No catches, no fine print just unadulterated book loving, with your favourite books saved to your own digital bookshelf.
New members get entered into our monthly draw to win £100 to spend in your local bookshop Plus lots lots more…
Find out more
Stephen Clarke lives in Paris, where he divides his time between writing and not writing. His first novel, A Year in the Merde, originally became a word-of-mouth hit in 2004, and is now published all over the world. Since then he has published three more bestselling Merde novels, as well as Talk to the Snail, an indispensable guide to understanding the French.
Research for Stephen's novels has taken him all over France and America. For 1000 Years of Annoying the French, he has also been breathing the chill air of ruined castles and deserted battlefields, leafing through dusty chronicles, brushing up the medieval French he studied at university and generally losing himself in the mists of history.
He has now returned to present-day Paris, and is doing his best to live the entente cordiale.
Funny, outrageous, irreverent, politically incorrect and not to be missed! The fifth adventure for our Englishman in France. Paul West is living the Parisian dream (but with no money, no job, nowhere to live), and doing his best not to annoy the French. But recently things have been going wrong... Jean-Marie, his old boss, is trying to cheat him out of his share in their English tea room. Alexa his old girlfriend seems to be stalking him. And to make things worse, his American friend Jake keeps reciting poems at him. Listen to an audio extract by clicking on the orange arrow below. The Merde Factor by Stephen Clarke by Random House Audiobooks
Paul West's apartment is so small that he has to cut his baguettes in two to fit them in the kitchen. His research into authentic French cuisine is about to cause a national strike. His Parisian business partner is determined to close their tea-room. And thinks that sexually harrassing his female employees is a basic human right. And Paul's gorgeous ex-girlfriend seems to be stalking him. Threatened with eviction, unemployment and bankrupcy, Paul realises that his personal merde factor is about to hit the fan...
March 2012 Non-Fiction Book of the Month. We can imagine Parisians are up in arms about the book being published as Stephen Clarke goes behind the scenes to reveal everything they know about their city but don't want to tell you. From the best spots to eat, sleep just hang out it's invaluble inside information will have our Gallic cousins cursing 'le tourists' who know too much.
February 2011 Non-Fiction Book of the Month. Ten centuries' worth of French historical 'facts' bite the dust as Stephen Clarke looks at what has really been going on since 1066... It's a light-hearted but impeccably researched account of all our great fallings-out. With Clarke's trademark humour and lightness of touch that will be remembered with fondness from A Year in the Merde and Talk to the Snail, among others this is a brilliant take on the history of our near neighbour.
The third novel in the “Merde” series is the best one yet. You don’t have to have read the first two to thoroughly enjoy Paul West’s exploits as he and his French girlfriend travel across the States. English, French and American points of view all clashing together make for a brilliantly funny read and his cheeky style makes for a refreshing read.The books so far in this series are as follows:-1. A Year in the Merde2. Merde Actually3. Merde Happens
Not only is this incredibly funny but it is very informative and has wonderfully handy hints about how to handle yourself on a visit to France, including useful phrases for all kinds of situations. If you have been to France you will recognise so many of the characteristics of the French Clarke describes and if you haven’t been it is essential reading to help you understand the way their mind-set works. You might also enjoy A Year in the Merde and Merde Actually by the same author.
Paul West, an Englishman abroad in the classic sense, observant, astute and very British even though he attempts to infiltrate the French way of life. This comic semi-autobiographical yarn (it must be) follows on from his wonderful A Year in the Merde where Paul, the king of the comic phrase and ridiculous situation, still seeks love and understanding. It’s very tongue-in-cheek stuff.Comparison: Bill Bryson, Peter Mayle.Similar this month: None but try Sue Townsend
Outrageous, irreverent and politically incorrect, a young Englishman copes with the French. The odd spelling as he phoneticizes the French accent takes a bit of getting used to but get passed that, for it really is very funny. The scenario of setting up English Tea Houses in Paris seems, in my mind, ridiculous from the start; in this author’s hands it’s crazy. Real chuckle aloud stuff.Comparison: Bill Bryson, Peter Mayle, Tim Moore.Similar this month: Tom Sharpe, Anthony Horowitz. If you would like to read more books set in and around Paris, then go to the fabulous City-Lit Guide to Paris where you will find a plethora of titles featured.
An Englishman reveals the truth behind La vie Française. Hypocritical, inefficient, aggressive, adulterous, incredibly sexy. Are they or are they not??? That’s the question that Stephen Clarke answers with humour and gusto.
