York Notes Advanced offer a fresh and accessible approach to English Literature. This market-leading series has been completely updated to meet the needs of today's A-level and undergraduate students. Written by established literature experts, York Notes Advanced intorduce students to more sophisticated analysis, a range of critical perspectives and wider contexts.

In this collection of Carol Ann Duffy's poems, the stories of famous men - Midas, Darwin, Quasimodo, Pontius Pilate, King Kong - are presented from the perspective of the lesser-known wife.

This beautifully illustrated collection brings together, for the first time, Carol Ann Duffy's much-celebrated festive poems. For a decade, while she was Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy gifted her thousands of readers an illustrated poem every Christmas, transporting them in one year to a seventeenth-century festival on the frozen Thames, in another to Western Front to witness the famous 1914 truce, then to a sweet winter's night in the South of France with Pablo Picasso and his small dog. Christmas Poems showcases Duffy's bold and innovative voice, alongside gorgeous artwork from Rob Ryan, David De Las Heras and Lara Hawthorne, amongst others. These ten much-loved poems are gathered together for the first time in this compendium to make a perfect gift for old friends celebrating a decade's tradition or those experiencing the magic of Duffy's festive verse for the first time.

The Armistice of 1918 brought ceasefire to the war on the Western Front, but 'the Great War' would not as hoped be 'the war to end all wars'. In this affecting selection, the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, guides us deep into the act and root of 'armistice': its stoppage or 'stand' of arms, its search for truce and ceasefire. In 100 poems, our most cherished poets of the Great War speak alongside those from other conflicts and cultures, so that we hear some of the lesser-heard voices of war, including wives, families, those left behind. These poems of war and peace memorialise the horror and the tragedy of conflict. At the same time, in armistice, they become a record of renewal and a testimony to hope.

Each night, in the hours between supper and bedtime the Tear Thief carries her waterproof, silvery sack over her shoulder as she soundlessly steals the tears of every child who cries. But what does she do with all of those tears? Education Market: Aligns with National Curriculum Fantasy/Imagined Worlds category and Stories that Raise Issues/Personal, Social and Emotional Development. It is a modern tale that illustrates a classic message which teaches children to value true feelings.

What would happen if we lost the happy endings to stories - imagine the tears at bedtime! A fantastic and magical tale about what happens when, one night, a wicked witch steals the happy endings to bedtime stories. It is up to Jub, the keeper of the happy endings, to save the day and ensure sweet dreams everywhere in this lyrical story about storytelling. In the tradition of classic fairy tales for children, Carol Ann Duffy and Jane Ray have created a truly compelling, surprising and beautiful story for children of all ages.

Whether writing of longing or seduction, of passion, adultery, or simple, everyday acts of love, Carol Ann Duffy perfectly captures the truth of each experience. Love Poems contains some of her most popular poems and, always imaginative, heartfelt and direct, displays all the eloquence and skill that have made her one of the foremost poets of her time.

It is Christmas Eve, 1799, and Dorothy Wordsworth is awake in the dead of night. She stands outside in the winter cold, waiting patiently. When the new day breaks it will bring family and friends to Dorothy's door. For tomorrow is a double joy: tomorrow is her Christmas Birthday. Carol Ann Duffy's wonderful poem Dorothy Wordsworth's Christmas Birthday takes us to the frozen landscape of the Lake District, where a merry celebration is about to begin in the Wordsworths' cottage. Gorgeously illustrated by Tom Duxbury, this festive poem evokes the snowy Lake District as Dorothy celebrates her birthday with her brother William Wordsworth and fellow poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

The princess cannot get warm, no matter what is done for her. A stranger with cold eyes brings her the Earth's blanket, the Forest's blanket, the Ocean's blanket and more, but nothing can warm the cold princess. Then, one day, a musician wanders into the land, and her heart melts with warmth and love. From former Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy comes the tale of a young princess who can never feel warm, a worried king and queen, a stranger in black with hard gray eyes, and a musician with a kind and good heart. Carol Ann Duffy's powerful fairy tale explores the depths of human fears, frailty and love, complemented by atmospheric paintings by acclaimed artist Catherine Hyde.

