For the first time, all five books in the Patrick Melrose series are collected in a single edition: NEVER MIND BAD NEWS SOME HOPE MOTHER'S MILK AT LAST Acclaimed for their searing wit and their deep humanity, this magnificent cycle of novels - in which Patrick Melrose battles to survive the savageries of his childhood and lead a self-determined life - is one of the major achievements in English fiction.

    Sherlock Holmes, scourge of criminals everywhere, whether they be lurking in London's foggy backstreets or plotting behind the walls of an idyllic country mansion, and his faithful colleague Dr Watson solve these breathtaking and perplexing mysteries. In The Greatest Cases of Sherlock Holmes we encounter some of his most famous and devilishly difficult problems

    R. R. Tolkien’s magnum opus, The Lord of the Rings has been beloved for generations, selling millions of copies and selling millions more tickets through its award-winning film adaptations. The immense cultural impact of this epic is undeniable, but the deeper meaning of the story often goes unnoticed. Here, Joseph Pearce, author of Bilbo’s Journey uncovers the rich—and distinctly Christian—meaning just beneath the surface of The Lord of the Rings. Make the journey with Frodo as he makes his perilous trek from the Shire to Mordor, while Pearce expertly reveals the deeper, spiritual significance. Did you know that the events of The Lord of the Rings are deeply intertwined with the Christian calendar? Or what the Ring, with its awesome and terrible power represents? How do the figures of good and evil in the story reflect those forces in our own lives? Find the answers to these questions and much more in Frodo’s Journey.

    From the overtly political ‘Go Home’ to the deeply personal ‘Full-time’; the narrative poems that offer vivid and unapologetic snapshots of inner-city life, such as ‘His Mistakes’, ‘Believer’ and the anthemic ‘My City’; to the provocative social commentary in ‘Lazy Dog’ and ‘YOLO’; to the inspiring, idea-driven pieces such as ‘The Power of Collaboration’ and ‘School Blues’, George takes poetry into new territories and to new audiences, offering a different way to talk about the things that matter, to explore his own experience and ideas, and encourage others explore theirs.George The Poet’s mesmerising and unforgettable live performances have earned him critical acclaim. From sell-out headline gigs and YouTube hits, to recording his own music, and now his first collection of poetry, George uses his work to speak truth to power and challenge our preconceived ideas about the society we’re living in.Whether you’re searching for yourself, for answers, for change – join the search party.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    He presents the author who was always being told he had nearly written a masterpiece, and the genius of the short story who brewed his own cider and lived in a railway carriage. Then there’s the figure of the 1890s, praised by Max Beerbohm, who liked to wander around London wearing horns and chewing railings, and the young man in the 1930s who tried to sell his poetry door to door. There are also new angles on key figures: the strange case of Robert Aickman, sailor and philosopher; the book that Sax Rohmer really wanted to write; the enigma of Walter de la Mare’s ‘Seaton’s Aunt’. And there are literary mysteries; what was the MS in a Red Box? Who wrote Shakespeare’s Gunpowder Plot? What became of Dr Ludovicus? Other essays celebrate neglected writers worth discovering, such as Mary Butts, Claude Houghton, and Vernon Knowles, or offer fresh perspectives, looking at Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s fantasies, Malcolm Lowry’s reading in occult fiction. There are even studies of books that were never written. Haunted by Books will delight all readers and book collectors who like to leave the beaten path and wander in the wild woods, forgotten lanes and lonely houses of literature.

    When he discovers a new species of monkey with amazing regenerative powers, he has no idea that his report will set off a chain of events with dire consequences.Six years later, and Draven’s research has been put into practice. The government has engineered a virus which has begun human trials. It’s job – to make the armed forces of the world better, stronger, faster in their numerous conflicts across the globe. Something, however is not right. Disturbing reports about the behaviour of those modified by the virus are growing in number raising concerns amongst those in charge that something has gone wrong. As the Apex teams go dark and stop responding to orders, the government discover that there is a much more sinister force at work.Joshua Cook is the alpha male, the first man to be administered the virus and bond with it successfully. Joshua is tired of the human race, tired of their self-destructive nature. He has a plan, one which involves wiping the slate clean of the ‘lesser’ edition of the human machine and repopulating the earth with his own kind. As the full and devastating scale of Joshua’s plan begins to unfold before the eyes of the world, the government are forced to turn back to Richard Draven in an effort to find a way to stop Joshua and his growing army before he can eradicate humanity from the planet.A tense, global thriller taking place across multiple countries, from the government-centric streets of Washington to the slums of Mumbai and the burning heat of the Iraq desert, Project Apex features a rich and varied cast of characters each with their own motivations and sub plots through the main narrative as they tell the very human story of a disaster on an unprecedented global scale where people are forced to do things they never imagined possible, and in some cases revert back to the instinctive savagery long repressed by our species as society starts to crumble the world over.

