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Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > War fiction > Second World War fiction
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Count Luna
(Paperback)
Alexander Lernet-Holenia; Translated by Jane B. Greene
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R375
Discovery Miles 3 750
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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At the start of WWII, Alexander Jessiersky, an Austrian aristocrat,
heads a great Viennese shipping company. He detests the Nazis, and
when his board of directors asks him to go along with confiscating
a neighbor's large parcel of land for their thriving wartime
business, Jessiersky refuses. Yet, without his knowledge, the board
succeeds in sending the owner of the land, a certain Count Luna, to
a Nazi concentration camp on a trumped-up charge. Years later the
war is over, but after a series of mysterious events, Jessiersky,
deeply paranoid, becomes convinced that Count Luna has survived and
seeks vengeance; driven to kill the source of his dread, he decides
to hunt down Luna-and his years-long chase after the spectral count
finally takes him deep into the catacombs of Rome... The nightmare
logic of Count Luna comes from deep within Jessiersky's festering
fears and serves up his brooding, insanity-spiced, delicious
disquisitions-on what the Etruscans knew, on cemeteries as
originally "sleeping places"-before coming at last to death itself:
"Well, well, well, thought Jessiersky, swallowing hard. So you do
die after all. You refuse to believe that someday you will die but
then you die. And you don't even notice it. And yet the fact that
you don't is the best thing about dying..."
It is 1941 and bombs have turned London into the front line of a
world war. In the shadows of the Blitz, Hitler's agents are running
a blackmail operation to obtain documents that could bring the
nation to instant defeat. Arthur Rowe, a man once convicted of a
notorious mercy killing, stumbles onto a German spy operation in
Bloomsbury and must be silenced. But even with his memory taken
from him, he is still a very dangerous witness. A taut thriller and
a haunting exploration of pity, love, and guilt, The Ministry of
Fear by Graham Greene is universally acknowledged as one of the
greatest of all spy novels. With an introduction by the biographer
and editor Professor Richard Greene. Designed to appeal to the
booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of
beautifully bound gift editions of much loved classic titles.
A historical adventure chronicling the exploits of the Special Boat
Squadron, the seaborne raiders who, by strength and guile, carried
out World War Two's most daring covert operations. From this moment
on, you and your men, you don't exist. Formed in the darkest hours
of the Second World War, as nation after nation fell before the
unstoppable Axis advance, the task of the SBS was to strike back at
an enemy no army could meet in the field. Trained in sabotage and
surveillance, the Special Boat Squadron raided deep behind enemy
lines, sowing chaos and capturing much-needed intelligence.
Soldiers, adventurers and rogues, their methods were unorthodox,
their success rate unprecedented. Operation Anglo, 31 August 1942.
Beneath the waves of the Mediterranean, HMS Traveller closes in on
the coast of Rhodes. Aboard, eight SBS commandos check their
weapons as they prepare to infiltrate and sabotage two Axis bomber
fields. Only two of the eight commandos will make it back to alive.
Ex-Black Watch Sgt Jim Hunter will be one of the lucky ones, but
what he will face next will make Operation Anglo look like a
cakewalk. Reviewers on Iain Gale: 'A fast fit fighting yarn that
transports you to the deadly hillsides of wartime Crete.' Quentin
Letts on SBS 'A powerful novel of men at war. A triumph.' Bernard
Cornwell on Four Days in June 'Very exciting.' Daily Telegraph on
the Jack Steele series
Will the coming war divide them . . . ? For as long as she can
remember Peggy O'Shea has been expected to work at the family
dairy, look after her younger siblings, and eventually marry
cow-keeper Martin Gallagher. And that's the way it has predictably
gone, apart from one glorious summer when, at the age of eight, she
meets handsome Anthony Giardano. But there's bad blood between the
Irish O'Sheas and the Italian Giardanos, so perhaps for the sake of
both of their families, it's a good thing when Anthony suddenly
disappears. Ten years later at the start of the war, Peggy bumps
into Anthony again. But as they begin to rekindle their friendship,
Italy joins forces with Germany and Liverpool turns on its Italian
residents overnight, making any relationship between Peggy and
Anthony impossible . . . A gritty World War Two historical saga
from Elizabeth Morton the acclaimed author of Angel of Liverpool.
