From the award-winning Brazilian author of Nine Nights comes a twisting psychological novel of literary intrigue, sexual desire, and murder.In the pitch-black cell of an asylum—possibly in nineteenth-century France—a "baron" carries on an extended dialogue with a disembodied "voice." Arrested for a crime that he has no memory of, the baron swears to his innocence throughout.In contemporary France, a husband and wife push each other into increasingl...

Machado de Assis (1839-1908) is the great Brazilian author of Philosopher or Dog? and Epitaph of a Small Winner, whose work is admired by writers as different as Salman Rushdie, Carlos Fuentes, Woody Allen and Susan Sontag. Taken from his mature period, these dazzling stories echo Poe and Gogol, anticipate Joyce, and have been compared to the writing of Chekhov, Maupassant and Henry James, yet his modern sensibility and clear-eyed humour remain utterly unique.

A Master on the Periphery of Capitalism is a translation (from the original Portuguese) of Roberto Schwarz’s renowned study of the work of Brazilian novelist Machado de Assis (1839–1908). A leading Brazilian theorist and author of the highly influential notion of “misplaced ideas,” Schwarz focuses his literary and cultural analysis on Machado’s The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas, which was published in 1880. Writing in the Marxist tradition, Schwarz investigates in part...

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA'She wrote exciting plots . . . a writer of fearless originality' GUARDIAN**'This French Revolution epic is an overlooked classic' MELISSA KATSOULIS, THE TIMES'No other popular writer has so triumphantly defied classification . . . ' MARGARET FORSTER'Perhaps we shall not see each other again. I will write to you, though, a...

The true story of the woman who befriended the last queen of France—and the price she paid for her devotion.Perhaps no one knew Marie Antoinette better than one of her closest confidantes, Marie Thérèse, the Princess de Lamballe. The princess became superintendent of the queen's household in 1774, and through her relationship with Marie Antoinette, she gained a unique perspective of the lavishness and daily intrigue at Versailles.Born into the famous House ...

A missing prince may provide the answers - can he be found?The Prince Lost to Time is Paul Doherty's second novel to feature Nicholas Segalla - a shadowy scholar travelling through time solving the past's greatest mysteries. Perfect for fans of Ellis Peters and C. J. Sansom.As the flames of revolution spread through France, they engulf the Royal Family, whose fairy-tale life in the magnificent palace of Versailles is shattered duri...

February 1761Beyond the glittering court of Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour at Versailles, lies Paris, a capital in the grip of crime and immorality . . .A police officer disappears and Nicolas Le Floch, a young recruit to the force, is instructed to find him. When unidentified human remains suddenly come to light, he seems to have a murder investigation on his hands. As the city descends into Carnival debauchery, Le Floch will need all his skill, courage and integrity to...

Marie Antoinette is most famously remembered as 'Madame Deficit'. Unlike the image portrayed by those who led the French Revolution, Marie was a well-intentioned philanthropist, devoted mother, and free spirit. This short historical account details the truth behind the Queen's childhood, spending, and rumoured love affairs.As a woman who had an unconventional Austrian childhood, Marie was only ever going to live her life in the only care free way she knew how. As well as gambling a...

A genius with language, but convinced of his own ugliness, Cyrano secretly loves the radiant Roxane. While Roxane is in love with the beautiful but inarticulate Christian.Cyrano's generous offer to act as go-between sets in motion a poignant and often hilarious love-triangle, in which each character is torn between the lure of physical attraction and the seductive power of words.Martin Crimp's adaptation of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac premiered at the Playh...

Monsieur Goriot is one of a disparate group of lodgers at Mademe Vauquer's dingy Parisian boarding house. At first his wealth inspires respect, but as his circumstances are mysteriously reduced he becomes shunned by those around him, and soon his only remaining visitors are his two beautifully dressed daughters. Goriot's fate is intertwined with two other fellow boarders: the young social climber Eugene Rastignac, who sees a way to gain the acceptance and wealth he craves, and the enigmati...

May 1770Paris is in mourning.At the firework display marking the Dauphin's marriage to Marie Antoinette, hundreds of people have been injured or crushed to death. Yet not all the victims died accidentally . . .The tragic incident on Place Louis XV yields a new case for Commissioner Le Floch when a strangled woman is found amongst the other corpses. The investigation takes him to the home of a furrier on Rue Royale and a terrifying encounter with supernatural forces.