Something of the Night

Simon & Schuster Ltd 2012, Hardcover, 304 pages, £14.99

And who knows; the night might bring romance, or love, or sex, if you play your cards right. Or you might be working; millions of people work at night. If nobody worked at night, Britain would cease to function. Or the night might be cold, haunted, inhuman and wild. When you look up into the night sky, you see that you are nothing. An insignificant mote of dust.

Or the night could be all too human. Hen parties in skimpy dresses and fairy wings being slammed into the back of a police van; girls working on street corners in the part of town where the lights don’t come on; businessmen going to lap-dancing clubs to forget what waits at home.

Or you could die. Most people do die at night. Or you could just lie awake and wait for the dawn. Set over the course of an intoxicated night in a house up a mountain in West Cork, Ian Marchant offers a darkly funny account of what people get up to at night, explores his own experience of a life of night times, and shows us how we all have something of the night about us.

Listen to the podcast

Listen to the podcast

Death Comes to Pemberley

Faber and Faber 2011, Hardcover, 320 pages, £18.99

The year is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome and healthy sons in the Pemberley nursery, Elizabeth’s beloved sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live within seventeen miles, the ordered and secure life of Pemberley seems unassailable, and Elizabeth’s happiness in her marriage is complete.

But their peace is threatened and old sins and misunderstandings are rekindled on the eve of the annual autumn ball. The Darcys and their guests are preparing to retire for the night when a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley’s wild woodland, and as it pulls up, Lydia Wickham, an uninvited guest, tumbles out, screaming that her husband has been murdered.

In a pitch-perfect recreation of the world of Pride and Prejudice, P. D. James elegantly fuses her lifelong passion for the work of Jane Austen with her talent for writing detective fiction. She weaves a compelling story, combining a sensitive insight into the happy but threatened marriage of the Darcys and the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly crafted detective story.

Death Comes to Pemberley enshrines the qualities her readers have come to expect: psychological and emotional richness of characterisation, vivid evocation of place, and a credible and superbly structured plot, in a powerful and distinguished work of fiction.

Listen to the interview

Death Comes to Pemberley

Faber and Faber 2011, Hardcover, 320 pages, £18.99

The year is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome and healthy sons in the Pemberley nursery, Elizabeth’s beloved sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live within seventeen miles, the ordered and secure life of Pemberley seems unassailable, and Elizabeth’s happiness in her marriage is complete.

But their peace is threatened and old sins and misunderstandings are rekindled on the eve of the annual autumn ball. The Darcys and their guests are preparing to retire for the night when a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley’s wild woodland, and as it pulls up, Lydia Wickham, an uninvited guest, tumbles out, screaming that her husband has been murdered.

In a pitch-perfect recreation of the world of Pride and Prejudice, P. D. James elegantly fuses her lifelong passion for the work of Jane Austen with her talent for writing detective fiction. She weaves a compelling story, combining a sensitive insight into the happy but threatened marriage of the Darcys and the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly crafted detective story.

Death Comes to Pemberley enshrines the qualities her readers have come to expect: psychological and emotional richness of characterisation, vivid evocation of place, and a credible and superbly structured plot, in a powerful and distinguished work of fiction.

P.D. James discusses Death Comes to Pemberley

• Read the extract
• Win a copy of Death Comes to Pemberley in Bookdagger’s November competition!

Pyg

Canongate Books Ltd 2011, Hardcover, 288 pages, £12.99

‘Had it not been for the fortuitous circumstances of Sam’s youthful sentiment, there can be little doubt that, instead of this my Book before you on your Table, you would have a rasher of Bacon and a Rack of Ribs – and that these would be my only mortal remains.’

So begin the beguiling memoirs of TOBY, whose meteoric rise to Fame from his humble beginnings on a Salford farm is a story so Extraordinary you won’t ever be able to forget it. For these are no ordinary Memoirs; these are the memoirs of a PIG. The most gifted, charming, distinguished (and luckiest) pig in History.

