A new generation of fans and comedians, including Johnny Vegas, Victoria Wood and Vic Reeves, are now rediscovering Dodd's unique talents. Dodd has a huge and fiercely loyal fanbase. On the eve of his eightieth birthday, Ken Dodd is still touring the country, performing in packed venues an average of two nights a week with his legendary four-hour sets. 'I do it because that is what I do. I do it because that is what I am,' he said, when asked why he continues with this punishing schedule. Ken Dodd's career has spanned over five decades as he went from singer to actor, and presently, most famously, comedian. He is considered the last, great, music-hall-inspired variety comic, but what drives this man whose career has been tainted by hardship? Dodd still lives in his childhood home of Knotty Ash and has never married, despite having two-long term fiances. In 1989, his strange relationship to money culminated in a trial for tax evasion, and he was also famously stalked by a mystery woman. How did this feather-duster salesman become one of the most loved, though least-lauded, British comedians of all time? Stephen Griffin interviewed friends, colleagues and fellow comedians to get inside the mind of the original Diddyman.

    

    In this ultimate collection you will find 25 works by the amazing Victorian novelist- Thomas Hardy! All in one elegantly formatted Book for ease of use and enjoyment on your Kindle device works include : 13 Novels • FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD • THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE • THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE • TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES • JUDE THE OBSCURE • DESPERATE REMEDIES • A PAIR OF BLUE EYES • UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE • THE WOODLANDERS • A LAODICEAN: A STORY OF TO-DAY • THE TRUMPET-MAJOR JOHN LOVEDAY • THE HAND OF ETHELBERTA • TWO ON A TOWER A dozen minor novels • A CHANGED MAN AND OTHER TALES ++ also a little bonus a Thomas Hardy Biography with links for further reading enjoy !!

    A collection of seven critical essays discussing Tolstoy's novel, arranged in chronological order of their original publication.

    side at the top, and shot into the next hollow, twisting in the descent. A huge swell pushed up exactly under her middle, and her bow and stern hung free with nothing to support them. Then one joking wave caught her up at the bow, and another at the stern, while the rest of the water slunk 251 away from under her just to see how she would like it; so she was held up at her two ends only, and the weight of the cargo and the machinery fell on the groaning iron keels and bilge-stringers. "Ease off! Ease off, there!" roared the garboard-strake. "I want one-eighth of an inch fair play. D' you hear me, you rivets!" "Ease off! Ease off!" cried the bilge-stringers. "Don't hold us so tight to the frames!" "Ease off!" grunted the deck-beams, as the Dimbula rolled fearfully. "You've cramped our knees into the stringers, and we can't move. Ease off, you flat-headed little nuisances." Then two converging seas hit the bows, one on each side, and fell away in torrents of streaming thunder. "Ease off!" shouted the forward collision-bulkhead. "I want to crumple up, but I'm stiffened in every direction. Ease off, you dirty little forge-filings. Let me breathe!" All the hundreds of plates that are riveted to the frames, and make the outside skin of every steamer, echoed the call, for each plate wanted to shift and creep a little, and each plate, according to its position, complained against the rivets. "We can't help it! We can't help it!" they murmured in reply. "We're put here to hold you, and we're going to do it; you never pull us twice in the same direction. If you'd say what 252 you were going to do next, we'd try to meet your views." "As far as I could feel," said the upper-deck planking, and that was four inches thick, "every single iron near me was pushing or pulling in opposite directions. Now, what's the sense of that? My friends, let us all pull together." "Pull any way you please," roared the funnel, "so long as you don't try your experiments on me. I...

    

    The character development is very strong and realistic, and the dialogue of the novel is very powerful.

    Its essence is sharing. Therefore, Bill W. and Dr. Bob are always referred to within the Fellowship as the co-founders. So far, among the majority of A.A. members, the Ohio surgeon has been less well known than his partner. He died in 1950, when A.A. was only 15 years old. But his influence on the whole A.A. program is permanent and profound. This book gives a portrait of Dr. Bob as full-sale and balanced as possible—for the most part, in the words of those who knew him personally. The young man who grew up in Vermont became a hard-drinking college boy, then a medical student fighting the onset of his own alcoholism, a respected physician, a loving but increasingly unreliable family man, and at last a desperately ill drunk. He was without hope until he met a stockbroker from New York—Bill W., who urgently needed a fellow alcoholic to help him maintain his own sobriety. His story then becomes inextricably entwined with that of Alcoholics Anonymous: from a fledgling Fellowship to a powerful spiritual movement with a worldwide reach. Dr. Bob’s story remains instructional and inspiring to those who read it today.

    Regaining her memories and life on land she sets out for revenge.

    Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) continues the adventures of the Monte-Cristo family in the Countess of Monte-Cristo.

    Her picture-perfect relationship, the venture capital she needs to launch her fledgling company…gone. All she has now is the vacation she planned to take with her ex-fiancé—and there’s no way she’s letting that go. The last thing she expects (or wants) to find in Euphoria is love. But the sexy, confident man she meets there has her wondering if a rebound is precisely what she needs. Hawke Sterling doesn’t do romance. He’s far too jaded for that. Fairy tale, happily ever after endings just aren’t for people like him. But there’s something about Quinn that has him questioning everything. She’s smart, charming, and entirely too gorgeous for his peace of mind. Too bad the only thing he has to offer her is heartbreak. When it turns out that Hawke holds the key to Quinn’s professional success (or ultimate failure), he’ll have to decide if the cost of being with her is more than he’s willing to pay—and Quinn will need to decide if taking a second chance at love is worth the risk…___________________Read 9 holiday full-length stories from 9 of your favorite authors in this fantastic holiday collection. Each book is a standalone and sold separately by each individual author.Follow their amazing characters as they find their true love under the Mistletoe. Some tales are steamy hot, others naughty sweet, but oh…they are all soooo good!Each book is a standalone and FEATURES THE FOLLOWING AUTHORS:

    WILD AT HEART DVD-BASED STUDY SESSIONSWILD AT HEART DVD-BASED STUDY SESSIONS

    She had the love of her life, her high school sweetheart, and a bright future ahead of her. That is, until one day he just disappeared, leaving a note as his only goodbye. With her heart shattered and broken, Shayne did the only thing she could. She left her small town on the shores of Lake Michigan to start her life over, needing to distance herself from the memories she and Luke had made. At that time, she vowed to herself that she would never return to her hometown again. Seven years later, Shayne realizes that fate is not on her side as she returns home for her aunt’s funeral, bringing back the one secret she swore to protect. Luke Schavone has regretted every day that he had to leave Shayne behind. Though he didn’t have a choice, his heart still bore the scars from the impact. After five years, Luke returned only to find that Shayne was gone. His best friend was the only lifeline he had to find her, but Adam wasn’t talking. When the one thing Luke has wanted every day for the past seven years runs right into him one night, he becomes determined to make sure he doesn’t lose her again. At first, Shayne is hesitant. She wouldn’t be able to survive losing him again, but the pull toward him is so fierce, she can’t deny herself the chance. With the decision to start over, Luke and Shayne must admit truths and come to terms with the events that forced them apart in the first place. When secrets are revealed and old threats come to pass, will Luke be able to shelter Shayne from the destruction, or will she become lost to him forever? Rescue Me Erin McIntyre is a survivor. Four years ago she bundled up her six-year-old daughter and set sail into uncharted waters with nothing more than the will to survive. When offered a place to stay and a new job by her best friend's cousin, Adam, she simply cannot refuse...but he quickly becomes more than a friend. Afraid to love again, Erin remains steadfast, certain the only person she can trust is herself. But when her past comes knocking, threatening to tear her carefully constructed world apart, the support of a man who believes in her more than she does herself will be the one thing that can keep her head above water. Will old habits prove too hard to break and leave Erin drowning in a sea of self-doubt, or can she let go of her fears and learn to love once more? Adam Payne never thought he would find love; he wasn’t even looking for it. However, after Erin McIntyre walks into his life he finds himself falling hard and fast for her. Determined to show Erin that she is worthy of not only his love but of herself, he will stop at nothing to make this woman his. But when Erin’s past comes back to haunt them all, will Adam be able to rescue her from her worst fear? Keep Me Four months ago Shelby Morris left Michigan with bitter words to Antonio Schavone. Words that cut him deep. Made him re-think every aspect of his life. Even when she left he didn’t give up. He’s changed, and he wants her. And now she’s coming back! She has her reasons for why she said what she did. A secret she has carried with her since she was a teenager. The reason why she has never let herself get close to a man. The reason why she lives only for her job. The reason why she doesn’t feel like a complete woman. Her sister Erin doesn’t even know why she has never had a relationship. Will he be able to break through her strong-willed ways? Make her realize he doesn’t care what her secret is and show her she is definitely the one he wants.

     Enjoy 5 full length military/billionaire romance books bundled together for the first time. NO CLIFFHANGERS, guaranteed. More than 1,000 pages. JACK Running from her past, Raelyn ends up at the doorstep of security firm owner, Jack. Needing help and shelter, Jack offers her both. Under attack, they can’t help the connection that builds between them. With the past breathing down her neck, she has to do her best to survive, no matter what. NOWHERE ALASKA Derek has ruthlessly picked on me every day of my life, right up until the moment I helped save him from a kidnapping. Now he’s a six-foot tall wall of muscle that follows me around like a lost puppy. The sicko is still out there, so we’d better stick together, but I really wish he’d stop being so attractive. HEADLIGHTS Maxine had it all, the career, the big house, the car, and the loving fiance; but that all changed the night of the car crash - the night Daniel was killed. Hoping to start afresh, Maxine moves to another city, but fate it seems is not finished with her. Quickly she becomes drawn to Josh, a biker who is offering her the world; but Maxine is caught in the throes of a dilemma, for while she is captivated by Josh, she is torn by her loyalty to Daniel and the fact that she suspects that Josh was behind Daniel's death. BETRAYED It started out as one of Monica’s worst days in years. She was passed over for the big promotion at work and her boyfriend of six months, Alan, broke up with her…all on the same day. A night at the bar, drowning her sorrows in alcohol, seemed like the perfect fix—even if only temporarily. When a complete stranger walked up to her—a strikingly handsome stranger at that!—she knew her day was just about to get much, much better. Was Jason who he seemed to be, or was she about to get her heart broken yet again? FINDING SARAH The day Selene was hired to pretend to be a stripper in order to woo the handsome billionaire, Barkley Bailey, and find out whether he killed his wife was unlike no other. She was under direct orders to get information on Sarah Mitchell Bailey and not fall for Barkley. If only not falling for Barkley was as easy as Selene assumed it would be. Minutes after meeting him, with all his charm and genuine interest, and she knew that this job would be the hardest of her career.

    He had just lost the man he was trailing and then got into a crazy highway chase with a Cadillac. Now he just wanted to get some sleep. But his thoughts of sleep ended when a screaming brunette woke him with her screams and a hand covered in blood. It looked like a murder, but where was the victim? And Lew Archer only had one suspect―an imaginary blonde that nobody seems to have seen.