Once upon a time, there was a rich merchant who had three daughters. The girls were just as clever as they were bella and none more so than the youngest, whose name was Beauty. Disappear to faraway lands of wicked witches, evil monsters and brave heroines in former Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy's stunning collection of fairy tales. Including her beautiful and haunting retellings of the Grimm classics Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and the Pied Piper, as well as other tales from around the world, and new stories of her own, this book will make you think again about once upon a time . . . With ethereal illustrations by Tomislav Tomic, this uncommonly beautiful book is a very special introduction to - or reminder of - many classic fairy tales.

Poetry. Translated from Russian by Judith Hemschemeyer. This book contains more than one hundred poems from The Complete Poems of Anna Akmatova, which was named of the best books of 1990 by the New York Times. Akhmatova first achieved fame as an icon of pre-Revolutionary literary society. In the post revolution era she became the unofficial spokesperson for her fellow countrymen who suffered through Stalinism. This book features poems both originally written in Russian and English and represents the full span of the poet's career. Also included is a translator's introduction and a preface to Akhmatova's life by Roberta Reeder and notes from Hemschemeyer's definitive translation.

One of those rare books that is immediately enjoyable yet will repay many re-readings' Poetry Review Carol Ann Duffy's highly praised second collection, for which she was given the Somerset Maughan Award, showcases the Poet Laureate's skill even at the very start of her career. Within are poems that reveal the full range of her interests: from the dramatic monologues, to meditations on death and art, to poems of protest and poems of love. Throughout it all, though, is a resounding determination to give voices to those who are usually voiceless, and always apparent is her inimitable wit, wisdom and imagination. At once tender and sharp, moving and humourous, Selling Manhattan has dazzled both readers and critics ever since it was first published in 1987.

The Armistice of 1918 brought ceasefire to the war on the Western Front, but 'the Great War' would not as hoped be 'the war to end all wars'. In this affecting selection, the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, guides us deep into the act and root of 'armistice': its stoppage or 'stand' of arms, its search for truce and ceasefire. In 100 poems, our most cherished poets of the Great War speak alongside those from other conflicts and cultures, so that we hear some of the lesser-heard voices of war, including wives, families, those left behind. These poems of war and peace memorialise the horror and the tragedy of conflict. At the same time, in armistice, they become a record of renewal and a testimony to hope.

The effortless virtuosity, directness, drama and humanity of Carol Ann Duffy's verse have made her our most admired and best-loved contemporary poet. Rapture, her seventh collection, is a book-length love-poem, and a moving act of personal testimony; but what sets these poems apart from other treatments of the subject is that Duffy refuses to simplify the contradictions of love, and read its transformations - infatuation, longing, passion, commitment, rancour, separation and grief - as simply redemptive or destructive.

Rapture is a map of real love, in all its churning complexity. Yet in showing us that a song can be made of even the most painful episodes in our lives, Duffy has accessed a new level of directness that sacrifices nothing in the way of subtlety of expression. These are poems that will find deep rhymes in the experience of most readers, and nowhere has Duffy more eloquently articulated her belief that poetry should speak for us all.

Part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature

Beginning with the King's Cook, who is preparing a sumptuous Christmas Pie, Wenceslas takes us to a medieval feast. The lords and ladies are at their places, the wine is in full flow, the musicians are playing in the gallery and the entertainment has begun. All should be perfect. But when the good King looks up from his table he sees something more than just snow, falling deep and crisp and even . . . Richly illustrated by Stuart Kolakovic, this gorgeous little book captures the age-old magic of Christmas. In reimagining the much-loved carol of King Wenceslas, Carol Ann Duffy's wonderful poem offers merriment and festive cheer, but also celebrates what is truly important at this special time of year: the simple acts of kindness that each of us can show another.

In this enchantingly illustrated Christmas poem, Carol Ann Duffy invites readers to open the windows on Advent Street. In each one is a gift. You may find yourself back-straight watching a ballerina, poised to begin, or catch your lips moving in time with a festive song that drifts out into the night. Whatever the surprise, when the curtains draw back and the lights sharpen, Duffy's beguiling words, paired with captivating illustrations from Yelena Bryksenkova, call you inside to feel the warmth.

