English Literature Great

Elizabeth was not just Queen, she was ruler. In an age of male supremacy she, by sheer force of character, became not only the unchallenged leader of the English but also the first leader of an empire upon which the sun never set. Erickson’s biography tells the truth about this extraordinary woman and profiles some amazing people - their personalities and culture.

Constable Nick’s beat is modernized, with his police bike replaced by a mini-van. He gets more than he bargained for as his work draws him into closer contact with villagers, in more ways than one. There are compromising positions aplenty in this next charming installment of Aidensfield life. Nick finds himself lost in heavy fog and runs across a couple of illicit lovers trapped in their car. He advises the village grocer about his very respectable lady shoplifter and discovers how farmer Owens copes with his bossy wife.

The first full-length biography of the Nobel laureate to appear in a quarter century, Mad at the World illuminates what has made the work of John Steinbeck an enduring part of the literary canon: his capacity for empathy. Angered by the plight of the Dust Bowl migrants who were starving even as they toiled to harvest California's limitless bounty and appalled by the country's refusal to recognize the humanity common to all of its citizens, Steinbeck took a stand against social injustice - paradoxically given his inherent misanthropy.

He needs a wife so he can get his inheritance. I’m up to my eyeballs in debt with a sick father who needs treatment. When he offers me a million dollars to be his fake wife, am I supposed to say no?

Melbourne during the Depression. A seedy, corrupt city. Someone has struck at the heart of Australia's soul: they have killed the horse that would have won the Melbourne Cup. For what motive? Profit, blackmail, a betting scam? Only Tom Pink, the rider of the murdered horse can find out.

This bundle includes Basil and the Lost Colony, Basil and the Big Cheese Cook-Off, Basil and the Royal Dare, and Basil and the Library Ghost.

A powerful ruler, an alluring young woman, a scandal that would rock the nation: Anne Boleyn’s life story sounds more like a juicy TV docu-drama than a chapter of English history. Although she is not of noble birth or even especially beautiful, Anne Boleyn manages to rise to the very pinnacle of the English aristocracy. Renowned for her extraordinarily vivid recreations of historical events, Carolly Erickson brings out the full fascinating story of the enigmatic Anne Boleyn.

Get ready for an adventure that stretches a thousand miles! Meet Lily and Leo, a quick-witted sister and her imaginative little brother, spending the summer at Grandma Mei’s house right beside the magnificent Great Wall of China.

Strange Tales of Scotland all deal with a particular aspect of Scottish mysteries. You'll learn of the ghost that appeared at the wedding of King Alexander II, and of monsters such as the Shellycoat and Water-horse that were thought to inhabit Scotland’s lochs...Finally, we have a look at the legend of the phantom armies of Scotland; soldiers who refuse to fade away even centuries after their wars have been fought, and their causes faded in history. Welcome to the Strange Tales of Scotland.

Someone is murdering innocent people in Santa Fe and cutting an upside-down cross on the victims' foreheads. The town is in a panic as many people swear a devil worshipper is responsible for the murders. Davidson, the Great Detective from New York City, is in town and he is more of a problem than a help in solving the case. Will Cannon enlists the help of a young cowboy and together they try to track down Damon the Demon before he kills more innocent people.

Thanks to some experimental wizardry, Matt is out of Maggie's head. He's in a golem body, to be precise. It's not his body, but it's an improvement on his previous situation. Kind of. It's going to take some time for his soul to acclimatize to an unfamiliar home. Until that happens, Matt will have to hope the awkwardness that comes with learning to operate his new body isn't too much for everyone to handle. An unsolicited case means there's no time to worry about Matt's temporary weirdness.

What's it going to take for Maggie to get a moment alone with her thoughts? Usually, when you squabble with a sibling, they aren't stuck inside your head. But that's how things are for Maggie and Matt, and it's becoming unbearable. Not that they have time to focus on a solution. Maggie has shifter packs from all over the world hunting her, and she can't stay on the run forever.

Just when Maggie thinks it's safe to relax, her life takes another turn down crazy avenue. The biggest surprise should be that Cole turned out to be a baddie, but the possibility she might sorta have something going on with Liam eclipses everything else. Might. Maggie isn't exactly comfortable trusting her instincts right now. Does she decide to handle this in a totally mature way? If "totally mature" means running away, sure.

Between their father leaving and their mother dying, neither Maggie nor Matt were ever affiliated with a pack. When a werewolf shaman shows up looking for Matt, Maggie suddenly has a glimpse into a world she never expected to see . . . as well as a chance to figure out what's going on with her powers.

Maggie's life isn't simple anymore, but it's better than the lonely landscape it used to be. She's now working with the vampire who just so happens to be her boyfriend's estranged father. A terrified kid comes to Maggie's office and tells her his family might be the ones supplying a new drug in town—a drug that affects magicals and a-magicals alike. Before she knows it, Maggie is drawn into a world where the stakes are higher than can imagine, and the perpetrators are more than willing to kill a lone PI who is sticking her nose into their business.

Matt is inside Maggie's head, and their oddly dangerous frenemies are gone for the time being, but their troubles are only just beginning. Cyrilla is out of commission and some young witches are setting themselves up to be her successors...and courting Cole in the process. Which annoys Maggie, given that she's his girlfriend now.

When Daniel arrives at the school bus stop sporting a salmon-coloured hat, Zeke is shocked. Don’t only birds wear hats? As if this isn’t strange enough, the school suddenly has a new student – a fish of all things – and a mysterious new Guidance Counsellor. Meanwhile, Zeke’s friends seem to have ditched him, and even his old nemesis won't give him the time of day. So when somebody melts his house with the Death Ray of Death – twice – Zeke has had enough. Just who is sabotaging his life – and why?

Yanko White Fox is used to expectations. Since he was a small boy, his father has expected him to become a powerful mage and redeem his family’s honor. Even if his heart was elsewhere, Yanko always accepted his responsibility. He’s learned all he can about magic, practiced to become powerful, and fought great evil to free thousands of imprisoned people. But it’s not enough.

The language of Poetry is an art that most of us attempt at some point in our lives. Although its commonplace exposure has been somewhat marginalised in today’s often fast-paced lives we all recognise good verse that can empathise with our thoughts or open us up to experience new things in new ways

“The most convincing portrait I know of contemporary America . . . a great American novel.”— James Atlas, The Atlantic Monthly From acclaimed author Russell Banks, a masterful novel of hope lost and gained—a gripping, indelible story of fragile lives uprooted and transformed by...