A relief from the recent. The Nylon Pirates, this takes its story from the mid-nineteenth century and the East, on a possible island, Makassang, in the Java Seas. Richard Marriott has wandered ten years as a disillusioned freebooter after his father's death in England has revealed him a pauper and a bastard and lost him the woman he had loved; now his ""private"" warship with its trained crew of fighting seamen has gone aground on a reef off Makassang. Richard is summoned to the Rajah whose threats and promise of money cause Richard to accept the offer to drive out insurgents under an old enemy, Black Harris. Successful, he is adopted by the Rajah and given his daughter, Princess Sunara, in marriage. Two more victories in other uprisings and the birth of a son keep Richard in favor but when restiessness and inactivity spur him to plan for a model kingdom he is accused of treason and ostracized. An immediate threat to his life is averted when HM warship arrives with Richard's half-brother in command and, through his support, when the Rajah is killed, Richard becomes the new Rajah with the chance of fulfilling his dreams for his little country. Eastern backgrounds, issues of the past that echo today, romance and torture, keep this popular on all counts

Prologue : The year eighty-eight -- A most renowned Virgin Queen -- God's handmaiden -- Fair stood the wind for France -- A maid in an island -- Great Eliza's glorious name -- A very great Princess -- The general of our gracious empress -- The madcaps all in riot -- A taper of true virgin wax -- Epilogue : Queen Elizabeth of famous memory

When A.P.J. Abdul Kalam wrote India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium with Y.S. Rajan in 1998, little did they expect the magnitude of the response they would get. The idea that India could actually be a developed nation in a short time rather than remain condemned to a subsistence diet of marginal improvements and promises struck a chord among readers. The book continues to be a best-seller. Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India goes the logical next step and examines why, given all our skills, resources and talents, we, so obviously capable of being the best, settle so often for the worst. What is it that we as a nation are missing? For at the heart of Ignited Minds is an irresistible premise: the people of a nation have the power, by dint of hard work, to realize their dream of a truly good life. Kalam offers no formulaic prescription in Ignited Minds. Instead, he takes up different issues and themes that struck him on his pilgrimage around the country as he met thousands of school children, teachers, scientists and saints and seers in the course of two years: the necessity for a patriotism that transcends religion and politics; for role models who point out the path to take; and for confidence in ourselves and in our strengths. Who was he to write on so large a theme, he wondered as he started writing this book. But at the end, Kalam's humility notwithstanding, this may well prove to be the book that motivates us to get back on the winning track and unleash the energy within a nation that hasn't allowed itself full rein.

Satori in Paris and Pic, two of Jack Kerouac's last novels, showcase the remarkable range and versatility of his mature talent. Satori in Paris is a rollicking autobiographical account of Kerouac's search for his heritage in France, and lands the author in his familiar milieu of seedy bars and all-night conversations. Pic is Kerouac's final novel and one of his most unusual. Narrated by ten-year-old Pictorial Review Jackson in a North Carolina vernacular, the novel charts the adventures of Pic and his brother Slim as they travel from the rural South to Harlem in the 1940s.

Lord Copper, newspaper magnate and proprietor of the Daily Beast, has always prided himself on his intuitive flair for spotting ace reporters. That is not to say he has not made the odd blunder, however, and may in a moment of weakness make another. Acting on a dinner party tip from Mrs. Algernon Stitch, Lord Copper feels convinced that he has hit on just the chap to cover a promising war in the African Republic of Ishmaelia. So begins Scoop, Waugh's exuberant comedy of mistaken identity and brilliantly irreverent satire of the hectic pursuit of hot news.

A brand new young fiction series by TV broadcaster and intrepid explorer Ben Fogle, inspired by his real-life animal experiences... Co-written with best-selling children's author Steve Cole When Mr Dog meets a fawn whose forest home is in danger, he know he needs to help... quickly.As Mr Dog joins the search for the fawn's missing mother, trouble lies ahead for the whole herd. Mr Dog has a plan, though, that might just keep them all out of danger...

