An English aristocrat’s WWII letters “illuminate British history . . . [and] offer an indelible portrait of an extraordinary woman and her vanished world.”(Kirkus Reviews) Aristocrat, socialite, actress and wife of Duff Cooper, Churchill's wartime Minister for Information, later Ambassador to France and Viscount Norwich, Diana Cooper was also an inveterate letter-writer. Gathered here, her missives to her only son John Julius Norwich during the Second World War and its aftermath provide a vivid picture of the age and its personalities, and a woman of great intelligence, happiest on her country smallholding but able to cope with the demands on a politician's wife. "While Darling Monster is a showcase of Diana’s debonair wit, it is also a unique chronicle of wartime Britain. Her vivid descriptions, the sense of bravery in the face of impending doom, make these letters the kind of primary source material historians drool over.” —The Guardian “Cooper is always quick with a turn of phrase, and the collection reminds us of a time, not so long ago, when letters were a natural part of life.” —Publishers Weekly
Magic, depravity, spiritual ambition, sensuality, and love -- The Painted Alphabet binds mythic and modern time together in a rich, slyly suggestive novel based on an old Balinese poem. In a fresh and startling picture of Bali -- where witches coexist with tourists and talking animals -- the novel explores a kaleidoscope of vanity, desire, and the longing for goodness. ,
Teddi is a student paying her way through college by modeling. She dreams of becoming a teacher one day. People around her sometimes misjudge her, assuming she lives a life of idle luxury. Her best friend Jenna has invited Teddi to her family ranch in Canada to spend the summer there, which sounds appealing…except that she doesn’t want to see Jenna’s brother, King. He makes biting remarks when he sees her. Why does her first love despise her this much? She wishes she could just hate him…
Lady Diana Cooper was an aristocrat, society darling, an actress of stage and early screen. When she married the politician Duff Cooper, they became the golden couple who knew everyone who was anyone; they sat at the very heart of British public life. These are her letters to her son, John Julius Norwich, who has edited this collection.
Bali: Ancient Rites in the Digital Age is a personal portfolio of work by the photographer Ida Bagus Putra Adnyana—offering a close view of rituals that few people have seen, often in remote villages of the island. The Hindu Balinese ceremonies described by author Diana Darling cover rites of passage and the rituals of death as well as those devoted to the gods, to the lower spirits, and the initiation of priests. As a Balinese from a Brahmana priestly family, Adnyana brings an insider's knowledge of his subject, and he is often granted exceptional access to rare ritual ceremonies. Thus, he is able to photograph with the highest possible intimacy.
Richard Attenborough and Diana Hawkins have been friends and colleagues for nearly 50 years.They have now teamed up to write this frank and funny account of their unlikely partnership and his extraordinary life. Together, laughing and squabbling, they have travelled the world, meeting people and making films. Among the eclectic cast of characters who appear in this two-handed memoir are Steve McQueen, Mother Teresa, Charlie Chaplin, Robert Mugabe, Edward G Robinson, Ronald Reagan, David Lean, Margaret Thatcher, John Mills, Steven Spielberg, Noel Coward, Indira Gandhi, Gordon Brown and Nelson Mandela. Prompted by his adventures in the movie business, Attenborough reflects on the highs and lows of a long life, both in and out of the public gaze. He writes revealingly of his passion for football and politics, of his avuncular relationship with Princess Diana and finally about the tsunami tragedy which engulfed his family in December 2004.
This restaurant has become known for its innovative French cuisine laced with Indonesian flavors. Guests choose from four sixcourse tasting menus that showcase the chef, Chris Salans's, 'market cooking' style, which takes Indonesian ingredients and incorporates them into a range of French dishes, resulting in creations like curry butter-roasted crayfish and passion fruit cream baked in filo pastry. The French-American chef has also expanded his restaurant to include a workshop, where cooking classes and private chef's tastings are held". Take your tastebuds on an epic culinary journey through the best of this new Balinese cuisine with this superb collection of 40+ recipes - all accompanied by stunning full-colour photography - as well as an overview of Bali's food culture. This is a must-have book for foodies with a taste for the exotic.
