Whilst German tanks surround Leningrad during September 1941, two families struggle to stay alive. As winter grips the city first the furniture is burnt, then the books, but some may not live to see another day.

The Malarkey is Helen Dunmore's first poetry book since Glad of These Times (2007). Its title poem won the National Poetry Competition in 2010.

Cornwall, 1920, early spring. A young man stands on a headland, looking out to sea. He is back from the war, homeless and without family. Behind him lie the mud, barbed-wire entanglements and terror of the trenches. Behind him is also the most intense relationship of his life.