Indira Varma

Mary is a difficult grandmother for Durga to love. She is sharp-tongued and ferocious, with more demons than there are lines on her palms. When Durga visits her in rural Malaysia, she only wants to endure Mary, and the dark memories home brings, for as long as it takes to escape. But a reckoning is coming. Stuck together in the rising heat, both women must untangle the truth from the myth of their family's past. What happened to Durga's mother after she gave birth?

Why did so many of their family members disappear during the war? And who is to blame for the childhood tragedy that haunts her to this day? In her stunning debut novel Catherine Menon traces one family's story from 1920 to the present, unravelling a thrilling tale of love, betrayal and redemption against the backdrop of natural disasters and fallen empires. Written in vivid technicolour, with an electric daughter-grandmother relationship at its heart, Fragile Monsters explores what happens when secrets fester through the generations.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of A.S. Byatt's 'Frederica Quartet', plus selected short stories and a fascinating talk by the author

Inspired by the novels of D.H. Lawrence, particularly The Rainbow and Women in Love, this ambitious quartet from Booker Prize-winning novelist A.S. Byatt charts the lives of the Potter family between 1953 and 1970. Set against the changing social and political landscape of England in the '50s and '60s, it follows the heroine, Frederica, from precocious teenager to TV talk show host, and from her Yorkshire home to the heart of swinging London.

The Virgin in the Garden sees the Potters preparing to celebrate Elizabeth II's coronation, while Frederica auditions for a play about Elizabeth I written by the beautiful Alexander Wedderburn. Will she win the part, and Alexander's heart? In Still Life, Frederica's ambitions - both academic and sexual - come to fruition, as she gains a place at Cambridge University to study English - and men. In Babel Tower, she has given up her carefree, independent lifestyle - but as the Sixties' cultural revolution explodes and the quest for personal and public freedom becomes all-important, will settling down bring her happiness? And in A Whistling Woman, as events build to a tragic climax in Yorkshire, back in London, Frederica is faced with a difficult choice... These acclaimed adaptations star Rosemary Leach, Hannah Watkins and Indira Varma as Frederica.

Also included are four fantastic short stories: 'The July Ghost', dramatised with a star cast including Kate Buffery and Clive Owen; and 'Rose-Coloured Teacups', 'Gode's Story' and 'A Stone Woman', read by Anna Massey, Sheila Mitchell and Penelope Wilton respectively. Plus, in Finding A Voice, A.S. Byatt reflects on her approach to her work, explaining where her desire to write came from and how she honed her craft.

Rebekah Murphy knows too much... She knows she's alone on an abandoned island with a killer on her trail. She knows that to get home to her children, she must survive long enough to understand why this is happening. She knows someone tried to kill her for a secret. What she doesn't know is what that secret is...

Detective Frank Travis doesn't know enough... He doesn't know where to find Louise Mason. He doesn't know how and why she vanished into thin air three months ago. He doesn't know the identity of the man last seen talking to her. But what he does know is that he's a week away from retirement - and if he doesn't find out where Louise went, no one will. 

What neither Rebekah nor Detective Travis realize is that each holds a missing piece from the same puzzle...

When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships, gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life.

A practical guide to being a witch in Discworld, covering everything you've ever wanted to know from telling the bees to magical cheese, from working with other witches to dealing with elves, from tending flocks to fending off forces from other worlds. This beautiful and practical guide has been compiled by Tiffany Aching herself, including snippets of remembered wisdom from Granny Aching alongside notes from Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Miss Tick, and Rob Anybody who offer their own unique perspectives on all things witchcraft. Whether you're a herbologist or a headologist, this book will inspire and empower new witches and seasoned practitioners alike.