The first known inhabitant of St Helena
- long before Napoleon
- was a 16th-century Portuguese renegade. In 1506 Fernao Lopes,

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The Other Hand by Chris Cleave was shortlisted for the 2008 COSTA Novel Award. The novel is the story of two women, Little Bee & Sarah. Little Bee is a 16-year-old Nigerian asylum seeker who turns up on Sarah’s doorstep paperless & illegal after a brief but terrifying meeting on a Nigerian beach some years previous. Cleave`s novel alternates Little Bee`s traumatised but resilient voice as she observes the incongruities English life with the stubborn independence of Sarah, who struggles to maintain control as Little Bee`s arrival pitches her dynamic life into freefall. ...

Reissued to mark Sceptre`s 30th anniversary, with an exclusive new afterword by the author. Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers` Prize & Costa Novel of the Year, this international bestseller has become a reading group classic. We don`t want to tell you too much about this book. It is a truly special story & we don`t want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know something, so we will just say this: It is extremely funny, but the African beach scene is horrific. The story starts there, but the book doesn`t. & it`s what happens afterwards that is most important. Once you have read it, you`ll want to tell everyone about it. When you do, please don`t tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds. ...

Shortlisted for The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year 2015, Ben Fergusson`s critically acclaimed debut, The Spring of Kasper Meier, was the winner of the Betty Trask Prize 2015 & the HWA 2015 Debut Crown Award. The Other Hoffmann Sister is a gripping, evocative read about two sisters set in pre-WW1 Germany which will appeal to fans of The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry. For Ingrid Hoffmann the story of her sister`s disappearance began in their first weeks in Southwest Africa... Ingrid Hoffmann has always felt responsible for her sister Margarete & when their family moves to German Southwest Africa in 1902, her anxieties only increase. The casual racism that pervades the German community, the strange relationship between her parents & Baron von Ketz, from whom they bought their l&, & the tension with the local tribes all culminate in tragedy when Baron von Ketz is savagely murdered. Baroness von Ketz & their son, Emil, flee with the Hoffmanns as the Baron`s attackers burn down the family`s farm. Both families return to Berlin & Ingrid`s concerns about Margarete are assuaged when she & Emil von Ketz become engaged on the eve of the First World War. But Margarete disappears on her wedding night at the von Ketz`s country house. The mystery of what happened to her sister haunts Ingrid, but as Europe descends into chaos, her hope of discovering the truth becomes ever more distant. After the war, in the midst of the revolution that brings down the Kaiser & wipes out the aristocracy that her family married into, Ingrid returns to the von Ketzes` crumbling estate determined to find out what really happened to her sister. ...

The Other Mrs Walker is the beguiling debut from Mary Paulson-Ellis, for fans of Kate Atkinson & Sarah Waters. -- Waterstones Scottish Book of the Month March 2017 -- Somehow she`d always known that she would end like this. In a small square room, in a small square flat. In a small square box, perhaps. Cardboard, with a sticker on the outside. & a name.. . An old lady dies alone & unheeded in a cold Edinburgh flat on a snowy Christmas night. A faded emerald dress hangs in her wardrobe; a spilt glass of whisky pools on the floor. A few days later a middle-aged woman arrives back in the city she thought she`d left behind, her future uncertain, her past in tatters. She soon finds herself a job at the Office for Lost People, tracking down the families of those who have died neglected & alone. But what Margaret Penny cannot yet know, is just how entangled her own life will become in the death of one lonely stranger.. .` One of the strongest debuts of the year` Herald ` Full of twists & turns` Independent `A wonderful, inventive debut.. .I can`t wait to see what this author has up her sleeve next` Fanny Blake, Daily Mail ...

A dramatic novel of passion, politics & betrayal from the author of The Other Boleyn Girl. Mary, Queen of Scots, fights to regain her kingdom whilst under the guard of Queen Elizabeth`s trusted accomplice, Bess of Hardwick. Mary is Queen of Scotland but she has been forced to flee her land & take refuge in an England that is ruled by her cousin Elizabeth. But Engl&, precarious in its Protestant state, set against the mighty powers of Spain, France & Rome, doesn`t need a charismatic Catholic figurehead at large. So Elizabeth`s chief advisor, Cecil, devises a plan in which Mary will live under guard with his trusted accomplice: Bess of Hardwick. Bess is a self-made woman, a shrewd survivor. She is newly married to her fourth & most distinguished husb&, the Earl of Shrewsbury. But what marriage can withstand the charms of Mary? Or the threat of rebellion that she always carries? Mary must wait in her privileged imprisonment for the return to Scotland & her infant son; but waiting is not the same as doing nothing... With her characteristic combination of superb storytelling & authentic historical background, Philippa Gregory brings to life this period of great change, in a riveting tale of betrayal, loyalty, politics & passion. ...

