购物车
个人中心
Willow Cottage – Part Three: A Spring Affair (Willow Cottage Series)
￥11.77
Part three in a new cosy and heartwarming four-part seasonal series, perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley. Beth is running away. With her young son Leo to protect, Willow Cottage is the lifeline she so desperately needs. Overlooking the village green in a beautiful Cotswolds idyll, Beth sees a warm, caring and safe place for little Leo. When she finally uncovers the cottage from underneath the boughs of a weeping willow tree, Beth realises this is far more of a project than she bargained for and the locals are more than a little eccentric! A chance encounter with gruff Jack, who appears to be the only male in the village under thirty, leaves the two of them at odds but it’s not long before Beth realises that Jack has hidden talents that could help her repair more than just Willow Cottage Over the course of four seasons, Beth realises that broken hearts can be mended, and sometimes love can be right under your nose… Willow Cottage is part of a serialized novel told in four parts, following the journey of Beth and her new life in the Cotswolds. The full book will be out next this August, but for now, enjoy Willow Cottage seasonally.
Sharpe’s Tiger: The Siege of Seringapatam, 1799
￥11.77
Richard Sharpe avoids the tyrannical Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill and endeavours to rescue a British officer from under the nose of the Tippoo of Mysore. But in fleeing Hakeswill, Sharpe enters the exotic and dangerous world of the Tippoo. An adventure that will require all of his wits just to stay alive, let alone save the British army from catastrophe. Soldier, hero, rogue – Sharpe is the man you always want on your side. Born in poverty, he joined the army to escape jail and climbed the ranks by sheer brutal courage. He knows no other family than the regiment of the 95th Rifles whose green jacket he proudly wears.
Dorothy’s story (Individual stories from THE SWEETHEARTS, Book 4)
￥11.77
This is Dorothy’s story, one of five stories extracted from THE SWEETHEARTS. Whether in wartime or peace, tales of love, laughter and hardship from the girls in the Rowntrees factory in Yorkshire. “‘Every Friday when we got paid, they used to come round with your pay packet and a tin for charity and you’d put a penny in, and they’d go round all the machines for people to put money in. That was a very Rowntree’s thing to do.’ Dorothy gave all her pay to her grandma for her board, but was given back five shillings for herself. She loved the cinema: ‘I’d put on as much make-up as I thought my grandmother would let me get away with and my friends and I would go to the pictures two or three times a week. We’d all have a good look around and see who was there and what was going on. It used to make me smile when I’d see girls who had been sitting with one boy before the interval, settling down with a different boy as the lights went down again.’…” From the 1930s through to the 1980s, as Britain endured war, depression, hardship and strikes, the women at the Rowntree’s factory in York kept the chocolates coming. This is the true story of The Sweethearts, the women who roasted the cocoa beans, piped the icing and packed the boxes that became gifts for lovers, snacks for workers and treats for children across the country. More often than not, their working days provided welcome relief from bad husbands and bad housing, a community where they could find new confidence, friendship and when the supervisor wasn’t looking, the occasional chocolate.
The Rest Is Noise Series: “Grimes! Grimes!”
￥11.77
This is a chapter from Alex Ross’s groundbreaking history of twentieth-century classical music, ‘The Rest is Noise’. Further extracts are available as digital shorts, accompanying the London Southbank festival programme. Benjamin Britten lived for most of his life around the Suffolk coast, and is buried in the Aldeburgh churchyard. He once stated that all his music came from there. ‘Peter Grimes’ is an opera of staggering force that is soaked in Aldeburgh to its bones. Now a major festival running throughout 2013 at London’s Southbank, The Rest is Noise is an intricate commentary not just on the sounds that defined the century, but on art’s troublesome dance with politics, social and cultural change. Britten’s music features prominently in the festival; ‘Music from Across the Iron Curtain’ is on 27 September 2013, ‘Britten Centenary Celebrations’ are on 2 and 12 October and ‘The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra’ is performed on 3 November 2013. Alex Ross is the New Yorker’s music critic, and the winner of the Guardian First Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award for The Rest is Noise, which was also shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson and Pulitzer prizes for non-fiction.
