Olga da Polga has left the pet shop to start a new life with her owners. Her home is now a large & airy hutch & its not long before she meets Noel the cat Fangio the hedgehog & Graham the tortoise. Her garden companions soon discover that Olga loves an audience & from the moment she arrives she tells them stories about her wild & exciting adventures. Although they are not always sure whether to believe everything Olga says one thing is certain
- since Olga moved in life is never dull! Whether shes Olga the explorer Olga the prizewinner or Olga the storyteller she is always Olga da Polga! Written by the beloved Michael Bond with wonderful illustrations by Catherine Rayner this is a gift edition for young readers to treasure.
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Inspired by DH Lawrence Chekhov & Hemingway Bukowskis writing is passionate extreme & has attracted a cult following while his life was as weird & wild as the tales he wrote. This collection of short stories gives an insight into the dark dangerous lowlife of Los Angeles that Bukowski inhabited. From prostitutes to classical music Bukowski ingeniously mixes high & low culture in his tales of ordinary madness. These are angry yet tender humorous & haunting portrayals of life in the underbelly of Los Angeles. ...

At the Old Inn which clings precariously to a cliff top above a storm-lashed ocean two sick children are left alone while their father fetches the doctor. Then a visitor comes begging for shelter & so begins a long night of storytelling in which young Ethan & Cathy who have an unnatural appetite for stories of a macabre persuasion sit out the last throes of the storm in the company of a sailor with more than enough grisly tales to satisfy them. But something about this sailor puts Ethan on edge & he becomes increasingly agitated for his fathers return. Only when the storm blows itself out can Ethan relax
- but not for long for the new dawn opens the childrens eyes to a truth more shocking more distressing than anything they heard the night before.
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A boy is put on a train by his stepmother to make his first journey on his own. But soon that journey turns out to be more of a challenge than anyone could have imagined as the train stalls at the mouth of a tunnel & a mysterious woman in white helps the boy while away the hours by telling him stories
- stories with a difference.
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San Francisco 1976. A naive young secretary fresh out of Cleveland tumbles headlong into a brave new world of laundromat Lotharios pot-growing landladies cut throat debutantes & Jockey Shorts dance contests. The saga that ensues is manic romantic tawdry touching & outrageous
- unmistakably the handwork of Armistead Maupin.
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Princess Emerelda is not exactly an ideal princess. Her laugh is like a foghorn she's always tripping over the royal furniture & she HATES Prince Jorge whom her mother would one day like to see her marry. But things are about to change as she finds the frog of her dreams
- but when she kisses him SHE turns into a frog! Just one kiss & her whole life turns upside down in these deliciously original hilarious & fast-paced fairy-tale adventures. Dragon's Breath & Once Upon a Curse continue Princess Emma's adventures with a wonderful cast of characters & new challenges such as the Dragon Olympics & trying to stop a terrible curse.
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It was a very momentous day the day on which I was to be slaughtered. Bringing together tales of melancholy & madness nightmare & fantasy this is a new collection of the most haunting German stories from the past 200 years. Ranging from the Romantics of the early nineteenth century to works of contemporary fiction it

Includes:: Hoffmanns hallucinatory portrait of terror & insanity The Sandman"; Chamissos influential black masterpiece " Peter Schlemiel" where a man barters his own shadow; Kafkas chilling disturbing satire " In the Penal Colony"; the Dadaist surrealism of Kurt Schwitters " The Onion"; & Bachmanns modern fairy tale " The Secrets of the Princess of Kagran". Macabre dreamlike & expressing deep unconscious fears these stories are also spiked with unsettling humour showing stylistic daring as well as giving insight into the darkest recesses of the human condition. Peter Wortsmans powerful translations are accompanied by brief overviews of the lives of each author & an introduction discussing the notion of angst & the stories place in the context of German history. Translated selected & edited with an introduction by Peter Wortsman"

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This title features the mysterious & exciting legends of the gods & heroes in Ancient Greece from the adventures of Perseus the labours of Heracles the voyage of Jason & the Argonauts to Odysseus & the Trojan wars. This title is introduced with wit & humour by Rick Riordan creator of the highly successful Percy Jackson" series." ...

Tales of the Gypsy Dressmaker is the much-anticipated memoir from Thelma Madine the dressmaker & breakaway star from Big Fat Gypsy Weddings the hottest show on TV right now. From 200 ft trains to 20 stone skirts hundreds of LED lights to thousands of Swarovski crystals gypsy girls spend their childhoods dreaming of fairytale dresses. Thelma is the woman who makes these dreams come true. Left with nothing after a messy divorce Thelma has come a long way from her humble dressmaking beginnings making & selling dresses on a market stall in Liverpool. Back then she knew nothing of gypsies. Until one day she was asked by a traveller to make some dresses like the ones in Gone with the Wind & before she knew it had dozens of other traveller women gathering around asking for similar ones. A few years later she was asked to make a wedding dress for a young traveller...then she was hit with the request for a 107 ft train & 18 elaborate bridesmaid dresses. & she hasnt looked back since. It hasnt been an easy journey though & behind her warmth compassion & hardworking nature Thelma is hiding a life of struggles & personal heartache: a journey that

Includes:: financial breakdown a four-month stint in prison & a very unhappy relationship. But career-wise she has gone from strength to strength. Now the dress designer favoured by gypsy brides all over the country Thelma has become a much-loved & trusted figure for many within the often misunderstood traveller community. Here for the first time alongside the full truth about her own life she will tell tales of her experiences of this extraordinary world & reveal the fascinating stories of some of the many travellers she has met. From strict childhoods to teenage pregnancies extravagant weddings to secrets & lies & the truth about money & men Thelma
- a natural storyteller
- will reveal a culture full of drama & contrasts. In a narrative packed full of highs & lows setbacks & triumphs crystals mechanical butterflies & sparkling little lights this book will shock move & amaze & bring Thelma & the secretive world of travellers to life.



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A collection of early short stories which helped make Fitzgerald's name Tales of the Jazz Age combines period pieces
- the most
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