Daedalus Books

Charles Dickens And Friends: Five Lively Retellings

Marcia Williams, 2006

With small, teeming cartoon scenes so boisterous they frequently burst their borders, Williams catapults readers headlong through five of Dickens's best-known melodramas. Kirkus Reviews OLIVER TWIST, GREAT EXPECTATIONS, A TALE OF TWO CITIES, DAVID COPPERFIELD, and A CHRISTMAS CAROL are distilled into six-to ten-page stories that include the bare rudiments of each plot and droll illustrations featuring dialogue taken directly from the original works, spilling out of the frames into the margins with additional witty commentary. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL A fresh retelling that makes a good story as well as an introduction to classroom reading assignments or school dramatizations. Подробнее

The Classic Treasury of Best-loved Bedtime Stories

Penny Dann, 2007

There's that short period of time before toddlers grow up and discover Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network when you can still enchant them with a classic fairy tale. If you open that door when they're young, they'll always love and want a bedtime story. This is a wonderful collection for reading aloud: eight traditional stories with broad appeal, from The Princess and the Pea, King Midas, Stone Soup, and The Lion and the Mouse, to lesser-known gems like The Glass Mountain, The Three Sillies, The Enchanted Watch, and The Little Red Hen. The magical visions and heroic adventures are brought to life with exquisite and imaginative new illustrations from Penny Dann. They make this edition one to grow on and an heirloom that will be cherished throughout the years. Подробнее

The Comic Book Guy's Book of Pop Culture

Matt Groening, 2005

The latest release from the best-selling Simpsons Library of Wisdom series. Resident of Springfield and owner of the Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop, the infamous Comic Book Guy spends his days at the comfort of his stool, patiently awaiting his next paying customer. The Comic Book guy embodies all the traits of your typical comic book shop owner, being tubby, and wearing his brown hair in a pony tail. He is also known for being extremely sarcastic. Being a sci-fi, comic and movie buff, the Comic Book Guy holds several prized collectibles: a rare copy of Mary Worth, in which Mary advises a friend to commit suicide, as well as his rare photo of Sean Connery, signed by Roger Moore. In some scenarios, the Comic Book Guy can be found sporting his alter-ego, The Collector, a menacing superhero with the intention of finding the most sought-after collectible! (The Collector makes his first appearance in the Treehouse of Horror X Halloween special). Подробнее

The Crusades

Mike Paine, 2005

The first crusade was set in motion by Pope Urban II in 1095 and culminated in the capture of Jerusalem from the Muslims four years later. In 1291 the fall of Acre marked the loss of the last Christian enclave in the Holy Land. This Pocket Essential traces the chronology of the Crusades between these two dates and highlights the most important figures on all sides of the conflict. It covers the creation of the kingdom of Jerusalem and the other crusader states and their struggle to survive. It looks at the successes and failures of the Third Crusade and at the legendary figures of Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, explores the truth and the myths behind the orders of military monks like the Hospitallers and examines such strange historical events as the Children's Crusade and the crusader sacking of Byzantium in 1204. It also looks at the struggles of the Teutonic Knights against paganism in the Baltic. The book provides the essential information about one of the great unifying, and disunifying, forces of medieval Christendom. Подробнее

The Delegates' Choice

Ian Sansom, 2008

Israel Armstrong, one of literature's most unlikely detectives, returns for more crime solving adventure in this hilarious third novel from the Mobile Library series. Israel has been invited to attend the Mobile Meet in London, the annual mobile library convention, with his irascible companion Ted Carson. Back in the UK, Israel is reunited with his family, and there is much eating of paprika chicken, baklava and the drinking of good coffee. But within only twenty-four hours of their arrival, the mobile library has been nicked. Who on earth would want to steal a thirty-year old rust-bucket of a van, and who can the two men turn to for assistance? Can Mr and Mrs Krimholz, the parents of Israel's childhood rival Adam Krimholz, help them out? Amidst all this mayhem, will Israel and Ted, one of literature's oddest oddball couples, ever make it to the Mobile Meet? In this, his most puzzling, personal and problematic case yet, Israel has never had it so bad! neither has his library. Подробнее

