The superb novelist of men at war moves into the twentieth century and World War Two, telling the story of the eleven days in the sands of North Africa that would change history foreverThere are some battles that change the course of history: Alamein is one of those.In October 1942, Britain and its allies were in real difficulties: Germany and its Axis partners seemed to be triumphant everywhere – in Europe, in Russia, in the Atlantic and were now poised to take the Suez Canal. It was in North Africa that the stand was made, that the tide of World War Two began to turn.It was a battle of strong characters: the famous battle commander Rommel and the relatively untested new British commander, Montgomery, leading men who fought through an extraordinary eleven day battle, in an unforgiving terrain, amid the swirling sandstorms and the desert winds.Iain Gale, author of the outstanding historical novel Four Days in June on the battle of Waterloo, tells the dramatic story through seven characters, almost all based on real people. Drawn from both sides of the conflict, they include a major from a Scottish brigade, the young lieutenant in the thick of the tank battle, the Australian sergeant with the infantry, the tank commander of the Panzer Division and the charismatic Italian commander of a parachute battalion. Through them and others we see the flow of battle, the strategies, the individual actions and skirmishes, the fear, the determination, the extraordinary courage on both sides.
Three thrillers featuring FBI Agent Ren Bryce, from bestselling author, Alex Barclay. Perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter and Patricia Cornwell.BLOOD RUNS COLD:When an FBI agent is found dead on the white slopes of Quandary Peak in Colorado, Ren Bryce is brought in to lead the investigation. Fighting personal demons, pressure from Washington and dwindling leads, the case stalls and her career falters.But as summer comes, Quandary Peak has disturbing new secrets to give up. And as one agent fights failure and hopelessness, another has left behind a trail that leads to a man with a dark past and even darker intentions.TIME OF DEATH:FBI agent Ren Bryce’s hunt for some of the country’s most dangerous killers is about to turn into a nightmare. There’s unfinished business between Ren and those she is pursuing, and soon she’s forced to confront both personal and professional traumas.Then someone close to Ren is murdered and secrets from her past look set to be revealed, throwing her into a world of fear, paranoia and danger.Time is running out and Ren must catch a killer before he catches her…BLOOD LOSS:When an eleven-year-old girl and her teenage babysitter vanish without a trace from their hotel room, FBI agent Ren Bryce is drafted in to lead the investigation.Faced with conflicting evidence and inconsistent witnesses, Ren works obsessively to unravel the dark family secrets at the heart of the case, before it’s too late.But Ren’s behaviour becomes increasingly reckless. Putting her own safety at risk, she enters a world where innocent lives are ruined for profit – and kidnap, rape and murder are all part of the deal.
A fascinating exploration of the contents of Agatha Christie’s 73 recently discovered notebooks, including illustrations, deleted extracts, and two unpublished Poirot stories.When Agatha Christie died in 1976, aged 85, she had become the world's most popular author. With sales of more than two billion copies worldwide in more than 100 countries, she had achieved the impossible – more than one book every year since the 1920s, every one a bestseller.So prolific was Agatha Christie's output – 66 crime novels, 20 plays, 6 romance books under a pseudonym and over 150 short stories – it was often claimed that she had a photographic memory. Was this true? Or did she resort over those 55 years to more mundane methods of working out her ingenious crimes?Following the death of Agatha's daughter, Rosalind, at the end of 2004, a remarkable secret was revealed. Unearthed among her affairs at the family home of Greenway were Agatha Christie's private notebooks, 73 handwritten volumes of notes, lists and drafts outlining all her plans for her many books, plays and stories. Buried in this treasure trove, all in her unmistakable handwriting, are revelations about her famous books that will fascinate anyone who has ever read or watched an Agatha Christie story.What is the 'deleted scene' in her first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles? How did the infamous twist in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, really come about? Which very famous Poirot novel started life as an adventure for Miss Marple? Which books were designed to have completely different endings, and what were they?Full of details she was too modest to reveal in her own Autobiography, this remarkable new book includes a wealth of extracts and pages reproduced directly from the notebooks and her letters, plus for the first time two newly discovered complete Hercule Poirot short stories never before published.
Agatha Christie’s life and career told through the decades, from the never-before-published original ending to her first book to the unused ideas for her last, complete with two unpublished Agatha Christie stories – including a lost Miss Marple.In this follow-up volume to the acclaimed Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks, Christie archivist and expert John Curran leads the reader through the six decades of Agatha Christie's writing career, unearthing some remarkable clues to her success and a number of never-before-published excerpts and stories from her archives.Starting his investigation in the 1920s, John Curran examines the conventions of detective novels as they existed then and how Agatha Christie's publisher talked her into changing the ending of her very first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, a move that almost certainly changed the fortunes of not only her career but the future of the whole crime writing genre. For the very first time, this book prints Agatha's original ending, painstakingly transcribed from her notebooks.Every decade saw Agatha Christie's success grow to new heights. The emergence of the world-famous Collins Crime Club in 1930 brought with it the very first Miss Marple mystery, the austerity of the 1940s had Agatha Christie preparing to kill off Hercule Poirot, and the 1950s saw her experiment increasingly with formats influenced by more modern thrillers. Focusing on the detail of more than 20 Christie novels to illustrate this, John Curran shows the evolution of Agatha's writing through the decades, including the influence of the swinging sixties and seventies, concluding the book with a look at Agatha's last notebook, using his Christie knowledge to speculate about what she had in mind based on her brief notes for an unwritten final book.Also includes a number of short stories from the archives reproduced in full, including the unpublished The Man Who Knew, How I Created Hercule Poirot, and an early draft for a Miss Marple story, The Case of the Caretaker's Wife.
