A vivacious woman & a high-spirited man both claim that they are determined never to marry. But when their friends trick them into believing that each harbours secret feelings for the other they begin to question whether their witty banter & sharp-tongued repartee conceals something deeper. Schemes abound misunderstandings proliferate & matches are eventually made in this sparkling & irresistible comedy. ...

Much Ado About Nothing has long been celebrated as one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies. The central relationship between Benedick & Beatrice is wittily combative until love prevails. Broader comedy is provided by Dogberry Verges & the watchmen. The drama ranges between the destructively sinister & the lyrically romantic giving the whole a complex & sometimes problematic character. ...

This new edition of Much Ado About Nothing is part of the established Cambridge School Shakespeare series & has been substantially updated with new & revised activities throughout. Remaining faithful to the series' active approach it treats the play as a script to be acted explored & enjoyed. As well as the complete script of Much Ado About Nothing you will find a variety of classroom-tested activities an eight-page colour section & an enlarged selection of notes including information on characters performance history & language. ...

No Fear Shakespeare gives you the complete text of Much Ado About Nothing" on the left-hand page side-by-side with an easy-to-understand translation on the right. Each No Fear Shakespeare contains The complete text of the original play A line-by-line translation that puts Shakespeare into everyday language A complete list of characters with descriptions Plenty of helpful commentary" ...

David Tennant & Samantha Spiro star as Beatrice & Benedick in this BBC Radio 4 production of Shakespeares much-loved comedy. Much Ado About Nothing" is one of Shakespeares greatest love stories & a comic tour de force. Exploring the eternal themes of love jealousy & honour it focuses on two pairs of very different lovers & their trials & tribulations en route to the altar. Claudio & Hero are in love & soon to be married. As they await the wedding they decide to play a trick on their friends Beatrice & Benedick two confirmed singletons who scorn marriage & enjoy nothing more than expressing their mutual disdain. Can they persuade Benedick that Beatrice is in love with him
- & vice versa? Meanwhile the evil Don John plots to destroy Claudio & Heros love... Shakespeares delightful play sparkles with the wonderful verbal sparring of Beatrice & Benedick as high comedy & melodrama mix in a magical combination. Featuring a star cast including Emilia Fox Chiwetel Ejiofor & Julian Rhind-Tutt & with specially-composed music this witty fast-paced comedy is sure to enchant all listeners. The Classic Radio Theatre range presents notable radio productions of much-loved plays by some of the most renowned playwrights & starring some of our finest actors."
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First rocketing to fame when he purchased a 13-yearold girl as part of a campaign against child prostitution W. T. Stead was the pioneer of investigative reporting. As criminal convict Puritan sex-fanatic occultist social reformer & stuntman Steads notoriety escalated throughout his life until his tragic death in the Titanic disaster. This book traces the rise & fall of W. T. Stead from his childhood as the son of a strict Nonconformist minister in Newcastle to his rapid & Machiavellian career as an influential investigative journalist & his last years when he was ridiculed as a madman for his devotion to the occult. Steads campaigns
- all conducted with his trademark invincible zeal
- are vividly described ranging from the reform of London slums to denouncing an ex-slave trader who claimed to be the Messiah. A hundred years after his death author Will Robinson presents new material about Steads life taken from his personal papers previously suppressed by his wife giving us a fuller portrait than ever before of the sensational father of journalistic campaigning.

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Chosen as a Fiction Book of the Year in the Daily Telegraph by Maggie OFarrell In this witty & subversive collection of stories Michele Roberts explores womens desires memories & loves as only she can. A jilted woman skirts the edges of time & place as she walks the streets of London at night; another returns to the scene of her honeymoon without her husband; a wife takes apt revenge on her vegetarian husband.. . ...

The popular view of the First World War remains that of ' Blackadder': incompetent generals sending brave soldiers to their deaths. Alan Clark"ed a German general's remark that the British soldiers were 'lions led by donkeys'. But he made it up. Indeed many established 'facts' about 1914-18 turn out to be myths woven in the 1960s by young historians on the make. Gordon Corrigan's brilliant witty new history reveals how out of touch we have become with the soldiers of 1914-18. They simply would not recognize the way their generation is depicted on TV or in Pat Barker's novels. Laced with dry humour this will overturn everything you thought you knew about Britain & the First World War. Gordon Corrigan reveals how the British embraced technology & developed the weapons & tactics to break through the enemy trenches. ...

As Ellie's fiftieth birthday approaches & her ambitions of a steady income a successful career & an ascent of Everest seem as far away as ever she begins to doubt she's capable of achieving anything at all. So when her best friend Mick suggests a gruelling cycle ride from Land's End to John o' Groats she takes up the challenge. They opt for the scenic route which takes them along cycle paths towpaths & the back roads & byways of Britain unable to resist sampling local beers in the pubs they pass along the way. But as the pints start to stack up faster than the miles they're putting under their tyres Ellie wonders if they'll ever make it to the finishing line! ...

Bear Grylls is a man who has always sought the ultimate in adventure. Growing up on the Isle of Wight he was taught by his father to sail & climb at an early age. As a teenager he found identity & purpose through both mountaineering & martial arts which led the young adventurer to the foothills of the mighty Himalaya & a grandmaster's karate training camp in Japan. On returning home he embarked upon the notoriously gruelling selection course for the British Special Forces to join 21 SAS
- a journey that was to push him to the very limits of physical & mental endurance. Then in a horrific free-fall parachuting accident Bear broke his back in three places. It was touch & go whether he would ever walk again. However only eighteen months later Bear became one of the youngest ever climbers to scale Everest aged only twenty-three. But this was just the beginning of his many extraordinary adventures... Known & admired by millions Bear Grylls has survived where few would dare to go. Now for the first time Bear tells the story of his action-packed life. Gripping moving & wildly exhilarating Mud Sweat & Tears" is a must-read for adrenalin junkies & armchair adventurers alike."
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