Prunella Scales & Patricia Routledge are full of fighting spirit in this eighth series of the acclaimed BBC Radio 4 comedy. The caustic correspondence between Irene Spencer & Vera Small is always richly entertaining & these latest letters are no exception. Catty & competitive as ever the pensioner pen-pals find themselves in yet more trouble in this latest series. Fundraising for her ancient local hospital Irene organises a charity dinner which Vera attends on the arm of her new beau local millionaire Alan Trumper. Unfortunately Vera has a choking incident & is admitted to that very hospital. Visiting her Irene then has a mishap with a trolley & ends up stuck in the same ward. Soon the Ladies are sniping at one another vying for Alan's attention & complaining about the struggling hospital's standard of cleanliness
- superbugs are taking over & rats running rampant on the wards. Meanwhile Vera's granddaughter Sabrina has accidentally let the cat out of the bag about Vera's harbouring of illegal immigrant Youssou & no sooner is Vera out of hospital than she finds herself arrested. While in prison she finds out that Alan has a sinister plot in mind & sets out to warn Irene
- who manages to embroil them all in a complex plan leading to injury imprisonment & an encounter with the Queen. What will Her Majesty make of the Ladies? ' An hilarious double act by Prunella Scales & Patricia Routledge'
- Northern Echo". ' Beautifully scripted & perfectly acted'
- " Daily Express"."



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The Ladies Paradise (Au Bonheur des Dames) recounts the spectacular development of the modern department store in late nineteenth century Paris. The store is a symbol of capitalism of the modern city & of the bourgeois family; it is emblematic of consumer culture & the changes in sexual attitudes & class relations taking place at the end of the century. Octave Mouret the stores owner-manager masterfully exploits the desires of his female customers. In his private life as much as in business he is the great seducer. But when he falls in love with the innocent Denise Baudu he discovers she is the only one of the salesgirls who refuses to be commodified. This new translation of the eleventh book in the Rougon-Macquart cycle captures the spirit of one of Zolas greatest novels of the modern city. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford Worlds Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxfords commitment to scholarship providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features including expert introductions by leading authorities helpful notes to clarify the text up-to-date bibliographies for further study & much more. ...

Lady Fiona Carnarvon became the chatelaine of Highclere Castle
- the setting of the hit series Downton Abbey
- eight years ago.

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A beautifully h&-lettered & illustrated story of a woman & the salvation she finds through chocolate. Edward Monkton's latest stylish & collectable book is the perfect gift for mums on Mothers' Day & any woman worth her salt this Easter & all year round. Each book in this new series is an original tale charmingly illustrated & created especially for this br&-new series of gift books. H&-lettered in the same style as the Edward Monkton cards by the Really Good company the tales are wonderfully packaged with the utmost style & attention to detail making these hugely desirable objects & the perfect gift for special occasions. These creations prove there is a universal & enduring audience for stories that inspire & touch hearts. Their philosophy is to heal unite amuse & delight in equal measures. & what better way to do this than with chocolate? ...

Peter Popham's major new biography of Aung San Suu Kyi draws upon previously untapped testimony & fresh revelations to tell the story of a woman whose bravery & determination have captivated people around the globe. Celebrated today as one of the world's greatest exponents of non-violent political defiance since Mahatma Gandhi she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize only four years after her first experience of politics. In April 1988 Suu Kyi returned from Britain to Burma to nurse her sick mother but within six months found herself the unchallenged leader of the largest popular revolt in the history of Burma. When the party she co-founded won a landslide victory in Burma's first free elections for thirty years she was already under house arrest & barred from taking office by the military junta. Since then ' The Lady' has set about transforming her country ethically as well as politically displaying dazzling courage in the process. Under house arrest for 15 of the previous 20 years she has come close to being killed by her political enemies & her commitment to peaceful revolution has come at extreme personal cost. In November 2010 after fraudulent elections in which she played no part Suu Kyi was again freed. She was greeted by ecstatic crowds but only time will tell what role this remarkable woman will have in the future of her country. ...

She fights. He bites. Janie Parkers a supernatural assassin
- not by choice but whats a girl gonna do? The only thing standing
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Weathering critical scorn Lady Audleys Secret" quickly established Mary Elizabeth Braddon as the leading light of Victorian sensation fiction sharing the honour only with Wilkie Collins. Addictive cunningly plotted & certainly sensational " Lady Audleys Secret" draws on contemporary theories of insanity to probe mid-Victorian anxieties about the rapid rise of consumer culture. What is the mystery surrounding the charming heroine? Lady Audleys secret is investigated by Robert Audley aristocrat turned detective in a novel that has lost none of its power to disturb & entertain." ...

The Penguin English Library Edition" of " Lady Audleys Secret" by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Lady Audley uttered a long low wailing cry & threw up her arms above her head with a wild gesture of despair. In this outlandish outrageous triumph of scandal fiction a new Lady Audley arrives at the manor: young beautiful
- & very mysterious. Why does she behave so strangely? What exactly is the dark secret this seductive outsider carries with her? A huge success in the nineteenth century the books anti-heroine
- with her good looks & hidden past
- embodied perfectly the concerns of the Victorian age with morality & madness. " The Penguin English Library" contains 100 editions of the best fiction in English from the eighteenth century & the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War."


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Thirty years after she first heard his voice singing to her from a jukebox at her local drive-in Barbara began her love affair with Frank Sinatra. After a tempestuous courtship she finally heard him say the wedding vows that began his fourth final & most enduring marriage; one that would last more than two decades until the end of his life. Generous & jealous witty & wicked Frank comes alive in this poignant inside story of the highs & lows of marriage to one of the world's most famous men. In this her first public love letter to the husband she adored his wife celebrates the sensational singer sexy heartthrob possessive mate & loyal friend that was Frank Sinatra. This book will let his legions of fans see another side of Ol' Blue Eyes". Though Frank Sinatra's children have written memoirs about their father this is the first time his wife of twenty-two years is sharing intimate details of life with the man & the legend." ...

In Chances Lucky grew up in a top crime family. In Lucky she was married three times. & now in Lady Boss she takes on Hollywood & wins! Panther Studios is the prize & Lucky wants it... In her quest for power she meets adversaries & enemies friends & betrayers. & her relationship with her husband charismatic comedian & movie star Lennie Golden is put to the test. Lucky's first challenge is to buy the only movie studio still not controlled by a powerful conglomerate
- Panther Studios owned by the retired irascible old Abe Panther. But Abe won't sell his beloved studio to Lucky until she proves she has the guts to make it in Hollywood. It's his idea that she disguise herself as a secretary & go in undercover to find out what's really going on. It's a challenge that also satisfies Lucky's passion for adventure
- & her desire to take chances... In the process Lucky uncovers a world of financial scheming big-time betrayal & bizarre sex. Panther Studios & Lucky Santangelo...a dangerous mix...

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