Laura English


Book Description

Driven by a Dream... Chance brings producer/director Sir James Paxton to the Bournemouth Players, where the performance of an unknown actress fires his imagination and launches her on a dizzying journey from provincial theater to the post-war London sound stages of Briarwood Studios, the glitter of Hollywood — and beyond. London. Acapulco. Cairo. Hollywood. Enter the world of superstar Laura English and meet the people who populate her magic circle: unforgettable first love John Keith, whose secret life finally catches up with him. Adoring husband and best friend David Landau, who knows he will always take second place in Laura’s heart. And Robin, the child she cannot love. Glamour. Heartbreak. Intrigue. The world of Laura English




English Animals


Book Description

'A beautiful and bold debut' M.J. Hyland, author of the Man Booker-shortlisted Carry Me Down It's a long time since I've enjoyed any debut novel as much as English Animals. Its command of tone, narrative and character is so assured, and both its wit and perceptiveness about a certain kind of English life make it a joy to read' Amanda Craig English Animals is a brilliantly assured debut that fans of Nina Stibbe's writing will love. I opened my mouth to say something but she ran up the steps and into the house. I had imagined arriving at the house so many times, but it was never like this. I realised I knew nothing about these people. Richard and Sophie sounded like good names for good people. But they could be anything, they could be completely crazy. When Mirka gets a job in a country house in rural England, she has no idea of the struggle she faces to make sense of a very English couple, and a way of life that is entirely alien to her. Richard and Sophie are chaotic, drunken, frequently outrageous but also warm, generous and kind to Mirka, despite their argumentative and turbulent marriage. Mirka is swiftly commandeered by Richard for his latest money-making enterprise, taxidermy, and soon surpasses him in skill. After a traumatic break two years ago with her family in Slovakia, Mirka finds to her surprise that she is happy at Fairmont Hall. But when she tells Sophie that she is gay, everything she values is put in danger and she must learn the hard way what she really believes in. English Animals is a funny, subversive, poignant and beautifully written novel about a doomed love affair, a certain kind of Englishness and prejudice.




The Last Landlady


Book Description

Shortlisted for Harper's Bazaar Book of the Year 2019 A Guardian, Spectator and Mail on Sunday Book of the Year 2018 'A lyrical portrait of a fast-vanishing way of life . . . Thompson is a terrific writer'New Statesman Laura Thompson’s grandmother Violet was one of the great landladies. Born in a London pub, she became the first woman to be given a publican’s licence in her own name and, just as pubs defined her life, she seemed in many ways to embody their essence. Laura spent part of her childhood in Violet’s Home Counties establishment, mesmerised by her gift for cultivating the mix of cosiness and glamour that defined the pub’s atmosphere, making it a unique reflection of the national character. Her memories of this time are just as intoxicating: beer and ash on the carpets in the morning, the deepening rhythms of mirth at night, the magical brightness of glass behind the bar... Through them Laura traces the story of the English pub, asking why it has occupied such a treasured position in our culture. But even Violet, as she grew older, recognised that places like hers were a dying breed, and Laura also considers the precarious future they face. Part memoir, part social history, part elegy, The Last Landlady pays tribute to an extraordinary woman and the world she epitomised.




Naptime with Joey


Book Description

From viral Instagram sensation, lifestyle photographer, and mommy blogger Laura Izumikawa comes Naptime with Joey, a ridiculously delightful photo book of her now internet-famous daughter dressed up in various pop culture costumes—a perfect gift for new parents everywhere. Lights, Camera…Nap! Joey Marie wears many hats (or, rather, wigs): she’s dressed up as Inigo Montoya, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Pikachu, Anna Wintour, Moana, and Barb from Stranger Things. She’s taken trips to Hawaii, baked croissants, and blasted off to the moon as an astronaut (at least, in her dreams). She’s held occupations such as pizza chef, aerobics instructor, and handy-dandy-fixer-upper (figuratively, of course). She’s inspired a parenting blog, been the face of her mom Laura Izumikawa’s Instagram account—and for the first time, she’s taken the leap from the ranks of internet-baby-snoredom to the pages of a book. Naptime with Joey is chockablock full of over a hundred deliciously adorable photos of Joey dressed up as various pop culture characters, movie stars, musicians, vacationers, and holiday-goers, making this the most fun, festive, and downright delightful gift under the sun!




