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Bloomsbury Publishing
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'How is it possible to read Howard Jacobson and not lose oneself in admiration for the music of his language, the power of his characterisation and the penetration of his insight? ... The Finkler Question is further proof, if any was needed, of Jacobson's mastery of humour' The Times Wonderful ... Jacobson is seriously on form' Evening Standard 'There are few writers who exhibit the same unawed respect for language or such a relentless commitment to re-examining even the most seemingly unobjectionable of received wisdoms' Daily Telegraph 'Full of wit, warmth, intelligence, human feeling and understanding. It is also beautifully written with that sophisticated and near invisible skill of the authentic writer' Observer. |
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Marilyn Monroe died on 5th August, 1962. Since then, the appetite for information about Monroe has proved insatiable. Lois Banner's new biography is revelatory. Banner had access to material no one else has seen, from a trove of personal papers to facts and anecdotes about her childhood and her death. Banner traces the eleven foster homes Marilyn went to, uncovering the sexual abuse she suffered and her bisexuality. She is also the first biographer to read Monroe's psychiatric records, revealing a woman deeply rooted in paradox. No biographer before has attempted to analyse — much less realise — most of these aspects of her personality. Lois Banner has. |
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It's chaos at the Royal Palace — the Royal Baby just won't go to sleep. Waaaaah! Waaaaah! Waaaaah! The Royal Family has tried everything to pacify the little bundle of joy — from proferring the golden royal dummy to death-defying parachute jumps with the Queen. But, just when the little one seems to be settling, another disturbance is just around the corner. From yip-yapping corgis to marching guards and noisy party planning, the palace is awash with noise. Will it ever be peaceful enough to lull the baby off to sleep? A laugh-out-loud celebration of the new addition to the Royal Family, guaranteed to raise a few giggles. |
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Photographer Alfred Adams was born 1 June 1896 and became an observer in WW1, taking pictures over enemy lines. He was shot down by the famous 'Red Baron' Manfred von Richthofen over France along with his pilot Donald Stewart on 5 April 1917. They landed across enemy lines and both survived as prisoners of war. The tale tells how Alfred ended up spending his 21st birthday in a German prisoner of war camp, where he was visited by the Red Baron himself. The master historical storyteller gives readers aged 7+ a fascinating look at the First World War in the air, from both sides. |
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A veteran soldier and a young recruit are 'celebrating' Christmas in the trenches of Flanders in 1914. They hear the enemy sing carols and watch them place Christmas Trees in the trenches opposite. They begin to shout greetings across no-man's land and end up playing an international football match. The match is hard-fought but with moments of generosity and sportsmanship on both sides. They see the 'enemy' as vulnerable humans and the officers are furious. Further unofficial truces are banned and the war goes on with bullets instead of footballs. But it's a memory that stays with young Albert long after the war. A moving and fascinating look at a very human moment of the Great War, by the master historical storyteller. Perfect for 7+. |
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You know what it's like when your mum goes away on a business trip and Dad's in charge. She leaves a really, really long list of what he's got to do. And the most important thing is DON'T FORGET TO GET THE MILK. Unfortunately, Dad forgets. So the next morning, before breakfast, he has to go to the corner shop, and this is the story of why it takes him a very, very long time to get back. Featuring: Professor Steg (a time-travelling dinosaur), some green globby things, the Queen of the Pirates, the famed jewel that is the Eye of Splod, some wumpires, and a perfectly normal but very important carton of milk. |
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Edith Piaf was one of the most greatly loved singers of the twentieth century. From the start of her exceptional career in the 1930s, her waif-like form and heart-wrenching voice endeared her first to the French, then to audiences around the globe. As she moved from her youth singing in the streets to the glamour of the Paris music-halls, Piaf formed lasting friendships with such figures as Maurice Chevalier, Jean Cocteau and Marlene Dietrich; she wrote many of her own songs, aided the Resistance in the Second World War, and mentored younger singers like Yves Montand and Charles Aznavour. Yet her path to stardom was full of tragedies — the death of her daughter in infancy; the death of Marcel Cerdan, her greatest love, in a plane crash; her many illnesses, affairs and addictions, all of which nourished her passionate performances and strengthened her enduring bond with audiences. In this mesmerising, definitive new biography Carolyn Burke gives us Piaf in her own time and place, illuminating through sympathetic readings of sources hitherto unavailable both the charm and the pathos of the ‘Little Sparrow' who enchanted generations and still enthralls us today. |
