Love is hottest in the darkness before dawn. Elissande Edgerton is a desperate woman, a virtual prisoner in the home of her tyrannical uncle. Only through marriage can she claim the freedom she craves. But how to catch the perfect man? Lord Vere is used to baiting irresistible traps. As a secret agent for the government, he’s tracked down some of the most devious criminals in London, all the while maintaining his cover as one of Society’s most harmless—and idiotic—bachelors. But nothing can prepare him for the scandal of being ensnared by Elissande. Forced into a marriage of convenience, Elissande and Vere are each about to discover that they’re not the only one with a hidden agenda. With seduction their only weapon—and a dark secret from the past endangering both their lives—can they learn to trust each other even as they surrender to a passion that won’t be denied?

NYRB Classics presents 3 darkly humorous, atmospheric novellas of love and disappointment, set in a run-down London pub after WWI—from the author of the Hitchcock classics Gaslight and Rope. “Bleak and brilliant. . . an authentic lost classic.” —The Guardian Featuring a Dickensian cast of pubcrawlers, prostitutes, lowlifes, and just plain losers who are looking for love—or just an ear to bend—Hamilton’s novels are a triumph of deft characterization, offbeat humor, unlikely compassion, and raw suspense. In recent years, Hamilton has undergone a remarkable revival, with his champions including Doris Lessing, David Lodge, Nick Hornby, and Sarah Waters. Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky is a tale of obsession and betrayal that centers on a seedy pub in a run-down part of London. Bob the waiter skimps and saves and fantasizes about writing a novel, until he falls for the pretty prostitute Jenny and blows it all. Kindly Ella, Bob’s co-worker, adores Bob, but is condemned to enjoy nothing more than the attentions of the insufferable Mr. Eccles; Jenny, out on the street, is out of love, hope, and money. We watch with pity and horror as these three vulnerable and yet compellingly ordinary people meet and play out bitter comedies of longing and frustration. Included: The Midnight Bell (1929) The Siege of Pleasure (1932) The Plains of Cement (1934)

Love has designs of its own.… To all of London society, Lord and Lady Tremaine had the ideal arrangement: a marriage based on civility, courteousness, and freedom—by all accounts, a perfect marriage. The reason? For the last ten years, husband and wife have resided on separate continents. But once upon a time, things were quite different for the Tremaines….When Gigi Rowland first laid eyes on Camden Saybrook, the attraction was immediate and overwhelming. But what began in a spark of passion ended in betrayal the morning after their wedding—and now Gigi wants to be free to marry again. When Camden returns from America with an outrageous demand in exchange for her freedom, Gigi’s decision will have consequences she never imagined, as secrets are exposed, desire is rekindled—and one of London’s most admired couples must either fall in love all over again…or let each other go forever.

This is a trilogy about three young men finding the fulfillment of their youthful ambitions, from the late 1980s onwards, in rock music and journalism, up to the present day and middle age. As middle age comes on, each must accept a wider responsibility for their past sins. Having either emigrated to or been born in London, all of them become caught up in tantalising opportunities in the capital to fulfill their ambitions of success and fame. Each of them also finds that success comes with an immense price for them personally, and private failures that unmercifully torment them. Their hopeful idealism and dreams become tainted by ruthlessness, opportunism and betrayal of their principles. As each character grows older, he realises he wants to redeem himself and somehow resolve the worst things he has perpetrated in his life – but true redemption requires genuine sacrifice; one even more intense and difficult than their hard-won successes of the past. It may be more than any of them can endure. All of this happens against the background of London’s fantastic, fabulous variety and wealth and exoticism, opportunity and glamour, corruption and poverty and loneliness and harshness. Its pitfalls, rewards and insatiable demands as a fast-moving cultural and media capital are a significant part of the novel’s tone, with an intensified sense of time and place. Edward St. Boniface takes inspiration from a wide range of authors, including Ray Bradbury, Mark Z. Danielewski and David Foster Wallace. The London Trilogy is a work of adult contemporary fiction that will appeal to fans of highbrow and literary novels, bildungsromans and satire.

