The Secrets of Happiness is an extraordinary tale of sisterhood, from Lucy Diamond author of The Beach Cafe. The best things in life.. .can be just around the corner Rachel & Becca aren`t real sisters, or so they say. They are stepsisters, living far apart, with little in common. Rachel is the successful one: happily married with three children & a big house, plus an impressive career. Artistic Becca, meanwhile, lurches from one dead-end job to another, shares a titchy flat, & has given up on love. The two of them have lost touch, but when Rachel doesn`t come home one night, Becca is called in to help. Once there, she quickly realizes that her stepsister`s life is not so perfect after all: Rachel`s handsome husband has moved out, her children are rebelling, & her glamorous career has taken a nosedive. Worst of all, nobody seems to have a clue where she might be. As Becca begins to untangle Rachel`s secrets, she is forced to confront some uncomfortable truths about her own life, & the future seems uncertain. But sometimes happiness can be found in the most unexpected places.. . ...

A breathtaking land of wildly varied landscapes, Ireland is shown here in all its awe-inspiring glory. From familiar tourist spots to seldom-seen vistas, this stunning new illustrated book captures the country as you've never seen it before. It covers the whole of the Emerald Isle from Ulster North to Munster South, from Giant's Causeway to the Cliffs of Moher. ...

There is Michelangelo, but also the mafia. Pavarotti, but also Berlusconi. The debonair Milanese, but also the infamous captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship. This is Italy, admired & reviled, a country that has guarded her secrets & confounded outsiders for centuries. At a time when this Italian paradox is more evident than ever, cultural authority Corrado Augias poses the puzzling questions: how did it get this way? How can this peninsula be simultaneously the home of geniuses & criminals, the cradle of beauty & the butt of jokes? An instant 1 bestseller in Italy, Augias` latest sets out to rediscover the story
- different from the history
- of his country. Beginning with how Italy is seen from the outside & from the inside, he weaves a geo-historical narrative, passing through principal cities, re-reading classics & biographies of the people that have, for better or worse, made Italians who they are. From the gloomy atmosphere of Cagliostro`s Palermo to the elegant court of Maria Luigia in Parma, from the birth of the ghetto of Venice to the heroic blaze of the Neapolitan uprising against the Nazis, Augias sheds light on the true Italian character under the surface, explaining her not only to outsiders, but to Italians themselves. The result is a sort of novel of a nation, whose protagonists are both the figures we know from the history & literature, & characters long-hidden between the cracks of historical narrative & memory.

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Henry James said, ` Paris is the greatest temple ever built to material joys & the lust of the eyes`. Renowned as the City of Light, Paris is celebrated for its beautiful city plan, its architecture, museums, bridges, cathedrals, parks, shopping, flea markets, sidewalk cafes, wide & luxurious boulevards, elegant cuisine, & numerous monuments. Once confined to an island in the middle of the river Seine, the Ile de la Cite, Paris, founded more than 2, 000 years ago, quickly spread to both banks of the river
- the `rive droit` (right bank) & the `rive gauche` (left bank). The right bank is known for being the commercial heart of the city while the left bank is home to the University of Paris & all that is intellectual & artsy. Paris has also been feted for its aura of romance & mystery & has been the setting for many novels (The Americans, The Three Musketeers & the Maigret stories) & movies (Last Tango in Paris, Ratatouille). This gorgeous new book in the successful Secrets series is divided into several geographical sections, from the Louvre & Champs Elysees, via Les Halles, Le Marais & Bastille, to Montmartre & beyond. It`s a brilliant read for the armchair traveller & everyone interested in the history & the mysteries of the great cities of the world.
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” The Secrets of Provence” offers to take you on an enchanting photographic journey through the rich history & heritage of the region, illuminated by inspiring & informative text. In this title, historic sites & architecture are covered, such as the legendary Pont D` Avignon, & the Chateau D` If of ” The Count of Monte Christo” fame, while the natural beauty that characterizes Provence is also celebrated is spades, featuring landscapes well known as the inspiration behind works by Cezanne & Van Gogh. ...

From one of Italy`s best-known writers comes an exploration of the Eternal City from a fresh & intriguing new angle. Corrado Augias moves perceptively through twenty-seven centuries of Roman life, shedding new light on a cast of famous, & infamous, historical figures & uncovering secrets & conspiracies that have shaped the city without our ever knowing it. From Rome`s origins as Romulus`s stomping ground to the dark atmosphere of the Middle Ages; from Caesar`s unscrupulousness to Caravaggio`s lurid genius; from the notorious Lucrezia Borgia to the seductive Anna Fallarino, the marchioness at the center of one of Rome`s most heinous crimes of the post-war period, Augias creates a sweeping account of the passions that have shaped this complex city: at once both a metropolis & a village, where all human sentiment-bravery & cowardice, industriousness & sloth, enterprise & laxity-find their interpreters & stage. If the history of humankind is all passion & uproar, then, as the author notes, for centuries Rome has been the mirror of this history, reflecting with excruciating accuracy every detail, even those that might cause you to avert your gaze. ...

One hot summer night, Aix-en-Provence is aflutter with news that controversial author Valere Barbier, who once shared dinners with French presidents & all-night drinking bouts with rock stars, has moved into La Bastide Blanche, a grand house left empty for decades. But Valere`s ideas of a peaceful retirement are quickly dashed. Rambunctious neighbourhood children, a fast-talking gossip of a housekeeper, & a rival novelist filter through the home at all hours of the day
- & by night there are unseen visitors with more sinister intentions.
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A Sunday Times & Daily Telegraph Book of the Year ` Fans of The Letter for the King will be delighted with its sequel` Sunday Times ` Action-packed drama` Daily Mail One of the King`s most trusted knights has vanished in the snow, so young Sir Tiuri & his best friend Piak must journey into the shadowy heart of the forest to find him. The Wild Wood is a place of mysteries, rumours & whispered tales. A place of lost cities, ancient curses, robbers, princesses & Men in Green. As the darkness surrounds him & reports grow of secret plots & ruthless enemies, Tiuri finds himself alone & fighting for survival
- caught in a world where good & evil wear the same face, & the wrong move could cost him his life...` Thrilling` Metro ` Deserves readers of all ages` Sunday Express
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One of the King`s most trusted knights has vanished in the snow, so young Sir Tiuri & his best friend Piak must journey into the shadowy heart of the forest to find him. The Wild Wood is a place of mysteries, rumours & whispered tales. A place of lost cities, ancient curses, robbers, princesses & Men in Green. As the darkness surrounds him & reports grow of secret plots & ruthless enemies, Tiuri finds himself alone & fighting for survival
- caught in a world where good & evil wear the same face, & the wrong move could cost him his life...
...

Discover one of the most charming places on earth through the incredible pictures featured here & find out why this place is adorable by all who visit. Showing everything from familiar sights to seldom-seen vistas, ” The Secrets of Tuscany” is the definitive pictorial guide to this awe-inspiring region. ...