Lonely and forlorn after their mother's death and their sudden arrival at Aunt Mabel's seaside boarding-house, John, Mary and Ben Mallory are unimpressed with their new life in England. But there are wonderful surprises in store for them when they discover a secret way into the grand and empty house next door. Soon all sorts of unexpected events will unfold as the siblings encounter a whole host of eccentric characters and happenings. Completed in 1963, The Secret Passage is Nina Bawden's first children's novel and was written especially for her own three children after they had discovered a secret passage in the cellar of their house. It beautifully reflects her own inquisitive nature - as she herself has said: 'I was a keyhole child, fearsomely curious' - wedded to her subtly innovative ability to empathise with the child's view.

Reproduction of the original.

Welcome to an autobiography from another dimension. A wildly inventive cartoonist begins her imaginary memoir -- exploring the girlhood she never had. Many LGBTQ adults look back on their youth and wonder: what might have been? Growing up “in the closet” tends to produce a sort of double identity, between the inner self and the self seen by the outside world. Now, cartoonist Axelle Lenoir, in her unpredictable and imaginative way, makes this metaphor real. Secret Passages, narrated by the adult author, begins with the death of her (male) “cosmic twin.” From there it launches into a rollicking ride of childhood antics, set in 1985 small-town Québec. We get to know Axelle (a rebellious little girl who dreads Grade 1 and is captivated by the spooky forest near the house), her brothers (who share her off-the-charts enthusiasm for cartoons and toys), and their long-suffering parents (who may or may not be aliens). These lively comic-strip style anecdotes, reminiscent of Calvin & Hobbes and packed full of pop-culture parodies, are juxtaposed with surreal twists as Axelle’s existential crisis mutates the narrative, building to a mind-bending climax.

While weekend guests at the mansion of Mr. Boddy, Mr. Green, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Mrs. Peacock, Miss Scarlet, and Professor Plum must figure out who is the perpetrator of a series of crimes. Original.

Andropov discusses his rise to leadership in the Soviet Union, his roles in the KGB and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, his campaign against dissidents and detente, his impact on the Polish crisis, and his future plans.

The Flying Scotsman, one of the world’s legendary train journeys, has many attractions for Edward “Mitch” Mitchell, from the obliging porter to the mean guard to a troop of rough-and-ready soldiers in easily lifted kilts in the third-class carriage. But Mitch may not have time for them all before they arrive in London. When the train gets stuck in a tunnel, a dead body is found in the first-class toilet! Ever-ready Mitch decides to intervene and solve the crime. With his new Belgian sidekick Benoit, he pursues the killer through a crazy kaleidoscope of movie stars, drug dealers, royal scandals, and queens of every description. Can he finger the villain before the villain fingers him? What is the connection between Buckingham Palace and a bunch of backstreet pornographers? And what is the mystery of the secret tunnel? Mitch intends to go all the way to figure it all out.