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English Humour for Beginners
by George MikesIf you want to succeed here you must be able to handle the English sense of humour.So proclaims George Mikes' timeless exploration of this curious phenomenon. Whether it's understatement, self-deprecation or plain cruelty, the three elements he identifies as essential to our sense of humour, being witty here is a way of life. Perfectly placed as an adopted Englishman himself, Mikes delivers his shrewd advice - helpfully divided into 'Theory' and 'Practice' - with a comic precision that does his chosen country proud. Drawing on a trove of examples from our rich comic canon, from Orwell ("Every joke is a tiny revolution") to Oscar Wilde, this is the essential handbook for natives and foreigners alike. Mrs Kennedy: "I don't think, Mr Churchill, that I have told you anything about my grandchildren."Winston Churchill: "For which, madam, I am infinitely grateful."
An English Guide to Birdwatching
by Nicholas RoyleSilas and Ethel Woodlock retire to spend their twilight years by the sea, only to find themselves traumatised by herring gulls. London journalist Stephen Osmer writes a provocative essay about two people called Nicholas Royle, one a novelist, the other a literary critic. Whether Royle, the literary critic, is having an affair with the beautiful Lily Lynch, and has stolen and published Silas Woodlock’s short story, ‘Gulls’, becomes a race to the death for at least one of the authors. Playfully commenting on the main story are 17 ‘Hides’: primarily about birds, ornithology and films (including Hitchcock’s), these short texts give us a different view of the messy business of being human, the fragility of the physical world we inhabit and the nature of writing itself. Witty as well as erudite and delightful in its wordplay, An English Guide to Birdwatching explores the fertile hinterland between fact and fiction. In its focus on birds, climate change, the banking crisis, social justice and human migration, it is intensely relevant to wider political concerns; in its mischief and post-modern (or ‘post-fiction’) sensibility, it celebrates the transformative possibilities of language and the mutability of the novel itself.
English as She Is Spoke: The Guide of the Conversation in Portuguese and English
by Mark Twain Pedro CarolinoThe Guide of the Conversation in Portuguese and English
English: A Story Of Marmite, Queuing And Weather
by Ben FogleWhat makes the English English? Is it their eccentricity, their passionate love (or, indeed, hatred) of Marmite – or is it something less easily defined?
The English: A Field Guide
by Matt RuddA hilarious field guide to the world’s most remarkable and unusual creatures: the English.
England, Their England (Pan 70th Anniversary #9)
by A G MacdonellA special edition of England, Their England by A. G. Macdonell reissued with a bright retro design to celebrate Pan’s 70th anniversary. Banished from his native Scotland by a curious clause in his father’s will, Donald Cameron moves to London and decides to conduct a study of the English people; a strange race who, he is told, have built an entire national identity around a reverence for team spirit and the memory of Lord Nelson . . . What follows is one of the funniest social satires ever written. Whether Cameron is haplessly participating in a village cricket match, being shown around an exclusive golf course, or trying to watch a rugby match in the thick London fog, his affectionately bemused portrait of his new countrymen is a joy to read. Reminiscent of the gentle wit of P. G. Wodehouse and Jerome K. Jerome, England, Their England offers a delightful portrait of Britain in the 1920s.
England, Our England
by Alan TitchmarshAn anthology and miscellany of everything an Englishman should know: From Austen to Wordsworth,Jerusalem to the Scout’s Honour, Kings and Queens of England to Land of Hope and Glory, Savile Row tailors to Jermyn St Shirt Makers, Tying a Windsor knot to making a pot of tea, Victoria sponge to fish pie and the rules of cricket to Gilbert and Sullivan operas
England, England (Vintage International Series)
by Julian BarnesShortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction As every schoolboy knows, you can fit the whole of England on the Isle of Wight. Grotesque, visionary tycoon Sir Jack Pitman takes the saying literally and does exactly that. He constructs on the island 'The Project', a vast heritage centre containing everything 'English', from Big Ben to Stonehenge, from Manchester United to the white cliffs of Dover. The project is monstrous, risky, and vastly successful. In fact, it gradually begins to rival 'Old' England and even threatens to supersede it... One of Barnes's finest and funniest novels, England, England calls into question the idea of replicas, truth vs fiction, reality vs art, nationhood, myth-making, and self-exploration.'A brilliant, Swiftian fantasy' The Economist
The Enemy: An EXTENDED edition rom-com from the author of the TikTok sensation THE CHEAT SHEET (It Happened in Charleston #2)
by Sarah Adams'Equal parts funny, sweet and swoony' SOPHIE SULLIVANFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Cheat Sheet and Practice Makes Perfect comes an expanded edition of The Enemy - a laugh-out-loud romance about rekindling old flames, with a never-before-seen chapter.Enemies should never get a second chance. But this one might . . .It's been twelve years since June Broaden has seen her high school enemy (and secret crush), Ryan Henderson. That's a long time to hold a grudge over some petty feud, but the sharp memory of him dangling a kiss at graduation, then pulling away at the last second, has fuelled many angry fantasies since. Now's her chance to get even.Ryan, along with most of her high school class, is back in town for her best friend's wedding, and June is eager to show the former bully exactly what he missed out on. A lot has changed since their high school days; June is the Southern queen of gourmet donuts now, not to mention one of the most desired bachelorettes in her small town.What's she's not expecting, though, is for Ryan to show up looking like Adonis and touting his own career success as the youngest chef to ever win three Michelin stars. How dare he try to one up her revenge plot? Luckily June never backs down from a challenge . . .
