First Class Phonics is a series of books designed to help children quickly become proficient readers and writers by using Synthetic Phonics, a high-quality teaching method recognised all over the world. In Synthetic Phonics, children focus on the skills that enable them to read and spell words accurately. It is essential that children develop the ability to hear, identify and manipulate individual sounds in order to read fluently.The eight books in the series provide a complete reading programme in which children are taught to recognise the importance of every sound they hear in the spoken word and learn to blend these sounds so that they can read words from the very beginning of the program.Children progress from blending simple single sounds in Book One to using digraphs (two letter sounds) and trigraphs (three letter sounds) in later books. In the earlier books children are taught one letter or letter group for each sound but are gradually introduced to different groups of letters that make the same sound as well as the different sounds that can be made from an identical group of letters.Children are also taught words that they cannot initially 'sound out' as 'tricky words' that are learnt by sight. As children learn the different sounds that a group of letters can make these words cease to be 'tricky words'.With lots of fun activities to reinforce learning in each book and a complete story in which children practice the skills they have learnt children quickly become fluent readers with a love for books.

First Class Phonics is a series of books designed to help children quickly become proficient readers and writers.These books use Synthetic Phonics, a high-quality teaching method recognised all over the world. In Synthetic Phonics, children focus on the skills that enable them to read and spell words accurately. They recognise the importance of every sound they hear in the spoken word and learn to blend these sounds so that they can read words from the very beginning of the program.It is essential that children develop the ability to hear, identify and manipulate individual sounds in order to read fluently. This book provides a range of fun activities to ensure this happens.Book 1 covers the sounds s, a, t, p, i, n, m, d, g, o, c, k, ck, e, u, r and h. It teaches the tricky words I, the, to, no, go, so, my and said. The last chapter contains a story that uses only words built from the sounds taught in this book.

Are you a fan of the modern generation of royals? How much do you know about the lives of Prince William, his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and the rest of the Royal Family? If you're a fan, then this is a great book which will give you fascinating information about royals both past and present. Separated into sections containing information on individual royals, traditions of the monarchy, kings and queens from history, and of course Queen Elizabeth II, you will find more than 100 amazing facts inside!

First Class Phonics is a series of books designed to help children quickly become proficient readers and writers.These books use Synthetic Phonics, a high-quality teaching method recognised all over the world. In Synthetic Phonics, children focus on the skills that enable them to read and spell words accurately. They recognise the importance of every sound they hear in the spoken word and learn to blend these sounds so that they can read words from the very beginning of the program.It is essential that children develop the ability to hear, identify and manipulate individual sounds in order to read fluently. This book provides a range of fun activities to ensure this happens.Book 6 introduces more diagraphs (two-letter sounds) and trigraphs (three-letter sounds). It covers the sounds ed (yelled), ed(jumped), le (puzzle), el (funnel), al (medal), il (fossil), o (glove), ou (touch), tch (match), ey (money), y (pansy), ie (shield), wa (watch), qua (quad), kn (knight) and gn (gnome).In this book some earlier words taught cease to be 'tricky words' as children learn new sounds and understand their spelling pattern. The last chapter contains a story that uses only words built from the sounds taught in this and previous books.

First Class Phonics is a series of books designed to help children quickly become proficient readers and writers.These books use Synthetic Phonics, a high-quality teaching method recognised all over the world. In Synthetic Phonics, children focus on the skills that enable them to read and spell words accurately. They recognise the importance of every sound they hear in the spoken word and learn to blend these sounds so that they can read words from the very beginning of the program.It is essential that children develop the ability to hear, identify and manipulate individual sounds in order to read fluently. This book provides a range of fun activities to ensure this happens.Book 7 introduces more diagraphs (two-letter sounds) and trigraphs (three-letter sounds). It also introduces alternative graphemes for phonemes already learnt. It covers the sounds i (ivy), wr (write), o (wolf), ou (would), our (pour), au (Paul), al (chalk), or (boar), or (score), se (cheese), ze (snooze), ear (earth), or (worm), ere (were), g (giraffe), ge (page), dge (badge), mb (lamb), st (castle), c (circle), and ce (fence).In this book some earlier words taught cease to be 'tricky words' as children learn new sounds and understand their spelling pattern. The last chapter contains a story that uses only words built from the sounds taught in this and previous books.

