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These later novels from the bestselling author of The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner, “one of the best English writers,” reflect his imaginative scope (The New York Times). British novelist Alan Sillitoe “powerfully depicted revolt against authority by the young and working class” in his best-known works of fiction (The Washington Post). Both The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning were international bestsellers and made into acclaimed films. The prolific, award-winning author wrote over fifty books, including the three novels collected in this volume: a coming-of-age story about a young man who reinvents himself, a thriller featuring a blind veteran who thwarts a high-seas heroin heist—for love, and a seafaring search for Nazi treasure. The Broken Chariot: Class and identity are lifelong struggles for Herbert Thurgarton-Strang, born in India but sent away at seven to a boarding school in England. At seventeen, the rebellious young man finally breaks free from school and heads into the industrial slums of Nottingham, where he reinvents himself as “Bert Gedling”—a working-class lathe man, a drinker, a womanizer, and eventually a soldier. He continues to adapt his character on his tour of duty, and when he returns to England he transforms once again—but this time the fictions he constructs will follow the truth of his heart. “[Tackles] the issue of class in a way that is often surprising and always entertaining.” —Yorkshire Post The German Numbers Woman: Blinded in the war, RAF veteran Howard views the world through radio waves, eavesdropping on global affairs and secret transmissions with his mastery of Morse code. But when he becomes obsessed with the voice of a female sailor and her mysterious communications, his own relationship with his wife begins to dissolve. To bring her husband back, she introduces him to Richard, a fellow code-breaking buff. But when Richard's dealings in the black market send the female sailor on a dangerous drug run, Howard sets off to save her. “Sillitoe still effectively portrays the psychological idiosyncrasies of British reserve with chilling detail and a tender appreciation for obsessive loners.” —Publishers Weekly The Lost Flying Boat: A top-secret mission sends a crew of Royal Air Force veterans from South Africa to the subarctic Kerguelen Islands. At the helm of the seaplane Aldebaran sits the monomaniacal Captain Bennett, a man hell-bent on unearthing a treasure buried by the Germans in the final days of World War II. On the seaplane's radio is the young wireless operator Adcock, a man whose morals are soon put to the test as machine guns are mounted on the flying boat's turrets and the thirst for gold may cost the crew their lives. “Remarkably credible... [Sillitoe's] treasure-seekers are well-observed human beings.” —The Sunday Telegraph

A suspense novel of drugs, love, cyphers, and sailors from the bestselling author of The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner. A blind Royal Air Force veteran becomes entangled in a high-seas heroin heist in this gripping adventure from one of Britain's most renowned postwar writers. Though Howard cannot see, he is able to view the world through the radio waves, eavesdropping on global affairs and secret transmissions with his mastery of Morse code. But when Howard becomes obsessed with the voice of a female sailor and her mysterious communications with her lover, his own relationship begins to dissolve. Howard's doting wife, Laura, tries to bring her husband back to their provincial reality by introducing him to Richard, a fellow code-breaking buff. However, the attempt to solve their marital problems backfires when Richard's dealings in the black market send the female sailor on a dangerous drug run and Howard sets off on a madcap mission to save her. From British working-class life to intercepted Interpol reports, bestselling author Alan Sillitoe takes readers on a suspenseful ride into a sea of crime and corruption, love and heroism—one that is masterfully punctuated with dots and dashes.

Witty, terrifying, and utterly cool, Yablonsky's roman à clef is a searing, hyperreal account of the heroin underground in 1980s Manhattan Told with dark humor and unremitting honesty, Linda Yablonsky's riveting first novel explores the New York art and postpunk music world of the early 1980s from deep within. Set in motion by the appearance of a federal agent, the tale follows two women on a dangerous and seductive journey through a bohemia where hard drugs, extreme behavior, intense friendships, and the emergence of AIDS profoundly alter their lives.

A pro softball player, an alcoholic husband, a drug deal out of town, and buried treasure—the postmodern and vibrantly pulpy debut novel from Hob BrounThe heroine of Odditorium is Tildy Soileau, a professional softball player stuck in a down-and-out marriage in South Florida. Leaving her husband to his own boozy inertia, she jumps at the chance to travel to New York with Jimmy Christo, only recently released from a mental institution, and make some much-needed cash on a drug deal.Adventure is just as much a motivating force, though, and Tildy quickly gets involved with a charismatic drug dealer; meanwhile, in carrying out business, Jimmy is dangerously sidetracked in Tangier. By the time the two are back in Florida, a financial boon greets them, but here, too, trouble is in the wings. Formally daring and full of jolts of the unexpected, Odditorium is an addictive romp through shady realms.

National Book Critics Circle Award Winner: This funny, poignant novel about the misadventures of a Miami Beach widow is “brilliant” (Los Angeles Times). After her beloved husband dies of cancer, Dorothy Bliss is consigned to a life of tedium, waiting out her remaining years in a Miami beachside community shared precariously by its Jewish and Latino residents. When Dorothy attends a series of parties intended to lighten the community's racial tensions, she is unwittingly pulled into a world of drug smuggling, con artistry, and underground gambling—and a series of adventures that will renew her passion for life. At once heartfelt and hilarious, Mrs. Ted Bliss is a captivating novel of an ordinary woman in extraordinary circumstances, reconciling the regrets of her past and rediscovering adventure in the twilight of her life. This ebook features rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author's estate and from the Stanley Elkin archives at Washington University in St. Louis.

An American film editor is caught up in Europe's drug underworld in a “spare and cinematic” character study by the award-winning author of Soldier's Joy (Time). Tracy Bateman eeks out a meager existence as a freelance film editor. Other than alcohol, his closest companion is a dog dying of cancer. And his wife, Lauren, is off with his friend Kevin, who's also his occasional employer. Prospects are grim, but on the day Tracy decides to relieve his dog of his misery, Kevin calls with a job offer. The pay is double what it should be and would take him to Rome. Tracy suspects there's a side job involving drugs, something he and Kevin have dabbled in before with minimal success. But when Lauren shows up with a suitcase full of cash, he sends her home and decides to finish the job on his own. It will take all of his skill to not end up on the cutting floor. Praised by Walker Percy as “not only high entertainment, but high pleasure to read,” Straight Cut is a “winning novel” that further cements Bell's acclaimed literary reputation (Time).