Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge each image!
Please contact me with your postcode for postage rates for either individual books or combinations, as they will vary wildly! I have placed the weights next to each book -
Under 500g = $8.50 postage satchel
Over 500g = $13.80 postage satchel
Over 500g but in Sydney and some surrounds (contact me) only $10.55 capped for up to 20kg
Labyrinth - Kate Mosse Paperback
When Dr Alice Tanner discovers two skeletons during an archaeological dig in southern France, she unearths a link with a horrific and brutal past. But it's not just the sight of the shattered bones that makes her uneasy; there's an overwhelming sense of evil in the tomb that Alice finds hard to shake off, even in the bright French sunshine. Puzzled by the words carved inside the chamber, Alice has an uneasy feeling that she has disturbed something which was meant to remain hidden...Eight hundred years ago, on the night before a brutal civil war ripped apart Languedoc, a book was entrusted to Alais, a young herbalist and healer. Although she cannot understand the symbols and diagrams the book contains, Alais knows her destiny lies in protecting their secret, at all costs. Skilfully blending the lives of two women divided by centuries but united by a common destiny, Labyrinth is a powerful story steeped in the atmosphere and history of southern France.
Later adapted into a major TV Series.
ISBN 0-7528-7732-1, 2006.
Fairly good used condition with unbroken spine, mild wear to the cover, pages
yellowing.
Sepulchre - Kate Mosse Paperback
A gripping tale of mystery and adventure from the bestselling author of The Taxidermist's Daughter and Labyrinth.
1891. Seventeen-year-old Leonie Vernier and her
brother abandon Paris for the sanctuary of their aunt's isolated country
house near Carcassonne, the Domaine de la Cade. But Leonie stumbles across a
ruined sepulchre - and a timeless mystery whose traces are written in blood.
2007. Meredith Martin arrives at the Domaine de la Cade to research a
biography. But Meredith is also seeking the key to her own complex legacy
and becomes immersed in the story of a tragic love, a missing girl, a unique
deck of tarot cards and the strange events of one cataclysmic night a
century ago...
ISBN 978-0-7528-9344-0, 2008.
Fairly good used condition with unbroken spine, mild wear and creasing to the cover (1
large crease to the back), pages yellowing
Perfume - Patrick Suskind Paperback
Under 500g $3
'Born in sweaty, fetid eighteenth-century Paris, Genouille is distinctive even in infancy. He has 'the finest nose in Paris and no personal odour'. With wit, a Gothic imagination and considerable originality, Suskind has developed this simple idea into a fantastic tale of murder and twisted eroticism controlled by a disgusted loathing of humanity . . . Clever, stylish, absorbing and well worth reading' - Literary Review.
ISBN 0-14-012083-1 1987
Good used condition with unbroken spine, mild wear and creasing to the cover (1 large crease to the back), pages quite yellowed at the edges
.
.
The Princess Bride - William Goldman 25th Anniversary Edition Paperback
ISBN 0-7475-4518-9, 1999 25th Anniversary
Edition.
For the Sake of Elena - Elizabeth George Paperback
Under 500g $2
A Suitable Vengeance - Elizabeth George Paperback
Under 500g $2
Inspector Thomas Lynley, 8th Earl of Asherton, feels some trepidation as he introduces his bride-to-be to his mother at the ancestral home of Howenstow in Cornwall. But Lynley's private concerns are soon forgotten as the brutal murder of a local journalist requires him to focus on the professional, rather than the personal. The investigation tears apart powerful ties of love and friendship, shattering the tranquillity of the picturesque Cornish community and exposing a long-buried family secret. Its consequences irrevocably alter the course of Thomas Lynley's life.
ISBN 0-553-40168-8, 1994.
In good used condition with unbroken spine, creases to front cover, yellowed pages.
Payment in Blood - Elizabeth George Paperback
Under 500g $2
An isolated Scottish mansion is the venue for a reading of a controversial new play by a West End theatre company. But on the very first evening, the playwright is savagely murdered, and Inspector Thomas Lynley faces the most testing case of his career. For one of the suspects is Lady Helen Clyde, the woman Lynley loves. And as he attempts to untangle the family scandals, fierce theatrical rivalries and long-buried secrets that beset the case, Lynley struggles to balance the clinical detachment of his job with the intensity of his feelings.
ISBN 0-553-17511-4, 1994.
In acceptable used condition, creases to the spine and cover, yellowed pages, absolutely readable.
The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon Paperback
A stunning literary thriller in the tradition of Umberto Eco. The discovery of a forgotten book leads to a hunt for an elusive author who may or may not still be alive...Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the 'cemetery of lost books', a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out 'La Sombra del Viento' by Julian Carax. But as he grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. Then, one night, as he is wandering the old streets once more, Daniel is approached by a figure who reminds him of a character from La Sombra del Viento, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax's work in order to burn them. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind. A page-turning exploration of obsession in literature and love, and the places that obsession can lead.
ISBN 0-75381-931-7, 2004 Large Format Paperback.
In good used condition, creases to the spine, only light wear to the cover, slightly yellowed outer pages, absolutely readable.
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger Large Format Paperback
This extraordinary, magical first novel is the story of Clare, a beautiful art student, and Henry, a librarian, who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity in his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternatively harrowing and amusing.
"The Time Traveler's Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare's marriage and their passionate love for each other as the story unfolds from both points of view. Clare and Henry attempt to live normal lives, pursuing familiar goals - steady jobs, good friends, children of their own. All of this is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control, making their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.
Women's Weekly great read.
ISBN 0-224-07308-7, 2004 Large Format Paperback.
In good used condition, creases to the spine and cover, slightly yellowed pages, absolutely readable.
Trading Up - Candace Bushnell Paperback
Under 500g $2
Candace Bushnell created a sensation with her first book, Sex and the City, spawning an HBO series that has become a phenomenon. With her sharp insight and uncensored observations of the mating rituals of the Manhattan elite, Bushnell has become a celebrity in her own right - on television, on the newsstands, and in bookstores across the globe. When Janey Wilcox makes it big as a Victoria's Secret model, she finally gets the celebrity status she has always craved. Suddenly the car of her dreams is hers, and even better, so is that house in New York's exclusive Hamptons. No longer will she have to choose her boyfriends according to who has a house she can summer in. At the most exclusive of Hampton parties, Janey finds herself mingling with Hollywood celebrities and the cream of New York society. But all this is secondary when she is charmed and captivated by a handsome, successful man, a man who quickly becomes her new beau. Janey, though, is not the type to live happily ever after, especially with her chequered past of far from good behaviour...
ISBN 0-349-11494-3, 2003.
In acceptable condition, front cover is badly creased, the first few pages have a small tear at the top and the pages have yellowed but this absolutely very readable.
4 Blondes - Candace Bushnell Paperback
Under 500g $2
Candace Bushnell created a sensation with her first book, Sex and the City,
spawning an HBO series that has become a phenomenon. With her sharp insight
and uncensored observations of the mating rituals of the Manhattan elite,
Bushnell has become a celebrity in her own right - on television, on the
newsstands, and in bookstores across the globe.
In a new collection of stories, 4 Blondes, the romantic intrigues,
betrayals, victories, and insecurities of four modern women are told with
Bushnell's keen wit and sardonic eye. A beautiful B-list model in "Nice
N'Easy" attaches herself yearly to the man with the largest summer house in
the Hamptons, but she soon realizes that snagging a rich man and living in a
fancy beach house won't necessarily bring her happiness. In "Highlights (for
Adults)," a high-powered magazine columnist doesn't feel that she needs a
man; an examination of her deteriorating marriage shows that her literary
journalist husband could never live up to her sexual or emotional
expectations. Too many expectations overwhelm Princess Cecilia in
"Platinum"; her marriage to "the world's most eligible bachelor" leads to a
descent into paranoia that she chronicles in her journal. And in "Single
Process," an aging "It girl" worries that she is getting too old to meet a
local eligible bachelor, so she travels to London in search of a husband,
where she makes pithy observations about the differences between British and
American men. Once again, Bushnell returns to the land of the pretty and the
powerful, breaking down bedroom doors with her wry humour and frank
portrayals of love and lust among the "It people."
