Little, Brown and Company
Количество страниц 256

Описание:
Beauty has learned her lessons well. There are no pleasures that she hasn't given, no delights she hasn’t known - but there can be no freedom for her. It means she must deny her body the joy it expects, the excitement it so desperately craves. Now as our story nears its end, Beauty meets the Prince of her dreams - the one man whose touch can release the torrential passions locked within her. And, as with the best of fairy tales, they are destined to live ecstatically ever after. Beauty's Release: her climactic adventure.

Описание:
The character of the last Tsar, Nicholas II (1868-1918) is crucial to understanding the overthrow of tsarist Russia, the most significant event in Russian history. Nicholas became Tsar at the age of 26. Though a conscientious man who was passionate in his devotion to his country, he was weak, sentimental, dogmatic and indecisive. Ironically he could have made an effective constitutional monarch, but these flaws rendered him fatally unsuited to be the sole ruler of a nation that was in the throes of painful modernisation. That he failed is not surprising, for many abler monarchs could not have succeeded. Rather to be wondered at is that he managed, for 23 years, to hold on to power despite the overwhelming force of circumstances. Though Nicholas was exasperating, he had many endearing qualities. A modern audience, aware - as contemporaries were not - of the private pressures under which he lived, can empathise with him and forgive some of his errors of judgement. To some readers he seems a fool, to others a monster, but many are touched by the story of a well-meaning man doing his best under impossible conditions. He is, in other words, a biographical subject that engages readers whatever their viewpoint. His family was of great importance to Nicholas. He and his wife, Alexandra, married for love and retained this affection to the end of their lives. His four daughters, all different and intriguing personalities, were beautiful and charming. His son, the family's - and the nation's - hope for the future, was disabled by an illness that had to be concealed from Russia and from the world. It was this circumstance that made possible the nefarious influence of Rasputin, which in turn hastened the end of the dynasty. This story has everything: romance and tragedy, grandeur and misery, human frailty and an international catastrophe that would not only bring down the Tsar but put an end to the glittering era of European monarchies.

Описание:
'I ought to tell you at the beginning that I am not quite normal having had a violent experience at the age of nine' Jessica Vye's 'violent experience' colours her schooldays and her reaction to the world around her a confining world of Order Marks, wartime restrictions, viyella dresses, nicely-restrained essays and dusty tea shops. For Jessica she has been told that she is 'beyond all possible doubt', a born writer. With her inability to conform, her absolute compulsion to tell the truth and her dedication to accurately noting her experiences, she knows this anyway. But what she doesn't know is that the experiences that sustain and enrich her burgeoning talent will one day lead to a new and entirely unexpected reality.

Описание:
Shea and Flick Ohmsford have somehow survived the first stage of their quest. With the aid of their childhood friend Menion Leah, and new companions, the dwarf Hendel, Balinor of Callahorn and the elves, Durin and Dayel, they have successfully evaded capture by gnomish warriors, and eluded the Warlock Lord's dread Skull Bearers. Now, with Allanon to guide them, the company must continue north, through the vast peaks of the Dragons Teeth Mountains. It is a route fraught with more danger, but the only path to their goal - the druid keep at Paranor, last resting place of Shannara's fabled Sword, the weapon Shea is destined to wield. So continues the epic tale of The Sword of Shannara - a classic of magic, adventure and epic conflict, from one of the world's greatest living storytellers. The concluding volume, THE SECRET OF THE SWORD is scheduled for May 2004 publication.

Описание:
As the countdown to Mma Makutsi's wedding begins, all is not as it should be at the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency. While investigating unpleasant occurrences on a southern cattle-post, Mma Ramotswe, always on the side of the weak against the strong, has reason to reflect on Rule No.3 of The Principles of Private Detection: never lie to the client. Apprentice mechanic Charlie seems to be avoiding certain important responsibilities. And as Mma Makutsi's big day approaches, her nemesis Violet Sephotho is casting her net wider: by standing for election which could spell trouble for the entire nation. But as friends and family gather under starry African night skies, it turns out that even the most perplexing of apparitions - and the most shocking of crimes - may yield to rational explanation. And, of course, to Mma Ramotswe's inimitable way with love, intuition and redbush tea.

Описание:
Dave's mobile went - poor Cleggsy, wanting to know what the Queen was like. "Incredibly nervous", Dave said. "But Sam soon put her at her ease." We have heard, it seems, every opinion on the rise of the coalition save one: that of the new Prime Minister's wife, Samantha. Star journalist Catherine Bennett has stepped in to give us a glimpse of Sam Cam's first year in Downing Street. What to do about Cherie's nightmare granite'n'pine kitchen? How can Dave's rationingy-austerity-depressiony vibe be harnessed for the luxury goods market? Is there a polite strategy for avoiding Miriam Clegg's bookclub?

