” The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” was Carson Mc Cullers` first novel, written in 1940. Set in a small town in the American South, it is the story of a group of people who have little in common except that they are all hopelessly lonely. A young girl, a drunken socialist & a black doctor are drawn to a gentle, sympathetic deaf mute, whose presence changes their lives. This powerful exploration of alienation is both moving & perceptive. ...

This is the only book that covers the history & current production of the prestigious estates of Bordeaux`s Graves region. This beautiful & informative book reveals both the history & the distinctive characteristics of the 16 wines that comprise the Crus Classes (classified growths) of Bordeaux`s Graves region. Named for the area`s gravelly soil, Graves is known for its fine reds (primarily Cabernet Sauvignon) & whites (Sauvignon blanc & Semillon). With individual chapters on each of the chateaux, including Haut-Brion, Bouscaut, Olivier, Pape Clement, Smith Haut Lafitte, Domaine de Chevalier & 10 others, the book describes in detail the history of the estate & its wine production. Gorgeous photographs of the vineyards, the residences & the surrounding countryside are accompanied by archival material that gives a sense of the great history of this area. As an added bonus, ” The Heart of Bordeaux” features recipes created by some of the world`s great chefs
- Daniel Boulud, Pierre Gagnaire & Eric Ripert among them
- to complement one of the fine wines of Graves` classified growths.

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A mass grave is uncovered in a devastated Croatian village, & the mutilated body of a young Englishwoman, Dorrie Mowat, is exhumed. Her mother, who detested Dorrie when she was alive, is determined to find out how her daughter died. But with civil war tearing apart the former Yugoslavia, none of the authorities are interested in what they view as a minor war crime. She employs private investigator, Bill Penn, a former MI5 officer, who anticipated a short trip to Zagreb where he will compile a meaningless report & receive a good fee at the end of it. But once he has seen the killing ground, Penn becomes determined to find the truth behind the young woman`s death. As Penn searches for evidence of war crimes, he finds himself pitted against a ruthless opponent who will stop at nothing to cover his tracks... ...

Today Orkney retains a vast archaeological treasury of buildings, artefacts & evidence from this time. In recognition of this, ” The Heart of Neolithic Orkney” was inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 1999. Because of their outstanding universal value, ” The monuments of Orkney, dating back to 3000-2000BC, are outstanding testimony to the cultural achievements of the Neolithic peoples of northern Europe.” This guide covers all of the monuments in the nominated area, as well as many contemporary places of interest throughout Orkney. The village of Skara Brae, stone circles of the Ring of Brodgar & the Standing Stones of Stenness, & Maeshowe Chambered Cairn are described in depth. Isolated standing stones, such as the Watchstone, chambered cairns, such as Unstan & more enigmatic sites all over Orkney are included. The major current excavations at the Ness of Brodgar & Links o` Noltland on Westray show that much remains to be discovered about Neolithic Orkney. Numerous smaller scale digs in various other places have elucidated the study of Neolithic houses. Small settlements & isolated homesteads were widespread across Orkney during the Neolithic, reaching a peak c.3000BC, before sharply falling until c.2800BC. There was a revival which peaked c.2500BC, followed by abandonment c.250 years later. ...

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY JAMES WOOD. Scobie, a police officer serving in a wartime West African state, is distrusted, being scrupulously honest & immune to bribery. But then he falls in love, & in doing so he is forced to betray everything he believes in, with drastic & tragic consequences. ...

Camp Chippewa, 1962. Thirteen-year-old Nelson, loner & over-achiever, is nicknamed the Bugler as he proudly sounds the reveille each morning. This is the summer that everything changes, marking the beginning of Nelson`s uncertain friendship with a popular boy named Jonathan, & the discovery of his father`s betrayal, which tears his family apart. As time moves on, Nelson, irrevocably scarred from the Vietnam War, becomes Scoutmaster of Camp Chippewa, while Jonathan marries, divorces, & transforms his father`s business. When something unthinkable happens during a visit from Jonathan`s grandson & daughter-in-law, the aftermath tests the depths
- & the limits
- of Nelson`s selflessness & bravery. Nickolas Butler`s The Hearts of Men is a powerful, wise & deeply affecting novel about the slippery definitions of right & wrong, family & fidelity, & the redemptive power of friendship.

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Cyril Avery is not a real Avery or at least that`s what his adoptive parents tell him. & he never will be. But if he isn`t a real Avery, then who is he? Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community & adopted by a well-to-do if eccentric Dublin couple via the intervention of a hunchbacked Redemptorist nun, Cyril is adrift in the world, anchored only tenuously by his heartfelt friendship with the infinitely more glamourous & dangerous Julian Woodbead. At the mercy of fortune & coincidence, he will spend a lifetime coming to know himself & where he came from
- & over his three score years & ten, will struggle to discover an identity, a home, a country & much more. In this, Boyne`s most transcendent work to date, we are shown the story of Ireland from the 1940s to today through the eyes of one ordinary man. The Heart`s Invisible Furies is a novel to make you laugh & cry while reminding us all of the redemptive power of the human spirit.
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` By turns savvy, witty & achingly sad, this is a novelist at the top of his game.` Mail on Sunday Forced to flee the scandal brewing in her hometown, Catherine Goggin finds herself pregnant & alone, in search of a new life at just sixteen. She knows she has no choice but to believe that the nun she entrusts her child to will find him a better life. Cyril Avery is not a real Avery, or so his parents are constantly reminding him. Adopted as a baby, he’s never quite felt at home with the family that treats him more as a curious pet than a son. But it is all he has ever known. And so begins one man’s desperate search to find his place in the world. Unspooling & unseeing, Cyril is a misguided, heart-breaking, heartbroken fool. Buffeted by the harsh winds of circumstance towards the one thing that might save him from himself, but when opportunity knocks, will he have the courage, finally, take it? ...

It is wartime London, & the carelessness of people with no future flows through the evening air. Stella discovers that her lover Robert is suspected of selling information to the enemy. Harrison, the British intelligence agent on his trail, wants to bargain, the price for his silence being Stella herself. Caught between two men & unsure who she can trust, the flimsy structures of Stella`s life begin to crumble. ...

Full of mouth-watering flavours, sunshine & escapist adventure, The Heavenly Italian Ice Cream Shop will delight readers who enjoy Carole Matthews & Jenny Colgan. Anna & her husband Matteo are ready to embark a delicious Italian adventure. After a year & a half running their ice cream shop on Brighton beach & raising their baby Isabella, Matteo is starting to miss Italy. A shared passion for ices means it`s easy to settle on a new business idea
- they`ll open a shop in Sorrento`s cobbled square, a short walk from the sparkling blue sea. For a while, life is sweet; but then Matteo`s overbearing family get involved.. . Anna`s younger sister Imogen feels like things are finally coming together
- she`s living with boyfriend Finn in a beach house in Brighton, & her photography is taking off. Then her career stalls, & the lure of Capri
- & a man from her past
- prove difficult to resist.



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