Jane Hardstaff Popular Books

Jane Hardstaff Biography & Facts

Alice Through the Multiverse (titled The Headsman's Daughter in its first edition) is a 2016 science fiction political thriller novel by the filmmaker Brian Trenchard-Smith. It is his first work as a novelist. Described by the author as "a sardonic take on agitprop fiction exploring themes of political corruption, justice, destiny and timeless love, with a bit of metaphysics thrown in for good measure", it is based on The Executioner's Daughter, an unproduced screenplay that Trenchard-Smith began developing in 2003. Plot Alice awakens in a psychiatric hospital believing she is the daughter of a 16th century executioner. Is she insane? Or has a portal in the multiverse opened to a past life, where Alice and her outlaw lover are hunted by a corrupt noble and his henchmen, who have their counterparts in her frightening new life? What is the agenda of the handsome young doctor who kidnaps her? Why will Security Agents kill to possess her? Are cosmic forces in play to change both past and future? Get ready for a ripping yarn; a time paradox roller coaster ride, blending thriller genres in a sardonic take on history, destiny, and timeless love. Join Alice as she is catapulted back and forth between deadly conspiracies beyond her understanding. But Alice is resourceful and brave... Development and publication Development In 2003, while staying on campus at UCLA - where his wife Margaret was completing a doctorate in Byzantine history - Trenchard-Smith devised the premise of Alice Through the Multiverse on the basis of a dream he experienced, in which a medieval young woman fleeing from an execution found herself in a 21st-century psychiatric hospital. He continued to develop the story and characters between his daily swimming sessions at a campus pool, "scribbl[ing] bullet points on [his] hand as soon as [he] reached the locker room". After initially polishing these ideas through two novel chapters, he rewrote the project as a screenplay, titled The Executioner's Daughter.The Executioner's Daughter was optioned twice for "good money", but could not enter production because Trenchard-Smith and the financiers were unable to find an established actress who could play the leading role of Alice and her 21st century counterpart, Jane, and thus gain the financial backing of a major studio. Reportedly, Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley were among those considered and contacted via their agents, but Trenchard-Smith believes that neither actress read the script, noting "To be fair, it may have seemed too wacky a premise for a new young star". To attract further attention to the project, as Trenchard-Smith's reputation had not yet been bolstered by the documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008), Christian Alvart signed on as director, and a further eleven drafts of the script were written to please a variety of distributors, but eventually the option expired, and the rights to the work reverted to the author by 2008.Trenchard-Smith decided to rewrite The Executioner's Daughter as a novel, and sent drafts to various publishers, none of whom expressed interest. In 2015, he decided to self-publish the novel, and rewrote it again to build on the characterization and the story's political themes. To avoid confusion with a novel of the same name by Jane Hardstaff, he changed the book's title to The Headsman's Daughter. Despite attracting positive reviews from readers, the author felt that the book's cover art and title did not garner the attention of the young adult audience he was hoping to attract the story with, and that the ending was not satisfactory. Deciding to republish the story under the title Alice Through the Multiverse, he added an additional three chapters to the book, including a new ending which he devised with Margaret's help.Acknowledging that Alice Through the Multiverse does not fit into a singular genre, Trenchard-Smith has said of the project's development: I have called it a genre mash-up/movie homage in novel form, as if Game of Thrones met The Bourne Identity on Freaky Friday. I realize fiction in today's market is very niche-reader specific, particularly in self-publishing, and I am swimming against the tide by combining genres. But I could not keep Alice locked up in my head. She had to come out, so I hope people love her as I do. I would love to see it become a movie or TV franchise. Alice has more adventures in her. Publication The first edition of Alice Through the Multiverse, as The Headsman's Daughter, was published on June 16, 2016. To accompany its release, a trailer was created by BFX Imageworks, which had provided visual effects on four of Trenchard-Smith's previous films, featuring music by Penka Kouneva. The second edition was published on January 29, 2018. Reception Writer Richard Christian Matheson, with whom Trenchard-Smith had worked with on the television series Chemistry, expressed his view that Alice Through the Multiverse "cliff-hangs madly with wild twists, wicked wit and red-blooded passion. The action is knock-out filmic and Trenchard-Smith has dazzling talent to burn". References External links Alice Through the Multiverse on Facebook Alice Through the Multiverse trailer on YouTube Interview with Brian Trenchard-Smith about The Man from Hong Kong and The Headsman's Daughter on Podcast on Fire. Discover the Jane Hardstaff popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Jane Hardstaff books.

Best Seller Jane Hardstaff Books of 2024

  • His Own Heaven synopsis, comments

    His Own Heaven

    Jennie Kew

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  • Dark Psychology and Manipulation synopsis, comments

    Dark Psychology and Manipulation

    Margaret Morrison

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    The Three Little Pigs

    Mark Lesky

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  • The Next Girl synopsis, comments

    The Next Girl

    Carla Kovach

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    Never Enough

    Lexy Timms

    Be good enough never is... Anthony Accardi is a man on a mission: make his father's watch company a success while bringing in millions of dollars. To do that, he needs an assi...

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    A Green Kind of Witch

    Sierra Cross

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    Noxious

    Lexy Timms

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    Enemies With Benefits

    Roxie Noir

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    The Odyssey

    Homer

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Homer’s eighthcentury epic poem is a companion to The Iliad . It tells the story of Odysseus, who journeys by ship for 10 years after the Trojan War...

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    My Paper Heart

    Magan Vernon

    One piece of paper can change everything After my parents received the letter I failed out of college, they didn't ask questions. They just sent me to work for my great aunt i...

