Noises Off, the classic farce by the Tony Award--winning author of Copenhagen, is not one play but two: simultaneously a traditional sex farce, Nothing On, and the backstage "drama" that develops during Nothing On's final rehearsal and tour. The two begin to interlock as the characters make their exits from Nothing On only to find themselves making entrances into the even worse nightmare going on backstage. In the end, at the disastrous final performance, the two plots can be kept separate no longer, and coalesce into a single collective nervous breakdown.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Uncumber lives at a time in the distant future when all humanity is divided in two - the Insiders and the Outsiders. The Insiders are privileged, with their every need catered to by somatic drugs, three-dimensional holovision and a prolonged life. Uncumber lives in this luxurious world and is told that she must never go out into the dust and disease of the real world. Uncumber, however, is haunted by a restless and inquisitive spirit. When she falls in love with an Outsider, she decides to go exploring ...

The whole world at the touch of your finger - why ever leave the imaginary realm of your mobile phone? But this book is even better. Anything but analogue, Magic Mobile is the latest offering of comic genius from Michael Frayn, the author of Matchbox Theatre and Pocket Playhouse. 'Michael Frayn is the most philosophical comic writer - and the most comic philosophical writer - of our time.' Daily Mail

On her twenty-first birthday, environmental activist Alice learns that the man who has raised her is not her father after all. She is surprised to learn that her biological father, William, is a property developer based in Ibiza, where he is immersed in a huge deal that will further increase his wealth.Alice and William meet for the first time in Ibiza, inadvertently finding themselves on a road trip across the island, unravelling secrets from the past and glimpses of the future as they go.Seen from the perspective of four characters with widely divergent world views, Lost in Ibiza offers an intimate meditation on family dynamics, set against the larger canvas of an island utopia that teeters on the brink of environmental catastrophe.

'An unknown place.' This was what Michael Frayn's children called the shadowy landscape of the past from which their family had emerged. In this book he sets out to rediscover that lost land before all trace of it finally disappears beyond recall. As he tries to see it through the eyes his parents and the others who shaped his life, he comes to realise how little he ever knew or understood about them. This is above all the story of his father, the quick-witted boy from a poor and struggling family, who overcame so many disadvantages and shouldered so many burdens to make a go of his life; who found happiness, had it snatched away from him in a single instant, and in the end, after many difficulties, perhaps found it again. Father and son were in some odd ways ridiculously alike, in others ridiculously different; and the journey back down the corridors of time is sometimes comic, sometimes painful, as Michael Frayn comes to see how much he has inherited from his father - and makes one...

The Tony Award--winning play that soars at the intersection of science and art, Copenhagen is an explosive re-imagining of the mysterious wartime meeting between two Nobel laureates to discuss the atomic bomb.In 1941 the German physicist Werner Heisenberg made a clandestine trip to Copenhagen to see his Danish counterpart and friend Niels Bohr. Their work together on quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle had revolutionized atomic physics. But now the world had changed and the two men were on opposite sides in a world war. Why Heisenberg went to Copenhagen and what he wanted to say to Bohr are questions that have vexed historians ever since. In Michael Frayn's ambitious, fiercely intelligent, and daring new play Heisenberg and Bohr meet once again to discuss the intricacies of physics and to ponder the metaphysical--the very essence of human motivation.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Michael Frayn's third novel is set in the crossword and nature notes department of an obscure national newspaper during the declining years of Fleet Street, where John Dyson dreams wistfully of fame and the gentlemanly life – until one day his great chance of glory at last arrives. Regarded by many as the best novel ever written about journalists, the brilliantly funny Towards the End of the Morning (1967) is celebrated as a classic in Great Britain but has long been unavailable in America. This new edition features an introduction by the author.

'A love affair through an interpreter,' said Raya. 'That's a very cultured prospect.'Raya is a mercurial Moscow blonde who speaks no English, and the affair she is embarking upon is with Gordon Proctor-Gould, a visiting British businessman who speaks no Russian. They need an interpreter; which is how Paul Manning is diverted from writing his thesis at Moscow university to become involved in all the deceptions of love and East-West relations.

