Cinderella Goes to the Morgue


Book Description

'Her detective novels are hilarious - less about detecting than delighting, with absurd farce and a wonderful turn of phrase . . . Nancy Spain was bold, she was brave, she was funny, she was feisty. I owe her a great deal' Sandi Toksvig When Prince Charming is murdered and the principal dancer hits the bottle, amateur sleuths Miriam Birdseye and Natasha Nevkorina come to the rescue. Sacrificing their Christmas plans for the sake of art and detecting, they join the pantomime. As ex-thespians, they know the show must go on - though the cast shrinks with each rehearsal. Can the indomitable detective duo discover the murderer before the final curtain falls? Fast paced and festive, this comic crime classic from Nancy Spain will keep you on the edge of your seat.




Cinderella Six Feet Under


Book Description

This Cinderella goes from ashes to ashes in the new Victorian-era Fairy Tale Fatal Mystery by the author of Snow White Red-Handed . . . Variety hall actress Ophelia Flax’s plan to reunite her friend Prue with her estranged—and allegedly wealthy—mother, Henrietta, is met with a grim surprise. Not only is the marquise’s Paris mansion a mouse-infested ruin, but Henrietta has inexplicably vanished, leaving behind an evasive husband, two sinister stepsisters, and a bullet-riddled corpse in the pumpkin patch decked out in a ball gown and one glass slipper—a corpse that also happens to be a dead ringer for Prue. Strangely, no one at 15 rue Garenne seems concerned about who plugged this luckless Cinderella or why, so the investigation is left to Ophelia and Prue. It takes them through the labyrinthine maze of the Paris Opera, down the trail of a legendary fairy tale relic, into the confidence of a wily prince charmless, and makes them vulnerable to the secrets of a mysterious couturière with designs of her own on Prue’s ever-twisting family history.




Retelling Cinderella


Book Description

Cinderella’s transformation from a lowly, overlooked servant into a princess who attracts everyone’s gaze has become a powerful trope within many cultures. Inspired by the Cinderella archive of books and collectables at the University of Bedfordshire, the essays in this collection demonstrate how the story remains active in various different societies where social and family relationships are adapting to modern culture. The volume explores the social arenas of dating apps and prom nights, as well as contemporary issues about women’s roles in the home, and gender identity. Cinderella’s cultural translation is seen through the contributors’ international perspectives: from Irish folklore to the Colombian Cenicienta costeña (Cinderella of the coast) and Spanish literary history. Its transdisciplinarity ranges from fashion in Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm’s publications to a comparison of Cinderella and Galatea on film, and essays on British authors Nancy Spain, Anne Thackeray Ritchie and Frances Hodgson Burnett.




Roses and Black Glass


Book Description

Cinderella - The story is always the same: a girl - hated and abused by her step-family - meets her prince at a ball. There is involvement with a glass shoe, a bit of magic, and in the end, they all live happily ever after. You've heard it before - but you've never heard it like this: In early America, at a time when dealings with dead bodies is considered taboo, Cindy's father is a mortician. She, for one, is fascinated by the controversial work, until her mother dies and her father marries Anna van Burren, who brings two new sisters into the family. Cindy's misery only grows from there. Following her father's untimely death, Cindy's life spirals into darkness as she is forced to become a servant in her own home, to wait on her hated siblings and stepmother. She has become so sequestered that she can't even let the one man she continues to think about know that she is alive. She met him once in the mortuary years ago - a handsome, curious boy who had been a surprise to her - until she'd discovered who he was. Now a man, Christian is a perfect specimen, and also the object of her step-sisters' affections. According to a stipulation of his inheritance, he must marry before age twenty-one. That day is fast approaching. Any hope Cindy had of seeing him again - or of salvaging anything that should have been left of her life - seems lost. Cindy's world is filled with misfortune. She believes she must be cursed. It takes the appearance of a strange woman who brings a wicked prophecy before Cindy can see how blessed she could become - and to see what sacrifices were made to give her hope once again.




Death Goes on Skis


Book Description

'Her detective novels are hilarious - less about detecting than delighting, with absurd farce and a wonderful turn of phrase . . . Nancy Spain was bold, she was brave, she was funny, she was feisty. I owe her a great deal' Sandi Toksvig Miriam Birdseye is daring, brilliant - and a long way from The Ivy. Our dashing heroine, a famous revue artist, takes to the slopes with her coterie of admirers. Champagne flows and wherever Miriam goes she leaves a trail of gossip in her wake. Fellow ski-resort guests include the celebrated Russian ex-ballerina, Natasha Nevkorina, whose beauty is matched only by her languor, Natasha's burly husband, nightclub owner Johnny DuVivien, and the wealthy Flahertés, a family who have made their money importing scents: handsome playboy Barney, his wife Regan, their two obnoxious children and the governess, Rosalie. Unbeknownst to Regan, Barney's mistress, a film star, is also there with her husband. When secrets start to unravel, tensions rise, and soon amateur sleuths Miriam and Natasha have not one but two murders to solve. In the hands of Nancy Spain, for whom farce and humour are a lot more fun than a conventional detective novel, the result is a deliciously wild ride. 'An either intense or sombre approach to crime is to Miss Spain foreign: in her world an inspired craziness rules . . . Her wit, her zest, her outrageousness, and the colloquial stylishness of her writing are quite her own' Elizabeth Bowen