After escaping the butcher’s knife with the help of his steadfast companion Sam, Toby soon finds himself under the order of the volatile impresario Silas Bisset and his travelling menagerie of performing monkeys, horses, turkeys and canaries. Before too long, he is packing out theatres and concert halls, impressing the crowds with his ability to count, spell and even read the minds of ladies. But celebrity comes at a cost, as Toby soon finds out…

How Toby escapes becoming bacon by joining a travelling menagerie

Toby catches a glimpse of tight-rope walking cats – what is in store for him?

Pyg

Canongate Books Ltd 2011, Hardcover, 288 pages, £12.99

‘Had it not been for the fortuitous circumstances of Sam’s youthful sentiment, there can be little doubt that, instead of this my Book before you on your Table, you would have a rasher of Bacon and a Rack of Ribs – and that these would be my only mortal remains.’

So begin the beguiling memoirs of TOBY, whose meteoric rise to Fame from his humble beginnings on a Salford farm is a story so Extraordinary you won’t ever be able to forget it. For these are no ordinary Memoirs; these are the memoirs of a PIG. The most gifted, charming, distinguished (and luckiest) pig in History.

After escaping the butcher’s knife with the help of his steadfast companion Sam, Toby soon finds himself under the order of the volatile impresario Silas Bisset and his travelling menagerie of performing monkeys, horses, turkeys and canaries. Before too long, he is packing out theatres and concert halls, impressing the crowds with his ability to count, spell and even read the minds of ladies. But celebrity comes at a cost, as Toby soon finds out…

Please permit actor Simon Callow to introduce Toby…

 How Toby the Pig came by his name

The Last Werewolf

Canongate Books Ltd 2011, Paperback, £7.99

For two centuries Jacob Marlowe has wandered the world, enslaved by his lunatic appetites and tormented by the memory of his first and most monstrous crime. Now, the last of his kind, he knows he can’t go on. But as Jake counts down to suicide, a violent murder and an extraordinary meeting plunge him straight back into the desperate pursuit of life.

Listen to the Wolfcast!

Author Glen Duncan has joined forces with The Real Tuesday Weld to record a soundtrack to the book. The Last Werewolf takes Glen Duncan’s novel as the backdrop for a widescreen emotional cabaret tailor-made for the I tunes generation. For the album is both a high-concept soundtrack plus a diverse playlist for the eclectic of ear and heart, all held within the band’s own genre ‘Antique Beat’. The book’s themes of violence, friendship, transformation, London, love and betrayal are recast as a suite of songs bound together by voices and readings from the text.

Watch the video for the track ‘Tear Us Apart’…

• Visit Jacob’s website
• More information on the book’s soundtrack

These fascinating insights are taken from programmes such as Woman’s Hour, Parkinson, Desert Island Discs, Front Row, Today, Start the Week, Late Night Line-Up, Kaleidoscope and many others, in which the subjects talk about aspects of their professional and private lives.

Many of these interviews have not been heard since their original transmission, and almost none of them have previously been made available for purchase. They represent a window into the past, a chance for us to hear the voices of those who contributed to the richness of our political and cultural heritage.

Produced by AudioGO, the BBC Archive Voices range is available to download from www.audiogo.co.uk and iTunes from 27th September – just search BBC Archive Voices to see the whole range.Eight titles will be released in October:  Shirley Bassey, Paul McCartney, Roald Dahl, Noel Coward, Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock, Margaret Thatcher and Brian Clough; with new releases every month thereafter.

• Listen to interviews withNoel Coward and Bette Davis
• Listen to interviews withShirley Bassey and Paul McCartney
• Listen to interviews withMargaret Thatcher and Brian Clough
• Listen to interviews with Roald Dahl and Alfred Hitchcock

The Questions:

To win, answer four simple questions, the answers to which can be found in recent Bookhugger articles…

• Question 1: What film subjects could Alfred Hitchock ‘not handle’?
  
