12 Fiction


75949 MAY BRIDE by Suzannah Dunn


All that is known about Katherine Filliol - or Filioll or Fillol, since spelling during the 16th century was often arbitrary - is that, by the time her father’s will was written in 1527, her marriage to Edward Seymour had broken down. The widely believed story that she was repudiated by her husband, because she had an affair with his


father, comes from a marginal note in Vincent’s Baronage, which was added well after the lifetime of the protagonists. Here, the author creates a new slant on the life of Katherine, as told by her sister-in-law, Jane Seymour - who was later to become the third wife of the much-married Henry VIII. When her eldest brother brings his bride home to Wolf Hall, Jane Seymour is a shy, dutiful 15-year-old. She thinks that Katherine Filliol is the perfect match for Edward, and is captivated by the older girl. Over the course of a long, hot, country summer, the two become close friends and allies, while Edward is away, busy building alliances at Court and advancing his career. A short two years later, the family is torn apart by a dreadful allegation made by Edward against his wife. Changed forever by what happened to Katherine Filliol, Jane comes to realise that, in a world where power is held entirely by men. Fiction, 308 pages. £12.99 NOW £4.50


74579 LADY OF THE RIVERS by Philippa Gregory


The story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, a woman who navigated a treacherous path through the battle lines in the Wars of the Roses. When she is left a wealthy young widow, Jacquetta returns to England and achieves a place at the very heart of the Lancaster court, though she can sense the danger of their royal York rivals. As she fights for her king and queen, Jacquetta can see an extraordinary and unexpected future for her daughter Elizabeth - a change of fortune, the throne of England, and the White Rose of York. 443pp, paperback. $16 NOW £4


75589 LAND OF MARVELS


by Barry Unsworth Archaeologist John Somerville is excavating the ruins of Tell Erdek to discover the secrets of ancient Mesopotamia. The year is 1914 and he is in a race against the beginning of World War I and the German, French and Russian advances in the Near East. Somerville’s Bedouin contact Jehar has his own agenda as he seeks to raise a hundred gold pounds to


marry a beautiful Circassian girl. Somerville’s fellow archaeologist Howard Palmer has a limited commitment to the cause and is falling in love with his assistant Patricia, a modern girl whom Edith, Somerville’s wife, dislikes for her confident manner with the men. Edith herself is attracted to Elliott, an American who is there to keep an eye on Major Manning. When Elliott tells Edith that Manning is also spying for a hostile power, a train of events is put in motion that results in tragedy. 287pp. £18.99 NOW £2.50


74583 AN IRISH COUNTRY WEDDING by Patrick Taylor


Love is in the air in the colourful Ulster village of Ballybucklebo where Dr Fingal Flahertie O’Reilly has finally proposed to the darling of his youth, Kitty O’Hallorhan. There’s a wedding to be planned, but before O’Reilly can make it to the altar, he and his young colleague Barry Laverty, MB, must deal with the usual round of eccentric patients. It can also mean clearing the name of a cat accused of preying on a neighbour’s prize racing pigeons, and encouraging a bright young working class girl who dreams of some day becoming a doctor herself. 428pp. $24.99 NOW £4


74584 PRAY FOR US SINNERS by Patrick Taylor


In Belfast in 1973 the Troubles are raging. Two Ulstermen, two sides - on one, British Army bomb- disposal officer Marcus Richardson. On the other, Davy MacCutcheon, Provisional IRA armourer who has been constructing bombs since his teens. When Marcus is nearly killed by an exploding car bomb, he welcomes the offer of a transfer to the élite SAS, provided that first he accepts an undercover mission to infiltrate the Falls Road ghetto, join the Provisional IRA, identify their upper echelon, and expose their bomb maker. When Davy’s devices are used by the Provos who have switched from military targets to civilian disruption, the bomb maker begins to question what he is doing. One horrific death haunts his nightmares. He must go on one last mission - a critical attack on a high-ranking British politician. Both men are left in an abandoned farmhouse. 332pp. $24.99 NOW £4


