Tags:20th century
Devil's Rooming House
The gripping tale of a legendary, century-old murder spree***A silent, simmering killer terrorized New England in1911. As a terrible heat wave killed more than 2,000 people, another silent killer began her own murderous spree. That year a reporter for the Hartford Courant noticed a sharp rise in the number of obituaries for residents of a rooming house in Windsor, Connecticut, and began to suspect who was responsible: Amy Archer-Gilligan, who’d opened the Archer Home for Elderly People and Chronic Invalids four years earlier. “Sister Amy” would be accused of murdering both of her husbands and up to sixty-six of her patients with cocktails of lemonade and arsenic; her story inspired the Broadway hit Arsenic and Old Lace. The Devil’s Rooming House is the first book about the life, times, and crimes of America’s most prolific female serial killer. In telling this fascinating story, M. William Phelps also paints a vivid portrait of early-twentieth-century New England.
The Picture Bride
Winner of the Nautilus Award for Historical Fiction“Lee Geum-yi has a gift for taking little-known embers of history and transforming them into moving, compelling, and uplifting stories. The Picture Bride is the ultimate story of the power of friendship—a must read!” —Heather Morris, #1 New York Times bestselling author“Your husband is a landowner,” they told her.“Food and clothing is so plentiful, it grows on trees.” “You will be able to go to school.” Of the three lies the matchmaker told Willow before she left home as a picture bride in 1918, the third hurt the most. Never one to be deterred, Willow does all that she can to make the best of her unexpected circumstance. But it isn't long before her dreams for this new life are shattered, first by a husband who never wanted to marry her in the first place, and then by the escalation of the Korean independence movements, unified in goal, but divergent in action, which threaten to split the Hawaiian Korean community and divide Willow's family and friends.Braving the rough waters of these tumultuous years, Willow forges ahead, creating new dreams through her own blood, sweat, and tears; working tirelessly toward a better life for her family and loved ones. “A beautiful testimony to those women bold and determined enough to leave behind all that was familiar, seeking a better life.” —Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling authorAt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Power and Democracy in America
This book is a stimulating contribution to the new literature. It is not intended as a comprehensive review of the full range of topics nor is it solely a summary of research findings. It consists, in essence, of an open-ended debate on a limited series of related issues in which the reader is invited to participate. Who might profit by an examination of these topics? What can a reader expect to learn through perusing this particular account and even vicariously joining in the discussion of the social structure of power, the role of bureaucracy in American life today, and what is meant by a democratic society?In addition, the book offers the perceptive reader an illuminating example of a much neglected topic in that segment of the new literature which stems from the social sciences, namely, the role of the observer in relationship to what is observed.The editors should be commended for bringing together not a bland series of polite statements but a stimulating discussion which raises more questions than it answers. More important, it raises questions that have to be posed in any significant appraisal of America today.—John Useem, Head Sociology and Anthropology, Michigan State University
Underground
Murakami tells the true story behind an act of terrorism that turned an average Monday morning into a national disaster.In spite of the perpetrators' intentions, the Tokyo gas attack left only twelve people dead, but thousands were injured and many suffered serious after-effects. Murakami interviews the victims to try and establish precisely what happened on the subway that day.He also interviews members and ex-members of the doomsdays cult responsible, in the hope that they might be able to explain the reason for the attack and how it was that their guru instilled such devotion in his followers.'Not just an impressive essay in witness literature, but also a unique sounding of the quotidian Japanese mind' Independent
The Warm Hands of Ghosts
