Charles Dickens`s much loved tale of the Christmas spirit is beautifully presented in this deluxe newly illustrated edition. Contemporary artist & illustrator Yelena Bryksenkova has created enchanting watercolour artwork to accompany Dickens`s classic story of Ebenezer Scrooge & the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present & Future-evoking the magic of a Victorian Christmas, while at the same time infusing this timeless text with a touch of modern-day whimsy. With gilded page edges & a satin ribbon marker, this lavish keepsake volume is tomorrow`s cherished family heirloom; an essential Christmas treasure to read around the fire, under the tree, or after the plum pudding year after year. ...

Part of ” Penguin`s” beautiful hardback ” Clothbound Classics” series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable & collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. After reading ” Christmas Carol”, the notoriously reculsive Thomas Carlyle was ”seized with a perfect convulsion of hospitality” & threw not one but two Christmas dinner parties. The impact of the story may not always have been so dramatic but, along with Dickens other Christmas writings, it has had a lasting & significant influence upon our ideas about the Christmas spirit, & about the season as a time for celebration, charity, & memory. ...

John Leech`s original magnificent illustrations to ”A Christmas Carol” have been beautifully h&-coloured by Barbara Frith. A celebration of Christmas, a tale of redemption & a critique on Victorian society, Dickens` atmospheric novella follows the miserly, penny-pinching Ebenezer Scrooge who views Christmas as `humbug`. It is only through a series of eerie, life-changing visits from the ghost of his deceased business partner Marley & the spirits of Christmas past, present & future that he begins to see the error of his ways. With heart-rending characters, rich imagery & evocative language, the message of ”A Christmas Carol” remains as significant today as when it was first published. ...

”A Christmas Carol & Other Christmas Writings” collects stories of matchless charm & enduring popularity that enchanted listeners at Charles Dickens`s public readings. This ” Penguin Classics” is edited with an introduction & notes by Michael Slater. Since it was first published in 1843 ”A Christmas Carol” has had an enduring influence on the way we think about the traditions of Christmas. Dickens`s story of solitary miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who is taught the true meaning of Christmas by the three ghosts of Christmas past, present & future, has been adapted into countless film & stage versions since it was first published. Dickens`s other Christmas writings collected here include ” The Story of the Goblins who Stole a Sexton”, the short story from ” The Pickwick Papers” on which ”A Christmas Carol” was based; ” The Haunted Man”, a tale of a man tormented by painful memories; along with shorter pieces, some drawn from the ” Christmas Stories” that Dickens wrote annually for his weekly journals. In all of them Dickens celebrates the season as one of geniality, charity & remembrance. This new selection contains an introduction by distinguished Dickens scholar Michael Slater discussing how the author has shaped ideas about the Christmas spirit, original illustrations by ` Phiz` & John Leech, an appendix on Dickens`s use of ” The Arabian Nights”, a further reading list & explanatory notes. Charles Dickens is one of the best-loved novelists in the English language, whose 200th anniversary was celebrated in 2012. His most famous books, including ” Oliver Twist”, ” Great Expectations”, ”A Tale of Two Cities”, ” David Copperfield” & ” The Pickwick Papers”, have been adapted for stage & screen & read by millions. If you enjoyed ”A Christmas Carol & Other Christmas Writings”, you might like Dickens`s ” The Pickwick Papers”, also available in ” Penguin Classics”. ...

The unpredictable origins & etymologies of our cracking Christmas customs For something that happens every year of our lives, we really don`t know much about Christmas. We don`t know that the date we celebrate was chosen by a madman, or that Christmas, etymologically speaking, means ` Go away, Christ`. Nor do we know that Christmas was first celebrated in 243 AD on 28 March
- & only moved to 25 December in 354 AD. We`re oblivious to the fact that the advent calendar was actually invented by a Munich housewife to stop her children pestering her for a Christmas countdown. & we would never have guessed that the invention of crackers was merely a way of popularizing sweet wrappers. Luckily, like a gift from Santa himself, Mark Forsyth is here to unwrap this fundamentally funny gallimaufry of traditions & oddities, making it all finally make sense
- in his wonderfully entertaining wordy way.

