A thrilling work of popular history that gives a new perspective on the Viking-Anglo conflicts and brings the bloody period to life In the eleventh century, the rulers of the lands surrounding the North Sea are all hungry for power. To get power they need soldiers, to get soldiers they need silver, and to get silver there is no better way than war and plunder. This vicious cycle draws all the lands of the north into a brutal struggle for supremacy and survival that will shatter kingdoms and forge an empire.The Wolf Age takes the reader on a thrilling journey through the bloody shared history of England and Scandinavia, and across early medieval Europe: from the wild Norwegian fjords to the wealthy cities of Muslim Andalusia. Warfare, plotting, backstabbing and bribery abound as prize-winning historian Tore Skeie weaves together sagas and skaldic poetry with bold dramatization to bring the world of the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons to vivid life.'Skeie has a unique ability to conjure images of the richest detail, everything from chaotic battles to the period's exhausting day-to-day life' A-MAGASINETTore Skeie is one of Norway's most acclaimed historians, having written several prize-winning and bestselling works of medieval history. Tore is known for his eye for historical and human drama, while his books have been praised both for their thrilling style and the way they challenge traditional nation-oriented historical narratives. The Wolf Age was a bestseller in Norway, won the prestigious Sverre Steen award and is the first of Tore's books to be translated into English.
Sharply immediate, evocative diaries from the heart of Occupied Paris by a classic German writer, in English for the first time 'THE GREATEST LITERARY TALENT OF HIS GENERATION' Die WeltThe writer Felix Hartlaub died in obscurity at just 31, vanishing from Berlin in 1945. He left behind a small oeuvre of private writings from the Second World War: fragments and observations of life from the midst of catastrophe that, with their evocative power and precision, would make a permanent place for him in German letters.Posted to Paris in 1940 to conduct archival research, Hartlaub recorded his impressions of the unfamiliar city in notebooks that document with unparalleled immediacy the daily realities of occupation. With a painter's eye for detail, Hartlaub writes of the bustle of civilians and soldiers in cafes, of half-seen trysts during blackout hours and the sublime light of Paris in spring. Appearing in English for the first time, Clouds Over Paris is a unique testament to the persistence of ordinary life through disaster.
'The original bad boy of the New York restaurant/hotel scene... No one has ever surpassed the master' Anthony BourdainAcerbic, colourful and spirited reminiscences from a grand New York hotel in the nineteen twenties - perfect for fans of Evelyn Waugh, Kitchen Confidential or The Grand Budapest HotelWelcome to the grand Hotel Splendide, where hilarity and chaos reign. In the mirror-lined dining halls, the champagne is constantly flowing; in the kitchens downstairs, malcontent waiters incite revolution.In this classic memoir, Ludwig Bemelmans encounters eccentricity on every level of the hotel hierarchy as he works his way up from busboy at the restaurant's most undesirable table, to assistant manager of the magnificent private banquets. There may be Russian ballerinas and Wall Street tycoons to entertain, but there is also Mespoulets, the world's worst waiter, to contend with and a murder plot against Monsieur Victor, the authoritarian matre d'htel, to solve.Accompanied by Bemelmans' own witty illustrations, this account of a bygone era of extravagance is as charming as it is riotously entertaining.
From the CWA-shortlisted author comes a propulsive and gritty sports noir for fans of Fat City, Million Dollar Baby and SA Cosby's Razorblade Tears'It's a riveting story where the drama propels you from page to page... Vercher is a master of interior tension. This book grabs you and doesn't let go.' Crystal Wilkinson, author of Perfect BlackHow do you save yourself when you're the person you trust least of all?Xavier "e;Scarecrow"e; Wallace is a biracial Black MMA fighter on the wrong side of thirty, who is facing the comeback fight of his life. He is also losing his battle with pugilistic dementia - a struggle he can no longer deny.In the nursing home of his father, a white man suffering from end-stage Alzheimer's, Xavier witnesses shocking episodes that expose ugly truths about his past and his family.And as the big fight draws near, a sparring session with a younger competitor goes horribly wrong, leaving Xavier faced with a dangerous dilemma: throw his match or suffer the deadly consequences.After the Lights Go Out is a propulsive exploration of mixed-race identity, the price that athletes pay to entertain, and one man's battle to reconcile his past - even when he can't hold onto his present.