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    Tolkien and his wife Edith bears two simple epitaphs: "Lúthien" for Edith and "Beren" for Tolkien himself. These highly significant names reference two characters from The Silmarillion. Beren and Lúthien are a pair of fated lovers who set out on a perilous quest to wrest a coveted Silmaril from the grasp of the demonic Morgoth. In the process they do battle with Sauron, the cruel antagonist of The Lord of the Rings. In this in-depth exploration of the story, John Carswell brings together various threads of The Silmarillion and seeks to treat the tale of Beren and Lúthien as something like wisdom literature. Numerous insights are extracted in order to bring the reader to a deeper appreciation of one of Tolkien's greatest tales. In the process, a helpful introduction is provided to those seeking a start on The Silmarillion as well as to those seeking to understand how The Silmarillion relates to The Lord of the Rings. All readers will come away with a better understanding of the legend that Tolkien himself called "the kernel" of the Middle-earth mythology.

    For Rex Whistler, a nineteen-year-old art student, life was just beginning. Together, they embarked on an intimate and unlikely friendship that would transform their lives. Gradually Edith's world opened up and she became a writer. Her home, the Daye House, in a wooded corner of the Wilton estate, became a sanctuary for Whistler and the other brilliant and beautiful younger men of her circle: among them Siegfried Sassoon, Stephen Tennant, William Walton, John Betjeman, the Sitwells and Cecil Beaton - for whom she was 'all the muses'. Set against a backdrop of the madcap parties of the 1920s, the sophistication of the 1930s and the drama and austerity of the Second World War and with an extraordinary cast of friends and acquaintances, Anna Thomasson brings to life, for the first time, the fascinating, and curious, friendship of a bluestocking and a bright young thing.

    But no one suspected this future back in 1994, when he was simple old Ausi and leaves school with his cricket mad best friend Eddy to start a new life. While Eddy goes to college in America, Ausi's life takes dangerous and unexpected turns. The two friends stay in touch even as they pursue vastly different lives, their shared passion for cricket and nostalgia for their school days binding them together. Even as Ausi treads down a darker path, what will happen to their friendship? Omar Shahid Hamid, bestselling author of The Prisoner, takes us on another thrilling, sinister ride, stretching from Karachi to Kashmir to Afghanistan, in The Spinner's Tale.

    Their unique story is funny, poignant and life-affirming.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    It is an essential reference tool for students of literature in any language. Now expanded and in its fourth edition, it includes increased coverage of new terms from modern critical and theoretical movements, such as feminism, schools of American poetry, Spanish verse forms, life writing, and crime fiction. It includes extensive coverage of traditional drama, versification, rhetoric, and literary history, as well as updated and extended advice on recommended further reading and a pronunciation guide to more than 200 terms. Completely revised and updated, this edition also features brand-new entries on terms such as distant reading, graphic novels, middle generation, and misery memoir. Many new bibliographies have been added to entries and recommended web links are available via a companion website.

    Featuring detailed analysis of a rich and eclectic mix of A-level texts, from 'King Lear' to 'Frankenstein' and 'The Great Gatsby', 'The Art of Writing English Literature Essays' covers everything you need to know to master high level literary discussion. Written in a lively, engaging style, the book takes readers through the art of close reading, through planning and writing essays and on to the tricky arts of using critics and contexts effectively. A book on how to read Literature, as well as how to write about it, 'The Art of Writing English Literature Essays' will help you to reach the highest grades.

