Guide to magical realism

Reading lists

A guide to magical realism

(Chocolat 2)

The Lollipop Shoes

THE SECOND NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING CHOCOLAT SERIES 
 
'A delicious urban fairytale' DAILY MAIL 
 
Seeking refuge and anonymity in the cobbled streets of Montmartre, Vianne Rocher &ndash; disguising herself as 'Yanne' &ndash; and her two daughters live peacefully, if not happily, above their little chocolate shop. Nothing unusual marks them out, and the wind has stopped &ndash; at least for a while. Then into their lives blows Zozie de l'Alba, the lady with the lollipop shoes, ruthless, devious and seductive. 
 
With everything she loves at stake, Yanne must face a difficult choice: to flee, as she has done so many times before, or to confront her most dangerous enemy. 
 
'Chocolat was a hard act to follow but Harris has managed it in style' DAILY EXPRESS 
 
'She is terrific, she can write about anywhere, anything, anyone' DAILY TELEGRAPH 
 
'Harris is as good at portraying the agonies of motherhood as she is at evoking the scent of bitter chocolate laced with cinnamon and chilli' SUNDAY TIMES

Chocolat was a hard act to follow but Harris has managed it in style

If Joanne Harris didn't exist, someone would have to invent her

Harris is as good at portraying the agonies of motherhood as she is at evoking the scent of bitter chocolate laced with cinnamon and chilli

A delicious urban fairytale, where killer shoes and Aztec myths battle it out with true love and the seductive power of chocolate

Here is a tryly delectable offering... Lush and bewitching, with a dark, mystical heart, this is a novel you can't help but devour greedily

She is so terrific, she can write about anywhere, anything, anyone

This fairy-tale for grown-ups is iced with mouthwatering sugar and spice, but its centre is dark and mysterious

Joanne Harris is the internationally renowned and award-winning author of over twenty novels. Her Whitbread-shortlisted novel Chocolat was adapted to the screen, starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. She is the author of several other bestsellers, including The Lollipop Shoes, Peaches for Monsieur Le Curé and The Strawberry Thief. She has also written acclaimed novels in such diverse genres as fantasy based on Norse myth (Runemarks, Runelight, The Gospel of Loki), and the Malbry cycle of dark psychological thrillers (Gentlemen &amp; Players, Blueeyedboy, and Different Class). 
 
Born in Barnsley, of an English father and a French mother, she spent fifteen years as a teacher before (somewhat reluctantly) becoming a full-time writer. In 2013, she was awarded an MBE, and in 2022 an OBE. She lives in Yorkshire, plays bass and flute in a band first formed when she was sixteen, and works in a shed in her garden. She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and served for four years as Chair of the Society of Authors. She also has a form of synaesthesia which enables her to smell colours. Red, she says, smells of chocolate.

Peaches for Monsieur le Curé (Chocolat 3)

the enchanting third novel in the beloved Chocolat series from master storyteller Joanne Harris

THE THIRD NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING CHOCOLAT SERIES 
 
'Expertly crafted, typically mouthwatering' DAILY MAIL 
 
When Vianne Rocher receives a letter from beyond the grave, she allows the wind to blow her back to the village in south-west France where, eight years ago, she opened up a chocolate shop. But Lansquenet is different now: women veiled in black, the scent of spices and peppermint tea, and, on the bank of the river Tannes, facing the church: a minaret. 
 
Nor is it only the incomers from North Africa that have brought change. Father Reynaud, Vianne's erstwhile adversary, is disgraced and under threat. Could it be that Vianne is the only one who can save him now? 
 
'A brave and grippingly confected story' SUNDAY TIMES 
 
'Like Chocolat, this book is a feast for the senses. Every page is steeped in scents, colours and tastes' LITERARY REVIEW 
 
'Prepare to be transported by Joanne Harris as she revisits the characters and setting of her first bestseller, Chocolat' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

THE THIRD NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING CHOCOLAT SERIES 
 
'Expertly crafted, typically mouthwatering' DAILY MAIL 
 
When Vianne Rocher receives a letter from beyond the grave, she allows the wind to blow her back to the village in south-west France where, eight years ago, she opened up a chocolate shop. But Lansquenet is different now: women veiled in black, the scent of spices and peppermint tea, and, on the bank of the river Tannes, facing the church: a minaret. 
 
Nor is it only the incomers from North Africa that have brought change. Father Reynaud, Vianne's erstwhile adversary, is disgraced and under threat. Could it be that Vianne is the only one who can save him now? 
 
