The sequel to The Broad Highway. This is the story of the fiery Charmian's love for her husband and reckless son - and the passion her beauty arouses in two ruthless men. Charmian, now in her forties and a great deal more wary and wise, is still a great beauty and not afraid to gamble life and honor in a sinister and perilous game. While in Paris, young Richard Vibart, son of Sir Peter and Lady Charmian, receives a challenge from Henri Willoughby-Gafton, a famous duelist whom Richard has slapped for speaking lightly of Lady Charmian. When Sir Peter hears of it he hurries to Paris, while Charmian - with a plan of her own - follows secretly. But is Henri Willoughby-Gafton the real villain? Mr. Bob Meadows, the valet from The Broad Highway also makes a reappearance. Set during the Regency.
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The Bondman: Hall Caine
$10.00First published in the late 1890s, this is the tale of half-brothers Michael and Jason. Jason is sworn to avenge the wrongs done to their father; Michael is sworn to rectify them. The story moves from the Isle of Man to Iceland. On the way the half brothers encounter love, personal upheaval, political revolutions and natural disasters. This is not only a literal journey - it is also a spiritual journey. -
Auntie Mame: Patrick Dennis
$10.00The madcap story of Patrick's adoption at the age of ten by his zany, unconventional Auntie Mame. And life with Auntie Mame was never ever dull! Sparklingly witty, irreverently satirical, this 1955 novel manages to remain timelessly relevant in its cutting send-up of conformity and conservatism. Patrick reminisces his way through life with Mame in the glittering Roaring Twenties, surviving the Great Depression, her marriage and widowhood, World War II and into his first forays into romance. Based on a real Aunt. Cover shows Rosalind Russell in the 1958 film of the same name. -
Hundreds of hopefuls congregate at a cattle call for Broadway dancers. Sour director, Zach and his brusque assistant whittle down the ranks until they're left with 16 dancers. Each one has a story - some are tragic, some are comic - and explain their love of dance. Tension mounts when Cassie - once both a big star and the director's lover but now desperate for a part - auditions. But Zach must choose only the best for his show. Musical. -
The plays of Noel 'The Master' Coward still draw audiences today. This is a compilation of the Mermaid Theatre's Cowardy Custard which brought together the best of Noel Coward, as well as some of his less well-known songs and poems. Beautifully illustrated with colour and black and white drawings and photos. -
Welcome to the world of Art Handel, a world where the unexpected and expected often collide with the absolutely and totally unexpected and with little regard for each other. While it's sometimes nice to see how the other half live, this book gives you an insight into how the other half of that other half live. Described as 'dark and enlightening, horrific and hilarious...funny stuff emerges from the damndest places...like a clown with a razor blade...startling...original and darkly gleeful...think Stephen King on laughing gas...' -
Set in an orphanage founded by an archbishop, the story opens on the No 14 bus trundling through London. The reader is given the background on most of the bus passengers - shadowy figures that play but a brief role - save one. A young woman who leaves the bus and disappears into the fog to the orphanage where she leaves a warmly wrapped baby on the doorstep. She kisses the child and leaves and all that is left is this new born child with a label attached to the shawl saying "Sweetie". And so Sweetie's life in St Mark's Orphanage begins. It is not a harsh, Dickensian place - the children are well cared for and it is run by Canon Mallow, sweet-natured, kind and slightly inept. He loves all the children but he is soon to retire and his place is taken by a new appointee, Dr Samuel Trump who is determined that St Mark's will be run efficiently - on proper lines - and he is appalled at the inefficiency and disorganisation he sees before him. Sweetie and Ginger, a real holy terror, strike up a friendship. Ginger is always up to all sorts of mischief and tricks who even manages to climb over the wall at night and go 'up West' on forays into the big wide world. He is the bane of Dr Trump's life as no amount of punishment or detentions seem to have any effect on him whatsoever and Sweetie, who has an adventurous streak in her as well, causes a lot of upset for the new Warden. https://cosmiccauldronbooks.com.au/p/london-belongs-to-me-norman-collins-2/ -
Pale Rider: Alan Dean Foster
$10.00A nameless stranger rides into the corrupt and explosive gold-rush town of Lahood, California. His arrival coincides with the prayer of a young girl who is hoping for a miracle to end the sudden and random violence in the community. Fifteen year-old Megan quietly recites from the Bible: "And I looked, and beheld a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death and Hell followed with him.' A story of confrontation in a lawless time, the nameless stranger becomes a catalyst for hope and retribution. A struggle between ruthless corporation gunmen and innocent independent miners takes on a new meaning with the appearance of the enigmatic horseman... A novelisation based the screenplay of the film Pale Rider by Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack. Follows the film almost exactly. The book contains stills from the film. -
