Showing results by narrator "Jot Davies" in All Categories

Oscar Wilde's life – like his wit – was alive with paradox. He was both an early exponent and a victim of 'celebrity culture': famous for being famous, he was lauded and ridiculed in equal measure. His achievements were frequently downplayed, his successes resented. He had a genius for comedy but strove to write tragedies. Matthew Sturgis draws on a wealth of new material and fresh research, bringing alive the distinctive mood and characters of the fin de siècle in the richest and most compelling portrait of Oscar Wilde to date.

Banned by the Nazis, the haunting novel At the Edge of the Night (Am Rande der Nacht), by the German writer Friedo Lampe, is a work of magic realism. This poignant book, beautifully translated by Simon Beattie, was, in Lampe’s own words, ‘born into a regime where it could not breathe’; he hoped that one day it might rise again. It evokes the sensations and impressions of a sultry September evening on the waterfront of Bremen, with its charm and tenderness, squalor and lust.

Billionaire train enthusiast August Reza has invited Harrison Beck and Uncle Nat on the maiden voyage of the Solar Express–the winning design of his Reza’s Rocket competition. But during the journey, they discover the train has been sabotaged, hurtling passengers into a heart-stopping, action-packed, thrill ride across the Australian Outback. Can Hal find the saboteur and stop the runaway train before disaster strikes?

The immune system holds the key to human health. In The Beautiful Cure, leading immunologist Professor Daniel Davis describes the scientific quest to understand how it works - and how it is affected by stress, sleep, age and our state of mind - and explains how this knowledge is now unlocking a revolutionary new approach to medicine and well-being.

Harrison Beck is reluctantly joining his travel-writer Uncle Nate for the last journey of the royal train, The Highland Falcon. But as the train makes its way to Scotland, a priceless brooch goes missing, and things are suddenly a lot more interesting. As suspicions and accusations run high among the passengers, Harrison begins to investigate and uncovers a few surprises along the way. Can he solve the mystery of the jewel thief and catch the culprit before they reach the end of the line? 

Harrison Beck and Uncle Nat climb aboard the night train to Narvik, travelling to the Arctic Circle to see the northern lights for Christmas. But as their train leaves Stockholm, Hal and Uncle Nat realize they’re being followed by a sinister figure, and Hal’s powers of observation are tested when Uncle Nat’s past comes back to haunt him. Journeying into the never ending night of the arctic winter, our railway detectives must outsmart an assassin in their most chilling adventure yet, in which nothing is as it seems.

By the end of this century, living beyond 100 will be the rule rather than the exception. What medical breakthroughs and new technologies will make this possible? In this brilliantly wide-ranging, one-stop guide, WIRED journalist James Temperton outlines the medical revolutions that are transforming healthcare. He looks at the burgeoning immune therapies that could one day cure such life-threatening diseases as cancer. 

Meet Jack: Dadness. Women have a sixth sense for it. But, lately, as I've looked around, all I've seen is temptation. From random women in the pub to my foxy new boss...they've left me doubting whether I've really been put out to pasture at all.... Meet Amy: Motherhood, I've discovered, is the great leveller. Having kids automatically makes me the same as all the other mums in 'The Coven' up the park. And being 'the same' makes me want to do something terribly rash - like rediscover the impulsive person I used to be. 

The ideal of freedom is at the heart of our political and economic system. It is foundational to our sense of justice, our way of life, our conception of what it is to be human. But are we free in the way that we think we are? In Creating Freedom, Raoul Martinez brings together a torrent of mind-expanding ideas, facts and arguments to dismantle sacred myths central to our society - myths about free will, free markets, free media and free elections.

Raphael is a dumpsite boy. He spends his days wading through mountains of steaming trash, sifting it, sorting it, breathing it, sleeping next to it. Then one unlucky-lucky day, Raphael's world turns upside down. A small leather bag falls into his hands. It's a bag of clues. It's a bag of hope. It's a bag that will change everything. Soon Raphael and his friends Gardo and Rat are running for their lives. Wanted by the police, it takes all their quick-thinking, fast-talking to stay ahead. As the net tightens, they uncover a dead man's mission to put right a terrible wrong.