'A brave and grippingly confected story' SUNDAY TIMES 
 
'Like Chocolat, this book is a feast for the senses. Every page is steeped in scents, colours and tastes' LITERARY REVIEW 
 
'Prepare to be transported by Joanne Harris as she revisits the characters and setting of her first bestseller, Chocolat' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

the last in a trilogy of dark, chilling and compelling psychological thrillers from bestselling author Joanne Harris

Different Class

The impressively versatile Joanne Harris in her psychological thriller mode, at her darkest and most unsettling.

The impressively versatile Joanne Harris in her psychological thriller mode, at her darkest and most unsettling. Perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Susan Hill, Nicci French and Val McDermid. 
 
'A magnificently plotted and twisty journey to the heart of a 24-year-old crime...darkly humorous...constantly wrongfoots and misdirects...up to a satisfyingly eccentric conclusion.' -- Observer 
'Classy writing, sensitive and moving.' -- The Times 
'Harris pulls off an impeccable thriller denouement...consistently entertaining.' -- Sunday Times 
'Just fabulous' -- ***** Reader review 
'An absolute triumph of a book' -- ***** Reader review 
'Twists, turns and droll humour - a great read!' -- ***** Reader review 
'Absorbing' -- ***** Reader review 
**************************************************************************************************** 
After thirty years at St Oswald's Grammar in North Yorkshire, Latin master Roy Straitley has seen all kinds of boys come and go - the clowns, the rebels, the underdogs, and those he calls his Brodie boys. But every so often there's a boy who doesn't fit the mould. A troublemaker. A boy capable of twisting everything around him. A boy with hidden shadows inside. 
 
With insolvency and academic failure looming, a new broom has arrived at the venerable school, bringing Powerpoint, sharp suits and even sixth form girls to the dusty corridors. But while Straitley does his sardonic best to resist this march to the future, a shadow from his past is stirring. A boy who even twenty years on haunts his teacher's dreams. A boy capable of bad things.

A magnificently plotted and twisty journey to the heart of a 24-year-old crime...darkly humorous...constantly wrongfoots and misdirects...up to a satisfyingly eccentric conclusion.

Slowly, Harris reveals tiny clues, withholding full explanations until the startling denouement. Classy writing, sensitive and moving.

Harris pulls off an impeccable thriller denouement...consistently entertaining.

It's Goodbye, Mr Chips meets The Bad Seed. Joanne Harris' latest has a killer elevator pitch and, what's more, it delivers on its intriguing premise...a rich, dramatic tale that builds to a surprising conclusion.

Harris magnificently manages every minute thread of the story, and even makes us laugh along the way . . . exquisitely sinister. . . Part black comedy, part thriller, and totally enjoyable.

Tackles big subjects, including teacher-pupil romances, sexual assault, homophobia and murder.You'll love it if...you enjoyed The Girl on the Train so crave another intelligent thriller.

Deftly orchestrated and beautifully written tale of abuse, loyalty and regret.

Her real metier is psychological suspense, and her accomplished new book, Different Class, is a prime example of her skills in this area . . . Crime novel or literary novel? Categories really don’t matter; readers will find themselves comprehensively gripped.

A long way from Chocolat, Joanne Harris's reinvention as a writer of psychological thrillers continues apace...delivers it beautifully.

She does a nice line in witty, psychological thrillers set in the fictional Yorkshire village of Malbry....Excellent.

Compellingly suspenseful...both a splendidly dark comedy and a disturbing thriller 
.

A writer with a total command of the psychological thriller idiom...Different Class, subtle and allusive, is Joanne Harris at the top of her game.

Terrific twists pile up at a highly satisfying rate...you'll be hooked'.

Ms Harris was once a teacher and uses this experience to create a background of great depth and detail.

A cracking psychological thriller that drips with menace...tightly plotted and completely engrossing.

Joanne Harris is best-known for the France-set novel Chocolat,.But she does a nice line in witty  psychological thrillers...Excellent.

The characterisation is always totally convincing....The denouement is exciting and totally surprising to the reader...a thrilling and unexpected ending.

the second in a trilogy of dark, chilling and witty psychological thrillers from bestselling author Joanne Harris

Blueeyedboy

A gripping psychological thriller played out in cyberspace, in Joanne Harris' dark, twisting Malbry Cycle, together with Gentlemen &amp; Players and Different Class.

Captivating, complex and compellingly intense, this psychological thriller from international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris is perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Susan Hill, Nicci French and Val McDermid. Brilliantly written, expertly plotted and ingeniously structured...with its fair share of plot twists and unreliable narrators, this is one book that will not let you go... 
 
