‘Hilarious and heartbreaking’ MONICA ALI 'Deeply funny and knowing' MEG WOLITZER 'Witty, moving' ANN NAPOLITANO 'Poignant, funny and brilliantly told' POSY SIMMONDS An often hilarious, surprisingly moving portrait of a long-married couple, seen through the eyes of their wickedly observant daughter – for fans of A Man Called Ove and The Royal Tenenbaums. Miranda’s parents live in a dilapidated house in rural France that they share with two llamas, eight ducks, five chickens, two cats, and a freezer full of food dating back to 1983. Miranda’s father is a retired professor of philosophy who never loses an argument. Her mother likes to bring conversation back to the War, although she was born after it ended. Married for fifty years, they are uncommonly set in their ways. Miranda plays the role of translator when she visits, communicating the desires or complaints of one parent to the other and then venting her frustration to her sister and her daughter. At the end of a visit, she reports 'the usual desire to kill'. Read by Harriet Walter, The Usual Desire to Kill is a wry, propulsive, exquisitely observed debut about a singularly eccentric family and the sibling rivalry, generational divides, and long-buried secrets that shape them. This is an extraordinary novel from a seasoned playwright with a flare for dialogue and, in the end, immense empathy for the mysterious intimacies of marriage, family, and love. ‘Hilarious and heartbreaking. Barnes’s dialogue is pitch-perfect, and her characters dance off the page and straight into your heart’ Monica Ali, author of Love Marriage ‘Camilla Barnes deftly deciphers the secret language of one family, often with deeply funny and knowing results. I loved spending time in the very specific, complicated and memorable world of this novel’ Meg Wolitzer, author of The Wife ‘I love nothing more than reading about eccentric families, and the family in The Usual Desire to Kill is just that. Miranda and her sister work to uncover the true story of their parents' marriage, only to have their brilliant, quirky mother and father deflect them at every turn. Barnes has written a witty, moving novel about characters who, even when they seem incapable of speaking honestly, are worth listening to nonetheless’ Ann Napolitano, author of Hello Beautiful ‘An account of two ageing, secretive, disputatious and thoroughly maddening parents – poignant, funny and brilliantly told through gritted teeth’ Posy Simmonds, author of Cassandra Darke

The Usual Desire to Kill

Lady Susan was the first of Jane Austen’s novels to be completed. An epistolary novel in eighteenth-century style, it tells the story of the recently widowed Lady Susan Vernon, intelligent but highly manipulative, who is intent on gaining financially secure relationships for both herself and her wayward but shy teenage daughter Frederica. Less known than Austen’s six great later novels, it demonstrates the wit and sharp observations of Jane Austen – and is shown at its best in audiobook form, with different actresses presenting real characters as they read their letters.

Lady Susan

Beth Morrey's brand new, joyful and uplifting novel, LUCKY DAY, is available to pre-order now*The Sunday Times bestseller* Sometimes it takes a lifetime to find where you truly belong… Seventy-nine is too late for a second chance. Isn’t it? Missy Carmichael is prickly, stubborn – and terribly lonely. Until a chance encounter in the park with two very different women opens the door to something new. Something wonderful. Missy was used to her small, solitary existence, listening to her footsteps echoing around the empty house, the tick-tick-tick of the watching clock. After all, she had made her life her way. Now another life is beckoning to Missy – if she’s brave enough… ‘A touching, deftly written debut that celebrates community and kindness’ Sunday Times ‘Moving and optimistic… will delight readers right up to the very last page’ Stylist ‘Bittersweet, tender, thoughtful and uplifting . . . I loved it’ Nina Stibbe A Sunday Times #6 hardback bestseller w/e 15th Feb

Saving Missy

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ﻿THE TIMES and SUNDAY TIMES BEST MEMOIR OF 2024 … 'GENIUS' A BOOK OF THE YEAR for theSPECTATOR, MAIL ON SUNDAY, NEW STATESMAN, FINANCIAL TIMES, INDEPENDENT, TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY EXPRESSand THE TABLET. From one of the funniest writers of our time, the award-winning author of One Two Three Four and Ma'am Darling turns his attention to Queen Elizabeth II in an unforgettable and fascinating biography. 'A crown jewel among royal biographies' OBSERVER ‘Extraordinarily original, enlightening and fresh’ SPECTATOR 'Absolutely fascinating' Ruth Langsford, LOOSE WOMEN 'A very unusual masterpiece' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Brilliantly funny and well-researched' FINANCIAL TIMES Virginia Woolf compared her to a caterpillar; Anne Frank kept pictures of her on the wall of her annex; Jimi Hendrix played her tune; Haile Selassie gave her a gold tiara; Dirk Bogarde watched Death in Venice with her; Andy Warhol envied her fame; Donald Trump offended her; E.M. Forster confessed he would have married her, if only she had been a boy. Queen Elizabeth II was famous for longer than anyone who has ever lived. When people spoke of her, they spoke of themselves; when they dreamed of her, they dreamed of themselves. She mirrored their hopes and anxieties. To the optimist, she seemed an optimist; to the pessimist, a pessimist; to the awestruck, charismatic; and to the cynical, humdrum. Though by nature reserved and unassuming, her presence could fill presidents and rock gods with terror. For close to a century, she inhabited the psyche of a nation. Combining biography, essays, cultural history, dream diaries, travelogue and satire, the bestselling and award-winning author of Ma'am Darling and One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time presents a kaleidoscopic portrait of this most public yet private of sovereigns. – 'An unconventional tribute that offers a snapshot of almost a century of social history with a mix of royal insanity, and superior anecdotes, from farts and corgis to Paul McCartney and poets laureate' THE TIMES and SUNDAY TIMES BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2024 'An enthralling reverie on memory, identity, coincidence and meaning – testing, teasing, charming, moving and deceptively wise' RORY STEWART ‘An entertaining and revealing digest … fascinating … Craig Brown has captured something essential about Britain’s curious relationship with royalty’TLS 'Completely and utterly brilliant and exquisitely funny and fascinating. This book is, dare I say, majestic. Craig Brown has no peers – I would curtsey to him if I met him' MARINA HYDE 'Wonderfully readable … At once sympathetic but clear-eyed, kind but sharp' NEW STATESMAN 'Brown is as sharp and dryly funny as his subject'EVENING STANDARD 'You wouldn’t think the world needed another book about Queen Elizabeth – but how wrong you’d be. Craig Brown’s wholly original and enthralling biography is absolute heaven from start to finish’ INDIA KNIGHT 'Craig Brown continues to reinvent the art of biography… utterly fascinating' JASON COWLEY Craig Brown's book One Two Three Four won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction in 2020.

