Penguin Group

For Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name.

'We are Progress and the New Age. Nothing can stand in our way'. When Oxford-educated Emperor Seth succeeds to the throne of the African state of Azania, he has a tough job on his hands. His subjects are ill-informed and unruly, and corruption, double-dealing and bloodshed are rife. However, with the aid if Minister of Modernization Basil Seal, Seth plans to introduce his people to the civilized ways of the west — but will it be as simple as that?

Controversial and compelling, «In Cold Blood» reconstructs the murder in 1959 of a Kansas farmer, his wife and both their children. Truman Capote's comprehensive study of the killings and subsequent investigation explores the circumstances surrounding this terrible crime and the effect it had on those involved. At the centre of his study are the amoral young killers Perry Smith and Dick Hickcock, who, vividly drawn by Capote, are shown to be reprehensible yet entirely and frighteningly human. The book that made Capote's name, In Cold Blood is a seminal work of modern prose, a remarkable synthesis of journalistic skill and powerfully evocative narrative.

Peter Mayle is back in Provence, after pining away in America for the sights, sounds and smells of his beloved French home. This new book completes his trilogy on the delights and curiosities of Provençal life, as he rediscovers the local customs and cuisine and finds them as enchanting as ever. There are, of course, some gastronomic treats to be had on the way, including a feast at a converted petrol station and a rendezvous with the famous Marseillaise bouillabaisse. But when lunch is over there are still more moments to relish: learning the secrets of perfume-blending at a school for 'noses', the story of a crime passionnel perpetrated by a jealous husband on an oversexed, cycling-short wearing butcher, a connoisseur of funerals, a grower of black tomatoes, and the simple pleasure of finding the best way to idle away a lazy summer afternoon ...

Jim Dixon has accidentally fallen into a job at one of Britain's new red brick universities. A moderately successful future in the History Department beckons. As long as Jim can survive a madrigal-singing weekend at Professor Welch's, deliver a lecture on 'Merrie England' and resist Christine, the hopelessly desirable girlfriend of Welch's awful son Bertrand.

'It is the history of a revolution that went wrong — and of the excellent excuses that were forthcoming at every step for the perversion of the original doctrine', wrote Orwell for the first edition of «Animal Farm» in 1945. Orwell wrote it at the end of 1943, but it almost remained unpublished. Its savage attack on Stalin, at that time Britain's ally, led to it being refused by publisher after publisher. Orwell's simple, tragic fable, telling what happens when the animals drive out Mr Jones and attempt to run the farm themselves, has since become a world-famous classic.

'Basil needed a war. He's not meant for peace '... Upper-class scoundrel Basil Seal, mad, bad and dangerous to know, creates havoc wherever he goes, much to the despair of the three women in his life — his sister, mother and mistress. And when Neville Chamberlain declares war on Germany, it seems the perfect opportunity for more action and adventure. So Basil follows the call to arms and goes forth to have his finest hour — as a war hero. His instincts for self-preservation come to the fore in such spheres of opportunity as the Ministry of Information and a little-known section of Military Security. But, with Europe frozen in the 'phoney war', when will Basil's big chance to fight finally arrive? Based on Evelyn Waugh's own time as a soldier, «Put Out More Flags» is a painfully funny satire on the military establishment.

In his elegant, malicious prose, Evelyn Waugh satirizes British society as he saw it over three decades. From «Work Suspended», where Plant, a writer of detective fiction, puts his incomplete novel in a drawer until such time as he can finish it (that is to say after the war), to Basil Seal Rides Again, in which the hero of Black Mischief defeats the children of the Sixties, these stories encompass much of the social milieu of the twentieth century. The volume also includes the fragment Charles Ryder's Schooldays, which sketches the background to the narrator of Brideshead Revisited.

There are a lot of monsters in Anita Blake's life. And some of them are human. One such individual is the man she calls Edward, a bounty hunter who specializes in the preternatural. He calls her to help him hunt down the greatest evil she has ever encountered. Something that kills and maims and vanishes into the night. Something Anita will have to face alone...

