Set against the Independence struggles of two British colonies, Of Marriageable Age is ultimately a story of personal triumph against a brutal fate, brought to life by a multicultural cast of characters:Savitri, intuitive and charismatic, grows up among the servants of a pre-war English household in the Raj. But the traditional customs of her Brahmin family clash against English upper-class prejudice, threatening her love for the privileged son of the house. Nataraj, raised as the son of an idealistic doctor in rural South India, finds life in London heady, with girls and grass easily available… until he is summoned back home to face raw reality.Saroj, her fire hidden by outward reserve, comes of age in Guyana, South America, the daughter of a strictly orthodox and very racist Hindu father. Her life changes forever on the day she finally rebels against him. ... and even against her gentle, apparently docile Ma.But Ma harbours a deep secret… one that binds these three so disparate lives and hurtles them towards a truth that could destroy their world.Reviews'A big book, big themes, an exotic background and characters that will live with you forever… unputdownable.' Katie Fforde'Beautifully and cleverly written. A wondrous, spellbinding story which grips you from the first to the last page… I can't recall when I last enjoyed a book so much.' Lesley Pearse'It's a wonderful panoramic story and conveys such vivid pictures of the countries it portrays I was immediately transported and completely captivated. A terrific writer.' Barbara Erskine'From the first page I was hooked with this enchanting book… unputdownable.' Audrey Howard'A vast canvas of memorable characters across a kaleidoscope of cultures… her epic story feels like an authentic reflection of a world full of sadness, joy and surprise.' The Observer--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

    If adjusting to the rigours of military life isn’t difficult enough for the bookish young man, he also has to contend with the disgust of his colleagues when, because of his imperial connections, he is appointed a rank above them. As second-in-command to Macro, the fearless, battle-scarred centurion who leads them, Cato will have more to prove than most in the adventures that lie ahead. Then the men discover that the army’s next campaign will take them to a land of unparalleled barbarity - Britain. After the long march west, Cato and Macro undertake a special mission that will thrust them headlong into a conspiracy that threatens to topple the Emperor himself...

     Note to readers: In the UK, this book is published under the title The Love Letter.Keeping secrets is a dangerous game. When Sir James Harrison, one the greatest actors of his generation, passes away at the age of ninety-five, he leaves behind not just a heartbroken family but also a secret so shocking, it could rock the English establishment to its core. Joanna Haslam, an up-and-coming reporter, is assigned to cover the legendary actor’s funeral, attended by glitzy celebrities of every background. But Joanna stumbles on something dark beneath the glamour: the mention of a letter James Harrison has left behind—the contents of which many have been desperate to keep concealed for over seventy years. As she peels back the veil of lies that has shrouded the secret, she realizes that she’s close to uncovering something deadly serious—and the royal family may be implicated. Before long, someone is on her tracks, attempting to prevent her from discovering the truth. And they’ll stop at nothing to reach the letter before she does.

    Like a streetlamp without a bulb or a goose at the onset of Christmas time.Anyroad, I thought I'd pen a few lines to someone who'd understand...It's 1991. Raymond Marks is a normal boy, from a normal family, in a normal northern town. Only lately, he's been feeling dead down. His dad left home after falling in love with a five-string banjo. His fun-hating grandma believes she should have married Jean-Paul Sartre: 'I could never read his books, but y' could tell from his picture, there was nothing frivolous about John-Paul Sartre.' Felonious Uncle Jason and Appalling Aunty Paula are lusting after the satellite dish.And so he turns to the one person who'll understand what he's going through: Morrissey. Told through a series of heartfelt letters to the frontman of The Smiths, this is a laugh-out-loud funny, incredibly poignant tale from a character you can't help but love.'Big-hearted, wonderfully funny and engrossing' THE MIRROR'A warm, funny, poignant story. I loved The Wrong Boy - and so will you' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'A comic masterpiece' BEL MOONEY, MAIL ON SUNDAY

    This reader is softcover, 6" 9," and 144 pages in length.