A Funny Thing Happened On The Way


Book Description

The superb classic memoir from a dazzlingly eccentric and endlessly fascinating author and feminist icon - a woman very much ahead of her time - including her time spent on the glorious island of Skiathos 'A happy, hilarious book' Daily Express Nancy Spain was one of the most celebrated - and notorious - writers and broadcasters of the 50s and 60s. Witty, controversial and brilliant, she lived openly as a lesbian (sharing a household with her two lovers and their various children) and was frequently litigated against for her newspaper columns - Evelyn Waugh successfully sued her for libel... twice. Nancy Spain had a deep love of the Mediterranean. So it was no surprise when, in the 1960s, she decided to build a place of her own on the Greek island of Skiathos. With an impractical nature surpassed only by her passion for the project, and despite many obstacles, she gloriously succeeded. This classic memoir is infused with all Spain's chaotic brilliance, zest for life and single-minded pursuit of a life worth living. Perfect for fans of A PLACE IN THE SUN and ESCAPE TO THE COUNTRY 'Full of fun, and that zest of intelligence that never left her' Sunday Times




A Trouser-wearing Character


Book Description

When Nancy Spain died in a plane crash in 1964, aged 47, with her partner, Joan Werner Laurie, she was at the height of a brilliant media career. A famous all-media celebrity of the time, she was a seasoned journalist and writer - with over 10 camp and frothy crime novels to her name. She later moved into radio and TV, quickly becoming an established panelist on Juke Box Jury and What's My Line? as well as a knowledgeable and lively contributor to Woman's Hour.




Joe Gould's Secret


Book Description

The story of a notorious New York eccentric and the journalist who chronicled his life: “A little masterpiece of observation and storytelling” (Ian McEwan). Joseph Mitchell was a cornerstone of the New Yorker staff for decades, but his prolific career was shattered by an extraordinary case of writer’s block. For the final thirty-two years of his life, Mitchell published nothing. And the key to his silence may lie in his last major work: the biography of a supposed Harvard grad turned Greenwich Village tramp named Joe Gould. Gould was, in Mitchell’s words, “an odd and penniless and unemployable little man who came to this city in 1916 and ducked and dodged and held on as hard as he could for over thirty-five years.” As Mitchell learns more about Gould’s epic Oral History—a reputedly nine-million-word collection of philosophizing, wanderings, and hearsay—he eventually uncovers a secret that adds even more intrigue to the already unusual story of the local legend. Originally written as two separate pieces (“Professor Sea Gull” in 1942 and then “Joe Gould’s Secret” twenty-two years later), this magnum opus captures Mitchell at his peak. As the reader comes to understand Gould’s secret, Mitchell’s words become all the more haunting. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Joseph Mitchell including rare images from the author’s estate.




The Memory of Running


Book Description

"Smithy is an American original, worthy of a place on the shelf just below your Hucks, your Holdens, your Yossarians." —Stephen King Every so often, a novel comes along that captures the public’s imagination with a story that sweeps readers up and takes them on a thrilling, unforgettable ride. Ron McLarty’s The Memory of Running is this decade’s novel. By all accounts, especially his own, Smithson "Smithy" Ide is a loser. An overweight, friendless, chain-smoking, forty-three-year-old drunk, Smithy’s life becomes completely unhinged when he loses his parents and long-lost sister within the span of one week. Rolling down the driveway of his parents’ house in Rhode Island on his old Raleigh bicycle to escape his grief, the emotionally bereft Smithy embarks on an epic, hilarious, luminous, and extraordinary journey of discovery and redemption.




As I Knew Him:


Book Description

"A haunting and beautifully written memoir about the creator of The Twilight Zone." --Robert Redford "Beautifully written. . .I laughed and I cried. I plan to read it again once I catch my breath." --Carol Burnett In this intimate, lyrical memoir about her iconic father, Anne Serling reveals the fun-loving dad and family man behind the imposing figure the public saw hosting The Twilight Zone each week. After his unexpected, early death, Anne, just 20, was left stunned. But through talking to his friends, poring over old correspondence, and recording her childhood memories, Anne not only found solace, but gained a deeper understanding of this remarkable man. Now she shares her discoveries, along with personal photos, revealing letters, and scenes of his childhood, war years, and their family's time together. A tribute to Rod Serling's legacy as a visionary, storyteller, and humanist, As I Knew Him is also a moving testament to the love between fathers and daughters. "A tender, thoughtful and very personal portrait of American genius Rod Serling." --Alice Hoffman "Richly told. . .a haunting memoir about grief, creativity, and a father-daughter bond as memorable and magical as any Twilight Zone episode." --Caroline Leavitt "Filled with anecdotes and self-reflection. . .Serling still casts an outsized shadow." --Variety "Lush memories of a remarkable father and adept analysis of his work." --Kirkus Reviews