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The Civil War years of the 1640s were amongst the most tumultuous in British history. The conflict between King Charles I & Parliament strained & split the social fabric of the British Isles. People of all classes who had previously co-existed peacefully found themselves opposing each other on political, religious, & economic grounds. Society was literally `by the sword divided`. Much has been written on the subject to date. This book is different. London is its focus, with key players such as the Lord Mayor, the livery companies, the Church, & citizens, viewed through the city`s lens & the streets around St Paul`s & Cheapside. In looking at seemingly everyday events, unusual questions are raised: for example, where can you find a little known statue of Oliver Cromwell; what happened to the Cheapside Cross; who was Nemehiah Wallington & why was he important? The result of a London walk devised by the author, the books learned yet accessible approach will appeal to anyone interested in a new way of looking at a popular event in history. Bookended by the death of a Tudor queen & the beheading of a Stuart king, its chapters walk us through what happened in-between. ...

Christophe Bassons is a former professional cyclist. His career was a successful one albeit never in the full glare of the media. That all changed when, in 1998, the Festina doping scandal broke & Bassons shot to fame as one of the handful of clean riders in the peloton
- & as the only professional who dared to speak openly about the topic. Having been seen as a possible champion, his instinctive & stubborn refusal to dope saw him outstripped in physique, stamina & speed by men he`d once equalled or exceeded. His willingness to denounce the doping culture set him against the entire ethos of professional cycling: owners, management & his peers
- the likes of Lance Armstrong, Richard Virenque, Christophe Moreau. A year later, Bassons` career was over. Having clashed publicly with other riders
- notably with Armstrong during the 1999 Tour de France
- & written in French newspapers of his disbelief & disgust, Bassons found himself exhausted & exiled
- chewed up & spat out by the sport he loved. First published in French in 2000 & now updated following recent revelations from Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton & other high-profile figures, & translated by Peter Cossins, A Clean Break is unmissable reading for all cycling fans. It offers a unique & heartbreaking take on the subject.




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Intimidated by her father, the rector of Knype Hill, Dorothy performs her submissive roles of dutiful daughter & bullied housekeeper. Her thoughts are taken up with the costumes she is making for the church school play, by the hopelessness of preaching to the poor & by debts she cannot pay in 1930s Depression Engl&. Suddenly her routine shatters & Dorothy finds herself down & out in London. She is wearing silk stockings, has money in her pocket & cannot remember her name. Orwell leads us through a landscape of unemployment, poverty & hunger, where Dorothy`s faith is challenged by a social reality that changes her life. ...

THE NEW INSPECTOR ADAMSBERG NOVEL. Longlisted for the CWA International Dagger. A woman is found dead in her bath. The murder has been disguised as a suicide & a strange symbol is discovered at the scene. Then the symbol is observed near a second victim, who ten years earlier had also taken part in a doomed expedition to Icel&. How are these deaths, & rumours of an Icelandic demon, linked to a secretive local society? & what does the mysterious sign mean? Commissaire Adamsberg is about to find out. ...

Anthony Burgess` nightmare vision of a society overrun by nihilistic violence & governed by a menacing totalitarian state, ”A Clockwork Orange”

Includes:: an introduction by Blake Morrison in ” Penguin Modern Classics”. Fifteen-year-old Alex doesn`t just like ultra-violence
- he also enjoys rape, drugs & Beethoven`s ninth. He & his gang of droogs rampage through a dystopian future, hunting for terrible thrills. But when Alex finds himself at the mercy of the state & subject to the ministrations of Dr Brodsky, & the mind-altering treatment of the Ludovico Technique, he discovers that fun is no longer the order of the day. The basis for Stanley Kubrick`s notorious 1971 film, A Clockwork Orange is both a virtuoso performance from an electrifying prose stylist & a serious exploration of the morality of free will. In his introduction, Blake Morrison situates ”A Clockwork Orange” within the context of Anthony Burgess` many other works, explores the author`s unhappiness with the Stanley Kubrick film version, analyses the composition of the Nadsat argot spoken by Alex & his droogs, & examines the influences on Burgess` unique, eternally original style. Anthony Burgess (1917-93) was born in Manchester in 1917. From 1954 to 1960 he was stationed in Malaysia as an education officer
- during this time he started writing The Malayan Trilogy. Diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in 1959, Burgess became a full-time writer & went on to write a book a year up until his death in 1993. His many works include: ” The Complete Enderby”, ” Tremor of Intent”, ” The Kingdom of the Wicked” & ”A Clockwork Orange”. If you enjoyed ”A Clockwork Orange”, you might like Ken Kesey`s ” One Flew Over the Cuckoo`s Nest”, also available in ” Penguin Modern Classics”. ”I do not know of any other writer who has done as much with language...a very funny book.” (William S. Burroughs).



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