Enemies to Lovers: The laugh-out-loud funny romcom you’ll want to escape with this summer
by Laura Jane WilliamsFlo Greenberg: highly strung. Over-achiever. And desperate for a relaxing Greek holiday with her family.Jamie Kramer: her brother's best friend. Pain in the arse. And somehow on Flo’s relaxing Greek holiday too…With two surprise weeks of sharing meals, boat trips and sun-loungers, Flo must endure the company of this irksomely chiselled Lothario. But after what happened last year, she’s determined not to let him get the better of her.In fact, spending time with the enemy will be the perfect cure for Flo's all-consuming anger towards Jamie, right?(Spoiler alert: wrong…!)PRAISE FOR LAURA JANE WILLIAMS'I can't remember the last time a book made me forget I had a phone. Pure escapist fiction!' Stacey Halls'The Lucky Escape is Laura's best book yet. It whisked me away on a much-needed holiday - this is exactly the book we all need right now!' Beth O'Leary'What an absolute delight! A romantic, relaxing, inspiring not-quite-honeymoon in book form, with a surprising emotional heft behind it. I love it!' Emily Henry'Smart and funny. The perfect escape.' Sarah Morgan'Full of fun and charm, I'd recommend it to anyone wishing to be whisked away by an utterly feel-good love story.' Holly Miller'Joyful, romantic and life-affirming.' Red'A love story that is guaranteed to make you smile.' Closer'Hilarious, heart-warming and truly authentic - your modern rom com must-read!' Hello!'Tender, energetic and authentic ... Such a current love story, but so timeless too.' Daisy Buchanan'So funny and wonderful and life affirming ... Reminded me in the most complimentary way possible of One Day in December by Josie Silver, which I also adored.' Lorna Cook'If you liked The Flatshare then you will LOVE Our Stop!' Sarah, Waterstones Bookseller'This is the laugh-out-loud love story you need to read this summer.' Glamour'Laura Jane Williams offers another dose of smart, sisterly storytelling ... You can practically feel modern romance evolving as you're reading it.' Emma Jane Unsworth, Observer'This is the feminist rom-com of the summer!' Holly Bourne
Enemies of the People
by Sam JordisonSomething has gone wrong. We're living in an age of celebratory racism, extreme inequality, uncertainty and fear. We're governed by people who claim to be populist but who seem to hate everyone. There are idiots at the wheel and we're heading for a cliff in a big red bus and no one knows how to save us.
An Endless Cornish Summer
by Phillipa AshleyEscape to the seaside with this gorgeous new series from the Sunday Times bestselling author – perfect for fans of Trisha Ashley and Heidi Swain.
The Endless Beach: The new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author (Mure)
by Jenny ColganRun away to a beautiful Scottish beach and let the unmissable new novel from Sunday Times bestseller Jenny Colgan heat up your summer!Dreams start here... 'Charming, made me long to escape to Mure. Total joy.' - Sophie KinsellaOn the quayside next to the Endless Beach sits the Summer Seaside Kitchen. It's a haven for tourists and locals alike, who all come to eat the freshest local produce on the island and catch up with the gossip. Flora, who runs the cafe, feels safe and content - unless she thinks too hard about her relationship with Joel, her gorgeous but emotionally (and physically) distant boyfriend. While Flora is in turmoil about her relationship. her best friend Lorna is pining after the local doctor. Saif came to the island as a refugee, having lost all of his family. But he's about to get some shocking news which will change everything for him. As cold winter nights shift to long summer days, can Flora find her happy-ever-after with Joel?
