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The Time in Between
By Marcello Fois. 2012
Vincenzo Chironi sets foot for the first time on the island of Sardinia - 'a raft in the middle of…
the Mediterranean' - in 1943, a year of famine and malaria. All he has with him is an old document as proof of his name and date of birth, but to find out who he really is he has had to undertake an even more stressful journey than the one he has just faced in the steamer from mainland Italy to Sardinia. At Núoro he will find his grandfather, a master blacksmith, who will act as a substitute father but also as an accomplice to him, and his aunt Marianna, who greets the unexpected arrival of a previously unknown nephew as an opportunity to redeem a life previously afflicted by misfortune.Years later, when the presence of Vincenzo Chironi in Núoro seems to have become taken for granted, as natural as the sea and rocks, his blood asserts itself. Vincenzo meets Cecilia, a beautiful girl with eyes of an undefinable shade who is a wartime refugee from elsewhere in Sardinia, and falling in love seems the only course open to either of them. Never mind that she is already engaged to Nicola, a boy with whom Vincenzo is indirectly connected by marriage through his aunt Marianna . . . Even if it may be a fact that "disobedience must involve punishment", it may also be true that love cannot avoid adding the latest link to an endless chain.Under a Pole Star: Shortlisted for the 2017 Costa Novel Award
By Stef Penney. 2016
RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB 2017. SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2017 COSTA NOVEL AWARD.'A novel of huge scope with a tremendous…
sense of period and place' Costa judges'A dazzling tale of romance and survival' GuardianFollow the path to the freezing north. Follow your ambition. Follow your heartFlora Mackie first crossed the Arctic Circle at the age of twelve. Years later, in 1892, determination and chance lead her back to northern Greenland as a scientist at the head of a British expedition, defying the expectations of those who believe a woman has no place in that harsh world.Geologist Jakob de Beyn was raised in Manhattan. Yearning for wider horizons, he joins a rival expedition. Jakob and Flora's paths cross. It is a fateful meeting, where passion and ambition collide and an irresistible attraction is born.The violent extremes of the north obsess them both: perpetual night and endless day; frozen seas and coastal meadows, and the strange, maddening pull it exerts on the people trying to make their mark on its vast expanses - a pursuit of glory whose outcome will reverberate for years to come.The Longest Night
By Otto De Kat. 2015
A masterpiece of literary craft and concision; sparse, beautiful and hugely affecting - Daily MailSince the liberation of the Netherlands,…
Emma Verweij has been living in Rotterdam, in a street which became a stronghold of friendships for its inhabitants during the Second World War. She marries Bruno, they have two sons, and she determines to block out the years she spent in Nazi Berlin during the war, with her first husband Carl. But now, ninety-six years old and on the eve of her death, long- forgotten memories crowd again into her consciousness, flashbacks of happier years, and the tragedy of the war, of Carl, of her father, and of the friends she has lost. In The Longest Night, his impressive, reflective new novel after News from Berlin, Otto de Kat deftly distils momentous events of 20th-century history into the lives of his characters. In Emma, the past and the present coincide in limpid fragments of rare, melancholy beauty.Translated from the Dutch by Laura WatkinsonThe Parable Book
By Per Olov Enquist. 2013
"The love that dare not speak its name . . ." Sweden, 1949. A boy of 15, cutting across a…
garden, chances upon a woman of 51. What ensues is cataclysmic, life-altering. All the more because it cannot be spoken of. Can it never be spoken of?Looking back in late old age at an encounter that transformed him suddenly yet utterly, P.O. Enquist, a titan of Swedish letters, has decided to "come out" - but in ways entirely novel and unexpected. He has written the book that smoldered unwritten within him his entire life. The book he had always seen as the one he could not write.This poignant memoir of love as a religious experience - as a modern form of the Resurrection - is also a deeply felt reflection on the transitoriness of friendship, the fraught nature of family relationships, and the importance of giving voice to what cannot be forgotten. A parable as hauntingly intense as any Bergman film.Translated from the Swedish by Deborah Bragan-TurnerThe Time in Between