'Delivers an almighty twist in the tale late on...brilliantly atmospheric and at times heartbreaking' -- The Times 
'An ingenious, gripping read...it terrified the living daylights out of me' -- Daily Express 
'Engrossing psychological thriller...a novel of unusual complexity...Harris, best known for Chocolat, again shows her skill and versatility' -- Mail on Sunday 
'Joanne Harris never fails to deliver' -- ***** Reader review 
'A story superbly told with a brilliant, totally unexpected, twist at the end. Made my blood run cold!' -- ***** Reader review 
'I couldn't put this one down!' -- ***** Reader review 
'An enthralling read' -- ***** Reader review 
'I read this book in two days; I just couldn't put it down' -- ***** Reader review 
 
****************************************************************** 
 
FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR JOANNE HARRIS COMES THIS GRIPPING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER... 
 
Once there was a widow with three sons, and their names were Black, Brown and Blue. Black was the eldest; moody and aggressive. Brown was the middle child; timid and dull. But Blue was his mother's favourite. And he was a murderer. 
 
blueeyedboy is a dark and intricately plotted tale of a poisonously dysfunctional family, a blind child prodigy, and a serial murderer who is not who he seems. 
 
Told through a series of anonymous posts on the internet, this is a thriller that makes creative use of all the multiple personalities, disguise and mind games that are offered by playing out a life online.

Delivers an almighty twist in the tale late on...brilliantly atmospheric and at times heartbreaking

An ingenious, gripping read...it terrified the living daylights out of me

Brilliantly written, plotted and insightful...beware unreliable narrators along with a huge plot twist at the end

Engrossing psychological thriller...a novel of unusual complexity...Harris, best known for Chocolat, again shows her skill and versatility

We all loved Chocolat, and Joanne Harris' new thriller, which follows the lives of three brothers and their dysfunctional families via a series of web journals, has the same beauty with a modern edge. A dark, intricate tale

Chilling...will keep you guessing until the end

Chilling psychological thriller... Fact and fiction are cleverly blurred, and the intricately plotted spins and turns will keep you guessing till the end

Captivating, complex and compellingly intense, this psychological thriller from international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris is perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Susan Hill, Nicci French and Val McDermid. Brilliantly written, expertly plotted and ingeniously structured...with its fair share of plot twists and unreliable narrators, this is one book that will not let you go... 
 
'Delivers an almighty twist in the tale late on...brilliantly atmospheric and at times heartbreaking' -- The Times 
'An ingenious, gripping read...it terrified the living daylights out of me' -- Daily Express 
'Engrossing psychological thriller...a novel of unusual complexity...Harris, best known for Chocolat, again shows her skill and versatility' -- Mail on Sunday 
'Joanne Harris never fails to deliver' -- ***** Reader review 
'A story superbly told with a brilliant, totally unexpected, twist at the end. Made my blood run cold!' -- ***** Reader review 
'I couldn't put this one down!' -- ***** Reader review 
'An enthralling read' -- ***** Reader review 
'I read this book in two days; I just couldn't put it down' -- ***** Reader review 
 
****************************************************************** 
 
FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR JOANNE HARRIS COMES THIS GRIPPING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER... 
 
 Once there was a widow with three sons, and their names were Black, Brown and Blue. Black was the eldest; moody and aggressive. Brown was the middle child; timid and dull. But Blue was his mother's favourite. And he was a murderer. 
 
 blueeyedboy is a dark and intricately plotted tale of a poisonously dysfunctional family, a blind child prodigy, and a serial murderer who is not who he seems. 
 
Told through a series of anonymous posts on the internet, this is a thriller that makes creative use of all the multiple personalities, disguise and mind games that are offered by playing out a life online.

the first in a trilogy of gripping and twisted psychological thrillers from bestselling author Joanne Harris

Gentlemen & Players

The first in Joanne Harris' Malbry Cycle of twisted psychological thrillers, followed by Blueeyedboy and Different Class.

Perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Susan Hill, Nicci French and Val McDermid, this is an astute and intelligent psychological thriller centring around obsession and rage from international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris. Fast paced with unexpected twists and turns, it will get right under the skin... 
 
'[A] gripping psychological thriller... Harris is one of our most accomplished novelists and Gentlemen &amp; Players, with its pace, wit and acute observation, shows her at the top of her form' -- DAILY EXPRESS 
'[A] delicious black comedy ... the plot is so cleverly constructed, the tension so unflagging, you'd think she'd been writing thrillers all her life' -- DAILY MAIL 
'It kept me on the edge of my seat and I was thinking about it long after I turned the last page' -- ***** Reader review 
'An intricate, engrossing novel' -- ***** Reader review 
'Wonderfully, horribly plausible' -- ***** Reader review 
'I read it in three days which is as close as I get to "couldn't put it down"' -- ***** Reader review 
'Well written and enthralling' -- ***** Reader review 
'A must read....' -- ***** Reader review 
'Absolutely loved this book!' -- ***** Reader review 
 
******************************************************************************************* 
At St Oswald's, a long-established boys' grammar school in the north of England, a new year has just begun. For the staff and boys of the school, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world; and Roy Straitley, the eccentric veteran Latin master, is finally - reluctantly - contemplating retirement. 
 