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    Meditations

    Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius

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    Silenced Girls

    Roger Stelljes

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    Teach Me

    Cassandra Dean

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    Bewitching a Highlander

    Roma Cordon

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    Always Yours

    Claire Raye

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    Hard Love

    Peyton Banks

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    Saltwater Cove

    Amelia Addler

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    Nothing to Hide

    Scarlett Finn

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    Think and Grow Rich

    Greg Habstritt & Napoleon Hill

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    Teased by Fire

    Molly O'Hare

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    Tempting the King

    Jessa York

    An escaped Mafia Queen, hiding from her past. A Mafia King who wants to claim her… Giselle They think I'm lostbut I know better. I can never be found. The path I've creat...

  • Alpha synopsis, comments

    Alpha

    Sybil Bartel

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    Rogue Alpha

    Kimber White

    One touch made her crave him. But the pull of fate could be the path to ruin. College student Laura Prince lands a plum internship deep in the Michigan wilderness. When she discove...

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    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

    L. Frank Baum

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    How to Choose a Guy in 10 Days

    Lila Monroe

    The only thing more hilarious than the movies is… real life?! Fall in love with the sizzling grumpysunshine romantic comedy perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Ali Hazlewood! ...

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    Becoming Lady Dalton

    Carrie Lomax

    A dance of desire and deceit... In the glittering world of London's ton, Mrs. Viola Cartwright revels in her newfound freedom as a lady of leisureuntil a series of jewel theft...

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    All Fired Up

    Kathryn Shay

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  • Dream Psychology synopsis, comments

    Dream Psychology

    Sigmund Freud

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Written by the founding father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud’s 1899 book is the definitive text on learning to interpret dreams. Freud’s groundbr...

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    Wuthering Heights

    Emily Brontë

    An Apple Books Classic edition. If you’ve only ever seen Wuthering Heights on screen, you may have an image of Catherine and Heathcliff as the ultimate starcrossed lovers. But that...

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    Finding Cinderella

    Colleen Hoover

    #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us and It Ends With Us writes a free novella about the search for happily ever after. A chance encounter in the dark leads ei...

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    Hot Off the Press

    Lexy Timms

    "This is what really happened… reported by a free press, for a free people…" Wes Shaw leads a secret double life. As the secret owner of a billion dollar newspap...

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    Pretty Little Lies

    Ivy Thorn

    Four years ago, Nicolo Marchetti took my innocence. But he left me with something else Nicolo almost took everything from me. My virginity, my reputation, and very nearly my future...

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    Peace on Earth

    Maia Ross

    Crime never takes a holiday. Why should Irma? Irma Abercrombie is an energetic retiree with a shadowy past, a mean right hook, and a profound love of Christmas. Surrounded by seaso...

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    Inception of Gold

    Lexy Timms

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  • The Count of Monte Cristo synopsis, comments

    The Count of Monte Cristo

    Alexandre Dumas

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Alexandre Dumas’ classic paints a portrait of Edmond Dantès, a dark and calculating man who is willing to wait years to exact his perfect plan for r...

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    Just Me

    Lexy Timms

    We all need somewhere where we feel safe… After leaving her abusive husband, Katherine Marshall is out on her own for the first time. She's hopped from city to city to avoid t...

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    Little Women

    Louisa May Alcott

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Meet the Marches! Louisa May Alcott’s classic introduces us to four unforgettable sisters: beautiful Meg, tomboyish Jo, delicate Beth, and Amy, the ...

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    You Are Kind

    Michael Gordon

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  • The Great Gatsby synopsis, comments

    The Great Gatsby

    F. Scott Fitzgerald

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  • Salvation synopsis, comments

    Salvation

    Meghan O'Flynn

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  • Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove synopsis, comments

    Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove

    Melody Grace

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  • Assisting the Bosshole synopsis, comments

    Assisting the Bosshole

    Kristin MacQueen

    No hot water? Check Missed the train? Check Broke my heel? Check Dropped my coffee? Check My first day of my new job can’t possibly go worse, right? Wrong. When I meet Parker Scott...

  • Whiskey Girl synopsis, comments

    Whiskey Girl

    Melissa Belle

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  • The Holy Bible - King James Version synopsis, comments

    The Holy Bible - King James Version

    King James

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  • School of Potential synopsis, comments

    School of Potential

    W.J. May

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  • The Seduction Series Boxset synopsis, comments

    The Seduction Series Boxset

    Roxy Sloane

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  • The Target synopsis, comments

    The Target

    Lexy Timms

    When you seek revenge be sure to dig two graves… Revenge was the only thing I had going for me. It kept me awake at night and drove me into desperate situations in dive bars across...

  • Law of Attraction synopsis, comments

    Law of Attraction

    Jordan Hollis

    How to Finally Overcome the Hurdles of Manifesting Proven, effective and enjoyable ways to help you manifest faster… Right now, think of something that makes you successful. If you...

  • The Honeymoon Homicide synopsis, comments

    The Honeymoon Homicide

    J. R. Mathis & Susan Mathis

    Enjoy this SmallTown Murder Mystery Featuring A Unique Sleuthing Couple I'm Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest in a smalltown parish who never expected this . . . When I came...

  • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes synopsis, comments

    The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

    Arthur Conan Doyle

    An Apple Books Classic You get not one, not two, but 25 gripping mysteries in Arthur Conan Doyle’s first of five collections of Sherlock Holmes short stories. Follow the brilliant ...