The Shiralee: Darcy Niland
$10.00A shiralee is a swag, a burden - and Macauley tramps through the back towns of New South Wales, looking for work, with his swag and his shiralee - his four year old daughter, Buster, taken from her loose-living mother by Macauley in a fit of vengeful rage. Buster is a bundle of loyalty, fortitude and natural childishness, yet she is no joy to Macauley, who treats her with uncompromising firmness. She must go on walking with him; she must stop her chattering when he wants quiet; she must not complain. But he has a grudging affection for her, an affection which grows without his realising it - until it is threatened. Now, not only must he admit his love for his daughter, his shiralee, but he must also realise how many true friends he really has. Here are other very real Australian characters: shopkeepers, stock agents, publicans, shearers, ex-fighters - all set against the Australian bush background of the 1950s. Niland's first novel, filmed twice. -
Bride-to-be Sophie is on a quest to find her father before the big day. The only problem is - she's not sure who he is! After reading her mother's diary, she narrows it down to three great loves. So she invites them all - knowing her mother would not approve - and tries to conceal their presence...but it's not long until the secret's out! -
Mikes, Hungarian immigrant to Britain, was always bewildered by the English and their customs. He took it in stride - eventually - and began his observations of British life and thence onward to encompass the rest of the world. He realises that people are not only funny, but they're at their funniest when trying to be serious. Mikes went to the United Nations and found them all being hilariously serious! -
Before the Darwin Awards, there was Ripley's world of fascinating facts about risks, breaks, quirks, freaks and miracles. Such as... Minnie Gawell, who, in drawing a raffle, picked her own numbers four times in succession; if Bram Stoker had not eaten crab for his dinner (which gave him awful nightmares) the world would never have had Frankenstein; and the refugees from floods in Pakistan who received a supply of brassieres. Over 300 pages of the very weird but very true. With illustrations and photographs. -
History as you've never learnt it before - from the invasion of Briton to Alfred the Cake, to Anne (A Dead Queen), The Merrie Monarch and WilliamandMary who were a pair of Oranges. A lot of it reads like a Blackadder script with typical English humour.With comic illustrations by John Reynolds. -
Coronation: Paul Gallico
$10.00June 2, 1953. It's a great day for the Commonwealth - it's the coronation day of the young, beautiful Elizabeth II. Will Clagg, steelworker, his wife Violet, their two children Johnny and Gwinny and Grumbling Granny are determined to see this wondrous event. No matter how long the day, nor the obstacles to be encountered...Each member of the family learns a great deal on this important day, and returns home laden with life-long gifts they never expected. -
Or: Twenty Reasons Why Growing Old is Great! Virginia takes the reader on a wacky journey where growing old is not a loss but a gain. If your memory's going, you can forget all the ghastly men you slept with...you can have the fun of comparing all your ailments with other oldies...and you can be a legitimate bore since you're in your 'anecdotage'. Includes fun little verses as well. A really good guide to growing old disgracefully. -
A guide book for those things that could only be found in Australia: Snake Gully's 'Dad and Dave' statues near Gundagai; the famous 'Dog on the Tuckerbox'; The Big Cod at Tocumwal and the Big Yabby at Wentworth; The Big Sapphire near Anakie and much more...and not forgetting the infamous 'Furphy.' This book is definite proof that Australians really are a 'weird mob'. Illustrated with cartoons and colour and black and white photographs. -
The Falcon: E.V. Timms
$10.00A tale set in the reign of Charles II - kings and princes, cavaliers and courtesans, flashing blades and raking shot from tall ships. There are plots and counter-plots simmering under the glittering mask of court life and all Englishmen see a deadly threat in the ambitions of Louis XIV pf France. First published as Whitehall in 1931. -
Mary and Tony's parents do not take them to the seaside as usual for their holiday. Instead, they are going to have their holiday at Fallow Farm where they'll learn about animals both tame and wild. This would not be a story with enough sophistication for modern children, but the illustrations alone make this a very worthwhile book. -
Lietenant Garrett Byrne has just recently been promoted to take command of a squad of black soldiers. Irish-born and no-nonsense, he clashes frequently with his second-in-command, and struggles with his feelings over being placed in charge of such a squad. His troop is assigned the duty of guiding and protecting a band of reservation Comanches who want to hunt buffalo. Along the way, they encounter hide hunters, a white homestead family with a mother and two small children, and a band of Indian-hunting Texas Rangers. It's a volatile mix was the journey becomes a grim tale of chase and survival amid racial hatred and violence.
