Monsieur X is a dazzling tale of glamour, riches, violence and ultimately tragedy. Patrice des Moutis was a handsome, charming and well-educated Frenchman with an aristocratic family, a respectable insurance business, and a warm welcome in the smartest Parisian salons. He was also a compulsive gambler and illegal bookie. Between the late 1950s and the early 1970s, Des Moutis made a daring attempt to beat the French state-run betting system. His success so alarmed the authorities that they repeatedly changed the rules of betting in an effort to stop him. And so a battle of wills began, all played out on the front pages of the daily newspapers as the general public willed Des Moutis on to ever greater triumphs. He remained one step ahead of the law until finally the government criminalised his activities, driving him into the arms of the underworld. Eventually the net began to close, high-profile characters found themselves the target of the state's investigation, and people began turning up dead.

Have you had enough of being a slave of your emotions? If you want to be the master of your destiny, this is the manual for our times and for you—the essential guide to humanity. This book is accessible to everyone and anyone who dares to step outside the box to challenge who they are. An enjoyable, readable style with a constant source of ideas mixed with thought-provoking and challenging concepts. This book will take you across the ocean of science, religion, philosophy, psychology, sociology, space, and time, through the study of the mind. It is a remarkable pioneering exploration of the mirror neuron. Filled with autobiographical personal anecdotes, How to Give the Best Head places the author under the microscope, exposing “Who am I?” You will also recognise yourself in these stories and gain insight into your own behaviour. It is an immensely inspiring book that will transform the way we view ourselves, others, the world, human nature, and our potential. “This book will change your life—an indispensable guide written through stories we can all relate to, a must-read” (Chris Burton, BA Sociology/Philosophy, LLB Law).

"Allen's book will... provide the categories that will deepen our understanding of lesbian relationships and of lesbian fiction." -- Lesbian Review of Books "Barnes scholars will... want to pick up Carolyn Allen's new book, for it not only offers perceptive readings of Nightwood and the "Little Girl" stories..., but traces the example of Barnes's exploration of lesbian power and loss in the fiction of Jeanette Winterson, Rebecca Brown, and the underrated Bertha Harris." -- Review of Contemporary Fiction "... fascinating... [a] fine volume... " -- Choice "Following Djuna is a fascinating analysis of the textual erotics and lyrical seductions of the work of Djuna Barnes and the writers she influences. This scintillating genealogy of lesbian intertextuality... expands the field of lesbian and feminist literary inquiry and concepts of lesbian literary production." -- Judith Roof "As lesbian literary history, here is an instant classic." -- Jane Marcus "This is an important and necessary book; even further, speaking as an admirer of the writers and literary works it discusses and as a personal expert on lost love, I find Following Djuna irrestible." -- Karen Helfrich, Lambda Book Report Carolyn Allen argues for the importance of women's fiction in understanding women's erotics -- emotional and sexual exchanges between women.

The expanded edition of an essential collection of writings, essays, and interviews from Paul Auster, one of the finest thinkers and stylists in contemporary letters. The celebrated author of The New York Trilogy, The Book of Illusions, and 4 3 2 1 presents here a highly personal collection of essays, prefaces, true stories, autobiographical writings, and collaborations with artists, as well as occasional pieces written for magazines and newspapers, including his "breathtaking memoir" (Financial Times), The Invention of Solitude. Ranging in subject from Sir Walter Raleigh to Kafka, Nathaniel Hawthorne to the high-wire artist Philippe Petit, conceptual artist Sophie Calle to Auster's own typewriter, the World Trade Center catastrophe to his beloved New York City itself, Collected Prose records the passions and insights of a writer who "will be remembered as one of the great writers of our time" (San Francisco Chronicle).

“The natural tone of Nicky Gentil’s richly anecdotal narrative will delight not only pianists and jazz enthusiasts but anyone who just happens to like pianos in general.” - Cadence Info Magazine A collection of humorous, touching, unputdownable stories set in Paris, The Jazz-Girl, the Piano, and the Dedicated Tuner transports you into a feel-good world of jazz, pianos and the little-known art of piano tuning. An entertaining slice of life, regardless of whether or not you play a musical instrument, this book explores the world of Nina Somerville, an Englishwoman who - while others are going through a mid-life crisis - discovers by complete chance her true calling: jazz improvisation. In a bid to enjoy that passion to the full, she purchases the piano of her dreams - a Steinway baby grand - leading her to make yet another discovery: the intricate mysteries of the fascinating piano tuning profession. Against the backdrop of the Eiffel tower and the Champs-Élysées, from the quest for the perfect sound to an unexpected chance to perform in public, music takes Nina on a journey which is at times improbable and hilarious, but equally moving, not to mention extremely informative. Previously published in France, The Jazz-Girl has been greatly received, and has the interesting addition of being musically illustrated on the author’s YouTube channel with some characters playing pieces alluded to in the stories.