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The 27th century: beleaguered elites decide to melt the Greenland icecap. Why? - to open up a new continent, for colonisation by the unruly masses. How? - by harvesting the primordial heat of the Earth from Iceland''s volcanoes. Nature fights back, and it all goes horribly wrong...

When, in 1963, Anthony Burgess finally started work on the novel he had long planned to write, a challenge lay ahead of him. There was never any doubt in his mind that his fictional biography of Shakespeare should be written in a language that was, if not exactly that of the late sixteenth century, then an 'approximation to Elizabethan English'. Nothing Like the Sun opens with a young WS (as he is known throughout the novel) at home in Stratford-upon-Avon. WS is desperate to escape the confines of a domestic life in which he is distracted from great thoughts by being called in for tea. He hears the 'world, the wide world crying and calling like a cat to be let in, scratching like spaniels.' We see him trapped into marriage with the older and possibly already pregnant Anne Hathaway, indentured as a tutor to the sons of a Gloucestershire magistrate, become a lawyer's clerk, a father, an actor, a writer and a lover. And then of course there is Henry Wriothesley, third Earl of Southampton as well as a certain Dark Lady... The novel is a triumph of imagination, but imagination fired by the most extraordinary research into Shakespeare's life. Only Burgess could have written this literary romp

Paul Hussey, an antiques dealer from Sussex and his American wife Belinda have arrived in Leningrad. Paul is trying to raise some money by illegally selling dresses to a people rich in cosmonauts but poor in consumer goods. But the logic of Soviet economics proves more dangerous than he ever imagined. Moreover, Leningrad turns out to be a city in which daylight dawns in the middle of the night. Anthony Burgess's hilarious and inventive comedy takes off when Paul learns some unnerving truths about his own sexual nature and that of Belinda. And now she's receiving the keenest attention in the hands of the Russian bears from the State Medical Service. Honey for the Bears is one of Burgess's most accessible novels, and is a strong candidate for the funniest. It is sheer reading pleasure.

Here is a delight: MacDonald Harris's colourful, fanciful, and moving Herma, the story of a willful young woman who conquers the musical world of the Belle Epoque. Herma is many things: a glamorous story of a singer who rises from the choir of a country church to stardom at the Paris Opera: the parallel adventures of her agent and friendly enemy Fred Hite, filled with the excitement of the early days of aviation; and a provocative sexual intrigue whose twinned her and heroine, not brother and sister, are forbidden to each other by the secret that lies at the center of their odd and intimate relationship. From its evocative beginnings in the pastoral Southern California of the turn of the century, Herma moves on to larger worlds: first the brash, adolescent San Francisco of the period, then the Earthquake, then the international world of opera in Paris at the most luxurious, opulent, and decadent moment of its history. Erotic, bejeweled, crowded with incident and a big, vivid cast of characters, Herma is MacDonald Harris's richest and most complex novel.

Of the three great German word-artists of the first half of the 20th century, Alfred Doblin remains the least known. The other two are Thomas Mann, whose attitude towards Doblin ranged from cautious admiration to violent rage; and Berthold Brecht, who learned much from the ideas of his friend Doblin. Anglophone readers have almost no source of information about Doblin, or about the few works already translated into English (Berlin Alexanderplatz perhaps excepted). In Germany, reliable editions of Doblin trickled out between the 1980s (decades after his death in 1957!) and the 2010s. Academic lit. crit. scholars enjoy tackling aspects of his life and output in ways attractive to other scholars. But little has been done to promote Doblin to a wider pool of readers. For the first time, Adventurous Readers provides the inquisitive reader with a map, compass and rations to sustain them as they proceed through the vividly imagined exotic landscapes of his epic novels. Doblin famously declared: 'If a novel can't be cut up into ten pieces like a worm, and each piece lives by itself, it is worthless'. The seventy-two excerpts presented in this book show how he put this maxim into practice. Each deserves close reading, for each brings to life its own vivid world. The excerpts were chosen (from many possible candidates) for their power to entertain, provoke, amuse, cause shudders, and showcase Doblin's mastery of styles, moods, and expressive possibilities. After reading through the selection, or even just dipping in, you should be well prepared to tackle a whole epic novel.

The Physio is an incredibly powerful, and totally unforgettable, narrative that explores the present and the past of author, Jonathan Smith, a man whose life has been upended by Parkinsons - a condition that threatens to take away his independence and identity. As he painstakingly relearns to perform the simplest tasks with his left hand, he is forced to confront his limitations and the reality of his condition. But it is within the walls of the physiotherapy room that Jonathan finds an unexpected ally in Clare, his physiotherapist - whose expertise and adventurous spirit challenge him to push beyond his boundaries. As Jonathan grapples with the frustrations of daily life, Clare becomes more than just a therapist; she becomes a mentor and confidante. Their relationship, rooted in mutual respect and understanding, blossoms as they share stories, fears, and laughter - each session a step closer to Jonathan's physical and emotional healing. But the book is also a vivid account of the books and plays that he has written as well as those that he has read, and one begins to understand that this is not just a book about healing but an autobiography, a total life, viewed through the lens of literature.

