"This does indeed deserve comparisons with Blackadder" Radio Times"A knockabout, well-researched take on the working and domestic life of Shakespeare." The GuardianIt's the 1590s. William Shakespeare – brought to life on screen by the inimitable David Mitchell – is at the start of his career. But no one is taking him seriously. In London, he is mercilessly mocked by his rivals and at home in Stratford he is belittled by his sullen teenage daughter. Yet he is determined to find an ending for his newest creation Romeo and Juliet. Luckily, inspiration is forthcoming. The trials and tribulations of his closest friends and family reveal the plot twists he'd been missing. And not only for this famous tragedy but for many of his finest plays. With sparkling wordplay, hilarious gags and his trademark wit, Ben Elton celebrates the great William Shakespeare and reveals the startling stories behind the playwright's...

Why are we all so hostile? So quick to take offence? Truly we are living in the age of outrage. A series of apparently random murders draws amiable, old-school Detective Mick Matlock into a world of sex, politics, reality TV and a bewildering kaleidoscope of opposing identity groups. Lost in a blizzard of hashtags, his already complex investigation is further impeded by the fact that he simply doesn't 'get' a single thing about anything anymore.Meanwhile, each day another public figure confesses to having 'misspoken' and prostrates themselves before the judgement of Twitter. Begging for forgiveness, assuring the public "that is not who I am".But if nobody is who they are anymore - then who the f##k are we?Ben Elton returns with a blistering satire of the world as it fractures around us. Get ready for a roller-coaster thriller, where nothing - and no one - is off limits.

SUMMARY: Stark Is A Secret Consortium With More Money Than God, And The Social Conscience Of A Dog On A Croquet Lawn. What S More, It Knows The Earth Is Dying.Deep In Western Australia Where The Aboriginals Used To Milk The Trees, A Planet-Sized Plot Is Taking Shape. Some Green Freaks Pick Up The Scent: A Pommie Poseur; A Brain-Fried Vietnam Vet; Aboriginals Who Have Lost Their Land&Not Much Against A Conspiracy That Controls Society. But Ecoaction Isn T In Society: It Just Lives In The Same Place, Along With The Cockroaches.If You Re Facing The Richest And Most Disgusting Scheme In History, You Have To Do More Than Stick Up Two Fingers And Say Peace .

SUMMARY:The international bestseller that inspired the movie Maybe Baby.Birds do it. Bees do it. Why can't Sam and Lucy?When Lucy first suggested they make a baby, Sam was gung ho --after all, sleeping with his wife is one of Sam's favorite things to do. Then out came the thermometers, followed by the holistic home remedies -- not to mention some humiliating bouts with specimen jars. Soon Lucy's demands are driving Sam out of his mind. That is, until Sam conceives a plan of his own: He'll write a screenplay based on his and Lucy's poignant (and often uproarious) efforts to conceive a child. It could be a big hit. It might even make Sam's career. Or cost him his marriage . . .From the award-winning author of Popcorn and Blast from the Past comes this hilarious and heartbreaking new novel --a provocative two-sided look at one couple's inconceivable dilemma. From sperm that swim backward to aromatherapy run amok, procreation for Lucy and Sam has turned into a grisly little war. But if Lucy feels barren as the Sahara, and Sam thinks his gay friends will be fathers before he is, they're about to have yet another problem on their hands: saving the love that once was everything they had. . . .

SUMMARY:Flanders, June 1917: A British Officer And Celebrated Poet, Is Shot Dead, Killed Not By German Fire, But While Recuperating From Shell Shock Well Behind The Lines. A Young English Soldier Is Arrested And, Although He Protests His Innocence, Charged With His Murder.Douglas Kingsley Is A Conscientious Objector, Previously A Detective With The London Police, Now Imprisoned For His Beliefs. He Is Released And Sent To France In Order To Secure A Conviction. Forced To Conduct His Investigations Amidst The Hell Of The Third Battle Of Ypres, Kingsley Soon Discovers That Both The Evidence And The Witnesses He Needs Are Quite Literally Disappearing Into The Mud That Surrounds Him.Ben Elton'S Tenth Novel Is A Gut-Wrenching Historical Drama Which Explores Some Fundamental Questions. What Is Murder? What Is Justice In The Face Of Unimaginable Daily Slaughter? And Where Is The Honour In Saving A Man From The Gallows If He Is Only To Be Returned To Die In A Suicidal Battle?As The Gap Between Legally-Sanctioned And Illegal Murder Becomes Evermore Blurred, Kingsley Quickly Learns That The First Casualty When War Comes Is Truth.

SUMMARY: The war on drugs has been lost, but afraid to face that fact, the whole world is rapidly becoming one vast criminal network. From the Groucho Club toilets to the poppy fields of Afghanistan, we are all partners in crime, and this story takes us through the landscape it has created.

Berlin 1920Two babies are born.Two brothers. United and indivisible, sharing everything. Twins in all but blood.As Germany marches into its Nazi Armageddon, the ties of family, friendship and love are tested to the very limits of endurance. And the brothers are faced with an unimaginable choice....Which one of them will survive?Ben Elton's most personal novel to date,Two Brothers transports the reader to the time of history's darkest hour.

SUMMARY: One house, ten contestants, thirty cameras, and forty microphones. Everybody knows the rules—total strangers are forced to live together while the rest of the country watches them do it. However, on day 27, one of the housemates is killed on live TV. Who is the murderer? How did they manage to kill under the constant gaze of the television cameras? Why did they do it? And who will be next?

The new novel from this well-loved, bestselling author.Two Brothers is a heartrending story of two boys growing up under the darkening shadow of the Nazis. Born in Berlin in 1920 and raised by the same parents, one boy is Jewish, his adopted brother is Aryan. At first, their origins are irrelevant. But as the political landscape changes they are forced to make decisions with horrifying consequences.About the AuthorBEN ELTON's career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. In addition to his hugely influential work as a stand-up comic, he is the writer of such TV hits as The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line. Most recently he has written the BBC series Blessed on the subject of young parenthood. Elton has written three musicals, The Beautiful Game, We Will Rock You and Tonight's the Night and three West End plays. His internationally bestselling novels include The First Casualty, Popcorn, Inconceivable, Dead Famous and High Society. He wrote and directed the successful film Maybe Baby based on his novel Inconceivable starring Hugh Laurie and Joely Richardson.