Reviews

In January 1988, aged twelve, Martin Pistorius fell inexplicably sick. First he lost his voice and stopped eating; then he slept constantly and shunned human contact. Doctors were mystified. Within eighteen months he was mute and wheelchair-bound. Martin's parents were told that an unknown degenerative disease had left him with the mind of a baby and he probably had less than two years to live. Martin went on to be cared for at centres for severely disabled children, a shell of the bright, vivacious boy he had once been. What no-one knew is that while Martin's body remained unresponsive his mind slowly woke up, yet he could tell no-one; he was a prisoner inside a broken body.
Then, in 1998, when Martin was twenty-three years old, an aromatherapy masseuse began treating him and sensed some part of him was alert. Experts were dismissive, but his parents persevered and soon realised their son was as intelligent as he'd always been. With no memory of the time before his illness, Martin was a man-child reborn in a world he didn't know. He was still in a wheelchair and unable to speak, but he was brilliantly adept at computer technology. Since then, and against all odds, he has fallen in love, married and set up a design business which he runs from his home in Essex.

Ghost Boy is an incredible, deeply moving story of recovery and the power of love. Through Martin's story we can know what it is like to be here and yet not here - unable to communicate yet feeling and understanding everything. Martin's emergence from his darkness enables us to celebrate the human spirit and is a wake-up call to cherish our own lives.

When Nikos, a detective in the final years of his career, is persuaded back to his home town he is faced with the gory murder of a young boy near the old monastery. Echoing two murders committed 33 years previously in the exact same spot, and a mass cult suicide, it brings back a part of the island's history that it has tried hard to forget.

There is a lot at stake - the island's lucrative tourist trade and the open secret of the drugs trade that goes hand in hand with the hordes of mainly young British holiday makers.
As Nikos begins his investigation, two British crime writers arrive on the island. The best selling Kitty Carson, on a break from the pressures of writing and her strained relationship, and Jason an aspiring writer whose aim is to strike up a friendship with her and convince her to help him get published.

As the two writers are thrown together in an unexpected way, another murder is committed and Jason and Kitty are drawn into an investigation of their own. As they discover more about the island's dark past what began as a diversion becomes a dangerous pursuit...

Bread is the one common factor linking every culture together since the beginning of history. It holds a social and gastronomi significance for everybody. Paul Hollywood's love of this creative foodstuff has built him a thriving bakery and seen him creating breads for some of the country's most famous hotels. He believes in celebrating not only the breaking of bread, but the making of it too, and conveys his own love of bread-making and its therapeutic powers in this collection of recipes. From basic bread to breakfast breads, Mediterranean, traditional and ancient recipes, pizzas, muffins and cakes, these recipes take in every aspect of bread-making. They throw a fresh light on this seemingly simple food with a multitude of flavours, and a twist on the older ones.

With contributions from some of the biggest names in writing including Alexander McCall Smith and Paul Theroux, this book takes you on a journey around the world, satisfying both mind and spirit.

'I'm too busy to be happy . . .'

Do you ever think like this? Many of us do these days, says psychologist and happiness expert Dr Timothy Sharp. In our quest for better jobs, bigger houses, more exotic holidays and higher-performing children, we have become too busy to factor in the one component that will make all of the above worthwhile: happiness.

The good news is that achieving happiness is not a herculean task. It doesn't require expensive therapy or years of self-examination. Often it is about fine-tuning our thoughts and putting in place some simple daily practices.

Dr Sharp draws on the latest research into the science of happiness and presents it here in 100 bite-sized chunks of inspiration and instruction. Read it from cover to cover, or dip in and out for a regular dose of happiness training. Learn how to increase your happiness levels by:

• improving your physical health
• counting your blessings
• nurturing positive relationships
• becoming a giver
• better managing your time.

Accessible, informative and funny, 100 Ways to Happiness encourages us to regard happiness as something that is achievable, manageable and hugely enhancing to the lives we live now.

