Most Popular Books by David Ellis

Luca’s Journey to the Holiest Feast follows the heartwarming adventure of a young boy, Luca, who embarks on a special journey with his family to experience the Eucharist for the first time. As Luca joins in the sacred feast, he learns about the meaning of communion and the deep sense of unity it brings to a community. Through humor, curiosity, and reflection, Luca discovers the power of sharing a meal and what it truly means to be part of something bigger. This story gently introduces children to the Christian tradition of communion in a fun, engaging, and thoughtful way.

A hilarious and honest memoir by an ex-greeting card writer, ex- virgin fundamentalist, and current This American Life contributor. When David Dickerson landed his dream job-at Hallmark writing greeting cards-he discovered his limited life experience as a fundamentalist- raised, 26-year-old virgin left him woefully unprepared for the worldly sentiments he was expected to deliver. Here, Dickerson chronicles his bumpy and hilarious journey to (relatively) modern single guy, confronting his past, his beliefs, his relationships, and his virginity.

A high school drop-out who served in the American army and then managed to slip into Oxford on the G.I. bill, Frank Cioffi gained a considerable public reputation in Freudian and Wittgensteinian circles. Frank Cioffi: The Philosopher in Shirt-Sleeves is an account of his conversation written in a Boswellian spirit, capturing the sharp intelligence, boisterous sense of humour and wealth of illustration Cioffi was able to bring to bear on life''s biggest problems when he was, as it were, off-duty. Tackling subjects such as the unruly body, the challenge of art, dealing with failure, the lure of science, the meaning of life, our understanding of others, depression, the case for suicide, and death, David Ellis describes how a philosopher who was profoundly influenced by Wittgenstein dealt with general issues and creates a vivid impression of an unusual and gifted individual. This portrait is followed by a post-script in which Nicholas Bunnin, who worked in the philosophy department at Essex when Cioffi was a professor there, situates him in a more strictly academic context and discusses his less well-known essays on literary criticism and the behavioural sciences, arguing for Cioffi''s potential to inspire those seeking a role for analytic philosophy within the broader scope of humanistic philosophy. A mixture of personal portrait and academic introduction, Frank Cioffi: The Philosopher in Shirt-Sleeves provides an elegant and enjoyable tribute to Cioffi as both man and philosopher.

Everyone thinks Emmy Dockery is crazy. Obsessed with finding the link between hundreds of unsolved cases, Emmy has taken leave from her job as an FBI researcher. Now all she has are the newspaper clippings that wallpaper her bedroom, and her recurring nightmares of an all-consuming fire. Not even Emmy''s ex-boyfriend, field agent Harrison "Books" Bookman, will believe her that hundreds of kidnappings, rapes, and murders are all connected. That is, until Emmy finds a piece of evidence he can''t afford to ignore. More murders are reported by the day--and they''re all inexplicable. No motives, no murder weapons, no suspects. Could one person really be responsible for these unthinkable crimes? INVISIBLE is James Patterson''s scariest, most chilling stand-alone thriller yet.

Space exploration continues to be a fun way to learn about our universe and the variations that may exist in outer space. In this fictional sequel to Exploring Planet VIDA, the people of planet earth are very happy to learn the astronauts survived this trip into space and returned to earth healthy and happy. However, they are also surprised and unprepared for the news they will receive about an unbelievable discovery made in an alternate universe.

Given the increasing number of old people, the proliferation of books about old age is hardly surprising. Most of these come from cultural historians or social scientists and, when those with a literary background have tackled the subject, they have largely done so through what are known as period studies. In Blasted with Antiquity, David Ellis provides an alternative. Skipping nimbly from Cicero to Shakespeare, and from Wordsworth to Dickens and beyond, he discusses various aspects of old age with the help of writers across European history who have usually been regarded as worth listening to. Eschewing extended literary analyses, Ellis addresses retirement, physical decay, sex in old age, the importance of family, legacy, wills and nostalgia, as well of course as dying itself. While remaining alert to current trends, his approach is consciously that of the old way of teaching English rather than the new. Whether ''blasted with antiquity'' like Falstaff in Henry IV Part Two, or with the ''shining morning face'' of an unwilling student, his accessible and witty style will appeal to young and old alike.

Dr Johnson believed that Shakespeare was at his best in ‘comic scenes’, but it is a long time since anyone explained convincingly what in the plays was intended to make us smile or laugh. This book serves to remedy that situation by concentrating mainly, but by no means exclusively, on the seismic shift in the development of Shakespeare’s writing which took place after Will Kemp was replaced by Robert Armin as his theatre company’s professional clown. Without disdaining help from both old and recent theorists of comedy, this new book is written in a jargon-free prose accessible to all those who, academic or otherwise, are interested in Shakespeare’s plays. It challenges the age-old distinctions between high and low in comedy, and tracks Shakespeare through to the time when he was no longer finding the world so funny.