Frederick Douglass, a former slave and eminent human rights leader in the abolition movement, was the first black citizen to hold a high U.S. government rank. Abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland. He became one of the most famous intellectuals of his time, advising presidents and lecturing to thousands on a range of causes, including women's rights and Irish home rule. Among Douglass' writings are several autobiographies eloquently describing his experiences in slavery and his life after the Civil War.

'Plotting in the best le Carré tradition' Mail on Sunday 'A well researched plot, intelligent prose and topicality' SpectatorFrom the author of Legacy, now a major BBC Film, and The Kaiser's Last Kiss comes a brilliant new novel for fans of John le Carre, Mick Herron and Charles Cumming. Brexit looms and Charles Thoroughgood, Chief of MI6, is forbidden for political reasons from spying on the EU. But when an EU official volunteers the EU's negotiating bottom lines to one of his officers, Charles has to report it. Whitehall is eager for more but as the case develops Charles realises that it may not be quite what it appears. At the same time, he finds he has a family connection with a possible terrorist whom MI5 want checked out. In both cases, Charles is forced to become his own agent, seeking what he really does not want to find. 'Charles Thoroughgood, Chief of MI6, keeps the flame of true espionage...

Upper-class scoundrel Basil Seal, mad, bad, and dangerous to know, creates havoc wherever he goes, much to the despair of the three women in his life-his sister, his mother, and his mistress. When Neville Chamberlain declares war on Germany, it seems the perfect opportunity for more action and adventure. So Basil follows the call to arms and sets forth to enjoy his finest hour-as a war hero. Basil's instincts for self-preservation come to the fore as he insinuates himself into the Ministry of Information and a little-known section of Military Security. With Europe frozen in the "phoney war," when will Basil's big chance to fight finally arrive?

When Peter Ackroyd, one of Britain's undisputed literary masters, writes a new novel, it is a literary event. With his last novel, The Trial of Elizabeth Cree, "as gripping and ingenious a murder mystery as you could hope to come across," in the words of the San Francisco Chronicle, he reached a whole new level of critical and popular success. Now, with his trademark blending of historical fact and fictive fancy, Ackroyd has placed the towering poet of Paradise Lost in the new Eden that is colonial America.John Milton, aging, blind, fleeing the restoration of English monarchy and all the vain trappings that go with it ("misrule" in his estimation), comes to New England, where he is adopted by a community of fellow puritans as their leader. With his enormous powers of intellect, his command of language, and the awe the townspeople hold him in, Milton takes on absolute power. Insisting on strict and merciless application of puritan justice, he soon becomes,...

When an unrelenting terrorist campaign pushes Moscow into chaos, Russia exacts revenge on those supporting the terrorists, conflict with NATO almost inevitable. In England, Michael Anderson investigates two deaths, both supposed accidents, and with hardliners and dissidents vying to turn Moscow's crisis to their advantage, Anderson's quest becomes a crucial element in deciding Russia's fate.Fearful of Russian expansion beyond just Crimea, elements within Eastern Europe choose to act before it is too late… When an unrelenting campaign of bomb and cyber-attacks pushes Moscow to the edge of chaos, Russia exacts revenge on those suspected of supporting and training the terrorists. Retaliation against first Lithuania, then Poland, places her into direct conflict with NATO, an escalating confrontation turning the Baltic into a potential battle zone.In England, Michael Anderson a freelance journalist, starts an investigation into two deaths, both supposed accidents, his focus the Erdenheim management training-centre in the Lincolnshire hamlet of Graythorp. Drawn into a world of lies and deceit, Anderson struggles to solve the puzzle that is Erdenheim and so uncover the truth, his sudden interest creating its own implicit dangers, both for Anderson and those close to him.With hardliners and dissidents each vying to turn Moscow’s crisis to their advantage, and secessionists starting to tear the Russian Federation apart, Anderson’s quest becomes a crucial element in helping decide Russia’s fate.The Will of the People is the first book in the Conspiracy Trilogy. The second and third parts, The Trust of the People and The Rule of the People are also available as ebooks.