Highly successful author and innovative designer Stafford Cliff has visited hundreds of gardens in the course of his travels over the last forty years all over the world, taking photographs and making notes. With his designer's eye and experience, he has created a revelatory work – a unique sourcebook of the very best ideas providing choices and inspiration for every single garden dilemma and possibility, from colour and planting to hard surfaces and features.

For every new choice a gardener wishes to make, for every change they wish to introduce, there is a complete wealth of options – the plants, the path, the paving, the pots – they are all shown. From ornamental gates, to water features, sundials, and beyond, myriad images are shown to fascinate, inspire and enthrall the reader. The book is simply stunning, a veritable visual jigsaw delights the eye with the quirky set alongside the classic, the modern set against the traditional, and it is as practical as it inspiring, with a comprehensive directory of suppliers to help the reader realise their vision.

Where do you start? Iconic buildings, awesome canyons, weird monuments, vast animal migrations, spooky dungeons and romantic vistas are just some of the man-made marvels and natural wonders in 1000 Ultimate Sights. Make your own list, hit the road, and start exploring the world’s most breathtaking sights.

• Natural phenomena, including the bubbling Pitch Lake of Trinidad
• Architectural masterpieces, including the ground-breaking Sagrada Família in Spain
• Wildlife spectacles, including the Elephant Gathering of Sri Lanka
• Historic sights, such as the magnifi cent ruins at Volubilis, Morocco
• Cultural icons, including the Giant Buddha of Leshan
  

Whether youre looking for a moreish snack for tea, or that perfect cake for a special occasion, Good Food 101 Cakes & Bakes serves up a collection of tasty treats. Taken from Britains top-selling BBC Good Food magazine, these imaginative and easy-to-make recipes are guaranteed to be simply scrumptious. From such delicious classics as Authentic Yorkshire Parkin and Shortbread, and the imaginative combinations of Raspberry and Blueberry Lime Drizzle Cake or Cranberry and Poppy Seed Muffins, to spectacular cakes such as Seriously Rich Chocolate Cake, theres plenty to keep your family and friends happy. These quick and easy recipes have been specially chosen to help even the busiest people enjoy delicious, fresh, home-cooked food. Each recipe is written with simple step-by-step instructions and is accompanied by a useful nutritional analysis and a full-colour photograph, so you can cook with complete confidence

Who wouldn't want to live in a treehouse? Especially a 13-storey treehouse that has a bowling alley, a see-through swimming pool, a tank full of sharks, a library full of comics, a secret underground laboratory, a games room, self-making beds, vines you can swing on, a vegetable vaporiser and a marshmallow machine that follows you around and automatically shoots your favourite flavoured marshmallows into your mouth whenever it discerns you're hungry.

Two new characters - Andy and Terry - live here, make books together, and have a series of completely nutty adventures. Because: ANYTHING can happen in a 13-storey treehouse.

Scandals, disasters, shocks and crises: 1932 could truly be described as one of the most electrifying years in Australian history, alive with unforgettable characters and momentous events.

Looking back, it's hard to believe how much happened in that fateful year to become the stuff of enduring national legend: the Sydney Harbour Bridge opened by surprise with the slashing sword of Captain Francis de Groot; the birth of the Australian Broadcasting Commission; the mysterious death of the beloved race horse Phar Lap, the controversial dismissal of NSW Premier Jack Lang, and the start of cricket's infamous Bodyline series. Those were among the best remembered incidents but there were others – from an epic outback rescue of two lost aviators to the most expensive divorce case ever heard – that reflected the distinctive flavour of the times.

Overshadowing all else, the Great Depression seemed to single Australians out for special punishment, pushing a fragile young society to the brink of disintegration. By 1932 – the worst of it – a third of the population had been reduced to living like refugees in their own land while a lucky few emerged rich as third world rajahs.

Acclaimed journalist and author Gerald Stone takes us on an exhilarating and fascinating journey through a year that quite literally changed a nation. Evocative and brilliantly researched, this is a book that turns history into compelling reading at its very best.