But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the school, a darker undercurrent stirs. 
 
And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for thirteen years, is about to erupt. 
 
The trilogy continues with blueeyedboy and Different Class.

[A] gripping psychological thriller... Harris is one of our most accomplished novelists and Gentlemen &amp; Players, with its pace, wit and acute observation, shows her at the top of her form

[A] delicious black comedy ... the plot is so cleverly constructed, the tension so unflagging, you'd think she'd been writing thrillers all her life

With a lightness of touch, Harris illuminates just how resentment of privilege and exclusion can lead to violent resolutions... Marvellously mischievous

[A] clever story of obsession and revenge... Ms Harris has scored another success

A classic whodunnit with the characters carefully crafted and the tension at a knife edge

A terrific and absorbing suspense novel, with a cast of characters you come to really care about and enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes

A wonderfully clever book, rich in atmosphere, crawling with fascinating characters, and packing a terrific surprise as well

[A] literary gobstopper with an aniseed heart ... wildly entertaining

A diverting and absorbing story which will delight her legions of fans

TPerfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Susan Hill, Nicci French and Val McDermid, this is an astute and intelligent psychological thriller centring around obsession and rage from international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris. Fast paced with unexpected twists and turns, it will get right under the skin... 
 
'[A] gripping psychological thriller... Harris is one of our most accomplished novelists and Gentlemen &amp; Players, with its pace, wit and acute observation, shows her at the top of her form' -- DAILY EXPRESS 
'[A] delicious black comedy ... the plot is so cleverly constructed, the tension so unflagging, you'd think she'd been writing thrillers all her life' -- DAILY MAIL 
'It kept me on the edge of my seat and I was thinking about it long after I turned the last page' -- ***** Reader review 
'An intricate, engrossing novel' -- ***** Reader review 
'Wonderfully, horribly plausible' -- ***** Reader review 
'I read it in three days which is as close as I get to "couldn't put it down"' -- ***** Reader review 
'Well written and enthralling' -- ***** Reader review 
'A must read....' -- ***** Reader review 
'Absolutely loved this book!' -- ***** Reader review 
 
******************************************************************************************* 
At St Oswald's, a long-established boys' grammar school in the north of England, a new year has just begun. For the staff and boys of the school, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world; and Roy Straitley, the eccentric veteran Latin master, is finally - reluctantly - contemplating retirement. 
 
But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the school, a darker undercurrent stirs. 
 
And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for thirteen years, is about to erupt. 
 
The trilogy continues with blueeyedboy and Different Class.

Doctor Who: Time Trips (The Collection)

Groundbreaking Doctor Who adventures by some of the most respected writers in the Universe - now available in one volume

Cecelia Ahern (Author) Before embarking on her writing career, Cecelia Ahern completed a degree in journalism and media studies. Her first novel, PS, I Love You was one of the biggest-selling debut novels of 2004 and a number one bestseller. Her successive bestselling novels are Where Rainbows End, If You Could See Me Now, A Place Called Here, Thanks for the Memories, The Gift, The Book of Tomorrow, The Time of My Life, One Hundred Names, How to Fall in Love and The Year I Met You and have collectively sold 23 million copies. PS, I Love You became an International box office success, starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler, and Where Rainbows End was adapted to Love, Rosie starring Lily Collins and Sam Claflin. Cecelia has also co-created the hit American television comedy series Samantha Who? Jake Arnott (Author) Jake Arnott was born in 1961, and lives in London. His debut novel, The Long Firm, was published in 1999 to huge public and critical acclaim. He Kills Coppers, Truecrime, Johnny Come Home, The Devil’s Paintbrush and The House of Rumour have followed to equal acclaim. Both The Long Firm and He Kills Coppers have been made into widely praised TV dramas. Trudi Canavan (Author) Trudi Canavan lives in Melbourne, Australia. She has been making up stories about people and places that don’t exist for as long as she can remember. While working as a freelance illustrator and designer she wrote the bestselling Black Magician Trilogy, which was published in 2001-3 and was named an ‘Evergreen’ by The Bookseller in 2010. The Magician’s Apprentice, a prequel to the trilogy, won the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2009 and the final of the sequel trilogy, The Traitor Queen, reached #1 on the UK Times Hardback bestseller list in 2011. Jenny T Colgan (Author) Jenny T. Colgan has written numerous bestselling novels as Jenny Colgan, which have sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide, been translated into 25 languages, and won both the Melissa Nathan Award and Romantic Novel of the Year 2013. Aged 11, she won a national fan competition to meet the Doctor and was mistaken for a boy by Peter Davison. Stella Duffy (Author) Stella Duffy has written thirteen novels, over fifty short stories, and ten plays. She has twice won Stonewall Writer of the Year and twice won the CWA Short Story Dagger. She adapted her novel State of Happiness for film with Zentropa/Fiesta, HBO have optioned her Theodora novels for a TV mini-series. She is also a theatre-maker; Associate Artist with Improbable, Artistic Director of Shaky Isles Theatre. Stella is the Co-Director of Fun Palaces, the campaign for wider cultural engagement for all. Nick Harkaway (Author) Nick Harkaway is the acclaimed author of Gnomon, The Gone-Away World, Angelmaker, Tigerman, Titanium Noir and Karla’s Choice. He is the son of John le Carré, and has a 
unique insight into his father’s work. The Guardian writes of Harkaway that ‘his great gift as a novelist is to merge the pace, wit and clarity of the best “popular” literature with the ambition, complexity and irony of the so-called “literary novel” – a rare combination which le Carré himself also achieved.’ He lives in London with his wife and two children. Joanne Harris (Author) Joanne Harris is the internationally renowned and award-winning author of over twenty novels. Her Whitbread-shortlisted novel Chocolat was adapted to the screen, starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. She is the author of several other bestsellers, including The Lollipop Shoes, Peaches for Monsieur Le Curé and The Strawberry Thief. She has also written acclaimed novels in such diverse genres as fantasy based on Norse myth (Runemarks, Runelight, The Gospel of Loki), and the Malbry cycle of dark psychological thrillers (Gentlemen &amp; Players, Blueeyedboy, and Different Class). 
 
