From gangs of gangsters to maniacs who massacre, meet the biggest baddies in history and discover how they tortured and terrified their way to the top. Find out whose savage speciality was nostril-splitting, which evil emperor served up guts in gold dishes, whose axe-murdering antics were turned into a ballet and much more. It's all you need to know about villains - all the gore and more!

    Now, get three full-length novels featuring some of Heyer's most beloved heroines, plus a delightful bonus novella from the Queen of Regency Romance's little known short story collection.About the books in this bundle:The Grand Sophy: When Sophy sweeps in, life will never be the same for the Ombersleys. Sophy discovers that her aunt's family is in desperate need of her talent for setting everything right: Cecelia is in love with a poet, Charles has tyrannical tendencies that are being aggravated by his grim fiancee, her uncle is of no use at all, and the younger children are in desperate need of some fun and freedom. By the time she's done, Sophy has commandeered Charles's horses, his household-and maybe even his heart.Arabella: Arabella never would have pretended to be rich if that odious Robert Beaumaris hadn't insulted her, practically to her face. Now she has to keep up the subterfuge, even when it gets her into more trouble than she bargained for. How is she ever going to tell Robert the truth? Or does he already know her shocking secret?Frederica: The lovely, competent, and refreshingly straightforward Frederica is determined to secure a brilliant marriage for her beautiful sister and seeks out their distant cousin, the Marquis of Alverstoke, for his society connections. Frederica makes such a strong impression that to his own amazement, the Marquis agrees to help. Normally wary of his family, Lord Alverstoke does his best to keep his word while keeping his distance. But with his enterprising – and altogether entertaining – country cousins getting into one scrape after another, before he knows it the Marquis finds himself dangerously embroiled.To Have the Honor (novella): Young Lord Allerton returns home from the Napoleonic Wars to find his father has left the family bankrupt. His mother's solution: marry his wealthy cousin. But the Viscount would sooner have his beloved Harriet marry whom she chooses than be reduced to accepting a proposal from his financially compromised position.

    To top it he had speech difficulties and was vague and inattentive. Albert hated the kind of rote learning he was obliged to do in school, memorizing dates and texts. But as he grew older, it became clear that Albert was no ordinary person. 1905 is often termed his 'miracle year', the year he published not one but four entirely new papers, on four completely different topics.

    But this attitude is a relatively recent development in the sweep of history. In The Pun Also Rises, John Pollack — a former Presidential Speechwriter for Bill Clinton, and winner of the world pun championship — explains how punning revolutionized language and made possible the rise of modern civilization. Integrating evidence from history, pop culture, literature, comedy, science, business and everyday life, this book will make readers reconsider everything they think they know about puns.

    A twenty-three year old with model girl looks and a book deal with a major publisher, she's outselling the established names in her field and is fast becoming the darling of the media.Becky Hunter has money problems. Can she earn enough from her light-hearted romance novels to counteract boyfriend Alex's extravagant spending habits, before their rocky world collapses?Hard up factory worker Jan Chilver sees writing as an escape from her troubled, lonely life. She is offered a lifeline—but fails to read the small print...In the competitive world of publishing, success can be merely a matter of who you know—and how ruthless you are prepared to be to get to the top.BEST SELLER is a novella of 40k words (roughly half as long as an average length novel), a slightly dark, slightly edgy drama with a twist or three in the tale.

    Roy Peter Clark, author of Writing Tools, aims to put the glamour back in grammar with this fun, engaging alternative to stuffy instructionals. In this practical guide, readers will learn everything from the different parts of speech to why effective writers prefer concrete nouns and active verbs. The Glamour of Grammar gives readers all the tools they need to"live inside the language" -- to take advantage of grammar to perfect their use of English, to instill meaning, and to charm through their writing. With this indispensable book, readers will come to see just how glamorous grammar can be.

    She proclaims, in her delightfully urbane, witty, and very English way, that it is time to look at our commas and semicolons and see them as the wonderful and necessary things they are. Using examples from literature, history, neighborhood signage, and her own imagination, Truss shows how meaning is shaped by commas and apostrophes, and the hilarious consequences of punctuation gone awry.Featuring a foreword by Frank McCourt, and interspersed with a lively history of punctuation from the invention of the question mark in the time of Charlemagne to George Orwell shunning the semicolon, Eats, Shoots & Leaves makes a powerful case for the preservation of proper punctuation.

    Specially commissioned photography shows minifigures and vehicles in action, with tons of storylines and facts that kids will love.

    It is democratic, everchanging and ingenious in its assimilation of other cultures. English runs through the heart of the world of finance, medicine and the Internet, and it is understood by around two thousand million people across the world. It seems set to go on. Yet it was nearly wiped out in its early years.Embracing elements of Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Hindi and Gullah, this 1500-year story covers a huge range of countries and people. The Adventure of English is not only an enthralling story of power, religion and trade, but also the story of people, and how their day-to-day lives shaped and continue to change the extraordinary language that is English.

    This book asks: 'What is it that a teacher needs to know about English in order to teach it effectively?' It leads teachers to awareness of the language through a wide range of tasks which involve them in analysing English to discover its underlying system. The book consists of 28 units, each containing around ten tasks, plus a diagnostic introductory unit. Units start at phoneme level and progress through words, phrases and sentences on to complete texts. Task-types include recognition, categorisation, matching, explanation, and application tasks. Throughout the book, the language is illustrated wherever possible from authentic sources, so that the teacher can be sure that the English being studied represents current usage.

    Covering such turning points as the little-known Celtic and Welsh influences on English, the impact of the Viking raids and the Norman Conquest, and the Germanic invasions that started it all during the fifth century ad, John McWhorter narrates this colorful evolution with vigor. Drawing on revolutionary genetic and linguistic research as well as a cache of remarkable trivia about the origins of English words and syntax patterns, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue ultimately demonstrates the arbitrary, maddening nature of English--and its ironic simplicity due to its role as a streamlined lingua franca during the early formation of Britain. This is the book that language aficionados worldwide have been waiting for (and no, it's not a sin to end a sentence with a preposition).

    So when Miss Hunnicutt steps out in her new hat, the stuffy townsfolk are scandalized. The chicken has to go! But plucky Miss Hunnicut stands up for her right to wear what she likes. And when the Queen's arrival prompts a surprising turn of events, the townspeople learn to celebrate the silly eccentricities that make life interesting.

    They opened up new worlds and cast light on all the complexities she encountered in this one.She was whisked away to Narnia – and Kirrin Island – and Wonderland. She ventured down rabbit holes and womble burrows into midnight gardens and chocolate factories. She wandered the countryside with Milly-Molly-Mandy, and played by the tracks with the Railway Children. With Charlotte’s Web she discovered Death and with Judy Blume it was Boys. No wonder she only left the house for her weekly trip to the library or to spend her pocket money on amassing her own at home.In Bookworm, Lucy revisits her childhood reading with wit, love and gratitude. She relives our best-beloved books, their extraordinary creators, and looks at the thousand subtle ways they shape our lives. She also disinters a few forgotten treasures to inspire the next generation of bookworms and set them on their way.Lucy brings the favourite characters of our collective childhoods back to life – prompting endless re-readings, rediscoveries, and, inevitably, fierce debate – and brilliantly uses them to tell her own story, that of a born, and unrepentant, bookworm.

    When Archie accidentally pops his football, it starts him thinking about Christmas - and especially Christmas PRESENTS! On his journey to deliver his wish to Santa, Archie meets Robyn, Willow and Nigel and discovers what Christmas is really all about.