A well-read old dear has an unhealthy interest in murder, in this sharp, witty, and refreshingly original cozy crime novel.Retired librarian and bookshop owner May Morrigan lives in the affluent village of Blackheath with Fletcher, her best friend since they met decades ago, and May's two dogs. What could be more normal? But May is not your average little old lady . . .After an unpleasant church volunteer and an annoying local butcher meet their untimely ends...

Oliver Twist is a poor orphan in a cruel society. Maltreated from birth, he escapes only to become an accidental member of a gang of pickpockets and robbers. Briefly rescued, he is then kidnapped as part of a plot to defraud him of his inheritance, and his prospects seem as bleak as his surroundings. But one member of the gang won’t let hope die whatever the cost. Charles Dickens transformed this dark fable on the Poor Laws into one of the bestloved books in English, filling it with brilli...

Winner of the "Best Novel" and "Best Historical Fiction" categories at "The 2019 International Royal Dragonfly Book Awards."Abel de Santiago is a man on the run. Once a famous sniper, Abel finds himself a survivor of the Spanish Armada shipwrecks in 16th-C Ireland. Following his capture by a brutal sheriff, Abel flees torture and death with a priceless emerald ring. Dozens of English troopers hunt the Spaniard across the Irish wilds, beating every last bus...

The first book in the epic and bestselling series that has gripped millions.A hero will be forged from this broken land.As seen on Netflix and BBC around the world.In a land torn apart by conflict, an orphan boy has come of age. Raised by the Vikings, deadly enemies of his own Saxon people, Uhtred is a fierce and skilled warrior who kneels to no-one.Alfred – Saxon, king, man of god – fights to hold the throne of the only lan...

Libidinous, licentious, salacious and very, very funny, The Satyricon is one of the most remarkable documents from ancient Rome. It tells the ribald story of Encolpius, a man of active and varied appetites (powered notably by his passion for his favourite lover, the handsome Giton), who plunges without inhibition into the life of Roman pleasures: orgies of food, feasting, abundant sex and escapades.The kind of hedonism found occasionally in Roman mosaics is here brought to life. In...

"The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity."Tolstoy's War and Peace, written in serial format and published between 1865 and 1869, is widely regarded as a masterwork of Russian literature and one of the world's greatest novels.This epic novel intricately weaves together the lives of several families against the backdrop of Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, and follows Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritan...

A tour-de-force of historical imagination, this is the story of three young men at the dawn of the French Revolution. Georges-Jacques Danton: zealous, energetic, debt-ridden. Maximilien Robespierre: small, diligent, terrified of violence. And Camille Desmoulins: a genius of rhetoric, charming, handsome, but erratic and untrustworthy. As these key figures of the French Revolution taste the addictive delights of power, they must also come to face the horror that follows.

A career man, Edwin Murphy has always put more effort into his work than his family. Everything changes for Edwin when his wife files for divorce. On the brink of losing his home, his job and his little girl, Edwin orchestrates an intricate plan to eliminate his wife and regain his former lifestyle. The police are baffled when bodies begin to appear all over London with no apparent connection between them. Inspector David Morton must think outside the box as he investigates the deadly web ...

British history is a rollercoaster ride of power struggles and family intrigues, imperial conquest and class struggles, plagues and religious wars—and it’s all in this audiobook. That, plus the liveliest cast of characters found anywhere outside of the King James Bible. Whether you confuse your Tudors with your Stuarts, or wouldn’t know Catherine Parr from Catherine Howard, this is the perfect guide for you. From Stonehenge to Hadrian’s Wall, the Magna Carta to mad King George, the Battle ...

In the depths of winter in the land of Belarus, where ancient forests straddle modern country borders, an orphaned boy and his grandfather go to scatter his mother’s ashes in the woodlands. But the driving snow also hides a frozen history of long-buried secrets. And as man and boy travel deeper among the trees, grandfather’s tales begin to interweave with the shocking reality of his own past.

"If you look for perfection, you'll never be content."Experience the sweeping grandeur of War and Peace and the heartbreaking intricacies of Anna Karenina, in these unabridged recordings of two masterworks by one of literature's greatest storytellers.War and Peace: This epic masterpiece intertwines the lives of several families against the backdrop of Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812. It follows Pierre Bezukhov, the il...

Brought to you by Penguin.WINNER OF THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE 2020From the award-winning author of The Great Sea, a magnificent new global history of the oceans and of humankind's relationship with the seaFor most of human history, the seas and oceans have been the main means of long-distance trade and communication between peoples - for the spread of ideas and religion as well as commerce. This book traces...