On an Aegean island one summer an English traveller meets an enigmatic elderly Frenchwoman. He is captivated by a painting she owns of a busy Caribbean port overlooked by a volcano & in time she shares the story of her youth there in the early twentieth century. Set in the tropical luxury of the island of Saint-Jacques hers is a tale of romantic intrigue & decadence amongst the descendents of slaves & a fading French aristocracy. But on the night of the annual Mardi Gras ball catastrophe overwhelms the island & the world she knew came to an abrupt & haunting end. The Violins of Saint-Jacques captures the unforeseen drama of forces beyond human control. Originally published in 1953 it was immediately hailed as a rare & exotic sweep of colour across the drab monochrome of the post-war years & it has lost nothing of its original flavour. ...

A legendary goalscorer & Busby Babe Dennis Viollets career took in tragedy & triumph in equal measure. As a player he thrilled thousands as an outstanding teenage footballer with Manchester Uniteds all-conquering Babes developing an almost telepathic understanding with fellow striker Tommy Taylor. Later after surviving the Munich air disaster Viollet broke Manchester Uniteds record for goals in a season -- a mark he still holds despite the attempts of Van Nistlerooy Law Cantona Hughes & Cole. Along with Wilf Mc Guinness Dennis campaigned for the abolition of the maximum wage which saw Uniteds greatest ever goal-poacher on wages of GBP20 per week. But by 1961 Dennis was mysteriously transferred from Old Trafford without a word from Matt Busby the club or a good luck farewell from fans -- United even denied the goalscoring legend a testimonial. Rather than dwell on his misfortune however Dennis began a second career at Stoke City alongside Sir Stanley Matthews. There he helped the Potters win promotion back to Division One & once he hung his boots up in 1967 received the testimonial he should have received in Manchester. In the second half of his life Dennis became Coach Viollet a respected member of the British coaching establishment in the United States. But in 1998 Dennis fell ill & died after a painful illness in his adopted home of Florida in March 1999. A gentleman footballer from a bygone age Dennis was a loveable rogue a charmer in turn of both the opposite sex & opposing defences: Dennis didnt so much bludgeon opposing defenders as pick their pockets. In this respect he was ahead of his time a Manchester lad with the brains style & skills of a continental forward. ...

The evil wizard Malvel has stolen the golden armour & a fearsome new Beast guards each piece of it. To defeat Malvel & save the kingdom Tom needs to collect all the pieces. Join Tom as he journeys into the deadly heat of the desert where he must do battle with Vipero the Snake Man... Don't miss: ZEPHA THE MONSTER SQUID CLAW THE GIANT MONKEY SOLTRA THE STONE CHARMER ARACHNID THE KING OF SPIDERS TRILLION THE THREE-HEADED LION ...

Fourteen-year-old Tory Brennan is as fascinated by bones & dead bodies as her famous aunt acclaimed forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan. However living on a secluded island off Charleston in South Carolina there is not much opportunity to put her knowledge to the test. Until her & her ragbag group of technophile friends stumble across a shallow grave containing the remains of a girl who has been missing for over thirty years. The question is did whoever was responsible for the girl's death have anything to do with the sick puppy they rescued from a secret laboratory on the same island? With the cold-case murder suddenly hot Tory realises that they are involved in something fatally dangerous. But events take a turn for the bizarre when they escape some would-be attackers by using physical powers more akin to a dog than a human... Could the puppy hold the key not only to the murder but also the strange changes that are taking place in their bodies? ...

Tory Brennan is as fascinated by bones & dead bodies as her famous aunt acclaimed forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan. However living on a secluded island off Charleston in South Carolina there is not much opportunity to put her knowledge to the test. Until she & her group of technophile friends stumble across a shallow grave containing the remains of a girl who has been missing for over thirty years. With the cold-case murder suddenly hot Tory realises that they are involved in something fatally dangerous. & when they rescue a sick dog from a laboratory on the same island it becomes evident that somehow the two events are linked. On the run from forces they dont understand they have only each other to fall back on. Until they succumb to a mysterious infection that heightens their senses & hones their instincts to impossible levels. Their illness seems to have changed their very biology
- & suddenly its clear that the island is home to something well beyond their comprehension. Its a secret that has driven men to kill once. & will drive them to kill again...
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The Virgin Book of Baby Names" takes as its starting point the fact that choosing a name for your baby should be fun. Rather than a dry list of every name under the sun Emily Wood has organised names into interesting themed categories
- from literature to pop music biblical to astrological names celebrity baby names to names to avoid! With names for every day of the year as well as a comprehensive A-Z of girls & boys names " The Virgin Book of Baby Names" is an enjoyable alternative to the traditional baby names book."
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From Abracadabra by the Steve Miller Band to Zoom by ELO this indispensable innovatively designed book celebrates fifty years of British album charts telling you everything you could possibly want to know about every album to reach the Top 100. With new feature material covering a huge range of areas bands & history its an essential part of any serious music fans collection. The Virgin Book of British Hit Albums covers everything from the classics (Sgt Pepper Nevermind The Dark Side of the Moon) to the dodgy (Spiceworld Seriously Orchestra) & the downright bizarre (Smurfs Go Pop! Seventies Dinner Party). Where else are you going to find out that: Bridge over Troubled Water spent 307 weeks in the charts: Pavarotti has topped the album charts twice: Lily Allen went triple-platinum in 2006 with Alright Still: Oasis sold 356 000 copies of Be Here Now in one day alone: Both Gary Glitter & Mariah Carey released an album called Glitter. ...

The second in this new series The Virgin Book of Hit Singles" is the most-up-to-date & comprehensive record of the music charts available today & a perfect collectable complement to " The Virgin Book of Hit Albums" & " The Virgin Book of Top 75 Charts." Now enhanced & fine-tuned & drawn from the Official Charts Company Data since 1952 " The Virgin Book of Hit Singles" features the most comprehensive easy to read & accessible music chart data & information. It's all here
- expanded artist biographies side notes of interest label & catalogue numbers peak positions number of weeks on chart & weeks at number one. Also

Includes:: EP charts. " The Virgin Book of Hit Singles" is essential reading & reference for any music lover."


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The charts are the evening news of the music industry. Collected here they show the rapid rise or demise of each single as it enters the charts either winning over a large audience or just making music for its own smaller group of fans. Top 40 Charts" is required reading for every music buff & for anyone else whod like to know what song was number one on their birthday or any other memorable day. With every Top 40 singles chart from 1960 to the present day this is the definitive chart book. It

Includes:: the song title act record label & total number of weeks on chart for every single as well as a detailed history of the pre-1960s charts published using data from the Official Charts Company."

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I am Moth a girl from the lowest part of Chrystie Street born to a slum-house mystic & the man who broke her heart. So begins THE VIRGIN CURE a novel set in the tenements of lower Manhattan in 1871. As a young child Moths father smiled tipped his hat & walked away from her for ever. The summer she turned twelve her mother sold her as a servant to a wealthy woman with no intention of ever seeing her again. These betrayals lead Moth to the wild murky world of the Bowery filled with house-thieves pickpockets beggars sideshow freaks & prostitutes where eventually she meets Miss Everett the owner of a brothel. Miss Everett caters to gentlemen who pay dearly for companions & the most desirable of them all are young virgins like Moth. Through the friendship of Dr Sadie a female physician Moth learns to question & observe the world around her where her new friends are falling prey to the myth of the virgin cure to heal the incurable & tainted. She knows the law will not protect her that polite society ignores her & still she dreams of answering to no one but herself. Theres a high price for such independence though & no one knows that better than a girl from Chrystie Street... ...