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Doctor Who: The Massacre
Doctor Who: The Massacre
Jan 14, 2026 12:22 AM

Author:John Lucarotti,Peter Purves

Doctor Who: The Massacre

Peter Purves reads John Lucarotti's novelisation of his classic First Doctor TV adventure. The TARDIS lands in Paris on 19 August 1572. Driven by scientific curiosity, the Doctor goes to meet and exchange views with the apothecary, Charles Preslin. Before he disappears, he warns Steven to stay 'out of mischief, religion and politics'. But in 16th Century Paris it is impossible to remain a mere observer, and Steven soon finds himself involved with a group of Huguenots. The Protestant minority of France is being threatened by the Catholic hierarchy, and danger stalks the Paris streets. As Steven tries to find his way back to the TARDIS he discovers that one of the main persecutors of the Huguenots appears to be...the Doctor! Peter Purves, who played Steven in the original BBC TV series, reads this novelisation of a fondly remembered classic story, the original episodes of which are lost from the BBC archives.

Reviews

The Devil Wears Prada does digital

—— Glamour

Sassy, smart and fun ****

—— Heat Magazine

The Devil Wears Prada for the digital age

—— Good Housekeeping

One our reading list right now is this Devil Wears Prada-esque magazine-set tale

—— Cosmopolitan

Hilariously witty, like a modern day The Devil Wears Prada

—— Essentials

The theatre of war is cutting-edge online versus traditional magazines, a sort of 'The Devil Uses Instagram' . . . a great read, packed with brilliant, glam detail and a satirical sideswipes at nerd culture

—— Daily Mail

A winning romp of a tale.... This breezy, behind-the-scenes tale offers a fresh, modern take on a classic tale of rivalry

—— Publishers Weekly

While Imogen may know her DVF from YSL she knows nothing at all about Instagram, HTML and Tumblr . . . but she soon will. Fashion just got bitchy!

—— This Summer’s Best Books in Sun on Sunday

Techbitch is relatable to all women, it shows the depths of ferocity of which some women are willing to go in order to succeed, whilst teaching the lesson that playing nice and keeping cool also has its benefits and rewards. I loved the style of writing and felt that all the storylines progressed at the right pace and the outcomes were satisfying, I almost punched my fist in the air in style of Judd Nelson at the end of Breakfast Club when I finished the book. Humorous, touching and about as addictive as shoe shopping, Techbitch is one book that you should stick on your to read list

—— Belle About Town

This describes the frantic process of taking a Vogue-like magazine from paper to app. . . When Imogen left, she was Queen. When she comes back, she's lost her front-row Fashion week seat to a-What? What are these?-fashion bloggers! Naturally, Imogen regrows her claws. And the book does its share of meowing about the entitled young women who now flood the magazine offices, living large because they still live rent-free at their parents' apartments

—— The New York Times

The ONLY Beach Read You Should Be Seen With This Summer: a juicier version of The Devil Wears Prada meets Silicon Valley. Trust us-you won't be able to put it down

—— Town & Country

Jo Piazza and Lucy Sykes' compulsively readable corner office drama, [is] summer's juiciest beach read

—— Elle.com

It's The Devil Wears Prada meets All About Eve-complete with a former boss who's a warmer, fuzzier version of Prada's Miranda Priestly. Fast-paced and filled with sartorial wisdom, this debut from journalists Sykes and Piazza is a fun, often funny take on life in the sharp-elbowed world of fashion magazines

—— Book of the Week, People

Not since The Devil Wears Prada has the fashion world been so abuzz about a novel! [Tecbitch] counts Zac Posen among its many fans, as insiders play who's who with its thinly veiled characters

—— Best Beach Read, Ok!

Humour with style and heart . . . You'll have a new appreciation for your office drama after meeting these nightmare colleagues

—— Best Books of Summer, Glamour

This is what it's really like working at a glossy, New York fashion magazine. Makes The Devil Wears Prada look like My Little Pony

—— Toby Young, bestselling author of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

Funny, fashionable, fabulous - my beach read pick for the summer!

—— Jane Green

This Years The Devil Wears Prada

—— Vanity Fair

Lethally funny with sass to spare

—— Daily Mail

[a] brilliant and claustrophobic novel

—— VICE

one to watch out for

—— The Independent

A very impressive, must read for fans of STATION ELEVEN, so unsettling but subtle too. I loved FIND ME…

—— Eva Dolan

a moving, and frequently funny, exploration of character and of trauma

—— Independent

so compelling ... an unforgettable debut

—— Irish Independent

a wonderful read

—— Nina Allan , Interzone

Like Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale or Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, van den Berg’s debut novel presents a frighteningly plausible near-future dystopia grounded in human elements… heartbreakingly real and compellingly wrought

—— Library Journal

Find Me, her transfixing first novel, is in keeping with her short stories thematically, and yet, in its deep soundings, it’s a commanding departure. . . Van den Berg’s enveloping novel of a plague and a seeker in an endangered world reveals what it feels like to grow up unwanted and unknown in a civilization hell-bent on self-destruction. It is also a beautifully strange, sad, and provocative inquiry into our failure to love, cherish, and protect. But ultimately, Find Me is a delving story of courage, persistence, and hope

—— Booklist

In Find Me, van den Berg depicts a life slowly coming into focus—it’s blurry and impressionistic at times, sometimes deliriously scattered. But out of the fog of memory and the haze of drugs emerges a sense of clarity that’s deep and moving and real

—— The Boston Globe

From this memorable novel's eerie first paragraph to its enigmatic ending, Laura van den Berg has invented something beautiful indeed

—— LA Times

This is one of my favorite novels of 2015, and we’re not even IN 2015 yet . . .The language is beautiful, spare, and carefully crafted, and the characters are fully realized and unforgettable. There is tension and redemption and insight and even humor in these pages, and they make for a really incredible read

—— Bookriot

Surreal adventures blend with a reflective and sad sensibility in van den Berg’s lyrical debut novel

—— Library Journal

Both novels offer precision of language and metaphor and scene even as what is being constructed feels messy, chaotic, sad, hopeless... Both orphaned and alone in the world, both so completely real, both telling a story that feels important and exciting to read. I feel lucky to have stumbled upon these books this year, and challenged by them to be better

—— The Millions

This debut novel by acclaimed short story writer van den Berg tends to lean much closer to the realms of literary fiction with its complex psychology. . . Van den Berg's writing is curiously beautiful

—— Kirkus

a strange beauty in this apocalyptic tale

—— Psychologies
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