“Lovers of historical fiction could hardly do better than Diana Quincy’s Spy Fall,” proclaims Fresh Fiction. In this uniquely fresh and innovative Regency romance, a fearless French parachutist lands on top of a wicked rogue who endangers her mission—and her heart. Mari Lamarre is gaining fame on both sides of the Channel for her daring aeronautic endeavors, but she hasn’t come to Dorset to showcase her talents. Rather, she’s been tasked with recovering sensitive information that may have fallen into the hands of the Marquess of Aldridge. It’s the riskiest adventure of her career—and it begins with a crash landing. Her fall is broken by the Marquess’s very own son, Cosmo, who’s clearly a rake and a drunk, not to mention a liability. So why does Mari find him so utterly alluring? When he first spots the vision of loveliness in the sky, Lord Cosmo Dunsmore surmises he’s imbibed one drop too many, and an angel has come to fetch him. Little does he know that this female daredevil will make him feel more alive than ever before. But when their torrid affair takes a shocking turn, Cosmo must choose where his loyalties lie: with his respectable father—or with the captivating beauty whose fierce passion makes him feel like a new man. Look for all of Diana Quincy’s enchanting Rebellious Brides novels: SPY FALL | A LICENSE TO WED | FROM LONDON WITH LOVE | THE DUKE WHO RAVISHED ME Praise for Spy Fall “There’s a gonzo style to this book that I just adore. Plus, I love the twist on the Regency romance. I’ve read an awful lot of Regency romances and I’ve yet to read one in which a pants-wearing female French spy parachutes onto a drunk duke who thinks she’s an angel. It takes ‘meet cute’ to a whole new level.”—Smart Bitches, Trashy Books Includes a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from another Loveswept title.
Teddi is a student paying her way through college by modeling. She dreams of becoming a teacher one day. People around her sometimes misjudge her, assuming she lives a life of idle luxury. Her best friend Jenna has invited Teddi to her family ranch in Canada to spend the summer there, which sounds appealing…except that she doesn’t want to see Jenna’s brother, King. He makes biting remarks when he sees her. Why does her first love despise her this much? She wishes she could just hate him…
As they have so many times before, Carla Day and her Egyptologist father are visiting the museum—and the ancient coffin lid he discovered years ago—when a fellow museum-goer falls to the floor, choking. Dr. Day rushes to pry off the poor man’s tie, but instead of getting praise, he gets charged with murder by strangulation—and accused of faking Alzheimer’s. The charges are dropped when it’s learned that the museum-goer isn’t dead, but comatose. And when he vanishes, Carla begins to suspect that her father’s faulty memory may be the only link between a millennia-old Egyptian death and a present-day California one. “Clever and poignant . . . The puzzle intrigues and the characters come to life.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch “[An] acerbic, funny, insightful voice.”—The Boston Globe “A cleverly designed whodunit [with an] unnerving shocking final confrontation.”—Midwest Book Review
This book Food in a Planetary Emergency is a timely overview of the current food systems and the required transformations to respond to the challenges of climate change, population pressures, biodiversity loss and use of natural resources, such as soils, water and phosphorus. This book takes a planetary health perspective which explores the links between natural systems and human wellbeing implying that there is need for united actions to achieve important environmental and population health co-benefits. This book outlines that the foundation of planetary health is sustainability. It addresses environment and climate change emergency as a global agenda, however, emphasises the urgency of the sustainability perspective which integrates a wide spectrum of issues that require integrated solutions to offer better prospects for humanity. This book drives this argument further through the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) where food is not just SDG2 but transcends all 17 goals. This book tackles the problems of food production and consumption at a global, industry and individual level linking it to topics related to the natural environment, climate change, waste, marketing, new ways of producing food and providing alternative proteins, mitigating non-communicable diseases, flexitarianism and the role of Generation Z in the emerging dietary choices. This book benefits readers with understanding the importance and intricacy of their dietary choices at a point in time when our planet is facing an emergency triggered by long-term dependence on fossil fuels and artificial fertilisers but also by the ways we have provided food. However, this book also delivers the message that safeguarding and sustaining planetary health is possible.
