A collection of short, lively and often amusing essays on various problem and mysteries about children’s literature, raising serious as well as light-hearted issues which will appeal to the general readers as well as the scholar.

This is an encyclopedic work, arranged by broad categories and then by original authors, of literary pastiches in which fictional characters have reappeared in new works after the deaths of the authors that created them. It includes book series that have continued under a deceased writer's real or pen name, undisguised offshoots issued under the new writer's name, posthumous collaborations in which a deceased author's unfinished manuscript is completed by another writer, unauthorized pastiches, and "biographies" of literary characters. The authors and works are entered under the following categories: Action and Adventure, Classics (18th Century and Earlier), Classics (19th Century), Classics (20th Century), Crime and Mystery, Espionage, Fantasy and Horror, Humor, Juveniles (19th Century), Juveniles (20th Century), Poets, Pulps, Romances, Science Fiction and Westerns. Each original author entry includes a short biography, a list of original works, and information on the pastiches based on the author's characters.

'How did Long John Silver Lose His Leg?' is a diverting tour through some of the bestloved classics of children's literature, addressing many of the unanswered questions that inspire intense speculation when the books are laid down. Could Bobbie's train really have stopped in time ('The Railway Children')? Did Beatrix Potter have the 'flu in 1909, and did this lead to a certain darkness in her work ('The Tale of Mr Tod')? Would the 'rugby football' played by Tom Brown be recognised by sportsmen today ('Tom Brown's Schooldays')? The authors speculate entertainingly and informatively on the anomalies and unexplained phenomena found in children's literature and, having established the cultural importance of children's books in the modern age, also consider the more serious issues raised by the genre. Why are we so defensive of the idyllic worlds presented in children's books? Why have some of our best-loved authors been outed as neglectful parents to their own children? Should we everseparate the book from its creator and appreciate the works of writers convicted of crimes against children? A treat for any enthusiast of children's literature, two of the most distinguished writers on the subject provide rich detail, witty explication, and serious food for thought.

This Collected Works contain: Nineteen Eigthy-Four (1984), A Clergyman's Daughter, Animal Farm, Burmese Days, Down and Out in Paris and London, Homage to Catalonia, Inside the Whale and other Essays, Down the Mine, England Your England, Shooting an Elephant, Lear, Tolstoy and the Fool, Politics vs. Literature: An Examination of Gulliver's Travels, Politics and the English Language, The Prevention of Literature, Boys' Weeklies, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, Why I Write, Writers and Leviathan, Poetry and the Microphone, The Spike, A Hanging, Bookshop Memories, Charles Dickens, Boys' Weeklies, My Country Right or Left, Looking Back on the Spanish War, In Defence of English Cooking, Good Bad Books, The Sporting Spirit, Nonsense Poetry, The Prevention of Literature, Books v. Cigarettes, Decline of the English Murder, Some Thoughts on the Common Toad, Confessions of a Book Reviewer, Politics v. Literature: An Examination of Gulliver's Travels, How the Poor Die, Such, Such Were the Joys, Reflections on Gandhi, Politics and the English Language, The Lion and the Unicorn, The Road to Wigan Pier. Eric Arthur Blair, George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, biting social criticism, opposition to totalitarianism, and outspoken support of democratic socialism. Orwell's work remains influential in popular culture and in political culture, and the adjective "Orwellian"—describing totalitarian and authoritarian social practices—is part of the English language, like many of his neologisms, such as "Big Brother", "Thought Police", "Two Minutes Hate", "Room 101", "memory hole", "Newspeak", "doublethink", "proles", "unperson", and "thoughtcrime".

Billy Bunter is not numbered amongst the brightest pupils at his school - except for one rare talent - his remakable gift of ventriloquism! And the sole talent lands him in the worst trouble of his fat life - expulsion from his alma mater.

SPECTATOR BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2015 Britain's empire has gone. Our manufacturing base is a shadow of its former self; the Royal Navy has been reduced to a skeleton. In military, diplomatic and economic terms, we no longer matter as we once did. And yet there is still one area in which we can legitimately claim superpower status: our popular culture. It is extraordinary to think that one British writer, J. K. Rowling, has sold more than 400 million books; that Doctor Who is watched in almost every developed country in the world; that James Bond has been the central character in the longest-running film series in history; that The Lord of the Rings is the second best-selling novel ever written (behind only A Tale of Two Cities); that the Beatles are still the best-selling musical group of all time; and that only Shakespeare and the Bible have sold more books than Agatha Christie. To put it simply, no country on earth, relative to its size, has contributed more to the modern imagination. This is a book about the success and the meaning of Britain's modern popular culture, from Bond and the Beatles to heavy metal and Coronation Street, from the Angry Young Men to Harry Potter, from Damien Hirst toThe X Factor.