Showing titles in Literature & Fiction

Meet Surbiton’s most famous residents: Tom, Barbara, Margo and Jerry. It is Tom Good's 40th birthday, and he feels thoroughly unfulfilled. If only he can discover what 'It' is, and if he can, will his wife Barbara agree to do 'It' with him? The subsequent and sudden transformation of the Goods’ home into a smallholding causes consternation for Margo and Jerry next door, and they decide it’s their duty to interfere. So begins The Good Life, the much loved classic sitcom starring Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a policeman taking a holiday would barely have had time to open his suitcase before he finds his first corpse. Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is on holiday in the pleasant and innocent countryside, but not for him a mere body in the wardrobe. There are many, many bodies - and an ancient crime more terrible than murder. He is out of his jurisdiction, out of his depth, out of bacon sandwiches; and out of his mind. But never out of guile. Where there is a crime there must be a punishment.

After much searching, Amber and Stevie find the perfect house - a bit shabby but with potential - in Grimaldi Square. Just the two of them; a place where they can start their lives together. Recently married, they want to begin a family (with the help of their gay best friend, Jack). Despite the rundown pub across the way, the overgrown garden and a decidedly nosy neighbour, it's the house of their dreams. But they are not alone in this dream.

Following heartbreak, Rosy has rebuilt her life in the beautiful Cornish village of Penmenna. Now headmistress of the local school, she is living by The Rule: no dating anyone in the village. Easy, right? But Rosy Winter has a new neighbour: handsome gardener Matt. In Penmenna for his new gardening TV show, this guy next door will do everything he can to persuade her to break her rule and win her heart.

Gabriel Dax is a young man haunted by the memories of a tragedy: every night, when sleep finally comes, he dreams about his childhood home in flames. His days are spent on the move as an acclaimed travel writer, capturing the changing landscapes in the grip of the Cold War. When he’s offered the chance to interview a political figure, his ambition leads him unwittingly into a web of duplicities and betrayals.

Disgraced former detective Mike Humber gets off a train in the bleak autumn countryside, his mind haunted by a dark past. A new job awaits. Huntington House needs a live-in security guard to prevent access during an inheritance dispute. This is exactly what Mike needs: a new start in a new place and a chance to turn things around. It all seems perfect, especially when he meets Tessa. But Huntington House holds dark secrets. Bumps in the night. Flickering lights. Music playing from somewhere.

A dynamic remastering of the original BBC Radio 4 full-cast serial - Fit the First to Fit the Sixth - which spawned a phenomenal hitchhiking legend. The original series of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, remastered by Dirk Maggs (director of the Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases) to give a full, vibrant sound, now with Philip Pope’s version of the familiar theme tune and specially re-recorded announcements by John Marsh.

The Mississippi River, 1861. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a new owner in New Orleans and separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson’s Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father who recently returned to town. Thus begins a dangerous and transcendent journey by raft along the Mississippi River, towards the elusive promise of the free states and beyond.

One day, sitting in traffic, Stella Sweeney attempts a good deed. The resulting car crash changes her life. But in this event is born the seed of something which will take Stella thousands of miles from her old life, turning an ordinary woman into a superstar, wrenching her whole family apart. For the first time real, honest-to-goodness happiness is just within her reach. But is Stella Sweeney, Dublin housewife, ready to grasp it?

Unlike the rest of her family, Maggie Walsh has always done the right thing - that is until the day she leaves her husband and takes refuge with her friend Emily, a screenwriter in Los Angeles - a city where even the palm trees are skinny.

Thirty-one-year-old matchmaker Lola James had it all – until she broke her leg at a wedding and discovered that her so-called ‘best friend’ was suddenly too busy to call, her flat had far too many steps, and her boyfriend replaced her quicker than you can say ‘crutches’. And so she’s back at her parents’ B&B, sleeping in the living room (she can’t get upstairs) and having her hair washed by her mum (she can’t get in the shower). Freshly single and with a lot of time on her hands, Lola is only too pleased to run into gorgeous Dr Will. And then there’s Dean.

