'Joan Aiken's invention seemed inexhaustible, her high spirits a blessing, her sheer storytelling zest a phenomenon. She was a literary treasure, and her books will continue to delight for many years to come.' - Philip PullmanThe Paget Family Saga comes to a thrilling conclusion with The Girl from Paris, a gripping Gothic historical romance from acclaimed author Joan Aiken. Longing to flout convention and spread her wings in society, Ellen Paget accepts a position as a governess in Paris. Old family friend Benedict Masham has long carried a torch for Ellen and is naturally stunned when she makes her departure. But, when family tragedy and a subsequent scandal force Ellen to return to London, Benedict's passion is reignited and he vows to express his love through unwavering help and support. Ellen will need to use all of her ingenuity and daring to solve the mysteries of the past and present and keep her family safe. But will she also find romance in a place she least expected?Praise for The Girl From Paris: 'The tale has echoes of both Charlotte and Emily Bronte, but the fast moving narrative and thoroughly modern sense of the ambiguities of character are all Miss Aiken's own' - Guardian'Joan Aiken blends elements of Villette, George Eliot and Thomas Hardy into a strong redemptive plot' - Observer

The Girl from Paris

With imagination and authenticity Joan Aiken captures the customs and language of Austen's England in this one of a kind sequel to Jane Austen's classic novel, Mansfield Park, revealing a subversive and unique heroine. Harriet Ward, know as Hatty to her sisters, is treated with utter contempt by most of her family. Lacking the beauty that her older sisters inherited she is left without a dowry to care for their ill mother once her sisters are married off. Sent to Portsmouth to live with her rumbustious uncle and cousins, Hatty turns her creative flair to poetry and believes she must become a governess. That is until handsome Lord Camber passes through town .

The Youngest Miss Ward - A Jane Austen Sequel

The Paget family's adventures begin in this Gothic regency romance from legendary author Joan Aiken, perfect for fans of Bridgerton, Netflix's romantic drama series inspired by the novels of Julia Quinn. When danger forces expatriate English gentlewoman Juliana Paget to flee her home in Italy, she embarks on a journey full of thrilling adventure. Nothing could have prepared her for outwitting a French mob, crossing the Channel in a hot air balloon, or fending off the advances of the fascinating Count Welcker. Arriving in London just in time for her very first Season, Juliana is going to find all her ideals challenged and the truth of her heart finally revealed.'Joan Aiken's invention seemed inexhaustible, her high spirits a blessing, her sheer storytelling zest a phenomenon. She was a literary treasure, and her books will continue to delight for many years to come.' Philip Pullman

The Smile of the Stranger

'Joan Aiken's invention seemed inexhaustible, her high spirits a blessing, her sheer storytelling zest a phenomenon. She was a literary treasure, and her books will continue to delight for many years to come.' - Philip PullmanDelphie Carteret is forced into a dangerous marriage of convenience in Joan Aiken's stunning regency romance, The Five Minute Marriage. Perfect for fans of Bridgerton, the major romantic drama series from Netlix. Delphie has been disinherited from her family's life of luxury and wealth, but, as her mother's health and wits deteriorate, she has no choice but to seek help from distant relatives. However, when she arrives at the family's grand house, she discovers part of their fortune is rightfully hers, and the only way to obtain her inheritance is through a sham marriage to her cousin. Unknowingly, Delphie has tangled herself in a web of family rivalry and deceit that goes back generations. Other members of the family are not just in debt but in the Marshalsea - the debtors' prison described by Dickens. Forced to maintain the charade of her marriage, Delphie is finally drawn into a dramatic fight for her life, and a surprisingly romantic finale on the roof of the family mansion. Joan Aiken has woven together an enchanting plot of romance and rivalry that will grip readers until the very end. Fans of Georgette Heyer should definitely make this novel their next read.