'The Forward Prizes have turned a spotlight on contemporary poetry which is both searching and glamorous' Carol Ann Duffy 100 Prized Poems brings together the best of the poems published over a quarter century in twenty-five editions of the Forward books of poetry, a series highlighting the works commended annually for the prestigious Forward Prizes. The roll-call of poets included is a Who's Who of poetry excellence and includes both familiar names - Simon Armitage, Jackie Kay, Derek Walcott - and fresh voices - Kae Tempest, Kei Miller and Emily Berry. This anthology of anthologies is a great way of encountering the richness that new poetry has to offer.

The Map and the Clock is a celebration of the most scintillating poems ever composed on our islands.Curated by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, and by Gillian Clarke, National Poet of Wales, this anthology gathers fourteen centuries of extraordinary verse - beginning with the first writings from the old languages of England and Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and culminating in some of our most recent poets, speaking in our present-day tongues. Many of our founding myths and legends are told here - King Arthur and Gawain, Beowulf and Mad Sweeney, the Mabinogion - as are the nursery-tales and songs we still sing today. Through these pages we witness the tragedy of European wars and world conflict; we court romance and friendship; we explore nationhood and belonging, identity and belief; and we are welcomed to a celebration of the cultural diversity of the poetries of our twenty-first century.The Map and the Clock is a stunning and essential treasury of the poems that have moulded our languages, examined our worlds, and shaped our islands through time.

Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and her friends across the country offer poems in praise of the magic of reading.

In Off the Shelf: A Celebration of Bookshops in Verse, Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy has commissioned a selection of the UK's most loved and lauded poets to each write a poem in celebration of books and bookshops - the worlds they hold, the freedoms they promise, and the memories they evoke. From a basement of forgotten books to the shelves of a cramped Welsh arcade, from the poetry corner of the local bookstore to the last bookshop standing in a post-apocalyptic world, these are poems that pay tribute to all the places that house the stories we treasure.

With poems from Carol Ann Duffy, Scottish Makar Jackie Kay, National Poet of Wales Gillian Clarke, as well as Clive James, Michael Longley, Don Paterson, Patience Agbabi and many more, this beautiful anthology is a heart-warming reminder of how books nourish us, save us, and inspire us.

Carol Ann Duffy has been a bold and original voice in British poetry since the publication of Standing Female Nude in 1985. Since then she has won every major poetry prize in the United Kingdom and sold over one million copies of her books around the world. She was appointed Poet Laureate in 2009.

Her first Collected Poems includes all of the poems from her nine acclaimed volumes of adult poetry - from Standing Female Nude to Ritual Lighting - as well as her much-loved Christmas poems, which celebrate aspects of Christmas: from the charity of King Wenceslas to the famous truce between the Allies and the Germans in the trenches in 1914.

Endlessly varied, wonderfully inventive, and emotionally powerful, the poems in this book showcase Duffy's full poetic range: there are poems written in celebration and in protest; public poems and deeply personal ones; poems that are funny, sexy, heartbroken, wise. Taken together they affirm her belief that 'poetry is the music of being human'.

Collected Poems is both the perfect single-volume introduction for new readers and a glorious opportunity for old friends to celebrate thirty years' work by one of the country's greatest literary talents. It confirms indisputably that 'Carol Ann Duffy is the most humane and accessible poet of our time' (Rose Tremain, Guardian).

'In the world of British poetry, Carol Ann Duffy is a superstar.' (Guardian) This stellar edition of her poems brings together work from her four award-winning collections for children, and sprinkles in a generous helping of new poems to match. From her dazzlingly debut Meeting Midnight through to her newest, brightest poems, Carol Ann Duffy's writing for younger readers has always bubbled with wit and humour, intelligence and affection, and introduced us to many strange and wonderful characters along the way. Among the enchanting voices to be heard are those of the Loch Ness Monster's husband, the oldest girl in the world and a herd of cows on a shopping trip to Manchester.