Penguin Group

A misfit at an exclusive New England college, Richard finds kindred spirits in the five eccentric students of his ancient Greek class. But his new friends have a horrific secret. When blackmail and violence threaten to blow their privileged lives apart, they drag Richard into the nightmare that engulfs them. And soon they enter a terrifying heart of darkness from which they may never return.

A young woman's struggle to save her family and her soul during the mostextraordinary year of 1666, when plague suddenly visited a small Derbyshirevillage and the villagers, inspired by a charismatic preacher, electedto quarantine themselves to limit the contagion.

Georgina fell in love with Hugh Carter the moment she saw him. She's never loved another man. She was eighteen. She's now thirty-two and Hugh has finally moved in with her. Faces tend to fall when she mentions that when they first met he was seeing a friend of hers, whom he subsequently married and had two children with. But hey. Life's not a fairy tale. All is well until George finds that one small miscalculation with dates leaves her — pregnant. Still reeling from this news she notices that Hugh is turning out to be a bit of a disappointment. After fourteen years of seeing life through a Hugh-tinted filter can George start to make up her own mind?

Elizabeth Wurtzel writes with her finger in the faint pulse of a generation whose ruling icons are Kurt Cobain, Xanax, and pierced tongues. A memoir of her bouts with depression and skirmishes with drugs, Prozac Nation is a witty and sharp account of the psychopharmacology of an era.

Simple in format, with vibrant folk-art inspired paintings, each page of this book reveals a new perspective on what has come before and gives a hint of what is yet to come.

The collapse of the Soviet Union has opened up a huge consumer market, but how do you sell things to a generation that grew up with just one type of cola? When Tatarsky, a frustrated poet, takes a job as an advertising copywriter, he finds he has a talent for putting distinctively Russian twists on Western-style ads. But his success leads him into a surreal world of spin doctors, gangsters, drug trips, and the spirit of Che Guevera, who, by way of a Ouija board, communicates theories of consumer theology. A bestseller in Russia, Homo Zapiens displays the biting absurdist satire that has gained Victor Pelevin superstar status among today's Russian youth, disapproval from the conservative Moscow literary world, and critical acclaim worldwide.

Jackdaws is one of the most stirring, successful, and popular thrillers of Ken Follett's career-a patriotic adventure that has won the hearts of readers and critics alike. But perhaps People magazine said it best: Returning to the World War II setting of his bestselling thrillers Eye of the Needle and The Key to Rebecca, Follett once again strikes Nazi pay dirt.

A killer has some serious cleaning up to do to keep from getting caught — and Davenport's detection skills make him number one on his hit list.

The Arden Shakespeare has long been acclaimed as the established scholarly edition of Shakespeare's work. Now being totally reedited for the third time, Arden editions offer the very best in contemporary scholarship. Each volume provides a clear and authoritative text, edited to the highest standards; detailed textual notes and commentary on the same page of the text; full contextual, illustrated introduction, including an in-depth survey of critical and performance approaches to the play; and selected bibliography.

It's December 23, and Christmas is just around the corner. But one family is having trouble getting its act together. Once again, Natasha Wing follows the rhythms and meter of Clement Moore's classic Christmas poem, yet gives it her own entirely original twist.

Roald Dahl's inimitable style and humor shine in this collection of poems about mischievous and mysterious animals. From Stingaling the scorpion to Crocky-Wock the crocodile, Dahl's animals are nothing short of ridiculous. A clever pig with an unmentionable plan to save his own bacon and an anteater with an unusually large appetite are among the characters created by Dahl in these timeless rhymes. This new, larger edition is perfect for reading aloud and makes Quentin Blake's celebrated illustrations even more enjoyable.

»Please» and «thank you» are fun and easy to remember with «Excuse Me!.» Simple and repetitive, it's the perfect way to introduce those magic words that all little ones should know. From burping to breaking a sibling's toy, toddlers will love seeing these appealing babies in situations they know all about, and they'll have fun lifting the flaps to discover the right words to say — «Excuse me!» and «I'm sorry!»

When you're 36, going on 18, life is about being hip, being cool, and embracing all that Mothercare has to offer... Nick Hornby's best-selling novel is now a phenomenally successful film starring Hugh Grant, from the makers of Four Weddings & A Funeral, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones's Diary. Starring: Hugh Grant (Bridget Jones's Diary); Toni Collette (Muriel's Wedding); Rachel Weisz (The Mummy Returns) and Nicholas Hoult as Marcus. Written & Directed By Chris and Paul Weitz. Produced By Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan and Robert de Niro.