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A Brief Life of the Queen is a succinct, personal and beautifully illustrated biography of Elizabeth II, who has managed to remain an enigma, despite being the most recognised woman in the world. For more than thirty years Robert Lacey has been gathering material from the members of the Queen's inner circle — her friends, relatives, private secretaries and prime ministers — and the results are distilled in this elegant hardback which marks the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Tracing her life through its major stages, and uncovering her greatest personal loves and trials, A Brief Life of the Queen offers the freshness of the first-hand insights and compelling storytelling for which Robert Lacey's best-selling biographies are renowned. |
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Eighteen of Britain's most exciting authors have written brand new stories especially for this spellbinding collection: Andrea Ashworth, Kate Atkinson, Celia Brayfield, Christopher Brookmyre, Lewis Davies, Isla Dewar, Emma Donoghue, Maeve Haran, Joanne Harris, Jackie Kay, Gil McNeil, John O'Farrell, Ben Okri, Michele Roberts, Meera Syal, Sue Townsend, Arabella Weir and Fay Weldon. Miracles, mystery, romance and humour — from Louisiana mud-swamps where enchantment is for sale to a bra-making workshop where dreams come true, this is British fiction at its fizziest, least predictable and best. The National Council recently launched its Magic Million Appeal, with the aim of raising one million pounds to fund services for single parents and their children so that they can get the help and support they need, when they need it. GBP1 will go straight to the charity with every copy sold of MAGIC. |
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Months after the Waterless Flood pandemic has wiped out most of humanity, Toby and Ren have rescued their friend Amanda from the vicious Painballers. They return to the MaddAddamite cob house, which is being fortified against man and giant Pigoon alike. Accompanying them are the Crakers, the gentle, quasi-human species engineered by the brilliant but deceased Crake. While their reluctant prophet, Jimmy — Crake's one-time friend — recovers from a debilitating fever, it's left to Toby to narrate the Craker theology, with Crake as Creator. She must also deal with cultural misunderstandings, terrible coffee and her jealousy over her lover, Zeb. Meanwhile, Zeb searches for Adam One, founder of the God's Gardeners, the pacifist green religion from which Zeb broke years ago to lead the MaddAddamites in active resistance against the destructive CorpSeCorps. Now, under threat of an imminent Painballer attack, the MaddAddamites must fight back with the aid of their newfound allies, some of whom have four trotters. At the centre is the extraordinary story of Zeb's past, which involves a lost brother, a hidden murder, a bear and a bizarre act of revenge. Combining adventure, humour, romance, superb storytelling and an imagination that is at once dazzlingly inventive and grounded in a recognisable world, MaddAddam is vintage Margaret Atwood, and a moving and dramatic conclusion to the internationally celebrated dystopian trilogy that began with Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood. |
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Created in 1987, the annual Epica Awards recognizes outstanding creativity in all main communication disciplines, including: TV and radio, poster design, direct marketing, branded content, PR, design, packaging, interactive and integrated campaigns. Having originally focused on Europe only, the awards became worldwide in 2012. The best work is brought together in the stunning Epica Book. Epica Book 26: Best Ads Worldwide is a lasting record of the 2012 Epica Awards and a unique source of information and inspiration for all those interested in contemporary worldwide advertising trends. Conveniently arranged by product category, Epica Book 26 includes work from creative agencies such as Y&R Dubai (Retail services), McCann Manchester (Retail services), Leo Burnett London (Food), Publicis Conseil (Drinks), BAR Lisbon (Drinks), MK Norway (Drinks), and Midttrafik Kommunikation (Transport and tourism). The 2012 Epica Awards were judged by journalists representing 41 specialist titles and websites from 34 countries, including 6 new titles from Canada, India, Singapore, China, Australia and the Philippines. |
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When a letter arrives for unhappy but ordinary Harry Potter, a decade-old secret is revealed to him that apparently he's the last to know. His parents were wizards, killed by a Dark Lord's curse when Harry was just a baby, and which he somehow survived. Leaving his unsympathetic aunt and uncle for Hogwarts, a wizarding school brimming with ghosts and enchantments, Harry stumbles upon a sinister adventure when he finds a three-headed dog guarding a room on the third floor. Then he hears of a missing stone with astonishing powers which could be valuable, dangerous, or both. |