75760 A POSSIBLE LIFE: A Novel in Five Parts by Sebastian Faulks


Here are five transporting stories and five unforgettable characters, linked across the centuries in stories of love and war, lore and music, missed opportunities and timeless bonds. Geoffrey Talbot adores sports. At university between the world wars he studies languages and his father hopes he will become a diplomat. He enlists and in France meets dark-eyed Giselle and his life veers off track forever. In Victorian London, Billy is sent to the workhouse. Too small to be considered a friend by the bigger boys, he instead becomes lifelong companion with Alice and another girl. Across 21st century Europe, governments have collapsed. Elena Duranti, once a wild natured child and now a brilliant scientist, collaborates on a startling discovery about human consciousness. In rural France in the 1800s, orphan Jeanne works in the laundry, then in a dairy and then for the rest of her days, as a nursemaid. 287pp. $25 NOW £6.50


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75814 MOTHERLAND by William Nicholson


Summer of 1942 and Kitty, an army driver stationed in Sussex, meets Ed, a Royal Marine commando and Larry, a liaison officer with Combined Operation under the command of Mountbatten. Kitty falls instantly in love with Ed, who falls in love with her. So does Larry. Both men go off to war and Ed wins the highest military honour for his


bravery. But sometimes heroes don’t make the best husband. 548pp in large softback. £14.99 NOW £4


74610 CHANGELING by Kenzaburo Oe When Kogito’s brother-in-law Goro gives him an old- fashioned tape recorder, Kogito has no idea how it will change his life. A box full of tapes accompanies it, and Kogito’s first attempt to listen is on a crowded train, when his fellow-passengers are startled to hear pornographic dialogue issuing forth. When Kogito returns the tapes, Goro gives him another collection, and this time there is a message from Goro saying that when he is on the Other Side he is not going to stop communicating with Kogito. He commits suicide immediately afterwards. Key books hold a profound significance, including Maurice Sendak’s Outside Over There and the crucifixion narratives of the Christian Bible. 468pp.


£19.99 NOW £3.50 75855 THE SHEPHERD


by Frederick Forsyth It is Christmas Eve, 1957. Flying home on leave from Germany, a pilot is on a solo flight in the cockpit of a De Havilland Vampire. 66 minutes of flying time, with a destination in England. No problem, all routine procedures. But suddenly out over the ocean, fog begins to close in, radio contact ceases and the compass goes


haywire. When all hope is lost, out of the mist appears a World War II bomber, flying just below the Vampire, as if trying to make contact. A cunningly wrought tale. 124pp in paperback. £7.99 NOW £3


74926 22 BRITANNIA ROAD by Amanda Hodgkinson


‘Housekeeper of housewife?’ the soldier asks Silvana as she and seven year old Aurek board the ship that will take them to England at the end of World War Two and where her husband Janusz is waiting for them. ‘Survivor’ she answers. Janusz wants them to be a proper English family and is determined to forget the ghosts of war. He pins his hopes for a normal life on a small house 22 Britannia Road with an English garden out back. Having spent the war hiding, Aurek is wild, almost feral, and doesn’t know how to tie his shoelaces or sleep in a bed. Here are the private terrors of two Polish survivors. 321pp. ONLY £2.50


74688 BEETHOVEN CONFIDENTIAL and


BRAHMS GETS LAID by Ken Russell These new novel-biographies are based on the known facts of the great musicians Beethoven (1770-1827) and Brahms (1833-1937). The gestation for the first novel Beethoven Confidential included a film script in which Anthony Hopkins was to play the deaf composer. Now the mystery of the identity of Beethoven’s secret love, the ‘Immortal Beloved’ is at long last revealed. Brahms was renowned for beer, beard and belly. The doughty bachelor enjoyed a quiet beer and walks in the Black Forest but was no shrinking violet. He was full of white-hot passion and sensuality and had a complex emotional relationship with Clara, wife of Robert Schumann. Hold on to your hats for the sex romp! 190pp in paperback. £12.95 NOW £4