By Marcello Fois. 2012
Vincenzo Chironi sets foot for the first time on the island of Sardinia - 'a raft in the middle of…
the Mediterranean' - in 1943, a year of famine and malaria. All he has with him is an old document as proof of his name and date of birth, but to find out who he really is he has had to undertake an even more stressful journey than the one he has just faced in the steamer from mainland Italy to Sardinia. At Núoro he will find his grandfather, a master blacksmith, who will act as a substitute father but also as an accomplice to him, and his aunt Marianna, who greets the unexpected arrival of a previously unknown nephew as an opportunity to redeem a life previously afflicted by misfortune.Years later, when the presence of Vincenzo Chironi in Núoro seems to have become taken for granted, as natural as the sea and rocks, his blood asserts itself. Vincenzo meets Cecilia, a beautiful girl with eyes of an undefinable shade who is a wartime refugee from elsewhere in Sardinia, and falling in love seems the only course open to either of them. Never mind that she is already engaged to Nicola, a boy with whom Vincenzo is indirectly connected by marriage through his aunt Marianna . . . Even if it may be a fact that "disobedience must involve punishment", it may also be true that love cannot avoid adding the latest link to an endless chain.The Bishop Must Die (The Last Templar Mysteries 28): A thrilling medieval mystery
By Michael Jecks. 2009
Working against the clock, can Sir Baldwin and Simon hope to prevent a murder? As the threat of war hangs…
over England, Sir Baldwin and Bailiff Puttock must work desperately to prevent murder, in Michael Jecks' latest thrilling mystery in his hugely popular Knights Templar series. Perfect for fans of C.J. Sansom and Susanna Gregory. 'Each page is densely packed with cuckolding, coarseness, lewdness, lechery, gore galore, but also with nobility. A heady mix!' - North Devon Journal1326: King Edward II's estranged wife Queen Isabella shames him by refusing to return from France to England. When the king hears she has betrothed their son to the daughter of the French Count of Hainault, all England fears invasion by a Hainault army.The King's knights, including Sir Baldwin de Furnshill, are commanded to London to protect the realm. Meanwhile Bishop Stapledon, the Treasurer of England, is under severe threat - but from whom? He has made many enemies in his long political life, and Sir Baldwin and his friend, Simon Puttock, must do all they can to find the would-be assassin before he can strike... What readers are saying about The Bishop Must Die: 'The characters are richly drawn and weave in and out of the events of the early 14th century, with Michael Jecks showing great knowledge of the times''Jecks always brings his chosen era to life''Another masterpiece from one of my favourite authors'The Outlaws of Ennor (Last Templar Mysteries 16): A devishly plotted medieval mystery
By Michael Jecks. 2003
Separated, but working on the same mystery, what will befall Sir Baldwin and Simon Puttock after a devastating shipwreck? The…
brooding Scilly Isles provide the backdrop to Michael Jecks' absorbing sixteenth mystery, The Outlaws of Ennor, featuring the ever-popular Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock. Perfect for fans of Susanna Gregory and C.J. Sansom. 'Tremendously successful medieval mystery series' - Sunday Independent On the return from their pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, in the summer of 1323, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock's ship is attacked by pirates. They fight their attackers off, but then there are too few shipmen when a terrible storm strikes. As the ship breaks up, Simon sees Baldwin washed overboard. Distraught, Simon makes his way to shore.But on the island of Ennor, he must put aside his fears and investigate the murder of Robert, the island's hated tax collector, at the behest of master of the castle, Ranulph de Blancminster.Meanwhile, washed up on the other side of the island, Baldwin begins his own investigation of the same murder. As the friends dig deeper, they become embroiled in a bitter rivalry between the two island communities. Can they uncover the truth in time to prevent certain massacre? What readers are saying about The Outlaws of Ennor: 'Michael's books are full of intrigue and mystery and they are particularly well researched''What a great book this was...Michael Jecks is a great writer and in this genre, I don't think you will find anyone better''Five stars'On a diplomatic mission in France, Sir Baldwin and Simon encounter more than they bargained for... Baldwin and Simon uncover…
