Penguin Group

A Perfect Match After two years of being deafened by the TICKTOCK of her biological clock and tormented by Mother Nature's refusal to grant her a baby, Emma Hamilton decides to go for the instant solution: finding a Russian baby in need of a home. But Emma hasn't reckoned on the route to adoption being so complicated. Between proving that she's fit to be a mother (by inventing an unblemished past and discovering an unsuspected talent for housekeeping), driving her long-suffering husband insane with madcap schemes to make them the perfect would-be parents (a few Russian verbs a night and they'll be fluent in no time), and tripping over red tape every step of the way (who knew social workers could be so terrifying?) Emma finds out that adoption is far from the easy option — and that perfection has very little to do with finding the perfect match. Подробнее
Playing Away Connie has been happily married for a year. She's just met John Harding. Imagine the sexiest man you can think of. He's a walking stag weekend. He's a funny, disrespectful, fast, confident, irreverent pub crawl. He is also completely unscrupulous. He's about to destroy Connie's peace of mind, her grand plan for living happily ever after with her gentle, loving husband Luke. It's against the rules. It's the closest thing you'll get to an affair, without actually having one. Подробнее
Plays As a playwright Chekhov was subversive, even revolutionary, breaking away from the prevailing fashions of contemporary theatre to create an exhilarating new form of drama. He created many plays without heroes and villains, and focused instead on the individual grappling with a moral dilemma. In place of the happy ending came ambiguity, in place of dramatic conflict came the solitary quest. Shocking to his first audiences, his plays are equally provocative today. A new translation by Peter Carson with an introduction by Richard Gilman. Подробнее
Port It, Starboard Home Can it really be true that 'golf' stands for 'Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden'? Or that 'rule of thumb' comes from an archaic legal principle that a man may chastise his wife, but only with a rod no thicker than his thumb? These and hundreds of other stories are commonly told and retold whenever people meet. They grow up in part because expressions are often genuinely mysterious. Why, for example, are satisfying meals 'square' rather than any other shape? And how did anyone ever come up with the idea that if you're competent at something you can 'cut the mustard'? Michael Quinion here retells many of the more bizarre tales, and explains their real origins where they're known. This is a fascinating treasure-trove of fiction and fact for anyone interested in language. Подробнее
The Public Confessions Of A Middle-Aged Woman Enter the world of Susan Lilian Townsend – sun-worshippers, work-shy writers, garden centre lovers and those in search of a good time are all welcome … Over the last decade, Sue Townsend has written a monthly column for Sainsbury’s Magazine, covering everything from hosepipe bans and Spanish restaurants to writer’s block and the posh middle-aged woman she once met who’d never heard of Winnie-the-Pooh. Now collected together for the first time, these funny, perceptive and touching pieces make up this brilliant new book from one of Britain’s most popular and acclaimed writers. Подробнее
The Queen and I
, 2007
THE MONARCHY HAS BEEN DISMANTLED When a Republican party wins the General Election, their first act in power is to strip the royal family of their assets and titles and send them to live on a housing estate in the Midlands. Exchanging Buckingham Palace for a two-bedroomed semi in Hell Close (as the locals dub it), caviar for boiled eggs, servants for a social worker named Trish, the Queen and her family learn what it means to be poor among the great unwashed. But is their breeding sufficient to allow them to rise above their changed circumstance or deep down are they really just like everyone else? Подробнее
The Roald Dahl Treasury The Roald Dahl Treasury is a wonderful collection by and about Roald Dahl, the great storytelling genius. Four themed sections — Animals; Magic; Family, Friends and Foes; and Matters of Importance — introduce some of Dahl's best-loved characters, from Willy Wonka to the BFG, from the Witches to the Twits, from James to Matilda. In each you will find complete stories, poems, memoirs and letters, as well as some unpublished poetry and letters. The Roald Dahl Treasury is beautifully illustrated in full colour by Quentin Blake, as well as by leading artists such as Raymond Briggs, Babette Cole, Posy Simmonds and Ralph Steadman. 'Those who don't believe in magic will never find it,' Roald Dahl told his readers. you will find a touch of magic on every page of this sumptuous book. It is the perfect gift for all lovers of Roald Dahl, and for all those who have yet to discover his magic. Подробнее
