Item category 1: General

In this collection we meet a queen who makes a bargain she cannot keep; a secretary who watches over the life she has just left; and a man whose luck changes when a horse speaks to him. Witty and wise, with subtle connections between the stories, 'Normal Rules Don't Apply' is a startling , and fu...

Diana believes in love. Growing up amid the fallout of her parents' bitter divorce, she takes refuge in romantic novels. She dreams of being rescued by a handsome prince. Prince Charles loves his freedom. He's in no rush to wed, but his family have other ideas. Charles must marry for the future o...

1971. Trash is piled on the streets, crime is at a record high, and the city is careening towards bankruptcy. A shooting war has broken out between the NYPD and the Black Liberation Army. Ray Carney, furniture-store owner and ex fence, is trying to keep his head down, his business up, and his lif...

Iris is happy: decent job, good friends, her own flat. Everything but her own family. She and her husband Tom were trying for a baby when he left her for his life coach, Maddy, four years ago. One day Iris' best friend Fay sends her an Instagram video of Maddy, now a successful family influencer ...

On a dark, wet evening in Dublin, scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack answers her front door to find the GNSB on her step. Two officers from Ireland's newly formed secret police are here to interrogate her husband, a trade unionist. Ireland is falling apart. The country is in the grip of a ...

Joan, once a singing star of the 1940s and 1950s, now ekes out a lonely, impoverished existence - until a chance encounter promises a comeback concert and an album. Her sister Kathleen is a successful medical researcher who has been offered the directorship of a prestige institute in Los Angeles ...

Young Elly's world is shaped by those who inhabit it: her loving but maddeningly distractible parents; a best friend who smells of chips and knows exotic words like 'slag'; and ageing fop who tapdances his way into her home; a Shirley Bassey impersonator who trails close behind; lastly, of course...

At eighty-two years old Zelda Grey is tired. Tired of how much slower she is physically and mentally. Tired of technology. Tired of being alone since her beloved cat, Flint, died just before Christmas. And tired of life. The only thing that brings Zelda joy these days is her allotment in the gorg...

Jess is absolutely nailing her events management job right now. Her boss is talking about a promotion, her clients love her and other companies want her. But all of that comes to an abrupt halt when her brother has a sudden stroke. Jess doesn't think twice about stepping in as his carer, but her ...

Overthinker and recent drama-school graduate Emmy Clooney (no relation) will do anything to be a successful actor, even if it means getting typecast in the tiny roles available to a 'mid-twenties short-haired lesbian'. But in the audition room for her big break, Emmy meets a new rising star, Mae ...