An incisive and intimate account of the life and work of the great poet Rilke, exploring the rich interior world he created in his poetry 'Lesley Chamberlain has a rare gift for animating philosophy through intensely human stories' Sunday TelegraphWhen Rilke died in 1926, his reputation as a great poet seemed secure. But as the tide of the critical avant garde turned, he was increasingly dismissed as apolitical, the angels and roses of his poems deemed irrelevant. In Rilke: The Last Inward Man, acclaimed writer Lesley Chamberlain uses this charge as the starting point from which to explore the expansiveness of the inner world Rilke created in his poetry.Weaving together searching insights on Rilke's life, work and reputation, Chamberlain casts the poet's inwardness as a profound response to a world that seemed to be losing its spirituality. In works of dazzling imagination and rich imagery, Rilke sought to restore value to Western materialism, encouraging not narrow introversion but the cultivation of a new sensibility in a secular world after the death of God.
A HUGE BESTSELLER IN CHINA, BAD KIDS IS THE DARK SUSPENSE THRILLER WHERE NO ONE IS INNOCENT______You can't choose your in-laws.One beautiful morning, Zhang Dongsheng pushes his wealthy in-laws off a remote mountain.It's the perfect crime. Or so he thinks.For Zhang did not expect that teenager Chaoyang and his friends would catch him in the act. An opportunity for blackmail presents itself and the kids start down a dark path that will lead to the unravelling of all their lives.Dark, heart-stopping and violent, Bad Kids is the suspense thriller that has taken China by storm, proving that anyone has what it takes to become a killer.______HERE'S WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BAD KIDS'The twists kept getting darker and darker. Not for the faint of heart. A murderous society where everyone is on the take, and no one's innocent.''A fabulously dark suspense novel. When I initially read the synopsis for this book, I knew I wanted to read it and it did not disappoint... totally different and fresh''It was fast paced, twisty and unpredictable and kept me guessing. Just when I thought it was the best it could be, it got better. Honestly one of the best books I have read.''This was an incredibly suspenseful thriller that I couldn't put down... I would recommend to anyone as the plot, characters and pacing were perfect''The kind of twisty, jet-fuelled thriller that explodes on page one and has you happily abandoning work, sleep, and life as you race to the stunning end''A suspenseful, gripping cat-and-mouse game that never lets the reader go. Unpredictable twists keep coming as the darkness inside various characters spills out more and more with every chapter'
FROM ONE OF INDIA'S MOST RESPECTED AND BESTSELLING WRITERS COMES A SEARING AND POIGNANT NOVEL ABOUT LOVE AND INTOLERANCE IN A SMALL VILLAGETWICE LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD'With tender rage, one of India's most powerful living writers breathes life into an age-old tale of forbidden passion' Nilanjana Roy'Pyre is extraordinary. Rarely does literature reveal so much with so little' Nayomi Munaweera'A major India writer' New York Times______Saroja and Kumaresan are young, in love and in danger. They meet in a small southern Indian town, where Kumaresan works in a soda bottling shop, and quickly marry before returning to Kumaresan's family village. But they are harbouring a dangerous secret: they belong to different castes, and if the villagers find out they will both be in grave peril.Faced with venom from her mother-in-law, and pointed new questions from her new neighbours, Saroja struggles to adjust to a lonely and uncomfortable life. Kumaresan throws himself into building a new soda business, hoping to scrape together enough money for them to start over somewhere new. But as vicious whispers encircle the couple, will their love be enough to keep them safe?______PRAISE FOR PYRE'So tense it leaves you gasping for air' Ellen Barry, New York Times'Pyre glows with power... and adds immeasurable value to contemporary Indian literature... a hard and glittering gem of a story' The Hindu'A haunting story of forbidden love set in Southern India that illustrates the cruel consequences of societal intolerance' Kirkus Reviews, starred review'Piercing detail... The simple, elegant prose of Vasudevan's translation ranges from poetic to suspenseful... Murugan deserves worldwide recognition' Publishers Weekly, starred review