a deadly assassination plot in The King of Thieves, a gripping mystery in Michael Jecks' hugely popular medieval crime series. Perfect for fans of Paul Doherty and Susanna Gregory. 'Complicated, well-populated, written with cross-cutting gusto, and accompanied by scholarly extras' - Ellery Queen Magazine1325: Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and his friend Simon Puttock are in France guarding King Edward's son on his perilous journey to meet the French king, Charles IV. But they are unaware that King Edward's wife Isabella is disaffected and plotting her revenge...What first appears a simple diplomatic mission is fast becoming lethally dangerous. Meanwhile, two murders in Paris are causing alarm. Is there a connection between the killings and the shadowy 'King' of thieves? Simon and Baldwin know the future of the English crown is at risk. And in order to protect it they must put their own lives in jeopardy. What readers are saying about The King of Thieves: 'Fast pace, intricate plot, well-drawn characters and good period feel make this a must for all fans of this genre''I cannot praise Michael Jecks' writing highly enough, his books always keep me guessing right to the end''Fantastic read - five stars'A Few of the Girls
By Maeve Binchy. 2015
'The Irish do love telling stories, and we are suspicious of people who don't have long, complicated conversations. There used…
to be a rule in etiquette books that you should invite four talkers and four listeners to a dinner party. That doesn't work in Ireland, because nobody knows four listeners' Maeve Binchy Maeve Binchy's bestselling novels not only tell wonderful stories, they also give an insight in to how Ireland has changed over the decades, and how people remain the same: they still fall in love, sometimes unsuitably; they still have hopes and dreams; they have deep, long-standing friendships, and some that fall apart. From her earliest writing to her most recent, Maeve's work has included wonderfully nostalgic pieces and also sharp, often witty writing which is insightful and topical. But at the heart of all Maeve's fiction are the people and their relationships with each other. A FEW OF THE GIRLS is a glorious collection of the very best of her writing, full of the warmth, charm and humour that has always been essentially Maeve.The Book of Ebenezer le Page
By G. B. Edwards. 1981
Ebenezer Le Page, cantankerous, opinionated, and charming, is one of the most compelling literary creations of the late twentieth century.…
Eighty years old, Ebenezer has lived his whole life on the Channel Island of Guernsey, a stony speck of a place caught between the coasts of England and France yet a world apart from either. Ebenezer himself is fiercely independent, but as he reaches the end of his life he is determined to tell his own story and the stories of those he has known. He writes of family secrets and feuds, unforgettable friendships and friendships betrayed, love glimpsed and lost. The Book of Ebenezer Le Page is a beautifully detailed chronicle of a life, but it is equally an oblique reckoning with the traumas of the twentieth century, as Ebenezer recalls both the men lost to the Great War and the German Occupation of Guernsey during World War II, and looks with despair at the encroachments of commerce and tourism on his beloved island. G. B. Edwards labored in obscurity all his life and completed The Book of Ebenezer Le Page shortly before his death. Published posthumously, the book is a triumph of the storyteller's art that conjures up the extraordinary voice of a living man.Country or family... which will Sir Baldwin and Simon choose? When Simon's daughter becomes embroiled in the plans of a…
