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Penguin Group
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Chronicles David Copperfield's extraordinary journey through life, as he encounters villains, saviours, eccentrics and grotesques, including the wicked Mr Murdstone, stout-hearted Peggotty, formidable Betsey Trotwood, impecunious Micawber and odious Uriah Heep. |
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There is a church in the glittering frozen wastes of Northern Sweden. Inside, a sacrifice: the body of a man — slashed to pieces, hands severed, eyes gouged out. The victim's sister, Sanna, is first to discover the body and immediately finds herself the police's only suspect. Terrified and confused, she calls on a friend: hot-shot city lawyer Rebecka Martinsson. Rebecka hardly wants to return to Kirana — the small town she fled in disgrace years ago. But Sanna is frightened and she needs a loyal friend to clear her name. Someone not scared to dig deep and find the true killer. Yet Rebecka is not especially welcomed into the closed-lipped community of Kirana. She might know the town, the people and how suspicious they can be of strangers. But she has still to find out how dark the town's secrets have become in her absence. |
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I knew Sebastian by sight long before I met him. That was unavoidable for, from his first week, he was the most conspicuous man of his year by reason of his beauty, which was arresting, and his eccentricities of behaviour, which seemed to know no bounds. Charles Ryder, a lonely student at Oxford, is captivated by the outrageous and exquisitely beautiful Sebastian Flyte. Invited to Brideshead, Sebastian's magnificent family home, Charles welcomes the attentions of its eccentric, aristocratic inhabitants. But he also discovers a world where duty and desire, faith and earthly happiness are in conflict; a world which threatens to destroy his beloved Sebastian. A scintillating depiction of the decadent, privileged aristocracy prior to the Second World War, Brideshead Revisited is widely regarded as Evelyn Waugh's finest work. |
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Late into the night we talked of love, of its complications. In my father's eyes they were imaginary... This conception of rapid, violent and passing love affairs appealed to my imagination. I was not at the age when fidelity is attractive. I knew very little about love. The French Riviera: home to the Beautiful People. And none are more beautiful than Cecile, a precocious seventeen-year-old, and her father Raymond, a vivacious libertine. Charming, decadent and irresponsible, the golden-skinned duo are dedicated to a life of free love, fast cars and hedonistic pleasures. But then, one long, hot summer Raymond decides to marry, and Cecile and her lover Cyril feel compelled to take a hand in his amours, with tragic consequences. Bonjour Tristesse scandalized 1950s France with its portrayal of teenager terrible Cecile, a heroine who rejects conventional notions of love, marriage and responsibility to choose her own sexual freedom. |
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Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of my tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged, frustrated college professor. In love with his landlady's twelve-year-old daughter Lolita, he'll do anything to possess her. Unable and unwilling to stop himself, he is prepared to commit any crime to get what he wants. Is he in love or insane? A silver-tongued poet or a pervert? A tortured soul or a monster? Or is he all of these? |
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«From the land of fantastical castles, vast lakes and deep forests, the Brothers Grimm collected a treasury of enchanting folk and fairy stories full of giants and dwarfs, witches and princesses, magical beasts and cunning children. From classics such as «The Frog Prince» and «Hansel and Grettel» to the delights of «Ashputtel» — the original «Cinderella» — all hold a timeless magic which has enthralled children for generations. Illustrators Quentin Blake, Raymond Briggs, Axel Scheffler, Helen Oxenbury, Oliver Jeffers and Emma Chichester Clark have each chosen their personal favourite fairytale to illustrate, and their individual styles make this a unique treasury for everyone to enjoy.» |
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The more I know of the world, the more am I convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much! Jane Austen's novel tells the story of Marianne Dashwood, who wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love — and its threatened loss — the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love. The Penguin English Library includes 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War. |
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In the summer of 1978 the Krasnansky family — bickering, tired and confused — arrive in Rome. Alongside thousands of other Soviet Jewish refugees they await passage to a new home in the West. But escaping Communism is not so easy, especially when some of the Krasnanskys insist on bringing it with them. |
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Buy now with one-click. Amazon's business model is deceptively simple: make online shopping so easy and convenient that customers won't think twice. Yet Amazon's success is largely down to CEO and founder Jeff Bezos, a man described as both a 'happy-go-lucky mogul' and a 'notorious micromanager'. His high energy, passionate approach to retailing has driven Amazon to the top. Jeff Bezos is smart. Originally a computer geek, he had the vision to capitalise on the untapped online market for books. He's also a calculating machine who creates 'deal-flow' charts for every major decision, from what business to create to how to choose a spouse. One Click explores what makes Bezos Bezos. Through detailed research and interviews with Amazon employees, competitors and observers, Richard Brandt has deciphered how Bezos thinks, what drives his actions and how he makes his business decisions. Amazon.com was waiting to be discovered. It took Bezos' unique character and strategy to make it happen. Anyone in the business world can learn from his reinvention of the retail landscape. |
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Author of the classic Skellig, David Almond has written his first adult novel. Like Emma Donoghue's bestselling Room, it's the story of a boy who's been incarcerated and comes out to find his way in the world. |
