A knowing, witty, and deliciously wicked inside look at opera today -- the feuds and deals, maestros and managers, divine voices, and outsized egos. Propelled by her lifelong passion for opera, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Manuela Hoelterhoff takes us on a two-year trip on the circuit with Cecilia Bartoli, the irresistible young mezzo whose popularity has set records in music circles around the world. We see Bartoli among her family, her colleagues, her rivals; how she happened; what it is to be a diva; where the money comes from; and what the price can be for success. And, traveling from the Metropolitan to the backstages of the legendary opera houses of Europe, we meet everyone in Bartoli's world -- the Wagnerite obsessed with her cyberspace fan mail; the charismatic tenor with a complex love life; Luciano Pavarotti, aiming for the high Cs in his twilight years -- even as Hoelterhoff lets fly (brilliantly informed) gossip and opinions along the way. Dazzling entertainment, and an education in what makes the world of grand opera run -- and run amok.

Although she is busy, Cinderella takes time to help her animal friends, and they repay her for the kindness she shows them.

Once upon a planetoid, amid her tools and sprockets, a girl named Cinderella dreamed of fixing fancy rockets. With a little help from her fairy godrobot, Cinderella is going to the ball. But when the prince's ship has mechanical trouble, someone will have to zoom to the rescue! Readers will thank their lucky stars for this irrepressible fairy tale retelling, its independent heroine, and its stellar happy ending. Plus, this is the fixed format version, which will look almost identical to the print version. Additionally for devices that support audio, this ebook includes a read-along setting.

"This is a story about darkness and light, about sorrow and joy, about something lost and something found. This is a story about love." Cinderella's story has been told over and over, but never has it been touched by the kind of magic created by the contributors of this book. Mary Blair painted the original pictures for Walt Disney's incomparable animated film, and here her elegant art is gathered together as a picture book. Cynthia Rylant's stories about hardscrabble lives have won not only awards and honors, but hearts. Who better to take a young girl from the darkness of her garret room to the light and brilliance of a ballroom? Together these two great artists have created something quite astonishing: a Cinderella that is breathtaking, heartrending, and joyous, both for those who are coming to the tale for the very first time, and for those who think they know it well.

Princesses Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Rapunzel swap fairy tales with one another in this hilariously clever new classic! Once upon a time, four fairy tale misses, tired of dwarves, witches, princes, and kisses,so bored and fed up, or just ready to flop,upped and left home for a fairy tale swap.What happens when Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Rapunzel get so fed up with their fairy tales that they decide to switch places with one another? Hilarity ensues in this clever, rhyming story about whether the grass really is greener at someone else's castle.Author Stephanie Clarkson crafts an incredibly witty manuscript, with rhymes that shine and predicaments that will make little girls everywhere laugh out loud, as illustrator Brigette Barrager brings these beautiful princesses to life with her rich, warm colors and charming retro-girl style!

Meet Charles Paris: a washed-up actor with a taste for wine, women . . . and solving crimes! A binge-worthy cozy mystery series from the original king of British cozy crime, internationally best-selling, award-winning author Simon Brett, OBE. For fans of Richard Osman - but with added bite! "Like a little malice in your mysteries? Some cynicism in your cosies? Simon Brett is happy to oblige" THE NEW YORK TIMES "Few crime writers are as enchantingly gifted" THE SUNDAY TIMES "One of British crime's most assured craftsmen . . . Perfect entertainment" THE GUARDIAN "A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans" P.D. JAMES "Murder most enjoyable" COLIN DEXTER _______________________ A middle-aged actor - and sometimes sleuth - in a classic Christmas pantomime! One star under fire . . . Two not-to-be-messed-with women . . . And THE CINDERELLA KILLER! 'Tis the season to be jolly for Charles Paris, who has a minor part in the Empire Theatre Eastbourne's Christmas production of Cinderella. But Charles' festive cheer is soon under threat when he discovers that the star turn, US actor Kenny Polizzi, knows nothing about the art of the traditional British pantomime - he's just happy to have fled to England. What is Kenny running from? The unexpected appearance of not only his obsessed stalker, Gloria van der Groot, but also his estranged wife leaves Kenny rattled - and when Charles finds Kenny dead under Eastbourne Pier, he's drawn into the star's complicated personal life. Determined to find the killer and prove his own innocence, is Charles in danger of a metaphorical custard pie in his face - or something much worse? Fans of Agatha Christie, The Thursday Murder Club, Anthony Horowitz, Alexander McCall Smith, M.C. Beaton and Faith Martin will love this hilarious cozy traditional mystery series featuring one of the funniest antiheroes in crime fiction. Written over a fifty-year-period, it perfectly captures life and contemporary attitudes in 1970s London - and beyond! READERS ADORE CHARLES PARIS: "A marvelous mix of theater, stagecraft, jostling egos, and killer wit" Booklist Starred Review "Masterful . . . The backstage scenes crackle with authenticity and wit" Publishers Weekly "The intrigue happens on and off the stage" Library Journal "Highly recommended to anybody who has not experienced the charm of this series" Tim, 5* Amazon review "A great read which had me laughing out loud in places - this book and others in the series are a perfect holiday read" Paul, 5* Amazon review "Another great Charles Paris tale. The theatre life is so real in these stories. I absolutely love them" Nell, 5* Amazon review "Loved it! Light, entertaining , good characters , fun" Jane 5* Goodreads review "Simon Brett is an entertaining mystery writer, not relying solely on the whodunnit aspect but bringing a whiff of modern Britain in dialect and attitudes, some of which are downright hilarious" Sarah, 5* Goodreads review THE CHARLES PARIS MYSTERIES, IN ORDER: 1. Cast in Order of Disappearance 2. So Much Blood 3. Star Trap 4. An Amateur Corpse 5. A Comedian Dies 6. The Dead Side of the Mike 7. Situation Tragedy 8. Murder Unprompted 9. Murder in the Title 10. Not Dead, Only Resting 11. Dead Giveaway 12. What Bloody Man is That 13. A Series of Murders 14. Corporate Bodies 15. A Reconstructed Corpse 16. Sicken and So Die 17. Dead Room Farce 18. A Decent Interval 19. The Cinderella Killer 20. A Deadly Habit 15. A Reconstructed Corpse 16. Sicken and So Die 17. Dead Room Farce 18. A Decent Interval 19. The Cinderella Killer 20. A Deadly Habit