For fans of The Holiday & Letters to Juliet. Remember what it was like to feel twenty-one again . . . but with all the wisdom of thirty-five. Book 2 of The Irish Heart Series Original Trilogy. Elizabeth Lara has just finished her tour of Ireland. She’s moved on to London, but the dashing Connor Bannon isn’t far from her thoughts as she searches for Mags’ lost love. From dinner with the Queen, to an unexpected encounter with someone from her past, to the tabloids—London proves to be more excitement than she expected. Will she find Mags’ Matthieu? Will Connor be able to win her back or will she choose her gorgeous friend Wes? Both men will take her to exclusively exotic locations and bring her face to face with royalty. Find out what happens next in Beth’s life as she travels, experiences more romance, makes her way through the box of seventeen letters—and continues to find the missing pieces to her life. Come journey with Elizabeth in a story that explores the twists and turns of life and the magic of reconnection. This is more than a romantic story—it’s an invitation to rediscover life’s possibilities. Lose your way and find your life in The Irish Heart Series. READING ORDER: The Irish Heart Series Original Trilogy: The Irish Cottage: Finding Elizabeth (Book 1) The London Flat: Second Chances (Book 2) The Paris Apartment: Fated Journey (Book 3) . . . and for the readers who wanted more . . . 5 years later . . . The Irish Heart Series Continuing Trilogy: The Irish Castle: Keeping Elizabeth (Book 4) The Irish Secret: Wild Fire (Book 5) The Irish Wedding: A Novel Romance (Book 6) Juliet Gauvin’s books are feel-good romantic women’s fiction. They include international travel, holidays, contemporary women, and epic love. INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR Q: How did you come up with The Irish Cottage? Juliet: Well the story came together in pieces. I love Ireland, I've always been attracted to the country, the people, the music, the dancing. I've spent time traveling the country so I knew I wanted to set the book there. And then the character of Elizabeth was based on a lot of the experiences I had when I was in law in San Francisco. When I was immersed in that world--it was a very dark time, and I really did lose my way--like Elizabeth. I even let long-time relationships die because I was in such a dark place, it was difficult to see anything past my own nose. So yeah, I knew I wanted my heroine to be a "recovering attorney" and I knew that I wanted her to have this great love affair in Ireland that would open her up to the truly great possibilities life has to offer. Q: And what about Connor Bannon? Is he based on anyone? Juliet: Ummm...he might be an amalgamation of several people, but I think I'll refrain from commenting further--have to keep some of it to myself, don't I? Q: Why did you elect to write romantic women's fiction as opposed to traditional contemporary romance? Juliet: I knew I wanted to write in the romantic women's fiction space because writing a story where the heroine's evolution is paramount--not just her relationship with Connor--is what really gets me, drives me--I love those types of stories. I like writing herstory--women's lives and journeys are so complex--I wanted to write a series that included a great love story, but didn't sacrifice the heroine's journey in any way. It's about Elizabeth finding her way--we all need to find our way. Sometimes people help with that, but ultimately each of us has to find our own path...and we all need love too. Q: Why London and then Paris? Juliet: I lived in London for a time--I love it so much. It's one of the best cities on the planet, really. When I closed my eyes and thought about where Elizabeth's journey would take her I knew London would be next. And Paris--I lived in Lyon for a time as well and I've spent a lot of time in Paris so it seemed only natural for the final book to be set there. I also set certain things in motion in The Irish Cottage that make it impossible to end anywhere else--I knew I wanted to end it in France. Plus, Elizabeth has a major sweet tooth, like me, and Paris has the most amazing dessert masters in the world. I spent many hours pouring over the websites of my favorites and discovering some new ones. Those were the hardest and best research nights--I'm nocturnal, I write at night--and pouring over the websites of my favorite masters was heaven and hell. I wanted to get on a plane already. My sugar intake definitely went up while I was writing The Paris Apartment--and my waistline with it.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A blackly comic late 20th-century murder mystery set against the looming end of the millennium, in which a woman tries to orchestrate her own extinction—from "one of the most gifted novelists of his generation" (TIME). “Lyrical and obscene, colloquial and rhapsodic." —The New York Times First published in 1989, London Fields is set ten years into a dark future, against a backdrop of environmental and social decay and the looming threat of global cataclysm. As the dreaded Y2K approaches, Nicola Six, a “black hole” of sex and self-loathing, has chosen her thirty-fifth birthday, November 5, 1999, as the date of her own murder. Whom to manipulate into killing her is the question; her choice wavers between violent lowlife Keith Talent, who is obsessed with winning a darts tournament, and a dimly romantic banker named Guy Clinch. When Samson Young—a writer suffering from a long bout of writer’s block—stumbles upon these three, he believes he has found a story that will write itself. A highly unusual mystery with an unexpected twist at the end, London Fields is also a corrosively funny narrative of pyrotechnic complexity and scalding moral vision.

London, 1957. Victoria Station is awash with boat trains discharging hopeful black immigrants into a cold and alien motherland. Liberal England is about to discover the legacy of Empire. And when Montgomery Pew, assistant welfare officer in the Colonial Department, meets Johnny Fortune, recently arrived from Lagos, the meeting of minds and races takes a surprising turn... Colin MacInnes gives London back to the people who create its exciting sub-culture. Hilarious, anti-conventional, blisteringly honest and fully committed to younth and vitality, City of Spades is a unique and inspiring tribute to a country on the brink of change.