An oddity among Aldiss works - verse translations. Song from the Steppes is the collected poems of Makhtumkuli, eighteenth century poet-hero of Turkmenistan. In this book, Aldiss renders prose translations made by Dr Youssef Azemoun, an expert on Turkic languages and literature, from the original into verse.

The voice of motor racing and much loved public figure – and the man responsible for introducing millions of viewers to the previously inaccessible world of Formula 1 – tells the story of his incident-packed life, with a brand new chapter on his globetrotting adventures since retirement. Murray Walker is a national treasure. When the man who made famous the catch phrase 'Unless I'm very much mistaken… I AM very much mistaken!!!' announced that he was retiring as ITV's Grand Prix commentator, the media reacted as if the sport itself was losing one of its biggest stars. His reputation for mistakes was the making of Walker. He was the fan who happened to be given the keys to the commentary box – and never wanted to give them back. His high-octane delivery kept viewers on the edge of their seats, while his passion for talking about the sport he loved was matched by an all-encompassing knowledge gained through hours of painstaking research before every race. In his book he writes about his childhood and the influence that his father, British motorcycle champion Graham Walker, had on his career. Failing to match his father's achievements on the track after active service in World War II, he made a successful career for himself in advertising which catapulted him to the top of his profession. An offer from the BBC to take over the commentary seat for their F1 broadcasts was too good to turn down, and it wasn't long before the infamous 'Murrayisms' enlivened a sport which until then had been shrouded in a cloak of unfathomable technical jargon and mind-numbing statistics. He also talks about the biggest changes in the sport over the last 50 years, in particular the safety issues which came to the fore after the tragic death of Ayrton Senna, which he witnessed first hand. His partnership with James Hunt behind the microphone is the subject of some hilarious anecdotes, while his views on drivers past and present such as Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart, Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher make for fascinating reading.

A heart-warming memoir about life as a nursery nurse and nanny in the 1960s, for fans of Call the Midwife. In 1961, sixteen year-old Pam Weaver began her training as a nursery nurse. Drawn to this profession by her caring nature and a desire to earn her own living, Pam had no idea of the road she was about to start down. At the government-run nursery, she found early mornings, endless floors to scrub, overbearing matrons, heartbreaking stories of abandonment, true friends and life lessons that would stay with her for decades. Bath Times and Nursery Rhymes is Pam’s memoir about her time in state nurseries and as a Hyde Park private nanny. It will recount the highs and lows of that time with engaging and uplifting honesty.

Calling all One Direction fans! This is the only official book from 1D, charting their journey over the last year and a half – from the places they’ve visited and fans they’ve met, to their thoughts and feelings, hopes and dreams, highs and lows. It has been a phenomenal year – and this is a phenomenal story. This Christmas, there will be no other book that true One Direction fans will want! They’ve won dozens of awards. They’ve had a bigger US debut than the Beatles. They’ve played Madison Square Garden, the Royal Variety Show, and sold-out venues across the globe. One Direction – just five young guys from small British towns – has truly gone global. Now the lives of Louis, Liam, Harry, Zayn and Niall are changing beyond recognition. This year, with their own movie hitting theatres and a 133-date tour stretching across the globe, the 1D star is shining brighter than ever. How did they feel when they debuted twice at no. 1 in the US – and in 37 countries around the world? How have they kept themselves grounded? And now that they’ve come so far, what are their dreams for the future? In Where We Are, the boys offer you a chance to find out about this breathtaking chapter of their story, straight from the heart and in their own words. Packed with exclusive beautiful photos, backstage snapshots, hand-written annotations and brand new insights into the boys’ world, Where We Are is a unique book that no fan’s life is complete without – bringing the 1D story right up to date.

Longlisted for the Orwell Prize and the Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction; both conservative and subversive, Burke’s beliefs have never been more relevant, as MP Jesse Norman explains. Philosopher, statesman, and founder of modern conservatism, Edmund Burke is both the greatest and most under-rated political thinker of the past three-hundred years. Born in Ireland in 1729, and greatly affected by its bigotry and extremes, his career constituted a lifelong struggle against the abuse of power. Amid the 18th century’s golden generation that included his companions Adam Smith, Samuel Johnson and Edward Gibbon, Burke’s controversial mixture of conservative and subversive theories made him first a marginal figure, and finally a revered theorist – a hero of the Romantics. He warned of the effects of British rule in Ireland, the loss of the American colonies, and most famously, he foresaw the disastrous consequences of revolution in France. This he predicted, would trigger extremism, terror and the atomisation of society – a profound analysis that continues to resonate today. In this absorbing new biography Conservative MP Jesse Norman gives us Burke anew, vividly depicting his dazzling intellect, imagination and empathy against the rich tapestry of 18th century Europe. Burke’s wisdom, Norman shows, applies well beyond the times of empire to the conventional democratic politics practised in Britain and America today. We cannot understand the defects of the modern world, or modern politics, without him.