ISBN 0-349-11403-X, 2001.
Unread copy, however has been in storage for some time so the
pages have yellowed.
Twilight - Stephenie Meyer Special Edition Paperback
Under 500g $5
When 17 year old Isabella Swan moves to Forks, Washington to live with her father she expects that her new life will be as dull as the town. But in spite of her awkward manner and low expectations, she finds that her new classmates are drawn to this pale, dark-haired new girl in town. But not, it seems, the Cullen family. These five adopted brothers and sisters obviously prefer their own company and will make no exception for Bella. Bella is convinced that Edward Cullen in particular hates her, but she feels a strange attraction to him, although his hostility makes her feel almost physically ill. He seems determined to push her away - until, that is, he saves her life from an out of control car. Bella will soon discover that there is a very good reason for Edward's coldness. He, and his family, are vampires - and he knows how dangerous it is for others to get too close.
Book one of the series of four.
ISBN 978-1-905654-34-5, 2008 Special Edition Large Format Paperback.
In excellent used condition, could almost pass for new with unbroken spine and barely any wear to the cover.
Twilight New Moon - Stephenie Meyer Special Edition Paperback
Over 500g $5
I stuck my finger under the edge of the paper and jerked it under the tape. 'Shoot,' I muttered when the paper sliced my finger. A single drop of blood oozed from the tiny cut. It all happened very quickly then. 'No!' Edward roared ...Dazed and disorientated, I looked up from the bright red blood pulsing out of my arm - and into the fevered eyes of the six suddenly ravenous vampires.
For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is more dangerous than Bella ever could have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of an evil vampire but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realise their troubles may just be beginning ...
Book two of the series of four.
ISBN 978-1-905654-35-2, 2009 Special Edition Large Format Paperback.
In excellent used condition, could almost pass for new with unbroken spine and only a few light scuffs and tiny creases to the cover.
Twilight Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer Special Edition Paperback
Over 500g $5
Bella?' Edward's soft voice came from behind me. I turned to see him spring lightly up the porch steps, his hair windblown from running. He pulled me into his arms at once, and kissed me again. His kiss frightened me. There was too much tension, too strong an edge to the way his lips crushed mine - like he was afraid we had only so much time left to us.
As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob - knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?
Book three of the series of four.
ISBN 978-1-905654-36-9, 2009 Special Edition Large Format Paperback.
In excellent used condition, could almost pass for new with unbroken spine and only a few light scuffs to the cover.
Twilight Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer Paperback
Over 500g $5
Twilight tempted the imagination ...New Moon made readers thirsty for more ...Eclipse turned the saga into a worldwide phenomenon ...And now - the book that everyone has been waiting for ...Breaking Dawn. In the much anticipated fourth book in Stephenie Meyer's love story, questions will be answered and the fate of Bella and Edward will be revealed.
Book four of the series of four.
ISBN 978-1-905654-29-1, 2009 Large Format Paperback.
In excellent used condition, could almost pass for new with unbroken spine and only a few light scuffs and wrinkles to the cover.
Affinity - Sarah Waters Paperback
From the dark heart of a Victorian prison, disgraced spiritualist Selina Dawes weaves an enigmatic spell. Is she a fraud, or a prodigy? By the time it all begins to matter, you’ll find yourself desperately wanting to believe in magic.
ISBN 1-86049-692-X, 2000
In excellent used condition with unbroken spine and barely a mark to the
cover, could almost pass for new!
Fingersmith - Sarah Waters Paperback
London 1862. Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, grows up under the rough but loving care of Mrs Sucksby and her ‘family’ of unwanted babies turned artful dodgers in London, 1862.
When one of Mrs Sucksby’s scams places Sue as a lady’s maid to an orphan-heiress in a sprawling Gothic mansion, the narrative explores even darker underworlds, amidst the pinched corsets and rustling skirts of Victorian England.
ISBN 1-86049-883-3, 2003.
In fairly good used condition, creases to the spine and front cover but otherwise fine.
Tipping the Velvet - Sarah Waters Paperback
Follow the glittering career of Nan King, oyster girl turned music-hall star turned rent boy turned East End 'tom' in this saucy, sensuous and multi-layered historical romance
“Piercing the shadows of the naked stage was a single shaft of rosy limelight, and in the centre of this was a girl: the most marvellous girl – I knew it at once! – that I had ever seen.”
Nan is captivated by the music hall phenomenon that is Kitty Butler, a male impersonator extraordinaire treading the boards in Canterbury.
Through a friend at the box office, Nan manages to visit all her shows and finally meet her heroine. Soon after, she becomes Kitty’s dresser and the two head for the bright lights of Leicester Square where they start an all-singing and dancing double act.
At the same time, behind closed doors, they admit their attraction to each other and their affair begins.
ISBN 1-8440-8011-0, 2002 TV tie-in edition - the cover shows Keeley Hawes as Kitty and Rachael Stirling as Nan in Andrew Davies' BBC adaptation.
In fairly good used condition, mild wear, creases and dents to the cover, creases to the spine, slight yellowing to the pages.
The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton Film Edition Paperback
Under 500g $2
Into the rigid society of New York in the 1870s returns the Countess Olenska. Separated from her European husband, the Countess is an independent woman with a love for life that captures the imagination of Newland Archer, who is engaged to be married to May Welland. As the consequent drama unfolds, a disturbingly accurate picture is drawn of men and women trapped by a code of living that denies humanity while desperately defending civilisation.
ISBN 0-14-017790-6, 1993 Penguin Film Tie-In Edition.
Acceptable condition. Cover and pages are quite yellowed with the spine faded but unbroken. Front cover has one large crease and a small tear near the top spine. Still absolutely readable.
The Beach House - Jane Green Large Format Paperback
Over 500g $5
Number one best-seller Jane Green - author of Straight Talking and Mr. Maybe
- tells a heart-warming story of life, family and relationships in the
captivating novel The Beach House. Nan, a widow whose family has flown the
nest, is an independent, free-spirited woman who couldn't care less what
people think about her living alone in her beloved beach house. But when she
discovers that money is running out and she might lose her home, she knows
it's time for a drastic change. Nan decides to rent out rooms for the summer
and people start moving into the house, filling it with noise, laughter and
tears. Among them is Daniel, a recently divorced father, who's struggling to
find out who he really is, and Daff, the single mother of a truculent
teenager who blames her mother unreservedly for her parents' divorce. As the
house comes to life again, Nan finds her family growing. Her son comes home
for the summer and an unexpected visitor turns up, turning all their lives
upside down...Compelling, absorbing and poignant, The Beach House is a story
of friendship, love and those moments that can change your life.
ISBN 978-0-7181-4827-0, 2008 Large Format Paperback Edition.
Acceptable condition. Creases to the spine and cover,
Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding Paperback
Under 500g $4
Meet Bridget Jones—a 30-something Singleton who is certain she would have all
the answers if she could:
a. lose 7 pounds
b. stop smoking
c.
develop Inner Poise
"123 lbs. (how is it possible to put on 4 pounds in
the middle of the night? Could flesh have somehow solidified becoming denser and
heavier? Repulsive, horrifying notion), alcohol units 4 (excellent), cigarettes
21 (poor but will give up totally tomorrow), number of correct lottery numbers 2
(better, but nevertheless useless)..."
Bridget Jones' Diary is the
devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud daily chronicle of Bridget's permanent,
doomed quest for self-improvement — a year in which she resolves to: reduce the
circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not
just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult,
and learn to program the VCR.
Over the course of the year, Bridget loses
a total of 72 pounds but gains a total of 74. She remains, however, optimistic.
Through it all, Bridget will have you helpless with laughter, and — like
millions of readers the world round — you'll find yourself shouting, "Bridget
Jones is me!"Into the rigid society of New York in the 1870s returns the
Countess Olenska. Separated from her European husband, the Countess is an
independent woman with a love for life that captures the imagination of Newland
Archer, who is engaged to be married to May Welland. As the consequent drama
unfolds, a disturbingly accurate picture is drawn of men and women trapped by a
code of living that denies humanity while desperately defending civilisation.
