Helen Smith

Twenty-six-year-old Emily Castles is out of work…again. So when famous romance author Morgana Blakely offers her a job helping out at a conference in London, Emily accepts. Just as eagerly, American blogger Winnie Kraster accepts an invitation from Morgana to attend as a guest, not realizing she has, in effect, accepted an invitation to die. As a cast of oddball characters assembles at the conference hotel, grievances, differences, and secrets begin to emerge. When Winnie goes missing, and then is found murdered nearby, Emily begins to suspect that someone involved with the conference is responsible. Could it be one of the organizers, one of the authors, a member of the hotel staff, or even the supplier of the chocolates for the conference gift bags? Emily teams up with guest speaker and eccentric philosophy professor Dr. Muriel to find out. Offbeat and engaging, this entertaining comic mystery is the first full-length novel featuring amateur British sleuth Emily Castles.

Three Sisters introduces twenty-six-year-old amateur sleuth Emily Castles in this entertaining new mystery series from best selling British author Helen Smith. Emily receives an invitation to a party in a large house at the end of her street, hosted by a mysterious troupe of circus performers. She accepts, despite her misgivings, because her dog has died and she needs cheering up. But when she witnesses a murder in the midst of the surreal entertainment, no one will believe what she has seen. Is Emily befuddled with grief at the loss of her pet? Or has something wicked happened in plain sight of all the party-goers? Emily and her eccentric neighbours attempt to discover the truth in a charming story that will have you giggling at every funny line. Readers of M C Beaton or Alexander McCall Smith will enjoy discovering a new mystery author. Chosen as a "Book of the Year" by Elizabeth at The Frugal Ereader. This short mystery is a standalone story set in London. The Emily Castles mysteries can be read in any order. PRAISE FOR THREE SISTERSFast-paced, funny, and mysterious all at the same time... I can't wait to see what Emily's next adventure will be. Socrates Book Reviews Helen Smith manages to pack in surprises and plot twists, creating a story that is fully engaging from start to finish. The characters are creative and multi-dimensional and I loved the unique personalities and talents of all the party guests. As a wallflower turned super-sleuth, Emily Castles was a wonderful protagonist and I'm eager to read more of her adventures. Her Book Self PRAISE FOR THE EMILY CASTLES MYSTERY SERIES Emily Castles is one character you cannot help but fall in love with Julie's Book Reviews Helen Smith has created a great little cozy series with the charming Emily Castles. Criminal Element Very funny indeed... There seems to be a winning line on every page. The Bookbag

An entertaining new murder mystery from best selling British author Helen Smith. Twenty-six-year-old amateur sleuth Emily Castles helps out at a local stage school run by her neighbour Victoria in London. As parents and prospective new pupils turn up at the end of term show - where prizes will be handed out by eccentric philosophy professor Dr. Muriel and famous romance novelist Morgana Blakely - Emily deals with a blackmail threat and two deaths, before teaming up with the guests of honour to try to prevent a massacre happening live on stage. The funny lines will keep you giggling as you race through this madcap story to discover whether Emily and her friends will triumph over disaster. Readers of M C Beaton or Alexander McCall Smith will enjoy discovering a new author in this entertaining British mystery series. Chosen as a Favorite Book of the Year by Julie's Book Reviews. This short mystery is a standalone story set in London. The Emily Castles mysteries can be read in any order. PRAISE FOR SHOWSTOPPERSIt's a confection of intriguing characters and situations. The small details that season the story keep the reader turning the pages. The cleverly written story shows a deep understanding of human motivations and reactions, even as it reveals a sense of how ridiculous people can be. Dive in to 'Showstoppers' when you have time to relish every line. You'll be glad you did. Mary Beth Magee, Yahoo Voices PRAISE FOR THE EMILY CASTLES MYSTERY SERIES Emily Castles is one character you cannot help but fall in love with Julie's Book Reviews Helen Smith has created a great little cozy series with the charming Emily Castles. Criminal Element Very funny indeed... There seems to be a winning line on every page. The Bookbag

In A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf described fictions as 'grossly material things', rooted in their physical and economic contexts. This book takes Woolf's brief hint as its starting point, asking who made the books of the English Renaissance, and what the material circumstances were in which they did so. It charts a new history of making and use, recovering the ways in which women shaped and altered the books of this crucial period, as co-authors, editors, translators, patrons, printers, booksellers, and readers. Drawing on evidence from a wide range of sources, including court records, letters, diaries, medical texts, and the books themselves, 'Grossly Material Things' moves between the realms of manuscript and print, and tells the stories of literary, political, and religious texts from broadside ballads to plays, monstrous birth pamphlets to editions of the Bible. In uncovering the neglected history of women's textual labours, and the places and spaces in which women went about the business of making, Helen Smith offers a new perspective on the history of books and reading. Where Woolf believed that Shakespeare's sister, had she existed, would have had no opportunity to pursue a literary career, 'Grossly Material Things' paints a compelling picture of Judith Shakespeare's varied job prospects, and promises to reshape our understanding of gendered authorship in the English Renaissance.

Leonard Bernstein was the quintessential American musician. Through his careers as conductor, pianist, teacher and television personality he became known across the US and the world, his flamboyance and theatricality making him a favourite with audiences, if not with critics. However, he is perhaps best remembered as a composer, particularly of the musical West Side Story, and for songs such as 'America', 'Tonight' and 'Somewhere'. Dr Helen Smith takes an in-depth look at all eight of Bernstein's musical theatre works, from the early On the Town written by the 26-year-old composer at the start of his career, to his second and last opera A Quiet Place in 1983; in between these two pieces he composed music for Trouble in Tahiti, Wonderful Town, Candide, West Side Story, Mass and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. These works are analysed and considered against a background of musical and social context, as well as looking at Bernstein's other orchestral, choral and chamber works. One important aspect examined is Bernstein's use of motifs in his theatre compositions, which takes them out of the realms of Broadway and into the sphere of symphonic writing. Smith provides an indispensable overview of the musical theatre works of an eclectic composer, and shows what it is that constitutes the Bernstein 'sound'.

This book presents the results of archaeological research in the extreme south of Madagascar between 1991 and 2003, and provides a synthesis of the regions archaeology. Madagascar is an island with many unique species of fauna and flora; its extreme south is a semi-arid region with remarkable vegetational adaptations. The project began as an ethnoarchaeological and ethnohistorical study of the origins and development of the monumental stone tombs which are built throughout the south, but expanded into a far wider archaeological study. The contributors trace the phases of the region's history from the first human colonisation and the extinction of much of the island's megafauna to the growth and collapse of the Manda civilization, contact with Europeans and right up to the present day.