First Class Phonics is a series of books designed to help children quickly become proficient readers and writers.These books use Synthetic Phonics, a high-quality teaching method recognised all over the world. In Synthetic Phonics, children focus on the skills that enable them to read and spell words accurately. They recognise the importance of every sound they hear in the spoken word and learn to blend these sounds so that they can read words from the very beginning of the program.It is essential that children develop the ability to hear, identify and manipulate individual sounds in order to read fluently. This book provides a range of fun activities to ensure this happens.Book 8 introduces more digraphs (two-letter sounds) and trigraphs (three-letter sounds). It also introduces alternative graphemes for phonemes already learnt. It covers the sounds ou (soup), ui (fruit), u (ruby), u (uniform), a (acorn), er (grey), eigh (eight), ea (steak), eer (deer), ere (sphere), ier (pier), ea (bread), ai (said), ear (pear), are (square), ere (there), al (calf), a (father), gh (laugh), ture (picture), tion (fraction), cian (musician), sion (explosion).In this book some earlier words taught cease to be 'tricky words' as children learn new sounds and understand their spelling pattern. The last chapter contains a story that uses only words built from the sounds taught in this and previous books.

This is the story of how, and why, Emma Cantons stayed with her husband Anthony after she discovered he was a transexual woman. The book covers three years from the moment when Victoria declared her existence, to their vow renewal celebration in 2012.

These writings are from a young woman who has had to face obsticles no person should have to. She has put her feelings into her writings for people going through similar experiences. Silent War gives readers an insight into Haleys life and and what she has been through. Pieces about teenage love, heartbreak, medical journeys, losing someone and much more these writings are all from the heart.

First Class Phonics is a series of books designed to help children quickly become proficient readers and writers.These books use Synthetic Phonics, a high-quality teaching method recognised all over the world. In Synthetic Phonics, children focus on the skills that enable them to read and spell words accurately. They recognise the importance of every sound they hear in the spoken word and learn to blend these sounds so that they can read words from the very beginning of the program.It is essential that children develop the ability to hear, identify and manipulate individual sounds in order to read fluently. This book provides a range of fun activities to ensure this happens.Book 4 introduces more diagraphs (two-letter sounds) and trigraphs (three-letter sounds). It covers the sounds air, ve, ow (owl), oy, wh, ea, ur, ear, ai, ew, aw, ow (blow), y and oi. It teaches the tricky words come, some, where, why, what and here. The last chapter contains a story that uses only words built from the sounds taught in this book.

John Grote struggled to construct an intelligible account of philosophy at a time when radical change and sectarian conflict made understanding and clarity a rarity. This book answers three questions:* How did John Grote develop and contribute to modern Cambridge and British philosophy?* What is the significance of these contributions to modern philosophy in general and British Idealism and language philosophy in particular?* How were his ideas and his idealism incorporated into the modern philosophical tradition?Grote influenced his contemporaries, such as his students Henry Sidgwick and John Venn, in both style and content; he forged a brilliantly original philosophy of knowledge, ethics, politics and language, from a synthesis of the major British and European philosophies of his day; his social and political theory provide the origins of the 'new liberal' ideas later to reach their zenith in the writings of Green, Sidgwick, and Collingwood; he founded the 'Cambridge style' associated with Moore, Russell, Broad, McTaggart and Wittgenstein; and he was also a major influence on Oakeshott.

In this increasingly violent and troubled world, people demand to be respected. But what is exactly is respect? Is it learned or earned? How do you go from being a 'nobody' to a 'somebody'? How do you respect others and equally how can you get other people to respect you? Can you only be truly respected if you have a reputation? There is probably no one more qualified to talk about respect and reputation in prison than Charles Bronson. Tagged one of the most violent prisoners in the UK, Charlie has spent over thirty years in solitary confinement, is respected by both prisoners and wardens alike and has a fearsome and frightening reputation. In complete contrast, although he has spent much of his life surrounded by violence, former bouncer and bodyguard Robin Barratt would now prefer to take a passive path away from any conflict. In this fascinating book, Barratt and Bronson examine in detail respect and reputation including how to behave in prison, how to treat other prisoners, how to be a great door supervisor, when to show respect, how to gain the respect of others and ultimately how to develop an awesome reputation both in prison, on the doors and in life generally. With lots of real life anecdotes as well as contributions from many other hard men (and a few women), this gripping book takes its reader into the psychology of a world rarely explored.

