Rome, Ad 70. One hot day in the Forum, Marcus Didius Falco, private informer, runs into sweet sixteen-year-old Sosia Camillina. She is fleeing for her life. Rescuing her is the start of a dangerous game, involving stolen imperial ingots and a dark political plot. Commissioned by mysterious, highly-placed clients for a job he knows he does not want, Falco is drawn on the long trail to Britain, where he endures physical hardship and heartache in the deadly silver mines. Mother knows best, but even she cannot help her boy once he meet... read more

Jon Savage's Ralph Gleason Award-winning England's Dreaming is the ultimate book on punk, its progenitors, the Sex Pistols, and their time: the late 1970s. Full of anecdote, insight, and exclusive interviews, it tells the sensational story of the meteoric rise and rapid decline of the last great rock'n'roll band and the cultural moment they came to define. The critical reputation of England's Dreaming has grown over the past decade and a half. This updated edition includes an introduction focusing on the legacy of punk twenty-five... read more

This expanded and updated third edition of The Rough Guide to Reggae tells the extraordinary story of recorded music in Jamaica, from folk traditions and 1950s mento through to dancehall and bashment, giving you the lowdown on ska, rocksteady, roots, dub, ragga and lovers' rock, as well as reggae's offshoots around the globe. The book focuses on the singers and DJs, the equally important producers and session musicians, and the sound systems. Throughout, there are interviews and features on the major artists, and reviews of h... read more

50th Anniversary Edition Owls Do Cry is Janet Frame's first novel. She describes her ideas behind it in the second volume of her autobiography: "Pictures of great treasure in the midst of sadness and waste haunted me and I began to think, in fiction, of a childhood, home life, hospital life, using people known to me as a base for the main character, and inventing minor characters. For Daphne I chose a sensitive, poetic frail person, who, I hoped, would give depth to inner worlds and perhaps a clearer, at least an individual, perce... read more

As an orphan, Jane's childhood is not an easy one but her independence and strength of character keep her going through the miseries inflicted by cruel relatives and a brutal school. However, her biggest challenge is yet to come. Taking a job as a governess in a house full of secrets, for a passionate man she grows more and more attracted to, ultimately forces Jane to call on all her resources in order to hold on to her beliefs.

This is a narrative particle accelerator that zooms between Wild Turkey Whiskey and Bob Dylan, unicorn skulls and voracious librarians, John Coltrane and Lord Jim. Science fiction, detective story and post modern manifesto all rolled into one rip-roaring novel, "Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" is the tour de force that expanced Haruki Murakami's international following, tracking one man's descent into the kafkaesque underworld farce, compassion and detachment, slang and philosophy. The result is a wildly inventive ... read more

A gleefully subversive collection of short stories from one of our most imaginatively brilliant writers

* Reissued in a new look

A major new novel by the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature. What happens when Tertuliano Maximo Afonso, a professor of history, discovers at thirty-eight that there is a man living in the same city who is identical to him, but not related by blood at all. How do we know who we are? What do we mean by identity? What defines us as individual, unique people? Could we ever come to terms with the existence of another person with our voice, our features, our everything, down to the smallest distinguishing mark? Could we chang... read more

Written with astonishing clarity and an unsentimental intelligence, Out of Africa portrays a way of life that has disappeared for ever. In 1914 Karen Blixen arrived in Kenya with her husband to run a coffee-farm. Instantly drawn to the land, she spent her happiest years there until the plantation failed. Karen Blixen was forced to return to Denmark in 1931 and it was there that she wrote this classic account of her experiences. A poignant farewell to her beloved farm, Out of Africa describes her strong friendships with the people o... read more

One of the greatest love stories ever told, beautifully repackaged for a modern teen audience Loved TWILIGHT? Then you'll adore Tess of the d'Urbervilles! Tess is a good woman. But in her time and her place, being good -- and being a woman -- is not enough to find justice in a world dominated by powerful men, and even more powerful traditions. When Tess falls in love with Angel, she cannot imagine the heartbreak that will follow! or the lengths she will have to go to in order to prove the strength of her heart.

The final curtain is closing on the Second World War, and Hana, a nurse, stays behind in an abandoned Italian villa to tend to her only remaining ward. Rescued by Bedouins from a burning plane, he is her English patient, anonymous, damaged beyond recognition and haunted by his memories of passion and betrayal. The only clue Hana has to his past is the one thing he clung on to through the fire - a copy of Herodotus, covered with hand-written notes describing a painful and ultimately tragic love affair.

People who do not know Salterton call it dreamy and old-world. They say it is the place where Anglican clergymen go when they die. The real Saltertons, however, know that there is nothing quaint about the place at all. With its two cathedrals, its one university, and its native sons and daughters busily scheming for their dreams, Salterton is very much in the real world. First published 1951, 1954 & 1951; this omnibus 1986.

Sailing in the Chesapeake Bay, a husband and wife tell each other tales to break the writer's block handed Peter by his Muse, to ease the weight of Katherine's pregnancy, to entertain, and to enlighten. Along with their stories, we learn of the Bay itself--past and present.

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is the original romantic comedy, brimful of wit and wisdom. When the haughty and aristocratic Darcy refuses to dance with Elizabeth Bennett, she instantly dislikes him, despite his reputation as a wealthy and eligible bachelor. Are her first impressions correct, or is there more to Darcy than meets the eye? Sharply observed and sparklingly funny, this is one of the most delightful love stories ever written. First published 1813

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A young woman flees Athens with her lover, only to be pursued by her would-be husband and by her best friend. Unwittingly, all four find themselves in an enchanted forest where fairies and sprites soon take an interest in human affairs, dispensing magical love potions and casting mischievous spells. In this dazzling comedy, confusion ends in harmony, as love is transformed, misplaced, and ultimately restored.

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This vivid, rich and moving saga is played out against the great, rippling tides of the day, taking us from the Kent marshes to Paris and Munich and the trenches of the Somme. Born at the end of the Victorian era, growing up in the golden summers of Edwardian times, a whole generation grew up unaware of the darkness ahead.

The midnight hour approaches in an almost empty all-night diner. Mari sips her coffee and glances up from a book as a young man, a musician, intrudes on her solitude. Both have missed the last train home. The musician has plans to rehearse with his jazz band all night, Mari is equally unconcerned and content to read, smoke and drink coffee until dawn. They realise they've been acquainted through Eri, Mari's beautiful sister. The musician soon leaves with a promise to return before dawn. Shortly afterwards Mari will be interrupted a... read more