NEW UPDATED EDITION Was the Battle of Hastings a French victory? Non! William the Conqueror was Norman and hated the French. Were the Brits really responsible for the death of Joan of Arc? Non! The French sentenced her to death for wearing trousers. Did the French write God Save the Queen ? Non! But that's what they claim. Ten centuries' worth of French historical 'facts' bite the dust as Stephen Clarke looks at what has really been going on since 1066 ... Featuring new annoyances - both historical and recent - inflicted on the French, including Napoleon's banned chamber pot, Louis XIV's painful operation, Anglo-French jibes during the 2012 London Olympics, French niggles about William and Kate's royal wedding, and much more ...
An entertaining and eye-opening look at the French Revolution, by Stephen Clarke, author of 1000 Years of Annoying the French and A Year in the Merde. The French Revolution and What Went Wrong looks back at the French Revolution and how it's surrounded in a myth. In 1789, almost no one in France wanted to oust the king, let alone guillotine him. But things quickly escalated until there was no turning back. The French Revolution and What Went Wrong looks at what went wrong and why France would be better off if they had kept their monarchy.
An entertaining and eye-opening look at the French Revolution, by Stephen Clarke, author of 1000 Years of Annoying the French and A Year in the Merde. The French Revolution and What Went Wrong looks back at the French Revolution and how it's surrounded in a myth. In 1789, almost no one in France wanted to oust the king, let alone guillotine him. But things quickly escalated until there was no turning back. The French Revolution and What Went Wrong looks at what went wrong and why France would be better off if they had kept their monarchy.
What if teleportation was really possible? Englishman Richie Fisher is about to find out ... Richie and his wife Clara have won a weekend in New York in a newspaper competition. While Clara is off blowing their spending money, Richie wanders aimlessly, chewing on a veggie-burger, ending up in a gift-shop where he finds himself standing in front of an instant transporter machine. It looks nothing like the open-plan teleporter on Captain Kirk's Starship Enterprise; in fact, it seems more like a glorified microwave oven. Richie places his burger inside, hits the return key on the linked-up computer - and the burger disappears. But if he can teleport a half-eaten veggie-burger, what else could you do with the machine? For criminals, the possibilities are endless. Who could catch you if you beamed drugs into nostrils a hundred miles away? And how much would illegal immigrants pay to be teleported into the rich host country of their choice? Richie buys a teleporter and takes it back to England, where the chaos begins ...
Legend has it that, in a few busy weeks in July 1789, a despotic king, his freeloading wife, and a horde of over-privileged aristocrats, were displaced and then humanely dispatched. In the ensuing years, we are told, France was heroically transformed into an idyll of Liberte, Egalite and Fraternite. In fact, as Stephen Clarke argues in his informative and eye-opening account of the French Revolution, almost all of this is completely untrue. In 1789 almost no one wanted to oust King Louis XVI, let alone guillotine him. While the Bastille was being stormed by out-of-control Parisians, the true democrats were at work in Versailles creating a British-style constitutional monarchy. The founding of the Republic in 1792 unleashed a reign of terror that caused about 300,000 violent deaths. And people hailed today as revolutionary heroes were dangerous opportunists, whose espousal of Liberte, Egalite and Fraternite did not stop them massacring political opponents and guillotining women for demanding equal rights. Going back to original French sources, Stephen Clarke has uncovered the little-known and rarely told story of what was really happening in revolutionary France, as well as what went so tragically and bloodily wrong.
This title was first published in 2000: The second edition of Social Work as Community Development is thoroughly revised and updated taking into account lessons from community development and international experiences applicable in developed economies. The application of system theory to the problems of managing change is the core theme. The book will be essential reading for the UK DipSW/MScEcon in Applied Social Studies and MScEcon in Community Care Studies as well as for students of community development and social work in the USA, Asia and Australia. It will also be useful for practitioners and policy-makers across social work, social welfare and social policy.
The treatment of cancer is being revolutionized by drugs that modulate the immune system, offering the prospect of long-term response and extended survival for many patients with advanced incurable cancer. A plethora of new drugs are being incorporated into current standards of care but many questions remain unanswered - and new ones emerge - about how to use these exciting new drugs to best effect. A good understanding of immune-oncology is therefore becoming increasingly important to keep up to date with this rapidly changing field. 'Fast Facts: Immuno-Oncology' takes you from the fundamentals of immunology through to the new concepts of immunoediting and immunotherapy and likely future directions. Whether you are a practicing oncologist, oncology health professional, medical student, cancer researcher or industry professional, this book provides all you need to know about immuno-oncology, concisely summarized. Contents: * Components of the immune system * How cancers evade the immune system * How cancer immunotherapy works * Clinical use of immune checkpoint inhibitors * The future of immuno-oncology * Useful resources
Der Englander Paul West wird nach Brussel gerufen: Seine launische ehemalige Geliebte, Elodie, arbeitet fur die EU. Sie braucht seine Hilfe - angeblich soll er verhindern, dass Grobritannien sich fur den Brexit entscheidet. Paul wei zwar nicht so recht, wie er zur EU steht, aber die Stelle ist gut bezahlt, und er braucht das Geld. Also nimmt er den Job begeistert an, doch schnell wird klar, dass Elodie etwas verheimlicht. Verfolgt sie womoglich ganz andere Ziele? Gemeinsam mit seiner klugen und attraktiven Kollegin Manon versucht Paul herauszufinden, welche Rolle er und sein Land wirklich in Brussel spielen ...