Born in Barnsley, of an English father and a French mother, she spent fifteen years as a teacher before (somewhat reluctantly) becoming a full-time writer. In 2013, she was awarded an MBE, and in 2022 an OBE. She lives in Yorkshire, plays bass and flute in a band first formed when she was sixteen, and works in a shed in her garden. She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and served for four years as Chair of the Society of Authors. She also has a form of synaesthesia which enables her to smell colours. Red, she says, smells of chocolate. A.L. Kennedy (Author) A. L. Kennedy has twice been selected as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists and has won a host of other awards – including the Costa Book of the Year for her novel Day. She lives in Essex.

Time Trips is a unique and beautifully illustrated collection of Doctor Who adventures from bestselling and award-winning writers including Joanne Harris, Trudi Canavan, Nick Harkaway, A.L. Kennedy and more. Taking you from ancient Alexandria to nameless planets in the far future, these tales are at turns funny, frightening, moving and thought-provoking – short stories that are bigger on the inside. 
 
Time Trips includes: 
 
The Anti-Hero (featuring the Second Doctor) by Stella Duffy 
 
Salt of the Earth (featuring the Third Doctor) by Trudi Canavan 
 
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Time Traveller (featuring the Third Doctor) by Joanne Harris 
 
The Death Pit (featuring the Fourth Doctor) by A.L. Kennedy 
 
A Handful of Stardust (featuring the Sixth Doctor) by Jake Arnott 
 
The Bog Warrior (featuring the Tenth Doctor) by Cecelia Ahern 
 
Keeping Up with the Joneses (featuring the Tenth Doctor) by Nick Harkaway 
 
Into the Nowhere (featuring the Eleventh Doctor) by Jenny T. Colgan

Doctor Who: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Time Traveller (Time Trips)

Time Trips – groundbreaking Doctor Who adventures by some of the most  respected writers in the Universe.  Short stories that are bigger on the  inside…

Struggling to get back to UNIT HQ, his body being destroyed by radiation, the Third Doctor arrives in the most perfect English village, where everyone is happy. But is he really on Earth, or somewhere far more strange? As his body weakens, the Doctor and the Queen of the village begin to unravel the truth.

The Little Book of Chocolat

A mouth-watering collection of indulgent chocolate recipes to celebrate Joanne Harris’s bestselling Chocolat.

I loved this book before I had even tried out the recipes!

Joanne Harris (Author) 
Joanne Harris is an Anglo-French author, whose books include fourteen novels, two cookbooks and many short stories. Her work is extremely diverse, covering aspects of magic realism, suspense, historical fiction, mythology and fantasy. She has also written a Doctor Who novella for the BBC, has scripted guest episodes for the game Zombies, Run!, and is currently engaged in a number of musical theatre projects as well as developing an original drama for television. 
In 2000, her 1999 novel Chocolat was adapted to the screen, starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and in 2013 was awarded an MBE by the Queen. 
 
