The plague raging through London in 1665 has emptied the city. The only people left are those too poor to flee, or those who selflessly struggle to control the contagion & safeguard the capital`s future. Amongst them, though, are those prepared to risk their health for money
- those who sell dubious `cures` & hawk food at wildly inflated prices. Also amongst them are those who hold in their hands the future of the city`s most iconic building
- St Paul`s Cathedral. The handsome edifice is crumbling from decades of neglect & indecision, giving the current custodians a stark choice
- repair or demolish. Both sides have fanatical adherents who have been fighting each other since the Civil Wars. Large sums of money have disappeared, major players have mysteriously vanished, & then a unidentified skeleton is discovered in another man`s grave.A reluctant Chaloner returns to London to investigate, only to discover that someone is determined to thwart him by any means
- by bullet, poison or bludgeon
- & he fears he has very little time to identify the culprits before he becomes yet another victim in the battle for the Cathedral`s future.




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On a quiet mountain road near Barcelona, a woman steps out in front of a car. When the driver, a well-known artist, stops to come to her aid, he finds she is alive, but without any memory of who she is or where she has come from. The only clue to her identity is the broken violin lying at her side. The artist tries to help her remember her past, & finds himself falling in love, but as secrets from the woman`s forgotten life start to come to light, he finds his new romance turning into a nightmare... ...

In the summer of 1976 Gary Gilmore robbed two men. Then he shot them in cold blood. For those murders Gilmore was sent to languish on Death Row
- & could confidently expect his sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment. In America, no one had been executed for ten years. But Gary Gilmore wanted to die, & his ensuing battle with the authorities for the right to do so made him into a world-wide celebrity
- & ensured that his execution turned into the most gruesome media event of the decade.

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What matters most: marriage or friendship? fidelity or art? the wishes of the living or the talents of the dead? Matt Holmes finds himself considering these questions sooner than he thinks when his friend, the poet Robert Pope, dies unexpectedly. Rob had invited Matt to become his literary executor at their annual boozy lunch, pointing out that, at 60, he was likely to be around for some time yet. & Matt, having played devotee & apprentice to `the bow-tie poet` for so long, hadn`t the heart (or the gumption) to deny him. Now, after a frosty welcome from his widow, Matt sits at Rob`s rosewood desk & ponders his friend`s motives. He has never understood Rob`s conventional life with Jill, who seems to have no interest in her late husband`s work. But he soon finds himself in an ethical minefield, making shocking & scabrous discoveries that overturn everything he thought he knew about his friend. As Jill gets to work in the back garden, Matt is forced to weigh up the merits of art & truth. Should he conceal what he has found or share it? After all, it`s not just Rob`s reputation that could be transformed forever... Bestselling novelist & poet Blake Morrison creates a biting portrait of competitive male friendship, sexual obsession & the fragile transactions of married life. The Executor innovatively interweaves poetry & prose to form a gripping literary detective story. ...

Replogle’s 30cm (12”) Exeter globe is the collector’s choice; inspired by the traditional style of Globe stands this model is one of our most popular. The rich walnut stained hardwood base is complemented by a full numbered antique brass plated semi-meridian with an up-to-date, antique style ocean globe. ...

At seven years old, the young Brian Armstrong was captivated by the pages of an old, yellow-bordered magazine. It wasn`t just the bare-breasted tribeswomen that attracted his attention. Pictures of far-off jungles, exotic wildlife & intrepid explorers prompted the boy to declare ` That`s what I`m going to do when I grow up.` Twenty- five years later, that dream came true. The boy from Bendigo found himself travelling from one death-defying adventure to another as a seat-of-the-pants expedition filmmaker for the same company that produced those yellow-bordered magazines. Coping with deadly snakes, volcanoes, acid lakes, malaria, armed rebels & even a helicopter crash became part of a day`s work. Time & again Brian asked himself the same three questions: ` How did I get here?` ` How do I get out of here?` &, most importantly, ` What`s to drink?` Against his employer`s strict anti-alcohol policy, this irreverent larrikin started the Exotic Booze Club. Brian exhorted fellow filmmakers & explorers to return to the office to share strange liquors & wild tales of daring exploits. This book gives you the true stories from behind the scenes of Brian`s most dramatic films, framed by the rise & fall of the one & only Exotic Booze Club. ...

This book is the winner of the Sunday Times & New York Times bestseller winner of the Edgar & Anthony Awards for Best First Novel. ” Bristling with suspense & elegantly crafted.” (Patricia Cornwell). ” Smart, clever suspense, skilfully plotted, & a lot of fun to read.” (John Grisham). Kate Moore is an expat mum, newly transplanted from Washington D.C. In the cobblestoned streets of Luxembourg, her days are filled with play dates & coffee mornings, her weekends spent in Paris or skiing in the Alps. Kate is also guarding a secret
- one so momentous it could destroy her neat little expat life
- & she suspects that another American couple are not who they claim to be; plus her husband is acting suspiciously. As she travels around Europe, she finds herself looking over her shoulder, terrified her past is catching up with her. As Kate begins to dig, to uncover the secrets of those around her, she finds herself buried in layers of deceit so thick they threaten her family, her marriage
- & her life.


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11 July, 1897. Three men set out in a hydrogen balloon bound for the North Pole. They never return. Two days into their journey they make a crash landing then disappear into a white nightmare. 33 years later. The men`s bodies are found, perfectly preserved under the snow & ice. They had enough food, clothing & ammunition to survive. Why did they die? 66 years later. Bea Uusma is at a party. Bored, she pulls a books off the shelf. It is about the expedition. For the next fifteen years, Bea will think of nothing else... Can she solve the mystery of The Expedition? ...

On July 11th, 1897, three men set out in a hydrogen balloon bound for the North Pole. Led by engineer August Soloman Andree, they want to make history, but are frighteningly underprepared. Three days into their journey they make a crash landing & disappear into a white nightmare. They never return. 33 years later. The men`s bodies & equipment are found buried beneath the snow & ice on a deserted glacier. They had enough food, clothing & ammunition to survive. Why did they die? 100 years later. Artist & doctor Bea Uusma is at a party. Bored, she pulls a books off the shelf. It is about the Andree Expedition. For the next fifteen years, Bea will think of nothing else... This is her journey to uncover the truth. ...

` The seething cauldron of life, the infinite stratification of reality, the inextricable tangle of knowledge are what Gadda wants to depict` Italo Calvino At the height of Fascist rule in Italy & following the death of his mother, Carlo Emilio Gadda began work on his first novel, The Experience of Pain. This portrait of a highly educated young man whose anger & frustration frequently erupt in ferocious outbursts directed towards his ageing mother is a powerful critique of the society of his time & the deep wounds inflicted on his generation. Set in a fictional South American country, The Experience of Pain is at once richly imaginative & intensely personal: the perfect introduction to Gadda`s innovative style & literary virtuosity. Translated by Richard Dixon ...