The Rest Is Noise Series: Zion Park
￥11.77
This is a chapter from Alex Ross’s groundbreaking history of twentieth-century classical music, ‘The Rest is Noise’. Further extracts are available as digital shorts, accompanying the London Southbank festival programme. After the war, composers took up what might be called catastrophe style with a vengeance. The twentieth century was undoubtedly one of the most horrific periods of human history - but terror was not always the subject of its composers. For some, attempting to transcend or reject the despair that consumed other artists led to the creation of some of the century’s most beautiful music. Now a major festival running throughout 2013 at London’s Southbank, The Rest is Noise is an intricate commentary not just on the sounds that defined the century, but on art’s troublesome dance with politics, social and cultural change. Alex Ross is the New Yorker’s music critic, and the winner of the Guardian First Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award for The Rest is Noise, which was also shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson and Pulitzer prizes for non-fiction.
Dowager Countess of Grantham and Mrs Isidore Levinson
￥11.77
This richly illustrated short, extracted from the official book The Chronicles of Downton Abbey, focuses on the characters individually, examining their motivations, their actions and the inspirations behind them. Forwarded by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. When Cora’s mother, Martha Levinson, comes to stay, it’s clear that she is more than a match for Violet. Equally confident in their age, status and belief that their way is the right way, the two could easily quarrel. Intransigent, intractable Violet is the definitive dowager. Largely based on Julian Fellowes’s own great-aunt, Isie Stephenson, ‘in whom there was a mix of severity and a kind heart’, Violet represents the last of an era; one of the few remaining Victorians who believed absolutely in the necessity of moral exactitude, the importance of family and the oblige of the noblesse. Martha may have once been awed by the English upper classes (this, after all, was why she brought her daughter over to be presented at the London Season), but she welcomes the post-war changes that are being brought to England, even if they seem slower in coming to Downton Abbey. Shirley MacLaine, the actress who plays Martha, believes that her character’s attitude comes not so much from her money as her politics: ‘Her confidence comes from being a democratic American – she is so centred in her fairness and considers America to be fair, and tradition is not fair.’ Purchase this ebook short and the others in the series to get closer still to the characters at Downton Abbey and to understand more about their social context – from the changing role of the aristocracy to fashion and beauty, American Anglophiles, the Suffragette movement and life below stairs in a big country house like Downton. Search for The Chronicles of Downton Abbey to purchase all shorts combined.
The Earl and Countess of Grantham (Downton Abbey Shorts, Book 3)
￥11.77
This richly illustrated short, extracted from the official book The Chronicles of Downton Abbey, focuses on the characters individually, examining their motivations, their actions and the inspirations behind them. Forwarded by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. “I think Cora is very much an emotionally connected mother”, says Elizabeth McGovern the actress who plays her. “As an American she would have a distinctive approach, different to the English aristocracy’s way of doing things. Her instinct is to be involved with the day-to-day and to go about things in a more hands-on way.’ Cora is a woman of resilience and unfailing supportiveness. Where Robert is emotionally insecure, she is sure of herself and undaunted by the difficulties they could face. As a mother, she has a role in life, no matter what else is going on, but being Robert’s wife is also very important to her. Lord Grantham – Robert – has many good qualities: he is kind, loyal to his family, loving to his wife, adoring of his daughters, a fair employer and generous to those around him. But, for him, all these things are peripheral in the face of his most important role in life – as the 7th Earl of Grantham. As he sees it, he has been put on this earth with one prime objective: to keep Downton Abbey in its proper state and hand it over in this condition to his heir. Purchase this ebook short and the others in the series to get closer still to the characters at Downton Abbey and to understand more about their social context – from the changing role of the aristocracy to fashion and beauty, American Anglophiles, the Suffragette movement and life below stairs in a big country house like Downton. Search for The Chronicles of Downton Abbey to purchase all shorts combined.
