Sharp and intimate, Douglas Cowie's reimagining of the turbulent love affair between Simone de Beauvoir and Nelson Algren asks what it means to love and be loved by the right person at the wrong time. Chicago, 1947: on a freezing February night, France's feminist icon Simone de Beauvoir calls up radical resident novelist Nelson Algren, asking him to show her around. After a whirlwind tour of dive bars, cabarets and the police lockup, the pair return to his apartment on Wabansia Avenue. Here, a passion is sparked that will last for the next two decades. Their relationship intensifies during intoxicating months spent together in Paris and Chicago. But in between are long, anguished periods apart filled with competing desires lovers old and new, writing, politi, gambling which ultimately expose the fragility of their unconventional marriage and put their devotion to the test.

Sharp and intimate, Douglas Cowie's reimagining of the turbulent love affair between Simone de Beauvoir and Nelson Algren asks what it means to love and be loved by the right person at the wrong time. Chicago, 1947: on a freezing February night, France's feminist icon Simone de Beauvoir calls up radical resident novelist Nelson Algren, asking him to show her around. After a whirlwind tour of dive bars, cabarets, and the police lockup, the pair return to his apartment on Wabansia Avenue. Here, a passion is sparked that will last for the next two decades. Their relationship intensifies during intoxicating months spent together in Paris and Chicago. But in between are long, anguished periods apart filled with competing desires—lovers old and new, writing, politics, gambling—which ultimately expose the fragility of their unconventional "marriage" and put their devotion to the test.

Doing English presents the ideas and debates that shape how we ‘do’ English today, explaining arguments about the value of literature, the canon, Shakespeare, theory, politics and the subject itself. In his lucid and engaging style, Robert Eaglestone: orients students by encouraging them to think about what they are doing when they study literature; bridges the gap between English at A-level and International Baccalaureate to English in Higher Education by exploring traditional and theoretical approaches to literature and explaining key ideas and trends; explains to students why English, more than any other subject, is the cause of public debate and concern in the media and amongst politicians and educators. This popular and classic guide has been fully updated throughout to take account of recent research, educational changes and current events, and it now includes a chapter called ‘Why Study English?’ – showing how and why the skills taught by English are transferable to a range of careers. This immensely readable book is the ideal introduction to studying English Literature.

'Immersive and affecting...utter bliss.' — Marian Keyes Compelling, moving and teeming with feral desire: Elizabeth Haynes's new novel is an intoxicating story of love and redemption, set on a wild and windswept Scottish island. Rachel is at crisis point. A series of disastrous decisions has left her with no job, no home, and no faith in herself. But an unexpected job offer takes her to a remote Scottish island, and it feels like a chance to recover and mend her battered self-esteem. The island's other inhabitants are less than welcoming. Fraser Sutherland is a taciturn loner who is not happy about sharing his lighthouse – or his precious coffee beans – and Lefty, his unofficial assistant, is a scrawny, scared lad who isn't supposed to be there at all. Homesick and out of her depth, Rachel is sure she's made another huge mistake. But, as spring turns to summer, the wild beauty of the island begins to captivate her soul.

Elizabeth Haynes' new psychological thriller is a brilliantly suspenseful and shocking story in which nothing is at it seems, but everything is at stake. Sarah Carpenter lives in an isolated farmhouse in North Yorkshire and for the first time, after the death of her husband some years ago and her children, Louis and Kitty, leaving for university, she's living alone. But she doesn't consider herself lonely. She has two dogs, a wide network of friends and the support of her best friend, Sophie. When an old acquaintance, Aiden Beck, needs somewhere to stay for a while, Sarah's cottage seems ideal; and renewing her relationship with Aiden gives her a reason to smile again. It's supposed to be temporary, but not everyone is comfortable with the arrangement: her children are wary of his motives, and Will Brewer, an old friend of her son's, seems to have taken it upon himself to check up on Sarah at every opportunity. Even Sophie has grown remote and distant. After Sophie disappears, it's clear she hasn't been entirely honest with anyone, including Will, who seems more concerned for Sarah's safety than anyone else. As the weather closes in, events take a dramatic turn and Kitty too goes missing. Suddenly Sarah finds herself in terrible danger, unsure of who she can still trust. But she isn't facing this alone; she has Aiden, and Aiden offers the protection that Sarah needs. Doesn't he?

Tom Connolly's dazzling new novel is a funny, turbulent and heartfelt study of male relationships. It is April in Manhattan and the destinies of four very different men are about to collide. Nineteen-year-old Finn has just arrived in New York City with his irrepressible girlfriend, determined to even the score with his older brother Jack for abandoning him in the aftermath of their parents' deaths. Across town, successful gallery owner Leo is haunted by loneliness, unsettled by the contrast between his life and that of his brother-in-law and oldest friend William, who is enviably content in his faith and his marriage. When Finn wanders into Leo's gallery, a series of unexpected and interconnected events unfold, changing the lives of all four men forever. Beautifully orchestrated and richly comic, Men Like Air is an uplifting story of growth and renewal, mapping the complex workings of the human heart across the streets of New York City.