English Irish

There are many stories of the legendary Irish hero Finn MacCool, or Fionn mac Cumhaill. Liam Gerrard brings together some of the most well-known in this treasure-trove of Irish folk tales and short stories. Chief among them is the well-loved "Finn & The Scottish Giant", telling the tale of how the Giant's Causeway came into being. Gerrard has adapted and edited over 40 short stories of Irish and Celtic folklore. So sit back, relax, and enjoy hearing the stories of the legends that have been passed down through generations over thousands of years.

The body of a young woman is found by a river outside Belfast and Detective Sergeant Ryan McBride makes a heart-wrenching discovery at the scene, a discovery he chooses to hide even though it could cost him the investigation—and his career. The victim was a loner but well-liked. Why would someone want to harm her? And is her murder connected to a rapist who's stalking the local pubs? As Ryan untangles a web of deception and lies, his suspects die one by one, leading him to a dangerous family secret and a murderer who will stop at nothing to keep it.

An outbreak of plague in London forces a gentleman, Lovewit, to flee temporarily to the country, leaving his house under the sole charge of his butler, Jeremy. Jeremy uses the opportunity given to him to use the house as the headquarters for fraudulent acts. He transforms himself into "Captain Face", and enlists the aid of Subtle, a fellow conman and Dol Common, a prostitute. In The Alchemist, Jonson unashamedly satirizes the follies, vanities and vices of mankind, most notably greed-induced credulity. People of all social classes are subject to Jonson's ruthless, satirical wit.

Northern Ireland, 1975. Violence has erupted on the streets of Belfast. After years as a guerilla army, the IRA is clashing with Loyalist gangs and heavily armed British soldiers. But the Troubles have spilled beyond the island: An ocean away, in the heart of Philadelphia’s Irish enclave, a teenage girl finds a letter in her mailbox. Inside is a bullet, and the message is clear: The next one is for you or your family. As reporter Ali Watkins reveals, the conflict in Northern Ireland might have gone very differently had it not been for a small ragtag band of gunrunners in the United States.

The Importance of Being Earnest is undoubtably Oscar Wilde's best known play probably due to its sharp wit that cannot help but enchant and entertain any reader, theatregoer or listener with this performance.

Erin is about to turn 30, and her life is definitely not where she thought it would be. She hates her job, she's jealous of her perfect flatmate - and she has just called off her wedding. A trip home to Ireland to celebrate her birthday with her beloved grandmother is exactly what Erin needs, and she's spent days preparing herself to break the news about her broken engagement.

When Kate O’Rourke takes up a temporary position as a doctor in Sandy Cove, she hopes spending time in the place where her father was from will help her find herself again. Ever since his passing she has felt lost, but she imagines the calming sound of the sea on the Irish coast will allow her to heal. Kate immediately feels at home in the old surgery, and as she takes walks beside the camellia bushes along Wild Rose Bay and meets every resident in the tiny village, she feels like this is where she’s meant to be.

Under Western Eyes, Conrad's novel of political treachery and oppression, begins with a bomb that kills a hated Russian minister of police along with innocent bystanders. A young student named Razumov hides the perpetrator, then betrays him and becomes a spy among his exiled comrades. He faces a moral dilemma from which there is no escape. This masterwork, published six years before the Russian Revolution, is a chillingly accurate prophecy of what was to come.

"This story is the record of a struggle between two temperaments, two consciences and almost two epochs. It ended, as was inevitable, in disruption. Of the two human beings here described, one was born to fly backward, the other could not help being carried forward. The affection of these two persons was assailed by forces in comparison with which the changes that health or fortune or place introduce are as nothing.

Tom Jones is a splendid Hogarthian panorama of 18th-century English life and morals, encompassing both city and country, and comprising some of the greatest comic characters in British literature. First published in 1749, it was an instant success and has gone on to become a classic of its genre. Quite simply, there has never been anything like it.

Somewhere in the shadowy borderland between myth and history lies the territory of Finn Mac Cool. Mightiest of the Irish heroes, leader of the invincible army of Fianna, he was a man of many faces: warrior, poet, lover, creator, and destroyer. Finn Mac Cool is a man taken from one of the lowest classes of Irish society, driven by ambition and strength to rise above his birth and bring new respect and status to his people. He had it all and lost it all, but in the end he gained immortality. Finn Mac Cool is a novel of sweeping historical grandeur and awesome adventure.

Fresh off graduation, I had my entire summer planned out: European vacation with my cousins, college courses, and picking up shifts at work. But then my mom calls and drops the bomb: she's getting married to the rumored head of the Irish mafia. Even though I've been looking out for her for most of my life, we haven't lived together in ten years. When she invites me to stay with her for the summer, I don't hesitate. So I make a new summer plan: skip the vacation, take online courses, and dig up dirt on Mom's new fiancé. What I didn't plan for was Wolf Fitzgerald—and his brothers.

While marooned at his banking job in the bewilderingly damp and insular realm known as Ireland, Claude Martingale, is approached by a down-on-his-luck author, Paul, looking for his next great subject. Claude finds that his life gets steadily more exciting under Paul's fictionalizing influence; he even falls in love with a beautiful waitress. But Paul's plan is not what it seems-and neither is Claude's employer, the Bank of Torabundo, which inflates through dodgy takeovers and derivatives-trading until-well, you can probably guess how that shakes out.

Ellie Buchanan has one goal: to share her stained-glass creations with the world. She's lucky to be blessed with a billionaire father who encourages her dream. He’s treasured all of the art she’s made: from her macaroni necklace in kindergarten to every piece in her Etsy store. Literally every piece—because in trying to be supportive, he buys everything she makes. She has only one patron—her dad. How can she share her art if he insists on owning all of it?

I've been kept in a gilded cage. Hidden from the world of men. I was naïve. I was innocent. Until him. Until the night the king of the criminal underworld took me as his own.

Mary Ann Evans (1819-1880), known by her pen name George Eliot, was one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. Her novels are known for their realism and psychological insight. Four of them are included in this volume: Middlemarch, Daniel Deronda, The Mill on the Floss, and The Lifted Veil.

Ireland’s Instagram sensation Meditations for the Anxious Mind takes us on a trip around Ireland of the likes you’ve never seen before, from the trolley-filled Liffey to the glamour of Navan. Why not go off the beaten track with Meditations for the Anxious Mind’s The Toxic Travel Guide and laugh your way around Ireland. We did the research so you don’t have to smell the bin juice.

On the streets of the tough Dublin inner-city neighbourhood where he grew up, Gerry Hutch was perceived as an ordinary decent criminal, a quintessential Robin Hood figure who fought the law—and won. To the rest of the world he was an elusive criminal godfather called the Monk: an enigmatic criminal mastermind and the hunted leader of one side in the deadliest gangland feud in Irish criminal history.

Falling for your boss. The widowed dad and the nanny. How did Darcy manage to find both of them in Ryder? His broken heart and wounded pride means he only sees her as an employee in his company and part-time caregiver for his son. Until another cliché surprises them both: the old broken elevator trap.

A delicious Christmas feast of short stories from the Sunday Times number one best-selling author of A French Affair and The Perfect Match. Add some extra sparkle to your Christmas by joining Katie Fforde for a perfect romantic Christmas feast of short stories. Collected together for the first time and including one brand-new story. Make your Christmas wishes come true....