Sceptre (Plus de 21 000 résultats)

Paperback. Etat : Fair. This is a history of the House of Lords, from its inception in Anglo-Saxon times, through Henry VIII, the Civil War, the Commonwealth to Tony Benn's attempts to relinquish his peerage in the 1960s.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. It's thirty years since Harry Starks and his gang kept the underworld of Soho under control but the consequences of their brutal reign are still being felt. Julie McCluskey, the actress daughter of one of Starks' victims, has grown up without a father and now that she's discovered it was money from her father's murderers that put her through drama school, she's furious. Furious with her mother for accepting it, but even more furious with Harry Starks - and she's decided she wants revenge. Tony Meehan, journalist and part-time murderer ('I've only killed three') has added another occupation to his list: he's ghostwriting the autobiography of one of the Bullion Job (Brinks Mat) gang, a robbery in which Starks was also involved, and the gold's still missing. And then there's Gaz, who worked for Starks' rival Beardsley in the 80s and is now running bouncers, taking too many drugs, and playing a very dangerous game. Moving his focus on to the greedy 80s and the rave scene of the 90s, Arnott delivers another hard-edged, riveting, brilliant novel that will delight his many admirers and win him more.…

Paperback. Etat : Good. Cleo Byng and Prue Pagan are good friends who could not be more different. Prue, brought up by a zealously religious aunt, is an innocent and inclined to be self-effacing. Cleo, raised by her artist mother, is extrovert, street-wise and bent on having fun - preferably with men. Now, having left school, they both take joliday jobs in the same village in northern England; Prue to help Lady Mountjay at the castle, Cleo to work at Midwinter Hall for a world-famous cellist. But despite the apparent social fluency of affairs between castle, hall and village, nothing and nobody are quite what they seem, and before the summer is out, Prue is not the only one wise in the ways of the world.…

Hardback. Etat : Good. At a Halloween party that neither Bernie or his two children really want to be at, Bernie collapses and falls into a coma bought on by the accidental combination of two anti-depressants. He emerges from the coma to find his son Chris, the perpetual smart-ass, and his daughter Cathy, a Jewish teen turned self-martyred Catholic, stumbling headlong toward trauma-induced maturity. His ex-wife, his nurse, his nurses's father and his son's best friend are also drawn into the bizarre, frustrating and touching world that surrounds the job of rehabilitating Bernie. The Sleeping Father is about the loss of innocence, the disorientating experience of a second childhood and the nature of love and meaning. But most of all its about the Schwartz's, a singular American family, making their way the best way they know how.…

Paperback. Etat : Fair. Marcus Corvinus feels his heart sink when he is summoned by the Empress Livia. Age has not sweetened her and she's about as trustworthy as a snake with a migraine. But Livia has a way of asking a favour that is impossible to refuse - which is how Marcus finds himself investigating the death of her grandson, Germanicus. And uncovering a multi-stranded web of betrayal and deceit that threatens the imperial succession and even Emperor Tiberius himself.…

Hardback. Etat : Good. By the Orange Prize-shortlisted Jill Dawson, a riveting novel that folds a brilliant portrait of Patricia Highsmith into a tale of duplicity, madness and murder.

Paperback. Etat : Good. Melvyn Bragg's highly acclaimed, Sunday Times bestselling historical novel, the story behind one of the 19th century's greatest scandals.

Hardback. Etat : Very Good. By the Orange Prize-shortlisted Jill Dawson, a riveting novel that folds a brilliant portrait of Patricia Highsmith into a tale of duplicity, madness and murder.

Paperback. Etat : Good. London in 1700 was recovering from the ravages of fire, plague and revolution. It was a capital on the verge of a new century, poised between the medieval past and a fabulous future.

Paperback. Etat : Fair. Melvyn Bragg's highly acclaimed, Sunday Times bestselling historical novel, the story behind one of the 19th century's greatest scandals.

