Lisbon, a city of timeless allure, weaves its magic through cobblestone streets and grand palaces. Its history is a tapestry of conquests and cultural shifts, yet beneath its historic charm lies a world of opulence and intrigue that only a select few ever truly experience. Welcome to "Lisbon's Secrets - Confessions of a Life of Luxury," a journey into the heart of this enigmatic city where every encounter is steeped in elegance and every connection holds the weight of a hidden story. In this book, you will step into the shoes of our protagonist, a woman who navigates the shimmering world of Lisbon's elite with a grace that masks the complexities of her life. Her story is one of balance—a delicate dance between her public image and private reality. As you traverse through lavish parties, clandestine meetings, and intimate revelations, you will uncover a side of Lisbon that is rarely seen, yet deeply fascinating. Our heroine’s journey begins at the grandiose Palácio da Independência, where she is first introduced to the sophisticated and often treacherous world of the city's elite. From the shimmering facades of exclusive mansions to the shadowy corners of historic neighborhoods, every chapter reveals a new layer of her life and the city she inhabits. Prepare to be captivated by a narrative where luxury meets vulnerability, and where every secret unveiled is both a revelation and a question. Lisbon’s secrets are waiting to be discovered, and they are as multifaceted and intriguing as the city itself.

This vivid portrait of France on the eve of the Revolution is also a touching tale of two friends torn apart by class and the powerful political force of democratic freedom.

You've just boarded a plane. You've loaded your phone with your favorite podcasts, but before you can pop in your earbuds, disaster strikes: The guy in the next seat starts telling you all about something crazy that happened to him--in great detail. This is the unwelcome storyteller, trying to convince a reluctant audience to care about his story. We all hate that guy, right? But when you tell a story (any kind of story: a novel, a memoir, a screenplay, a stage play, a comic, or even a cover letter), you become the unwelcome storyteller. So how can you write a story that audiences will embrace? The answer is simple: Remember what it feels like to be that jaded audience. Tell the story that would win you over, even if you didn't want to hear it. The Secrets of Story provides comprehensive, audience-focused strategies for becoming a master storyteller. Armed with the Ultimate Story Checklist, you can improve every aspect of your fiction writing with incisive questions like these: • Concept: Is the one-sentence description of your story uniquely appealing? • Character: Can your audience identify with your hero? • Structure and Plot: Is your story ruled by human nature? • Scene Work: Does each scene advance the plot and reveal character through emotional reactions? • Dialogue: Is your characters' dialogue infused with distinct personality traits and speech patterns based on their lives and backgrounds? • Tone: Are you subtly setting, resetting, and upsetting expectations? • Theme: Are you using multiple ironies throughout the story to create meaning? To succeed in the world of fiction and film, you have to work on every aspect of your craft and satisfy your audience. Do both--and so much more--with The Secrets of Story.

Memoir of Sue William Silverman, a self-described "white Anglo-Saxon Jew" who grew up going to a Christian school. Discusses how she grew up a fan of Pat Boone before Boone became a Tea Party member.

"What corporations fear most are consumers who ask questions. Naomi Klein offers us the arguments with which to take on the superbrands." Billy Bragg from the bookjacket.

Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes turn the Riviera upside down to crack their most captivating case yet in the New York Times bestselling series that Lee Child called “the most sustained feat of imagination in mystery fiction today.” It’s summertime on the Riviera, and the Jazz Age has come to France’s once-sleepy beaches. From their music-filled terraces, American expatriates gaze along the coastline at the lights of Monte Carlo, where fortunes are won, lost, stolen, and sometimes hidden away. When Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes arrive, they find their partnership pulled between youthful pleasures and old sins, hot sun and cool jazz, new affections and enduring loyalties. Russell falls into easy friendship with an enthralling American couple, Sara and Gerald Murphy, whose golden life on the Riviera has begun to attract famous writers and artists—and some of the scoundrels linked with Monte Carlo’s underworld. The Murphy set will go on to inspire everyone from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Pablo Picasso, but in this summer of 1925, their importance for Russell lies in one of their circle’s recent additions: the Holmeses’ former housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson, who hasn’t been seen since she fled England under a cloud of false murder accusations. When a beautiful young man is found dead in Mrs. Hudson’s front room, she becomes the prime suspect in yet another murder. Russell is certain of Mrs. Hudson’s innocence; Holmes is not. But the old woman’s colorful past has been a source of tension between them before, and now the dangerous players who control Monte Carlo’s gilded casinos may stop at nothing to keep the pair away from what Mrs. Hudson’s youthful history could bring to light. The Riviera is a place where treasure can be false, where love can destroy, and where life, as Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes will discover, can be cheap—even when it is made of solid gold.