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A century after a devastating volcanic eruption forced Iceland's inhabitants to abandon its shores, the island is enshrouded in legend. Fishermen tell tales of seductive witches who steal men's hearts. But the mystery of the island is a matter of life and death for a community of women who once spilled noble blood to secure their freedom. |
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This is the sequel to the international bestseller The Go-Giver, applying its inspirational approach to real-world challenges. The Go-Giver took the business world by storm with its message that giving is the simplest, most fulfilling, and most effective path to success. It has inspired hundreds of thousands of readers; but some have wondered how the story's lessons stand up to the tough challenges of everyday, real-world business. Bob Burg and John David Mann answer that question in Go-Givers Sell More, a practical guide that turns giving into the cornerstone of a powerful and effective approach to selling. Most of us think of sales as a struggle to make people do something they don't really want to do. But that cut-throat mentality makes the process much harder than it has to be — especially in an economic downturn when customers are more suspicious and defensive than ever. It's far more effective (and satisfying) when salespeople think like Go-Givers and focus on creating value for the customer. Cultivate a trusting relationship and provide outstanding service, and great results will follow automatically. Illustrating their points with a wide range of real-life examples, Burg and Mann offer tips and strategies that anyone in sales can start applying right away. |
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Describes how Alice was conjured up one 'golden afternoon' in 1862 to entertain his child-friend Alice Liddell. His dream worlds of Wonderland and back-to-front Looking Glass kingdom depict order turned upside-down: a baby turns into a pig, time is abandoned at a disorderly tea-party and a chaotic game of chess makes a seven-year-old girl a Queen. |
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From a child grappling with the death of a fallen priest, to a young woman's dilemma over whether to elope to Argentina with her lover, to the dance party at which a man discovers just how little he really knows about his wife, these fifteen stories bring the gritty realism of existence in the author's native Dublin to life. |
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Rejected by his brother and largely ignored by his parents, Kieron Smith finds comfort — and endless stories — in the home of his much-loved grandparents. But when his family move to a new housing scheme on the outskirts of Glasgow, a world away from the close community of the tenements, Kieron struggles to find a way to adapt to his new life. Kieron Smith, boy is a brilliant evocation of an urban childhood. Capturing the joys, frustrations, injustices, excitements, revels, battles, games, uncertainties, questions, lies, discoveries and sheer of wonder of boyhood, it is a story of one boy and every boy. It is James Kelman at his very best. |
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In less than an hour, Sean has a meeting with a mestizo gangster. On the other side of town, Rosa listens for her husband's car, and thirteen-year-old Vincente is watching for the man who pays money for street-kids' dreams. Tonight, these disparate lives will violently collide... |
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From celebrated food stylist and writer Catherine Hill, comes this sumptuous collection of recipes for all home cooks who love celebrity chefs such as Nigel Slater. From stews to slow-cooked joints to mouth-watering veg dishes, this is a fully illustrated cookbook to be relied upon for delicious, original and low-maintenance meals. With chapters from Friday Night Easy to fabulous Sunday lunches, this is the only cookbook you'll need when the weekend comes round. Catherine Hill's unique cookbook is aimed at everyone who wants to cook at the weekend, whether you have a few friends over for a casual Friday night supper or are going away for a self-catering mini-break. Choose from quick, clever recipes like Tomato and Tallegio Tart or Sticky Mango Chicken Salad when you get in late on a Friday night. With a bit more time, impress on a Saturday with Prawn and Chorizo Stew or Marmalade Glazed Barbecue Ribs. And for a Sunday lunch to round off the weekend choose from lots of slow-cook, low maintenance ideas like Moroccan Leg of Lamb with Chickpeas, or Horseradish and Sugar-crusted Beef with Watercress Pesto — perfect for heading home to after a Sunday walk or drink at the pub. With a relaxed approach and packed full of delicious recipes, ingenious tips and advice, make your weekend cooking something to remember. |
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I never have been in love; it is not my way, or my nature; and I do not think I ever shall. Beautiful, clever, rich — and single — Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected. With its imperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle exploration of relationships, Emma is often seen as Jane Austen's most flawless work. The Penguin English Library — 100 paperbacks of the best fiction written in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War. |
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Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are. |
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George Orwell was an inveterate keeper of diaries. The Orwell Diaries presents eleven of them, covering the period 1931-1949, and follows Orwell from his early years as a writer to his last literary notebook. An entry from 1931 tells of a communal shave in the Trafalgar Square fountains, while notes from his travels through industrial England show the development of the impassioned social commentator. This same acute power of observation is evident in his diaries from Morocco, as well as at home, where his domestic diaries chart the progress of his garden and animals with a keen eye; the wartime diaries, from descriptions of events overseas to the daily violence closer to home, describe astutely his perspective on the politics of both, and provide a new and entirely refreshing insight into Orwell's character and his great works. |
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