Kirjahaku

A sinister Gothic tale in the tradition of The Woman in Black and The Fall of the House of Usher 1891. In a remote and crumbling New England mansion, 12-year-old orphan Florence is neglected by her guardian uncle and banned from reading. Left to her own devices she devours books in secret and talks to herself – and narrates this, her story – in a unique language of her own invention. By night, she sleepwalks the corridors like one of the old house's many ghosts and is troubled by a recurrent dream in which a mysterious woman appears to threaten her younger brother Giles. Sometimes Florence doesn't sleepwalk at all, but simply pretends to so she can roam at will and search the house for clues to her own baffling past. After the sudden violent death of the children's first governess, a second teacher, Miss Taylor, arrives, and immediately strange phenomena begin to occur. Florence becomes convinced that the new governess is a vengeful and malevolent spirit who means to do Giles harm. Against this powerful supernatural enemy, and without any adult to whom she can turn for help, Florence must use all her intelligence and ingenuity to both protect her little brother and preserve her private world. Inspired by and in the tradition of Henry James' s The Turn of the Screw, Florence & Giles is a gripping gothic page-turner told in a startlingly different and wonderfully captivating narrative voice.

A sinister Gothic tale in the tradition of The Woman in Black and The Fall of the House of Usher New England, The 1890s When a young doctor begins work at an isolated mental asylum, he is expected to fall in with the shocking regime for treating the patients. He is soon intrigued by one patient, a strange amnesiac girl who is fascinated by books but cannot read. He embarks upon a desperate experiment to save her but when his own dark past begins to catch up with him, he realises it is she who is his only hope of escape. In this chilling literary thriller from a master storyteller, everyone has something to hide and no one is what they seem.

The lives of Managua and the other inhabitants of a South Pacific island are turned upside down as the realities of the twenty-first century collide headlong with a peaceful, unsullied island paradise, thanks to the arrival of a young American lawyer with misguided plans to win reparations for the island's inhabitants. Reader's Guide available. Original. 25,000 first printing.

Tackling a taboo subject with sensitivity, understanding, great affection and good humour, What We Did On Our Holiday is a remarkably uplifting, moving and reassuring novel about a time in our lives when it seems roles are reversed and we find ourselves looking after the very people we'd always assumed would be there to look after us.

At fifty the guarantee runs out...About to hit the big five-oh, obsessed with sex, cocaine-fuelled and gripped by a crippling fear of death, Professor Michael Cole is finding life a bit of a struggle.It's finding the time to squeeze everything in, really. He's supposedly writing the definitive biography of his literary hero, John Donne, but barely manages three hundred words a week. His insatiable enthusiasm for his prettier female students might be partly to blame, but they are only young once. And the fact that one of his female colleagues has yet to succumb to his charms is, admittedly, a distraction he could well do without. But throw in a fight for promotion, a wife to lie to and two small children to look after and it's no wonder his blood pressure has reached life-threatening heights. He knows the time has come to act his age. The question is how.Because Michael Cole is very much a creature of habit and, as we all know, old habits die hard. But it's when he's caught in the act of adultery by his grandmother that Cole truly begins to see the writing on the wall. After all, she's been dead for twenty-five years...Marrying humour, heart and a singular understanding of the human condition, WHILE THE SUN SHINES is an uproariously funny yet hugely affecting novel about growing-old disgracefully and the price we sometimes have to pay...

On a remote South Pacific island paradise, an elderly tribesman is translating "Hamlet" into local Pidgin English. Much to his annoyance, he is interrupted by the arrival of an unexpected visitor. William Hardt is an American lawyer, he has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and has come to help. And from that moment on, nothing will ever be the same.

All the facts about common and uncommon birds in the Delaware Valley

Stretching from the craggy reaches of the Pocono Mountains to the rolling farmlands of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, sprawling east across the Delaware River basin and New Jersey's coastal plain Atlantic beaches—here is a land of rich historical, cultural, and environmental diversity. Few other locales in the United States have as many varied habitats, each with its own distinctive vegetation and wildlife. The nature lover in the Delaware Valley can travel from ocean, across barrier-beaches, salt-water and fresh-water marshes, pine barrens, deciduous woodlands and fields, to mountains, all in a few hours.Marsh, Meadow, Mountain, a combination tour guide and ecological primer, is written for the thousands of people in the area with an interest in natural history or for those seeking alternative recreational activities. Each chapter, written by an experienced naturalist intimately familiar with one of the seven major ecosystems, introduces the reader to the dynamic interrelationships in nature, the interactions between a particular habitat and its inhabitants, and its plants and wildlife. Over 135 locations are described including the Pocono Mountains, the Pine Barrens, Stone Harbor, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Ridley Creek State Park, Tyler Arboretum, and Tinicum National Environmental Center, which in any season can provide fascinating viewing opportunities depending upon your interests. Each site also includes addresses, directions, trail maps, artistic drawings, and a suggested reading list.Marsh, Meadow, Mountain conveys both a sense of fun and learning and, ultimately, will instill in the reader a special intimacy with the Delaware Valley's precious wild places.