At the heart of Joseph Heller's bestselling novel, first published in 1961, is a satirical indictment of military madness and stupidity, and the desire of the ordinary man to survive it. It is the tale of the dangerously sane Captain Yossarian, who spends his time in Italy plotting to survive.
'Tender, evocative' TLS 'Richly engaging' Spectator A Radio 4
Serial Fiction Book of the Week 'A characteristically tender novel
about a young man growing up in the shadow of one war and the
whispers of the next' Observer 'A wonderful novel about
relationships, particularly between a mother and son. A compelling
read, beautifully crafted and sensitively written' Irish Examiner
_______ Laura, a laundress, meets her young husband when they are
both placed in service in Teignmouth in 1914. They have a baby,
Charles, but his father returns home from the trenches a damaged
man, already ill with the tuberculosis that will soon leave Laura a
widow. As a new war looms, Charles signs up for the navy as a
coder. His escape from the tight, gossipy confines of Launceston to
a more colourful life in action sees him blossom, as he experiences
the possibility of death, and the excitement - even terror - of a
love that is as clandestine as his work. _______ 'Stands with the
best queer literary fiction of a historical bent, illuminated as it
is by Gale's devilish wit and talent for both social observation
and intricacies of character' Sydney Morning Herald 'A wonderful
novel - a touching, utterly convincing portrait of the nascent
artist' Mail on Sunday 'A deeply moving novel. The portrait of a
complex relationship that constricted as much as it sustained is
brilliantly done' The Tablet
If you love Jennifer Robson or The Crown you will love New York
Times bestselling author Karen Harper's novel about Elizabeth, The
Queen Mother. 1939. As the wife of the King George VI and the
mother of the future queen, Elizabeth-"the queen mother"-shows a
warm, smiling face to the world. But it's no surprise that Hitler
himself calls her the "Most Dangerous Woman in Europe." For behind
that soft voice and kindly demeanor is a will of steel. Two years
earlier, George was thrust onto the throne when his brother Edward
abdicated, determined to marry his divorced, American mistress Mrs.
Simpson. Vowing to do whatever it takes to make her husband's reign
a success, Elizabeth endears herself to the British people, and
prevents the former king and his brazen bride from ever again
setting foot in Buckingham Palace. Elizabeth holds many powerful
cards, she's also hiding damaging secrets about her past and her
provenance that could prove to be her undoing. In this riveting
novel of royal secrets and intrigue, Karen Harper lifts the veil on
one of the world's most fascinating families, and how its "secret
weapon" of a matriarch maneuvered her way through one of the most
dangerous chapters of the century.
A gripping espionage thriller, which sees two spies locked in a
psychological battle of wills in the run up to the Second World
War. A fire rages across the decks of the superliner Normandie,
interned in New York harbour and being converted into a warship for
World War II. As the burning ship sinks, it becomes clear that a
Nazi spy is behind the disaster. And naval architect Steven Gates
must expose the agent's deadly plans for even greater destruction.
Soon the two spies are locked in a psychological battle of wills
that takes them deep into the Normandie's sunken hull - and almost
costs Gates the love of the only woman who can save him.
'Effortlessly enjoyable . . . an emotionally rewarding novel so
succulent with detail that you can almost feel the Tripoli sand
storms whipping across your face' Daily Mail The Fourth Shore: the
sliver of fertile land along the Tripoli coast, the 'lost'
territory Mussolini promised to reclaim for Italy. Which is how, in
1929, seventeen-year-old Liliana Cattaneo arrives there from Rome
on a ship filled with eager colonists to join her brother and his
new wife. Liliana is sure she was on the brink of a great
adventure, but what awaits her is not the Mediterranean idyll of
cocktail parties, smart dances, dashing officers and romantic
intrigues she had imagined. Instead she finds a world of
persecution, violence, repression, corruption and deceptions both
great and small. A child of fascist Italy, blown about by the winds
of fascism and Catholicism, Liliana becomes enmeshed in a dark
liaison which has terrible consequences both for her and those she
loves most. The Fourth Shore is the engrossing and intensely
poignant story of Liliana's journey from Rome to Tripoli to a north
London suburb where, as plain Lily Jones, she begins to uncover a
secret she has buried so deeply that even she is far from certain
what it is. Praise for Early One Morning by Virginia Baily: 'As
gripping as any thriller...really, really good' Daily Mail 'A big,
generous and absorbing piece of storytelling' Samantha Harvey,
Guardian 'A real treat' Philip Hensher, Observer 'Wonderful' Tessa
Hadley
'An absorbing and engaging tale of wartime bravery and endurance.