ISBN 0-330-33277-5, 1996 Picador Edition.
Pages are quite yellowed but apart from that this is in sensational used condition with no creases to the spine and only slight wear with tiny creases to the corner of the front cover.
Black Notice - Patricia Cornwell Paperback
Over 500g $5
The decomposed remains of a stowaway lead Dr. Kay Scarpetta on an
international search to Interpol's headquarters in Lyon, France and on a
mission that will pull her in two opposite directions: toward protecting her
career or toward the truth.
ISBN 0-316-64638-5, 1999 Large Format Paperback.
Very good used condition with unbroken spine, a few very small scuffs to the
cover, yellowing to the very tops of the pages and the outside top of the
book.
The Body Farm - Patricia Cornwell Hardcover
Under 500g $5
The Body Farm - a research institute that tests the decomposition of corpses. Black Mountain, North Carolina: a sleepy little town where the local police deal with one homicide a year, if they're unlucky, and where people are still getting used to the idea of locking their doors at night. But violent death is no respecter of venue, and the discovery of the corpse of the corpse of an 11-year-old girl sends shock waves through the community. Dr Kay Scarpetta, Chief medical Examiner on a similar case in Virginia, is called in to apply her forensic skills to this latest atrocity, but the apparent simplicity of the case proves something of a poisoned chalice - until Scarpetta finds enlightenment through the curious pathologists' playground known as the Body Farm...
No ISBN, marked only as CN 1099 which indicates it is a Doubleday Book Club edition, 1994 Hardcover.
Book itself is in very good used condition with just some light marking to the outer pages. There is a small tear to the dust jacket on the front top right hand side as well as scuffs and surface scratches to the rear dust jacket.
Cause of Death - Patricia Cornwell Paperback
Under 500g $5
An investigative reporter is found dead in Virginia's icy waters ...New Year's Eve and the final murder scene of Virginia's bloodiest year takes Scarpetta thirty feet below the Elizabeth River's icy surface. A diver, Ted Eddings, is dead, an investigative reporter who was a favourite at the Medical Examiner's office. Was Eddings probing the frigid depths of the Inactive Shipyard for a story, or simply diving for sunken trinkets? And why did Scarpetta receive a phone call from someone reporting the death before the police were notified? The case envelops Scarpetta, her niece Lucy, and police captain Pete Marino in a world where both cutting-edge technology and old-fashioned detective work are critical offensive weapons. Together they follow the trail of death to a well of violence as dark and forbidding as water that swirled over Ted Eddings.
ISBN 0-316-87885-5 Large Format Paperback, 1996.
Good used condition with unbroken spine, a few very small creases/scuffs to the cover, yellowing to the pages.
The Last Precinct - Patricia Cornwell Paperback
Physically and psychologically bruised by her encounter with the killer
Chandonne, Dr Kay Scarpetta has to leave her home in the hands of the police
team investigating the attack. She finds shelter with an old friend, Anna
Zenner, but it is not the haven of security she needs when she discovers
that Anna has been subpoenaed to appear before a Grand Jury which is
investigating Scarpetta for murder. Kay knows she is being framed and she
also knows she can trust no-one. Meanwhile it appears that Chandonne killed
a woman in New York before his murderous spree in Virginia, but when
Scarpetta looks more closely into that case with the NY prosecutor Jaime
Berger, proof of his guilt is far from certain - in fact she begins to
believe that he may not be the perpetrator of any of the crimes he is
accused of. As she follows the forensic trail to the real killer she
gradually realises that someone has been spinning a web for years with the
aim of entrapping her. Who is it, and why are they so desperate to be rid of
her?
ISBN 0-7515-2535-9, 2000.
New and unread, but has been in storage so very slight yellowing to the
pages.
Point of Origin - Patricia Cornwell Paperback
Under 500g $5
A farmhouse destroyed by fire. A body amongst the ruins. Dr Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner and consulting pathologist for the federal law enforcement agency ATF, is called out to a farmhouse in Virginia which has been destroyed by fire. In the ruins of the house she finds a body which tells a story of a violent and grisly murder. The fire has come at the same time as another, even more incendiary horror: Carrie Grethen, a killer who nearly destroyed the lives of Scarpetta and those closest to her, has escaped from a forensic psychiatric hospital. Her whereabouts is unknown, but her ultimate destination is not, for Carrie has begun to communicate with Scarpetta, conveying her deadly - if cryptic - plans for revenge. Chillingly mesmeric in tone, labyrinthine in structure, Point of Origin is Patricia Cornwell at her most dazzling.
ISBN 0-316-64439-0 Large Format Paperback, 1998.
Very good used condition with unbroken spine, a few very small scuffs to the cover, yellowing to the pages.
Postmortem - Patricia Cornwell Hardcover
Under 500g $5
A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond, Virginia. Three women have died, brutalised and strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern: the killer appears to strike at random - but always early on Saturday mornings. So when Dr Kay Scarpetta, chief medical officer, is awakened at 2.33 am, she knows the news is bad: there is a fourth victim. And she fears now for those that will follow unless she can dig up new forensic evidence to aid the police. But not everyone is pleased to see a woman in this powerful job. Someone may even want to ruin her career and reputation...
No ISBN, marked only as CN4973 which indicates it is a Doubleday Book Club edition, 1992 Hardcover.
Fairly good used condition with some yellowing to the pages, dust jacket has some scratches and a few small creases.
Unnatural Exposure - Patricia Cornwell Paperback
Under 500g $5
A sadistic serial killer, the weapon a deadly virus in Dublin, Ireland and Richmond, Virginia: separated by thousands of miles - linked by murder. For Dr Kay Scarpetta a lecture stint in Ireland provides the perfect opportunity to find out if the murders on both sides of the Atlantic are indeed connected. Five dismembered, beheaded bodies were found in Ireland five years ago - now four have been discovered in the States. But the tenth corpse in Virginia is different. There are vital discrepancies, and an indication that the elderly victim was already seriously ill. A copy-cat killing. Ghoulish, perhaps, but not unusual. And then abject terror grips Scarpetta and her colleagues when the next body is found. The circumstances of death broadcast a clear and horrifying message: the killer is armed with the most lethal weapon on earth - smallpox.
ISBN 0-316-63984-2 Large Format Paperback, 1997.
Good used condition with unbroken spine, mild creasing to the cover, yellowing to the pages.
The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje Film Edition Paperback
Under 500g $5
The final curtain is closing on the Second World War, and Hana, a nurse, stays behind in an abandoned Italian villa to tend to her only remaining patient. Rescued by Bedouins from a burning plane, he is English, anonymous, damaged beyond recognition and haunted by his memories of passion and betrayal. The only clue Hana has to his past is the one thing he clung on to through the fire - a copy of The Histories by Herodotus, covered with hand-written notes describing a painful and ultimately tragic love affair.
Winner of the Booker Prize, later made into an Academy Award winning film starring Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas and Juliette Binoche.
ISBN 0-330-34993-7, 1996 Film Tie-In Edition.
In very good used condition with only light wear to the cover, yellowed pages, bookstore stamp to the very first page.
At Home with the Templetons - Monica McInerney Large Format Paperback
Under 500g $5
Other people's families aren't always as perfect as they seem When the Templeton family from England takes up residence in a stately home in Australia, they set the locals talking and with good reason. From the outside, the seven Templetons seem so unusual ...peculiar even. No one is more intrigued by the family than their neighbours, single mother Nina Donovan and her young son Tom. Before long, the two families' lives become entwined in unexpected ways, to the delight of Gracie, the youngest of the Templeton daughters. In the years that follow, the relationships between the Templetons and the two Donovans twist and turn in unpredictable and life-changing directions, until a tragedy tears them all apart. What will it take to bring them together again? From Ireland and Australia's top-selling female novelist comes her best book yet a wonderfully entertaining and touching story about the perils and pleasures of love, friendship and family.
ISBN 978-0-14-320557-9, 2011.
In acceptable condition, creases and dents to the spine and cover, some yellowing to the pages, lots of reading life left.
Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice Paperback
Under 500g $2
In a darkened room a young man sits telling the macabre and eerie story of his life - the story of a vampire, gifted with eternal life, cursed with an exquisite craving for human blood. Anne Rice's compulsively readable novel is arguably the most celebrated work of vampire fiction since Bram Stoker's Dracula was published in 1897. As the Washington Post said on its first publication, it is a 'thrilling, strikingly original work of the imagination ...sometimes horrible, sometimes beautiful, always unforgettable'.
ISBN 0-7088-3170-2, 1993.
In good used condition with unbroken spine, mild wear to the cover, yellowed pages.
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini Paperback
Under 500g $5
Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the approval of his father and resolves to win the local kite-fighting tournament, to prove that he has the makings of a man. His loyal friend Hassan promises to help him - for he always helps Amir - but this is 1970s Afghanistan and Hassan is merely a low-caste servant who is jeered at in the street, although Amir still feels jealous of his natural courage and the place he holds in his father's heart. But neither of the boys could foresee what would happen to Hassan on the afternoon of the tournament, which was to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return, to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.
ISBN 0747566534, 2004.
This is new/unread but has a little wear to the top outside pages and just the tiniest amount of wear to the cover from shelf storage, including a yellowed section to the bottom outside of the book.
The Life of Pi - Yann Martel Paperback
Under 500g $5
After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan - and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and best-loved works of fiction in recent years. Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2002.
ISBN 1-84195-392-X, 2005.
Good used condition, creasing to the spine, mild wear to the cover, slight yellowing to the pages.
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown Paperback
Under 500g $2
CERN Institute, Switzerland: a world-renowned scientist is found brutally murdered with a mysterious symbol seared onto his chest. The Vatican, Rome: the College of Cardinals assembles to elect a new pope. Somewhere beneath them, an unstoppable bomb of terrifying power relentlessly counts down to oblivion. In a breathtaking race against time, Harvard professor Robert Langdon must decipher a labyrinthine trail of ancient symbols if he is to defeat those responsible - the Illuminati, a secret brotherhood presumed extinct for nearly four hundred years, reborn to continue their deadly vendetta against their most hated enemy, the Catholic Church.
Now adapted into a major picture starring Tom Hanks.
ISBN 0-552-15073-8, 2001.
In good used condition, creasing to the spine and light creasing/scuffs to the cover.
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold Paperback
Under 500g $5
"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was
murdered on December 6, 1973. My murderer was a man from our neighborhood. My
mother liked his border flowers, and my father talked to him once about
fertilizer."
This is Susie Salmon. Watching from heaven, Susie sees her
happy suburban family devastated by her death, isolated even from one another as
they each try to cope with their terrible loss alone. Over the years, her
friends and siblings grow up, fall in love, do all the things she never had the
chance to do herself. But life is not quite finished with Susie yet...
The Lovely Bones is a luminous and astonishing novel about life and death,
forgiveness and vengeance, memory and forgetting – but, above all, about finding
light in the darkest of places.
ISBN 978-0-330-48538-8, 2003
In excellent used condition with just very light creases to the spine, light wear/creasing to the cover.
Love Walked In - Marisa de los Santos Paperback
Under 500g $4
When Martin Grace enters the hip Philadelphia coffee shop Cornelia Brown manages, her life changes forever. But little does she know that her newfound love is only the harbinger of greater changes to come. Meanwhile, across town, Clare Hobbs eleven years old and abandoned by her erratic mother goes looking for her lost father. She crosses paths with Cornelia while meeting with him at the cafe, and the two women form an improbable friendship that carries them through the unpredictable currents of love and life."Love Walked In," the first novel by award-winning poet Marisa de los Santos, is bursting with keen insight and beautifully rendered prose. Invoking classic movies to illuminate the mystery and wonder of love in all its permutations, "Love Walked In" is an uplifting debut that marks the entrance of an enchanting literary voice."
ISBN 0-670-91620-X, 2006.
Acceptable used condition, unbroken spine, minimal wear to the cover, yellowing to the pages and a few page creases.
Adrian Mole, the Cappuccino Years - Sue Townsend Paperback
Under 500g $5
Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years is the fifth book in Sue Townsend's brilliantly funny Adrian Mole series.
"Wednesday August 13th Here I am again - in my old bedroom. Older, wiser, but with less hair, unfortunately. The atmosphere in this house is very bad. The dog looks permanently exhausted. Every time the phone rings my mother snatches it up as though a kidnapper were on the line."
Adrian Mole is thirty, single and a father. His cooking at a top London restaurant has been equally mocked ('the sausage on my plate could have been a turd' - AA Gill) and celebrated (will he be the nation's first celebrity offal chef?). And the love of his life, Pandora Braithwaite, is the newly elected MP for Ashby-de-la-Zouch - one of 'Blair's Babes'. He is frustrated, disappointed and undersexed. But a letter from Adrian's past is about to change everything..."Adrian Mole really is a brilliant comic creation. Every sentence is witty and well thought out, and the whole has reverberations beyond itself." (The Times). "One of the greatest comic creations. I can't remember a more relentlessly funny book." (Daily Mirror). "Three cheers for Mole's chaotic, non-achieving, dysfunctional family. We need him." (Evening Standard).
ISBN 0-140-27940-7, 2000.
In excellent, unread condition, very mild yellowing to the pages from storage, a small water mark to the bottom outside pages.
Adrian Mole, from Minor to Major (The First Ten Years) - Sue Townsend Hardcover
Over 500g $5
This hardcover compendium, covering Adrian Mole's first ten years of writing from 1981-1991, contains the complete text of "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 ¾" and "The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole", as well as the selection of diaries, letters and poems published in "The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole". It also includes 40 pages of diary extracts for 1989 and 1990 released as "Adrian Mole and the Small Amphibians".
ISBN 1-85152-426-6, 1993.
In good used condition with dust jacket intact, one small tear to the very first page, pages are quite yellowed.
True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole, Margaret Hilda Roberts and Susan
Lilian Townsend - Sue Townsend Hardcover
Under 500g $4
True Confessions of Adrian Mole, Margaret Hilda Roberts and Susan Lilian Townsend is the third book in Sue Townsend's brilliantly funny Adrian Mole series.
"Monday June 13th. I had a good, proper look at myself in the mirror tonight. I've always wanted to look clever, but at the age of twenty years and three months I have to admit that I look like a person who has never even heard of Jung or Updike."
Adrian Mole is an adult. At least that's what it says on his passport. But living at home, clinging to his threadbare cuddly rabbit 'Pinky', working as a paper pusher for the DoE and pining for the love of his life, Pandora, has proved to him that adulthood isn't quite what he expected. Still, without the slings and arrows of modern life what else would an intellectual poet have to write about...
Included here are two other less well-known diarists: Sue Townsend and Margaret Hilda Roberts, a rather ambitious grocer's daughter from Grantham. Bestselling author Sue Townsend has been Britain's favourite comic writer for over three decades. "Essential reading for Mole followers." (Times Educational Supplement). "Wonderfully funny and sharp as knives." (Sunday Times).
ISBN 0-413-62450-1, 1989.
Good used condition with dust jacket intact, some yellowing to the pages, a scuff to the title page.
Adrian Mole, the Wilderness Years - Sue Townsend Hardcover
Under 500g $5
"Thursday January 3rd I have the most terrible problems with my sex life. It all boils down to the fact that I have no sex life. At least not with another person." Finally given the heave-ho by Pandora, Adrian Mole finds himself in the unenviable situation of living with the love-of-his-life as she goes about shacking up with other men. Worse, as he slides down the employment ladder, from deskbound civil servant in Oxford to part-time washer-upper in Soho, he finds that critical reception for his epic novel, Lo! The Flat Hills of My Homeland, is not quite as he might have hoped. But Adrian is about to discover that extraordinary and wonderful things may blossom even in the wilderness.
ISBN 0-413-65010-3, 2003.
Excellent used condition, could almost pass for new with dust jacket intact.
The Last Anniversary - Liane Moriarty Paperback
Under 500g $5
Sophie Honeywell always wondered
if Thomas Gordon was the one she let get away. He was the perfect boyfriend,
but on the day he was to propose, she broke his heart. A year later he
married his travel agent, while Sophie has been mortifyingly single ever
since. Now Thomas is back in her life because Sophie has unexpectedly
inherited his aunt Connie's house on Scribbly Gum Island - home of the
famously unsolved Munro Baby mystery.