“Can we go back there, please? Just one more time?” When Hester Maitland first stumbles into the past she thinks she’s on a film set or witnessing some form of Cosplay. In the Western Highlands to research the Bronze Age for her costume designs, it doesn’t seem possible that she’s really gone back to that era. Having helped to repel invaders and met gorgeous Kennet (so different to Robert, her theatre director boyfriend), she returns to the twenty-first century. Can she go back there again and build a life for herself in the past? Should she stay in the present and forget the whole thing? Is the choice hers to make?
Pamela Jackson, née Mitford, is perhaps the least well known of the illustrious Mitford sisters, and yet her story is just as captivating, and more revealing. Despite shunning the bright city lights that her sisters so desperately craved, she was very much involved in the activities of her extraordinary family, picking up the many pieces when things went disastrously wrong – which they so often did. Joining her sisters on many adventures, including their meeting with Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany, Pamela quietly observed the bizarre, funny and often tragic events that took place around her. Through her eyes, we are given a view of the Mitfords never seen before. 'Loyal to the core,' she possessed 'the constancy and kindness that underpinned the wilder exploits of the Mitford family. Indeed, innocence, along with courage and kindness, was one of her remarkable qualities. But it was the innocence of a woman who had lived and suffered, loved and lost, and overcome adversity'. Journalist Diana Alexander, who was Pamela's friend for many years, here reveals the unknown Mitford, or, as her lifelong admirer John Betjeman described her, 'Gentle Pamela'.
Two women, ninety years apart, and an abandoned house that holds the key to a secret. When Frances Stewart wins a beauty pageant in 1931, she also wins a Hollywood screen test which enables her to leave behind her staid Victorian lifestyle in New Zealand and become the ‘modern girl’ she aspires to be. But she soon finds the reality behind the glamorous Hollywood facade isn’t as wonderful as she’d imagined. Ninety years later, Paige Sinclair travels to New Zealand to meet her previously unknown and ailing grandmother, and an ancestral home she’s been told she will inherit. With a failed marriage and alone in the world, Paige feels compelled to look back into the past to satisfy her need for family and connections. So she starts with her grandmother and the mysterious, abandoned house which holds the key to a secret Paige is determined to uncover. But some secrets are never quite as they seem… A compelling story of love, family and secrets, for fans of Kate Morton, Fiona Valpy, Mary Ellen Taylor, and Hannah Richell.
Enjoy two classic Western romances from New York Times bestselling author Diana Palmer! Maggie's Dad Hot-tempered rancher Powell Long had once stolen Antonia Hayes’s heart. But their love had faced too many obstacles, and Antonia fled. Now she’s back, finding Powell raising a daughter alone. Fatherhood hasn’t diminished the attraction she feels whenever he is near. Is taking a chance at a future family with Powell simply too much to wish for? Champagne Girl Though Catherine Blake maintained a carefree facade, a sense of duty to her widowed mother brought her back home to the family ranch. Once she's there, Matt Kincaid wants her to stay under his watchful eye. But Catherine has a job offer waiting for her in New York City. There’s only one thing that could keep her on a dusty cattle ranch in Texas—the cowboy who has lassoed her heart! Previously published as Maggie's Dadand Champagne Girl
Farrago, from the Latin farragin, is a word that means a confused mixture. This memoir, sharing the story of the relationship between author Diana B. Roberts and her mother, Markie, is just thata farrago, containing neither positive nor negative judgment. Markie Byron Roberts was eighty-five years old when she passed awaya long life for anyone, but particularly for a woman whod been institutionalized for mental illness six times, beginning at age sixteen, and who had been unwillingly subjected to thirty-six shock therapy treatments. Through mental and physical illness, on her death bed and throughout her life, she maintained a personal sense of style reminiscent of her long bygone life. In the end she went quietly, politely, and silently to the other side, leaving her children to wonder what her life, and their lives,might have been like if she had been with them all along. A victim of mental illness and the wounding loss of her familys place in society, Markie became incapable of raising her three children. For many years the lingering effects of the brief years she spent with Markie Created shadow over Dianas life, a kind of aura of both the presence and absence of her mother. Finally healed after a lifetime of uncertainty and ready to help shed light on the needs of survivors of parental mental illness, author Diana B. Roberts details life with and withouther mother. This is their story.