The Five-Minute Marriage

CRIME AND MYSTERY STORIES BY20 VENDORS OF VILLAINYMystery Writers of America is pleased to present this sinister volume of larceny, deception, and murder, brought to you by the very finest purveyors of perfidy. Donald E. Westlake tells a tale of a cheating wife who tries to turn the tables on her blackmailer, only to find herself caught in a bigger web of lies than she could have imagined. From Robert Bloch comes a story of a man whose very best friend has the very worst plans for his wife. Miriam Allen deFord tells the mystery of a family that is disappearing off the face of the Earth, one by one. And master of suspense Cornell Woolrich takes us south of the border for a sultry tale of jealousy, death, and revenge from beyond the grave. And now that the transaction is complete, there is nothing left but to open the book and lose yourself in any one of these twenty suspenseful stories, each written by a true merchant of menace.

Merchants of Menace - Mystery Writers of America Presents: Classics, #5

I have been on nodding terms with death since age nineteen. Death holds precious little mystery for me. During the last sixteen years I have eaten death for breakfast .

Foul Matter

In a period of English History that never happened, when Good King James III is on the throne, and the whole country is ravaged by wolves which have migrated through the newly-opened Channel Tunnel. When orphans Bonnie and Sylvia fall into the hands of evil Miss Slighcarp, they need all their wits - and the help of Simon the goose-boy - to escape unscathed, for the governess is more cruel and merciless than the wolves that surround the great house of Willoughby Chase.  Filled with brilliantly-drawn Dickensian characters, it would make an excellent choice for strong preteen readers who like an old-fashioned story with a strong plot and good characterisation. This book often appears on lists of best-loved children's books.

The wolves of willoughby chase

Mort un dimanche de pluie

Vous pensez peut-être étrange qu'il y avait trois hommes pour s'occuper d'une petite station, mais les gens qui dirigeaient le chemin de fer savaient que si vous laissiez deux hommes ensemble dans un endroit solitaire, mais si vous laissiez trois hommes, deux d'entre eux Pourraient toujours se plaindre les uns des autres à propos du troisième, puis ils seraient très heureux.

Les enfants lisent pour apprendre - même lorsqu'ils lisent la fantaisie, les bêtises, les vers légers, les bandes dessinées ou la copie sur les paquets de céréales, ils élargissent tout le temps leur esprit, agrandissent leur vocabulaire, font des découvertes - tout est nouveau pour eux.

Les mots sont comme des épices. Trop, c'est pire que trop peu.

Les histoires ne devraient pas être de petits morceaux de fantaisie qui sont utilisés pour sortir une heure inactive; Dès le début de la race humaine, des histoires ont été utilisées - par les prêtres, par des bardes, par des médicaments - comme des instruments magiques de guérison, de l'enseignement, comme moyen d'aider les gens à se réconcilier avec le fait qu'ils doivent continuellement faire face problèmes et réalités insupportables.

La richesse soudaine a été le grand isolant, après le deuil soudain.

Comme les vaches ont besoin de traite et que les pois doux ont besoin de cueillets, les écrivains doivent donc continuellement exercer leurs muscles mentaux par un passage quotidien.

Un écrivain pour enfants devrait, idéalement, être un demi-fou dévoué, une sorte de poète avec une idée merveilleuse, qui, de préférence, lorsqu'il ne met pas l'idée merveilleuse sur papier, fait autre chose d'un genre tout à fait différent, afin d'acquérir de nouvelles et riche expérience.

Étant donné que chaque enfant ne lit que six cents livres au cours de l'enfance, chaque livre devrait le nourrir d'une manière ou d'une autre - avec de nouvelles idées, des idées, de l'humour ou du vocabulaire.

Le premier livre qu'un enfant lit a un impact colossal.

Si la lecture devient un alésage, la mort mentale est en route. Les enfants ont appris à lire par des moyens mécaniques fastidieux apprennent rapidement à parcourir le texte terne sans se soucier de se plonger dans ses implications - ce qui, avec le temps, leur fera la proie de la propagande et des affirmations basées sur des preuves rares, ou aucune.

Pourquoi voulons-nous avoir des mondes alternatifs? C'est une façon de progresser. Vous devez imaginer quelque chose avant de le faire.

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