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A brand-new collection from the internationally best-selling author of Letters of Note.

The dinner table, among friends, is where the best conversations take place - talk about the world, religion, politics, culture, love and cooking. In the same way, Be My Guest is a conversation about all these things, mediated through the sharing of food. We live in a world where some have too much and others not enough, where migrants and refugees are both welcomed and vilified, and where most of us spend less and less time cooking and eating together.

Window in Thrums - the story of the "untrue son" - is about the fictional village of Thrums. The story and setting are widely acknowledged to be modelled on Barrie's home town of Kirriemuir. It was one of his earlier works which, along with Auld Licht Idylls, also published in 1889. The novel contains many memorable sketches and illuminations of Scottish life at the time, and it paved the way for the rest of Barrie's great career.

India, 1857 - the year of the Great Mutiny, when Muslim soldiers turned in bloody rebellion on their British overlords. This time of convulsion is the subject of The Siege of Krishnapur, widely considered to the one of the finest British novels of the last 50 years. A witty and individual take on the many traditions and follies of Empire, it is also a gripping account of survival under siege, illuminating how extreme conditions can influence and affect people's behaviour and the human spirit.

In Lion's Honey, award-winning writer David Grossman takes on one of the most vivid and controversial characters in the Bible. He revisits Samson's famous battle with the lion, his many women, and his betrayal by them all - including the only one he ever loved. Grossman gives us a provocative new take on the story and its climax - Samson's final act of death - when he brings down a temple on himself and 3,000 Philistines

From choirboy to drag act, grandson to mentor, poet to lover, Dean Atta has played many roles in his life. In this formally inventive, candid and courageous book, he explores what he has carried in his body: wins and losses, shame and pride, pain and joy. Dean also investigates how radical self-acceptance and a willingness to abide with discomfort open up the possibility of a life lived beyond definition: a person unlimited.

Here is the beguiling and charming memoir of Toby, an exceptionally gifted pig. After escaping the butcher's knife with the help of his steadfast companion, Sam, Toby soon finds himself under the order of the volatile impresario Silas Bisset and his travelling menagerie of performing monkeys, horses, turkeys, and canaries. Before too long, he is packing out theatres and concert halls. But celebrity comes at a cost, as Toby soon finds out.

In 1987 a massive snowstorm hits New York as Peter Kaldheim flees the city, owing drug debts to a dealer who is no stranger to casual violence. Leaving behind his chaotic past, Kaldheim hits the road, living hand-to-mouth in flophouses, panhandling with his fellow itinerants. As he makes his way across America in search of a new life, the harsh reality of living hand-to-mouth forces him to face up to his past, from his time in Rikers prison to relationships lost and lamented.  

Who says youth is wasted on the young? Jasper wants to get on in the world, but life is distracting. He’s got his A-levels to contend with, his mother pushing him to overachieve, weekly visits to his psychologist, come-downs, YouTube suicides and pregnant one-night-stands. And then there's his step-dad - the murderer. Hilarious and heartbreaking by turns, GROW UP is the ultimate twenty-first-century coming-of-age novel.

The Breakstone family arrange themselves around their daughter, Heather, and the world seems to follow: beautiful, compassionate, entrancing, she is the greatest blessing in their lives of Manhattan luxury. But as Heather grows - and her empathy sharpens to a point, and her radiance attracts more and more dark interest - their perfect existence starts to fracture. Meanwhile, a very different life, one raised in poverty and in violence, is beginning its own malign orbit around Heather.

Jackie Kohnstamm's mother rarely talked about what had happened during the war and had kept little evidence of her early life. It was only after her uncle and aunt had died that Jackie inherited an archive of material relating to the family back in Germany. Jackie's mother had managed to get out of Berlin in 1936, following her brother and sister who had already escaped. But Jackie's grandparents had remained.

The Wow O’ Rivven is a great example of George McDonald's wonderful storytelling. Rivven is Ruthven, Aberdeenshire, and The "Wow o Rivven" refers to the local church bell. The hero of the story is the old "fool", also known as "colonel" who is buried near to the old bell.

In this fascinating and entertaining look at games throughout history, Tim Clare explores the legal highs of a good dice roll, the thrills of a predatory race game, and the tactile pleasures of the games that age with us through our lives. Drawing on Roman anti-cheating devices, organised crime card games, and dice contests that link Chaucer to Warren G, The Game Changers will show you why games are more popular now than ever, and how playing them helps us win more often, become better losers and stay one step ahead - on and off the board. Through play, we become fully ourselves.

In thirteenth-century Ireland, a woman with power is a woman to be feared. When a young Alice Kyteler sees her mother wither under the constraints of family responsibilities, she vows that she will not suffer the same fate. When she discovers she has a flair for making money, she soon builds a flourishing trade. But as her wealth and stature grow, so too do the rumours about her private life. By the time she has moved on to her fourth husband, a blaze of local gossip and resentment culminates in an accusation that could prove fatal.

Rookie lawyer Grace Zulu does not give up easily. She escaped an arranged marriage to put herself through university. Now she's got her first case. Her client is young Willbess 'Bessy' Mulenga, who has been arrested for offences 'against nature'. Bessy works in a men-only bar, loves to dance, to wear dresses and live freely. But in 1990s Zambia, following your own identity can get you beaten, jailed or even worse. Grace is determined to get Bessy out of custody. Then her terrified, bruised client goes missing without a trace.

The Glenmutchkin Railway was published in 1845. First published anonymously, it relates the political and technological issues surrounding the buildings of railways in Scotland at a time of dramatic industrial development. The first wave of truly manic railway promotion took place in 1844. By the summer of 1845, when Aytoun was writing his piece, the British Parliament was finishing its consideration of the projects hatched in 1844, approving some lines and rejecting others.

Hunting Shadows is drawn from Gallagher's journalistic pieces and offers an evocative and personal view of the area. Born and bred in Dumbarton, reader Robert Trotter is very much at home with these affectionate memories of the town on the Clyde.

A series of comic short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. These comic shorts were written in 1884-1885 and are set during the Napolenonic wars, 1807-1814. They first appeared in issues of the famous Strand magazine. Our hero, Etienne Gerard, is a Hussar in the French army. His vanity is all encompassing; he is utterly convinced that he is the bravest soldier, most masterful swordsman and horseman throughout the whole of France, not to mention being a much in demand and gallant lover!

Lord Jim is a riveting story of courage and cowardice, self-knowledge and growth. This story follows the fortunes of Jim, first mate of a ship named Patna, which is abandoned along with the passengers. Jim suffers shame in court for "dereliction of duty". And in abandoning his responsibilities, Jim is always on the run from his past, which affects all his relationships. Only in a faraway culture and settlement - a small island in Malay Peninsula - does he find respect and marriage.