An entertaining biography of Charles Dickens by one of our finest actors Acclaimed actor & writer Simon Callow captures the essence of Charles Dickens in a sparkling biography that explores the central importance of the theatre to the life of the greatest storyteller in the English language. From his early years as a child entertainer in Portsmouth to his reluctant retirement from these garish lights just before his death Dickens was obsessed with the stage. Not only was he a dazzling mimic who wrote acted in & stage-managed plays all with fanatical perfectionism; as a writer he was a compulsive performer whose very imagination was theatrical both in terms of plot devices & construction of character. Like many actors Dickens felt the need to be completed by contact with his audience. He was the original celebrity author who attracted thousands of adoring fans to his readings in Britain & across the Atlantic in which he gave voice to his unforgettable cast of characters. In Charles Dickens & the Great Theatre of the World Callow brings his own unique insight to a life driven by performance & showmanship. He reveals an exuberant & irrepressible talent whose inimitable wit & personality crackle off the page. ...

Encounter some of literature's most iconic characters
- Oliver Twist the Artful Dodger Miss Havisham Pip & Ebenezer Scrooge
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No novelist is as intimately connected to a great city as Dickens is to London. The vibrancy & variety of the city determined the shape & character of Dickens work & he in turn re-created London in his fiction. Andrew Sanders retraces Dickens footsteps through the streets alleys highways & byways of the city exploring the physical nature & architecture of Victorian London. He follows Dickens & his characters from the slums to the City from the mansions of Mayfair to the respectable inner suburbs of Islington & Bloomsbury. He journeys from the untidiness of Walworth & Camden Town to the villas of Twickenham & Hampstead & semi-rural retreats of Dulwich Finchley & Highgate. Although vastly changed with time the London that Dickens created is still vividly present in his writing. The first & greatest of urban novelists Dickens captures the essence of the central modern social phenomenon
- the excitements & problems of the city.
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This is a collection of 5 of Dickens best-known novels: Oliver Twist" "A Christmas Carol" " David Copperfield" " Great Expectations" & "A Tale of Two Cities". This volume of fiction that truly captures the Victorian era will make an artful addition to any home library. Many readers know Victorian England through the writings of Charles Dickens. Not only did Dickens put a face to the era through his memorable characters he also captured the spirit of his age in entertaining fiction spun from its social concerns & historical events. This literary omnibus brings together five of Dickens best-known novels: " Oliver Twist" "A Christmas Carol" " David Copperfield" " Great Expectations" & "A Tale of Two Cities". Prolific energetic & committed to social change no other novelist of the time did as much as Charles Dickens to rally his readers to action & no other writer at any time has created such an extraordinary collection of well-loved novels. This exquisitely designed leatherbound edition has distinctive gilt edging & an attractive silk-ribbon bookmark; it will make an artful addition to any home library." ...

Charles Dowding the master of no-dig gardening developed his highly successful methods of vegetable growing through 30 years experience of growing & selling vegetables & extensive experiments. Through his courses at Lower Farm in Somerset & his three previous books he has won a keen following. Beginners & experienced veg growers alike find that his methods work & that he opens their minds to new possibilities. Now he has distilled the essence of his courses & ideas into one book. In it you will find out how to grow vegetables the Charles Dowding way. Charles Dowdings Vegetable Course is both a straightforward guide to success & an inspiring source of ideas for achieving a more productive vegetable garden for less effort. Lower Farm run by Charles & Susie Dowding has been part of Sawdays Special Places to Stay collection for 12 years. Click the link on the left to visit Sawdays to find out about accommodation at Lower Farm & our other characterful independently-run places to stay across the UK & Europe. All have been inspected & selected because we like them
- what makes each special varies hugely but common to all are owners whose personality friendliness & local knowledge ensure a memorable stay.
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The creator of the Hunchback of Notre Dame" " Henry VIII" & " Captain Bligh" Charles Laughtons career spans 50 films & 40 stage roles. This entralling biography follows him from his parents hotel in Scarborough to his climactic assumption of the role of King Lear in Statford at the end of his life. Along the way we meet a galaxy of Hollywood greats
- from Korda Hitchcock & Billy WIlder to Gregory Peck Robert Mitchum & Marilyn Monroe. We also discover a hugely talented & complex man
- a legend in his own lifetime who nonetheless counted himself a failure."

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Charles Olson (1910-70) believed that poetry exists in an open field through which the poet transmits energy to the receptive reader. Olsons influence on the development of British & American poetry through his writing & teaching is immense. His work encompasses myth history scholarship & politics grand theories & delight in the particular variousness of life all marked by the curiosity & openness to experience that he asked of his readers. Olson grew up & returned to live in the seafaring town of Gloucester Massachusetts & it was from the life & language of its citizens that his poetry drew its strengths. The Reader"

Includes:: extracts from the full range of Olsons poetry & prose including letters interviews & the full text of the key essay Projective Verse. Ralph Maud a colleague of Olsons from 1963-5 & the editor of Olsons letters has supplied an introduction supporting illustrations notes & bibliography to this essential resource."

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Bill Nighy stars as Charles Paris in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast adaptation of Simon Bretts comic crime novel An Amateur Corpse. Charles is out of work again & to make matters worse his mother has come to stay & hes no way of escaping her. So when hes offered some voiceover work by old friend Hugo hes delighted to get out of the house. But Hugos marriage is in trouble: his much younger wife Ellie spends all her time at her Amateur Dramatic Group & Hugo is drinking too much. When Ellie is found drowned in their swimming pool it seems Hugo is guilty of murder. Its up to Charles to prove his friends innocence... Bill Nighy Suzanne Burden & Geraldine Mc Ewan are among the star cast in this entertaining mystery dramatised by Jeremy Front. ...

In this explosive new ninth volume of never-before-collected comic strip including for the first time reproductions of original artwork from artist Joe Colquhouns archive things are looking up for Charley after he meets the love of his life. But their wedding is destroyed by the roar of destructive Zeppelin Bombers from Berlin! ...

Renowned UK comics writer Pat Mills (Marshal Law Slaine) & legendary artist Joe Colquhoun (Johnny Red) continue the thrilling humorous & horrifying story of World War One soldier Charley Bourne. As the winter of 1916 approaches Charley is caught in a desperate fight for survival against the Judgment Troopers. Injured in battle he returns home to convalesce...only to discover that the Germans have brought the war to the streets of London! Rich in the detailed minutiae of the terror-punctuated existence of a Tommy this third volume of Charleys War" features a brand new introduction & directors commentary by Pat Mills plus exclusive bonus content." ...