In 1816, following the scandalous collapse of his marriage, Lord Byron left England forever. His first destination was the Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva where he stayed together with Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Godwin, Claire Clairmont and John Polidori. Byron in Geneva focuses sharply on the poet’s life in the summer of that year, a famous time for meteorologists (for whom 1816 is the year without a summer), but also that crucial moment in the development of his writing when, urged on by Shelley, Byron tried to transform himself into a Romantic poet of the Wordsworthian variety. The book gives a vivid impression of what Byron thought and felt in these few months after the breakdown of his marriage, but also explores the different aspects of his nature that emerge in contact with a remarkable cast of supporting characters, which also included Madame de Staël, who presided over a famous salon in Coppet, across the lake from Geneva, and Matthew Lewis, author of the splendidly erotic `Gothic’ best-seller, The Monk. David Ellis sets out to challenge recent damning studies of Byron and through his meticulous exploration of the private and public life of the poet at this pivotal moment, he reasserts the value of Byron’s wit, warm-heartedness, and hatred of cant.

Depuis l''assassinat de sa sœur ( Invisible, L''Archipel, 2016), Emmy Dockery, analyste au FBI, n''a pas renoncé à résoudre des crimes qui passent pour des morts accidentelles. Aux États-Unis, des sans-abri sont assassinés sans que personne ne s''en émeuve. Sauf Emmy Dockery, analyste au FBI, persuadée qu''un des plus grands serial killers de l''histoire est aux manettes. Pendant ce temps, Citizen David s''attire la sympathie de l''opinion publique en faisant sauter le siège d''entreprises qu''il estime manquer d''éthique. Quant à l''ex-agent Bookman, il est chargé par une huile du FBI de surveiller Emmy, son ancienne petite amie, suspectée d''être la taupe qui renseigne la presse. Mais quelqu''un d''autre surveille Emmy. L''observe, l''épie... Et attend le moment opportun pour frapper !

When the SS Empire Windrush berthed at Tilbury docks in 1948 with 492 ex-servicemen from the Caribbean, it marked the beginning of the post-war migrations to Britain that would form part of modern, multi-cultural Britain. A significant role in this social transformation would be played by the literary and non-literary output of writers from the Caribbean. These writers in exile were responsible not just for the establishment of the West Indian novel, but, by virtue of their location in the Mother Country, were also the pioneers of black writing in Britain. Over the next fifty years, this writing would come to represent an important body of work intimately aligned to the evolving and contentious notions of ''home'' as economic migration became a permanent presence. In this book, David Ellis provides in-depth analyses of six key figures whose writing charts the establishment of black Britain. For Sam Selvon, George Lamming, and E. R. Braithwaite, writing home represents a literature of reappraisal as the myths of empire—the gold-paved streets of London—conflict with the harsh realities of being designated an immigrant. The unresolved consequences of this reappraisal are made evident in the works of Andrew Salkey, Wilson Harris, and Linton Kwesi Johnson where radicalism in both political and literary terms can be read as a response to the rejection of the black communities by an increasingly divided Britain in the 1970s. Finally, the novels of Caryl Phillips, Joan Riley, and David Dabydeen mark an increasingly reflective literature as the notion of home shifts more explicitly from the Caribbean to Britain itself. Containing both contextual and biographical information throughout, "Writing Home" represents a literary and social history of the emergence of black Britain in the second half of the twentieth century.

"No husbands allowed. Only minutes after Abbie Elliot and her three best friends step off of a private helicopter, they enter the most luxurious, sumptuous, sensually pampering hotel they have ever been to. Their lavish presidential suite overlooks Monte Carlo, and they surrender: to the sun and pool, to the sashimi and sake, to the Bruno Paillard champagne. For four days they''re free to live someone else''s life. As the weekend moves into pulsating discos, high-stakes casinos, and beyond, Abbie is transported to the greatest pleasure and release she has ever known. What happened last night? In the morning''s harsh light, Abbie awakens on a yacht, surrounded by police. Something awful has happened--something impossible, unthinkable. Abbie, Winnie, Serena, and Bryah are arrested and accused of the foulest crime imaginable. And now the vacation of a lifetime becomes the fight of a lifetime--for survival. GUILTY WIVES is the ultimate indulgence, the kind of nonstop joy-ride of excess, friendship, betrayal, and danger that only James Patterson can create"--Provided by publisher.