Paperback. Etat : Good. FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WHAT I LOVED'An astonishing family drama . . . almost certainly the best American novel you will read this year'Sunday Telegraph'Almost impossible to put down'Independent'Masterful'The Times'Wonderful'ObserverWhile clearing out their late father's papers, Erik and Inga Davidsen unearth a cryptic letter from his adolescence. Desperate to discover the man they never fully understood, they set about reading his memoir. As the siblings are drawn into his past, their lives are upended by two strangers. Erik becomes captivated by Miranda, a young mother who moves into his garden flat. And Inga, still grieving her husband's recent death, is threatened by a journalist in possession of a devastating secret. 'One of the most profound and absorbing books I've read in a long time'Washington Post.…

Paperback. Etat : Fair. A sweeping story of upstairs, downstairs, love and loss by the author of Mr Rosenblum's List.

Paperback. Etat : Fair.

Paperback. Etat : Good. *WINNER OF THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE*'Sharp, concise, stunningly visual' Sunday TimesOn 30th May, 1593, a celebrated young playwright was killed in a tavern brawl in London. That, at least, was the official version. Now Christopher Marlowe reveals the truth: that his 'death' was an elaborate ruse to avoid being convicted of heresy; that he was spirited across the Channel to live on in lonely exile; that he continued to write plays and poetry, hiding behind the name of a colourless man from Stratford - one William Shakespeare. With the grip of a thriller and the emotional force of a sonnet, this remarkable novel in verse gives voice to a man who was brilliant, passionate and mercurial. Memoir, love letter, confession, settling of accounts and a cry for recognition as the creator of some of the most sublime works in the English language, The Marlowe Papers brings Christopher Marlowe and his era to vivid life. 'The best book I've read for a long time. Truly innovative, truly original, and a powerful poetic journey to another truth' Benjamin Zephaniah'Rich and charmingly playful' Sunday Telegraph. …

Paperback. Etat : Good. 'An extraordinary account of the parallel world of missing children who live under our noses in every inner city, but officially don't exist'Sunday Times'Moving but never sanctimonious, it is another City of God, this time for Britain rather than BrazilObserverYou're twelve years old. Your mother's a junkie and your father might as well be dead. You can't read or write, and you don't go to school. An average day means sitting round a bonfire with your mates smoking drugs, or stealing cars.Welcome to Urban's world.Bernard Hare was on society's margins, living on one of Leeds' roughest estates and with a liking for drink and drugs. So he knew what life in the underclass was like in '90s Britain. But even he was shocked when he met Urban, an illiterate, glue-sniffing twelve-year-old. And through Urban he got to know the Shed Crew - an anarchic gang of kids between the ages of ten and fourteen; joy-riding, thieving runaways, who were no strangers to drugs or sex. Nearly all had been in care, but few adults really cared.Bernard decided to do what he could. He didn't know what he was letting himself in for.…

Paperback. Etat : Good. Following a near-death experience as a child, the narrator becomes cursed with the ability to foresee the deaths of the people closest to him. These visions come to him in his dreams and, following a disastrous attempt to save a childhood friend from drowning, a set of terrifying events begins to unfold. As a young man, he finds redemption in the arms of Ashling, his beautiful wife. But then the visions return.This is a story about one man's struggle to live an ordinary life in extraordinary circumstances; about love lost and found and the vast range of emotions that can be weathered by the human heart. This is a story where dreams come true but can turn into nightmares; a place where true love will prevail and where death is only the beginning. Set in the fictional Dublin suburb of Rathgorman, CONFESSIONS OF A FALLEN ANGEL is a truly remarkable debut novel that will grip you from the first line and surprise you to the last.…

Paperback. Etat : Good. A sweeping story of upstairs, downstairs, love and loss by the author of Mr Rosenblum's List.

Paperback. Etat : Good. Marcus Corvinus feels his heart sink when he is summoned by the Empress Livia. Age has not sweetened her and she's about as trustworthy as a snake with a migraine. But Livia has a way of asking a favour that is impossible to refuse - which is how Marcus finds himself investigating the death of her grandson, Germanicus. And uncovering a multi-stranded web of betrayal and deceit that threatens the imperial succession and even Emperor Tiberius himself.…

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. 'An extraordinary account of the parallel world of missing children who live under our noses in every inner city, but officially don't exist'Sunday Times'Moving but never sanctimonious, it is another City of God, this time for Britain rather than BrazilObserverYou're twelve years old. Your mother's a junkie and your father might as well be dead. You can't read or write, and you don't go to school. An average day means sitting round a bonfire with your mates smoking drugs, or stealing cars.Welcome to Urban's world.Bernard Hare was on society's margins, living on one of Leeds' roughest estates and with a liking for drink and drugs. So he knew what life in the underclass was like in '90s Britain. But even he was shocked when he met Urban, an illiterate, glue-sniffing twelve-year-old. And through Urban he got to know the Shed Crew - an anarchic gang of kids between the ages of ten and fourteen; joy-riding, thieving runaways, who were no strangers to drugs or sex. Nearly all had been in care, but few adults really cared.Bernard decided to do what he could. He didn't know what he was letting himself in for.…