This is the definitive companion to the MISS MARPLE novels, films and TV appearances.‘I have had a lot of experience in solving different little problems that have arisen.’Most of the ‘little problems’ tackled by Miss Marple occurred in the pretty rural village of St Mary Mead and came in the shape of murder, robbery and blackmail. In the 40 years of her career, she even solved cases as far afield as London and the Caribbean. But though she usually masqueraded as ‘everybody’s favourite great aunt’, what was she 'really' like?In this authorised biography of the world’s most famous female sleuth, Anne Hart combs through the 12 novels and 20 short stories in which Miss Marple appeared, uncovering clue and amassing all the evidence to solve the most difficult case of them all – the mystery of Miss Marple.
‘A modern day Nancy Mitford.’ Sir Elton John‘Fans of Downton Abbey will love this.’ Davina McCallChristmas morning, 1969.All eleven-year-old Esme Munroe wants for Christmas is for her mother to be on one of her ‘good’ days – and, secretly, for a velvet riding hat. So when she finds an assortment of wet towels and dirty plates in her stocking, she’s just relieved Father Christmas remembered to stop at The Lodge this year.But later that day Esme’s mother disappears in the heavy snow. Even more mysteriously, only the Earl of Culcairn seems to know where she might have gone. Torn between protecting her mother and uncovering the secrets tumbling out of Culcairn Castle’s ornate closets, Esme realises that life will never be the same again after the snow…Susannah Constantine provides a rare glimpse into the secret lives of the scandalous upper classes. Perfect for fans of Downton Abbey and The Crown.
A classic Agatha Christie short story, available individually for the first time as an ebook.A retired police inspector recognizes a woman in his village whom he once suspected of murdering her husband. He is determined that her new husband won’t suffer the same fate…
LIVES THAT NEVER GROW OLDThis unique series – edited by Richard Holmes – recovers the great classical tradition of English biography. Every book is a biographical masterpiece – still thrilling to read and vividly alive.The philosopher William Godwin fell in love with and married the radical feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, only to attend her deathbed (giving birth to their child, the late Mary Shelley). Heartbroken, Godwin immediately shut himself up in his study and wrote this intensely moving biography.True to his philosophical belief in absolute sincerity, Godwin coolly describes Wollstonecraft’s previous love affairs, her time in revolutionary Paris, her illegitimate child, and her two suicide attempts. The book almost wrecked both their reputations, but can now be seen as a masterpiece of indiscretion and human honesty.
“THIS IS A GREAT GUIDE TO THE NIGHT SKY AT A GREAT PRICE.” Astronomy NowA comprehensive handbook to the planets, stars and constellations visible from the northern hemisphere. 6 pages for each month covering January–December 2019.This practical guide is both an easy introduction to astronomy and a useful reference for seasoned stargazers. Now includes a section on comets and a map of the moon.Designed for Britain and Ireland but usable anywhere in the world between 40°N and 60°N, covering most of Europe, southern Canada and the northern United States.Written and illustrated by astronomical experts, Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion, and approved by the astronomers of the Royal Observatory Greenwich.Content includes:• Advice on where to start looking.• Easy-to-use star maps for each month with descriptions of what to see.• Positions of the moon and visible planets.• Details of objects and events you might see in 2019.• Diagrams of notable events visible from Britain.Also available: A month-by-month guide to exploring the skies south of the Equator ISBN 978-0-00-829499-1 andA month-by-month guide to exploring the skies above North America ISBN 978-0-22-810105-5.
A comprehensive handbook to the planets, stars and constellations visible from the southern hemisphere. 6 pages for each month covering January–December 2019.This practical guide is both an easy introduction to astronomy and a useful reference for seasoned stargazers. Now includes a section on comets and a map of the moon.Diagrams drawn for the latitude of southern Australia, but including events visible from New Zealand and South Africa.Written and illustrated by astronomical experts, Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion.Content includes:• Advice on where to start looking.• Easy-to-use star maps for each month with descriptions of what to see.• Positions of the moon and visible planets.• Details of objects and events you might see in 2019.• Diagrams of notable events visible from Australia, and some for New Zealand and South Africa.Also available: A month-by-month guide to exploring the skies above Britain and Ireland ISBN 978-0-00-825770-5 andA month-by-month guide to exploring the skies above North America ISBN 978-0-22-810105-5.