The French Best-seller' The book France won't stop talking aboutundoubtedly a lovely Christmas gift for anyone with a keen interest in when & how the first vibrator was invented'
- Telegraph 'OOH la la We've come a long way from wrapping Lady Chatterley's Lover in brown paper'
- London Evening Standard ' Warm humane inclusive open-minded'
- The Times'A witty account that embraces everything from the earliest humans to the age of cybersex'
- Guardian' Funny erudite & devilishly sexy The Story of Sex is a treat for the whole family (except perhaps younger children & muffled prudes)'
- The Culture Trip A history of sex sexuality & human intimacy through the ages from our primate pasts to our robotic futures Sex is everywhere yet how many of us truly understand it? Our attitudes to sex & sexuality are forever in flux Driven by pleasure power revenge a desire for children or simply because it isn't allowed humans have had sex on the brain since pre-civilisation But what do we really know? In The Story of Sex we discover the truth including what eroticism really is when the first couple was established what phallic festivals were all about when chastity belts were used & how some ancient civilisations were far ahead of their time when it came to gender equality We learn how through the centuries religion superstition & morality laws have shaped our view of what is & isn't palatable
- with many cultures having come a long way from prohibiting masturbation (by way of a microscope) or considering homosexuality a 'perversion' while others continue to condemn promiscuous behaviour particularly of women
- & how technology & disease have redefined the limits of pleasure & reproduction The first graphic novel of its kind The Story of Sex brilliantly & humorously uncovers the most fascinating details of our sexual ancestry & foretells a future of virtual gratification Philippe Brenot is a psychiatrist & the Director of Sexology at Paris Descartes University Laetitia Coryn is a graphic artist & illustrator






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Before the Big Bang there was NOTHING AT ALL No galaxies no space no light & no sound Then suddenly 138 billion years ago IT ALL BEGAN This beautiful follow-up to The Story of Life brings to life the story of our universe for younger children Travel back in time to the Big Bang see galaxies & stars form watch the birth of our planet & how life begins join the first man on the moon & wonder what mysteries are still waiting to be discovered ...

At the end of Five Children & It the five children promised not to ask the Psammead for another wish as long as they lived but expressed a half wish to see it again some time They find 'it' again in a pet shop in Camden Town & their magic adventures start over again' It' leads them to a magic amulet
- half of it actually
- which they use it to try & find the other half It takes them back to ancient Egypt & Babylon The Queen of Babylon visits them in London bringing all her ancient customs with her
- which is awkward They visit the lost continent of Atlantis They see Julius Caesar in the flesh But none of these adventures run smoothly & if they forget the 'word of power' or lose the amulet what in the world will happen to them?


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THE THIRD BOOK IN THE PSAMMEAD TRILOGY FOLLOWING FIVE CHILDREN & IT & THE PHOENIX & THE CARPET'I love her books particularly the Five Children & It sequence' Neil Gaiman At a pet shop near the British Museum the children discover their old friend the Psammead caged & miserable The children pool their pocket money together to rescue it & in gratitude the Psammead tells them to buy an amulet
- or rather half an amulet Incomplete the magic charm can take them to any place & time to search for its other half; but when the amulet is whole it will have the power to give the children their hearts' desire In their quest the children visit ancient Egypt Atlantis & Babylon
- they even meet Julius Caesar But their adventures are not without danger if they lose the amulet on their travels they will be lost in time unable to ever return home' Endlessly surprising & inventive Edith Nesbit opened the door in the magic wardrobe pointed the way to platform nine & three quarters She even had a hand in building the Tardis & these are among her minor achievements She is also simply the funniest writer we have ever had' Frank Cottrell-Boyce With all the original illustrations by H R Millar beautifully reproduced This collection of the best children's literature curated by Virago will be coveted by children & adults alike These are timeless tales with beautiful covers that will be treasured & shared across the generations Some titles you will already know; some will be new to you but there are stories for everyone to love whatever your age Our list

Includes:: Nina Bawden (Carrie's War The Peppermint Pig) Rumer Godden (The Dark Horse An Episode of Sparrows) Joan Aiken (The Serial Garden The Gift Giving) E Nesbit (The Psammead Trilogy The Bastable Trilogy The Railway Children) Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Little Princess The Secret Garden) & Susan Coolidge (The What Katy Did Trilogy) Discover Virago Children's Classics



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Bono (U2) once said More than any other band The Who are our role models Starting as a simple four-piece 'mod' band in the early 1960s The Who went on to conquer the world with their unique & supremely powerful music that transcended any genre & appealed to fans across the world The original lineup of Roger Daltrey Keith Moon Pete Townshend & John Entwhistle honed their sound & recorded some milestone albums in rock history Live at Leeds Tommy & Quadrophenia are just some of the legendary records they released ...

