WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY GILES FODEN London is under threat. It has become a haven for political exiles & anarchists. Frequent bomb threats & disturbances interrupt the lives of the city`s inhabitants, who live in fear of the terrorists in their midst. One such terrorist is Verloc. He is the secret agent who is given the mission to strike right at the heart of London`s pride by blowing up Greenwich Observatory. But his decision to drag his innocent family into the plot leads to tragic consequences on a more personal than political level. ...

Harper Collins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. ` They swarmed numerous like locusts, industrious like ants, thoughtless like a natural force, pushing on blind & orderly & absorbed, impervious to sentiment, to logic
- to terror, too, perhaps.` Considered one of Conrad`s most political works, The Secret Agent is set against the dismal backdrop of a drab & alienating London, & tells the story of the bombing of Greenwich Observatory by a group of anarchists. Shopkeeper, spy & reluctant anarchist Mr Verloc becomes embroiled in this terrorist plot, exploiting his mentally disabled brother-in-law Stevie in the process, leading to tragic circumstances.
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` Madness & despair! Give me that for a lever, & I`ll move the world`. In the only novel Conrad set in London, The Secret Agent communicates a profoundly ironic view of human affairs. The story is woven around an attack on the Greenwich Observatory in 1894 masterminded by Verloc, a Russian spy working for the police, & ostensibly a member of an anarchist group in Soho. His masters instruct him to discredit the anarchists in a humiliating fashion, & when his evil plan goes horribly awry, Verlac must deal with the repercussions of his actions. The Penguin English Library
- 100 editions of the best fiction written in English, from the eighteenth century & the very first novels, to the beginning of the First World War.
...

` The terrorist & the policeman both come from the same basket.` In the only novel Conrad set in London, The Secret Agent communicates a profoundly ironic view of human affairs. The story is woven around an attack on the Greenwich Observatory in 1894 masterminded by Verloc, a Russian spy working for the police, & ostensibly a member of an anarchist group in Soho. His masters instruct him to discredit the anarchists in a humiliating fashion, & when his evil plan goes horribly awry, Verlac must deal with the repercussions of his actions. This is a new series of twenty distinctive, unforgettable Penguin Classics in a beautiful new design & pocket-sized format, with coloured jackets echoing Penguin`s original covers. ...

Most wars have had some element of espionage & subterfuge, but few have included as much as the Second World War, where the all-embracing nature of the conflict, new technology, & the battle of ideologies conspired to make almost everywhere a war zone. The occupation of much of Europe in particular left huge areas that could be exploited. Partisans, spies & saboteurs risked everything in a limbo where the normal rules of war were usually suspended. Concealment of oneself, one's weapons & equipment, was vital, & so were the new methods & hardware which were constantly evolving in a bid to stay ahead of the Gestapo & security services. Silent killing, disguise, covert communications & the arts of guerrilla warfare were all advanced as the war progressed. With the embodiment & expansion of organisations such as the British SOE & the American OSS, & the supply of special forces units which operated behind enemy lines, clandestine warfare became a permanent part of the modern military & political scene. Perhaps surprisingly many of these hitherto secret techniques & pieces of equipment were put into print at the time & many examples are now becoming available. This manual brings together a selection of these dark arts & extraordinary objects & techniques in their original form, under one cover to build up an authentic picture of the Allied spy. ...

Most wars have had some element of espionage & subterfuge, but few have included as much as the Second World War, where the all-embracing nature of the conflict, new technology, & the battle of ideologies conspired to make almost everywhere a war zone. The occupation of much of Europe in particular left huge areas that could be exploited. Partisans, spies & saboteurs risked everything in a limbo where the normal rules of war were usually suspended. Concealment of oneself, one`s weapons & equipment, was vital, & so were the new methods & hardware which were constantly evolving in a bid to stay ahead of the Gestapo & security services. Silent killing, disguise, covert communications & the arts of guerrilla warfare were all advanced as the war progressed. With the embodiment & expansion of organisations such as the British SOE & the American OSS, & the supply of special forces units which operated behind enemy lines, clandestine warfare became a permanent part of the modern military & political scene. Perhaps surprisingly many of these hitherto secret techniques & pieces of equipment were put into print at the time & many examples are now becoming available. This manual brings together a selection of these dark arts & extraordinary objects & techniques in their original form, under one cover to build up an authentic picture of the Allied spy. Previous Hardback ISBN 9781844861033 ...