Rachel’s Holiday
, 2008
Here's Rachel Walsh, twenty-seven and the miserable owner of size 8 feet. She has regular congress with Luke Costello, a man who wears his leather trousers tight. And she's fond — some might say too fond — of recreational drugs. Until she finds herself being frogmarched to the Cloisters — Dublin's answer to the Betty Ford Clinic. She's outraged. Surely she's not thin enough to be an addict? Heartsick and Luke-sick, she seeks redemption in the shape of Chris, a man with a past. A man who might be more trouble than he's worth. Подробнее
Rachel’s Holiday Until everything goes pearshaped and she finds herself being frogmarched to the Cloisters — Dublin's answer to the Betty Ford Clinic. She's outraged. Surely she's not thin enough to be an addict? But on the bright side, she's heard that rehab places are wall-to-wall jucuzzis, gymnasiums and rock stars going tepid turkey. Besides, it's about time she had a little holiday. Rachel isn't expecting plump, middle-aged men in brown jumpers, and more group therapy than you can shake a stick at. That — alarmingly — she seems to be expected to join in with. Who cares for introspection when all there is to look at is damaged and broken? Heartsick and Luke-sick, she seeks redemption in the shape of Chris, a Man with a Past. A man who might be more trouble than he's worth. Rachel is airlifted from addiction to the unfamiliar terrain of adulthood, via a love story or two, in a novel by turns poignant, powerful and seriously funny. Подробнее
Rainbow Six Newly named head of Rainbow, an élite multinational task force, John Clark faces the world's greatest fear — international terrorism. And following each terrifying new outbreak — the ghosts from his own dark past. The challenge of a new mission is just what Clark needs, but the opportunities come faster than he expected. Hostage-taking at a Swiss bank. The kidnapping of an international trader. Carnage at a theme park in Spain. Each incident seems separate, yet the timing disturbs Clark. Is there a connection? Is he being tested? Or is there a bigger threat out there, from terrorists so extreme that no government is ready to admit their existence? RAINBOW SIX — TOM CLANCY AT HIS THRILLING BEST Подробнее
The Red Pony In The Red Pony, John Steinbeck’s celebration of the spirit and courage of adolescence, we meet Jody Tiflin. Like most ten-year-old boys, Jody feels the urge for rebellion as well as the need to be loved. In these stories, Jody begins to learn about adulthood – its pains, its responsibilities and its problems – through the acceptance of his father’s gifts. First he is given a red pony and later he is promised the colt of a bay mare. But both these gifts bring tragedy as well as joy, and Jody not only learns some harsh lessons about life (and death), but is also made painfully aware of the fallibility of adults. Подробнее
Red Rabbit
, 2008
Jack Ryan. The early CIA days ... When young Jack Ryan joins the CIA as an analyst he is thrust into a world of political intrigue and conspiracy. Stationed in England he quickly finds himself debriefing a Soviet defector with an extraordinary story to tell: senior Russian officials are plotting to assassinate Pope John Paul II. The CIA novice must forget his inexperience and rely on all his wits to firstly discover the details of the plot – and then prevent its execution. For it is not just the Pope’s life that is at stake, but also the stability of the Western world … Подробнее
Remember Me ‘As long as I’m still breathing then I’ll still hope’ Mary Broad is just eighteen when, one spring day in 1786, she makes a foolish mistake and steals a hat from a passerby. For this crime she is sentenced to death. But then she is given a reprieve: she is to be one of several hundred convicts who will sail to a new colony on the other side of the world – Australia. For a Cornish girl who has previously never been further than Plymouth, this is almost as horrifying a fate as death. Suddenly, courage and determination are all Mary has. She promises herself one thing – she will survive whatever it takes. How she accomplishes this, in spite of the horrors that lie ahead of her, not just for herself but also for those she loves, is breathtakingly audacious. Based on a true story, Remember Me is quite simply one of the most gripping and moving tales of human endeavour you will ever read. Подробнее