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A very unusual and compelling tale of the Three Wise Men and their possible origins: Melchior, the ascetic scholar; Gaspar, the barbarian; and Balthazar, the slave who has escaped from a cruel, vicious mistress. The story begins with Mary, preparing for her marriage to Joseph and learning of her appointed task from the Archangel Gabriel; then the scene moves to Korea, where Melchior, the aged astronomer, has left his home to follow the star whose coming had been so long foretold. Each man reveals his motives and emotions as they make a hazardous physical journey - there are robbers and inn-keepers, Romans and Greeks, princes and Jews - but there is also the spiritual journey of each of these men...the journey that will lead them to a humble destination of the greatest importance. -
Since everything old is new again, you can liven up your next 'do' with novel party games from the fabulous Fifties. Includes pencil and paper games, word games, team games, treasure hunts and mimes. Good clean fun all round. -
Here is a veritable tossed salad of resort guests: old, young, eccentric, snobbish, pleasant and revolting and a good mix of employees to create a real microcosm of human nature. There's Miss Dukemer, the worldly wise cashier; Purcell, the Assistant Manager who likes ladies and liquor; the rich Mellott sisters who share their suite with a Siamese cat; the wealthy couple who order one small breakfast between them; the elevator boy who has a hair fetish; the newly weds who aren't sure what goes where and many more memorable and eccentric characters. -
Considered a must for every child's Christmas stocking. Tiger Tim's annual has stories, games, puzzles, cartoons, jokes and riddles - something for all ages and just the thing to keep children occupied in the post-Christmas aftermath, especially in England. -
Five years after the success of The Sentimental Bloke, Dennis continued the tale of Rose, the girl Ginger Mick left behind. Inclined to recklessness and 'like to come to 'arm' the Bloke appoints himself chief rescuer - like some 'tin knight of old' and later, bumbling match-maker. But Doreen is there, of course, to save the day. An Australian classic. With delicate black and white illustrations and a glossary of the slang of the times.
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A Grumpy perspective on the daily grind. Whether we are celebrity chef or hapless waiter, engineer or oily rag, commissioning editor or TV producer, all of us have a whole daily wagon-load of s**t to deal with in the name of work. From boardroom to boredom, from 'what's the point?' to PowerPoint, from 9 to 5 to P45. And that's what this book from uber-grump Stuart Prebble is all about; the utter everyday relentless crapulence of working for 'the man', or indeed 'the woman'. It's not possible in a book of this size to include ALL the grumps arising from the working day - the office politics, the shortcomings of IT, the interminable meetings and some of your colleagues' weirder habits, but he is giving it a go. Grumpy? I'll say we are. Illustrated by Noel Ford. -
In this volume: Badger On The Barge: Miss Brady lives on a barge, with a b adger. She doesn't like people much, especially children and that includes Helen. But she needs her help and for Helen, that's better than staying at home. Reicker: Sean learns to deal with violence through his encounter with an old German prisoner of war and farmhand. The Egg Man: Jane learns how secrets and regrets can ruin a life. Jakey: An old, fiercely independent boatman shows Steven that hope and faith come from the inside. The Topiary Garden: Liz meets Sally Beck, who was once a boy, and makes sense of her own frustrations. A thematic collection of the special relationship between the young and the old and suitable for any age. -
So Sue Me: John O’Grady
$10.00O'Grady sez: 'These essays, or whatever they may be, represent my thoughts and conclusions on various things and people. My eldest son wanted me to write my autobiography - 'The story of your life, Pop,' he said. 'And tell the truth'. He can go and jump in Lake Burley Griffin. I offer instead on what that life has taught me. And over sixty years of knocking around and being knocked around, a man acquires a sort of philosophy. Basically, mine is that nothing in life is worth getting steamed up about, and most things are only good for a laugh. So sue me!' O'Grady offers what life has taught him about chooks, language, weddings, women, God, censorship, writers, art, politicians, sex and funerals.
