This beautiful book will have you captivated! From a terrifying king cobra to a tiny red-eyed tree frog, a rare Galapagos tortoise to a bright Parson`s chameleon, The Magnificent Book of Reptiles & Amphibians is the perfect introduction to these fascinating creatures. Each stunning, detailed illustration is accompanied by intriguing facts, amounting to a wonderful keepsake that you will revisit time & again. ...

When Augustin Meaulnes arrives in Francois` home, he changes everything. Life in the little town where they both go to school suddenly becomes far more adventurous & exciting. On one of his escapades, Meaulnes gets lost in the countryside finds himself at an extraordinary party where he meets the girl of his dreams. From this point on he is haunted by her memory & devotes his life, with Francois` willing help, to finding her again. ...

A ring of spectacular cemeteries, developed at the edges of London in the decade from 1832, have long been referred to as The Magnificent Seven. At the time, they set a new aesthetic for the burial of the dead, & remain rich in social history & beauty to this day. It was entrepreneurs, rather than the religious authorities, who responded to the squalor of the City`s brimming churchyards by fi nancing seemly, hygienic concepts of burial in the rural outskirts, now embraced by inner London. The Seven became showcases for neoclassical & neo-Gothic architecture, matched by splendid
- sometimes eccentric
- memorials recording Victorian society, & the sweep of London`s history to the present day. From grand Kensal Green in the west to modest Tower Hamlets in the east; from heady Highgate to charming Norwood & Nunhead; & from the military influences of Brompton to the Non-conformist woodland of Abney Park
- a host of characters & stories are visited in this distinctive coverage of the subject.


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The Magpie & the Wardrobe A Curiosity of Folklore, Magic & Spells, is a lovingly curated compendium of time-honoured traditions & curious customs that have bewitched us for generations. Discover simple magic, heirloom recipes & forgotten fairytales in this eclectic treasury. The twelve chapters, representative of the seasons, present the celebrations, superstitions & folklore that shape our year. From cherished traditions like Valentine`s Day to the lost excitement of May Day, The Magpie & the Wardrobe reveals a calendar bursting with history, imagination & curious facts. Take a closer look at your favourite homespun rituals & the magic we conjure every day; make a candle wish, mix a moon oil elixir, & hang your romantic hopes on the predictions of an apple peel. Illustrated by a unique collection of ephemera & embellished with trinkets & charms, this sumptuous volume will appeal to the creative & curious. Digital version available in an enhanced e Book format. ...

On a remote Greek Isl&, Nicholas Urfe finds himself embroiled in the deceptions of a master trickster. As reality & illusion intertwine, Urfe is caught up in the darkest of psychological games. John Fowles expertly unfolds a tale that is lush with over-powering imagery in a spellbinding exploration of human complexities. By turns disturbing, thrilling & seductive, ” The Magus” is a feast for the mind & the senses. ...

The colourful narrative history of Duleep Singh, the last Emperor of the Sikhs & protege of Queen Victoria, & his bizarre attempts to regain his kingdom of the Punjab from the British Empire in the late 19th century. In July 1997 the Swiss Bankers` Association, under international pressure to atone for wartime compliance with Hitler`s Germany, published a list of over 1, 700 `dormant accounts`, untouched for over fifty years. The names were supposedly those of Jewish victims of the Holocaust, but among them was an Indian princess, `last heard of in 1942 living in Penn, Bucks`. Intrigued, Christy Campbell, a journalist on the Sunday Telegraph, started to search the records, & so uncovered the remarkable story of how Maharajah Duleep Singh, the last Emperor of the Sikhs, was made by the British
- as a nine-year-old in 1849
- to sign away his kingdom of the Punjab & give Queen Victoria the Koh-i-Noor diamond (the most celebrated diamond in the world, & the jewel in Britain`s Crown). Duleep Singh, a virtual prisoner of Queen Victoria in Engl&, began to dream of regaining his kingdom, & so embarked on a series of adventures (involving Russia & the ` Great Game` of Central Asia) before finally begging Victoria`s forgiveness. He had six children & died in 1893. Today the Sikhs still claim their inheritance, including the Koh-i-Noor & the now-divided Punjab.

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The first English publication of Georges Simenon`s compelling novel about summer escape & elusive obsessions. ` The island itself. Its throbbing heat as if in a belljar under the sun, the scorpion in his son`s bed, the deafening sound of cicadas.` During his first holiday on the island of Porquerolles Dr Mahe caught a glimpse of something irresistible. As the memory continues to haunt him, he falls prey to a delusion that may offer an escape from his conventional existence
- or may destroy him. This is the first English translation of The Mahe Circle, Simenon`s dark, malevolent depiction of an ordinary man trapped in mundanity & consumed by obsession. ” Compelling, remorseless, brilliant”. (John Gray). ” One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century... Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories”. (Guardian). ”A supreme writer.. .unforgettable vividness”. (Independent). Georges Simenon was born in Liege, Belgium, in 1903. Best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret books, his prolific output of over 400 novels & short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe. He died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerl&, where he had lived for the latter part of his life.
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Nanase cannot remember when she first realized she could read people`s minds, but not once during her eighteen years has she ever questioned her particularly unusual ability. Yet, working as a live-in maid, she is inevitably drawn into the lives, thoughts & desires of her employers, with dangerous & at times hilarious consequences. From the sexual rapaciousness of her first boss to the grime & stench of the house where she works next & her third employer`s inability to accept she`s no longer young, Nanase`s adventures are a picaresque journey into the inner sanctum of the lives & psyches of ordinary Japanese people. ...

How did an illiterate seventeen-year-old peasant girl manage to become one of histories most salient females? It is almost 600 years since Joan of Arc heard the voices of angels that would change her life for ever: in a breathtaking story her quest saved France from English domination & restored France`s hereditary monarchy. Just thirteen when her life was turned upside down, Joan`s holy guidance led her on an arduous eleven-day journey into the unknown, restoring the Dauphin back to his original birthright in an official coronation, allowing him to resume his rule as France`s legitimate king. Joan summoned & led an impressive army of French loyalists against the English; the siege at Orleans was an exhilarating English defeat that liberated the city. The following year witnessed Joan`s capture by the enemy. After a series of heroic endeavours to escape cruel adversaries, she was subjected to trial by inquisition & then in Rouen, the heart of France, Joan`s courageous journey came to a heartbreaking conclusion. This is the story at the core of centuries of myth-making. But what if we no longer accept this tale? What if we question whether the Heavens & their angels were truly Joan`s only source of strength & power? What if we demand a different narrative? This revisionist biography unearths the secular & verifiable basis for Joan`s heroic exploits: Yolande of Aragon, a forgotten mentor. This is a story of not one life, but two; two lives that together were intertwined in the restoration of France`s greatness. ...

Set in the blistering heat of Singapore, THE MAID`S ROOM follows the lives of two Filipina maids
- sisters Dolly & Tala who are
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