    Accompany these unparalleled troops from the conquest of Italy thru to world conquest. Watch as defeated armies became allies & future Roman soldiers. Consider the irony of extreme brutality & repression leading to peace & prosperity. All the techniques & the organization of this amazingly advanced fighting force come into focus, from the emphasis on drills to its superior technology & complex bureaucracy.

    Now he feels like a cliché, and Nina feels like a drudge. So when Joe announces that he’s booked a luxury holiday in Tuscany, Nina is thrilled—until she realizes that Joe’s kids are coming along for the ride. Guy Jamieson is sure this will be his last family holiday. He plans to leave his wife, Alice, and their two sons on his return. Alice—with her elasticized skirts and inedible dinners—just doesn’t fit Guy’s self-image. But Alice has a secret plan of her own—to have another baby. This is a cleverly observed tale of modern family life, love, and adultery.

    B. Singer's classic memoir In My Father's Court, these stories, published serially in the Daily Forward, depict the beth din in his father's home on Krochmalna Street in Warsaw. A unique institution, the beth din was a combined court of law, synagogue, scholarly institution, and psychologist's office where people sought out the advice and counsel of a neighborhood rabbi.The twenty-seven stories gathered here show this world as it appeared to a young boy. From the earthy to the ethereal, these stories provide an intimate and powerful evocation of a bygone world.

    General Koenig, the commander of the Free French and the Foreign Legion in North Africa, and his two thousand troops had been surrounded for fifteen days and nights by Rommel's Afrika Corps. Outnumbered ten to one, pounded by wave after wave of Stuka and Heinkel bombers, the general and his men seemed doomed. Though their situation was hopeless, they chose to reject the Desert Fox's demand for surrender. Instead, one moonless night, the French made an audacious and suicidal bid for freedom by charging directly through the German lines. Leading the way was Susan Travers. The only woman ever to serve officially in the French Foreign Legion, there was the indomitable Englishwoman, speeding across the minefields of 'no man's land' directly towards Rommel's deadly Panzer tanks, her foot hard on the accelerator, doing her job: driving the general's car. That it was leading two thousand men in one of the great military exploits of the Second World War, the legendary mass break-out from Bir Hakeim, that it would see her hailed as the heroine of the night and eventually earn her both the Military Medal and the Legion d'Honneur, was not on her mind as the night exploded around her and German artillery lit up the desert sky. Her only thought was this: she was trying to save the life of the man she loved."Tomorrow to be Brave" is the story of Susan Travers's extraordinary life, from her privileged childhood in England through her rebellious youth partying her way across interwar Europe, to her rash decision to join the Free French forces at theoutbreak of World War II. In search of adventure -- and a break from her stifling upper-class world -- she could never have dreamed the pivotal role she would play. From her part in the North African campaign through her time after the war serving in the French Foreign Legion as a regular officer -- the only woman ever to have achieved this -- there was enough adventure and passion, heartbreak and heroism, to fill a hundred lifetimes. This, in her own words, is her story. It is a tale of exceptional courage against overwhelming odds and of an epic love affair played out against the backdrop of war as she risked everything for the country -- and the man -- she loved.

    Cynical, pragmatic Katherine, who throws herself into her career in order to avoid domesticity, embarks upon a risky affair and is suffocated by the very dependence she has fought to avoid. And Rachel, dearly loved Rachel who wants for nothing throughout her young life, marries against her parents' will, and then meets tragedy...The bond between Liv and Katherine weakens over time, but as Katherine uncovers the awful truth about Rachel, and Liv begins to put together the pieces of her shattered life, their friendship is reaffirmed and their lives go forward with dark-eyed girls of their own.