Bill and Izabela are such tenderly drawn characters ... I loved
it!' RACHEL HORE, author of Last Letter Home and The Memory Garden
_______________________________ Their love is a death sentence. But
can it keep them alive? Czechoslovakia, 1944. In the dead of night,
a farm girl and a British soldier creep through abandoned villages.
Secretly married and on the run, Bill and Izabela are searching for
Izabela's brother and father, who are fighting for the Czech
resistance. They know their luck will not last. Captured by the
German army, it seems they must be separated - but they have
prepared for this moment. By cutting her hair and pretending to be
mute, Izabela successfully disguises herself as a British soldier.
Together, they face the terrible conditions of a POW camp, reliant
on the help of their fellow POWs to maintain their fragile
deception. Their situation is beyond dangerous. If Izabela is
discovered, she and Bill - and all the men who helped them - will
face lethal consequences. _______________________________ A novel
set in war-torn Czechoslovakia amid the extreme privations of a
prisoner of war camp, based on a true story of passion, heroism and
a love that transcends overwhelming odds.
_______________________________ 'Deeply moving and compelling ...
an epic journey not only across war-torn countries but deep into
the heart of what it is to be human. A heart-rending story
beautifully told.' JUDITH ALLNAT, author of The Poet's Wife and The
Silk Factory 'Heart-wrenching and heart-warming in equal measure,
The Prisoner's Wife is an unputdownable novel ... finely crafted,
atmospheric, often nail-biting.' BEN KANE, author of The Eagles of
Rome series 'A story of danger, fear, determination and the
redemptive power of love in war-torn Europe. It is a story that
Hemingway might have envied.' JULIET GARDINER, author of Wartime:
Britain 1939 to 1945 and The Blitz: The British Under Attack. 'A
gripping novel that explores the question of how much the human
body, and the human spirit, can endure for the sake of love. The
wealth of authentic detail makes it feel like a memoir ... I feel
enriched to have read it.' GILL PAUL, author of The Lost Daughter
and The Secret Wife 'The Prisoner's Wife seamlessly and skilfully
breathes intense, fully realised life into the stark scenes it
describes. I was by turns moved, outraged and humbled' DEBORAH KAY
DAVIES, author of True Things About Me 'A powerful page-turner'
MARIE BENEDICT, New York Times bestselling author of Lady
Clementine 'You will be spellbound by this stellar novel. So richly
imbued with sensory details you'll be feeling every anguished
moment and every golden ray of hope.' SUSAN MEISSNER, bestselling
author of The Last Year of the War 'The most unique World War II
story I've ever read... Romantic, perfectly observed, inspiring,
and thrilling - The Prisoner's Wife is impossible to put down - and
when I did, I was teary-eyed. A complete winner.' SARAH-JANE
STRATFORD, author of Red Letter Days 'Tremendous ... this is much
more than a love story' GEORGINA CLARKE, author of Death and the
Harlot 'Engrossing, harrowing and heart-warming' ANN MORGAN, author
of Reading The World 'It's hard to imagine this novel is based on a
true story ... a story of hope and courage against all odds'
Woman's Weekly 'This is a beautiful book that will give any reader
in dark times a reason to believe in the continuing goodness of
people' NICOLA GRIFFITH, author of Hild
A heart-breaking story of survival, where life or death relies on
the smallest chance and happiness can be found in the darkest
times. Fans of The Choice and The Tattooist of Auschwitz will fall
in love with this beautiful novel __________ 'She touched the
photograph in its gilt frame that was always on her desk, of a
young, thin woman with very short hair and a baby in her arms. She
had one last story to tell. Theirs. And it began in hell on earth.'