74689 ELGAR: The Erotic Variations and


DELIUS: A Moment with Venus by Ken Russell Filmmaker Ken Russell made a celebrated BBC Monitor television film on Elgar, the Worcestershire composer. Here is his portrayal as a devoted husband whose career hinged largely on the support of his wife. In the novel, he emerges from his Victorian morality complete with mistresses and muses including Rosa Burley. The second novel Delius: A Moment with Venus is largely based on the recollections of the composer’s amanuensis, Eric Fenby. The baptism of Frederick Delius the Yorkshire man, as ‘Fritz’ is the hilarious starting point for the revelations about the secret life of this cantankerous old Pagan genius. 190pp in paperback. £12.95 NOW £4.50


74928 A LESSON IN SECRETS: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear


In the summer of 1932, Maisie Dobbs’ career takes an exciting new turn when she accepts an undercover assignment directed by Scotland Yard’s Special Branch and the Secret Service. Posing as a junior lecturer, she is sent to a private college in Cambridge. When the college’s controversial pacifist founder and principal Greville Liddicote is murdered, Maisie is directed to stand back as others spearhead the investigation. Maisie must overcome a reluctant Secret Service, discover shameful hidden truths about Britain’s conduct during the Great War, and face off the rising powers of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, the Nazi Party, in Britain. 321pp. $25.99 NOW £4


74930 EARTHSEA: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin


Ged was the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea. But he was once called Sparrowhawk, a reckless youth, hungry for power and knowledge who tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death’s threshold to restore the balance. 251pp in paperback. Remainder mark. $8.99 NOW £2.75


74992 ABYSSINIAN PROOF by Jenny White May 1453 in Constantinople. In the dying days of the Byzantine Empire as the city prepares for a final onslaught by the Ottoman Turks, Isaak Metochites and his family are entrusted with a silver reliquary carved with the figure of a weeping angel and the inscription: ‘Behold the Proof of Chora, Container of the Uncontainable.’ 400 years later magistrate Kamil Pasha is plagued by thefts of antiquities from mosques and churches and a series of murders in which the bodies bare the same distinctive marks. He is led to a sect descended from Abyssinian slaves living in an abandoned cistern in Istanbul’s gritty underworld. The re-emergence of the forgotten reliquary sets off a brutal race to gain its explosive secret. 456pp in paperback. £6.99 NOW £2.75


75646 A MOTHER’S SECRET by Dilly Court


When 17 year old Belinda Phillips falls in love with a handsome Anglo-Indian officer, she knows that he is a man she can never hope to marry. When he is reported missing, believed killed in action, Belinda discovers that she is pregnant. Facing disgrace and ruin, she has no option other than to accept an arranged marriage with a middle-aged widower, knowing she


must keep the secret of her child’s birth for ever. Reluctantly she sends her beloved daughter to a foster mother in Cripplegate, little realising she has entrusted Cassy’s care to Biddy Henchard, a woman who runs a notorious baby farm in an area full of poverty and disease. Yet Cassy survives the cruel neglect and all the while dreams of saving her mother, but when Biddy dies suddenly, 10 year old Cassy finds herself destitute. 474pp.