Dragon World: A Pop-Up Guide to These Scaled Beasts

Keith Moseley, 2007

Dramatically presented with dynamic paper engineering, this follow-up to Dragons Pop-Up brings magnificent dragons to vivid life. Подробнее

Espresso Tales

Alexander McCall Smith, 2005

It was a chance encounter with Armistead Maupin (of Tales of the City fame) in San Francisco which inspired Alexander McCall Smith to write his daily novel about the residents of 44 Scotland Street, a fictitious building in a real street in the author's home town of Edinburgh. With its multiple-occupancy flats, Scotland Street is an interesting corner of the city, verging on the Bohemian, where haute bourgeoisie rub shoulders with students and the more colourful members of the intelligentsia. The comings and goings at 44 Scotland Street first made their way into print in The Scotsman newspaper in the first half of 2004. Espresso Tales features further escapades from the fringes of the New Town which appeared in The Scotsman during 2005. This new novel gives Scotland Street aficionados a chance to catch up with the occupants of what must surely be Edinburgh's most well-known literary address, and to meet more of the inhabitants of this unique corner of the city. Espresso Tales is vintage McCall Smith, tackling issues of trust and honesty, snobbery and hypocrisy, love and loss, but all with great lightness of touch. Clever, elegant and funny, this is a novel that provides huge entertainment but which is underpinned by the moral dilemmas of everyday life and the characters' struggles to resolve them. Подробнее

The Fall of Troy

Peter Ackroyd, 2007

Heinrich Obermann, a celebrated German archaeologist, has uncovered the ancient ruins of Troy on a Turkish hillside. He fervently believes that his discovery will prove that the heroes of the Iliad, a work he has cherished all his life, actually existed. Sophia, Obermann's young Greek wife, works at the site carefully preserving the ancient treasures she uncovers. But Sophia soon comes to see another side of her husband. He is mysteriously vague about his past and the wife he claims died years before. When she finds a cache of artefacts Obermann has hidden away, her suspicions about him rise, feelings that escalate when a visiting archaeologist who questions Obermann's methods dies from a mysterious fever. The arrival of a second, equally sceptical archaeologist brings Sophia's doubts to a head — and spurs Obermann to make even greater claims about the evidence he has found and the profound importance of his achievements. In The Fall of Troy, Peter Ackroyd again demonstrates his ability to evoke time and place, and to transform history into compelling fiction. Like the Homeric epics that entrance Obermann, The Fall of Troy is in part accurate, in part fantastic. It is a brilliantly told story of heroes and scoundrels, human aspirations and follies, and the temptation to shape the truth to fit a passionately held belief. Подробнее

Hugo Pepper

Chris Riddell, 2006

A brilliantly inventive, fabulously illustrated addition to the Far-Flung Adventure series from the award-winning, bestselling author and illustrator team, Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. Set in the same world as Fergus Crane and Corby Flood's stories, this is the tale of a small boy, Hugo Pepper, and his amazing exploits. Raised in the Frozen North by reindeer herders, his parents eaten by polar bears when he was just a baby, Hugo discovers that the sled they arrived in has a very special compass — one that can be set to 'Home'. And so Hugo arrives in Firefly Square — to discover a group of very special friends, and a dastardly enemy... With three-toed snowmen, a secret buried treasure, and a host of fabulous stories, this is a fantastic new tale in this series. Подробнее

The Fortune of War

Patrick O'Brian, 2007

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. Now these evocative stories are being re-issued in paperback by Harper Perennial with stunning new jackets. Captain Jack Aubrey, RN, arrives in the Dutch East Indies to find himself appointed to the command of the fastest and best-armed frigate in the Navy. He and his friend Stephen Maturin take passage for England in a despatch vessel. But the war of 1812 breaks out while they are en route. Bloody actions precipitate them both into new and unexpected scenes, and Stephen's past activities as a secret agent return on him with a vengeance. Подробнее

