattered. As dark as this act is, it soon becomes clear that this is not the only atrocity to have been committed and, as the secrets of the reed beds emerge, Ned’s ability to control the situation and his own narrative diminishes. Can love, and Wilf’s growing resilience, overcome the beauty and savagery that have masked the truth for so long?

Dinky is a small brown mouse with big ears and a long tail. This series of books tell you of his life from the beginning and all the adventures he encounters along the way. In Dinky’s Tales : The Beginning the toy animals arrive at a magic toy shop. Once through the front door they become alive. Most of the animals are friendly, but you are always going to get a baddie. Here the baddie is a rat called Gary along with his naughty rat friends. Dinky’s Tales are a series of books that carry on from one book to another, making sure to leave the last page on a cliffhanger. Children will want to read the next one to find out what happens next. The books are written in the classic style in which storybooks used to be written.