Nanny Knows Best


Book Description

Not quite part of the family and more than just an employee; idealised and demonised, the nanny has always had a difficult role in family life. Any discussion of nannies arouses strong emotions in those who have employed them and reveals a sometimes shocking range of experiences both for the nannies and for the children they looked after. Winston Churchill as a child rarely saw his mother and idolized his nanny, paying for fresh flowers to be maintained on her grave and keeping her portrait by his bedside till he died. A nanny to the one of the principal landowning families in Dorset nearly starved their treasured heir to death, while a Suffolk nanny found parting from one of her charges so traumatic that she suffered a mental breakdown. This book weaves personal stories viewed through the eyes of nannies, mothers and children into a fascinating cultural history of the iconic British nanny. Katherine Holden goes beyond the myths to discover where our tradition of employing nannies comes from and to explore the ways in which it has and has not changed over the past century. From the Norland Nannies' 'method' and the magical Mary Poppins, to the terrifying breach of trust in films, The Nanny and The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, to today's child-tamer 'Supernanny', our culture has alternately welcomed and rejected this approach to child-care. The tales told in this history reach to the heart of the nanny dilemma that parents still struggle with today.




The Annotated Innocence of Father Brown


Book Description

Father Brown, an ordinary priest whose unremarkable exterior conceals extraordinary crime-solving ability, is celebrated for his solutions to metaphysical mysteries, a genre perfected by his creator, G. K. Chesterton. More than lighthearted comedies built around puzzling crimes, these superbly written tales contain deeply perceptive philosophical reflections. The Innocence of Father Brown (1911) was the first collection of stories featuring the ecclesiastical sleuth and is widely considered the best. In this annotated edition of the collection, the Chesterton scholar Martin Gardner provides detailed notes and background information on various aspects of such stories as "The Blue Cross," "The Secret Garden," "The Invisible Man," "The Hammer of God," "The Eye of Apollo," and seven more, as well as an informative introduction and an extensive bibliography. Included also are eight illustrations reproduced from the first edition. The result is an indispensable companion for all Chesterton enthusiasts and a perfect introduction for anyone who has yet to meet the incomparable Father Brown.




The Best British Detective Books: 270+ Murder Mysteries, Crime Stories & Suspense Thrillers


Book Description

This unique collection of "THE BRITISH DETECTIVES COLLECTION - 270+ Murder Mysteries, Crime Stories & Suspense Thrillers (Illustrated)" has been designed and formatted to the highest digital standards. Contents: Sherlock Holmes Series: A Study in Scarlet The Sign of Four The Hound of the Baskervilles The Valley of Fear The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes The Return of Sherlock Holmes His Last Bow The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes Father Brown Stories: The Innocence of Father Brown The Wisdom of Father Brown The Incredulity of Father Brown The Secret of Father Brown The Scandal of Father Brown Inspector Furnival Series: The Abbey Court Murder The House in Charlton Crescent The Crow's Inn Tragedy Inspector Stoddart Series: The Man with the Dark Beard Who Killed Charmian Karslake? The Crime at Tattenham Corner The Crystal Beads Murder Martin Hewitt Series: Martin Hewitt, Investigator Chronicles of Martin Hewitt Adventures of Martin Hewitt The Red Triangle Dr. Thorndyke Series: The Red Thumb Mark The Eye of Osiris The Mystery of 31 New Inn A Silent Witness Helen Vardon's Confession The Cat's Eye The Mystery of Angelina Frood The Shadow of the Wolf The D'Arblay Mystery A Certain Dr. Thorndyke As a Thief in the Night Mr. Pottermack's Oversight Pontifex, Son and Thorndyke When Rogues Fall Out Dr. Thorndyke Intervenes For the Defence: Dr. Thorndyke The Stoneware Monkey Mr. Polton Explains The Jacob Street Mystery Percival Bland's Proxy The Missing Mortgagee Dr. Thorndyke's Cases The Adventures of Dr. Thorndyke Dr. Thorndyke's Casebook Hamilton Cleek Series: Cleek, the Master Detective Cleek of Scotland Yard Cleek's Government Cases Max Carrados Mysteries Thorpe Hazell Mysteries P.C. Lee Stories Paul Campenhaye – Specialist in Criminology Eugéne Valmont Mysteries...




The Writer


Book Description

The oldest magazine for literary workers.




Classic Book Jackets


Book Description

"Salter's life and work bridged two continents and cultures and spanned the political turmoil of the mid-twentieth century. He survived both world wars, the rise of National Socialism in Germany, and permanent exile in a new land, but nothing halted his tireless and brilliant design work. Classic Book Jackets tells Salter's story and describes the innovative thinking he brought to his clients and students (including his designation of seven jacket types that are still valid today). It includes more than two hundred reproductions of his finest works as well as a complete catalog of his jackets, designs, and lettering jobs for the book trade."--BOOK JACKET.







Lord Dunsany


Book Description

Anglo-Irish writer Lord Dunsany (1878–1957) was a pioneering writer in the genre of fantasy literature and the author of such celebrated works as The Book of Wonder (1912) and The King of Elfland’s Daughter (1924). Over the course of a career that spanned more than five decades, Dunsany wrote thousands of stories, plays, novels, essays, poems, and reviews, and his work was translated into more than a dozen languages. Today, Dunsany’s work is experiencing a renaissance, as many of his earlier works have been reprinted and much attention has been paid to his place in the history of fantasy and supernatural literature. This bibliography is a revision of the landmark volume published in 1993, which first charted the full scope of Dunsany’s writing. This new edition not only brings the bibliography up to date, listing the dozens of new editions of Dunsany’s work that have appeared in the last two decades and the wealth of criticism that has been written about him, but also records many obscure publications in Dunsany’s lifetime that have not been previously known or identified. In all, the bibliography has been expanded by at least thirty percent. Among this new material are dozens of uncollected short stories, newspaper articles, and poems, and many books, essays, and reviews of Dunsany’s work published over the past century. Altogether, this bibliography is the definitive listing of works by and about Dunsany and will be the foundation of Dunsany studies for many years to come.







Pins & Needles


Book Description

Winner of the Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction In Pins and Needles, Karen Brown explores the dynamics of love and longing between mother and child, husband and wife, close friends, and virtual strangers, often peeling back the facade of a seemingly stable suburban life to reveal the secrets and transgressions that even good people can be guilty of. In “She Fell to Her Knees,” Nell inherits the neglected house in which her mother died years before, and begins an affair with the neighbor. The narrator of “Apparitions,” who has recently returned the blind grandson she was raising to the care of his mother, invites a confused young man into her home. In “The Ropewalk,” a bartender haunted by her abandonment of her own child aids a customer in a struggle for custody of her daughters. A pregnant teenager in “Unction” comes to accept the reality of her situation while working a summer job in a bookbinding shop. Annie, the young mother with a tragic past in “Pins and Needles,” leaves her infant daughter to go on an errand in a snowstorm, and picks up a boy she doesn't know. Evocative, sexy, and haunting, these are stories that readers won't soon forget.