group of outlaws, he and Sir Baldwin take matters into their own hands in the thrilling twenty-seventh instalment of Michael Jecks' Knights Templar mysteries. Perfect for fans of George R. R. Martin and Bernard Cornwell.'Boasts an exciting, twisting plot' - Publishers WeeklyKing Edward II is furious when he learns that his wife Queen Isabella has defied him by remaining in France with their son. As the unfortunate messengers of this news, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and his friend, Bailiff Simon Puttock, are dismissed from court.Returning home to Devon, they are shocked to discover that outlaws now hold sway in the land. When two clerics are found murdered, Baldwin and Simon must investigate. But the culprit is a friend of Dispenser and the King, and in taking the matter further they could be accused of treason. So they decide to leave the affair to others. Until, that is, Simon's own daughter comes under threat, and all hell is let loose... What readers are saying about No Law in the Land: 'Top crime, top adventure, great characterisation''A thoroughly intriguing tale of menacing threats. It is another glorious story from Michael Jecks''Jecks weaves a marvellously plotted, plausible story in amongst historical fact'The Templar's Penance (Last Templar Mysteries 15): An enthralling medieval adventure
By Michael Jecks. 2003
A pilgrimage across Europe throws up more than was bargained for... The fascinating fifteenth mystery in Michael Jecks' Knights Templar…
series, featuring the much-loved characters Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and Simon Puttock. Perfect for fans of George R. R. Martin and Paul Doherty. 'Brisk medieval whodunnit' - Literary ReviewIt is the summer of 1323, and Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock have been granted leave to go on pilgrimage. Together they travel across Europe to Santiago de Compostela. But danger is never far away, and when a beautiful girl is found murdered on a hillside, the friends are among the first on the scene.Baldwin and Simon lend their investigative skills to the inquiry, headed by the local pesquisidore. But the unexpected appearance of a face from Baldwin's past could threaten the investigation, as well as the future of Baldwin himself... What readers are saying about The Templar's Penance: 'Set in England and overseas, this is a great read from the master of medieval mystery. These books are really well researched and give you a taste of life in the middle ages - great read''It reads very well, the characters, the places and situations all hold one's interest''Five stars'Young Man with a Horn
By Gary Giddins, Dorothy Baker. 1938
Rick Martin loved music and the music loved him. He could pick up a tune so quickly that it didn't…
matter to the Cotton Club boss that he was underage, or to the guys in the band that he was just a white kid. He started out in the slums of LA with nothing, and he ended up on top of the game in the speakeasies and nightclubs of New York. But while talent and drive are all you need to make it in music, they aren't enough to make it through a life. Dorothy Baker's Young Man with a Horn is widely regarded as the first jazz novel, and it pulses with the music that defined an era. Baker took her inspiration from the artistry--though not the life--of legendary horn player Bix Beiderbecke, and the novel went on to be adapted into a successful movie starring Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, and Doris Day.Bloodlines
By Marcello Fois. 2014
When Giuseppe Mundula first sees Michele Angelo Chironi across the corridor of a Sardinian orphanage, the reserved blacksmith realises he…
has found the son and heir he never knew he needed. And when, a few years later, Michele himself looks down from a church rooftop and sees the beautiful Mercede, the quiet orphan realises he has found the woman he will marry. So begins Marcello Fois' magisterial domestic epic of the lives and loves of the Chironi family, as they struggle through war and fascism. Deftly endowing familial horrors with mythical resonance, Fois creates a Dantesque triptych that inscribes the history of twentieth-century Sardinia onto a single misbegotten household.The Heart of Man
By Jón Kalman Stefánsson. 2009
After coming through the blizzard that almost cost them everything, Jens and the boy are far from home, in a…
