Four paperbacks

Normal RRP £35.96

Lightning Comic Fiction Bundle

Three Lightning Authors

£20.00

Four glittering comic novels

A Right Royal Face-Off by Simon Edge is historical fiction with a difference: a comedy about the rivalry between Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds, wrapped in a modern satire on the world of reality television. It has won praise from art historians for its fidelity to the source material, as well as from general readers for being supremely entertaining.

In The Drover’s Wives, the prize-winning comic novelist Ryan O’Neill (author of Their Brilliant Careers) hilariously re-imagines Henry Lawson’s Australian classic short story The Drover’s Wife in 101 ways. This laugh-out-loud literature was shortlisted for Australia’s main comedy writing award.

The New York writer Elinor Lipman has been hailed as the Jane Austen of Manhattan. Her gossamer-light comedies of modern manners are just the thing if you’re looking for intelligent escapism. Her two most recent novels, Good Riddance and On Turpentine Lane, are in this great-value bundle.

DISCOUNT CODES MAY NOT BE USED WITH THIS BUNDLE

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‘I loved this book, a laugh-out-loud contemporary satire skewering today’s tired reality TV formats married with a tale of vicious rivalry in the world of 18th century royal portraiture. Simon Edge manages to pin asses ears onto the lot of them, to great comic effect’

Liz Trenow on A Right Royal Face-Off

‘I enjoyed this beguiling book very much. The interwoven strands between 1780s and the 2010s are beautifully managed and brilliantly resolved’

Hugh Belsey on A Right Royal Face-Off

‘In his supercalifragilisticexpialidocious new book Ryan O’Neill does something stunningly original using Henry Lawson’s The Drover’s Wife – turning it into a bravura literary game. I have never read a work like this before. It is a perfect reference book and teaching aid for teachers and students of English by illustrating the rich variety of ways we play with and use the language. A cerebrally imaginative tour de force

Frank Moorhouse on The Drover’s Wives

‘Playful, inventive and often laugh-out-loud funny, The Drover’s Wives is a brilliant array of Oulipo-inspired exercises in style’

David Belbin on The Drover’s Wives

‘Elinor Lipman is an enchanting, infinitely witty yet serious, exceptionally intelligent, wholly original, and Austen-like stylist’

Fay Weldon, Washington Post

‘Such brilliant news that Elinor Lipman’s new books are going to be published in the UK. I’ve been a huge fan of her novels for so many years. Her writing is witty, astute and deliciously dry, and I’m delighted to be able to share my love her work with a wider audience

Jill Mansell

reviews

‘The way in which the eighteenth century is rendered in this novel is witty, observant and joyously gossipy. The characterisations are sharp and Simon Edge has the painter’s eye for detail. It is paced beautifully and nothing is wasted’

NB magazine on A Right Royal Face-Off

‘The more of Simon Edge you read, the more you realise that every element of his stories is hand-selected and glued to the bigger picture – it’s whimsical, farce-like… scrapbooky, in the best possible way’

Buzz Magazine on A Right Royal Face-Off

‘A work of virtuosic flippancy tempered by considerable intellect – great fun from start to finish’

Times Literary Supplement on The Drover’s Wives

‘The book is imaginative, clever, experimental, adroit, self-reflexive and very funny. As you turn the pages, you wonder just what O'Neill will come up with next’

Sydney Morning Herald on The Drover’s Wives

‘I was new to Lipman, but I loved her signature snappy style and gently satirical detail. From dog-walkers to state senators, chocolate courses to trash TV, all American life is here’

Wendy Holden, Daily Mail on Good Riddance

‘You’ll definitely be delighted. Can an entire book function as a shaggy-dog story?’

Washington Post on Good Riddance

‘Light and tight, On Turpentine Lane is constructed with an almost scary mastery. Not a single thread dangles, not a single character is left without a place. The story folds out and back in as neatly as an origami flower, and Faith recounts it all with a raised eyebrow and plenty of cheek’

New York Times on On Turpentine Lane

‘Elinor Lipman is the best writer you’ve never heard of – imagine if Elizabeth Strout wrote romantic comedies. On Turpentine Lane is whimsical but also gently savages the frailties of the human condition‘

Red magazine on On Turpentine Lane

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