Mrs Reginald Crawley (Downton Abbey Shorts, Book 6)
￥11.77
This richly illustrated short, extracted from the official book The Chronicles of Downton Abbey, focuses on the characters individually, examining their motivations, their actions and the inspirations behind them. Forwarded by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. Isobel Crawley is a woman with a cause. The cause may change, but she likes to make sure she’s always got one on the go. An educated, forward-thinking woman who lived amongst the professional middle classes of Manchester, she suddenly found herself the mother of an earl-in-waiting. Thrust into this position, she determined that she and Matthew should not be cowed by their new situation. Penelope Wilton, the actress portraying Isobel, explains the subtleties of her character’s motives: ‘She is not the least resentful – or disapproving – of the Downton world. Though she is critical of the wider society and wants to improve it. But she is not a radical socialist. Her desire to help is conceived within the existing structures of her world.’ Purchase this ebook short and the others in the series to get closer still to the characters at Downton Abbey and to understand more about their social context – from the changing role of the aristocracy to fashion and beauty, American Anglophiles, the Suffragette movement and life below stairs in a big country house like Downton. Search for The Chronicles of Downton Abbey to purchase all shorts combined.
Mr Thomas Barrow and Miss Sarah O’Brien
￥11.77
This richly illustrated short, extracted from the official book The Chronicles of Downton Abbey, focuses on the characters individually, examining their motivations, their actions and the inspirations behind them. Forwarded by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. Thomas Barrow is one of the most complicated and intriguing of all the characters at Downton Abbey. As we have got to know him through years of both peace and war, multiple layers have been peeled away to reveal an insecure, jealous, sometimes paranoid, defensive and cowardly man beneath a glossy veneer of good looks and arrogance. ‘O’Brien realises that she is never going to be rich or successful – although she is quite successful as the lady’s maid of a countess,” says Julian Fellowes. “But she gets her thrills by manipulating and being devious and plotting. Her reward is in having a sense that she has power over people.’ Purchase this ebook short and the others in the series to get closer still to the characters at Downton Abbey and to understand more about their social context – from the changing role of the aristocracy to fashion and beauty, American Anglophiles, the Suffragette movement and life below stairs in a big country house like Downton. Search for The Chronicles of Downton Abbey to purchase all shorts combined.
Behind the Scenes (Downton Abbey Shorts, Book 11)
￥11.77
This richly illustrated short, extracted from the official book The Chronicles of Downton Abbey peels back the curtain on the making of Series 3. With a foreword from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. You’ll have privileged access to the on-set jokes and camaraderie between the actors – including anecdotes about Jim Carter’s (Carson’s) magic tricks and a revelation that two actors liked to burst into an impromptu duet of the Three Degrees classic “When Will I See You Again” between takes – find out who! See also how the sets at Highclere Castle and Ealing Studios were adapted, and hear from the costume and make up artists about the incredible attention to detail they applied to bring the 1920s so vividly to life. Purchase this ebook short and the others in the series to get closer still to the characters at Downton Abbey and to understand more about their social context – from the changing role of the aristocracy to fashion and beauty, American Anglophiles, the Suffragette movement and life below stairs in a big country house like Downton. Search for The Chronicles of Downton Abbey to purchase all shorts combined.
