Jennifer Johnston

The 1960s was a time when Australia was changing and the old ways were being left behind. At 21 Judith is ready to conquer the world, she has a new job working for the government, and a new life ahead of her that will test her resolve. Moving to the city will take her from naive romantic notions and the protection of small town living to discovering that around the corner life's twists and turns carry you along paths you never anticipated. The communist movement is looking for converts to infiltrate the government. Will they draw her in? Women are living and loving more freely. Will she ignore the promises she made and allow the lure of this new life to change her? Will she find romance or tragedy? What will her family think if she tells them? She will need wisdom, courage and faith for the journey as the road to independence always comes at a price.

The classic World War One novel, available as a Penguin Essential for the first time.Alec and Jerry shouldn't have been friends: Alec's life was one of privilege, while Jerry's was one of toil. But this hardly mattered to two young men whose shared love of horses brought them together and whose whole lives lay ahead of them.When war breaks out in 1914, both Jerry and Alec sign up - yet for quite different reasons. On the fields of Flanders they find themselves standing together, but once again divided: as officer and enlisted man. And it is there, surrounded by mud and chaos and death, that one of them makes a fateful decision whose consequences will test their friendship and loyalty to breaking point.

Not only did Queen Artemisia build a splendid city but she created the prettiest tomb in the whole world. Queen Artemisia and her husband King Mausolus loved filling their city, Halicarnassus, with beautiful temples, grand buildings and shiny statues made of gold and marble. She would use plants as medicines. If her people were healthy and felt good, then they would be able to enjoy all the beautiful things around them Artemisia is most famous for creating a marvelous tomb, built on a hill above the city. Her tomb was later called a and it was chosen to be one of the because it was so pretty. But, in the last years of her life, she had to defeat an army that was coming to take her kingdom from her

Mamma and Boo go for a walk in the wood and see weird tracks.

Not every death is a tragedy. Not every silver lining is intact. Annie's father is dead. She isn't sorry. A rich and domineering man, he was always more passionate about money than the happiness of his wife and child. And when his lovely, fragile wife Jude died in mysterious circumstances when Annie was still very young, her father sent her to school in England, and tried to ensure that Jude was never mentioned again.Now, at last, his days of tyranny are over. And so Annie leaves London and goes back to Dublin, to the house in which he lived and her mother died, where she makes the first of several startling discoveries: he has left her the house she hated. Now, just when she thought she was free of him, she is expected to make a new life in Ireland, and live as he would have wished. Does she dare to defy him one more time? From Costa prizewinning and Booker-shortlisted Jennifer Johnston comes a beautifully crafted, alluring tale of family and secrets.

A heartbreaking novel of the complexities of love, set against the tragedies of the second world war It is the Second World War, and tragedy strikes many families in Ireland. But it is also a thrilling time in which to be a child and Polly, spending months at her grandparents' house by the sea, barely notices the adults' grief and their efforts to escape the tyranny of religion and family expectation. In time, Polly too will have a secret. No one else knows the location of her beloved uncle, Sam, barely older than Polly herself, who is meant to be in Cambridge but is dreaming of Communist Cuba, while his decimated family fears losing another son. And, as Polly shyly approaches womanhood, her love for Sam turns into something more explosive.'Compelling and beautiful' Spectator

A brilliant story of the secrets we keep. Desmond Fitzmaurice is a mysterious literary giant of the thirties whom no one has seen for years. Caroline is a London journalist, and hasn't the faintest interest in going to Dublin to interview him. That his life story will feature 'lots of sex and some violence', as the old man claims, seems farcical. She'll stay for a couple of nights, extract what she can and try to make his life sound interesting. But in Desmond's quiet house, his quiet life, Caroline discovers much, much more than she bargained for...

Alec and Jerry shouldn't have been friends: Alec's life was one of privilege, while Jerry's was one of toil. But this hardly mattered to two young men whose shared love of horses brought them together and whose whole lives lay ahead of them.When war breaks out in 1914, both Jerry and Alec sign up - yet for quite different reasons. On the fields of Flanders they find themselves standing together, but once again divided: as officer and enlisted man. And it is there, surrounded by mud and chaos and death, that one of them makes a fateful decision whose consequences will test their friendship and loyalty to breaking point.

All families are complicated, but some are more complicated than others. And Christmas can only make matters worse. After Ciara's estranged father is nearly killed by his second wife in a car accident - or was it an accident? - Ciara begins, gingerly, to re-enter his life. As her troubled family gather for the holidays, is it too much to hope that they begin to find peace at last? Of course it is. With twins, new loves and an unpredictably monstrous matriarch, Christmas was never going to be easy. But it proves both more disastrous and happier than any of the family could have guessed.'Her writing is a joy: dialogue snaps with life while Johnston's distinctive prose is at once supremely comfortable and delightfully brisk' Daily MailWhat readers say about FOOLISH MORTALS:'A very pleasurable and intelligent read; not a word wasted, and characters that feel real. Highly recommended''One of my favourite authors'

A quietly devastating novel of love, marriage and the complexity of relationships...When Stella first meets Martyn, he's just a stranger on a train. She knows nothing at all about him. But very quickly she is won over by his charm and breathtaking illusions, and when he asks her to marry him, she agrees. As they begin their life together, Stella starts to feel uneasy. What exactly is the show-stopping illusion he claims to be working on, locked away in that room? Who are those men that visit the house at strange hours? And why are her questions never answered? As Stella realises that she barely knows the man she married, her thoughts turn to escape. The Illusionist is a carefully understated, beautifully told novel of the secrets in a marriage, and the twists of family life.