1942 was the year of Australia's greatest peril – as Darwin was destroyed by bombing, Australian ships were torpedoed within sight of our coast, midget Japanese submarines attacked shipping in Sydney Harbour, and the Japanese army invaded New Guinea on its inexorable march south. This is the real story of the genuine and imminent threat to Australia in that fateful year.

On the beautiful Inland Sea of Japan – the heartland of the Imperial Japanese Navy – and in frenetic wartime Tokyo, zealous staff officers and their illogical admirals debated the invasion of an almost defenceless nation. The Imperial Japanese Army, meanwhile, opposed the attack, foreseeing a looming military quagmire. In Australia, Allied defence chiefs all but dismissed the chances of holding Darwin. For months, Australia's fate hung in the balance.

1942 is a story of desperate bravery and criminal stupidity. Most of all, it is the story of Australians left high and dry, under the looming shadow of a terrible invasion, and the steps that an inexperienced leader, John Curtin, took to save his country in its darkest days.

A detailed history and sourcebook of 20th-century fashion. It charts the development of women's fashion in all its aspects, from couture wear to underwear. Arranged by decade, the pictures are accompanied by descriptions of each garment and accessory, including fabric, cut and pattern.

A variety of contemporary beach houses and other waterside retreats, located in some truly spectacular environments, including Australia and New Zealand. Each remarkable house is presented in stunning full-colour photography.

The early 21st-century setting might, in the hands of another author, be only a guise, a shortcut to making a world that's more gritty, shabby, and used up than ours. But Disch's future is thoroughly imagined, and he's adept at dropping in details of his characters' lives that are commonplace to them but jarring to us. It might be something as simple as going to the kitchen to "mix up a glass of milk." Occasionally it's radical, as in the case of Millie, who wants to have a baby but also keep her career. The answer? The child is gestated in an artificial womb and Millie's husband gets mammary implants.

Psychologist Cass Seltzer's book, The Variety of Religious Illusion, has become a surprise bestseller, and has him rubbing shoulders with Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens on the bestsellers lists and chat show circuit. Dubbed 'the atheist with a soul', Cass's sudden celebrity has upended his life and brought back the ghosts of his past, including a lover in pursuit of immortality, a mentor with a suspicious obsession with messianism, and a six-year-old mathematical prodigy, heir to the dynasty of a strict fundamentalist community.

Over the course of one week, Cass's theories about the inescapability of the religious impulse are born out in ways he could never have imagined.

36 Arguments for the Existence of God is a remarkably original novel which explores the varieties of the human religious experience in a story of obsession, consuming love, and divine genius. By turns hilarious, moving and devilishly clever, Goldstein's novel is an exhilarating romance of heart and mind.

... this is a book which is best enjoyed slowly for the delicacy of the argument and the deliciousness of the writing. But it is also hilariously funny and a profound joy to read.

If you seriously want to stay and look younger and healthier for longer, this is the book for you. Award-winning alternative health columnist Hazel Courteney has made it her mission in life to help people to turn back the clock. In this book she has succeeded and has done her best to show you the hundreds of ways that, if you begin today, will help you to not only look younger but also feel younger. By following the expert advice on offer, you will have a far greater chance to live an active and useful life until you are 100 or more. Packed with cutting-edge, easy-to-read information and advice in an AZ format, you will quickly discover how to have more energy, help reduce your risk of the major diseases that shorten most of our lives, keep your mind intact, regenerate your skin and cells and take more charge of your ageing process.

Two decades on, living in the highlands of Scotland, he's again confronted with those turbulent years, and with the accident that changed everything . . .

Wry, insightful, intelligent, 88 Lines About 44 Women traces the boundaries of shame and how it obstructs the capacity for love.  Are all men emotionally disconnected?  Does true intimacy bring redemption, or is it the other way round?

While Bunty's partner was away in the countryside producing a feature film, Bunty and her eight-month-old daughter lived with four Bhutanese sisters and their families in Thimphu, the capital city.