Visions of sugarplums are so overdone--this year, invite love to dance in your head. These eight couples know just how to put the merry in mistletoe antics: Tangled Vines: Kyle Davis's tragic past has put the brakes on Christmas celebrations at his Australian ranch...until he arrives for some peace and quiet only to find caretaker Jordan Hastings in his shower. Jordan is trying to get her career as a winemaker back on track by bringing the neglected grapes on the property to life. Kyle is hard to resist, but falling for a man who controls her employment is not in her plans. Yet the more time they spend together, the more open they become to taking another risk on living and loving. Sweet Montana Christmas: Leaving behind her stifling Texas roots, Sue Anne Devereaux is busy getting a chocolate shop in Montana off the ground. The one big distraction: security guard Zach Crippen, who can't wait to finish his penance at Missoula's tiny airport, where he was banished after he made a huge career mistake. A casual fling--no strings attached--would be fine with him. Will their dreams cost them a chance at a future together, or will the holiday spirit help foster a lasting love? Lights, Latkes, and Love: Non-profit CEO David Shay can't get enough of the December festivities. As manager of a large retail store, Hannah Jenkins, on the other hand, turns into a jaded Scrooge every year on Black Friday. Can a nice Jewish boy--with the help of some Christmas lights, a little girl, and a latke party--teach Hannah the true meaning of the season and guarantee them both a New Year's Eve kiss to remember? Christmas Dinner: Amanda dreads returning home single for Christmas, but the only available man to play escort is Tate Ryan, her co-anchor and professional rival. When he agrees, much to her surprise, they both see a different side of each other under the mistletoe. His Hawaiian Christmas: Humbug in Hawaii? When Clara O'Fallen gets a promotion to paradise, she can't help feeling homesick for her Wisconsin winters, complete with real snow, family traditions, and Christmas festivities. But smiling surfer Kai Schmitt might just show this Scrooge how to hang loose and catch the spirit of the season--the aloha spirit! Nickolai's Noel: A chance meeting and a snowy ice storm bring together an unlikely pair--Russian hockey player Nickolai Glaznov and artisan quilt maker Noel Verden--on the most enchanting day of the year. A special connection flares between them despite his lack of roots and her overly involved family. But when the ice melts, will the magic disappear too? Christmas Clash: Candace Ellison is determined to stop the city council's convention center project from demolishing her new flower shop. Unfortunately, that means she'll have to cooperate with annoying Luke Carrigan, whose family pub is also on the chopping block. Will this Christmas bring miracles or the destruction of everything these old rivals love? Her Secret Santa: Neighbors and co-workers at Morgan Confectioners, Rebecca Sinclair and Ben Redding have been best friends since grad school. When their feelings turn more than friendly, will they be able to get past their fear of ruining their friendship? A holiday gift exchange might just bring the best present of all--Christmas love. Sensuality Level: Sensual
As their story is told on the hit Starz series, the unforgettable adventures of steadfast Highland warrior Jamie Fraser and time-traveling Englishwoman Claire Randall continue in the ongoing Outlander novels. This eBook bundle includes the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth books in the series: THE FIERY CROSS A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES AN ECHO IN THE BONE WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD The year is 1771, and war is coming. Jamie Fraser’s wife tells him so. Little as he wishes to, he must believe it, for hers is a gift of dreadful prophecy—a time-traveler’s certain knowledge. Claire’s unique view of the future has brought him both danger and deliverance in the past. Her knowledge of the oncoming revolution is a flickering torch that may light his way through the perilous years ahead—or ignite a conflagration that will leave their lives in ashes. Praise for Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander novels “Marvelous and fantastic adventures, romance, sex . . . perfect escape reading.”—San Francisco Chronicle, on Outlander “History comes deliciously alive on the page.”—New York Daily News, on Outlander “A grand adventure written on a canvas that probes the heart, weighs the soul and measures the human spirit across [centuries].”—CNN, on The Fiery Cross “The large scope of the novel allows Gabaldon to do what she does best, paint in exquisite detail the lives of her characters.”—Booklist, on A Breath of Snow and Ashes “Features all the passion and swashbuckling that fans of this historical fantasy series have come to expect.”—People, on Written in My Own Heart’s Blood
