The Pavilion In The Clouds

A beautiful and atmospheric stand-alone novel filled with intrigue, a child's misunderstandings and their resolution years later, from the beloved and bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith. IN E-ORIGINAL ONLY! It is 1938 in the final days of the British Empire. In a house high up in the green hills above the plains of Ceylon, under a vast blue sky, live the Ferguson family: Bella, a precocious eight-year-old, her father, Henry--owner of Pitlochry, a tea estate--and her mother, Virginia. The story centres around a gazebo they fondly call the Pavilion in the Clouds, suspended on the edge of their idyllic gardens as if floating above the lush valley below. But all is not as serene as it seems. Bella is suspicious of her governess Miss White’s intentions. Her quick, but still childish intuition sparks off her mother’s imagination, and, after an unfortunate series of events, a confrontation results in a gunshot ringing out through the valley, and life-altering repercussions. Years later, Bella, now living back in Scotland at university in St. Andrews, is faced with her past. Will she at last find out what happened between her father and Miss White? And will the guilt she has lived with all these years be reconciled by a long-overdue apology? A page-turning, suspenseful story exploring themes of the inheritance of colonial history and its impact upon families, especially the women and children, The Pavilion in the Clouds shows it's never too late to revisit the past in order to better understand our present view.

Publishers Weekly calls Laura Joh Rowland's The Cloud Pavilion "One of the best mysteries of the year." In this next installment of the enthralling series, samurai hero Sano Ichiro must mend old family fissures, and bring a culprit who has disgraced his cousin to justice. Japan, 1701. A woman is brutally attacked within a bamboo prison as clouds swirl around her head. Meanwhile, at Edo Castle, samurai detective turned chamberlain Sano Ichiro is suspicious of his old rival, Yanagisawa, who has been oddly cooperative since returning from exile. But just as Yanagisawa's true motives begin to emerge, Sano's estranged uncle comes to him for help: His daughter has disappeared, and he begs Sano and his wife—who once suffered through the kidnapping of their own son—to find her before it is too late.

From the beloved author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series comes a beautiful and transporting volume of poems brimming with warmth and humanity. What matters most in life? For Alexander McCall Smith, it is friendship, love, and travel— the themes found throughout his work that have made him a cherished writer the world over. This first collection of McCall Smith’s poems reflects on these topics with all his characteristic wit and charm. In this delightful work, McCall Smith takes us on a captivating journey from Africa to Greece, London, Canada, Mumbai, and back home to Scotland, celebrating people, places, animals, and books. There are moments of sweeping insight and soaring feeling, and moments that will have you laughing along as they subtly shift your worldview. This inimitable writer shares his distinctively astute and good-natured observations on life, love, and beauty, reminding us of the deep satisfaction that can be found when we open ourselves up to the world with our whole heart, and watch as it takes on a kinder and gentler shape.

Stray cat Nin drifts from house to house until he meets a meteorologist named Mark. Then Nin begins his greatest journey yet--to the top of Mount Washington. Follow Nin to a land where the wind howls, snow swirls and wild bears roam. At the Mount Washington Observatory, Nin learns that the best friends--and a wonderful home--can be found anywhere, even high above the clouds.

Longing for a retreat? A safe haven where you can disappear from the world for awhile? A Blueprint for Your Castle in the Clouds is an inspirational guide that will help you lighten up your life by showing you how to design twenty-five mind expanding rooms to uncloud your thinking and create new opportunities in your life. Every room in your Castle in the Clouds has a special meaning and offers new insights perspectives to look at yourself in a completely new and original way. This beautiful book with the author's charming four-colour illustrations includes blueprints for:. The Mental Spa: For inner cleansing of intrusive, bothersome thoughts.. The Royal Suite of Evil: Where your dark side will be so comfortable you'll always know where it is (and it will stop surprising you at inopportune times). . A Small Chapel for Your Soul: Where you can release your ego and let go of false ideas. . The Hall of Tears: Where you are allowed to cry as much as you want. . The Library: Where you learn to trust your intuition when facing a problem or dilemma. . The Kitchen: Helps digest information and things that have been said to you.

During a drought in the year 723, the people of China survive through cooperation and sharing.

Marveltown's adults are outstanding inventors, but when their best engineers create giant but stupid robots that threaten the town, it is the children's outrageous creations that save the day.

To his friends, family, and work colleagues, Alex is a successful senior bureaucrat, well respected and liked by those who view him as an inspirational leader. But behind the facade, Alexx is tormented by his past traumas, especially his betrayal of a young woman while on holiday in Greece in 1995. As Alex's mental health begins to rapidly deteriorate, he realises that his life has mostly been a lie and that the key to his immediate survival rests with several people he briefly met when he was a younger man. Can Alex use their belated wisdom to defeat his inner demons before he reaches the point of no return? Spanning several continents, A Season of Clouds is a book about love, conflict, friendship, redemption, and dealing with the tragic consequences of sexual assault and mental illness.