Kirjahaku

Collins Modern Classics are re-launched in gorgeous new covers bringing these familiar stories to a new generation. From the author of best-loved classic â??The Snow Gooseâ??.

â??If in doubt, wash!â? What is it like to be a cat? Find out in this classic animal story from the renowned writer Paul Gallico.

Philip Rhayader lives alone in an abandoned lighthouse on the desolate Great Marsh of Essex. One afternoon, a hauntingly beautiful child, Fritha, visits Rhayader, bringing with her an injured snow goose. At first Fritha is scared of Rhayader, with his sinister hump and crooked hand, but he is gentle and kind and Fritha begins to visit regularly.

Classic storytelling from a bestselling author. Gallico's most famous story, THE SNOW GOOSE, is set in the wild, desolate Essex marshes and is an intense and moving tale about the relationship between a hunchback and a young girl. THE SMALL MIRACLE is a contemporary fable about a young boy's love for his dangerously ill donkey.

Mrs Harris is a salt-of-the-earth London charlady who cheerfully cleans the houses of the rich. One day, when tidying Lady Dant's wardrobe, she comes across the most beautiful thing she has ever seen in her life - a Dior dress. In all the years of her drab and humble existence, she's never seen anything as magical as the dress before her and she's never wanted anything as much before. Determined to make her dream come true, Mrs Harris scrimps, saves and slaves away until one day, after three long, uncomplaining years, she finally has enough money to go to Paris. When she arrives at the House of Dior, Mrs Harris has little idea of how her life is about to be turned upside down and how many other lives she will transform forever. Always kind, always cheery and always winsome, the indomitable Mrs Harris takes Paris by storm and learns one of life's greatest lessons along the way. This treasure from the 1950s introduces the irrepressible Mrs Harris, part charlady, part fairy-godmother, whose adventures take her from her humble London roots to the heights of glamour.

A heartwarming and tender story of a family’s winding journey to witness Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronationCoronation Day, 2 June 1953The Claggs, a humble, working class family from Sheffield, are offered tickets to a once-in-a-lifetime-event – the Queen’s coronation. Forsaking their annual seaside holiday for the promise of a prime viewing spot of the procession route and luxurious champagne, the Clagg family take the plunge and buy tickets for the momentous day.But in true Gallico fashion, not everything goes smoothly. Will their tickets be everything they hoped and dreamed? Will granny stop grumbling that it’s all a waste of money? Most importantly, will they ever get to see their beloved Queen?Rife with nostalgia and charm, Paul Gallico brings to life the joy and fervour that swept the nation during the last royal coronation—and provides a delightful historical perspective on the upcoming coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla.

The classic satirical novel'Mrs Harris is one of the great creations of fiction - so real that you feel you know her, yet truly magical as well. I can never have enough of her' Justine Picardie'It is almost impossible not to succumb to Gallico's spell' Times Literary SupplementResponsible for cleaning the homes of the rich, Mrs Harris is a humble charlady with a knack for putting things in order wherever she goes. When, much to her surprise, she wins a trip for two beyond the Iron Curtain, she has no idea of the adventure that lies ahead of her. Ever the loyal servant, however, Mrs Harris (accompanied by her loyal friend Mrs Butterfield) believes it only right that others benefit from her good fortune as well. With a mink coat in mind for Mrs Butterfield, she also hopes to use their 'oliday to reignite a lost romance between her lovelorn employer and a Russian woman he had loved years ago. Unfortunately, the discreet passing of documents is an activity which can land even the most well-intentioned charlady in hot water with the KGB...

The classic satirical novel'Mrs Harris is one of the great creations of fiction - so real that you feel you know her, yet truly magical as well. I can never have enough of her' Justine Picardie'It is almost impossible not to succumb to Gallico's spell' Times Literary SupplementMrs Harris is a salt-of-the-earth charlady, content with her lot, cleaning the homes of the rich. However, her knack of setting things straight often has the tendency to stray beyond keeping things neat and tidy... In Mrs Harris MP, the honest as-ever old char impresses her employer with her no-nonsense political views to such an extent that he - an MP, no less - encourages her to become a voice for the people of Battersea and stand for election herself. The world of local politics, however, soon proves a test for a lady as straight-laced as Mrs Harris; political skulduggery, the glare of the media and the apparent betrayal of a trusted friend all becoming issues she just hadn't bargained on...

***A BOOK CLUB PICK FROM THE QUEEN CONSORT'S READING ROOM***Now a major film, starring Leslie Manville, Isabelle Huppert, Jason Isaacs and Lucas Bravo'Mrs Harris is one of the great creations of fiction - so real that you feel you know her, yet truly magical as well. I can never have enough of her' Justine Picardie'It is almost impossible not to succumb to Gallico's spell' Times Literary SupplementMrs Harris is a salt-of-the-earth London charlady who cheerfully cleans the houses of the rich. One day, when tidying Lady Dant's wardrobe, she comes across the most beautiful thing she has ever seen in her life - a Dior dress. In all the years of her drab and humble existence, she's never seen anything as magical as the dress before her and she's never wanted anything as much before. Determined to make her dream come true, Mrs Harris scrimps, saves and slaves away until one day, after three long, uncomplaining years, she finally has enough money to go to Paris.When she arrives at the House of Dior, Mrs Harris has little idea of how her life is about to be turned upside down and how many other lives she will transform forever. Always kind, always cheery and always winsome, the indomitable Mrs Harris takes Paris by storm and learns one of life's greatest lessons along the way.

***A BOOK CLUB PICK FROM THE QUEEN CONSORT'S READING ROOM***Now a major film, starring Leslie Manville, Isabelle Huppert, Jason Isaacs and Lucas Bravo 'Mrs Harris is one of the great creations of fiction - so real that you feel you know her, yet truly magical as well. I can never have enough of her' Justine Picardie 'It is almost impossible not to succumb to Gallico's spell' Times Literary Supplement Mrs Harris is a salt-of-the-earth London charlady who cheerfully cleans the houses of the rich. One day, when tidying Lady Dant's wardrobe, she comes across the most beautiful thing she has ever seen in her life - a Dior dress. In all the years of her drab and humble existence, she's never seen anything as magical as the dress before her and she's never wanted anything as much before. Determined to make her dream come true, Mrs Harris scrimps, saves and slaves away until one day, after three long, uncomplaining years, she finally has enough money to go to Paris. When she arrives at the House of Dior, Mrs Harris has little idea of how her life is about to be turned upside down and how many other lives she will transform forever. Always kind, always cheery and always winsome, the indomitable Mrs Harris takes Paris by storm and learns one of life's greatest lessons along the way.

London hasn't been kind to Peter, a lonely boy whose parents are always out at parties, and though Peter would love to have a cat for company, his nanny won't hear of it. One day, Peter sees a striped kitten in the park across from his house. Crossing the road on his way to the tabby, he is struck by a truck. Everything is different when Peter comes to: He has fur, whiskers, and claws; he has become a cat himself But London isn't any kinder to cats than it is to children. Jennie, a savvy stray who takes charge of Peter, knows that all too well. Jennie schools young Peter in the ways of cats, including how to sniff out a nice napping spot, the proper way to dine on mouse, and the single most important tactic a cat can learn: "When in doubt, wash." Jennie and Peter will face many challenges--and not all of them are from the dangerous outside world--in their struggle to find a place that is truly home.

By the author of the classic The Snow Goose, a heartbreaking story about a young girl and her most unusual cat, who has magical powers that save her owner's life. Seven-year-old Mary adores her ginger cat, Thomasina, and is crushed when Thomasina falls sick, and Mary's father, a grim, inflexible man who is the town vet, decrees that the only thing to be done is to put Thomasina down. Mary refuses to speak to her father, and then she herself contracts a life-threatening disease. In the meantime, however, Thomasina has been rescued--by the mysterious Lori, the Red Witch of the glen. Thomasina is now Talitha, the descendant of an Egyptian goddess, and she is coming back to seek revenge Thomasina, like Jenny of The Abandoned, Paul Gallico's other great feline heroine (Jenny is Thomasina's great-aunt), tells her own story in her own way, witty, charming, divine, and sometimes as sharp as an unsheathed claw. Thomasina is a cat for the ages. Thomasina is a sheer delight.

The Snow Goose is a simple, short written parable on the regenerative power of friendship and love, set against a backdrop of the horror of World War 2. It documents the growth of a friendship between Philip Rhayader, an artist living a solitary life in an abandoned lighthouse in the marshlands because of his disabilities, and a young local girl, Fritha. The snow goose, wounded by gunshot and many miles from home, is found by Fritha and, as the human friendship blossoms, can the bird be nursed back to flight? Will Fritha and Rhayander find love or is his sailboat lost at sea? Can Rhayander be among those hundreds he has saved? This is the original version first published in 1940 in The Saturday Evening Post, later expanded into a longer version and published in book form in 1941.