Showing results by narrator "Gareth Gareth" in All Categories

Pressured into a political career by his traditional, establishmentarian family, Nick Dormer longs to be a painter. Eventually, encouraged by the carefree aesthete Gabriel Nash, reminiscent of Oscar Wilde, he resigns from Parliament and follows his artistic dream. His journey is counterpointed with that of budding young actress Miriam Rooth, the subject of Nick's most successful paintings, and the "tragic muse" of the title, who too sacrifices an affluent life (marriage with Nick's cousin Peter) for her art.

HIGHLIGHTS OF A CAREER IN CRICKET FROM BRITAIN'S BEST-LOVED UMPIRE, THE LATE DICKIE BIRD. 'You know what you will get with Mr Bird, and he delivers it with unabashed aplomb in this amiable book' - Country Life Hardly a week went by without Dickie Bird visiting a county or Test match arena where...

He lived a double-life in the sixties Faked his own death in the seventies And retained his cover in the eighties A period thriller with powerful political and espionage themes, Agent Twister is the remarkable story behind one of the greatest scandals of the 1970s, told in full for the first...

An inviting and accessible new translation of Aristotle's complete Poetics—the first and best introduction to the art of writing and understanding stories.

He needed to get out of his office, soak up the atmosphere and discover different worlds with each new investigation. He needed the cafés and bars where he so often ended up waiting, at the counter, drinking a beer or a calvados depending on the circumstances. He needed to do battle patiently in his office with a suspect who refused to talk and sometimes, after hours and hours, he'd obtain a dramatic confession. In Simenon's final novel featuring Inspector Maigret, the famous detective reaches a pivotal moment in his career.

Suz decides it is time to take control of events. But when she is summoned to an audience with the Dalek Emperor, she begins to fear that all her efforts have been in vain. Meanwhile, Earth Alliance Security commander in chief Tanlee is intent on locating Alby. The Dalek advance across the galaxy seems unstoppable, and the only possibility of salvation for the human race lies in the Lopra System. But how can Alby help when no one will tell him the purpose of Project Infinity?

Maigret sets the record straight and tells the story of his own life, giving a rare glimpse into the mind of the great inspector - and the writer who would immortalise him. 'I can still see Simenon coming into my office the next day, pleased with himself, displaying even more self-confidence, if possible, than before, but nevertheless with a touch of anxiety in his eyes.... He trumpeted these last words as if they were a sensational discovery. Making it seem truer than life, that's the crux of it. Well, I've made you truer than life.'

Captain Tybalt Marr of the Sons of Horus, so often overlooked by his more glory-hungry brethren, returns to his Legion in triumph. However, his boasts of having slain the infamous Iron Hands warleader Shadrak Meduson soon fall flat when he learns of the recent assassination attempt on Horus himself. Gathering his forces upon the conquered world of Dwell, Marr returns to battle against the Shattered Legions, determined to earn his rightful place in history.

In the skies above Armageddon, the Black Templars prepare for war, and the Ancients are awakened. Brother Adelard, interred in the Dreadnought Invictus Potens, leads his brothers to war, facing the prospect of a second death in service to the God-Emperor.

Disaster struck the morning of the Chucklefest Comedy Festival. Not with a bomb, but with a canine whimper. Vanlife convert Max Effort's best buddy, Anxious the Jack Russell Terrier, managed to disassemble his favorite toy, leaving him bereft. But help was on hand, and Min, Max's ex-wife, hightails it across the country, determined to deliver a replacement bestie. Feeling chilled and in good spirits, Max's mood soon soured when he reached into the festival freezer and discovered a smiling face staring back at him. Shame it wasn't attached to the rest of the comedian's body.

What defines who we are? For decades, the biological answer has been our genes. In The Master Builder, leading biologist Alfonso Martinez Arias breaks with decades of scientific and popular tradition to make a bold argument: what defines us is our cells. Drawing on new research from his lab and others, Martinez Arias reveals that we are composed of a thrillingly complex, constantly rearranging symphony of cells that know how to count, feel, and ultimately give form to our bodies.

'Offers hope and good sense in equal measure' Ian Bremmer 'A sensible plan for reform that can help us create a fairer and more equitable world' Sheryl Sandberg Problems are mounting. We face sputtering growth, an escalating climate emergency, worsening inequality, poor policy responses...

A grandson tries to buy the corpse of Lenin on eBay for his Communist grandfather. A failed wunderkind steals a golden cross from an Orthodox church. A boy meets his cousin (the love of his life) once every five years in the river that divides their village into east and west. These are Miroslav...

The past can't stay hidden forever... The Cold Case Unit of Derby Constabulary feels like a morgue to DI Damen Brook. But in disgrace and recently back from suspension, his boss thinks it's the safest place for him. But Brook isn't going down without a fight and when he uncovers a pattern in a...

A young cabaret dancer in a black silk dress leads Maigret into a seamy world of nightclubs, drug addiction and exploitation on the streets of Montmartre. 'He opened the door for her and watched her walk away down the huge corridor, then hesitate at the top of the stairs. Heads turned as she passed. You sensed she came from a different world, the world of the night, and there was something almost indecent about her in the harsh light of a winter's day.'

Captain Sicarius awakens on Macragge after his defeat on Damnos, but all is not well in the Ultramarines fortress-monastery. He is to be placed on trial for his failure, but a worse fate beckons as he has visions of the necrons. Strange things stir in the darkness, and something deadly waits in the shadows for its chance to strike....

On a world besieged by the forces of Chaos, the Emperor's Children and the World Eaters are forced into an uneasy alliance when the bodies of the fallen start to go missing....

It’s the 1990s and the body positivity movement has a yet to be born. Graham Pitscottie dreams of one day becoming a presenter on Blue Peter. However, he is stuck replenishing the pick 'n' mix at Woolworths. By his own admission he is, ‘a bit of a fatso’, and because there are no fat Blue Peter presenters, he joins - at the insistence of his mother Soo - a slimming class run by Wendy Bottomley.

Chief Inspector Banks is back - in an original tale that makes up part of a new crime collection of twelve short stories by Peter Robinson, never published in the UK before...

In 2020, guitar expert John Stubbings released a limited-edition book on the American acoustic guitar that sold out in days. Now, The Devil Is in It returns with additional research and subject matter for a new generation of listeners. Stubbings traveled the country and met with guitar makers, players, collectors, and historians to unravel the long and rich history of the acoustic guitar, its evolution, and the music it has made over the last hundred years.