Winter 1917. As the First World War enters its most brutal phase, back home in England, everyone is seeking answers to the darkness that has seeped into their lives. At Blackwater Abbey, on an island off the Devon coast, Lord Highmount has arranged a spiritualist gathering to contact his two sons who were lost in the conflict. But as his guests begin to arrive, it gradually becomes clear that each has something they would rather keep hidden. Then, when a storm descends on the island, the guests will find themselves trapped. Soon one of their number will die.

When 18-year-old Michael visits the Hanbury's remote family home, he is captivated by their bohemian lifestyle. Years later, when he marries the strong-willed, beautiful Rebecca, he is secretly hoping to create his own version of that free-thinking family, but after the birth of their first child, their marriage begins to flounder. The chance to escape once more to his friend's country house comes as a welcome relief, until he discovers a family changed and his own romantic notions of country life begin to disintegrate....

In this surreal comedy of soldiers and spies, Lieutenant James Churchill and his colleagues find themselves questioning their purpose. These men of action will travel between the barracks, the lunatic asylum and the house of an aristocratic nymphomaniac in search of answers. For while few know the awful truth about Operation Apollo, the mission they are being trained for, fewer still understand the motives of the powerful psychiatrist Dr Best, who thinks he is surrounded by repressed homosexuals, and none know the identity of the secret agent among them.

From the multi award-winning creator of the modern classic Meerkat Mail, Sunny the meerkat travels the world in the search of the perfect Christmas. Sunny wants a white Christmas, with a decorated tree, carols and sprouts for dinner...none of which he can see at home in the Kalahari desert. So off he heads to find the perfect Christmas elsewhere, before realising that maybe Christmas isn't all about the trimmings.

It is a well-known fact that fairies are born from a baby's first laugh. What is not as well documented is how monsters come into being. This is the story of a creature who is both strange and unique. When he hatches down in the vast underground lair where monsters dwell, he looks just like a human boy - much to the disgust of everyone watching. Even the grumpy gargoyles who adopt him and nickname him ‘Imp’ only want him to steal chocolate for them from the nearby shops. He’s a child with feet in both worlds, and he doesn’t know where he fits.  

Meet Jack. Jack Rossiter. I'm 27 years old, single and live with my best mate, Matt. Matt and I started hanging out when we were eight. Life was simpler then. Meet Amy. Sometimes in my darker moments I've thought about applying to go on Blind Date. Actually it's a bit of a worry. I think it's my warped way of telling myself something's got to change. Now find out what happens when they meet each other....

The chilling and outstanding new stand-alone thriller from C. M. Ewan, author of Safe House: if your family was targeted in the middle of the night, what would you do? You are asleep. A noise wakes you. You stir, unsure why, and turn to your wife. Then you hear it. Glass. Crunching underfoot. Your worst fears are about to be realised. Someone is inside your home. Your choices are limited.You can run. Or stay and fight. What would you do?

Einstein, Bounce and Puzzle are thrilled to be back at Sandcliff Lighthouse for another holiday. There are lots of other pups staying there this time which means fun for everyone! But when the local beach is covered in dog poo, the pals find themselves in a sticky situation. It gets so bad that even the puffins - who visit every year - are staying away! And then the local people start to blame the kennels, even though the pups know that Jackie and Trevor always clean up after them.

Charles Foster wanted to know what it was like to be a beast: a badger, an otter, a deer, a fox, a swift. What it was really like. And through knowing what it was like, he wanted to get down and grapple with the beast in us all. So he tried it out; he lived life as a badger for six weeks, sleeping in a dirt hole and eating earthworms. He came face to face with shrimps as he lived like an otter and he spent hours curled up in a back garden in East London and rooting in bins like an urban fox.

Meet the Puppies Online! Einstein the brainy dachshund, Puzzle the snoozy sheepdog, and Bounce the speedy spaniel spend their holidays at a very special kind of kennels - a lighthouse by the sea! But there's no time for sunbathing. The woof-tastic trio meet the evil Mike Dodger, discover an ancient treasure map and find themselves caught up in a race against time. Luckily the pups are equipped with all the latest online gadgets and tech know-how. But will their super skills be enough to sniff out the treasure before Mike does?