It’s so far beyond “just one of those days” that Amanda McIntyre can’t think of a single thing that’s going right. The banking industry is toast, her career in tatters, her girlfriend is up to her ears in someone else and New York City has frazzled Amanda’s last nerve. It’s not hard for her best buddy Malcolm to persuade her to take time out on a trip to his Australian home. Malcolm’s sister Clancy is waiting at the airport and Amanda can’t see the silver lining around this particular dark cloud. Clancy seems to blame the pampered banker princess from the States for the near-collapse of the family business. She’ll tolerate the visitor, but only just. Amanda wants to run for home, yet one week becomes two...becomes four... Diana Simmonds is the author of Forty Love and Heart on Fire, and returns to lesbian romance with this irreverent tale of looking for—and finding—the dark cloud’s silver lining.
Crossing the boundaries of genre with its unrivalled storytelling, Diana Gabaldon’ s new novel is a gift both to her millions of loyal fans and to the lucky readers who have yet to discover her. In the ten years since her extraordinary debut novel, Outlander, was published, beloved author Diana Gabaldon has entertained scores of readers with her heart-stirring stories and remarkable characters. The four volumes of her bestselling saga, featuring eighteenth-century Scotsman James Fraser and his twentieth-century, time-travelling wife, Claire Randall, boasts nearly 5 million copies in the U.S. The story of Outlander begins just after the Second World War, when a British field nurse named Claire Randall walks through a cleft stone in the Scottish highlands and is transported back some two hundred years to 1743. Here, now, is The Fiery Cross, the eagerly awaited fifth volume in this remarkable, award-winning series of historical novels. The year is 1771, and war is approaching. Jamie Fraser’ s wife has told him so. Little as he wishes to, he must believe it, for hers is a gift of dreadful prophecy – a time-traveller’s certain knowledge. To break his oath to the Crown will brand him a traitor; to keep it is certain doom. Jamie Fraser stands in the shadow of the fiery cross – a standard that leads nowhere but to the bloody brink of war.
For two years Pricilla Johnson watched John Sterling manage his cattle station, and at the tender age of eighteen she innocently surrendered her young heart to him. He was big, brash, brazen and Australian. Everyone called it infatuation, Priss knew it was love. But Pricilla had to move on with her life. Four years of college in Hawaii provided the time and distance to transform a naive girl into a desirable, mature woman. Returning to Australia as a certified teacher, she was ready to put John to the test. And ready or not, he was about to learn a lesson he would never forget.
An innovative history of the politics and practice of the Caribbean spiritual healing techniques known as obeah and their place in everyday life in the region. Spanning two centuries, the book results from extensive research on the development and implementation of anti-obeah legislation. It includes analysis of hundreds of prosecutions for obeah, and an account of the complex and multiple political meanings of obeah in Caribbean societies. Diana Paton moves beyond attempts to define and describe what obeah was, instead showing the political imperatives that often drove interpretations and discussions of it. She shows that representations of obeah were entangled with key moments in Caribbean history, from eighteenth-century slave rebellions to the formation of new nations after independence. Obeah was at the same time a crucial symbol of the Caribbean's alleged lack of modernity, a site of fear and anxiety, and a thoroughly modern and transnational practice of healing itself.
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