    Set up in the late Middle Ages, the Institute is an intelligence service devoted to the resolution of conflict and the preservation of peace, and its Master is one of the most highly respected, if little known, figures in world politics. And when the Master gets old, the succession is up for grabs. There are five candidates, soon reduced to four by murder, but only one of them can succeed--the first to produce 20 million dollars. Yet it is clearly not as simple as that--Rex was not the first candidate for the Mastership down the centuries to die by violence, and the ancient Chinese puzzle box the candidates are shown is clearly a part of the problem or its solution. Scott McBain's first novel takes us from the corridors of Washington's power elite to a remote Scottish island, the jungles of Latin America and the pirate-swarming Taiwan strait. It is an impressive debut with exciting action sequences and some real thoughtfulness about power and those worthy of it. --Roz Kaveney

    Publius Cornelius Scipio 2. Hannibal 3. Gaius Flaminius 4. Quintus Fabius Maximus 5. Scipio Africanus the Elder 6. Scipio the Younger 7. Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus 8. Crassus 9. Gaius Julius Caesar 10. Caesar and Vercingetorix 11. Pompey the Great 12. Cato the Younger 13. Brutus and the Opposition to Caesar 14. Cicero 15. Augustus 16. Vergil 17. Claudius 18. Nero 19. Trajan 20. Hadrian 21. Epictetus 22. Apuleius 23. Plutarch, Suetonius, and Tacitus 24. Marcus Aurelius

    (LARGE PRINT EDITION) This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

    In combining certain of the restrictions of poetic form with the freedom of prose, he sought a form of language capable of conveying the complexity, cacophony, and unexpected juxtapositions of city life. Like his verse, the prose poems are rich in psychological insights and reveal the ability both to select precisely those tiny details that raise the banal to the ironic and to create verbal patterns and rhythms that subtly underpin or throw into question the surface meaning of the language. This collection of all Baudelaire's prose poetry also includes the novella La Fanfarlo, a gently mocking study of love and passion that brilliantly evokes the art of dance.

    Good and evil, truth and lies, right and wrong tug at this unlikely hero when he rescues a slave from drowning, learns he is prince, loses him, travels the Southern Hemisphere in search of him [section removed due to egregious spoilers] Translated from Danish by Tiina Nunnally.

    Set in busy York, in the late years of the reign of Hadrian, the story follows the life of the heroine Senovara.

    "Will you massage my horse?," one of his clients asked. And so began Anthony's strange and wonderful adventure into the world of animal massage. In The Walrus on My Table, enter a world where dolphins line up to take turns for their massages, beluga whales lean in for better contact, and high-strung horses grow calm and manageable under Anthony's soothing touch. Discover animal friends you will never forget. Meet:* Nuka, the 1,800 lb. walrus. A series of injections left Nuka's muscles severely constricted on one side of her body, and this gentle animal could no longer swim. * Molly and Josephine, two playful elderly dolphins. Though at first reluctant to allow Anthony's touch, by their second session these two line up impatiently, eager for his attention. * Mambo Point, a racehorse who just couldn't win. Mambo's owner knew that this horse had potential... so why wasn't he performing up to his ability? * Rudy, the hump-backed penguin who wasn't expected to live. Born with a life-threatening condition that made breathing difficult, Rudy's future looked uncertain...* Reddog, who loved to sleep on his owners' forbidden bed-until a sprain got him caught in the act.* Mickey, an independent Tabby, who relaxes so completely under Anthony's hands, she topples right over!* Tab and Presley, the prankster bachelor dolphins of the aquarium, who love to play tricks on their trainers.* Baby, the recipient of the first ever shark massage.So, dive in and romp with Nuka and friends...and enjoy!

    All four of these inevitably imply a sacred ethnopharmacology, with traditions going back to earlier ages of the ancient world. When the apostle Paul proclaimed the new Christian Mystery to the factious congregation at Corinth, there was no one who would not understand that this Eucharist was meant to replace the pagan Mystery that had been celebrated for over a millennium just a short distance away up the shore at the sanctuary of Eleusis. These essays attempt to uncover the original food of the sacramental communion.

    to its absorption by Rome in the first century B.C., combines well-known aspects of the Etruscan world with new discoveries and fresh insights into the role of women in Etruscan society. In addition, the Etruscans are contrasted to the Greeks, whom they often emulated, and to the Romans, who at once admired and disdained them. The result is a compelling and complete picture of a people and a culture.This in-depth examination of Etruria examines how differing access to mineral wealth, trade routes, and agricultural land led to distinct regional variations. Heavily illustrated with ancient Etruscan art and cultural objects, the text is organized both chronologically and thematically, interweaving archaeological evidence, analysis of social structure, descriptions of trade and burial customs, and an examination of pottery and works of art.