For the first time ever, get the first three books of "The Superhero's Son" in one convenient discounted ebook box set! In "The Superhero's Test," Kevin Jason becomes the superhero Bolt in order to defend himself and his family from a dangerous supervillain; in "The Superhero's Team," Bolt must uncover a conspiracy in the superhero community that threatens to destroy the country before it is too late; and in "The Superhero's Summit," Bolt must figure out who is trying to provoke conflict between the two largest superhero organizations in the country before all-out war breaks out between them.

‘If you had not already realised it, this is a very strange house you are come to.’ The Scions of the House of Werth are all born normal. It is what happens afterwards that sets them apart. It is not easy being the most supernatural family in England. Nell talks to the dead; Lord Werth is too often to be found out in the churchyard at the dead of night; and the less said about Lord Bedgberry, the better. Only Miss Gussie Werth has missed out on the family curse. She sups on chocolate, not blood; she's blissfully oblivious to spectres (except for Great-Aunt Honoria, of course); and she hasn't the smallest inclination to turn into a beast upon the full moon, and go ravening about the countryside. But there's more to the Wyrde than meets the eye. When a visit to a neighbouring family goes spectacularly, deliciously wrong, Gussie's ideas about her own nature undergo a swift and serious change. Far from being the most ordinary of the bunch, she may just prove to be the most disastrous Werth of them all... Refined Regency sensibilities meet gothic comedy to delightfully absurd effect in Wyrde and Wayward, a fresh new series from the author of Modern Magick and the Malykant Mysteries.

《神奇的魁地奇球》是魔法世界经久不衰的畅销书，也是霍格沃茨学校图书馆中受欢迎的书之一，书中包含了你需要知道的一切，包括高尚的魁地奇运动的历史和规则(以及犯规)。这本权威指南的作者是受人尊敬的魁地奇运动作家肯尼沃思·惠斯普，书中充满了引人入胜的知识，记录了这项运动的历史，从中世纪时在魁地沼的起源，一直到它成为现代体育运动，被全世界无数巫师和麻瓜家庭所热爱。书中全面介绍了知名的魁地奇球队、常见的犯规行为、比赛扫帚的发展进化，以及其他很多内容，对所有哈迷、魁地奇爱好者和运动员来说，它都是一本不可或缺的体育圣经。不管你是周末打球的业余爱好者还是拥有查德理火炮队赛季门票的铁杆球迷，都应该有一本。魔法世界著名的体育图书新版上市，采用J.K.罗琳的原创文本，配上约翰尼·达德尔绘制的华丽封面，以及托米斯拉夫·托米奇的插图。这本电子书的净零售价*有至少15%将捐给喜剧救济基金会和“荧光闪烁”基金会，用于改善儿童和青年的生活。其中20%捐给喜剧救济基金会，80%捐给“荧光闪烁”慈善组织。喜剧救济基金会是英国的注册慈善组织，注册号是326568(英国、威尔士)和SC039730(苏格兰)。“荧光闪烁”基金会是英国的注册慈善组织，注册号是1112575。* 净零售价指的是不含销售税的价格。

The life of William Shakespeare, arguably the most significant figure in the Western literary canon, is relatively unknown. Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1565, possibly on the 23rd April, St. George's Day, and baptised there on 26th April. Little is known of his education and the first firm facts to his life relate to his marriage, aged 18, to Anne Hathaway, who was 26 and from the nearby village of Shottery. Anne gave birth to their first son six months later. Shakespeare's first play, The Comedy of Errors began a procession of real heavyweights that were to emanate from his pen in a career of just over twenty years in which 37 plays were written and his reputation forever established. This early skill was recognised by many and by 1594 the Lord Chamberlain's Men were performing his works. With the advantage of Shakespeare's progressive writing they rapidly became London's leading company of players, affording him more exposure and, following the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, a royal patent by the new king, James I, at which point they changed their name to the King's Men. By 1598, and despite efforts to pirate his work, Shakespeare's name was well known and had become a selling point in its own right on title pages. No plays are attributed to Shakespeare after 1613, and the last few plays he wrote before this time were in collaboration with other writers, one of whom is likely to be John Fletcher who succeeded him as the house playwright for the King's Men. William Shakespeare died two months later on April 23rd, 1616, survived by his wife, two daughters and a legacy of writing that none have since yet eclipsed.