The Garden of Evil

David Hewson, 2008

In a deserted artist's studio in the heart of Rome, detectives stumble upon a scene of shocking brutality: two bodies, freshly killed. Looming over them is a painting that bears all the hallmarks of a Caravaggio: a brilliantly colored canvas depicting a violent tableau of beauty and depravity... In David Hewson's bold new novel of suspense, this grisly discovery sends Detective Nic Costa on a desperate chase through the streets of his city. The consequences are devastating. And for Nic, the case has only just begun. At the crime scene, detectives find a treasure trove of evidence — from fresh blood to lurid photos of dead prostitutes. For Costa, finding the killer who escaped him is intensely personal. But his prime suspect arrogantly hides in plain sight behind a fortress of money, power, and the law. Teaming with an art expert, Costa follows clues hidden in the mysterious Caravaggio canvas. As he moves through a maze of history, he begins to make stunning connections to the present case. And each discovery brings him closer and closer to a secret buried in a priceless work of art, a conspiracy dating back four hundred years — and men who will stop at nothing to protect their own private garden of evil. From modern forensics to the realm of the Medicis, from the force of faith to the corruption of power, The Garden of Evil is a novel steeped in Roman history — and an unforgettable experience in richly atmospheric, modern-day suspense. Подробнее

Green Hills of Africa

Ernest Hemingway, 1994

This is Ernest Hemingway's lyrical journal of a month on safari in the great game country of East Africa, where he and his wife Pauline journeyed in December 1933. Hemingway's well-known interest in — and fascination with — big game hunting is magnificently captured in this evocative account of his trip. It is an examination of the lure of the hunt and an impassioned portrait of the glory of the African landscape and of the beauty of a wilderness that was, even then, being threatened by the incursions of man. Подробнее

HMS Surprise

Patrick O'Brian, 2008

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. Now these evocative stories are being re-issued in paperback by Harper Perennial with stunning new jackets. H.M.S. Surprise follows the variable fortunes of Captain Jack Aubrey's career in Nelson's navy as he attempts to hold his ground against admirals, colleagues and the enemy, accepting a mission to convey a British ambassador to the East Indies. The voyage takes him and his friend Stephen Maturin to the strange sights and smells of the Indian sub-continent, and through the archipelago of spice islands where the French have a near-overwhelming superiority. Rarely has a novel managed to convey more vividly the fragility of a sailing ship in a wild sea. Rarely has a historical novelist combined action and lyricism of style in the way that O' Brian does. His superb sense of place, brilliant characterisation, and a vigour and joy of writing lift O'Brian above any but the most exalted of comparisons. Подробнее

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

Alexander McCall Smith, 2004

Precious Ramotswe, that cheerful Botswanan private investigator of 'traditional build', is well-known to millions across the world through the best-selling No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Those who have been following her exploits in five previously published novels will soon be able to savour the next instalment, in which, as usual, circumstances are never as straightforward as they seem and events take a more than unexpected turn. Precious Ramotswe, is now married to Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. The Agency is busy, but Mma Ramotswe cannot ignore the plea which is made to her by a woman who comes to her with a tale of particular misfortune. Unfortunately, her attempts to help are interrupted by a close encounter between her tiny white van and a bicycle, and by a spectacular disagreement between her assistant, Mma Makutsi, and one of the apprentices at the garage. This apprentice has found a fancy girlfriend who drives a large silver Mercedes-Benz. How can he be rescued from his folly? And as for Mma Makutsi, she has found a dancing class, and a man who may not be able to dance very well but who admires her greatly. And all of this happens against a background of quiet sessions of bush tea, and of a land that stretches out forever under mile upon mile of empty sky. Подробнее

