Julia Stuart

Moving to the reputedly haunted Hampton Court Palace of Queen Victoria when her father's untimely death renders her penniless, Indian princess Alexandrina is befriended by three eccentric widows before her faithful lady's maid, Pooki, is wrongly accused of murder.

The Pigeon Pie Mystery

Barber Guillaume Ladoucette has always enjoyed great success in his tiny village in southwestern France, catering to the tonsorial needs of Amour-sur-Belle's thirty-three inhabitants. But times have changed. His customers have grown older—and balder. Suddenly there is no longer a call for Guillaume's particular services, and he is forced to make a drastic career change. Since love and companionship are necessary commodities at any age, he becomes Amour-sur-Belle's official matchmaker and intends to unite hearts as ably as he once cut hair. But alas, Guillaume is not nearly as accomplished an agent of amour, as the disastrous results of his initial attempts amply prove, especially when it comes to arranging his own romantic future. For every reader who adored Chocolat, Julia Stuart's The Matchmaker of Périgord is a delectable, utterly enchanting, and sinfully satisfying delight.

A Novel

The Matchmaker of Perigord

A poignant, magical and completely original novel that you can't fail to love, for fans of Joanne Harris. Meet Balthazar Jones, Beefeater at the Tower of London. Married to Hebe, he lives and works in the Tower, as he struggles to cope with the tragic death of his son Milo, three years ago. The Tower of London is its own magical world; a maze of ancient buildings, it is home to a weird and wonderful cast of characters - the Jones's of course, as well as Reverend Septimus Drew, the Ravenmaster, and Ruby Dore, landlady of the Tower's very own tavern, the Rack & Ruin. And, after an announcement from Buckingham Palace that the Queen's exotic animals are to be moved from London Zoo to the Tower's grounds, things are about to become a whole lot more interesting... Komodo dragons, marmosets, and even zorillas ('a highly revered yet uniquely odorous skunk-like animal from Africa') fill the Tower's menagerie - and it is Balthazar Jones's job to take care of them. Things run far from smoothly, though - missing penguins and stolen giraffes are just two of his worries! A touching, magical and entirely original debut.

Balthazar Jones and the Tower of London Zoo

In een verre van idyllisch Zuid-Frans dorpje werpt een voormalig barbier zich op als koppelaar aangezien al zijn dorpsgenoten lijden aan een chronisch gebrek aan liefde.

De dorpskapper van Amour

When Balthazar Jones is tasked with setting up an elaborate menagerie within the Tower of London's walls to house the many exotic animals gifted to the Queen, life at the Tower gets all the more interesting. Penguins escape, giraffes are stolen, and the Komodo dragon sends innocent people running for their lives. Balthazar is in charge and things are not exactly running smoothly. Then his wife Hebe decides to leave him and his beloved tortoise "runs" away.--Résumé de l'éditeur.

The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise

Richard Morant

Guillaume, the barber, is forced to give up his business as the advancing age of his customers means many have gone bald. He decides to set himself up as a matchmaker instead. But how can a matchmaker make love simmer when he has not yet solved the problem of his own troubled heart?

The Matchmaker of Périgord

romanzo

Monsieur Ladoucette e il club dei cuori solitari

When Indian Princess Alexandrina is left penniless by the sudden death of her father, the Maharaja of Brindor, Queen Victoria grants her a grace-and-favor home in Hampton Court Palace. Though it is rumored to be haunted, Alexandrina and her lady's maid, Pooki, have no choice but to take the Queen up on her offer. Aside from the ghost sightings, Hampton Court doesn't seem so bad. The princess is soon befriended by three eccentric widows who invite her to a picnic with all the palace's inhabitants, for which Pooki bakes a pigeon pie. But when General-Major Bagshot dies after eating said pie, and the Coroner finds traces of arsenic in his body, Pooki becomes the #1 suspect in a murder investigation. Princess Alexandrina isn't about to let her faithful servant hang. She begins an investigation of her own, and discovers that Hampton Court isn't such a safe place to live after all. With her trademark wit and charm, Julia Stuart introduces us to an outstanding cast of lovable oddballs from the palace Maze Keeper to the unconventional Lady Beatrice (who likes to dress up as a toucan--don't ask) as she guides us through the many delightful twists and turns in this fun and quirky murder mystery. Everyone is hiding a secret of the heart, and even Alexandrina may not realize when she's caught in a maze of love.

