Daedalus Books

Have a happy Christmas in the English countryside with a volume of three heartwarming holiday tales from Miss Read. As frost sparkles on cottage roofs and smoke rises from chimneys, the English village of Fairacre is a perfect vision of Christmas joy — but even in this cozy community, celebrations of the season do not always go as expected. In this enchanting holiday collection, Miss Read shares three of her most beloved and memorable Christmas tales. In Village Christmas, the Emery family is preparing to celebrate their first Christmas in Fairacre, having moved from London just three months before, and to welcome the birth of their fourth child. When the unexpected happens on Christmas morning, their new neighbors, the elderly Waters sisters, are fortunately nearby to lend a hand. The Christmas Mouse takes us to the nearby village of Caxley. Mrs. Berry has just finished her Christmas Eve preparations when a winter storm brings two visitors seeking refuge to her hospitable home. Their chance encounter will make this an unforgettable Christmas for them all. In No Holly for Miss Quinn, a family emergency disrupts Miss Quinn's plans for a quiet and fuss-free holiday. She agrees to look after her brother's three young children while their mother is ill and soon finds herself swept away by holiday traditions, the infectious enthusiasm of the children, and the surprising arrival of someone from her past. For uplifting reading, no one rivals Miss Read. Her delightful Christmas tales brim with good cheer and the spirit of Christmas itself.

Sonchai Jitpleecheep — the devout Buddhist Royal Thai Police detective who led us through the best sellers Bangkok 8 and Bangkok Tattoo — returns in this blistering new novel. Sonchai has seen virtually everything on his beat in Bangkok's District 8, but nothing like the video he's just been sent anonymously: Few crimes make us fear for the evolution of our species. I am watching one right now. He's watching a snuff film. And the person dying before his disbelieving eyes is Damrong — a woman he once loved obsessively and, now it becomes clear, endlessly. And there is something more: something at the end of the film that leaves Sonchai both figuratively and literally haunted. While his investigation will lead him through the office of the ever-scheming police captain, Vikorn (Don't spoil a great case with too much perfectionism, he advises Sonchai); in and out of the influence of a perhaps psychotic wandering monk; and eventually into the gilded rooms of the most exclusive men's club in Bangkok (whose members will do anything to protect their identities, and to explore their most secret fantasies), it also leads him to his own simple bedroom where he sleeps next to his pregnant wife while his dreams deliver him up to Damrong... Ferociously smart and funny, furiously fast-paced, and laced through with an erotic ghost story that gives a new dark twist to the life of our hero, Bangkok Haunts does exactly that from first page to last.

Someone is killing off the competition in the world of chick lit-and the results are hilarious. (Andy Borowitz, author of The Borowitz Report: The Big Book of Shockers) Lola Somerville has a husband and a new apartment in Brooklyn, but what she really wants is for her novel to make a splash. Unfortunately it hasn't even made a ripple. Then at a book party, Lola finds her author friend Mimi McKee with her throat slashed. When the bodies of It-Girl writers begin to pile up, Lola starts asking dangerous questions: Are the murders connected? Am I next? If not, um, why not? If I solve the mystery, then will my agent remember my name? As Lola digs deeper, the stakes grow higher. Will getting her hands on the killer — and the book deal bound to follow-mean losing the people she loves most?

Will the tiger be menacing; will the ocean be threatening; will the island be something out of Frankenstein or will it be an Eden? Life of Pi, first published in 2002, became an international bestseller and remains one of the most extraordinary and popular works of contemporary fiction. In 2005 an international competition was held to find the perfect artist to illustrate Yann Martel's Man Booker Prize-winning novel. From thousands of entrants, Croatian artist Tomislav Torjanac was chosen. This lavishly produced edition features forty of Torjanac's beautiful four-color illustrations, bringing Life of Pi to splendid, eye-popping life. Tomislav Torjanac says of his illustrations: My vision of the illustrated edition of Life of Pi is based on paintings from a first person's perspective Pi's perspective. The interpretation of what Pi sees is intermeshed with what he feels and it is shown through use of colors, perspective, symbols, hand gestures, etc.

Snowflakes aren't the only things that dance at Christmastime. So do nutcrackers, little girls, mouse-kings, and toys In this beautiful edition of the classic story we love so much, none of the little characters ever age or become faded or threadbare. This keep-forever volume is priced to be within everyone's reach. And, come holiday time, this is the book they'll reach for.

The story of Perceval originated in the late twelfth century when Chretien de Troyes, the premier poet of that era, wrote romances for the courts of Marie of Champagne and Philip of Flanders. Chretien's version, although unfinished, inspired a multitude of variants that followed immediately afterward. Young Perceval, awed by five knights from King Arthur's Round Table, decides that he, too, wants to become a knight. After training for a short while, he quickly achieves his goal, defeating many an enemy and sending them back to King Arthur's court. During his travels, he stumbles upon a mysterious castle inhabited by an ailing king. There he witnesses an unusual procession of maidens and pages who are escorting a dazzling cup to a secret chamber. When Perceval is afraid to ask the one question that would relieve the king from his suffering, he discovers that there's more to being a knight than mastering the arts of chivalry. There is a higher, divine calling, which Perceval, with the aid of a hermit, finally realizes. Author and illustrator notes are included. Russian-born painter Gennady Spirin used an ancient technique, similar to that in creating icons, to prepare canvas over a piece of wood with ten layers of gesso before painting it wih egg tempura. The remarkable result enhances and heightens the drama of this timeless tale about the wisest fool who ever lived.

