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On a night of wild storms, two troubled figures escape from captivity. One is a 15-year-old boy, Samuel Miles, a.k.a. ‘Smiler’, wrongly convicted of theft and sent to a young offenders institution. The other is a cheetah, Yarra, a restless resident of Longleat Wildlife Park. Both are in danger from the outside world – and each other – but somehow their lives become inextricably bound up as they fight for survival on the edge of Salisbury Plain. A fast-moving and compassionate adventure story, The Runaways is the first book in Victor Canning's classic children's trilogy.
The Crimson Chalice trilogy, first published between 1976 and 1978, is Victor Canning’s classic retelling of the story of King Arthur. Beginning with the story of his parents, Tia and Baradoc, Canning weaves elements of the Grail myth into a Fifth century setting; a Britain abandoned by the Romans, and gradually descending into tribal conflict. In the second book of the trilogy, The Circle of the Gods, young Arturo, with an unshakeable sense of destiny, establishes a comitatus, a gathering of companions, which will one day grow into an army under the banner of the white horse. In the closing book, The Immortal Wound, Arturo’s story concludes as he ascends to become high king of Britain. Throughout the story, the ever present Merlin appears to guide Arturo, as he fulfils his destiny, alongside the familiar characters of Arthurian legend. “An unusual blend of fairy tale and historical novel . . . vivid, original and gripping.’ Washington Post
The London PI is sent to France in pursuit of some hot wheels in this “first-class professional thriller” from the author of The Python Project (The Times Literary Supplement). Rex Carver wants a holiday—is determined to have one, in fact. So, when millionaire Cavan O’Dowda attempts to hire him to track down some stolen property, the answer is a flat “No.” Until, that is, Cavan’s beautiful daughter, Julia, arrives to collect him. The property in question is a top-of-the-range Mercedes, missing in France somewhere between Evian and Cannes; the driver turned up in Cannes without the car, and with no memory of the prior forty-eight hours. O’Dowda wants the vehicle, and the papers concealed within it, recovered at any cost . . . The Bond of private investigators sets out on his final mission, perfect for fans of Elmore Leonard and Raymond Chandler. Praise for the writing of Victor Canning “A sheer master.” —The New York Times Book Review “Mr. Canning’s inventiveness never flags for a moment.” —The Daily Telegraph “Worthy to stand beside John le Carré.” —Publishers Weekly “Witty and well crafted.” —Mystery File
Mr Edgar Finchley, unmarried clerk, aged 45, is told to take a holiday for the first time in his life. He decides to go to the seaside. But Fate has other plans in store... From his abduction by a cheerful crook, to his smuggling escapade off the south coast, the timid but plucky Mr Finchley is plunged into a series of the most astonishing and extraordinary adventures. His rural adventure takes him gradually westward through the English countryside and back, via a smuggling yacht, to London. This gentle comedy trilogy was a runaway bestseller on first publication in the 1930s and retains a timeless appeal today. It has been dramatized twice for BBC Radio, with the 1990 series regularly repea...
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Book 2 of the classic trilogy of humorous rural adventures through pre-war England. An ebullient Mr Finchley is about to propose marriage to a lady he had rescued from mishap, when he is sent to Paris by his firm. There he manages to upset a boat, adopt a stray orphan and get himself kidnapped. The fine tangle he gets into takes some unravelling! Only when eventually back in London does he complete the proposal of marriage that was interrupted at the start. Jerome Jerome meets Mr Bean in this gentle comedy series, which was a runaway bestseller on first publication in the 1930s and retains a timeless appeal today. It has been dramatized twice for BBC Radio, with the 1990 series regularly repeated. AUTHOR: Victor Canning was a prolific writer throughout his career, which began young: he had sold several short stories by the age of nineteen and his first novel, Mr Finchley Discovers His England (1934) was published when he was twenty-three. Canning also wrote for children: his trilogy The Runaways was adapted for US children's television. Canning's later thrillers were darker and more complex than his earlier work and received further critical acclaim.
A classic travelogue that brilliantly conjures 1930s Britain. In this series of pen-portraits of England from the 1930s, Victor Canning ‘evocatively captures the pattern and colour of English life’ (The Bookseller), from Cumbria to Cornwall. Canning’s heart-warming and humorous observations of sleepy villages, pastoral scenes and busy industries are a delightful time capsule into life in England during the interwar years. ‘What does the word England mean to you? To all of us England means something different, and yet I think there is for every man and woman some little corner which is more England than anywhere else...’ ***PRAISE FOR EVERYMAN'S ENGLAND*** 'Wonderful... elegant, humorous, exuberant essays.' Guardian 'Evocatively captures the pattern and colour of English life.’ The Bookseller ‘Canning finds beauty everywhere, but never sentimentalises, and is consistently honest enough to highlight poverty and social inequality... Canning, at his very best when waxing lyrical about landscapes, offers vivid images of the English countryside...' The Daily Mail
Isolation and boredom can do strange things to people. After years and years of too much time on her hands, lonely housewife Margaret Tucker’s mundane routine becomes smattered with odd behaviour. Her husband, Bernard, is cold and distant. Spending most of his time in London with only infrequent visits back to the marital home, Margaret knows nothing about her husband’s other life and has been all but discarded by the man she once loved. When Margaret starts losing periods of time and cannot recall her actions she knows things have got to change. But just as she is beginning to rediscover herself, her husband’s mysterious life once again collides with hers . . .
‘Smiler’ has to stay in hiding until his father comes home to clear him of a crime he hasn’t committed, so he gets work in an animal sanctuary in Scotland, only to discover thieves planning to invade his employer’s castle. And how dare he go to the police for help? The second absorbing adventure in Victor Canning’s trilogy, of which the first was The Runaways, and followed by The Painted Tent.
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