Just Jill is an inspirational and moving account of one woman's triumph over adversity and how she used her own experience of disability to benefit others.When she was growing up during the 1940s very few people were aware that Jill Allen-King had lost one eye as the result of measles when she was a baby. Her disability was a taboo subject and she attended a normal school, progressed to catering college and secured employment as a cook. However, tragedy struck for the second time when glaucoma rendered her completely blind at the age of 24 on what should have been one of the happiest occasions of her life - her wedding day.For the next seven years Jill barely left the house, too scared to go outside unaccompanied and afraid that she would never again be able to participate in the activities she loved, such as dancing. The birth of her daughter, Jacqueline, gave her renewed purpose but could not give her back the thing she desperately needed - her independence. It was only when Jill got her first guide dog that she began to rediscover the world outside her front door and take those first giant steps towards regaining her confidence and freedom. Jill's autobiography charts her journey from partially sighted child to totally blind adult and beyond, a process of readjusting and learning through grit and determination and then using her knowledge and experience to do everything in her power to help others and to campaign for reforms to secure a safer, fairer and more disability-aware environment. It is a story that will provide encouragement to those that are struggling to cope with disabilities and also educate people from all spheres of life about the challenges and needs of disabled people. At the age of 70, Jill continues to fight for the cause, and hopefully her story will inspire others to take up the baton.

When Jill Allen-King OBE, suddenly lost her sight at the age of 24, with little help and advice available from Social Services she had to teach herself to cope with a whole new way of living that had its own set of challenges to overcome, including looking after her daughter, Jacqueline, born soon afterwards. It wasn't until seven years later that Jill successfully completed a training course with her first guide dog and finally, after years of being virtually housebound, was able to begin rebuilding her confidence and reclaiming her independence.Drawing on her own experiences of the problems and dangers that face the blind and partially sighted, as well as those with other mobility difficulties and disabilities, Jill has devoted her life to raising awareness of the needs and rights of the disabled, particularly in regard to access to public buildings, and campaigning for these issues to be considered by householders, businesses, councils and the government. None of this would have been possible without her six guide dogs over the past 40 years: Topsy, Bunty, Brandy, Quella, Lady and her current dog, Amanda.This book, following close on the heels of Jill's autobiography, Just Jill, is a heartfelt tribute to her trusted four-legged friends, who have given her companionship, instilled her with confidence and guided her safely in both her personal life and in her incredibly important voluntary work throughout the UK. No one can fail to be inspired by Jill's perseverance and achievements or by the fantastic work that guide dogs carry out for their owners. Although now in her seventies, with new challenges for those with disabilities always on the horizon, such as electric cars, shared streets and changes to the benefits system, Jill's contributions to the fight neither cease nor cease to amaze.

Thomas Hardy (2nd June 1840 - 11th January 1928), celebrated poet and writer, was born in a modest thatched cottage near Dorchester in the West Country, to a builder father. His mother came from a line of intelligent, lively and ambitious women so ensured her son had the best formal education available for their modest means although this ended when he was 16. He became a draughtsman specialising in the building of churches was able to give it up to be a full time writer and poet with the publication of Far From the Madding Crown which became a bestseller and like much of his work was serialised. His writing reflects his passionate beliefs for social reform and exposes the hypocrisy of the rules of the Victorian age which constrained many freedoms with convention and restricted the transcending of class boundaries. His novels are almost entirely set in rural Wessex which although fictional is clearly rooted in the SW counties of England where he was born and lived most of his life. Hardy's writing caused controversy in his lifetime but despite this he was highly praised and showered with doctorates from many universities, and a knighthood, which he refused. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, wolud be a major work by any hand and shows why such praise and accolades were given.