In this crowded house Bunty learned about life in contemporary Bhutan – the tiny nation nestled above India that is ruled by a King who decreed that Gross National Happiness was more important than Gross National Product. She also learned about the Bhutanese way of raising children – where bribing local deities is the best way of getting even the most fractious babies to sleep.

Then there were the encounters with Bhutan's four queens, the culinary delights of leather stew and ancient yak cheese, and a demoness bent on ruining her partner's film shoot …

No, there is no chicken stock in this soup. What you'll find here is page after glorious page of the loveliest, most delicious soups and stews - each and every one entirely vegetarian. Brimming with international flavors, Paulette Mitchell's easy-to-follow recipes are paired with unique accompaniments, garnishes, and toppings that add tremendous visual appeal. Witness hearty Pumpkin Stew baked and served in a pumpkin shell; classic onion soup updated with crunchy goat cheese toasts; and Spicy Sweet Potato-Ancho Bisque swirled with bright Roasted Red Pepper Cream. From Mediterranean Saffron Stew to Greek Spinach and Orzo Soup, these colorful dishes are simple enough for every day, yet sophisticated enough for elegant dinner parties. Instructions for making tasty vegetable stock from scratch, a selection of delicious vegan soups, and a helpful "tips" section make this gorgeous cookbook an important addition to any kitchen where good food and good health are on the menu.

The most eagerly-anticipated crime fiction debut of 2008!

In the tiny South African town of Jacob's Rest, Detective Emmanuel Cooper is sent to investigate the murder of an Afrikaans police officer, Captain Willem Pretorius.

Cooper, an "English" South African, is viewed with suspicion by both the Boer Afrikaaners and the dead man's prominent family, and his investigation is quickly taken over by Security Branch. But Cooper isn't interested in political expediency, or making friends in high places, and as he pursues his own inquiry, he discovers that Captain Pretorius had led a deadly double life.

The more he digs, the more dangerous the investigation becomes. Cooper has secrets of his own. If he can survive long enough to learn the truth about Captain Pretorius, it might just save his life.

In this riveting debut, Malla Nunn combines a thrilling, action-packed story with a thoughtful, complex portrayal of an unforgettable time and place and the human desires that drive us all, regardless of race, colour or creed.

'Jenny Kee? Didn't she design that Koala jumper Princess Di wore when she was pregnant?', 'Wasn't she the Softly lady in all those TV ads?', 'Didn't she create that amazing frock salon, Flamingo Park?'
Yes, but that's only part of the remarkable Jenny Kee story. With searing honesty she lays bare her private life: her dysfunctional family; her insecurities as a person and an artist; her love affairs and friendships; the highs and lows of motherhood and marriage to a gifted painter; her relationship with the younger man who became her soul mate, and its tragic end; the personal price she paid for the enormous success - and disastrous decline - of her business; and her road to spiritual and emotional fulfilment.
Truly A BIG LIFE.

Set on Kudufontein, a remote farm on the border between South Africa and an unnamed country in the 1970s, A Blade of Grass is a charged and complex exploration of apartheid and its consequences. The story centers on MÄrit Laurens, a young woman of British descent, orphaned and recently married to Ben, whom she joins to live on their newly purchased farm. Not long after their arrival, violence strikes at the heart of MÄrit's world, leaving her alone and isolated. Devastated, alone, but determined to keep the farm running, MÄrit turns for companionship and guidance to her young black housekeeper, Tembi, who is in a similar predicament but for different reasons.

Soon MÄrit finds herself in the middle of a simmering battle between the local Afrikaner community that surrounds her farm and the black workers who live on it, with both vying for control over her land in the wake of tragedy. Facing obstacles of biblical proportions, Tembi and MÄrit forge a close bond, relying on each other, what's left of their land, and their wits to survive.

