The Woman With The Scarlet Shoes

There was once a poor little girl called Karen. In summer, she walked barefoot and in winter, she wore clogs that hurt her feet. She had no choice, it was all she had. Dame Shoemaker wanted to help her and sewed, as best she could, a pair of red shoes. When she wore them for the first time, Karen’s life took an unexpected turn. Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author, poet and artist. Celebrated for children’s literature, his most cherished fairy tales include "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid", "The Nightingale", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Snow Queen", "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Little Match Girl". His books have been translated into every living language, and today there is no child or adult that has not met Andersen's whimsical characters. His fairy tales have been adapted to stage and screen countless times, most notably by Disney with the animated films "The Little Mermaid" in 1989 and "Frozen", which is loosely based on "The Snow Queen", in 2013. Thanks to Andersen's contribution to children's literature, his birth date, April 2, is celebrated as International Children's Book Day.

Follow the exploits of Michael Vincent, after he is confronted by the mysterious beautiful woman in the Scarlet Shoes... Back dropped in a majestic beach-side setting in Australia, the characters are ingeniously well portrayed to coerce you towards adoring some whilst loathing others... This cleverly written narrative will compel you to keep guessing through a succession of witty sexual and emotional innuendos, which spiral towards an unpredictable conclusion... You will experience an arousing sensational roller-coaster ride through this fascinating page turning classicism, as Michael untangles his desire for the woman in order to solve the crime... Read it... feel it... love it...

International award-winning and best-selling author, Canadian cultural icon, feminist role model, "man-hater," wife, mother, private citizen and household name -- who is Margaret Atwood? Rosemary Sullivan, award-winning literary biographer, has penned The Red Shoes: Margaret Atwood Starting Out, the first portrait of Canada's most famous novelist, focusing on her childhood and formative years as a writer and the generation she grew up in. When Margaret Atwood was a little girl in 1949, she saw a movie called The Red Shoes. It is the story of a beautiful young woman who becomes a famous ballerina, but commits suicide when she cannot satisfy one man, who wants her to devote her entire life to her art, and another who loves her, but subjugates her to become his muse and inspiration. She struggles to choose art, but the choice eventually destroys her. Margaret Atwood remembers being devastated by this movie but unlike many young girls of her time, she escaped its underlying message. Always sustained by a strong sense of self, Atwood would achieve a meteoric literary career. Yet a nurturing sense of self-confidence is just one fascinating side of our most famous literary figure, as examined in Rosemary Sullivan's latest biography. The Red Shoes is not a simple biography but a portrait of a complex, intriguing woman and her generation. The seventies in Canada was the decade of fierce nationalist debate, a period during which Canada's social imagination was creating a new tradition. Suddenly everyone, from Robertson Davies to Margaret Laurence was talking, and writing, about a Canadian cultural identity. Margaret Atwood was no exception. For despite her tremendous success that transcends the literary community, catapulting into the realm of a "household name," Margaret Atwood has remained very much a private person with a public persona. Rosemary Sullivan reveals the discrepancy between Atwood's cool, acerbic, public image and the down-to-earth, straight-dealing and generous woman who actually writes the books. Throughout, she weaves the issues of female creativity, authority and autonomy set against the backdrop of a generation of women coming of age during one of the most radically shifting times in contemporary history.

Red shoes glowing--Perched on a pedestal in the shop windowas if on a throne."I want those, Nana," Malika says, as they pass the shop."We'll see," Nana says with a wink. "Looks like you could use a new pair." Malika is delighted when Nana surprises her with a beautiful new pair of red shoes! And with a click-clack-click and a swish, swish, swish, Malika wears her wonderful new shoes everywhere she goes. But one day, the shoes begin to pinch Malika's toes. And alas, they don't let her forget that her feet have grown! Soon Malika and Nana are off to the Rare Finds Resale Shop, where the shoes can be resold -- so somebody else can enjoy them!Who will be the next to wear the red shoes? Malika wonders.Then Inna Ziya buys the shoes, and readers follow the shoes all the way across the world to Ghana in Africa, where Amina, another little girl, who has fasted her first time for Ramadan is about to get an amazing gift!Karen English and Ebony Glenn have crafted a satisfying and heartwarming story about a pair of shoes, two girls, and a connection they share across continents.

Jessica Harrington grew up not really knowing her biological father. He was something of an enigma, living in a country thousands of miles away. She was very much part of a single-parent family, relying on her mother for everything. That is, until her mother's boyfriend stepped into her life. The Girl in the Pink Shoes is a harrowing and graphic account of a young girl's physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather, already a convicted paedophile. Jessica Harrington thought she would be protected. After all, wasn't that what mums were supposed to do? Jessica's mother betrayed her and looked the other way. She allowed the devil himself into her daughter's bedroom. What followed was years of the most horrific abuse imaginable, brutal rapes, video recordings from hidden cameras, and introductions to other paedophiles. Warned that if she ever breathed a word to anyone, she would be tortured and killed, there was never a safe place to hide from the horrors she faced on a daily basis. Bullied at school, raped and beaten at home, Jessica saw no way out and tried to take her own life. But even then, the abuse and the torment continued for many years. An incredible story from one of life's true survivors that will leave a lasting impression long after the last page has been turned.

As the child of peasants, Karen grew up with a pair of simple red shoes. Then, when her parents died, Karen was adopted by a rich old woman who gave Karen a new pair of red shoes that would make princesses green with envy. This newfound wealth causes Karen to forget her humble origins and grow up to become a cruel and vain adult. Then, one day, the red shoes that sparked her greed come to life and steer Karen down a path she never would have imagined in her wildest dreams. This volume also includes Metaphrog's adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen classic, "The Little Match Girl" and a tale of their own invention, "The Glass Case".

"Robert cradled Jacob in his arms until his tiny heart stopped beating... The nurse physically unpeeled Robert's fingers to remove Jacob's body from his hands." The Broken Girl in the Red Shoes takes you on a journey where a mother dies, taking her daughter's soul with her and leaving her heart and mind devastated and body engulfed by grief. The girl reflects on her mother's heartache throughout her life as she leads you to a haunted convent. We learn how the daughter recovers from her grief and gains back her soul and, in the process, learns never to alter the path of fate.

Ruth Hogan, the international bestselling author behind the The Keeper of Lost Things returns with an irresistible novel of unexpected friendships, second chances—and dark secrets... They say friends make life worth living... Once a spirited, independent woman with a rebellious streak, Masha's life was forever changed by a tragic event twelve years ago. Unable to let go of her grief, she finds comfort in her faithful canine companion Haizum, and peace in the quiet lanes of her town's swimming pool. Almost without her realizing it, her life has shuddered to a halt. It’s only when Masha begins an unlikely friendship with the mysterious Sally Red Shoes, a bag lady with a prodigious voice and a penchant for saying just what she means, that a new world of possibilities opens up: new friendships, new opportunities, and even a chance for new love. For the first time in years, Masha has the chance to start living again. But just as Masha dares to imagine the future, her past comes roaring back... Like her beloved debut, The Keeper of Lost Things, Ruth Hogan's second novel introduces a cast of wonderful characters, both ordinary and charmingly eccentric, who lead us through a moving exploration of the simple human connections that unite us all.