George Farquhar was born in Derry, Ireland in 1677, one of seven children. Farquhar was educated at Foyle College and later, aged 17, he entered Trinity College, Dublin. He departed after only two years, accounts vary as to why, and he took to acting on the Dublin stage. As an actor he seems to have had no real talent. A terrible accident, when he failed to distinguish between a tipped foil and a deadly rapier, and seriously wounded a fellow actor, resolved Farquhar to give up acting for good. His first play, Love and a Bottle, was well received at London's Drury Lane Theatre in 1699 and was admired "e;for its sprightly Dialogue and busy Scenes."e; With the play a success Farquhar settled his talents on a career as a playwright. He had a second play open that same year; The Constant Couple. Again, it was warmly received on debuting at Drury Lane and proved a great success. However, another interest and opportunity now unfolded into his life. He received a commission in the regiment of the Earl of Orrery. His time now became divided between the duties of a successful new playwright and the vocations of soldier. In 1701 Farquhar wrote and debuted a sequel to the Constant Couple, called and based on its main character; Sir Harry Wildair. The following year was to be prolific for the young playwright. He penned both The Inconstant or, The Way To Win and The Twin-Rivals as well as publishing Love and Business, a collection that included letters, verse, and A Discourse Upon Comedy. His work for the army, recruiting soldiers to fight in the War of the Spanish Succession, occupied much of his time for the next three years, and he was to write little except The Stage Coach, in 1774. Farquhar was able, however, to draw upon these years of recruiting experience for his next comedy, The Recruiting Officer in 1706. Early in 1707, Farquhar wrote what was to be his masterpiece: The Beaux Stratagem. In these last two plays his real contribution to the English drama is all the more apparent. He introduced a verbal vigour and sparring, as well as a love of character that are more usually associated with Elizabethan dramatists and laid much of the foundations for Sheridan and Congreve to build upon. George Farquhar, aged only 40, died on April 29th, 1707, almost two months after the debut of his greatest work. He was buried in the Church of St. Martin in the Fields, London, on May 3rd, 1707.

If ever a writer needed an introduction Arthur Conan Doyle would not be considered that man. After all, Sherlock Holmes is perhaps the foremost literary detective of any age. Add to this canon his stories of science fiction and his poems, his historical novels, his plays, his political campaigning, his efforts in establishing a Court of Appeal and there is little room for anything else. Except he was also an exceptional writer of short stories of the horrific and macabre. Something very different from what you might expect. Born in Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 at 11 Picardy Place, Edinburgh, Scotland. From 1876 - 1881 he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh following which he was employed as a doctor on the Greenland whaler Hope of Peterhead in 1880 and, after his graduation, as a ship's surgeon on the SS Mayumba during a voyage to the West African coast in 1881. Arriving in Portsmouth in June of that year with less than GBP10 (GBP700 today) to his name, he set up a medical practice at 1 Bush Villas in Elm Grove, Southsea. The practice was initially not very successful. While waiting for patients, Conan Doyle again began writing stories and composed his first novel The Mystery of Cloomber. Although he continued to study and practice medicine his career was now firmly set as a writer. And thereafter great works continued to pour out of him.

The English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I of England (James VI of Scotland, 1567-1625; in England he reigned from 1603).Beaumont & Fletcher began to collaborate as writers soon after they met. After notable failures of their solo works their first joint effort, Philaster, was a success and tragicomedy was the genre they explored and built upon. There would be many further successes to follow.There is an account that at the time the two men shared everything. They lived together in a house on the Bankside in Southwark, "e;they also lived together in Bankside, sharing clothes and having one wench in the house between them."e; Or as another account puts it "e;sharing everything in the closest intimacy."e;Whatever the truth of this they were now recognised as perhaps the best writing team of their generation, so much so, that their joint names was applied to all the works in which either, or both, had a pen including those with Philip Massinger, James Shirley and Nathan Field.The first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647 contained 35 plays; 53 plays were included in the second folio in 1679. Other works bring the total plays in the canon to about 55. However there appears here to have been some duplicity on the account of the publishers who seemed to attribute so many to the team. It is now thought that the work between solely by Beaumont and Fletcher amounts to approximately 15 plays, though of course further works by them were re-worked by others and the originals lost.After Beaumont's early death in 1616 Fletcher continued to write and, at his height was, by many standards, the equal of Shakespeare in popularity until his own death in 1625.