A forerunner of psychological fiction, and considered a landmark work for its innovative use of narrative devices, Sterne's topsy-turvy novel was both celebrated and vilified when first published. Originally released in nine separate volumes, it is in effect an exercise about the difficulties of writing. Impossible to categorize, it remains a beguiling milestone in the history of literature.

Populated by some of the most famous names in literary and actual history — D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, Cardinal Richelieu, Louis XIII — Dumas's peerless adventure offers a rousing read. It traces an aspiring Musketeer's path to 17th-century Paris, where he encounters intrigue, romance, and, of course, thrilling swordplay.

At a café table in Lahore, a bearded Pakistani man converses with an uneasy American stranger. As dusk deepens into night, he begins the tale that has brought him to this fateful encounter. Changez has lived an immigrant's dream, studying at Princeton and snapped up by a powerful firm in New York, with the beautiful Erica on his arm and the promise of entry into Manhattan's elite society. All of this changes after the September 11th attack, and allegiances are unearthed that may be more fundamental than money, power, or even love. The author of the PEN/Hemingway Award nominated New York Times Notable Book Moth Smoke here explores the unexpected connections between the political and the personal.

Boys don't get all the fun. Whether readers consider themselves tomboys, girly-girls, or a little bit of both, this is the manual for everything that girls of all ages really need to know. Find out about female heroes in history, secret note-passing techniques, science projects, and friendship bracelets. Learn to play Double Dutch and cat's cradle, turn the perfect cartwheel, and induce giggles at sleepovers and discover the eternal mystery of what boys are actually thinking.

This title contains a book & CD. From the creators of A Child's Gift of Lullabyes, here is a Grammy-nominated soundtrack for children. With soothing melodies, meaningful lyrics and beautifully orchestrated arrangements, this collection is sure to give little ones hours of listening pleasure. The one-hour CD includes vocal and instrumental tracks of eight original lullabies, while the lyric book provides words to the songs.

This title contains a book & CD. From the creators of A Child's Gift of Lullabyes, here is a Grammy-nominated soundtrack for children. With soothing melodies, meaningful lyrics and beautifully orchestrated arrangements, this collection is sure to give little ones hours of listening pleasure. The one-hour CD includes vocal and instrumental tracks of nine original lullabies, while the lyric book provides words for the caregiver.

This book about the human body, for readers 7 to 9, looks at the muscular system, the digestive system, and the other systems of the body in colorful, captioned illustrations. Then the book unfolds to reveal a pop-up model of the body on an 18 x 43-inch poster, including skeletal features, muscles, and organs.

The definitive guide to one of the most baffling epics of nineteenth-century literature — a companion to The Annotated Alice, It's a Snark for whatever else can it be? Published on April Fools' Day in 1876, Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark remains one of the most amusing and bizarre works of modern verse. Carroll, who completed this classic poem eleven years after the publication of Alice in Wonderland, invites readers along on a fictitious hunt to determine who or what the Snark actually is. More than 130 years later, the indomitable Martin Gardner returns to the Snark with a trove of new annotations and illustrations, uncovering some of the most confounding literary, linguistic, and mathematical references embedded in any of Lewis Carroll's many works. Included in this gorgeous, two-color volume is an introduction by Adam Gopnik, as well as Henry Holiday's distinctive, original illustrations, a substantial bibliography, and a suppressed drawing of the infamous Boojum. With a host of other Snark resources, this is the most ambitious work on Lewis Carroll's masterpiece in many decades. Two-color throighout; 56 illustrations.

The atmosphere of Bleak House, the sensuous thrill of Perfume, and the mystery of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell all combine in a story of murder, deceit, love, and revenge in Victorian England. After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn's for an oyster supper. So begins the extraordinary story of Edward Glyver--booklover, scholar, and murderer. As a young boy, Glyver always believed he was destined for greatness. A chance discovery convinces him that he was right: greatness does await him, along with immense wealth and influence. Overwhelmed by his discovery, he will stop at nothing to win back a prize that he knows is rightfully his. Glyver's path to reclaim his prize leads him from the depths of Victorian London, with its foggy streets, brothels, and opium dens, to Evenwood, one of England's most beautiful and enchanting country houses, and finally to a consuming love for the beautiful but enigmatic Emily Carteret. His is a story of betrayal and treachery, of death and delusion, of ruthless obsession and ambition. And at every turn, driving Glyver irresistibly onward, is his deadly rival: the poet-criminal Phoebus Rainsford Daunt. The Meaning of Night is an enthralling novel that will captivate readers right up to its final thrilling revelation.