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • During the Great War, a combat nurse searches for her brother, believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise, in this hauntingly beautiful historical novel with a speculative twist, from the author of The Bear and the Nightingale.“A wonderful clash of fire and ice—a book you won’t want to let go of.”—Diana Gabaldon, author of Outlander“Spectacular—a tour de force, wonderful and deep and haunting.”—Naomi Novik, author of A Deadly EducationONE OF BOOKPAGE’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEARJanuary 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, Laura receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital, where she soon hears whispers about haunted trenches and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else? November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear. As shells rain down on Flanders and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura’s and Freddie’s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging—or better left behind entirely.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts
Discover the Sunday Times bestselling supernatural historical fantasy from the author of The Bear and the Nightingale, a spellbinding, sweeping novel set in the trenches of WW1.WATERSTONES SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY BOOK OF THE MONTH‘Darkly beautiful and deeply humane.' Ava Reid, bestselling author of A Study in Drowning‘One of the best historical fantasies I've ever read’ Emma Törzs, bestselling author of Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe'Wonderful storytelling. Inventive, haunting and deeply moving.' Sarah Winman, bestselling author of Still LifeAmid the falling shells of Flanders Field, magic and mystery fills the air...January 1918: Laura Iven, a Canadian nurse, returns home from the war, only to receive devastating news - her brother Freddie is dead. But something doesn’t quite make sense.Determined to uncover the truth, Laura heads back to Belgium, volunteering at a private hospital. There, she encounters the eerie whispers of ghosts moving among those still living and a strange inn-keeper whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could this have happened to Freddie - but if so, where is he?November 1917: Freddie Iven wakes after an explosion to find himself trapped with a wounded German soldier. Against all the odds, they form a bond and claw their way to an escape.But in the chaos of No Man's Land, neither know where to turn to avoid persecution. Amidst the atrocity, they encounter a fiddler with the power to make their hellscape vanish - but at what price?With the power to both warm and break your heart, The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a breathtaking and spellbinding tale of love, survival, and the supernatural.Praise for The Warm Hands of Ghosts'Well-researched and beautifully written, this is a compelling, memorable novel.’ The Guardian'A spectacular tour de force ... I love this book so much and want everyone to read it!' Naomi Novik, bestselling author of A Deadly Education'A wonderful clash of fire and ice ... A book you won't want to let go of.' Diana Gabaldon, bestselling author of the Outlander series'An exquisite, brilliant gem of a story.’ Conn Iggulden, bestselling author of Nero'Arden is at the very height of her powers with this rich, heart-breaking and life-affirming supernatural journey through the darkest hours of WWI. I've never read anything like it.' Laura Steven, author of Our Infinite Fates'Visionary, imaginative and brilliantly written.' Anthony Horowitz, bestselling author of The Power of Five‘Mixing historical fiction with the paranormal, this haunting, atmospheric tale of separated siblings is a real gem of a book.’ Heat Magazine‘A gripping tale of loss, mystery, ghosts and queer romance.’ BBC Culture OnlineSunday Times bestseller, March 2024
No Longer Human
The poignant and fascinating story of a young man who is caught between the breakup of the traditions of a northern Japanese aristocratic family and the impact of Western ideas. Mine has been a life of much shame. I can’t even guess myself what it must be to live the life of a human being. Portraying himself as a failure, the protagonist of Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human narrates a seemingly normal life even while he feels himself incapable of understanding human beings. His attempts to reconcile himself to the world around him begin in early childhood, continue through high school, where he becomes a “clown” to mask his alienation, and eventually lead to a failed suicide attempt as an adult. Without sentimentality, he records the casual cruelties of life and its fleeting moments of human connection and tenderness. Still one of the ten bestselling books in Japan, No Longer Human is an important and unforgettable modern classic: “The struggle of the individual to fit into a normalizing society remains just as relevant today as it was at the time of writing.” (The Japan Times)
The Setting Sun
This powerful novel of a nation in social and moral crisis was first published by New Directions in 1956. Set in the early postwar years, it probes the destructive effects of war and the transition from a feudal Japan to an industrial society. Ozamu Dazai died, a suicide, in 1948. But the influence of his book has made "people of the setting sun" a permanent part of the Japanese language, and his heroine, Kazuko, a young aristocrat who deliberately abandons her class, a symbol of the anomie which pervades so much of the modern world.