'A quietly incisive book that opens wounds where none were known' Irish IndependentSally, a successful actress, returns to her house in Goatstown from a European tour, just wanting to rest and to see her husband, Charlie, again. When Charlie announces that he's leaving her, Sally angrily forces him to pack his bags at once. But maybe, she wonders later, she really is too hard to live with? Hoping for some glimmer of insight into the family secrets that have always dogged her, Sally turns to her grandfather, the frosty old Bishop she has never really known.'This is a carefully crafted story... the structure is masterly, and the writing pungent' Penelope Lively, The Sunday TimesWhat readers said about GRACE AND TRUTH:'Brilliant, a beautifully written story with a real twist' ? ? ? ? ?'It was beautifully written with understanding' ? ? ? ? ?

A class trip to the aquarium winds up in the depths of the ocean as Ms. Frizzle's class must escape the jaws of a great white shark During their adventure, Ms. Frizzle teaches the class about different shark species, including the goblin shark, angel shark, whale shark, and others.

On a rainy afternoon on Killiney Hill a young man walking, without his overcoat, happens upon a woman gazing out over Dublin bay, standing perilously close to the edge. From their testy encounter develops a remarkable friendship which will enable each to face afresh their very different, damaged pasts, and to look, however tentatively, towards the future.

With an introduction from Sebastian Barry, The Essential Jennifer Johnston is a collected edition of three novels: THE CAPTAINS AND THE KINGS, THE RAILWAY STATION MAN and FOOL'S SANCTUARY. Jennifer Johnston, who died in 2025, was one of Ireland's best-loved novelists.'She has created a world of her own... Of such material is the finest literature made' Irish Times'One of Ireland's finest writers' Sunday Tribune

When a daughter returns, the past is revisited...In a house overlooking Dublin Bay, Mimi and her daughter Grace are disturbed by the unexpected arrival of Grace's daughter Polly, and her striking new boyfriend. Over the next few days, events lead them to reassess the shape of their lives. For while Grace's visitors focus her attention on an uncertain future, Mimi, who receives a messenger of a very different kind, must begin to set herself to rights with the betrayals and disappointments of the past.'Superbly executed... by turns funny, revealing and sad, the novel is both enchanted and enchanting' Daily Telegraph

A poignant debut novel of age, loneliness and friendship across divides...Mr Prendergast, an elderly Anglo-Irishman, is living out his last years in the decaying splendour of his family mansion. As his mind wanders through the gloom he finds it peopled with memories of his neglected wife, his pale shadow of a father, his icily glamorous mother and Alexander, the son she so jealously loved, killed in the First World War.With only his ill-tempered alcoholic gardener left to attend to him, Mr Prendergast is content to pass his days in such ghostly company. Until young Diarmid arrives, keen-eyed and carrot-haired, to disperse the gathering darkness with curiosity, and the promise of friendship.'Assured and skilful' Sunday Times

The Great War is over; but the war in Ireland is only just beginning, as the IRA and the Black and Tans move on to the attack. It all seems very remote to Miranda Martin, during that miraculous Indian summer. Her father, hoping to forget his dead wife, thinks of nothing but his trees; Miranda thinks of the future, a future which must surely include Cathal, who brings news from Dublin. Everything seems calm and serene. But then Andrew, her officer brother, comes home, bringing his eccentric, likeable friend Harry, and as the Indian summer fades, the scene is set for tragedy.

'A very nearly perfect novel of broad, regretful vision, and magical intimacy' Sunday TelegraphHelen has retreated to the remote north-west coast of Ireland to paint the sea and the shore, and to be alone with her past. English war hero Roger Hawthorne has settled in the neglected railway station house nearby. Though mutilated and sick at heart, with the help of a young lad he has begun painstakingly to restore the derelict branch line station. Soon Roger and Helen form a bond which, over gramophone music, dancing and champagne, deepens into love. But Helen, enjoying her first taste of happiness in years, is to learn just how brutally fleeting it can be.What readers enjoyed about THE RAILWAY STATION MAN: 'Quality literary fiction by a master in her craft' ? ? ? ? ?'It rates among my most favourites' ? ? ? ? ?

Once, the villagers would tip their hats respectfully when the McMahons drove out through the ornate iron gates at the end of the drive. But that was back in the days when the Major's family were prosperous. Now the estate is slipping into peaceful decay - and so, it seems, is the Major, its last occupant. Then Minnie, the Major's rebellious niece, returns home. She disrupts his tranquillity, forming surprising friendships with the feckless Kelly family. For together, Minnie and Kevin Kelly have hatched a plan to raise badly needed money - a plan which involves the gates themselves...