Germs in the English Workplace, c.1880–1945


Book Description

This book looks at how the workplace was transformed through a greater awareness of the roles that germs played in English working lives from c.1880 to 1945. Cutting across a diverse array of occupational settings – such as the domestic kitchen, the milking shed, the factory, and the Post Office – it offers new perspectives on the history of the germ sciences. It brings to light the ways in which germ scientists sought to transform English working lives through new types of technical and educational interventions that sought to both eradicate and instrumentalise germs. It then asks how we can measure and judge the success of such interventions by tracing how workers responded to the potential applications of the germ sciences through their participation in friendly societies, trade unions, colleges, and volunteer organisations. Throughout the book, close attention is paid to reconstructing vernacular traditions of working with invisible life in order to better understand both the successes and failures of the germ sciences to transform the working practices and material conditions of different workplaces. The result is a more diverse history of the peoples, politics, and practices that went into shaping the germ sciences in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century England.




Dreaming in English


Book Description

A captivating sequel to the national bestselling novel Veil of Roses. Knowing she could never be happy in Iran, Tamila Soroush took her mother's advice to "Go and wake up your luck" and joined her sister in the United States. Now, after a spur-of-the-moment exchange of "I do"s with her true love, Ike Hanson, Tami is eager to start her new life. But not everyone is pleased with their marriage, and Tami's happily- ever-after is no sure thing. With an interview with Immigration looming, Tami wonders if she's got the right stuff when it comes to love, American-style. Maybe her luck is running out. Or maybe she'll stand up for herself and claim her American dream.




Risen Motherhood (Deluxe Edition)


Book Description

THIS HIGHLY GIFTABLE DELUXE EDITION OF THE BESTSELLER INCLUDES THREE ALL-NEW CHAPTERS Motherhood is hard. In a world of five-step lists and silver-bullet solutions to become perfect parents, mothers are burdened with mixed messages about who they are and what choices they should make. If you feel pulled between high-fives and hard words, with culture’s solutions only raising more questions, you’re not alone. But there is hope. You might think that Scripture doesn’t have much to say about the food you make for breakfast, how you view your postpartum body, or what school choice you make for your children, but a deeper look reveals that the Bible provides the framework for finding answers to your specific questions about modern motherhood. Emily Jensen and Laura Wifler help you understand and apply the gospel to common issues moms face so you can connect your Sunday morning faith to the Monday morning tantrum. Discover how closely the gospel connects with today’s motherhood. Join Emily and Laura as they walk through the redemptive story and reveal how the gospel applies to your everyday life, bringing hope, freedom, and joy in every area of motherhood.




Edge of Extinction #1: The Ark Plan


Book Description

Jurassic World meets Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in this epic new middle grade series full of heart-pounding action and breathtaking chills! "Amazing adventures!" raves Brightly.com as they recommend Edge of Extinction as a 2016 Holiday Gift for Tween Readers. One hundred and fifty years ago, the first dinosaurs were cloned. Soon after, they replaced humans at the top of the food chain. The only way to survive was to move into underground compounds. . . . Five years ago, Sky Mundy’s father vanished from North Compound without a trace. Now she has just stumbled on a clue that not only suggests his disappearance is just the tip of an even larger mystery, but also points directly to the surface. To find her dad—and possibly even save the world—Sky and her best friend, Shawn, must break out of their underground home and venture topside to a land reclaimed by nature and ruled by dinosaurs. Perfect for fans of Brandon Mull, Lisa McMann, and Rick Riordan, this exhilarating debut novel follows two courageous friends who must survive in a lost world that’s as dangerous as they’ve always feared but also unlike anything they could ever have imagined.




A Companion to the English Novel


Book Description

This collection of authoritative essays represents the latest scholarship on topics relating to the themes, movements, and forms of English fiction, while chronicling its development in Britain from the early 18th century to the present day. Comprises cutting-edge research currently being undertaken in the field, incorporating the most salient critical trends and approaches Explores the history, evolution, genres, and narrative elements of the English novel Considers the advancement of various literary forms – including such genres as realism, romance, Gothic, experimental fiction, and adaptation into film Includes coverage of narration, structure, character, and affect; shifts in critical reception to the English novel; and geographies of contemporary English fiction Features contributions from a variety of distinguished and high-profile literary scholars, along with emerging younger critics Includes a comprehensive scholarly bibliography of critical works on and about the novel to aid further reading and research




Laura and Jim and What They Taught Me About the Gap Between Educational Theory and Practice


Book Description

Many teachers do not conform to the views of teaching espoused by professors of education. Yet these teachers are often judged as outstanding by colleagues, students, parents, and administrators. This thoughtful, timely book is a qualitative inquiry that addresses this contradiction. It focuses on two outstanding high school teachers, Laura and Jim, who were observed and interviewed by Kagan over a five month period. Two education professors who teach methods courses in corresponding fields (English, social studies) were also interviewed. Kagan juxtaposes the two entirely different views of teaching that emerged from her observations and examines the functional value of each. This book then is ultimately about the politics of teaching: the power to define ‘good’ teaching and determine how novices will be prepared for the classroom. Laura and Jim represent a silent underground of practitioners who have lost the right to legislate their own profession. This is their story.