The new title in the critically acclaimed series that explores Australia's early Colonial secret history In1798 orphaned Barney Bean now has a flourishing farm in the New SouthWales colony and everything he ever dreamed of ... except his childhood friendElsie. Butwhen Elsie falls ill and Barney rushes to be by her side, he finally learns thedeadly secret she has been hiding. Who is this strange and beautiful girl who will not speak? And could Franceever attack the isolated colony? Written byaward-winning author Jackie French and superbly illustrated by Mark Wilson,this fourth book in The Secret Histories series explores extraordinary anduntold stories from Australia's past, including the female French botanistwho could only work disguised as a man, French and Englishspies, and wars between two empires that threatened even a far-off colony.

The third book in a series that explores Australia's secret histories By the 1790s, orphaned Barney Bean finally has his own farm in the early NSW colony. All his dreams are coming true! Black Caesar claims he is an ex-slave who vowed to be free. Or is he a laughing villain, a trickster who plans to terrorise the colony? Should Barney help him? Or does he risk losing everything - including his life? In this third title in The Secret Histories series, award-winning author and Children's Laureate Jackie French has researched the life of little-known John Black Caesar, who was Australia's first recorded bushranger.

The first in a new series that focuses on a secret part of our history From best-selling and award-winning author Jackie French comes a new series for younger readers called the Secret Histories. This first book in the series tells the story of a young indigenous girl Birrung who befriends orphaned Barney and his friend Elsie. Birrung is living with Mr Johnson, chaplain to the Australian colony in 1790, and his family. Generous in spirit, the Johnson family also take in Barney and Elsie who have only just been surviving on their meagre daily rations. Despite living with the Johnsons, Birrung's connection to her people remains strong, and when Mr and Mrs Johnson see how Barney's feeling for Birrung are growing, they gently explain that his friendship with a 'native' girl and all that she taught him about her language and lore must remain a secret - forever. Perfect for readers who loved the best-selling and award-winning Nanberry: Black Brother White, the Secret Histories series will be welcomed by all who love the power of Jackie French's storytelling.

THE STORY IS EQUAL PARTS DOWNTOWN ABBEY AND WARTIME ACTION , WITH ENOUGH ROMANCE AND INTRIGUE TO MAKE IT 100% NOT- PUT- DOWN-ABLE. Australian Woman's Weekly A tale of espionage, love and passionate heroism. Inspired by true events, this is the story of how society's 'lovely ladies' won a war. Each year at secluded Shillings Hall, in the snow-crisped English countryside, the mysterious Miss Lily draws around her young women selected from Europe's royal and most influential families. Her girls are taught how to captivate a man - and find a potential husband - at a dinner, in a salon, or at a grouse shoot, and in ways that would surprise outsiders. For in 1914, persuading and charming men is the only true power a woman has. Sophie Higgs is the daughter of Australia's king of corned beef and the only 'colonial' brought to Shillings Hall. Of all Miss Lily's lovely ladies, however, she is also the only one who suspects Miss Lily's true purpose. As the chaos of war spreads, women across Europe shrug off etiquette. The lovely ladies and their less privileged sisters become the unacknowledged backbone of the war, creating hospitals, canteens and transport systems where bungling officials fail to cope. And when tens of thousands can die in a single day's battle, Sophie must use the skills Miss Lily taught her to prevent war's most devastating weapon yet. But is Miss Lily heroine or traitor? And who, exactly, is she?

A cloth bag containing ten copies of the title.

NEW REVISED EDITION TO CELEBRATE THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST MOON LANDING Who were the Honeysuckle Creek mob? And how did they assist the first moon landing? When man took the first step on the moon it was a bunch of Australian technicians who tracked the spacecraft and sent the first television pictures to the world. No, not at Parkes - the movie 'The Dish' got it wrong. They were from Honeysuckle Creek in the ACT. This is their story, told by Bryan Sullivan, one of the technicians on duty at the time, and his wife, children's author Jackie French. And to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first manned Moon landing, Bryan and Jackie have revisited this book to reflect on the enormous strides that technology has made since this book was first published in 2004. Winner of the 2005 CBC Eve Pownall Award for Information Books in 2005, To the Moon and Back includes information about the space program and the birth of the internet, as well as supplying the answers to questions such as: How do you go to the toilet in a spacecraft? Have the astronauts ever seen an alien? What made the moon? Can I have a holiday in space? PRAISE '... fascinating insights into the part that the Australians played in getting the astronauts to the moon and back.' -- Bestselling author, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki

By bestselling author Jennet Conant, a stunning account of Julia Child’s early life as a member of the OSS in the Far East during World War II, and the tumultuous years when she and Paul Child were caught up in the McCarthy witch hunt and behaved with bravery and honor. Bestselling author Jennet Conant brings us a stunning account of Julia and Paul Child’s experiences as members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in the Far East during World War II and the tumultuous years when they were caught up in the McCarthy Red spy hunt in the 1950s and behaved with bravery and honor. It is the fascinating portrait of a group of idealistic men and women who were recruited by the citizen spy service, slapped into uniform, and dispatched to wage political warfare in remote outposts in Ceylon, India, and China. The eager, inexperienced six foot two inch Julia springs to life in these pages, a gangly golf-playing California girl who had never been farther abroad than Tijuana. Single and thirty years old when she joined the staff of Colonel William Donovan, Julia volunteered to be part of the OSS’s ambitious mission to develop a secret intelligence network across Southeast Asia. Her first post took her to the mountaintop idyll of Kandy, the headquarters of Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, the supreme commander of combined operations. Julia reveled in the glamour and intrigue of her overseas assignment and lifealtering romance with the much older and more sophisticated Paul Child, who took her on trips into the jungle, introduced her to the joys of curry, and insisted on educating both her mind and palate. A painter drafted to build war rooms, Paul was a colorful, complex personality. Conant uses extracts from his letters in which his sharp eye and droll wit capture the day-to-day confusion, excitement, and improbability of being part of a cloak- and-dagger operation. When Julia and Paul were transferred to Kunming, a rugged outpost at the foot of the Burma Road, they witnessed the chaotic end of the war in China and the beginnings of the Communist revolution that would shake the world. A Covert Affair chronicles their friendship with a brilliant and eccentric array of OSS agents, including Jane Foster, a wealthy, free-spirited artist, and Elizabeth MacDonald, an adventurous young reporter. In Paris after the war, Julia and Paul remained close to their intelligence colleagues as they struggled to start new lives, only to find themselves drawn into a far more terrifying spy drama. Relying on recently unclassified OSS and FBI documents, as well as previously unpublished letters and diaries, Conant vividly depicts a dangerous time in American history, when those who served their country suddenly found themselves called to account for their unpopular opinions and personal relationships.

the hole was moving! the walls were falling down... there was a rope under his arms. there was a face above. An anxious face, yelling something down to him, something he didn't understand. A strange face, with something wrong about the eyes. tanned skin, unshaven, black hair a bit too long. Joey knows there is a Japanese soldier hiding in the hills. It was a Japanese man, a soldier, who hauled him out of the mineshaft, who lit the fire to bring the searchers, and then disappeared. But nobody believes Joey. After all, it is World War 2 and children have nightmares. Joey knows he will have to find the soldier himself - must find him. Could he be part of the invasion force Could he be sending messages to waiting submarines Ages 12+ the hole was moving! the walls were falling down... there was a rope under his arms. there was a face above. An anxious face, yelling something down to him, something he didn't understand. A strange face, with something wrong about the eyes. tanned skin, unshaven, black hair a bit too long. Joey knows there is a Japanese soldier hiding in the hills. It was a Japanese man, a soldier, who hauled him out of the mineshaft, who lit the fire to bring the searchers, and then disappeared. But nobody believes Joey. After all, it is World War 2 and children have nightmares. Joey knows he will have to find the soldier himself - must find him. Could he be part of the invasion force? Could he be sending messages to waiting submarines? Ages 12+

BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A novel that follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he never much thought about—until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance: one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present. A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single setting, The Sense of an Ending has the psychological and emotional depth and sophistication of Henry James at his best, and is a stunning achievement in Julian Barnes's oeuvre. Tony Webster thought he left his past behind as he built a life for himself, and his career has provided him with a secure retirement and an amicable relationship with his ex-wife and daughter, who now has a family of her own. But when he is presented with a mysterious legacy, he is forced to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world.

From the creators of the delightful QUEEN VICTORIA'S UNDERPANTS comes the story of the first 'traditional' Christmas, complete with a Christmas tree and presents for the family, as seen from the point of view of Queen Victoria's dogs. Something strange is happening at the palace and the dogs can't work it out. the cooks are busy ... are royal visitors arriving? Mysterious parcels are arriving. And most curious of all ... what is that tree doing in Prince Albert's study? From the creators of the delightful QUEEN VICtORIA'S UNDERPANtS come the story of the first 'traditional' Christmas, complete with a Christmas tree and presents for the family, as seen from the point of view of Queen Victoria's dogs.