Fran Warde (Author) 
Fran Warde's career has been fuelled by a passion for food. Trained as a chef, she worked at the Café Royal, on an Australian prawn trawler, ran her own cookery school and then moved into food styling and food writing. She is the food editor of Red Magazine and the author of Food for Friends, Eat, Drink, Live and Thirty Minute Italian. She lives in West London with her husband and two children.

Try me . . . test me . . . taste me . . . 
 
Joanne Harris’s Chocolat trilogy has tantalized readers with its sensuous descriptions of chocolate since it was first published. Now, to celebrate the much-loved story of Vianne Rocher’s deliciously decadent chocolaterie, Joanne Harris and Fran Warde have created the ultimate book of chocolate lore and recipes from around the world, bringing a touch of magic to your kitchen.

a spellbinding collection of unforgettable short stories from Joanne Harris, the bestselling author of Chocolat

A Cat, a Hat, and a Piece of String

A brilliant new collection of short stories from Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat and Peaches for Monsieur le Cure.

An enthralling and enchanting collection of short stories from the bestselling author of Chocolat and The Strawberry Thief... Perfect for fans of Kate Atkinson and Kate Mosse as well as readers of Eve Chase and Stacey Halls. 
 
'A vibrant tombola of stories...' -- Time Out 
'Strongly plotted and written in registers that are variously comical, sad and surreal...' - Independent 
 'A jewel of a book' -- ***** Reader review 
 'Sublime and touching' -- ***** Reader review 
'Unputdownable' -- ***** Reader review 
'Compelling - you can lose yourself one story at a time' -- ***** Reader review 
************************************************************************** 
Stories are like Russian dolls; open them up, and in each one you'll find another story. 
 
Come to the house where it is Christmas all year round; meet the ghost who lives on a Twitter timeline; be spooked by a newborn baby created with sugar, spice and lashings of cake. 
 
Conjured from a wickedly imaginative pen, here is a new collection of short stories that showcases Joanne Harris's exceptional talent as a teller of tales, a spinner of yarns. 
 
Sensuous, mischievous, uproarious and wry, here are tales that combine the everyday with the unexpected; wild fantasy with bittersweet reality.

A vibrant tombola of stories...each a commute-friendly 20-or-so pages long.

An excellent mix of stories - some dark and mysterious, others heart-warming and thought-provoking.

Harris is an intriguing writer, so this is worth a punt, if only to savour the seasonal horror of the story about a house where it's Christmas all year round.

Strongly plotted and written in registers that are variously comical, sad and surreal...Best of all is 'Cookie', where delicious gluttony - Harris's forte - gathers a sharp note of menace.

Harris inhabits a world where fantasy and reality collide in a most inventive way to produce a series of delightful, bittersweet yarns.

Class of ’81/Come in, Mr Lowry, Your Number Is Up! (Storycuts)

Two short stories: a sharp, sad and funny tale of a witches' alumni reunion; and lies, damn lies, and statistics.

In 'Class of '81', when the graduates of wizardry school meet for their twenty-year reunion at Bella Pasta, the talk is all about love charms, cantrips, who has put on weight and who has had a body job. But one member of the group has sold out to a husband, home and children, thinking, 'Who needs magic when you can have security?' And yet - what really happens when the magic runs out? 
 
In 'Come in, Mr Lowry, your number is up!', numbers rule our lives, or so believes the insurance assessor in this tongue-in-cheek story. And that if you take into account all the statistics and calculate all the odds, chance will never play a part in what happens to you. But then fate, of all things, intervenes... 
 
Part of the Storycuts series, these two short stories were previously published in the collection Jigs &amp; Reels.

Gastronomicon/The Ugly Sister (Storycuts)

Two short stories: a celebratory meal takes a spooky turn; and a witty retelling of the Cinderella fairytale.

In 'Gastronomicon', Ernest's wife is a wonderful cook, aided by recipes from the ancient leather book - a family treasure - passed down to her by her mother-in-law. To celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, she undertakes to cook a very special meal - but what are the sounds of deep pounding and tolling bells that come from beyond the kitchen wall? 
 
In 'The Ugly Wife' some important questions are posed: What does it feel like to be the Ugly Sister? Will she spend her life looking for love in vain? Or will she finally find her happily-ever-after: a man who sees past appearances and who will love her for who she really is? 
 
Part of the Storycuts series, these short stories were previously published in the collection Jigs &amp; Reels.

Auto-da-fé/Free Spirit/Fule’s Gold (Storycuts)

Three short stories: a sharp modern morality tale about road rage; a terrifying story dreamt up sitting at a dirty supermarket café table; and the temptation of a frustrated old teacher at St Swithin's School for Boys.