Sophie moves onto the island
and begins a new life as part of an unconventional family where it seems
everyone has a secret. Grace, a beautiful young mother, is feverishly
planning a shocking escape from her perfect life. Margie, a frumpy
housewife, has made a pact with a stranger, while dreamy Aunt Rose wonders
if maybe it's about time she started making her own decisions.
As
Sophie's life becomes increasingly complicated, she discovers that sometimes
you have to stop waiting around - and come up with your own fairy-tale
ending.
As she so adroitly did in her smashing debut novel, Three
Wishes, the incomparable Liane Moriarty once again combines sharp wit,
lovable and eccentric characters, and a page-turning story for an
unforgettable Last Anniversary.
ISBN 0-330-42270-7, 2005.
In excellent used condition with no creases to the cover and an unbroken spine, slightly yellowed pages, bookstore stamp on the very first page.
Oh Dear Silvia - Dawn French Large Format Paperback
Under 500g $5
Dawn French, number one bestselling author of A Tiny Bit Marvellous returns with Oh Dear Silvia. Everyone knows the real Silvia, don't they? Silvia Shute lies in hospital in a coma. Family and friends gather at her bedside, each thinking they know the real Silvia. But do they? For Silvia hides a secret. One she can never tell. And as her visitors congregate so the truth about Silvia is slowly revealed. Again, and again and again...Oh Dear Silvia is the brand new novel from one of Britain's most loved comic writers and the number one bestselling author of A Tiny Bit Marvellous.
"Hilarious. My top book..." (The Times).
"Side-splitting, darkly humorous." (Heat).
"Written with serious intent, both literary and thematically: Dawn tackles the big ones - love, death, grief, childhood, motherhood, parenthood - head on." (Guardian).
ISBN 978-0-7181-5607-7, 2012.
In excellent used condition with unbroken spine and only very light wear to the cover.
The Memory Game - Nicci French Paperback
Under 500g $2
The Memory Game is a haunting psychological thriller from the Top Ten best-selling author, Nicci French. You remember an idyllic childhood. But your memory is deceitful. And possibly deadly...When a skeleton is unearthed in the Martellos' garden, Jane Martello is shocked to learn it's that of her childhood friend, Natalie, who went missing twenty-five years ago. Encouraged by a therapist to recover lost memories, Jane hopes to find out what really took place when she was a child - and what happened to Natalie. But in learning the truth about hers and Natalie's past, is Jane putting her own future at terrible risk?
ISBN 0-140-27129-5, 1998.
In new/unread condition, however has been in storage for some time so the pages have yellowed, very minor wear to the outer edges of the cover include a small crease to the front cover.
Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf Penguin Paperback
Under 500g $2
Elegantly interweaving her characters' complex inner lives in an unbroken
stream of consciousness, Virginia Woolf's "Mrs Dalloway" continues to
enthral readers with its exploration of the human experience; of time,
space, madness and regret. This "Penguin
Twentieth-Century Classics" edition is edited by Stella
McNichol with an introduction and notes by Elaine Showalter. Past, present
and future are brought together one momentous June day in 1923. Clarissa
Dalloway, elegant and vivacious, is preparing for a party while reminiscing
about her childhood romance with Peter Walsh, and dwelling on her daughter
Elizabeth's rapidly-approaching adulthood. In another part of London, war
veteran Septimus Smith is shell-shocked and on the brink of madness, slowly
spiralling towards self-annihilation. Their experiences mingling, yet never
quite meeting, Virginia Woolf masterfully portrays a serendipitous unity of
inner lives, converging as the party reaches its glittering climax. Virginia
Woolf (1882-1941) is regarded as a major 20th century author and essayist, a
key figure in literary history as a feminist and modernist, and the centre
of "The Bloomsbury Group". This informal collective of artists and writers
which included Lytton Strachey and Roger Fry, exerted a powerful influence
over early twentieth-century British culture. Between 1925 and 1931 Virginia
Woolf produced what are now regarded as her finest masterpieces, from "Mrs
Dalloway" (1925) to the poetic and highly experimental novel "The Waves"
(1931). She also maintained an astonishing output of literary criticism,
short fiction, journalism and biography, including the playfully subversive
"Orlando" (1928) and "A Room of One's Own" (1929) a passionate feminist
essay.
ISBN 0-14-018569-0, 1992.
Acceptable condition, creases to the spine and cover front and beach,
yellowing to the pages.
Kiss the Girls - James Patterson Paperback
Under 500g
This time it's personal for Cross. The most elusive of killers has abducted
Cross's niece, Naomi, a talented law student. Only such a devastating blow
could bring the detective back - this time to the Deep South, where old
slave prisons are buried in the forests, and houses of horror can disappear
as in your worst nightmare. Naomi's kidnapping rips Alex Cross away from his
kids and his jazz piano and sends him south with several questions burning
in his mind. Why did the police wait seventy-two hours before beginning
their search? And what is the head of the FBI doing at the scene of a
small-town crime? Meanwhile, somewhere out there Casanova is living a secret
fantasy. In his private hideaway, the world's greatest lover has assembled
seven of the South's most extraordinary young women for his personal use.
It's an accomplishment he can share with only one other soulmate - and
that's definitely not his wife back in suburbia. But Casanova doesn't count
on the exceptional abilities of one of his harem - or having Alex Cross as a
nemesis.
Adapted into a major motion picture starring Morgan Freeman as Alex Cross as
well as Ashley Judd.
ISBN 0-00-649713-6, 1995.
Along Came a Spider - James Patterson Paperback
Under 500g $2
When nine-year-old Maggie Rose and her best friend, Michael Goldberg, are kidnapped from their exclusive school in Washington, DC, it is clear this is not an ordinary case. Maggie's mother is a superstar actress, and Michael's father is Secretary of the Treasury. Together Alex Cross, deputy chief of detectives, and Jezzie Flanagan, supervisor in the Secret Service, must race to save the children. Adapted into a major motion picture starring Morgan Freeman as Alex Cross.
ISBN 0-00-647615-5, 1993.
In good used condition with an unbroken spine, minimal wear to the cover but yellowed pages.
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Paperback
Under 500g $4
"A plane crashes on an uninhabited island and the only survivors, a group of schoolboys, assemble on the beach and wait to be rescued. By day they inhabit a land of bright fantastic birds and dark blue seas, but at night their dreams are haunted by the image of a terrifying beast. In this, his first novel, William Golding gave the traditional adventure story an ironic, devastating twist. The boys' delicate sense of order fades, and their childish fears are transformed into something deeper and more primitive. Their games take on a horrible significance, and before long the well-behaved party of schoolboys has turned into a tribe of faceless, murderous savages. First published in 1954, Lord of the Flies is now recognized as a classic, one of the most celebrated of all modern novels."
ISBN 0-571-08483-4.
Unread copy, minimal wear (surface dents) to the cover but yellowed pages.
The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards Paperback
Under 500g $5
The multi-million copy bestseller, Kim Edwards' "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" is a moving and poignant novel about grief, family and betrayal. Families have secrets they hide even from themselves...It should have been an ordinary birth, the start of an ordinary happy family. But the night Dr David Henry delivers his wife's twins is a night that will haunt five lives for ever. For though David's son is a healthy boy, his daughter has Down's syndrome. And, in a shocking act of betrayal whose consequences only time will reveal, he tells his wife their daughter died while secretly entrusting her care to a nurse. As grief quietly tears apart David's family, so a little girl must make her own way in the world as best she can.
"Crafted with language so lovely you have to reread the passages just to be captivated all over again ...this is simply a beautiful book". (Jodi Picoult).
"I loved this riveting story with its intricate characters and beautiful language". (Sue Monk Kidd, author of the best-selling, "The Secret Life of Bees").
ISBN 978-0-670-91709-9, 2006.
In fairly good used condition, creases to the spine and cover, bookstore stamp + light water damage on the very first page.
