Books published by publisher Peter Owen Publishers

In rural Norway, one evening after school, 11-year-old Siss and Unn strike up a deep and unusual bond. When the next day Unn sets off into the wintry woods in search of a mysterious frozen waterfall, known locally as the "ice palace," and does not return, a devastated Siss takes it upon herself to find her missing friend. The Ice Palace is one of the most memorable achievements in modern literature thanks in large part to Vesaas's unique command of a sparse, figurative and fragmentary style. As part of the Peter Owen Cased Classics series, this edition is bound with printed endpapers, head and tail bands and a ribbon marker. The elegant dust jacket features a die cutting in the shape of an ice shard, while printed on the cover board is the work of acclaimed contemporary artist Kaye Donachie.

Set in an unspecified but eerily familiar time and landscape, this is the story of Mark, a protagonist who struggles against the machinations of a hostile society and bureaucracy. Suffering at first from the persecution of his father as a conscientious objector, his life quickly comes under the control of the Machiavellian Mr. Spector, an influential government minister who arranges Mark's education, later employment, and even accommodation. It is when Mark tries to break free from Spector's influence that his life begins to unravel.

A new edition of what is commonly seen as the legendary Norwegian writer's masterpiece. Siss and Unn are new friends - so new that they have spent only one whole evening in each other's company. But so profound is that evening that when Unn inexplicably disappears Siss's world is shattered. Siss's struggle with her fidelity to the memory of her friend and Unn's fatal exploration of the strange, terrifyingly beautiful frozen waterfall that is the Ice Palace are described in prose of a lyrical economy that ranks among the most memorable achievements of modern literature. Tarjei Vesaas is regarded as one of the finest writers ever to have come out of Scandinavia - he is notable for having been nominated for the Nobel Prize three times and has been considered one of the greatest prose stylists never to have won. Nevertheless, his reputation is secure and growing all the time. Peter Owen has long considered The Ice Palace to be the greatest work ever to have come from his publishing house, which boasts seven Nobel Prize winners on its list.

The definitive biography of Ranjit Singh, contemporary of Napoleon and one of the most powerful and charismatic Indian rulers of his ageRanjit Singh has been largely written out of accounts of the subcontinent's past by recent Western historians, yet he had an impact that lasts to this day. He unified the warring chiefdoms of the Punjab into an extraordinary northern Empire of the Sikhs, built up a formidable modern army, kept the British in check to the south of his realm, and closed the Khyber Pass through which plunderers had for centuries poured into India. Unique among empire builders, he was humane and just, gave employment to defeated foes, honored religious faiths other than his own, and included Hindus and Muslims among his ministers. In person he was a colorful character whose his court was renowned for its splendor; he had 20 wives, kept a regiment of "Amazons," and possessed a stable of thousands of horses. The authors make use of a variety of eyewitness accounts from Indian and European sources, from reports of Maratha spies at the Lahore Durbar to British parliamentary papers and travel accounts. The story includes the range of the maharaja's military achievements and ends with an account of the controversial period of the Anglo-Sikh Wars following his death, which saw the fall of his empire while in the hands of his successors.

Set in an unspecified but eerily familiar time and landscape, this is the story of Mark, a protagonist who struggles against the machinations of a hostile society and bureaucracy. Suffering at first from the persecution of his father as a conscientious objector, his life quickly comes under the control of the Machiavellian Mr. Spector, an influential government minister who arranges Mark's education, later employment, and even accommodation. It is when Mark tries to break free from Spector's influence that his life begins to unravel.

A new edition of what is commonly seen as the legendary Norwegian writer's masterpiece, this story tells the tale of Siss and Unn, two friends who have only spent one evening in each other's company. But so profound is this evening between them that when Unn inexplicably disappears, Siss's world is shattered. Siss's struggle with her fidelity to the memory of her friend and Unn's fatal exploration of the strange, terrifyingly beautiful frozen waterfall that is the Ice Palace are described in prose of a lyrical economy that ranks among the most memorable achievements of modern literature.

A spare, powerful, supremely graceful novel from a giant of Norwegian literature As strange, unsettling, and memorable as The Ice Palace, this remarkable novel carries with it all the compassion, human insight, and lyrical power of all great Vesaas novels. It describes the changing relationships between three adolescents—an unmarried mother who has drowned her newborn child and the girl and boy who befriend her. Their individual reactions to the tragedy and their efforts to communicate with each other form the central theme of the narrative.

An early work from Anna Kavan strongly evoking life in England and its colonies from the early years of the century through the period following the First World War. More straightforward than her more famous novels, Let Me Alone is nevertheless fascinating for its hint of the personal stresses that was to inform much of her uncompromising storylines.

NOW UNDER OPTION TO A HOLLYWOOD FILM COMPANYIn December 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared in bizarre circumstances from her home in Berkshire, England. The discovery of the crime writer's abandoned car led to the biggest manhunt in British history for a missing person. Eleven days later she was found over two hundred miles away in a northern spa town, claiming to be the victim of amnesia. Up till the publication of this book in 1998 none of her biographers had come up with conclusive evidence as to what she did during the first twenty-four hours after she disappeared or whether her memory loss was genuine. Although the newspaper headlines made Agatha Christie famous, the private anguish that surrounded the episode ensured she made no reference to it in her memoirs. Jared's Cade's number one bestselling biography - on which a BBC television documentary has been based - provides the answers to the mystery, including Agatha Christie's long forgotten explanation of the notorious episode, along with startling accounts by her relatives that reveal for the first time why she staged the disappearance with the help of a co-conspirator and how it all went terribly wrong. His sympathetic investigation reveals the incidents that shaped her character and how the fall-out from the disappearance affected the rest of her life. Illustrated with 48 photographs, many of them from private albums, this fully expanded 2011 edition draws on a newly discovered cache of family papers, diaries and letters, to which Jared Cade was given exclusive access, and reveals even more fascinating secrets about her life and works. Agatha Christie and the Eleven Missing Days: The Revised and Expanded 2011 Edition is a must for all Christie devotees. 'Jared Cade is an authority on Christiana, and Agatha Christie and the Eleven Missing Days has received much acclaim for its impressively detailed examination of the Queen of Crime's disappearance.' - Crime Time

The definitive biography of Ranjit Singh, contemporary of Napoleon and one of the most powerful and charismatic Indian rulers of his ageRanjit Singh has been largely written out of accounts of the subcontinent's past by recent Western historians, yet he had an impact that lasts to this day. He unified the warring chiefdoms of the Punjab into an extraordinary northern Empire of the Sikhs, built up a formidable modern army, kept the British in check to the south of his realm, and closed the Khyber Pass through which plunderers had for centuries poured into India. Unique among empire builders, he was humane and just, gave employment to defeated foes, honored religious faiths other than his own, and included Hindus and Muslims among his ministers. In person he was a colorful character whose his court was renowned for its splendor; he had 20 wives, kept a regiment of "Amazons," and possessed a stable of thousands of horses. The authors make use of a variety of eyewitness accounts from Indian and European sources, from reports of Maratha spies at the Lahore Durbar to British parliamentary papers and travel accounts. The story includes the range of the maharaja's military achievements and ends with an account of the controversial period of the Anglo-Sikh Wars following his death, which saw the fall of his empire while in the hands of his successors.