Weidenfeld & Nicolson This Beating Heart Barnett Laura

I have taken apart every panel of this, like an ornamental fan. But we stayed in the cottage for three weeks only, just three weeks, because it was cut short you see - cut short after just three weeks, when I'd left my entire life behind • When Alannah was twenty-three, she met a man who was older than her - a married man - and fell in love. Things happened suddenly. They met in April, in the first bit of mild weather; and in August, they went to stay in rural Ireland, overseen by the cottage's landlady • Six years later, when Alannah is newly married to another man, she sees the landlady from afar. Memories of those days spent in bliss, then torture, return to her. And the realisation that she has been waiting - all this time - to be rediscovered

This thrilling biography of Stalin and his entourage during the terrifying decades of his supreme power transforms our understanding of Stalin as Soviet dictator, Marxist leader and Russian tsar • Based on groundbreaking research, Simon Sebag Montefiore reveals in captivating detail the fear and betrayal, privilege and debauchery, family life and murderous cruelty of this secret world. Written with extraordinary narrative verve, this magnificent feat of scholarly research has become a classic of modern history writing. Showing how Stalin's triumphs and crimes were the product of his fanatical Marxism and his gifted but flawed character, this is an intimate portrait of a man as complicated and human as he was brutal and chilling

This unique edition presents the complete span of Thomas' short stories, from his urgent hallucinatory visions of the dark forces beneath the surface of Welsh life to the inimitable comedy of his later autobiographical writings • With Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog and Adventures in the Skin Trade, Thomas found a new voice for his irreverent memories of lust and bravado in south-west Wales and London, leading to a sequence of classic evocations of childhood magic and the follies of adult life

This book tells the true story of the Battle of Arnhem which was fought in September 1944 • Nine thousand men of the First British Airborne Division were parachuted into the peaceful countryside that surrounded Arnhem. Their objective was to capture and hold the bridge over the Rhine ahead of the advancing British Second Army. Nine days later, after some of the fiercest street-fighting of the war, 2000 paratroopers managed to escape to safety

This final book in Jennifer Worth's memories of her time as a midwife in London's East end brings her story full circle. As always there are heartbreaking stories such as the family devastated by tuberculosis and a ship's woman who 'serviced' the entire crew, as well as plenty of humour and warmth, such as the tale of two women who shared the same husband! Other stories cover backstreet abortions, the changing life of the docklands, infanticide, as well as the lives of the inhabitants of Nonnatus House • We discover what happens with the gauche debutant Chummy and her equally gauche policeman; will Sister Monica Joan continue her life of crime? Will Sister Evangelina ever crack a smile? And what of Jennifer herself? The book not only details the final years of the tenements but also of Jennifer's journey as she moves on from the close community of nuns, and her life takes a new path

This fully updated edition of the international bestseller includes Manchester City's incredible 2017-18 league triumph • Pep Guardiola is the most successful and sought-after football coach in the world. After being appointed first-team manager in 2008, he transformed Barcelona into arguably the greatest club side of all time, winning thirteen trophies in four years, and he won the Double twice in his three years in charge of Bayern Munich. He then faced his biggest challenge yet when he joined Manchester City in 2016: to turn them into a team that consistently wins in the most difficult of leagues and a regular challenger in the Champions League. But in only his second year at the club, he had turned a good side into memorable one, leading them to the Premier League title in record-breaking style

Isaiah Quintabe - the genius PI who combines book smarts, street smarts and enough blistering action to melt the pavement of East Long Beach - is back with a new adventure • Fresh off the beating he took at the hands of a gang of ex-Abu Ghraib thugs working as paramilitary contractors, IQ is determined to build a life for himself with his new girlfriend, Grace. For once, he wants to be normal: a normal guy, with a normal PI business, doing the best he can • But this is IQ, and trouble is never far behind him • Joined by his faithful band of fast-talking, sharp-tongued partners, Deronda and Dodson, the cases are wild, the mysteries twisty, and the driving fast

At the turn of the twentieth century, two children play on an English beach. Eustace, a gentle, dreamy, boy with a weak heart, relies on his older sister Hilda • As young adults, Eustace and Hilda are unexpectedly invited to stay at the grand country house of the wealthy Staveley family. The weekend's events will haunt the siblings' lives as their story travels from Oxford colleges to Venetian palazzi • The magnum opus from the author of The Go-Between, this is an enchanting, tender exploration of two siblings who cannot live together or apart

It all began with the whale • When a young man washes up on the sands of St Piran in Cornwall, it is clear to the villagers that this is not a regular day. What has brought him here? And what is the crisis only he understands, that threatens not only their community but all of civilisation? • With a global pandemic on the horizon, and a whale lurking in the bay, the villagers of St Piran must band together to survive. Intimate, funny and heart-warming, John Ironmonger tells a compelling story about the important things that hold us together, and how hope can be found, even at the end of the world

Letters to the Midwife is a wonderful collection of correspondence received by Jennifer Worth, offering a fascinating glimpse into a long-lost world • Along with readers' responses and personal histories, it is filled with all sorts of heart-warming gems. There are stories from other midwives, lorry drivers, even a seamstress, all with tales to tell • Containing previously unpublished material describing her time spent in Paris and some journal entries, this is also a portrait of Jennifer herself, complete with a moving introduction by her family about the woman they knew and loved

Kate has always been a wanderer. A well-published author, married several times, she has lived a life full of exploration. Now, as she begins to feel the first ravages of age, she wants to find a new sense of meaning. She leaves her lover Yolo on a journey down the Colorado River - a journey that will force her to re-explore her past and her future, and her connection to the real world. On her travels she meets shamans and the mysterious spiritual world of the native Indian. Yolo too begins his own journey as he travels to Hawaii and meets a former lover whose life is being destroyed by the excesses of American society. As Kate and Yolo gain shifting insights into the world around them, will their paths diverge or lead back to each other? This is a novel very much in tune with the zeitgeist - Alice Walker argues that we need to look inwards and develop a more open attitude in order to combat the pervasive climate of fear and distrust

When Katharine is found dead at the foot of her stairs, it is the mystery of her life that consumes her daughter, Laura. The medical examiner's report, in which precious parts of Katharine's body are weighed and categorised, motivates Laura to write her own version of events. But as she delves deeper into Katharine's past, she is forced to confront a new version of the woman she knew only as her mother. A woman silenced by her own mother and wronged by her husband. A woman who lived in the shadows but whose secrets are now coming to light