Most Popular Books by Helen Dunmore

A short story by Helen Dunmore from the collection Reader, I Married Him: Stories inspired by Jane Eyre.

This literacy programme for juniors offers fiction, poetry and non-fiction reading and writing materials for shared, guided and group reading and writing, and teaching materials. "Comets" should capture the imagination of more able pupils, and software integrates ICT with literacy teaching.

After helping to knit and sew together the squares of a blanket to be sent to a country at war, Josie dreams of what life is like for the girl who will receive the blanket as a gift from Josie''s class

Another volume in a series highlighting contemporary British poetry. It features the work of three poets and they themselves have made the selections.

In May 2005 Penguin will publish 70 unique titles to celebrate the company''s 70th birthday. The titles in the Pocket Penguins series are emblematic of the renowned breadth of quality of the Penguin list and will hark back to Penguin founder Allen Lane''s vision of good books for all''. adults and she has received widespread acclaim for work. All ten books of her adult fiction have been published by Penguin, and in Rose 1944, we present several short stories that reveal the range, intricacy and depth found in one of modern fiction''s great lyrical voices.

Per festeggiare i 200 anni della nascita di Charlotte Brontë, Tracy Chevalier ha chiesto alle migliori autrici in lingua inglese di scrivere una storia ispirata alla celebre battuta di Jane Eyre: «L’ho sposato, lettore mio». Questo racconto fa parte della raccolta dedicata a Charlotte Brontë: L’ho sposato, lettore mio a cura di TRACY CHEVALIER

Celebrated for its creativity, communal spirit, and culture of resistance, Bristol is a city with a loud voice and progressive reputation. But it’s also a city that has experienced division and inequality. In this anthology, ten acclaimed and emerging writers portray a city full of secrets, scars, and stark contrasts. From the elusive angel who turns up at a stagnant café along the Malago River, to the jilted lover caught in the crosshairs of the police, the stories gathered here lean into the turbulent magic of Bristol and will leave readers with a renewed sense of the city’s complexity.

Nadine, a sixteen-year-old runaway new to London, is set up in a decaying Georgian house by her Finnish lover, Kai. Slowly, she begins to suspect that Kai�s plans for her have little to do with love. �Be careful,� warns Enid, the elderly sitting tenant in the house, who knows all about survival and secrets. And when Nadine discovers Kai�s true intentions, Enid�s warning takes on a terrible and prophetic quality.

Katie and Zillah are in their last year at the local primary school, and looking forward to moving on. But then they discover that the school is threatened with closure, and they could be the last children ever to go there. Their class is determined - they have brothers and sisters in the school, their parents went there, the school is part of their community - they won''t let it close, whatever it takes.

Helen Dunmore Leningrad, September 1941. Hitler beordrer tyske styrker til å innlede beleiringen av byen, med sikte på total utslettelse. Det blir begynnelsen på en av historiens kaldeste, mest desperate og dødbringende vintere. Hvordan komme gjennom et slikt inferno? For Anna og Andreij – og Annas aldrende far og hans venninne Marina – blir beleiringen en kamp for overlevelse. Men også en kamp for å forbli menneskelige, gjennom det utenkelige. Beleiringen ble nominert til Whitbread Novel Award og Orange Prize for Fiction da den utkom. Den frittstående fortsettelsen av Beleiringen, The Betrayal, ble i 2010 nominert til Booker-prisen.

Callum and Amy discover a sea dragon in a cave along the beach. The sea dragon is lost and cannot find his friends and relatives. They buy the sea dragon ice cream, chips with curry sauce and a balloon to play with. As the summer ends it''s time for the sea dragon to find other sea dragons.

On the sixth day there was only one day left. Tomorrow was Saturday, and Robbie was going home on the train with all his family. ''I wish I didn''t have to go," said Robbie.