Ending Up (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Kingsley AmisAt Tuppenny-hapenny Cottage in the English countryside, five elderly people live together in rancorous disharmony. Adela Bastable bosses the house, as her brother Bernard passes his days thinking up malicious schemes against the baby-talking Marigold and secret drinker Shorty, while kindly George lies bedridden upstairs. The mismatched quintet keep their spirits alive by bickering and waiting for grandchildren to visit at Christmas. But the festive season does not herald goodwill to all at Tuppenny-hapenny Cottage. Disaster and chaos, it seems, are just around the corner ...Told with Amis's piercing wit and humanity, Ending Up (1974) is a wickedly funny black comedy of the indignities of old age.With a new introduction by Helen Dunmore.
Endgame: The explosive new thriller from the bestselling author of Ragdoll (A Ragdoll Book #3)
by Daniel Cole'Brilliant' M.J. Arlidge'Exciting' Linwood BarclayA locked room. A dead body. A secret that went to the grave.When retired police officer Finlay Shaw is found dead in a locked room, everyone thinks it's suicide. But disgraced detective William 'Wolf' Fawkes isn't so sure. Together with his former partner Detective Emily Baxter and private detective Edmunds, Wolf's team begin to dig into Shaw's early days on the beat. Was Shaw as innocent as he seemed? Or is there more to his past than he'd ever let on?But not everyone wants Wolf back - and as his investigation draws him ever deeper into police corruption, it will not only be his career on the line - but the lives of those he holds closest as well...The explosive new thriller from the Sunday Times and international bestseller, perfect for fans of Fiona Cummins and Helen Fields.
End Zone: Un Pequeño Diamante De Invención Cómica (Picador Collection)
by Don DeLilloOstensibly, Don DeLillo's blackly comic second novel, End Zone, is about Gary Harkness, a football player and student at Logos College, west Texas. During a season of unprecedented success, Gary becomes increasingly fixated on the threat of nuclear war. Both frightened and fascinated by the prospect, he listens to his team-mates discussing match tactics in much the same terms as generals might contemplate global conflict. But as the terminologies of football and nuclear war - the language of end zones - become interchanged, the polysemous nature of words emerges, and DeLillo forces us to see beyond the sterile reality of substitution. This clever and playful novel is a timeless and topical study of human beings' obsession with conflict and confrontation.
The End of the World Survivors Club
by Adrian J WalkerIn THE END OF THE WORLD RUNNING CLUB Edgar Hill ran 550 miles after an apocalypse to try and find his family.He had it easy. This is his wife’s story.Beth Hill has survived the apocalypse with a baby and toddler in tow. And what’s more she’s done it alone - without her husband’s help. He’s never been any help. But when disaster strikes and someone steals her kids, she knows what she has to do. The new world might be very different: no government, no law, no infrastructure and a whole lot more ocean than there used to be. But one thing hasn’t changed - the lengths a mother will go to save her family...
The End of the World Survivors Club
by Adrian J WalkerIn THE END OF THE WORLD RUNNING CLUB Edgar Hill ran 550 miles after an apocalypse to try and find his family.He had it easy. This is his wife’s story.Beth Hill has survived the apocalypse with a baby and toddler in tow. And what’s more she’s done it alone - without her husband’s help. He’s never been any help. But when disaster strikes and someone steals her kids, she knows what she has to do. The new world might be very different: no government, no law, no infrastructure and a whole lot more ocean than there used to be. But one thing hasn’t changed - the lengths a mother will go to save her family...
The End of the World is Flat
by Simon Edge‘I laughed so hard I nearly fell in my cauldron. A masterpiece’ JULIE BINDEL‘A bracingly sharp satire on the sleep of reason and the tyranny of twaddle’ FRANCIS WHEENMel Winterbourne’s modest map-making charity, the Orange Peel Foundation, has achieved all its aims and she’s ready to shut it down. But glamorous tech billionaire Joey Talavera has other ideas. He hijacks the foundation for his own purpose: to convince the world that the earth is flat.Using the dark arts of social media at his new master’s behest, Mel’s ruthless young successor, Shane Foxley, turns science on its head. He persuades gullible online zealots that old-style ‘globularism’ is hateful. Teachers and airline pilots face ruin if they reject the new ‘True Earth’ orthodoxy.Can Mel and her fellow heretics – vilified as ‘True-Earth Rejecting Globularists’ (Tergs) – thwart Orange Peel before insanity takes over? Might the solution to the problem lie in the 15th century?Using his trademark mix of history and satire to poke fun at modern foibles, Simon Edge is at his razor-sharp best in a caper that may be more relevant than you think.
