Join Britain`s much-admired monarch on one of her rare days-off, as she & her loveable pet corgi Mr Brown enjoy an action packed adventure at London`s Natural History Museum. On a grey, gloomy & unbearably miserable day, the two friends go in search of dinosaurs. Armed with sandwiches & biscuits they encounter immense skeletons, huge teeth & a thigh bone as big as the Queen. There are aliens from outer space & some smelly dinosaur dung too! After much exploring it is no surprise when they both fall asleep
- which is when the real excitement begins! Find out what really happened to the dinosaurs all those years ago, what the Queen is doing on top of a Megalosaurus & who wins a famous victory. Beautifully illustrated & affectionately told, the book is great to read aloud & is also highly suited to encourage children to read on their own. With lots of facts about how dinosaurs lived & why they all disappeared, this is a delightful tale of two close friends & their eventful day at the Museum.
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Britain`s monarch is back for another animal adventure as she & her loveable pet corgi Mr Brown visit London`s Natural History Museum after hours. In the dead of night, when all the visitors have left the Museum, the two friends go in search of the Queen`s secret passion
- natural history. They encounter enormous woolly mammoths & giant dinosaurs. But it soon transpires that they are not alone in the Museum after all & they find out, at first h&, the unique talents of some of the wondrous creatures in the animal kingdom. When they display their own very special skills, the Queen & Mr Brown cause quite a stir among their new friends. This is an engaging & uplifting story which is full of surprises & beautifully illustrated. It is great to read aloud & also highly suited to encourage children to read on their own, & there are fantastic facts about the amazing abilities of animals throughout. The book is the follow-up to the popular ` The Queen & Mr Brown: A Day for Dinosaurs`.
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The ” Queen of Spades & Other Stories” is a collection of short fiction showcasing Alexander Pushkin`s application of Romantic sensibilities to uncompromising studies of human frailty. This ” Penguin Classics” edition is translated with an introduction by Rosemary Edwards. ” The Queen of Spades”, one of Pushkin`s most popular & chilling short stories, tells of an inveterate card player who develops a dangerous obsession with the secret of an old lady`s luck, which he believes will bring him the wealth he craves. ” The Negro of Peter the Great”, a story based on the life Pushkin`s own great-grandfather, is a vivid depiction
- & criticism
- of both French & Russian society, while ” Dubrovsky” is the Byronic tale of a dispossessed young officer. ” The Captain`s Daughter” tells of a young man sent to military service
- based on the actual events of the rebellion against Catherine II, it demonstrates Pushkin`s unparalleled skill at blending fiction & history. Together these four stories display the versatility & innovation that earned Pushkin his reputation as a master of prose & established him as the towering figure in Russian literature. Rosemary Edmonds` translation is accompanied by an introduction examining Pushkin`s simplicity of style & the powerful influence he exerted on his country`s literature. Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) was born in Moscow in 1799. Leaving school in 1817, he spent three years in St Petersburg working in the Foreign Office & writing erotic verse. His flirtations with pre-Decembrist movements & his revolutionary verses lead to his exile in 1820. After a stay in the Caucasus & Crimea he was sent to Bessarabia, where he began to write more seriously, beginning Eugene Onegin & Tsygany. In 1831 he retired to a family estate, married, & his literary output slackened. He was mortally wounded in a duel & died in January 1837. If you enjoyed ” The Queen of Spades”, you might like Fyodor Dostoyevsky`s ” The Idiot”, also available in ” Penguin Classics”.


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The Queen of Spades & Selected Works is a brand new English translation of two of Alexander Pushkin`s greatest short stories, ` The Queen of Spades` & ` The Stationmaster`, together with the poem ` The Bronze Horseman`, extracts from Yevgeny Onegin & Boris Godunov, & a selection of his poetic work. ` The Queen of Spades` (` Pikovaya dama`), originally published in Russian in 1834, is one of the most famous tales in Russian literature, & inspired the eponymous opera by Tchaikovsky; in ` The Stationmaster` (` Stantsionnyy smotritel”), originally published in Russian in The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin (Povesti pokoynogo Ivana Petrovicha Belkina) in 1830, he reworks the parable of the Prodigal Son; the hugely entertaining ` Tsar Nikita & his Forty Daughters` is a bawdier early poem; & the deeply moving narrative poem ` The Bronze Horseman`, inspired by a St Petersburg statue of Peter the Great, is one of his most influential works. The volume also

