The formidable fox-hunting obsessed Lady Bobbin has put together a Christmas house party at Compton Bobbin, including her rebellious daughter Philadelphia, the girl's pompous suitor, a couple of children obsessed with newspaper death notices, and an aspiring writer whose deadly (in more ways than one) serious first novel has been acclaimed as the funniest book of the year, to his utter dismay. And then there is beautiful ex courtesan Amabelle Fortescue and her group of guests staying in a nearby cottage ... As the house parties starts to unravel, so the jokes increase- this is Nancy Mitford's second novel and one of her earliest forays into the world of the Bright Young Things.

Nigella Christmas comprises reliable, practical, easy-to-follow recipes and inspiring and reassuring advice, presented in a gorgeous package that will make this the ultimate gift to yourself, your family and friends. Nigella Christmas will surely become an all-time perennial favourite, the book we will all reach for – for minimum stress and maximum enjoyment – at holiday season. Recipes include everything from Christmas cakes and puddings to quick homemade presents (cookies and chutneys); food to cook and freeze ahead; oven slow-cooking; “hero” ingredients; as well as party food and drinks. And, of course, exciting and inspiring variations for the Main Event – from traditional turkey, festive ham and special trimmings; to a Swedish or Polish Christmas à la Nigella; to a vegetarian Christmas feast.

A bank clerk loses his job on Christmas Eve and copes very poorly with the shock. Too distraught to return home to his doting family, he lingers about the snowy streets, stumbling upon a very curious individual with whom he unwittingly embarks upon a fantastic escapade that sorely tests his mettle as a man, a husband and a father.

An oriental prince begins an affair in London with a girl of dubious reputation, to whom he gives an emblematic ruby that disappears along with the young woman. Hercule Poirot is summoned to retrieve it. Posing as a guest at the Lacey family home, the detective will share a traditional Christmas to follow the thieves' trail until he finds the valuable jewel.

An English country house at Christmas time, with its crackling log fires and fine food, may seem an incongruous setting for a crime -- but a sinister note left on his pillow tells Hercule Poirot everything is not as it seems. The great detective plays his cards close to his chest -- until the discovery of a young woman lying in the snow, a Kurdish knife in the centre of a crimson stain on her white wrap, spurs Poirot into revealing his hand. Seven cases in which Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple prove conclusively that their powers of detection take the cake…

'Tis the season to be jolly tra-la-la-la-la ... BUT WAIT! Father Christmas's EVIL brother, Bad Christmas, is plotting to take over the world. His poisonous Christmas puddings that turn humans into zombies are pouring through from The Other Side in their millions. Millions of Christmas puddings, all made of deadly sticky matter! But four children from Plumpot Primary have escaped the puddings. Are they in time to stop Bad Christmas and save the world? Prepare to be ... puddified!