The End of the World: The End Of The World (Skulduggery Pleasant)
by Derek LandySkulduggery and Valkyrie are back, in an exclusive World Book Day novelette, set after the momentous events of Death Bringer…
End of Story: the perfect sweet and sexy opposites-attract romance
by Kylie ScottNew York Times bestselling sensation Kylie Scott's sexy, smart and unconventional opposites-attract love story looks at what happens when fate refuses to give up on what's meant to be... When Susie inherits her beloved aunt's house, the last person she expects to help renovate it is Lars - her ex's best friend. The same man who witnessed their humiliating public breakup six months ago. She isn't exactly eager to have anyone around whose alliance is with the enemy but beggars can't be choosers and the sooner the repairs are done, the sooner she can get back to embracing singledom.Things go from awkward to unbelievable when Lars discovers a divorce certificate hidden in a wall and dated ten years in the future - with both their names on it. It couldn't possibly be real...could it? As Susie and Lars work to unravel the document's origins, the impossibility of a spark between them suddenly doesn't seem so far-fetched. But would a relationship between them be doomed before it's even begun?'The perfect balance of wit, steam and heart-warming romance with a dynamic cast of characters that pop off the page. A must read!' Helena Hunting, New York Times bestselling author
The End of Loneliness: The Dazzling International Bestseller
by Benedict WellsThe international bestseller, translated by the award-winning translator of The Tobacconist, Charlotte Collins Winner of the European Union Prize for Literature 'Original and captivating . . . its quiet charm in straightforward prose belies its sharp insight into the human condition' Stylist'It is impossible to look away from it' Guardian'Dazzling' John Irving***************I've known Death a long time but now Death knows me.When their idyllic childhood is shattered by the sudden death of their parents, siblings Marty, Liz and Jules are sent to a bleak state boarding school. Once there, the orphans' lives change tracks: Marty throws himself into academic life; Liz is drawn to dark forms of escapism; and Jules transforms from a vivacious child to a withdrawn teenager. The only one who can bring him out of his shell is his mysterious classmate Alva, who hides a dark past of her own, but despite their obvious love for one another, the two leave school on separate paths. Years later, just as it seems that they can make amends for time wasted, the past catches up with them, and fate - or chance - will once again alter the course of a life. Told through the fractured lives of the siblings, The End of Loneliness is a heartfelt, enriching novel about loss and loneliness, family and love.***************'This novel has been rightfully described as something of a masterpiece. One thing is for sure - it is not easily forgotten' Sunday Post'Beautifully rendered: moving and wise, occasionally timeless . . . when Wells most needs to be sophisticated, he is' Irish Times'A superbly insightful story' BookRiot
The End of All Things Part 4: To Stand or Fall
by John ScalziTo Stand or Fall is the final of four thrilling instalments of John Scalzi's The End of All Things. The full novel is also available to buy.Our fate is in their hands . . .The Colonial Union's Defence Force was formed to save humanity when aggressive alien species targeted our worlds. Now Lieutenant Harry Wilson has an urgent new mission, as a hostile universe becomes ever more dangerous. He must investigate a sinister group, which lurks in the darkness of space playing different factions against one another. They'll target both humans and aliens, and their motives are unfathomable.The Defence Force itself is weakening as its soldiers fall - without recruits to replace them. Relations with Earth have broken down and it will send no more troops, even as human colonies become increasingly vulnerable to alien attack.Lieutenant Wilson and Colonial Union diplomats must race to keep the peace, seek reconciliation with an enraged Earth, and maintain humanity's unity at all costs. If they don't, it will mean oblivion, extinction and the end of all things.
The End of All Things Part 3: Can Long Endure
by John ScalziCan Long Endure is the third of four thrilling instalments of John Scalzi's The End of All Things. The full novel is also available to buy.Our fate is in their hands . . .The Colonial Union's Defence Force was formed to save humanity when aggressive alien species targeted our worlds. Now Lieutenant Harry Wilson has an urgent new mission, as a hostile universe becomes ever more dangerous. He must investigate a sinister group, which lurks in the darkness of space playing different factions against one another. They'll target both humans and aliens, and their motives are unfathomable.The Defence Force itself is weakening as its soldiers fall - without recruits to replace them. Relations with Earth have broken down and it will send no more troops, even as human colonies become increasingly vulnerable to alien attack.Lieutenant Wilson and Colonial Union diplomats must race to keep the peace, seek reconciliation with an enraged Earth, and maintain humanity's unity at all costs. If they don't, it will mean oblivion, extinction and the end of all things.