Showing results by author "A. A. Gill" in All Categories

One of a series of retellings of classic world literature from publisher Real Reads. True to the original plot, characters and theme, this Real Read also reflects the original author's style and syntax.

Social media is replete with images of 'perfection'. But many are unrealistic and contribute to a pervasive sense of never being good enough: not thin enough; not pretty enough; not cool enough. Try too hard and you risk being condemned for being ‘attention-seeking’, don't try hard enough and you're slacking. Rosalind Gill challenges polarized perspectives that see young women as either passive victims of social media or as savvy digital natives. She argues the real picture is far more ambivalent.

Boris Morros was a major figure in the 1930s and 1940s. The head of music at Paramount, nominated for Academy Awards, he then went on to produce his own films with Laurel and Hardy, Fred Astaire, Henry Fonda, and others. But as J. Edgar Hoover would discover, these successes were a cover for one of the most incredible espionage tales in the history of the Cold War-Boris Morros also worked for Russian intelligence. Morros's assignments took him to the White House, the Vatican, and deep behind the Iron Curtain.

It's 1977, and Connie Fortune has an easy, freewheeling life as a wildlife photographer and illustrator. A new contract brings her to the Little Dip valley in Oregon to track down a rare bird, but a clash with Sylvie Garoul, the valley's owner and matriarch of the mysterious Garoul family, and her daughter, the haughty, frustrating, but somehow bewitching Marie Garoul, ruins the deal.

Welcome to St Ambrose Primary School. A world of friendships, fights and feuding. And that's just the mothers.It's the start of another school year at St Ambrose. But while the children are in the classroom colouring in, their mothers are learning sharper lessons on the other side of the school gates. Lessons in friendship. Lessons in betrayal. Lessons in the laws of community, the transience of power... and how to get invited to lunch.Beatrice - undisputed queen bee.

Inspector Hardy has retreated to Dorset on the south coast where he plans to spend long overdue quality time with his young daughters and pregnant partner. The sabbatical is short-lived when he is thrust back into the dark world of murder after a family with twin boys is found dead at their home in the countryside. Hardy pulls together a small team to investigate the devastating crime, which is the latest in a series of similar crimes. With no apparent motive and the only similarity between the families being twin boys, the team struggle to hunt a killer who seems unstoppable.

Two orphaned girls become found family amidst the horrors of WWII in a gripping and heart-wrenching tale of friendship, loss and survival against the odds which sweeps the listener across wartime Europe to Budapest from the mountains of Scotland.

Deep in the heart of the Congo, a baby gorilla is captured by a group of rebel soldiers. Imara and Bobo are also prisoners in the rebels' camp. When they learn that the gorilla will be sold into captivity, they swear to return it to the wild before it's too late. But the consequences of getting caught are too terrible to think about. Will the bond between the gorilla and the children give them the courage they need to escape?

New York City, 1921. The war is over, the twenties are roaring, but in the depths of the city that never sleeps, Dorothy Parker is struggling to make her mark in a man’s world. She’s penniless, she’s unemployed and her marriage is on the rocks when she starts a bridge group with three extraordinary women—but will they be able to save her from herself? When tragedy strikes, and everything Dorothy holds dear is threatened, it’s up to Peggy, Winifred and Jane to help her confront the truth before it’s too late. Because the stakes may be life or death.

When they first meet, Kara and Felix can't stand each other. But on discovering an injured dolphin calf on the beach they know they must work together to save it. Now friends, they set out to find the truth behind the disappearance of Kara's mother and to protect the nearby reef. But powerful people don't want them to succeed. And with the odds stacked against them, how can Kara and Felix make their voices heard?

The United Kingdom accrued considerable financial debts to the United States during and immediately after the First World War. In 1934, the British government unilaterally suspended payment on these debts. This book examines why the United Kingdom was one of the last major powers to default on its war debts to the United States and how these outstanding obligations affected political and economic relations between both governments.

When it comes to your own productivity, the smartest thing you can do is to learn what works best for you. Personal development author Gill Hasson helps you to discover how to manage your time and get things done with less stress and more efficiency. Being productive involves finding your own rhythm and getting things done in a way that works best for you; according to your circumstances, skills, and abilities and the time, energy, and resources you have.

Written and performed by Peter Gill, this made for radio audio recording of the play Meet Tommy Atkins takes the audience not just through Tommy's war, but also his life back home in Britain post war. We learn of his experiences in the trenches - fighting on the Somme, at Passchendaele and Loos; and also of the boredom, the loss, and indeed the comradeship. Returning to Britain, Tommy shows us how a generation of returning men were maltreated but how ultimately it was his generation that forced through the foundations of the Welfare State.

When teenager Leanne Churcher stormed out from the family home after another clash with her mother, she went to stay with a friend. She'd left the family home under a cloud before; after a day or two she always came home. Always. She usually just needed some time to cool off. After all, teenagers can be like that. Right? When after a few days she didn't return, and no trace of her can be found, the family begin to panic. The police assume she's an angry teenager whose run away. Why wouldn't they? There's no evidence to suggest foul play of any kind.

Have you ever found yourself in a room, feeling their eyes on you but unsure how to break the ice? Ronald Gill spills the beans in "13 Forgotten Mind Control Secrets." Navigate the complex details of language with Gill's complete guide to persuasion, tapping into hidden techniques, emotional manipulation, and the untapped potentials of the human mind.

Collected by international poetry sensation Nikita Gill, Slam! You're Gonna Wanna Hear This is a joyful celebration of the ground-breaking poets making their voices heard in the spoken-word scene. Empowering, inspiring and often hilarious, slams are a platform for well-known and emerging talent from all walks of life where every style of poetry has a home.

Joe has always loved the moorlands above his home: the wildness, the freedom, the peace. But since his father died, everything has changed, and the moors are no longer a place of refuge. Now the whole community is divided over the fate of the hen harriers that nest up there in the heather and Joe is stuck right in the middle, with a choice to make and a huge secret to keep. Joe can't do what's right for everyone. But can he find the strength to fight for what he really believes in?

Your Baby Can Self-Feed, Too, is the inclusive guide to introducing solids. Over 25 percent of children experience challenges with this big step—both typically developing babies and those with (known or unknown) physical or neurological differences. Resources on how to help babies who face obstacles in making the move to solid foods are scarce. That’s where this audiobook comes in.

1820, and the marriage between wealthy widower Sir Edward Knatchbull and Jane Austen’s handsome, dutiful niece Fanny Knight is widely praised as being the most excellent match in the county. As Sir Edward’s wife, Fanny is expected to apply herself to the raising of his five children with the same dedication she has shown towards her siblings at Godmersham Park. In particular, she pays care to young Mary Knatchbull - the only girl of the family, and the apple of her strict father's eye.

Jess and Laura might be sisters, but they’re very different. Laura is laid-back, eats cheese in bed and takes life as it comes. Jess, meanwhile, is the classic overachiever. They’re family, but they’re not exactly friends. When their mum dies, the sisters struggle to agree on anything, from where to scatter the ashes to whether 'passed away' is an acceptable term. But as life forces them together, Laura and Jess realise: the only way through this is as a team. After all, they’re stuck with each other - and drinking wine is more fun as a pair....