The remarkable group of Japanese Buddhists who traveled to Chicago’s Columbian Exposition to participate in the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions combined religious aspirations with nationalist ambitions. Their portrayal of Buddhism mirrored modern reforms in Meiji, Japan, and the historical context of cultural competition on display at the 1893 World’s Fair. Japan’s primary exhibit, the Ho-o, or phoenix, Pavilion, provided an impressive display of traditional culture as well as apt symbolism: for Japan’s modern rise to prominence, for Buddhist renewal succeeding devastating Meiji persecution, for Mahayana revitalization following withering attacks of Western critics, and for Chicago’s own resurrection from the ashes of the Great Fire. This book examines the Japanese delegates’ portrayal of Mahayana Buddhism as authentically ancient, pragmatically modern, scientifically consistent, and universally salvific. The Japanese delegates were active, and relatively successful agents who seized the opportunity of the 1893 forum to further their own objectives of promoting Japan and its Buddhism to the West, repairing negative evaluations of the «great vehicle» of Buddhism, differentiating Japanese Buddhism from the Buddhism of other countries, distinguishing their tradition as the evolutionary culmination of all religions, and shaping modern Buddhism in Asia and the West.

Frank Barson's life story is one of hardship and hard-won fame, his tough tackling and prowess in controlled aggression earning him a reputation that lives on today. Rising from the factory floor to become a footballing giant, Barson lifted the fortunes of Aston Villa and Manchester United while earning more cautions than anyone before or since. Born in Sheffield's industrial district of Grimesthorpe, his no-nonsense football style was forged in the 20s when learning his trade with Barnsley FC's renowned Battlers. Even in an era of ruthless tackling he stood out as a notoriously powerful player, yet his frequent clashes with authority belied his status as an extremely intelligent player, an inspiration to his colleagues and a true leader. Although Barson only earned a single England cap, commentators and colleagues alike would bemoan the fact that he was not captaining the national side. Football's infamous 'hard man' set standards in deadly, focussed aggression which players such as Norman Hunter and Roy Keane have since striven to emulate.

This book discusses Griffith Jones’s High Church ministry and theology, which developed into mass evangelism in Wales. It considers Jones’s background, his life as a parson, preaching in Welsh and educational interests, as well as his determination to remain within the Church of England. Bishop George Bull’s concerns about evangelism, influence of the Prayer Book and Continental Pietism, ‘conversionism’, and the tendency to separatism are also discussed. Jones may not have been an original thinker, but he was an untiring communicator and organiser. There are sections on Jones’s catechising, ‘baptismal covenant’, and moderate Calvinism which influenced later Welsh Calvinistic Methodism. Jones’s advocacy of the Welsh language, especially with English donors to his schools, his links with the SPCK, and collaboration with gentry – especially Sir John Philipps and Bridget Bevan – show the effectiveness with which he participated in the growing evangelical movement in Wales.

This fascinating collection of entertaining stories from the seven seas reveals unusual and bizarre sailing trips, vessels and characters, and recounts perilous journeys in freak weather, meetings with pirates and sea monsters, and other legendary tales.

Shelagh Delaney rose to fame following the instant success in 1958 of her first play A Taste of Honey. Lauded as Britain's answer to the controversial French novelist Francoise Sagan, Delaney's work scandalised her home city of Salford but established her as one of the country's most original and exhilarating young playwrights.

This fascinating collection of entertaining stories from the seven seas reveals unusual and bizarre sailing trips, vessels and characters, and recounts perilous journeys in freak weather and other legendary tales. Within these pages you’ll find stories of pirates holding ships to ransom and the gruesome fates of some of the shipmates who dared cross them. The sailors forever lost in the Bermuda triangle, the poor family who were encircled by a school of sharks to the spooky tales of the lighthouse haunted by drunkard lightship keeper John Herman. The tales within these pages are bizarre, fascinating, hilarious and, most importantly, true. Revised, redesigned and updated for 2016, this book is the perfect gift for both keen sailors to the armchair Captains. Word count: 45,000