• Question 2: According to Brian Clough, which job would he want?
• Question 3: How long did Shirley Bassey live in Tiger Bay?
• Question 4: Who does Betty Davis think she is the reincarnation of?

Terms and conditions

1. Closing date for entries: 3rd November 2011.
2. Open to residents of the United Kingdom only.
3. Entry to the competition is by completion of the above form only. Anyone submitting multiple entries will be disqualified.
4. The winners will be selected from those correct entries received before the closing date. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
5. Only the winning entrants will be contacted by Bookhugger.
6. The winner’s name(s) may be published on the Bookhugger website after the closing date of the competition.
7. The competition is not open to Bookhugger employees and their families, or to employees of Bookhugger publishers and their families.

These fascinating insights are taken from programmes such as Woman’s Hour, Parkinson, Desert Island Discs, Front Row, Today, Start the Week, Late Night Line-Up, Kaleidoscope and many others, in which the subjects talk about aspects of their professional and private lives.

Many of these interviews have not been heard since their original transmission, and almost none of them have previously been made available for purchase. They represent a window into the past, a chance for us to hear the voices of those who contributed to the richness of our political and cultural heritage.

Produced by AudioGO, the BBC Archive Voices range is available to download from www.audiogo.co.uk and iTunes from 27th September – just search BBC Archive Voices to see the whole range. Eight titles will be released in October:  Shirley Bassey, Paul McCartney, Roald Dahl, Noel Coward, Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock, Margaret Thatcher and Brian Clough; with new releases every month thereafter.

Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl talks about writing for children; his medical inventions to aid his ailing son and wife (the actress Patricia Neal) when they were seriously ill; writing short stories; school days; military service; film scripting (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang); writing violence and morality and the link between cruelty and laughter.

Listen to the interview

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock talks about a childhood experience being locked in a police cell; being typecast as a director of thrillers; his early films; the advent of ‘talkies’; planning Psycho; American audiences; cinema technique; horror films; the influence of real crimes; the difference between making films in America and Britain; the importance of lighting; his female leads; being a practical joker; critics; avoiding clichés; murder in film; film editing and music; The Birds; the star factor in actors, and making comedies.

Listen to the interview

These fascinating insights are taken from programmes such as Woman’s Hour, Parkinson, Desert Island Discs, Front Row, Today, Start the Week, Late Night Line-Up, Kaleidoscope and many others, in which the subjects talk about aspects of their professional and private lives.

Many of these interviews have not been heard since their original transmission, and almost none of them have previously been made available for purchase. They represent a window into the past, a chance for us to hear the voices of those who contributed to the richness of our political and cultural heritage.

Produced by AudioGO, the BBC Archive Voices range is available to download from www.audiogo.co.uk and iTunes from 27th September – just search BBC Archive Voices to see the whole range. Eight titles will be released in October:  Shirley Bassey, Paul McCartney, Roald Dahl, Noel Coward, Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock, Margaret Thatcher and Brian Clough; with new releases every month thereafter.

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher talks about having a product and advertising it; being a woman in politics; managing men and women; her response to the media attacks she received in the early days of her career; the importance of wearing the right clothes; her memories of home, including working in her father’s grocery shop; the radio and TV programmes she enjoyed (including The Two Ronnies); following sports including cricket and tennis; meeting her husband Denis; her worries about her son Mark when he went missing in the Sahara desert; food and cooking; celebrating Christmas; working women and childcare; her interest in science; her love of porcelain and sculpture; stamina; sleep, and her worst moment as Prime Minister (during the Falklands War).

Listen to the interview

Brian Clough

Brian Clough talks about how he is perceived by other people; his bluntness & forceful opinions; ‘the real Brian Clough’; what makes his a good football manager; the prospect of becoming an MP; Sir Alf Ramsay; his dream job; football hysteria and hooliganism; his childhood and mother’s death; being imitated by Mike Yarwood; what people may say of him after death; buying football players and having managerial ability; sport on TV; leaving Nottingham Forest, and his falling out with Peter Taylor.

Listen to the interview