Showing results for "England" in Literature & Fiction

Brought to you by Penguin. This Penguin Classic is performed by Emma Naomi, best known for Bridgerton. This definitive recording includes an introduction by Marilyn Butler. With its irrepressible heroine and playful literary games, Northanger Abbey is the most youthful and optimistic of Jane...

Donald Cameron, a young Scotsman, is commissioned to write a book on the outsider's view of the English. He sets about his task with enthusiasm, encountering along the way an array of richly comical characters including civil servants, newspaper editors, minor poets, a glamourous movie star, politicians, and many more. This satire of English eccentricity has become a classic of 20th century literature.

In the third sequel to The Darling Buds of May, Charley and Mariette decide to get baby Blenheim christened, leading to a wholesale christening of all seven of the Larkin children. Chaos abounds as the vicar, Mr Candy, is run ragged by the naughty twins, Zinnia and Petunia, and finds himself the object of desire for Pop's second eldest, Primrose. To top it all off, Pop buys a fairground on a whim, and Mlle Dupont arrives to discover that Pop is not a Lord, nor does he live in a mansion.

An electrifying debut novel from the Giller Prize-shortlisted author of Better Living Through Plastic Explosives that takes readers for a wild ride with urban-gothic flair and delectably wicked humour. Lucy is a lapsed-Catholic whose adolescent pretensions to sainthood are unexpectedly revived...

BOOK 3 IN THE BESTSELLING CANON CLEMENT MYSTERY SERIES 'A delightful piece of detective work' Mail on Sunday 'A very moreish read' Daily Telegraph Canon Daniel Clement has suffered a secret humiliation and to recover takes respite at the monastery where he was a novice. But the monastery doesn't...

BOOK 2 IN THE BESTSELLING CANON CLEMENT MYSTERY SERIES 'The best of the new cosy crime writers' Daily Telegraph 'First-class entertainment' Daily Mirror It's been a few months since murder tore apart the community of Champton apart. As Canon Daniel Clement tries to steady his flock, the parish...

‘Brilliantly-written characters, original and engaging. It’s so good!’ BA Paris JOANNE HAYNES HAS A SECRET. THAT IS NOT HER REAL NAME. And there’s more. Her flat isn’t hers. Her cats aren't hers. Even her hair isn’t really hers. Nor is she any of the other women she pretends to be...

Downton Abbey has brought out the Anglophile in American fans of the hit TV series. But Anglophilia has a long history in America. Why are some native-born residents of our Shining City Upon a Hill, where All Men Are Created Equal, seduced by the fluting tones of manor-born privilege? At last, Anglophilia explained - in American, thank you.

The History of England from Henry IV to Charles I, by a partial, prejudiced, and ignorant historian. N.B. There will be very few dates in this History! Jane Austen wrote The History of England in 1791, at the age of just 15, as a satirical parody of 18th-century historical textbooks. It pokes fun at the apparent impartiality of contemporary historians and contains more opinions about the monarchs’ relative characters than any facts or dates. The History of England was not published until 1922, more than a century after Austen’s death.

From the author of the acclaimed Crooked Heart comes another “smart, funny, ingenious, revealing tale of London life during the Second World War” (The Independent)—longlisted for the Orange Prize upon its original publication in England. It is 1940. France has fallen, and only a narrow...

An irresistible debut novel about the wisdom of the very young, the mischief of the very old, and the magic that happens when no one else is looking Millie Bird, seven years old and ever hopeful, always wears red gumboots to match her curly hair. Her struggling mother, grieving the death of...

Jake Carlisle is living his best life, thanks to the crazily successful influencer channel he created with his best friend Sy. Reviewing whacky hobbies and adrenaline-fuelled adventures, Sy has pushed Jake into doing more exciting stuff than either ever thought possible. Then disaster strikes. When newbie Helena joins the team, Sy quickly falls head over heels for her…All of a sudden, with romance blossoming and the business dynamic shifting, Jake is horrified to find himself becoming the dreaded third wheel.

The coming-of-middle-age story a whole generation of women have been waiting for...poised, witty, and emotionally resonantFor twenty-five years, Rose Lloyd has juggled marriage, motherhood, and career with remarkable success. It has been a life of family picnics, books and wine, a cherished...

The story opens in the country parsonage of Dr. Primrose, a kindly man who has a good heart, a good family, and a good income. Suddenly, his idyllic life is cruelly devastated by a series of misfortunes, and he ends up in prison. Yet, despite all this calamity and injustice, the vicar never loses sight of Christian morality, a conviction which lends him genuine nobility and, in the end, also brings justice and the restoration of his family and fortune.

When the Reverend Elaine Metcalfe is inducted as the vicar of Pontvale, she hopes the job will have more to it than lending out spare sets of keys. She soon discovers there's plenty of challenges in her new home - not least the daily needs of her parishioners, which range from community theatre productions, arranging a wedding and a funeral for the same day, and local scandal over the vicar's culottes.

Bank clerk Sam Baker spends all day surrounded by other people's money. For four years, he's been hopefully filling out a pools coupon every week and dreaming of a big win - but with no joy. Then one day, Lady Luck finally smiles on him. To his total amazement, he wins half a million pounds - enough to change his life and that of his wife, Annabel. The duo are delighted with their good fortune and head off to London to collect the cheque and celebrate.

The author of The End of the Road and Small Comforts returns to his fictional Alaska town, The End of the Road, to present more unforgettable stories about its colorful inhabitants and their doings...

Pamela is a newly retired teacher with time on her hands. She’s finding it hard to muster enthusiasm for what’s ahead: exhausting postdivorce dating rituals and an uneasy relationship with her emotionally stunted, live-at-home son. But for Pamela, there’s a surprise in store that could challenge the status quo and, against all expectations, make life interesting again.