Strangers and wanderers insinuate themselves into their sheltered world, including Michael, the mute musician who charms their farmyard animals, and Khoza, a mysterious, sinister figure who upsets the tenuous peace and security Tembi and MÄrit have found in each other. Perhaps the greatest threat to their world is the encroaching civil war and its soldiers who stir up conflicting loyalties that turn MÄrit and Tembi's fight for the farm into a struggle for their lives.

A fantasy debut collection by Deborah Biancott.

Carl Matt - even his name mocks him. The people of Wattle Beach do their best to grind him under foot.

Why are the Matts such pariahs? The answer lies in Wiseman's Cove, a short ride across the strait where Carl finds refuge in the most unlikely place. Wiseman's Cove has been waiting for Carl - waiting a long time.

Burqas, car bombs, and Bombay Sapphire – welcome to life in post-Taliban Kabul from the viewpoint of Sally Cooper, an Australian journalist and aid worker who took a job training journalists for a United Nations humanitarian news agency.
When she arrived in Afghanistan, Sally knew next to nothing about the country. Once in Kabul, she moved into the Karwan Sara guesthouse – and quickly met a cast of characters that drew her into the strange realities of life in "the Ghan".
Some of the many questions posed include: What do you do when you discover your male hotel cleaner wearing your clothes? How do you blend into the background at a Friday night dog fight when you're the only woman there – and you're a blonde Westerner? Under what circumstances do you decide that wearing a burqa is for your own protection? How do you live and work in a place where the car next to yours at the traffic lights could be driven by a suicide bomber?

A Burqa and a Hard Place will tell you more about daily life in Afghanistan than anything you've ever seen on the nightly news

A very modern grandmother, Mrs. Oberon, rides her tuned-up trail bike to come to her son Scrimshaw's rescue when he cannot stop his teething baby from crying.

Beatrice Davis, 1909-1992, was this country's most acclaimed book editor, the 'backroom girl of Australian literature'. As general editor at Angus and Robertson from the late 1930s to the early 1970s, she discovered and nurtured the talents of countless writers, among them Thea Astley, Miles Franklin, Xavier Herbert and Hal Porter. Her position as a judge of major prizes, including the Miles Franklin Award, reinforced her pivotal role - one that saw her by turns respected, feared, courted and berated. In her long career she saw Australian publishing change from a genteel pursuit to a market-dominated industry. A Certain Style also tells the story of that change, illustrated by the decline and fall of Angus and Robertson, for almost a century as Australia's premier publishing house.

Rediscover the delight and innocence of childhood in these classic poems from celebrated author, Robert Louis Stevenson.

From make-believe to climbing trees, bedtime stories to morning play and favourite cousins to beloved mothers.

Newly illustrated edition of the classic Christmas morality tale by Robert Ingpen, one of Australia’s greatest children’s book illustrators.

The first story, "A Christmas Carol", is a morality tale about Ebenezer Scrooge, a contemptuous, penny-pinching man who undergoes a journey of redemption one Christmas Eve. "A Christmas Tree", is about an old man whose memories are stirred as he reminisces about the toys and gifts that have decorated his Christmas tree over the years.

• A glorious edition of this Christmas classic illustrated by renowned Australian children’s book author & illustrator Robert Ingpen.

The film adaptation was written and directed by Stanley Kubrick and starred Malcolm McDowell and Patrick Magee.

They were originally five. Elliot. Brian. Tallis. Cameron. And Dylan -- charismatic Dylan -- the mediator, the leader, the man each one turned to in a time of crisis. Five close friends, bonded in college, still coming together for their annual trip to Las Vegas. This year they are four. Four friends, sharing a common loss: Dylana's tragic death. A common loss that, upon their arrival in Vegas, will bring with it a common threat: one that will make them question who their departed friend really was, and whether he is even worthy of their grief.

A COMMON LOSS is Kirsten Trantera??s follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut, The Legacy. Yet again, Trantera??s weave of watertight prose and literary sensibilities shows her to be a born writer with a precocious control of storytelling and style.