Brimming with charm and whimsy, this national bestseller set in the Tower of London has the transportive qualities and delightful magic of the contemporary classics Chocolat and Amélie. Balthazar Jones has lived in the Tower of London with his loving wife, Hebe, and his 120-year-old pet tortoise for the past eight years. That’s right, he is a Beefeater (they really do live there). It’s no easy job living and working in the tourist attraction in present-day London. Among the eccentric characters who call the Tower’s maze of ancient buildings and spiral staircases home are the Tower’s Rack & Ruin barmaid, Ruby Dore, who just found out she’s pregnant; portly Valerie Jennings, who is falling for ticket inspector Arthur Catnip; the lifelong bachelor Reverend Septimus Drew, who secretly pens a series of principled erot­ica; and the philandering Ravenmaster, aiming to avenge the death of one of his insufferable ravens. When Balthazar is tasked with setting up an elaborate menagerie within the Tower walls to house the many exotic animals gifted to the Queen, life at the Tower gets all the more interest­ing. Penguins escape, giraffes are stolen, and the Komodo dragon sends innocent people running for their lives. Balthazar is in charge and things are not exactly running smoothly. Then Hebe decides to leave him and his beloved tortoise “runs” away. Filled with the humor and heart that calls to mind the delight­ful novels of Alexander McCall Smith, and the charm and beauty of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise is a magical, wholly origi­nal novel whose irresistible characters will stay with you long after you turn the stunning last page.

COSA SUCCEDE IN UN RISSOSO PAESINO FRANCESE SE IL BARBIERE APRE UN'AGENZIA MATRIMONIALE? Un vento ostinato soffia su Amour-sur-Belle, un paesino incastonato nella splendida campagna del Périgord, un paesino così scialbo che persino gli inglesi rifiutano di andarci a vivere. Qui, il barbiere del villaggio, Guillaume Ladoucette, è costretto a chiudere bottega perché una significativa percentuale dei suoi clienti con l'avanzare dell'età è diventata calva, mentre il resto cerca disperatamente di mantenersi giovane sperimentando nuovi tagli dalla concorrenza. Così Guillaume decide di avviare una nuova attività: un'agenzia per cuori solitari. Eh sì, perché ad Amour-sur-Belle, nonostante il nome (di cui i trentatré abitanti residui ignorano l'origine) l'amore latita, mentre il tasso di litigiosità è pericolosamente alto: alcuni ostentatamente ignorano Denise Vegier perché sua nonna era stata collaborazionista; il proprietario del caffè si rifiuta di servire Madame Fournier, sospettata di aver avvelenato qualcuno con i funghi. E Madame Ladoucette e Madame Moreau si scambiano insulti da così tanto tempo che ormai sono diventati un'originale forma di saluto In fondo quasi nessuno si innamora a prima vista, sostiene Guillaume Ladoucette, l'amore è come un buon cassoulet, ha bisogno di tempo e determinazione. Peccato che lo stesso Guillaume non sia ancora riuscito a dichiarare il suo amore a quella che lui lo sa è la sua anima gemella.

Monsieur Ladoucette e il Club dei cuori solitari

Il mistero dei giardini di Hampton Court

Brimming with charm, sparkling prose and undeniably unique characters, this hilarious novel set in the Tower of London has the transportive qualities and delightful magic of the contemporary classics Chocolat and Amelie. Balthazar Jones has lived in the Tower of London with his loving wife, Hebe, and his pet, the oldest living tortoise, for the past eight years. That's right, he is a Beefeater. It's no easy job navigating the trials and tribulations that come with living and working in the largest tourist attraction in London. The once white-hot flame of Hebe and Balthazar's love has been snuffed in the few years since their son Milo died, a death for which Balthazar blames himself. When Balthazar is tasked with setting up an elaborate menagerie within the Tower walls to house the many exotic animals gifted to the Queen by foreign dignitaries, life at the Tower gets all the more interesting. Penguins escape, a bearded pig goes missing, giraffes are stolen, the komodo dragon sends innocent people running for their lives, and canaries suffer fainting fits. As he attempts to cope with this four-legged invasion and his marriage continues to crumble, Balthazar must confront the secret he has been harbouring about his son's death, if he wants to save his marriage and his sanity. CAST OF CHARACTERS Balthazar Jones: Beefeater, overseer of the Tower's royal menagerie, father to Milo, and collector of rain Hebe Jones: Balthazar's wife who works at London Underground's Lost Property Office Mrs. Cook: Balthazar and Hebe's 180 + year-old tortoise - the oldest tortoise in the world Arthur Catnip: London Underground ticket inspector of limited height Rev. Septimus Drew: Tower chaplain who writes forbidden prose and pines for one of the residents Ruby Dore: Barmaid at the Tower's Rack & Ruin pub who has a secret Valerie Jennings: Hebe's eccentric colleague who falls for someone of limited height The Ravenmaster: Philandering Beefeater who looks after the Tower's ravens Sir Walter Raleigh: Former Tower prisoner and its most troublesome ghost Chief Yeoman Warder: Suspicious head Beefeater Oswin Fielding: Equerry to The Queen Samuel Crapper: Lost Property Office's most frequent customer Yeoman Gaoler: Deputy to the Chief Yeoman Warder who is terrorized by ghostly poetry at night

The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise

"This is the story of three decades, two wars and one community whose families were separated by military conflict during the early twentieth century. While its focus is the eastern bays of Wellington Harbour, the story is typical of all small New Zealand communites whose sons and daughters served in the Boer War or Word War 1. Drawing on national and local archives, published war histories, contemporary music and art, and family collections, it provides a moving, revealing and colourful account of a momentous time in New Zealand's history." -- Back cover.

Julia Stuart

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