A beautiful new limited edition paperback of The Song of Achilles, published as part of the Bloomsbury Modern Classics list ...

Available again after being long out of print, this is the pre-eminent critical study, & exploration, of how myth & legend played such a significant role in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The Song of Middle-earth takes a fresh look at The Lord of the Rings, digging deep into the foundations of Tolkien`s world to reveal the complex tapestry of history & mythology that lies behind his stories. The charge that Tolkien`s work was merely derivative
- that he extracted elements from other mythologies & incorporated them into his own fiction
- is dismissed in favour of a fascinating examination of the rich historical background to Middle-earth. From the mythic tradition of the Tales told in The Book of Lost Tales: I to the significance of oral storytelling throughout the history of Middle-earth, this book examines the common themes of mythology found within Tolkien`s work. In doing so, The Song of Middle-earth demonstrates how Tolkien`s desire to create a new mythology for England is not only apparent in his writing, but also realised.

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A exciting adventure by the author of the international bestseller The Letter for the King SEVEN PATHS. SEVEN UNLIKELY FRIENDS. ONE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURE. Deep in the woods, in a crooked house full of stairs, a young boy is kept prisoner by his uncle. He cannot meet other children, or have any friends. He holds the key to a secret. Meanwhile, in a quiet village, Frans the schoolteacher invents incredible stories of perilous deeds, shipwrecks, desert islands, & haunted castles to entertain his pupils, in which he is the hero. Then one stormy evening, a mysterious letter blows onto his doormat, summoning him to a meeting. Suddenly, Frans is on a real-life mission, one in which he will encounter magicians, secret passages, conspiracies, hidden treasure, a black cat with green eyes & a sealed parchment which predicts the future. He will learn the secret of the Seven Ways. He will find seven allies. & he will make a fearsome enemy. The adventure has begun... ...

Deep in the woods, in a crooked house full of stairs, a young boy is kept prisoner by his uncle. He cannot meet other children, or have any friends. He holds the key to a secret. Meanwhile, in a quiet village, Frans the schoolteacher invents incredible stories of perilous deeds, shipwrecks, desert islands, & haunted castles to entertain his pupils, in which he is the hero. Then one stormy evening, a mysterious letter blows onto his doormat, summoning him to a meeting. Suddenly, Frans is on a real-life mission, one in which he will encounter magicians, secret passages, conspiracies, hidden treasure, a black cat with green eyes & a sealed parchment which predicts the future. He will learn the secret of the Seven Ways. He will find seven allies. And he will make a fearsome enemy. The adventure has begun... ...

The second novel in the Great Plains trilogy, this is a passionate portrait of the artist as a young woman Thea Kronberg, a young girl from a small town in Colorado has a great gift
- her beautiful singing voice. Her talent takes her to the great opera houses of Europe, & through ambition & hard work, she forges a life as an artist. But if she can never go home again, nor can she leave behind her past. At last, in a desert canyon in Arizona, Thea has a revelation that will allow her to attain a new state of spirituality & become a truly great artist.` Willa Cather makes a world which is burningly alive, sometimes lovely, often tragic` Helen Dunmore` The Song of the Lark illuminates all her work` A. S. Byatt` Lingers long in the memory` Joyce Carol Oates
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This Moleskine-bound edition is sold together with a blank Moleskine notebook, for recording your own thoughts & adventures. Perfect for the travel writers of the future. The Songlines is Bruce Chatwin`s magical account of his journey across the length & breadth of Australia, following the invisible & ancient pathways that are said to criss-cross the l&. Chatwin recorded his travels in his favourite notebook, which he would usually buy in bulk in a particular stationery shop in Paris. But when the manufacturer went out of business, he was told ” Le vrai moleskine n`est plus”. A decade after its publication, on reading this anecdote in The Songlines, a small Milanese publisher was inspired to revive production of the legendary `moleskine` notebook. This limited, special edition of The Songlines celebrates both the 30th anniversary of the publication of Chatwin`s iconic work, & the 20th anniversary of a brand that has now become synonymous with culture, memory & travel. ...

In The Songs of Trees, award-winning nature writer David Haskell repeatedly visits a dozen trees around the world, exploring the trees` connections with webs of fungi, bacterial communities, cooperative & destructive animals, & other plants. In doing this he shows that every living being is not only sustained by biological connections, but is made from these relationships, & that holding a networked view of life enriches our understanding of biology, human nature, & ethics. ...

” Luke Nguyen, of Red Lantern fame, is going home. Travelling on a personal & culinary tour through Vietnam, Luke visits his family & friends, & is invited into the homes of local Vietnamese food experts & cooks, to learn more about one of the richest, most diverse cuisines in the world. Starting in the northwest of Vietnam, in the villages & hills around Sapa, Luke explores the roots of traditional cooking. Moving south, he travels to the capital, Hanoi, renowned for its French-Vietnamese cuisine. He explores the imperial cooking of Hue, discovers the famed cau lau noodles in Hoi An, & tastes a host of simple seafood dishes of coastal Nha Trang & Quy Nhon, his journey culminating in Saigon, where he is reunited with family. The Songs of Sapa is a vibrant, visual essay of Luke`s journey, the stories & recipes from each region, with stunning photographs bursting with colour & texture, capturing the beauty of Vietnam, her people & their deep connection to food.” ...

New York, 1916. Monroe Simonov, a song-plugger from Brooklyn, is in love with a Ziegfeld Follies dancer who has left him for California. Inez Kennedy, a fashion model in a department store, has just one season remaining to find a wealthy husband before she must return to the Midwest. Anna Denisova, a glamorous political exile, gives lectures & writes letters while she waits for the Russian people to overthrow their Tsar. Although the world is changing faster than they could ever have imagined, Monroe, Inez & Anna discover that they are still subject to the tyranny of the heart. In this richly atmospheric & deftly plotted novel, their paths cross & re-cross leaving a trail of passion, infidelity & betrayal, before hurtling towards an explosive climax ...

Part of Penguin`s beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable & collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. When this volume of Shakespeare`s poems first appeared in 1609, he had already written most of the great plays that made him famous. The 154 sonnets
- all but two of which are addressed to a beautiful young man or a treacherous `dark lady`
- contain some of the most exquisite & haunting poetry ever written, & deal with eternal subjects such as love & infidelity, memory & mortality, & the destruction wreaked by Time. Also included is A Lover`s Complaint, originally published with the sonnets, in which a young woman is overheard lamenting her betrayal by a heartless seducer.

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