Before Micah came to St Luc's, he knew how to beg, how to steal and how to run from a beating. He didn't know how to comb his hair or wait his turn. Now he was a stranger in a strange land. If it had been me, I would have found a way to disappear inside myself until the strangeness wore off. Micah was not like me.
Henri is used to the q

uiet routines of the abbey. He's shy and solitary, until Micah - a wild troublemaker with the voice of an angel - sweeps into his life like a fresh breeze. Micah stirs up fun and adventure at a time when Henri needs it most. For the Plague is coming. With the tail of a scorpion and breath of fire it will pass through every village and town until nothing can ever be the same. Together, Henry and Micah manage to find fun in the midst of fear. Marching about the countryside with their Company of Fools they revel in the healing power of laughter at least for a while.

In this gripping story, acclaimed author Deborah Ellis celebrates the extraordinary resilience of children, their capacity for caring, and talent for happiness, even in the darkest times.

Meet Ignatius J Reilly: flatulent, eloquent and pretty much unemployable ...

The ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged as well. Ignatius ignores them as he heaves his vast bulk through the city's fleshpots in a noble crusade against vice, modernity and ignorance. But his momma has a nasty surprise in store for him. Ignatius must get a job. Undaunted, he uses his new-found employment to further his mission – and now he has a pirate costume and a hot-dog cart to do it with ...

Cracked on the head by a crowbar in nineteenth-century Connecticut, Hank Morgan wakes to find himself in King Arthur's England. Branded by Twain's aptitude for broad comedy and biting social satire, the grim truths of Twain's Camelot-fear, injustice, ignorance-resound as clearly now as when it was written.

A Counter-History of Crime Fiction takes a new look at the evolution of crime fiction, drawing on material from the Middle Ages up to the early Twentieth century, when the genre was theoretically defined as detective fiction. Considering 'criminography' as a system of inter-related, even incestuous, sub-genres, Maurizio Ascari explores the connections between modes of literature such as revenge tragedies and providential fictions, the gothic and the ghost story, urban mysteries and anarchist fiction, while taking into account the influence of pseudo-sciences such as mesmerism and criminal anthropology.

Esteemed New Yorker cover artist Carter Goodrich retells the story of 'Twas the night before Christmas' from the child's point of view.

With Clement Clarke Moore's classic poem one one side of every page, and a child's comedic rhyming on the other, this magical book about seeing and dreaming of Santa Claus will inspire readers of all ages to believe.

Against a luminous backdrop of midnight and silver, memories of Christmases past and present converge in a modern classic born in the tradition of The Polar Express.

War rages in Midkemia but behind the chaos there is disquieting evidence of dark forces at work. Jim Dashers usually infallible intelligence network has been cleverly dismantled; nowhere is safe. He feels that the world is coming apart at the seams and is helpless to protect his nation.

Quiet palace coups are underway in Roldem and Rillanon; and King Gregory of the Isles has yet to produce an heir. In each kingdom a single petty noble has risen from obscurity to threaten the throne. Lord Hal of Crydee and his great friend Ty Hawkins, champion swordsman of the Masters Court, are entrusted with the task of smuggling Princess Stephan and her lady-in-waiting, the lovely but mysterious Lady Gabriella, out of Roldem to a place of greater safety. But is there any safe haven to be found?

Meanwhile, Hals younger brothers Martin and Brendan are attempting to hold the strategic city of Ylith against an onslaught of Keshian Dog Soldiers, and a mysterious force from beneath the sea. The Kingdom might lose Crydee and recover; but if Ylith falls, all is lost. An unknown player appears to orchestrating these conflicts. Can Pug and the Conclave of Shadows track down this source before Midkemia is destroyed?

What makes a dad ideal? Is he strong as a wrestler, or handsome as a movie star? Is he intelligent or sporty? Or is he just good at jigsaw puzzles and have lots of hair?One little girl is about to find out, in this funny, charming and ultimately moving story of her search for a dad who can measure up to the mummy she loves. Written by the winner of France's prestigious Baobab Award, Davide Cali, one of Europe's most innovative writers for children, and illustrated by Anna-Laura Cantone, twice included in the Bologna Children's Book fair illustration competition.