One of the funniest writers of his generation, Michael Frayn has been writing humorous newspaper columns since 1959, principally for the "Guardian" and "Observer", and originally came to prominence as the thrice weekly purveyor of these short, surreal, razor-sharp explorations of human foibles, sex, politics, manners, and the events of the day. This volume brings together 110 of his finest and funniest pieces from over the years, selected and introduced by Michael Frayn himself, and is an unmissable treat for the many fans of his unique comic voice, as well as a revelation for fans of the award-winning literary novels and plays of his later career.

Martin Clay, a young would-be art historian, suddenly sees opening in front of him the chance of a lifetime: the opportunity to perform a great public service, and at the same time to make his professional reputation - perhaps even rather a lot of money as well. Thus he finds himself drawn step by step into a moral and intellectual labyrinth.

It Isn’t Cheating if He’s Dead is the BigAl's Books and Pals 2014 Reader's Choice Award winner for women's fiction. Jemima Stone waited four long years for her missing fiancé to come home, burying herself in her job and feeding the homeless. When Gerald is found dead halfway across the country, she is devastated. Detective Finn Wight promises to uncover the truth behind Gerald’s mysterious death. Delivering sandwiches to her homeless friends, she discovers a newcomer. Though he refuses to speak, his haunted eyes tell Jemima that he is in trouble — hiding from someone or something. Jemima turns to Detective Wight in hopes of helping the man. But uncovering his true identity leads to the discovery of secrets none of them could have imagined. (Warning - language, sex)ReviewIt Isn't Cheating if He's Dead is the winner of the BigAl's Books and Pals 2014 Reader's Choice Award for women's fiction. "With Suicide City, a Love Story, Julie Frayn came out of the gate with one of the best debut novels the indie publishing circuit ever produced. Then came this book -- a stunning follow-up of love, redemption, hope, and hurt that can only be described as 'Read this damn book. Now!'"~ Scott Morgan, award-winning journalist and bestselling author. "Julie Frayn shows once again how to write a novel that plays more like a movie. It Isn't Cheating if He's Dead is an accurate portrait of life after the loss of a loved one. The simple facts that healing has no timeline, there is no expiration date on grief, and tragedy can result in a positive outcome when those left behind choose to learn from their loss, are beautifully portrayed." ~ Amber Jerome-Norrgard, poet and bestselling author "Ms. Frayn wields a deft hand when dealing with life's grit, yet warms the heart at the same time. Her voice is as fresh and real as her characters. Bravo."~ Kymber Morgan, author of Wild for Cowboy and ShaftedAbout the AuthorJulie Frayn pens award-winning novels and short stories that pack a punch. And a few stabs. She has published three novels and two short, short story collections. Her work has won two gold medals in the 2013 Authorsdb cover contest, and the Books and Pals 2014 Readers’ Choice award for women’s fiction. A bean counter by day, Julie revels in the written word. When she is not working or writing, she spends as much time as possible with her two children (grown adults, really), while they still think she’s cool. Follow her at www.twitter.com/juliefrayn and subscribe to her blog at www.juliefrayn.com. 

In a brilliant coda to the play Copenhagen, Michael Frayn receives mysterious letters that take him back to the theme of his bestselling novel, Headlong -- human folly, this time his own.Michael Frayn's Copenhagen has established itself as one of the finest pieces of drama to grace the stage in recent years. The subject of the Tony-winning play is the strange visit the German nuclear physicist Werner Heisenberg made to his former mentor, scientist Niels Bohr, in Nazi-occupied Copenhagen and the quarrel that ensued. Heisenberg's intentions on that visit, for good or for evil, have long intrigued and baffled historians and scientists. One day, during the British run of Copenhagen, Frayn received a curious package from a suburban housewife, which contained a few faded pages of barely legible German writings. These pages, which she claimed to have found concealed beneath her floorboards, seemed to cast a remarkable new light on the mystery at the heart of...

In the quiet cul-de-sac where Keith and Stephen live the only immediate signs of the Second World War are the blackout at night and a single random bombsite. But the two boys start to suspect that all is not what it seems when one day Keith announces a disconcerting discovery: the Germans have infiltrated his own family. And when the secret underground world they have dreamed up emerges from the shadows they find themselves engulfed in mysteries far deeper and more painful than they had bargained for.'Bernard Shaw couldn't do it, Henry James couldn't do it, but the ingenious English author Michael Frayn does do it: write novels and plays with equal success ... Frayn's novel excels.' John updike, New Yorker'Deeply satisfying . . . Frayn has written nothing better.' Independent