The war is at a turning point. The enemy is growing weaker, & more desperate. & so is Ellie. As the conflict intensifies around her, she is captured & separated from her friends. Overwhelmed by all she has lost, Ellie wonders if she has the strength to survive the final conflict
- & if she can live with the consequences of everything she has done. An action-packed adventure & an unforgettable exploration of the emotional impact of war.
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Girl Online meets Wild in this emotionally charged story of girl who takes to the wilderness to rediscover herself & escape the superficial persona she created on social media. Mari Turner`s life is perfect. That is, at least, to her thousands of followers who have helped her become an internet starlet. But when she breaks down & posts a video confessing she`s been living a lie-that she isn`t the happy, in love, inspirational online personality she`s been trying so hard to portray-it goes viral & she receives a major backlash. To get away from it all, she makes an impulsive decision: to hike the entire John Muir Trail. Mari & her late cousin Bri were supposed to do it together, to celebrate their shared eighteenth birthday. But that was before Mari got so wrapped up in her online world that she shut anyone out who questioned its worth-like Bri. With Bri`s boots & trail diary, a heart full of regret, & a group of strangers that she meets along the way, Mari tries to navigate the difficult terrain of the hike. But the true challenge lies within, as she searches for the way back from to the girl she fears may be too lost to find: herself. ...

Gervase Phinn reveals his early experiences as a school inspector in ” The Other Side of the Dale”. As the newly appointed County Inspector of Schools in North Yorkshire, Gervase Phinn reveals in this warm & wonderfully humorous account, the experiences of his first year in the job
- & what an education it was! He quickly learns that he must slow his pace & appreciate the beautiful countryside
- ` Are tha`comin` in then, mester, or are tha` stoppin` out theer all day admirin` t`view?` He encounters some larger-than-life characters, from farmers & lords of the manor to teaching nuns & eccentric caretakers. &, best of all, he discovers the delightful & enchanting qualities of the Dales children, including the small boy, who, when told he`s not very talkative, answers: ` If I`ve got owt to say I says it, & if I`ve got owt to ask I asks it`. With his keen ear for the absurd & sharp eye for the ludicrous, Gervase Phinn`s stories in ” The Other Side of the Dale” will not fail to make you weep with laughter. ” Gervase Phinn`s memoirs have made him a hero in school staff-rooms”. (” Daily Telegraph”). Gervase Phinn is an author & educator from Rotherham who, after teaching for fourteen years in a variety of schools, moved to North Yorkshire to be a school inspector. He has written autobiographies, novels, plays, collections of poetry & stories, as well as a number of books about education. He holds five fellowships, honorary doctorates from Hull, Leicester & Sheffield Hallam universities, & is a patron of a number of children`s charities & organizations. He is married with four adult children. His books include ” The Other Side of the Dale”, ” Over Hill & Dale”, ” Head Over Heels in the Dales”, ” The Heart of the Dales”, ” Up & Down in the Dales” & ” Trouble at the Little Village School”.

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This is the story of 12 year-old Sade & her brother Femi who flee to Britain from Nigeria. Their father is a political journalist who refuses to stop criticising the military rulers in Nigeria. Their mother is killed & they are sent to London, with their father promising to follow. Abandoned at Victoria Station by the woman paid to bring them to England as her children, Sade & Femi find themselves alone in a new, often hostile, environment. Seen through the eyes of Sade, the novel explores what it means to be classified as `illegal` & the difficulties which come with being a refugee.WINNER OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL 2000 & the NESTLE SMARTIES SILVER AWARD 2000 `A marvellous read.. .that refuels the desire for justice & freedom`
- Jon Snow ` Beverley Naidoo breaks the rules, producing books for young people which recognize that they want to know about the real world`
- Guardian

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