    Did he write the plays and poems that bear his name – or were they the work of another renaissance genius, such as Marlowe or Bacon? Or was it the earl of Oxford? Or a whole committee of intellectuals? Such is the range of possible authorships put forward that members of the public can be forgiven for being bewildered. Why is there so much doubt when the first folio of Shakespeare’s works clearly has his name on the cover? But of all the questions that arise from the Shakespeare authorship debate, one is more perplexing than any other. Why does neither camp apply the sort of analysis that professional historians are able to apply to the question? Indeed, in any other debate about sixteenth century events, historians would be summoned in droves. But when it comes to Shakespeare, everybody feels he or she is at liberty to proceed without professional historical input – from literary scholars to amateur sleuths. Everyone seems ready to take on the mantle of a historical expert – regardless of their training, expertise or knowledge. It is rather as if, through simply being keen to dispute a point of law, everyone reckons themselves master of the rolls. Dr Mortimer sees this as a curious problem, with negative repercussions on all sides. In this lecture he applies a professional historical methodology and demonstrates what direct evidence there is for the authorship and what is merely circumstantial. But his conclusion is just the first half of a powerful speech that demands greater rigour and discipline in history generally – and for society to act more responsibly towards understanding its own past.

    There’s also a huge range of practice on offer, including warm-up questions and exam-style questions for every topic. What’s more, we’ve included plenty of in-depth advice for the exams, including fully worked sample exams (Paper 1 and Paper 2) with graded answers to show students exactly what’s required for each grade. The book is rounded off with a full set of practice exams for students to try for themselves - ideal for final preparation ahead of the real tests.

    He was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, despite his work having been in publication for only four years before his death. Although his poems were not generally well received by critics during his life, his reputation grew after his death, so that by the end of the 19th century, he had become one of the most beloved of all English poets. He had a significant influence on a diverse range of poets and writers. Jorge Luis Borges stated that his first encounter with Keats was the most significant literary experience of his life. The poetry of Keats is characterised by sensual imagery, most notably in the series of odes. Today his poems and letters are some of the most popular and most analysed in English literature.

    The Delphi Poets Series offers readers the works of literature's finest poets, with superior formatting. This volume presents Raleigh’s complete poetical works, with beautiful illustrations and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Raleigh's life and works * Concise introduction to Raleigh’s life and poetry * Excellent formatting of the poems * Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the poetry * Easily locate the poems you want to read * Includes a selection of Raleigh's prose works * Features a bonus biography - discover Raleigh's literary life * Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles CONTENTS: The Life and Poetry of Sir Walter Raleigh BRIEF INTRODUCTION: SIR WALTER RALEIGH The Poems LIST OF POEMS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER LIST OF POEMS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER The Prose THE DISCOVERY OF GUIANA SIR WALTER RALEIGH BIDS FAREWELL TO HIS WIFE A FEW HOURS BEFORE HE EXPECTS TO BE EXECUTED The Biography SIR WALTER RALEGH by John Knox Laughton and Sidney Lee Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles

    Based on new research that proves repeated practice is more effective than repeated study, this book is guaranteed to help you achieve the best results. There are clear and concise revision notes for every topic covered in the curriculum, plus seven practice opportunities to ensure the best results.Includes:• quick tests to check understanding• end-of-topic practice questions• topic review questions later in the book• mixed practice questions at the end of the book• free Q&A flashcards to download online• an ebook version of the revision guide• more topic-by-topic practice and a complete exam-style paper in the added workbookSuitable for the new AQA English Language and English Literature GCSE.

    Imagine you have returned from a war to find the soldiers you killed wandering the streets of your home town and sleeping with all the girls you fancy. The poor old pigeons are not having it much easier. They have flown back from overseas to discover their coop bolted shut. Word is, the champion fancier has gone down with an allergy to his flock. Word is, the birds homing has brought them somewhere strange. In this collection of twenty-five short-short stories, the characters are searching for the things we all crave: a place to be, a use for their time, and that special creature who will share the hours with them... But love is hard to find when there is so much fighting. Ask the Iranian with the Frank Sinatra fixation who you have just dug up from a flowerbed. Or the fundraisers knocking each other s lights out at the Annual Party for the Association of Parents of Children with Hand and Arm Deficiencies. They are in the wars, for sure. But these people go on dreaming of peace. Take the lonely fruit-picker, living in a caravan far from home. If she opens her hand now, a man will drop a flower from the sky and it will fall into her grasp... Then he will fire hot air into his balloon and rise again. And he will look down and agree that it is strange to see your home town like this, that distance makes him fond of its wrecked old streets. But whenever he lands, he looks at the sky again. And he loves the fruit-picker most when he cannot quite reach her.

    Will she, however, manage to pull through, like her beloved crime-novel heroes?