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  The Murderer - Bulgakov expertly...

  Mikhail Bulgakov

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  Mikhail Bulgakov was born on 15th May 1891 in Kiev, in the Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire, into a Russian family.  He was one of seven children. 
   
  In 1901, Bulgakov attended the First Kiev Gymnasium, and developed a keen interest in Russian and European literature, theatre and opera.  After the death of his father in 1907, his mother assumed responsibility for his education.  After graduating Bulgakov entered the Medical Faculty of Kiev University and then took up a post as physician at the Kiev Military Hospital. 
   
  At the outbreak of the First World War, he volunteered as a doctor and was sent directly to the front, where he was badly injured at least twice.  To suppress chronic pain, especially in the abdomen, he injected morphine.  It took years to wean himself off. 
   
  He now took up medical posts in various towns and in 1919, he was mobilised by the Ukrainian People's Army and assigned to the Northern Caucasus.  There, he became seriously ill with typhus and barely survived.  
   
  After this illness, Bulgakov abandoned his medicine to pursue writing.  He moved to Vladikavkaz and had two plays staged there with great success.  He wrote too for various newspapers and other outlets, but his critics were many.  And growing. 
   
  When a Moscow's theatre director severely criticised Bulgakov, Stalin personally protected him, saying that a writer of Bulgakov's quality was above ‘party words’ like ‘left’ and ‘right’.   Indeed, it is said that Stalin watched ‘The Days of the Turbins’ at least 15 times. 
   
  It was not to last and by March 1929, Bulgakov's career was ruined when Government censorship stopped publication of any of his work and plays. 
   
  In despair, Bulgakov wrote a personal letter to Stalin.  He requested permission to emigrate.  He received a phone call from the Soviet leader, who asked the writer whether he really desired to leave. He replied that a Russian writer cannot live outside of his homeland.  Stalin thus gave him permission to continue working. In May 1930, he re-joined the theater, as stage director's assistant.  
   
  During the last stressful decade of his life, and in poor health, Bulgakov continued to work on ‘The Master and Margarita’, wrote plays, critical works, stories, and continued translations and dramatisations of novels.  Many of them were not published, others were derided by critics.  
   
  On 10th March 1940, Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov died from nephrosclerosis.  He was 48. 
   
  ‘The Master and Margarita’ was not published in any form until the mid-1960’s 
   
  Here Bulgakov relates a story as told by a doctor describing the terrible things that humanity is capable of doing in times of war.

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  Unpleasant Predicament An - A...

  Fyodor Dostoevsky, Tim Zengerink

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  What if your best intentions became your worst humiliation? 
  An Unpleasant Predicament is Fyodor Dostoevsky’s brilliantly satirical tale of social comedy and personal folly. It follows the misadventures of Ivan Pralinsky, a high-minded official whose prideful attempt at generosity lands him in a night of drunken embarrassment. 
  In this modern translation, Dostoevsky’s sharp wit and psychological insight come through with clarity and humor, offering listeners an unforgettable experience of awkward self-delusion and crumbling dignity. 
  What You’ll Hear in This Adaptation: 
  - A sharp and ironic comedy about power, pride, and social class 
  - A modern, listener-friendly version of Dostoevsky’s classic tale 
  - A character study that turns awkwardness into brilliance 
  - A cautionary tale that reveals the ridiculous in the respectable 
  Perfect for fans of psychological fiction, dark humor, and timeless social critique.  
  Step into this unforgettable evening of well-intentioned disaster.

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  Journey of My Life

  Lorraine Alexander

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  In ‘Journey of My Life,’ Lorraine Alexander invites readers into the most intimate corners of her story. With honesty and bravery, she reflects on a childhood shaped by hardship yet sustained by faith, the joys and struggles of motherhood, and the heartbreak of relationships that promised hope but caused turmoil. From the innocence of her early years to the burden of adult responsibilities, Lorraine’s path was marked by both love and loss. She shares the quiet victories of raising children through uncertain times, the pain of betrayal, and the devastating discovery of abuse that forced her to face truths she never imagined. Through these pages, she captures the complexity of grief, resilience, and the fight to reclaim a life shadowed by trauma. At its core, this memoir is not just about surviving but about learning to heal. Lorraine looks back on her journey with honesty, never avoiding the darker moments, yet always heading toward light. Her faith, steadfast love for her children, and determination to rebuild serve as powerful reminders that even in life’s most painful chapters, there is room for hope, healing, and the possibility of happiness.

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  Redesigning Destiny - The Narrow...

  Jupiter Rueda de Leon

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  They say death, divorce and relocating are the 3 most stressful life events that a person can go through. Aeileon (an Ex-Convict/ Drug Dealer/ Hop Hop Recording Artist) went through all of these experiences within a years time. This brief biography details the thinking that it took for one man to wake up & find salvation in Jesus Christ.

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  Murder on Ynys Môn - The...

  Siôn Tecwyn, Meic Parry

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  In the early hours of Good Friday, April 2019, Gerald Corrigan was shot with a crossbow outside his home on Anglesey. The attack proved fatal. The murderer was caught and convicted, but there remain many unanswered questions. The most perplexing being: why?
  Journalist Siôn Tecwyn covered the case at the time. Working with Meic Parry, producer of 'The Crossbow Killer' podcast, he explores the events leading up to the murder and the subsequent investigation. Including unseen content and additional insight from the trial as well as unreported facts about the case which take the story further, Murder on Ynys Môn highlights the complexity of this dark and shocking mystery.
  With photographs by Robert Law and Andrew Price, and poetry by Rhys Iorwerth.
  "A forensic unravelling of one of the most barbaric and senseless murders in the annals of Welsh crime…" – Ceri Jackson, creator of 'Shreds' podcast and author of The Boy from Tiger Bay

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  Murder in Cairo - The Killing of...

  Peter Gillman, Emanuele Midolo

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  On a warm night in December 1977, David Holden, chief foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times, landed in Cairo to report on crucial peace talks between Egypt and Israel, an epochal moment in global politics. Shortly after dawn, his body was found dumped on a dusty roadside. He had been shot with a single bullet through the heart.
  Who killed Holden and why? These were the questions pursued for a year by the newspaper's Insight team, overseen by legendary editor Harold Evans. Before he died in 2020, Evans said that their failure to solve the case was the biggest regret of his long career.
  Now, a member of the original Insight team has joined forces with a young investigative journalist from today's Sunday Times to resume the quest. Their search leads them into a world of intrigue and betrayal, exposing the fatal crossovers between journalism and spying.
  Meticulously researched and grippingly told, Murder in Cairo reveals the truth of one of the most enigmatic cold case mysteries of the past fifty years.

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