It is 1942 and Eva Adami has boarded a train to Auschwitz. Barely
able to breathe due to the press of bodies and exhausted from
standing up for two days, she can think only of her longed-for
reunion with her husband Michal, who was sent there six months
earlier. But when Eva arrives at Auschwitz, there is no sign of
Michal and the stark reality of the camp comes crashing down upon
her. As she lies heartbroken and shivering on a thin mattress, her
head shaved by rough hands, she hears a whisper. Her bunkmate,
Sofie, is reaching out her hand . . . As the days pass, the two
women learn each other's hopes and dreams - Eva's is that she will
find Michal alive in this terrible place, and Sofie's is that she
will be reunited with her son Tomas, over the border in an
orphanage in Austria. Sofie sees the chance to engineer one last
meeting between Eva and Michal and knows she must take it even if
means befriending the enemy. But when Eva realises she is pregnant
she fears she has endangered both their lives. The women promise to
protect each other's children, should the worst occur. For they are
determined to hold on to the last flower of hope in the shadows and
degradation: their precious children, who they pray will live to
tell their story when they no longer can. __________ A
heart-breaking story of survival, where life or death relies on the
smallest chance and happiness can be found in the darkest times.
Fans of The Choice and The Tattooist of Auschwitz will fall in love
with this beautiful novel. Readers are captivated by The Child of
Auschwitz: 'This hauntingly heart-breaking story is one of pure,
instinctual survival. It is a story of fierce friendships,
unbreakable spirits, and the most powerful love possible. In the
terror of their world fallen into darkness, these women found the
smallest cracks where the light came in and stepped into to it with
their lives. I was so spellbound by this captivating, riveting read
that I could not put it down until I read every last word. Highly
recommend The Child of Auschwitz as a must-read' Goodreads
Reviewer, ***** 'The Child of Auschwitz is a beautiful, emotional
story of friendship, family, hope and love. I love reading
historical fiction, so I had high hopes; Lily Graham did not
disappoint! I love the way the story is written. It's hard to
adequately put in to words how amazing this book is' Netgalley
Reviewer, ***** 'This book grabbed me from the first sentence and
didn't let me go for the entire journey. I had goosebumps while
reading . . . It is a beautiful story' Goodreads Reviewer, *****
'What a beautiful emotive book . . . I couldn't put this book down
and while it is all about people suffering at the hands of the
Nazis it also shows the love and friendship that can be found'
Goodreads Reviewer, ***** 'Hope and Promises in the most dire
circumstances . . . What a tragic and realistic story this has
been. Through all the evil there was hope, friendship and love. I
highly recommend this book' Goodreads Reviewer, ????? 'Sensitively
told, it's the story of heartbreak, suffering, starvation, cruelty
and injustice but it's also the tale of the most amazing
resilience, hope, determination and love . . . A most compelling
read that will bring tears to your eyes and realisation of how
lucky we are today' Goodreads Reviewer 'I have always loved a good
historical fiction book, and this one did not disappoint! From the
opening line of the book through the end I was hooked . . . The
characters were well written and very relatable, and you found
yourself rooting for Eva, and even crying at various points of the
book' Goodreads Reviewer 'A deep and thought-provoking novel. It's
remarkable in so many ways and heart-breaking in equal measure. A
unique Holocaust read' The Book Trail 'The Child of Auschwitz is an
emotional roller coaster of a read. Parts were horrific, saddening,
shocking, heart warming, I think I went though every emotion
possible whilst reading it. Even though fiction, for me, the author
gives a very real account of what life was like in the camps as
well as what took place inside them. An absolute must read' By the
Letter Book Reviews
The great Russian 20th-century novel from the Sunday Times
bestselling author of Stalingrad. Life and Fate is an epic tale of
a country told through the fate of a single family, the
Shaposhnikovs. As the battle of Stalingrad looms, Grossman's
characters must work out their destinies in a world torn by
ideological tyranny and war. Completed in 1960 and then confiscated
by the KGB, this sweeping panorama of Soviet Society remained
unpublished until it was smuggled into the West in 1980, where it
was hailed as a masterpiece.