Monday November 29 My mother’s gone right off me since Rosie was born. She was never a particularly attentive mother – I always had to clean my own shoes. But just lately I have been feeling emotionally deprived. If I turn out to be mentally deranged in adult life, it will all be my mother’s fault. Troubled teenager Adrian Mole continues to struggle valiantly against the slings and arrows of growing up and his own family’s attempts to scar him for life. In between the ups and downs of his relationship with the divine Pandora and worrying that his genius is going unrecognized, Adrian Mole chronicles the pains and pleasures of a misspent adolescence.

This is the definitive survey of the English language — in all its forms. Crystal writes accessibly about the structure of the language, the uses of English throughout the world and finally he gives a brief history of English. The book has been fully revised and there is a fascinating new chapter on 'The effect of technology' on the English language.

»Buy Different Seasons. I promise you'll enjoy it... He creates people who are so alive, yоu can almost sense them.» Minneapolis Star Tribune «The wondrous readability of his work, as well as the instant sense of communication with his characters, is what makes King the consummate storyteller that he is.»

Needful Things was fantastic. I'm sorry I haven't read any other Stephen King books — this is the first Stephen King novel I've ever read, not counting On Writing. Although labeled as a horror writer, Stephen King goes beyond giving his readers goose bumps. Beyond the blood and gore lie very human stories of love, hate — and redemption

»There it lay, the great pearl, perfect as the moon.» Like his father and grandfather before him, Kino is a poor diver, gathering pearls from the gulf beds that once brought great wealth to the Kings of Spain and now provide Kino, Juana, and their infant son with meager subsistence. Then, on a day like any other, Kino emerges from the sea with a pearl as large as a sea gull's egg, as «perfect as the moon.» With the pearl comes hope, the promise of comfort and of security... A story of classic simplicity, based on a Mexican folk tale, «The Pearl» explores the secrets of man's nature, the darkest depths of evil, and the luminous possibilities of love.

‘Junk is not, like alcohol or weed, a means to increased enjoyment of life. Junk is not a kick. It is a way of life’. This is the junk equation, the way in which heroin redefines the addict’s world. Burroughs’s cult classic is a raw, semi-autobiographical account of drug addiction, which outraged America and influenced generations of writers to come. He relates with unflinching realism the highs and lows of dependency: euphoria, hallucinations, ghostly nocturnal wanderings and strange sexual encounters, the quests to ease the hunger of the needle, the horrors of cold turkey and back again. Junky is a dark, powerful and mesmerizing account of one man’s challenge to turn self-destruction into art.

Kit Quinn is a young woman who inhabits dangerous worlds: crime scenes, interrogation scenes, hospitals for the criminally insane. Horribly wounded in an attack by a suspect, she must return to the site of her worst fears. She is asked by the police to advise them on a simple murder inquiry. A young runaway has been found killed by a canal and the chief suspect is the man who wounded Kit. But Kit refuses to accept appearances and her obsessive search for the truth draws her into an underworld of the missing and the unloved which puts her at terrible risk.

'When people ask me what I do for a crust and I tell them that I'm a novelist, they immediately assume that my life is a non-stop carousel of limos, television appearances, hair-dos, devoted fans, stalkers and all the glitzy paraphernalia of being a public figure. It's time to set the record straight. I write alone, in a darkened bedroom, wearing my PJs, eating bananas, my laptop on a pillow in front of me ...' Her novels are read and adored by millions around the world — now read Marian Keyes' collected pieces: regular bulletins from the woman under the duvet.

Meet prizewinning reporter Jim Qwilleran and his extraordinary Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum—the most unlikely, most unusual, most delightful team in detective fiction! The way Jim Qwilleran sees it, there’s nothing worse than being left high and dry. But that’s exactly where he’s been ever since a record-breaking drought hit Moose County. He’s bedraggled. Beleaguered. And, following a rash of fires at local historic minesites, deeply bewildered. Some blame the blazes on bad weather conditions, but Qwill’s thinking arson. And when a mysterious explosion is followed by a blood-chilling murder, he starts seriously praying for snow — and answers. Good thing Koko can smell trouble a mile away…

In his unequalled career, Stephen King has forged a place in publishing history as the most popular and recognized author of all time. Now, Signet is proud to reissue his most startling psychological thriller! After awakening from a four and a half year-long coma, a simple teacher finds himself irreparably altered — both blessed... and cursed — with precognative visions of the future. Driven by his altruistic nature, he decides to use his newfound powers to prevent tragic events yet to happen. But as word of his unique ability leads to unwanted fame, the gift he hoped to share with humanity inevitably separates him from it.

Maugham learned his craft from Maupassant, and these stories, featuring his alter-ego Ashenden, display the unique and remarkable talent that made him an unsurpassed storyteller.