The Old Curiosity Shop (1840-41) with its combination of the sentimental the grotesque & the socially concerned & its story of pursuit & courage which sets the downtrodden & the plucky against the malevolent & the villainous was an immediate popular success. Little Nell quickly became one of Dickens' most celebrated characters who so captured the imagination of his readers that while the novel was being serialised many of them wrote to him about her fate. Dickens was conscious of the 'many friends' the novel had won for him & 'the many hearts it turned to me when they were full of private sorrow' & it remains one of the most familiar & well-loved of his works. ...

Little Nell Trents childhood is over. Her grandfathers mind is failing his dark secret makes him sad & distracted & he has nobody to care for him but Nell. The grotesque Daniel Quilp is out to cause trouble. What plans does he hatch with the dreadful Sampson & Sally Brass? What use can he hope to make of the foolish Dick Swiveller? Is Nells one true friend Kit a match for Quilps villainous mind? Nell & her grandfather must disappear or be separated forever & so they begin their lives as beggars. When a mysterious gentleman arrives in London determined to track them down it becomes a race against time & against the evil of Quilp. Can Little Nell keep her grandfather safe? Who will protect Nell? Will the mysterious gentleman find them before it is too late? ...

Clarence Darrow was one of the most legendary & influential trial lawyers the world has ever seen. Famous for his ability to turn seemingly unwinnable cases his way through his oratory & his uncanny skill at reading the mood of a jury he was a man whose work inspired impassioned campaigns against the death penalty as well as lavish Hollywood movies. Now award-winning writer Donald Mc Rae revisits the three greatest trials which secured Darrows near-mythic reputation & brings them vividly to life. The public themes which Darrow confronted still resonate powerfully today: sex & murder religion & science racism the media & the law. Written with great intimacy drama & immediacy this is a sweeping story which offers piercing insight into one of the most towering & controversial personalities of the twentieth century. ...

Muffin was a rescue dog an ordinary mongrel who joined the Bardsley Mc Gee family in Leeds in 1999. She was three years old a 'little shipwreck' of a dog who had been badly neglected undernourished & contained in a high-rise flat for whole of her young life. The family she came into was also under pressure as the writer's husband Tim was in the middle of a long struggle with cancer & had been told earlier that year that his illness was terminal. Never having previously shown interest in animals Tim bonded almost instantly with chaotic little Muffin who became a steadfast companion during his final months. & during the dark days after Tim's death & when the author's daughter left for university Muffin became a loyal friend with an uncanny ability to display empathy around times of illness & loss. With Muffin reaching the end of her days author Barney Bardsley looks back over the eventful years they have shared to remember the joy & laughter that this loving soulful creature brought to her family. Her story will strike a chord with anyone who has ever loved & been loved by a pet. ...

This is a book for everyone who has ever wondered why pubs should be called The Cross Keys The Dew Drop Inn or The Hope & Anchor. You'll be glad to know that there are very good
- strange & memorable
- reasons behind them all. After much research about (and in) pubs Albert Jack brings together the stories behind pub names to reveal how they offer fascinating & subversive insights on our history customs attitudes & jokes in just the same way that nursery rhymes do. The Royal Oak for instance commemorates the tree that hid Charles II from Cromwell's forces after his defeat at Worcester; The Bag of Nails is a corruption of the Bacchanals the crazed followers of Bacchus the god of wine & drunkenness; The Cat & the Fiddle a mangling of Catherine La Fidele & a guarded gesture of support for Henry VIII's first Catholic wife Catherine of Aragon; plus many many more. Here too are even more facts about everything from ghosts to drinking songs to the rules of cribbage & shove ha'penny showing that ultimately the story of pub history is really the story of our own popular history.