La's Orchestra Saves the World

Alexander McCall Smith, 2008

Thank you for the music... It's 1939 and the war in Europe casts a long, all-encompassing shadow. In a sleepy town in Suffolk, the generous and determined widow, La, forms an amateur orchestra to entertain the locals and soothe her own broken heart. She recruits Felix, a refugee from Poland, to play the flute, and a touching friendship emerges. When the war is over and the orchestra disbands, La is left pondering her next move. What role can she play in her community now the war is over? And can she let herself love again? La's Orchestra is another delightful story celebrating friendship and the healing power of music, told with the warmth and charm we've come to love from one of the nation's favourite storytellers. Подробнее

Lancelot And the Lord of the Distant Isles

Patricia Terry, 2007

This story of the passionate, adulterous, tragic love of Lancelot and Guinevere is at once the perfect expression of 'courtly love' and its inversion. Lancelot, the heroic stranger in King Arthur's court, sacrifices all in service of his king, and yet also falls in love with Arthur's queen, the most beautiful woman in Britain. That this spotless knight, who repeatedly saves Arthur and his world from destruction, should be the fateful underminer of the king's self-confidence and, ultimately, a terrible weapon in the hands of Arthur's great adversary Galehaut, is a contradiction that has fascinated the Western mind for hundreds of years. The Arthurian legend that most of us know comes from Malory and The Once and Future King. But there are also several books, including the thirteenth-century Book of Galehaut, which gives a surprising and unfamiliar version. It is a double love story — the tale not only of Lancelot's love for Guinevere, but also the love of Galehaut, the Lord of the Distant Isles, for Lancelot. Подробнее

The Little Stranger

Sarah Waters, 2009

In a dusty post-war summer in rural Warwickshire, a doctor is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once grand and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable yard permanently fixed at twenty to nine. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life? Little does Dr Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become entwined with his. Prepare yourself. From this wonderful writer who continues to astonish us, now comes a chilling ghost story. Подробнее

Mr: Dixon Disappears

Ian Sansom, 2010

Israel Armstrong, one of literature's most unlikely detectives, returns for more sleuth-solving adventure in this hilarious second novel from The Mobile Library series. The second in the The Mobile Library detective series, Mr Dixon Disappears once again features the magnificently hapless Israel Armstrong — the young, Jewish, duffle-coat wearing librarian who solves crimes, mysteries, and domestic problems all whilst driving a mobile library around the coast of Northern Ireland. Dixon and Pickering's, County Antrim's legendary department store, is preparing to celebrate its centenary. But the elderly Mr Dixon — a member of the Ulster Association of Magicians — has gone missing, along with one hundred thousand pounds in cash. It smells, pretty badly, of a kidnap. Israel becomes a suspect in the police investigation and is suspended from his job by his boss, the ever-fearsome Linda Wei. He's having to fight to clear his name. Does Israel's acclaimed five-panel touring exhibition showing the history of Dixon and Pickering's in old photographs and artefacts perhaps hold the key to Mr Dixon's mysterious disappearance? Will romance blossom between Israel and Rosie Hart, the barmaid at the First and Last? Will Linda Wei stick to her diet? And has nobody here heard of Franz Kafka? All will be revealed in this hilarious and endlessly inventive sequel to The Case of the Missing Books. Подробнее

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Agatha Christie, 2006

Considered to be one of Agatha Christie's most controversial mysteries, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd breaks all the rules of traditional mystery writing. A widow's suicide has stirred rumors of blackmail, and of a secret lover named Roger Ackroyd, who was found stabbed to death in his study. The case is so unconventional that not even crack detective Hercule Poirot has a clue as to how to solve it. Подробнее

Other Colours

Orhan Pamuk, 2007

Other Colours is a collection of immediate relevance and timeless value, ranging from lyrical autobiography to criticism of literature and culture, from humour to political analysis, from delicate evocations of his friendship with his daughter Ruya to provocative discussions of Eastern and Western art. It also covers Pamuk's recent, high profile, court case. My Father's Suitcase, Pamuk's 2006 Nobel Lecture, a brilliant illumination of what it means to be a writer, completes the selection from the figure who is now without doubt one of international literature's most eminent and popular figures. Подробнее

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