Victor Marie Hugo was born on 26th February 1802 and is revered as the greatest of all French writers. A poet, novelist, dramatist and painter he was a passionate supporter of Republicanism and made a notable contribution to the politics of his Country.His life was paralleled by the immense political and social movements of the 19th Century. When he was two Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor but before he was eighteen the Bourbon Monarchy was restored.It was only with his Mother's death in 1821 that he felt confident enough to marry Adele Foucher, a relationship he had kept secret from his mother. Their first child was born inside a year but died in infancy. Leopoldine was born the following year, followed by three further siblings.Hugo published his first novel the year following year, Han d'Islande, (1823). Three years later his second, Bug-Jargal (1826).Between 1829 and 1840 he would publish five further volumes of poetry solidifying his reputation as one of the greatest elegiac and lyric poets of his time. His reputation was growing not only in France but across Europe.In 1841 he was elected to the Academie Francaise, cementing his position in the world of French arts and letters. Hugo also now began to turn his attention to an involvement in French politics.Elevated to the peerage by King Louis-Philippe in 1841 he spoke eloquently and at length against the death penalty and social injustice as well as passionately in favour of freedom of the press and self-government for Poland.When Napoleon III seized power in 1851, and established an anti-parliamentary constitution, Hugo openly declared him a traitor to France and began a long exile, based mainly in Guernsey.In exile, Hugo published his famous political pamphlets; Napoleon le Petit and Histoire d'un crime. Although the pamphlets were banned in France, they nonetheless made a strong impact there. His exile also seemed to have a creative impetus. He composed or published some of his greatest work including Les Miserables, and three widely honoured collections of poetry (Les Chatiments, 1853; Les Contemplations, 1856; and La Legende des siecles, 1859).In 1870 the Third Republic was established and Hugo finally returned home, where he was elected to the National Assembly and the Senate. That same year War erupted between France and Prussia and the French were badly beaten.With the end of the War Hugo began his campaign for a great valuation and protection for the rights of artists and copyright. He was a founding member of the Association Litteraire et Artistique Internationale, which led to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.Victor Hugo's death on 22nd May 1885, at the age of 83, generated intense nation-wide mourning. Revered not only as a towering figure in literature, he was a statesman who had helped to shape the Third Republic and democracy in France.

Thomas Dekker was a playwright, pamphleteer and poet who, perhaps, deserves greater recognition than he has so far gained. Despite the fact only perhaps twenty of his plays were published, and fewer still survive, he was far more prolific than that. Born around 1572 his peak years were the mid 1590's to the 1620's - seven of which he spent in a debtor's prison. His works span the late Elizabethan and Caroline eras and his numerous collaborations with Ford, Middleton, Webster and Jonson say much about his work. His pamphlets detail much of the life in these times, times of great change, of plague and of course that great capital city London a swirling mass of people, power, intrigue.

William was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in late April 1565 and baptised there on 26th April. He was one of eight children. Little is known about his life but what is evident is the enormous contribution he has made to world literature. His writing was progressive, magnificent in scope and breathtaking in execution. His plays and sonnets helped enable the English language to speak with a voice unmatched by any other. William Shakespeare died on April 23rd 1616, survived by his wife and two daughters.

Henry Fielding was born at Sharpham Park, near Glastonbury, in Somerset on April 22nd 1707. His early years were spent on his parents' farm in Dorset before being educated at Eton.An early romance ended disastrously and with it his removal to London and the beginnings of a glittering literary career; he published his first play, at age 21, in 1728.He was prolific, sometimes writing six plays a year, but he did like to poke fun at the authorities. His plays were thought to be the final straw for the authorities in their attempts to bring in a new law. In 1737 The Theatrical Licensing Act was passed. At a stroke political satire was almost impossible. Fielding was rendered mute. Any playwright who was viewed with suspicion by the Government now found an audience difficult to find and therefore Theatre owners now toed the Government line.Fielding was practical with the circumstances and ironically stopped writing to once again take up his career in the practice of law and became a barrister after studying at Middle Temple. By this time he had married Charlotte Craddock, his first wife, and they would go on to have five children. Charlotte died in 1744 but was immortalised as the heroine in both Tom Jones and Amelia. Fielding was put out by the success of Samuel Richardson's Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded. His reaction was to spur him into writing a novel. In 1741 his first novel was published; the successful Shamela, an anonymous parody of Richardson's novel. Undoubtedly the masterpiece of Fielding's career was the novel Tom Jones, published in 1749. It is a wonderfully and carefully constructed picaresque novel following the convoluted and hilarious tale of how a foundling came into a fortune.Fielding was a consistent anti-Jacobite and a keen supporter of the Church of England. This led to him now being richly rewarded with the position of London's Chief Magistrate. Fielding continued to write and his career both literary and professional continued to climb. In 1749 he joined with his younger half-brother John, to help found what was the nascent forerunner to a London police force, the Bow Street Runners. Fielding's ardent commitment to the cause of justice in the 1750s unfortunately coincided with a rapid deterioration in his health. Such was his decline that in the summer of 1754 he travelled, with Mary and his daughter, to Portugal in search of a cure. Gout, asthma, dropsy and other afflictions forced him to use crutches. His health continued to fail alarmingly.Henry Fielding died in Lisbon two months later on October 8th, 1754.

