Spring, 1797: Captain Richard Bolitho, flag captain of the 100-gun Euryalus, about to make the first British re-entry in a year into the Mediterranean, has to contend with an unyielding admiral. He also has to contend with a devious civilian adviser. Bolitho's admiral was personally involved in the naval mutiny at Spithead, an event still creating shock waves. As the squadron sails, rumours are rife of an even greater uprising at the Nore. Only when the squadron is drawn into bloody battle with the enemy does the admiral realise the depth Bolitho's care for the men under his command - but is it too late?
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Summer, 1904: Tsar Nicholas II is sending his Baltic fleet – a ragtag bunch of old crooks, untrained, potentially mutinous crews and hopelessly inefficient officers – halfway around the world to reinforce his few remaining ships in the Far East. Here the Japanese fleet under Admiral Togo has been scoring success after success against the Russians. Michael Henderson, a lieutenant caught in a forbidden tryst with the young Princess Natasha Volodnyakova on the eve of her engagement party to another man, is offered the dubious honour of sailing as an observer to Tsushima, where one of the most devastating sea battles in history will be waged. Unable to refuse, Henderson will need all his wits, and a good measure of luck, if he wants to survive… -
Book III of The Cousins O'Dwyer. County Mayo is rich in the traditions of Ireland, legends that Branna O’Dwyer fully embraces in her life and in her work as the proprietor of The Dark Witch shop, which carries soaps, lotions, and candles for tourists, made with Branna’s special touch. Her strength and selflessness hold together a close circle of friends and family - along with their horses and hawks and her beloved hound. But there’s a single missing link in the chain of her life: love…She had it once - for a moment - with Finbar Burke, but a shared future is forbidden by history and blood. Which is why Fin has spent his life traveling the world to fill the abyss left in him by Branna, focusing on work rather than passion. Branna and Fin’s relationship offers them both comfort and torment. And though they succumb to the heat between them, there can be no promises for tomorrow. A storm of shadows threatens everything that their circle holds dear. It will be Fin’s power, loyalty, and heart that will make all the difference in an age-old battle between the bonds that hold their friends together and the evil that has haunted their families for centuries. -
The story of ex-quartermaster, James Hyde. From a modest store he established on the waterfront at Sydney in 1837 he develops his business which assumes overwhelming proportions and drains the lifeblood of his family, whose attempts to escape its grip are fruitless. Through his energy and foresight the years of the gold rush bring increased prosperity-but they also heighten the tension under which the family lives. But all the wealth in the world will not keep tragedy away - and the great house Hyde wanted is built - but to what end? This novel, written in 1929 by two young women graduates of Sydney University - Marjorie Barnard and Flora Eldershaw - was the judges' first choice in the Sydney Bulletin's competition for the best novel submitted by an Australian author and has gone into edition after edition. -
Published in 1963, this is a compilation of Herbert's short stories of his early writing career. In this volume: Sequel To A Song; A.T.C. Barragoola; Keeping the Peace; Mercy Flight; Rocky the Rig; The Flying Fat Boy; Come On, Murri! An Eagle Called Ned Kelly; The Best Laid Plans; Femme Fatale; The Rise And Fall Of Jeremiah Stacey; Michaelos Is A Miser! Look Into My Eyes; Miss Tanaka; Moonshine; Marrying Money...; Once A Policeman; Day Of Shame; Kaijek the Songman; Last Toss. -
Book I of The Last Kingdom. This is the story of the making of England in the 9th and 10th centuries, the years in which King Alfred the Great, his son and grandson defeated the Danish Vikings who had invaded and occupied three of England’s four kingdoms, as told by Uhtred, a dispossessed nobleman, captured as a child by the Danes and then raised by them. By the time the Northmen begin their assault on Wessex, Uhtred almost thinks of himself as a Dane. He has no love for Alfred, whom he considers a pious weakling and no match for Viking savagery, yet when Alfred unexpectedly defeats the Danes, circumstances force Uhtred to choose a side. He is young, he is n love, trained to fight and ready to take his place in battle but above all, he wishes to recover his father’s land, the fort of Bebbanburg by the wild northern sea. -
Ira Penaluna, First World War pilot, sees his airline go bankrupt in Africa and grabs at the chance to instruct pilots in China. But Ira hasn’t reckoned on the beat-up, burnt-out wrecks he is expected to teach his students in, or on the fact that his pupils speak no English. Though aided and abetted by an enthusiastic assistant, an irresponsible Fagan and his brooding American girlfriend Ellie, Ira finds himself playing a deadly game, becoming embroiled in China’s civil war. The four are forced to flee but the only way out is in a struggling pile of junk flown precariously towards safety. Will they make it? Jacket art by Mike Charlton. -
USA is Shackville...This barbaric American civilization...So speaks the President of France before he leaves for a Moscow summit meeting. Is some world-shaking conspiracy planned during his absence? Marc Grelle, Prefect of the Paris Police, uncovers plans by hard-line Communists for a coup. Plunged into a maze of intrigue, he detects a link between the wartime resistance hero - The Leopard - and the plot. But it was believe the Leopard was dead. Could he still be alive, his identity unknown? Could he be masterminding the conspiracy? Grelle pursues the idea that one of four Cabinet ministers could be this invisible plotter. Working with the help of British and German agents, pursued by professional assassins, Grelle fights to unravel the mystery before it is too late... -
The beautiful, popular Rebecca made Manderley the showpiece of the county. Rebecca, who knew how to 'dress', whose social invitations were sought... Yet even a year after her mysterious death, Rebecca's influence still rules. Maxim de Winter's shy new bride does not know how - or if - she can ever escape the lengthening shadow of Rebecca nor deal with the obsessions of Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper who makes a shrine of Rebecca's sumptuous room and who still worships Rebecca...
