Bøger udgivet af Valancourt Books

A chilling new thriller from Bernard Taylor, the award-winning author of The Godsend and Sweetheart, SweetheartOnce a celebrated singer, Rosemary Paul is now an embittered woman in her sixties, forgotten by nearly everyone but her assistant, Carrie Markham, who idolizes her and panders to her every need. When Rosemary receives the unexpected news that her record company is dusting off one of her albums for a reissue, the old hunger for fame and success is reignited, and with Carrie's help she begins to plan her big comeback. But as preparations commence, long buried secrets begin to resurface, and Rosemary's quest for fame at any price will lead to murder . . .The new novel by Bernard Taylor, the bestselling author of The Godsend and Mother's Boys, The Comeback is a psychological thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat with a plot whose twists and turns will keep you guessing until the final page.Critical Acclaim for Bernard Taylor'Bernard Taylor writes with grace … a shocker … I enjoyed every horrid word of it.' - Daily Telegraph on The Godsend'The best ghost story I have ever read … a potential classic.' - Charles L. Grant on Sweetheart, Sweetheart'Weaves a web that grows tighter with each turn of the page.' - Booklist on The Reaping

'I want what I want . . . not what other people think I ought to want.' What Wendy Ross wants is simple - to live and love openly as a modern, independent woman. The problem is that according to her birth certificate her name is Roy Clark and she is a boy. Mistreated by her father, who is appalled at having such a child, misunderstood by her sister, whose clothes she has stolen, and committed to a mental hospital where she is mistaken for a homosexual, Wendy finally gets her chance to escape when she turns twenty-one and inherits a small legacy. But life isn't easy for a transwoman in 1960s England, and things get even more complicated when she falls in love with the handsome Frank ...A groundbreaking novel and a landmark of transgender fiction, Geoff Brown's classic I Want What I Want was originally published in 1966 and was the basis for a 1972 film adaptation written by Gillian Freeman and starring Anne Heywood. This edition, the first in decades, features a new introduction by Prof. Michael Bronski of Harvard University, an award-winning writer of books on LGBT history.

Terry, the charismatic director of a British campaign for open government, has a direct approach to official secrets and women alike. The only person who can resist his brash frankness is Hilary, a serious and dedicated young civil servant in the Home Office, who happens to know the truth about a big police cover-up. Until one morning she turns up at the campaign's offices with a brown envelope marked Private and Confidential. What eventually emerges from that envelope will change the lives of everyone involved.The theme of Michael Frayn's eighth novel, Now You Know (1992) is the difficult counterbalance of openness and personal privacy. As timely as ever in today's WikiLeaks era, it is, like all of Frayn's work, both thought-provoking and very funny. This edition features a new introduction by the author.'Entertaining enough to keep you up half the night.' - Chicago Tribune'Unabashed joy in the language . . . refreshing vitality. Serious issues are being examined here, and with superb intelligence.' - James Wilcox, The New York Times Book Review'A tremendously thought-provoking story, skillfully crafted.' - The Milwaukee Journal

"One of the preeminent writers of weird fiction, Robert Aickman is celebrated for his unsettling and often ambiguous 'strange stories,' but he once wrote that 'those, if any, who wish to know more about me, should plunge beneath the frivolous surface of The Late Breakfasters,' his only novel, originally published in 1964. In The Late Breakfasters, young Griselda de Reptonville is invited by Mrs. Hatch to a house party at her country estate, Beams (which, incidentally, is haunted). There, amidst an array of eccentric characters and bizarre happenings, she will meet the love of her life, Louise. But when their short-lived relationship is cruelly cut short, Griselda must embark on a quest to recapture the happiness she has lost. Never before published in the United States and long unobtainable, Aickman's odd and whimsical novel is joined in this omnibus volume by six of his finest weird tales (two of them making their first-ever American appearance): 'My Poor Friend', 'The Visiting Star', 'Larger Than Oneself', 'A Roman Question', 'Mark Ingestre: The Customer's Tale', and 'Rosamund's Bower', as well as a new introduction by Philip Challinor" -- Provided by publishe