Eileen’s story (Individual stories from THE SWEETHEARTS, Book 3)
￥11.77
This is Eileen’s story, one of five stories extracted from THE SWEETHEARTS. Whether in wartime or peace, tales of love, laughter and hardship from the girls in the Rowntrees factory in Yorkshire. “Eileen’s dad worked at the Rowntree’s factory loading cocoa beans into the grinding mills; it was hard physical work, but he was a tall and powerful figure and very fit. Eileen was only five when war broke out and her dad went away, and was just nine years old when he came back from war. ‘He looked simply horrendous. His wounded leg was still in plaster, his hair had grown long, there were scars all over his face and scalp, and to allow his wounds to continue to heal and to keep his eye sockets open until he could be fitted with glass eyes.’ He could have trained to run a corner shop, or done plenty of other things –but all he wanted to do was go back to Rowntree’s…” From the 1930s through to the 1980s, as Britain endured war, depression, hardship and strikes, the women at the Rowntree’s factory in York kept the chocolates coming. This is the true story of The Sweethearts, the women who roasted the cocoa beans, piped the icing and packed the boxes that became gifts for lovers, snacks for workers and treats for children across the country. More often than not, their working days provided welcome relief from bad husbands and bad housing, a community where they could find new confidence, friendship and when the supervisor wasn’t looking, the occasional chocolate.
Maureen’s story (Individual stories from THE SWEETHEARTS, Book 5)
￥11.77
This is Maureen’s story, one of five stories extracted from THE SWEETHEARTS. Whether in wartime or peace, tales of love, laughter and hardship from the girls in the Rowntrees factory in Yorkshire. “Maureen started work at Rowntree’s on her fifteenth birthday in April 1959, and remembers being the only one in the entire workforce who was wearing ankle socks. But she soon settled in and on Saturday afternoons Maureen and the rest of the girls would go into town – 'I really liked the fashions then and used to love getting dressed up in those days. We wore stockings and suspenders, stilettos, and we always wore gloves, usually white ones, and shoes and handbag to match. We all wore skirts under our overalls and hooped petticoats. My digs were just over the bridge from Rowntree’s and the boys used to love watching me run down the bridge in the morning! I was never late for work, but I usually cut it pretty fine and often had to run the last couple of hundred yards. The hoops would ride up while I was running so there’d be a lot of wolf whistles from the boys…’” From the 1930s through to the 1980s, as Britain endured war, depression, hardship and strikes, the women at the Rowntree’s factory in York kept the chocolates coming. This is the true story of The Sweethearts, the women who roasted the cocoa beans, piped the icing and packed the boxes that became gifts for lovers, snacks for workers and treats for children across the country. More often than not, their working days provided welcome relief from bad husbands and bad housing, a community where they could find new confidence, friendship and when the supervisor wasn’t looking, the occasional chocolate.
The Monkey in 2014: Your Chinese Horoscope
￥11.77
The year 2014 is the Chinese Year of the Horse – what will this mean for you? This complete guide contains all the predictions you will need to take you into the year ahead – a lively fast-paced year favouring ideas, innovation and personal growth. The ancient art of Chinese astrology, which predates the Western zodiac, is a detailed system of divination that has been in use in the Orient for thousands of years. The depth of its wisdom and the accuracy of its character analysis and prediction has caught the imagination of the Western world in recent years and led to a rapid rise in its popularity. This popular and enlightening bestselling guide – now in its 27th year – includes: ? Everything you need to know about the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac. ? An explanation of the Five Elements: metal, water, wood, fire and earth, and which one governs your sign. ? Individual predictions to help you find love, luck and success. ? What the Year of the Horse has in store for you, your family, your loved ones and friends.
