Ride A White Swan

From mod folk artist to flower power pixie elfin to the king of glam rockers, Marc Bolan was the ultimate chameleon. His far-reaching musical and stylistic influence is more relevant today than ever with hits such as 'Ride A White Swan', 'Children Of The Revolution', 'Get It On' and 'Hot Love' as fresh and exhilarating as when first released. At the peak of his popularity during his lifetime Bolan was outselling Jimi Hendrix and The Who, and yet relatively little is really known about the hypnotic, enigmatic 20th century boy turned 21st century icon. At last, in the 35th anniversary year of his tragic death, Marc Bolan represents the definite biography. Here rock biographer, Lesley-Ann Jones, paints a meticulous portrait of the T-Rex front man. From his childhood growing up in Hackney to his untimely death at the age of 29, Bolan's life was one of relentless experimentation and metamorphoses. Hallucinogenic drugs, wizardry and levitation, alcoholism, tax evasion and a spectacular fall from grace were to punctuate his short life, as he continued to strive to reinvent himself and his music over and over again. Lesley-Ann has been granted access to those who knew Bolan best, including his partner and the mother of his only son, Gloria Jones and his brother, Harry Feld.

Across North America, people in four different homes prepare for a special trip to China, while four baby girls in China await their new adoptive parents, including a lesbian couple.

In a nightmarish, post-holocaust world, an ancient evil roams a devastated America, gathering the forces of human greed and madness, searching for a child named Swan who possesses the gift of life.

London, 1810 After the tragic death of her beloved, Hester Aspinall vowed never to be ruled by her passions again. Still, she is drawn to her landlord, handsome adventurer Thomas Ramsay—but she doesn't fool herself that a man of his station would look twice at a poor tailor's sister. With the sea for a mistress, Thomas has no intention of entering into matrimony. And yet, he can't get the plain-spoken and desirable Hester out of his mind, even though she's never tried to secure his attentions as other women do. Everything changes the night Hester's brother is arrested during a raid on a gay brothel, the infamous White Swan. With no one else to turn to, and terrified Robert will hang for his crime, Hester accepts Thomas's offer to bear the cost of the defense. A true gentleman, Thomas expects nothing in return—but Hester can no longer deny her own desires... She may offer her body eagerly, but can she protect her heart? 96,000 words

DON’T MISS FX’s FEUD: CAPOTE VS. THE SWANS—THE ORIGINAL SERIES BASED ON THE BESTSELLING BOOK—NOW AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON HULU! New York Times bestselling author Laurence Leamer reveals the complex web of relationships and scandalous true stories behind Truman Capote's never-published final novel, Answered Prayers—the dark secrets, tragic glamour, and Capote's ultimate betrayal of the group of female friends he called his "swans." “There are certain women,” Truman Capote wrote, “who, though perhaps not born rich, are born to be rich.” Barbara “Babe” Paley, Gloria Guinness, Marella Agnelli, Slim Hayward, Pamela Churchill, C. Z. Guest, Lee Radziwill (Jackie Kennedy’s sister)—they were the toast of midcentury New York, each beautiful and distinguished in her own way. Capote befriended them, received their deepest confidences, and ingratiated himself into their lives. Then, in one fell swoop, he betrayed them in the most surprising and startling way possible. Bestselling biographer Laurence Leamer delves into the years following the acclaimed publication of Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1958 and In Cold Blood in 1966, when Capote struggled with a crippling case of writer’s block. While en­joying all the fruits of his success, he was struck with an idea for what he was sure would be his most celebrated novel…one based on the re­markable, racy lives of his very, very rich friends. For years, Capote attempted to write An­swered Prayers, what he believed would have been his magnum opus. But when he eventually published a few chapters in Esquire, the thinly fictionalized lives (and scandals) of his closest fe­male confidantes were laid bare for all to see, and he was banished from their high-society world forever. Laurence Leamer re-creates the lives of these fascinating swans, their friendships with Capote and one another, and the doomed quest to write what could have been one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century.

The much-loved children’s classic from the author of Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little, available in eBook for the very first time!

Forty years after his tragic death, this homage to Marc Bolan pays tribute to one of the pioneers of the glam rock movement. Marc Bolan was the wizard who brought magic to rock music - his heart beat to the rhythm of rock. Moving from early folk influences and songs on the mythology of Tolkien, he transformed himself into a unique, sparkling and effervescent glam-rock icon. His boogie roots combined with Marc's own natural glitter dust, and propelled him forward on an adventure, with fortunes that were to ebb and flow over a decade. His diamond-studded halo was extinguished on 16 September 1977, at a time when his music was in the ascendancy. The annals of history are strewn with stories of artists who passed away in shocking circumstances of those that died too young, from substance abuse, mysterious illnesses or even murder. Sometimes, the shock of their passing immediately elevates their standing in cultural memory and cements their work in a favourable light. Marc Bolan died at twenty-nine years of age, in a tragic car crash - an accident that could have been avoided. However, it took many years for people to start appreciating what Marc Bolan brought to a rock music scene in the early seventies which had stagnated in some corners after the explosion of creativity in the sixties. Yet, gradually, acclaim has grown for how he enriched the period, bringing colour and humour to an increasingly leaden genre. Much like Hendrix before him, and Cobain after him, his natural charisma and striking beauty have underpinned his status as a dreamlike bard, an enigmatic pin-up whom boys wished they looked like and girls wished they were with. Yet it was his scorching talent as a performer and songwriter which have formed the bedrock for longevity as a legend. Including rare and unpublished photographs, and works of Marc's own poetry, this book is put together by a true, original fan - one who followed Marc Bolan on tour, who bought every piece of vinyl he released and who was fortunate enough to have made Marc's acquaintance during the peak of his career. Published forty years on from Bolan's death, Beautiful Dreamer is unashamedly a book of love, a book that every Marc Bolan fan will identify with, because it paints a picture of the man that the fans idolised, worshipped and continue to cherish to this day.