Meet Helen - youngest of the Walsh sisters and a law unto herself. She’s easily bored, has an inability to filter her thoughts and was fired from every job she ever had before she found her true calling as a private investigator. But times are tough for PIs, and Helen’s had no choice but to take on the search for AWOL boyband has-been Wayne Diffney: The Wacky One.

Adrian Mole is 34 and three quarters, almost officially middle-aged, when Mr. Blair tells Parliament that Weapons of Mass Destruction can be deployed in 45 minutes and can reach Cyprus. Adrian is worried that he might not get a refund on his holiday. But that's not all that is bothering him. There's his odd girlfriend Marigold who has become distressingly New Age. And his son Glenn who is in Deepcut Barracks. Would Mr. Blair have been quite so keen if it had been his son manning a roadblock?

Aisling is 28 and she’s a complete...Aisling. She lives at home in Ballygobbard (or Ballygobackwards, as some gas tickets call it) with her parents and commutes to her good job at PensionsPlus in Dublin. Aisling goes out every Saturday night with her best friend, Majella, who is a bit of a hames (she’s lost two phones already this year - Aisling has never lost a phone). They love hoofing into the Coors Light if they’re 'Out' or the vodka and Diet Cokes if they’re 'Out Out'.

For three decades, Rupert Hardacre was one of the big beasts of advertising: he worked hard, played hard, and lived hard. But he fell harder. Driven out of every reputable agency in town for drinking all their whiskey and sleeping with all their wives, he used the remains of his fortune to found Hardacre's, the best (and only) advertising agency on the M25. Now he's so confident that his name alone will take him back to the top, he's happy to leave all the actual work to the creative department.

Sixteen TV soundtracks from the award-winning TV show collected together for the first time, starring David Jason as ambitious market trader Del Boy Trotter and Nicholas Lyndhurst as his younger brother, Rodney Trotter. For 15 years the brothers of Trotters Independent Traders PLC have entertained us both with Del's extreme optimism and scams and, quite simply, Rodney's reactions upon hearing those scams.

Fifteen years after losing most of his family to a devastating, pudding-related tragedy, Simon Debovar has settled into a life of self-imposed exile from the stinking, selfish morass of humanity. Content that his daily highlights will include hazelnut coffee, a long bath, and the occasional jar of olives, his life is completely upturned by the discovery that his ornate living room carpet is the deciding factor in a bet between God and Satan.

In Monte Guano, a ridiculously small and penniless principality in Renaissance Italy, Prince Ludovico II finds his rule constantly undermined by those around him: his shrewd wife, his official mistress and his three disappointing—if not outright humiliating—sons. As well as having to manage the ever-increasing tributes demanded by the Pope, Prince Ludovico must also contend with feeble conscripts in search of war booty, getting on the pilgrim map, fake currency, religious battles and worst of all, English tourists.

Bill works as an economist in a right-wing institute giving succour to bankers and businessmen. Bella is a confirmed socialist who teaches yoga and waters the plants in Canary Wharf. Years ago they shared a flat before Bill got married and moved to America. Now he's back and feeling a little off-kilter, so he decides to rekindle his friendship with Bella. Once a month they get together for lunch, where they talk about everything from politics to Proust, parenting and the perils of online dating. The only thing they never discuss is how much they love each other....

From Parents’ Evening to the PTA, and from supply teachers to staff room squabbles, every day brings fresh challenges for headmaster Mr Beeston. Among the problems facing him are a flu epidemic, a shortage of computers, a phantom prune thief and a mysterious graffiti artist - and there’s trouble in store when in comes to sex education, school trips and Sports Day. Meanwhile, idealistic newcomers Mr Brown and Mr Sims learn some lessons about teaching, and their battle-scarred colleagues vie for promotion - or look forward to retirement.