In 'Auto-da-fé', a man's car defines him. Until the Rep of the Year, in his smart blue BMW, goes head-to- head in a showdown with V-man in his smug black Volvo saloon. But who is the real loser in this game? 
 
In 'Free Spirit', a wanderer, a party animal, goes wherever the wind blows, going home to bed with one person after another, old or young, healthy or corrupt, male or female. And then moves on, without regrets, without ever looking back... 
 
In 'Fule's Gold', Mr Fisher has taught at St Swithin's for over forty years, but is resigned to the total lack of imagination of the boys in his creative writing class. Until the day he opens one exercise book and discovers the Holy Grail of literature: an essay of total freshness and originality. But is it just too good to have been written by a mere schoolboy? 
 
Part of the Storycuts series, these three stories were previously published in the collection Jigs &amp; Reels.

Breakfast at Tesco’s (Storycuts)

A bittersweet story about second chances.

Miss Golighty is no young Holly, and the supermarket café where she regularly has breakfast is no Tiffany's. When she befriends Cheryl, the tarty young waitress and teaches her to love old films, she finds a way to help her young friend find the courage to seek a better new life. 
 
Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection Jigs &amp; Reels.

Waiting for Gandalf (Storycuts)

It's only a game, isn't it? A darkly comic, twisted look inside the mind of a fantasy game role-player.

It's not always fun playing the monster: after all, all you are is sword-fodder. But for the desperate, the misfit, the loner and the freak, dressing up in costume for the regular Saturday fantasy role-playing game in the woods is more satisfying than any reality. It's only make-believe, isn't it? It's not about life or death...or is it? 
 
Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection Jigs &amp; Reels.

A Place in the Sun/Al and Christine’s World of Leather/The Spectator (Storycuts)

Three short stories: a wry, tongue-in-cheek story about our culture of body-worship; although romance may be dead, the beat lives on in revenge; and a clear-eyed dystopian vision of where popular hysteria about paedophiles is leading.

In 'A Place in the Sun', Platinum is the beach everyone aspires to be on - the exclusive Beach of Beaches. Only the most beautiful bodies are permitted to enter. The old, the plain and the overweight have to accept that they will never be allowed in, in spite of all the facelifts, boob jobs and lipos that money can buy. 
 
In 'Al and Christine's World of Leather', Christine and Candy meet at Weightwatchers, and are soon firm friends. The knitting coven they start turns into a thriving hand knitting business, with Candy the designer, and Christine the workforce. But when Candy's designs turn to leather, and Christine starts wondering what the big flap in the trousers is for, their friendship starts to unravel... 
 
In 'The Spectator', elderly Mr Meadows, a retired teacher - before his profession was abolished - likes to take his morning walk past the school, ignoring the signs saying SCHOOL: NO UNACCOMPANIED ADULTS, because he innocently likes to watch the children playing. Surely there can't be any harm in that? 
 
Part of the Storycuts series, these short stories were previously published in the collection Jigs &amp; Reels.

Any Girl Can Be a CandyKiss Girl!/Tea with the Birds/The G-SUS Gene (Storycuts)

Three short stories: a nasty little tale about the exploitation of dressing up little girls; a poignant story of loneliness; and a dystopian warning about a possible future for mankind.

In 'Any Girl Can Be A Candykiss Girl!', the fashion house Candykiss listens to its consumer, the little girls, not their parents. Their pleasure is creating clothing for them to express themselves, never mind how contemptuous the adult generation - sexually and emotionally threatened - is of them. 
 
In 'Tea with the Birds', the worst crime of all is to be an outsider - wrong face, wrong clothes, wrong voice. And if you never raise your eyes from the ground, you will be labelled a snob by your neighbours. Yet when an isolated, lonely outcast meets a new tenant in the building of bedsits where she lives, she learns to spread her wings. 
 
In 'The G-SUS Gene', Oz 'Mad Dog' O'Shea is the Chosen One. Twenty years ago, mankind experienced near-total wipeout. Now only he is left to lead the quest for enlightenment. 
 
Part of the Storycuts series, these three short stories were previously published in the collection Jigs &amp; Reels.

Eau de Toilette/Fish/Never Give a Sucker... (Storycuts)

Three short stories: a mischievous sniff at the reek of the romance of the pre-revolutionary French court; a cautionary tale about love and food; and where are the other vampires, the plain, the working-class, the ones with bad PR?

In 'Eau de Toilette', in her boudoir Madame, a famous eighteenth-century French beauty of dubious hygiene habits, awaits, en déshabillée, the hot water for her six-monthly bath. Will it help to return Monseigneur de Rochefort, her favourite admirer, back to her side? 
 
