The Co-op Book Podcast

Mark Lamprell - The Lovers Guide to Rome

A gorgeous multi-stranded love story set in Rome. One Day meets Roman Holiday! 'Absolutely enchanting, an ode to all the semi-magical towns and vibrant cities in the world where fate is decided. Love has many faces - and Lamprell knows them all. This is a book for those willing to travel the road of love from the beginning, across the long middle, to the end, over and over again. (And, by the way: you will discover the secret places of Rome in every chapter!)' NINA GEORGE, author of the New York Times bestseller, The Little Paris Bookshop This is the place where passions are aroused, senses inflamed, and lovers fall into each other's arms. It all appears to unfold like magic - but I will tell you what really happens. Rome - glorious, eternal, intoxicating. Could there be a better place on earth to fall in love? Mark Lamprell works in film and television. He co-wrote the film Babe: Pig in the City and wrote and directed the award- winning feature My Mother Frank. His first novel, The Full Ridiculous, was published last year and has been sold to the United States, Canada, Poland and Israel. Mark has holidayed in Rome for many years. http://www.coop.com.au/the-lovers-guide-to-rome/9781760291266

Alexandra Joel - Rosetta : A Scandalous True Story

he scandalous Australian woman who enchanted British society Headstrong and beautiful, in 1905 Rosetta escaped her safe Melbourne life, deserting her respectable husband and five-year-old daughter to run away with Zeno the Magnificent, a half-Chinese fortune teller and seducer of souls. The pair reinvented themselves in London, where they beguiled European society and risked everything for a life of glamour and desire. Rosetta said she was American; Zeno claimed to be a brilliant Japanese professor. Together they attracted the patronage of famous writers, inventors and scientists, lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses. Empress Eugenie, the widow of Napoleon III, and Princess Charlotte, sister of Germany's last Kaiser, were among their greatest devotees. Rosetta revelled in a life few women of her time would have dared to embrace, yet all the while she hid her secret shame: the daughter she had left behind. This is the compelling story of Alexandra Joel's quest to uncover the truth about her scandalous great-grandmother, and the shocking century-old secret she would discover at the heart of her family. http://www.coop.com.au/rosetta/9780143780472

Bernice Barry - Georgiana Molloy -The Mind that Shines

This meticulously researched biography tells the extraordinary story of Georgiana Molloy, one of Australia's first internationally successful female botanists. From the refined beauty of 19th century England and Scotland, to the dramatic landscape of the West Australian coast, Georgiana Molloy: The Mind That Shines gives new insight into the life of this pioneering botanist. Following a swift marriage, Georgiana and Captain John Molloy, a handsome hero with a mysterious past, emigrated to Australia among the first group of European settlers to the remote southwest. Here, despite personal tragedy, Georgiana's passion for flora was ignited. Entirely self-taught, she gathered specimens of indigenous flora from Augusta and Busselton that are now held in some of the world's leading herbarium collections. Using Georgiana's own writings and notes, accompanied by full-colour pictures of some of the stunning plants mentioned throughout, Bernice Barry reveals a resilient, independent woman of strong values, whose appreciation and wonder of the landscape around her become her salvation, and her legacy. About the Author Bernice Barry lives on WA's southwest coast near the place where Georgiana Molloy arrived in 1830. Bernice has been researching the lives of Georgiana and John Molloy for more than a decade, travelling throughout Australia and Europe to access original sources and historical sites. http://www.redtube.com/1434070

Emily Maguire - An Isolated Incident

An Isolated Incident is a psychological thriller about everyday violence, the media’s obsession with pretty dead girls, the grip of grief and the myth of closure, and the difficulties of knowing the difference between a ghost and a memory, between a monster and a man. Emily Maguire is the author of the novels Taming the Beast (2004), an international bestseller and finalist for the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Kathleen Mitchell Award, The Gospel According to Luke (2006) and, most recently, the non-fiction work, Princesses & Pornstars (2008). Her articles and essays on sex, religion and culture have been published in newspapers and journals including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Financial Review, The Age and the Observer. In 2007, the Women's Electoral Lobby awarded her the Edna Ryan Award (Media Category) for her writing about women's issues. She lives in Sydney with her husband.

Anna Ciddor - The Family With Two Doors

This warm and engaging story, inspired by the author's own family, offers a glimpse into a life rich with tradition, celebration and love. Based on the author's real family, the Rabinovitches dance, laugh and cook their way through an extraordinary life in 1920s Poland. In the classic tradition, this highly readable story is fascinating, engaging and as warm as freshly baked bread. Anna Ciddor has made her name as a versatile writer and illustrator of fiction, travel and historical books for primary school children and older readers. Her Viking Magic historical fantasy series has earned her fans throughout the world. http://www.coop.com.au/the-family-with-two-front-doors/9781925266641