Året er 1952, og Leningrad er fortsatt en merket by etter nazistenes brutale beleiring ti år tidligere. Andrej, en ung sykehuslege, og hans kjæreste Anna, som underviser på et barnehjem, forsøker å bygge et liv sammen. Krigen er riktignok over, men Stalins regime vedvarer og holder folk i et jerngrep. Ingen er trygge for spionenes blikk, heller ikke legene, som blir beskyldt for å planlegge et attentat mot partilederne. Dunmore har skrevet et inntagende og skremmende portrett av livet i etterkrigs-Sovjet, som viser oss helt vanlige menneskers kamp mot vold og terror. Sviket er en selvstendig oppfølger til Dunmores bok Beleiringen, som ble nominert til Whitbread Novel Award og Orange Prize for Fiction da den utkom.

After the tragic death of her father, Katie and her mum go to live in the depths of Cornwall, as far away from their London life as possible. The countryside is beautiful, but coping with a cottage with no heating, an outside loo and a lot of spiders is more than Katie bargained for. Then she meets Zillah, from the farm up.

Per quale ragione «L’ho sposato, lettore mio» è una delle frasi più celebri e citate della letteratura inglese? La risposta, tutt’altro che ovvia, risiede nel capolavoro da cui è tratta: Jane Eyre (1847), la storia di un’orfana che, grazie alla sola intelligenza e caparbietà, riesce a convolare a nozze con il nobile signor Rochester. Per affermare il suo successo, e il cambiamento della propria condizione sociale, invece di dichiarare «mi ha sposata, lettore mio» – com’era da aspettarsi nella maschilista società vittoriana – Jane dice: «l’ho sposato, lettore mio». Una sfumatura nella forma verbale che ha lo scopo di rimarcare la coscienza femminile della protagonista, e quella dell’autrice Charlotte Brontë, e che si ergerà a manifesto, ispirazione e stimolo per tutte le scrittrici a venire. Quando Tracy Chevalier ha chiesto alle migliori autrici in lingua inglese di raccontare una storia ispirata a quella celebre battuta, non l’ha fatto solo per festeggiare i duecento anni della nascita di Charlotte Brontë, ma anche per ridare significato a quelle parole, per renderle di nuovo vive e attuali nella società odierna. «In alcuni racconti sono le nozze stesse a essere drammatiche, a causa di una dolorosa scheggia di vetro in Coppia mista di Linda Grant, o di un mutamento improvviso in Il matrimonio di mia madre di Tessa Hadley, o di un rapporto clandestino durante una cerimonia in Zambia, in Uomini doppi di Namwali Serpell, o di un incontro gotico nel fango della brughiera in Tenersi per mano di Joanna Briscoe», dice Chevalier. In altri, come La prima volta che vidi il tuo viso di Emma Donoghue, la frase di Jane Eyre diventa il trampolino di lancio per viaggiare indietro nel tempo, fino alla Germania di fine Ottocento, dove Miss Hall e Mary Benson, la moglie dell’arcivescovo di Canterbury, si macchiano del peccato di un amore saffico. Se in Lo scambio Audrey Niffenegger colloca Jane nel mondo contemporaneo, in un paese dilaniato dalla guerra, la penna originale ed eccentrica di Helen Dunmore si diverte a raccontare Jane Eyre dal punto di vista della governante ingelosita, mentre Tracy Chevalier – con la maestria che l’ha resa una delle scrittrici più lette e amate d’Italia, «in grado di donare il soffio della vita al romanzo storico» (Independent) – dipinge la relazione sentimentale di una coppia male assortita, «come margherite e gladioli, come pizzo e cuoio». Il risultato è una collezione di ventuno storie d’amore, diversissime per sensibilità, scrittura e intenzioni, che ruotano attorno a una medesima eroina dai mille volti: una donna determinata e coraggiosa, che combatte per vincere i pregiudizi e gli ostacoli della società. E che non ha paura di affermare la propria identità dicendo, a testa alta, con un sorriso affaticato ma fiero: io «l’ho sposato, lettore mio». Ventuno storie per celebrare Charlotte Brontë e Jane Eyre Racconti di: Tracy Chevalier, Tessa Hadley, Sarah Hall, Helen Dunmore, Kirsty Gunn, Joanna Briscoe, Jane Gardam, Emma Donoghue, Susan Hill, Francine Prose, Elif Shafak, Evie Wyld, Patricia Park, Salley Vickers, Nadifa Mohamed, Esther Freud, Linda Grant, Lionel Shriver, Audrey Niffenegger, Namwali Serpell, Elizabeth McCracken

