The Primrose Path

The Primrose Path (1875) is the debut novel of Irish author Bram Stoker. Written over two decades before Dracula, his masterpiece, The Primrose Path helped to establish the Irish master of Gothic horror’s reputation as a leading writer of the early-twentieth century. Inspired by the temperance movement, Stoker crafts a simple narrative about a man brought low through temptation and a lack of opportunity. Originally serialized in The Shamrock, a weekly magazine published in Ireland, The Primrose Path is a largely unrecognized novel that deserves reassessment by readers and academics alike. Jerry O’Sullivan is a good man who wants noting more to provide for his young wife in order to start a family. Looking for work as a theatrical carpenter, he moves from his native Dublin to the sprawling city of London, where he soon finds work and hopes to settle down. After a series of accidents, however, he grows distant from his wife Katey and falls victim to the temptations of alcohol. As he begins to lose control, he grows jealous, loses his job, and begins to harbor dangerous fantasies. Soon, despite his moral upbringing, he risks committing an act too heinous to imagine. The Primrose Path is a gripping work of horror and naturalism by Bram Stoker, the secretive and vastly underrated creator of Dracula, one of history’s greatest villains. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Bram Stoker’s The Primrose Path is a classic of Irish literature reimagined for modern readers.

Haunted by her past. In danger from her present. Isolated, alone, vulnerable. Sometimes the danger is closer than you think. As a teenager, Sarah D'Villez famously escaped a man who abducted and held her hostage for eleven days. The case became notorious, with Sarah's face splashed across the front of every newspaper in the country. Now, seventeen years later, that man is about to be released from prison. Fearful of the media storm that is sure to follow, Sarah decides to flee to rural Wales under a new identity, telling nobody where she's gone. Settling into the small community she is now part of, Sarah soon realises that someone is watching her. Someone who seems to know everything about her . . .

Horace Rumpole - cigar-smoking, claret-drinking, Wordsworth-spouting defender of some unlikely clients - often speaks of the great murder trial which revealed his talents as an advocate and made his reputation down at the Bailey when he was still a young man. Now, for the first time, the sensational story of the Penge Bungalow Murders case is told in full: how, shortly after the war, Rumpole took on the seemingly impossible task of defending young Simon Jerold, accused of murdering his father and his father's friend with a German officer's gun. And how the inexperienced young brief was left alone to pursue the path of justice, in a case that was to echo through the Bailey for years to come.

Extensive travels to gather material for outdoor magazine articles, has led the author and his wife Donna, both Christians, into many church services conducted by various denominations. But all too often liberal sermons implying that a “believer’s” future sins have no bearing upon their salvation, has left the author with deep concern. During these lengthy tavels, the author has encountered far too many professing Christians who seemingly give little thought as to how they live their daily lives, and are possibly heading down that primrose path to hell. This book was written in the hope that it can help each reader more honestly determine his or her true standing with Christ.

Eloise James was still in school when she met the love of her life, her teacher, Paul Bridgestock. With an age gap of twelve years between them, the couple faced separation. But against the odds, Paul successfully allayed the concerns of the school authorities, and the friendship was allowed to continue. Love flourished and Paul was eventually accepted by Eloise’s parents as a prospective son-in-law. However, following the sudden death of his wife and facing the prospect of a lonely future, Eloise’s father forbade her from further contact with Paul. Paul was killed in a car crash soon after, thus ending all prospect of a future reconciliation. There would now be no wedding, no children… Eloise’s life seemed over. Now it's the future and no-one can match up, even her latest love Geoffrey. When a suicide attempt takes her back in time to the day Paul was killed, the two lovers meet again. But is she destined to save him from the crash... Or must she learn to let go?Susan weaves an intricate thread of history throughout the tale, creating a story that is both heart warming and heart rending, a tale of love and time travel reminiscent of Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveller’s Wife.

For centuries common primroses have spread breathtaking carpets of pale lemon yellow across the globe, the first sign of spring. Abundant, edible, and beneficial for many ailments, they have supported civilization’s social and cultural foundations. When undaunted plant hunters risked their lives to introduce the many Himalayan primroses of breathtaking beauty, the primrose gained iconic status. Capable of endless variation, primroses have captured the attention of gardeners, plant breeders, and scientists, while artists and poets have found them essential as both subject matter and muse. William Shakespeare introduced us to the “the primrose path,” a pleasurable but destructive route, in several of his plays, and Charles Darwin spent more than thirty years working with primroses to solve an elegant evolutionary mystery. This book tells the story of how primroses became so successful, circling the Earth, adapting to human civilization, and yet holding their own on inaccessible craggy summits where they may never be seen. Bringing together facts, folklore, and beautiful images from around the world, Primrose is a delightful guide to this hugely popular flower.