Showing titles in Literature & Fiction

Simon Shaw, a rumpled, fortyish English advertising executive, has decided to leave it all behind, and heads of to France to transform an abandoned police station in the LubEron into a small but world-class hotel. On his side, Simon has a loyal majordomo and a French business partner who is as practical as she is ravishing. But he hasn't counted on the malignant local journalist—or on the mauvaise types who have chosen the neighboring village as the site of their latest bank robbery. 

The Godfather of alternative comedy, Alexei Sayle, mixes memoir and philosophy from behind the counter of his imaginary sandwich bar, serving up wit, wisdom and illusory baguettes as he muses on a multitude of topics. In these 12 shows, he explores his impulse to pretend and his love of sandwiches, discusses his childhood in a communist household and his physical attraction to Boris Johnson, explains why he will never go on Strictly Come Dancing and draws a striking comparison between capitalism and all-you-can-eat buffets. 

Maria and Richard Reynolds are happily married, but broke. With debts piling up and their house falling down, there’s only one thing for it: they have to start taking in lodgers. Their new housemates are two equally cash-strapped students - Ruby, who’s conscientious and dedicated, and Paul, who finds academic pursuits more of a challenge.

In these globally unprecedented times, Ed is also experiencing new and unusual circumstances. For the first time in 20 years, he's financially independent thanks to the timely arrival of his state pension, and living in a stylish, newly affordable 'capsule urban living unit' (a former office space converted into a flat). He has the luxury of three (organic) meals a day, all the premier catfood Edgar can eat, and even a new car - as well as free time to devote himself to his own long-cherished projects.

Rod Millet has always dreamed of working at the Maltby Collection, but on being appointed Deputy Curator of Painting and Sculpture, it quickly becomes clear that the son of a self-made biscuit mogul isn't going to fit into the musty, insular world of London antiquities. But when, on his first day, Rod learns that the museum has been earmarked for closure, he starts a campaign to save it (threatening his boss Walter Brindle’s plans for a cushy early retirement). With the collection’s future secured, the staff turn their energies towards romance.

Listen and learn! The Sound of General Ignorance brings you all the best bits of the number one bestseller The Book of General Ignorance in handy audio form. Allow yourself to wallow in the misconceptions, mistakes and misunderstandings in 'common knowledge'. Your newfound wisdom will help you to impress your friends, frustrate your enemies and win every argument.

Louisiana gravedigger Noah Evans’s Valentine’s night shift takes an unexpected turn when his high school crush starts screaming from her freshly dug grave. Whoever tried to bury Emma six feet under is in for a nasty surprise—they should have checked for a pulse because she’s got unfinished business, starting with the hot gravedigger who just saved her life. As they unearth a deadly family conspiracy, Noah and Emma discover that old flames burn even hotter the second time around—especially when someone’s trying to kill them.

Don’t panic! The Hitchhiker’s saga continues with a full-cast dramatisation of Life, the Universe and Everything, the third book in Douglas Adams’s famous ‘trilogy in five parts’ ‘The pitch here at Lord’s is blackened, lightly smoking down towards square leg – and two men have...

Brought to you by Penguin. Two exes. One pact. Could this holiday change everything? Harriet and Wyn are the perfect couple - they go together like bread and butter, gin and tonic, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. Except, now they don't. They broke up six months ago. And they still haven't told...

Brought to you by Penguin. The fiercely funny, joyfully relatable first novel from Sunday Times bestseller Bryony Gordon “You’re so desperate to make everybody else happy that you’ve forgotten what makes you happy. You’ve not just forgotten it, you’ve abandoned it, on a bonfire full of...

Paul can't let an incident from his past go. When he finds out a rival detective agency played a key role in it, he drags MCM Investigations into a blood feud that they can't hope to win. Soon they're faced with the prospect of the company going out of business, and Brigit going out of her damn mind. When long-buried bodies are discovered in the Wicklow Mountains, Bunny's past starts closing in on him, too.

Past Imperfect is the story of a quest. Damian Barker wishes to know if he has a living heir. By the time he married in his late 30s he was sterile (the result of adult mumps), but what about before that unfortunate illness? He was not a virgin. Had he sired a child? A letter from a girlfriend from these times suggests he did. But the letter is anonymous.

Starring Sheila Hancock (Series 1) and Marcia Warren (Series 2-4) as Hetty, Lesley Manville as Maggie, Sinead Matthews as Jen and Lucy Hutchinson as Emily, this is a comedy series about four women living under the same roof. All Those Women explores familial relationships, ageing, marriages - it's about life and love and things not turning out quite the way that you'd expected them to. Here we join Hetty, Maggie, Jen and Emily as they struggle to resolve their own problems, and support one another.

Based in the little town of Bridgeford, High-Lites salon boasts the most misanthropic hairdresser in Britain: sharp-tongued, mean-minded Bev. With the help of her soft-hearted (though slightly dim) assistant, Shirley, she tends to the tresses of a motley crew of local characters. As she cuts their hair, she finds out everything that's going on in their lives - and wastes no time in spreading some gossip of her own.

I would have trusted this man with my life. Until a couple of days ago, anyway. You know what they say - hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Max is quite accustomed to everything going wrong. She's St Mary's, after all. Disaster is her default state. But with her family reunited and a jump to Bronze Age Crete in the works, life is getting back to normal. Well, normal for St Mary's. And then, following one fateful night at the Tower of London, everything Max thought she knew comes crashing down around her. Too late for plans. The worst has happened. And who can Max trust now?

Jill Mansell's bestseller PERFECT TIMING is a sweet and funny tale of a romantic encounter with unexpected consequences. Not to be missed by readers of Lucy Diamond, Cecelia Ahern and Cathy Kelly. Reviewers love Jill's books: 'Glorious, romantic, heartwarming' Woman & Home Poppy Dunbar is out on...

The final two series of the fondly remembered comedy - plus the Silver Jubilee Special and the 2008 reunion show It's all aboard for more entertaining escapades, as the classic comedy sets sail for its last two series. Included here are all 24 episodes from Series Fourteen and Fifteen, starring...

Harry Flashman: the unrepentant bully of Tom Brown's schooldays, now with a Victoria Cross, has three main talents - horsemanship, facility with foreign languages, and fornication. A reluctant military hero, Flashman plays a key part in most of the defining military campaigns of the 19th century, despite trying his utmost to escape them all.

All 60 surviving episodes from the first four series of the fabulous forerunner to Round the Horne - plus bonus programme Forty Laughing Years An irresistible mix of of sketches, songs, puns and double entendres, Beyond Our Ken kept the nation laughing over seven series and 123 episodes between...

A Recommended Read from: Alta * Bustle * Electric Literature * Forbes * LitHub * Los Angeles Times * Kirkus * New York Times * People * Vulture An exuberant, brutally hilarious novel about a young woman’s insatiable quest to carve her own path—even if she needs to step over a few dead bodies...