The darkly witty story of Constance Hardpenny, a rag doll of character and fortitude.

For Constance Verity, saving the world isn’t the hard part. It’s keeping her new, ordinary life from falling apart along the way that’s going to be tricky. This is the next book in the witty Constance Verity trilogy, which Booklist named a Top 10 SF/Fantasy book of 2016. Constance successfully became an ordinary person. People warned her it would be boring—and they were right. That’s exactly why Connie loves it. But there’s an Adventurer-shaped hole in the cosmos now, and a lot of interested parties eager to fill it. Not all of those candidates are fit for the role, and if The Adventurer falls into the wrong hands, it can lead to chaos and destruction. Constance still has all the skills of her old life, but she’s no longer chosen. Yet when the fate of the world is at stake, she sets off, reluctantly, to keep the forces of evil from stealing the destiny she abandoned.

The Sunday Times Children's Book of the Year. Children's Book of the Week in both the Times and Guardian. The Misadventures of Frederick is a funny, joyful story about friendship and the delights of outdoor adventures (even for the accident-prone) – wonderfully written by the talented Ben Manley and beautifully illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark, creator of Plumdog and Blue Kangaroo. In a mansion surrounded by lakes and forests, Frederick is bored. He leads a very sheltered life: and when Emily invites him to play outside he has no choice but to refuse – what if he hurts himself? Much better to stay safely indoors. But Emily is not one to take no for an answer . . . A series of brilliantly funny and evocative letters between Frederick and Emily tell this unique story which weaves together the colourful, adventurous world of Emily with Frederick's drab life of boredom and safety.

A story of imagination and adventure from the acclaimed author of The Misadventures of Frederick, Ben Manley, and Daddy Long Legs illustrator Aurélie Guillerey. Who will Albert be next? A fearless mountaineer, a brilliant mechanical engineer or a galactic megalord? Anything is possible with an imagination like Albert's as he powers through his day. As a boy, Albert is nervous in a swimming lesson, but as Zandrian Delaclair, Antarctic Submariner and slayer of vampire cuttlefish, he's as brave and bold as can be. Show and Tell in front of the whole class can be a bit scary, but by imagining himself to be Professor Octavius Pickleswick he's proud to show off his greatest invention yet. A brilliantly funny story, full of exciting things to look at, about the joys of being whoever you want to be . . . and the comfort of sometimes just being yourself.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate.

Constance Verity has been saving the world since she was seven, and she’s sick of it. She sets off on one last adventure to reset her destiny and become the one thing she’s never been: ordinary. Ever since she was granted a wish at birth by her fairy godmother, Constance Verity has become the world’s great adventurer. She is a master of martial arts, a keen detective, and possesses a collection of strange artifacts. Constance has spent the past twenty-eight years saving the world, and she’s tired of it. All she wants is to work in an office and date a nice, normal guy. And she’s figured a way out. The only problem is that saving the world is Constance’s destiny. She’s great at it, and there are forces at work to make sure she stays in the job. Then again, it’s also her destiny to have a glorious death.

Sharon Kay Penman follows up her acclaimed novel Lionheart with this vivid and heart-wrenching New York Times bestseller about the last event-filled years in the life of Richard I of England, Coeur de Lion. November 1192. After his bloody crusade in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Richard and his crew are overcome by a sudden storm, its fierce winds propelling the ship onto the Sicilian shore. But this misfortune is just the beginning. Forced to make a dangerous choice, Richard finds himself in enemy territory, where he is captured—in violation of the papal decree protecting all crusaders—and handed over to the Holy Roman Emperor. Imprisoned in the notorious fortress at Trifels, from which few ever leave alive, Richard, for the first time in his life, experiences pure, visceral fear—while his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, moves heaven and earth to secure his release. Amid betrayals, intrigues, infidelities, wars, and illness, Richard’s courage and intelligence will become legend.