They were eight candidates who arrived in 'Humpstead Manor' - otherwise known as 'the Hump' - all of whom were part of an elite interview process for a major job in Africa. But even before the examinations began, one of the assembled seemed to be being singled out for something rather more a great job. Murder. Inspector Cam finds that what he thought was a relaxed trip observing how the process worked, finds he is needed to do a lot more than observe Deadly Earnest, published in 1952 was the third and final novel that came from the Joan Cockin stable. It s a strong candidate to be her best.

Work was mounting up, Detective Inspector Charlton did not feel too well and he could have done without Mr Otto Bajornsen. Yet had not this untidy, smiling man come on his fact-finding trip to Downshire, the affair of the Busy Bees might have had a very different conclusion. Even as he sat talking in Charlton's office in Lulverton, the wheels were being set in motion and Mr Theophilus Mildwater, curator of the Monk Jewel Museum, was anxiously reporting the loss of Exhibit 115, a valuable - and dangerous - tomahawk.

Little Biggling: a village that had been taken over by The Ministry of Scientific Research during the Second World War ... and after the War the Ministry had stayed on, much to the annoyance of several of the residents. However, being annoyed was one thing, being murdered quite another. It seemed that one of members of the Civil Service billeted in the village had been a little too curious about everybody and everything in Little Biggling, and there was a terrible price to pay. Inspector Cam found that he wasn't getting much help in finding the person who had most to hide... First published in 1949 this was the first of three detective thrillers penned by Joan Cockin, otherwise Edith Joan Burbidge Macintosh, PhD, CBE. Brought up in America, educated at Oxford, she was a British diplomat and part of the UK delegation at the first NATO and Council of Europe conferences; married in India - her career cut short, as was the rule for women, by marriage there. Then, she had a second career as a consumer champion, cofounding the National and the Scottish Consumer Councils, acting as Legal Ombudsman for Scotland, and founding the Insurance Ombudsman Bureau, while serving on a Royal Commission.

At a quiet resort on the French Riviera Anthony Tolworth, companion and agent of the exiled king of Athenia, lands from the King's yacht in his search for entertainment and remuneration for the Royal household, but he meets a corpse on the beach in front of the Casino, He tries to solve the crime himself - before the police- who suspect the woman, Eve Raymond, with whom he is in love. He enlists the help of his headmistress aunt and two interfering and typical small boys. But the machinations of local politics not to mention Althenian affairs make the task almost impossible. The book, first published in 1949, is written with enormous humour and zest and the identity of the murderer is very well concealed. It's a real pleasure to read.

Detective-Sergeant Martin christened him 'Whiskers', but nobody could be certain who he really was. That was not the only question that confronted Inspector Charlton of the C.I.D. How, for instance, did young Courtenay Harbord die? And why? Who was Number 106 and in what way did Mr. Ninian McCullough upset the apple-cart? The fourth Duke of Redbourn had built Etchworth Tower on the summit of High Down in 1782 and it was at the foot of it that they found Harbord one autumn morning, falsebearded and with a broken neck. It looked, on the face of it, a simple case of suicide, but was it? A delicately-handled love affair adds piquancy to the complicated, but never tedious, investigation; Sergeant Bert Martin is always there with his pungent Cockney wit; and from the moment when old Tom Lee says, 'Well I'll be danged!' the tale goes steadily forward to its exciting climax.

Nan Shepherd's star continues to rise, year on year, and her meditation on the Cairngorms, The Living Mountain, has established itself as an all time classic of nature literature. Selected Prose and Poetry of Nan Shepherd brings together the two Galileo books, In the Cairngorms (the poetry) and Wild Geese (A novella, 'The Descent of Man, ' and a collection of prose pieces, some biographical, some general). Both books will continue to be available separately in trade paperback editions, but this beautiful hardback, with illustrations taken from the first edition (1977 Aberdeen University Press) of The Living Mountain, will make a superb gift edition of a very important section of her work. Her poetry was said to be her most cherished achievement, and the novella in this collection is absolutely of the same quality of the three novels which originally gave birth to her literary reputation long before the publication of The Living Mountain.