A magic mirror in which good and evil are hideously distorted breaks, and its tiny pieces fly all over the world. One piece lodges in the eye of a little boy named Kay, transforming his vision. Another pierces his heart, turning it cold as ice. Kay’s playmate Gerda is shocked by the change in her friend, and becomes heartbroken when he disappears. A perilous journey to find Kay takes Gerda to a land locked in ice and snow, where she must outwit the powerful Snow Queen to rescue her beloved friend. The haunting illustrations capture all the mystery and magic of Andersen’s longest, most imaginative tale.

Three years ago, David Hunter moved to rural Norfolk to escape his life in London, his gritty work in forensics, and a tragedy that nearly destroyed him. Working as a simple country doctor, seeing his lost wife and daughter only in his dreams, David struggles to remain uninvolved when the corpse of a woman is found in the woods, a macabre sign from her killer decorating her body. In one horrifying instant, the quiet summer countryside that had been David' s refuge has turned malevolent — and suddenly there is no place to hide. The village of Manham is tight-knit, far from the beaten path. As a newcomer, Dr. Hunter is immediately a suspect. Once an expert in analyzing human remains, he reluctantly joins the police investigation — and when another woman disappears, it soon becomes personal. Because this time she is someone David knows, someone who has managed to penetrate the icy barrier around his heart. With a killer' s bizarre and twisted methods screaming out to him, with a brooding countryside beset with suspicion, David can feel the darkness gathering around him. For as the clock ticks down on a young woman' s life, David must follow a macabre trail of clues — all the way to its final, horrifying conclusion.

Now, his greatest hits are available at a value price in this special storybook collection. From the beloved animal characters such as Brer Rabbit, Mr. Toad and the Tortoise and the Hare, to courageous children like Mowgli and Hansel and Gretel, this compilation has something for everyone. The added bonus of ten stunning, never-before-published Mother Goose illustrations makes this special treasury of well-known classics a volume to be cherished.

In this classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale that follows the tradition of “Hansel and Gretel” and “Snow White”, a young peasant boy is predestined to greatness — once he overcomes an outlandish decree from the king. Demanding that the boy pluck three golden hairs from the scalp of the devil in order to win the princess’s hand, the king dispatches him to the devil’s cottage in the woods. Along the way many helpers materialize, including the devil’s grandmother, helping the boy on his quest and reassuring readers that the peasant boy will prevail. Illustrations of the deep forest creep and crawl thrillingly — with hidden snakes and demons for children to identify — as the hero pushes on towards his encounter with the devil.

Hunky guys and barely covered gals party on the beach in these five outrageous images from bikini, otherwise known as Max Hernn. Presented in a sturdy keepsake box, this set of large notecards — about 5 x 7 inches — includes white envelopes.

The curious and intrepid editor of Edinburgh's Review of Applied Ethics returns, this time to ponder the philosophical implications of love. In this third outing for Isabel Dalhousie in the Sunday Philosophy Club series, her American cousin introduces her to Dallas bigwig Tom Bruce and his fiancée. Isabel cannot suppress her intuition that the girl is marrying Tom for his money, and begins snooping in spite of herself. Should Isabel say something — especially since Tom seems to have taken a fancy to her — or is she ethically obliged to mind her own romantic house, and her growing feelings for her friend Jamie?

A young, blond woman is found dead on the floor of Colonel and Mrs. Bantry's library. Nobody seems to know who the woman is, let alone how she wound up murdered in the Bantry's home. Jane Marple is called in and the chase is on.

I am Catalina, Princess of Spain, daughter of the two greatest monarchs the world has ever known... and I will be Queen of England. Thus, bestselling author Philippa Gregory introduces one of her most unforgettable heroines: Katherine of Aragon. Known to history as the Queen who was pushed off her throne by Anne Boleyn, here is a Katherine the world has forgotten: the enchanting princess that all England loved. First married to Henry VIII's older brother, Arthur, Katherine's passion turns their arranged marriage into a love match; but when Arthur dies, the merciless English court and her ambitious parents — the crusading King and Queen of Spain — have to find a new role for the widow. Ultimately, it is Katherine herself who takes control of her own life by telling the most audacious lie in English history, leading her to the very pinnacle of power in England. Set in the rich beauty of Moorish Spain and the glamour of the Tudor court, The Constant Princess presents a woman whose constancy helps her endure betrayal, poverty, and despair, until the inevitable moment when she steps into the role she has prepared for all her life: Henry VIII's Queen, Regent, and commander of the English army in their greatest victory against Scotland.

Set at the Jolly Roger, a posh vacation resort for the rich and famous on the southern coast of England, «Evil Under the Sun» is one of Agatha Christie's most intriguing mysteries. When a gorgeous young bride is brutally strangled to death on the beach, only Hercule Poirot can sift through the secrets that shroud each of the guests and unravel the macabre mystery at this playground by the sea.