Later revised by James ShirleyOr The Little Thief. A Comedy.As it was presented by her Majesties Servants, at the Private House in Drury LaneJohn Fletcher was born in December, 1579 in Rye, Sussex. He was baptised on December 20th.As can be imagined details of much of his life and career have not survived and, accordingly, only a very brief indication of his life and works can be given.Young Fletcher appears at the very young age of eleven to have entered Corpus Christi College at Cambridge University in 1591. There are no records that he ever took a degree but there is some small evidence that he was being prepared for a career in the church.However what is clear is that this was soon abandoned as he joined the stream of people who would leave University and decamp to the more bohemian life of commercial theatre in London.The upbringing of the now teenage Fletcher and his seven siblings now passed to his paternal uncle, the poet and minor official Giles Fletcher. Giles, who had the patronage of the Earl of Essex may have been a liability rather than an advantage to the young Fletcher. With Essex involved in the failed rebellion against Elizabeth Giles was also tainted.By 1606 John Fletcher appears to have equipped himself with the talents to become a playwright. Initially this appears to have been for the Children of the Queen's Revels, then performing at the Blackfriars Theatre.Fletcher's early career was marked by one significant failure; The Faithful Shepherdess, his adaptation of Giovanni Battista Guarini's Il Pastor Fido, which was performed by the Blackfriars Children in 1608.By 1609, however, he had found his stride. With his collaborator John Beaumont, he wrote Philaster, which became a hit for the King's Men and began a profitable association between Fletcher and that company. Philaster appears also to have begun a trend for tragicomedy.By the middle of the 1610s, Fletcher's plays had achieved a popularity that rivalled Shakespeare's and cemented the pre-eminence of the King's Men in Jacobean London. After his frequent early collaborator John Beaumont's early death in 1616, Fletcher continued working, both singly and in collaboration, until his own death in 1625. By that time, he had produced, or had been credited with, close to fifty plays.

Edgar Rice Burroughs was born on September 1, 1875, in Chicago, Illinois. His early career was unremarkable. After failing to enter West Point he enlisted in the 7th Calvary but was discharged after heart problems were diagnosed. A series of short term jobs gave no indication as to a career path but finally, in 1911, married and with two young children, he turned his hand to writing. He aimed his works squarely at the very popular pulp serial magazines. His first effort 'Under The Moons Of Mars' ran in Munsey's Magazine in 1912 under the pseudonym Norman Bean. With its success he began writing full time. A continuing theme of his work was to develop series so that each character had ample opportunities to return in sequels. John Carter was in the Mars series and there was another on Venus and one on Pellucidar among others. But perhaps the best known is Tarzan. Indeed Burroughs wanted so much to capitalise upon the brand that he introduced a syndicated Tarzan comic strip, movies and merchandise. He purchased a large ranch north of Los Angeles, California, which he named "e;Tarzana."e; The surrounding communities outside the ranch voted in 1927 to adopt the name as their own. By 1932 Burroughs set up his own company to print his own books. Here we publish the sixth in the Tarzan series 'Jungle Tales of Tarzan'. Another cultural classic.

Henrik Ibsen (20th March, 1828 - 23rd May, 1906) is often referred to as the father of realism and ranked just below Shakespeare as Europe's greatest ever playwright especially as his plays are performed most frequently throughout the world after Shakespeare's. However, according to Russia's leading newspaper, Pravda, the most performed single play in the world is Ibsen's A Doll's House. He was not Russian but actually Norwegian and although set his plays in Norway, he wrote them in Danish and lived mot of his professional life in Italy and Germany. His affect on the theatre is still evident today and shapes the distinction of plays being art as opposed to entertainment since he broke down all previous traditions and explored issues, developed characterisation, revealed uncomfortable truths, challenged assumptions and brokedown facades in ourselves as well as society. These factors, together with a slight psychological introspection, are clearly demonstrated in A Doll's House which strives to portray life accurately and shuns the usual idealised visions of it that had thus far been on stages throughout the world. The play highlights Ibsen's wish for women to have greater rights as the central protagonist is a woman who although leads a privileged life with an adoring husband, beautiful children and everything a woman of station might want, has, a past secret which unravels her precise calibrated life. This play was written in prose and should be read as such whether it be before or after seeing a performance as it is a true masterpiece.