£19.99 NOW £3.75


75586 IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT? by Margaret Forster


What do Mrs H., Rachel, Edwina, Ida, Sarah, Dot and Chrissie have in common? They are all survivors and all connected by the same hospital clinic in a small Northern town. Mrs H. is generous and helpful to a sometimes comical fault. She lives alone with a secret that she tells no one. Her niece is a young doctor who can’t take the strain, and who wants something different from life. Ida, once beautiful and now hiding her scars under layers of fat; tiny Dot who is stronger than she seems; Edwina, a mother who lives vicariously through others, even her wild daughter, and Rachel who finds out almost too late what it is like to soar above the crowd. Not to mention the men in their lives. 244pp. £16.99 NOW £4


76131 THREE VILLAGE


NOVELS by Rebecca Shaw A terrific omnibus of Village Gossip, Trouble in the Village and A Village Dilemma from the very popular Turnham Malpas series by the former school teacher turned novelist. Rural peace is disrupted when a famous actor comes to stay - a marriage is wrecked, a proud man humbled and two people are brought together closer as gossip,


scandal and jealousy mount. Peter the rector and his wife Caroline appoint a new verger who causes trouble in the village as his past haunts him, bringing violence and danger to their peace. In the third novel an unwelcome visitor arrives. Why is Bryn Fields, who fled four years ago, back? 682pp in mammoth softback. Line art map.


£16.99 NOW £4


75003 THE DOVEKEEPERS by Alice Hoffman 900 Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada, a mountain in the Judean desert. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived. Alice Hoffman’s novel is a spellbinding tale of four extraordinarily bold, resourceful and sensuous women, each of whom has come to Masada by a different path. Yael’s mother died in childbirth, and her father, an expert assassin, never forgave her for that death. Revka, a village baker’s wife, watched the murder of her daughter by Roman soldiers. She brings to Masada her young grandsons, rendered mute by what they have witnessed. Aziza is a warrior’s daughter and Shirah is wise in the ways of magic and medicine. All are dovekeepers and all are keeping their own secrets. 505pp in paperback. $16 NOW £4.50


75242 THE LAST STORYTELLER: A Novel of Ireland by Frank Delaney


Ben MacCarthy is living through the tumultuous events of Ireland in 1956 when the national mood is downtrodden, poverty, corruption and an armed rebellion rattle the countryside. Ben wants no part of the upstart insurrection along the northern border. He unknowingly falls in with an IRA sympathiser and is compromised into running guns, yet despite his perilous circumstances, all he can think about is finding his former wife and true love, the actress Venetia Kelly. Parted forcibly from Ben years ago, Venetia has returned to Ireland with her new husband, a brutal man. 385pp, roughcut pages.


£22.50 NOW £4.50


75561 BLOOD OF HONOUR by James Holland At Hiraklion, Jack Tanner and the rest of the 2nd Battalion Yorks Rangers find themselves battling in vicious close-quarter fighting against the German paratroopers. Leading a counter-attack, it is Peploe and Tanner’s B Company that helps drive the enemy back, but this success is short-lived. Not only has a new subaltern Guy Liddell recently arrived on the island determined to make life difficult, but Tanner has offended Alopex, a powerful kapitan on Crete who has sworn to kill him. Now the Germans are invading and enemy bombers ensure their attempted evacuation is scuppered. Tanner is forced to flee to the mountainous interior where only Alopex can help. Set in May 1941. 381pp.


£14.99 NOW £2.50


75854 THE LATCHKEY KID by Helen Forrester Mrs Olga Stych, daughter of an immigrant Ukrainian pig farmer, has finally made it to the top of the social pyramid of Tollemarche, a small town in Canada’s Bible Belt. But to get there she not only had to see off her most determined rival, she also had to neglect her son Hank. With enemies outside her home, and a latchkey kid inside - Hank was left to fend for himself -


Olga little realises that the moment of her decline is to arrive just when she appears to be at her most triumphant. As a member of the Committee of the Preservation of Morals, Olga has mounted a passionate campaign against the latest ‘immoral’ bestseller, but the author of the book turns out to be her own son, Hank. 240pp in paperback reprint of the 1971 original. £5.99 NOW £2.75