Publius Terentius Afer is better known to us as the Roman playwright, Terence.Much of his life, especially the early part, is either unknown or has conflicting sources and accounts.His birth date is said to be either 185 BC or a decade earlier: 195 BC. His place of birth is variously listed as in, or, near Carthage, or, in Greek Italy to a woman taken to Carthage as a slave. It is suggested that he lived in the territory of the Libyan tribe that the Romans called Afri, near Carthage, before being brought to Rome as a slave. Probability suggests that it was there, in North Africa, several decades after the destruction of Carthage by the Romans in 146 BC, at the end of the Punic Wars, that Terence spent his early years.One reliable fact is that he was sold to P. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, who had him educated and, impressed by his literary talents, freed him.These writing talents were to ensure his legacy as a playwright down through the millennia. His comedies, partially adapted from Greek plays of the late phases of Attic Comedy, were performed for the first time around 170-160 BC. All six of the plays he has known to have written have survived.Indeed, thanks to his simple conversational Latin, which was both entertaining and direct, Terence's works were heavily used by monasteries and convents during the Middle Ages and The Renaissance. Scribes often learned Latin through the copious copying of Terence's texts. Priests and nuns often learned to speak Latin through re-enactment of Terence's plays. Although his plays often dealt with pagan material, the quality and distinction of his language promoted the copying and preserving of his text by the church. This preservation enabled his work to influence a wide spectrum of later Western drama.When he was 25 (or 35 depending on which year of birth you ascribe too), Terence travelled to Greece but never returned. It has long been assumed that he died at some point during the journey.Of his own family nothing is known, except that he fathered a daughter and left a small but valuable estate just outside Rome.His most famous quotation reads: "e;Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto"e;, or "e;I am human, and I think nothing human is alien to me."e;

We all love a good crime story. An anthology of short crime stories, written by the finest of craftsman of their age, is always a welcome treat. The short story is often viewed as an inferior relation to the Novel. But it is an art in itself. To take a story and distil its essence into fewer pages while keeping character and plot rounded and driven is not an easy task. Many try and many fail. In this series we have a selection of short stories from many of our most accomplished writers written at the beginnings of Detective fiction. Our stories include these classics: The Adventure of the Dying Detective by Arthur Conan Doyle, The Secret Garden by GK Chesterton, Gentlemen and Players by E W Hornung, The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe, The Death Of Halpin Frayser by Ambrose Bierce, The Man With The Cough by Mrs Molesworth, The Man With The Pale Eyes by Guy de Maupassant, On Duty With Inspector Field by Charles Dickens, The Stolen Cigar Case by Bret Harte, A Scandal In Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle

Euripides is rightly lauded as one of the great dramatists of all time. In his lifetime, he wrote over 90 plays and although only 18 have survived they reveal the scope and reach of his genius. Euripides is identified with many theatrical innovations that have influenced drama all the way down to modern times, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. As would be expected from a life lived 2,500 years ago, details of it are few and far between. Accounts of his life, written down the ages, do exist but whether much is reliable or surmised is open to debate. Most accounts agree that he was born on Salamis Island around 480 BC, to mother Cleito and father Mnesarchus, a retailer who lived in a village near Athens. Upon the receipt of an oracle saying that his son was fated to win "e;crowns of victory"e;, Mnesarchus insisted that the boy should train for a career in athletics. However, what is clear is that athletics was not to be the way to win crowns of victory. Euripides had been lucky enough to have been born in the era as the other two masters of Greek Tragedy; Sophocles and schylus. It was in their footsteps that he was destined to follow. His first play was performed some thirteen years after the first of Socrates plays and a mere three years after schylus had written his classic The Oristria. Theatre was becoming a very important part of the Greek culture. The Dionysia, held annually, was the most important festival of theatre and second only to the fore-runner of the Olympic games, the Panathenia, held every four years, in appeal. Euripides first competed in the City Dionysia, in 455 BC, one year after the death of schylus, and, incredibly, it was not until 441 BC that he won first prize. His final competition in Athens was in 408 BC. The Bacchae and Iphigenia in Aulis were performed after his death in 405 BC and first prize was awarded posthumously. Altogether his plays won first prize only five times. Euripides was also a great lyric poet. In Medea, for example, he composed for his city, Athens, "e;the noblest of her songs of praise"e;. His lyric skills however are not just confined to individual poems: "e;A play of Euripides is a musical whole....one song echoes motifs from the preceding song, while introducing new ones."e; Much of his life and his whole career coincided with the struggle between Athens and Sparta for hegemony in Greece but he didn't live to see the final defeat of his city. Euripides fell out of favour with his fellow Athenian citizens and retired to the court of Archelaus, king of Macedon, who treated him with consideration and affection. At his death, in around 406BC, he was mourned by the king, who, refusing the request of the Athenians that his remains be carried back to the Greek city, buried him with much splendor within his own dominions. His tomb was placed at the confluence of two streams, near Arethusa in Macedonia, and a cenotaph was built to his memory on the road from Athens towards the Piraeus.

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 historical play from 1596 'King John'.