Guide to magical realism

Reading lists

A guide to magical realism

Joanne Harris on the secrets and drama of school days

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Features

the delightful bestselling sequel to Chocolat, from international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris

The Lollipop Shoes (Chocolat 2)

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 was born in Cornwall in 1972. Author of the novels The Gone-Away World, Angelmaker and Tigerman, 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

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

Chocolat

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