British Birds

Drawing on Daphne du Maurier's short story and contemporary newspaper reports of bird attacks in California, Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) featured Tippi Hedren in her first starring role. Camille Paglia's compelling study considers the film's aesthetic, technical and mythical qualities, and analyses its depiction of gender and family relations. A film about anxiety, sexual power and the violence of nature, it is quintessential Hitchcock.

This download showcases some of the most exquisite sounds that can be heard in the natural world, from the rich, melodious songs of the Blackbird, Pied Butcherbird and Nightingale that are full of complexity, ingenuity and perfectly arranged phrases, to the breathtaking compositions of the Skylark, Albert's Lyrebird and White-rumped Shama, and the rhythmical variations on a theme from the Chiming Wedgebill and White-browed Robin-chat.

This charming, irresistible debut novel set in London during World War II about a young woman who longs to be a war correspondent and inadvertently becomes a secret advice columnist is “a jaunty, heartbreaking winner” (People)—for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Kept me turning the pages from page one!” Jonna M. A DELIGHTFUL COZY MYSTERY FULL OF QUAINT VILLAGES, QUIRKY CHARACTERS, AND MADCAP ADVENTURES BY A BESTSELLING AUTHOR. Helen Ryes and Martha Littleword, two Americans living in England, become fast friends and amateur sleuths when a murder lands them in hot water. Killers unfortunately rarely stop at just one murder and the tome-filled libraries, ivy-covered manor homes, and lush countryside of England can be decidedly deadly! It’s a beautiful summer and the busy village of Marsden-Lacey, England, has murder on its mind...

Before Shetland and Vera, Ann Cleeves wrote the George and Molly Palmer-Jones series following remarkable mysteries in a birdwatching community—now available for the first time in the US. In England’s birdwatching paradise, a new breed has been sighted—a murderer . . . Young Tom French is...

This captivating anthology features four classic tales from the career of Sherlock Holmes, each set against the backdrop of Christmas. From a mysterious additional stocking that appeared during Christmas Eve night, to a seemingly impossible theft, follow Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson as they unravel the most inexplicable mysteries. The Fifth Stocking Inspector Lestrade interviews Mr Hillsborough who found an additional stocking on the mantle that he claims he didn’t hang. A Very Irregular Christmas Inspector Tobias Gregson calls on Holmes after witnessing a ghost steal Mr John ...

Detective Sergeant Chris Waters got the call at 05.29 that July morning. This is it, said DCI Reeve, you'll be first there, it's all yours, you're the crime scene manager. Suddenly, after months of waiting and wondering, Waters finds himself in at the deep end, and alone at the scene of a puzzling murder. As the investigation proceeds, the detectives at Kings Lake Central find themselves visiting familiar places and talking to some familiar faces, while old enmities reappear in the incident room. Before this is over, Chris Waters will need to make a career-changing decision.

As heard on the New Yorker Radio Hour: The triumphant and "engaging history" (The New Yorker) of the young women who devised a winning strategy that defeated Nazi U-boats and delivered a decisive victory in the Battle of the Atlantic. By 1941, Winston Churchill had come to believe that the...

From P. C. Cast, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the landmark House of Night urban fantasy series, comes an epic, lusty, magic-filled romantasy about British warrior queen Boudicca. Perfect for fans of Sue Lynn Tan and Madeline Miller! In Roman-occupied Britain, the Iceni tribe crowns...

"[Christopher Skaife's] natural storyteller's charm results in a performance that is conversational, funny, and self-deprecating...Ravenmaster is a joyful listening experience." — AudioFile Magazine This program is read by the author. The first behind-the-scenes account of life with the...

With her personal life in disarray, Julia Lanchester feels she has no option but to quit her job on her father's hit BBC Two nature show, A Bird in the Hand. Accepting a tourist management position in Smeaton-under-Lyme, a quaint village in the English countryside, Julia throws herself into her new life, delighting sightseers (and a local member of the gentry) with tales of ancient Romans and pillaging Vikings. But the past is front and center when her father Rupert tracks her down in a moment of desperation.

In the spirit of Lisa Jewell and Kate Morton, an emotional mystery set in the rugged remote landscape of north Cornwall full of dark secrets and twists, about three unusual sisters forced to confront the past. Some secrets need to be set free… When half-sisters Kat, Flora, and Lauren are...

Brought to you by Penguin. Composed in the twelfth century in north-eastern Iran, Attar's great mystical poem is among the most significant of all works of Persian literature. A marvellous, allegorical rendering of the Islamic doctrine of Sufism - an esoteric system concerned with the search for...

'A fantastic writer.' Donald Ray Pollock 'Nigel Bird is fast becoming one of the top writers in his genre.' Luca Veste DIRTY OLD TOWN is the debut collection from the prize-winning writer Nigel Bird. His brilliantly observed slices of life allow us to visit places we may not normally choose to enter and to walk a few miles in the shoes of others. Though his tales have darkness at their core, they are also full of a heart and spirit that one rarely finds in the world or ‘noir’ or ‘crime-writing’. There are 9 stories here: Drinking Wine (Spo-Dee-Oh-Dee); Dirty Old Town; Sea Minor; ...

"Both heartbreaking and sharply funny...Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey is brilliant and surprising at every turn."—Rebecca Makkai, Pulitzer finalist for The Great Believers A heart-tugging and gorgeously written novel based on the incredible true story of a WWI messenger pigeon and the soldiers...

A classic work of historical fiction from the author of Rebecca and The Birds. Honor Harris is only eighteen when she first meets Richard Grenvile, proud, reckless — and utterly captivating. But following a riding accident, Honor must reconcile herself to a life alone. As the English Civil...

The “riveting…truly shocking” (The New York Times Book Review) story of a Jewish orphan who fled Nazi Germany for London, only to be arrested and sent to a British internment camp for suspected foreign agents on the Isle of Man, alongside a renowned group of refugee musicians...

From the author of the bestselling “jaunty, heartbreaking winner” (People) Dear Mrs. Bird, a charming and irresistible novel featuring aspiring journalist Emmy Lake as she navigates life, love, and friendship in London during World War II—perfect for fans of The Paris Library and Lessons...

In an untouched corner of Craynebrook, the lifeless body of a local farmer is found, his blood mingling with the mud of Blackbird Farm. For Detective Inspector Matthew Stannard, still nursing wounds from a brutal assault, this grisly scene marks the beginning of an investigation unlike any he’s worked on before.

It doesn’t take long for Ray Spalding to realise that prison is nothing like an Elvis Presley movie. The warden has no intention of throwing a party and the only bands Ray encounters are gangs of hard men. When an old adversary seeks him out, Ray decides his only chance for survival is escape. Ray’s son, Jesse, is discovering that being on the run in the middle of winter is no fun. With his stamina stretched to the limits, he’s ready to surrender himself to social services. At least that way he can see his girlfriend again. Danny Boy is the man in the middle. He thinks he can break ...