In 'Fish', Melissa and Jack are on their honeymoon in Naples, but things aren't going well between them. He longs to explore the sensuous riches of Neapolitan food, but she is a lactose-intolerant, wheat-allergic vegetarian, and has objections to every restaurant. Jack finally entices her to Casa Rosa, a small fish restaurant down by the harbour, but there the battle between food and love will really begin... 
 
In 'Never Give a Sucker...', Reggie Noakes was a vampire for seventy-five years, but he doesn't fit in any more, ousted by market forces. You're just the wrong kind of vampire, they tell him. He never liked blood that much anyway, it's a bugger trying to get any when you're fat and balding and no virgin would look at you twice. 
 
Part of the Storycuts series, these short stories were previously published in the collection Jigs &amp; Reels.

Faith and Hope Go Shopping/Hello, Goodbye (Storycuts)

Two short stories: a bittersweet tale of old age, and a satirical look at celebrity culture.

In 'Faith and Hope Go Shopping', Faith has spent twenty years in a wheelchair. Together with her blind friend Hope, she lives in a nursing home. Their favourite carer calls them Butch and Sundance, and like their namesakes, they make a final dash for freedom - in pursuit of a copy of Lolita and a pair of slick red high heels. 
 
In 'Hello, Goodbye', Angela K. is a society columnist for Goodbye! Magazine, and gets to attend all of the season's most sensational Dernières: the most exclusive celebrity funerals. She prides herself on finally having joined the ranks of the Immortals - until a sad, badly-dressed old couple arrives to disrupt her world. 
 
Part of the Storycuts series, these stories were previously published in the collection Jigs &amp; Reels.

Last Train to Dogtown/The Little Mermaid (Storycuts)

Two short stories: the question is not where an author's ideas come from, but where they go afterwards; and a sad and angry fable of unrequited love.

In 'Last Train to Dogtown', Neil K. is a bestselling author, feted and acclaimed wherever he goes. Until the evening his train maroons him in the middle of nowhere, and after wandering into a bar, he is confronted by a group of characters who are all strangely familiar... 
 
In 'The Little Mermaid', every Tuesday is reserved for Freak Day at the pool, when the disabled, the impaired and the elderly come to bathe without disturbing the able-bodied. Sad Flipper, so deformed and ungainly in her wheelchair, is as agile and graceful as a dolphin in the water. But will she be tempted to sacrifice her uniqueness for love? 
 
Part of the Storycuts series, these two short stories were previously published in the collection Jigs &amp; Reels.

an absorbing, dark and chilling novel from bestselling author Joanne Harris

The Evil Seed

The revised and updated reissue of Joanne Harris's first novel, an absorbing, dark, chilling story.

A dark, gothic romance filled with mystery, jealousy, and violence...an interesting and a thrilling read

The haunting first novel by international multi-million copy bestseller Joanne Harris - a captivating and compelling study of human desires and compulsions. Perfect for fans of Kate Atkinson, Kate Mosse, Eve Chase and Stacey Halls. 
 
'A dark, gothic romance filled with mystery, jealousy, and violence . . . an interesting and thrilling read' - Style Magazine 
 
**************************************************************************** 
 
It's never easy to face the fact that a man you once loved passionately has found the girl of his dreams, as Alice discovers when Joe introduces her to his new girlfriend. 
 
Then Alice finds an old diary and reads about two men and the mysterious woman who bewitched them both, buried in Grantchester churchyard half a century ago. 
 
As the stories seem to intertwine, Alice comes to realize that her instinctive hatred of Joe's new girlfriend may not just be due to jealousy, as she is plunged into a nightmare world of obsession, revenge, seduction - and blood. 
 
Caution - May contain vampires... 
 
What readers are saying: 
***** 'Totally captivating' 
***** 'Had me hooked from the first page, dark, twisting and exciting - a must read' 
***** 'A page-turner' 
***** 'Cracking stuff - I was hooked'

Joanne Harris

(Chocolat 1)

'A feel-good book of the first order. One to curl up with... Read it' OBSERVER 
 
In the small French village of Lansquenet, nothing much has changed in a hundred years. Then an exotic stranger, Vianne Rocher, blows in on the changing wind with her small daughter, and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church. Soon the villagers cannot keep away, for Vianne can divine their most hidden desires. 
 
But it's the beginning of Lent, the season of abstinence, and Father Reynaud denounces her as a serious moral danger to his flock. Perhaps even a witch... 
 
'Sensuous and thought-provoking... subtle and brilliant' DAILY TELEGRAPH 
 
'Is this the best book ever written? Truly excellent' LITERARY REVIEW 
 
'Moody and atmospheric... a richly textured tale' INDEPENDENT

Joanne Harris

Books by Joanne Harris

Articles featuring Joanne Harris

A guide to magical realism

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