The Calamitous Queen

Over a million copies of Ian Irvine’s fantasy novels sold. It’s not easy to be a hero when your bum is the size of an airship and you’re bobbing around the ceiling, mocked by angry dwarves. Queen Emajicka is marching on Grimmery with an army of a million Fey. Can things possibly get worse? Yes, they can, for Ike is all alone. His best friend, Mellie, is away, attempting to pull off the perfect crime. Lord Monty is at war with his reattached head. The beautiful sprite Mothooliel wants to steal Ike’s eyeballs, and Grogire the firewyrm plans to kill him in the most disgusting way. Can Pook and Ike free the Collected children? Will Ike discover the secret of the Gate Guardians and clear his parents’ names in time to save Grimmery? Or will Spleen and Nuckl finally feast on Ike’s innards? Brace yourselves for a wild ride. Reviews of Grim and Grimmer “The funniest horror story you’ll read in a long while – Ian Irvine is a master of fantasy and this is the best yet.” Good Reading “An extraordinary fantasy world. Fast and furious and very funny.” Reading Time “A fun adventure for upper-primary readers. Recommended.” Bookseller and Publisher “The Grasping Goblin takes the two reluctant heroes on a very wild ride. A grand adventure.” Aussiereviews.com “I gasped and laughed my way through these three books.” Dee White, Kid’s Book Capers. “A wonderful tale. Delightfully dark and delicious.” Jacq Ellem, hittheroadjacq.com “The fun explodes off every page.” Richard Harland, multi-award winning author of Worldshaker. “Fantasy genius Ian Irvine manages to create a world which is believable, thrilling and funny all rolled into one.” Aussiereviews.com on The Headless Highwayman

Elizabeth I was the last English monarch truly to rule the nation; she inherited a weak and divided kingdom yet relentlessly fashioned it into a major world power, and decisively defeated the mightiest invasion fleet ever to approach our shores. Her relationships with the key men in the kingdom were vital to the success of her reign. Her greatest attributes were a shrewd judgement of human nature coupled with the unerring ability to choose and motivate men. During a long and glorious reign, she surrounded herself with the ablest, most energetic and fearless minds in the kingdom. Her retinue was entirely male but the only man she did not choose was a husband, although there was certainly no shortage of suitors. Elizabeth was devoutly religious but embraced the new learning with calculated discrimination. She inspired magnificent architecture, whilst her sea captains sailed great oceans to discover new shores and founded a mighty overseas empire. Centre stage in these heady days of new ideas and new horizons was the royal court, a colourful kaleidoscope of glittering courtiers and important foreign dignitaries, all trying to impress, all jostling for her favours - all the queen's men.

The inside story of a thoroughly modern monarch told by the maker of ITV's upcoming documentary on Queen Elizabeth II's jubilee. This bestselling acclaimed biography of our Queen contains previously unseen material. History has known no monarch like her. She has travelled farther than all her predecessors put together and lived longer than any of them. She has known more historic figures than anyone alive - from Churchill to Mandela, de Gaulle to Obama. Now, the distinguished royal writer Robert Hardman has been granted rare and privileged access to the world of Queen Elizabeth II to produce this enthralling new portrait of one of the most popular public figures on Earth. 'So much has changed around the Queen yet she has remained utterly true to herself,' says Hardman. 'There is this timeless quality about her. The more you talk to Her Majesty's family and to her people, the more you look at her life, the more impressive the scale of her achievement becomes.' Here is the inside story.