Far far away the butterfly folk live in a kingdom of beautiful gardens The butterfly children play dance & sing all day long with their little brothers & sisters the caterpillars The children can't wait until the first day of spring when they will finally get their wings But first they must learn about the many brightly coloured flowers in the kingdom so they can take part in the flying procession of peacock swallowtail red admiral & many other butterflies Beautifully illustrated in the art nouveau style this is another classic children's story from the author of The Story of the Root Children & The Story of the Wind Children ...

A beautifully illustrative history of the world's most iconic & popular cars of all time Perfect for children & adult motoring fans alike! Cars do so much more than get us from A to B they are vehicles of beauty that allow drivers to determine their own destination Trace their extraordinary history in this gorgeously illustrated guide from Benz's first motor wagon to the jet-propelled Thrust SSC Along the way discover how the social upheavals of the past 140 years diverted the car's journey two world wars economic crashes the digital revolution & more Finally explore the fantastical cars that have been imagined in film & the incredible vehicles that await us in the future If you liked The Car Book Fifty Cars that Changed the World & Car Science you'll love The Story of the Car Written by acclaimed motor expert Giles Chapman & beautifully illustrated by the Us Now design studio this is a visual treat for anyone who is fascinated by cars The Story of the Car is the start of a groundbreaking series of stunning books on the social history of transport with The Story of Flight & The Story of Space Travel to follow ...

The heartbroken widow of a captain drowned at sea discovers a friendly amphibian at her lowest point But he is no ordinary frog
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Take one tent Fill with 12 amateur bakers Garnish with one venerable cookery writer one blue-eyed bread-maker & two comedy queens with a love of innuendo & there you have the recipe for the most popular show of our times When The Great British Bake Off made its debut in August 2010 it had the makings of a modest hit But nobody
- not the programme-makers & certainly not those first contestants
- could have predicted what was to come Here was a show in which the biggest weekly drama was whether or not a sponge cake would sink in the middle & oh how we loved it Here is the ultimate Bake Off fan book from bread lion to bin-gate; heart throbs to Twitter trolls; soggy bottoms to sticky buns This is the celebration of Britain's most popular cookery contest

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In The Story of the Human Body Daniel Lieberman Professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard shows how we need to change our world to fit our hunter-gatherer bodies This ground-breaking book of popular science explores how the way we use our bodies is all wrong From an evolutionary perspective if normal is defined as what most people have done for millions of years then it's normal to walk & run 9 -15 kilometres a day to hunt & gather fresh food which is high in fibre low in sugar & barely processed It's also normal to spend much of your time nursing napping making stone tools & gossiping with a small band of people Our 21st-century lifestyles argues Daniel Lieberman are out of synch with our stone-age bodies Never have we been so healthy & long-lived
- but never too have we been so prone to a slew of problems that were until recently rare or unknown from asthma to diabetes to
- scariest of all
- overpopulation The Story of the Human Body asks how our bodies got to be the way they are & considers how that evolutionary history
- both ancient & recent
- can help us evaluate how we use our bodies How is the present-day state of the human body related to the past? & what is the human body's future? ' Monumental The Story of the Human Body by one of our leading experts takes us on an epic voyage'
- Neil Shubin author of Your Inner Fish' Riveting enlightening & more than a little frightening'
- Christopher Mc Dougall author of Born to Run Daniel Lieberman is the Chair of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard & a leader in the field He has written nearly 100 articles many appearing in the journals Nature & Science & his cover story on barefoot running in Nature was picked up by major media the world over His research & discoveries have been highlighted in newspapers & magazines including The New York Times Boston Globe Discover & National Geographic






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