'though a great many men and not a few women knew Ferdinand Lopez very well, none of them knew whence he had come' Despite his mysterious antecedents, Ferdinand Lopez aspires to join the ranks of British society. An unscrupulous financial speculator, he determines to marry into respectability and wealth, much against the wishes of his prospective father-in-law. One of the nin...(展开全部)

Much against his will, the Duke of Omnium consents to lead a coalition government. The Duchess quickly becomes a social figure of great power striving to consolidate his support. Together they make their way to the centre of society and, like Phineas Finn before them, they find it hollow. The novel is haunted by the mysterious Ferdinand Lopez whose pernicious influence the Duk...(展开全部)

在线阅读本书 Plantaganet Palliser, Prime Minister of England - a man of power and prestige, with all the breeding and inherited wealth that goes with it - is appalled at the inexorable rise of Ferdinand Lopez. An exotic impostor, seemingly from nowhere, Lopez has society at his feet, while well-connected ladies vie with each other to exert influence on his behalf - even Palliser's o...(展开全部)

Yes, Minister, and the equally successful sequel Yes, Prime Minister captured a niche in the political consciousness of the nation. First broadcast thirty years ago, the original writers of these classic series have reunited to create a bang up to date Yes, Prime Minister for the stage. Spin, blackberries, sexed-up dossiers, sleaze, global warming and a country on the brink of ...(展开全部)

The Accidental is the dizzyingly entertaining, wickedly humorous story of a mysterious stranger whose sudden appearance during a family’s summer holiday transforms four variously unhappy people. Each of the Smarts–parents Eve and Michael, son Magnus, and the youngest, daughter Astrid–encounter Amber in his or her own solipsistic way, but somehow her presence allows them to se ...(展开全部)

Shortlisted for the 2005 Man Booker Prize! Read by an ensemble cast A chance encounter forever alters a family's understanding of itself. An exhilaratingly inventive, thought-provoking novel from the author of Hotel World.  Barefoot, thirtysomething Amber shows up at the door of a Norfolk cottage that the Smarts are renting for the summer. Amber doesn't know them, but ...(展开全部)

Scalpel-sharp in observation, deceptively simple in construction... at its frequent best Yes Prime Minister exhibits the classical perfection of a Mozart sonata' - Richard Last in The Times 'Its closely observed portrayal of what goes on in the corridors of power has given me hours of pure joy' - Rt Hon. Margaret Thatcher MP ' Yes Prime Minister ... is...(展开全部)

Scalpel-sharp in observation, deceptively simple in construction... at its frequent best Yes Prime Minister exhibits the classical perfection of a Mozart sonata' - Richard Last in The Times 'Its closely observed portrayal of what goes on in the corridors of power has given me hours of pure joy' - Rt Hon. Margaret Thatcher MP ' Yes Prime Minister ... is...(展开全部)

We have had diaries from other Cabinet Ministers, but none I think which have been quite so illuminating... It is a fascinating diary... It is shorter than Barbara Castle's... and although it is rather more accurate than Dick Crossman's, it is distinctly funnier' - Lord Allen of Abbeydale (formerly Permanent Secretary at the Home Office) in The Times 'It has...(展开全部)