A Talent For Trouble

Originlly published: London: Faber & Faber Limited, 2018.

‘I began to view the world, not as a safe space that liberated imagination and contentment, but as a hazardous, toxic, risky, no-go area, where every act and decision came with hidden dangers. To protect myself from a dangerous world, I had to become more dangerous.’ A Talent for Trouble is an energetic novel that sparkles with inspiration, irony and, above all, a fierce passion. In this post-modern biography, we meet and live through Eva; a radiant and rebellious dreamer; a provocative, unrelenting personality; with a magnetic charm, and an unquenchable thirst for curiosity, truth and dignity, in a wild world. We first encounter the young Eva as she struggles to adapt to life after losing everything, following her father’s bankruptcy. Not long after leaving school, Eva’s curiosity leads her to a dangerous liaison with a politician, who offers Eva the universe in exchange for her forbidden fruit. Eva’s world, as she discovers, soon becomes a primal minefield of predators. It’s a world of injustice, revenge and the abuse of power, where it must be ferociously fought with dignity, love and truth. As her dreams and security threaten to collapse around her, Eva vows to take control of her destiny. She is constantly forced to reinvent herself and explore her fantasies inside this labyrinthine, upside down, carnivalesque world of intrigue, shimmering, subversive discotheques, escort services, scandals, corruption and life as a devoted army wife. From her high school pranks to her adventures with controversial acquaintances and explosive love affairs, Eva’s life is a raw, emotional display of courage in a post-truth society, where she finds herself at war with cover ups, deceptions and institutional hypocrisy. Beneath the hard exterior of the bold language, there’s a precious and vulnerable side to the narrator, as explored during the climactic scenes with The General; which raises philosophical questions about honor, human nature, welfare, ethics and duplicity. Amid these assaults, Eva’s character, self-belief and spiritual relationship to God remain strong. We are all Eva.

For years, Miss Felicia Murdock's every thought and action have been in pursuit of becoming a minister's wife. When the minister she'd set her sights on has other ideas, she decides something in her life needs to change--and soon--before she wastes any more time pretending to be someone she's not. If that means spreading her wings and embracing a more lively way of life, who's to say nay? Grayson Sumner, Lord Sefton, has had more than enough of spreading his wings and only hopes to settle into the life of a respectable New York gentleman. Prompted by some friends to lift the spirits of the disappointed-in-love Miss Murdock, he is surprised to encounter an adventurous young lady with an unfortunate knack for stumbling into troublesome situations. Just as Grayson decides he's had quite enough of her antics, his past comes back to haunt him and his presence in Felicia's life endangers her. As they work together to extricate themselves from this latest complication, will Grayson and Felicia decide they want to spend the rest of their lives keeping one another out of trouble?

"Parker hasn't spoken since he watched his father die five years ago. He communicates through writing on slips of paper and keeps track of his thoughts by journaling. A loner, Parker has little interest in school, his classmates, or his future. But everything changes when he meets Zelda, a mysterious young woman with an unusual request: 'treat me like a teenager'"--

The films of William Wyler (1902–1981) include some of the most memorable and honored motion pictures of all time; Jezebel, The Letter, The Little Foxes, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Heiress, Detective Story, Roman Holiday, Ben-Hur, Funny Girl, and more than two dozen others. His great ability to conceal his directorial presence in order to better serve his material, coupled with the variety of genres in which he excelled, have earned his films 127 Academy Award nominations, winning Wyler three best-director Oscars. Based on his previously undiscovered papers, and hundreds of interviews, this perceptive, spellbinding biography reveals both the director and the private man in startling close-ups as he lived his turbulent life at a bit more than twenty-four frames per second.

On the first day of school, as the children in Miss Lucinda's class introduce themselves and name their special talent, Jack wonders if he is good at anything.

When Mr. Parker decides to have a talent show in the classroom, everyone comes up with performance ideas including Alex, whose plans with Adam and Ashley spell triple trouble for everyone, in the first of a new easy-to-read chapter book. Original.

"From Jezebel to Ben-Hur, from The Best Years of Our Lives to Roman Holiday, William [Willy] Wyler's films are essential to the history of American cinema. Jan Herman captures the man and his work in all their variety and complexity."--Roger Ebert, Cover.