Описание:
Happy with her husband-to-be and beloved son, Isabel Dalhousie has feelings about parenthood that grow more tender daily. So when Jane, a visiting academic adopted and sent to Australia as a baby, asks for help in tracing her Scottish origins, she cannot refuse. However, habitually upright Isabel finds herself beset by temptation - for instance, to be suspicious of Professor Lettuce's latest subterfuge, and of her niece Cat's weakness for the wrong man. And when the search for Jane's parents turns troubling, she can hardly prevent herself from interfering too forcefully in family secrets. As she steers a course between love and laissez-faire, our philosopher heroine succeeds in resisting all temptations but those which must be answered, and teases a solution from every problem.

Описание:
This sequel to The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty resumes Beauty's explicit, teasing exploration of the psychology of human desire and seduction. Now Beauty, having indulged in a secret and forbidden infatuation with the rebellious slave Prince Tristan, is sent away. Sold at auction, she will soon experience the tantalizing punishments of 'the village' as her education in love, cruelty, dominance, submission and tenderness is turned over to the brazenly handsome Captain of the Guard. Once again Anne Rice's classic tale of pleasure and pain dares to explore the most primal and well-hidden desires of the human heart.

Описание:
It has never occurred to Precious Ramotswe that there might be disadvantages to being the best-known lady detective in Botswana. But when she receives a threatening anonymous letter, she is compelled to reconsider her unconquerable belief in a kind world and good neighbours. While she ponders the identity of the letter-writer Mma Ramotswe has a further set of problems to solve, both professional and personal. There is an adopted child's poignant search for her true family, and Mr J. L. B. Matekoni's pursuit of an expensive miracle for their own foster daughter Motholeli. With these latest developments on Tlokweng Road, Alexander McCall Smith reveals with all his brilliant storytelling skill that there are very few troubles that cannot be solved with kindness, and very few dry seasons that do not end with welcome rain.

Описание:
Massie Block stands at the threshold of a huh-yuge secret: a hidden room at Octavian Country Day. But to prove the Pretty Committee is worthy of the key, the girls need to find dates to Skye Hamilton’s ‘famous couples’ costume party. On top of that, Massie has to convince her old crush, Chris Abeley, to be Skye’s date... or else the PC can kiss the room - and their popularity - goodbye. Luckily for the girls, alpha status just happens to come with ESP. Not the actual superpower, but a secret weapon that shows them exactly what their crushes are thinking. The question is, do they really want to know?

Описание:
'Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different reasons than I'd disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim. That's my score to date. Three. I haven't killed anybody for years, and don't intend to ever again. It was just a stage I was going through'. Enter - if you can bear it - the extraordinary private world of Frank, just sixteen, and unconventional, to say the least.

Описание:
Bushnells beat is that demi-monde of nightclubs, bars, restaurants and parties where the rich come into contact with the infamous, the famous with the wannabes and the publicity-hungry with the gossip-peddlers Evening Standart Wildly funny, unexpectedly poignant, wickedly observant, Sex and the City blazes a glorious, drunken cocktail trail through New York, as Candace Bushnell, columnist and social critic par excellence, trips on her Manolo Blahnik kitten heels from the Baby Doll Lounge to the Bowery Bar. An Armistead Maupin for the real world, she has the gift of assembling a huge and irresistible cast of freaks and wonders, while remaining faithful to her hard core of friends and fans: those glamorous, rebellious, crazy single women, too close to forty, who are trying hard not to turn from the Audrey Hepburn of Breakfast at Tiffanys into the Glen Close of Fatal Attraction, and are - still - looking for love.

Описание:
The Vizz: an industry in crisis. Baxter Stone, a film maker and television veteran, a lifelong Londoner (who thinks he sees better than others) is having problems in the postbrain, crumbling capital. Swindled by an insurance company, he's in in debt; a Lamborghini is blocking his drive and MI6 is blocking his mobile reception. He hopes to turn it round and get the documentary series that will get him the Big Money. But what do you do if history is your sworn enemy and the whole world conspires against you? Is there any way, you could, for a moment, rule the world justly? Darkly comic, How to Rule The World follows Baxter's battle for truth, justice and classy colour grading as it takes him from the pass of Thermopylae, to the peacocking serial killers of Medieval France, and the war in Syria. A trip from the Garden of Eden to Armageddon, plus reggae. Demonstrating Fischer's inimitable talent for eviscerating social satire, How to the Rule the World is a magnificently funny read to stand alongside his best loved works, the Man Booker shortlisted Under the Frog, The Thought Gang and Don't Read This Book If You're Stupid, all of which Corsair will publish in e-book next year.

Описание:
Renowned, bestselling novelist Chuck Palahniuk takes us behind the scenes of the writing life, with postcards from decades on the road and incredible examination of the power of fiction and the art of storytelling. In this spellbinding blend of memoir and insight, bestselling author Chuck Palahniuk shares stories and generous advice on what makes writing powerful and what makes for powerful writing. With advice grounded in years of careful study and a keenly observed life, Palahniuk combines practical advice and concrete examples from beloved classics, his own books, and a "kitchen-table MFA" culled from an evolving circle of beloved authors and artists, with anecdotes, postcards from the road, and much more. Clear-eyed, sensitive, illuminating, and knowledgeable, Consider This is Palahniuk's love letter to stories and storytellers, booksellers and books themselves. Consider it a classic in the making.