The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco Paperback
Under 500g $2
The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey where extraordinary things are happening under the cover of night. A spectacular popular and critical success, "The Name of the Rose" is not only a narrative of a murder investigation but an astonishing chronicle of the Middle Ages.
ISBN 0-330-28414-2, 1984.
Good used condition in that it has an unbroken spine and no wear to the
cover which has been covered with contact since first published. The contact
has crazed and lifted off the spine since then and the pages have yellowed.
The Player of Games - Iain M. Banks Paperback
Under 500g
$5
The Culture - a human/machine symbiotic society - has thrown up many great
Game Players, and one of the greatest is Gurgeh. Jernau Morat Gurgeh. The
Player of Games. Master of every board, computer and strategy. Bored with
success, Gurgeh travels to the Empire of Azad, cruel and incredibly wealthy,
to try their fabulous game ...a game so complex, so like life itself, that
the winner becomes emperor. Mocked, blackmailed, almost murdered, Gurgeh
accepts the game, and with it the challenge of his life - and very possibly
his death.
ISBN 1-85723-146-5, 1997.
Fairly good used condition with unbroken spine, mild wear/creasing to the
cover and yellowed pages.
The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks Paperback
Under 500g $5
'Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different reasons than I'd disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim. That's my score to date. Three. I haven't killed anybody for years, and don't intend to ever again. It was just a stage I was going through.' Enter - if you can bear it - the extraordinary private world of Frank, just sixteen, and unconventional, to say the least.
ISBN 0-349-10177-9, 1998.
Excellent used condition with unbroken spine, only very light wear/creasing
to the cover, yellowed pages.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce Paperback
Under 500g
$2
Playful and experimental, James Joyce's autobiographical "A Portrait of the
Artist as a Young Man" (1916) is a vivid portrayal of emotional and
intellectual development. This "Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics" edition
is edited with an introduction and notes by Seamus Deane. The portrayal of
Stephen Dedalus' Dublin childhood and youth, his quest for identity through
art and his gradual emancipation from the claims of family, religion and
Ireland itself, is also an oblique self-portrait of the young James Joyce
and a universal testament to the artist's 'eternal imagination'. Both an
insight into Joyce's life and childhood, and a unique work of modernist
fiction, "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" is a novel of sexual
awakening, religious rebellion and the essential search for voice and
meaning that every nascent artist must face in order to fully come into
themselves.
ISBN 0-09-929770-1, 1992.
Unbroken spine, creases to the cover front and back, yellowing to the pages.
The Silence of the Lambs + Red Dragon Omnibus - Thomas Harris Hardcover
Over 500g $5
As part of the search for a serial murderer nicknames "Buffalo Bill," FBI trainee Clarice Starling is given an assignment. She must visit a man confined to a high-security facility for the criminally insane and interview him. That man, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, is a former psychiatrist with unusual tastes and an intense curiosity about the darker corners of the mind. His intimate understanding of the killer and of Clarice herself form the core of Thomas Harris' "The Silence of the Lambs"- an unforgettable classic of suspense fiction.
Red Dragon is the prequel to Silence of the Lambs, having been published 6 years earlier. A serial killer is on the loose. He bites, he maims, he murders entire families in hideous ways. The police have no leads. They're afraid they can't stop him. That's why FBI agent Will Graham has come out of retirement. He has a special talent for catching serial murderers. The last one, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, nearly killed him. Maybe you've heard of Dr. Lecter? Even in jail, he's still dangerous. Graham knows that. But he's going to ask for Dr. Lecter's help. And it may be the most terrifying mistake of his life...
ISBN 1-85052-231-6, 1991.
Good used condition with dust jacket intact. Some outer scuffs and marks to
the inside of the jacket, pages are yellowing.
Hannibal - Thomas Harris Paperback
Under 500g $4
You remember Hannibal Lecter: gentleman, genius, cannibal. Seven years have passed since Dr. Lecter escaped from custody. And for seven years he's been at large, free to savor the scents, the essences, of an unguarded world. But intruders have entered Dr. Lecter's world, piercing his new identity, sensing the evil that surrounds him. For the multimillionaire Hannibal left maimed, for a corrupt Italian policeman, and for FBI agent Clarice Starling, who once stood before Lecter and who has never been the same, the final hunt for Hannibal Lecter has begun. All of them, in their separate ways, want to find Dr. Lecter. And all three will get their wish. But only one will live long enough to savor the reward....
ISBN 0-09-929770-1, 1999.
Unread copy, some shelf wear/dents to the cover, yellowing to the pages.
The Woman in Black - Susan Hill NEW Paperback
Under 500g
$10
Proud and solitary, Eel Marsh House surveys the windswept reaches of the salt marshes beyond Nine Lives Causeway. Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, the house's sole inhabitant, unaware of the tragic secrets which lie hidden behind the shuttered windows. It is not until he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of The Woman In Black - and her terrible purpose.
ISBN 978-0-099-51164-9, 2007.
Brand New, never read.
The Woman in Black - Susan Hill Paperback
Under 500g $2
Proud and solitary, Eel Marsh House surveys the windswept reaches of the salt marshes beyond Nine Lives Causeway. Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, the house's sole inhabitant, unaware of the tragic secrets which lie hidden behind the shuttered windows. It is not until he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of The Woman In Black - and her terrible purpose.
ISBN 0-7493-1424-9, 1992.
Unread but showing a little wear to the cover, yellowing to the pages and a
remainder mark on the outer side.
The Small Hand: A Ghost Story - Susan Hill New Hardcover
Under 500g $10
Returning home from a visit to a client late one summer's evening, antiquarian bookseller Adam Snow takes a wrong turning and stumbles across the derelict old White House. Compelled by curiosity, he approaches the door, and, standing before the entrance feels the unmistakable sensation of a small hand creeping into his own, 'as if a child had taken hold of it'. Intrigued by the encounter, he determines to learn more, and discovers that the owner's grandson had drowned tragically many years before. At first unperturbed by the odd experience, Snow begins to be plagued by haunting dreams, panic attacks, and more frequent visits from the small hand which become increasingly threatening and sinister...
ISBN 978-1846682360, 2010.
New and unread small hardcover edition with dust jacket.
Tara Road - Maeve Binchy Paperback
Under 500g $2
Two women – one Irish, one American – exchange homes for the summer;
their unlikely and touching friendship unveils secrets and changes lives.
ISBN 0-75282-602-6, 1998.
Unread copy, unbroken spine, some creases to the front cover and yellowing to the
pages.
Firefly Summer + Circle of Friends Omnibus - Maeve Binchy Paperback
Over 500g $1
In Firefly Summer, it was a summer of warmth....Kate Ryan and her husband,
John, have a rollicking pub in the Irish village of Mountfern, lovely
twelve-year-old twins, and such wonderful dreams. It was a summer of
innocence...but all that is about to change this fateful summer of 1962 when
American millionaire Patrick O'Neill comes to town with his irresistible
charm and a pocketful of money...when love and hate vie for a town's quiet
heart and old traditions begin to crumble away. It was a summer of love that
would never come again. A time that has been captured forever in Maeve
Binchy's compelling family drama...a novel you will never forget.
"Totally engrossing.... Unforgettable.... An absolutely grand story.... A
lyrical and compelling family drama.... Mountfern and its residents come
vibrantly alive." - "The Plain Dealer."
"The secrets hidden behind lace curtains, a young girl's first kiss,
children's summer games, unexpected pregnancies, sudden deaths. She makes us
feel as if we also know the place and the people. One of those good
old-fashioned stories that are as comfortable and comforting as home
itself." - "The Philadelphia Inquirer".
Also included is "Circle of Friends". It began with Benny Hogan and Eve
Malone, growing up, inseparable, in the village of Knockglen. Benny - the
only child, yearning to break free from her adoring parents... Eve - the
orphaned offspring of a convent handyman and a rebellious blueblood,
abandoned by her mother's wealthy family to be raised by nuns. Eve and Benny
-- they knew the sins and secrets behind every villager's lace
curtains...except their own. It widened at Dublin, at the university where
Benny and Eve met beautiful Nan Mahlon and Jack Foley, a doctor's handsome
son. But heartbreak and betrayal would bring the worlds of Knockglen and
Dublin into explosive collision. Long-hidden lies would emerge to test the
meaning of love and the strength of ties.
