Penguin Decades bring you the novels that helped shape modern Britain. When they were published, some were bestsellers, some were considered scandalous, and others were simply misunderstood. All represent their time and helped define their generation, while today each is considered a landmark work of storytelling. Peter Ackroyd's Hawksmoor was first published in 1985. Alternating between the eighteenth century, when Nicholas Dyer, assistant to Christopher Wren, builds seven London churches that house a terrible secret, and the 1980s, when London detective Nicholas Hawksmoor is investigating a series of gruesome murders on the sight of certain old churches, Hawksmoor is a brilliant tale of darkness and shadow.

Penguin Decades bring you the novels that helped shape modern Britain. When they were published, some were bestsellers, some were considered scandalous, and others were simply misunderstood. All represent their time and helped define their generation, while today each is considered a landmark work of storytelling. William Boyd's An Ice-Cream War was published in 1982, an auspicious debut by a young writer who would go on to be recognized as 'the finest storyteller of his generation' (Sebastain Faulks). It follows the fortunes of several wildly different characters — including an expat farmer and a young English aristocrat — as they are swept up in the fighting in German East Africa during the First World War, their lives converging amid battle, betrayal, love, comedy and tragedy.

Nick Hornby returns to his roots — music and messy relationships — in this funny and touching new novel which thoughtfully and sympathetically looks at how lives can be wasted but how they are never beyond redemption. Annie lives in a dull town on England's bleak east coast and is in a relationship with Duncan which mirrors the place; Tucker was once a brilliant songwriter and performer, who's gone into seclusion in rural America — or at least that's what his fans think. Duncan is obsessed with Tucker's work, to the point of derangement, and when Annie dares to go public on her dislike of his latest album, there are quite unexpected, life-changing consequences for all three. Nick Hornby uses this intriguing canvas to explore why it is we so often let the early promise of relationships, ambition and indeed life evaporate. And he comes to some surprisingly optimistic conclusions.

'I have nothing to declare', Wilde once told an American customs official, 'except my genius'. A socialite, a wit, a man who flaunted convention and was unafraid to shock, Oscar Wilde was a great writer and a great man. This new collection of wit and wisdom demonstrates the brilliance of his vision, the audacity of his style. Such is the scope of the material, it brings to life the Wilde of great feeling as well as the Wilde of great art.

Meet Max and Lucy Summers — half-sisters and the best of friends. Max is a gorgeous showbiz reporter whose life is a whirlwind of celebrity parties, glamorous bars, juicy gossip and gorgeous men. Lucy, a beautiful, elegant fashion writer, has always been the sensible one, taking care of her little sister and never seeking the limelight. But that all changes when she falls for Hartley, Britain's sexiest royal bachelor, and her lovelife is suddenly splashed across the front pages of the tabloids. And when Hartley's ex-girlfriend starts scheming to get her man back, Lucy realizes that she's up against more than just the paparazzi...Meanwhile Max, tired of the non-stop partying that her job entails, has finally met the perfect man but when she finds out who he really is, she realizes that they can't be together. Can Max walk away from the love of her life? And will Lucy play the fame game in order to keep hers?

From bonding to bondage, from B&Q to Belarus, along with seven smelly cats, three useless handymen, two slimy estate agents, social workers, and a bonker lady, this is the story of a very unlikely friendship. Georgie Sinclair's husband has walked out; her sixteen-year-old son is busy surfing born-again websites; and all those overdue articles for Adhesives in the Modern World are getting her down. So when Georgie spots Mrs Shapiro, an eccentric old Jewish emigre neighbour with an eye for a bargain and a fondness for matchmaking, rummaging through her skip in the middle of the night, it's just the distraction she needs. And although they mistrust each other at first — Georgie doesn't like the look of that past-its-sell-by-date fish, while Mrs Shapiro thinks Georgie needs to smarten herself up and grab a new husband — a firm friendship is formed over the reduced-price shelf at the supermarket. Then Mrs Shapiro is admitted to hospital and to Georgie's surprise, she is named as her next of kin. But sorting out Mrs Shapiro's semi-derelict mansion in Highbury, home to seven stinky cats with agendas of their own, is no easy job when the handyman called in to change the locks turns out to be not what he seems and his two assistants, 'the Uselesses', are doing more breaking than fixing. And what about the two slimy estate agents (one with a charming taste for bondage) who start competing to trick Mrs Shapiro into selling her rickety old house, or the social worker determined to commit her to a nursing home? As Georgie steps in to help her new friend, she finds herself unravelling a mystery which takes her from Highbury to wartime Europe to the Middle East, and learning a bit about DIY along the way.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are the best-known and most talked-about couple in the world. When they got together in 2005 it made headlines worldwide — everyone wanted to know the full story of what had happened: had Brad cheated on Jen? How long had the affair been going on? Just what happened on the set of Mr and Mrs Smith to break up Hollywood's golden couple? Since the birth of 'Brangelina', Brad and Ange have never been out of the spotlight. Whether it's speculation about their wild and incredible sex life or the apparent cracks in their relationship, the public are fascinated. But never before has a book told the full story — of the relationships and lives that Brad, Jen and Angelina all led before fate brought them together, of the irresistible chemistry that drew Brad and Angelina together, of their relationship together, from its glorious honeymoon period through to its shaky present. Finally, Chas Newkey-Burden separates the rumours from the reality and the truth from the lies. This is the astonishing, electrifying and untold story of Brangelina. Once you pick up this book you will not be able to put it down...

