DID SHE HOLD THE KEY TO ECSTASY—OR TO HORROR?The people of Gwethym were highly intelligent, rational beings. They worshipped the goddess Neith, not because they believed in such a golden-haired being, but because they recognized the need for religion as a counterbalance to human passions.So when trouble struck their planet, when they discovered an energy leak which was slowly destroying their world, the Gwethymians turned to science for their answer. If their world was to be saved,, the solution must come from the logicians.Or so they thought, until one day a woman, the image of their goddess Neith, walked across the waters of the harbor and into their city! Then their trouble was twofold. Would there be anything left to save of their world if they waited for the scientists? And if they didn't, if they put their trust in this goddess whom logic told them could not even exist, would they just be sealing their doom that much quicker?

Alan Bennett's first collection of prose since Writing Home takes in all his major writings over the last ten years. The title piece is a poignant family memoir with an account of the marriage of his parents, the lives and deaths of his aunts and the uncovering of a long-held family secret. Also included are his much celebrated diaries for the years 1996 to 2004. At times heartrending and at others extremely funny, Untold Stories is a matchless and unforgettable anthology. 'Funny, moving and true.' Blake Morrison, Guardian 'I have never read a book of this length where I have turned the last page with such regret. It is intelligent, educated, engaging, humane, self-aware, cantankerous and irresistibly funny. You want it to go on forever.' John Carey, Sunday Times 'I can only join the mighty chorus of praise.' Nicholas Hytner, Sunday Telegraph 'Alan Bennett, with his combination of pitiless observation and gentle understatement, is perhaps the best loved of English writers alive...

From Per Wahlöö—co-author with his wife, Maj Sjöwall, of the internationally bestselling Martin Beck series of mysteries—comes a political satire, told as a court transcript, about the court-martial of a general gone rogue.Time: the not too distant future. Place: a small island in the temperate zone. Scene: air-force headquarters. Corporal Edwin Velder is on trial for his life--accused of acts against the military, government, and society. As the proceedings unfold, we learn of a country's descent into political tyranny--a civil war erupted in the face of a secret armed force bringing the current generals to power. The military tribunal forces Velder to reconstruct the events, battles, and final defeat of the island rebellion. As the inevitable verdict is pronounced, Velder's testimony just might bring to bear yet another political revolution.

Pearl S. Buck’s groundbreaking memoir, hailed by James Michener as “spiritually moving,” about raising a child with a rare developmental disorder The Child Who Never Grew is Buck’s candid memoir of her relationship with her oldest daughter, who was born with a rare type of mental retardation. A forerunner of its kind, the memoir was published in 1950 and helped demolish the cruel taboos surrounding learning disabilities. Buck describes life with her daughter, Carol, whose special needs led Buck to send her to one of the best schools for disabled children in the United States—which she paid for in part by writing The Good Earth, her multimillion-selling classic novel. Brave and touching, The Child Who Never Grew is a heartrending memoir of parenting. As Buck writes, “I learned respect and reverence for every human mind. It was my child who taught me to understand so clearly that all people are equal in their humanity and that all have the same human rights.” This ebook features an illustrated biography of Pearl S. Buck including rare images from the author’s estate.

A complex masterpiece that reveals the mind of a contemporary woman beyond the confines of family, love, and duty to one's selfLexie, a married woman with four children, undergoes a midlife crisis and questions her role as wife, mother, and lover. From within a Victorian house in the Hudson River Valley, Lexie dissects her life experiences in hopes of gaining a deeper understanding of her unhappiness. Through rich symbolism, lively dialogue, and acute commentary, Hortense Calisher conjures a cohesive map of Lexie's personal awakening.