Two pairs of twins, born a hundred years apart are united by a chilling secret.

At first, journalist Harry Fizglen is sceptical when his editor asks him to investigate the background of Simone Anderson, a new Bloomsbury artist. But once he's met the enigmatic Simone, Harry is intrigued.

Just what did happen to Simone's twin sister who disappeared without trace several years before? And what is the Anderson sisters' connection to another set of twin girls, Viola and Sorrel Quinton, born in London on 1st January 1900?

Jack Susko is trying for a quiet life in his second-hand bookshop - the business is more tin mine than gold mine, but that's okay - it's his and, what's more, it means he has no cares apart from an almost complete lack of income; no responsibility for anyone apart from his cat.

But when wealthy Double Bay businessman Hammond Kasprowicz hires Jack to locate some poetry books for him, that something looks closer to nothing when compared to the Kasprowicz fortune. Dazzled, Jack makes a play for the businessman's beautiful divorcee daughter, Annabelle. Within a week, he's embroiled in a murder investigation: the author of the books Jack has been hired to locate is found shot dead in his Potts Point apartment. He also happens to be Hammond Kasprowicz's estranged brother. Then Hammond Kasprowicz goes missing, too. Jack's left with the sexy daughter who hates her father, a jealous cousin, a violent ex-husband, and a corrupt cop, all looking to cash in on the situation.

A Deadly Business is the first Jack Susko novel, establishing a crime-novel antihero who's not a detective and whose motives aren't always pure - but he's sure-as-hell funny.

Taking the chilling family snap as his inspiration, Junger explores the worlds of the three protagonists and, in so doing, creates a portrait of America in the 1960s that touches on the historic themes of the era: the assassination of JFK, the rise of the immigrants and the troubling race relations that prefigured the death of Martin Luther King.

This new work by Sebastian Junger, the acclaimed author of Perfect Storm and Fire, is as enlightening as it is haunting. Taking as its foundation the events that shocked a quiet community in 1963, A Death in Belmont expands to encompass an entire nation at a time of extraordinary social turmoil.

Returning home on the luxury liner after months abroad, Rowland Sinclair and his companions dine with a suffragette, a Bishop and a retired World Prophet. The Church encounters less orthodox religion in the Aquitania’s chandeliered ballroom, where men of God rub shoulders with mystics in dinner suits.

The elegant atmosphere on board is charged with tension, but civility prevails… until people start to die. Then things get a bit awkward.

And Rowland finds himself unwittingly in the centre of it all.

“I’m afraid, Sinclair has a habit of being in the wrong place every possible time. I would think twice about standing next to him.”

“God forbid, Rowland, you should return home without some sort of scandal… leading some kind of insane cult!”

Combining introspection with an engaging take on the world, A Difficult Faith furthers the reputation of award-winning poet Mark Reid for spare allusive lyrics with a human touch.
The poems in this collection construct a self acutely aware of itself through the play of memory, media, myth, domesticity - and poetry. They are poems of survival - through endurance and the ordinary and vital acts of faith.

Make friends with Rod – he's the perfect pet!

Elsa would LOVE to have a dog for a pet. But there's one BIG problem – Elsa lives on the 24th floor of a block of flats and her dad says that dogs are too much trouble.

Will she ever manage to persuade Dad that not all dogs are noisy, messy and expensive? Perhaps with a little help from her (imaginary) friend, Rod...

A fun and energetic book with glitter on very page.

Nora Helmer, wife to Torvald and mother of three children, appears to enjoy living the life of a pampered, indulged child. But as her economic dependence becomes brutally clear, Nora's acceptance of the status quo undergoes a profound change. To the horror of the bewildered Torvald, himself caught in the tight web of a conservative society which demands that he exert strict control, Nora comes to see that the only possible true course of action is to leave the family home.

