One stormy December night some time in the eighteenth century, a coach came thundering down the long hill outside of Dorking on its usual journey into London. But something unusual was to happen that night as one of the passengers unexpectedly gave birth to a child. Not until he was eight did Sam Chichester discover that the coachman and guard he called 'Ma and 'Pa' were not his real parents. Sam will need to grow up, leave home, and find love before he will finally uncover the truth about his parentage.

First published in 1971. The book examines the presentation of the urban and industrial working classes in Victorian fiction. It considers the different types of working men and women who appear in fiction, the environments they are shown to inhabit, and the use of phonetics to indicate the sound of working class voices. Evidence is drawn from a wide range of major and minor fiction, and new light is cast on Dickens, Mrs Gaskell, Charles Kingsley, George Gissing, Rudyard Kipling and Arthur Morrison. This book would be of interest to students of literature, sociology and history.

A collection of 19 comic sketches for performance at parties, weddings, open mike sessions, etc.

Perfect for fans of Dilly Court, Rosie Harris, Nancy Revell and Catherine Cookson, this is the richly moving and powerful story of one girl's struggle to protect her family, come what may, from much loved author Maggie Bennett. READERS ARE LOVING A CHILD'S VOICE CALLING! 'A great story full of every emotion' -- ***** Reader review 'Very capturing' -- ***** Reader review 'Riveting' -- ***** Reader review 'Great story, couldn't put it down' -- ***** Reader review '[Maggie Bennett] is a real story teller who makes you want to turn each page' -- ***** Reader review 'Maggie Bennett is a brilliant writer' -- ***** Reader review ******************************************************************** SHE'LL NEED TO DO ALL SHE CAN TO SAVE HER FAMILY...AND HERSELF London, 1900s: Young Mabel Court, child of a hasty marriage and spendthrift parents, has always been a mother to her brothers and sisters. With poverty never far from the door, the battle to stay respectable is finally lost when the family breaks up in tragic circumstances, and Mabel is thrown upon the dubious mercy of her grandmother, the sinister Mimi Court. Mimi has her own dark secrets and is not all she seems... When Mimi falls foul of the law and Mabel has to fight for her own survival, faithful Harry Drover of the Salvation Army, in love with Mabel, gets an opportunity to prove his devotion. Is a happy ending on the cards?

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES! Bram Stoker, business manager for London’s Lyceum Theatre, always expects the supernatural to be lurking around the corner. But investigating the murder of a cast member might be enough to make even him lose his head… 1881. When the star and owner of the Lyceum, Mr. Henry Irving, is poisoned on Hamlet’s opening night, it’s up to stage manager Harry Rivers to make sure the show goes on. Fortunately for Harry, Mr. Irving is able to pull through and walk the boards as planned. But when his understudy is killed the very next day, Harry’s boss, Bram Stoker, becomes convinced that foul play is afoot. Mr. Irving has a list of enemies longer than a Shakespearean soliloquy, any of whom would have been happy for the curtain never to rise. It soon becomes clear that nefarious, possibly magical, methods are being employed to shut the play down. With more cast and crew members falling victim to the increasingly dangerous accidents on set, it’s up to Harry and Stoker to figure out which of Irving’s critics has a voodoo vendetta…

an adventure to the end of the land where magic and great mo nsters do appear

Christopher Milbourne presents a selection of classic magic tricks originally published over the course of 50 years in "The Sphinx," the most famous magazine for magicians.