    In this richly illustrated survey Alexandra Croom describes the range and style of clothing worn throughout the Western Empire and shows how fashions changed between the first and the sixth centuries. After a short introduction to the evidence (from archaeology, art and literature), and to the manufacture of clothing and its use in status display, she systematically treats male and female dress, looking at the tunic, toga (for men), mantle (for women) and cloaks; underwear, footwear and specialist wear; hats, hairstyles and jewellery. The book concentrates on the clothing work in the Mediterranean region, but includes a section on provincial fashions. A fine and varied corpus of illustrations (including colour plates) helps to bring the everyday world of the Roman Empire to life.

    Now, in her first contemporary novel, she raises her storytelling powers to new heights as she celebrates the special magic that is Ireland's gift to the world -- and explores the everlasting bonds of family, friendship, and love. Eve Danaher's eye for beauty has earned her renown in the fine-art community. But for all her success, her life feels empty without the love of her estranged eighteen-year-old daughter. Determined to discover the peace and happiness that has been missing in her life, Eve books a trip to rural Ireland. There she meets Michael Halloren, a handsome horse trainer who introduces her to the troubled children he cares for at Glennamura Farm.For years Eve has buried her emotions, but in the healing beauty of the Irish valley she opens herself to the warmth and compassion that surrounds her. And as Michael Halloren teaches her how powerful love can be, she becomes ever more determined to find her way back -- into her daughter's heart, and to the life she knows is her destiny.

    

    Antiquarian merchant and sage Balthasar must go on an odyssey in search of a book that holds the secret of God's hundredth name, which is the key to the survival of the world.

    George Coker, who has been brought up in East Germany by his Russian mother, tells Joseph that they share the same father: Kofi Coker, a Ghanaian now living in London. Joseph's reluctant acceptance of the relationship propels him into a nightmare world of intrigue and murder, where warnings are delivered by way of a severed head, where sex -- like love -- is sudden and treacherous. George is trapped in a web of violence and corruption woven by his associates in the criminal gangs of the former Soviet Union, and it's as if he has become Joseph's dark shadow, threatening his very identity.Behind them both is the enigmatic figure of Kofi, an idealistic African whose time in Kruschev's Moscow led to betrayal and planted the seeds of tragedy in the next generation.A Shadow of Myself is the new, hugely ambitious novel from one of our leading black writers. Both thriller and love story, it is set against the backdrop of post-Cold War Europe and the impact of the Third World on its future. Gripping and moving, it traces the lives of its characters from the fifties to the present day, as they move between the clashing ideologies of East and West.

    A dream world driven by illusion. Tiege Cargill is Weirlech Films most promising director, his friend and mentor Fritz Weirlech has left him the studio and his private fortune. D.W. Kolten, nephew to Fritz Weirlech has stolen the fortune through a faked will and sent Tiege to England to make his last movie. Tiege disappears after a car wreck and is found by a young English farm girl named Catherine Pearce. She has no idea who the mysterious stranger is or how famous he is. She only knows she loves him. When Kolten learns of Tiege's disappearance he sees this as a chance to be rid of him once and for all. Plans are made to complete the film in secrecy and make certain Tiege does not make it back to Hollywood alive!

    A look at this fabled city--buried beneath a rain of ash and cinder during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD--includes the Porta Marina, one of the best preserved gates to the city, as well as the Forum, tmple of Apollo, and several public walkways and private villas.

    But most astonishing of all are the human remains of someone known only as the 'First Mother', dating back almost 2000 years...However, angry local homeowners want the cave filled in and their lives back to normal as soon as possible and Jared Black, formidable campaigner for the Native American Heritage Commission, wants the site claimed for the relevant tribe. Erica refuses to back down as a childhood of foster homes meant she grew up never knowing her real identity and she won't let the First Mother be consigned to history in the same manner...