Steele, Micheal Anthony:One Piece Chapter Book: King Of The Pirates
- Paperback 2007, ISBN: 9780439897198
Black Swan. Very Good. 5.08 x 0.83 x 7.83 inches. Paperback. 1992. 389 pages. <br>On the threshold of their new life together, Marga ret gave Henry a black eye and went straight to … More...
Black Swan. Very Good. 5.08 x 0.83 x 7.83 inches. Paperback. 1992. 389 pages. <br>On the threshold of their new life together, Marga ret gave Henry a black eye and went straight to bed where she mor e or less remained for the rest of her life. Two young couples be come regular, if uneasy, houseguests over the years, listening an d speculating until finally, piecing together the rumours and the mystery, they find themselves tangled in the web of Henry's life . Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly There is more than o ne legacy in British author Wesley's ( A Sensible Life ) darkly c omic, wise and irresistible new novel of manners. Henry Tillotson 's legacy from his dying father is an injunction to help an Engli sh divorcee in WW II Egypt. Henry does more than that: he impulsi vely marries Margaret, to his lifelong regret. For when he return s with her to his country home, she takes to her bed out of pure spite and tries her best to make his life miserable. In an effort to achieve some conviviality, Henry invites two friends, James a nd Matthew, for a weekend party; each man brings a companion and each proposes marriage. Both women accept, motivated by pragmatis m and a need for security. What happens to their marriages, and t hat of Henry and Margaret, makes up the remainder of the plot. Tw o couples have children and grandchildren; these are the second l egacy, and part of a delicious secret. As usual, Wesley's picture of the British upper middle class is breezy and irreverent; the dialogue is witty and often astonishingly impertinent (one thinks that the English can be shockingly tactless); the plot is laced with irony; the characters--major and minor--are depicted with a master's deft hand. But it is in Margaret, whose monstrously self ish, malicious, eccentric behavior exceeds all rational bounds, t hat Wesley has created her most memorable character. Readers will root for her comeuppance, and will cheer when it arrives. Copyr ight 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to a n out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From AudioF ile The story, intertwining the lives of three couples, begins on a summer day in 1954 and ends in 1990. The lives of all are chan ged by that first day, and the story unfolds in an order that tan talizes our senses and heightens our enjoyment. This is not a rom ance novel (although the blurb and jacket might entice those read ers); it is a novel of morals and morality set in an English coun try home. The narrator, Anna Massey, is a wonderful reader with a lovely voice and accent. Her voice is a pleasure to listen to al though her differentiation of male voices is weak. As usual, Chiv ers does an excellent job with production values. E.F. (c)AudioFi le, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unav ailable edition of this title. Review Mary Wesley takes you by t he hand and you follow wherever she takes you -- Kate Kellaway * Observer * Mary Wesley does it again, only more so... She marches straight into her tale, intriguing from the beginning, keeping u p a pace that rarely slackens * Literary Review * Wesley breezes along with customary grace and nonchalance, sniping maliciously a t her characters while giving them a more or less good time * Fin ancial Times * Lively and entertaining * The Times * Wesley's boo ks are a delight...a beautifully crafted tale, very sexy, very fu nny, I just didn't want it to end * Sunday Times (Perth) * --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this ti tle. About the Author Jennifer Bassett is Series Editor of the O xford Bookworms Collection, for which she has written original st ories One-Way Ticket and The President's Murderer. --This text re fers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Fr om Library Journal Wesley's world is one of speculation about rel ationships, gossip, and innuendo. She explores forces that unite and divide friends and lovers. In 1944, Henry Tillotson brings hi s bride Margaret to his country house, where she takes to her bed and remains in self-indulgent isolation. Ten years later, two yo unger friends of Henry bring their girlfriends for the weekend. I n the years that follow, the two couples marry and return regular ly, their mundane lives punctuated by Margaret's eccentric boudoi r conversations or scandalous ventures into their company. Henry dies in 1990, attended by his friends' (or his?) daughters, and t he reader's visits to Wesley's well-realized world draw to an end with his departure. For readers who appreciate nuances of langua ge and emotion and the incongruities of life, Wesley's book will be a treat. - Kathy Piehl, Mankato State Univ., Minn. Copyright 1 992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. ., Black Swan, 1992, 3, Pan MacMillan. Good. 5.12 x 0.67 x 7.76 inches. Paperback. 1998. 272 pages. Cover worn<br>The fifth Duke of Portland is a Victoria n misfit, man who spends his time and wealth creating a network o f tunnels beneath his Nottinghamshire estate. As he withdraws fur ther from society he falls prey to his lonely self-absorption and to the mercy of his household staff. His rare appearances are mi sinterpreted and local gossip has inflated his eccentricities int o sinister deformities. No one, not even he, understands his mos t persistent ache, a pain of absence that no amount of tunnelling or searching can bring to light. The Duke's slow piecing togethe r of the truth about his past builds to an intensely moving and p owerful conclusion. 'The narrative structure is immaculate, the characterization superb, the prose so polished you can see your f ace in it' Max Davidson, Daily Telegraph 'Soaked through with or iginality and expertly written: tragicomic fiction with the most endearingly sympathetic of anti-heroes' Dominic Bradbury, The Tim es 'A remarkable balancing act, witty, restrained and shot thro ugh with interesting tensions. As a first novel it is, quite simp ly, astonishing' Christina Patterson, Observer 'A strong narrat ive drive, a Gothic twist and a wonderful cast of secondary chara cters make this an entrancingly readable book. What lifts it into the prize-deserving category is Jackson's uncannily visual prose ' Miranda Seymour, Sunday Telegraph ., Pan MacMillan, 1998, 2.5, Scholastic Inc, 2007-01-01. paperback. Good. 5x0x7., Scholastic Inc, 2007-01-01, 2.5<
