Apocalyptic Polly

Apocalyptic Polly chronicles both the intimate experience of one woman trying to protect her family during a global pandemic and the broader story of a nation upended by public health measures designed to prevent its spread during a period of growing political division, social unrest, economic crisis, and extreme weather. A child of the Cold War, the author reflects on how a "prepare, prevent, and respond" mindset led to a lifetime of anxiety and extreme caution in the face of Covid-19 - but proved no defense against heart-breaking loss. This bracingly honest memoir is a contemporary history, enriched with excerpts from personal text messages and social media posts that kept her connected to the outside world during her household's year of self-imposed isolation.

THE FIRST SHIPYARD GIRLS NOVEL FROM SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR, NANCY REVELL. ___________________ Sunderland, 1940, and the women go to the shipyards to do their bit for the war effort. Polly never dreamed she would be able to work in the shipyards like the men in her family but times are tough and her new job ends up giving her more than she ever expected when she meets enigmatic dock diver Tommy Watts. During the day, head welder Rosie teaches her fledgling flock of trainees their new trade, but at night she hides a secret life. And mother hen Gloria signs up to escape her brutal husband, but finds she can't run from her problems. The Shipyard Girls start off as strangers - but end up forging an unbreakable bond of friendship in the most difficult times. Praise for The Shipyard Girls series: 'Nancy Revell knows how to stir the passions and soothe the heart!' The Northern Echo 'The author is one to watch' Sun 'A brilliant read' Take a Break 'Well-drawn, believable characters combined with a storyline to keep you turning the pages' Woman

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • Drawing on the diaries of one woman in eighteenth-century Maine, "A truly talented historian unravels the fascinating life of a community that is so foreign, and yet so similar to our own" (The New York Times Book Review). Between 1785 and 1812 a midwife and healer named Martha Ballard kept a diary that recorded her arduous work (in 27 years she attended 816 births) as well as her domestic life in Hallowell, Maine. On the basis of that diary, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich gives us an intimate and densely imagined portrait, not only of the industrious and reticent Martha Ballard but of her society. At once lively and impeccably scholarly, A Midwife's Tale is a triumph of history on a human scale.

In Archaeologies of an Uncertain Future, McPherson explores the memory work, alternative historiographies, and feminist aesthetics by which women writers revisit the past and reimagine the future. Grounded within critical discourses across many discplines, McPherson's analysis engages contemporary discussions about autobiographical genres, post-modern historiographies, memoirs, and literary genealogies.

From award-winning author Polly Hallcomes a “lyrical debut” (Booklist, Starred Review) and contemporary gothic tale “filled with startling conclusions about the nature of art and love and death” (NYT Book Review). A modern Gothic tale of a woman obsessed with her lover’s taxidermy creatures and haunted by her past. One stormy Christmas, Scarlett recalls the ebb and flow of a yearlong love affair with Henry, a renowned taxidermist. Obsessed with his taxidermy creatures, she pushes him to outdo his colleague and world-famous rival in a crescendo of species-blending creativity. Scarlett will not be able to avoid a reckoning with her own past as Henry’s inventions creep into her own thoughts, dreams, and desires. Drenched in the torrential rains of the Somerset moorland and the sensual pleasures of the characters, The Taxidermist’s Lover lures you ever deeper into Scarlett’s delightfully eerie world. Bram Stoker Award Shortlist for Superior Achievement in a First Novel • IPPY Awards 2021 Gold Medal Winner

The post-apocalyptic love child of Stephen King and Cormac McCarthy Ten years after the calamitous events set in motion by Dylan Cleary in his attempt to bring George Cleary’s last novel to life, Deacon Riis has settled back into the rather sedate life of a small-town reporter. That is, until he’s invited to a New Year’s Eve Party by Dylan’s sister Crystal, who’s now a successful writer/producer behind a wildly popular horror movie franchise and for her next big budget slasher flick she’s chosen to adapt one of her grandfather’s apocalyptic thrillers. On the drive up to his sister’s retreat in northern Ontario, Deacon receives a text that reads, It has begun again. D. True to his word, Dylan is even then orchestrating an apparently random and increasingly savage series of attacks culled from his grandfather’s last fiction and Deacon’s only hope of avoiding a similar climax as the one that saw much of Mesaquakee reduced to ash will be to go all-in like Dylan, even if it means sacrificing everything he holds dear.

Sometimes we must look into the past in order to face the future. After growing up as a fully assimilated Jew, Paul Cowan embarked in his mid-thirties upon a journey to discover and appreciate his true identity and heritage. This“orphan in history” relates his search for these roots, detailing the path he took from his Park Avenue home to nineteenth-century Lithuania to a contemporary Israeli kibbutz, leading to remarkable personal discoveries that will move everyone who has yearned to know more about their past. An Orphan in History is a classically beautiful, inspiring story of how one man evolved from describing himself as “an American Jew” to “an American and a Jew.” This story will inspire you to journey in search of your true self.

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary. Boy In The Tower, a Level 2 Reader, is A1+ in the CEFR framework. Sentences contain a maximum of two clauses, introducing the future tenses will and going to, present continuous for future meaning, and comparatives and superlatives. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages. Ade lives in a tower block in London. One day, something bad happens to Ade's mum. After that, she stays in her bedroom all the time and sleeps. Then buildings start falling down in the night, and there are strange plants on the street. What will happen to Ade and his friend Gaia? Visit the Penguin Readers website Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.