At the opening of a voyage filled with disaster and delight, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are in pursuit of a privateer sailing under American colours through the Great South Sea. Stephen's objective is to set the revolutionary tinder of South America ablaze to relieve the pressure on the British government which, already engaged in a death-struggle with a Europe dominated by Napoleon, has blundered into war with the young and uncomfortably vigorous United States. The shock and barbarity of the hand-to-hand fighting are sharpened by O'Brian's exact sense of period, his eye for landscape and his feel for a ship under sail. His thrilling descriptions of hair-raising bloody actions make the listener grateful that he is watching from a distance.

'Hardy's rough and tumble salty sea-dog tone is perfect.'
EVENING STANDARD

Reviews

‘[O’Brian] has shown us that in our literary silver age, authentic gold can still be mined… He is a man whose books you would dare to give to Sterne; whose conversation would have delighted Coleridge. It is his misfortune, but our great good luck, that he is our contemporary and not theirs.’
William Waldegrave, The Times

‘To read Patrick O’Brian is to turn the pages of literary history. His series of novels comprises the most significant extended story since Anthony Powell’s A Dance to the Music of Time.’
Alan Judd, Sunday Times

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Colonel Leroux answered to no man save the Emperor. With exquisite delicacy he could skin a man alive in search of the secrets he held; a parole given in 'honour' was a means to an end. From the first moment Richard Sharpe came across the Frenchman he mistrusted him – and lusted after the sword Leroux had killed so many times with. But at each encounter the Colonel escaped Sharpe with almost contemptuous ease…

Bernard Cornwell mixes intrigue and passion, the heat of war and the cold hatred of enmity, with a sure hand, bringing the Peninsular War vividly, excitingly to life. An enthralling Sharpe adventure to delight the listener.

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The funny and heartwarming story of a young lady whose zeal, snobbishness and self-satisfaction lead to several errors in judgment. Emma takes Harriet Smith, a parlour boarder and unknown, under her wing and schemes for advancement through a good marriage. The attempts at finding Harriet a suitor occupy all of Emma's time. However, in the midst of the search she settles on a most unlikely union with her own constant critic: Mr. Knightly.

Jane Austen's works have claimed a renewed popularity and audience with the release of motion pictures Sense and Sensibility, Emma, and Clueless based upon Austen's classic novels. Emma was originally published in 1816.

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The Dollmaker was the name of the serial killer who had stalked Los Angeles ruthlessly, leaving grisly calling cards on the faces of his victims. Now, with a single faultless shot, Harry Bosch thinks he has ended the city's nightmare.

But the dead man's widow is suing Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong man - an accusation that rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker's macabre signature.

So, for the second time, Harry must hunt down a death-dealer who is very much alive, before he strikes again. It's a blood-tracked quest that will take Harry from the hard edges of the L.A. night to the last place he ever wanted to go - the darkness of his own heart.

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The first of his wives was Catherine of Aragon, the pious Catholic princess who suffered years of miscarriages and still births and yet failed to produce a male heir.

As Henry VIII's interest shifted from her powerful Hapsburg relations and drifted towards France, so began his obsession with the pretty Lutheran Anne Boleyn.

Jane Seymour's submissiveness was in contrast to Anne's vampish style – and Henry married her on the day of Anne's execution. Jane died soon after giving birth to the longed-for son.

There followed a farcical 'beauty contest' which ended in the short marriage of the now grossly overweight Henry to 'the mare of Flanders', Anne of Cleves.

The final part of Six Wives contrasts the two Catherines – Catherine Howard, the flirty child whose adulteries made a fool of the ageing King, and Catherine Parr, the shrewd, religiously radical bluestocking.

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New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Crusie returns with her most hilarious, sizzling novel yet.

Nell Dysart's in trouble. Her divorce is 18 months old, she's been sleepwalking through life, and the best job she can get is with a detective agency that specializes in relationship work. Determined to turn her life around, Nell flings herself into making McKenna Investigations a better place.
On day one, she uncovers an embezzler. On day two, she turns up bribery. On day three, she has sex with the wrong man. On day four, she steals a dog. On day five, her boss tries to fire her . . . And fails miserably. Because even Gabe McKenna has to admit that no matter how much he hates the confusion she's brought into his life, Nell shares his passion for making things right. It's not long before they share another passion, one they can't ignore - even in the face of distractions like adultery, blackmail, arson, murder, and really bad business cards.

Normal in-store physical product price: $24.95