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Set on the island of Mallorca, The Rocks is a double love story told in reverse. Opening in 2005 with a dramatic event that seems to seal the mystery of two lives, the story moves backwards in time, unravelling over sixty years, amid the olive groves and bars, the boats and poolside parties, the lives and relationships of two intertwined families within an expat community of endearing and flawed characters. As one story is revealed, another, sweeter one, a love story of a couple from the younger generation, arises in the wake of their elders' failures. The Rocks is a darkly comic, bittersweet, finally heartbreaking novel, that slips back in time to reveal the shocking incident that marked and altered these lives for ever.
A rich selection from the best of Nichols' work up to and including his award-winning Privates on Parade This volume continues the stage plays of Peter Nichols, newly revised and introduced by the author. Chez Nous is about English couples who bring their emotional baggage with them on a holiday to France; Privates on Parade is a hit play inspired by the author's experience in Singapore after the war working for the Combined Services Entertainments where he met among others John Schlesinger and Kenneth Williams at a time when 'mixed' entertainment relied on men dressing up as women; Born in the Gardens is inspired by the author's native city Bristol while Passion Play is a play about passion among the elderly - won Best Play (Evening Standard) in 1981. Poppy (the musical that opened the RSC's residence at the Barbican) is set in the Victorian Far East. It takes a pop at imperial hypocrisy and wickedness and won the Best Musical award.
This is the story of the man without whom the name Charles Darwin might be unknown to us today. That man was Captain Robert FitzRoy, who invited the 22-year-old Darwin to be his companion on board the Beagle . This is the remarkable story of how a misguided decision by Robert FitzRoy, captain of HMS Beagle , precipitated his employment of a young naturalist named Charles Darwin, and how the clash between FitzRoy’s fundamentalist views and Darwin’s discoveries led to FitzRoy’s descent into the abyss. One of the great ironies of history is that the famous journey—wherein Charles Darwin consolidated the earth-rattling ‘origin of the species’ discoveries—was conceived by another man: Robert FitzRoy. It was FitzRoy who chose Darwin for the journey—not because of Darwin’s scientific expertise, but because he seemed a suitable companion to help FitzRoy fight back the mental illness that had plagued his family for generations. Darwin did not give FitzRoy solace; indeed, the clash between the two men’s opposing views, together with the ramifications of Darwin’s revelations, provided FitzRoy with the final unendurable torment that forced him to end his own life.
A glorious meeting of humor, eroticism and duplicity, this modern classic enjoys a major West End revival starring Zoe Wanamaker.
This candid and often hilarious, personal account of Nichols' experiences of being an up and coming successful writer, also reveals a man still coping with the daily grind of everyday living in the 70s. For some it will bring back memories, while for others it will provide an insight into the 70s.
To mark the publication of two other titles by Peter Nichols, A Voyage for Madmen and Lodestar Profile Books is delighted to announce the reissue of this, Peter Nichols_ first book, a biographical account of his own dramatic adventure. When his marriage ended, Peter Nichols had to sell the only thing he and his wife owned - their boat. With only his sextant, his instincts as a seasoned sailor and his memories of a floundering marriage, he sets out from England to sail to America to sell his beloved boat, Toad. Halfway across the Atlantic, Toad springs a leak. As the sea floods in faster, Nichols tries everything to stay afloat, desperately pumping the water out by hand. He loses the battle after 3 days and is forced to sink Toad. This is more than a sea-tale. It is the painful story of his marriage, his boat and himself.
The play centres on a British couple, Bri and Sheila, who are struggling to save their marriage whilst trying to raise their only child, a small girl named Josephine, who has cerebral palsy. She uses a wheelchair and is nonverbal, which her parents see as unable to communicate. Caring for her has occupied nearly every moment of her parents' lives since her birth, taking a heavy toll on their marriage. Sheila gives Josephine as much of a life as she can, while Bri wants the child institutionalised and has begun to entertain chilling fantasies of killing himself and Josephine.
Poppy, the third volume in the series Medicinal and Aromatic Plants - Industrial Profiles presents up-to-date information on Poppy and related species. The introduction emphasizes the importance of Poppy, giving a historical evaluation. in the chapters describing the botany and taxonomy of the genus some novel aspects are discussed, e.g., special m
Introduces the reader to a wealth of literary experiment, beginning in the 19th century.
A Piece of My Mind "transforms a self-confessed case of writer's block into a continuously inventive and thought-provoking comedy" (Charles Spencer, London Daily News) "The portrait of a marriage and his strained relationship with his teenage children all seem to come straight from the heart. They are all the more affecting for being described in the context of such immaculate artifice" (Charles Spencer, London Daily News)