"Circle Of Friends". "[An] irresistible invitation to share the lives of
people who believe in enduring values". - "Detroit Free Press".
ISBN 0-340-62329-2, 1998.
Acceptable condition, spine and cover creased and cover noticeably worn,
pages quite yellowed but lots of reading life left and priced to sell.
Evening Class - Maeve Binchy Paperback
Under 500g $1
Ria Lynch and Marilyn Vine have never met. Their lives have almost
nothing in common. Ria lives in a big ramshackle house in Tara Road, Dublin,
which is filled day and night with the family and friends on whom she
depends. Marilyn lives in a college town in Connecticut, New England,
absorbed in her career, an independent and private woman who is very much
her own person.
Two more unlikely friends would be hard to find. Yet
a chance phone call brings them together and they decide to exchange homes
for the summer. Ria goes to America in the hope that the change will give
her space and courage to sort out the huge crisis in her life that is
threatening to destroy her. Marilyn goes to Ireland to recover in peace and
quiet from the tragedy which she keeps secret from the world, little
realising that Tara Road will prove to be the least quiet place on earth.
They borrow each other’s houses, and during the course of that magical
summer they find themselves borrowing something of each other’s lives, until
a story which began with loss and suffering grows into a story of discovery,
unexpected friendship and new hope. By the time Ria and Marilyn eventually
meet, they find that they have altered the course of each other’s lives for
ever.
Dreaming of Italy, eager to learn the language, a disparate group of Dubliners comes together for an introductory Italian course held in a drab classroom every Tuesday and Thursday evening. Aidan Dunne has hit an all-time low in both his career and family life, and so his self-image is hinging on the success of this class. The teacher, Signora, so smitten with love that she followed the man she adored to a distant country, waiting 23 years for him; Laddy, the hotel porter; and Hilary, the society hostess, who has an oddly empty calendar. Each student has a private reason for wanting to learn Italian. Bill Burke, a young bank clerk, wants to be considered for an international banking job, but is secretly hoping that now his spendthrift girlfriend Lizzie will have fewer opportunities to waste their money if she's busy attending an evening class. Then there's Suzy Sullivan, who can't figure out why her husband Lou wants to pick up Italian because he hasn't learned anything since he mastered reading and writing; there must be some catch, she figures. Kathy Clarke works much too hard and so she decides to join the class in an attempt to relax, but through the people she meets she learns a secret about her own family that transforms both her future and her past.As the classes progress, we learn about each of the participants, watching their relationships grow throughout the year and culminating in a magical "viaggio" to Italy. This evocative tale shimmers with the storytelling artistry that makes Maeve Binchy's books international bestsellers.
ISBN 0-75280-963-6, 1996.
Fair condition, significant wear to the cover, creasing to the spine and
yellowing to the pages but still completely readable.
The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield Large Format Paperback
Over 500g $10
''Tell me the truth." It is a simple request, but one that shakes the
reclusive and enigmatic novelist, Vida Winter, to her very core. For has she
not spent the past six decades writing fictional lives that have not only
brought her fame and fortune but kept her violent and tragic past a secret?
Now old and ailing, Vida Winter cannot escape her own history, no matter how
many stories she weaves.
Vida's tale is one of gothic strangeness
featuring the Angelfield family: the beautiful and wilful Isabelle and the
feral twins, Adeline and Emmeline. In succumbing to Vida's storytelling,
Margaret finds that it sheds a troubling light on her own life. Both women
confront the ghosts that have haunted them and both become, finally,
transformed by the truth.
ISBN 0-75287-574-4, 2006.
Unread copy, pages *just* starting to yellow at the very top.
The Moonstone, The Haunted Hotel + My Lady's Money -
Wilkie Collins Compendium Paperback
Under 500g
$5
Great Classic Library Compendium of 3 Novels in one, complete and
unabridged.
"The Moonstone" is one of the first true works of detective fiction, in
which Wilkie Collins established the groundwork for the genre itself. "The
Moonstone", a priceless yellow diamond, is looted from an Indian temple and
maliciously bequeathed to Rachel Verinder. On her eighteenth birthday, her
friend and suitor Franklin Blake brings the gift to her. That very night, it
is stolen again. No one is above suspicion, as the idiosyncratic Sergeant
Cuff and the Franklin piece together a puzzling series of events as
mystifying as an opium dream and as deceptive as the nearby Shivering Sand.
The intricate plot and modern technique of multiple narrators made Wilkie
Collins' 1868 work a huge success in the Victorian sensation genre. With a
reconstruction of the crime, red herrings and a 'locked-room' puzzle, "The
Moonstone" was also a major precursor of the modern mystery novel. "Probably
the very finest detective story ever written." (Dorothy L. Sayers). "The
first, the longest and the best of modern modern English detective novels."
(T.S. Eliot).
In "The Haunted Hotel", an eminent doctor is visited by a desperate woman
with a question: am I evil, or insane? When the letters from Italian servant
to his wife in London suddenly cease, she is convinced he has been murdered.
In the darkened bedroom of a mouldering palazzo by the Grand Canal, an
English lord sickens and suddenly dies. How are these little mysteries
connected? Spend the night in Room 14 of Venice's finest hotel, and find out
the truth - if you dare...
In "My Lady's Money", a bank note is stolen from a letter that was to be
sent by Lady Lydiard. All of those closest to her are suspects, including
her adopted daughter, Isabel, and nephew Felix. My Lady's Money is often
referred to as Wilkie Collins' earliest "sensationalist" mysteries.
ISBN 1-85152-719-2, 1994.
In acceptable condition, creases to the spine and cover, yellowing to the
pages, one small tear to page 1, still very readable.
Wish You Were Here - Mike Gayle Paperback
Under 500g
$5
Charlie's nursing a broken heart. Andy's about to
get hitched. And Tom really needs a break from the kids. They could all do
with a holiday. But maybe not this one...
In very good used condition, creases to the spine, otherwise cover bright
and clean.
A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harness New Large Format Paperback
Over 500g $10
ISBN 978-0-7553-7403-8, 2011.
New, unread copy, just the tiniest amount of wear to the outer edges of the
cover.
About a Boy - Nick Hornby Paperback
Under 500g $4
Will is a rich, child-free and irresponsible Londoner in his thirties who,
in his search for available women, invents an imaginary son and starts
attending single parent meetings. As a result of one of his liaisons he
meets Marcus, a strange 12-year-old boy with problems at school. Gradually,
Will and Marcus become friends and, as Will teaches Marcus how to be a cool
kid, Marcus helps Will to finally grow up.
ISBN 1-57322-733-1, 1999.
Good used condition, fading to the unbroken spine, light wear to the cover
(more on the back), yellowed pages.
High Fidelity - Nick Hornby Paperback
Under 500g $4
Rob is a pop music junkie who runs his own semi-failing record store. His girlfriend, Laura, has just left him for the guy upstairs, and Rob is both miserable and relieved. After all, could he have spent his life with someone who has a bad record collection? Rob seeks refuge in the company of the offbeat clerks at his store, who endlessly review their top five films (Reservoir Dogs...); top five Elvis Costello songs ("Alison..".); top five episodes of Cheers (the one where Woody sang his stupid song to Kelly...). Rob tries dating a singer whose rendition of "Baby, I Love Your Way" makes him cry. But maybe it's just that he's always wanted to sleep with someone who has a record contract. Then he sees Laura again. And Rob begins to think (awful as it sounds) that life as an episode of thirtysomething, with all the kids and marriages and barbecues and k.d. lang CD's that this implies, might not be so bad. A million-copy bestseller, and adapted into a 2000 film starring John Cusack, High Fidelity explores the world of break-ups, make-ups and what it is to be in love. This astutely observed and wickedly funny book will be enjoyed by readers of David Nicholls and William Boyd, and by generations of readers to come.
ISBN 0-140-29346-9, 2000.
Very good used condition, creases to the spine but no wear to the cover, yellowed pages, a very small tear to the very edges of pages 193-201.