Frank McGuinness's lucid version of A Doll's House received its West End premiere in October 1996 and opened on Broadway in 1997 where the production won four Tony Awards.

'A single ball came through at deck level. It struck a burst of sparks from the steel hull, like Brocks Fireworks at Crystal Palace, brilliant orange even in the strong sunlight, and the hole it tore through 'Black Joke's' plating was fringed with bare jagged tongues of metal like the petals of a silver sunflower.' In search of the father they barely remember, Zouga and Dr Robyn Ballantyne board Mungo St John's magnificent clipper to speed them to Africa. But long before they sight that mighty continent, Robyn knows that she and Mungo will battle with all the fury of natural enemies - and love with all the desperation of those unable to evade the commands of fate. For if she can bring hope and healing to Africa's fever-ridden shores, he, a lawless trader in human cargo, will possess any man - or woman - he chooses. . .

Throughout their childhood in the dusty cane fields of Saint Michael, Isabel and her older brother Isaias have been inseparable. Life is simple, and for Isabel, happiness is playing by the empty fountain in the village square, or listening to Isaias playing the fiddle.

But when Isaias runs away to become a musician, promising to return, Isabel's life changes irrevocably. With scorching droughts setting in and the threat of starvation looming over the villagers, Isabel's parents are forced to send her to the Capital, the glamorous and exotic city in the south.

However, the city is not the land of plenty they had believed it to be, leaving Isabel no choice but to make a home for herself in the sprawling slums. And although there has been no word from Isaias for several years, she remains convinced that they will one day be reunited...

A vivid, uncompromising portrayal of poverty and desperation, A Far Country is also a sensitive and haunting tale of struggle, loss and the ties of family, from the critically acclaimed author of The Piano Tuner.

In Australia’s 1930s, the Sinclair name is respectable and influential, yet the youngest son Rowland - an artist - has a talent for scandal.

Even with the unemployed lining the streets, Rowland lives in a sheltered world... of wealth, culture & impeccable tailoring with the family fortune indulging his artistic passions & friends… a poet, a painter & a brazen sculptress.

Mounting political tensions fuelled by the Great Depression take Australia to the brink of revolution. Rowland Sinclair is indifferent to the politics… until a brutal murder exposes an extraordinary & treasonous conspiracy.

Born in 1894, Facey lived the rough frontier life of a sheep farmer, survived the gore of Gallipoli, raised a family through the Depression and spent sixty years with his beloved wife, Evelyn. Despite enduring hardships we can barely imagine today, Facey always saw his life as a 'fortunate' one.

A true classic of Australian literature, his simply written autobiography is an inspiration. It is the story of a life lived to the full - the extraordinary journey of an ordinary man.

A half-starved fox was limping towards the outskirts of the sprawling grey city over which the storm spread its black and ragged wings. It stopped to sniff at the wind and read the warnings and signals. But its anguish was so great that if the world were to end it would not have minded. It limped on.
The fate of the elf-troll Little Fur, becomes entangled with the mysterious fox, Sorrow, who longs only for death. Together they must travel to Underth, the troll king's underground city, on a dangerous quest to uncover his evil plans. The wise Sett Owl has foreseen that the future of the earth spirit, and perhaps all living things, depends on the success of this quest. Led by a greedy, devious rat, how can they succeed? But how can they fail, when so much is at stake?

'The fact is, the whole of Australia despises my father more than any other man, just as they adore my uncle more than any other man. I might as well set the story straight about both of them.'

Heroes or criminals?
Crackpots of visionaries?
Relatives or enemies?

It's a simple family story...

From the New South Wales bush to bohemian Paris, from sports fields to strip clubs, from the jungles of Thailand to a leaky boat in the Pacific, A Fraction of the Whole follows the Deans on their freewheeling, scathingly funny and finally deepy moving quest to leave their mark on the world.

Angela Throgmorton lives alone and likes it that way.

Then one day a baby monster turns up on her doorstep and Angela's life is never the same again...

The hilarious story about a naughty and lovable character and how he found a place to call home.