Caroline S Comeuppance

Caroline Bingley has lost the man of her dreams -- or at least of her schemes. But is it truly the end of the line for her with the handsome and wealthy Mr Darcy? Is there any hope of winning him away from the lively Miss Bennet? And if not, is there life after Darcy?

"One beautiful and epic love story." - Sweet Spot Book Blog August Grayson knows there's no place for someone like Maeve in his world. Still, if only... Maeve O’Connor has nothing but her good name and the hope that August will prove lenient when she comes seeking clemency. Fate has pulled Maeve and August together since they were children; it was only the world that came between. Passion blinds them to the challenges closing in on both the Irish and English fronts, threatening to destroy them both. Working to bridge that which divides them, tempting fate with each stolen kiss, and torn between desire and obligation, Maeve and August strive to overcome all and find a love by any measure.

Lady Caroline Lamb , among Lord Byron's many lovers, stands out - vilified, portrayed as a self-destructive nymphomaniac - her true story has never been told. Now, Paul Douglass provides the first unbiased treatment of a woman whose passions and independence were incompatible with the age in which she lived. Taking into account a traumatic childhood, Douglass explores Lamb's so-called 'erotomania' and tendency towards drug abuse and madness - problems she and Byron had in common. In this portrait, she emerges as a person who sacrificed much for the welfare of a sick child, and became an artist in her own right. Douglass illuminates her novels and poetry, her literary friendships, and the lifelong support of her husband and her publisher, John Murray.

Fiona MacCarthy makes a breakthrough in interpreting Byron's life and poetry drawing on John Murray's world-famous archive. She brings a fresh eye to his early years: his childhood in Scotland, embattled relations with his mother, the effect of his deformed foot on his development. She traces his early travels in the Mediterranean and the East, throwing light on his relationships with adolescent boys - a hidden subject in earlier biographies. While paying due attention to the compelling tragicomedy of Byron's marriage, his incestuous love for his half-sister Augusta and the clamorous attention of his female fans, she gives a new importance to his close male friendships, in particular that with his publisher John Murray. She tells the full story of their famous disagreement, ending as a rift between them as Byron's poetry became more recklessly controversial. Byron was a celebrity in his own lifetime, becoming a 'superstar' in 1812, after the publication of Childe Harold. The Byron legend grew to unprecedented proportions after his death in the Greek War of Independence at the age of thirty-six. The problem for a biographer is sifting the truth from the sentimental, the self-serving and the spurious. Fiona MacCarthy has overcome this to produce an immaculately researched biography, which is also her refreshing personal view.

THE OLDER MAN Jesse Wagner was ruggedly handsome, incredibly charming—and sixteen years her senior. But Caroline knew in her heart that what they had was the chance of a lifetime. And it looked like it was up to her to show the lonely rancher that some things were meant to be…. When Jesse took Caroline in his arms, his every instinct to protect her turned into a desire to claim her as his own. She brightened his solitary world and threw his sensibilities into a tailspin that he didn't think he could recover from. But how could a woman so vibrant and young possibly be thinking of him as husband material?

No one exemplifies the angst of the Depression era street kid more than The Dead End Kids. They were the stars of Sidney Kingsley’s 1935 play, Dead End, and reprised their roles in Samuel Goldwyn’s 1937 Hollywood film version. The movie defined the theme of slum dramas for the juvenile rebellion films of subsequent decades. The Dead End Kids were Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey, Gabriel Dell, and Bernard Punsly. The best of their films were the gangster movies where the boys collided with the likes of Humphrey Bogart in Dead End and Crime School, James Cagney in Angels with Dirty Faces and John Garfield in They Made Me a Criminal. They bandied about lightweights like Ronald Reagan in lackluster efforts like Hell’s Kitchen and Angels Wash Their Faces before being reformed by a military academy in On Dress Parade. Their original reign was short-lived, not because they ran out of steam but because they had to be toned down due to criticisms. It didn’t matter because The Dead End Kids mutated into several splinter groups that starred in various configurations of the original members for the next quarter century, carving out a unique niche in motion picture history. One of the uncharted tributaries of this history is the solo careers of the actors who played the Dead End Kids. There were careers of mixed blessings after the initial stardom and each member faced and dealt with the typecasting dilemma in different ways and various degrees of success. There was plenty of heartbreak and disappointment along a way that started with Dead End in 1935 and ended with Dr. Bernard Punsly’s death in 2004. Joseph Fusco's Beyond Dead End: The Solo Careers of The Dead End Kids chronicles a saga of mixed blessings, where each member faced and dealt with the typecasting dilemma in different ways and various degrees of success. 388 pages. Illustrated.

When housemaid Jane Bee accompanies the Royals on their annual Christmas jaunt to Sandringham, she believes she’s in for a bit of a snooze. Aside from her regular duties, there’s nothing much to do in the wilds of Norfolk, until the body of a woman turns up in the village hall—a woman who just happens to be a dead ringer for the Queen, right down to her glittering crown. While the royal bodyguards tighten their security and the police concentrate their efforts on a notorious animal rights group, Her Majesty bids Jane to do her own discreet digging. But when Jane learns the origin of the dead woman’s tiara, she finds herself suddenly unstitching an upstairs/downstairs tapestry of indiscretions going back fifty years. And then a second brazen murder occurs in the very heart of Sandringham House, and it looks like the coming New Year could be more horribilis than any yet.

A hilarious and empowering perimenopausal Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, about Clover Hendry, 46, and the day she decides to stop keeping the plates spinning, say F@#! it all, and finally get hers. Today is not the day to mess with Clover Hendry. Clover hasn’t said “No” a day in her life. Until today. Normally a woman who tips her hairdresser even when the cut is hideous, is endlessly patient with her horrendous mother, and says yes every time her boss asks her to work late—today, things are going to be very different. Because Clover is taking the day off. Today, she’s going to do and say whatever she likes, even if it means her whole life unravels. What made Clover change her ways? Why doesn’t she care anymore? There’s more to this day than meets the eye. Clover Hendry's Day Off is a joyful, raging, galvanizing story about putting life on pause, pleasing yourself, and getting your own back. Whatever it takes. Because when Clover stops caring, she can start living.