fishing community at the edge of the world. Taken in by the village doctor, the boy once again has the sense of being brought back from the grave. But this is a strange place, with otherworldly inhabitants, including flame-haired Álfheiður, who makes him wonder whether it is possible to love two women at once; he had believed his heart was lost to Ragnheiður, the daughter of the wealthy merchant in the village to which he must now inexorably return. Set in the awe-inspiring wilderness of the extreme north, The Heart of Man is a profound exploration of life, love and desire, written with a sublime simplicity. In this conclusion to an audacious trilogy, Stefánsson brings a poet's eye and a philosopher's insight to a tale worthy of the sagasmiths of old.The Wandering Pine: Life as a Novel
By Per Olov Enquist. 2008
When everything began so well, how could it turn out so badly? A blisteringly frank autobiographical novel by Sweden's great…
man of letters - for readers of K. O. Knausgaard's My Struggle."Some life. Some novel . . . Wonderful, brave, evocative . . . It is a remarkable story, and Enquist is remarkably frank in narrating every last detail" HeraldWhat was it about Hjoggböle, a farming village in the northernmost part of Sweden, that created so many idiots - and writers? There was nothing to indicate that P.O. Enquist would be stricken by an addiction to writing. Nothing in his family - honest, hardworking people. Not a trace of poetry. And yet he worked his way, via journalism, novels and plays, to the centre of Swedish politics and cultural life. His books garnered prize after prize. His plays ran for decades and premiered on Broadway. Why then, living with a new wife in Paris, does he hole up in their palatial Champes-Élysées apartment, talking only to his cat? How is it that he wakes to find himself in an uncoupled carriage on a railway siding in Hamburg, two - or was it three? - days after the first-night party finished? And what is it that drives him to run shoeless through the deep January snow of an Icelandic plain, leaving the lights of the drying out clinic far behind? Narrating in the third person, as if he were merely a character in the eventful, perplexing and ultimately triumphantly redemptive drama of his own life, P.O. Enquist is as elliptical as Karl Ove Knausgaard is exhaustive. Clear-eyed, rueful, written with elegance and humour, this is the singular story of a remarkable man.The Villa: Escape to Sicily with the Number One Bestseller
By Rosanna Ley. 2012
THE #1 KINDLE BESTSELLER. An unforgettable story set off the sun-soaked coast of Sicily for fans of Dinah Jefferies, Victoria…
Hislop and Santa Montefiore.'The perfect holiday companion' - Heat'The ultimate feel-good read' - Candis'Sun-soaked escapism' - Best**********When Tess Angel receives a solicitor's letter inviting her to claim her inheritance - the Villa Sirena, perched on a clifftop in Sicily - she is stunned. Her only link to the island is through her mother, Flavia, who left Sicily during World War II and cut all contact with her family. When Tess goes to Sicily, Flavia realises the secrets from her past are about to be revealed and decides to try to explain her actions. Meanwhile, Tess' teenage daughter Ginny is stressed by college, by her blooming sexuality and filled with questions that she longs to ask her father, if only she knew where he was...********SEE WHAT EVERYONE IS SAYING ABOUT ROSANNA LEY:'An impeccably researched and deftly written narrative that kept me hooked until the end' - Kathryn Hughes, bestselling author of The Letter 'Loved it from start to finish. A brilliant holiday read' - Amazon reviewer'Perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Victoria Hislop and Leah Fleming' - Candis 'On so many levels a fantastic read' - Amazon reviewer'A fascinating story with engaging themes' - Dinah Jefferies, bestselling author of The Tea Planter's Wife 'Warm, enthralling, one of my favourite authors' - Amazon reviewerMesmerized
By Alissa Walser. 2010
Mozart's Vienna. A crucible for scientific experimentation and courtly intrigue, as Europe's finest minds vie for imperial favour. In a…
colourful, chaotic private hospital that echoes with the shrieks of hysterical patients, Franz Anton Mesmer is developing a series of controversial cure-alls for body and mind. When he is asked to help restore the sight of a blind musical prodigy favoured by the Empress herself, he senses that fame, and even immortality, is within his grasp. Mesmer knows that he will have to gain her trust if he is to open her eyes. But at what cost to her fragile talent? And will their intimacy result in scandal?A Place to Belong: A gripping, heartwrenching saga set in World War Two Ireland
By Cathy Mansell. 2019