BY THE AUTHOR OF THE 2021 BOOKER PRIZE-SHORTLISTED AND 2022 WOMEN'S
FICTION PRIZE-SHORTLISTED GREAT CIRCLE 'The same chilling
brilliance of Daphne du Maurier's most unsettling short fiction'
FINANCIAL TIMES 'Has an innate charm of its own. Beautifully
realised' DAILY MAIL 'It's a rare writer who can create a world as
convincingly over a few pages as in a 600-page novel; Shipstead's
fluency in both forms is testament to the skill she modestly casts
as a work in progress' Stephanie Merritt, GUARDIAN 'Maggie
Shipstead combines cinematic scope with a poet's attention to
detail' THE TIMES A collection of sparkling award-winning stories
from Maggie Shipstead, epic storyteller and astonishing chronicler
of the daring and the damaged. Diving into eclectic and vivid
settings, from an Olympic village to a deathbed in Paris to a
Pacific atoll, and illuminating a cast of unforgettable characters,
Shipstead traverses the ordinary and extraordinary with cunning,
compassion, and wit. Meet the silent cowgirl and horse wrangler
escaping an ugly home life, only to fall into a decade-long
triangle of unrequited love; a male novelist who is just reckoning
with his own pretentiousness as his debut novel goes to print; a
honeymoon couple's time in the hills of Romania builds into a
moment of shattering tragedy. In the title story, a famous child
actress breaks away from a religious cult, as she tells - with
brittle candour - her tale of childhood damage and the dark side of
fame. Exuding both tenderness and bite, Shipstead exposes
complicated truths in this dazzling collection sealing her
reputation as an astonishingly versatile master of fiction.
--------------------- 'Shipstead is a writer who can vividly summon
whatever she chooses, taking the reader deep inside the world she
creates' FINANCIAL TIMES 'Shipstead observes people beautifully'
THE TIMES
1940, France. In the middle of a devastating war, how many lives
can you save? Varian Fry, a young American journalist, arrives in
Marseille armed only with three thousand dollars and a list of
writers, thinkers and artists he hopes to rescue - so long as the
Nazis don't get to them first. With borders closing around him,
Varian tries to track down those on his list; renowned artists like
Marc Chagall, who cannot believe that he will ever be unsafe in the
country he loves. He smuggles them over the Pyrenees mountains and
across the sea hidden in boats, but every day hundreds of ordinary
Jewish refugees beg him for help. Does Varian have the right to
choose who to save? At home in New York, making a list seemed hard,
but in the middle of humanity's darkest hour, Varian must do all he
can to help. And as the Nazis begin to get word of Varian's secret
operation, he must dig deep and find the courage to rescue as many
innocents as he can. Even though his own life may be in terrible
danger. An incredibly compelling and heart-wrenching historical
novel, inspired by a powerful true story, about the extraordinary
courage and friendships forged during humanity's darkest hour. If
you loved Schindler's List, All the Light We Cannot See or The
Tattooist of Auschwitz, you'll adore The Flight Portfolio. What
readers are saying about The Flight Portfolio: 'Oh - it's
FABULOUS!... The best historical novel I've read in a long time.'
Goodreads Reviewer 'I love this book so much I can barely breathe.'
Goodreads Reviewer 'Such a wonderful novel!!... Please do yourself
a favour and read it!!' Goodreads Reviewer 'Couldn't put this down.
Beautiful writing and a riveting plot make this book an absolute
page-turner!' Goodreads Reviewer 'I did not want this book to
end... Riveting. I loved it.' Goodreads Reviewer 'An outstanding
book for anyone who likes historical fiction, a gripping story,
lyrical writing, or all three. It is one of those books that you
never want to end.' Goodreads Reviewer 'I can't begin to believe
that I will read another book this year that will even come close
to reaching the heights of The Flight Portfolio.' Goodreads
Reviewer
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