Settlers of the Marsh was first published in 1925, after a struggle by the author to persuade publishers that his first novel would meet public acceptance. Some critics immediately condemned this hypnotic story of the loss of innocence on the Manitoba frontier, calling it “obscene” and “indecent.” Churches issued warnings to their congregations to avoid its scandalous contents. Only several decades later was Settlers of the Marsh recognized for what it is – a landmark in the development of the Canadian novel, and a work of realism in the tradition of Thomas Hardy. A psychological portrait of life in the Canadian West, Settlers of the Marsh presents with chilling accuracy the hopes, passions, and anxieties of young pioneers.

He demanded the immediate dispatch of two suitably trained operatives to Salzburg. Extreme measures might be necessary.In 1945, with their thousand-year empire falling around them and the Allies on their heels, the Nazis hide a sealed chest in the dark, forbidding waters of the Finstersee - a lake surrounded by the brooding peaks of the Austrian Alps. There it lies for twenty-one years, almost forgotten, until a British agent decides to raise it from the depths. The secrets he uncovers are far- reaching and lethal, and in Salzburg, Bill Mathison, a New York attorney on the trail of a missing colleague, finds himself drawn into the shadowy underworld of international espionage. Not knowing who to trust amidst the chaos, he is drawn to two beautiful women, one of whom will betray him.Review"Absorbing, vivid, often genuinely terrifying" (The Observe) "All the makings of the big bestseller." (Sunday Express)" About the AuthorHelen MacInnes (1907-1985) was the Scottish-born American author of 21 spy novels. Dubbed "the queen of spy writers", her books have sold more than 25 million copies in the United States alone and have been translated into over 22 languages. Several of her books have been adapted into films, such as Above Suspicion (1943), with Joan Crawford, and The Salzburg Connection (1972).

Kathleen Olsen called Svenska Flicker by her grandmother is of Swedish stock. The old grandmother wants better than a shack on these beautiful Outer Banks Sea Shores; she wants her to have the whole world, as she did sailing with her husband.Kathleen is guarded well, not allowed to run loose as are many of the young girls of the Outer Banks. She is pure and innocent when a young captain flaunts his skill and daring to bring his schooner, white sails full into the inlet.Kathleen sees the captain and his ship, as her prince charming on his white charger. It was love at first sight and the romance blossoms. Married, the lovers sail on and on.Then Svenska shows a wild streak in her so demure ways and has to be punished. All is forgiven, the crew was happy. Then tragedy strikes, Kathleen dives from aloft in the rigging and hits the rail. Broken and bloody she is almost feed for the sharks.Bunk ridden, Kathleen tries to kill herself; she wants to set her young husband...

No one writes a political thriller like Walter Wager. No one writes a psychological thriller like Walter Wager. In Twilight's Last Gleaming, he checks both boxes, and the result will keep you reading through to sunrise. A retired general takes over a missile silo in the Badlands. His threat is to provoke a World War, launching deadly ordnance, unless the President is willing to reveal everything about a secret meeting he had during the Vietnam War. The situation is explosive, and so is the truth. Before the day is done, one man has his only shot at redemption—and countless lives hang in the balance.

In 1910-1914, Callie Lempriere is sent home from Barbados, where she attempts to piece together the mystery surrounding her family, the death of her mother and the 'exile' of her Uncle Lucy. 'No One Now Will Know' looks at three generations of the Lempriere family from the 1890's to 1939. Delafield shows how the impact of violent emotions and dramatic events leave their mark for life on those who are then young.

Each summer, millions of children complain, "There's nothing to do." Originally published in 1889, The American Girl's Handy Book resoundingly challenges this age-old dilemma by providing a huge number of ideas for fun and instructional projects for young girls. It includes plans for April Fool's parties and jokes, transplanting wildflowers and preserving or pressing them, Easter games and activities, instructions for making a lawn tennis net and the rules of the game, how to make a hammock, corn husk and flower dolls, instructions for making various fans, Halloween parties, making a telephone, painting in water or oil colors, making models in clay and wax, making picture frames, and suggestions for winter games and activities! As with its companion, The American Boy's Handy Book, the girl's book is divided into seasons ensuring fun will be had all year round.