Brace yourself, Clarkson's back. And he'd like to tell you what he thinks about some of the most awe-inspiring, earth-shatteringly fast and jaw-droppingly gorgeous cars in the world (alongside a few irredeemable disasters ...). Or he would, if there weren't so many things competing for his attention first. So much to get off his chest. The world according to Clarkson is a perplexing place, filled with thorny subjects like: the prospect of having Terry Wogan as president; why you'll never see a woman driving a Lexus; the unforeseen consequences of inadequate birth control; and, why everyone should spend a weekend with a digger. Fearless, independent, surprising and laugh-out-loud funny, Driven to Distraction is full-throttle Clarkson at his best; a unique look at the joys, absurdities and frustrations of modern life. With wheels. Buckle up, get comfortable, and hold on tight. There's no one who writes about cars like Jeremy.

During the Second World War Roald Dahl served in the RAF and suffered horrific injuries in an air crash in the Libyan desert. Drawing on his own experience as a fighter pilot, Dahl crafted these ten spine-tingling stories: of air battles in the sky; of the nightmare of being shot down; of the infectious madness of conflict; and of the nervy jollity of the Mess and Ops room. Dahl brilliantly conveys the bizarre reality of a wartime pilot's daily existence, where death is a constant companion and life is lived from one heartbeat to the next.

«A tremendous bestseller when it was published in 1925, «An American Tragedy» is the culmination of Theodore Dreiser's elementally powerful fictional art. Revised reissue.»

Vampire musician Michael Glass has attracted the attention of a big-time producer who wants him to cut a demo and play some gigs — which means Michael will have to enter the human world. For this, he's been assigned escorts that include both a dangerous immortal as well as Michael's all-too-human friends. And with that mix of personalities, this is going to be a road trip from hell...

School psychologist Skye Denison reluctantly agrees to act as maid of honor in her California cousin's over-the-top wedding — and is also expected to assist the control-freak wedding planner. But when she discovers the planner dead, Skye is suddenly working double-duty.

«It was Jackson, Mississippi, 1962. Black maids raise white children, but aren't trusted not to steal the silver. Some lines will never be crossed. Aibileen is a black maid: smart, regal, and raising her seventeenth white child. Yet something shifted inside Aibileen the day her own son died while his bosses looked the other way. Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is by some way the sassiest woman in Mississippi. But even her extraordinary cooking won't protect Minny from the consequences of her tongue. Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter returns home with a degree and a head full of hope, but her mother will not be happy until there's a ring on her finger. Seeking solace with Constantine, the beloved maid who raised her, Skeeter finds she has gone. But why will no one tell her where? Seemingly as different as can be, Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny's lives converge over a clandestine project that will not only put them all at risk but also change the town of Jackson for ever. But why? And for what? «The Help» is a deeply moving, timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we won't. It is about how women, whether mothers or daughters, the help or the boss, relate to each other — and that terrible feeling that those who look after your children may understand them, even love them, better than you.»

Alex Leamas is tired. It's the 1960s, he's been out in the cold for years, spying in Berlin for his British masters, and has seen too many good agents murdered for their troubles. Now Control wants to bring him in at last — but only after one final assignment. He must travel deep into the heart of Communist Germany and betray his country, a job that he will do with his usual cynical professionalism. But when George Smiley tries to help a young woman Leamas has befriended, Leamas' mission may prove to be the worst thing he could ever have done. In le Carre's breakthrough work of 1963, the spy story is reborn as a gritty and terrible tale of men who are caught up in politics beyond their imagining.

«A #1 «New York Times» — bestselling author takes readers deep into the rugged Black Hills of South Dakota, where the shadows hide secrets, hunters stalk the land, and a childhood friendship matures into an adult passion.»

There's only one vampire that cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse is involved with (at least voluntarily) and it's Bill Compton. But when she catches him in a serious act of betrayal, she's not sure whether to save him — or sharpen some stakes.

Jockey Freddie Croft discovers a high-stakes conspiracy that exposes the seedy underside of horse racing — and faces even deadlier odds of survival than in any steeplechase run.

A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make, and the ultimate choice one teenage girl commands, this emotionally arresting novel is sure to captivate readers.

«In 2060, Lieutenant Eve Dallas searches the backstreets of New York City for a dastardly and despicable criminal, in the newest novel by #1 «New York Times» — bestselling author J.D. Robb.»

From the incredible wizadry of Merlin to the passion of Sir Lancelot, these tales of Arthur and his knights offer epic adventures with the supernatural as well as timeless battles with out own humanity.