Let X be the Murderer was published in 1947. It is a bleak November morning when Sergeant Martin, Inspector Charlton's stalwart sidekick, receives an agitated phone call from Sir Victor Wallingham claiming that a ghost attempted to strangle him in the night. When Inspector Charlton follows this up, he is blocked at every turn, but even so, when the following night does actually end with the discovery of a body, he is not expecting it. "It is confidently predicted that the denouement to this exciting and tautly written tale will cause the reader as great, if not so painful, a surprise..." -Classiccrimefiction.com

archy and mehitabel is a collection of humorous verses by Don Marquis, originally published from 1916 onwards in Marquis's newspaper columns 'The Sun Dial' in the New York Evening Sun and 'The Lantern' in the New York Herald Tribune and first published in book form in 1927. The stories centre on archy, a philosopher cockroach who types messages to the author in lowercase letters (he is unable to use the typewriter's shift key), and mehitabel, a free-spirited alley-cat whose motto is "Toujours gai." archy and mehitabel contains free-verse poems on a variety of archy's concerns, such as the transmigration of souls, social injustice, life in New York City, and death. archy claims to have been a poet in another existence. mehitabel claims to be a reincarnation of Cleopatra, but now her wild adventures result only in litters of kittens. The book has become a cult classic over the years and has never been out of print. Galileo is delighted to publish a new edition. The illustrations are by George Herriman (1880-1944), the originator of the legendary Krazy Kat cartoon strip, and a huge influence on many cartoonists who followed him, particularly the 1960's Robert Crumb.

Ulysses and Finnegans Wake are usually found in most lists of the great classics of the twentieth century. But, as Burgess points out in his introduction: ''they are highly idiosyncratic books and ''difficult'' books, admired more often than read, when read, rarely read through to the end, when read through to the end, not often fully, or even partially, understood. This is of course especially true of Finnegans Wake. ...This present reduction of Finnegans Wake to the length of an ordinary novel-garnished with an introduction and a running commentary is my own attempt to bring a great masterpiece to a larger audience...'' (the reduction is to that of about 1/3 of its original length). It took Joyce 17 years to create this extraordinary book (and his final work), written in Paris after the publication of Ulysses. It is written not so much in English as in a language which combines, very often as puns, English with several other languages. Burgess was a huge admirer of Joyce''s work

The lost art of brass rubbing, crooked antiques dealers, and smuggling all figure in this tale of an unidentified man found naked and ritually murdered on the altar in a Cornish church. Inspector Cam, on vacation with his family, is asked to help out the local police in this superbly plotted and literary mystery novel. Joan Cockin has created a perfect microcosm of the Cornish village in Villainy at Vespers (1949) and delights in populating the town of Trevelley with all manner of eccentric locals and oddball tourists. Leading the investigation is a nearly incompetent and irascible local policeman named Honeywether who enlists the help of Cam, though it is mostly the promise of free beer that decides the vacationing copper to join the investigation. Together Cam and Honeywether uncover the identity of the naked corpse and unravel a web of deceit and cover-ups.

The Hollow Needle was Maurice Leblanc''s first novel. In this book Lupin finds himself playing a game of cat and mouse with young, amateur detective Isidore Beautrelet. His nemesis, Detective Ganimard and the famous English detective Sherlock Holmes also make appearances. Lupin is chasing the most valuable object he has ever had the opportunity to steal: the Hollow Needle, which hides unfathomable treasure and a secret that the kings of France have been handing down since the time of Julius Caesar. Lupin''s adventures are sheer, unadulterated, entertainment

Alfred Doblin (1878-1957) composed his epic trilogy of South America under difficult circumstances of exile. It was accessible on first publication in 1937-38 only outside Germany, and for only a couple of years before war broke out. The first postwar edition, like others of Doblin''s works apart from Berlin Alexanderplatz, was little noticed in a Germany traumatised by Nazism and defeat. The epic is set mainly in South America, but its true focus is Europe. The urgent guiding proposition is: The Nazis did not emerge from nowhere.

The creator of the Arsene Lupin, Maurice Leblanc, was born in Rouen in 1864. At the request of a Paris magazine, Je Sais Tout, he began a series of stories featuring the character Lupin, a ''gentleman thief'', which appeared in this publication, starting in 1907. The stories were wildly successful and later led to plays, TV adaptations and movies. The most memorable of these adaptations for an anglophone audience being the recent (but ongoing) Netflix series ''Lupin'', starring Omar Sy. Lupin may be a rogue, a Robin Hood, but he is certainly no villain. Lupin stories are sheer, unadulterated, entertainment.

It is a market day in Paulsfield, and there is much noise and bustle. A bull decides it is time to liberate itself and goes on the rampage. As this is happening, a cleaner working on the statue in the middle of the square is shot dead, straight through the head. Inspector Charlton has very few leads on this case. There is no obvious motive for the cleaner''s death, and when two further murders are committed within the same day, both taking place in the market square, the mystery has obviously deepened exponentially.