A fascinating classic account of Nietzsche's travels in Italy at the end of the nineteenth century, where he found inspiration for his major worksFor fifteen years, after his first visit to the country in1876, Nietzsche was repeatedly and irresistibly drawn back to Italy's climate and lifestyle. It was there that he composed his most famous works, including Thus Spake Zarathustra and Ecce Homo.This classic biography follows the troubled philosopher from Rome, to Florence, via Venice, Sorrento, Genoa, Sicily and finally to the tragic denouement in Turin, the city in which Nietzsche found a final measure of contentment before his irretrievable collapse. Endlessly fascinating and highly readable, Nietzsche in Italy will enthral anyone interested in Nietzsche's relationship with the country that enriched his soul more than any other.
Captivating, innovative Ukrainian fiction about displaced women living in the shadow of the war with Russia'This singular collection brings Ukraine, "e;the land of residual phenomena,"e; entirely to life' Kirkus ReviewsIn Lucky Breaks, we encounter anonymous women from the margins of Ukrainian society, their lives upended by the ongoing conflict with Russia. A woman, bewildered by her broken umbrella, tries to abandon it like a sick relative; a beautiful florist suddenly disappears, her shop converted into a warehouse for propaganda; hiding out from the shelling, neighbours read horoscopes in the local paper that tell them when it's safe for them to go outside.In stories of linguistic verve and absurdist wit, Yevgenia Belorusets writes of trauma amidst the mundane, telling surreal, unsettling tales of survival in a shattered country.
A Parisian writer lacking inspiration finds the heroine of his next novel outside his apartment. Telling the story of octogenarian Madeleine and her family, he finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into their lives - with unexpected consequences.
A sublime psychological thriller from Polari Prize-shortlisted Charles Lambert.Sixteen-year-old Fiona inhabits a privileged world ofEnglish affluence, though her relationship with her widowed mother is strained. When she discovers an old newspaper clipping of a woman and her daughter the little girl a mirror image of her own younger self she becomes convincedshe has a true family elsewhere.Four years later, with the help of charming fraudster Patrick, Fiona drops everything to seek out her doppelgnger in Italy.Fiona arrives in Rome to find Maddy living hand to mouth with her alcoholic mother. Spooked by the appearance of this strange girl wearing her face and stalking her every move, Maddy wants nothing to do with her. Caught in a surreal push-and-pull, the two are both fascinated and repulsed by the oddly familiar other, each coveting a different life. But they arent the only ones trying to control their fate, and the two women will soon learn that people arent always what they seem though blood may still prove thicker than water.Birthright is a dark, gripping literary thriller for fans of Ian McEwan, Rupert Thomson and Edward St Aubyn
In the aftermath of French defeat in July 1940, twenty-year-old Jean Arnaud and his ally, the charming conman Palfy, are hiding out at a brothel in Clermont-Ferrand, having narrowly escaped a firing squad. At a military parade, Jean falls for a beautiful stranger, Claude, who will help him forget his adolescent heartbreak but bring far more serious troubles of her own. Having safely reached occupied Paris, the friends mingle with art smugglers and forgers, social climbers, showbiz starlets, bluffers, swindlers and profiteers, French and German, as Jean learns to make his way in a world of murky allegiances. But beyond the social whirl, the war cannot stay away forever... In this sequel to the acclaimed novel The Foundling Boy, Michel Déon's hero comes to manhood not through combat but by discovering truths about desire and possession, sex and love, and the nuances that lie between crudely drawn battle lines.
