Most Popular Books by James Aldridge

This is a new release of the original 1942 edition.

"The early, crisis-ridden days of President Gamal Nasser''s Egyptian Republic are the background for this fascinating, fast-moving novel of modern political intrigue. The time is just before the terrible Suez Canal fiasco in which Israeli-French-British forces nearly regain Egypt, breaking the back of the new nation''s military power in their ferocious attacks. Against this violent and volatile setting, the author creates a web of dozens of characters whose lives touch upon, or directly affect, each other''s. Col. Peacock, a popular M.P., has come back to Egypt because of the threatened international "incident". There he encounters Capt. Scott, a brave English officer once court martialled, who now works for Nasser. Both men become involved in an attempt to gain the release of Sam Hassoon, a half Jew, who has been arrested without reason as a plotter against Nasser. Quartermain, a journalist, watches the intrigues and plots against Nasser''s life while reporting for foreign publications. Interjected in a story line which moves swiftly toward the Canal crisis are fascinating flashbacks to the revolt against Farouk, the 1942 war against the Afrikakorps, and the old colonial Cairo days. The book ends, violently, with vivid descriptions of the Allied attacks, arrests, and the death of Col. Peacock by sniper fire. Although the narrative, even journalistic, style of the book leaves little room for deep character study, its people are alive, believable, and will draw sympathy and interest from a large audience. Dramatic history of recent times is made into very worthwhile fiction."--Kirkus

Story of the R.A.F. in Greece and Lybia and of the love of a Greek officer and his English wife.

While recuperating on the south coast of France after a terrible accident, 13-year-old Beau meets Lelee, a sort of wild child, more at home in the sea than on land. Together with Beau''s younger sister they roam around the Bay of Angels in their little boat in search of a box that Lelee believes contains a fortune. They are constantly being watched by a group of smugglers who are looking for the same box. The summer turns into an intriguing adventure which gradually unfolds as Beau regains his strength, thanks to his new surroundings and the people he meets, including his eccentric aunt, her companion Clothilde and, above, all, Lelee, who also has her own sad tale that means she must one day leave the place she loves.

When Lilli Stubeck, a gypsy girl, is sold to Miss Dagleish, a wealthy spinster, she resists the woman''s efforts to tame her.

Mongolia - horses - fiction.

When young Spit MacPhee comes to live with his grandfather, the people of the Australian country town of St Helen fear for his future. Fyfe MacPhee is a crazy old man, and barefoot Spit has to fend for himself along the riverbank where they live. While some people feel that Spit can look after himself, others believe he would be better cared for in a boys home - and when old Fyfe dies after one of his ''turns'' a fierce battle to decide Spit''s destiny begins. Featuring a new introduction from Phillip Gwynne in this Text Classics edition, The True Story of Spit MacPhee is a much-loved, quintessentially Australian novel for readers of all ages. James Aldridge is a multi-award winning Australian author and journalist. Aldridge was born in Bendigo and his family moved to Swan Hill in the mid-1920s. His novels based on the real living conditions of Swan Hill include his 1985 Children''s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year The True Story of Lilli Stubeck and the Guardian Children''s Fiction Prize-winning The True Story of Spit MacPhee. James Aldridge now lives in London.

The political, social, economic, and cultural expression of consciousness during Cairo''s existence is thoroughly examined in this popular account as are the dominant personalities, past and present, from the Pharaohs to Napoleon to Nasser.