The combined effect of the welfare state and medical advances means that more people now live longer lives than ever before in history. As a consequence, the experience of ageing has been transformed. Yet our cultural and social perceptions of ageing remain governed by increasingly dated images and narratives. Growing Old with the Welfare State challenges these stereotypes by bringing together eight previously unpublished stories of ordinary British people born between 1925 and 1945 to show contemporary ageing in a new light. These biographical narratives, six of which were written as part of the Mass Observation Project, reflect on and compare the experience of living in two post-war periods of social change, after the first and second world wars. In doing so, these stories, along with their accompanying contextual chapters, provide a valuable and accessible resource for social historians, and expose both historical and contemporary views of age and ageing that challenge modern assumptions.

Since The Grass is Singing was published in 1950, Doris Lessing has commanded a widespread and heterogeneous readership. Written from a feminist political perspective, and employing diverse modes of critical analysis, the present volume, originally published in 1982, aims to combine detailed technical exploration of Lessing's work with a sense of this extraordinary writer's historical, political and personal development. The essays, placed in political and biographical context by the editor's introduction, span the entire length of Lessing's career, up to Canopus in Argos, and includes studies of A Man and Two Women, The Golden Notebook and The Children of Violence as well as an interview with David Gladwell, director of Memoirs of a Survivor.

Since The Grass is Singing was published in 1950, Doris Lessing has commanded a widespread and heterogeneous readership. Written from a feminist political perspective, and employing diverse modes of critical analysis, the present volume, originally published in 1982, aims to combine detailed technical exploration of Lessing's work with a sense of this extraordinary writer's historical, political and personal development. The essays, placed in political and biographical context by the editor's introduction, span the entire length of Lessing's career, up to Canopus in Argos, and includes studies of A Man and Two Women, The Golden Notebook and The Children of Violence as well as an interview with David Gladwell, director of Memoirs of a Survivor.

Join inventor Scooter and his alien sidekick, Fizzbee, on their third adventure! For the first time ever, Scooter has NO ideas. How on earth can they save the jam factory from a slimy slug invasion? Scooter, Fizzbee and Cat have turned McLays jam factory into a tropical jam-making paradise. Delicious! There's just one problem. SLUGS. Slithering everywhere, eating all the fruit, and in danger of causing the factory to fail its hygiene inspection. Scooter has to think of a way to get them out, pronto. Hyper-creative, he usually has ideas constantly whizzing and whooshing around his head. But something strange has happened ... he's gone blank. SCOOTER HAS NO IDEAS! With evil head slug Mucus Vane taking total control of the factory, the gang will need to summon everything they have to save McLays Jam – and help Scooter rediscover his creativity!

The first book in a hilarious, jam-packed new adventure series starring Scooter the inventor and his top secret alien sidekick.

Scooter McLay’s cerebral palsy affects how quickly he can move his body, but his hyper-creative brain is a constant fizz of brilliant ideas. He spends every day inventing top secret recipes and machines for his family’s jam factory. There’s just one thing missing ... a pet, to share it all with. Or better still, a friend. When a tiny alien named Fizzbee crashes through the factory window, she might just be the answer. Now it’s all hands on deck, as they team up to save the factory from dastardly neighbour Daffy Dodgy.

The fourth and final adventure in the hilarious series about Scooter and his alien sidekick Fizzbee. The jam factory is under surveillance by the Alien Intelligence Agency – will they succeed in finding a reason to evict Fizzbee from Earth? Scooter and Fizzbee are experts when it comes to making out-of-this-world jam inventions. But lately there have been a few hiccups. Giant vegetables, floating children ... their new line of jam infused with Fizzbee's alien ingredients has got a little out of control. Scooter and his friends decide it's time to launch Operation: Make Fizzbee Look Good to reassure the villagers that Fizzbee isn't dangerous. Unfortunately, someone else is getting to work on Operation: Make Fizzbee Look Bad. Agent Fleur De Vious, the one and only spy in the Alien Intelligence Agency, believes Earth should be alien-free. After she receives a request from Fizzbee's family to visit her, she decides enough is enough – she's going to find evidence of Fizzbee's wrongdoings and have her evicted once and for all. Will Scooter be able to stop her in time?

Lady Audley’s Secret epitomized the scandalous and irresistible "sensation" fiction of the period and established Braddon as the doyenne of the genre. Lady Audley, a beautiful woman with a mysterious past, serves as a commentary on the rise of the middle class and the consumer culture, and her fate reflects the public’s fascination with psychological theories about the nature of identity and the definition of madness.

The second hilarious adventure starring Scooter the inventor and his top secret alien sidekick. Scooter's hyper-creative brain is a constant fizz of brilliant ideas, but when he pairs up with his best friend Fizzbee the alien, his inventions are out of this world... McLay's Jam factory is scheduled for a Grand Re-Opening TONIGHT. That is until Scooter's nemesis Daffy Dodgy turns up to reveal her name is still on the deeds. Scooter must either hand over all his best ideas, or find the money to buy back the factory. When Cat Pincher turns up with a treasure map, revealing there's a hoard of treasure buried under the jam factory, it seems like Scooter's in with a chance. But he's not the only one after the treasure... Can Scooter, Fizzbee and Cat follow the map and find the treasure? Will Daffy and Boris the guinea pig do what they do best and mess everything up? Or will Cat's nefarious uncle, Perry Pincher and his gold-sniffing ferret Colonel Pom Pom beat them all to it?

The combined effect of the welfare state and medical advances means that more people now live longer lives than ever before in history. As a consequence, the experience of ageing has been transformed. Yet our cultural and social perceptions of ageing remain governed by increasingly dated images and narratives. Growing Old with the Welfare State challenges these stereotypes by bringing together eight previously unpublished stories of ordinary British people born between 1925 and 1945 to show contemporary ageing in a new light. These biographical narratives, six of which were written as part of the Mass Observation Project, reflect on and compare the experience of living in two post-war periods of social change, after the first and second world wars. In doing so, these stories, along with their accompanying contextual chapters, provide a valuable and accessible resource for social historians, and expose both historical and contemporary views of age and ageing that challenge modern assumptions.

In A Wild Constraint: The Case for Chastity, Taylor addresses the provocative subject of celibacy. Too often considered an exclusively religious option, celibacy has been reclaimed by some feminists and sociologists over the last 20 years as a radical alternative in secular society to the liberal sexual lifestyle. What, after all, is sexual liberation when so often the outcome is pain and social chaos? In the context of promiscuity, sexual abuse and confusion, celibacy can herald a different sexual freedom. Jenny Taylor draws on personal experience and interviews with men and women of all ages to demonstrate the impact of the sexual revolution and to make a case for celibacy. She argues that celibacy is a viable alternative that deserves to be taken seriously and challenges the church to speak out for sexual abstinence with confidence and certainty.