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Harry can't wait for his holidays with the dire Dursleys to end. But a small, self-punishing house-elf warns Harry of mortal danger awaiting him at Hogwarts School. Returning to the castle nevertheless, Harry hears a rumour about a chamber of secrets, holding unknown horrors to wizards of Muggle parentage. Now someone is casting spells that turn people to stone, and a terrible warning is found painted on the wall. The chief suspect — always in the wrong place — is Harry. But something much darker has yet to be unleashed. |
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Harry Potter is lucky to reach the age of thirteen, since he has survived the murderous attacks of the feared Dark Lord on more than one occasion. But his hopes for a quiet school term concentrating on Quidditch are dashed when a maniacal mass-murderer escapes from Azkaban, pursued by the soul-sucking Dementors who guard the prison. It's assumed that Hogwarts is the safest place for Harry to be. But is it a coincidence that he can feel eyes watching him in the dark, and should he be taking Professor Trelawney's ghoulish predictions seriously? |
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When the Quidditch World Cup is disrupted by Voldemort's rampaging supporters alongside the resurrection of the terrifying Dark Mark, it is obvious to Harry that, far from weakening, Voldemort is getting stronger. The ultimate signal to the magic world of the Dark Lord's return would be the defeat of the one and only survivor of his death curse, Harry Potter. So when Harry is entered for the prestigious yet dangerous Triwizard Tournament, he knows that rather than win it, the pressure is on to succeed. But Harry does not realise that he will soon face a horrifying fate... |
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Harry is furious that he has been abandoned at the Dursleys' house for the summer, for he suspects that Voldemort is gathering an army, that he himself could be attacked, and that his so-called friends are keeping him in the dark. Finally rescued by wizard bodyguards, he discovers that Dumbledore is regrouping the Order of the Phoenix — a secret society first formed years ago to fight Voldemort. But the Ministry of Magic is against the Order, lies are being spread by the wizards' tabloid, the Daily Prophet, and Harry fears that he may have to take on this epic battle against evil alone. |
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As Voldemort's sinister forces amass and a spirit of gloom and fear sweeps the land, it becomes increasingly clear to Harry that he will soon have to confront his destiny. But will he be able to overcome the challenges ahead of him? The race to locate and destroy the remaining Horcruxes, the hidden pieces of Voldemort's soul, begins. Harry will need all the help he can get. |
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Harry Potter is preparing to leave the Dursleys and Privet Drive for the last time. But the future that awaits him is full of danger, not only for him, but for anyone close to him — and Harry has already lost so much. Only by destroying Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes can Harry free himself and overcome the Dark Lord's forces of evil. In this dramatic conclusion to the Harry Potter series, Harry must leave his most loyal friends behind, and in a final perilous journey find the strength and the will to face his terrifying destiny: a deadly confrontation that is his alone to fight. |
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Make counting fun with this beautiful activity book, which includes over 300 colourful stickers. Count the ducks in the pond, add stickers to complete the farm house picture, countdown the rocket launch, and many more. Bloomsbury Activity Books provide hours of colouring, doodling, stickering and activity fun for boys and girls alike. Every book includes enchanting, bright and beautiful illustrations which children and parents will find very hard to resist. Perfect for providing entertainment at home or on the move! |
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5th January 1800. At the beginning of a new century, Alma Whittaker is born into a perfect Philadelphia winter. Her father, Henry Whittaker, is a bold and charismatic botanical explorer whose vast fortune belies his lowly beginnings as a vagrant in Kew Gardens. Alma's mother, a strict woman from an esteemed Dutch family, is conversant in five living languages (and two dead ones) and her knowledge of botany is equal to any man's. An independent girl with a thirst for knowledge, it is not long before Alma comes into her own within the world of plants and science. As Alma's careful studies of moss take her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, the man she comes to love draws her in the opposite direction — into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose is a Utopian artist. But what unites this couple is a shared passion for knowing — a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all of life. The Signature of All Things is a big novel, about a big century. It soars across the globe from London, to Peru, to Philadelphia, to Tahiti, to Amsterdam. Peopled with extraordinary characters — missionaries, abolitionists, adventurers, astronomers, sea captains, geniuses and the quite mad — most of all it has an unforgettable heroine in Alma Whittaker, a woman of the Enlightened Age who stands defiantly on the cusp of the modern. |
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