"One of the preeminent writers of weird fiction, Robert Aickman is celebrated for his unsettling and often ambiguous 'strange stories,' but he once wrote that 'those, if any, who wish to know more about me, should plunge beneath the frivolous surface of The Late Breakfasters,' his only novel, originally published in 1964. In The Late Breakfasters, young Griselda de Reptonville is invited by Mrs. Hatch to a house party at her country estate, Beams (which, incidentally, is haunted). There, amidst an array of eccentric characters and bizarre happenings, she will meet the love of her life, Louise. But when their short-lived relationship is cruelly cut short, Griselda must embark on a quest to recapture the happiness she has lost. Never before published in the United States and long unobtainable, Aickman's odd and whimsical novel is joined in this omnibus volume by six of his finest weird tales (two of them making their first-ever American appearance): 'My Poor Friend', 'The Visiting Star', 'Larger Than Oneself', 'A Roman Question', 'Mark Ingestre: The Customer's Tale', and 'Rosamund's Bower', as well as a new introduction by Philip Challinor" -- Provided by publishe

Everything seems to be going right for Julian Spencer. The brilliance of the young composer's work is beginning to be recognized, and he is engaged to marry a beautiful woman. There's just one thing that stands in the way of his happiness. In the attic, behind a locked door, lives Julian's monstrous half-brother, the deformed result of a mad scientist's botched experiment, a creature with a ravenous, insatiable appetite for raw, bloody meat ... G. S. Marlowe's bizarre horror novel I Am Your Brother (1935) was published to positive reviews from bemused critics, who admitted they had no idea what the book was actually about, and became a cult favorite in the 1930s. This edition reproduces the original jacket art by Rex Whistler and includes a new introduction by Phil Baker, who casts a new light on the book's obscure author. "Genuine horror ... it will keep you from sleeping for some time." - New Yorker "A story distorted into real horror ... Marlowe shows a new way to make flesh creep." - Time Magazine "A piece of exciting lunacy ... The projection of a nightmare ... The book has a weird excitement of its own ... a very mad thriller." - Sunday Times (London) "This is a remarkable novel ... the phantasmagoric writing ... leaves one with the impression of a sort of mad genius on the part of the writer. The story is indubitably rapid and vivid, and sometimes genuinely moving." - Saturday Review

A planetary system, consisting of a star and five planets, is travelling through our galaxy and will pass close to Earth. The four largest planets are gaseous, but the fifth, named Achilles, appears capable of supporting life. Two rival expeditions - one Anglo-American and one Russian - set out to land on Achilles and explore its mysteries. But almost from the moment of their arrival things begin to go terribly wrong ... and when they return to Earth, something not human will be coming back with them. One of the most exciting novels by world-renowned scientist Sir Fred Hoyle (1915-2001) and Geoffrey Hoyle, Fifth Planet (1963) is a thrilling science fiction tale that ranks alongside Hoyle's masterpiece The Black Cloud. 'An exciting book for all science fiction enthusiasts ... will leave the reader wondering about our future life on earth.' - Evening Journal 'Fred Hoyle, a celebrated astronomer, is a man of vast imagination ... the story is sharp, clear and full of suspense.' - Washington (D.C.) Evening Star 'A mature performance ... the best so far from the Hoyle stable.' - Sunday Times