Brusquement et sans signes avant-coureurs, Volkov tape du poing sur la table : ''Vous pensez que je ne me rends pas compte que mon fils est très sérieusement malade ? Vous, les médecins, vous nous prenez tous pour des imbéciles! Vous savez qui je suis?'' Andreï pose ses mains à plat sur ses genoux. D’une part, il ne sait pas quoi répondre. De l’autre, il devine que tout ce qu’il pourra dire sera pris pour de la provocation. Il est fort naturel qu’un père ait besoin d’exprimer ses émotions. Et il faut surtout que Volkov ait le sentiment d’être un parent et rien d’autre, ici, dans cet hôpital. Mais Volkov est un des chefs de la terrible police secrète. On est à Leningrad, en 1952. Andreï, jeune et brillant pédiatre, a vu arriver dans son service un petit garçon souffrant d’un très grave cancer des os – le fils unique de Volkov. Or celui-ci n’accepte pas le diagnostic, ni le verdict : amputation d’une jambe. Quoi qu’il arrive, Andreï sera coupable et donc puni. Alors que faire, quand l’étau se referme sur lui et sa famille ? Partir dans une autre ville ? On le retrouvera. Se cacher ? C’est impossible. Lâché par ses collègues et amis, tous contaminés par la terreur ambiante et prêts à le trahir, il risque de payer le prix fort.

Bestiary presents a gallery of beasts, from tigers, toads and tortoises to wasps and woodlice...from muggers and murderers to men who hide in shadows. A celebrated winner of fiction''s Orange Prize, Helen Dunmore is as spellbinding a storyteller in her poetry as in her novels. Here she enters the animal world, exploring our relationship with animals and confronting our own animal nature: what makes us hurt as well as what delights us, what makes us human. Helen Dunmore''s Bestiary brings beauty to the beast. As in her fiction, these haunting narratives draw us into darkness, engaging our fears and hopes in poetry of rare luminosity. The poems in her sixth Bloodaxe collection are probably her most lyrical, remarkable for their sensuous magic, their sharp delicacy, their sureness of touch.

In this collection of short stories, Helen Dunmore takes us into a harsh, sensuous world of endless winters and midnight sun. Tense, provocative and beautifully written, Love of fat men explores love, sexuality, danger and loss.

During World War I, D.H. Lawrence and his wife moved to Cornwall where they became the subject of intense suspicion from the locals. This forms the inspiration for this first novel centering on Clare, a young girl who comes under the influence of the Lawrences.

Livre-culte des années quatre-vingt enfin réédité dans sa version intégrale, chef-d''œuvre littéraire et document de premier plan sur la culture gay d''avant le sida, Le Danseur de Manhattan dépeint un âge d''or révolu, celui d''une fête permanente, sans tabous ni contraintes. Depuis qu''il a découvert son homosexualité, Malone, jeune homme de bonne famille d''une extraordinaire beauté, erre dans New York à la recherche de l''amour absolu. Guidé dans les méandres du milieu underground par Sutherland, une folle flamboyante, Malone s''enivre de plaisirs neufs, goûtant frénétiquement aux drogues, au sexe et à la danse. Des boîtes de nuit de Manhattan aux orgies extravagantes de Fire Island commence alors une lente déchéance dont l''issue ne peut être que la rédemption ou la mort... À la fois lyrique et poignant, ce roman au réalisme cru dit toute la souffrance d''un homme en quête de pureté dans un monde d''apparences où les rires tonitruants étouffent les larmes de désespoir.

