'Young is a sharp and funny writer with a brilliant eye for moral fudging and verbal hypocrisy, and she has a splendid foil in Miss Mole' Sally Beauman WINNER OF THE JAMES TAIT BLACK MEMORIAL PRIZE 'Who would suspect her sense of fun and irony, of a passionate love for beauty and the power to drag it from its hidden places? Who would imagine that Miss Mole had pictured herself, at different times, as an explorer in strange lands, as a lady wrapped in luxury and delicate garments?' Miss Hannah Mole has for twenty years earned her living precariously as a governess or companion to a succession of difficult old women.Now, aged forty, a thin and shabby figure, she returns to Radstowe, the lovely city of her youth. Here she is, if not exactly welcomed, at least employed as housekeeper by the pompous Reverend Robert Corder, whose daughters are sorely in need of guidance. But even the dreariest situation can be transformed into an adventure by the indomitable Miss Mole. Blessed with imagination, wit and intelligence, she wins the affection of Ethel and her nervous sister Ruth. But her past holds a secret that, if brought to life, would jeopardise everything.
13th June, 1940. Carefully labelled, and each clutching a little brown suitcase, Terry, aged seven, and his elder brother Jack, eleven, stand amid the throng of chattering children which crowds the narrow platform at Welling station, awaiting the steam engine which will pull them and their fellow evacuees across the country towards their secret destination - and a new life... In the tiny Cornish backwater of Doublebois the brothers find they have swapped the newly built streets of suburban London for the joys of the countryside. The woods become their playground, tree-climbing, rabbit-catching and night-fishing their new pastimes. But it is the railway, above all, which delights them. The main London to Penzance line runs through a cutting right below the small community, the goods yard and siding lie a couple of hundred yards down the line: to the two young sons of a railway worker, No. 7 the Railway Cottages seems the perfect new home. And despite a not-always-friendly rivalry between local kids and the 'vackies', village life under the care of irreverent, Welsh ex-miner Uncle Jack and his generous wife Aunty Rose is idyllic. That is, until the bombing of nearby Plymouth and tragic news from the Front shatter the peace of Doublebois, a reminder of the brutal reality of a war which at times seems so far away. Warm-hearted and moving, Kisses on a Postcard is a vivid and intimate portrait of a forgotten part of our wartime history; a compelling and uplifting memoir of growing up in an extraordinary time.
A witty and sophisticated mystery featuring bestselling author Josephine Tey's popular Inspector Alan Grant, a beloved character created by a woman considered to be one of the greatest mystery writers of all time.Literary sherry parties were not Alan Grant's cup of tea. But when the Scotland Yard Inspector arrived to pick up actress Marta Hallard for dinner, he was struck by the handsome young American photographer, Leslie Searle. Author Lavinia Fitch was sure her guest "must have been something very wicked in ancient Greece," and the art colony at Salcott St. Mary would have agreed. Yet Grant heard nothing more of Searle until the news of his disappearance. Had Searle drowned by accident or could he have been murdered by one of his young women admirers? Was it a possible case of suicide or had the photographer simply vanished for reasons of his own?
Dilys Powell's love affair with Greece and the Greeks began on a sun-baked archaeological dig in 1931. Joining her husband the archaeologist Humfry Payne on the remote peninsula of Perachora, she came to know the villagers who labored on the site, camping beside them year after year, for months at a time. Despite personal tragedy, the occupation of Greece and civil war, Powell's affair of the heart continued. She returned time and again through the '40s and '50s, and with each visit there was a reconciliation with her idyllic memories of the country. Both with Humfry and without, she explored remote mountains in the company of shepherds, isolated stretches of coast and island with local fishermen and olive-dotted hillsides with the subsistence farmers who worked them. Out of this she has fashioned a gem of a travel book.
'Breathtaking...A long vista of undulating story, with here and there peaks of volcanic excitement' Daily Telegraph A haunting love story set between the Channel Islands and New Zealand in the 19th century. When young William Ozanne arrives on their island, sisters Marianne and Marguerite Le Patourel are both captivated. But it is tall, beautiful Marguerite who catches his eye. Years later, William leaves the island for a life at sea, eventually settling across the ocean in New Zealand. Impulsively, he invites Marguerite to join him there, but a slip of the pen results in Marianne making the journey instead. As Marguerite deals with a broken heart and the loss of her sister, Marianne must make a new life in a strange land, with a man who respects her but loves another. Can she persuade William that he chose the right sister, after all? The inspiration behind the Academy Award winning film Green Dolphin Street (1947). What readers are saying about GREEN DOLPHIN COUNTRY 'Fantastic' - 5 STARS 'A beautiful and unusual love story' - 5 STARS 'Full of twists and turns and beautifully written as always' - 5 STARS 'A wonderful story' - 5 STARS 'A magical story with characters that leap out from the page' - 5 STARS
Step into the vivid imagination of Joyce Kilmer with "The Circus, and Other Essays and Fugitive Pieces." This remarkable collection showcases Kilmer's gift for capturing the beauty and complexity of life through a blend of lyrical prose and poignant essays. As you explore Kilmer's reflections, you'll be transported to whimsical places, each infused with his deep appreciation for nature and humanity. His words invite readers to see the extraordinary in the ordinary and to embrace the richness of everyday experiences. But here's a thought to consider: What if the true essence of life is found not in grand spectacles but in the quiet moments we often overlook? Can the mundane hold as much beauty as the extraordinary? In "The Circus," Kilmer’s essays reveal the interplay of joy and sorrow, laughter and contemplation. His insightful observations challenge us to reflect on our own lives and the world around us, making this collection a treasure trove of wisdom. Are you ready to embark on a journey of introspection and wonder with "The Circus, and Other Essays and Fugitive Pieces"? Discover the art of seeing the world through Kilmer's eyes! As you navigate through his eloquent prose, you'll find yourself inspired to pause and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us. This collection is perfect for readers who seek to enrich their understanding of life through literature. Will you open your heart to the magic of Kilmer's words? Grab your copy of "The Circus, and Other Essays and Fugitive Pieces" today and celebrate the beauty of existence!
Frances Hodgson Burnett is remembered today as the author of the children’s classic The Secret Garden, but in her lifetime she had a long and successful career as a novelist, dramatist and writer of children’s stories. Of high literary quality, her novels covered a range of genres, including industrial novels, American-themed social novels, historical novels, transatlantic novels and post–World War I novels. The Novels of Frances Hodgson Burnett reads her novels in the context of the changing literary field in England and the United States in the years between the death of George Eliot in 1880 through to the Great War. Read as a body of literary fiction in relation to Elizabeth Gaskell, Henry James and T. S. Eliot among others, and read in the context of literary realism, historical fiction, the sensation novel and so on, Burnett’s novels constitute an important thread that chronicles the changing contexts and forms of English and American fiction from the end of the Victorian period to the Jazz Age of the 1920s.