THE POST-BREXIT EDITION - brand new chapters with extra EU chaos for Englishman Paul West. An Englishman, Paul West, goes to Brussels to work for a French MEP. There he gets an insider's view of what really goes on in the massive madhouse that is the EU Parliament. With the referendum on the horizon, things are even more hysterical than usual. When the Brexit result comes in, Paul has to make a decision. If he wants to work in Europe, should he apply for a French passport? But can an Englishman really become French? Can he sing the bloodthirsty 'Marseillaise'? Can he even pronounce the word 'Marseillaise'? And as Paul contemplates his own personal Brexit, the whole of Brussels seems to be going into meltdown ...
Published in the 200th Anniversary year of the Battle of Waterloo a witty look at how the French still think they won, by Stephen Clarke, author of 1000 Years of Annoying the French and A Year in the Merde. Two centuries after the Battle of Waterloo, the French are still in denial. If Napoleon lost on 18 June 1815 (and that's a big 'if'), then whoever rules the universe got it wrong. As soon as the cannons stopped firing, French historians began re-writing history. The Duke of Wellington was beaten, they say, and then the Prussians jumped into the boxing ring, breaking all the rules of battle. In essence, the French cannot bear the idea that Napoleon, their greatest-ever national hero, was in any way a loser. Especially not against the traditional enemy - les Anglais. Stephen Clarke has studied the French version of Waterloo, as told by battle veterans, novelists, historians - right up to today's politicians, and he has uncovered a story of pain, patriotism and sheer perversion ...
Published in the 200th Anniversary year of the Battle of Waterloo a witty look at how the French still think they won, by Stephen Clarke, author of 1000 Years of Annoying the French and A Year in the Merde. Two centuries after the Battle of Waterloo, the French are still in denial. If Napoleon lost on 18 June 1815 (and that's a big 'if'), then whoever rules the universe got it wrong. As soon as the cannons stopped firing, French historians began re-writing history. The Duke of Wellington was beaten, they say, and then the Prussians jumped into the boxing ring, breaking all the rules of battle. In essence, the French cannot bear the idea that Napoleon, their greatest-ever national hero, was in any way a loser. Especially not against the traditional enemy - les Anglais. Stephen Clarke has studied the French version of Waterloo, as told by battle veterans, novelists, historians - right up to today's politicians, and he has uncovered a story of pain, patriotism and sheer perversion ...
One Brit in Brussels. Two French Women. And a whole lot of merde. The hilarious new novel from Stephen Clarke, bestselling author of A Year in the Merde and A Thousand Years of Annoying the French. Does Brussels really want to outlaw bingo, bagpipes and smoky bacon crisps? Are eurocrats trying to rename the English Channel? And can the ink in euro notes really make men impotent? No. Well, not exactly. But it is true that the EU is a seriously flawed institution. And it's about to become even more so as Englishman Paul West goes to Brussels to work for a French MEP, and gets an insider's view of what really goes on in the massive madhouse that is the EU Parliament. As Britain prepares to vote whether it stays in or exits the EU, Paul gets the chance to influence the result of the referendum. He has to decide: better the devil you know? Or bring on the Brexit? It's a decision that could cost him a lot more than his euro paypacket . . .
One Brit in Brussels. Two French Women. And a whole lot of merde. The hilarious new novel from Stephen Clarke, bestselling author of A Year in the Merde and A Thousand Years of Annoying the French. Does Brussels really want to outlaw bingo, bagpipes and smoky bacon crisps? Are eurocrats trying to rename the English Channel? And can the ink in euro notes really make men impotent? No. Well, not exactly. But it is true that the EU is a seriously flawed institution. And it's about to become even more so as Englishman Paul West goes to Brussels to work for a French MEP, and gets an insider's view of what really goes on in the massive madhouse that is the EU Parliament. As Britain prepares to vote whether it stays in or exits the EU, Paul gets the chance to influence the result of the referendum. He has to decide: better the devil you know? Or bring on the Brexit? It's a decision that could cost him a lot more than his euro paypacket . . .