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in late April 1565 and baptised there on 26th April. He was one of eight children. Little is known about his life but what is evident is the enormous contribution he has made to world literature. His writing was progressive, magnificent in scope and breathtaking in execution. His plays and sonnets helped enable the English language to speak with a voice unmatched by any other. William Shakespeare died on April 23rd 1616, survived by his wife and two daughters. He was buried two days after his death in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church. The epitaph on the slab which covers his grave includes the following passage, Good friend, for Jesus's sake forbear, To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed me the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones. Here we publish his comedy from 1595 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.

Hard Times is Charles Dickens's tenth novel that has been considered most seriously by literary critics and historians. It concentrates on the portrayal of the English society of the nineteenth century as well as on its different cultural and economic aspects. The story, which is set in a fictional Victorian town, is divided into three parts which are respectively entitled "e;Sowing,"e; "e;Reaping,"e; and "e;Garnering."e; The central character of the first part is Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, a wealthy man, a school headmaster and a father to 5 children. Generally, Mr. Gradgrind is a man of reason and thought, but also of strict rules and codes of behavior. The narrative gives minute details of his daily activities and habits as well as of the way he brings up his children, teaching them principles of rationalism and self-interest. The story then follows the existence of his children and family in the remaining parts of the novel. Dickens mainly deals with the much-debated social issues of the time such as the importance of professional careers, love and marriage. By the end of the narrative, Mr. Gradgrind eventually seems to become less categorical as to his strict principles of rationalism and utilitarianism.

Edgar Rice Burroughs was born on September 1, 1875, in Chicago, Illinois. His early career was unremarkable. After failing to enter West Point he enlisted in the 7th Calvary but was discharged after heart problems were diagnosed. A series of short term jobs gave no indication as to a career path but finally, in 1911, married and with two young children, he turned his hand to writing. He aimed his works squarely at the very popular pulp serial magazines. His first effort 'Under The Moons Of Mars' ran in Munsey's Magazine in 1912 under the pseudonym Norman Bean. With its success he began writing full time. A continuing theme of his work was to develop series so that each character had ample opportunities to return in sequels. John Carter was in the Mars series and there was another on Venus and one on Pellucidar among others. But perhaps the best known is Tarzan. Indeed Burroughs wanted so much to capitalise upon the brand that he introduced a syndicated Tarzan comic strip, movies and merchandise. He purchased a large ranch north of Los Angeles, California, which he named "e;Tarzana."e; The surrounding communities outside the ranch voted in 1927 to adopt the name as their own. By 1932 Burroughs set up his own company to print his own books. Here we publish 'The People That Time Forgot' a wonderfully crafted piece of science fiction that has endured as a favourite across generations.

William Somerset Maugham was born on 25 January 1874 and was to become a playwright and novelist of staggering talent. Losing both his parents at age 10, he was raised by a paternal uncle. Maugham eventually trained and qualified as a doctor. The initial print run of his first novel, Liza of Lambeth, published in 1897, sold out so rapidly that Maugham gave up medicine to write full-time. His life was certainly full, as the short biography at the end of this book will attest to, but it is also a life full of marvellous works and dedication to his art. Here we publish The Trembling Of A Leaf.

Henrik Ibsen (20th March, 1828 - 23rd May, 1906) is often referred to as the father of realism and ranked just below Shakespeare as Europe's greatest ever playwright especially as his plays are performed most frequently throughout the world after Shakespeare's. He was Norwegian and although set his plays in Norway, he wrote them in Danish and lived most of his professional life in Italy and Germany. His affect on the theatre is still evident today and shapes the distinction of plays being art as opposed to entertainment since he broke down all previous traditions and explored issues, developed characterisation, revealed uncomfortable truths, challenged assumptions and brokedown facades in ourselves as well as society. These factors are clearly demonstrated in the Pillars of Society, a contemporary drama set in a small Norwegian coastal town dominated by shipbuilder Karsten Bernick who is planning a railway to connect the town to the main line and a tract of land he has been secretly buying. His past comes crashing in on him by the return of his brother in law who had gone to America to take the blame for Bernick stealing family business money and having an affair with an actress and the return of the love of his life who he had rejected for his current wealthy wife. Ibsen skilfully builds on these characters to provide a gripping tragedy underlining the ways of the rich and corrupt and Ibsen's conclusions in this play were a cause of great controversy and much surprise.