Retribution
, 2005
One rainy night in New York City, outstanding law student Chloe Larson wakes from a terrible nightmare. But it's not a nightmare — it's real. Not only is she savagely violated in her own bedroom, Chloe then has to deal with the horror of nobody being brought to justice. Twelve years later a very different Chloe is forging a formidable reputation in the Miami Dade State Attorney's Office, as a vicious serial killer nicknamed Cupid terrorises Florida — tearing out his tortured victim's hearts while they're still conscious. When the police stop a driver on the McArthur Causeway and a mutilated corpse is found in his trunk, it seems the hunt for Cupid is finally over. But as Chloe begins the task of prosecuting the suspect, she soon realises that this case will be anything but easy. Because her past is about to force itself on her present — and the terror is only just beginning. Sometimes there's a price to be paid for justice. And sometimes that price is awful. Revenge could cost Chloe her sanity. The truth could cost her her life. THE PAST. THE PRESENT. THE TERROR. Подробнее
Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman Rose Lloyd was the last to suspect that Nathan, her husband of over twenty years, was having an affair, and that he was planning to leave her. But the greatest shock was yet to come; for his mistress was Rose's colleague and friend, Minty. So Rose was left alone in their once-happy family home, where she and Nathan had brought up their children. Then she started thinking — about the man she'd married, and how well she really knew him. About the carefree yet studious girl she had been before she met him. Twenty years ago Rose had to make the choice between two very different lives. Could she recapture what she nearly chose back then, and bring new meaning to her life now? Подробнее
The Rules Of Engagement 'I have come to believe that there can be no adequate preparation for the sadness that comes at the end, the sheer regret that one's life is finished, that one's failures remain indelible and one's successes illusory.' Elizabeth and Betsy are old school friends. Born in 1948 and unready for the sixties, they had high hopes of the lives they would lead, even though their circumstances were so different. When they meet again in their thirties, Elizabeth, married to the safe, older Digby is relieving the boredom of a cosy but childless marriage with an affair. Betsy seems to have found real romance in Paris. Are their lives taking off, or are they just making more of the wrong choices without even realising it? Подробнее
Rumours of a Hurricane Tragic and hilarious in equal measure, Tim Lott’s story of Charlie and Maureen Buck’s ailing marriage and their climb up (and down) the social ladder during the 1980s is a wonderfully honest portrait of ordinary people living through an extraordinary time. Steeped in the decade’s cataclysmic events, packed with the crimes and misdemeanours we visit on each another, Rumours of a Hurricane is a powerful tale of change, how we face it – and how we don’t. Подробнее
Russia and the Russians The result of a lifetime’s knowledge of Russia and its people, this monumental and authoritative work has been acclaimed as the definitive single-volume history of Russia. Подробнее
Russia's War In the course of human history there has probably been no more terrible place than Eastern Europe in 1941-45. Estimates of total Soviet military and civilian deaths in the period now stand at more than 25 million. In Russia's War, Richard Overy recreates the Soviet Union's apocalyptic struggle against Germany both from the point of view of the troops and of the ordinary people. Подробнее
Russia Under the Old Regime Newly revised for this edition, Richard Pipes's highly acclaimed study analyses the evolution of the Russian state from the ninth century to the 1880s and its unique role in managing Russian society. The harsh geographical conditions and sheer size of the country prevented the creation of participatory government, and a 'patrimonial' state emerged in which Russia was transformed into a gigantic royal domain. Richard Pipes traces these developments and goes on to analyse the political behaviour of the principal social groupings — peasantry, nobility, middle-class and clergy — and their failure to stand up to the increasing absolutism of the tsar. In order to strengthen his powers legal and institutional bases were set up that led to the creation of a bureaucratic police state under the Communists. Подробнее

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