On 16 August 1952, Ian Fleming wrote to his wife, Ann, ` My love, This is only a tiny letter to try out my new typewriter & to see if it will write golden words since it is made from gold`. He had bought the gold-plated typewriter as a present to himself for finishing his first novel, Casino Royale. It marked in glamorous style the arrival of James Bond, agent 007, & the start of a career that saw Fleming become one of the world`s most celebrated thriller writers. & he did write golden words. Before his death in 1964 he produced fourteen bestselling Bond books, two works of non-fiction & the famous children`s story Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. Fleming`s output was matched by an equally energetic flow of letters. He wrote constantly, to his wife, publisher, editors, fans, friends & critics, charting 007`s progress with correspondence that ranged from badgering Jonathan Cape about his"a of free copies -- a coin was tossed; Fleming lost
- to apologising for having mistaken a certain brand of perfume & for equipping Bond with the wrong kind of gun. His letters also reflect his friendships with contemporaries such as Raymond Chandler, Noel Coward & Somerset Maugham. Before the world-famous films came the world-famous novels. This books tells the story of the man who wrote them & how he created spy fiction`s most compelling hero.
...

October 1761 finds the newly-promoted Commissioner Le Floch on duty at a Royal performance of Rameau`s latest work. Events take a dramatic turn & Nicolas is soon embarked on his second major investigation when the body of a prominent courtier`s son is found. The initial evidence points to suicide, but Le Floch`s instincts tell him he is dealing with murder of the most gruesome kind. ...

1961. The height of the Cold War. Just hours before work begins on the Berlin Wall, a KGB assassin & his young wife flee for the West before the Iron Curtain comes down & traps them in the East forever. This gripping story of real-life espionage & intrigue began when the Soviets invented a special weapon that killed without leaving a trace & put it in the hands of Bogdan Stashinsky. It is a tale of exploding parcels, fake identities, forbidden love & a man who knew the truth about the USSR`s most classified programme. By the time Stashinsky had his day in court, the whole world was watching. ...

With an introduction by Jonathan Lethem It is 1913, & Viennese high society is determined to find an appropriate way of celebrating the seventieth jubilee of the accession of Emperor Franz Josef. But as the aristocracy tries to salvage something illustrious out of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the ordinary Viennese world is beginning to show signs of more serious rebellion. Caught in the middle of this social labyrinth is Ulrich: youngish, rich, an ex-soldier, seducer & scientist. Unable to deceive himself that the jumble of attributes & values that his world has bestowed on him amounts to anything so innate as a `character`, he is effectively a man `without qualities`, a brilliant, detached observer of the spinning, racing society around him. Part satire, part visionary epic, part intellectual tour de force, The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil is a work of immeasurable importance. ...

Taking you through the year day by day, The Manchester Book of Days contains quirky, eccentric, shocking, amusing & important events & facts from different periods in the history of the city. Ideal for dipping into, this addictive little book will keep you entertained & informed. Featuring hundreds of snippets of information gleaned from the vaults of Manchester`s archives & covering the social, criminal, political, religious, agricultural, industrial & military history of the city, it will delight residents & visitors alike. ...

We all know that our capital of the North is a city bursting with a love of culture, sport, music & nightlife. But these days, it`s also become celebrated for our vibrant food & drink scene, with countless producers, breweries, restaurants & delis recognised for their alternative culinary concoctions. This book is all about showcasing the finest of these. We revel in the very best of the region`s local specialities, including Bury`s famous Black Pudding & the traditional Manchester Tart as well as exploring a plethora of places you`ll find whilst meandering through the converted mills, warehouses & city side streets. Packed to the rafters with recipes & anecdotes from the culinary community, you are bound to find something that tickles your taste buds. With entries from the Aiden Byrne`s Manchester House & Simon Rogan`s Mr Coopers as well as The Victorian Chop House Company, Harvey Nichols & The Metropolitan, it`s time to roll up your sleeves & get stuck in. ...