The novels of Jane Austen depict a world of civility, reassuring stability and continuity, which generations of readers have supposed was the world she herself inhabited. Claire Tomalin's biography paints a surprisingly different picture of the Austen family and their Hampshire neighbours, and of Jane's progress through a difficult childhood, an unhappy love affair, her experiences as a poor relation and her decision to reject a marriage that would solve all her problems — except that of continuing as a writer. Both the woman and the novels are radically reassessed in this biography.

Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the harsh totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty he begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker, Julia, but soon discovers that the true price of freedom is betrayal.

Set in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692, a community stands accused of witchcraft, and in the mood of fear and recriminations that develops, men denounce their neighbours and truth is perverted by superstition.

Returning to the scene of Cannery Row — the weedy lots, junk heaps and flop houses of Monterey — Steinbeck brings to life in Sweet Thursday the denizens of a netherworld of laughter and tears. He again explores the common bounds of humanity and love which make goodness and happiness possible.

First time in print — Cook's most daring novel yet. A mysterious transmission from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean leads a crew of oceanographers and divers to a phenomenon beyond scientific understanding — and a discovery that will change everything we know about life on Earth.

Cath and Si are best friends. Total opposites, always together, and both unlucky in love. Cath is scatty, messy, and emotionally closed. Si is impossibly tidy, bitchy, and desperate for a man of his own. When Portia steps back into their lives, her reappearance sets off a chain of events that tests them to the limit. Does Portia have a hidden agenda, or is she just looking for happy endings all round? Whatever the answers, none of them could ever predict the outcome...

Drifters in search of work, George and his simple-minded friend Lennie, have nothing in the world except each other — and a dream. A dream that one day they will have some land of their own. Eventually they find work on a ranch, but their hopes are doomed as Lennie — struggling against extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and jealousy — becomes a victim of his own strength. Tackling universal themes, friendship and a shared vision, and giving a voice to America's lonely and dispossesed, Of Mice And Men remains Steinbeck's most popular work.

Jay Gatsby is the man who has everything. But one thing will always be out of his reach... Everybody who is anybody is seen at his glittering parties. Day and night his Long Island mansion buzzes with bright young things drinking, dancing and debating his mysterious character. For Gatsby — young, handsome, fabulously rich — always seems alone in the crowd, watching and waiting, though no one knows what for. Beneath the shimmering surface of his life he is hiding a secret: a silent longing that can never be fulfilled. And soon this destructive obsession will force his world to unravel.

This is a board book version of this classic picture book that introduces characters from traditional stories, such as the «Three Bears», «Mother Hubbard» and «Tom Thumb», and encourages children to participate and to find the characters hidden in the pictures. The text, with its strong rhyme and rhythm, is perfect to read aloud to very young children.

With this month's release of the new Eve Dallas thriller, Betrayal in Death, fans will learn the true identity of author J.D. Robb — she's #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts. But fans won't feel betrayed — they'll snap up the previous titles in this New York Times bestselling police series... and push it straight to the top.

A board book version of the tale of Peter Rabbit with simple text and fully illustrated. This book introduces the very young to the world of Beatrix Potter.

The runaway bestseller about the ultimate reality show The year is 2025. The Running Man is America's favorite television game show. Ben Richards is the program's latest contestant-and the Hunters' latest target in a rigged game of death...

Young readers will soon be echoing the little blue engine's trademark I think I can as they take their first steps on the road to independent reading with this reissue, featuring simple words, rebus pictures, and 24 skill-building flash cards.

Feeling stressed? Need some help to regain balance in your life? Following the success of Instant Calm, Paul Wilson has produced a book of advice and inspiration that aims to help readers quickly reach a state of calm. His words of guidance are distinct, with one suggestion per page, so the reader can open the book at any point and find a proven and easy way to achieve calm.

Riots between humans and trolls, elves, and other non-humans have plunged Tunfaire into near chaos. Garrett finds himself pulled into the game when a powerful gang of human rightists tries to shake down his employer?and ends up caught in a conspiracy of hate that pits man against? Everybody!