It was Autumn when Paul Mc Dermott stood on the doorstep of a house that would exert a pull on him years after he closed the door for the final time. He was nervous, & totally unprepared to meet the woman he had agreed to visit. Val lived in this house, in a small military town; she was 74 & had been diagnosed with cancer. Though bewildered & frightened underneath, she appeared simply as a small, wrinkled, elderly woman with a mischievous awareness & a penetrating stare.

So began Paul's series of regular visits to Val over a number of years. As he sat & listened to her talk in her front lounge, or struggled ineptly with the tasks she set him, Val opened up her world: the secrets & memories & lessons of her life that were soon to be extinguished & perhaps forgotten. Gradually, as she came to terms with her past
- & also with her future
- she took on an effortless clarity & peace that brought her into a supremely human focus. &, at the same time, Paul's own perceptions were challenged in a way he would never have believed when he first arrived at her door. Somehow they created something profound & very precious between them.

Full of a surprising warmth, mixed with courage & humour, this remarkable story is deeply life-affirming, not only for the two central characters on their parallel journey
- but also for us all.






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When Natasha moves to a new house, she discovers a statue of a fairy in her garden beneath a huge menacing fir tree, which Natasha is sure is a witch. Gradually, with the help of a local boy, she unravels an ancient story that fairies stole the witch ...

How has the world changed in the last century? As we look back across a hundred years of turbulence, Clive Ponting provides a major reassessment of what the twentieth century hgas meant to people throughout the world. THE PIMLICO HISTORY OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY analyses the fundamental forces of population, industry & their consequences for the environment. it traces the rise & full of empires, the impact of nationalism, examines domestic politics from all political persepctives, & considers the darker side of history in the growing repressive power of states across the world & the most terrible of twentieth-century crimes
- genocide. THE PIMLICO HISTORY OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY is a provocative & challenging analysis of the whole world in the twentieth century, combining a global sweep with an eye for detail & individual experiences.
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Pinocchio's creator & father Geppetto's loves him dearly & although Pinocchio loves him just as much, the wayward puppet finds it almost impossible to be the good, loving son he wishes to be.
More than anything, Pinocchio longs to be a real boy & the Blue Fairy promises to grant his wish if he can prove that he is brave, loyal & honest. But Pinocchio loves having fun & he's easily tempted into making the wrong choices. Before long he is drawn into a series of magical & often frightening adventures
- will he ever learn the difference between good & bad?

Carlo Collodi's classic story of the wayward puppet Pinocchio is vividly brought to life by Roberto Innocenti's stunning illustrations.



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She always lands on her feet, but can she fall in love?

Pip Mc Cabe, 30, likes to say she doesn't need a man &

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Pip Mc Cabe, 30, likes to say she doesn't need a man & she doesn't need money. However, her friends & her sisters Cat & Fen (the heroines of North's previous two bestsellers) think she would probably benefit from a little more of each. This might prove difficult. Stripy tights, starched pigtails, a bright red nose & an ability to juggle whilst doing the splits only just about pay the bills & seldom lead to romance or romps. Pip, though, takes her clowning very seriously, whether at spoilt kids' partiesor on the wards of children's hospitals. She simply doesn't have time for a man, she claims. & her bank balance hovers just above the red, so that's OK.

At 34, Zac Holmes has a successful, high-powered career, a fabulous flat & an adored 6-year-old son from a previous relationship. Popular, charming & affluent, Zac feels that no-strings flings suit his lifestyle as much as the pleasing bonuses he earns at work.

When Zac & Pip first meet, it is far from love or lust at first sight. What can a clown & an accountant possibly have in common? Against a lively backdrop of parties & parks, hospitals & hotels, they attempt to find out...



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