In this, the second volume of a projected Manchester trilogy, the young writer takes a zero-hours job in a mail-sorting depot but struggles to cope with the demands of menial work & the attitudes of his colleagues. Only after rescuing & acquiring a pet tortoise does he realise what is most lacking in his life: intimacy. Embarking on a handful of sexual misadventures, he continues to struggle as a writer. He sees the city in which he was born & brought up changing all around him &, when he gets sacked from the sorting office, some hard choices lie ahead.A powerful indictment of austerity politics & Brexit Britain, the novel never loses sight of its working-class characters` dignity & humanity, & Campbell`s mordantly witty dialogue ensures that the next laugh is never far away. Gripping in its fascination with the everyday, Zero Hours is keenly observed, blackly funny & ultimately uplifting. ...

A Harper Perennial Modern Classics reissue of this unflinching examination of post-war French intellectual life, & an amazing chronicle of love, philosophy & politics from one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. An epic romance, a philosophical argument & an honest & searing portrayal of what it means to be a woman, this is Simone de Beauvoir`s most famous & profound novel. De Beauvoir sketches the volatile intellectual & political climate of post-war France with amazing deftness & insight, peopling her story with fictionalisations of the most important figures of the era, such as Camus, Sartre & Nelson Algren. Her novel examines the painful split between public & private life that characterised the female experience in the mid-20th century, & addresses the most difficult questions of gender & choice. It is an astonishing work of intellectual athleticism, yet also a moving romance, a love story of passion & depth. Long out of print, this masterpiece is now reissued as part of the Harper Perennial Modern Classics series so that a whole new generation can discover de Beauvoir`s magic. ...

` Shriver`s intelligence, mordant humour & vicious leaps of imagination all combine to make this a novel that is as unsettling as it is entertaining` FINANCIAL TIMES The brilliant new novel from the Orange Prize-winning author of We Need to Talk about Kevin. It is 2029. The Mandibles have been counting on a sizable fortune filtering down when their 97-year-old patriarch dies. Yet America`s soaring national debt has grown so enormous that it can never be repaid. Under siege from an upstart international currency, the dollar is in meltdown. A bloodless world war will wipe out the savings of millions of American families. Their inheritance turned to ash, each family member must contend with disappointment, but also
- as the effects of the downturn start to hit
- the challenge of sheer survival. Recently affluent Avery is petulant that she can`t buy olive oil, while her sister Florence is forced to absorb strays into her increasingly cramped household. As their father Carter fumes at having to care for his demented stepmother now that a nursing home is too expensive, his sister Nollie, an expat author, returns from abroad at 73 to a country that`s unrecognizable. Perhaps only Florence`s oddball teenage son Willing, an economics autodidact, can save this formerly august American family from the streets. This is not science fiction. This is a frightening, fascinating, scabrously funny glimpse into the decline that may await the United States all too soon, from the pen of perhaps the most consistently perceptive & topical author of our times.

...

` Shriver`s intelligence, mordant humour & vicious leaps of imagination all combine to make this a novel that is as unsettling as it is entertaining` FINANCIAL TIMESThe brilliant new novel from the Orange Prize-winning author of We Need to Talk about Kevin. It is 2029. The Mandibles have been counting on a sizable fortune filtering down when their 97-year-old patriarch dies. Yet America`s soaring national debt has grown so enormous that it can never be repaid. Under siege from an upstart international currency, the dollar is in meltdown. A bloodless world war will wipe out the savings of millions of American families. Their inheritance turned to ash, each family member must contend with disappointment, but also
- as the effects of the downturn start to hit
- the challenge of sheer survival. Recently affluent Avery is petulant that she can`t buy olive oil, while her sister Florence is forced to absorb strays into her increasingly cramped household. As their father Carter fumes at having to care for his demented stepmother now that a nursing home is too expensive, his sister Nollie, an expat author, returns from abroad at 73 to a country that`s unrecognizable. Perhaps only Florence`s oddball teenage son Willing, an economics autodidact, can save this formerly august American family from the streets. This is not science fiction. This is a frightening, fascinating, scabrously funny glimpse into the decline that may await the United States all too soon, from the pen of perhaps the most consistently perceptive & topical author of our times.

...