A young gentleman in Victorian London is drawn into a dark and dangerous world when he falls for a beautiful flower seller. What follows is a ghost story, a Gothic mystery and an uncanny love story from Polari Prize-shortlisted author Charles Lambert.
A hauntingly beautiful, gripping novel about Lapland's buried history of Nazi crimes against the Sami peopleWinner of the Savonia PrizeFinnish Lapland, 1944: a young soldier is called to work as an interpreter at a Nazi prison camp. Surrounded by cruelty and death, he struggles to hold on to his humanity. When peace comes, the crimes are buried beneath the snow and ice.A few years later, journalist Inkeri is assigned to investigate the rapid development of remote Western Lapland. Her real motivation is more personal: she is following a lead on her husband, who disappeared during the war. Finding a small community riven with tension and suspicion of outsiders, Inkeri slowly begins to uncover traces of disturbing facts that were never supposed to come to light.From this starkly beautiful polar landscape emerges a story of silenced histories and ongoing oppression, of human brutality and survival.
True Detective meets Boris Akunin in this atmospheric and relentlessly dark detective series set in Stalinist Russia.
Reissue of the vividly lyrical biography of Nietzsche that John Banville called 'a major intellectual event'In 1888, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche moved to Turin. This would be the year in which he wrote three of his greatest works: Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist, and Ecce Homo; it would also be his last year of writing. He suffered a debilitating nervous breakdown in the first days of the following year.In this probing, elegant biography of that pivotal year, Lesley Chamberlain undoes popular cliches and misconceptions about Nietzsche by offering a deeply complex approach to his character and work. Focusing as much on Nietzsche's daily habits, anxieties and insecurities as on the development of his philosophy, Nietzsche in Turin offers a uniquely lively portrait of the great thinker, and of the furiously productive days that preceded his decline.
Murder seems to follow young Tommy McBride everywhere. Only five years after the death of his family, a freak accident on a sheep station sends him fleeing into the wilderness of the Australian outback, the station overseer lying dead behind him with his head smashed on a rock. But Tommy is haunted by more than the death of his family - both he and his brother Billy witnessed a vicious state-sanctioned massacre of the Kurrong people, and they havent seen each other since.When an official inquiry is launched into the slaughter, the successful life that Billy has built for himself is under threat. He desperately needs to find his brother, long
In this unsettling, seductive psychological thriller, a young woman with multiple personalities is drawn into London's dangerous underworld, for fans of The Silent Patient and An Anonymous Girl"e;Intricately plotted and sensitively written"e; Harriet Tyce, author of Blood OrangeOne woman, many personas. But which one is telling the truth?Alexa Wu is a brilliant yet darkly self-aware young woman whose chaotic life is manipulated and controlled by a series of alternate personalities. Only three people know about their existence: her shrink Daniel; her stepmother Anna; and her enigmatic best friend Ella.When Ella gets a job at a high-end gentleman's club, she is gradually drawn into London's cruel underbelly. With lives at stake, Alexa follows her friend on a daring rescue mission. Threatened and vulnerable, she will discover whether her multiple personalities are her greatest asset, or her most dangerous obstacle.Maxine Mei-Fung Chung is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and training psychotherapist. She lectures on trauma, gender and sexuality, clinical dissociation and attachment theory at the Bowlby Centre and was awarded the Jafar Kareem Bursary for her work supporting people from ethnic minorities experiencing isolation and mental health problems.Originally trained in the arts, she previously worked as a creative director for ten years at Conde Nast, the Sunday Times and The Times. Maxine completed the Faber Academy advanced novel-writing course and currently works in private practice, where she has a particular interest in the creative feminine, advocating for women and girls finding a voice. She lives in London with her son.
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