After a bruising experience as a teacher in Africa, Harry Clewe has come to the mountains of Snowdonia in Wales for some peace and quiet. One day, he stops to pick up an attractive blonde hitchhiker . . . and his life will never be the same again. A desperate and wild obsession ends in a tragedy that condemns Harry to a solitary existence, a loneliness that bears its own depraved and bitter fruit. In the years that follow, his life is changed by a bizarre and ultimately dangerous succession of women. Driven on from crisis to crisis, from one catastrophe to the next, he knows joy, terror, despair . . . and finally, the horror of his own worst impulses. From the award-winning author of The Cormorant and The Woodwitch comes this disturbing and macabre story of one man's encounter with the savagery of human instincts and the cruelty of fate. 'The Blood of Angels is a compelling, beautifully written, lusty storm of a book that will sweep you up from its first page and take you on a breathless, emotional, invigorating journey.' - Mark Morris, from the Introduction 'Stephen Gregory lures you into his feverish tales of madness and nightmare with lush, precise prose, inexorably building a sense of wonder, awe, and bone-deep dread. He's a one-of-a-kind horror writer to read and re-read.' - Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts 'The Blood of Angels is a bizarre nightmare. Stephen Gregory slowly takes the reader into the depths of strange, insidious happenings and blinding personal phantoms to reveal what lies beneath. Twisted, bitter, uncomfortable in its own skin, The Blood of Angels investigates the damaging repercussions of a childhood encounter as echoes through a deteriorating life. This is a book that seeps into you and leaves an indelible mark. It's affecting, as all great literature should be.' - Simon Strantzas, author of Burnt Black Suns

"Set in the waning years of London's Fleet Street, this is the story of John Dyson and his colleagues in the crossword and nature-notes section of an obscure London newspaper. The ambitious young Dyson dreams wistfully of trading his dead-end job for the fame and fortune to be found in a career in television. But when he finally gets his big break - an invitation to appear on a TV program - it turns out instead to be the beginning of a series of hilarious disasters ..."--

'Once upon a time there will be a little girl called Uncumber . . .' Uncumber lives in the distant future, in a world sharply divided between 'Insiders' and 'Outsiders'. The Insiders lead a privileged existence: never having to leave their homes, they enjoy a vastly prolonged lifespan, a regular supply of food and mind-altering drugs, and holographic entertainment at the push of a button. Meanwhile, the Outsiders, half-savage, inhabit a polluted wilderness of ruins and industrial waste, struggling for survival. Uncumber has been warned never to go outside. But when she meets an Outsider on the Holovision and falls in love with him, she becomes curious and decides to venture out into the world ... Equal parts dystopian science fiction and brilliant social satire, Michael Frayn's eerily prescient fourth novel A Very Private Life (1968) earned widespread critical acclaim and comparisons to Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. This edition features a new introduction by the author. 'A weird and frightening intensity.' - Time 'Easily the most original thing Frayn has done ... written with elegant simplicity.' - New Statesman 'An ingenious fable ... at times poetically imaginative.' - Sunday Times 'An intriguing fantasy.' - Sunday Telegraph

'A man sits in his car at the traffic lights, waiting for them to go green...' Heaven, the Book of Revelation tells us, is a city of pure gold, 1,500 miles high, and decorated in sapphire, amethyst, and emerald. According to the Koran, it is peopled with immortal youths and bashful virgins, and there are jeweled couches on which to recline and enjoy food and drink. But wouldn't most of us feel a little out of our element in such a place? What about a Heaven for ordinary, modern people? Howard Baker is waiting at a traffic light when suddenly he finds himself in a strange and wondrous city where he can fly, speak any language, and even design the Matterhorn. As we accompany him on his tour of Heaven, we discover a place with limitless possibilities for leisure and enjoyment but one which also presents moral and intellectual challenges and possibilities for personal growth - the perfect heaven for a decent, respectable, professional man like Howard Baker ... Long regarded as a classic in Great Britain, Michael Frayn's brilliantly funny fantasy Sweet Dreams (1973) returns to print in the U.S. for the first time in decades in this edition, which features a new introduction by the author. "Frayn is an impeccable writer ... his novel is a kind of Candide - a vividly contemporary Candide - full of the most serious high comedy and the most enormous belly laughs." - New Yorker "Frayn has a most unusual talent. His books seem so deceptively simple, but they linger in the mind for years, and can be re-read with the greatest pleasure. Sweet Dreams is no exception." - Margaret Drabble, New York Times Book Review "May go down in history as one of England's special contributions to the twentieth century." - Times Literary Supplement