Assassin's Creed: Renaissance - Oliver Bowden
(Anton Gill)
Under 500g
$5
"Assassin's Creed: Renaissance" is the thrilling novelisation by Oliver
Bowden based on the game series. 'I will seek Vengeance upon those who
betrayed my family. I am Ezio Auditore di Firenze. I am an Assassin...'. The
Year of Our Lord 1476 - the Renaissance: culture and art flourish alongside
the bloodiest corruption and violence. Bitter blood-feuds rage between the
warring political families of Italy. Following the murder of his father and
brothers, Ezio Auditore di Firenze is entrusted with an ancient Codex, the
key to a conspiracy that goes back to the centuries - old conflict between
the shadowy Templar Knights and the elite Order of Assassins. Ezio must
avenge the deaths of his kinsmen and in doing so fulfil his destiny, and
live by the laws of the Assassin's Creed. Truth is written in blood
"Assassin's Creed: Renaissance" is based on the phenomenally successful
gaming series. Fans of the game will love these stories. Oliver Bowden is
the pen-name of acclaimed novelist Anton Gill who also writes as Antony
Cutler, and Ray Evans.
ISBN 978-0-141-04630-3, 2009.
Excellent used condition, could almost pass for new with unbroken spine and
now wear to the cover.
Atonement - Ian McEwan Paperback
Under 500g $5
On the hottest day of the summer of 1934, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis sees her sister Cecilia strip off her clothes and plunge into the fountain in the garden of their country house. Watching her is Robbie Turner, her childhood friend who, like Cecilia, has recently come down from Cambridge. By the end of that day, the lives of all three will have been changed for ever. Robbie and Cecilia will have crossed a boundary they had not even imagined at its start, and will have become victims of the younger girl's imagination. Briony will have witnessed mysteries, and committed a crime for which she will spend the rest of her life trying to atone.
Shortlisted for The Booker Prize 2001, and now adapted into a major award-winning film with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy.
ISBN 0-099-42979-9, 2002.
Acceptable condition, creases to the spine and mild wear to the cover, some
yellowing to the pages.
Coastliners - Joanne Harris Paperback
Under 500g $4
From the author of Chocolat. On the tiny Breton island of Le Devin, life has remained almost unchanged for over a hundred years. For generations, two rival communities have fought for control of the island's only beach. When Mado returns home ot her village after a ten-year absence, she finds it threatened, both by the tides and by a local entrepreneur. Worse, the community is suffering from an incurable loss of hope. Taking up the fight to transform the dying village, Mado must confront past tragedies, including the terrible secret that still haunts her father.
ISBN 0-552-99885-0, 2002.
Acceptable condition, unbroken spine, some creases to the cover, marks to
the outer sides of the pages, some yellowing to the pages.
Corduroy Mansions - Alexander McCall Smith Hardcover
Over 500g $3
Welcome to Corduroy Mansions in Pimlico: a temple of Arts and Crafts architecture, with comforting, weathered brickwork and frankly frivolous dormer windows, it is home to a delightfully eccentric cast of Londoners. In the top flat lives William, with a faithful ex-vegetarian dog named Freddie de la Hay and a freeloading son who he hopes will soon fly the nest. Four lively young women share the first-floor flat, including twinset-and-pearls Caroline from Cheltenham, Dee, vitamin addict and avid subscriber to Anti-oxidant News, and Jenny, a put-upon PA. And round the corner lives Oedipus Snark MP, possibly the world's only loathsome Lib Dem, who has succeeded in offending everyone he knows, and many others besides. But what dark revenge is being plotted by his mother, Berthea Snark, and by his girlfriend, Barbara Ragg...?
ISBN 978-1-84697-121-1, 2009.
In excellent used condition, mild wear/scuffs to the dust jacket and outer edges and the very lightest of yellowing developing to the tops of pages but otherwise terrific.
A Room With a View - E. M. Forster Penguin Classics Paperback
Under 500g $2
E.M. Forster's vision of love struggling to assert itself in spite of the rigid class boundaries of Edwardian England, "A Room with a View" contains an introduction by Oliver Stallybrass in this Penguin Classics edition. Visiting Florence with her prim and proper cousin Charlotte as a chaperone, Lucy Honeychurch meets the unconventional, lower-class Mr Emerson and his son, George. Upon her return to England, Lucy becomes engaged to the supercilious Cecil Vyse, but she finds herself increasingly torn between the expectations of the world in which she moves and the passionate yearnings of her heart. More than a love story, "A Room with a View" (1908) is a penetrating social comedy and a brilliant study of contrasts - in values, social class, and cultural perspectives - and the ingenuity of fate.
ISBN 0-14-043173-X, 1988.
In good used condition, mild wear to the cover, yellowed pages.
Les Liasons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liasons) - Choderlos De Laclos Paperback
Under 500g $4
Marie-Antoinette kept a bound copy of this notorious study of sexual
intrigue in her private library; and it was condemned by a criminal court
forty years after its publication in 1782 and publicly incinerated. The
satanic hero and heroine of this greatest of eighteenth-century novels - a
pair of depraved aristocrats - plot and achieve detachment of mathematicians
solving an algebraic formula. Translated and with an introduction by P. W.
K. Stone.
ISBN 0-14-044116-6, now out of print.
Unread so unbroken spine and only mild shelf wear to the cover, yellowed pages.
The Mayor of Casterbridge - Thomas Hardy Penguin Classics Paperback
Under 500g $4
'Here - I am waiting to know about this offer of mine. The woman is no good
to me. Who'll have her?' In a fit of drunken anger, Michael Henchard sells
his wife and baby daughter for five guineas at a country fair. Over the
course of the following years, he manages to establish himself as a
respected and prosperous pillar of the community of Casterbridge, but behind
his success there always lurk the shameful secret of his past and a
personality prone to self-destructive pride and temper.
ISBN 0-14-043513-1, 1997.
In excellent used condition with unbroken spine and minimal wear to the
cover, yellowed pages, bookstore stamp to the very first page.
Dark Matter: A Ghost Story - Michelle Paver Paperback
Under 500g $5
January 1937.
Clouds of war are gathering over a fogbound London.
Twenty-eight year old Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life.
So when he’s offered the chance to be the wireless operator on an Arctic
expedition, he jumps at it. Spirits are high as the ship leaves Norway: five
men and eight huskies, crossing the Barents Sea by the light of the midnight
sun. At last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for
the next year.
Gruhuken.
But the Arctic summer is brief. As night returns to claim
the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are
forced to leave. He faces a stark choice. Stay or go. Soon he will see the
last of the sun, as the polar night engulfs the camp in months of darkness.
Soon he will reach the point of no return – when the sea will freeze, making
escape impossible. And Gruhuken is not uninhabited. Jack is not alone.
Something walks there in the dark.
Dark Matter is Michelle’s first
eagerly-awaited ghost story.
ISBN 978-1-4091-2118-3, 2010.
Excellent used condition with unbroken spine and only mild wear to the
cover.
Eclipse - John Banville Hardcover
Under 500g
$4
Alexander Cleave, actor, has left his career and his family behind and
banished himself to his childhood home. He wants to retire from life, but
finds this impossible in a house brimming with presences, some ghostly, some
undeniably human. Memories, anxiety for the future and more particularly for
his beloved but troubled daughter, conspire to distract him from his
dreaming retirement. This humane and beautifully written story tells the
tragic tale of a man, intelligent, preposterous and vulnerable, who in
attempting to bring the performance to a close finds himself traveling
inevitably towards a devastating denouement. 'This unsparing, compassionate,
humane book demonstrates again that Banville is in a class of his own' -
"Spectator". 'A contemporary fable of piercing sadness and melancholy
beauty...This poetic novel deals with archetypal themes as well as painful
truths about parental inadequacy and the limitations of love' - "Sunday
Telegraph". 'In Eclipse Banville has created another important, challenging
fiction. The book is ornately written, heartless in an honest fashion,
profoundly interrogative of ideas of identity and, above all, spectacularly
beautiful. It is, in a way that so many contemporary novels are not, a work
of art' - "Observer".
ISBN 0-330-33933-8, 2000.
New and unread, dust jacket intact, remainder mark to the base.
The
English Harem - Anthony McCarten Paperback
Under 500g
$
