Headstrong & naive, the young Italian aristocrat Fabrizio del Dongo is determined to defy the wrath of his right-wing father & go to war to fight for Napoleon. He stumbles on the Battle of Waterloo, ill-prepared, yet filled with enthusiasm for war & glory. Finally heeding advice, Fabrizio sneaks back to Milan, only to become embroiled in a series of amorous exploits, fuelled by his impetuous nature & the political chicanery of his aunt Gina & her wily lover. Judged by Balzac to be the most important French novel of its time, ” The Charterhouse of Parma” is a compelling novel of extravagance & daring, blending the intrigues of the Italian court with the romance & excitement of youth. ...

It is 1948 & a young American couple arrive in France for a holiday, full of anticipation & enthusiasm. But the countryside & people are war-battered, & their reception at the Chateau Beaumesnil is not all the open-hearted Americans could wish for. ...

It is 1948 & a young American couple arrive in France for a holiday, full of anticipation & enthusiasm. But the countryside & people are war-battered, & their reception at the Chateau Beaumesnil is not all the open-hearted Americans could wish for. ...

Its France, 1761. Beyond the glittering court of Louis XV & Madame de Pompadour at Versailles, lies Paris, a capital in the grip of crime & immorality.. .A police officer disappears & Nicolas Le Floch, a young recruit to the force, is instructed to find him. When unidentified human remains suddenly come to light, he seems to have a murder investigation on his hands. As the city descends into Carnival debauchery, Le Floch will need all his skill, courage & integrity to unravel a mystery which threatens to implicate the highest in the l&. This is the first in a series of six historical crime novels which has sold in excess of 400, 000 copies in French. The author brings eighteenth century Paris vividly to life & the story features real-life characters Madame de Pompadour & Loius XV as well as engaging hero Nicolas le Floch. It is soon to be adapted for French Television. ...

Brighton in the Cheeky Guide Series exploring the best places to see & things to do in the city. The guide is divided into 24 distinct sections covering a range of activities, outings, local places of interest, nightlife & recommended places to eat & drink in the city. There are specific sections on The Sea, Shopping, Cafes, Specialist & Veggie Food, Restaurants, Watering Holes, Local Entertainment, the Music Scene, Hay Scene, Mind, Body & Spirit & Kids ...

Matt Feroze had a rather unusual dream: to become a cheesemonger in the highly competitive French cheese industry. To accomplish this, however, he would have to make huge sacrifices: give up a good job as an accountant in England & say goodbye to his friends & family, moving to a country in which he struggled with the language & knew next to nothing about the profession he wished to enter. Yet only a year later he was being crowned Champion de France des Fromagers, beating veteran French cheesemongers to the title & opening up a wealth of new opportunities for himself. The Cheese & I is the remarkable story of how he pulled off such an incredible feat. This is the inspirational tale of how an Englishman sacrificed so much to pursue & realize his goal, & proves that, with enough determination, it is possible to achieve anything you desire. ...

The flamboyant Frenchman Alexis Soyer was the most renowned chef in Victorian Engl&. This is his colourful account of his time at the front in the Crimean War, where he joined British troops in order to improve the quality of the food they were eating. Divulging the secrets of preparing stew for 1000 soldiers, sharing sweetmeats with a Turkish Pacha, & teaching a Highland regiment to cook with his pioneering gas-fuelled `field stove` that would be used by armies up until the Second World War, Soyer gives a vividly enjoyable lesson in making a little go a long way. ...

All chefs love & cherish cookbooks, & increasingly, cookbooks have become treasured manuals of the trade, as well as beautiful art objects. The Chef`s Library is the world`s first attempt to bring together in a single volume a comprehensive collection of cookbooks that are highly rated & actually used by more than 70 renowned chefs around the world. Readers will discover the books that have galvanised acclaimed & brilliant culinary talents such as Daniel Humm, Jamie Oliver, Sean Brock, Michael Anthony, Tom Kerridge & many others. Also featured are influential restaurant cookbooks, essential books on global cuisines, & historic favourites that have stood the test of time. Part reference, part culinary exploration, this book is a must-have for any cookbook collector or passionate foodie. ...

In the seeming tranquility of Regency Square in Cheltenham live the diverse inhabitants of its ten houses. One summer`s evening, the square`s rivalries & allegiances are disrupted by a sudden & unusual death
- an arrow to the head, shot through an open window at no. 6. Unfortunately for the murderer, an invitation to visit had just been sent by the crime writer Aldous Barnet, staying with his sister at no. 8, to his friend Superintendent Meredith. Three days after his arrival, Meredith finds himself investigating the shocking murder two doors down. Six of the square`s inhabitants are keen members of the Wellington Archery Club, but if Meredith & Long thought that the case was going to be easy to solve, they were wrong... The Cheltenham Square Murder is a classic example of how John Bude builds a drama within a very specific location. Here the Regency splendour of Cheltenham provides the perfect setting for a story in which appearances are certainly deceiving.
...

In this gripping page-turner, an ex-agent on the run from her former employers must take one more case to clear her name & save her life. She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn`t even have a name. & when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning. Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They`ve killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, & soon. When her former handler offers her a way out, she realises it`s her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires makes her situation even more dangerous. Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of. In this tautly plotted novel, Stephenie Meyer creates a fierce & fascinating new heroine with a very specialised skill set. & she shows once again why she`s one of the world`s bestselling authors. ...