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FILTH in his heyday was an international lawyer with a practice in the Far East. Now only the oldest QCs & Silks can remember that his nickname stood for Failed In London Try Hong Kong. Long ago Old Filth was a Raj orphan
- one of the many young children sent ' Home' from the East to be fostered & educated in Engl&. Jane Gardam's new novel tells his story from his birth in what was then Malaya to the extremities of his old age. Brilliantly constructed
- going backwards & forwards in time yet constantly working towards the secret at its core
- OLD FILTH is funny & heart-breaking witty & peopled with characters who astonish dismay & delight the reader. Jane Gardam is as sensitive to the 'jungle' within children as she is to the eccentricities of the old. A touch of magic combines with compassion humour & delicacy to make OLD FILTH a genuine masterpiece.


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Long ago Old Filth was a Raj orphan
- one of the many young children sent ' Home' from the East to be fostered & educated in Engl&.
...

Bob Dylan. Tom Waits. Blondie. The Ramones. REM. The Who. Fleetwood Mac. Led Zeppelin. The list goes on & on. The Old Grey Whistle Test" has played host to some of the biggest names in music & has assumed its rightful place at the pinnacle of rock history
- but how much of a fan are you? Do you know your Bowie backlist? Could your knowledge of Lennon long-players stand up to scrutiny? & can you tell your glam rock from your hair metal? This collection delves deep into the Whistle Test archives to pose over 2 500 questions on your favourite artists from global megastars to obscure one-time guests on the show. Play in teams or test your own knowledge on questions covering a whole range of musical puzzles from lost albums & banned songs to classic solos one-hit wonders & more."
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This is the complete fifth series of the fiendishly funny comedy set in Hell from Drop the Dead Donkey" co-creator Andy Hamilton. ' One of the great comic creations of recent years'
- " Sunday Telegraph". '...one of the best-written comedies around sustained over its 12 years on the air by brilliant performances & production'
- " Daily Telegraph". Poor Satan has to undergo yet more trials & tribulations in this fifth series of the Sony Award-winning comedy. What with missing the Professor a case of Seasonal Affective Disorder & above all the disastrous overcrowding in Hell he hasn't felt this depressed since Bill Clinton survived his heart operation. Levels of human sin are at their highest ever & people are dying at an unprecedented rate. The check-in demons are overwhelmed & Satan has to find a solution. He decides to launch a Crusade of Moral Rearmament & infiltrates the worlds of religion sport politics & the media in an attempt to persuade people to behave better. Meanwhile a new arrival is fomenting rebellion aiming to overthrow Satan & take control of Hell... Andy Hamilton stars as Satan with Robert Duncan as Scumspawn Jimmy Mulville as Thomas & Geoffrey Whitehead as Roland Kingworthy. A fiery furnace of brilliant one-liners & biting satire " Old Harry's Game" is the insider's guide to Hell."

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This is the complete sixth series of the fiendishly funny award-winning comedy starring Andy Hamilton & Annette Crosbie. ' One of the great comic creations of recent years'
- Sunday Telegraph". '...one of the best-written comedies around sustained over its 12 years on the air by brilliant performances & production'
- " Daily Telegraph". This title

Includes:: all six episodes from the sixth series of BBC Radio 4's Sony Award-winning comedy set in Hell. It's not easy being Satan. There are the long hours (that stretch into eternity) & Hell seems to have more admissions than it can cope with. One of the new arrivals is Edith a historian athlete & humanitarian. & she's trouble: she refuses to believe she's dead she knows Thomas & she's not afraid of Satan. But will the Grand Tour which

Includes:: the Pit of Musicians the Lake of Fire & the Pit of Health & Safety Inspectors finally make her realise where she's ended up. At least Satan still knows how to have his fun: he's sneaked more teeth into Cherie Blair's smile. Written by & starring Andy Hamilton (as Satan) this bestselling series co-stars Annette Crosbie as Edith Jimmy Mulville as Thomas & Robert Duncan as Scumspawn. A fiery furnace of wicked one-liners & scorching satire " Old Harry's Game" is the insider's guide to Hell."





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