Paperback. Etat : Good. Mr Darcy and Elizabeth now have two children, Miranda and Edward. Miranda is a model daughter, well attuned to life at splendid Pemberley and, were it not for her sex, would make a perfect heir. Edward, alas, would not, and as he and his grandmother, Mrs Bennet, fall into the clutches of those who are not what they seem, awful questions arise about the succession at Pemberley - must the entail be broken and Edward disinherited, ending the Darcy line on the estate.…

Hardback. Etat : Good. A haunting and otherworldly tale of the impact on one family of a guest with seemingly magical powers, who alters the course of their lives in ways neither they nor he foresee.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Mr Darcy and Elizabeth now have two children, Miranda and Edward. Miranda is a model daughter, well attuned to life at splendid Pemberley and, were it not for her sex, would make a perfect heir. Edward, alas, would not, and as he and his grandmother, Mrs Bennet, fall into the clutches of those who are not what they seem, awful questions arise about the succession at Pemberley - must the entail be broken and Edward disinherited, ending the Darcy line on the estate.…

Paperback. Etat : Fair. Mr Darcy and Elizabeth now have two children, Miranda and Edward. Miranda is a model daughter, well attuned to life at splendid Pemberley and, were it not for her sex, would make a perfect heir. Edward, alas, would not, and as he and his grandmother, Mrs Bennet, fall into the clutches of those who are not what they seem, awful questions arise about the succession at Pemberley - must the entail be broken and Edward disinherited, ending the Darcy line on the estate.…

Paperback. Etat : Fair. 'A consummate performance.virtuoso' GuardianA fascinating, unusual and seductive historical novel by the bestselling author of The Long Firm.In a Parisian restaurant, Aleister Crowley, the notorious occultist, chances on Major-General Sir Hector Macdonald: once one of the greatest heroes of the British Empire, now facing ruin in a shocking scandal - and vulnerable to Crowley's curious offer of help. An extraordinary night of transgression and revelation ensues . . . Probing beneath the surface of Victorian conformity, this is an enthralling tale of imperialism, sexuality and the nature of belief, which captures a world on the brink of a brutal new era.…

Paperback. Etat : Fair. Following a near-death experience as a child, the narrator becomes cursed with the ability to foresee the deaths of the people closest to him. These visions come to him in his dreams and, following a disastrous attempt to save a childhood friend from drowning, a set of terrifying events begins to unfold. As a young man, he finds redemption in the arms of Ashling, his beautiful wife. But then the visions return.This is a story about one man's struggle to live an ordinary life in extraordinary circumstances; about love lost and found and the vast range of emotions that can be weathered by the human heart. This is a story where dreams come true but can turn into nightmares; a place where true love will prevail and where death is only the beginning. Set in the fictional Dublin suburb of Rathgorman, CONFESSIONS OF A FALLEN ANGEL is a truly remarkable debut novel that will grip you from the first line and surprise you to the last.…

Paperback. Etat : Fair. 'An extraordinary account of the parallel world of missing children who live under our noses in every inner city, but officially don't exist'Sunday Times'Moving but never sanctimonious, it is another City of God, this time for Britain rather than BrazilObserverYou're twelve years old. Your mother's a junkie and your father might as well be dead. You can't read or write, and you don't go to school. An average day means sitting round a bonfire with your mates smoking drugs, or stealing cars.Welcome to Urban's world.Bernard Hare was on society's margins, living on one of Leeds' roughest estates and with a liking for drink and drugs. So he knew what life in the underclass was like in '90s Britain. But even he was shocked when he met Urban, an illiterate, glue-sniffing twelve-year-old. And through Urban he got to know the Shed Crew - an anarchic gang of kids between the ages of ten and fourteen; joy-riding, thieving runaways, who were no strangers to drugs or sex. Nearly all had been in care, but few adults really cared.Bernard decided to do what he could. He didn't know what he was letting himself in for.…

