Pete Brown has visited hundreds of pubs across the UK & is uniquely placed to write about pubs that ooze atmosphere, whatever the reason, be it food, people, architecture, location or decor. The best pubs are those that always have a steady trade at any time on any day of the week, & where chat flows back & forth across the bar. They`re the places where you want to drink weak beer so you can have several pints & stay longer. Some are grand Victorian palaces, others ancient inns with stunning views across the hills. Some are ale shrines, others gastropubs (though they probably don`t call themselves that any more). A precious few are uniquely eccentric, the kinds of places that are just as likely to have terrible reviews on Trip Advisor as great ones, because some people don`t realize that the outside toilets, limp sandwiches on the bar & really disturbing full-size mannequin glaring at you from the corner are all part of the charm. This collection of 300 pubs with atmosphere will include 50 pub features & 250 smaller descriptions, alongside quirks of local history, pen portraits of punters or publicans, legends, yarns & myths, & case studies of different trends & types of pub. ...

Albert Savelkoul, the Public Prosecutor of Antwerp, has everything: power, money, magnificent horses, a family & a high-maintenance mistress. Despite problems with the mistress & his prostate he`s convinced that he is invincible, his power untouchable. & so it goes until everyone seems to turn on him. Albert`s wife, a member of the Belgian nobility, has set her sights on a title for her son. Opus Dei promises to help her if she transfers all her wealth to the secretive organisation. They stop at nothing in hounding Albert. A tale of blackmail & murder follows, leavened by Albert`s interludes with his loving Polish maid, sadly soon deported by the frigid uber-Catholic wife. ...

With over 250 nursery rhymes, including both well-known favourites & hidden gems, this collection has something for every child. Beautiful illustrated by Raymond Briggs, the much-loved creator of the Snowman, this revised edition of a famous classic first won the Kate Greenaway in 1966 & is now available again for a whole new generation. ...

Perfect to dip into, this beautifully illustrated collection brings together all the best-loved classics, selections from favourite books such as ” Peter Pan”, ” Treasure Island”, ” Mary Poppins” & ” Heidi”, & poems such as ” The Owl & the Pussy-cat” by Edward Lear, ” You Are Old, Father William” by Lewis Carroll & Rudyard Kipling`s ” If”. ...

Tales of escape & adventure on Britain`s waterways. In The Pull of the River two foolhardy explorers do what we would all love to do: they turn their world upside down & seek adventure on their very own doorstep. Showing that it is still possible to get lost while knowing exactly where you are, The Pull of the River is a beautifully written exploration of nature, place & friendship, & an ode to the great art
- & joy
- of adventure.

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The Pure Gold Baby is the story of Anna, a little girl with a luminescent quality, her mother, Jess, & the community that envelops them. A happy child, Anna is the unchanging core of this journey spanning decades & continents through the lives of those that love her. This profoundly engaging portrait of family, friendship, & the way we care for each other is a powerful reminder, if one were needed, of Margaret Drabble`s literary greatness. ...

Once, Theodora was little more than a slave, the daughter of a bear-keeper, running barefoot through the streets of Constantinople. Now she is Theou doron, `the Gift of God`, Empress of Byzantine Rome & the most powerful woman in the world. In Stella Duffy`s compelling new novel, the beguiling & extraordinary Empress Theodora emerges from the shadow of history into brilliant light. Clever, courageous & ruthless when betrayed, Theodora rules alongside her husb&, the Emperor Justinian
- a true love match in a world of political marriages. While wars rage on the borders of the Empire, Theodora discovers that the greatest danger to her reign
- & her life
- lies much closer to home. From the catastrophic & terrifying riots that burn through the city; to vengeful enemies at the palace who will never accept ` Theodora-from-the-brothel`; to plagues & plots & murder, Theodora learns what it truly means to be Empress. Spanning over twenty dramatic years of Theodora`s reign, The violet Shroud is a vivid portrait of a charismatic, exceptional woman & a fascinating exploration of both the pleasures & the burdens of power.


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Described as a `riveting read` by Sarah Waters & acclaimed by crime writers such as Andrew Taylor, ” The Pursued” is a dark, gripping 1930s psychological thriller by C. S. Forester, the author of ” Hornblower”. The story begins when Marjorie, a young woman, arrives home one summer evening & finds her sister, dead, with her head in the oven. She looks peaceful, as if she is asleep. Their mother suspects, however, that Dot`s death was far from natural
- & that she knows who the killer is. So, slowly & meticulously, she plots her terrible revenge. C. S. Forester`s 1935 thriller ” The Pursued”, lost for decades, rewrote the traditions of crime fiction to create a dark, twisted portrayal of obsession & retribution.
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The ” Pursuit of Italy” traces the whole history of the Italian peninsula in a wonderfully readable style, full of well-chosen stories & observations from personal experience, & peopled by many of the great figures of the Italian past, from Cicero & Virgil to Dante & the Medici, from Cavour & Verdi to the controversial political figures of the twentieth century. The book gives a clear-eyed view of the Risorgimento, the pivotal event in modern Italian history, debunking the influential myths which have grown up around it. Gilmour shows that the glory of Italy has always lain in its regions, with their distinctive art, civic cultures, identities & cuisine & whose inhabitants identified themselves not as Italians, but as Tuscans & Venetians, Sicilians & Lombards, Neapolitans & Genoese. This is where the strength & culture of Italy still comes from, rather than from misconceived & mishandled concepts of nationalism & unity. This wise & enormously engaging book explains the course of Italian history in a manner & with a coherence which no one with an interest in the country could fail to enjoy. ...

Nancy Mitford`s The Pursuit of Love is one of the funniest, sharpest novels about love & growing up ever written. ` Obsessed with sex!` said Jassy, `there`s nobody so obsessed as you, Linda. Why if I so much as look at a picture you say I`m a pygmalionist.` In the end we got more information out of a book called Ducks & Duck Breeding. ` Ducks can only copulate, ` said Linda, after studying this for a while, `in running water. Good luck to them.` Oh, the tedium of waiting to grow up! Longing for love, obsessed with weddings & sex, Linda & her sisters & cousin Fanny are on the lookout for the perfect lover. But finding Mr Right is much harder than any of the sisters had thought. Linda must suffer marriage first to a stuffy Tory MP & then to a handsome & humourless communist, before finding real love in war-torn Paris...” Utter, utter bliss.” (Daily Mail). ...