I Heart Christmas (Part One: Chapters 1–5)
￥11.77
‘Brilliantly written, this festive instalment of Angela’s life is as funny and enjoyable as ever’ Closer This is PART 1 of 3 (chapters 1-5). It is not the whole book You can buy the three parts two weeks ahead of the release of the full-length eBook and paperback. Angela’s planning her very own fairytale of New York… ? Enormous Christmas tree ? Eggnog ? Eccentric British traditions ? Gorgeous man But Santa’s throwing her a few curveballs – new job (as if it’s not mental enough already), new baby-craze from her best friend Jenny, and Alex determined they should grow up and settle down. Once friends start turning up uninvited on her doorstep (and leading her astray), can Angela really have a merry little Christmas? So much for happy holidays – something’s got to give…
The Bumpy Road to Married Bliss (HarperTrue Love – A Short Read)
￥11.77
In August 2012, Donny and Chris found themselves outside Islington Town Hall preparing to start the next chapter of their lives together. But from meeting on an Isle of Wight cliff top, to getting engaged in Thailand, and finally tying the knot in London, it was one hell of a journey that had taken them there… The Bumpy Road to Married Bliss follows the many funny and touching twists and turns of Donny and Chris’s journey towards their wedding day; from being born on different continents, to organising a multi-faith, trans-Atlantic, inter-racial wedding with disapproving families in tow – proving that the course of true love really doesn’t run smooth. Tender, honest and told from both Donny and Chris’s points of view in alternating chapters, this is a modern day love story you won’t be able to put down.
How Shall I Know You?
￥11.77
An unforgettable, unnerving short story about a writer’s life from one of today’s greatest writers – extracted from her upcoming collection, THE ASSASSINATION OF MARGARET THATCHER. “One summer at the fag-end of the nineties, I had to go out of London to talk to a literary society, of the sort that must have been old-fashioned when the previous century closed. When the day came, I wondered why I’d agreed to it; but yes is easier than no, and of course when you make a promise you think the time will never arrive …” ‘How Shall I Know You’ is as unsettling and hauntingly written as we have come to expect from Hilary Mantel, one of Britain’s most accomplished, acclaimed and garlanded writers. It invites us into the usually hidden recesses of a writer’s life, into her hotel rooms, handbags, frustrations, desires, and darkest imaginings. This story is also available in the collection ‘The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher’.
Belly Dancing and Beating the Odds
￥11.77
When 32-year-old Yvette Cowles contracted breast cancer she was determined it would not get in the way of her belly dancing dreams. Spirited and light-hearted, “Belly Dancing and Beating the Odds” is the true story of one woman’s quest to be the best breastless belly dancer in the business… Whilst most people see little to smile about when they hear the word “cancer”, for Yvette it was just another opportunity to find the silver lining. From realising the positives in a breast-free existence (think Audrey Hepburn physique and the uses of aero-dynamism when sales shopping), transforming her hospital cubicle into a sequinned boudoir and entertaining the nurses with her inflatable male companion, Yvette is determined not to let it get her down. Told with warmth and lively good humour, Yvette’s short story will move and inspire you – and might even persuade you to dig out your dancing shoes.
A Child Called Hope
￥11.77
A dramatic debut short story from London-based foster carer Mia Marconi. An incredible chain of events that began in Italy during WWII with an illegitimate pregnancy shaped Mia’s destiny. The illegitimate child was her father, a lost soul who she idolised. Protecting him instilled in her an instinct to care for the vulnerable and, after a chance meeting with a chaotic foster family, she decided fostering was her vocation. In an incredible twist of fate, the first baby she fostered was born to an unmarried Italian girl. Then came Hope, so badly damaged by her teenage mother’s alcoholism she was in hospital for a year. Finally discharged and settled in Mia’s happy home, what happened next would make Mia question if she could carry on.
Valentine’s on Primrose Hill (A Short Story) Love London Series
￥11.77
Leo Miller still wasn’t sure how he’d ended up standing alone on Primrose Hill on the most romantic day of the year, both hoping and dreading his Valentine would show up. The girl he’d thought would be a friend but had turned out to be so much more. The girl he owed the truth to, instead of the version she thought she knew.
New Year at the Ritz (A Short Story) Love London Series
￥11.77
Oh, balls!' Frankie Taylor stared at the mirror in dismay. She touched a hand to the back of her neck, where she used to have hair, and glared at her hairdresser in their shared reflection.
Tales from a Wild Vet: Part 1 of 3: Paws, claws and furry encounters
￥11.77
Tales From A Wild Vet: Paws, Claws and Furry Encounters