Paperback. Etat : Fair. FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WHAT I LOVED'An astonishing family drama . . . almost certainly the best American novel you will read this year'Sunday Telegraph'Almost impossible to put down'Independent'Masterful'The Times'Wonderful'ObserverWhile clearing out their late father's papers, Erik and Inga Davidsen unearth a cryptic letter from his adolescence. Desperate to discover the man they never fully understood, they set about reading his memoir. As the siblings are drawn into his past, their lives are upended by two strangers. Erik becomes captivated by Miranda, a young mother who moves into his garden flat. And Inga, still grieving her husband's recent death, is threatened by a journalist in possession of a devastating secret. 'One of the most profound and absorbing books I've read in a long time'Washington Post.…

Paperback. Etat : Fair. This biography of a dancing legend reveals how Alicia Markova's dream was realized through hardship, dedication, and sacrifice. It is the story of a life devoted to the perfection of art and an insight into British ballet.

Paperback. Etat : Good. The untold story of Ireland's role, from the fall of Rome to the rise of medieval Europe.

Paperback. Etat : Very Good. Set during 1915-19 in Canada, United States, England, Belgium and France, this is the story of a young woman in her 20's, Grania O' Neill (pronounced GRAW-NEE-YA, an Irish name meaning Love), profoundly deaf from the age of 5 as a result of scarlet fever. She marries Jim Lloyd, a hearing man who, 2 weeks after their marriage, leaves home in Ontario to serve his King and country and do his bit for Mother England. Jim tries in every possible way to understand his wife's experience of deafness, and together they explore their love through the silence in which she lives. Jim is trained as a stretcher-bearer in one of the large camps on the southeast coast of England. He serves in Belgium and France with Number 9 Canadian Field Ambulance. His war experiences, friendships, and care of the dying and wounded during this brutal war of attrition, are moving, intimately detailed and carefully researched to show the realities of the life of a stretcher bearer serving in the front lines. On the home front, Grania's childhood in a small town on the edge of Lake Ontario, where her father owns a hotel; and as a residential student at The Institution for the Deaf and Dumb in a small Ontario city. A bright child, she has to learn real sign language (which replaces the private language she and her sister had, as small children, invented). She also learns, by necessity, extreme self-discipline and control over her emotions, which enables her to survive the trauma of leaving home and the facts of institutional life with 300 other deaf children around her. No visits home are permitted during the school year. Grania's Mother, guilt-ridden and never accepting of Grania's deafness, tries to make Grania hear. She tries for cures by miracle, and by taking her to Rochester, New York, in hopes of finding specialized medical treatment. Grania's early experiences inside her own silence and within a family that tries to overprotect--despite her gradually developing independence and strengths--later illuminate the complexity of her adult relationships: with her closest deaf friend, Fry; with her older sister Tress--who was once her lifeline; with her Irish Grandmother, Mamo (the most important person in her life at home and the one who teaches her to read and to speak, and whose love twice--in separate ways--saves Grania's life); with her 2 brothers; and with her parents. After Jim departs for the war, both Grania and her sister move back to their parents' home and hotel, where everyone in the family helps out with the hotel business. The tension in the book is held through the juxtaposition of two worlds: the world of war, violence and sound as shown through Jim's horrific experiences at the Front (which include several major battles); and life for Grania inside the silence of her own world during the long years of waiting on the home front--where news is frequently bad as more and more local boys are reported killed in the war. Grania's brother-in-law, Kenan, returns from the war in early 1918. He is wounded and mutilated and has stopped speaking. It is Grania who, with her extensive speech training recalled from residential schooldays, makes the breakthrough to Kenan's speech. But this success creates resentment in her sister because Kenan is not able to confide or share his war experience with his young wife. Events move quickly toward resolution as first, Spanish flu sweeps through the town ( a deadly pandemic), followed by Armistice (Nov 1918) and eventual demobilization. A moving sequence of events with her sister releases tensions between Grania and Tress. The loss of Mamo finally leads to the release of emotions Grania has never permitted herself to express. In the spring of 1919, Jim returns home. He and Grania have survived, but their separate experiences have altered them forever. Jim has been part of events that the mind will gorge upon in horror forever. He has lost his closest friend from the war, a man who has been a brother to him. But it is.…