A world on the brink of catastrophe.A two thousand year old mystery. A lost gospel. Seeking adventure, a young man flees the drudgery of shopkeeping in Tsarist Russia to make a new life among the bohemians & revolutionaries of 19th century Paris. Travelling undercover in the mountains of British India, he discovers a manuscript that transforms the world`s understanding of the historical Jesus. Decades later, in a Europe threatened by unimaginable tragedy, he makes a despairing attempt to right a historic injustice. This breathtaking novel by the award-winning author of Far North & Strange Bodies tells the extraordinary tale of Nicolas Notovitch & his secret gospel. It is the epic story of a young man on the make in a turbulent world of spies & double-cross, propaganda & revolutionary violence, lost love & nascent anti-semitism -a world which eerily foreshadows our own era of post-truth politics. Based on real events, The Secret Books is at once a page-turning adventure & an examination of the stories that humans are willing to kill & die for. ...

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 is the first book in Sue Townsend`s brilliantly funny Adrian Mole series. Friday January 2nd I felt rotten today. It`s my mother`s fault for singing ` My Way` at two o`clock in the morning at the top of the stairs. Just my luck to have a mother like her. There is a chance my parents could be alcoholics. Next year I could be in a children`s home. Meet Adrian Mole, a hapless teenager providing an unabashed, pimples-&-all glimpse into adolescent life. Writing candidly about his parents` marital troubles, the dog, his life as a tortured poet & `misunderstood intellectual`, Adrian`s painfully honest diary is still hilarious & compelling reading thirty years after it first appeared. Bestselling author Sue Townsend has been Britain`s favourite comic writer for over three decades. ”I not only wept, I howled & hooted & had to get up & walk around the room & wipe my eyes so that I could go on reading”. (Tom Sharpe). ”A satire of our times. Very funny indeed”. (Sunday Times). ” We laugh both at Mole & with him. A wonderful comic read, that, like all the best comedy, says something rather meaningful”. (Heat). Sue Townsend is Britain`s favourite comic author. Her hugely successful novels include eight Adrian Mole books, The Public Confessions of a Middle-Aged Woman (Aged 55 ), Number Ten, Ghost Children, The Queen & I, Queen Camilla & The Woman Who Went to Bed For a Year, all of which are highly acclaimed bestsellers. She has also written numerous well-received plays. She lives in Leicester, where she was born & grew up. ...

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 is the first book in Sue Townsend`s brilliantly funny Adrian Mole series. Friday January 2nd I felt rotten today. It`s my mother`s fault for singing ` My Way` at two o`clock in the morning at the top of the stairs. Just my luck to have a mother like her. There is a chance my parents could be alcoholics. Next year I could be in a children`s home. Meet Adrian Mole, a hapless teenager providing an unabashed, pimples-&-all glimpse into adolescent life. Writing candidly about his parents` marital troubles, the dog, his life as a tortured poet & `misunderstood intellectual`, Adrian`s painfully honest diary is still hilarious & compelling reading thirty years after it first appeared. Bestselling author Sue Townsend has been Britain`s favourite comic writer for over three decades.`I not only wept, I howled & hooted & had to get up & walk around the room & wipe my eyes so that I could go on reading` Tom Sharpe`A satire of our times. Very funny indeed` Sunday Times ` We laugh both at Mole & with him. A wonderful comic read, that, like all the best comedy, says something rather meaningful` Heat Sue Townsend is Britain`s favourite comic author. Her hugely successful novels include eight Adrian Mole books, The Public Confessions of a Middle-Aged Woman (Aged 553/4), Number Ten, Ghost Children, The Queen & I, Queen Camilla & The Woman Who Went to Bed For a Year, all of which are highly acclaimed bestsellers. She has also written numerous well-received plays. She lives in Leicester, where she was born & grew up. ...

` Another year & I still don`t like old people. Me? I am 83 years old.` Hendrik Groen may be old, but he is far from dead & isn`t planning to be buried any time soon. Granted, his daily strolls are getting shorter because his legs are no longer willing & he had to visit his doctor more than he`d like. Technically speaking he is.. .elderly. But surely there is more to life at his age than weak tea & potted geraniums? Hendrik sets out to write an expose: a year in the life of his care home in Amsterdam, revealing all its ups & downs
- not least his new endeavour the anarchic Old-But-Not Dead Club. And when Eefje moves in
- the woman Hendrik has always longed for
- he polishes his shoes (and his teeth), grooms what`s left of his hair & attempts to make something of the life he has left, with hilarious, tender & devastating consequences. The indomitable Hendrik Groen
- Holland`s unlikeliest hero
- has become a cultural phenomenon in his native Netherlands & now he & his famously anonymous creator are conquering the globe. A major Dutch bestseller, The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen will not only delight older readers with its wit & relevance, but will charm & inspire those who have years to go before their own expiry date. There are many laughs in this book but it`s so much more than just a comedy. It`s a story about how friendship, selflessness & dignity lie at the heart of the human experience.




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