Jane Austen's novels portray a leisured society of gentlemen and ladies who do not need to work. Even the men with professions, such as sailors and soldiers, are almost never seen working; though leisure was not meant to be an excuse for idleness. The proper uses of leisure are to fulfill duties, to read and think, and to pursue social relations in a world where family and marriage for the propertied were of central importance. The activities pursued in Jane Austen's novels, and the way they apply themselves to them, are significant to the understanding of her characters and the roles they play. The working of society depended on a round of visits, dinners and evening parties. Bath and other spas were active centres of entertainment of all kinds; and the seaside resorts were growing in importance. Jane Austen experienced these and put them to use in her novels; but she also registered the fact that quiet, solitary pursuits such as reading, walking or needlwork might be more to the taste of a Fanny Price or Anne Elliot. Male characters enjoy their leisure in a number of sports, often glimpsed off stage - John Thorpe drives his gig wildly through Bath and Tom Bertram is nearly killed by a fall at Newmarket. This text identifies leisure and its use as a central characteristic of Austen's work.

Fancy yourself a golden age detective? In these pages lie the clues you will need to crack the most impenetrable of cases. Culprits lurk between the lines of word searches. Imposters are unearthed in anagrams. A keen eye and a quick wit are your best tools for eliminating the suspects in a range of puzzles, suitable for all ages and levels. For seven years, the British Library has brought neglected crime fiction writers into the spotlight in a series of republished novels and anthologies. Updated with brand new puzzle styles and including the very latest British Library Crime Classics titles, there are even more ways to solve the mystery in this sequel to The Pocket Detective.

In "Chess for Everyone," national chess master and coach Robert M. Snyder introduces chess to the beginner in twenty graduated lessons. Mr. Snyder teaches the basic principles and then builds the student's knowledge in a clear and consistent manner. The reader is given a solid foundation in:

Basic rules(piece movements, checkmate, castling, en passant, drawn game and more). Opening principles, traps and a basic opening system. Middlegame strategy (checkmate patterns and tactics). Basic endgame strategy including basic checkmates and King and Pawn endings. Upon completing "Chess for Everyone" students can continue to expand their knowledge in all areas of the game by reading the other volumes in the "Chess for Everyone" series.

Part of an exciting series of sturdy, square-box 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles from Flame Tree, featuring powerful and popular works of art. This new jigsaw will satisfy your need for a challenge, featuring Angela Harding's 'Marsh Owl'. This 1000 piece jigsaw is intended for adults and children over 13 years. Not suitable for children under 3 years due to small parts. Finished Jigsaw size 735 x 510mm/29 x 20 ins. Now includes an A4 poster for reference. Angela Harding has lived in Rutland in the UK since 1988. She first arrived as Artist in Residence at Uppingham School and been inspired by the British Countryside that surrounds there ever since. She has a love for familiar garden birds and makes quick scribbles when she sees them out in the w ild, so that she can develop them into formal designs in her studio. One of Angela's favourite places to visit in the UK is the Suffolk coast. She spent some time at Snape, where golden reed beds roll out for miles towards the sea. Angela and her husband were lucky enough to see a beautiful barn owl hunting there, which inspired this original print.

She may be gone, but we will never forget one of the world's most beloved and famous felines-grumpy cat! With this book, connect the dots to form the outline of Grumpy Cat's grumpy face, body, fur, and more. Once you've formed these intricate illustrations, you can fill the images of this cranky little kitty with your favorite colors. It's the perfect activity book for the perpetual grouch to have some fun, relieve a little stress, and add a faint glimmer of happiness in their otherwise sour existence. It's also a nice gift for those who enjoy the company of cats, curmudgeons, or a combination of both. The book features forty black-and-white images to form and fill with color, perforated pages, as well as an answer key if you can't manage to solve the mazes. So, relax and embrace your gloomy nature with Grumpy Cat's NOT-to-Dot Book and maybe-just maybe-you'll be able to crack a smile once in awhile.

Perfect for the globe-trotting puzzle fan, this collection of scrambled word puzzles makes travel time fly. For more than 40 years, millions of newspaper readers have delighted in solving Jumble(R), which appears in hundreds of national papers and in these puzzle books that offer hours of challenging wordplay and fun. Each page features a series of mixed-up words coupled with a cartoon clue, and one letter from each word is used to form the answer to the puzzle.

The Bridge Movements Encyclopedia. Duplicate Bridge Schedules, History and Mathematics is an essential book for tournament directors as well as bridge players curious about the history of the game of duplicate bridge. This comprehensive volume supplies you with all the movements ever thought of and many hundreds of new ones. Included for each movement are the variations, modifications, origins, authors and history of its development. Each movement is then assessed for its measure of quality, called calibre. The author presents a brand new event type, the Scissor movement - run like any Howell movement. In this type of event the players play as pairs as usual, but also have their teammates as another pair, never meeting each other. This allows the event to be scored both as teams and pairs, producing a winning team and a winning pair. Duplicate bridge players will find the history of their favorite game most intriguing. The book delves into the lives of well-known figures such as John T. Mitchell and Edwin C. Howell. When did they live, what did they contribute to bridge, and what were the politics of their time? In addition, many lesser-known historical figures are examined for their contributions to the development of duplicate movements. For the mathematically inclined there are plenty of interesting oddities. The mathematics of balance of movements, giving the measure of quality, is thoroughly discussed. The controversial debate over movement quality, along with its history, is presented through the ideas and opinions of players and mathematicians. IAN McKINNON is a mathematician, expert bridge player, tournament director, author and computer professional. Through circumstance, around 1970, he started tournament directing at a major bridge club in Sydney which eventually led to him being the senior Tournament Director within the Australian Bridge Federation during the 1970s. He produced his first book, Bridge Directing Complete, in 1979. All those years of experience, and the last ten years of intense research and computer programming, have resulted in this book.

Get centered and pass the time with 120 easy to hard puzzles in easy-to-read large print Large-print type may make these crosswords easy on the eyes, but they will still challenge the brain. This brand new large-print omnibus features: - 120 easy-to-read crossword puzzles - All levels of difficulty - Puzzles edited by crossword maven Will Shortz

A fantastic collection of the very finest card tricks and tricks of the mind to astound and astonish all around the dinner table. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

LEGO MINDSTORMS lets you design and program robots that can do just about anything
The LEGO MINDSTORMS RIS 2.0 is the core set for all MINDSTORMS users, that lets users design and program working robots - limited only by their imagination. Initially designed for users 12 and up, LEGO MINDSTORMS has taken off with LEGO enthusiasts of all ages.
10 Cool LEGO MINDSTORMS RIS 2.0 Projects: Amazing Projects You Can Build in Under an Hour provides step-by-step instructions and detailed illustrations for users of all skill levels and proficiencies.
From out of the box to up and running in less than an hour.
8-page color insert. A color insert illustrates the complete projects in full-detail.
Specifically targeted at new users of the LEGO MINDSTORMS RIS 2.0.

A New York Times bestseller

In a remarkable career, Edward O. Thorp rose up from nothing to become a professor at MIT, invented card counting and the world's first wearable computer, beat the casinos of Las Vegas at blackjack and roulette, then became a bestselling author and a hedge fund heavyweight, ushering in a revolution on Wall Street. Now he shares his incredible life story for the first time, revealing how he made his fortune and giving advice to the next generation of investors. An intellectual thrill ride, replete with practical wisdom, A Man for All Markets is a scarcely imaginable tale of ludicrous success.