Dublin & London 1859: A Tale of Two Cities Bram Stoker: boy seeking adventure (and things to write about) Molly Malone: part-time fishmonger and full-time sneak thief! Best friends Molly and Bram are on a mission in London. Famous writer Charles Dickens has been kidnapped! The pals set out to search the darkest corners of the city. On their travels, they meet all sorts of characters, among them a foul-mouthed fowl and a Worshipful Company of Fishmongers. Can they solve the riddle of the disappearing Dickens before it's too late?

Puzzling the Reader establishes the place of charms and riddles in nineteenth-century British literature by exploring the literary and political work riddles performed at cultural thresholds: courtship, initiation, death rituals, moments of greeting, and intercultural relations. Furthermore, Puzzling the Reader investigates the new narrative genre that riddles uncover by transforming traditional narrative techniques. Far from disappearing from view, the oral tradition of the riddles rises into view alongside the literary narratives of William Blake, John Keats, and Charles Dickens. The folk tradition of the riddle is imported into print media and reaches its zenith in the nineteenth century. Through analyses of riddles in weekly literature and satire magazines, parlor game books, and popular collected riddles, such as Queen Victoria's «Windsor Enigma», this volume examines the literary and political roles riddles play as they migrate into mass print culture. Three crucial texts illustrate this argument: Blake's «Jerusalem», Keats's «The Eve of St. Agnes», and Dickens's Our Mutual Friend. Each is a work of formal experimentation and each typifies the full range of word play in the period. From Blake to Keats to Dickens, nineteenth-century British literature charts a «history» of the literary riddle.

Another galaxy - a different type of hero! "An alien space opera James Bond." - Comicsthegathering For fourteen brutal centuries, the Imperium Ascendant and the Obdurate have clashed in an intergalactic war that spanned planets and peoples. Then the war - and the Obdurate - came to a dramatic end. Now, the galaxies are picking up the pieces. In the midst of this sprawling, dazzling system of galaxies, is Proteus Vex, ex-soldier for the Imperium Ascendant turned super-agent. He's fast, brutal, and he always gets his prey. But when he is sent to find his former superior officer, Vex finds himself caught up in a deadly conspiracy. Hit comics team Michael Carroll (The New Heroes, Judge Dredd), Henry Flint (Judge Dredd, Zombo) and Jake Lynch (Judge Dredd) bring you a mind-expanding, colourful story that will plunge you into a series of strange new worlds.

A magnificent new biography of the man who gave us David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and Ebenezer Scrooge This long-awaited biography, twenty years after the last major account, uncovers Dickens the man through the profession in which he excelled. Drawing on a lifetime's study of this prodigiously brilliant figure, Michael Slater explores the personal and emotional life, the high-profile public activities, the relentless travel, the charitable works, the amateur theatricals and the astonishing productivity. But the core focus is Dickens' career as a writer and professional author, covering not only his big novels but also his phenomenal output of other writing--letters, journalism, shorter fiction, plays, verses, essays, writings for children, travel books, speeches, and scripts for his public readings, and the relationships among them. Slater's account, rooted in deep research but written with affection, clarity, and economy, illuminates the context of each of the great novels while locating the life of the author within the imagination that created them. It highlights Dickens' boundless energy, his passion for order and fascination with disorder, his organizational genius, his deep concern for the poor and outrage at indifference towards them, his susceptibility towards young women, his love of Christmas and fairy tales, and his hatred of tyranny. Richly and precisely illustrated with many rare images, this masterly work on the complete Dickens, man and writer, becomes the indispensable guide and companion to one of the greatest novelists in the language.

This is the story of a sleepy town called Suds. A place where stories fill the air of children turning grey and disappearing without a trace... Poppy and Erasmus are certain there's something peculiar going on in Suds, and they're determined to unravel its secrets. But when they discover the answers might lie in the dark and twisting woods, can they find the courage to creep inside and solve this riddling mystery? 'A thrilling read...flavoured with fairytales, drizzled with a syrup of fear and sprinkled with heart.' M.G. Leonard

A new edition of this acclaimed novel Meet Neil Byrne - try-scorer on the rugby field, prizewinning student, one of the in-crowd at the disco, regular guy, gay. Presenting one face to the world and burying his true feelings in fantasy, Neil manages to keep his secret. But when fantasy isn't enough and he becomes caught up in the bizarre subculture of Dublin's gay nightlife, the pretence must end. It is the time for truth. The consequences are both hilarious and painful. Told with honesty, humour and originality, WHEN LOVE COMES TO TOWN brings a new type of hero to modern Irish fiction.