The William Morris Institute of Automation Research is working hard to simplify our lives by programming computers to carry out life's routine tasks. Whether it's resolving ethical dilemmas, writing pornographic novels, saying prayers, or watching sports, these automation experts are developing machines to handle it all, enabling us to enjoy more free time. But when it's announced that the Queen will be paying a royal visit and the Institute's madcap bunch of researchers decide to program the computers to receive her, what could possibly go wrong? Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, The Tin Men (1965) is the brilliantly comic first novel from Michael Frayn, author of the Booker Prize-nominated Headlong, Spies, and Skios, and Noises Off, 'the funniest farce ever written' (NY Times). This 50th anniversary reissue features a new introduction by the author. 'Continuously funny ... The fun of The Tin Men is outrageous because it is so serious.' - Anthony Burgess, Guardian 'A fast swooping performance by one of our very serious satirists ... This is a very funny book and delightful to read.' - William Trevor, The Listener 'Dazzlingly funny ... perfect pieces of comedy.' - Observer

'Manning's old friend Proctor-Gould was in Moscow and anxious to get in touch with him. Or so Manning was informed. He looked forward to the meeting. He had few friends in Moscow, none of them old friends, and no friends at all, old or new, in Moscow or anywhere else, called Proctor-Gould . . .' Paul Manning, a young Englishman working on his thesis in Soviet-era Moscow, takes on a part-time job as interpreter for the enigmatic Gordon Proctor-Gould, ostensibly an honest businessman, but possibly involved in more clandestine activities. When Proctor-Gould falls for the mercurial blonde Raya, Manning finds himself in the awkward position of acting as interpreter in their love affair, a situation made even more awkward by Manning's own feelings for her. And when it begins to appear Raya may be a police spy, Manning realizes he may have gotten himself into more than he bargained for ... Featuring an unusual blend of humor and suspense, Michael Frayn's second novel, The Russian Interpreter (1966), was inspired in part by the author's own experiences in Communist Russia and won the Hawthornden Prize as the best work of imaginative fiction published that year. This edition includes a new introduction by the author. 'Altogether a notable book ... Frayn is now our best equipped younger prose-writer as well as being a very sane and very funny one.' - Times Literary Supplement 'Imaginative and delightful - zany characters who stick in the memory and have a genuine life of their own. Frayn juxtaposes the humorous and the frankly sinister into a satisfying and witty picture.' - Sunday Telegraph 'Full of quirky, quixotic surprises ... will catch your curiosity and convert it into admiration.' - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"This is a powerful story of survival in a tough, joyless world. Billy Casper is a troubled teenager growing up in a Yorkshire mining town. Beaten by his drunken brother, ignored by his mother and failing at school, he seems destined for a hard, miserable life down the pits. But Billy discovers a new passion in life when he finds Kes, a kestrel hawk. Billy identifies with her silent strength and she inspires in him the trust and love that nothing else can."--

"First published in Great Britain by Michael Joseph in 1968."--Title page verso.

Matchbox Theatre presents a sketch show in miniature: thirty short entertainments by Michael Frayn, author of Skios and Noises Off, 'the funniest farce ever written' (New York Times). Thirty snatches of people talking. To each other, to the world at large, to themselves, to no one. Heard, unheard. Overheard, half-heard. On telephones, into microphones. In a crypt, an airport, an orchestra pit. These tiny plays are offered here for performance in the smallest theatre in the world: the theatre of your own imagination. The scripts are provided. Everything else - casting, set design, ice cream sales - is up to you . . . 'Michael Frayn is the most philosophical comic writer - and the most comic philosophical writer - of our time.' Michael Arditti, Daily Mail

Donald Ross is a young pilot, out of work and in desperate need of a job. So, despite the extreme danger involved, he jumps at the chance to fly Oxford professor Cyril Lockwood and his daughter Alix to the frozen wilds of Greenland to study Viking ruins. But the perils of the journey are nothing compared to what will happen when they arrive. Ignoring the warnings of the terrified natives, who believe the ruins are haunted, the explorers set up camp there and undergo a strange and mystical experience that will lead to a discovery that none of them could ever have foreseen.