75851 LIVERPOOL DAISY by Helen Forrester Daisy Gallagher is big, tough and loving. In Liverpool in the Depression, she is the staff and support of her family, and always short of money. One dark night she is cornered by three drunken sailors. When they pay her for what they have done, Daisy realises that she has found a job, a job that will enable her to get medical help for her dying friend. Liverpool Daisy learns to fight the competition, laugh with her customers, weep in private. She becomes the toast of the neighbourhood until the day she hears that her husband is coming home from sea. 254pp paperback reprint of the 1979 original. £5.99 NOW £3


75565 CHRIST THE LORD: The Road to Cana by Anne Rice


Anne Rice’s second book in her hugely ambitious and scrupulously researched life of Christ. We see Jesus, Yeshua Bar Joseph during a winter of no rain, endless dust and disruption in Judea. Whispers of a virgin birth have long surrounded Jesus. His brothers, mother and friends wait for some sign of the


path he will take. Now aged 30, this quiet man of Nazareth emerges from his baptism in the River Jordan to confront his mission - and the devil. He is urged to call on Israel to rise up and cast off the yoke of Rome, but his is a different and greater calling. 242pp in large softback.


£11.99 NOW £2.50


74997 BALLAD OF TRENCHMOUTH TAGGART by Glenn Taylor


Meet Early ‘Trenchmouth’ Taggart, a man born and orphaned in 1903, one time inventor, snake handler, cunnilinguist, sniper, woodsman, harmonica man and newspaper man. His is an epic story, a tall tale in the tradition of Mark Twain, chronicling more than 100 years of exile and outrunning trouble. It is the love song of an outlaw and like the best of ballads, it etches its mark deep upon the memory with a jump-off-the-page character. 310pp in paperback. £7.99 NOW £2.25


75569 DAISY CLUB by Charlotte Bingham The novel begins in the autumn of 1938. Twistleton is a village untouched by time. Daisy, Jean, Freddie and their friends Aurelia and Laura are devoted to the place, so when war breaks out the village becomes the embodiment of everything for which they are fighting. Twistleton is requisitioned by the Army. Turfed out of their homes, the villagers take refuge at Twistleton Hall. It is here that the evacuees from the East End, butler and countryman weld together to fight common enemies, whether drunken troops in the village, bombs in the air or rationing and the bitter weather. Love is their one all-too-fleeting consolation, and also their final triumph. 474pp. Paperback. £6.99 NOW £2.50


75601 SEASON OF LEAVES by Catherine Law A bundle of unopened letters from Rose Pepper’s Czech lover Krystof, discovered in her old age, lead her and her daughters to Prague, and the truth that is buried there. Her extraordinary story takes Rose from the bombed-out rubble of Plymouth in World War Two to a farm on the windswept cliffs of Cornwall and then to post-war Prague, seething with spies and informers. Awaiting her in England with terrible patience is the cold, controlling man she married. Dare she open Krystof’s crumbling letters and come face to face with what happened to him? 344pp, paperback. £7.99 NOW £2.50


75979 FORTUNATE PILGRIM by Mario Puzo From the barren farms of Italy to the cramped tenements of New York, the Angeluzzi-Corbos family are struggling with an adopted life. At their head stands Lucia Santa, wife, widow and mother of two families. It is her formidable will that steers them through the Depression and the early years of the war. But she cannot prevent the conflict between Italian and American values, nor the violence and bloodshed which must surely follow. Facsimile reprint of the 1965 original in 301 page paperback. £7.99 NOW £2.50


76023 GHOST OF LILY PAINTER by Caitlin Davies


The first time Annie Sweet sees 43 Stanley Road, the house is so perfect she almost feels as though it has chosen her. She longs to move in, but with her husband increasingly distant and her daughter wrapped up in her friends and new school, Annie is left alone to mull over the past. Soon she becomes consumed by the house and everyone who has lived there before her, especially a young chorus girl called Lily Painter, a rising star of the music hall whose sparkling performances were the talk of the town. As Annie delves further into her past she begins to unravel a dark episode from Edwardian London, that of two notorious baby farmers. Based on real facts. 340pp, paperback. £12.99 NOW £4


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