Set against the glorious backdrop of World War Two Ireland, this dramatic, emotional and romantic novel is perfect for fans…
of Maeve Binchy, Lorna Cook, Tracy Rees and Jenny Ashcroft!'A romantic saga writer to watch' PETERBOROUGH TELEGRAPHShe lost everything in one night. Now she must fight for happiness.It's 1943 and Ireland has escaped the worst of the war raging in Europe, but life is not without its hardships. When fire breaks out at the convent in Cavan where she has spent the past ten years, orphan Eva Fallon barely escapes with her life.She's offered a bed for the night by Ma Scully, whilst her nephew Cathal, visiting from Dublin, helps battle the blaze. Seventeen-year-old Eva has never known such kindness but she's too proud to take advantage, and finds a job at Blackstock's farm, setting in motion a chain of events that will change her life forever.Amidst tragedy and hardship, the only ray of light is the friendship of Ma Scully and her growing, secret love for Cathal. And through it all Eva clings to her hope that one day she will find a place where she can truly belong.Don't miss Cathy Mansell's next powerfully heartrending family saga of three sisters in 1950s Ireland - The Dublin Girls - out now! Here's what readers are saying:'Glorious - a cross between Maeve Binchy and Catherine Cookson' 5* early reader review'A superb saga' PETERBOROUGH TELEGRAPH'A heart-warming story full of characters you'll come to love' ROSIE GOODWIN'Page-turning and compelling... Most highly recommended' MARGARET KAINE'Rarely have I read a book where every character springs from the pages so authentically' JEAN CHAPMAN'A warm-hearted, engaging story' MARGARET JAMES, WRITING MAGAZINEThe Diver and The Lover: A novel of love and the unbreakable bond between sisters
By Jeremy Vine. 2020
'The lives of the characters get entangled in this powerful read' WOMAN'S OWN'A pacy, gripping tale of secrets, love and…
betrayal in 1950s Catalonia, written with skill and colour. It gave me enormous pleasure to read such a satisfying novel.' SANTA MONTEFIORE 'If you're in desperate need of a far-Flung getaway, indulge in this slice of escapist fiction' HEAT'Being transported to a Spanish summer in 1951... I feel the cool of the shadows under the trees and hear the sea as it glistens in the rippling heat. I think you might like it too!' FERN BRITTON'As colourful, rich and mesmerising as one of Dali's paintings, this absorbing, poignant rollercoaster of a read is utterly satisfying and will stay with you long after you've put it down.' PATRICIA SCANLAN 'a tale of intrigue, love, politics and scandal. Mixing fact and fiction The Diver and The Lover keeps up the pace and excitement to the very end.' JOAN BAKEWELL'This tale intrigued me and captured my imagination in equal measure. I loved being whisked back to the 1950s and felt the heat of the Spanish sun as I fell in love with the sisters' unique relationship. Be prepared to be taken on a dramatic journey confronting pain, tragedy and passion along the way ' SARA COX'We'll never look at one of the world's best known paintings in the same way again. [Jeremy Vine] has managed to weave truth and fiction together to bring us a most unexpected love story.' FIONA BRUCE'A touching love story set in General Franco's postwar Spain is hallmark Vine - fresh, well-researchedand packed with female protagonists.' - COUNTRYSIDE MAGSoaked in sunlight, love and the mysteries surrounding a famous artist The Diver and the Lover is a novel inspired by true events.It is 1951 and sisters Ginny and Meredith have travelled from England to Spain in search of distraction and respite. The two wars have wreaked loss and deprivation upon the family and the spectre of Meredith's troubled childhood continues to haunt them. Their journey to the rugged peninsula of Catalonia promises hope and renewal. While there they discover the artist Salvador Dali is staying in nearby Port Lligat. Meredith is fascinated by modern art and longs to meet the famous surrealist. Dali is embarking on an ambitious new work, but his headstrong male model has refused to pose. A replacement is found, a young American waiter with whom Ginny has struck up a tentative acquaintance. The lives of the characters become entangled as family secrets, ego and the dangerous politics of Franco's Spain threaten to undo the fragile bonds that have been forged. A powerful story of love, sacrifice and the lengths we will go to for who - or what - we love.