A Voyage Around the Queen

A “droll, psychologically astute…unexpected…very funny” (Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air) and moving portrait of a long-married couple, seen through the eyes of their wickedly observant daughter. Miranda’s parents live in a dilapidated house in rural France that they share with two llamas, eight ducks, five chickens, two cats, and a freezer full of decades-old food. Miranda’s father is a retired professor of philosophy who never loses an argument. Miranda’s mother likes to bring conversation back to “the War,” although she was born after it ended. Married for fifty years, they are uncommonly set in their ways. Miranda plays the role of translator when she visits, communicating the desires or complaints of one parent to the other and then venting her frustration to her sister and her daughter. At the end of a visit, she reports “the usual desire to kill.” This wry, propulsive story about an eccentric yet endearing family and the sibling rivalry, generational divides, and long-buried secrets that shape them, is a glorious debut novel from a seasoned playwright with immense empathy and a flair for dialogue.

Help your children develop moral character with this updated, 30th anniversary edition of the perennial classic The Book of Virtues. Almost 3 million copies of the Book of Virtues have been sold since it was published in 1993. It is one of the most popular moral primers ever written, an inspiring anthology that helps children understand and develop character—and helps parents teach it to them. Thirty years ago, readers thought that the times were right for a book about moral literacy. Back then, Americans worried that schools were no longer parents’ allies in teaching good character. As the book’s original introduction noted, “moral anchors and moorings have never been more necessary.” If that was true in the 1990s, it is even more true today. The explosion of information with the Internet has left many unsure of what is valuable and what is not. Responsibility. Courage. Compassion. Loyalty. Honesty. Friendship. Persistence. Hard work. Self-discipline. Faith. These remain the essentials of good character. The Book of Virtues contains hundreds of exemplary stories offering children examples of good and bad, right and wrong. Drawing on the Bible, American history, Greek mythology, English poetry, fairy tales, and modern fiction, William J. and Elayne Bennett show children the many virtuous paths they can follow—and the ones they ought to avoid. For the 30th anniversary edition, the Bennetts have slimmed down the book’s contents, while also finding room to introduce such figures as Mother Teresa, Colin Powell, and heroes of 9/11 and the War in Afghanistan. Here is a rich mine of moral literacy to teach a new generation of children about American culture, history, and traditions—ultimately, the ideals by which we wish to live our lives. The updated edition of The Book of Virtues will continue a legacy of raising moral children far into a new century.

The Book of Virtues: 30th Anniversary Edition

From the author of The Moral Compass and The Death of Outrage, William J. Bennett's bestselling The Book of Virtues is an inspiring anthology that helps children understand and develop moral character—and helps parents teach it to them. Responsibility. Courage. Compassion. Honesty. Friendship. Persistence. Faith. Everyone recognizes these traits as essentials of good character. In order for our children to develop such traits, we have to offer them examples of good and bad, right and wrong. And the best places to find them are in great works of literature and exemplary stories from history. William J. Bennett has collected hundreds of stories in The Book of Virtues. From the Bible to American history, from Greek mythology to English poetry, from fairy tales to modern fiction, these stories are a rich mine of moral literacy, a reliable moral reference point that will help anchor our children and ourselves in our culture, our history, and our traditions—the sources of the ideals by which we wish to live our lives. Complete with instructive introductions and notes, The Book of Virtues is a book the whole family can read and enjoy—and learn from—together.

Book Of Virtues Collection

The Book of Virtues

relevance|desc

publishdate|desc

publishdate|asc

rating|desc

title|asc

author_lastname|asc

BookBeat gives you access to thousands of audiobooks right on your mobile. Find your next favourite by browsing through our top lists and categories.

Do you like to read books? Discover thousands of e-books at BookBeat. Pick and choose from different genres, such as best-sellers, crime, romance, non-fiction and much more!

Get access to thousands of e-books on your phone. Browse and find your next favorite read today!

On our Bookshelf - Audiobooks

BookBeat lets you enjoy over 1 million audiobooks and e-books on your mobile or tablet. Try for free!

BookBeat - Audiobooks and e-books directly in the mobile. Try for free!

Unless you're out on an adventure, it's better to sign up at the website of {country}.

You can browse and find the most popular authors and books in the BookBeat app here. We’ve got a great selection of various authors and genres, this list will definitely inspire you to a great reading experience in the app!

{AuthorName} books - BookBeat

{NarratorName} as narrator - BookBeat

Are you on the hunt for your new favourite narrator, or do you have a favourite that you want to listen to even more? We've got you covered! We've gathered all of the most popular narrators and the books they’ve narrated here.

Search - BookBeat

Title

Person doing dishes and listening to BookBeat

Narrator

Harriet Walter

Get started with BookBeat today

About us

Follow us

Help and contact

Information

BookBeat

Download BookBeat