Eighty-year-old Jessica Matthews, also known as Lady Marmalade, has already revealed many of her secrets to the world that include living a life far away from the dazzling existence she once imagined for herself. But things are about to change for Jessica when she moves with her family from London to Brooklyn, New York, in April 1914, just before the start of the First World War. While living in a magnificent house, Jessica makes many friends, plays music and sings, and eventually marries a lovely man, Daniel, and has two beautiful children. Her new chapter is filled with happiness and the best days of her life, especially as her career blossoms, she earns newfound fame, and is cast in the Ziegfield Follies in 1922. But when a chain of events unfolds that ultimately causes things to turn for the worse, Jessica and her family must move back to the United Kingdom where new challenges await that no one, not even Lady Marmalade, could have predicted. In this intriguing historical novel, an elderly actress reveals the last of the hidden secrets that surrounded her life in the spotlight as she sought fame and happiness.

Two desperate journeys. One unscripted finale. A mesmerizing contemporary thriller. Thirty-nine-year-old Enora Andresson is a successful actress and a woman in her prime. But for how long? Tests have revealed an aggressive brain tumour that could kill her. Already struggling with the wreckage of her marriage and a strained relationship with her teenage son, Malo, she hasn’t anticipated the appearance of investigative journalist Mitch Culligan on her doorstep. Mitch is writing a book about entrepreneur and one-time drug baron Hayden Prentice – a multi-millionaire who once crossed paths with Enora, and whom Mitch believes has helped fund the push to take the UK out of Europe. Mitch is determined to expose the murky swirl of politics, power and influence around Brexit – but in order to do so, he needs Enora’s help . . . Enora must confront her past while facing a deeply uncertain future. Can she survive near-impossible odds?

Original publication and copyright date: 2011.

In this third book of the Stuart Trilogy, the story of the family of Lord Jay and Lady Hilary Stuart rushes to a new level of intrigue. As the daughter of Count and Countess Francois and Cameron Dubonnet and granddaughter of Lord Jay and Lady Hilary, the world has high expectation for Courtney Stuart Dubonnet. Shes just put herself on the stage as the author of a new musical that is charming Broadway audiences. But the joy delivered by rave reviews is tainted by another story in the morning paper: two murderers have just been released from prison. And now, theyre after revenge. Theres a disturbing link between the playwright and the killersand as a result, Courtneys world is about to change forever. What follows is an exhilarating tale of love suborned by the evil influence of a master hypnotist. As her life races between New York and Switzerland, Courtney must truly keep her wits about her if she hopes to survive. She must overcome the siren entreaties of a master criminal, face life and death in a Swiss blizzard at the hands of an immoral kidnapper, and endeavor to find true love among the admirers and imposters that populate the trendy watering holes of Europe and the United States. Will Courtney be able to discover her true love and unmask the evil manipulator in time? The future of the Stuart line hangs in the balance.

An inquisitive fox sets off on a seafaring voyage with a crew of deer and pigeons in this enchanting tale of friendship and adventure. Marco the fox has a lot of questions, like: how deep does the sun go when it sinks into the sea? And why do birds have such lizardy feet? But none of the other foxes share his curiosity. So when a magnificent ship adorned with antlers and with a deer for a captain arrives at the dock looking for a crew, Marco volunteers, hoping to find foxes who are as inquisitive as he is that can answer his questions. The crew finds adventure and intrigue on their journey. And, at last, Marco finds the answer to his most important question of all: What's the best way to find a friend you can talk to?

In this, the third and final of The Further Adventures of Eddie Dickens, our saucer-eyed hero Eddie Dickens finds himself embroiled in an attempt to foil a plot to steal an oil painting of Mad Uncle Jack, mistakenly commissioned by the War Office (who thought he was the other Major Dickens). Add to this the explosive mix of Even Madder Aunt Maud and Annabelle, the baby pet crocodile she now leads around on a silver chain; Dr Samuel Moot, besotted by Maud since a young man, having once shot Mad Uncle Jack (twice) in a duel; Gherkin a professional dwarf; Eddie's Uncle Alfie and surfeit of heather; and all the usual suspects (including Malcolm, of course) . . . and you're in for another slice of the ridiculous served up in the way that only Ardagh can.

This second volume of socially analytical poems digs down beneath the very skin, unsettling the structure that has already been laid out, the sick order of it all. A Cockroach's Tea Party identifies with the post-apocalyptic vision of a world disguised as a Utopia. The rhythmic shuffling of off-beat, alliterative verse brings a musical but narrative sense to the unorganised chaos that exists under the very nose. Combining the industrial world with natural projections and visions escapes the conformist. You are cordially invited to the Cockroach's Tea Party.