Includes:: a selection of his best lyric poetry. Translated by Anthony Briggs, The Queen of Spades & Selected Works is the perfect introduction to Alexander Pushkin`s finest work. Contents: *` The Queen of Spades`*` The Stationmaster`* Extract from Boris Godunov* Extract from Mozart & Salieri*` The Bronze Horseman`*` Tsar Nikita & His Forty Daughters`* Extract from Yevgeny Onegin* Fourteen lyric poems Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin ranks as one of Russia`s greatest writers. Born in 1799, he published his first poem when he was a teenager, & attained fame in 1820 with his first long poem, Ruslan & Lyudmila. In the late 1820s he found himself the target of government censors, unable to travel or publish at will; during this time, he wrote his most famous play, Boris Godunov, & Yevgeny Onegin (published 1825-1832). ` The Queen of Spades`, his most famous prose work, was published in 1834; his best-known poem, ` The Bronze Horseman`, appeared after his death (from a wound sustained in a duel) in 1837. Anthony Briggs is one of the world`s leading authorities on the work of Pushkin, author of Alexander Pushkin: A Critical Study & editor of Alexander Pushkin: A Celebration of Russia`s Best-Loved Writer. He is also an acclaimed translator from the Russian, whose translations include War & Peace, The Death of Ivan Ilyich & Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy.

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A `wild opera of a novel`, The Queen of the Night tells the story of Lilliet Berne, an orphan who leaves the American frontier for Europe & is swept into the glamour & terror of Second Empire France. She becomes a sensation of the Paris Opera, with every accolade but an original role
- her chance at immortality. When one is offered to her, she finds the part is based on her deepest secret, something only four people have ever known. But who has betrayed her? With `epic sweep, gorgeous language, & haunting details`, Alexander Chee shares Lilliet`s cunning transformation from circus rider to courtesan to legendary soprano, retracing the path that led to the role that could secure her reputation
- or destroy her with the secrets it reveals...

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The summer of 2013 marks the 60th anniversary of one of the most joyous days in 20th-century British history the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. This official souvenir album, which accompanies the Summer Opening exhibition at Buckingham Palace, recalls the celebrations of 1953, & recreates all the preparations & pageantry of the event for its 60th anniversary. Lavishly illustrated throughout with newly commissioned photography, it brings together the dresses, uniforms & robes, the jewels & the crowns worn at the Coronation for the first time since 1953, & tells the story in pictures of the people, the places, the ceremony & the events of this most extraordinary occasion. A stunning souvenir of royal history, The Queens Coronation 1953 will make the perfect gift for anyone with an interest in the pageantry at the heart of the British monarchy. ...

With a Jon Klassen appeal, Steve Antony is the one to watch. A naughty swan steals the Queen`s handbag, so naturally, the Queen races after it. She follows it all around the United Kingdom in various modes of transport, including an Aston Martin car, a motorbike, a Red Arrow plane, a speedboat, a train & a horse. Taking in sights such as Stonehenge, Snowdonia, Giants Causeway, Edinburgh Castle, Oxford & then arriving back in London, this chase

Includes:: the Queen`s butler & an awful lot of policemen. A witty & stylish celebration of the United Kingdom & the Queen. Praise for The Queen`s Hat: ` This is a wonderful romp of a read that`s a great introduction to London, royalty & all that makes Britain great.`
- Sun `...this picture book is hard to beat for its sweet simplicity & charming monochromatic drawings.`
- The Times



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With a Jon Klassen appeal, Steve Antony is the one to watch. A naughty swan steals the Queen`s handbag, so naturally, the Queen races after it. She follows it all around the United Kingdom in various modes of transport, including an Aston Martin car, a motorbike, a Red Arrow plane, a speedboat, a train & a horse. Taking in sights such as Stonehenge, Snowdonia, Giants Causeway, Edinburgh Castle, Oxford & then arriving back in London, this chase

Includes:: the Queen`s butler & an awful lot of policemen. A witty & stylish celebration of the United Kingdom & the Queen. Praise for The Queen`s Hat: ` This is a wonderful romp of a read that`s a great introduction to London, royalty & all that makes Britain great.`
- Sun `...this picture book is hard to beat for its sweet simplicity & charming monochromatic drawings.`
- The Times



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With a Jon Klassen appeal, Steve Antony, a debut author-illustrator, is the one to watch. A sudden gust of wind sets off a marvellous London adventure for the Queen, the Queen`s men & one very special hat. So let`s follow one determined, daredevil queen through the zoo, over Tower Bridge & up Big Ben...just where will that hat land? A witty & stylish celebration of London, the Queen & the royal family`s new baby. & with a celebratory sparkly red foiled cover. ` This is a wonderful romp of a read that`s a great introduction to London, royalty & all that makes Britain great.`
- The Sun `...this picture book is hard to beat for its sweet simplicity & charming monochromatic drawings.`
- The Times

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