A Matter of Honour
'If there were a Nobel Prize for storytelling, Archer would win' - The Daily TelegraphThe opening of a letter leads to a desperate chase across Europe in A Matter of Honour by Jeffrey Archer, one of the world’s bestselling novelists.Adam Scott listens to the reading of his father’s will, aware that the contents can only be meagre. The Colonel, after all, had nothing to leave – except a letter he had never opened himself, a letter that could only bring further disgrace to the family name.Against his mother’s advice, Adam opens the letter. Immediately, he realizes that his life can never be the same again. The contents leave him with no choice but to follow a course of action – one his father would have described as a matter of honour . . .*****Praise for Jeffrey Archer: 'Probably the greatest storyteller of our age' – Mail on Sunday'Archer has a gift for plot that can only be described as genius' – The Daily Telegraph'Stylish, witty and constantly entertaining' – The Times
Queuing for the Queen
'Beautifully sensitive, quietly reflective, this absorbing tale about a group of strangers brought together following the death of Queen Elizabeth II is an absolute triumph.' LoveReading debut of the monthOne queue. 250,000 people. Twenty-four life-changing hours.A young boy wearing a cereal box crown, impatiently dragging his mother behind him.A friendly man in a khaki raincoat, talking about his beloved Leeds United to anyone who will listen.An elderly woman who has lived her life alongside the Queen, and is just hoping she'll make it to the end of the queue to say goodbye.And among them, a British Indian mother and daughter, driven apart by their differences, embarking on a pilgrimage which neither of them yet know will change their lives forever.Full of secrets and surprises, this uplifting novel celebrates not only the remarkable woman who defined an era and a country, but also the diverse and unique people she served for so long.
The Little Liar
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'Moving' Daily Mail'It will stay with you' Independent'Profound' Irish Examiner____________________A moving new novel from the beloved author of Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in HeavenWhen the Nazis invade Salonika, Greece, eleven-year-old Nico Crispi is offered a chance to save his family. He is instructed to convince his fellow Jewish residents to board trains heading towards the east, where they are promised jobs and safety. He dutifully goes to the station platform every day and reassures the passengers that the journey is safe. Only after it is too late does Nico discover that the people he loved would never return. In The Little Liar, Nico's story is interweaved with other individuals impacted by the occupation: his brother Sebastian, their schoolmate Fanni and the Nazi officer who radically changed their lives. As the decades pass, the consequences of what they endured come to light.Exploring honesty, survival, revenge and devotion, The Little Liar is a timeless story about the harm we inflict with our deceits, and the power of love to redeem us.____________________Five-star reader reviews of The Little Liar'An amazing story about truth, war, humanity and loss' 'Another beautiful piece of work by the author. He makes you feel like you are there, know everybody and feel every emotion''Within an exciting and thought-provoking story, without preaching or proselytising, the author invites us to contemplate Truth, and how it is often the first causality of war'''Excellent interwoven stories by a master storyteller. Meaningful insights we can use today''This book nearly broke me''I love Mitch's books, but this is the best of all of them'
Every Time We Say Goodbye
The bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls returns with a brilliant novel of love and art, of grief and memory, of confronting the past and facing the future.In 1955, Vivien Lowry is facing the greatest challenge of her life. Her latest play, the only female-authored play on the London stage that season, has opened in the West End to rapturous applause from the audience. The reviewers, however, are not as impressed as the playgoers and their savage notices not only shut down the play but ruin Lowry's last chance for a dramatic career. With her future in London not looking bright, at the suggestion of her friend, Peggy Guggenheim, Vivien takes a job in as a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. There she finds a vibrant movie making scene filled with rising stars, acclaimed directors, and famous actors in a country that is torn between its past and its potentially bright future, between the liberation of the post-war cinema and the restrictions of the Catholic Church that permeates the very soul of Italy.As Vivien tries to forge a new future for herself, she also must face the long-buried truth of the recent World War and the mystery of what really happened to her deceased fiancé. Every Time We Say Goodbye is a brilliant exploration of trauma and tragedy, hope and renewal, filled with dazzling characters both real and imaginary, from the incomparable author who charmed the world with her novels The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls.