Belfast, 1914. Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, high society has become obsessed with spiritualism. In their collective grief they are attempting to reach their departed through séances. William Jackson Crawford is a man of science and a sceptic, but one night with everyone sitting around the circle, voices come to him seemingly from beyond the veil, placing doubt in his heart and a seed of obsession in his mind. Could the spirits truly be communicating with him or is this one of Kathleen's parlour tricks gone too far? Based on the true story of William Jackson Crawford and famed medium Kathleen Goligher, and with a cast of characters that includes Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini, West conjures a haunting tale that will keep you guessing until the end.

This charming, irresistible debut novel set in London during World War II about a young woman who longs to be a war correspondent and inadvertently becomes a secret advice columnist is “a jaunty, heartbreaking winner” (People)—for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Lilac Girls. Emmeline Lake and her best friend Bunty are doing their bit for the war effort and trying to stay cheerful, despite the German planes making their nightly raids. Emmy dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent, and when she spots a job advertisement in the newspaper she seizes her chance; but after a rather unfortunate misunderstanding, she finds herself typing letters for the formidable Henrietta Bird, renowned advice columnist of Woman’s Friend magazine. Mrs. Bird is very clear: letters containing any Unpleasantness must go straight into the bin. But as Emmy reads the desperate pleas from women who many have Gone Too Far with the wrong man, or can’t bear to let their children be evacuated, she begins to secretly write back to the readers who have poured out their troubles. “Fans of Jojo Moyes will enjoy AJ Pearce’s debut, with its plucky female characters and fresh portrait of women’s lives in wartime Britain” (Library Journal)—a love letter to the enduring power of friendship, the kindness of strangers, and the courage of ordinary people in extraordinary times. “Headlined by its winning lead character, who always keeps carrying on, Pearce's novel is a delight” (Publishers Weekly). Irrepressibly funny and enormously moving, Dear Mrs. Bird is “funny and poignant…about the strength of women and the importance of friendship” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis).

"From the author of the "jaunty, heartbreaking winner" (People) and international bestseller Dear Mrs. Bird, a new charming and uplifting novel set in London during World War II about a plucky aspiring journalist. London, November 1941. Following the departure of the formidable Henrietta Bird from Woman's Friend magazine, things are looking up for Emmeline Lake as she takes on the challenge of becoming a young wartime advice columnist. Her relationship with boyfriend Charles (now stationed back in the UK) is blossoming, while Emmy's best friend Bunty, still reeling from the very worst of the Blitz, is bravely looking to the future. Together, the friends are determined to Make a Go of It. When the Ministry of Information calls on Britain's women's magazines to help recruit desperately needed female workers to the war effort, Emmy is thrilled to be asked to step up and help. But when she and Bunty meet a young woman who shows them the very real challenges that women war workers face, Emmy must tackle a life-changing dilemma between doing her duty and standing by her friends. Every bit as funny, heartwarming, and touching as Dear Mrs. Bird, Yours Cheerfully is a celebration of friendship--a testament to the strength of women and the importance of lifting each other up, even in the most challenging times"--

For fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society--now in paperback! Eleven-year-old Darwen Arkwright has spent his whole life in a tiny town in England. So when he is forced to move to Atlanta, Georgia, to live with his aunt, he knows things will be different--but what he finds there is beyond even his wildest imagination! Darwen discovers an enchanting world through the old mirror hanging in his closet--a world that holds as many dangers as it does wonders. Along with his new friends Rich and Alexandra, Darwen becomes entangled in an adventure and mystery that involves the safety of his entire school. They soon realize that the creatures are after something in our world--something that only human children possess.

"Part Connie Willis time-travel, part Douglas Adams whimsy, part Julie Schumacher academic satire, with a refreshing touch of Key & Peele, Burning Shakespeare is also a clear-eyed assessment of what we love -- and hate -- about Shakespeare." -- Sujata Iyengar, author of Shades of Difference: Mythologies of Skin Color and Race in Early Modern England and Shakespeare's Medical Language Or, "Funnier than Timon of Athens, sadder than As You Like It, Burning Shakespeare fantasizes a world in which all of Shakespeare's plays come perilously close to joining the library of the lost." Paul Menzer, Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, Mary Baldwin University "If in some parallel universe Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman had collaborated with A.C. Bradley, they might imaginably have come up with a novel both as funny and as intellectually exciting as A.J. Hartley's Burning Shakespeare. But I doubt it." Professor Michael Dobson, Director of the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-Upon-Avon Shakespeare's works are being wiped from history - and only a group of ill-assorted dead people can save them! This whimsical romp from now to Shakespeare's day, via Hell, wears its learning lightly, but is as illuminating as funny. Highly recommended! Tiffany Stern Fellow of the British Academy, General Editor, Arden Shakespeare: 4 "Beelzebub, Belial, Shakespeare, and the academy: what could go wrong? Burning Shakespeare does just what novels featuring Shakespeare fail to do, taking readers on a wild, witty, sometimes even poignant ride, leaving us with the faint scent of brimstone, too." W. B. Worthen, Alice Brady Pels Professor in the Arts, Barnard College, Columbia University "I have met many who didn't like Shakespeare but never someone who hated his work enough to destroy all trace of it. AJ Hartley's novel about someone who loathed Shakespeare that much is smart, funny and action-packed. It's also far more enjoyable than most people seem to suppose Shakespeare's plays are." Peter Holland, Chair, International Shakespeare Association How would the world look without the influence of Shakespeare pervading so many aspects of life and culture and belief? In a race against time, with the fate of lives and souls hanging in the balance, the forces of good and evil battle to save or destroy Shakespeare's works. Which side works to which end? That is the question, isn't it? Would we be better off without Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, and the others, or would the safety valve that theatrical expression provides back up into an explosion of apocalyptic proportions? Follow the cast of this tale--from university student to petty thief to talk show host--as they travel through time and space in Burning Shakespeare.

Describes the benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet free of sugar, salt and oil, and provides recipes.

The bestselling author of The Know-It-All takes on history's most influential book.