The year is 1827, & in a remote hut on the high plains of New South Wales, two strangers spend the night in talk. One, Carney, an illiterate Irishman, ex-convict & bushranger, is to be hanged at dawn. The other, Adair, also Irish, is an officer of the police who has been sent to supervise the hanging. As the night wears on, the two discover unexpected connections between their lives, & learn new truths. Outside the hut, Adair's troopers sit uneasily, reflecting on their own pasts & futures, waiting for the morning to come. With ironic humour & in prose of starkly evocative power, the novel moves between Australia & Ireland to explore questions of nature & justice, reason & un-reason., the workings of fate, & the small measure of freedom a man may claim in the face of death. ...

The Copper Peacock: a hideous bookmark given to Bernard, a writer, by his attractive cleaning lady, Judy. She had given him order in a hitherto chaotic life, but now the bookmark destroys all this, shattering his razor-sharp sensibilities. If only she had given herself, & not the copper peacock, then she might have lived ...

The Copper Peacock: a hideous bookmark given to Bernard, a writer, by his attractive cleaning lady, Judy. She had given him order in a hitherto chaotic life, but now the bookmark destroys all this, shattering his razor-sharp sensibilities. If only she had given herself, & not the copper peacock, then she might have lived ...

Peggy Brill understands that being a woman equals being busy, with the demands of family, career, friends, homemaking, commuting etc. etc. Realistically the way we live isn't going to change but we can change how we use & take care of our bodies. She believes the Core Programme is a daily investment for lifelong health. The benefits include getting rid of aches & pains, beating tiredness, boosting day-long energy, building strength & stamina & looking & feeling good. The Core Programme has been specifically evolved for women, unlike other fitness regimes designed for the male physique which may even damage women. It will help build strength in the core of a woman's body: the neck, back, shoulders, pelvis, abdomen & hips. Each exercise is illustrated with detailed photographs & reader self-tests throughout help women identify their own core needs & track improvement. Dozens of case histories are included, illustrating both the common problems women face & the near-instant benefits of this simple programme. ...

Peggy Brill understands that being a woman equals being busy, with the demands of family, career, friends, homemaking, commuting etc. etc. Realistically the way we live isn't going to change but we can change how we use & take care of our bodies. She believes the Core Programme is a daily investment for lifelong health. The benefits include getting rid of aches & pains, beating tiredness, boosting day-long energy, building strength & stamina & looking & feeling good. The Core Programme has been specifically evolved for women, unlike other fitness regimes designed for the male physique which may even damage women. It will help build strength in the core of a woman's body: the neck, back, shoulders, pelvis, abdomen & hips. Each exercise is illustrated with detailed photographs & reader self-tests throughout help women identify their own core needs & track improvement. Dozens of case histories are included, illustrating both the common problems women face & the near-instant benefits of this simple programme. ...

The only question which hangs over the life of Sir Richard Wyndham, notable whip, dandy & Corinthian, is one of marriage. On the eve of making the most momentous decision of his life, he is on his way home, a little worse for drink, when he chances upon a beautiful young fugitive climbing out of a window by means of knotted sheets
- & so finds a perfect opportunity for his own escape.
...

Innocent orphan Sophia joins the House of Rodings, a maid's training school deep in the Essex countryside, where she meets a cast of submissive & dominant females, all adoring or envious of her voluptuous bottom. Sophia thrives amidst the complex ranks, rules & punishments of her House's heirarchy until, saved once from poverty & penury, she willingly embraces degradation of a different sort. ...

Translated, this correspondence, from 1863-76, is unique in the history of French literature. Never have two great writers set down their ideas so candidly & over so long a period on the most varied topics, including the genesis of their own writings, a commentary on the Paris theatre, gossip from the literary world & their own domestic lives. ...