Autour d''un bouleversant portrait de femme, " Malgré la douleur " trace la carte secrète de ces forces souterraines qui nous gouvernent, nous menacent, mais qu''il faut parfois laisser nous détruire pour mieux nous reconstruire. Louise, à quarante ans, est alcoolique et piégée dans un corps qu''elle ne reconnaît plus. Divorcée de Paul qui vient de se remarier et de lui confisquer la garde d''Anna, leur fillette de dix ans, elle se distrait de son présent solitaire et oisif en ressassant le passé. Il y avait alors l''amour de Paul, séduisant autodidacte qui a fait fortune dans l''immobilier, et la tendresse complice de son jeune beau-frère, Johnnie, un garçon intelligent mais autodestructeur, étouffé par l''affection exclusive et excessivement protectrice de son aîné. Après la naissance d''Anna - fruit d''un moment d''égarement avec Johnnie - était venu le temps des mensonges, des non-dits, de la souffrance... Et Louise, minée par la culpabilité, tourmentée par des sentiments interdits qu''elle avait cru tuer en les ignorant, avait peu à peu abdiqué. Un matin, Johnnie sonne à sa porte. De sérieux ennuis l''obligent à quitter le pays. Louise, qui n''a plus rien à perdre, se découvre enfin prête à subir l''épreuve de son intime vérité et décide de l''accompagner dans sa fuite... Envoûtante, sensuelle, enrichie de descriptions extraordinairement évocatrices des couleurs, des lumières ou de la nourriture, l''écriture de Helen Dunmore excelle à restituer l''intensité de la vie jusque dans ses plus infimes perceptions.

When the ugly duckling hatches out of his egg, his brothers and sisters think he''s monstrous - his head is too big, his neck is too long and his feet are too large.Soon the ugly duckling is hounded out of the farmyard, unloved and unwanted, and forced to fend for himself....

Great-Grandma''s Dancing Dress has been written by Helen Dunmore, award-winning author of both adult and children''s fiction; and winner of the Orange prize for fiction. Rosa doesn''t know how to break free from her friendship with the horrible Charmaine. But Rosa''s great-grandma has a story to tell that will help Rosa to make an important decision. Great-Grandma''s Dancing Dress is one of thirteen books that make up Independent Reading Level B, for children in Year 4/Primary 5. This phase of Cambridge Reading aims to extend children''s reading tastes and understanding of language features, and motivate them to enjoy reading. The book has black and white illustrations, helping to make the book accessible and attractive to its target readership.

Louise, à quarante ans, est alcoolique et piégée dans un corps qu''elle ne reconnaît plus. Divorcée de Paul qui vient de se remarier et de lui confisquer la garde d''Anna, leur fillette de dix ans, elle se distrait de son présent solitaire et oisif en ressassant le passé. Il y avait alors l''amour de Paul, séduisant autodidacte qui a fait fortune dans l''immobilier, et la tendresse complice de son jeune beau-frère, Johnnie, un garçon intelligent mais autodestructeur, étouffé par l''affection exclusive et excessivement protectrice de son aîné. Après la naissance d''Anna - fruit d''un moment d''égarement avec Johnnie - était venu le temps des mensonges, des non-dits, de la souffrance... Et Louise, minée par la culpabilité, tourmentée par des sentiments interdits qu''elle avait cru tuer en les ignorant, avait peu à peu abdiqué. Envoûtante, sensuelle, enrichie de descriptions extraordinairement évocatrices des couleurs, des lumières ou de la nourriture, l''écriture de Helen Dunmore excelle à restituer l''intensité de la vie jusque dans ses plus infimes perceptions.

La saison de Rob, c''était l''été. août. L''ombre aussi noire que les noix mouillées et les oiseaux muets dans la chaleur.( Celle de sa sœur Cathy, c''est l''hiver,) J''aurais voulu qu''à notre réveil, nous fussions dans un royaume de glace où notre haleine se transformerait en glaçons au seuil de nos lèvres(...(, que la neige durât toujours, aussi je me tournais, enfouissant ma tête sous l''oreillers pour ne pas entendre le ruissellement moqueur du dégel. Frère et sœur, tus deux sont liés face aux autres, par le silence autour de l''abandon de leur mère et de la maladie de leur père. Pour en parler, il fallait attendre d''être au lit, " alors nos voix se rencontraient, se mêlaient dans le noir, disant tout ce qu''elles voulaient. " Voix et corps mêlés, leur fusion les isole, leur passion les dissout jusqu''à ne plus pouvoir être deux personnes distinctes. Le pouvoir de suggestion de ce roman autour d''un amour illicite plonge le lecteur dans une ambiance envoûtante dont il ne sort pas indemne.